MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
CENTRAL CHRISTIAN, BROWNSVILLE, TX
ILL. The day before Thanksgiving a man in Phoenix called his son in New York & said to him, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother & I are divorcing; 45 years is enough. We’re sick of each other. So please call your sister in Chicago & tell her."
Frantic, the son called his sister, who exploded on the phone. "There’s no way they’re getting a divorce," she shouted, "I’ll take care of this." She immediately called Phoenix & said to her father. "You are NOT getting a divorce. Don’t do a single thing until I get there. I’m calling my brother back, & we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing. DO YOU HEAR ME?"
The man hung up his phone & turned to his wife. "Okay, honey. It’s done. The kids are coming for Thanksgiving, & this time they’re paying for their own flights." (Adapted from Aaron Burgess on Sermon Central)
APPL. Well, I guess that sometimes people do strange things or go to extraordinary lengths in order to accomplish their purposes. For example, think about “Surprise” parties or events & all the effort put into planning & putting them on & making sure that the guest or guests of honor are properly surprised. For those who are involved, such an event can turn out to be something really special & precious.
A. Folks, I’m anticipating a very special event, too. In fact, Jesus Himself talked about it the last night that He spent with His apostles before His arrest & crucifixion. Do you remember?
Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen to Him. He had told the apostles again & again that His kingdom was not of this world, & that the time would come when His enemies would kill Him, but that He would rise again. But somehow it just didn’t sink in. They couldn’t understand how that could possibly happen to Jesus, their Messiah & their Lord.
B. But on this last night, in the upper room, Jesus told them plainly that the time had come, & that one of them would betray Him. Jesus even went on to say, “You will all fall away.” That’s when Peter declared, “‘Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison & to death.’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.’” (Luke 22:33-34)
You can imagine the confusion & gloom that settled over them. And then Jesus began to speak some of the most familiar words in all the Bible:
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go & prepare a place for you, I will come back & take you to be with me that you may also be where I am." (John 14:1-3)
I. JESUS IS COMING AGAIN!
Did you hear His promise? Jesus is coming again!
A. A few weeks later angels repeated that promise. Forty days after His resurrection Jesus met with His disciples on the Mt. of Olives for the very last time, & Luke says,
“They asked Him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; & you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, & in all Judea & Samaria, & to the ends of the earth.’
“After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, & a cloud hid Him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go...’” (Acts 1:6-11).
It is true! Jesus is coming again!
B. Years later, the apostle Paul writes to the Christians in Thessalonica: “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope...
“For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, & with the trumpet of God, & the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive & are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
ILL. As Dr. Jones is fond of reminding us, the books of the O.T. from Genesis through Malachi could be summed up as saying, "Jesus is coming." The N.T. books of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John proclaim, "Jesus is here." The remaining 23 books of the N.T. tell us, "Jesus is coming again!"
There’s no doubt about it. God’s Word tells us more than 300 times, Jesus is coming again! But when He comes, some will rejoice & others will be terrified.
II. SOME WILL REJOICE & OTHERS WILL BE TERRIFIED
A. The apostle Paul tells us, "The coming of the Lord will be like a thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:2). However, for the Christian it won’t be a terrifying experience. It will be an exciting experience, like the anticipated arrival of a long?awaited friend.
The Bible also says, "We who are still alive & are left will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air" (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
Does that excite you? If you’re a Christian it should thrill you. However, there is an old Biblical principle that will trouble many. It is that we will surely reap what we sow [Galatians 6:7].
ILL. In his book, “Just Like Jesus,” Max Lucado writes that many years ago a man conned his way into being a member of the orchestra of the emperor of China although he couldn’t play a note. Whenever the group practiced or performed, he would hold his flute against his lips, pretending to play but not making a sound. As a member of the orchestra he received a salary & enjoyed a comfortable living.
Then one day the emperor requested a solo from each musician. The man was terrified. So he pretended to be sick, but the royal physician wasn’t fooled. On the day of his solo performance, the impostor took poison & killed himself. The explanation of his suicide led to a phrase that later found its way into the English language: He couldn’t “face the music.”
Today someone can pretend to be a part of God’s orchestra by just blending in with the crowd & going through the motions. No one notices, because you say the right things, go to the right places, & hang out with the right people.
But there will come a day when you & I must “face the music.” On that day you will stand alone before God & give an account for your life, your decisions, & your relationship with Jesus. (David Yarbrough on Sermon Central)
2 Thessalonians 1:7 says, "This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels."
B. Some will rejoice, but others will be terrified. For in that moment when Christ appears in the sky, they will suddenly realize that it’s too late. They will reap what they have sown. They gambled with their future, & lost!
God allows us the freedom to make our own choices, but as Christians, we have a responsibility to warn the world that Jesus is coming again!
III. EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE READY
A. I know there are many predictions & calculations concerning His Second Coming, but Jesus said, "No one knows the day or the hour" (Matthew 24:36). That’s why we must always be ready & constantly helping others to get ready, too.
