Jesus Is Coming! R U Ready? Series

End Times Series

Connecting with God

Connecting with our Faith

Jesus IS Coming! R U Ready?

October 9, 2011

Victory

Pastor Mark Whitehead

Know: Jesus IS coming back – sooner than you expect!

Do: Stop living for this world’s rewards - Start living for eternity’s rewards.

Question to answer today: Are you ready?

More than three hundred times – an average of one verse in every twenty-six – the new testament refers to the second coming of Jesus Christ. (Bible Doctrines, Menzies/Horton, pg213)

A serious topic that demands a serious response.

Many different views of the end time scriptures by denominations and believers – but still all agree, there is an end coming to this present world, a change that moves us from the mortal to the immortal – are you ready?

Text: Titus 2:11-14

11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

1 Cor 15:51-52

51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

1 Thess 4:16-18

16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.

• Caught up

o Harpazo

o Har – pad – zo

• Latin – Rapture

• Meet the Lord

o Friendly meeting

o Reunion!

• Encourage/Comfort (KJV)

o NT:3870

o parakaleo (par-ak-al-eh'-o); from NT:3844 and NT:2564; to call near, i.e. invite, invoke (by imploration, hortation or consolation):

Matt 24:37-44

37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

42 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

AG fundamental truths 13-16 deal with the “End Times” theology.

• 13. The Blessed Hope

• 14. The Millennial Reign of Christ

• 15. The Final Judgment

• 16. The New Heavens and New Earth

Today we are going to look at number 13 – the Blessed Hope.

13. Blessed Hope 1 Cor 15:51-52; 1 Thess 4:16,17

Rapture of the Saints

Second Coming is a two-phase event, encompasses both the rapture of the Church and the revealing of Christ in glory (2 Thess 1:7 revealed with blazing fire) when He will stand on the Mt of Olives (Zech 14:4). It marks the beginning and end of the seven year tribulation.

The beginning - Christ appears in the clouds and raptures His Church

The end – Christ and His Army land on earth to destroy the enemy and his army.

Zech 14:4-9

4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. 5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.