John McFayden and his wife of Woodbridge, Virginia, decided to let their three-year-old son record the message for their home answering machine. The rehearsals went smoothly: “Mommy and Daddy can't come to the phone right now. If you'll leave your name, phone number, and a brief message, they'll get back to you as soon as possible.”
Then came the test. John pressed the record button and his son said sweetly, “Mommy and Daddy can't come to the phone right now. If you'll leave your name, phone number, and a brief message, they'll get back to you as soon as Jesus comes.” (John G. McFayden, Woodbridge, Virginia, “Kids of the Kingdom,” Christian Reader, www.PreachingToday.com)
Well, that could be a while, but perhaps not as long as many may think.
The Bible talks about two stages to Jesus’ Second Coming: The 1st stage is when He comes FOR his followers. 1 Thessalonians 4 says, “The Lord himself will descend from heaven… and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive… will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air…” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). That’s the 1st stage of Christ’s Second coming, when He comes FOR His followers. The 2nd stage is when He comes WITH his followers from heaven to establish His Kingdom on this earth.
Now, that 1st stage of Jesus’ coming could happen at any moment, even in the middle of this service. Matthew 24 says, “Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left” (Matthew 24:40-41). In other words, people all of a sudden will disappear from the face of the earth with no warning whatsoever. Those left will face seven years of tribulation. Those taken will be partying with Jesus, after which they will return with Jesus to rule and reign with Him on this earth.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait until that day! However, there are some who dread that day. What will it be for you? If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Revelation 11, Revelation 11, where we see how you can look forward to the Second Coming of Christ instead of fearing that day.
Revelation 11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” (ESV)
I don’t know about you, but I hear the choirs of heaven singing the Hallelujah Chorus here. This is the climax of history. This is the event towards which all of history is driven – the reign of Christ on this earth. Indeed…
JESUS WILL REIGN.
Jesus will take over all the kingdoms of this world. Every nation will turn the reins of government over to him.
This is not to say that Jesus is not reigning now. The Bible makes it clear: Jesus is NOW “seated at [the Father’s] right hand… far above all rule and authority” (Ephesians 1:20-21). Jesus is indeed Lord. It’s just that right now He chooses to rule through human governments, and sometimes He allows evil men to rule for His own purposes.
But there is coming a day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11). There is coming a day when Jesus will indeed reign literally and physically over all the earth. There is coming a day when He will take control of all national governments Himself.
Then, and only then, will there be peace on earth. Then, and only then, will the swords be beat into plowshares. Then, and only then, will the lion lie down with the lamb.
In April, 2002, after the Taliban were removed from power in Afghanistan, weapons were being sold at bargain prices. According to the April 9, 2002 issue of Time magazine, prices on knives, Kalashnikov rifles, and rocket-propelled grenades had dropped 50 percent in the previous four months.
One dealer tried to interest a Time reporter in a Kalashnikov for the bargain price of $200, with 100 rounds thrown in “to close the sale.” The man, who identified himself only as Abdul, said he wouldn't need his weapons anymore. “Peace has come to Afghanistan,” he says. “The King is coming home, and people are sick of fighting.” (Simon Robinson, “Today's a Great Day to Buy a Used AK,” TIME.com, 4-9-02; www.PreachingToday.com)
Well, his assessment was a little premature. Certainly the King of Afghanistan did return, but there was no lasting peace.
However, there IS coming a day, when Jesus the King WILL return. Then there WILL be lasting peace, and then you won’t be able to GIVE your weapons away. Oh, what a day that will be!
That’s when God’s people will rejoice. The believers of all ages will give thanks. They will be very grateful.
Revelation 11:16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God… (ESV)
The 24 elders, as we saw before, represent all the believers from all ages. The number comes from the 12 tribes of Israel, which represent the Old Testament believers, plus the 12 apostles, which represent the New Testament believers, those who came to faith in Christ since His death, burial and resurrection.
The believers from all ages will worship God; literally, they will prostrate themselves before Him. They will get on their knees, put their faces to the ground, and kiss the feet of their Sovereign Lord, Jesus. They will acknowledge His right to rule with total and absolute authority over their lives.
We’ve seen this a couple of times already, in the book of Revelation. In chapter 4, God’s people prostrate themselves before the Lord, because He is their Creator (vs.10-11). In chapter 5, God’s people prostrate themselves before the Lord, because He is their Redeemer (vs.8-9). How here, they prostrate themselves before the Lord, because He is their Ruler.
You see, all this goes together. Jesus has a right to rule our lives, because He made us and He bought us with His own shed blood on the cross. He owns us by right of creation and by right of redemption. We are twice His.
There is an old story about a boy who built a boat to sail on the lake. It was a beautiful boat. He had spent many hours on it, and the day finally came for him to test it out. He took it to the lake and carefully placed it in the water. It glistened in the sun and floated beautifully, bouncing up and down on the little waves.
Then a gust of wind swept in and snatched it away. As it drifted out of sight, the boy was heart-broken. He had lost his boat.
Then one day, several months later, the boy saw his boat in the window of a toy shop. He went in to retrieve it, but the owner of the store told the boy that he had to purchase it if he wanted it back. You see, someone had found the boat and sold it to the store owner.
The boy went home determined to save enough money to buy his boat back. Several weeks later, he walked into the store again, plunked down the money for the boat, and carried it away with him. As he was walking out of the store, cradling the boat in his arms, he said, “Now you’re twice mine! I made you and I bought you with my very own money.”
In the same way, we who believe in Jesus are twice His. He made us; but when He placed us in this world, we drifted away from Him. We were snatched away by the winds of sin, and we were lost. Then Jesus found us and purchased us with His very own shed blood on the cross. He made us and He bought us; therefore, we are twice His. He has a double right of ownership over us.
The believers of all the ages will acknowledge this, and they will acknowledge it gladly with extreme gratitude.
Revelation 11:17 saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. (ESV)
They thank the Lord for taking personal and direct control of the world. When politician after politician after politician fails to live up to his or her promises, Jesus will finally rule and make everything right.
Hallelujah! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! We who know Christ will rejoice on that day, but why wait until then? I urge you…
REJOICE WITH GOD’S PEOPLE TODAY!
Praise the Lord TODAY that Jesus reigns. Be grateful TODAY that Jesus is in charge.
Certainly, that will be easy to do when Jesus comes again, when His rule will be very obvious. But what about right now when His rule is not so obvious, when He allows things to happen that we don’t understand.
Leonard Sweet tells the story about an old man who lived in a small village:
He was the poorest man in the village, but he owned the most beautiful white stallion. And the king had offered him a small fortune for it. After a terribly harsh winter, during which the old man and his family nearly starved, the townspeople came to visit.
“Old man,” they said, “you can hardly afford to feed your family. Sell the stallion, and you will be rich. If you do not, you are a fool.”
“It's too early to tell,” replied the old man. A few months later, the old man woke up to find that the white stallion had run away.
Once again the townspeople came, and they said to the old man, “See. If you had sold the king your horse, you would be rich. Now you have nothing! You are a fool!”
“It's too early to tell,” replied the old man.
Two weeks later, the white stallion returned, and along with it came three other white stallions.
“Old man,” the townspeople said, “we are the fools! Now you can sell the stallion to the king, and you will still have three stallions left. You are smart.”
“It's too early to tell,” said the old man.
The following week, the old man's son, his only son, was breaking in one of the stallions and was thrown, crushing both his legs.
The townspeople paid a visit to the old man, and they said, “Old man, if you had just sold the stallion to the king, you'd be rich, and your son would not be crippled. You are a fool.”
“It is too early to tell,” said the old man.
Well, the next month, war broke out with the neighboring village. All of the young men in the village were sent into the battle, and all were killed.
The townspeople came, and they cried to the old man, “We have lost our sons. You are the only one who has not. If you had sold your stallion to the king, your son, too, would be dead. You are so smart!”
“It's too early to tell,” said the old man. (Leonard Sweet, I Am a Follower, Thomas Nelson, 2012, pp. 72-73; www.PreachingToday.com)
You see, we don’t have the big picture. We don’t know the end from the beginning. Shoot! We don’t even know what’s going to happen tomorrow, so it’s always too early to tell.
Instead, we need to trust the One who IS the beginning and the end and who holds tomorrow in His hand. He has promised to work ALL things together for good for those who love God (Romans 8:28).
English missionary Hudson Taylor lost his wife and a child while serving in China. Two weeks after Maria, Hudson's wife, gave birth, the baby died and Maria herself had little strength remaining. Hudson went to her and asked, “Darling, do you know that you are dying?”
“Dying? Do you think so? What makes you think that?” she said.
“I can see it, darling. Your strength is giving way.”
“Can it be? I feel no pain, only weariness.”
“You are going home. Soon you will be with Jesus.”
There was silence for a moment. Then Maria whispered, “I am so sorry.”
Hudson looked at her and gently said, “You are not sorry to go to be with Jesus.”
“Oh no, it's not that. But it does grieve me to leave you alone at such a time. Yet He will be with you and meet all your needs.”
