The Blessed Hope of Believers
Titus 2:11-14 and many more.
How does one become ready for the Lord’s return? It is clear that the Bible indicates that we will not know the time of Jesus’ return. It is also just as clear that we are to be ready for His coming. His returning will be similar to our return home after we have been away for a time. The exact time is questionable, the event is certain. As Christians we are to live in the world, however, we are not to be taken in by the world. Our attention is to be on eternal things and not temporal things. We are tempted by the lures and gadgets of the world, our own lusts and desires pull our minds away from the Godly to the ungodly. If we allow ourselves to be pulled away from the things of God we will become busied by the things of the world. Worldly things can be defined as anything that does not have eternal value. As humans we tend to settle for the good rather than striving for the best. There are many worthy activities to which we can devote ourselves and our time. However, only what we do for the Lord will last.
For people who have not experienced salvation through Jesus Christ, the danger for them is that time will run out before they intentionally make that choice. For some of them what the world offers is enough and they are satisfied to simply give their lives to fulfilling their own selfish desires. They will one day discover the truth of what they have left behind. They will discover they have traded the truth for a lie, and for them time will have run out. The Bible says that today is the day of salvation. This moment is all that any of us have, and decisions that will be made will always be made in the moment. Today for each of us who are here it is not to late to accept God’s gift of salvation which includes the blessed hope of eternal life, resurrection, and Jesus’ coming again.
There will come a time when the heralds of truth will be silenced, either through death or Jesus’ return. The ambassadors of the past are gone, the apostles Paul and Peter both are gone, John Wesley and George Whitefield both gone, Billy Sunday and Dwight L. Moody both gone. Billy Graham and stalwart saints like him are nearing the end of their earthly ministry and will soon be gone. The pastors who filled this pulpit mostly are gone. If you come to the end of your life and you have not received God’s gift it will be no one’s fault but your own. Your eternal destiny is in your own hands. We can proclaim the truth but we cannot receive it for you.
Those of us who know Jesus as our savior and Lord live in the light. We have been told by God’s word that Jesus is coming back. His coming should not take us by surprise. Over and over again God’s word has told us to live on the edge of time. To be ready for His coming everyday. To live lives that will not dishonor our Lord or ourselves. We do not belong to the world and so we are not to live as though we do. The world - those who do not know Jesus as savior - live lives for themselves. They sleep in darkness and they get drunk in darkness, they lack self-control and give in to their own passions. They live in a world of their own choosing, they live to quench the thirst of their own depravity, a thirst that will never be quenched. Even those who live morally, those who try their very best to be good and honorable can never obtain the righteousness that God requires. We have all sinned and lived in darkness. The perfect righteousness that God requires only comes as a gift through Jesus Christ.
There is a darkness in the world, a veil of sorts. As Christians we are not to live in that darkness for we have entered into the light. We are to live self-controlled lives, not giving in to our old natures which existed in darkness, but we are to put on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. We are to live as ambassadors of light. Light dispels darkness. The armor of God is for our own protection, so that we will not be overcome by the darkness of this world. The armor of God assures us that we will not be caught by surprise when we meet Jesus in the air or when we meet Jesus at the gates of heaven.
As Christians we are to encourage each other to live in the light of the cross, to live lives worthy of our calling as ambassadors of God. We are to remind each other that Jesus is coming back again. His coming is imminent - at hand. Just around the corner of time. We will not suffer loss when Jesus returns. That which we have given up to come to Christ is of no value when compared to what we have gained.
As Christians we have all been called to develop a Biblical worldview. We are to address the Word of God with a capital W. The Bible is what we are to preach and teach and accept. We are to be prepared to correct, rebuke and encourage each other with great patience and careful instruction. We live in a time when we don’t want our sins pointed out to us. We want a feel good religion. We attempt to change the Bible rather than allowing the Bible to change us. To hear God’s Word proclaimed is to be challenged to change. All of us have sin in our lives - rebellion against God in some way. God, like a surgeon, uses His Word as a scalpel to cut away the parts of our lives that are not honoring to Him, as Christians we have given God permission to cut away those things in our lives that detract from His image.
We are not to change the message of God, we are not gather around ourselves preachers and teachers who will only say what our itching ears want to hear. We must stand in the light of the truth and allow that truth to change us. We must not turn away from its light, back into the darkness where we once lived. For in that place myth becomes truth and truth become myth.
