Last Things / Evangelism and Missions
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Last Things
Last Things
BFM:
God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.
Pray
INTRO
The Bible is interesting for a variety of reasons, but at the top of the list is its sufficiency in showing us the timeline for the past, application to the present, and hope for the future. The Bible really is an all inclusive document. God is outside of our conception of time. He is not limited by the same standards that we see.
“While the Bible points us to the past for an understanding of God’s work and the unfolding of His plan in history and while the Bible takes the present very seriously, it also places central focus on the things to come.”
The study of the things to come is known as eschatology. As believer’s we look forward to the Second Coming of Christ. Last week looked at the Kingdom. We talked about how God is already ruling, but there will be consummation of His Kingdom in which sin is vanquished and Jesus is recognized as Lord by everyone.
We understand that the world that we are in now is fallen. It is marred by sin. We spent time in this series working through our beliefs on the fall and the effects of sin in this work. When we are saved and reconciled unto Christ, we are given a mission to do on this earth and the Spirit sustains us in that mission with hope. We are hopefully looking forward to the necessary end of this sinful world which will be replaced by the new heaven and new earth.
BFM “God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end.” To the unbeliever this sounds like fear-mongering. But to the believer, this statement should be one of reverential humility and hopeful comfort. The end of sin and fallenness is a GOOD thing.
There is however, much debate as to EXACTLY how the events will unfold. There is much room for well spirited debate when it comes to many eschatological debates.
Herschell Hobbs wrote, “Since the new Testament speaks in broad teams about last things, it is to be expected that problems would arise as to the interpretation of details. For instance, interpreters differ as to the number of comings, resurrections, judgments, and the millennium, along with certain other details as to the end of the age. … It is sufficient to say that one’s position as to details has never been a test of orthodoxy among Baptists.”
We should speak with charity when we are trying to discuss the specifics of the end times. The point of what we talk about tonight, will not be to walk through the positions shown in media like the Left Behind books, but rather to focus on the wide hope for believers there is at the end of this age.
THE RETURN OF CHRIST
“The Bible tells us that He will return to earth personally, visibly, and gloriously.”
This will be very different than what we saw in the first coming of the Lord in Bethlehem that we are going to be celebrating in just a few weeks. Jesus came to this world and was placed in a lowly manger
And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
The return will not be so.
And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
He will be coming on the clouds. HisMajesty will be proclaimed.
David Dockery wrote, “the reality of Christ’s return is grounded in the overall purposes of God. The central themes of the Christian message accompanying the proclomation of Jesus’ lordship include His sinlessness, death, resurrection, ascension, and His return. These assurances brought hope to the early church as they do to us today. From the beginning, the climatic event of Christ’s return has been at the heart of Christian preaching, echoing the words of Jesus Himself: “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.’ (Mark 13:26). Wherever the apostles preached, they preached the reality of this announcement.”
Christ is coming again.
THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
The resurrection of believers is assured by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
There will be final and lasting judgment for all those who do not have saving faith in the Lord:
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
ETERNAL DESTINY
“Polls indicate that the vast majority of Americans not only believe in heaven and hell but also believe they will certainly go to heaven.”
Americans often think of heaven as lying on a cloud being surrounded by all the devices to increase personal gratification. You’re lying on the cloud chair being fanned and fed grapes or something like that. Most Americans also believe they will be granted entry because they have been relatively better than their neighbor.
But that’s not what Scripture tells us. Heaven is centered around not enjoying ourselves, but rather, enjoying the full presences of the Lord. Heaven is reserved for those whom are redeemed in Christ.
In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
Heaven is Heaven because Jesus is there. If Jesus is the central point of our life and our faith, heaven will be heaven because it is also centered around Jesus!
“We can anticipate heaven as a state of existence and a place where believers, now both resurrected and glorified, will serve, praise and honor God forever.”
And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!”
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”
We will be joining these praises in Heaven and so in the short time we live out revelation
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
Come Lord Jesus come! We’re ready for that final blessed eternal state enjoying your presence in all fullness!
This is the final eternal destiny of those who are redeemed. But there is a different place for those who reject the Lord.
Hell is the place of eternal judgment, punishment, and torment.
Modern culture and even churches may like to skip over this reality, but we must not. In fact the Bible speaks more often of Hell than it does of heaven.
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
in Luke 16 we see the narrative of the rich man and Lazarus. There is a clear distinction between the places each of those men ended up.
“This passage tells us much about the future, pointing to the eternal distinction between those in God’s presence and those excluded from God’s presence forever. But hell is not merely a place where God’s presence is absent. It is a place where God’s judgment is manifested in the conscious torment and suffering of those who have refused God’s grace, broken God’s law, and received God’s JUST punishment for their sins.”
Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
We cannot allow postmodern thought to dampen the reality of circumstance facing those who are going to experience this second death. It may not be en vogue, but Judgment is coming and we are going to preach the fullness of this reality at this church. The intent is not to “scare” anyone straight for the sake of fear-mongering. The intent is to be true to the Word of God and trust that His Word is true.
THE FINAL JUDGMENT
God’s justice will be fully realized at the final judgment. In our court systems we try to administer justice and we try to get things right. We know that there are times when the court system gets it wrong. In a recent sermon I mentioned 46 cases where someone ended up on death row due to a false testimony. I don’t have the legal acumen to know if justice was served in any of those cases. But I do know that the great Judge will never miss in His judgment.
“We must understand that even when we see God’s judgment being revealed in our own times, we must anticipate the absolute, ultimate, and final display of God’s justice and holiness on the day of Judgment. We need this frame of final judgment and the promise of consummation to understand our times.”
In Titus this is called the Blessed Hope.
waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
In light of this truth we can live amongst a profane people and know that God’s justice is coming.
Believers are secure in the day of judgment.
By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.
Christ will claim His own and we are secure.
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
When we are judged, Jesus will be our advocate. When we sing Lord I Need You, we say my one defense, my righteousness, that is talking about Christ. He is my one defense. My righteousness is not my own it is His. My righteousness is HIS righteousness. God will declare believers not guilty based upon the person and work of Jesus Christ through His life, death, and resurrection.
We will be judged on our deeds, but not on a pass fail system.
For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
We will be rewarded in heaven for the work we have done, but even those rewards will be for the glory of God.
That’s why I wanted to pair the next section of the BFM with the Last Things, but before we get there, let’s look back at the BFM statement on the last things:
God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.
Evangelism and Missions
Evangelism and Missions
BFM: It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.
This is a topic that I do not feel I need to explain very much to this group of people. Over the last year, I have witnessed how this church has been committed to missions and evangelism. We have put a concerted effort into growing the skills of evangelism. We support missionaries across the world. We participate in local missions and this church has been known to actively participate in world wide missions with boots on the ground as well.
I’ve said time and time again, the mission of the church is the Great Commission
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The BFM reiterates this calling stating, “It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations.”.
Lee Scarborough said, “The divine obligation of soul-winning rests without exception upon every child of God. The Christian receives the essence of this obligation and call at the time of his salvation. … The fruit of a Christian is another Christian.
I’ve said time and time again, discipled disciples disciple.If you have matured in the faith, it is your calling to pour into others and help them mature. Of course when we talk about soul winning, God claims all the victory, but we are the ambassadors of Christ, pleading with others to be reconciled unto God through Jesus.
DUTY AND PRIVILEGE
Evangelism is more than a program and summer Sunday evening topic. Evangelism is the the task of all believers to be a witness of what Christ has done for us. We share that message with others and the Holy Spirit works through us to draw others to Christ.
Professing believers have not always gone about this the right way. Evangelism cannot be done in a God honoring way, “by the sword, by coercion, by baptism, or by any means other than sharing the gospel and allowing spinners to respond freely to the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
If I someone makes a profession of faith because they think they have to to earn my respect or because they think I’m gonna beat them up, then they are not professing true fear of God, they’re professing fear of Brad! And that wont get you anywhere. I’m nothing. Evangelism is sharing the reality of the coming judgment, the sinful condition of man, the hope in Jesus Christ, and letting the Holy Spirit lead to any acceptance of that message.
Unfortunately in our time, Evangelism has become a bit of a dirty word. “Theological liberalism has abandoned any understanding of divine judgment and any threat of hell.” Those who hold to the biblical view and calling of evangelism are posed as Imperialist, Theocratic Nationalist, or religious bigots. I saw a stat recently that said something like 70% of gen Z believe that sharing your faith with someone else of a different religious belief is morally wrong. But Jesus said
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
There for if we want to claim anything is morally wrong, it would be knowing this truth and NOT sharing it.
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
“The exclusivity of the gospel is a nonnegotiable Christian truth that is deeply rooted in Scripture and is essential to our understanding of the missionary mandate and its priority.”
Other people suggest that we do not need to talk about Jesus, we just simply live it out. And let me say, that our lives very much such be witness in and of themselves. Our live should be a testimony to the grace that we have received from God. But throughout Scripture we see the Verbal witness as the vessel through which God works. Whatever we do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
TO ALL NATIONS
Evangelism and missions are two sides of the same coin. We have the Acts 1:8 committee here at the church and its purpose is to look at how we can spread the gospel in our local community and all across the world.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
We start locally and then work globally. Our church have direct lines to missionaries working in South America and Asia, we are going to be looking at expanding that in the future as we grow the church.
I am thankful that this church is committed to serving the Lord through missions and Evangelism. We are going to continue to do that. We cannot let up on the calling that the Lord has given us to do.
We have opportunities right now
Angel tree
evangelism resources
Lottie Moon
Let us continue to keep on in laboring for the Lord.
BFM: It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.