DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS COMING AGAIN

SERMON OF THE WEEK #200601—January 6, 2006

          Ladies and Gentlemen, Do you really believe Jesus is coming again? I know that thousands of you listening to the broadcast at this time believe that Jesus is coming again, but the question before us is, “Do you really believe that Jesus is coming again?”

Evidently He is coming as far as the testimony of scripture is concerned. Consider the following statements from the inspired Word. Jesus said to the High Priest, Caiaphas, “Henceforth ye shall see the Son of man seated at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Hear Paul as he tells us, “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout and with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God.” Listen to John in Revelation, “Behold He cometh with the clouds and every eye shall see Him yea and they that pierced Him.” Then Jesus said of Himself, “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father and then shall He render unto every man according to His works.” Paul again said in Thessalonians, “In an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh.” Remember the familiar statement of Jesus, “If I Go I come again.” And then in the last chapter of Revelation He said three times, “Behold I come quickly, Behold I come quickly, Behold I come quickly.” And then the last prayer in the Bible as prayed by the Apostle John, “Even so come Lord Jesus.” It is abundantly clear the Scripture teaches that Jesus is in fact coming again.

At His return every eye shall see Him. Every eye will have a close-up look at Him. Look at the news on television and you see the news anchor reading the news and looking directly at you. At the same time, there may be forty million other people looking at the same man on the same program and yet it seems that you are the only one he sees.

Now God’s great television screen is the sky, and when the Lord descends from Heaven every Christian will see Him as though the Lord has come down out of Heaven for him personally and no one else. The coming of Jesus will also be a personal coming for the person who spurned the pardon of Jesus. Saint and sinner alike will all get a close-up look at the nail-scarred hands of Jesus. What a glorious day that will be for the Christian!

“I shall know Him, I shall know Him, and redeemed by His side I shall stand. I shall know Him; I shall know Him by the print of the nails in His hand.”

 But the question before us at this time is, “Do you really believe that Jesus is coming again?” That question we will ask several times in this message. We believe that Jesus is coming again, but we don’t really believe He would ever come on Sunday.

DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE JESUS WILL COME ON SUNDAY?

Several of the appearances after the resurrection of Jesus were on Sunday, the first day of the week. The Church began on Sunday, the Lord’s Supper was observed on Sunday, a special offering was taken in the Churches of Galatia on Sunday, John wrote the Book of Revelation on Sunday. What a grim joke it would be if the Lord would stage His return on Sunday.

We have ample warning in Hebrews chapter ten, “Not forsaking the assembling ourselves together as the manner of some is, and so much the more as ye see the day drawing nigh.”

Listen to that again, “As the manner of some is.” Evidently absenteeism at the worship hour has always been a problem. Here is a partial quotation from the sermon of a preacher whose name was John Chrysostom, who lived in the latter half of the fourth century. He died about the year 406 AD.  “There are chariot races and satanic spectacles in the hippodrome, and our congregation is shrinking; I exhorted you and encouraged you not to inflict on you this outrage, which comes from satanic spectacles. As it seems no profit comes from this exhortation. See how some have rushed away today and have run off to the hippodrome. They have cast out of their minds the feast of salvation on the day of the resurrection.”

We are still at it today. It is not only the pagans, but also the Christians who join them. The dominant cry on the Lord’s Day is not, “Praise God, Amen, Hosanna, Glory to God,” but, “Touchdown, that ball is outta here!”

Think of the five awful results of absenteeism at the hour of worship in Hebrews chapter ten. Number one, expectation of judgment of fire; number two, trodden under foot the Son of God; number three, counted the blood of the covenant wherewith ye were sanctified an unholy thing; number four, done despite to the Spirit of grace; number five; it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Remember all of this and the warning, “So much the more as ye see the day drawing nigh.” Do you really believe that Jesus is coming again?

DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE ON ANY DAY DURING THE WEEK?

Again we ask the question, “Do you really believe that Jesus is coming again on any day during the week?”

Consider this statement of Peter in his second epistle, “The day of the Lord will come as a thief: in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the element shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works therein shall be burned up.” Then Peter adds this statement, “Seeing then that these things are thus to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy living and godliness, looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent heat”

Jesus said that His return will be as the lightning that cometh from one part of the Heaven is seen unto the other. We know that every time the lightning flashes there is always a clap of thunder. Think then of Peter’s words about the heavens passing away with a great noise. That great noise may be the celestial thunder of the passing away of the heavens that will accompany the lightning-fast  return of the Lord.

No wonder Peter said, “What manner of lives ought we to live in all holiness and godliness.” I heard of two men in the Church one time who were really mad at each other and several other mutual friends exhorted them to remember the scriptural warning, “Let not the sun go down on your wrath.” So they shook hands and forgave each other, and then one said, “All right, I will forgive you, but if the Lord does not come back tonight, I’ll beat the daylights out of you tomorrow.” What manner of lives ought we to live? Is there anyone who would want to be found looking at a pornographic magazine when the Lord returns? What manner of lives ought we to live? Is there any particular program on television you would rather not have Jesus find you watching at the moment of His lightning-fast return?

 Jesus said, “Let your loins be girded about and your lamps burning, and be ye yourselves as men looking for their Lord when He shall return from the marriage feast; when he cometh and knocketh, they may straightway open to Him.”

If He should come today and find my hands so full of future plans however fair, in which my Savior had no share: What would He say?

If He should come today and find my heart so full, my faith so weak and dim, I had not even looked for Him: What would He say?

If He should come today and find I had not told one friend, about that heavenly friend, whose blessings all my ways attend: What would He say?

