We live in a world where most people are ignorant to the fact or have no clue about the return of Jesus Christ. If they were told that Jesus was returning one day, they would call you crazy and tell you to quit believing in fairytales. The world carries on as if this life and earth as we know it will continue on forever. There is no sense of urgency to get one’s house in order. Then there are those who somewhat believe that Christ will return, but they feel as though they have all the time in the world to get right. The times are changing and things just aren’t like they use to be.
For ages sin has crawled and meandered through the hearts and lives of men. The first man and woman to live on this earth fell victim to sin and its consequences, which have resulted in every human being to be born in sin. But sin has not yet climaxed, or has reached its full potential although it steadily increases over time. Although sin has run rampant throughout the history of mankind, there was a time that things didn’t seem as bad as they are now.
Do you remember the time when one could leave their front door, back door, and windows unlocked or open throughout the entire night, and not have to worry about their safety? It was like leaving your wallet or purse in crowded shopping mall alone for hours, and come back to find everything still in place. What about the time when mommy nem (this word nem includes your mother and everybody she knew) had the right to discipline you without having charges pressed against them? No matter what side of town you were on, whether mommy or daddy was around or not, you better had been on your best behavior. Since its youth Sunday let me speak to them as well. There was a time when young people walked pass adults and spoke to them before that adult even had a chance to get a word out of their mouth. But now you have to speak to them first and that’s after they’ve already passed you by, and you’re lucky if you get a response from them.
So you see things just aren’t like they use to be. Times have changed, because leaving your home unlocked is a costly and sometimes deadly mistake these days. Discipline, where? That was thrown out of the window at the same time you decided to throw out your eight tracks and records. What has happened over the years? We continue to hear the phrase that has gained popularity, “What is the world coming to?” People are crazier than ever, natural disasters pay the earth a visit every year. Peace has become rare and sometimes non-existent in some countries. What is this world coming to?
We have to face the fact that we’re living in the last days. We’re living in a time where we are beginning to witness the fulfillment of some of the signs that Christ said would happen before His return. Although no man knows the day or hour that Christ will return, not even the angels in heaven, but we can be assured that Christ, without of shadow of a doubt, is coming back.
I know this isn’t popular preaching, but it’s needed, not only does world act as if this isn’t going to happen, but sometimes the church seems as though this isn’t the next major event on prophetic calendar.
Well, if Christ is returning, if He’s coming back, when did He leave? In our first passage in the book of Acts, we find Jesus preparing His disciples for His departure and also to receive the Holy Spirit. After Jesus’ resurrection, he appeared to the disciples on several occasions. It was necessary for Jesus to appear to the disciples so that they could be witnesses that Christ was raised from the dead, and it is because of His resurrection that we as Christian have the victory. But if the disciples had not seen the risen Christ, how could they preach with passion, what would they have to build there hope in? While Jesus was here on earth forty days after His resurrection, He continued to teach the disciples and open up their minds to understanding the scriptures.
Now it was time for Jesus to be seated on the right hand of the Father. Jesus reminded them of the work they had to do as he physically left their presence. After the disciples received the power of the Holy Spirit, they were to be witnesses throughout the world, telling a dying world that Christ lives and that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. When Jesus finished speaking to His disciples, He was taken up and a cloud hid Him from their sight. As the disciples stood there gazing at the sky, two angels stood by them and promised them that the same way they saw Jesus taken up into heaven, the same way He will come back one day.
We are to stand on this promise we find in the Holy Scriptures that Christ is coming back. But we aren’t to gaze in the sky waiting for His return; instead we should be spreading the good news of the gospel, compelling men, women, boys, and girls to give their lives to Christ. Not only are we to share the gospel, but we need to make sure that we have our houses in order. This isn’t a time to predict when we think Christ is coming back, for that would be a waste of time. Instead we should make sure we’re ready because He’s coming back like a thief in the night. You see a thief comes without warning, unexpected, but if you had some idea that a thief was going to break into your home, then you would be prepared. You would do all you could to prevent the break in. You would call Brinks and have the state of the art security system installed, rod iron electrical fences would surround your home; laser motion detectors would cover every square inch of your property (I know some of you saying I can’t afford all that, but you get the picture). You would do everything you could to protect your home.
Since we know Jesus is coming back, we should do everything we can do to be ready. We should love God with all our heart, our soul, and our mind. We should have love for our fellow man just as we love ourselves. We should read and study the word of God, and have consistent communication with God. We should be peculiar people, able to be distinguished from the world. We must be morally and spiritually ready, live our lives as if Jesus was returning today, which He very well could. If we know Christ is coming back we should do all those things that please God.
