Why I believe in return of Christ
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It’s not a salvation thing
It’s not a salvation thing
There withing “Christiandome” many views and definitions about “second coming.”
The second coming is not a salvation issue, but it can be a divisive issue.
(Insert second coming of Christ picture here)
The second coming is often confused with other “comings” of the Lord.
Other comings noted in scripture are “day of the Lord events” such as can read in Mt24, Mk13, Lk21 in “the Olivet discourse.”
The second coming is a Christian doctrine that must be believed or our hope and belief is futile
The second coming it the literal belief that Jesus will return one day fulfilling scripture (Jn14:1-3; Act1:9-11)
The second coming starts a chain of events that changes our very existence.
Did you know Jesus spoke of more than one day?
22 And He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.
To the first century Christians they knew they were days of judgment, like in the O.T. when God judged nations.
Jesus had said some of you will not taste death until you see the day come, meaning a day of judgment.
(Transition) - I have to admit this believe has implications in many other beliefs that we are not going to get into today, that can be a series in and of itself. But the belief in the return of Christ is necessary and we want to focus just on that today.
So, here is what I hope to convey today, Lord willing.
The Promise of His coming
The purpose of His coming
Preparing for His coming (concluding the series)
The Promise of His coming
The Promise of His coming
Everyone loves promises, especially if you believe the promise maker to be a promise keeper. When it comes to the return of Christ there are several promise makers to consider.
Promised by Jesus (Jn14:1-3)
1 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
Jesus calls for his apostles to take their belief up a notch, from believing in God to believing in Him too.
He tells them why
Then He makes a promise to them.
This is just before being handed over, they had seen the signs, the wonders, they had been told what was going to happen. This was more of a “since you believe” more than you need to believe. For he is reminding them He is coming back.
What a great comfort He was giving to them, in a time when they were going to need it. For He was about to go to the cross. And He was not going to be with them as He had said, but the promise is about His return.
Promised by His angels (Act1:9-11)
9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them.
11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
Well, wait, hold on, after what things, maybe need to back up and give some context
4 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;
8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
OK, after those things Jesus was lifted up and the angels made the promise to the apostles
The promise was in the same manner, He would return, up into a cloud, will return in a cloud.
It was only 10 days later that the Holy Spirit came and was poured out. Because of this promise, and their belief in the promise they too were able to promise.
Promise by His apostles (Act3:19-21)
act3:19-21 “19 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.”
To church at Corinth (1Cor11:26, 15:22-23)
1cor11:26 “26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”
1cor15:22-23 “22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,”
To church at Thessalonica (1The1:9-10, 2:19, 3:13)
1the1:9-10 “9 For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.”
and
1The2:19 “19 For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?”
1the3:13 “13 so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.”
And to Timothy (2Tim4:1)
2tim4:1 “1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:”
And the Hebrew writer (Heb9:27-28)
heb9:27-28 “27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, 28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”
So, a few things we can learn from these passages.
The church should be looking for Christ to return, waiting for His return
When He comes He is coming with His saints, those who have died in Christ before the day of His return.
When He comes it is not to deal with salvation (forgiveness of sins) but for judgment.
(Transition) when He comes there is purpose for the coming, judgment, and more, so let’s look together at the purpose of His coming.
Purpose of His coming
Purpose of His coming
God sent Jesus purposefully, and when He returns it will be intentionally and purposefully. May we look at purpose of Jesus return together for a few minutes?
There are many scriptures all throughout this sermon, I will not hit them all, but will summarize some and quote others, I urge you to look up the passages on your outline.
To raise the dead (Jn5:28-29; Act24:15; 1Cor15:50-54; 1The4:16-18)
28 “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29 and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
In Act24:15 it says: 15 having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.”
In 1cor15:50-54 the summary would be the the perishable will be made imperishable, the mortal will put on immortality, death will be swallowed up in victory.
Now a passage I think I need to put out in context here
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Why, what purpose is there for raising us from the dead if we already have eternal life, let’s press on and see.
To deliver the kingdom to God (1Cor15:22-26; Col1:13; Ps110:1-2; Mt13:36-43)
See we are already qualified by God the Father for the kingdom, and in the kingdom of the beloved Son now, with the kingdom of God to be recevied (Col1:13) a kingdom right now that has been set up in the midst of the enemies (Ps110:1-2)
In the parable of the wheat and tares explained (Mt13:36-43) let me just give a few verses from it.
41 “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43 “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
and Another passage I cannot pass up
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,
24 then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
We will be handed over to the Father! You are in the kingdom of the beloved Son, you are the kingdom of the beloved Son now, you are the church! And one day we will be presented to the Father without spot, without blemish, Jesus precious bride.
Death will have been abolished by the resurrection! First Christ’s then yours when He returns!
When He returns he is not coming to set up a kingdom, but to deliver a kingdom to the Father! Hallelujah what a day that will be.
He is going to take the kingdom out of the way for the day of the Lord will be a day of judgment.
To judge the world (2Pt3:7; Act17:31; 2Cor5:10; 2The1:7-10; Rev20:11-15)
God has appointed a day in which to judge (2pt3:7) and a judge, Jesus (Jn5:22; Act17:31) and a means of judgment, the word (Jn12:48)
7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
A day of judgment, destruction of ungodly men.
It says in 2the1:7-10, in paraphrase you can look it up “7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed.”
Those who are not written in the book of life will suffer in the lake of fire according to Rev20:11-15.
To usher in the “New heavens and New earth” (2Pt3:10-14; Isa65:17-19, 66:22-23; Rev20:11, 21:10)
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
that goes with passages I want to highlight from Isaiah
Isa65:17-19 “17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. 18 “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing And her people for gladness. 19 “I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the sound of crying.” = = = = can this be the church? Sure it can, but in the place where righteousness dwells I believe better fits the heavenly kingdom where there is not voice of weeping or crying.
John taught on it too:
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.
the old way, the old earth and heavens fled away, are no longer
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
The new Jerusalem, the heavenly Jerusalem is not the Jerusalem we think of in the Middle East, this is heavenly, not earthly. It is not coming down to the earth as we know it, for it will be a new earth, and new heavens, where righteousness dwells. - This is the place where the Son has presented His bride, the church to the Father and we will continually dwell with the Father.
(Transition) one more very short point before we close this morning.
Preparing for His coming
Preparing for His coming
There are many things in life that we prepare for, but do we prepare for the return of Christ? We can, and can do so in some very simple ways.
A few reminders first.
Without the second coming there is
No resurrection from the dead
No transfer from kingdom of beloved Son to heavenly kingdom
No new heavens and earth in which righteousness dwells
Then Christ did not rise and our faith is futile and our hope is pitiful
But, if you believe in the second coming
We believe in God and His Word and His promises
We believe in Jesus Christ is the Son of God and in Him we have redemption and will have final resurrection one day.
(Transition) so, what can we do in preparation for the return of Christ.
We should be in prayerful preparation (Lk21:34-36)
34 “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; 35 for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. 36 “But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
We should be in joyful expectation (Php3:20-21)
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
We should be preparing with patient endurance (Heb10:35-39)
Heb10:35-39 “35 Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. 37 For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. 38 But My righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.”
We should know, have firm believe that we belong to Him
(Invitation slide) invitation (song) (Prayer) (Exit)