We have all heard that Jesus is coming back. That should be the best news we will ever hear, but for many Christians, it is just a story. A story from a book that is more like fantasy than reality. A story they hear, but do not really believe. And because they do not believe it, they have missed the power they could otherwise have in Christ.
We have this incredible message of grace that can be realized through faith, yet we read it and the meaning doesn’t sink in. We know that God is real, and we know that Jesus is the promised Savior. We know everything the story tells us about Him. We even know that Jesus is going to be coming back someday, but we do not live their lives like the story is real. We don’t live our lives like we even believe the story.
I think the reason we are like that is because we have a problem with eyesight. As humans, we are nearsighted. We focus on today because that is all we see. We live for today because today is here. And we forget about our eternities. Eternity is this vague thing that many of us do not understand, and none of us can see, so we put it on the back shelves of our minds, intending to get into it later. But the elusive “later” never arrives.
Jesus is tarrying. He is delaying His return so that we might have every chance to get ready; to help and encourage others; and to build His kingdom. And we think we have all kinds of time. But, in reality – do we have all kinds of time?
Turn with me to MATTHEW 24:42 says,
‘Therefore, keep watch – because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.’
The Bible is telling us that instead of living like the Second Coming will eventually happen ‘some day, we should be living like it could happen today or tomorrow.
1. BE WISE
There is a song that goes; “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through.” We are here for a very short stay and then we will be on our way to our final destination; eternity. And that has to do with the biggest problem Christians have. We are here for a very short time, yet we act like this is all there is.
We look at our present life as all there is because the physical is all we know. Since most people can only count on that which they can see, touch, feel, and hear, they will end up missing any chance they could have had through faith to choose Heaven as their eternal destination. And, of course, the only alternative when we are talking about forever is hell. These people who do their level best today to ignore the call of Jesus will burn forever but will never be consumed. To get a picture of what that is like, light a candle and hold your finger right above the flame for just 5 seconds - if you can. The pain is excruciating, isn’t it? Now think about your whole body going through that - every day, all day long with no let up; with no reprieve; with no stopping.
Those who do acknowledge Jesus as the lead in their life, however, will be spending eternity in Heaven with Him, because of God’s powerful mercy and grace. So, the question now becomes, “ How many of us will be wise and choose His gift?”
Many of us go through life looking at our Christian life as a side dish, or a hobby, as we take care of our worldly priorities. God expects everything in our lives to be centered on Jesus Christ. That includes every relationship you have. And that includes your total commitment. God will not reward a ‘casual Christian’, because they have not made a total commitment to submit their lives to Him.
It is a human trait to be superficial. Very few people, including Christians, have ever spent any real time at all thinking about “how” they life. For instance, if someone were to ask you to explain how you know you are a Christian, how would you answer them? Most people would say something like –
· I go to church regularly
· I read my Bible fairly regularly
· I try to live a good life
How much better of a witness it would be to answer like –
· I believe the blood of Jesus allowed for my salvation
· I have chosen to follow Jesus in my life
· I have faith that Jesus is the ONLY Redeemer
We don’t answer that way most of the time, because we apply our faith where it is easy and convenient to do so. Why do we do that? Because we want to be faithful, but we also want to enjoy what this world offers us. When we see a Christian who is living out their faith in a “sold out” way, we join the world in criticizing them as being a fanatic, or belonging to “one of those other church denominations”. When a Christian lives their life as if Jesus could return today, we consider them an embarrassment to other Christians.
In EPHESIANS 5:15-17, we read,
“Be very careful then, how you live – not as unwise, but as wise – making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
Make the most of every opportunity.
- - Do you do that?
Because the days are evil.
- Do you actually consider the days in your lives evil?
Therefore, do not be foolish.
- - Would God rate the way you live as “foolish”?
Understand what the Lord’s will is.
- Do you search for God by calling out to Him?
Or, do you spend your life claiming to be Christian yet not doing many of the things Christ has called you to do – wanting God to reward us but doing nothing that would make Him want to ?
God calls us to live wisely in light of the certain return of Jesus Christ, and He expects you to be serious about doing so. That means you are to put Jesus as the head of your life.
