Love in the Waiting
In The Waiting: Advent 2020 • Sermon • Submitted
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Announcements
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Glorify God. Worship Jesus. Love People.
Vision
We are a community of Christ Followers extending Grace and engaging others in their faith.
Romans 12:9-21
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Today we finish our advent series, In the Waiting
We’ve been walking through what we are supposed to be doing in the waiting
As we are looking back at the first advent and the waiting that the people of Israel had while they were in expectation of the coming messiah
We celebrate the birth of Christ
We also are looking at what that has to do with you and I today
AS we are in the waiting. Waiting for that next thing that. Waiting for things to calm down. Waiting for the phone call. Waiting for Jesus to come
Today we are going to talk about Love in the Waiting
What does it look like to live in love during seasons of waiting.
One thing that we haven’t covered yet and I probably should’ve started with it, but it is awesome to tie it all together
When we are in the Waiting as believers we are not called to passively wait
I hope this is something that has come through these past sermons
Our waiting carries with it an active waiting
We are called to occupy, to work, to live in the moment that God has given us and not simply resign ourselves to passively sitting until something happens.
When the people of God were waiting for Jesus’ birth, the faithful ones were not simply sitting idly by and expecting the fulfillment of israel to happen to them
They were living out the mission of the people of God to Seek Justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with thier God
They were watching and trusting and living meaningful lives that testified to the trust that they had in the promises of the God who said the deliverer is coming
When Jesus was preparing his disciples before his crucifixion, he told them that while he was gone they are to Love one another
They aren’t supposed to build a fortress and hoard weapons and watch for the end times, but they were supposed to occupy this life
THey were supposed to use the gifts that they’d been given in this life
They wer supposed to love one another and share the Kingdom of God to those who were far from him
Love in the waiting sounds like an R&B song, but it is one of the deepest truths that we have
What did Jesus do between the beginning of his ministry and his crucifixion?
He could’ve just waited to be crucified. Surely the atonement would’ve still carried the weight of our sins
No, he lived a life marked by his compassion for the broken and his love for those he served
In our passage from today, paul is writing to the believers in Rome and he’s giving them some awesome insights into what it looks like to live lives surrendered to Jesus
He begins v9 witha sort of statement that the rest of this segment could be used as an explanation for
He says Let love be genuine
that is real
How do you do that?
He explains it in the next 10 or so verses.
[Go through the passage]
This is what love looks like in the waiting
Love is not hiding out and keeping yourself hidden from the masses so that you can keep yourself preserved for Jesus return
Love isn’t removing yourself from life and just saying that you love people
Love is being motivated by the love that Jesus first showed us and living out of that love
Love in the waiting is alive and active
It’s listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit as he guides us deeper into service and relationship
Love is rejoicing in hope
it is being patient in tribulation… not only because it’s what’s best for you, but that ‘s a way you get to demonstrate the love of Christ for those around you
Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep
That is stop trying to divide yourself up between us super smart people over here and those stupid heathens over there
Stop comparing. Stop arguing. Love people by meeting them where they are
Stop fighing and squabbling. Feed those who are hungry… especially if they are an enemy
Most of all. The way that you love in the waiting is by not being overcome by evil, but by overcoming evil with good
That is not good vibes, not good thoughts, that is the only true good which is JEsus Christ. Only by living a life submitted to the love of Christ can we overcome evil with good
That is not giving in to the temptation to despair
That is not giving in to the distractions that seek to immobilize you
That is not giving in to the lie that you should just do whatever makes you feel good because God is taking too long
But in the waiting God is calling us Church
he’s calling us to live loved. And to love others while we are here
He’s put you here in this season. In this advent . This time of anticipation and preparation
Not so that you would sint paralyzed by the possibility of what’s coming
But so that you would live in hope, peace, joy, and love in the waiting
That you would let love be genuine because Christ genuinely loves you
Maybe you’be been listening to this and you are struggling to understand why you need to love others
Maybe you’ve been hurt or damaged or discarded and you’ve got no real base of understanding to operate from when it comes to love
Today Christ is calling you to enter into his love
To allow him to love you.
Maybe you know all this stuff and somewhere along the lines you just got caught up in the fever pitch of the times
You’ve been living fearful and worried instead of in love
All you have to do is repent.
That is turn from the identity you’ve been living that was sold to you by the world and reclaim who you are in Christ
No matter where you are in this last week of advent before we celebrate the birth of Christ… please don’t let the words of the Lord fall on a hard heart
Whatever God is trying to do inside of you, simply submit to him and let him lead you
Respond in grace
Let’s pray