Jesus return provides us hope for the future and the urgency to engage in the kingdom mission we have been given in the present...

This week, we have been looking at the ninth statement that comprises our doctrinal statement as a church. This ninth statement addresses what we believe as a church about Jesus return. This statement summarizes the answer to the question “Is Jesus coming back to earth? And if Jesus is coming back to earth, how is He coming back? And why is He coming back? And when is He coming back?” So let’s look at this ninth statement of our doctrinal statement together:

We believe in the personal, bodily and premillennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.

So far, we have talked about the reality that Jesus will return visibly to earth, in person to set up His kingdom. In other words, Jesus will not return to earth as a spirit. Instead Jesus will personally and bodily return to earth. We saw the Apostle Paul comfort the members of the church at Thessalonica by explaining that just as Jesus died and rose again from death, followers of Jesus who died before Jesus returned to earth would be raised from the dead to be with Jesus.

Paul encouraged the members of the church at Thessalonica by explaining that Jesus Himself proclaimed that He would physically and bodily return to earth and that all who believed trusted, and followed Him, whether physically alive or dead at the time of His return, would be caught up alive to meet Him in the air as He returned to earth to establish the kingdom of God in its fullest sense.

We talked about the reality that we believe in the premillenial return of Jesus Christ, When we say that we believe in the premillenial return of Jesus Christ, we are saying that Jesus will visibly return and begin to establish the kingdom of Heaven in its fullest sense at the end of the Great Tribulation, at which time Jesus will rule and reign over the earth for a period of a thousand years. Now this time in which Jesus will rule and reign over the earth is referred to in church mumbo jumbo talk as the millennial kingdom.

We also began to look at a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the book of Matthew, where Jesus began to answer the question as to when He would return with three warnings. In Matthew 24:3-28, Jesus, in His response to the disciples warned His followers throughout history to do not be deceived by the false signs of world events, to do not be deceived as a result of the events of the great tribulation, and to do not be deceived by the false signs of the Antichrist.

Then after giving His disciples, and followers of Jesus throughout history, these three timeless warnings, we see Jesus answer the disciples question in verses Matthew 24:29-31. Let’s look at Jesus’ answer together:

But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. "And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. "And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

Jesus answers the disciples question by quoting from two sections of two letters that are recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Isaiah and the book of Daniel. Jesus quotes Isaiah 13:10 and Daniel 7:13, both of which refer to God’s promise to send a rescuer, a deliverer, a Messiah. Jesus quotes these Old Testament passages to reveal the reality that at the end of the Great Tribulation, a battle will occur, called the battle of Armageddon, where the forces of Satan and the antichrist are defeated at the Hands of Jesus as He returns to earth to usher in the kingdom of Heaven here on earth for a thousand years.

And in these verses we see that Jesus return will be unmistakable. In verses 30-31, we see that when Jesus comes again there will be unmistakable phenomenon that occur in the universe to mark His coming. Do you think you would miss the sun if it was no longer giving light? Would you miss it if the stars fell from the sky? No, we would not miss a sign of that nature.

The reality is that Jesus second coming will be of such a scale that it will be unmistakable. However, while Jesus return will be unmistakable, that does not necessarily mean that Jesus return is predictable, as we see just a few verses later in Matthew 24:36:

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. "For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. "Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. "Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.

Jesus responded to the disciples question about when He would be ushering in the Kingdom of Heaven by simply saying that He did not know; only the Father knew. Now a natural question that could arise here is “Well Dave, I thought you said that Jesus was God and that God knew absolutely everything that there was to know. So if that is the case, then how could Jesus not know?”  That is a great question.

And my response to that question would be this. As we discovered when we looked at what we believe about Jesus, when Jesus entered into humanity, Jesus willingly laid aside some of His Divine attributes in order to engage and enter into this world. Jesus is fully aware of when He is returning to earth. And before entering into humanity, Jesus was fully aware of when He was returning to earth. However while on earth, Jesus willingly laid aside that knowledge of when He was going to return to earth. 

However, here we see Jesus reveal the reality that His return will be unexpected. And as a result, upon His arrival people will be living out their day to day lives as though He was not returning on the day He returns. Jesus reminds His followers throughout history that the events surrounding His return will be reminiscent of the days before the Lord flooded the earth in the days of Noah. Just as it was on the day that the Lord began to flood the earth, people will be engaged in their normal day to day lives, not expecting Jesus return and not prepared for Jesus return.

When Jesus states that there were two men in the field and two women grinding at the mill and that one was taken and one was left, He is revealing the reality that those who were taken were taken away to judgment as a result of their selfishness and rebellion against God. Just as those who were unprepared for the unexpected flood, those who are unprepared for the events surrounding Jesus return as a result of their selfishness and rebellion against God will be taken away to experience God’s right and just judgment for their rebellion.

This reality is addressed in the final section of this doctrinal statement which says “The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.” We see Jesus address this reality beginning in Matthew 24:42-44:

"Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. "For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

Jesus explained to His disciples that, because the events surrounding Jesus second coming could occur at any time, they were to be on the alert for His return. Jesus point to His disciples, and to His followers throughout history, is that we must be prepared and ready for Jesus 2^nd coming by being faithful for our responsibilities as His followers.

And, as followers of Jesus, being faithful involves perseverance and consistency, because we do not know how long it will be until Jesus comes again. However, those who postpone their responsibilities to be faithful in order to be selfish and rebellious against God to do evil reveal their lack of faithfulness to God.

You see, as followers of Jesus every day matters. Every day is one day closer to Jesus return. As we approach the blessed hope of living in the relationship with God and one another in eternity in Heaven, released from the pain and suffering that comes from sin and death, we are to leverage that hope into an urgency to live our lives in a way that reveals and reflects Christ as we love and serve others. And as followers of Jesus, we are to leverage that hope into an urgency to share the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel with an urgency that comes in light of the reality that every day matters.

Now, after unpacking all of that information that is contained within this statement of our doctrinal statement, we still have to answer the question: “Dave does what we believe about Jesus return really matter?” And the answer to that question leads us to a timeless truth about why it really matters.

And that timeless truth is this: What we believe about Jesus return really matters because Jesus return provides us hope for the future and the urgency to engage in the kingdom mission we have been given in the present. What we believe about Jesus return really matters because Jesus return provides us hope for the future. The hope for the future that Jesus will physically and bodily return to earth so that all who believed trusted, and followed Him, whether physically alive or dead at the time of His return, will be caught up alive to meet Him in the air as He returns to earth to begin to establish the kingdom of Heaven in its fullest sense. The hope for the future that Jesus will physically and bodily return to free us from the pain and suffering that comes from sin and death so that we can experience the relationship with God that we were created for through all eternity.

And what we believe about Jesus return really matters because Jesus return provides us the urgency the engage in the kingdom mission we have been given in the present. The urgency to live our day to day lives by loving and serving others in a way that reveals and reflects Jesus to others who are far from Him. The urgency to share the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel with the urgency that comes in light of the reality that every day matters.

The urgency that every day matters because every day is another day closer to Jesus return, where all humanity will stand before Jesus to answer for how they lived their lives here on earth. The urgency that every day matters because every day is another day that people will die before Jesus returns, and will have to answer for how they lived their lives here on earth. The urgency that every day matters because every day is on opportunity to embrace and engage in the kingdom mission that we have been given as followers of Jesus by God the be the vehicle that He uses to reveal His Son Jesus and His message of rescue through the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to the world.

Because, as we have discovered, what we believe about Jesus return really matters because Jesus return provides us hope for the future and the urgency to engage in the kingdom mission we have been given in the present....