2. BE FOCUSED
Have you ever driven a long distance with small children in the car? How do you focus on driving safely when every five minutes you hear, “Are we there yet?” After awhile, this commotion makes it hard to focus properly on the trip. How do you respond when you get unfocused like that?
How many of you would have said something like, “We’re closer now than we were the last time you asked”? Or, the classic response, “Don’t make me stop this car!” No matter how you would respond, it is the children who keep the most focus on a long trip. And their focus is always and fully on the destination.
That is not a bad principle to keep in our lives, either. Without a focus, we don’t really have a destination, do we? And without a destination, we don’t really have any way of measuring where we are in life. “Are we there yet” becomes a mantra that we cannot answer without a focus and destination.
At this time of year, we focus on the birth of our Lord. Without His birth, we would have no focus. And we must keep our focus on His resurrection, for without that, we would have no destination. As Christians, we must keep our focus all year long.
C.S. Lewis wrote a book entitled, “The Screwtape Letters”. In this book, he told of a high-ranking demon teaching a less experienced demon in the best way to keep humans from having an effective relationship with the Lord. He says that all the old methods don’t work anymore. He tells of how they used torture; then they threw them in dungeons; but all these did was make humans mad, and when humans got mad, you couldn’t do a thing with them.
He went on to say that they quit all that stuff right after the McCarthy hearings. He says there is a whole new approach to keeping people away from God now. He says to pour on the good life. Give them an income that covers way more than just the basics, and give them campers, two cars, and a job that lets them have a lot of time off.
He said when you do that to a good solid Christian family, you can then just sit back and before long they will crack like a nut. He said they will start telling everyone just how much God has blessed them, and while they are praising God for all these things, they are hooking the camper up and getting ready to skip church while they go away for the weekend.
Or maybe he will turn on his big screen TV and do nothing at all except watch the boob tube, instead of getting up and doing anything for the Lord or for church. Lewis went on to write that if the demons keep pouring on the good life every week, pretty soon the Christians will be so busy they have no more time for God.
Do you know what the sad part about all this is? It works. It works very well. Satan has never lost a country yet that he has gone after. To prove that, all you have to do is look at what is happening across the globe. Christ is being taken out of Christmas, laws against the Bible are being adopted, and mega churches who have been abundantly blessed with people, money, and resources close on Christmas Sunday because it “isn’t the best use of resources at this time.”
The devil doesn’t care if you go to church every week. In fact, he wants you to. He wants you to go to church all the time, and he wants you to be so busy you have no time to worship the Lord. He wants you to live the superficial life; the life where the only focus you have is on the moment at hand. He desperately wants you to be a “casual Christian”.
God wants us to live our life focused on our Savior, Jesus Christ. And make no mistake about this; He fully expects us to live a life that is totally sold out for Jesus.
We must have faith to keep our focus on our destination. Sometimes, I think we don’t fully understand what it means to have faith. For that reason, I sometimes believe we don’t understand what it means to have true focus, either. We have had the good life so long, we have all but forgotten what it means to work at anything. This might explain what it would mean to have true focus.
The U.S. Marine Corps conducts a secret sniper program in Quantico, Virginia. It is aptly called ‘Sniper Camp’. The school admits 25 men every eight weeks where they are expected to work hard for 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. Very few men pass this course. It is an incredibly tough thing to go through!
To graduate, each person goes on a mock mission into a specific area. After they get imbedded in that area, the instructors go to that area and try to find them. If they do find him, the person fails the course. It takes a great amount of focus to keep from being found.
To get in range of his target, a sniper moves very slowly. It is not uncommon for a sniper to move along at the rate of one inch per hour. Sometimes, the sniper will lie absolutely still for one or two days without moving at all, despite the inspect bites, the cold weather, and the fear of such things as snakes. Without that total focus on their destination, they would never graduate.
If you think about it, we expect that same kind of intense focus on everyone who does well in our society. We demand that committed focus from doctors, judges, athletes, and even preachers. But do you realize that there is somebody who expects that same type of focus from you?
The moment we declare our self a Christian, God starts expecting that intense focus from you on His Son. And you know what? God deserves that type of dedication from each one of us.
