The Blessed Hope And Our Response To It

THE BLESSED HOPE AND OUR RESPONSE TO IT

Titus 2:11-15

The Christian’s "blessed hope" that is referred to in Titus 2:13 is the imminent, personal pre-millennial return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The early church thought more about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ than about death or about heaven. They lived in light of that “hope.”

Now the word “hope” in the New Testament does not

imply uncertainty but it means “a joyful and confident expectation.” This hope is joyful and confident because it is based upon the promise of our Lord Himself, John 14:3.

All the signs of the times point to the fact that the coming of the Lord is imminent. The only solution to the problems and perplexities of our collapsing civilization is the coming again of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. No man, politician, government, or scientist can solve the present situation, but God has a solution. His Man, “the man Christ Jesus,” will step down from the throne of Glory before long and will set up His reign and rule of righteousness, and all the signs of the times, religious, political, industrial, commercial...point to the fact that His coming is very near. Now before Jesus comes to earth He will first come for His church at the rapture.

The Second Coming of Christ completely dominates Biblical Revelation. There are many more prophecies in the Old Testament relating to the Second Coming of Christ than there are relating to His first coming. When we come to the New Testament, we find, as one great Bible teacher has stated, that the Second Coming is mentioned 318 times, or approximately once in every twenty-five verses!

The Second Coming of Christ is bound up with every other doctrine of the Bible. It is so bound up that it cannot be neglected without disaster to the whole body of truth

The blessed hope - the second coming of Christ is a thrilling subject, yet sadly enough there are many Christians who, through ignorance of the scriptures or prejudice or some other reason, are not expecting and looking for the return of the Lord.

Let us consider this blessed hope - the return of Christ for the saints and what our response is to be to it.

I. There is a WATCH in which every Christian is to prevail

Jesus told us to watch. Though we are not told when Jesus will come, we are told that His coming is sure, and we are charge to watch for it.

"Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch" (Mark 13:33-37). A careful reading of these verses makes it apparent that the design of the Master was to impress upon His disciples two things. First, that while it was certain He would return, yet it was uncertain when He would appear. Second, that in view of the uncertainty of the exact hour of His Second Coming the Christian must maintain an attitude of constant watchfulness, looking for Him to return at any moment.

I Peter 4:7 “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.”

1Thessalonains 5:1-6 “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; tendency let us watch and be sober.”

A. Watch because of the despondency which is

spreading

So many today are living lives of defeat,

despondency, discouragement, and depression, and it is getting worse every day.

Why?

Probably the most common cause of despondency is self-centeredness. One of our most common tendencies is believing that the world revolves around us. This attitude is responsible for innumerable problems.

We look to self for the answers and we come up empty. One of the major characteristics of the "last days"