HOPE - Blessed Hope

Over the past several weeks we have looked at the HOPE that Christmas brings...

Hope in Christ is always worthwhile --- we looked at aspects of the Prophetic promise of Messiah, the promise of a miracle and child that was the fore runner for Christ, the expectation of God’s plan and then seeing it all come to pass.

The one thing we have not mentioned so far is that often the Jews confused the prophetic promise of the Second Coming of Christ with the First Coming of Christ. They rejected Jesus because He did not establish an earthly Kingdom, but a Kingdom in the hearts of men - delivering them from the reign and bondage of sin.

There are devout Jews still look for the coming of Messiah - and they will not be disappointed, but they will be surprised as they will come to realize they missed the entirety of the plan of God.

Here is the reality - JESUS IS COMING AGAIN! He will return a second time, first in the clouds to take His people into the air, resurrecting the dead and rapturing the saints, and then He will return at the end of the Tribulation and place His feet upon this earth and establish that MILLENNIAL REIGN on this earth for a 1000 years before the end and final judgment when a New Heaven and Earth is established for the righteous who placed their faith in Him.

This is the BLESSED HOPE we all look for as the body of Christ.

Titus 2:11–14 NLT

11 For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. 12 And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, 13 while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. 14 He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 NLT

13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. 15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words.

1. Hold Onto the Promise

Jesus promised to come and again and receive us again unto himself.

John 14:3 NLT

3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.

I know the times seem dark. The world seems bleak, much like it was before the eternal light came into the world to dwell in man as Immanuel.

For over 2000 years we have been reminded that Jesus is coming back for His church to take us out of this world. HE told us there would be signs of these things...

Luke 17:37 NLT

37 “Where will this happen, Lord?” the disciples asked. Jesus replied, “Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.”

Just in the recent years we are witnessing:

Pestilence (pandemic disease)

Climate Change (weather patterns as freaky and frequent as Jesus predicted)

False sense of peace - calling for unity while division is all around us

UN Sculpture that resembles Revelation 13:2 prophetic beast

Wars and rumors of wars

The preparation of the world to receive antichrist - dictatorship - one world government, monetary system, justification for natural disasters and rapture of the church through scientific and science fiction explanations, etc

Scoffers deny the rapture and tribulation, even liberal Biblical scholars do - but we see the signs, and HOLD ON in the darkness to the PROMISE of this blessed HOPE!

Remember, it is darkest before dawn when the MORNINGSTAR arises!!!

2. Be Open to the Miracle

The return of Christ the second time is a supernatural and miraculous event to all times. The resurrection of every person who died in the faith and the snatching away of the church in the twinkling of an eye!

1 Corinthians 15:51–52 NLT

51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.

Remember when we talked about being OPEN TO RECEIVE the miracles of God...

We need to be preparing ourselves in HIs presence. The parables of the 10 Virgins, the teaching of the wicked servant, the analogy of the thief in the night — all refer to our being ready for the miracle of the Rapture of the CHURCH.

That preparation takes place when we are spending time in HIS PRESENCE and in PRAYER. We start our New Year off with a prayer emphasis, but who will clear the calendar to be here every Wed night to seek the presence of Jesus. Who will have their schedule at work adjusted/ Who will commit to having dinner in the oven early? It is a sacrifice of time, but having our hearts in preparedness as the body of Christ is so important. --

Who will make a commitment in the year 2022 to be in the presence of God every week in church?

Will we be ready when Jesus returns.

Luke 18:8 NLT

8 I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”

Keep yourself open to the miracle of His glorious return - WATCH AND WAIT and be READY -

Do not be like that wicked servant who says my master delays - and goes out and parties....

3. Persevere in the Plan

PERSEVERE CHURCH!!!

While we wait, it will not be easy, the times will grow harder still.

However, he who endures to the end....

Jesus said...

Matthew 24:13 NLT

13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Mark 13:13 NLT

13 And everyone will hate you because you are my followers. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Think of these words written by the apostle Paul,

Romans 8:18–25 NLT

18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

We know the Lord has a plan to come again --- the prophets foretold it, but more than that - Jesus promised it!!!

Galatians 6:9 NLT

9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

PERSEVERE IN THE PLAN

4. Expectations Will be Fulfilled

Jesus will RETURN - our HOPE will be fulfilled!!!

Just as the promise of Messiah to come the first time happened and fulfilled over one hundred prophesies

Remember the first week, we mentioned that for just a few of the prophecies to be fulfilled required a near mathematic improbability

1 in 10 to the 17th power - that is 17 zeros to fulfill 8 prophesies

Jesus fulfilled in His birth and life - 300 prophetic words!

Do not think the prophetic word to come again will not happen, and CHURCH - just look at our current circumstances - we may never see 2022 - but if we do - we need to make the most of it for Christ!

CONCLUSION

So, as we wrap us this last Sunday of 2021, let me remind you of HOPE!

Jesus FULFILLED HOPE the first time He came to earth, and He will fulfill HOPE again!!!

Hold Onto the Hope of His Second Coming and the Blessed Hope to be raptured, wait, even though the season seems dark

Open yourself up to receive the Miracle of His Return - prepare yourself in HIs presence and be ready to receive

Persevere in His plan for the church and endure doing His WILL until the end

Expect to have your expectations wildly exceeded

Hebrews 11:6 NLT

6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

This is our HOPE in Christ!!!