A few years ago my wife came to me and asked me if we could get a few chickens. A family we knew had several and needed to find new homes for them. At the time, Marika had been wanting to get chickens for a while, and I had been pushing them off, because I’ve been around them, and honestly, I don’t really care for them. So I told her, since the house we were living in wasn’t our house, it was the church’s, she’d have to ask the elders if it’s okay, but even if they gave their approval, I wasn’t having anything to do with them. They were her and the kid’s chickens, not mine.
So she contacted the elders, leaving messages with each. I would say about 10 to 15 minutes later, I got a call from two of them, asking me if they needed to say no. I told them no, that if they approved it, I was okay with it. Well they did approve it, so we got four chickens. Now when I say we got chickens, I really mean we got chickens, because I got drug into it.
Before we even got the chickens, I was asked to help get the coup ready for them. At first I had help taking things out of the old shed we are going to use, but that help quickly evaporated. The kids went off to their after school program, and Marika had to get some paper work together. So, for about four hours, I worked on that chicken coup alone. And the next day, the worse thing about it was the fact that I couldn’t close my hands from bending the wire.
So here I was, supposedly not having anything to do with the chickens, building their home. And I knew, then that I would be taking care of those four animals. And do you know how I knew? I knew because I saw the signs. When we got our god Dodger, who isn’t my dog, the kids said they’d take care of it. Well there’s been quite a few times where I have had to. I knew because I did it to my parents with a cat I brought home, who eventually became my dad’s cat. I knew, because all the signs were there.
And as we come to the end of our Fourfold Gospel sermons series, that’s what we’re talking about, knowing the signs. Except the signs that we’re talking about, deal with the return of Jesus, not getting roped into taking care of chickens. So if you have your Bibles, we’re going to start in Matthew Chapter 26 verse 62, as we talk about the return of Jesus
And this emphasis on Jesus’ return is what brings all of what the Alliance believes together. Listen to how A.B. Simpson, the founder of the Alliance, describes this uniting of the Fourfold Gospel: “It is the glorious culmination of all other parts of the Gospel. We have spoken of the Gospel of SALVATION, but Peter says our salvation is ‘ready to be revealed in the last time.’…We have spoken of SANCTIFICATION, but John says: ‘When He shall appear, we shall be like Him, and every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.’ And we have spoken of DIVINE HEALING, but Paul says: ‘God hath given us the “EARNEST” of the resurrection in our bodies now,’ and Divine healing is but the first- springing life of which the resurrection will be the full fruition. So that the truth and hope of the Lord's coming is linked with all truth and life, and is the Church's great and blessed hope.”
So if we step back from what we have been speaking about in the last three weeks, we can see that the whole of the Fourfold Gospel reaches from the distant past of God’s work throughout history and is accomplished in the cross of Jesus. This is Jesus as our Savior, and we accept him as such when we recognize our sin and rebellion against God, and take Jesus’ free gift of reconciliation into our lives. It’s this lesson that we took away from the first week, where we understood that God wants us to know the depth from which he pulled us from, and the life he intends for us.
This gift of reconciliation, of justification, leads us into a life long experience of Jesus as our Sanctifier. Meaning, that over the years through the work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ work on the cross is transforming us into the person God created us to be. A mirror image of himself; unique yet the same. So in the second week we understood that, God is working to cleanse us from all unrighteousness right in front of our eyes.
And it’s through Jesus’ work on the cross and his resurrection, that we can experience Jesus as Healer. That means that God’s divine life infuses into the believer for the glory of his kingdom, and his healing work becomes part of the believer’s life. In that third week, we came to understand that, we have access to God’s healing through Christ our Savior, the sanctifying work of the Spirit, and by the will of the Father.
And all of it, the saving work, the sanctifying life, and the ultimate healing comes as Jesus returns for his Church.
So let’s jump into our first stop in Scripture, in Matthew 26:62-65, where Jesus has been taken before the Jewish counsel and is being tried for blasphemy. Meaning, the Jews are asking Jesus if he truly claims to be God or not. So let’s read together:
62 And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy.
I love this passage, because Jesus knows what’s going to happen, he’s going to his death, so what does he have to lose? Now it’s funny because Jesus goes beyond a simple yes to the request of, “Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” No, Jesus does one better. Jesus references Daniel’s vision in the Old Testament.
In Daniel 7:13-14 we read, “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”
Jesus’ connection to this passage isn’t some simple reference, he is connecting himself to a deep Israelite theological teaching. The cloud riding son of man in Daniel’s vision was an attack on the pagan belief that the god Baal was the cloud rider. Time and time again in the Old Testament, the Israelites attacked this idea, saying, no Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, is the true cloud rider. So when Daniel sees one like the son of man riding the clouds, it’s an association with this cloud riding imagery for Yahweh. And now Jesus, in his response, is connecting himself to the cloud riding son of man and is calling himself, in essence, Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews. In addition, the son of man figure in Daniel, receives both an eternal kingdom and service, which is the word for worship. Jesus claims to be the Son of Man, who is both the cloud rider Yahweh, and the king of the everlasting kingdom who is worthy of worship. This is why the high priest tears his clothes, and calls Jesus’ words blasphemy.
For the Jews, this would be Jesus’ clearest pronouncement of his deity. He’s telling it like it is and letting people deal with the implications. But this idea of Jesus coming in the clouds is synonymous with his return for his Church and the day of judgment.
