Text: Matthew 24:35 thru 44
Jesus Is Coming!
Many people would ask,
”How can I know this will happen?”
I would honestly tell you,
“That is a good question.”
It is not that I doubt that Jesus is coming again, and that He is coming soon.
You know me better than that.
Listen. I am convinced with every new day of something that is very important.
(I am not talking about a cup of coffee.)
Like many of you, I long for Jesus to come quickly and take us all home.
That is where we all belong.
At home with Jesus. Amen?
But the fact is many people of our time are not too sure about what the Bible says about the second coming of Christ.
I am told of a story of a young woman who (one evening) was expecting her young man to come and take her out on a date. This young man was going to come and sweep this young lady off her feet. Likewise, the young woman had done everything she could to make the arrival of her date a special moment.
She was dressed to the hilt, had all of her make-up on, and sat patiently waiting for her date to arrive. She was ready.
Well as it would happen, her date didn’t get there at the time she expected him. She walked back and forth and became very impatient. She waited for an hour until she decided she had been stood-up. She was convinced that her date was not coming.
The young lady was insulted and decided to make herself comfortable. She decided to remove her makeup and put on her pajamas. She then got out all the junk food in the house and sat down to watch TV. Just as her favorite TV show was coming on, the doorbell rang.
You got it…it was her date. She went and opened the door. Her date stared at her in amazement and said, “I’m two hours late, and you’re still not ready?”
I would advise everyone to be careful, and not to get complacent or lazy.
Because Jesus is coming soon!
He is expecting us to be ready.
We know this to be true because -
Jesus has told us in - John 14:1-3
1 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 "In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
It is true because the angels in Acts 1:11,
"Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."
It is true because Paul declared it in –
I Thesallonians 4:16-17
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.
There are still some people who are not sure about all of this. Some would argue,
"people have said Jesus will return for centuries and He still has not come!"
-They have given up hope.
-They feel stood up!
Let us not forget that God has fulfilled many of His prophesies in recent years.
Isaiah 11:12
He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
This prophecy was fulfilled in the late forties, with the recognition of Israel by the United Nations. As a result, there is a banner hanging in the U.N. building for all the world to see God’s holy nation.
For several decades, Jewish people from all over the world are making their home in Israel even though it is one of the most dangerous places for them to live.
Why is that? Because of Bible prophecy.
Isaiah 27:6
Those who come He shall cause to take root in Jacob; Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.
Israel is considered to be the number one exporter of flowers and fruit in the world.
Satellite photos taken from space show Israel as a lush green oasis in the middle of a vast desert wasteland.
God’s Word is being fulfilled everyday.
My friend God’s Word will NEVER PASS AWAY! His promises are His Word.
How else can we be certain that Christ is coming soon? Consider this:
II Timothy 3:1-5
1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
(we are surely faced with uncertainty in this world we live in)
2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power.
(many people claim Christianity as their faith and/or religion, but only have a “form of godliness but denying it’s power”)
Even within many families there is more and more violence and hatred.
Jesus warned us of this in Mark 13:12
12 "Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.
There are many more scriptures for us to consider. As one example, remember what happened to southern Florida just a few years ago with hurricane “Andrew”. Did you know that is truly the greatest natural disaster this nation has ever seen? Over 28 billion dollars was swept away into the Gulf of Mexico.
Well what does that have to do with what the Bible says?
Jesus prophesied in Luke 21:25,
"And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;
In recent years, typhoons and hurricanes of catastrophic proportions have threatened nations throughout the world.
Folks the time is near.
Jesus is coming soon. He is not going to stand you up. You may think He has changed His mind, but He has not.
You may think He should have already come, but He wants you to be ready.
Personally, I know He is coming soon in all of the false teaching that is going on.
I Timothy 4:1-2 says
in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy…
There seems to be a fast growing interest in people of all ages (especially the younger) for the powers of the darkness.
I see bumper stickers everywhere I go of people who openly claim to be a witch, or a warlock. They are not ashamed of being involved in the worship of Satan.
They are involved in all kinds of demonic activity. Let me just say those spirits must be confronted and rebuked with the authority of the name of Jesus Christ.
