We’ll be Amazed when our Saviour Returns
September 7, 2002
What is the one element that most clearly defines the lives of Christians, who are people firmly rooted in Jesus Christ, in days such as these we live in right now? What is the one element that defines our lives as we relive the horror of last September 11, and the many other horrors that beset our world- far away and near at home?
The one defining element of the Christian life is ‘hope’. Hope makes us much different than others. There is a lot of hopelessness in this world, but that is not where we are. On one occasion, Paul spoke to the church in Thessalonica and he said to them that he didn’t want them to ‘grieve as those who have no hope’. He proceeded to outline why Christians weren’t just like everyone else, as he outlined the tremendous hope they had. He indicated, here, that there are people who don’t have hope and they respond to life’s situations, including death, in a different way from those who have hope. There are two kinds of people- those with hope and those without- and those with hope are not to respond just like those without.
Hope is not simply some ‘pie-in-the-sky, airy-fairy-wishfulness’. Hope is a firm expectation of all promised good things. We live in hope. We carry on our lives with hope. No matter what happens around us, hope buoys us up, when events might plunge others into depths of despair, depression, and discouragement. There is a spring in our steps, a glint in our eyes, and a positive outlook even while others are seeing only negativity, and we will be looking at the exact same events. It’s important for us not to let go of our hope and what we are pointed toward.
Please turn with me to:
Heb. 6. 12- 20- esp. v. 18, 19- our hope anchors our souls- our lives. Our hope, given us by the express promise and oath of God, is rooted in the activity of our Saviour, Christ. We see that He has gone somewhere that we get to go, also. He’s simply the forerunner, but that carries with is the express promise that we get to go there, too. Where Christ is, we get to be, now, future, and forever.
Our hope lies in the important relationship we have with Christ:
Col. 1. 25- 29- esp. v. 27- this is much more than wishful thinking. Christ IS in you. Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Saviour? Have you invited Him right into your heart and life today? (Our baptismal ceremony, crafted by Mr. Herbert Armstrong many years ago, is a ceremony filled with holy genius. Many simply baptize into Jesus, and this does not convey to many all that Jesus is, and, therefore, leaves some Christians short. However, in our ceremony, we remind the candidate that Jesus is their Saviour, their LORD and MASTER, their High Priest, and their SOON-COMING KING. Then we baptize into the name of the Holy Father, holy Son, and Holy Spirit.) And at that time, someone officially begins their walk with God, in Christ, out in the open- and accepts their responsibilities to the Christian church, as the church accepts toward that person. Your promise of glory is that Jesus is in you. Since He has gone behind the veil, right into the presence of God and into the realm of God, that’s where you and I are going, too, forever.
We’ve become used to referring to that realm as the ‘kingdom of God’. Others call it ‘heaven’. It’s the same thing. It’s where God is. That’s ALL heaven is- it’s the realm of God and of intimate contact with God. (Heaven is NOT a place. Do you think that God lives in a place? No, He isn’t bounded by time and space and a place demands both. God lives in a different dimension- one passage says that He ‘inhabits eternity’. Heaven is part of eternity. Jesus was clear that heaven/kingdom of God is NOT for flesh and blood that is subject to time and space- John 3. 3, 6). You and I, as Christians, in one way, live in heaven already- heaven is in your heart, as one song says. You are united with God- you live in the realm of God and on God’s stage. You are in the present of the kingdom of God and will be in the fullness of the kingdom in the future- that is your hope- but that hope is lived out NOW as well as in the future.
1 Cor. 15.12- 19- esp. v. 19- this is the essence of our hope. We look for something better- something greater. Again, v. 20 shows that AS Christ, SO for you and me. He’s ‘simply’ the first of many. You are part of the many! You have a tremendous future. Are you ‘in Christ’? Then you have a tremendous present, as well as future! It’s guaranteed. It’s sure. We’ll see, shortly, some of what we look forward to.
1 Thess. 2. 19- here is a minister speaking, and see what he looked for? He looked for the people of God to be in the presence of Jesus Christ at his coming. Our hope includes the reality of the coming of Jesus, again. Jesus has come once, and, through that coming, when we submitted to Him and let Him into our hearts and lives, He came there. But we look for something else, too. We look for a tremendous event in the future. And this is something that is the heart-cry of the people of God, because Jesus told us to put this in front of our lives regularly. We are people of the present… yes. But, too, we are people of the future- and this is what allows us to face life differently than others. We KNOW there is a future! And we long for that future- for ourselves and for all others, because man has made an incredible mess of life and the brokenness of humanity hurts them… and us… on a regular basis. So, as Jesus told us to, we pray:
Matt. 6. 10- ‘thy kingdom come’. In this, we declare that this is NOT good enough. We declare that we want something better and we know that ‘better’ lies with God.
Jesus is coming again, and when He comes, it will be a great event, not done in a corner, and the fullness of the Kingdom will come.
Psalm 46. 8- 10- esp. v. 10- (have someone read this passage from the congregation)
Things will be different than they are now. (Let’s look at newspapers and think of some things that will be different.)
Isa. 2. 2- 4 cf. John 5. 28, 29- notice that ALL will come forth. And, notice something of the context, here, too, in v. 24. We tend to think very judgmentally about ‘the judgment’- but notice that all come forth from the graves and all get to hear the voice of the Saviour. We know that God wants all to come to salvation. Is God great enough to bring many into His Kingdom, at that time, who never had the opportunity in their ‘this life’? This is something to think about- please don’t limit God and His love for humanity!
Isa. 11. 1- 9 (have someone read)- what a wonderful word picture for the future. The prophet was inspired to present a picture that would inspire the people of Israel, and the people of the WCG in Canada on September 7, 2002, as well! How we look forward to this time! This is part of our hope in Christ.
Rev. 19. 11- 16 (have someone read)- Christ will return with purpose, and that purpose is to bring people into their happiest possible state, which is in obedience to Him and the Father and the Spirit.
This is our hope and it’s all bound up in Christ. He came and did a magnificent work when He did. He has come into your life and mine, and is doing a magnificent work there. And He will come into the world, again, and into the lives of billions who have never known or responded to Him, and will do a magnificent work there!
Can you think of better promise and hope? Can you think of a better motivator for your living your life as the salt and light of this world? Can you imagine just what Christ has to offer the world, and what we can offer, now, in the Christian message? The message of the gospel is the message of hope available to all in Christ! That’s what the gospel is about in your life… and in mine right now. And that’s what the gospel is about for others! Christ is returning- and shows that now, in the first fruits- and will show that magnificently when heaven opens and He comes.
Paul lays out this hope in his letter to the church at Thessalonica-
1 Thess. 4. 13- not to be like those without hope- hey, we’re NOT like those without hope!
v. 14- 17
v. 18- we’re to encourage one another with these words of guarantee! This is not just some dream idea, or some fiction or fantasy. This is real- God reality! This is what will be, and which the church has declared for centuries! These are words- and reality- that make a difference. These words- and reality- give us a present and a future guaranteed. These words- and reality- give us some small idea of how wonderful it will be FOREVER! Our God is so great- He’s working to bring, in His desire, all to this. He’s busy redeeming everything to Himself and He wants all to be there. As we pray for the Kingdom to come, and for Jesus and the fullness of the Kingdom to come, let us not forget all who need to be there and whom God wants there, and let’s look forward to that glorious day of Jesus’ return when we’re likely going to be incredibly amazed at what God has actually accomplished!
