November 8, 2002
I. Introduction:
A. Today’s topic—In the twinkling of an eye
1) Questions:
a) Is there life after death?
b) Is there hope beyond the grave?
c) Is there a possibility that I will see my lost loved ones again?
2) Answers:
a) The answers to these questions will have significant implications how we live right now.
b) It will determine how we are going to conduct our lives
c) It will determine how we are going to relate to one another
d) It will impact how we react and respond to tragedies and pain.
B. We will begin our study with the life of Job
II. Body:
A. The seven trials of Job
1) First messenger—the oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword.
2) Second messenger—the fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants.
3) Third messenger—the Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on job’s camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword
4) Fourth messenger—Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on your children and they died.
5) Fifth calamity—Painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
6) Sixth—a disheartening wife
7) Seventh—Three friends who blamed him for all his troubles.
B. Job reaction
1) Job 3:1-4, “After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day. And Job spake, and said, let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, there is a man child conceived. Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.”
2) Job 3:11, “Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck? For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest, with kings and counselors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves; or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver: or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light. There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master. Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul; which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures; which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave? Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in? For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters. For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.”
3) Job 6:1, “But Job answered and said, Oh that my grief were thoroughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together! For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up.”
C. David’s Pain
1) Psalm 69:3, “I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.”
2) Psalm 6:6, “I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.”
D. Weary as Job; pained like David
1) TVs, Radios, and Newspapers
a) Bombing in Bali
b) Shooting in Maryland
c) Threat of war among nations
2) Hospitals
a) Sickness
b) People groaning of pain
c) Faces of depression because of their circumstances
d) Children crying because of pain
e) Parents deeply troubled because of their children
3) Justice System
a) Hollywood star tried for shoplifting
b) Enron CEOs tried for financial fraud and mismanagement
c) Couples filing for divorce because they cannot live together anymore
d) Friends and relatives suing each other for money
e) Single parents filing for alimony from their partners
4) Schools
a) Students bullying each other
b) Students disrespecting authority figures
c) Students shooting their peers and their teachers
d) Teachers neglecting to teach old Christian values
5) Government
a) Leaders accused of sex scandal
b) Leaders abusing their God-given authority
6) Marriage and family
a) Marriage viewed no longer as a spiritual and permanent partnership, but as an economic and temporary partnership.
b) Marriage no longer defined as a partnership between a man and a woman, but anyone who loves each other regardless of the sex composition.
c) Children disobeying their parents
d) Parents abusing their children
7) Church
a) Church is viewed as an ancient institution no longer relevant to the modern life.
b) Religious leaders accused of misconduct
c) Church viewed as interested only for money
8) Personal
a) Financial difficulties
b) Personal failures
c) Feeling of inadequacy and insufficiency
d) Personal failures and shortcomings
e) Broken hearts resulting from the loss of a loved one
f) Sickness in the family
g) Disputes between spouses
E. God’s solution
1) Romans 8:18, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
2) When is this going to be revealed?
3) John 14:1-3, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 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. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
4) Acts 1:9-11, “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
5) There are over 1500 prophecies of Jesus Second coming recorded in the Bible. For every prophecy of his first Coming mentioned in the Old Testament, there are eight prophecies predicting His Second Coming in the New Testament.
6) The return of Jesus is mentioned once in every five verses in the New Testament
7) There is no doubt that Jesus is coming
F. Implications of Jesus’ coming
1) Questions:
a) What has Jesus’ Second Coming to do with me?
b) Why should I look for Jesus’ Second Coming?
c) How should Jesus’ Second Coming impact my life today?
2) When He comes He will restore justice to the nations
a) We are living in a world where justice is a foreign word to most people. Today, hundreds of injustice acts are being committed. Sometimes these acts are committed by people whom we put our trusts, people whom we admire and respect. And the world cries out—where is justice?
b) Where is justice when a comatose woman was raped by a hospital orderly who was supposed to take care of her?
c) Where is justice when millions around the world are dying because of lack of food while tons of foods are being wasted everyday in North America and other industrialized nations?
d) Where is justice when a sixteen year old precious girl was hit by a stray bullet because she happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?
e) Where is justice when evils seem to prosper and good deeds are oppressed?
f) Yes, when Jesus comes He will restore justice to all nations. We will no longer cry with Amos saying, “Maintain justice in the courts,” because Himself will restore justice throughout the universe.