There was once a time when false religions and prophets were overlooked and were permitted to take place.
No one ever considered witchcraft as a threat to our homes and way of life.
That is simply not the case anymore.
Nowadays, these same false religions and practices of evil are becoming much more active. To the point of fanaticism and becoming extremely dangerous.
We cannot permit that kind of lifestyle of evil to influence our families any longer.
We must be vigilant in protecting the spiritual well being of our souls and the souls of our loved ones. Immediately!
Why is this so important?
Again, because of what Jesus warned us in Matt 24:11-12,
"Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many….because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
Church – we need to get a hold of our household and kick the devil out.
As for me and MY HOUSE, we will serve the Lord! And not the devil!
Great historians and respected men and women of God have been talking about the second coming of Christ for a long time. Listen to this.
“The last days are upon us. Weigh carefully the times. Look for him who is above all time, eternal and invisible"
None of our modern day prophets said that. Jack VanEmpy did not make this quote. It was a man named Ignatius, who lived in 110 AD, just a few decades after Jesus came up out of the grave.
Let me give a few others…
"There is no doubt that the Antichrist has already been born. Firmly established in his early years, he will, after reaching maturity, achieve supreme power"
This was written by a Christian leader named Martin living in 375 AD.
Later, in 999 A.D., there was a lot of speculation about Christ’s second coming among Christians.
The result was chaos. Farmers didn’t plant crops for the next year, buildings weren’t repaired, and the details of daily life were neglected because they thought Christ would return in their lifetime.
This went on for over 30 years.
I guess you could say that many Christians of that time just gave up.
They put on their nightclothes, got comfortable, and were not ready.
In our text, Jesus tells us in verse 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.
This is exactly what is taking place in these last days. When it comes to the spiritual well being of some of our homes, the devil is having a “field day”. I regret to say that the devil is breaking into many America’s homes. Far too many families are being stolen from by the devil.
If you did not already know, the salvation of your soul and those whom you love is the most important possession you have. My friend – nothing should ever be more important than protecting your home from the devil in these last days.
I can assure you that Lucifer is doing all he can do to destroy your soul.
But don’t you let him!
Time is running out for the devil and he knows it. It really doesn’t matter what anyone else may be telling you about these last days we are living in.
Many well meaning people have tried to speculate when this world will end.
Did you know that Christopher Columbus once said he was sure the world would end by the year, 1656?
As well, there was another great and respected man of God in the 1800s by the name of William Miller. He said,
"I am fully convinced that somewhere between March 21st, 1843 and March 21st, 1844 Christ will come"
When Miller’s date had passed, hundreds of people walked away from their Christian faith in disappointment.
And then of course came the year of 2000. Man believed the new millennium would usher in the rapture and the eventual second coming of Christ.
Why am I telling you all of this?
It is not to discourage you. Rather, it is so you will know that the Word of God is true in spite of man’s predictions. Jesus clearly told His disciples in Mark 13:32
"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
What is the point? Listen carefully.
God does not give us prophesies so we can mark our calendar. Rather, so we can prepare ourselves, our families, and our world for the coming of Christ.
The Bible warns us that there are lots of sign to watch for. But (no doubt) what is even more important is what Jesus has told us in -
Rev 22:7 – “behold I come quickly”
Rev 22:12 – “Behold I come quickly”
Rev 22:20 – “Behold I come quickly”
Jesus is coming soon –And QUICKLY!
1 THES 5:2 – “As a thief in the night”
Mat 24:27 – “As a lightning flash”
Mark 13:36-- “He will come suddenly”
1 Cor. 15:52 – “In a moment in the twinkling of an eye”
My Heavenly Father knows what He is doing. He is not trying to put us off or make us think He has forgotten us.
No my friend – Jesus will be here as soon as the Father tells Him to.
And in the meantime, God wants us all to be ready.
Mat. 24:44 “Be ready for such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh”
Listen my friend – we have hope!
2 Thes 1:10 –“He shall come to be glorified in his saints.”
Phil. 3:21 - “He will change our bodies into glorified bodies”
1 John 3:2; Col 3:4 – “We shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is.”
