Sermon Tone Analysis

*“Any Day Now!"*

Robert J. Morgan \\ March 24, 2002

 

*This is Palm Sunday*, a time when we celebrate the day our Lord entered Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives as a king riding on a donkey, in accordance with the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9.

He was entering the city at the onset of Passion Week, at the end of which He would die to atone for the sins of the world.

But even as we sing our great Palm Sunday hymns, I can’t help thinking of the next time our Lord enters Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.

It will not be in meekness and submission, but in power, glory, and honor.

He will not be riding on a donkey, but descending with the angels.

Today I’d like to bring a different kind of Palm Sunday message—not one that looks backward, but one that looks forward to that coming day when our Lord shall descend victoriously to the Mount of Olives and enter the city of Zion through the Golden Gate to establish His Kingdom.

When will that be?

In terms of biblical prophecy, the order of events as I understand them will unfold like this.

*We are now awaiting the rapture of the church*, which could occur at any moment.

The trumpet of the Lord will sound, the dead in Christ will be resurrected, and the church of our Lord Jesus Christ—the saints of all the ages—will be caught up to heaven.

In the aftermath of that breathtaking event, the remaining citizens of earth will regroup into a one-world government led by a powerful and charismatic leader who is referred to in the Bible as “the man of sin” or the “antichrist.”

There will follow seven years of tribulation as described in the books of Daniel and Revelation, and near the end of that period the armies of the world will march against the nation of Israel and surround the city of Jerusalem, determined to annihilate the Jewish race at long last.

At that very moment, at the outset of the battle of Armageddon, the Lord Jesus Christ will appear in the heavens, surrounded by His holy angels.

He will descend to the Mount of Olives and enter Jerusalem in triumph to establish His millennial reign on the earth.

How wonderful will be the unfolding of these events!

Have you thought about them recently?

Are you anticipating those days?

Are you watching for Christ to come like a thief in the night?

Are you ready?

According to John Wesley White, there are some 1,845 verses in the Bible that speak of the return of Jesus Christ to earth.

Today I’d like to deal with a few of these verses as we find them in the book of 1 Thessalonians.

*~*Background~* *

The two letters written by the Apostle Paul to the Christians in the city of Thessalonica—1 and 2 Thessalonians—contain a lot of valuable material about the Lord’s coming.

In addition, as some of you have noticed or heard, the book of 1 Thessalonians is the only book in the Bible in which every chapter ends with a reference to the Second Coming of Christ.

The reason for that is bound up in the way the Thessalonian church was established in Acts 17.

On his second missionary expedition, Paul entered the city of Thessalonica, a large port city in the north of Greece, the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia.

There he found some open-minded prospects, he evangelized them, and a church was established.

The great apostle was just starting to teach these new Christians when a riot broke out.

Opposition forces descended on the young church shouting, “The men who have turned the world upside down have now come here, disturbing our city.”

Paul had to run for his life.

Now, the apostle must have been in the middle of telling these new Christians that the Lord was going to return to earth.

But his departure was so abrupt that the people were left with insufficient information.

~/When~/ is He coming again?

~/What~/ will be the signs of His coming?

~/How~/ should we prepare for that day?

Paul’s incomplete teachings had left them intensely curious for more, and they were left with a certain amount of confusion.

So Paul quickly wrote back to them—some scholars believe that 1 Thessalonians was the first of his letters—and he addressed the return of Christ at length.

We don’t have time for a thorough study of the eschatological material in 1 and 2 Thessalonians, but I’d like to show you how every chapter in 1 Thessalonians ends with a reference to the Second Coming of Christ.

These five endings tell us something about the effect the return of Christ should have on our hearts and minds.

*~*A Sign of Salvation~* *

At the end of chapter one, we see that the anticipation for the return of Christ is a sign of our salvation.

Look at 1 Thessalonians 1:8ff: The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere.

Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us.

They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus, who saves us from the coming wrath.~/

Here is a concise definition of a Christian.

Paul was saying, “Everywhere we go people are talking about what happened when I was with you, how you became Christians.”

