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Sunday, October 25, 2009 TITLE: The Final Battle TEXT: II Peter 3:8-14
OPEN: Several years ago Johnny Carson had Billy Graham as a guest on his show. At one point there was a lull in the conversation and Johnny said, "You know what Billy, I bet if Jesus
ever came back to earth, I bet we'd do him in again!" "In the Bible we read that Jesus predicted that He would return to earth again. But the first time He came in love. The next time, He'll come in power and no one will DO Him in!" And when He comes the 2nd time, He’ll come prepared for war
The Apostle John – in Revelation 19 - describes it this way: I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no-one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron sceptre." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Revelation 19:11-16
ILLUS: My kids are reading their way through Revelation this year. As we started to read through the part about the 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse… … and all the devastation they would bring, I asked Naomi what she’d read. She made a very astute observation: When Jesus comes – you want to be on His side.
You don’t want to be on the wrong side of the battle lines when He comes the 2nd time. Because Jesus is coming again! And when He comes, He’ll come in power – no one will DO Him in!
It’s a repeated theme throughout the Bible – Jesus is coming againIn Matthew 26:64 Jesus told the High Priest and Sanhedrin: “I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."
Jude tells us "The Lord is coming with 1000s upon 1000s of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Jude 14 & 15
And Paul tell Timothy: I charge [you] therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Timothy 4:1
When Jesus comes again, He’s coming in power, He’s coming with 1000s & 1000s of angels And He’s coming in judgment In fact, II Peter 3 tells us that when He comes 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. 2 Peter 3:10
Everything will be destroyed.
This world that we know is being “reserved for fire… … being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.” 2 Peter 3:7
When Jesus comes again – you want to be on His side.
But there are people who don’t believe this is going to happen. And II Peter says as much. In verses 3 & 4 we’re told “First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 2 Peter 3:3-4
ILLUS: Several years ago, a survey was taken of some of the Bible Seminaries in America What they found was devastating: only 3% of graduates from those seminaries believed that Jesus was coming back.
Graduates of Bible College Seminaries? Why would they reject something that’s such an obvious teaching out of Scripture? Well, because in the Seminaries that they attended … the teachers were evil men. Those teachers had no faith in God’s Word… When they taught, they scoffed at God’s promises & destroyed the faith of their students.
The 2nd coming of Christ is one of the most basic and powerful promises in Scripture… …and without that promise we have no hope in this world
Paul declares in I Thessalonians: “We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and 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. Therefore encourage each other with these words.” I Thessalonians 4:14-18
The promise of our resurrection from the dead is directly tied to the 2nd Coming of Jesus Without the promise of Christ’s return, there is no encouragement for us… … there’s no hope of our own physical resurrection from the dead.
Revelation 19 tells us that Jesus is coming prepared for war
He’s coming to make war. And every war has certain strategies. When Jesus comes to make war there are a couple of strategies He’ll employ
His 1st strategy is patience. Wars are lost by generals who are impatient. A good military leader waits until the time is right. He picks his battlefield carefully & watches to see how His enemy responds
God is patient. When Jesus was sent to earth the first time, God patiently waited until the time was right. Galatians 4:4 says “… when the time had fully come, God sent his Son…” God spent hundreds of years setting the stage for Jesus’ first coming. And II Peter tells us God is going to be just as patient setting the stage for the 2nd coming
And when God promised that Jesus would come a 2nd time, 2 Peter 3:9 tells us: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient…”
ILLUS: Now, that patience by God can be unnerving. I once read the story about a preacher was pacing the floor like a caged lion. One of friends asked him "What's the trouble?" asked the friend. And the preacher replied: "The trouble is that I am in a hurry. But God isn't."
If it’s unnerving to God’s servants… you can imagine how hard it is on Satan. He doesn’t know when God’s gonna do what He’s gonna do. In fact, Peter says: “… the day of the Lord will come like a thief. 2 Peter 3:10 Jesus has no intention of letting Satan know WHEN He’s coming. It’s called the element of surprise.
