Second Coming Certainty

Sermon Transcript

Today, would you pray with me? Our Father in heaven, we give you all the glory, honor and praise for who you are. And we thank you, God, that you're a good God. We thank you, God, that you're ruling and reigning. You're sovereign over every little detail of our life.

You're even sovereign over the entire world, and you're even sovereign over this election. And Lord, we're asking you to move mightily so that you would put the candidates in office whose policies would best represent your word, that we can continue to do what you've called us to do, and that we continue to gather and share the truth of Jesus. Father, we thank you for this privilege today of preaching your word and hearing your word proclaimed, because we as a people believe that every time your word is faithfully and accurately proclaimed that you are speaking. And so our prayer this morning is, speak, Lord, for we are ready to hear. And so now, for all those who have gathered who desire to hear the word of the Lord, who will believe what Jesus says and who will put faith into practice, get ready to hear what he has to say as we pray collectively the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray, saying, our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Let your kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Praise God.

Have you ever considered what you can count on for the future or who you can count on for the future? There's a lot of cynics that will say things like this. The only two things that are certain in life are death and taxes. But if you think about that biblically, neither is necessarily true. Because while you should pay your taxes, you don't have to.

And while you could say you are going to die, there is a season in the church of those that aren't going to die. Because Jesus Christ is going to open up the heavens and come from the sky and set up his rule and reign on this plane. So death and taxes may or may not be certain. But what I want to talk to you about is the certainty this morning of Jesus Christ's return to this planet. Friends, he's coming, and he's coming soon.

And in this book that we've been studying, in the book of Second Peter, he's been teaching us about what true Faith is what it truly means to be born again, what genuine faith looks like, how to make certain that you're saved, what faith you need to be sharing, how is it biblically rooted? And then if we're going to stay the course, how is it that we can identify false teachers and understand them so that we can avoid them completely? And as he's taught us about what true faith is, and he's taught us about how to avoid false teachers, here's how he's telling us to stay the course. Stay the course because of the certainty of Christ's second coming. The first time Jesus came, He came as a humble servant, meek and mild, died on the cross for our sins, rose from the dead.

The second time he comes, he's coming as conquering king. And I'm here to tell you, on the authority of God's Word, he's coming. And regardless of what you're thinking about in the moment, and regardless of what's going on in your life, whether you're troubled, whether you're in a season of peace, whether you're in a season of joy, here's how God wants you to think. He wants you to live in light of the fact that he is coming back to establish his rule and reign on this planet. And if you're going to stay the course, regardless of what's going to happen in your life, regardless of what circumstances are coming your way, your belief in the certain return of the full, bodily, physical, glorious Jesus Christ will change everything.

And while you can listen to different people, have different ideas on the timing of it, the reality is that Jesus Christ is coming back in all of his glory to judge both the living and the dead and to set up his reign on this planet. And so it's important for us to know how to center our lives on the certainty of Jesus Christ's second coming. And to do that, today, we're going to be in the book of Second Peter, starting in chapter three, Second Peter, chapter three. We're going to go through the first 10 verses this morning, and we're going to highlight what it looks like and what we can bank on for Christ's second coming. That in light of his second coming, how is it that we should live?

In light of the fact that Jesus is for sure coming back to this planet, how should we live? Hear the word of the Lord. He writes to us. He says, this is now beloved, the second letter I am writing to you, which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets in the commandment of the Lord and Savior, spoken by your apostles. He says as he's been talking about all this, he's been talking about genuine saving faith.

He's been talking about what it means to be born again. He's been talking about how to identify and avoid false teachers and understanding all their motives. And now he's going to take a pause and just say, here's how I'm talking to you. And what does he call him? Beloved.

Loved by God. Who are the beloved? The beloved are those who have repented and believe that Jesus is the Christ you are beloved. You are loved by God. Should we say you are loved?

That's what he's saying. He's saying that for those of us that know Christ, that we are loved by Christ, even for those of you who don't know Christ, even for those of you who are hostile to Christ, there's a genuine love he has for you because he created you in his image and you have value. So even while he can't stand your sin, he still loves you because he designed and he created you. That that's who he is. And so as he's setting up in light of Christ's second coming, he's talking to his audience and he's saying, you need to know, beloved of God, that I'm writing to you and I'm stirring this up.

I'm trying to get you to think about this because it's so easy to press down. And one of the things that's easy to press down is the second coming of Christ. Just ask yourself rhetorically, how many of you have thought about that this week? How long have you thought about it this week? How much time have you spent thinking about the fact that Jesus Christ is coming back and ruling and reigning?

I've listened to a lot of news this week. I've watched a lot of news media this week. Nobody's talking about that. That's not who they're talking about. They're talking about who's gonna rule and reign in the White House.

They're talking about who's gonna rule and reign politically across. They're not talking about the fact that Jesus Christ is coming. And regardless of who gets elected, that's the most important one we want to bow our knee to. So he says, I'm stirring it up, beloved, because this is very important for you. And here's the first truth.

He's gonna tell us that in light of Christ's return and how we stay the course, here's the first thing he tells us to do, he says, adhere to God's word. You need to adhere to God's word if you're gonna make it all the way through. You have to adhere to God's word. Notice what he says in verse two. That you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandments of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.

He's saying this whether we're talking about all the Old Testament and the prophets that were predicting the coming of the Messiah, or whether we're talking about the New Testament apostles of the Messiah that came and died and rose. Who's coming back again. Here's what he's saying. All of the word of God is true. That's what he's saying.

He's saying, adhere to it. He's saying, stick to it. Trust it, obey it, listen to it, study it. It is so important because we live in a day and age where people are like, oh, this is the book made up by men. This is just an idea that somebody had.

This is. It's not really true. These are myths. These are stories. They may or may.

Friends, I'm here to tell you on the authority of God. This is the authority of God. From Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21. If you bank on this book, I promise you there is a great return on investment. Every single word of this book is true.

The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our Lord stands forever. Not one jot or tittle of this book will change. But first and foremost, you must understand that no prophecy had its origin in the will of man. But men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God that this word is God breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, and training and righteousness. So the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

There's not one person who knows too much of God's word. There's not one person who's trusted too much of God's Word. There's not one person who's banked on the word of God too much. And here's why that's so important. In light of Christ's second coming, this is where you're gonna get your comfort.

This is where you're gonna get your truth. This is where you're gonna get your questions answered. Not all of them. Not all of them. I mean, I have questions I don't have answers to yet.

And yet God answers me sometimes in Isaiah 55, like God. Why is that? His answer for my ways are higher than your ways, Jeff. And my thoughts are higher than your thoughts. In other words, even if I explained it, you would never understand anyway.

Because I'm God and you're not. That's why. Right. So there's things that I don't know, but I know this. When I'm going through a time of trial, this is what I'm banking on.

When I'm going through a time of peace, this is where I'm banking on. And the more I study the Word of God and the more I read the Word of God and meditate on the Word of God and memorize the Word of God and believe the Word of God, the greater peace I have in my life because the Word of God dwells in me. Amen. And this is what he's saying. If you're going to make it through this life with great joy and peace and hope, waiting for the blessed hope to come, Jesus, you need to adhere to the Word of God.

This is where answers are for life. The greatest return on investment are those who would read this and say, if this is who God is, this is who I'll believe. It's sticking to it. Because all throughout this book we see God's glory and we see man's sinfulness and we see what God did on our behalf. Even Jesus, as he gave the great Commission, one of the things he said to his disciples in teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you and I'll be with you always to the end of the age.

It means when you read through the Word, we don't do it perfectly, but we want to grow in it increasingly. And there are times that the Word of God speaks directly to us. Sometimes we come into an environment like this and we hear the Word of God and it is so comforting and will. Walk away from a service and you'll think to yourself, that is the best sermon I've ever heard. I needed to hear that.

That is exactly what I was going through this week. And that's the Word of God for you. And there's other times where you get up and you leave and you're frustrated or angry because the Lord has shined a light in an area of your life that you thought was hidden, but God saw it. And you can get up in anger and frustration like, I don't like this church and I don't like. And here's why.

It's because God sees you. For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword it pierces to divide both soul and spirit joints. And Marrow. It judges the attitudes and intentions of the heart. And even if your spouse or your best friend or your neighbor doesn't see something that's off in your life, God sees it all.

So what he tells us to do is if we're going to live in light of Christ's return, spend more time studying, meditating on trusting, believing and obeying the Word of God. You cannot do it enough. And this is not an assignment like, okay, I'll study my Bible more. It's not that. For those of you that love God, this is where you should get your joy.

For those of you that love God, this is where you want to go. For those of you that love God, this is the source for where you're gonna grow in Him. Amen. So adhere to the Word of God. And the longer I live, the fewer and fewer people that I see that adhere to the Word of God, that stick to it.

And whether we're talking about Old Testament prophets that are predicting the coming of Christ or the predicting of the day of God's wrath, or whether we're talking about New Testament apostles that spoke on behalf of the Lord, that are written in here, all of it's true. All of it's true. The more I study this, the more I'm like, when I hear people say, oh, it's just a made up book, I'm like, well, that's because you haven't read it. Like, no human being would write this book. Every human being that writes a book about human beings is like, human beings are awesome.

We're great. We can even get better. This book says you're wicked, awful and dead and you're going to hell. No human being writes that book. And God's the only good character in the whole book.

No human writes that book. And how is it that over 40 authors that live 1600 years apart all write the same things that didn't even know each other? And they all perfectly intersect and they all make sense. It's because it's the Word of God, right? So adhere to the Word of God.

Be in a place where the Word of God is taught. Study the Word of God on your own. Apply the Word of God in your life. Put the Word of God into practice. Adhere to the Word of God in light of Christ's coming.

That is exactly what you want to do. And one of the greatest stories you're going to learn if you adhere to the Word of God is that Christ died for sinners. That yes, you're dead in your sin. And yes, you need a Savior. And the reason your life isn't working and the reason your prayers aren't being answered and the reason life isn't going the way that it's supposed to go is because you live in a sick, dead, fallen world.

And you're the problem in that world. And yet God in Christ came. Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, who's eternal, put on human flesh in the incarnation, lived his life, honored and glorified His Father, obeyed every part of the Word, and then went to the cross, laid down his life, and took the wrath of God for you, so that you and your sin, who didn't want to die in your sin, could repent and believe. And Christ, you could give Christ your deadness and he could give you all of his life. That's the news of the New Testament.

That's what we're banking on. And if we believe that, then we also believe this Jesus Christ is coming back. For the New Testament writers, it wasn't just, hey, I know Jesus, and when I die, I get to go to heaven. And boy, it's really tough here, and I hate this world. Can't wait till I get to be with Jesus.

That's not how they lived. They lived because one day our Savior, our Lord's coming back and he's setting up his reign on this planet, and we're preaching for him and we're living for him. And until he gets here, those are the values that we're going to live by because our citizenship's in heaven. Amen. And they look forward to that.

So adhere to the Word of God. Number two. Is this in light of the certainty of Christ's second coming? Not only adhere to the Word of God, but acknowledge the increase of mockers. You need to acknowledge the increase of mockers or the increase of those that will scoff.

Notice what he says. He says, know this first of all, that in the last days, the last days are from the time Jesus rose from the dead until he comes back the next time. In the last days, mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts and saying, where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation. For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the Word of God, the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water, and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.

But by His Word, the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment. And destruction of ungodly men. You need to acknowledge the increase of mockers. The more that you talk about the return of Christ, the more people will mock you for saying that you believe Jesus Christ is coming back. If you don't believe me, go tell people I was in church this week.

Go tell five people Jesus Christ is coming back. He's still alive. He's still God, and he's coming to rule. And I can't wait and see. See how many people mock you, Right?

It just is what happens. And there'll be an increase in that the closer that we get to the end. Now, I don't know when the end is, but I do know that the closer we get, the more people will mock and scoff at this. And I want to give you five truths that non believers question when it comes to the certainty of Christ's return that come right out of this text. And the first is this.

They question the certainty of Christ's commands. Notice verse three says, know this first of all that in these last days mockers will come with their mocking. And how will you know? They come following after their own lusts. It means they don't care about Jesus coming back.

And here's why they don't care. Because they want to live their life for them. They believe they're the center of their own universe and they can choose what they want with their body anytime, no matter what. And it's nobody else's business but theirs. What they do, it's the heart of sin.

And you'll see people mock the return of Christ because of that. You'll see people that aren't excited about the return of Christ because of that. After being born again for about 35 years and pastoring and ministering for about 30, and being a pastor of this church for 14, when I meet somebody who claims to be a Christian, who maybe is a Christian, but has got lackluster in their faith and like, I don't like church anymore. We don't really go as much anymore. I don't like it as much.

It's too judgey. Here's my first question that comes to mind when I'm talking to them. What sin are you personally participating in that you like more than Jesus? Because when you live according to your flesh, the church is not nearly as exciting like when you live in a sin. I'll give an example.

You start dating and it's really, really, really good. And it's so fun and it's great. And you're going to church together until you start Fornicating. And then you start doing your own thing, and then you're like, yeah, I feel that church is a little too judgy for us because it's calling us out and so we don't go as much. It's because you enjoy your immorality more than you love Jesus, or if you cheat or if you steal or whatever the sin pattern is in your life, your pride.

Anytime you get caught up in that, it causes you to not think about the return of Christ because you care more about your own appetites for the flesh and your own lust than you do about Jesus. That's what he's saying here. I mean, when I read second Timothy, chapter three, verses one to five, it's really interesting for me because like I said, I've been in ministry for about 30 years, and I used to think 30 years ago, we're living this now. And the older I get, I'm like, no, no, no, it's now. See, see if you recognize this culture.

Second Timothy 3:1 to 5. But realize this, that in the last days, difficult times will come, for men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers. That means abusers, disobedient to their parents. You see anybody that's disobedient to their parents these days, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips without self control, brutal haters of good, treacherous, reckless conceders, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. And then he highlights it by saying this.

These people will have a form of godliness, although they have denied its power. Avoid such men as these, he says, as you get closer to the end, you'll see more and more of that. Anybody see any of that in our culture? It's defining our culture like this is what's going on in our culture. And what's that a sign of Jesus is coming back soon.

Believe it. He's coming. We don't know exactly when, but we know he's coming. And so live in light of the fact that he's coming. Because if you're living in sin when he comes, you won't want to find yourself in that predicament.

Now's the time to get right with Him. Don't follow your own passions and lusts. Don't question Christ's commands. And by the way, first John 5:3 says that his commands are not that burdensome. John 14:23 and 24 says, if anyone loves me, he will obey my word, and the love of the Father will Be with him and will come make her home with Him.

But if anybody does not love me, he does not love my Word. And the word you've heard me speak is not mine, but my Father who sent me. What is he saying? He doesn't say, if you obey God's word, that means you love God. It means, if you love God, it is so normal for you to obey his word.

If you're grateful that Jesus died for your sins, if you're thankful that he's sovereign over your life, if you know that you were a wretch and now you're alive, if you know you were an enemy and now you're a friend, if you know you were dead and now alive, there's something inside of you that says, I want to do what he wants me to do. And even when you don't do it right, there's something in you that says, but I want to do it better. And I wish I could do more of it. Because he's my life, right? His commands aren't burdensome.

Don't question his commands. Don't live out your lust and lie to yourself and say, well, I'm a Christian because I go to this church and all that kind of nonsense. Don't question Christ's commands. Second thing mockers do is they question Christ's return. The question Christ returned.

Notice verse 4. And saying this is what people speak, where's the promise of his coming? He's not here yet. Forever. Since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.

It's always been like this. They say there's always been pastors in every generation, just like you, Pastor Jeff, that talk about Jesus coming. And guess what's true? They've all been wrong. You're wrong.

It's always been like this. There's always prophets and people that talk about the return of Jesus. But the one thing that's certain is that Jesus has never come back. That's what mockers say. But I got news for you.

If Jesus said He was coming back, if the two angels just saw him going into heaven, said, in the same way you saw him come, he'll come back. And if Jesus said, behold, I'm coming soon, I just believe Jesus, he's coming. And all the prophets talk about this. Jesus talks about this. All the New Testament writers talk about this.

And I could just give you an example this morning. There's so many I could pick from, but I just picked from 1. How about Joel, chapter 2, verses 30 and 31? Here's what Joel says is going to happen someday, I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth. Blood, fire, and columns of smoke.

The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. So that's what Joel says. He said, check it out. Sun's going to go black, moon's going to turn to blood.

It's going to be totally dark before the great and awesome day of the Lord. You say, well, that's just an Old Testament prophet. Nobody believed that in the New Testament. Well, Jesus did. How about Matthew chapter 24?

Starting in verse 29, here's what he said. Quoting Joel, he said, 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 Son of Man will appear in the sky. And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.

And he will send forth his angels and with a great trumpet, and they will gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to another. So what does Jesus say? He said, guess what? The sky. The sun's going to go dark.

The moon's not going to give its light. It's going to turn to blood. Stars are going to fall from the sky. And then what is he going to do? He's going to turn the lights on.

He's going to turn. You talk about a dramatic entrance. That's what Jesus said is going to happen. And you can read the same thing in Revelation chapter 6. We won't read the whole chapter, but the sixth seal that begins in verse 12 of Revelation chapter 6.

I looked, and he broke the sixth seal. And there was a great earthquake. And the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair. And the whole moon became like blood. And the stars of the sky fell to the earth as a fig tree cast its unique figs when shaken by the great wind.

And the sky was split apart like a scroll when it's rolled up. And every mountain and every island were moved out of their places. And that's when the kings of the earth are yelling, rocks come fall on us and hide us from the glory of the Lord. Friends, every Old Testament prophet, Jesus himself, and every New Testament apostle believed Jesus Christ was coming back. And they said the same thing you said.

One day you believe the sun's going to go dark. Yes. One day you believe the moon's going to turn to blood. Yes. One day you believe stars are going to fall from the sky.

Yes. And when you see that, you will not know the day or the hour, but you know it's probably coming today or tomorrow. It's soon, you'll know. That's what Jesus said. Right.

You don't need to question his return. It's as certain as anything in your life. And as a believer, I'll either be here when he gets here or he'll be bringing me with him. It's as certain as anything. Amen.

So don't believe. Oh, that's what people always say. That's what people always say. No, that's not what people have always said. Jesus has always said, I'm coming back and I would believe his word over anyone else's.

Amen. Third thing they question is Christ's sovereignty. They question Christ's sovereignty. Notice verse 5, for when they maintain this, it escapes their notice. When you start thinking about Christ's commands, and I don't need to obey those, and Christ returns and that's not a big deal.

It escapes your notice that by the word of God, the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water. And by water, here's what they forget. When you start thinking about Christ's commands don't mean anything and he's not coming back. Here's what you forget. That God is sovereign, that he's the one that created everything, that the entire Bible is true.

So in case you want to know, how did God create the world? Open up your Bible to Genesis 11. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. So how did it happen like that? Because he's the only eyewitness.

He's the only one that saw any of it. And if you believe that, you realize it's the Word of God. Well, what is the Word of God? As a better question is, who is the Word of God? And that's Jesus.

He's spoken into existence in three literal days. Here's what we believe as Bible Christians, that God, who existed before all eternity past, decided in a moment to create everything out of nothing, and therefore it exists. Evolutionists, which is not a science, it's a theology. Here's what they believe. There was nothing that bumped into nothing and that created everything.

And that's science. That's idiotic. You've forgotten the truth, that someone has to be behind what is created. Psalm 24 says, the earth is the Lord and everything in it. He created the seas.

I mean, the heavens. Declare the glory of God. Look at the stars. You can't deny that there's a creator. If I were to find my watch in a forest, I wouldn't look at it and be like, oh, my goodness.

Millions of years and different iron ore formations brought this thing together. And now it's a watch. And I found it because I'm not an idiot. I would realize there's a designer and there was a creator that had a purpose for this. When I see the world, there has to be a designer and creator.

If you've ever seen a child born, you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there's a designer and creator. Amen.

