Joy in His Return

This evening, we have every reason to be filled with joy! Our God is good! ALL THE TIME! And all the time, GOD IS GOOD! He has truly blessed us beyond measure!

We are going to conclude our series on Joy this evening as we get ready to move into a time of prayer and worship.

Our series on joy has covered many areas to help us realize our source and reason for our never ending joy.

His joy serves as our strength.

We should find joy in our salvation and in the salvation of others.

Our joy is unconditional. It is fully rooted in God.

We find joy in His sovereignty. He is in control.

We find joy in His creation. He is real and He has given us hope and purpose.

Lastly, we wrap up the series with a topic that should get us on our feet with rejoicing and praise! Our topic should encourage us to shout out from the rooftops the goodness of our God! Our topic should cause us to reach out to others, but should also fill us within with tremendous, uncontainable joy! Tonight we are talking about the joy we receive in knowing that our Jesus is going to return!

It gives me great joy to announce that Jesus is coming soon! I joyfully proclaim that His return is drawing near! I can’t help but get excited at the thought that someday we will leave this old world behind us including sin, corruption, sickness, murder, strife, immorality, heartache, and so on. We sing about the day. We dream about the day, and make no mistake about it, we will soon experience the day first hand!

The message of His return has been proclaimed throughout time and history. In fact, immediately after ascending into heaven, the disciples received news that Jesus would return!

Acts 1:10–11 NIV

10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

I want you to notice the words are not “might come back” or “He’s thinking about coming back”. The words are absolute. The words are words of promise. The words are He “will come back”.

Jesus Himself spoke of His return in John 14:3

John 14:3 NIV

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

The second coming or return of Christ is mentioned more than 300 times in the New Testament alone. I think the Lord wants the reader to know that Jesus will in fact return!

In light of this truth, I want us to examine why His return should bring us joy beyond measure.

Consider this for a moment: Jesus was in ministry for only a few years while on earth. In those few years He dramatically changed the world, and even opened the door for forgiveness to all who would believe in Him. All of this was accomplished for our sake in His first coming to our world.

His return to this earth comes with a different mission.

Hebrews 9:27–28 NIV

27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Jesus is not coming to “bear” the sins of mankind once again. That task was completed on the cross. Forgiveness of sin can now be found through belief in Christ and repentance.

His return is to bring salvation OR deliverance to those who are waiting for Him. Salvation from what? From the fallen world that we live in. Jesus WILL come and WILL lead us home!

Jesus IS coming soon. He came once as the sacrificial Lamb. He will come again as the conquering King. He is bringing salvation to those who are waiting for Him.

So… how do we know he it is that is “waiting” for Jesus to return? It is those who have called on His name… those who have placed their faith and belief in Him.

Deliverance comes to those whose name is on the list.

When the Lord returns to this earth, He is coming to bring deliverance to a select group of people. Those people are the ones whose name has been recorded in the Lamb’s book of life. We see this book mentioned in Revelation 13:8 and Revelation 21:27.

This list… is unlike any other list we might think of.

This list is not a list of those invited to come to heaven. It is not a guest list per se. Before Christ returns, all will have had the chance to call on His name. In others words… everyone will have been “invited” to place their faith in Him. Unfortunately, there will be folks who reject the invitation.

This list is not a list based off who has been naughty and nice. It is not a list based off deeds. It is not a list of those who were “good enough” or who were positive influencers in society. Doing good will not land you on this list.

This list… this book… contains the names of those who have given their lives to Jesus. A person must come through the blood to get on the list. The “registration fee” if you will, was paid in full by Jesus Himself. A person must repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus in order for their name to be recorded in the book. It is a book recording who will receive eternal life through Jesus.

Those who are waiting for Him, as Hebrews laid out, are those who’s names are listed in the book.

Here’s the deal, church. When it comes to His return, no party crashers will be allowed. No one can sneak into this gathering. And believe you me, this is a party, a gathering of the saints, that YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS!

So… what happens for those who’s names are not on the list? God made clear that the wages of sin… is DEATH. This payment will be satisfied one way or another.

For believers, that payment is satisfied through Jesus and His work on the cross. The debt was paid in full. Jesus took on our sin and nailed it to the cross… we take on His righteousness and are set free from our sin!

For unbelievers, the payment is satisfied through eternal death.

Revelation 20:15 NIV

15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

An unpleasant thought for sure… but a biblical truth nonetheless. God meant what He said. Sin comes with a terrible consequence.

For those who believe, their names are written down. But for those who reject Jesus, they will face the consequence of their sin on their own.

Jesus was given that all might find redemption. Deliverance from sin can only come through the blood of the Lamb! Is your name in the book? Have you accepted the Jesus as Lord and Savior?

Deliverance comes to those who wait

Patience… or the ability to wait... is not one of my strongest attributes. But the return of Jesus… is something worth waiting for!

We do not know exactly when He will return. But we do know that Jesus is coming soon!

Matthew 24:36 NIV

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Matthew 24:42 NIV

42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

So… what are we supposed to do as we wait for the return of our Lord? We need to be found doing what the Lord commanded us to do.

Matthew 24:45–46 NIV

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.

We must be found… ready. Verse 44 says “you... must be ready.” We cannot afford to slip in a moment or to found off mission. We need to not become distracted but live as those delivered.

We, the body of Christ, are the commissioned extension of Jesus’ ministry until He returns.

What this means is… we are to carry on His ministry until He returns. This is what it means to be found ready.

Jesus does not want to come back to find His church in hiding or in a passive holding pattern. Jesus desires to find His church actively proclaiming the death and resurrection of Christ! We need to be found doing all that we can to lead people to Jesus!

Our mission, Loving God and Loving People must remain in motion until we hear that trumpet sound.

Waiting for the return of Christ is NOT something that is motionless. Waiting for the return of Christ is active… it is missional… and it is purposeful.

Those who’s names are in the book, are those who should be actively working to add additional names to the book. Jesus has commissioned His church to go and make disciples and He has given us the tools to get the job done.

Acts 2:17–18 NIV

17 “ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

The Spirit is given to EMPOWER our witness! We get to testify to the world that JESUS SAVES and that JESUS IS COMING SOON!

Talk about a reason to be full of Joy!

Prayer and Worship

So tonight… as we get ready to move into the alters, I want us to do a couple of things.

First, I want us to give God praise. I want us to worship the Lord and give thanks for our names have been written down in the Lamb’s book of Life.

If you are a believer tonight… If you have placed your faith in Jesus, then your name is in the book. That is something I believe we need to give God thanks for.

He sent His Son to pay the price we could not pay.

He made a way where there seemed to be no way.

As we approach God tonight, let’s do so with praise on our lips and thanksgiving in our hearts.

Secondly, I want us to pray for God to help us as we desire to be found ready when Jesus returns.

One, I want us to pray that we will not become distracted. I want us to ask God to help keep us on mission.

Two, I want us to pray for God to pour out His Spirit upon His church. We are living in the last days and we are going to need the help of the Spirit to get the job done.

Third, I want us to open our hearts to receive more of His Spirit. We need more of His Spirit every day as we go to work in the mission field before us.

Lastly, pray for those who’s names are not in the book. Pray for the lost… that they might be found. Pray for the Spirit of God to begin to work in their hearts.

The return of the Lord is something that should fill His people with joy! Jesus IS coming soon! Let’s pray.