Apostles' Creed Sermon - 9
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Apostles’ Creed – From There He Will Come…
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
1. Introduction – No time for a fancy introduction this morning. I’m simply going to cut to the chase.
a. Here’s what we’re going to do this morning. We are going to break down this line into smaller parts – I’m going to back each section up with Scripture, and then we’ll finish with some application.
2. From There – Look at the first two words – From there. From where?
a. It goes back to what we looked at last week. Last week we looked at Jesus’ ascension to heaven and how he is currently seated at God’s right hand.
i. At this very moment, Jesus is there and he is interceding for you. He is praying your prayers and he is there preparing – he’s preparing a place for you and he is preparing for his glorious return.
b. But it is important for us to know that when Jesus comes back to earth, he’s not coming from a despotic and vengeful place. He’s not coming full or rage. He’s coming from there, from the Father’s throne above – from God’s right hand.
i. And it is from there that he will come to judge – and he will judge the Christian for being a Christian, and he will judge the non-Christian for being a non-Christian.
3. He Will Come – Look at the next three words – he will come.
a. Now this is where Christian’s can get in to some trouble – especially Western Christians, because we want to know all the details. We want to know the when, where and the how – so we start developing all kinds of theories, charts, timelines – when in reality we should be wasting breath and ink trying to pinpoint the time and location of Jesus’ return.
i. However, there are actually a few aspects of Jesus’ return that we can figure out from Scripture.
1. But we have to keep in mind that we can never know or predict the exact timing or circumstances for his return.
a. No charts, not timelines, just what Scripture tells us.
b. Scripture gives us the ‘how’ of Jesus’ return. Acts 1:11 and 1 Thessalonians 4 tell us that he will come down on the clouds.
i. At his ascension, two angels told the disciples that Jesus would return in the same way they saw him leave.
1. And the Bible tells us that this is going to be a cosmic event. No one is going to miss it.
a. There isn’t going to be a secret rapture where those who are left behind are wondering what’s going on.
i. When Jesus comes back to earth, bodily and gloriously, no one will miss it – and everyone will know what’s happening.
c. Do you know that the most common analogy that is given to Jesus’ return? The Bible states over and over again that Jesus’ return will be like a wedding reception.
i. Who remembers their wedding reception? I remember ham, scalloped potatoes, broccoli and bacon salad, and kissing a lot – it doesn’t get much better than that!
1. Anyway, the Bible says Jesus’ return is going to be like a wedding feast, and there isn’t a more perfect analogy.
a. Comparing Jesus’ return to a wedding feast conveys notions of celebration, consummation, of feasting, family, and fellowship, all rolled in to one.
d. But even in the midst of picturing celebration, Jesus’ return will also bring separation.
i. You see, only those who are prepared, only those who are ready, only those who have trusted in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour will be invited to this reception.
1. Jesus’ told a parable about this. In the parable, a bride and her 10 bridesmaids were waiting for the groom’s arrival.
a. In Jesus’ day, a wedding could happen at any time of the day or time, so it was up to the bride and her wedding party to be prepared at any time for the grooms coming.
i. 5 of the bridesmaids were prepared, Jesus says they brought enough extra oil for their lamps to last the night.
1. But the other 5 were ill-prepared, they ran out of oil, and had to go find some extra oil.
ii. And while they were gone, the groom came, the wedding happened, the reception started, the doors were locked, and the ill-prepared bridesmaids missed the celebration altogether.
e. In the same way, the coming of Jesus will be a cause of great celebration for those who are prepared, for those who have accepted Jesus in this lifetime.
i. But it will also be a cause of great despair, for those who aren’t prepared, for those who rejected Jesus in this lifetime.
1. Jesus is coming back – it will be sudden, unexpected and it will be a glorious. And we need to be prepared for it.
f. And the Bible also gives us a glimpse of when this will happen – not a date or a time, the Bible gives us this glimpse.
i. The Gospel of the kingdom will be preached…and then the end will come.
1. Now this doesn’t mean that as soon as the last unreached people group hears the gospel, the end will come.
g. It’s more answering a question about the delay of Jesus’ return. Why hasn’t Jesus come back yet?
i. Well, the answer is actually quite simple – the longer the return of Jesus is delayed, the longer people have to repent of their sins and turn to God.
1. As soon as Jesus comes back, that’s time – time runs out. But as long as Jesus delays his return, the longer people have to hear and accept God’s message of salvation.
a. So why hasn’t Jesus come back yet? Because he is giving you the opportunity to witness and evangelize to your unsaved friends and family members.
i. He is affording you the opportunity to participate in bringing more people into a saving knowledge of him and giving you the opportunity to bring more people into his kingdom.
2. Or maybe, Jesus hasn’t come back yet because he’s giving you time – he’s giving you the opportunity to trust him as Saviour and Lord.
4. To Judge – Form there he will come to judge the living and the dead. Now we move on to the hardest part of this statement, Jesus’ judgment.
a. Jesus speaks of his judgment in another parable – the parable of the sheep and the goats. It’s found in Matthew 25.
i. In this parable, Jesus once again talks about the separation that will happen at his second coming. There will be both rejoicing and punishment.
1. I don’t want to go into a lot of detail about this parable, hopefully you’ll take some time to read it this afternoon or later this week.
b. In the parable, the sheep are sorted from the goats and put on Jesus’ right. They are the ones who lived faithful lives, the ones who accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, and at the end of time, they are received into eternal blessedness.
i. The goats are placed on Jesus’ left. They are the ones who rejected Jesus in this lifetime.