I know some people still feel like this sermon is irrelevant, because they see the return of Christ as something that will happen ages from now, and that might be true. But here are some things to consider, tomorrow, as a matter fact, the next second isn’t promised to you, so it’s wise to have your house in order right now. Also, II Peter 3:8 says, “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” We’re not on the same timetable as the Lord, so we need to quit thinking that time is on our side. There are going to be some people who say, “Where is the coming that he promised? Since our fathers died, everything has been going on the same way since the beginning of creation.” The bible says that these are people who deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. It was by these same waters that the world of time was destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
He’s coming back, but he is giving sinners time to repent and turn to him. He’s giving the church time to get right those things that aren’t of the Lord. Others may not believe in Christ’s return, but we should live with the realization that time is short and that we have important work to do. We know that time is short because some of the signs of Christ’s return are being fulfilled today.
In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus as He sat on the mount of Olives as He shared with His disciples in what is known as the Olivet discourse, the signs of His coming, as well as the fate of Jerusalem. He said you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, but don’t be troubled, for these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, September 11th’s, and hurricane Katrina’s, but these are just the beginning of birth pains. Many false prophets shall rise and deceive many, just as they did in biblical times. I know sometimes you attend Bedside Baptist, and you turn on the television to get you a word, but be careful who you listen to, for there are preachers, or should I say false preachers who are out to deceive many. Be careful who you listen to behind the pulpits as well, just because someone stands in the pulpit, that doesn’t mean that they are called. The bible tells us to try the spirit by the spirit.
Sin is going to increase and the love of men shall decrease. Same-sex relationships are going to become widely accepted. Like David Koresh and Jim Jones, some will claim to be Christ and lead many astray. I tell you that this world is in its last days, and these are the signs of the time, and the signs that Christ’s return is at hand.
There will be people who say Christ is here and he’s there, but Jesus said believe them not. I remember when I was a young boy, somewhere these people said that Christ appeared on this wall. It made the news and people from all over came to this place where someone said that Christ appeared. Jesus warns us in the scripture that false Christs and false prophets shall arise and show great signs and wonders so much so that believers will find it difficult to be loyal.
But we can keep from being deceived because the word of God helps us to understand that the return of Christ will be unmistakable; no one will doubt that it is He. Just like the lightning comes out of the east and shines in the west, so shall the coming of the Son of man be, unmistakable. Jesus told His disciples in this Olivet discourse that after the tribulation or troubles of those days that he described, that the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven. When the world sees Christ return, they shall mourn. Why will there be mourning, because unbelievers will then realized that Christ is real and that they had chosen the wrong side. The coming of Christ will be swift and sudden, and there will be no opportunity for last-minute repentance or bargaining. That is why it is very important that we make the right choice today, because it will determine our eternal destiny.
When Christ returns he will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together His elect, the believers, from all over this earth. I like had Paul describes the rapture of the church. Paul says, “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: 17 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.”
I’m getting ready to close, sit down and be happy all by myself, but if you’re a child of God you have nothing to worry about because we will not have to face God’s wrath that awaits those unbelievers that are left after the rapture. This message and these scriptures should in no way frighten the believer because Christ has gone away to prepare a place for us, and He said that in His Father’s house are many mansions. When Christ returns, he will come to take those who believe back with Him. There will be a new heaven and a new earth and it will be something unimaginable. The question was asked earlier, “what is this world coming to?” We know from the scriptures that this world as we know will one day come to an end. But for the believer in Christ that’s good news, because that means that soon and very soon we are going to see the King.
Even though it may seem like Christ’s return is far away, we have to keep in mind that one day is as a thousands years to the Lord. We never know when that day may be. We may not be physically living on earth when Christ returns, but we never know when death is just around the corner, we need to be sure and very sure that our soul is anchored in the Lord. We have to make sure that we have swept around our own front door, before we try to sweep around others. We have to be sure that we’re spreading the good news of the gospel, so that lost souls can be saved before it is too late.
I know messages like this aren’t popular, because they ignored Noah when he said it’s going rain. But somebody needs to know Christ is coming back, somebody needs to know that Jesus is real, somebody needs to know that heaven and hell is real, and if you haven’t excepted Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, as your personal Lord and Saviour and you die today or Christ returns today, then from hell will you lift your eyes...