The end of all things is near. The truth of that statement is as true today as it was when the Apostle Peter spoke it. The end of all things pertains to the things that we view as reality in our daily lives. The sunrise and sunset, the beauty of this life will all one day be changed for us. From the time that Peter said these words until now, for centuries, people have been coming to the end of all things. Peter had in mind the return of Jesus who will indeed bring an end to all things as we have experienced them. But, the end of all things also comes as we face our own death. Each of us is allowed only so much time and then the end comes. The end of all things. We all live on borrowed time, so to speak. Our end can happen at any time, and it will happen in a moment. For one moment you will be here in our reality and the next moment you will be on the other side of death. For some that place will be the very presence of God for others the utter absence of God. For some that place will be a place flooded with the light of God’s radiance, for others the darkness will be all consuming. For some it will be a place where love permeates every corner and for others only despair. For some it will be a place where hope disappears into realized dreams, for others a place of no hope at all.
Until the end of all things we are to practice living in the presence of God. We are to be clear minded, and self-controlled so that our prayers will be effective and in accordance with the will of God. Above all, Christians, we are to love each other deeply, because the Bible says that our loves covers a multitude of sins. We are to offer hospitality to each other, to share our lives with each other, to share our resources with each other. We are to give of ourselves without grumbling and without selfishness. We are to give as God gave to us, His very best, not holding anything back. We are to be a culture within a culture. We are to be the light of the world, a reflected light. We are to be a change agent within society. To often it is society who changes the church.
Each of us has been given gifts from God. Some are called to be Apostles, some pastors and teachers, some are given an abundance of resources and the desire to share them. Some of us are good at sharing the gospel with others, some have been given the ability to assist others with their gifts. Whatever your talent, ability, or gift is, it is clear in scripture that God gave you those talents, abilities, and gifts to benefit the folks within the church. We are to live in such as way that those who are living in darkness will be envious of our relationships with each other and thus entice them to consider the truth that sets us apart. Jesus is the reason for our light. When we live in this way we bring praise honor and glory to God through Jesus Christ. When we do not live in this way then we do not bring praise glory or honor to God at all.
Satan is alive and well on planet earth. It was a title of a book and it is also a very true statement. Today as always, Satan tries to discredit the truth, and the truth bearers. We all have weaknesses in our lives and for Satan those areas are apparent and exploitable. Satan, as with all of the powers of darkness, is out to destroy your life. If he cannot keep you from knowing Jesus as your savior then he will seek to tarnish your testimony. He hates you and he hates God. One day Satan will be judged according to God’s plan. But today he remains our enemy. The Bible uses the image of a roaring lion prowling around looking to find someone to devour.
Each Christian is tempted to do things that they should not do. All of us have retained our old nature with its lusts and desires. We have two natures, one that is old and natural, and one that is new and supernatural. The nature that we feed becomes the dominate one. If we give in to our old nature then that nature becomes stronger, if we feed our new nature then that nature becomes stronger. Satan will attack you through your old nature, a nature that lacks clear thinking and self-control. God desires you to live within your new nature and will not allow you to be tempted beyond that which you are able to stand. Resist temptation and at the same time you are resisting Satan and the powers of darkness. Stand firm in the faith, knowing full well that others are being tempted and yet they are standing firm.
Jesus is coming again, the event is called in Titus 2:13 the blessed hope. Hope is similar to faith. We have by faith accepted all that God has done for us up until today. There is yet more to come, we look back through faith and we look forward through hope. Hope in the Biblical sense is not wishful thinking it is the acceptance of the truth of our future. Jesus is coming again. You can take that to the bank. One day Jesus will rule as King of kings and Lord of lords. One day it will be death that passes away and life which will remain. One day those who are dead in Christ will rise to meet Him in the air and we who are left will be changed. This mortal body will be changed in a moment into a body which will never decay, grow old or die. This is the Christian’s hope, it is such a sure thing that it can be referred to in the past tense. We look forward in Hope with the certainty that our God reigns.
Jesus will come like a thief in the night. No announcements, no invitations, no warnings. Our time of service to God is limited. We who call ourselves by Christ’s name need to stay ready. Revelation 16:15 admonishes us to stay awake and keep our clothes close by. We are to be about our Father’s business, we are not to be caught up in the cares of this world. We are to be faithful and we are to be a people of faith and hope. We are to stand ready, ready to live, or to die, ready to stay another day or ready to leave.
We have a blessed hope. Jesus is coming again.