The very sad part of it is that most of us never have that kind of focus because we don’t think it is really necessary. What the average Christian does is get really comfortable and then - stops. They remain at that point and make up all kinds of things to justify why they don’t give any more to the Lord. They focus on their desires; their comfort level, and their need: All to the exclusion of the needs and desires of Jesus.
3. YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE ALONE
An old Christmas song goes something like this:
"Santa Claus is coming to town.
He’s making a list, checking it twice –
He’s gonna find out who’s naughty and nice,
Santa Claus is coming to town.”
I never did like that song! When I was younger, I heard that song and it made me afraid of Santa. I mean, if he knew everything, then he knew how I bothered my brothers and sister and how I didn’t always do as my parents told me. And, if he knew all that, he couldn’t help but be mad at me and that would mean I wouldn’t get any presents.
I think that must be how many people view Jesus. They think that because they have been so bad, they are already destined to go to hell. And the devil loves it when people believe that lie. I say it is a lie, because everyone has the chance to do a U-turn. We all have a “do-over” coming. The Lord has given us the chance to redeem ourselves through the blood of Jesus, but the devil keeps shoving that lie in front of us and too many of us believe it.
It’s about keeping your eyes on Jesus. It’s about believing in His mercy and grace. And it is about being willing to submit your heart enough to truly focus on Him as your end destination.
EPHESIANS 2:8-9 – says in part
‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith …’
We are called to have faith in the fact that Jesus will come back a second time to gather His flock and take them with Him.
The last half of HEBREWS 9:28 – tells us
‘… and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.’
Years from now, what will it be that you remember about this Christmas? Will it be the gifts you received or maybe this church service? Not very likely. What you will remember most about this Christmas will be what you remember most about other Christmases in your past. You will remember the love of your family and friends; their company; and the warm feelings you got from just being around those you loved.
That is what you will remember about this Christmas. But it should not stop there. You should also have a very special remembrance of how Jesus fits into Christmas. You should remember that Jesus will never leave you. And you should remember that He will be coming back to those who love Him enough to be ready while they wait.
Speaking of loving Jesus, do you love Him?
Several years ago, at Christmastime, a team of American missionaries went to the northern-most parts of Russia to teach moral ethics according to biblical standards. They taught in fire stations, police stations, schools, and finally an orphanage.
When they got to the orphanage, they began to tell the story of Jesus birth to children who had never heard it before. According to their journal, the kids sat on the edge of their chairs grabbing on to every word, just like we would a mystery.
When the missionaries had finished telling about the birth of Jesus, they gave the orphans some tools to make a manger so they could better identify with the story. They were given strips of yellow napkin for the hay, small cardboard pieces to make the manger from, and they were given pieces of felt that they could fashion a baby Jesus.
As the orphans sat on the floor making the mangers, the missionaries moved about them seeing how they were doing. Everybody seemed to be getting along just fine until one missionary reached little Mishka.
Mishka had finished, but instead of one baby in the manger, there were two. When asked, Mishka told the story perfectly right on up to where Jesus was in the manger, and then he left the story and with wide-eyed anticipation, began making up his own story ending.
“And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no momma and I have no papa, so I have no place to stay.
Then Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn’t because I didn’t have a gift to give him like everybody else did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift.
So I asked Jesus, “If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?” Jesus told me, “If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me. So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told me I could stay with him – for always, and always.”
As little Mishka finished his story, his eyes overflowed with tears. He put his hands over his face, his head dropped to the table, and his shoulders shook as he sobbed the cry of one who has for the first time found the blessing of true love.
The little orphan boy who had never known what it was like to be loved or cared for, had finally found someone who did love and care for him. Someone who promised to never abandon or abuse him; someone who would stay with him – FOR ALWAYS AND ALWAYS!”
Again, do you really love Jesus? Do you love Him enough to sacrifice yourself for Him by being sold out to Him; by wanting desperately to give to Him; by searching for ways to put Him in your every thought?
Mishka did. A young orphan boy loved Jesus so much it made Him sob; his little heart ached and yearned to give something to Jesus; and for the first time in his young life, he felt good. – really good.
Jesus laid down His life so that we could be forgiven of our sins. That is how much He loves us, too. And as we eagerly await His return, we need to be focused; focused on our end destination – the destination of spending eternity with our Lord in Heaven.
INVITATION
