Free Refills Knowing He’s Coming Back                        Matthew 24:36-51

It was May 19th, 1780…

The Connecticut House of Representatives was in session…           

… but they suddenly noticed that the sky overhead was ominously dark.

In fact the atmosphere became so scary that some of the representatives…

…feared the end of the world was at hand.

So some began to call for the assembly to adjourn immediately.

At that point - a Colonel Davenport rose from his seat and said these words,

"The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not.

If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment.

If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty.

Therefore, I wish that candles be brought."

APPLY: It’s interesting how people react to the idea that the end of the world was at hand

Back in 1780 some reacted in fear.

There are STILL people who react with fear to the idea of Jesus coming again

ILLUS: About 5 years ago, NBC had a miniseries they called Revelations.

It was advertised as a theological thriller where a nun named “Sister Jo”…

… investigated strange phenomena that she thought might signify the Apocalypse.

Executive producer of the miniseries David Seltzer told TV Guide (TVGuide March 27, 05, p. 18)

“So many people believe we have to save our souls right now.

Sister Jo believes in Revelations but she refuses not to have hope. 

She feels that humankind can come together and forestall the end of days.”

She wanted to “forestall” the end of days.

She wanted to do what she could to stop Jesus from coming.           ???

Now in the 1^st place… I don’t think you can do that

(I don’t think you can stop Jesus from coming – or even slow Him down)

And in the 2^nd place – you have to wonder why a so-called Christian would want to.

Well… it helps to realize that NBC is NOT a theological organization

It’s a secular entertainment company

And when a secular organization starts thinking about the end of the world…

… they tend to get worried.

… they tend to become afraid.

Because – if Jesus is coming/ if He’s really coming – they could be in serious trouble.

            So the writers of that mini-series imposed on “Sister Jo” --- their fear.

So there are some people who react to Jesus’ coming - with fear.

Then there are others who aren’t afraid… they just don’t think it’s going to happen.

In Luke 18:8 Jesus said I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

ILLUS: Several years ago Charles Swindoll took a survey of people…

… who’d graduated from theological seminaries and one of the questions he asked was:

Do you think Jesus is coming again.

Only 3% believed Jesus was going to return

ONLY 3% of seminary students believed Jesus was coming back!

            You have to wonder what those seminaries were teaching

John McArthur tells of the time he was part of a Protestant ministers convention in Evanston, IL

He was shocked to find that 90 % of those ministers had no expectation that Christ would ever return

ILLUS: They are theological version of the 4 year old boy who asked his mother

   "Mommy, when do I get to go to Heaven?"
  And she responded, "Well, when you die or when Jesus comes back again."
  The boy's eyes got really big and he said, "Come back? You mean He was here before?"

Celeste Gregg, California, Christianity.com 7/22/09

You can expect that kind of thing out of 4 year old boy… but that shouldn’t happen w/preachers

But there are theologians who reject the idea of a 2^nd coming

There are preachers who don’t believe He’s coming back.

(PAUSE)  But He is!

Peter warned us “… 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."

…   But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.                                              II Peter 3:3-4; 10

Peter tells us the reason many so-called believers reject Christ’s coming…

… is because they are following their own evil desires.

            They know the Bible says He’s coming – but they reject that possibility

… because it doesn’t fit their belief system.

Jesus describes them this way:

But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 24:48-51

Notice the characteristics of the “wicked servant”

1^st – He’s become convinced that his master may not be coming back.

            … so he says to himself “My Master is staying away a long time”

And so… because he doesn’t think the master IS coming back… he begins to live selfishly

            He mistreats the other servants

            And he begins hanging out with worldly people

               Jesus tells us it is BECAUSE that servant thinks the Master is delayed in coming that…

… he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards

            His bad theology leads to bad companions and bad behavior.

As a Christian - if you don’t believe Jesus is coming back,

  if you don’t think you’re going to get caught…

 you are more prone to doing things you shouldn’t do…

            … because you’re more prone to think you’ll not get caught.

ILLUS: Back in 1999 some employees Boeing decided to steal a life raft from one of the 747s. They were successful in getting it out of the plane and home.

 When they took it for a float on the river, they had a great time…

… until the moment a Coast Guard helicopter began to hover over them.

It turned out that the chopper was homing in on the emergency locator…

…that was activated when the raft is inflated.

Now, why did they steal the life raft? Because they didn’t think anyone would know

            They didn’t think anyone would find out

But somebody did… and they are no longer employed at Boeing aircraft.

Peter said “…the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.”

BUT THEN HE SAYS:

  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. (vs. 11) That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

   So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. (vs. 14)                                          II Peter 3:11-14

Your theology about Jesus will dictate how you live your life.

            If you think His return and His judgment are imminent – you will live a holy life

That’s why Jesus said

  "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

Did Noah believe the flood was imminent?

Did Noah think the rains could come at any moment?

YES he did… that’s why he spent every waking moment building that boat!

But did anyone else think that the flood was coming? Did they believe God?

Nope…they spent their time partying…

      … they spent their time with the scoffers and w/ the people who mocked Noah

   And so – because they didn’t think God would do what He promised

…their bad theology led them to bad behavior…

and when judgment came – they perished.

 They lost everything.

But not Noah!

Noah believed God.   

He knew God was coming down in judgment

·         And so he did what God asked him to do – he built a boat

·         he preached to anyone who’d listen

·         and he worked to make sure his family went with him.

He took it seriously

He’s like the good servant Jesus describes in Matthew 24

Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions

The faithful and wise servant is the one who took his master seriously

And did the things they knew pleased him.

You can tell someone who takes the promise of Jesus’ 2^nd coming - seriously

            They do the best they can do what God wants them to do

            They talk about Jesus to anybody who’ll listen

            And they work to make sure their family goes with them to heaven.

(PAUSE)

But we need to realize that Noah wasn’t driven by fear

The ark wasn’t a work of fear… it was a labor of love

Noah was driven by a promise

That promise was – Noah if you do what I ask you to do… you will be saved.

And because Noah believed God’s promise…and did what God asked

…when Judgment came… he was going to be safe.

That’s what Peter tells us in I Peter 3

  Peter wrote: “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.

  In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 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, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand— with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.”

Noah was saved because he did what God asked him to do – he built a boat

            But it wasn’t the boat that saved Noah and his family… it was God

            Once they stepped inside the ark… God closed the door and watched over them.

 It was because Noah did what God asked… he had access to the promise of salvation

Now… Peter tells us that God isn’t asking us to build a boat…

He’s asked us to submit ourselves to being buried in the waters of baptism

But it isn’t the water that saves us

It’s the power of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead that does that

            We’re just “get into the boat” when we’re baptized.

And because we do what God asks us to do = we have access to the promise of salvation.

You see = for us = Jesus’ coming isn’t something to be afraid of/ it’s something to be anticipated

We should have the same attitude of children have around Christmas time

A lot of kids believe that Santa Claus is coming…

…and many of them try to stay up all night just to watch for him.

They wait for Christmas day with anticipation and excitement.

That’s the kind of attitude you’ll hear in many of our hymns about the 2^nd coming/ Heaven

·         When the roll is called up yonder I’ll be there

·         I’ll Fly Away

·         When We All Get To Heaven

Those songs are driven by an expectation and hope based on the PROMISE = Jesus is coming.

And when we believe that

CLOSE: Charles Swindoll tells of the time he worked for a few years in a machine shop.

  He said there was a man there named George whose job was to …

… sweep up the shaving from under the lathes and other machines they were running

He said “George was born again, and he loved the teaching of Scripture.

 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 they were all tired and ready to get out of there. Swindoll 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 his coveralls…

… 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!"