We do pray, Father, that even as I speak now and preach this message,
that you would be the one who would give it power by your spirit,
that you would make your word alive to us, that you would grow us in Christ,
that we would be growing up in our faith and growing up in our love and our dependence on you.
And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
When I was a young adult, and I hate to say it's a little while ago,
but when I was a young adult, late teenager,
the big issues in the world or the Western world for people like us,
the things that we lived with a certain level of fear about,
were things like nuclear Armageddon.
It was still 1977 when I came to Christ, the Cold War was still happening.
The Berlin Wall hadn't come down at the end of that age.
And throughout high school, you know, some of the nuclear weapons were still being tested,
some of the really large ones around the world as the big nations, the superpowers,
rattled their sabres.
And in the Christian circles that I mixed in,
it was really common for people to be talking about when the world was going to end
and when Jesus was going to return.
And it wasn't just in one or two churches, it was in many churches.
And there were a lot of books that were written coming out of the United States.
A guy called Hal Lindsay that was read in lots of churches wrote books like The Late Great Planet Earth,
which had a particular view about how the end of the world would come about,
how it would happen, when it would be.
And I think people were anticipating that it was likely to be in our own lifetime.
I suspect that some of the big issues which dominate the thinking of young adults
when we think about cataclysmic-type issues right now are issues like climate change
and what it might do to the world,
what the world into the future is going to be like to live in.
I think our perspective on the end of time varies according to where we live.
So at the moment we're living in a place and a point of time in history
where we're fairly privileged, where we live with a fair amount of wealth,
where we are able to access goods from nearly any place on the surface of the earth,
where our TV is dominated by things like food programs
and the next fancy meal that we can eat.
I saw a wonderful new cookbook from, was it Donahay or was it Nigella the other day?
Absolute treat, drooling looking at it,
but knowing I can't eat those things if I'm going to keep slimming down.
But it's good to think about it.
But I wonder whether when we live in significant comfort,
if we're not really anticipating the things of God in terms of the return of Christ
and what that might mean for us.
The very last prayer at the end of the Bible, the very last words of the Bible are,
Come Lord Jesus.
And if you're like me, like a week or two before I got married,
that's not a prayer I wanted to pray.
It was like, oh, come Lord Jesus, but not yet,
because I still want to experience what it's like to be married.
Somebody told me a story like that this morning.
But if I was living in southern Sudan or south Sudan where Darian Klentsos has just visited
with some other people from Sydney or the Central African Republic
where Christians have been killed at the hands of Muslim tribes in recent days,
300 people.
They're having days of mourning right now for 300 people that have been killed in the last few weeks.
If I was a member of one of those families and experiencing the seriousness of the suffering
which they are going through at this point of time,
then it might be a very easy thing for me to pray,
Come Lord Jesus.
Rescue us from this terrible mess.
Save us from this time of trial.
So when I was growing up, everybody had a bit to say about Christ's coming.
I was told when I was at theological college that there were American leaders in the Reagan years
who were linked to the administration.
This is back in the 1980s.
And they believed that God had given them the ability to push the nuclear button
and trigger a nuclear war.
And in their mind they could do that because they could see such circumstances
precipitating the return of Christ with this nuclear Armageddon.
They're helping God along by making things happen for him.
That's the mentality.
At the same time, early 1980s, around the corner from Coorong in West Dride,
there was a church that met upstairs in one of the buildings there.
And they made a name for themselves around Sydney because for a period of 12 or 18 months
they drove around in vans which proclaimed the return of Christ and the specific date when it was going to occur.
And you could go to one of those, their church, and you could be sure that their minister was serious about what he was saying.
He wasn't trying to lead people astray.
But he had a group of people gathered around him who were dead set certain it was a matter of faith that this date,
I forget what it was, Christ was going to return.
And as it drew near and the night arrived, the Sydney media were onto it and they were gathered outside
and the television networks were broadcasting throughout the evening.
Not because they were expecting Jesus to return, they were expecting it to fall on their face.
And that's what happened.
Though the night wore on, Jesus didn't return, it got later and later, it got into the early hours of the morning
and finally people started to come out of the building and go home looking very disillusioned
because they had had this strong faith that Jesus was about to do something,
that God was about to do something in our midst.
And it didn't happen.
We experienced the bazaar.
A Catholic community down the south coast of New South Wales.
There was a bloke called William Cam who was known as the Little Pebble.
Well, the Little Pebble went to prison in 2006 convicted of repeated child sexual abuse.