Verses like Acts 1:11, describe two men dressed in white who tell the disciples that Jesus will return in the clouds. Or 1 Thessalonians 4:17, where Paul says that we who are alive at Christ’s return will be caught up in the clouds.
This emphasis on Jesus’ return is all over the New Testament being one of the main theological concepts that drives almost all of Paul’s writing. But what does it mean that Jesus is going to return? Well, like we’ve done in the past few weeks, let’s take a look at what the return is not, and what it is.
First off, what the return of Jesus is not, is Jesus coming to the individual Christian's heart. Meaning, Jesus’ return is not just in our life. We’re not just experiencing him on an individual basis, he will come fro the whole world to see.
Nor, is Jesus’ coming at our death. Meaning, when we’re talking about Jesus’ return, we don’t mean when we meet him after we’ve died and gone to heaven. It’s not an after death experience that we’re talking about.
It’s also not a spiritual coming of Christ through the spreading of the Gospel. Jesus’ coming is not when people accept him, and Christianity grows, and it’s some sort of spiritual progression. This is not the return of Christ, but rather Christ’s Church being built.
One final not, is that Jesus’ second coming has not happened yet, as some in a group called preterists believe. They believe Jesus has returned in a spiritual sense. The return of Jesus is still a future event.
Jesus’ return is none of these spiritual ideas. Instead, what the Scriptures say is that when Jesus returns…
First, everyone’s going to see it. Revelation 1:7 states, "Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.” Everyone will know that Jesus has come. This is why Jesus says in Matthew 24:23-27, “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
So we need to understand that though people claim Jesus has returned, we are not supposed to believe them, because when he returns, there will be no doubt. Everyone will know.
Which leads us into, Jesus’ return will be quick and its timing unknown. Paul says this in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3, “Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”
Throughout history people have come up with a lot, and I mean a lot of dates on when Jesus is going to return. But I don’t know if you know this, none of them have been right. Why? Because it’s not for us to know. In fact Jesus gives us a description of what the state of the world will be like when he returns. This comes from Mathew 24:36-39, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
The timetable is God’s, and the idea of the imminence of Jesus’ returns means that it cannot be calculated, because no one has that knowledge. If we did have the knowledge we would be living for ourselves until right before that time, and then turn to God for salvation, if we could. Which is just using God at that point, rather than truly seeking him.
Finally, even though it will be quick and unknown, it will not come out of the blue. Jesus says in Matthew 24:32-33, “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.”
We’re instructed to be prepared, and anticipating Jesus’ return. We are to see the world around us and recognize the decaying, decadence, and self-love that continues to grow all around. This keeps our minds on Jesus, seeking to know him and drawn ever closer to him. Paul says this in his letter to the Philippians, “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (1:9-11).”
Time and time again we are given proceeding events to the return of Jesus, which, we don’t have time to get into here, so I would encourage you to tread through Matthew 24 and 25 to see some of these signs. But what we need to know is that we are called to be prepared for Jesus’ return, growing in our relationship with him. Knowing that with every passing moment, we are getting closer to his return. So, we must be ready for it.
In order to be prepared, there are a few things we can do when it comes to the return of Jesus. It’s actually a mantra, and a shout that the Alliance has used for decades. And it is based on Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
The mantra of the Alliance is, “Bring back the King!”
You and I can participate in the return of Jesus by sharing the Gospel with others. I have heard it said that there are about 16,000 languages in the world, and we’re only reaching about 8,000 of them right now. Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
We have been given a commission to share the Gospel, to reach this world with the message of Jesus. And everything we’ve talked about in the last weeks, leads us in this direction.
Jesus’ saving work, his cleanings sanctification, his healing, and his return. These are the four messages, the Fourfold Gospel, that drives the Alliance to do what it does. Because we desire to see Jesus coming in his glory, and as he moves, we want to move with him.
We want the King to return. We want to see Jesus coming in the clouds. We want his kingdom come, his will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
So today my challenge is a question with two implications. The question is: “If Jesus returned today would you be ready?”
This readiness is first, have you come to know Jesus as your Savior? Putting your trust in him, that through his work on the cross and his resurrection, he offers you the gift of having your sins and rebellion forgive, and eternal life. And now calls you to grow closer to him? If you haven’t, accepting Jesus as Savior, confessing him as Lord, is the first step in preparedness of his return.
And second, this readiness means that you are prepared to share the Gospel as Jesus leads. That you are ready to given an answer for why you believe. And that you are ready to do what he wants and make it more important that what you want. If you a believer, it’s laying your will before God’s and being transformed by the Holy Spirit for his work.
My challenge is to wrestle with this question, because I don’t know when Jesus will return, I don’t have that insight. What I do know is that we are to be ready; growing closer to Jesus and sharing the Gospel.
Because if we’re not doing those two things, then when Jesus does return, we’re going to be like the man in Jesus’ parable in Matthew 22. Jesus says this about a man who was invited to a wedding feast, “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless (v. 11-12).” The man was prepared for the king’s return even though he was at the wedding.
Let us not be speechless at the return of Jesus. Instead let us be people whom it can be said of us, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. (Matt. 25:21)” Let us be rejoicing today, and everyday forward, for the Jesus’ return, because we are ready for it. Amen.
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