WE’VE ALL HEARD ABOUT
··· The return of Jesus Christ, and how He will then take us home with Him.
WHEN I WAS VERY YOUNG
··· I was afraid of Jesus. My older brother said if I wasn’t careful, Jesus would reach out from the radio and pull me in with Him.
THAT’S THE SAME BROTHER
··· Who told me I was adopted and that my parents were wanting to give me back!
IT WAS VERY GOOD NEWS
··· to learn he was kidding.
BUT AS GOOD AS THAT NEWS WAS
··· It didn’t compare to the news that Jesus IS coming back – not to reach out and grab us, but to take us home with Him.
BUT THERE IS A VERY SAD STORY, TOO
··· Many people don’t relate personally to the story of Jesus’ return because it doesn’t make sense to them.
IT BECOMES MORE FANTASY THAN REALITY
··· They end up missing all the blessings that a true belief in Jesus would have given them.
CHRISTIANS HAVE THIS
··· Incredible message of grace, but sometimes, it just doesn’t fully sink in fully.
OH, WE KNOW THE STORY,
··· And we believe the story, but not always enough to actually live the story. And we sure don’t live our lives like Jesus could really return today !
WE FOCUS ON “RIGHT NOW”
··· Because that is all we see. We live for today and don’t focus on our eternity.
ETERNITY IS THIS VAGUE CONCEPT
··· That we don’t understand, so we tend to put it on a shelf, thinking we’ll get to it “LATER”
BUT “LATER” NEVER ARRIVES.
··· So, we end up going into eternity without being prepared
JESUS IS TARRYING.
··· He is delaying His return so we might have every chance to get ready; and to help and encourage others
WE THINK WE HAVE ALL KINDS OF TIME.
··· But in reality, do we have anywhere near the time we seem to think we have?
MATTHEW 24:42 says,
‘Therefore, keep watch – because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.’
THE BIBLE IS TELLING US
··· that instead of living like the Second Coming will eventually happen, we should be living like it will happen, as early as today or tomorrow.
IT IS TIME CHRISTIANS
··· Become wise. After all - if Jesus died for us can we not at least live for Him?
1. WE MUST LIVE OUR LIVES WISELY
THERE IS A SONG THAT GOES;
··· “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through.”
WE ARE HERE FOR A VERY SHORT TIME
··· yet we act like this is all there is and that this will last forever. But the truth is - it won’t.
WE TEND TO FOCUS ON THE TRIP
··· and forget about the destination - and this does nothing to get into Heaven.
PEOPLE WHO IGNORE JESUS
··· will be in hell forever. What will hell be like? It is to burn forever but to never be consumed.
IT IS TO BE IN UTTER DARKNESS FOREVER
··· all alone and separated from God. They will know the truth but it will be too late. Their choices will already have been made and they will be stuck living the consequences of their choices forever.
THOSE WHO DO ACKNOWLEDGE JESUS
··· as the lead in their life, will spend eternity in Heaven
SO, THE QUESTION NOW BECOMES,
··· “Will we be wise or foolish?”
MANY OF US GO THROUGH LIFE
··· looking at our Christian life as a hobby to practice only on Sundays. These people are not focused on, or devoted to living for Jesus. These people are called CASUAL CHRISTIANS
CASUAL CHRISTIANS
··· go thru the motions planting one foot near Jesus while keeping the other foot firmly planted in the world around them. There is no reward for such behavior.
GOD EXPECTS EVERYTHING IN OUR LIVES
··· to be centered on Jesus Christ. And God wants your total commitment to Jesus.
VERY FEW PEOPLE HAVE EVER SPENT
··· any time time, really, thinking about “how” they live or what the consequences will be tomorrow for the choices they make today.
IF SOMEONE ASKED YOU TO EXPLAIN
··· how you know you are a Christian, what would you say?
MOST PEOPLE WOULD SAY SOMETHING LIKE –
··· I go to church regularly; I believe in God; or I try to live a good life
IT WOULD BE MUCH BETTER TO ANSWER–
··· I believe Jesus allowed for my salvation; I have accepted Jesus as the leader of my life; or I have faith that Jesus is the ONLY Redeemer
MOST PEOPLE DON’T ANSWER THAT WAY
··· because they apply their faith only where it is easy and convenient.
IT IS EASIER TO IGNORE FAITH
··· So we can enjoy our desires, than it is to ignore our desires so we can live our faith
AND WE LIKE TO BLEND IN
··· So nobody will single us out or scrutinize us too much. We don’t want others to ridicule us because it would hurt our feelings or embarrass us. I don’t know about you, but if I have to please someone, I plan on pleasing God – not the people who scoff at God.