He led this Catholic community which was anticipating the return of Christ, the end of the world.
There's a whole heap of quotes I could read to you but let me just read one.
He said,
Many people believe a nuclear war might never happen but within the framework of the year 2000 to 2004,
during the Third World War, China will attack Japan, Asia and Russia will come to the aid of Europe
and it is to be noted that Russia will attack the United States from or through Alaska via Cuba.
It hasn't happened.
In 1925, a group of people in Sydney from the Theosophical Society spent £10,000,
which was a huge sum of money.
I wish I'd turned it into today's language but I haven't,
to build an amphitheatre down at Balmoral Beach, a Grand Pavilion,
which I don't think is there anymore but it was called the Star Amphitheatre
and they were expecting the second coming of Jesus Christ
and they built it in that place because they were going to sit there in the stands
and welcome his arrival as he walked on the water through Sydney Heads.
Thank you.
I keep this.
I treasure this book.
I treasure it because it's rubbish but I treasure it.
It's written by a man called John Cable.
In 1981, when I've been a Christian for years,
John Cable, Deputy Principal at Frenchess Forest High School,
not far away, wrote this book called Stir Up Your Mind, The Trumpet Will Sound
and he resigned his job in the school
to dedicate himself for the next 12 months of living for Christ
and proclaiming to people that Jesus is going to return in 1982
because he's been into the scriptures
and he is convinced by the scriptures,
especially the passages in Daniel,
that this is when these things are going to happen.
If you sat in his church,
you'd probably think he was a good bloke,
a sincere Christian,
but what do we need to be able to say about these things?
What is wrong with them, all of them?
The polite word is rubbish.
I've got a better word and I don't think I can use it.
It's rubbish.
We ran this in our small group the other night
and it's interesting because even within our small group,
we could say it was rubbish and we knew why it was rubbish
because there's a whole lot of scriptures that you can go to
where Jesus says no one knows the day or the hour
and we'll go there in a minute.
But even as we sat in our small group,
I think within our group,
we would be persuaded by someone who was amongst us,
who seemed like a nice person,
who seemed to know their Bible
and who seemed to be able to unfold things for us.
And it's protective of the people of God
for us to know the scriptures
and it's sometimes alright for us to say to one another,
that's rubbish.
I don't mean in an ungodly way,
but there's some things that we can believe
that actually cause a lot of harm
and this is one of them.
This is rubbish.
Now in a sense,
speculation about the return of Jesus
began with Jesus himself.
He caused it.
Days before his death,
he said to his friends,
I hope he'd laugh with me if I said that
in his presence,
which is in his presence
because his spirit's here,
but days before his death,
he said to his friends,
John 14 verse 2,
in my father's house are many rooms,
if it were not so,
I would have told you.
And I am going there to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and take you to be with me
that you also may be where I am.
So what's he saying?
He's saying,
I'm going,
I'm coming back,
I will get you
and I will take you to be where I am.
Jesus spoke very definite words
to his friends and his followers
and at the end of chapter 14,
he said again,
do not let your hearts be troubled
and do not be afraid
you heard me say that I'm going away
and I'm coming back to you.
If you loved me,
you would be glad that I am going to the father
for the father is greater than I
and I have told you now before it happens
so that when it does happen,
you will believe.
Forty days later,
Jesus speaks his last words
in the sight of his disciples
in Acts chapter one,
maybe 50 days later
and he says to them,
it is not for you to know the times
or the dates the father has set
by his own authority,
but you will receive power
when the Holy Spirit comes on you
and you will be my witnesses
in Jerusalem
and in all Judea and Samaria
and to the ends of the earth.
And after he had said this,
he was taken up before their very eyes
and a cloud hid him from their side.
And they were looking intently up into the sky
as he was going
when suddenly two men dressed in white
stood beside them.
Men of Galilee, they said,
why do you stand here looking into the sky?
This same Jesus
that has been taken from you into heaven
will come back in the same way
that you have seen him go into heaven.
So the disciples have been asking about the future
and Jesus is pretty blunt.
He doesn't say rubbish like this,
but he says,
that's my father's business.
They want to know about the future?
That's my father's business.
That's for him to know
and he will act when he is ready.
But in the meantime,
he will empower you
by the Spirit of God
to be his witnesses to the world.
Now we're going to pick up this idea
over the next couple of weeks.
The curtain is coming down
on Jesus' first visit.
He was here for a time.
He went away
and while he is away,
we haven't been left alone.
God has sent his Spirit upon believers
so that we can still function
as his witnesses into all the world.