And it escapes the notice of mockers that Christ is sovereign, that he's the one that created it all. It also escapes their mind about Christ's activity. Number four. Notice the next verse, through which the world was at that time destroyed, being flooded with water. I believe in a global flood.

Do you know why? Because that's what the Bible teaches. I believe the entire earth was flooded. I don't believe it was a local flood. I don't believe it was a torrential downpour where a boat floated on a lake.

I believe God flooded the whole world. Why? Because he gave 120 years for that group of people to repent and believe that he was God. And only Noah and his wife, Noah's three sons and their wives, believed. And here's how you know they believed because they actually got in the boat when God said, it's going to rain.

And with a group of animals, they floated into safety over the course of that time, and everybody else and every animal and every living thing died. And it escapes the notice of mockers that a loving God would never destroy the world. He's already done it once, and that pales in comparison to what's coming. It just does. That was like the appetizer or the preamble to what's going to happen.

Read through the New Testament. When God comes, his judgment is so swift and so severe that it's every single person, both living and dead, that God judges in a moment for an eternal hell or an eternal heaven with him. It's that quick. And for mockers, it escapes their mind that that's actually going to happen. And by the way, I'm not talking about your background or your faith.

Maybe you don't have one, or if you're Catholic or you're Protestant or You're Methodist or Baptist or Lutheran or Reformed. It doesn't mean jack squat on Judgment Day. The only thing that matters on Judgment Day is you who are dead, repented of your sins, believe that Jesus died in your place, gave him your dead life, took his living life, and are new and born again in Him. That's all that matters. Amen.

But make no mistake about it, Christ is active. Christ is active. He's always been active. He's not just a God that's up there. He's dwelling in us now.

He dwells in every heart who believes in Him. He's living and active in our universe. He's unfolding things both on a micro level in our own lives and a macro level around the world. That's what he does. He's very active.

We know he's so active that Proverbs 21:1 says, the King's heart is a channel of water in his hands. He can turn it wherever he wills. There's not a person or a being that's outside of the scope of what God can do. He's all powerful and he's all active in everything that's going on. Mockers question his commands, his return, his sovereignty, his activity.

And then finally, they question his judgment. But notice this in verse seven. But by His Word, the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire. Why? Because God promised in Genesis he would never flood the world again.

And he gave a sign in the sky, and you still see that sign in the sky that every time it rains you see a rainbow. That was a sign of his covenant promise that it's going to rain and there'll be some floods, but I'll never flood the whole world again. Guarantee you that It's a sign that God's judgment might come. But God's judgment will never be with water. It's interesting that we have a whole community of people who have adopted the rainbow as their emblem, which is really a sign of God's judgment over sin the first time, which I don't know why they would pick that.

It's not only arrogant, it's ignorant. But Christ is coming and he's going to judge the world. This time with fire kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. I mean, think about it. Everything that you think is valuable is going to burn that new house that you're building that's just so awesome.

It's going to burn that Little League trophy that's so special. It's going to burn the awards you got for work going to burn. The plaques on your wall, the diplomas, it's all going to burn. I mean, there's nothing here you're going to take into the new heavens and the new earth. Nothing.

Because God is coming. And our God is a consuming fire. He's going to start fresh with those who have been born again, and he's going to redeem the heavens and the earth and he's going to set up his kingdom and it's going to be beautiful. And nothing that we have now is going to be worthy of entering that other than a born again heart. Amen.

Amen. And that's why we need to believe that. Because the Bible says in Philippians chapter two, that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. How will every knee bow and every tongue confess if he doesn't come back, friends, he is coming back. And he is coming back in judgment.

And his judgment will be so severe and so swift, every person alive and every person who is dead will stand before him in judgment. Now here is a different kind of judgment for those of us who have been born again. Our sin has already been judged. Our sin has already been judged. Because here is what mockers say.

How could a loving God ever take that many people and throw them into hell? The God I believe in is a God of love would never do that. Well, you believe in a false God. See, the question that the Bible answers is this. How could a holy, righteous, perfect God that created human beings in his image, that are dead in sin, that have spent their life rebelling against him.

How could a God like that ever allow one human being to be in his presence? And the Bible goes to great lengths to answer that. That God the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world, that Jesus Christ put on incarnate flesh for all eternity that came, he glorified his dad by fulfilling the law. And then at the very end of his life, instead of you taking all of God's wrath and all of his anger poured out on you, Jesus said, dad, I'll take it for him. When he was on the cross, it was not just an act of love to die for some other people.

It was his act of saying, God, pour all the wrath that was deserved for humankind on me. I'll take it all. And when he did, he said, what? It is finished. It's complete.

I took it all. Then he rose from the dead to validate the fact he was indeed God's one and only son, because nobody else has ever conquered death except for Jesus. And then he offered life to all who would say, if you don't want to experience the wrath of God, turn from your sin, trust in Jesus and you too can be saved and saved to the full. And I persuade you this morning, and I plead with you this morning, if you're hearing my voice this morning, I'm not asking you to join brave, and I'm not asking you to join a cadre, and I'm not asking you to join our corps. I'm not asking you to serve more.

I'm not asking you to jump through religious hoops. I'm persuading you and pleading with you that if you've never taken your sin to the cross and individually said Jesus, take it all. I don't want to die in my sin. I don't want to experience your wrath. Give it to him now in exchange for all of his life and be made new, be born again.

He will meet you right where you are right now to do that. Amen. And that's the message of the gospel.

That's what he wants to do in your life. Because, friends, Christ's commands are not burdensome. He is returning. He is sovereign. He is ruling.

He's active, and he's coming back in judgment. And he will judge both the living and the dead. There's no doubt about it. This should be very sobering for us, by the way. You know why?

Because God takes no delight in the death of wicked people. And if you're a born again believer, you know this, that in your family and among your friends and even some of those that you're sitting next to this morning, they don't know the Lord Jesus Christ. They've never surrendered their life to him. Oh, they play games. They talk Christianese.

They talk about how they love Jesus. They might even attend church. They might even sing songs. They might even have a Bible with their name engraved on the front of it and read it. Sometimes they may even be in a group of small people.

They may actually talk about Jesus and they may know enough Christianese to fake you out. But what they've never done is to be sick and tired of their sin. What they've never done is recognize that Jesus Christ hates that. See, when I stand up here at the end of a service and I say, you are loved, I believe theologically I can do that for the believer. I know I can say that because once you've been redeemed, there's an unconditional love that God has for you.

And no matter what you do, no one can ever snatch you out of God's hand. And even on your worst day, you're still a child of God and He loves you. And on the day that you have a whole, I woulda, coulda, shoulda done that, a whole day over. Or you look back at your life 20 years and like, woulda, coulda, shoulda, you're redeemed and you're God's, and He loves you, and he can't love you any more than he already does. But I also believe that I'm telling the truth to the nonbeliever in this that God created you in his image.

And because of what God creates, He loves what he creates. And you're created in the image of God until you have value. Now, here's the nuance of that. The nuance of that is that God loves you because you have value. But here's what the problem is, is God hates sin and he hates the sinners that sin sins.

Psalm 7:11 says that God is angry with the wicked every single day. Psalm 55 says that God hates those who do iniquity. God hates those who sin. See, the problem is Jesus doesn't send sin to hell. He sends sinners to hell.

We like to say things like this, love the sinner, hate the sin. And I know what we mean when we say that. What we're saying is they have value as individuals. So don't hate the individual, but hate what they do. Here's the problem with that.

The problem with that is God doesn't send sin to hell. He doesn't send your immorality to hell. He sends the people that are living immoral to hell. He hates sinners. Say, well, then what do I do?

You turn from your sin and you run to the cross as fast as you can to be freed from your sin so you can experience his grace. Friends, we are dead in our sins, and apart from Christ, we have no hope. There's nobody on judgment day that's gonna stand before the Lord that hasn't repented, that's gonna have a good day. And even if all your friends are gathered around and your mom and dad are there and your grandparents like, oh, but she's such a good person and we like her a lot. And she's got a good it will not matter if you've never repented.

I mean, I could sum it up like this, that Jesus is always pursuing lost people in his love, but he hates them in their sin. And both are equally true. He hates Your sin. He hates my sin. He hates sinners when they sin.

But he pursues us in love in hopes that we would turn to Him. And I'm persuading you today, I'm just, I'm telling you today, if you, if you take this seriously, one day we'll see each other in heaven and be like, Pastor Jeff, you were right. You were right. Thank you. I was mad at you when you said it, but thank you because he's coming back and his justice will be swift.

Let me give you a third one. Not only do you need to adhere to God's word and acknowledge the increase of mockers, you need to affirm God's massive patience. You need to affirm his massive patience. But do not let this one fact escape your notice. There are so many things that scoffers and mockers, it has escaped their mind.

But don't let this one fact escape your notice, beloved you, that God really wants to have relationship with that, with the Lord. One day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day. Now this has been butchered by so many people. Peter is quoting Psalm chapter 90, verse 4, where he says this. For a thousand years in your sight, or like yesterday when it passes by, or as a watch in the night.

Here's what he's saying. He's saying today is 24 hours. Thousand, thousand years is a bunch of days collected. But from eternity past to eternity future, when God looks at a day or God looks at a thousand year, it's all the same to Him. It's not a big deal.

Where's Christ has been 2,000 years since he predicted he was coming. Two thousand years? Yeah. Well, in God's timing, that's like two days. It's not long to him.

God steps outside of time and outside of space. What it doesn't mean is when God says in Genesis 1 that he created the world in six days. Well, maybe it was 6,000 years. No, it was six days. How do you know?

Because that's what God said. He's using a simile here to talk about God's eternality and how vast and big God is and how marvelous he is. And while we're sitting there saying he hasn't come yet, it doesn't seem like it to me. Friends, I'm going to be 54 years old next month. I've lived this much in the span of eternity, which means I know nothing.

Jesus knows everything and has always existed and will always exist. And said Jeff, what seems like a long time to you is not that long of a time. You ever have a period in your life that's a real short period of time, but seems forever? I had a friend write me a note when we were in this college class one time. And it said this during the class, Jeff, if I only had five minutes to live, I would choose to come to this class because it would seem as if I were alive for years.