1. They lived for themselves, for fleeting pleasures and didn’t accept Jesus as Lord of their lives.
a. At Jesus’ return they enter into eternal punishment.
c. The only thing I want to focus on in this parable are the commands that Jesus gives to both groups.
i. Look at what Jesus says to sheep. “Come to me. Inherit my kingdom.” Aren’t those great words?!
1. To those who are faithful now, God will be faithful to them for all of eternity.
ii. And in stark contrast, look at what Jesus will say to the goats – “Depart from me.”
1. For those who reject Jesus in this lifetime, Jesus will send them to a place of eternal punishment.
a. Hear it again, eternal punishment. This is not a slap on the wrist or a temporary setback; it’s not two minutes for hooking. Eternal punishment.
i. And as Christians, if we really believed this – if we really believed that our unsaved friends and family were in danger of spending eternity separated from God – shouldn’t that fill us with zeal and passion to see them come into the kingdom of God?
d. Before we move on, I’ll simply as this which – When Jesus comes again, which one will he say to you? Which one do you want him to say to you? Come to me or depart from me? The answer is simple if you ask me.
5. Why Judgment – But why judgment at all? We love to talk about God’s love, mercy, salvation and forgiveness, why not stick to those topics?
a. Well, without judgment, without consequences for rejecting what God has to offer, then his love, grace, mercy and forgiveness are meaningless.
b. It is right and just for God to punish those who reject him.
c. Imagine this – you live your whole life striving after the ways of God. You’ve placed your faith in the saving death of Jesus, tried to become more like Jesus everyday of your existence.
i. You’re rested in God’s perfect love and grace.
1. Now image someone who completely rejects God – lives for self, lives a self-indulgent life.
a. And imagine that at the end of time – everyone gets the same reward. Would that be just? Would that make God a good, fair, and just judge?
d. No, if that’s how God worked, that everyone gets the same reward regardless of life style – then that would make God evil and heinous – he would be an untrustworthy judge.
i. But God, in his perfection and holiness, in his justice judges soberly, responsibly and justly.
1. He judges Christians for being Christian – on the evidence and fruit of their salvation – and he judges non-Christians based on their rebellion.
e. And don’t for a second fool yourself into thinking that you can escape judgment because you’ll probably be dead when Jesus comes back.
i. First, we don’t know when he’s coming back. Second, the Creed states he will judge the living and the dead.
1. This can either be taken metaphorically – Jesus will judge those who are spiritually alive in him and spiritually dead for rejecting him.
a. Or it can be taken literally – that when he comes back, Jesus will judge those who still have a pulse and those who don’t.
i. Either way, no one will escape judgment on the day of Jesus’ return.
6. Application – So how does this apply to us today? Well, here today in this very room there are 2 groups of people.
a. There are those who have already given their lives and hearts to Jesus; those who have been saved by his shed blood.
i. And there are those who haven’t yet believed in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
1. I’d like to briefly speak to each group.
b. For those who are here and haven’t given their lives to Jesus – I’ll simply the, the choices, the consequences and the eternal realities have been laid out for you this morning.
i. Which one will you choose? Will you choose to spend eternity separated from your saved family members? Will you choose to reject Jesus in this lifetime and be rejected by Jesus for eternity?
1. It doesn’t seem like a good tradeoff to me.
a. Or will you accept Jesus in this lifetime and be accepted by Jesus for eternity?
i. No one can make that choice for you, it is one you must make on your own.
c. And for the Christians here this morning – know this. The return of Jesus should be the greatest hope of our lives.
i. Did you know that there are over 300 verses in the NT that speak about Jesus’ return? 1 in every 13 verses speaks about this topic, and most of them have the theme – hope.
1. The NT writers, the early church and the early Christians all waited with eager anticipation for the Second Coming.
d. So my question for you today is, do you? Do you hope that Jesus returns today? Do you long for his arrival? Is it the greatest source of hope in your life? Do you live each day eagerly anticipating his arrival?
i. My hunch is that sometimes we don’t. We think less and less about the better things that Jesus will bring us at his second coming because we are increasingly caught up in the good things of this world.
1. We lose our hope of Jesus’ return, or we don’t want him to come back because we want to see your kids grow up, get married, have grand kids.
a. Or if you’re younger, you want to go to college, graduate, get married, have the opportunity to retire.
i. These are good things, but they are not better than what Jesus will bring us.
e. The more we are caught up in these things, the more we neglect genuine Christian fellowship, the more we neglect our personal relationship with Jesus, the less we will long for his return.
i. To some extent, the degree to which you long for Christ’s return is the measure of the spiritual condition of your life.
1. So this morning – Christian – what’s your spiritual condition?
a. Are you caught up in the things of this world? Things that aren’t bad in and of themselves, but things that are distracting you from the better things that Jesus offers you on his return. Are you caught up in them?
2. Or are you focused on those better things that Jesus has to offer you upon his return?
a. Are you longing for and eagerly anticipating the arrival of Jesus your Saviour back to earth?
f. I hope that for you as a Christian, this will enliven and embolden you; that this will encourage you in your relationship with Jesus, and strengthen you in your witness to others.
i. If we truly believed that Jesus was coming back one day, if we truly believed that what he has to offer us is better than what this world has to offer us…
1. If we truly believed that our unsaved friends and family members were in danger of spending eternity separated from God in hell – then that thought should be the driving force in our outreach and evangelism.
a. Not to scare people into the kingdom of God – but to woo them, as God is wooing them, with is captivating love and is endless mercy and grace.
7. Conclusion – From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
a. This is a future event, based on the past work of Jesus and this statement, the hope of Jesus’ return to earth must have a radical impact on our present.