1. Ezekiel 34:16, “I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.”
2. Ecclesiastes 12:14, “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
g) When he comes we will no longer worry about our rights being trampled to the ground. Justice will roll on like a river. And this justice could only be found in Christ.
3) When He comes He will proclaim peace and freedom
a) Another cry of the world today is a cry for peace and freedom. A cry for peace in the Middle East. A cry for peace and freedom in various places of the world. Most of all, there is a cry for freedom from the bondage of sin.
b) Sometimes we try to pacify this cry for peace and freedom by indulging ourselves in our day to day, earthly pursuits. But deep inside, our souls cry out for freedom and peace.
c) Peace in workplace
d) Peace in the streets
e) Peace in the home
1. Luke 2:13, “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
2. Zechariah 9:10, “And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.”
f) Yes, a cry for freedom and peace is being heard in our modern time. But amidst this cry, the Bible gives us a solid answer to this need. The answer is Christ. In Christ, there is peace and freedom. In Christ, there is fulfillment and harmony. Christ is the answer to our deepest needs.
4) When He comes there will be resurrection
a) Some of us probably have lost a son, others a daughter, a father, a mother, an aunt, an uncle, a niece, a nephew, a close friend, or a coworker. Somehow we wish that they are still around. And I know that if we could only have the power to bring them to life, we will do it.
b) This need to be with their long lost loved ones is so strong that many resort to the use of mediums just to communicate with their dead loved ones. But the Bible is clear. If there is any hope of seeing our dead loved ones again, of being able to communicate with them again, it is not through the use of spirituals mediums or any other means. It is only through the power of Jesus.
1. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
2. John 11:25-26, “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”
c) Illustration—My desire to see my Grandpa coming back to life
d) Yes, Christ is the resurrection. And because Christ is the resurrection, he does not only have the power to resurrect our dead bodies, he also has the power to resurrect dying relationships between husband and wife, between parents and children, between brothers and sisters, between fellow believers.
e) He has the power to resurrect and sustain our dreams and hopes for a better tomorrow.
5) When He comes He will clothe His people with Immortality
a) 1 Corinthians 15:51-54—tells us that when Jesus comes He will clothe His people with immortality. Our body will be perfect. These aching knees and teeth will no longer ache. Our eyes will no longer need eye glasses. We will no longer feel pain in our backs. We will be brand new.
b) Isaiah 40:31, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like the eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
6) Permanent home
a) John 14:1-3—reminds us of God’s desire for His people. He is preparing a place for us.
b) Revelation 21:1-4, “Revelation 21:1-4, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
c) Isaiah 11:6, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.”
d) Isaiah 65:25, “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.”
e) No more moving from one place to the next
f) No more death. No more pain. No more killing.
III. Conclusion:
A. There is no doubt, Christ is coming back again.
B. When He comes, He will proclaim justice, peace and freedom.
C. There will be a resurrection. We will receive immortality.
D. He will give us our permanent home.
E. Illustration—Reunion of the Two Koreas
1) War broke out in Korea in the fifties
2) This war separated families.
a) It separated husband and wife
b) It separated parents and children
c) It separated friends
d) It separated brothers and sisters
e) It separated coworkers
f) It brought death to thousands of Koreans
g) It broke families
3) After more than fifty years of separation, North Korea is now allowing South Koreans to visit their relatives for only a short time. Twelve hours to be exact.
4) Unfortunately, many Koreans who have waited for this moment had long been dead.
5) In spite of this long delay, you can see them hugging, recollecting their memories together, and making plans for the future.
F. War in heaven
G. Heavenly reunion
1) Don’t worry about entertainment—no eyes have seen…
2) Don’t worry about what to wear—God’s righteousness will be our covering
3) Don’t worry about transportation—Chariot of fire
4) Sickness—the leaves of the tree is good for the healing of the nation
5) Bread—Jesus is the bread of life
6) Water—Jesus is the spring of water
H. Who may ascend to the hill of the Lord?
1) Psalm 24:3-5, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”