WHEN WE SEE ANOTHER CHRISTIAN
··· Living an excited and sold out life, we tend to shy away from them, or accuse the of being a fanatic.
EPHESIANS 5:15-17, says –
“Be very careful then, how you live – not as unwise, but as wise – making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
Here is what that verse tells us:
··· We are to make the most of every opportunity for Christ’s glory.
v - Do we do that?
··· Because the days are evil.
v - Do we actually consider the days in our lives evil?
··· Therefore, do not be foolish.
v - Would God rate the way we live as “foolish”?
··· Understand what the Lord’s will is.
v - Do we study the word so we can understand what the Lord wants?
WE SPEND OUR LIVES CLAIMING TO BE CHRISTIANS
··· yet not doing enough of what Christ commands us to do. We want God to reward us, but we do not give Him any reasons to reward us
GOD WANTS US TO BE SERIOUS
··· About our walk with Jesus. He wants us to put Jesus first, and ourselves last. When we get serious about Jesus, He will get serious about us.
AND THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE
··· Christians need to be. We need to ….
2. BE AWARE AND FOCUSED
HAVE YOU EVER TAKEN A TRIP
··· with small children in the car? How do you focus on driving when every five minutes you hear, “Are we there yet?”
HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE GOTTEN IRRITATED,
··· And said something like – “Don’t make me stop this car!”
NO MATTER HOW YOU WOULD RESPOND
··· it is the children who keep the most focus on a long trip. And their focus is always on the end destination more than it is the ongoing trip.
WITHOUT A FOCUS, THERE IS NO DESTINATION
··· And without a destination, “Are we there yet” becomes nothing more than something for those who are lost to say while they only pay attention to what’s happening around them from moment to moment.
C.S. LEWIS WROTE A BOOK ENTITLED,
··· “The Screwtape Letters”.
HE TOLD OF AN EXPERIENCED DEMON
··· Teaching a new demon the best ways to keep people from worshiping Jesus.
HE SAYS ALL THE OLD METHODS
··· don’t work anymore. He tells of how they used to torture; then threw them in dungeons;
BUT THAT JUST MADE PEOPLE MAD …..
··· and when they were mad you couldn’t do anything with them !
HE SAID THEY QUIT ALL THAT STUFF
··· and started a whole new approach. Now, they pour on the good life giving them good incomes with plenty of time off, campers, two cars, etc.
HE SAID WHEN YOU DO THAT
··· to a good solid Christian family, you can then just sit back and they will crack like a nut.
THEY WILL START TELLING EVERYONE
··· how much God has blessed them, all the while, they are planning on going to Vegas and spend their “blessings” at the crap table.
EVEN IF THEY DON’T GO ANYWHERE
··· They will stay home from church on Sunday and watch the game on their big screen TV
LEWIS WENT ON TO WRITE THAT
··· if demons keep pouring on the good life, Christians will be so busy they will have no more time for God.
THE SAD PART IS --- IT WORKS.
··· And it works very well. Just look at all the people who call themselves Christians but rarely, if ever, go to church.
THE DEVIL DOESN’T CARE
··· if you go to church or not. If you do go, he wants you to be so busy in church that you have no time to worship Jesus.
GOD WANTS US TO BE
··· focused on our Jesus Christ. And make no mistake about this; He fully expects us to be totally sold out for Jesus.
I SOMETIMES BELIEVE WE DON’T UNDERSTAND
··· what it means to have focus. We have had the good life so long, we have all but forgotten what it means to work at anything.
HERE IS AN EXAMPLE
··· Of what having total focus means
THE U.S. MARINE CORPS
··· has a secret sniper school in Quantico, Virginia. It admits 25 men every eight weeks. They work hard for 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. Very few men pass this course.
TO GRADUATE, EACH PERSON MUST GO ON
··· a mock mission into a specific area. After they get imbedded in that area, the instructors go to that area and try to find them.
IF THEY DO FIND HIM,
··· the person fails the course. It takes a great amount of focus to keep hidden.
TO GET IN RANGE OF HIS TARGET,
··· a sniper moves very slowly. It is not uncommon for a sniper to move at the rate of one inch per hour.
SOMETIMES, THE SNIPER WILL LIE STILL
··· for 1 or 2 days without moving, despite the inspect bites, weather, or snakes. Without total focus they could not do this.