If He should come today, would I be glad, quite glad, knowing that He died for all and none through me had heard His call: What would He say?

Do you really believe that Jesus is coming during the week?

DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS COMING AGAIN?

Again we ask, “Do you really believe that Jesus is coming again?” This time we say, “Yes, we believe He is coming again, but only in a limited sense. He is coming directly over the area of our particular congregation. Coming only for our preacher, our elders, our deacons, our Bible schoolteachers, and other members. Jesus is certainly not interested in anyone else.” If we believe otherwise, how would that affect our missionary program?

Another reading of the Great Commission needs to be heard by such Christians. According to Matthew, Jesus said that we were to teach all nations. According to Mark, Jesus said that we were to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Then to make plain what He meant He said that we should preach to every creature. In the Book of Acts, just before He ascended Jesus said that the preaching should begin in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and then He said to the uttermost part of the earth.

Now count all the places where Jesus said that we are to preach the gospel. Number one, to every nation; number two, to all the world; number three, to every creature; number four, to the uttermost; number five, to every part of the world and nation.

Evidently our vision of lost humanity is narrowed down to the confines of the Church lot. Jesus wants to be more than a hometown God, and more then our own personal tribal God. He wants to be the God of all people everywhere. The gospel song says it for us, “There’s a call come ringing o’er the restless waves. Send the light, send the light, and a golden offering at the cross we lay send the light, send the light!”

         When the Lord ascended to Heaven in Acts chapter one, the Apostles were left looking up into Heaven. The two men in white apparel asked, “Why stand ye here looking into heaven?” We cannot stand on tiptoe all the time scanning the heavens waiting for the Lord to return, there is work to do so let’s get with it. However as we live day by day, there needs to be that thought in the back of our mind, “Jesus is coming again.” Someone writes to me frequently and always ends his letters with the statement, “Perhaps today.” Do you really believe that Jesus is coming again?

DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS COMING AGAIN?

We really believe that Jesus is coming again, but not until it won’t interfere with any other plans we have made.

Jesus speaks to this point regarding our busy lives in the Book of Luke in speaking of the last days just before His return when He says, “But take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be overcharged with carousing and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and the day come upon you suddenly as a snare: for shall it come upon all them that dwell upon the earth. But watch ye at every season, making supplication that ye may be able to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”

           Our hearts today are certainly overcharged with the cares of this life and fulfilling our own personal agenda. One time I tried to emphasize this in the advertisement of a special program we were having for an evening Church service. I advertised it in the newspaper telling the various details of this particular program. Along with the advertisement, I mentioned that I personally would not be able to attend this very important service because I had a previous invitation to attend a dance in a nearby city and, of course, would not be able to be present for this very important program. But I urged all the other folk to attend even though I would not be there. I was being sarcastic, because I knew most of our members would have missed the service under the same circumstances if there were anything else that came up.

On the night of the program I was present as usual, and after the services there was one man as he left who said, “What are you doing here tonight?” I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “I thought you went to a dance.” He actually believed I went to the dance instead of being present at services. Why should he not think it? That’s what most of the rest of them would have done. Anything and everything takes precedence over the program of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you really believe that Jesus is coming again?

DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS COMING AGAIN?

Many do not really believe that Jesus is coming again because they have never really been convinced that without the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and their acceptance of Him as Lord and Savior, they have no hope of eternal life. Before anyone can accept and obtain salvation they must come to the conclusion that they are, in fact, lost and damned-to-hell sinners.

In the early days of this radio ministry, we received a letter from a man who was listening to this broadcast while driving along the highway. He wrote and said that he realized he was lost. He said as he drove he was not paying attention to where he was going and drove forty miles out of his way and got lost. Ladies and Gentlemen, that is what we are always trying to do. If you are driving today I hope before you arrive at your destination you get lost first.

Perhaps the Apostle Paul can help you understand what being lost means. Let us check it out in the third chapter of the Book of Romans; He said, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Some of you may not think you have fallen short of the glory of God considering what you think is a good life. But Paul said, “All have sinned”, and that means you! Now listen to what he said about you as he describes the human rascal, “We have laid this charge before you. There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God; they have all turned aside, they have together become unprofitable; There is none that doeth good, no not so much as one: Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongue they have used deceit: The poison of the asp is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Just look again at some of those accusations. Man left to his own devices has a throat that before God is an open grave. What a stench that must be in the nostrils of God! Their tongues are full of deceit. Did you know you are deceitful? The poison of the asp is under your lips. Some of your speech is as poisonous as a rattlesnake. Then think of that mouth of yours, it is full of cursing and bitterness. That is God’s description of the unredeemed.

Peter tells us how Jesus saves the lost in his first sermon on the Day of Pentecost, the day the church was born when he said, “Jesus worked many wonders and signs and then was delivered up and crucified. God raised Him from the dead.” Those who heard that message that day were so overwhelmed with fear they cried out for mercy when they said, “What must we do?” Peter told them, “Repent ye and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. They then that gladly received his word were baptized and there were added to them in that day about three thousand souls.”

            He will come perhaps at morning when to simply live is sweet. And the arm is strong unwearied by the noontime toil and heat. When the undimmed eye looks upward on the shinning heights of life and the eager heart is beating, yearning for some noble strife. He will come perhaps at evening, gray and somber is the sky; clouds around the sunset gather, full and dark the shadows lie. And we long for rest and slumber and some tender thoughts of home, fill the heart with vague sad yearning, then perhaps the Lord shall come. If He only finds me watching in the mornings early light, in the fierce and fiery noon tide, or the coming of the night. If He only finds me watching  waiting for His sudden call, then His coming when I think not, will be the sweetest hope of all.