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Back to Sermons Index Back to Home Page 21st September 2008 PMJESUS IS COMING AGAIN Pastor Colin MeadowsZephaniah 1:14-2:3, 2 Peter 3:1-18
►Be ready, for Jesus is coming again! Our series on the fundamentals of our faith now concludes. We have learnt that we have been created by God to bring glory to his name. How do we do that? By living obedient lives! As followers of Christ we live together in the community of faith which the Bible calls the church. Today we look briefly at the wonderful truth that Christ is coming again! A word of caution is needed here. There is much controversy amongst Christians about the end times and what will take place and when. Biblical interpretation in this area can be difficult so we need to give each other a little space. What the Bible is completely clear about however is this - Jesus is coming back and we need to be ready! The early Christians lived in the expectation of the imminent return of Christ. We should do the same. We are living in the last days, with the great Day of the Lord coming as the final day! While Jesus gave no timetable for his return, he did list three signs that must happen before his return. We will begin by examining these signs. ► Be informed and read the signs! When asked by his disciples about his return, Jesus gave them three signs of things that first must take place. +Sign one – The Fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple While Jesus was talking with his disciples about the end times, they became interested in the temple, lying before them in all its splendor. This temple was still being rebuilt under King Herod’s instructions. Matthew 24:1-2 “Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. ’Do you see all these things?’ he asked. ‘I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”’ Jesus was seeking to take their eyes off the physical temple and to look to him. The destruction of the temple took place in 70AD when the Romans under Titus marched into the city and destroyed the city. The Jews had earlier revolted against the Romans in 66AD. Emperor Vespasian sent his son, Titus to overthrow the city. The city walls were eventually breached and a great slaughter took place. The destruction of that time was horrific. Hardly one stone of the temple was left upon another. The Roman soldiers even pried up the foundations of the temple, seeking after the gold that melted and had ran into the cracks during the raging fire. The Jewish historian, Josephus told of Roman soldiers climbing over heaps of bodies as they chased the Jewish fugitives. Jesus was seeking to get his disciples to take their eyes off the earthly building and onto him. Our trust is not to be in physical things either but rather in God himself. The sign thus of the temple’s destruction, fulfilled around 70AD. +Sign two – Wars and distress, along with false teachers Matthew 24:4- 6 “Jesus answered: ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.’” We have always had wars going on in our world. There has hardly been a day in recent recorded history when there was not some conflict going on somewhere. During the 20th Century for instance it is estimated that around 160 million people were killed in the various conflicts that took place. Earthquakes and famines would also be a feature of the latter days. Matt 24:7 “There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.” World hunger seems to be a spectre that now hangs over us. Concerning earthquakes it was shown that during the 1940’s there 51 earthquakes worldwide of size 6 or above on the Richter scale. During the 1990’s earthquakes of that scale numbered 1,514. False Christ’s have appeared frequently as well. Down through the years many people have claimed that they were Jesus Christ returned to earth – Montanus, Tanchelm of Antwerp, Bernhard Muller, John Thom, Baha’u’llah, William Davies, George Baker, Iesu Matayoshi, Jung Myung Seok, Jose Miranda, David Icke, David Koresh, Maria Christos, David Shayler, to name just a few. The list goes on and on of people who claimed they were Jesus returned in the flesh! False prophets, each one of them seeking to deceive people. Don’t be led astray by such people. We know for certain that Jesus has not yet returned for when he does, everyone will know! That is very clear from the Bible. There will be no doubt about it, no uncertainty at all. 1 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” Yes, there has certainly been wars, distress and false teachers in abundance over these past days. +Sign three – The Gentile mission to the whole world. Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” The gospel of Christ has over the years penetrated to the far reaches of the world, offering people the opportunity to respond and repent. This is continuing even today, with Christians sharing the Good News in remote places all round the world. Jesus thus could come at any moment. What is clear is this – the near fulfillment of these signs reminds us that we are living in what the Bible calls the last days. ►Be aware that we are living in the ‘last days’! What is the defining characteristic of the ‘last days’? 2 Peter 3:3 “First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil schemes.” We thus need to be alert as we live in the last days, using each day wisely to grow in our faith, for there are many who will ridicule us. The word used here to scoff or mock means to ‘consider a person’s faith as child’s play’. Christians are seen as being ‘childish’ when they hold on to their faith in the light of what people are saying. Such people will tell us that modern science and technology has removed the need for faith, that all can be explained through natural processes and chemical reactions. Give up your childish beliefs is the cry! We need in the face of such scoffing to hold on to Christ, no matter what is being said. What then is faith? Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Faith is trusting in God’s Word and then walking in the light of what it says. Hold on to you faith in Christ. Science helps us with the ‘how’ questions but faith explains the ‘why’ questions. As you do that, remember that there is coming a final day, the last day of the last days, the Day of the Lord! Zephaniah 1:14 “The great day of the LORD is near – near and coming quickly.” At that time, Christ will return and bring about the final judgment. We are called to be people who live in the light of this day, to be ready, with our bags packed so to speak. Many people in our world live as it this life is all there is, that we live, die and that is the end of the story. Christians have a different perspective for the Bible in this regard is very clear. There is more to come – this life is not the end. 2 Peter 3:17 “Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.” How then should we live in these last days as we approach the last day, the Day of the Lord? ►Be committed to growth in your relationship with Christ! 2 Peter 3:11-12, 14 “…You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming... make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.” Jesus wants us to be people who are growing to him day by day. Each day we should be just a little further along the road of spiritual maturity. 2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” How can we keep growing spiritually? By being committed to reading God’s Word, the Bible and to prayer. By being committed to meeting with God’s people and being accountable to others in a small group. By being committed to living a life that honors God and reflects Him to others. As we live out our faith in this way, then we will move gently along on the faith journey. A plant grows gently as it takes in nourishment. So too we will grow as we take in God’s Word and learn from others. A plant grows in strength and resilience as it copes with the wind and difficult times. So too we will grow as we face the obstacles of life. Remember, it is a journey. None of us has arrived. Each of us has baggage that is making the journey a little difficult, the shadow self that is slowing us down. Be patient with yourself and with others! But be committed to grow! Seek in God’s strength to keep moving on. I like the words of missionary to Africa, David Livingstone, when he noted ‘I am prepared to go anywhere, provided it be forward.’ Let us keep moving forward in our journey, trusting in the strength of the Holy Spirit day by day. As a child growing up on a farm, one of my jobs was to chop the firewood. I remember one day when mum and dad were going into town and I was asked to chop the wood. I said that I would and my parents left to go to town. I knew that they would be away for ages, so thought I would just play for a while and then chop the wood. It was great to have this time and I became absorbed in what I was doing. Suddenly I saw the car coming up the driveway! I couldn’t believe it. It seemed only ten minutes ago that they left and here they were coming back! How the time had flown. But now there was a great problem. I couldn’t even pretend that I was chopping the wood for the wood heap was now on the far side of where dad was parking the car! I had been playing while I should have been doing what I had been told to do. Let us be ready for the return of Jesus, whether he return while we are still alive or he return in the twinkle of an eye after our passing. Be ready, for Jesus is coming again!
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