And how does he define a Christian?

A Christian is someone who has turned from idols to serve God and to await the return of Christ.

When we find ourselves awaiting, anticipating the return of Christ, it is a sign of salvation.

That’s what people do who have truly been saved.

They look at the sky blue-pink at sunrise and they think, “Maybe my Lord will come today.”

They see the scarlet sunset in the west, and they say, “Maybe my Lord will come just now.”

Some golden daybreak Jesus will come.

Some golden daybreak battles all done.

He’ll shout the victory; break through the blue

Some golden daybreak for me, for you.

Every generation of Christians has wanted the Lord to come back in their own days.

A little book called the “Didache” is among the earliest documents in church history.

There we read: “Let not your lamps be quenched, nor your loins unloosed; but be ready, for you know not the hour in which our Lord will come.”

St. Cyril wrote in the fourth century: ~/But let us wait and look for the Lord's coming upon the clouds from heaven.

Then shall angelic trumpets sound.~/

*Augustine* felt that the Lord would return somewhere, he thought, around the year A.D. 1000.

In the 1300s, *John Wycliffe*, the “Morning Star of the Reformation,” studied the “signs” of the times and concluded that the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ should be expected immediately

In the 16th century, *John Calvin* preached: ~/We must hunger after Christ until the dawning of that great day when our Lord will fully manifest the glory of His kingdom.~/

In the 18th century, *John Wesley* said: ~/The Spirit in the heart of the true believer says with earnest desire, “Come, Lord Jesus.”~/

In the twentieth century, evangelist *Billy Graham* said: ~/Many times when I go to bed at night I think to myself that before I awaken Christ may come.~/

To be a Christian is to be someone who has turned from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven—Jesus—who saves us from the coming wrath.

*~*A Motive For Ministry~* *

Second, a love for the Second Coming is a motivation for ministry.

First Thessalonians 2 ends with these words: ~/But, brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you.

For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan stopped us.

For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes?

Is it not you?

Indeed, you are our glory and joy.~/

In other words, Paul said, “I hated being torn away from you like I was.

I didn’t want to leave.

You are very valuable, very important to me, very loved by me.

You are those I have won to Christ.

You are those whom I’ll see at the throne of God as a result of my labors.

You are my hope, my joy, my crown in which I will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes.”

There’s an old song that says, “Will there be any stars in my crown?”

In other words, will there be anyone at the rapture whom I’ve won to Christ?

Will there be someone—anyone—at the Throne of God because of my witness?

Will there be souls in heaven because of my earthly life?

One of the most neglected aspects of the Second Coming of Christ involves its potential for motivating us in evangelism and in Christian service.

What will it be like to stand before the Throne of God on that day He returns and look earnestly through the encircling throngs trying to find someone, anyone, who is there because of our witness?

What will it be like to stand before the Throne and be surrounded by a host of men and women and boys and girls whom we had the joy of leading to faith in Christ?

Not long after I’d yielded my heart to the Lord as a college sophomore I was on fire for the Lord.

Along with some of my buddies, I went to a nearby shopping complex on a soul-winning venture.

I sat down beside one boy—he was perhaps eleven or twelve.

I shared the Gospel with him, and he wanted to be a Christian, and so I led him in praying a prayer in which he asked Jesus Christ to be His Lord and Savior.

Afterward he gave me his address, and the next day I went to his home to give him a Bible and some literature.

But his father, a crude and angry man, met me at the door.

He was furious that I had shared Christ with his son.

When I tried to leave the Bible, the man struck at me and knocked me off the porch.

I’ve never seen that boy since, but I’ve often wondered if I will not meet him some day on the golden streets.

He is the first person I ever remember leading to Christ, and if his conversion was sincere and genuine, he will be my hope and my joy and my crown when the Lord comes again.

Similarly, whenever we give of our money to the Lord’s work, whenever we send forth missionaries, whenever we support our ministry here with the resulting conversions—those who come to the Lord through our ministry are going to be sources of great joy for us when our Lord comes again.