Guess Who's Back

Nine weeks is a long time to be gone; but nine weeks is really nothing in the scheme of eternity when you think about it- in fact it isn’t even that long in the scheme of life. So, for the past 9 weeks my family and I have been living in this in-between world in many ways- knowing that where we are presently situated is not the permanent state of our world- we were living in an anomaly in our lives. This got me to thinking about how we, as the church, as God’s people are living in an in-between world as well. Let me point out some Scriptures that may show you what I mean:

9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. .

English Standard Version Chapter 9

27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.” “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” 20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Scripture is very clear- Jesus is going to return. In fact, there are certain beliefs of the faith- or doctrines as many of us would call them- that are so essential to the faith that if you do not believe them they start to unravel the entire foundation of our faith- and I think the return of Christ is one of those doctrines. The question for Christians is not IF Jesus is coming back, but WHEN Jesus is coming back, and HOW THEN SHALL WE LIVE?

12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

For many people the question they are primarily concerned with is the WHEN. Thousands of books and sermons have been written surrounding the timeline of the return of Christ. The Left Behind book and movie series became mandatory material for Christians in the 90s, and many pastors have built followings around their thoughts on the timeline of Christ’s coming.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

However, I would contest that what should be primary for us as followers of Christ is not the WHEN, but the HOW SHALL WE LIVE. Because if we are not living as we should the time will not matter- or actually be to our detriment! So, today, on the day of my return from Sabbatical I would like to switch the focus, not on my return, but on the impending return of our Lord Jesus and think about how we should live with this return coming.

1- The Return of Jesus should encourage us! Please hear me, if you are not a follower of Jesus Christ the thought of the returning Savior should terrify you- but if you, like me, are a born again follower of Jesus the thought of the return of Christ should be your greatest encouragement. Whenever I visit a family after they have lost a loved one I usually read from . Listen to this passage:

So

Encourage one another with these words, Paul says! Let these words be your hope. This broken, messed up, sinful world is going to pass away; and soon our King is coming to set things right. This should be our greatest hope, not our worst fear. We are not hopeless- but hopeful!

When I think about this passage I think about when my dad used to come home from work. By the time I was a teenager I have pretty much memorized the sound of my dad’s car coming up our gravel driveway. Now, on some day I was excited to hear that car come up the drive- I had something I wanted to show dad, or a project that we were going to be doing together, or maybe we were planning to go to the lake and fish or out to the football game- the sound of those tire on that gravel was a welcomed sound. On other days, not so much. This may come to a surprise to some of you, but a few times in my life I made a little trouble. On those days before dad got home my mom would say something like “wait until your father get’s home” and the sound of those tires on the gravel was not such a pleasant idea.

Can I ask you, what changed in this scenario? Did my dad change? Nope- he was the same man. Did is return change? Nope- same time, same car, some route home. It was me! My attitude of the return of my father was based on my behavior. I would contest this is the same for the coming of our Christ. This means that in light of the coming of Jesus our lives should be lives of hope and encouragement.

2- The Return of Jesus should lead to Godliness and Holiness- We started with 2 Peter 4. This passage encourages us to live holy and godly lives in anticipation for our coming Christ. This is essential for us as Christ followers. Can I ask, is your life ready for the Second Coming of Jesus?

In 2004 Tim McGraw released his #1 hit Live Like You Were Dying, the song remained #1 on the Billboard Country Music chart for 7 weeks and was eventuality named the country song of the year. If you’re not familiar with the song- the idea is that a seemingly healthy man finds out he has a terminal condition and the song recalls all of the things he does differently in his life knowing that death is on his doorstep. He goes Skydiving, rides a bull, climbs mountains and other things throughout the song. He ends his thoughts saying he hopes that we all get a chance to live like we were dying.

Well, what if we wrote a different song? Instead of live like you were dying, what if it was Live Like Jesus was Coming? What if Jesus stepped in this morning and told us that he was coming back at the end of worship next Sunday? What would you do differently? Maybe you would call me in a frantic state hoping to be baptized this week before it is too late. Or maybe you would call that friend of family member that does not know the Lord and witness to them. Maybe you would settle that grudge with your neighbor, or forgive that coworker. What would you do differently?