ILLUS: Ever since I was a young man, TV evangelists and Christian writers… … have made a fairly good living telling us when Jesus is going to come again. They’ve got charts and graphs and a time table that makes you think they know exactly how it’s going to go down. Ever since the church began, folks have been setting dates – this is the year is coming back. First there was 381 A.D.; Then 500 A.D Then 1000 AD A friend of Martin Luther like 1533 Isaac Newton predicted 1715 AD The Jehovah Witnesses have predicted His coming several times including 1844 & 1914 During my first ministry a man wrote a book “88 Reasons Why Jesus is Coming in 1988” And when that didn’t happened he wrote another “89 Reasons – 1989” Now I appreciate the fervor of these folks… … but whenever someone tells you they’ve got the 2nd Coming all figured out… … just smile and don’t buy their books
If it were as easy to understand as these preachers tell us… … Satan would have had it all figured out a long time ago. But when Jesus comes again… it will be like a thief in the night And it will be as much a surprise to Satan the 2nd time… … as it was the 1st time Jesus came to earth.
So Jesus’ first strategy is patience His 2nd is for us to prepare the way for His coming.
Look with me to 2 Peter 3:11-12 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.
Hmmm. Speed His coming? How could we do that?
ILLUS: About 15 yrs ago, I got a flyer in the mail from an “evangelist” who was bragged that he had started a riot in Jerusalem because he’d laid a stones to mark the location of a new temple. He bragged it was his hope that he hoped to start a war to herald in Jesus’ 2nd Coming.
Now, where would he get such a silly idea? He got it from a number of “theologians” who believe that the Temple has to be rebuilt… … and sacrifices need to be offered to God on the altar before Christ can come again.
Apparently there’s a “Temple Institute” that operates a small museum in Jerusalem. They have carefully reproduced the robes the OT priests would have worn… … along with the trumpets, harps, and lyres the Levites would have played in worship. The goal of the institute is not only to restore the Temple itself but to reinstate the priestly castes, clerical rule, and animal sacrifice that characterized the nation of Israel.
Now, I can tell you – that’s not how we’re going to “speed Christ’s 2nd coming”
If these folks would just think for a minute, they’d realize how foolish this idea is. The Temple was destroyed in 70 AD… in fulfillment of prophecy. It was destroyed – partly as a judgment against the Jews. But it the major reason God permitted it to be leveled… …was so there would be no more animal sacrifices.
The sacrifices of the Old Testament were principally focused on forgiveness of sins. But God doesn’t need to those sacrifices anymore Jesus had died on the cross for our sins He was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. The temple/ the altar/ and the earthly priesthood are no longer necessary. The belief of many theologians – that a New Temple will herald in Christ’s 2nd coming… … is based upon a mis-interpretation of a few Bible texts. And this is not what Peter tells us will speed Christ’s coming.
If rebuilding the Temple won’t hasten Christ’s coming, then what will? Well, 2 Peter 3:11&12 tells us: Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming...”
God doesn’t need an earthly temple rebuilt… …because He already has a Temple – you and I are His temple 1 Corinthians 3:17 tells us “… God’s temple is sacred, and YOU are that temple.”
Peter’s telling us that God wants His Temple (of believers) to live holy and godly lives. It is our holiness and godliness that lays the groundwork that God’s ultimate strategy.
And what is that strategy??? We spoke earlier about the fact that God is patient But we didn’t focus on why He is patient: “... He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
God’s ultimate strategy is to save as many in this world as He can. And we are the troops He uses to get that done. By our holiness and godliness God wants us to make our faith… … so attractive to the people around us that they want what we have. And I don’t know how it works, but when we do our job right… we speed His coming.
CLOSE: So – we know – that Jesus is coming again AND – we know – that when He comes, we want to be on His side. We want to be ready!
But if we don’t know when that 2nd Coming will occur… how will we know to get ready?