ILL. Dave Stone says that when they were expecting their third child, on the night before the baby’s due date, he was praying with his two little girls. He had just asked God’s blessing & care for his wife, when suddenly his youngest daughter interrupted the prayer & asked, "Is this the last day?" (From “I’d Rather See A Sermon” by David Stone, College Press)
That’s not a bad question for Christians to ask God each morning. "Lord, is this the last day?" It could be.
The Bible compares the sudden return of Jesus to the birth pangs of an expectant mother. “While people are saying ‘Peace & safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, & they will not escape.” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-4)
God stands waiting & willing to forgive. He has patiently postponed His judgment to give us more chances to come to repentance, & more opportunities for people to see & hear a sermon through our lives. Eventually that patience will be replaced by justice, & evil will be punished.
ILL. Some years ago Billy Graham was Johnny Carson’s guest on the "Tonight Show." At one point Carson asked him, "Billy, what do you think would happen if Jesus came to earth again? I’d bet we’d do Him in again."
Billy Graham leaned forward in his seat & said, "You know, Johnny, Jesus said that He would return. But the first time He came in love. The next time He’ll come in power, & no one will do Him in." (Ibid)
B. Believe me, when Jesus returns, He won’t have to announce His arrival. He won’t have to say anything, for every eye will see Him, & every knee will bow. When you see a glorified being riding on a cloud with trumpets playing in stereo - trust me, it will be Jesus.
ILL. On the dome of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC, is the following inscription, "One God, one law, one element, & one far-off divine event toward which the whole creation moves." Folks, we must be prepared, for Jesus is coming again!
ILL. Had you been on the British Coast in 1845 you might have seen 2 ships boarded by 138 of England’s finest sailors setting sail for the Artic. Their task? To chart a Northwest Passage around the Canadian Artic to the Pacific.
The captain, Sir John Franklin, hoped this effort would be the turning point in Artic exploration. History shows that it was. Not because of its success, but because of its failure. You see, the ships never returned. Every crewmember perished. And those who followed in the expedition’s path to the pole learned this lesson: "Prepare for the journey."
Apparently Franklin didn’t. Though the voyage was projected to last 2 or 3 years, he only carried a 12-day supply of coal for the auxiliary steam engines. But what he lacked in fuel, he made up for in entertainment. Each ship carried a "1,200-volume library, a hand-organ, china place settings for officers & men, cut-glass wine goblets & sterling silver flatware."
Was the crew planning for an Artic expedition or a Caribbean cruise? The sailors carried no special clothing to protect them against the cold. Only the uniforms of Her Majesty’s fleet, thin & inadequate.
The silver knives, forks, & spoons were as ornate as those found in the dining rooms of the royal Navy officers clubs. Years later, some of these place settings would be found near a clump of frozen, cannibalized bodies.
The inevitable had occurred. The two ships had sailed ill-prepared into frigid waters. Ice soon coated the deck, the spars, & the rigging. The sea froze around the rudder & trapped the ships.
The sailors set out to search for help. Inuit Indians reported seeing a group dragging a wooden boat across the ice. A boat was later discovered containing the bodies of 35 men. Other Indians discovered a tent on the ice & in it, 30 more bodies.
Many miles from the vessel, the skeleton of a frozen officer was discovered, still wearing trousers & jacket of "fine blue cloth...edged with silk braid...with a black silk neckerchief."
Strange how men could embark on such a journey ill-prepared, more equipped for afternoon tea than for the Artic sea.
INVITATION: But stranger still how we sometimes do the same. Just like Sir John Franklin, we sometimes act as if life is just a cruise. We have little fuel but lots of entertainment.
We are more concerned with looking good than with being prepared. We give more thought to table settings than to surviving the journey. We give little thought to the destination, but make sure there’s plenty of silver to go around.
But God is not to blame. If we sail unprepared it’s not God’s fault. He left detailed instructions. His Word is our map. The Holy Spirit is our compass. He outlined the route & described the landmarks we should seek. And someday, if we follow them, we will stand before Him & hear the words, “Well done, good & faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
But the sad thing is that the Bible says that there will be many who will not choose to prepare themselves. They’ll choose to follow the road, the broad & easy road, to destruction.
And we come together this morning with wonderful news - Jesus is coming again! I look forward to that with anticipation. Now I have no idea, & neither do you, if I will go to meet Him before the day He comes to call us. Whatever the case may be, I want to be ready. And I pray that you are, too.
That’s why I even dare to preach a message like this. I don’t want it to be a doom & gloom. I want it to be a day of joy & happiness as we see those we have lost long ago – loved ones who have gone on before – as once again the family is reunited & we’re together around His feet.
I don’t want to hear the words, “Depart from me, for I never knew you.” I want to be a part of His family. Do you? We are a family in Christ, brothers & sisters bound together because of our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord. Is He your Savior? Are you a part of His family?
It is our privilege to make known the joy that we have, & to invite others to share that joy, to lift each other up when we fall, to strengthen each other when we are weak, to cry together, to pray together, to rejoice together. That’s a privilege that we have.
I offer you the forgiveness of your sins through Christ. I offer you a heavenly home & a heavenly family. He invites you. Will you come to take Him as your Lord & your Savior?