AND WE EXPECT THIS SAME INTESITY OF FOCUS
··· From the people we deal with, too.
FOR INSTANCE,
··· Doctors - athletes - even preachers. And there is someone who expects that same kind of focus from you
FROM THE MOMENT
··· We claim to be Christians, God expects us to be that focused on Jesus
AND GOD RIGHTLY DESERVES
··· Us to be that focused. Because we cannot have true dedication unless we also have that intense focus.
SADLY, MOST OF US ARE TOO COMFORTABLE
··· Living with part of us still fully in the world. The problem is this kind of living is called “half-hearted” at best.
WE NEED TO FOCUS ON SOMETHING ELSE, TOO.
··· Hell is a lonely place for those who don’t focus on Jesus.
You need to remember something this morning.
3. WE DO NOT HAVE TO BE ALONE
HAVE YOU EVER FOUND YOURSELF
··· Going somewhere and being halfway there, just to remember you forgot something and needed to turn around and go back home?
NOW THINK ABOUT THIS …
··· It isn’t really that hard to turn around and start over, is it ?
WE SERVE A GOD
··· Who loves us so much, He gives us many opportunities to make U-turns and start over.
GOD GIVES US CHANCES
··· To redeem ourselves thru Jesus, but the devil keeps telling us we are fine the way we are. And we believe him.
EPHESIANS 2:8-9 – says in part
‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith …’
KEEP YOUR EYES ON JESUS.
··· Believe in His mercy and grace. Be willing to focus on the end destination instead of your trip. After all, the trip is only temporary whereas the destination is permanent.
JESUS WILL RETURN
··· With a loud clap of thunder to gather His flock. When that day comes, will you be focused enough to hear Him?
SOME TIME AGO
··· a man was staying in the Swiss Alps. Early one morning he heard something that sounded like an earthquake.
HE RUSHED OUT OF BED AND RAN TO THE LOBBY,
··· asking if there was something wrong. He was scared.
THE MANAGER EXPLAINED THAT
··· Every morning, when the sun came up, it warmed the ice and it would cause loud cracking noises as the ice expanded.
HE SAID
··· It’s not the end of the world, it’s just the beginning of a new day.”
HEBREWS 9:28b – tells us
‘… and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.’
WHEN JESUS DOES COME BACK,
··· it will not be the end for those who have chosen to follow Christ; it will just be the beginning - of their new day.
SEVERAL YEARS AGO, AMERICAN MISSIONARIES
··· went to the northern-most parts of Russia to tell others about Jesus.
AT AN ORPHANAGE, THEY TOLD ABOUT JESUS
··· to children who had never heard of Him before. The kids sat on the edge of their chairs grabbing on to every word, just as if they were listening to a mystery story.
WHEN THEY HAD FINISHED,
··· They gave the kids some colored paper & scissors so they could make the manger scene.
THE MISSIONARIES WANDERED
··· Among the orphans, checking their progress.
A MISSIONARY STOPPED
··· At a little boy named Mishka. He had 2 babies in the manger !
WHEN ASKED WHY,
··· Here is what Mishka said ….
I SAW THE LITTLE JESUS IN THE CRADLE,
··· And he was alone and cold. I wanted to give him something but I have nothing to give him.
I ASKED HIM IF IT WOULD BE OKAY
··· If I kept him warm. He said that would be wonderful, so I crawled in there with Him.
AND JESUS TOLD ME
··· He loved me because I loved Him and wanted to give something to Him.
AS LITTLE MISHKA FINISHED HIS STORY,
··· his began to sob, because for the first time in his life, he found out what it was like to be loved.
THAT LITTLE ORPHAN BOY
··· Who had never known love, found someone who would care for him and never abandon him or abuse him.
JESUS SACRIFICED HIS LIFE FOR US,
··· but He doesn’t expect you to give up your life for Him. However, He does expect that you sacrifice your walk in the world for Him. He wants you to put Him as your priority in life.
HE EXPECTS YOU TO REALIZE
··· He is more important to you than those things you ignore Him for.
AS WE EAGERLY AWAIT JESUS’ RETURN,
··· we need to be wise. Wise enough to know the truth, and to focus fully on that truth.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO
··· is to realize that the story of Jesus return is not just a story – it will happen.
THE QUESTION WE MUST ASK IS ….
··· Will we really be ready when it does?
WE ARE GOING TO GIVE YOU
··· An opportunity to find the same thing little Mishka found ….. a very personal and loving relationship with Jesus. Won’t you take that opportunity this morning?
INVITATION