I am betting that your answer reflects holiness and godliness- that what you would change would be more Christ like for you and those around you- Peter says live lives that pursue these things even though you do not know the exact day or time. It sure is easy to put these things off. I will get baptized when I get my life together- I am not ready to forgive them yet- I know I need to change that behavior, but not right now.

3- The return of Christ should propel us to selflessness and discipleship- We are going to spend the rest of our time in - a passage that we could spend a month in and not get it all, but we are going to paint with broad strokes. There are 3 sections in this chapter, and we are going to work at them backwards.

In v31-46 Jesus talks about sheep and goats. The sheep being those ushered into his Kingdom and the goats being those who are taken away from the presence of God and thrown into the fire- and what is the determining factor for if someone is a sheep or a goat? How they addressed those in need around them. Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned- these are the things with emphasis in this passage. Living in the in-between is a call to selflessness in the world that we live in. So, let’s have a gut-check moment- when was the last time you could check these boxes- you gave food to the hungry or clothed the naked, or visited the afflicted? Or better yet- can you check any of those boxes with consistency- meaning they are a regular part of your life. Right now the largest humanitarian organization in the world is the World Food Programme- which is an extension of the U.N. but the reality is that the largest humanitarian organization in the world should be the Church of Jesus Christ because 2.3 Billion people in the world still say they are Christians and there are a reported 34 million churches in the world!

In verses 14-30 Jesus tells a story about talents- that the things we are given are not to be stifled but to grow. Living in this in between asks us to pursue spiritual growth and maturity. The one thrown into the darkness is the one who squanders what the master gave him and became idle. As we await Jesus’ return we are called to live lives of growth and development- not to sit on our hands and do nothing.

4- The Return of Christ should lead us to live lives of anticipation- Finally, in verses 1-13 Jesus tells a parable about 10 virgins and their lamps. The problem in this parable was 5 of the virgins allowed their lamps to run out of oil.

Finally, in verses 1-13 Jesus tells a parable about 10 virgins and their lamps. Th

There are few feelings in the world as deflating as being caught unprepared when you knew you had something to do. Can you imagine being caught that way when eternity comes along?

In this section of chapter 25 those left outside are those who are not prepared for the bridegroom. Jesus expects and asks us to be a people living lives of anticipation. He has left us here to continue his work and be prepared for his coming. What should be concerning to us is the spiritual ADD that many Christians have developed. Everything under the sun has the attention of the church and if we are not careful our lamps will run out of oil and we too will be left in the dark.

I ran into some of you while I was on Sabbatical, and many of you shared that you were excited I was coming back soon, or you could not wait until I was back- can I ask, do you feel the same way about Jesus? Because his return is a lot better than mine!

Here’s the bottom line, church, we are called to live into the return of Jesus.

1- We should live with an emphasis on the condition of the Church- I love the words of the Angel in the passage we just read- let the evildoer do evil, and let the filthy still be filthy, and let the righteous do right and the holy be holy. These days are evil friends, we know that. The world is full of hate, and hurt, and nothing short of immoral and detestable behavior- and what does the Bible say- let them do the evil and the filthy- but you continue in righteousness and holiness. The question at hand is- what has your attention? Where is your focus?

Part of my heartburn with the church culture around us is that many Christians are focused not on the righteousness and holiness of God and God’s people, but on the evil of the world. They are so concerned with trying to fix every evil and injustice in the arena of the world they forgot that evil people do evil things and sometimes we just have to allow the world to do its evil and leave it up to God to figure it out. Let me explain some. As followers of Jesus our primary focus is not social or political reform- our primary focus is SPIRITUAL reform. While we need to be concerned to a point in things like poverty, violence, and other things of this nature, we need to focus on them through a spiritual lens. Yes, Jesus was concerned with feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and justice for the oppressed, but he addressed these things in terms of Spirituality. His focus was on reforming the

Many Christians are so concerned with whats happening on Capitol Hill they are ignoring what is happening in the sanctuary.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .