2023.04.23.Sermon Notes. Awaiting His Return. Get everyone - All on board.
William Akehurst, HSWC
References: Matthew 24:37, Matthew 24:3-14; Matthew 24:36-44; Genesis 6:5-22; Genesis 7:1-23; Genesis 9:12-17; John 3:16-18; 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; 2 Peter 2:5; 2 Peter 2:6; 2 Peter 3:3-10; 2 Peter 3:14-15; Romans 11:25; Matthew 24:44; Revelation 22:20
BIG IDEA: What will be the sign of HIS Coming? "As in the Days of Noah..."
Noah heard the Words of GOD and obeyed HIS Commands and built the ARK before GOD's Judgment came upon the earth. Look around you. Are we not living in days similar to Noah? The end is near. Get Ready, Get onboard ...Awaiting HIS Return.
Matthew 24:37 (NKJV) “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
What will be the sign of your coming?
And of the end of the age?
Two questions asked of JESUS by the disciples.
Two returns. The Rapture of the Church, and the Return of CHRIST. (After Tribulation)
Matthew 24:3-14 (NKJV)
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
AS THE DAYS OF NOAH WERE, SO ALSO WILL THE COMING OF CHRIST BE, ONE TAKEN, ONE REMAINS.
Matthew 24:36-44 (NKJV)
36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.
44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
BE READY
The next high holiday on the Judeo-Christian Calendar is Pentecost.
To Christians, we celebrate receiving the Comforter, the HOLY SPIRIT who came to the disciples in that Upper Room.
In Jewish culture, it is the 49 days from Passover and the Exodus from Egypt leading up to receiving the LAW or the TORAH at Mt Sinai. Currently Orthodox Jews are “Counting the Omer” or counting each day up until that day when the celebrate GOD’s WORD, the TORAH. They literally get ready by counting the days.
We to must ‘count the days’, and be ready for CHRIST’s Coming.
When will that be? Matthew 24:42-44 we do not know, but we are to watch, to keep guard, to guard our house, our minds and this Temple of the HOLY SPIRIT, until HE Comes.
JESUS said, that HIS Return would be when the world was in turmoil as it was in the days of Noah. Matthew 24:37 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
NOAH and THE ARK. Let’s review the account of that time in Genesis 6-9.
The LORD saw great wickedness in man, and it grieved HIM to the point of destroying HIS Creation.
Genesis 6:5-8, 13-14, 16-19, 22 (NKJV)
5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
IMPORTANT: One man, found grace in GOD’s sight.
13 And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.
16 You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.
22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.
IMPORTANT: Noah heard the voice of GOD and obeyed it, doing what GOD said.
Can you imagine the ridicule Noah experienced from his family, friends and community. A huge boat in the middle of land nowhere near the sea!
And when it was finished…
Genesis 7:1, 16-18, 23 (NKJV)
1 Then the LORD said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.
16 So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in.
THE LORD SHUT THEM IN. When GOD Shuts a Door, no one can open it.
17 Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters.
23 So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.
GOD DESTROYED, JUDGED THE INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH BY FLOOD.
Only those in the Ark were saved because the ARK moved above the waters, above judgment.
As the rains came down and the floodwaters poured upwards from the depths of the earth, those who in the ARK rose above the floodwaters. They were ‘lifted up’ and delivered from the JUDGMENT of the LORD.
NOAH BUILT AN ARK OF SAFETY. He heard the words of GOD and built it, obeying GOD’s command.
We must build on the WORDS OF GOD as well. With a Biblical world view, Knowing the world will be judged due to the weight of its sin.
For those who hear GODS VOICE, HE has prepared a place of safety. HE has prepared the ARK for HIS CHURCH.
That place is in the Cross of Christ.
It’s in the shed blood of the Son of God.
It’s in the promise of the Son of God. I will never leave nor forsake you.
John 3:17 (NKJV)
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
By following, pursuing JESUS, we enter into the ark of safety that’s provided for this generation when HE Comes for HIS Church, the Bride of CHRIST, believers following JESUS.
Genesis 9:12-17 (NKJV)
12 And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.
14 It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 15 and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
THE SIGN OF GOD’s COVENANT. The Rainbow.
For thousands of years the rainbow has been a sign of GOD’s covenant to never judge the inhabitants of the Earth with floodwaters.
However, today, mankind has made a mockery of GOD’s SIGN.
What visible sign has been used when a military base or a ship is in distress?
They turn and fly the Flag upside down as an indicator to those who approach that they are under attack.
The Rainbow has been “turned upside down”, from it’s intended meaning by GOD, to represent an abomination toward GOD, by the LGBTQ community.
Wickedness is great in mankind today.
JESUS IS COMING SOON. The signs of the times in the Middle East and even here in the USA make the Bible read like the nightly news.
Therefore, we must be ready, prepared and expectantly awaiting JESUS’ Return.
It will happen in a moment, and it could happen at any time.
1 Thessalonians 5:4-6 (NKJV)
4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.
WE ARE NOT IN THE DARK. We know what the Bible says. GOD is calling out to us to get ready, be ready, and tell others about the Good News of JESUS.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (NKJV)
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
JUST AS IN THE DAYS OF NOAH, There are scoffers now saying, Where is the promise of HIS coming? Scoffers from within our own churches. Scoffers, those who say they are Christians but don’t remember what GOD’s Word said regarding GOD’s Judgment by flood and will once again make final judgment by fire.
2 Peter 2:5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;
JUST AS NOAH SPOKE OUT WARNING.
We to are close to crossing the line when GOD says enough.
2 Peter 2:6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly;
NOAH WAS MOCKED BY PEOPLE as he built the boat. He preached righteousness.
Scoffers…in the church pulpit. “Live your best life now.”
2 Peter 3:3-10 3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. 7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
THE LORD IS NOT SLACKING ON HIS PROMISE OF CHRIST’S COMING. HIS desire is that all would come to repentance so as not to perish by HIS Judgment.
And for too many people, that Day will come as a thief in the night, just as in the days of Noah when the flood waters overcame all life on earth. So it will be in the coming Judgment.
BUT TO US, followers of JESUS, waiting for HIS Coming, we should not be worried, rather encouraged by the things happening in our world.
Why? Because GOD’s WORD is Truth and is guiding us to that DAY when CHRIST Will Return for HIS CHURCH. Calling us up. Rapturing us up and out of the way before Judgment comes down.
THEREFORE, BE ENCOURAGED, AND STAND FAST, READY AND WAITING FOR HIS APPEARING!
2 Peter 3:14-15 14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15 and consider that the longsuffering (patience) of our Lord is (for) salvation.
TIME IS SHORT, we must continue to declare the GOOD NEWs of GOD’s Salvation through JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.
Romans 11:25 (NKJV)
25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
Matthew 24:44 (NKJV)
44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
THIS IS JESUS’ COMMAND to GOD’s CHILDREN, to every believer and follower of JESUS.
HE’s not talking to the unsaved, HE’s talking to the church, HIS disciples.
And HE’s saying, “I’m coming at a time you do not expect. Be Ready and waiting.”
ARE YOU READY?
There is only one guarantee of Eternal life and Safety and it’s through JESUS CHRIST the SON of GOD WHO came to rescue us, to take our sin to a cross and nail it there some 2000 years ago. To pay in full upon that cross, the price of yours and my sin, so the penalty and power of sin could be broken, setting us free.
So that we would have the assurance. He is the Ark of God. JESUS is the Ark. Everything in the Bible points to him. The ultimate redemption of human kind.
And the Door of God’s heart is wide open through HIS SON JESUS CHRIST. JESUS is that DOOR. There is no reason to not enter in. Especially now as we see our world falling all around us.
The time to enter into God’s Ark of Safety is now.
We don’t know if there will be a tomorrow. We must enter now. Because when God shuts the Door, no one can open it.
Time is short. The time is now. Today is the day of Salvation. Get the word out!
Revelation 22:20
JESUS says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”
And we in agreement say “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”
Be Blessed and Be a Blessing,
Bill
