"Gatekeepers"
Sermon by the Rev. Matt Kennedy
Advent 1 year b
The Church of the Good Shepherd
Mark 13:33-37

One of the things I hated most about basic training was guard duty. We had 5 hours of sleep. Everyone had to spend one of those hours standing guard. I use the word “guard” loosely. We were housed on a huge military base with MP's everywhere. We weren't really “guarding” anything. We sat bleary eyed at a desk in the barrack's hallway hoping the sergeant wouldn't come by. The fear was that you'd fall asleep. If you fell asleep and drill sergeant showed up, which he inevitably did, he'd make the entire platoon get up and go outside in the cold February Missouri air for calisthenics until dawn. You never knew when the sergeant would come by so fear and dread led to alertness.

Fear and dread are not what Jesus has in mind today. While non-believers will face judgment when Jesus comes back and should be afraid, believers should have the kind of joy a kid has on Christmas morning. I found it hard to pull guard duty at three in the morning at age 22, But it was easy to rise at three on Christmas morning, roust my parents out of bed and rush in to see what Santa left.

When Jesus returns it'll be better than Christmas. And yet, Jesus isn't Santa. He's not bringing us a red rider bb gun, he's coming back like a king returns to his castle. For believers it will be a joyous and victorious time. Sin, death, evil and rebellion in the world and in our own hearts will be ended along with suffering, mourning, crying and pain (Revelation 21). But his arrival will also be a time of accounting. When he returns Jesus will hold us accountable for the missions and responsibilities we have been given.

What missions?

Jesus gave believers three missions. We discuss the first two frequently. The first is the great commission. Who can recite the great commission? Right, "Go out into all the world making disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey all that I command" (my own paraphrase); this is the work evangelism and discipleship. The second is the great commandment. Can anyone recite the great commandment? Yes, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and your neighbor as yourself" (my own paraphrase). The third mission, is one that we have not spent as much time on.

Jesus repeats it several times in the gospel today starting in verse 33. Can anyone tell me what this third mission is? Keep watch. In verse 33 Jesus says, “Be on guard!” and “Be alert”. In verse 35 he says “Keep watch” and in verse 37 he concludes with the one word “Watch.” And in verses 34-37 Jesus provides an illustration of the mission.

Jesus says my followers are like servants who've been given responsibility over their master's household while he's away. But specifically like the servant mentioned in verse 34; the servant who watches the door.

Jesus' followers are to be gatekeepers. If you were a guardsman at the gate tower of a castle what would you have to know and do?

First, you have to recognize the king. That requires personal knowledge of him so that even if he arrives muddy and tired from his travels, you'll recognize his voice and open the gates. In order to fulfill this mission of keeping watch you must have a personal relationship Jesus Christ that only comes through inviting him to live in your heart. That way you know and hear his voice and recognize his commands.

Second, in addition to knowing the king you must know what the king would want in his castle or his house. You must know what to let pass through the gates, and what to keep from entering. When wagons full of food and clothing and luxuries come you let them in. When an enemy comes to the gate, you close it. A gatekeeper must know what is good for the city in keeping with the king's wishes and what is bad.

So believers are to keep watch at the castle gate. But what is the castle? Well, what belongs to the king? I can think of many things, everything in fact, but two things in particular stand out.

First, if you're a believer, you belong to the king. You must keep watch over the gate of your heart. Whatever a gatekeeper lets through the gates determines the health and well being of the city. In the same way what you let into your gate determines the well being of your heart. You have lots of gates; your eyes, your ears, your sense of touch and taste. What you let come in through these gates has a lot of power. Listen to what Jesus says about your eyes, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. If your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.” (Matt 6:22-23)

Men, what kind of movies do you watch? What kind of magazines do you look at? Are you keeping watch over the gateway of your eyes. Where do you go on the internet? Women, what kind of books are you reading? What kind of soap opera's are you watching on TV? What sort of things do you listen too? Are they good things? If Jesus were to return today and see what you see and hear what you hear would he be pleased?

So how do we guard the gates of our hearts? In Philippians 4 Paul gives some wonderful advice, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.” (Philippians 4:22)

Watch, listen to, touch, let your feet take you to good things, wholesome things, true things. I'm not just talking about reading the bible and going to church although both are included. There are so many beautiful things to look at in this world. Why do we spend any time at all looking at filth? So many wonderful and exciting and good books to be read, why spend any time on trashy novels? There are so many good movies out there why watch junk? Take an inventory this advent of the things that you let through your gates? Are they good? Are they true? Are they beautiful? Are they consistent with what the king would want in his castle. The bible is pretty clear that you are what you see, you are what you hear, you are what you do? So keep watch over your heart.

Second, if it's important to keep watch over our own hearts how much more ought we to keep watch over the body of Christ. The church has gates too. You and I are gatekeepers in the church. If I'm teaching as I should be then I'm letting good things through the gate and you'll be fed and nourished by the word of God. If I deny the truth of the scriptures and teach contrary to them, then I let an enemy through the gates. You are gatekeepers of the church just like I am. You as gatekeepers must know the king's desires and his voice so you can know the difference between good and bad, true and false, harmful and helpful teaching and living. Lot's of churches have fallen asleep on this watch and when that happens the church begins to fall apart. All teachers and all teachings all ideas and plans in the church must, as John says, be “tested” in light of the teaching of the bible. But that sounds so exclusionary.

Why keep anything out of the church? Well, as we've said before, the church is a hospital for sinners. We're all sinners being healed by Jesus here in the church.

Have you ever seen old photos of Civil War hospitals? They didn't know anything about germs and how they spread. Doctors were unconcerned about cleaning their instruments. They'd perform surgery three or four times in a row with the same scalpel, without disinfecting it. Diseases spread like wildfire. Lots of people died.

Did you know that the same thing can happen to a church if it allows harmful teaching and willful rebellion to go on unchecked. Paul says this about harmful teaching. “Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast.“(1 Cor 5:6-7) In other words falsehood like yeast, like a germ, spreads fast. Don't let it through the gates.

We have to be careful. There's a crucial distinction in the bible between non-believers and a false teachers.

A non-believer is always to be welcomed and we are always to reach out with the gospel calling the world to come in and be healed and saved.

False teachers on the other hand are people in authority in the church who claim to be teaching Christian truth but who are in fact teaching falsely. Jesus likens false teachers to wolves in sheep's clothing (Matthew 7:15). They claim to believe, they may even wear a collar, but in fact they're teaching things that take people further away from God. “They come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are ferocious as wolves.”

Their teachings are like germs in a hospital, they can do great harm. That's why John says, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.” (2 John11) That's why it is so important for everyone here to know their bibles, to know the truth so that you won't be led astray by me or anybody else. You are gatekeepers.

But gatekeepers not only guard against falsehood you also let in the truth and the light and the good. As a church we must be devoted to the things that make a church healthy: That's why we're so excited here about bible study, worship, good fellowship, prayer, service, evangelism; the basics of Christian health and growth and nourishment. We could keep out false teaching and rebellion all day long but if we don‘t also devote ourselves to the things the king loves and wants in his body we‘ll still starve. In so far as we open the gates wide for those things our king loves and desires and bar those things that are harmful, we grow spiritually and numerically.

An unhealthy church doesn't care what comes through the gate, a healthy church is concerned about holiness and wants good things to come in and stay.

Amen