Another missionary who was there later said, “I never witnessed such a scene. As dear Mrs. Taylor was breathing her last, Mr. Taylor knelt down and committed her to the Lord, thanking him for having given her to him and for the twelve-and-a-half years of happiness they had had together.” (Adapted from William J. Petersen, 25 Surprising Marriages, Baker, 1997)
Can we thank the Lord in similar circumstances? Can we thank Him for the good things He in his sovereignty has given us, even when we don’t understand what He’s doing?
Jesus is Lord! Rejoice in His reign!
DON’T GO INTO A RAGE.
Don’t get angry and bitter. Don’t get mad and upset. That’s what the nations will do when Jesus returns.
Revelation 11:18 The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.” (ESV)
No wonder these people are mad. Jesus is not only going to depose them from their positions of power; He is going to destroy them as well. When Jesus comes again, He will destroy the destroyers. He will destroy those who are destroying the earth with their sin.
Now, I know it’s not popular to talk about God’s judgment of sinners. After all, isn’t God good? Indeed, He is! However, His goodness demands that He judge sin. Otherwise, He would cease to be good.
I like the way N. T. Wright puts it in his book, Surprised by Hope. He says:
We need to remind ourselves that throughout the Bible God's coming judgment is a good thing, something to be celebrated, longed for, yearned over. It causes people to shout for joy and the trees of the field to clap their hands. In a world of systematic injustice, bullying, violence, arrogance, and oppression, the thought that there might come a day when the wicked are firmly put in their place and the poor and weak are given their due is the best news there can be. Faced with a world in rebellion, a world full of exploitation and wickedness, a good God must be a God of judgment. (N. T. Wright, Surprised by Hope, HarperOne, 2008, p. 137; www.PreachingToday.com)
So judge He must, and judge He will!
Several years ago, Bernard Ebbers stood before a judge and asked for mercy. The former CEO of WorldCom had recently been indicted for orchestrating an $11 billion accounting fraud that shut down the telecommunications firm in 2002, yet he asked for mercy.
His company's collapse represented the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history at the time and devastated the lives of thousands of employees, yet he asked for mercy.
Speaking on behalf of his client, defense attorney Reid Weingarten cited 169 letters from Ebbers' supporters, detailing the 63-year-old's heart condition and numerous (often anonymous) charitable gifts.
“If you live 60-some-odd years,” said Weingarten, “if you have an unblemished record, if you have endless numbers of people who attest to your goodness, doesn't that count? Doesn't that count particularly on this day?”
The judge said no and sentenced Ebbers to 25 years in a federal penitentiary. (“WorldCom's Ebbers Gets 25 Years in Prison,” Newsmax.com, 7-13-05)
When Jesus the judge returns, the same thing is going to happen to a lot of people. They think that their good deeds should count for something, but Jesus will say, “No” and banish them from His Kingdom.
When Jesus comes again, He will judge the sinners, but He will reward the righteous. Specifically, verse 18 says, He will reward His servants, His saints, and those who “fear” His name. Literally, He will reward those who are scared of Him.
I don’t know about you, but I’m not always a good servant, and I’m surely not always a saint, but when I realize that I am a sinner in the presence of a holy God, I am scared to death!
It is the only way any of us can ever get in. We must realize our utter sinfulness before a holy God and throw ourselves on His mercy. Jesus Christ died on a cross and rose again to save us from our sins. All we need to do is trust Him. All we need to do is depend on Him, and He’ll let us into His Kingdom.
You see, when we put our trust in Christ, He forgives us our sins, and He cleanses us from ALL unrighteousness. But not only that, when we put our trust in Christ, He calls us into His service, and He makes us His saints, so He can reward us when He comes again.
So don’t be mad like the rest of the world. Instead, put your trust in Christ and be glad. Those are the only two choices we have when it comes to Christ’s rule. We can either be mad or we can be glad. What will it be for you?
In Detroit, Michigan, a man applied for a marriage license, but waited eleven years to return to the county clerk’s office to pick it up. When the clerk asked him why he and his fiancé had waited so long to get married, he explained, “We had a few disagreements about details.”
Maybe, that’s where some of you are at with the Lord. You’ve put off letting Him into your life because of a few disagreements about details. The truth is you’re afraid to let Him take control of your life, because you’re afraid He’ll ruin it.
Well, I assure you: He’ll do just the opposite. He’ll redeem your life. He’ll take the mess you’ve made out of it and turn it into a miracle of His grace. My dear friends, please, let Christ rule and reign in your life today. That way not only will YOU rejoice, but so will the angels in heaven!
