Where will you be When Jesus Comes Back

Where will you be When Jesus Comes Back

Text: Matthew 24:36–44

36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Introduction:

* The Bible says Noah, a preacher of righteousness, cried out for 150 years from the construction site of the ark and warned the people of his generation that Judgment was coming.

*Thousands upon thousands, heard the pleading of Noah, but the Bible says they were indifferent, and they continued to live in their own pride. They went about their lives eating and drinking, making plans getting married, eating and drinking, having their parties.

* When the floods of judgment came, only eight souls were saved. The rest of the people grasped and scratched the sides of the ark and cried out to Noah, but is was too late. The day of their grace had passed, and judgment day had come.

* Our text this morning says “But as days of Noah were, so shall the coming of the son of man be.”

* John the Baptist cried out in the wilderness to his generation “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand!”

* The scribes and the Pharisees, the religious rulers and all of the people of Israel heard John preach that Judgment was coming, put the religious rulers refused to hear John the Baptist.

* When Jesus comes back, will he find you refusing to take heed to the warning of Judgment Day?

* Now in our text this morning we find Jesus once again preaching and warning the people that judgment is coming.

* Even now you are listening to a preacher of the Gospel stand in the pulpit and proclaim to you that Judgment Day is coming! Judgment is upon you this morning, its right around the corner, but the saved and the lost alike listen- but don’t hear the warning.

* Jesus said “He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear,” but I am afraid there are many in this room that have ears, but you will not hear the warning of this preacher.

* I am once again crying out to you that Judgment day is coming. You will very soon stand before God and be judged!

* In our text this morning, Jesus said:

40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

* My Question to you is this morning “Where will you be when Jesus comes back?”

* Will Jesus find you like those of Noah’s day, going about in the pride of your life eating and drinking, getting married, living out your own life never giving God a second thought?

* Will Jesus find you this morning like those who listened to John the Baptist preach “repent for the kingdom of Heaven is coming,” but are either too lazy to prepare for judgment day, or will he find you too busy with your own plans, to repent and make ready to meet Jesus at his coming?

I. The coming of the Lord will be sure.

2 Peter 3:3–14 (KJV 1900)

3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

II. The coming of the Lord will be swift.

Matthew 24:27 (KJV 1900)

27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

1 Corinthians 15:51–52 (KJV 1900)

51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

1 Thessalonians 5:1–6 (KJV 1900)

But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

III. The coming of the Lord will be soon.

2 Thessalonians 2:2–12 (KJV 1900)

2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first,

and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

* I want to call your attention again to II Thessalonians 2:3”

3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first,

* I believe this great falling away started with the attack of September 9, 2011 when God shot a warning shot over the bow of America. God started the process of judgment on this country, and the world, when he lifted the hedge of protection from America and allowed America’s enemies to strike a terrible blow.

* Many years ago in ancient Israel, God started the very same process of judgment upon that great nation.

* Israel, like America, was a chosen nation, blessed by God, under the obedience and rule of God. On our money, and upon our official documents, are the words “Under God.”

* Ancient Israel had turned its back on its foundations as a nation unto and under God, but they had turned their back on God and became a nation filled with sexual immorality, greed and idol worship.

* The last straw with God was when the people of Israel began to sacrifice their children to the God Molec.

* Like ancient Israel, the United States of America has also sacrificed thousands upon thousands of its innocent children to the God a “woman’s right to choose.”

* We like the people before Noah’s flood, have become so sexually immoral as a nation, that God has ordained a judgment upon America.

God was infuriated with Israel’s backsliding and sent the Assyrians to invade Israel as a warning of coming judgment.

* This was not the final destruction of Israel, but a warning to repent, judgment is coming!

* God lifted the hedge of protection that Israel had enjoyed as a Godly nation and allowed an attack by the Assyrians.

* Listen to their response to God’s warning. Turn with me to Isaiah 9:7: Isaiah 9:7–12

8 The Lord sent a word into Jacob,

* Here God send them a word of warning.

And it hath lighted upon Israel. 9 And all the people shall know,

* This warning was proclaimed for all the citizens to hear the message.

* This formerly Godly nation, had been publicly warned by God that the attack they had suffered at the hands of the Assyrians was a warning to return to God or further judgment was on the way.

Even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, That say in the pride and stoutness of heart,

* Notice the reaction to the warning- instead of returning to God in a heart of repentance, they reply to God out of an attitude of defiant pride:

10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn

* After 911 there was a great stone cut from the mountains of upper state New York and placed at ground zero. There was great ceremony and pomp surrounding this great symbol of America’s vow to rebuild the symbol of America’s world financial leadership.

stones:The sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.

* When one of the towers fell at ground zero, a beam shot out from the implosion of one of the towers. This beam uprooted at tree on the corner of wall street. There was a statue made of the root system of that uprooted tree placed in the front of the church near the corner of the New Your Stock Exchange. This tree became a symbol of Americas’s defiant vow to rebuild after 911.

* Shortly after 911 are tree appeared in the sky above ground zero being lowered by a crane. It was placed where the sycamore tree had been uprooted and became another symbol of America’s defiant vow. This tree became known as the “Freedom Tree.”

* Instead of repenting and returning to God, the people of Israel strengthened their resolve and in their pride, vowed that by their own strength of character, and their own ingenuity, they would rebuild.

