Jesus Is The Soon Coming King Series

VISITATION #13: JESUS IS THE SOON COMING KING

INTRO TO TOPIC: Are we living the last days?

When people watch the news or read the newspaper, they hear of wars (like what’s happening in Libya right now) and rumors of wars, and famines, earthquakes and tsunamis (like most recently in New Zealand and Japan), and people wonder: are these the signs of the times that Jesus talked about? Everyone wants to know the answer to that question:

OPENING TEXTS:

“Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come…” (Luke 17:20).

The disciples wanted to know about the timing: “Therefore, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6).

• For two thousand years, people have been asking questions about the last days:

• Example: Edgar Whisenant’s book called, “88 Reasons why Jesus Will Return in 1988.”

THE BIG IDEA: The signs of the times in the world around us point to the reality that we are living in the last days. Jesus is our Soon Coming King, and our job is to get ready for His return!

I. UNDERSTANDING THE KINGDOM:

Before we can understand correctly the events surrounding the second coming of Jesus, we must learn a little bit about the Kingdom of God…

1. GOD IS THE SOVEREIGN KING OVER ALL OF THE UNIVERSE:

“In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth.” (Genesis 1:1).

“The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.” (Psalm 24:1).

• God has been reigning as supreme King for all of eternity.

• When we say Jesus is our Soon Coming King, it doesn’t mean He isn’t the King now.

2. MANKIND WAS GIVEN DOMINION ON THE EARTH:

“Let Us make man in Our image… let them have dominion…” (Gen. 1:26).

• God delegated authority to mankind in the Garden of Eden on the Earth.

3. AT THE FALL, ADAM AND EVE GAVE THEIR AUTHORITY TO SATAN:

Genesis 3:1-6 – Satan tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God.

• The temptation: “You will be like God.” You don’t have to have God as your King!

• Adam and Eve lost their right to rule the Earth, and handed it over to Satan.

• God’s promise: God said to the serpent: “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” (Gen. 3:15). In other words, “HE is coming!”

• Daniel prophesied about Jesus: “And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” (Daniel 2:44).

4. JESUS CAME PREACHING THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM:

“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15).

• In the NT, there are 137 references to the Kingdom of God.

• QUOTE: “To what does the Kingdom refer? It refers to God’s sovereign rule in the universe – He is the King of the Heavens. But more specifically, here it refers to the entry of God’s long anticipated Anointed One – the prophesied Messiah, who would not only be the Saviour and King of Israel, but of all mankind… Declaring the Kingdom ‘at hand’… John was announcing that the rule of God’s King was about to overthrow the power and rule of all evil.” (Jack Hayford, The Spirit-filled Life Bible).

• How do we enter the Kingdom? Repent (turn from sin) & believe (faith in Jesus).

“The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: "Hosanna! ’Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!" Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: "Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey’s colt.” (John 12:12-15).

Jesus said to Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” (John 18:36).

• When Jesus came to the Earth the first time, He came as King.

• However, there is an aspect to the Kingdom of God that is now / not yet.