You ever had one of those moments? Have you ever had some sort of pain in your life physically, where one minute feels like seven weeks? It just feels that way. It feels long. It feels long to us.

Like, where are you, Jesus? It seems like it's been a long time, but in God's economy, it's really, really short. It's not that long at all. And you have to realize, in light of eternity, this is just a mist. And one day we're gonna be celebrating millions and billions and trillions of years from now, saying, we're just getting started.

Isn't this AM. And we'll look back on this and say, we were so impatient, we thought it was taking so long. Right? Because that's our perspective and that's our view. Because we're not God.

That's why we got to hear God's perspective. But notice what he says in verse nine. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some count slowness, but he's patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. Why hasn't the Lord come yet? Because he's incredibly, massively patient.

Because there's some of you listening to my voice right now that haven't turned and come to him yet. Does that mean that God will save everybody? No, the Bible is clear that God doesn't save everybody. The Bible is clear that not all will come to him. The Bible is clear that there are some people in this earth who will say, it's about me and my life and my lusts and what I want, and I'm going to live for myself, and nobody can tell me what to do.

And if they die in that, God will give them exactly what they wanted for all eternity. A life without Christ. And just so you know, hell's not described as a great place. It's not a place of community. That's just like a big Habitat for Humanity work project.

That's hot where everybody's slaving away. Oh, so hot down here. That's not what it is. It's a place of isolation. It's a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.

It's a place where you won't see another human being for all eternity. You'll experience physical, emotional, mental punishment for all eternity. And there's no crossing over. If you're thirsty, there's nothing to quench your thirst. If you want a friend, there's no friend for you.

If you're uncomfortable, there's nobody to comfort you. Because every good and perfect gift comes from God. And you lived your life saying, I don't want you, God. And God gave you the eternity that you wanted. But for those of us who are believers, we would say, we knew we didn't want a life without God, and we knew we lived a life without God.

And we were sorry for the life we lived without God. And we were. And we were thankful that God sent his son Jesus to die for our wickedness on a cross. And we exchanged our wickedness for his life. And he took all of our sin and all of our wrath.

So we're not going to experience God's judgment for our sin. We're going to experience God's judgment for the good works that we do for us that are believers. It's going to be more like Olympics first, second and third place. It's going to be what God was able to do through you. It's going to be an exciting judgment because our sin will have already been judged.

Cross. Amen. So why hasn't Jesus come yet? Because there's still those and there's still time for those he's pleading with to say, come to me. How tragic it would be for you to hear this message today and to die in your sin knowing that you had every opportunity to trust the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bible says in Romans 1:20 that all men in hell are without excuse. There's nobody in hell that says, how come you didn't choose me? I would have really wanted. No, no, no. You chose a life without God because you didn't want God.

And now you get eternity without him. So I'm pleading with you, I'm begging you today as your pastor, as someone that loves you and cares for you. It's not about you being good, and it's not about you getting better. And it's not about you joining the church. It's about you recognizing you're dead and that you need Jesus in your life and would you turn your life over to Him?

And if you're sitting here saying, I've never had that experience and I don't know if I've done it, then do it today. It's not about the Experience. It's not about the emotion. It's about knowing that you know that you know that. You said, jesus, I came to you and you didn't turn me away.

And I know I'm yours. Make today your day. Jesus hasn't come back yet because not everybody that's coming has come. And God's sovereign, and he knows when the last one who's going to trust him comes, it'll be over. And he'll come.

And it's already been said. The Father knows the day and the hour. The Father knows when it's going to happen. It's already set. It's already coming.

But I'm telling you, there's great joy for those of you that will live his way. And it's the kindness of the Lord that leads you to repentance. It's God's kindness that you're getting to hear this message today. He loves you so much. He's saying, don't stay where you are.

Don't kid yourself into believing that you're a Christian. If you're upset with other Christians that have come around, you say, I don't think you're a believer yet. Don't get mad at them. Examine your own heart.

There's too many people in the church that think that they're saved because they've adopted certain Christian behaviors that aren't saved. Being saved is a centered, personal, relational response to the Lord Jesus Christ in all his glory. Have you given him your life? It's not about what's the bare minimum I can do to believe and still live like hell and get to heaven. That's not what the Bible teaches.

The Bible teaches, how do you give up your dead life for the very life of Christ? And do you want that? And if you want that, today's the day of salvation. Let me give you a final one. After you affirm God's massive patience, I'll go quickly through this.

Anticipate the Lord's judgment. Anticipate the Lord's judgment. We'll talk more about this next week. We'll pick up here. But I want you to see this.

If you're going to make it through, you have to anticipate the Lord's judgment. Notice this. But the day of the Lord, which is when he pours out his wrath, will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. We've already talked about that. When Jesus Christ comes back, it will not be some quiet, secret, special little rapture that nobody heard.

When Jesus comes back, everybody will know Jesus came back. The living and the dead, the righteous. And the way everybody's going to know. It will not be a secret. The only problem I have with the silent and secret rapture is that nowhere in the Bible is it silent or secret.