Now there's a few ideas
which are tucked in here.
It comes out of Acts chapter 1.
We live between the two comings of God
into his world.
He defines history.
We live between his first coming
and his second coming.
The last 2,000 years
are not just dark ages
and middle ages
and renaissance
and reformation
and industrial revolution
and now the information age.
The 20th century
was not merely marked
by two world wars.
We are defined
by something even greater.
We live between the first
and the second coming
of Jesus Christ
into the world.
And so God
who stepped into our world
almost unnoticed
as a baby
in Bethlehem
will come again
and be noticed
by everyone.
So the second coming
isn't going to be
a hidden coming.
It's going to be
a seen coming
and it will be noticed
by everybody
at the same time.
In Acts chapter 1
he goes up into the clouds
while the disciples
they're craning their necks
and wondering
what's going on
and Revelation chapter 1
verse 7
look,
he describes his return.
Look,
he is coming
with the clouds
and every eye
will see him
even those
who pierced him
and all the peoples
of the earth
will mourn
because of him
and so shall it be.
Amen.
So history
is about God's purposes
and Jesus'
clear statement
of intent
to his disciples
is that they will be
his witnesses
to all the world.
That's our mission.
It's the defining purpose
of God's church.
God has empowered us
by his spirit
to communicate
by our lives
and by our words
the love of God
and the kingship of Christ
to the world.
It's a great privilege.
So when we think
about who we are
as a church
Christ's intentions
for us
must be first
and foremost
in our thinking
and that is
as much as we come together
to strengthen each other
in a gathering
like this tonight
he wants us
out there
in the world
declaring the true things
about Christ
to the people
that we know
and he doesn't just
want us declaring it
he gives us
the power
to be able
to influence
men and women
and boys and girls
who are out there
around us.
Now it's true
2,000 years later
affluent north shore
of Sydney
and Jesus coming
just seems
a little bit slow
and maybe even
a little bit quaint.
People had an expectation
of him coming back
in their lifetime.
They'd heard the angel
say why do you stand here
looking into the sky
this same Jesus
who has been taken
from you into heaven
will come back
in the same way
that you have seen him
go into heaven.
Other people
had heard Jesus
say that he would return.
A number of places
in the New Testament
express expectations
differently.
In Luke chapter 17
Jesus says
just as it was
in the days of Noah
so also it will be
in the days
of the Son of Man.
People were eating
and drinking
and marrying
and being given
in marriage
up until the day
that Noah
entered the ark
and then the flood
came and destroyed
them all.
So Jesus
is sort of saying
well life goes on
the world
the world turns
people get hitched
and sometimes
unhitched
Noah built his ark
something that took
a hundred years
until the judgment
came
and plenty of people
must have been there
shaking their heads
at this strange man
building this strange
vessel in the desert.
Ridiculous.
Jesus' first coming
was a long time ago
it seems remote
and it seems
distant
and maybe
a little foolish
to believe in it.
Second coming.
But his followers
thought differently.
They expected
his imminent return
they were living life
expecting Jesus
to come back
very very soon.
and so it became
a very serious
problem for them
when fellow believers
died before Jesus
returned.
And you come to
this passage
in 1 Thessalonians
chapter 4
and Paul is writing
a pastoral response
to a very real world
problem.
Our brothers and
sisters have died
Jesus hasn't come
back
what's their status
where are they
with the Lord?
And he says
brothers and sisters
we do not want you
to be ignorant
about those
who fall asleep
or to grieve
like the rest
of people
who have no hope.
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
until 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
and 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.
He's saying to them
don't worry
they won't miss out
death won't cheat
you out of the joy
of God's
Christ's return
Christ will bring
his people with
them.
Death does not
defeat the purposes
of God.
Christians believe
very distinctive
things about life
after death.
We believe in the
resurrection of all
people.
We don't believe
in reincarnation
one cycle of life
to another
one creature
to another.
We don't believe
in annihilation
back to dust
with no further
consequences.
We believe in
the resurrection
of all people
to face the
judgment of God
and ultimate
responsibility
accountability.
We believe in
the justice of God
which does not
allow us to
escape
responsibility.
We believe in
the mercy of God
in the Lord
Jesus Christ
which allows us
to stand safe
at the judgment.
When we recite
the Apostles
Creed we did a
little while ago
we say that we
believe in the
resurrection of
the dead.
And so for the
Christian person
the return of the
Lord Jesus Christ
is full of hope.
Faith in him
will be vindicated
when we see him
face to face.
