Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Tuesday, August 20th. How much time do you spend anticipating the Lord's return? Today's podcast helps you understand the importance of Christ's Second Coming. How often do you think about Jesus' return? Do you sometimes doubt that He's coming back? Because after all, it's been two thousand years. He said He was going to return, but two thousand years is a long time. And when you think about His return, what is the most preeminent question that people ask? What is it? When?
That's what people will notice. When? When?
When? And every once in a while somebody will ask me, Do you believe Jesus is coming soon? And here's what I've discovered, that my answer will either put joy or gloom in their response. And when I tell them what I really believe, which is I don't know, they just get gloomy in the face because they're expecting me to say, Oh yes, I believe He's coming at any moment. Well, He can.
But I know what they're looking for. Very interesting in the Scripture when they kept talking about when, when, when, when, when. And when He said to them, and this is what I want to share with you this morning.
So, when you think about the fact that He's promised to come back and He hasn't come back, and when you look in the very last chapter of the Bible, we'll come back to this shortly. When you look at this twenty-second chapter, and three times He says something that just doesn't make sense unless He was just mistaken. He says something that just doesn't make sense unless He's just mistaken.
He says something that just doesn't make sense unless He's just mistaken. And I don't know what it says. It says in the seventh verse, And behold, I'm coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this Book. Twelfth verse, Behold, I'm coming quickly and my reward is with me to render to every man according to what he has done. And the twentieth verse, Yes, I'm coming quickly. Amen, come Lord Jesus. I'm coming quickly and my reward is with me to render to every man according to what He has done. And I'm coming quickly and my reward is with me to render to every man according to what He has done.
Two thousand years have gone by. He hasn't come. And so, when your unbelieving friend said to you, Well, look, if the Bible were true, didn't Jesus say He was coming again?
He still hadn't come. What do you say to that? What's your answer to that? And you probably either give them a correct answer or maybe you can bet your life on that, in fact, your eternal life. What I'd like to do is to talk about this whole issue of anticipating His return, thinking about His return. And I want to begin by thinking about the promises He made. Jesus made a number of promises about His return along with the Apostle Paul and Peter and other disciples. So, what is the truth?
So, let's just listen for just a moment what some of these promises are. So, turn, if you will, to Matthew chapter twenty-four. And this is a very significant chapter in the Bible about Jesus' return and all the things that are going to happen. And because it's confusing to some people, I want us to read this twenty-fourth chapter, the first three verses.
And I want to just mention one thing that was so when somebody brings it up, you'll have an answer. Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple building to Him. And He said to them, Do you not see all these things?
Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another which will not be torn down. Now, He's looking at the temple saying that. As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately saying, Tell us, when will these things happen and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?
Now, watch that. They ask Him three questions. If you read this chapter only thinking He asked, they ask one question, you'll be totally confused.
They said, We want to know three things. When these things will happen, about all these stones being torn down, which happened, by the way, about forty years later when Titus came in and destroyed Jerusalem? And what will be the sign of your coming?
That's a totally different question. And of the end of the age, a totally different question. So, when you read the twenty-fourth chapter, all the things you read here does not mean all this must take place before Jesus comes.
That's not what it means. But what I want us to look at here primarily is this whole issue of the promises. In the twenty-fourth chapter, look at the thirtieth verse. He says, And when the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. Turn to John chapter fourteen for a moment, and in the night before He left, fourteenth chapter and the third verse, and most of you probably know it by heart. Remember He starts out by saying, Don't let your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in Me.
In My Father's house or many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself that where I am there you may be also.
Night before He left, big promise. Go to First Thessalonians, for example, and the fourth chapter, and here Paul gives us some explanation about it because it's all through the Word of God, and I'm just mentioning a few passages. Fourth chapter and the thirteenth verse. We do not want you to be uninformed brethren, starting in verse thirteen, about those who are asleep, that is those who have died already, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord will not precede those who've fallen asleep, those who've passed on before. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore, comfort one another with these words." Then if you turn to the book of the Revelation, the last book of the Bible, and again, the same emphasis. Look, if you will, in the first chapter in this seventh verse. Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him, so it is to be amen. So, all through the Scripture there's the promise of His coming. So, you may say, well, it's been two thousand years, still hasn't come. Then I want to come to a passage of Scripture in the Revelation that gives an explanation of why we're still asking the question of why we're still talking about the timing. So, when you come to all these passages, somebody says, well, even why should I believe those?
