R.A. Torrey once preached on the 2nd coming of Christ. As he finished, he concluded by saying: “may be that before we arise in the morning or before we sleep tonight or before we have finished our lunch today or even before I finish this sermon - we shall hear the sound of the trump & the voice of the archangel announcing He is here!” At that moment there was a crash of thunder and a blinding flash of lightening, which filled the auditorium with white light. Believing Jesus had come, some made for the doors. Others simply sat where they were, not sure what to do. But D. L. Moody’s sister, just threw back her head and laughed. Later she said, “I too, thought the Lord had come.” But while some were filled with terror; and others filled with apprehension; she was filled with joy.
The difference is where each one was in their relationship with Jesus. Those who reject Christ will be terrified at His return because . . .
1. He will deal with His enemies - vs. 6 - 9
When He returns, Jesus will cleanse this world of Satan, his influence, and his people.
Johnny Carson once had Billy Graham as a guest on his show. At one point Johnny said, “You know what Billy, I bet if Jesus ever came back to earth, I bet we’d do him in again!” Graham leaned forward and said, “In the Bible we read that Jesus predicted that He would return to earth again. But the 1st time He came in love; the next time, He’ll come in power; and no one will do Him in!”
“And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’” - Revelation 6:15-17 (NKJV)
Friend have you trusted Christ as your Savior? Let the return of Christ motivate you!
2. He will make all things new - v. 10
When Jesus returns, He will make all things new; and He will begin this work by completing what He has begun in us.
“I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” - Philippians 1:6 (NLT)
When Paul speaks of Jesus being “glorified in His holy people,” he is talking about our receiving a resurrection body when Christ returns. In Romans 8:18, he calls this “the glory that will be revealed in us.”
“(Jesus) will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.” - Philippians 3:20-21 (NLT)
The newness of what will be revealed in our physical bodies is now present within us by the Holy Spirit. Until the day Christ returns and we are made new, not just within, but without, we to seek to live out the newness within us so others might also be moved to be made new through faith in Christ, too.
“The people of God are not merely to mark time, waiting for God to step in and set right all that is wrong. Rather, they are to model the new heaven and new earth, and by so doing, awaken longings for what God will someday bring to pass.” - Phillip Yancy
“Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” - Philippians 2:12-13 (NLT)
BIBLE - Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth
As we obey God’s basic instructions, He will enable us, by His Spirit, as Christ-like character is developed in us, to live out the new life we have received and draw others to Jesus.
3. He will reward our faithfulness - vs. 3-5; vs. 11-12
Paul mentioned that the Thessalonian believers were enduring trials and persecutions. Rather than being overwhelmed, they overcame; rather than abandoning their faith, they remained faithful; rather than seeking comfort, they sought to develop Christ-like character.
A. How Paul commended them - vs. 3-5
1) Their faith was flourishing - v.3b
2) Their love was limitless - v.3c
3) Their stamina was strong - v.4
Because of their faithfulness, God was used the difficulties the they were enduring to help them to develop Christ-like character which pointed others to Christ.
B. How Paul considered them - vs. 11-12
Paul considered the Thessalonians to be living lives that fulfilled God’s calling; achieved God’s purpose; and brought Christ glory. How? They By remained faithful by keeping their focus on fact of Christ’s return, when everything will be made right and made new. Their focus was on their eternal victory, not their temporary troubles.
“What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. - Romans 8:18 (NLT)
This is what Paul is referring to in verse 11, when he says, “With this in mind.” Since Jesus is returning to make things right and to make things new, let’s remain faithful! This is hat motivated Paul:
“I have fought the good fight. I have completed the race. I have kept the faith. The prize that shows I have God’s approval is now waiting for me. The Lord, who is a fair judge, will give me that prize on that day. He will give it not only to me but also to everyone who is eagerly waiting for him to come again.” - 2 Timothy 4:7-8 (GW)
Matt Emmons was one shot away from a gold medal in the 2004 Olympic 50-meter three-position rifle event. He didn’t even need a bull’s-eye. His last shot just needed to be on target. Normally, the shot he made would have received a score of 8.1, more than enough for a gold medal. But in what was described as “an extremely rare mistake in elite competition,” he fired at the wrong target. Standing in lane two, he fired at the target in lane three. His score? Zero. Instead of a medal, Emmons ended up in eighth place.
It doesn’t matter how accurate you are if you are aiming at the wrong goal. Too many of God’s children are going to get to the end of their lives and find they’ve been aiming at the wrong goal. They have been aiming for comfort rather than Christ-like character.
Conclusion:
So he said, “A very important man was preparing to go to a country far away to be made a king. Then he planned to return home and rule his people. So he called ten of his servants together. He gave a bag of money to each servant. He said, ‘Do business with this money until I come back.’ But the people in the kingdom hated the man. They sent a group to follow him to the other country. There they said, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’ “But the man was made king. When he came home, he said, ‘Call those servants who have my money. I want to know how much more money they earned with it.’ The first servant came and said, ‘Sir, I earned ten bags of money with the one bag you gave me.’ The king said to him, ‘That’s great! You are a good servant. I see that I can trust you with small things. So now I will let you rule over ten of my cities.’ “The second servant said, ‘Sir, with your one bag of money I earned five bags.’ The king said to this servant, ‘You can rule over five cities.’ “Then another servant came in and said to the king, ‘Sir, here is your bag of money. I wrapped it in a piece of cloth and hid it. I was afraid of you because you are a hard man. You even take money that you didn’t earn and gather food that you didn’t grow.’ “Then the king said to him, ‘What a bad servant you are! I will use your own words to condemn you. You said that I am a hard man. You said that I even take money that I didn’t earn and gather food that I didn’t grow. If that is true, you should have put my money in the bank. Then, when I came back, my money would have earned some interest.’ Then the king said to the men who were watching, ‘Take the bag of money away from this servant and give it to the servant who earned ten bags of money.’ “The men said to the king, ‘But sir, that servant already has ten bags of money.’ “The king said, ‘People who use what they have will get more. But those who do not use what they have will have everything taken away from them. Now where are my enemies? Where are the people who did not want me to be king? Bring my enemies here and kill them. I will watch them die.’” - Luke 19:12-27 (Easy to Read)
As we said, those who have rejected Christ will be terrified at His return. But among those who have accepted Christ, there will be two other responses. There will be believers who will be overcome with regret and those who will be overwhelmed with rejoicing!
How will you respond? Christian, when the Lord returns, will He find you faithful? If He were to return today, would you be overcome with regret or overwhelmed with rejoicing? Let the return of Christ motivate you to remain faithful!