ILLUS: Charles Swindoll once told of working in a machine shop alongside a fellow named George. George’s job was to sweep and clean out the shavings underneath the lathes & machine. Swindoll says George was born again, and he loved the teaching of Scripture on prophecy. “I remember hearing him sing hymns as he worked. Many of them had to do with the coming of Christ, such as "In the Sweet By and By" and "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder." Late one Friday afternoon about 10 minutes to quitting time when we were all weary, I looked at George and said, "George, are you ready?" He said "Uh-huh." But he was all dirty. He was just obviously not ready. In fact, he looked like he was ready to keep on working. I said, "Aren't you ready to go home?" He said, "Yeah, I'm ready." I said "Look at you! Man, you're not ready. You've gotta go clean up." "No," he said, "let me show you something." So he unzipped his coveralls and underneath were the neatest, cleanest clothes you can imagine. He had them all ready. All he did when the whistle blew was just unzip and step out of that coverall, walk up, and punch his clock and he was gone. He said, "You see, I stay ready to keep from gettin' ready - just like I'm ready for Jesus!" Sunday, October 11, 2009 TITLE: Signing Up TEXT: Ephesians 2:1-10 OPEN: Three military recruiters showed up to address high school seniors. Each recruiter - representing the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps - was to have fifteen minutes. The Army and Navy recruiters got carried away… … so when it came time for the Marine to speak, he had just two minutes. He walked up and stood utterly silent for a full sixty seconds, half of his time. Then he said this: "I doubt whether there are two or three of you in this room who could even cut it in the Marine Corps. But I want to see those two or three immediately in the dining hall when we are dismissed." He turned smartly and sat down. When he arrived in the dining hall, those students interested in the Marines were a mob. APPLY: One of the most powerful images for the US military has got to be the Poster of Uncle Sam pointing his finger and saying “I want you.” (show “Uncle Sam” image) In the same way, the New Testament portrays God saying the same thing: I WANT YOU! “The Lord…is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” II Peter 3:9 He wants you. He wants you so badly that He paid a high price to recruit you. Isaiah 52:10 tells us that “The LORD (would) lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.” God told His people centuries before Jesus came… … that He would spare no expense in bringing salvation. ILLUS: Several years ago, there was 14 year-old girl (Laura Montero) whose appendix burst… … while she and her family vacationed on a cruise ship off the Baja Coast. The ship was hundreds of miles from help… …and the crew sent out a distress call looking for the nearest surgical unit. The USS Ronald Reagan, was about 500 miles away – and they answered the call. The Carrier was in the midst of training exercises – but the ship stopped and turned its crew of 6000.. … around and steamed 250 miles through the night to get within helicopter transport range. Laura was airlifted on board and doctors performed the life-saving surgery. The cost: 2.5 million dollars per day. Lisa Mikitarian Now how’s that family ever going to pay for that? They’re not. (the cost way is too high) But the US gov’t. gave them the FREE gift of life because they felt she was worth saving That’s a lot of money, but God paid a much higher price to obtain our allegiance: For God so loved the World… How are we ever going to pay for that? We’re not. As Ephesians tells us: “…because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions— it is by grace you have been saved… For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith— and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” Eph 2:4-5 & 8 You couldn’t pay for that if you wanted to… the price was too high. But God thought you and were worth saving. He wants you! (Show Jesus picture here) Now, if it’s by grace that we’re saved… does that mean there’s nothing for us to do? There are people who teach that once God decides to save you… …you’re saved – and you don’t have to do anything to be accepted. ILLUS: It’s kind of like back during the Viet Nam War. They had something they called the Draft They had a kind of “lottery” where the gov’t pulled days of the year out of a box. If they pulled October 11th first… that was date number 1 And if you were born on that day of the year, you may as well pack your bags,… … cause you’re in the army now But if you were born on (say) Oct. 12th and that date was pulled out toward the end – say #323… … then you weren’t likely to be drafted You could enlist if you wanted to… but otherwise you could stay home. Now, one of the weaknesses of the draft was – there was no commitment They pulled my number and I was in whether I wanted to be or not And frankly – that’s not a good way to build a good military… … and eventually the draft was so hated that it’s not likely to be used again. So, does God draft us into His army? In fact, John 1:12-13 explains that you and I could never “accidentally” become a Christian TURN THERE “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” John 1:12-13 In other words according to verse 13…
– you couldn’t be born of a Christian and become a Christian
- you couldn’t just decide “Hey, I’m good enough to be accepted by God” 3. AND – you couldn’t become a Christian by “a husband’s will” - a husband can’t decide his wife can be saved/ nor a parent their child According to verse 12 - the only way you could be come a Christian was to have received him … and believed in His name. In other words – you’ve got to “sign up” Now, the Bible expands on what it means to “receive” JesusThere are those who teach that you “receive” Jesus by praying a sinner’s prayer Only one problem with that… the Bible doesn’t have a “sinner’s prayer” anywhere in it The Book of Acts gives us examples of people becoming Christians… … and not one person who became a Christian ever prayed “Jesus come into my heart” Well, if the Bible doesn’t teach a “sinner’s prayer”… what does it teach? 1 – It teaches that we need to believe that Jesus is the Christ – the Son of the Living God The most famous Scripture that tells us that is John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever should believe in him shall not perish but have everlasting life” There are a vast number of verses in the Bible that say this in the one way or another. I Corinthians 1:21b tells us “…God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.” A jailer in Corinth was told by Paul and Barnabas "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved— you and your household." Acts 16:31 And, of course Jesus said in Mark 16:16 “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” You can’t join the Army of Jesus without believing that He is the Son of God… … and that He died on the cross to save you… and rose from the grave to give you hope Anyone who doesn’t believe these things is not going to survive in this God’s army Revelation 12:11 tells us We overcome Satan “…by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…” So, if you don’t believe Jesus shed His blood for your sins… you will not survive Satan’s attacks. Now, is that all we do? Do we just believe?Well, no. The Bible tells us that part of believing in Jesus involves repenting of our sins. Acts 3:19 says Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” In Acts 26:20 Paul said “…I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.” And when Paul preached his sermon on Pentecost he told the believing Jews that were gathered there what to do to be saved "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38 To repent means you accept the fact that you’re a sinner, and your life has to change Repent means to “turn around” You’ve been living your life without God- you’ve been walking away from Him TURN AROUND and live for Jesus
We “…were dead in (our) transgressions and sins, in which (we) used to live when (we) followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air…” And Romans 5:10 says that at that time we were “God’s enemies” So, in order to belong to God… we have to stop living like those who are His enemies But wait there’s more…Romans 10:9-10 declares “if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” This is kind of like a “loyalty oath” You are confessing that Jesus is YOUR LORD… He owns you
Once you make that good confession, you’re declaring that… …Jesus will now own every nook and cranny of your life. In 1 Timothy 6:12 Paul tells Timothy to… “Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. When Timothy became a Christian, part of what he did was make the good confession: I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living GodIt’s what we ask every believer to repeat with us, just before we baptize them
Philippians 2:9-11 tells us that sooner or later – everybody’s going to Confess Jesus as Lord “… God exalted (Jesus) to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” You can either confess Him now… or confess Him later But you don’t want to wait until His 2nd Coming to make that decision... … because by that time, it will be too late. Then there’s one more thing God asks us to do to belong to His SonIn I Peter 3, Peter talks about Noah’s flood and then says “and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also— not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ” 1 Peter 3:21 Baptism is part of the salvation act. There’s no power in the water itself…but God includes it in what He asks us to do, … … because baptism helps us visualize Christ’s death burial and resurrection. Romans 6 says “…don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Colossians 2:12 gives us a shortened version of Romans 6… … and tells us that Baptism is outgrowth of our faith. IT SAYS we’ve rec’d the fullness of Christ by… “… having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. ILLUS: Back in 2003, the Washington Post reported on the surge of baptisms among US soldiers who were preparing to go into battle.
The threat of war is having a positive impact on soldiers preparing for a possible conflict with Iraq. On a recent
Sunday morning, eight young men approached the altar in a canvas church, received blessings from a chaplain, and were baptized
in a freshly dug pool. They emerged to applause from their fellow Marines. (picture of soldier being baptized) Some troops say this "foxhole religion is critical to their preparation for war, saying it provides confidence that they will be protected if called upon to fight and faith that their mission is just." Lance Corporal Matthew Haugan from California was one of those recently baptized, Haugan says, "After today, I feel more ready to cross the border. This is better armor than anything the Marine Corps could give me. I feel better about myself than I ever have, and I know God will be looking out for me." www.washingtonpost.com, In Kuwait, Baptism Before the Gunfire, By Jonathan Finer and Peter Baker, February 28, 2003
Have you made yourself “right with God?” God tells us – the way to belong to Him and be saved is simple
Have you done these things? If not, we invite you to make that decision this morning. |
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