Well, here's a specific reason. In the Old Testament, there were many prophecies of things that would come to pass, whether it was the nation of Israel and what would happen to them and their judgments and Babylonians come in captivity. All those prophecies came to pass. When it came to the issue of the coming of the Messiah, the promise of His virgin birth is there. The promise of how He would reign is there. The promise of the very city in which He was born is there. And those three passages of Scripture, in Isaiah chapter fourteen, speaks of Him being born of a virgin.
In the ninth chapter, His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsel, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. And of course, in Micah chapter five, the fact that He's born in Bethlehem. Now, there are many other prophecies in the Old Testament.
Those prophecies have come to pass. Why would I doubt what Jesus said when all those came to pass? In other words, if all those prophecies came to pass, why do I question whether these are going to come to pass?
Now, here's the question. What do you think is going to happen when Jesus comes? The problem of the time of Christ's coming.
Because if you'll notice how often that's the issue. That's the thing that comes up, well, when is He coming? And we'll see in just a moment the attitude of some people who did not believe that.
And it is the most preeminent question. People don't ask me, for example, what do you think's going to happen when Jesus comes? Well, the question is, what do you think's going to happen when He comes? Well, the question is, what do you think's going to happen when He comes? Well, the answer is, if you read the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew and you read it right and understand it, He could come at any moment. You say, well, all those things haven't transpired because those things are going to transpire.
Listen carefully. The next event on God's calendar is when He comes for His church. He says, we will not go through the tribulation. He says, we will not go through the tribulation. He says, we will not go through the tribulation. And so, when you read that chapter and remember the questions that they ask, when are these things going to happen?
These walls are going to be broken down. Titus did that in forty years. Then when you look at some of the other things He said, all these things will happen when He returns to earth to judge the world. But so when somebody says, well, what must happen today before He returns? He doesn't have to do another thing. He doesn't have to do another thing. He doesn't have to do zero, nothing. He could come in an instant right at this moment. He doesn't have to do another thing. Well, doesn't the Bible say in the twenty-fourth chapter there also, doesn't the Bible talk about when this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations and the end will come?
That's correct. But when is that referring to? Well, you know, I read that and I didn't understand it, I'd say, well, He can't come. But the truth is all through the Scripture, God has given us the feeling and the understanding and the desire to be always sensitive that His return could be imminent at any moment. So, I want you to turn to really our passage in First John chapter three, and I want us to look at this for a moment.
As John is writing his first epistle here, listen to what he says in this third chapter, very important. See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us that we would be called children of God. He says, look how awesome that is, that you and I are called the children of God. And so, he says, and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us because it didn't know Him.
That is, he's saying the world doesn't understand you and me. They don't understand why do we go to church every Sunday? Why do we give money? Why do we pray? Why do we sing? Why do we do this? Why do we do that?
Why, why, why? They don't understand us. He said they didn't understand Him either. Then he says, Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. That's what we are now. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him just as He is. He says in First Corinthians chapter fifteen, in the twinkling of an eye it's going to happen. And so, then he says, And everyone who has this hope, what hope? The hope that Jesus Christ is coming again? Everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself just as He is pure. That is, when you and I really and truly consider seriously that Jesus Christ could come at any moment, he says what happens is when we are fixed with that conviction, we're going to live a godly life. If you knew, if you thought that He could come any moment, and He can, if you really believe that, then you're going to be motivated to live a godly life. The world doesn't feel that way.
