MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(Revised: 2022)
TEXT: Daniel 7:13-14; 1 Thess. 4:16-17, 5:1-2; 2 Peter 3:11-12; Rev. 11:15, 22:20; Matthew 24:30-44; John 14:1-3; Philippians 2:9-11; James 1:17-18 NCV
A. It's Christmastime again! The countdown started well before Thanksgiving, & with each passing day the excitement & preparations are accelerating. Lights & decorations have been put up, stores are full, & music is filling the air.
A lot of people, especially children, are eagerly anticipating a very special event. Truly, it's a busy time of the year!
And what is it all about? Well, almost any child will tell you - "Sa Nta Claus is coming to town!" And remember, "He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake! You better not pout, you better not cry - you better watch out, I'm telling you why - Santa Claus is coming to town!"
B. Now that may be important to many people, but the One whose coming I'm looking forward to won't be coming from the North Pole & riding in a sleigh. Instead, He's coming from Heaven, & arriving on the clouds of the sky!
No matter how you look at it, His arrival will be awesome, & the anticipation we feel is not ours alone. Millions all over the world are eagerly awaiting His coming, too.
And because that, I'm here today to tell you to prepare your hearts & minds to understand the significance of His coming. And to get us started, let me share with you from God's Word concerning Jesus coming again.
C. For example, here are the words of a wise man who lived long ago. Daniel was a man determined to serve the Lord. And every time the king had a dream or vision from God, Daniel was called upon to interpret it. One night, Daniel was on his bed when he received a vision from God.
Listen to what he wrote in Daniel 7:13-14. "In my vision at night I looked, & there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of Heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days & was led into His presence.
“He was given authority, glory & sovereign power; all nations & peoples of every language worshipped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, & His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed."
Do you understand what he was saying? Daniel says that he saw the Son of Man, that's Jesus, coming with the clouds of Heaven in glory & power. And the people of every nation worshipped Him!
And Daniel wasn't the only one who mentioned this event. The Apostle Paul wrote, 600 years later (1 Thess. 4:16-17), "For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel & with the trumpet call of God, & the dead in Christ will rise first.
“After that, we who are still alive & are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."
Jesus is coming! And we need to be ready. So let's take time to consider this seriously, to be excited about His coming, & about the importance of having our hearts prepared for that day.
Right now, children are excited about the coming of a roly-poly man in a red suit with toys in his bag. But you & I should be even more excited! For we are awaiting the arrival of our King in all His glory, coming in the clouds of heaven.
Do you realize that we've been told to anticipate His coming? In 2 Peter 3:11-12, Peter asks, "What kind of people ought you to be?" Then Peter answers his own question by saying, "You ought to live holy & godly lives as you look forward to the day of God & speed its coming."
That anticipation was certainly a driving force for the early Christians. In the last verses of the last book in the Bible, John writes, "He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus." (Revelation 22:20)
Isn't that wonderful? Jesus tells John, "Yes, I am coming soon" & John replies, "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" That should be our attitude, too.
Some may say, "Okay, I'll look forward to the coming of Jesus, but how will He come, when will He come, & why is He coming anyway?" Those are good questions, & it's important that we know what the Bible says about them.
I. HOW WILL JESUS RETURN?
First of all, "How will Jesus return?" Well, we don't have to wonder about that, because the Bible clearly tells us how Jesus answered that in Matthew 24:30-31.
"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, & all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power & great glory.
“And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, & they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."
Every eye will see him, & every knee will bow before Him, & every tongue will confess that He is Lord! And this time He's coming with power & glory!
II. WHEN WILL JESUS COME?
Well, we've been told how Jesus will come, but when will He come? This is a problem for some because as a people we like to be prepared. Most of us will be prepared for Christmas because we have a deadline to work with.
We know we need to have our presents bought by Christmas Day. But the problem we have with the coming of Jesus is that we don't know when He will return, we only know that He is coming.
Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 24:37-44, "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
“For in the days before the flood, people were eating & drinking, marrying & giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; & they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came & took them all away.
“That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken & the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken & the other left.
"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch & would not have let his house be broken into.
“So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him."
Jesus says when you least expect Him, that's when to expect Him. When would that be for you? Would it be just after you've finished buying most of your Christmas gifts? Or, would it be on January 1st, just when the really big bowl games are starting?
Paul wrote in 1 Thess. 5:1-2, "Now, brothers, about times & dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night."
Paul tells us to avoid setting dates & getting all wrapped up in thinking we know when Jesus will return because His return will be like a thief in the night.
III. WHY IS JESUS RETURNING?
We have looked at how Jesus will return, when Jesus will return, & now let’s look at why Jesus is returning. There are really two different reasons why Jesus is coming back.
A. First of all, Jesus is coming back for His followers - for me & you, that we might be with Him forever. The evening before Jesus was taken to the cross He told His disciples in John 14:1-3,
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You trust in God; trust also in me. My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
“And if I go & prepare a place for you, I will come back & take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."
B. There is a 2nd reason why Jesus is returning. Jesus came the first time to be a sacrifice for our sins, & to show us how to live. And the very ones He came to save rejected & crucified Him.
But this time He will not be coming as a servant. This time He will come to reign as King of Kings & Lord of Lords!
John wrote in Rev. 11:15, "The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, & there were loud voices in heaven, which said: ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord & of His Messiah, & He will reign for ever & ever."
Jesus is coming again! I hope you have gotten that message this morning. We're not talking about Mohammed, or Buddha, or anyone else - we're talking about Jesus & He is coming again!
Paul wrote in Philippians 2:9-11, "Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place & gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven & on earth & under the earth, & every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
SUM. This morning we have looked at the how & when & why Jesus is coming. There is one more thing I want to share with you this morning. Jesus will be bringing good gifts to His people.
IV. JESUS BRINGS GOOD GIFTS
I am happy for you this Christmas because many of you will be getting what you want. But I can assure you: "Whatever you get will someday wear out or
be used up."
But when Jesus gives gifts they never wear out. He has come to give us eternal life, the privilege of sharing eternity before His glorious throne. James wrote about this in James 1:17-18 (NCV).
"Every good action & every perfect gift is from God. These good gifts come down from the Creator of the sun, moon, & stars, who does not change like their shifting shadows.
"God decided to give us life through the word of truth so we might be the most important of all the things He made."
I don't know about you, but I'm excited about His coming. I don't know what hour or day it will be, but there is one thing I do know - He is coming again!
He is coming back for those who have received Him as King & Lord of their life. And when He comes there will be no mistaking who He is. He will be in the clouds of Heaven & His radiance will flood the universe. As a song proclaims:
All glory to Jesus, begotten of God, the great I AM is He;
Creator, sustainer - but wonder of all - the Lamb of Calvary.
To think that the guardian of planets in space, the Shepherd of the stars,
Is tenderly leading the church of His love by hands with crimson scars!
The King of all Kings & the Lord of all Lords, He reigns in glory now;
Some day He is coming, earth's kingdom to claim,
And every knee shall bow, & every knee will bow!
I pray that you will be ready when He comes.
INVITATION