* Not only would they rebuild, but they would rebuild with bigger and better resources- they would ensure that they would be safe from any further threat of judgment.

11 Therefore the Lord shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, And join his enemies together;

* This prophecy did come to pass, and God later gathered the enemies of Israel together and destroyed the nation of Israel in judgment.

12 The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; And they shall devour Israel with open mouth.

For all this his anger is not turned away, But his hand is stretched out still.

* Even though these warnings were judgments, God still had his hand stretched out in mercy. There was hope at any time, if they would only return to God.

* I believe this morning that God has also started the same process with the United States of America, beginning with the terrorist’s attacks of 911.

* The destruction if the twin towers was a warning and a symbol of the coming destruction of America. * The World Trade Center symbolized America’s role as the leader of the world’s financial and economic systems. * God sent a message to America on September 11, 2001. “As you have turned your back on Me, I will also turn my back to you. I have made you the strongest nation in the world, the leader of the world’s financial systems, you have turned your back on me, so I have removed my hand of protection from you.”

* Here’s an interesting fact: Did you know who the descendants of the ancient Assyrians are? The peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan. The very same peoples that God used to invade Ancient Israel when they refused to hear is warning to repent and return to God.

* America refused to repent and return to God, but instead, like ancient Israel, America has vowed that we will rebuild and overcome by our own sense of national pride and our own human ingenuity.

* This very same passage of scripture was quoted publicly in New York, at a ceremony at ground zero by senator Edwards- he said:

10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones:The sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.

* Later the senate majority leader quoted the same passage of scripture before congress. He said:

10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones:The sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.

* After these things, the Lord again warned America of financial and economic destruction with the worst stock market crash since the great depression, the failure of Lehman brothers the world’s leading financial firm, on the anniversary week of – you guessed it.- 911.

* The fall of Lehman brothers led to the collapse of Freddie Mac and Fannie May, the owners of nearly half of all mortgage and housing markets, which in turn led to the bursting of the housing bubble.

* This produced the greatest economic intervention since the great depression. The bailout of Fannie May and Freddie Mac effectively nationalized them, and started this nations slide toward a socialist philosophy of government. The auto industry later followed suit, effectively nationalizing General motors.

* By a system of government bailouts and other failed attempts to save a collapsed economy, the Unites States has been able to keep up appearances, but our United States economy had effectively collapsed leaving us trillions upon trillions of dollars in debt.

* After all this, the stock market crashed again in 2008 and plunged even worse that the first crash right after 911.

* Still, like ancient Israel, instead of turning back to the God we abandoned, the United States of America is arrogantly and pridefuly shaking its fist at God and saying”

10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones:The sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.

* Listen to the words of the next president of the United States of America as he addressed the nations for the first time as president:

I know that for many Americans watching right now, the state of our economy is a concern that rises above all others. And rightly so. If you haven’t been personally affected by this recession, you probably know someone who has – a friend; a neighbor; a member of your family. You don’t need to hear another list of statistics to know that our economy is in crisis, because you live it every day. It’s the worry you wake up with and the source of sleepless nights. It’s the job you thought you’d retire from but now have lost; the business you built your dreams upon that’s now hanging by a thread; the college acceptance letter your child had to put back in the envelope. The impact of this recession is real, and it is everywhere.

But while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken; though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this:

We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.

* President Obama effectively repeated Isaiah 9:10:

10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones:The sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars,

* As a result of our refusing to hear the warning of 911, we have seen this country increase in its intensity to turn its back on God.

* Even now our friends in Lenoir City and are facing law suits for having the word religion on their policeman’s uniforms.

* They also have been doing battle with the atheists over a atheist student’s article in a school paper.

* They also are in a social battle over gay activism being pushed on the in the public school system.

* Friends I believe it there is not a revival of the fear of God in the United States of America, God’s judgment on our country is coming quickly. With each warning the judgments are getting stronger and stronger.

* We now are facing a third war with Iran. Iran has vowed to destroy Israel, and is in the process of making nuclear weapons to use against Israel. It is now looking like a war between Iran and Israel is unavoidable. A war that has great nuclear implications.

* Russia made the statement two weeks ago that if the talks that we are in with them about the European Missile Defense program fail, they will initiate a preemptive nuclear strike against the United States.

* The cold war is over. We are playing for keeps now.

* America was the leader of the world’s economies. Since the collapse of America’s financial institutions, the whole world economy is beginning to collapse.

* It is time for the Anti-Christ to appear. We are in the last of the last days of this earth.

* It is time for the Church to look up! It is time for the church to be sober and watch! The return of Jesus is soon!

Luke 21:20–28

20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. 21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. 22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. 24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. 25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

Conclusion:

The coming of the Lord is sure! The coming of the Lord is sudden! The coming of the Lord is soon!

* Are you ready to meet God this morning? If you have never been saved I would make my way down this isle and be saved right away this morning, the coming of the Lord is soon- you may not have another chance!

* Are you saved, but not living right? I would advise you to come to the Lord this morning and make things right with God. I wouldn’t want to meet the Lord in your backslid condition this morning!

* We only have a few days left. The world is quickly moving toward the revealing of the Anti-Christ. You had better make sure your loved ones are saved. Are you living the kind of life that would cause them to repent and come to Christ before its too late?