Advent---He's On His Way

[HKHaugan]

Recently a famous pro quarterback accused of bad behavior in a nightclub was interviewed on TV and asked the question as to what really happened at the club.  He admitted to the behavior but then amended it by saying, “That really wasn’t me.”  He said that several times wanting to convince the interviewer and the audience that he was really not a ‘bad guy,’ that he was really above that kind of behavior and now that it was in the open he would never act like that again.  The interviewer didn’t pursue it but my question is, “Well, who was it that was behaving badly if it wasn’t you?”

 

In those moments in that interview we have a glimpse of what we are all like.  We hear the echo of Paul’s words, “The good that I want to do I don’t and the evil I don’t want to do I do…it is not me but the sin in me, the sinful nature…”  Everyone has tendencies to lapses of control and judgment.  Sin is uniquely played out in each person because each person is unique.  Each of us has weaknesses that lie in the heart and emerge as our different personalities are pressured by circumstance to react.  We don’t all react the same way. 

 

Without God sin will be in control.  We can’t rationalize it, or justify it or even deny its existence.  It’s there and we have to admit its dominance in our lives.  This is why, whatever the area of weakness, we need to allow the Spirit room to hover over and cover our minds and hearts.  This is why we have the Word, why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, made us one with Him in a new spiritual family the Body of Christ and gave us this amazing divine quality called faith to open up to a merciful and understanding God who knows us as we really are in our aloneness. 

 

“The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.  By faith, we see the world called into existence by God's word, what we see created by what we don't see.  By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That's what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice (Heb.11:1-4 The Message).”

 

In the Epistle to the Hebrews the writer’s first 10 chapters center on the priesthood of Christ.  His is an eternal priesthood, a priesthood based on faith.  It is a priesthood of faith.  It is God the Son bringing the faith of the Father and the Holy Spirit to us in His faith.  His faith is the faith of God. 

 

It is the Word of faith, Holy Scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit that defines, mediates and refurbishes our faith to respond through the Holy Spirit to receive the One God without so that He becomes our God within.  Faith is the master key to the Kingdom of God, which is the rule of Christ.  Faith is the living stream of the Holy Spirit moving from God’s heart into our heart.

 

If we want a clear picture of what it means to a temple of the Holy Spirit it is to grasp the spiritual depth of faith as Jesus lived it.  We are a temple.  The Body of Christ is a temple.  The Kingdom of God is a temple and when Jesus returns we will be in the Eternal Temple, His Presence.  In that Temple He is the Priest whose once-for-all-times sacrifice brings us into His Temple.  We and all who have known Him, are together.  This is why we observe Advent with hope and expectation.  His return is not something to fear but to look forward to with excited anticipation. 

 "Let us keep looking to Jesus. He is the author of faith. He also makes it perfect. He paid no attention to the shame of the cross. He suffered there because of the joy he was looking forward to. Then he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  He put up with attacks from sinners. So think about him. Then you won't get tired. You won't lose hope (Heb.12:2-3 NIRV)."

 

Just as Jesus went to the Cross in faith and rose from the dead it is faith in Jesus that seals our place in timeless eternity.  As we prepare to worship this Christmas, worship the One who is returning to bring us to the home He has prepared for us and while we are waiting bring someone who doesn’t know Him with you. 

 

“He who testifies to all these things says it again: "I'm on my way! I'll be there soon!"   Yes! Come, Master Jesus!   The grace of the Master Jesus be with all of you. Oh, Yes! (Rev.22:20-21 The Message)”