They think, first of all, there's no such thing, or they don't even believe there was a Jesus, or they don't believe He's coming back, or whatever. He says we have a fixed conviction that Jesus is coming again, and the result ought to be in our life to live a godly life. And that's what we're going to do. We're going to live a godly life. We're going to live a godly life. We're going to live a godly life.
We're going to live a godly life, expecting Him at any moment. And I would ask you, if you knew He was coming tomorrow, does anything come to your mind that you would need to change? Is there somebody you need to forgive? Some debts you need to pay? Is there something that you need to change in your life? Is there something that you need to change? Is there something you need to change?
Is there something that you need to change? Is there something yet to be done before He comes? And so, with that in mind, I want us to consider seriously this whole issue now of the time, because this is a problem with many people.
And so, I want you to see something interesting. Go back, if you will, to the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, chapter one, verse twenty-fourth, verse twenty-fourth, verse twenty-fourth. And it says, Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming. He's coming when you don't think He will. So, for the believer, we're to be sensitive and conscious continually that the Lord Jesus Christ could come any time and that He chooses to.
He says, settle the issue. Nobody knows when I'm coming back. Now, I've lived long enough to have watched some people rise in different places who had figured it out time-wise and with numbers, they knew exactly when Jesus was coming.
They could tell you the week and the day He's coming. And I remember it hasn't been too long ago that some fellow had this thing all figured out, and there were a lot of people who believed Him. And I thought to myself, all you have to do is read one passage. What did He say? He said He didn't even know. Listen to what He said, many false prophets will rise and will mislead many. You see, there isn't anything in the Word of God I need that He hasn't put there. And He says, make it clear, nobody knows when He's coming.
Now, that doesn't mean we're not to be conscious of the fact that He's to come. And I can remember this, and my mom was not a biblical scholar at all. She didn't know that much about the Word of God, but she drilled this into me. She would say to me, you know, Jesus could come at any moment. And this is what would get me, and I've said it before, you don't want to be doing anything you wouldn't want to be doing if He comes. Now, you say, well, for a twelve-year-old kid or ten or eight or whatever I was at the time, that stuck in my mind. I didn't want to, you know what, I still don't want to be doing anything that I shouldn't be doing when He comes.
Because there, listen, there is to be a sensitivity. If you'll think about this, that God's whole time span of everything that He intends to do in the world and all things that are going on, He has it all worked out. And so, for the believers, we're to believe and to acknowledge that He's coming at whatever time He chooses, but the time is not my business. And I want you to notice something in this passage also. In this twenty-fourth chapter, notice what happened here. I go back to that, if you will, and the forty-second verse, when He says we're to be on the alert. Now, that is a present indicative imperative word in the Greek, which means, listen, keep on being alert. Continuously be alert. Don't just be alert when you go to church, continually being alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
He says you don't know. Now, go down to verse forty-fourth. For this reason you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will. Who then is this faithful and sensible slave whom the Master put in charge of the household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom His Master finds so doing when He comes. Truly I say to you that He will put Him in charge of His possessions.
Now, watch what He does. He just refocuses their attention on the fact it's not when I'm coming, it's what you ought to be doing until I come back. It's your responsibility. It is your activity. It is your lifestyle until I do come back. Now, go back to Acts chapter one for a moment.
I'm going back on purpose here. And I want you to notice what Jesus did again, because this is where our thoughts ought to be primarily. Remember He said, verse six now, Acts chapter one, So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, Lord, is it at this time You're restoring the kingdom to Israel?
That is, it's time. They want to know, what's the time? What did Jesus say to them? He said to them, It's not for you to know.
It's none of your business to know the times or the seasons which the Father has fixed by His own authority. And then what does He do? He refocuses their attention. He says, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, even to the remotest part of the earth.
Every time they want to made you own, when you're coming back, He would refocus their attention to what you ought to be doing until He does get back. And I think this is God in His wisdom. Jesus said, I don't even know.
I love that. And the truth is, friend, whoever you are and whatever you may believe, nobody knows. When Jesus is going to return, He can return at any moment.
But nobody knows when. Thank you for listening to Anticipating the Lord's Return. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