Believers who
have died the
most horrible
deaths through
the ages
will stand before
the resurrected
Christ with
their own
magnificently
resurrected bodies.
Every one of
our friends and
relatives will
stand before the
Lord Jesus and
acknowledge him
as king.
it's a really
interesting thought
because most of
us have friends
and associates
and relatives
that we would be
really pleased to
meet again
and then there's a
few others that
we think oh no
not them.
that brings me to
what I think is the
most important
question for us
and it's about
us.
How will you
experience the
second coming of
the Lord Jesus?
It's a question
for me too.
What will his
coming mean to
me and to
you?
The early
Christians proclaimed
Jesus as God's
judge of all
people.
The Apostle
Peter said in
Acts chapter 10
he commanded us
to preach to the
people and to
testify that he
is the one whom
God appointed as
judge of the
living and the
dead.
All the prophets
testify about him
that everyone who
believes in him
receives forgiveness
of sins through
his name.
Philippians chapter
2 has this
magnificent song
of Jesus'
kingship.
God exalted
him 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.
So the
resurrection
isn't just for
believers, it is
for unbelievers as
well.
Every person will
bow before Jesus
Christ and will
acknowledge his
kingship.
His reality and
his truth will be
absolutely inescapable.
We won't be able to
stand there debating
with Dawkins on that
day about whether he's
real or not.
We will be confronted
by a very inconvenient
reality.
Revelation chapter 20
describes the judgment
of all people.
I saw a great white
throne and him who
was seated on it
and earth and sky
fled from his
presence and there
was no place for
them.
And I saw the dead
great and small
standing before the
throne.
The books were
opened and another
book was opened which
is the book of life.
The dead were judged
according to what they
had done as recorded
in the books.
The sea gave up the
dead that were in it
and death and Hades
gave up the dead that
were in them and each
person was judged
according to what he
had done.
And then death and
Hades were thrown into
the lake of fire.
The lake of fire is the
second death.
death.
And if anyone's name
was not found written
in the book of life,
he was thrown into
the lake of fire.
Death is not a way of
escape for anyone
because there is a
second death.
I heard a lovely talk
that life here is
pretty difficult for
believers sometimes.
In fact, for all
people at one time or
another.
A friend of mine,
Jonathan Dykes,
was doing a mission
down the south coast
of New South Wales
and he interacted
with a couple of
blokes and this one
bloke in particular
said he has quite a
difficult time in his
workplace.
He really is persecuted
because he's a
Christian.
His boss just gives
him a terribly hard
time.
And Jonathan said,
so how long has that
been going on?
And the guy said,
35 years.
And he said, I had
another friend, he
worked with me for
25, but he went
somewhere else after
25, he couldn't
handle it anymore.
But this world, and I
don't know if it's
school for you or
uni for you or back
into your family,
whatever it is, is not
a pretty place to live.
And it's not just for
Christians, it's for
people who aren't
Christians as well.
The difficulties of
life come upon us all
in different measures
and at different
times.
But the return of
Jesus will see a
great reversal of
fortunes.
Those who have
trusted and believed
in him will be
vindicated for the
whole world to see.
We will have been
the knowers who
plugged away at
building the rescue
ship while everyone
else thought that we
were fools.
We will be safe.
But in the meantime,
we are the people of
God that he has sent
into the world to tell
people about Christ and
to live for Christ.
All of us will
experience the return
of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
It's going to be in
one of two ways.
He will come back
while we are still
alive in the way that
the whole world will
see.
Or we will experience
being raised from the
dead after our death
and brought alive into
the presence of
Christ.
And that day will be
either joyous beyond
expression or devastating
in the most appalling
way.
We will be people of
faith welcoming
the Saviour whom we
have trusted and
hoped for and who
has written our
names in the Lamb's
Book of Life.
Or we will be amongst
those who despised and
rejected the wonderful
rescuer that God has
sent, who has come
once and who will
certainly come again.
And the wonderful thing
about the return of
Christ being slow is
that those who have not
yet believed him still
have time to turn and to
come into his safe
presence.
There's still time for
friends and workmates and
school friends and
relatives to respond to the
wonderful invitation of the
Son of God to come to him
and to find forgiveness and
rescue.
So those of us who do know
Christ, we are still under
orders.
We are not alone.
He has given us his spirit
and he has sent us as his
witnesses into this vast
world.
It's almost like he's put on
rescue uniform.
You know, he's given us
orange overalls and he's sent
us out with a message which
can make people absolutely
safe when Jesus returns,
which he certainly will.
Amen.