Sermon Tone Analysis

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.

He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again.

He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

The coming of Christ is the central theme of the New Testament.

At His first Advent He came as the Suffering Servant described by the Prophet Isaiah.

He came to seek and to save lost men, and He saved them through the sacrifice of His own life as a perfect sin offering.

Though He was equal with God, He emptied Himself of His divine glory and took upon himself the lifestyle of a servant.

He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of dying on a cross.

But we cannot think of His first Advent without also contemplating His second advent.

In teaching the believers at Corinth about the significance of the Lord’s Supper, the Apostle Paul noted that every time we participate in the communion that we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

The Lord’s Supper is not just about looking backwards to the Lord’s first coming.

It’s also about looking forward to the Lord’s second coming.

In Titus 2:13 it is called our blessed hope.

The Second Coming of Christ was central to the hope of the early church.

I’m not so sure that is true of the modern church.

Many believers have been persuaded that Your Best Life [is] Now.

We are so caught up in the affairs of this world, even in the good things of this world, to the point that we fail to seek the better things.

The good things that we enjoy here and now, and the pace of our lives, all-to-often keep us from meditating on, hoping in, and looking forward to the Second Coming of our Lord.

The constant refrain of the New Testament, however, is “Christian, don’t let that be so.

Be ready.

Be prepared.

Be alert.

Live in the light of His coming.

He is coming.”

* /"And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be."/ (Revelation 22:12, KJV)

The Scriptures are very clear about the Second Coming of our Lord.

It will happen.

It will be a Personal, Literal, and Visible coming.

It will be a glorious event for those who have chosen to believe in their heart that Christ has risen from the dead, and confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord.

It will be a time of anguish and gnashing of teeth for those who have not.

The question of the moment is: "How are Christians to live in light of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ?"

The Bible gives us examples of the different kinds of watchers we can be.

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I. WE CAN BE LAZY WATCHERS

* /"Be on guard, keep awake.

For you do not know when the time will come.

34It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.

35Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.

37And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”/

(Mark 13:33-37, ESV)

#. there are some believers who, early in their faith, eagerly anticipate the coming of our Lord

#. but as time goes by they become distracted with the affairs of this world

#. as a result, they become lazy watchers

* ILLUS.

Jesus says that his return is characterized by the rich man who goes on a vacation or takes a holiday leaving his staff in charge of his large estate.

The housekeeper asks, "When will you be coming home?" to which the master of the house replies, "I'm not really sure.

When I feel like it, I guess."

The housekeeper, the chauffeur, the gardener, and the cook all have their assigned duties to perform and are expected by the master of the estate to faithfully execute their jobs just as if he was there watching.

A week goes by and there is no sign of the homeowner, and the staff go about their duties assuming their master will soon return.

A month goes by and then another and still there is no indication when the master of the house will return.

Six months go by, and the servants begin to grow lax in their duties.

They’ve not heard from the master of the estate, and they begin to loose interest in their assigned tasks.

The Limousine and Porsche go unpolished.

Weeds begin to sprout in the once immaculately kept lawns and gardens.

Dust collects on the fireplace mantles and bookshelves.

The staff is forced to eat leftovers and finally TV dinners because the cook simply fails to cook.

Finally, the staff begins to take long siestas in the afternoon believing that surely there will be enough advanced notice of the owner's return, and that they will have time to get the estate in order.

The staff has become lazy in their watchfulness for the master of the estate.

When they least expect it, guess who'll be coming home?

#. but a 2,000 year delay?

#. does that mean that we’ve misinterpreted the words of Jesus concerning this second coming thing?

#. listen to what the Apostle Peter wrote ...

* /"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4And saying, Where is the promise of his coming?

for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

5For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

8But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

9The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up."/ (2 Peter 3:3-10, KJV)

#.

First—despite what the scoffers think, the Second Coming is certain because God promised it vv.

3-4

#. the scoffers of this world often sarcastically ridicule those who believe in the imminent, personal, and visible return of Jesus

#. they falsely assume that since the world’s creation everything has remained the same—that God has not intervened in the past, so what makes us think He will intervene in the future?

#.

Peter clearly says that they are willingly ignorant of the history of the world—God has indeed clearly intervened in the past through a great flood, and will clearly intervene in the future in the second advent of His Son

#.

Second—the coming of Christ will usher in a day of judgment for the ungodly v. 7

#.

who are the ungodly?

#. anyone who has never made a faith-commitment to Christ

#. this is a hard statement and one not readily accepted by our culture

#. in our culture, ungodliness is often associated with the vilest of social offenders—the serial rapist, the pedofile, the con-artist who prays on the elderly

#. these are obviously the ungodly who deserve hell and the hottest part of hell

#. but the Bible does not make such a distinction—the ungodly are those outside of a faith-relationship with God through His only begotten Son, and they will be judged and condemned

* /"It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”/

(Jude 14-15, ESV)

#.

Third—the coming of Christ is delayed that all the Elect should come to repentance v. 9

#.

delay does not mean God has somehow forgotten His promise

#. why does God delay the return of Christ?

#. the cause of the delay stems not from indifference or inattentiveness on the part of God

#. it lies in God’s grace and mercy toward sinners

#. in this passage, the Apostle Peter alludes to the Old Testament prophecy of Habakkuk:

* /"For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false.

Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."/

(Habakkuk 2:3, NIV)

#. don’t be a lazy watcher

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II.

WE CAN BE PRE-OCCUPIED WATCHERS

* /"And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’

18And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

19And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’"/