In my opinion. If you don't believe me, you will one day. But anticipate his coming and notice what it says when he comes. He's going to come like a thief. Well, for those of us who believe he's not going to come like a thief, because if you knew the thief was coming, he wouldn't be a thief.

And by the way, Jesus is not coming to steal anything from a believer. So he's not a thief to us. He's not coming to take anything from us. And we already know when we start seeing these things happen. And when that generation of the church sees the sun turn dark and sees the moon turn to blood and sees the stars fall, you may not know the day or the hour then, but you'll be like, oh, it's coming soon.

Get ready. Right? But for those that aren't in Christ, when those things happen, they'll be cursing God all the more. And I'm just here to tell you, get your life ready now. Because for them, it will come like a thief.

It will come quick. They'll feel like God's taking everything away from them, which he is, because that's exactly what they've lived like, and that's exactly what they've said they wanted. You get the choice that in this life you either get to live for Jesus or you get to live for yourself. God loves you enough to let you make that choice. You live for yourself in this life, you'll live by yourself in the next life.

You live for Jesus in this life, you'll live with Jesus and a community of people in the next life. And when we see these signs, the Book of Hebrews tells us we should gather even more. And all the more, as we see the day approaching, we as people who believe in the coming of Christ should be encouraging one another on building one another up, saying, he's coming. Can you believe it? He's coming.

He's coming. Yeah, I saw that over there. I saw who got elected. I didn't like that. But he's coming.

It's getting better. And our best days are ahead. Because Jesus Christ has always been, is still, and will always be Lord of all. Amen. And that's what the word is about.

I mean, I just want to end with these sobering verses. First, Thessalonians 5:3 says 5:1:3. Now, as the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need to have anything written to you, for you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. When they are saying peace and safety, then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not in the darkness that a day would overtake you like a thief.

For you are sons of the light, sons of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. Amen. Hebrews 9:27 says, for it's appointed man to die once, and after that, face judgment. You don't get another opportunity after you die.

You don't get another opportunity when Jesus Christ comes back. That's why I would tell you with my whole heart today, if you hear the voice of the Lord, do not harden your heart. And for those of you that are saved, say, I know that. I know that. I know Jesus.

There's no doubt in my mind. But the Lord put his finger on a sin in your life, and he's shining a beacon on repent of that and say, lord, change me. There's no greater return on investment than to be eagerly awaiting our Savior when he comes. For those of us who are yearning for him to come back, I promise you that day will be the most glorious day that you've ever experienced in your life. And it will just be the beginning to many, many more glorious days after that that never, ever end.

They're just glorious and glorious and more glorious and more glorious. But for those who haven't repented, and for those of you that are saying, you know what, this is new to me. I need to think about this for a while. You know, I'm dating someone, and maybe after we get married, we'll consider this. My wife.

My wife and I, we're getting ready to have a child. Once we have the child and get things set up, then we'll consider this. You know, Pastor Jeff, I'm looking at a new job, and once things get settled in our home financially, I'll think about this. You know, we're really in the middle of our career. Once we get older and retire, then I'll think about this.

You know, I'm older and retired, but I'm still doing a lot of good stuff. And one day I'll think about. The enemy will always tell you to give your life to Christ tomorrow. I'm telling you on the authority of Christ and his word and what he shared with you today. Give your life to Christ now.

Enjoy him today. Let him be the Lord of your life now. He wants to save you and save you to the full. So that you know, that you know, that you know, come what may, you belong to Jesus. Amen.

Amen. Would you stand with me? Let's pray together. And let this be the prayer of your heart. Father, we gather before your throne this morning because you've shared your word with us.

And, Lord, we want to respond appropriately before we sing. If you're here today and you would say, I'm not sure I'm a Christian, or you would say, I don't know that I am. Or you would say, today I gotta be. I want to be. I want to go all in with Jesus, then here's how you can pray.

You can pray silently right where you're at. Jesus, I heard you today. I know I'm a sinner, no doubt, But I heard today that you're definitely God. And that you came to this earth because you love me. And you died on the cross in my place.

And you took all the wrath of God that I deserved on you so that I wouldn't have to. And you paid for all my sin. I believe you also rose from the dead, which I acknowledge makes you God. I confess you as my Lord and Savior. Come into my life.

Forgive my sins. Redeem me. I give you all my sin in exchange for all your life.

That was a sincere prayer of your heart. The Bible would say that you got born again. You need to tell somebody about what Christ did for you today. Lord, there's a number of us here today who are believers. And we know that we belong to you.

And we know that you would never let us out of your hand. But, Lord, there's some sin pattern that's been creeping up. There's some ways that we've gotten complacent. You put your finger on through your Holy Spirit today. You've shined a light in our heart in those areas.

And, Lord, right now before you, we confess those and we repent of them. And by repenting, we're not saying, oh, we're going to get it right by repenting. We're saying we can't get it right. You take it, God. You make it right.

Change us. Father, we love you. We love your word. Father, we thank you for your great patience. Bring many sons and daughters unto glory.

Do your work in our life. Continue to see more and more people with multiplied grace and peace as we share your hope with the world. We love you and we bless you, we praise you and it's in Jesus name we pray Amen and amen. Can we praise the Lord this morning? Can you imagine?