Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, my friend, for inviting us into your home by means of your radio or your television to study God’s word together. We are In Search of the Lord’s Way. Oh yes! The Lord does have a way for you to become a Christian. Yes, He does have a way for living the Christian life. It has a warning label on it, though. It says it’s different from the ways of the culture. And, it’s revealed to all of us alike in the Bible-- nowhere else. And, aren’t we blessed? We can own a complete copy of the Bible-- in our very own language-- for less than an hour’s minimum wage. Say, we’re glad you joined our Bible study today. We pray we will both be blessed.
What a blessing we have, friend-- we who live in this twenty-first century. I’m sure none of us would argue in defense of the evils of some television programming. However, radio and TV also afford the church an excellent opportunity to do what God designed the church to do– to preach the gospel to every creature. We couldn’t possibly do that in our world of near seven billion people, were it not for television and radio, modern printing technology, the internet and satellites. And this program is a ministry of churches of Christ in the area of this station. They are the reason that you don’t hear us solicit your offerings and gifts of money every time. We’re absolutely “non-profit.” We are thankful, too, for those churches of Christ who sponsor us. And you know what? They would love to have you visit them in one of their Bible study classes or maybe one of their worshiping assemblies. Why don’t you just do that? Real soon, too! Will you?
In recent weeks we have been studying about The Birth of Christ, The Death of Christ, The Resurrection of Christ, The Ascension of Christ. And today’s message is titled “The Return of Christ.”
One of the fundamentals of the Christian faith is “the return of Christ” -- not to purchase redemption for sinful men as He did the first time. This time He’s coming to receive them to Himself. I mean, He is coming to take them with Him to heaven for all eternity, where “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things (will) have passed away.” Friend, what do you say, we get together and get ready and be ready when our Savior comes for us! Oh! I’m for that! And that is what our lesson is about today. If you think you might want or need a free copy of it, they are free. Just mail your request for an audio cassette tape– or a CD– or a printed copy– whatever to In Search of the Lord’s Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73013. Our e-mail address is searchtv@searchtv.org. And our toll-free telephone number is 1-800-321-8633. It’s also being “streamed” on our website: www.searchtv.org. Ken Helterbrand is ready now to lead us in singing. After the hymn, I’ll be back for Scripture reading and prayer.
Our Bible reading today is from the book of 2 Peter chapter 3; and we will begin reading at verse 10. “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells." Now let us go to God in prayer. Holy Father, we are so thankful to You for the sending of Your Son to this earth to provide redemption for us. And we are thankful, Father, for His death on the cross, that he paid the price for our redemption; and we are thankful, Father, for His resurrection, and His ascension into the heavens, and His promise of coming to get us again. And we pray, Father, that You will be with us and bless us in the study of this lesson today, as is so much a part of our faith as Christians. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen!
The second coming of Christ is essentially as much a part of the gospel story as His miraculous conception of Mary, the miracles He wrought in His personal ministry, His death for our sins, His burial, His resurrection and His ascension. Oh, He had a lot to say about it during His earthly ministry. Remember? He said, “...hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” That is Matthew 26:64. He also said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1 to 4). Perhaps the longest continuing, living declaration of faith in His coming again is the weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper– observed by the faithful Christians for about two thousand years now. According to 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 26 the Lord said, “As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” So! Yes, the Lord’s Supper points the Christian backward to the cross and salvation. It’s also a present reminder that we are His disciples, and it reminds us that He is coming to receive His own.
Our Scripture text also says there will be two prevailing attitudes toward His return. First, there will always be scoffers; in the verses preceding the ones we read “...in the last days, walking according to their own flesh, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” And Secondly: “The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God . . .” Well, we have all seen and heard and read of those scoffers, haven’t we?
Yes! Our Lord is coming again; He is returning for His saints. If we believe the Bible really is the inspired word of God, we believe that. But no one knows when Jesus Christ said He is coming. Because He said Himself, “Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only” (Matthew 24, verse 36). I believe Him. Over the years there have been many who have said that God told them when He was coming. And they’ve set dates for that event and made preparation for it. And it’s a matter of historical record that a fellow by the name of William G. Miller predicted Jesus would come in 1843. When it didn’t happen, he calculated it again and he said he had missed it a year; that Christ would come in 1844. His followers robed themselves in white sheets and climbed up in the trees to wait for the Lord. But, He didn’t come then either. Another fellow by the name of Charles T. Russell set the date for October 1914, but, when it didn’t happen, he too said that he had miscalculated and he reset the date for 1915. Some believe and teach that He did come in 1914, but He came quietly and invisibly and was witnessed only by the faithful of their small sect. That same cult revised its teaching and set October 1, 1975 as the day. When He didn’t come that day, many of their adherents were disillusioned and they left the sect.
Well, you know if you hear much religious radio and television that there are others who are today preaching and teaching what they call “The Rapture.” They are talking about their own private ideas of the return of Christ. They also weave their own private fantasies about it. And although they’re all different, each one of them claims that God has spoken to him– or to her-- and revealed His plan. It seems to me, though, that if God was revealing His plan for the coming of the Savior to all those who are making such claims, they would all have the same message. How about you, friend? Doesn’t it seem that way to you, too? But, not so! Well, the word of the Lord is sure. It still reads, “Of that day and of that hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven,” but the Father only.
We can believe the Bible, friend. And there are many things about Christ’s return that are made unmistakably clear in the Scriptures. Number one: He is coming. You can be skeptical about the date-setters and their fantasies, but you must not be skeptical about this. He is coming! Number two: No one knows when He will come. So, the next time some fellow comes across the stage saying He has it all wrapped up in a little bundle or he has the latest word from Heaven on that, and he sets a date, you will know not to believe anything he says. God says, “When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.” That is Deuteronomy 18:22. Jesus will come at an unexpected time. He, Himself, said, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of man is coming in an hour you do not expect Him” (Matthew 24, verses 42 through 44). The message is readiness! Get ready! Stay ready! Be ready!
The Third thing about the Lord’s return of which you and I can be absolutely sure is: it will not be a quiet occasion that was by only a few people. It will be heralded by the shout of angels and the sound of trumpets, and every eye shall see Him! The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God.” And in Revelation 1:7 we are told, “Behold, He is coming with the clouds of heaven, and every eye will see Him.”
Four: His coming will mark the end of the world. In that inspired message about “resurrection,” 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 22 to 24, we’re told, “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order; Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power...” No, no, no, friend, He is not going to establish His kingdom when He comes. The kingdom is now! Jesus Christ is now “King of kings and Lord of lords” right now as I speak. We can know that because the Bible tells us so in 1 Timothy chapter 1, verse 17; and again in chapter 6 and verse 15.
Fifth of the things that we can know about the “return of Christ” is: At His return both the righteous and wicked will be raised from the dead. Friend, there’s going to be just one resurrection-- the resurrection of the dead both of the redeemed and the unredeemed Oh, there are so many things we would all like to know about the resurrection. If you think cremation is a way of avoiding resurrection, you have a surprise coming! We may be wondering about the resurrection of some loved one who died in a tragic fire, or about those who are buried at sea. What kind of body will those people have, seeing the body they now have is completely destroyed? What kind of body will they have? Well, the Bible anticipates that question. It’s in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 35 to 38 and it says, “But someone will say, How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come? Foolish one, what you sow (or plant) is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but a mere grain– perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body..... And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.”
Number Six of the things that we can know about the Lord’s return is recorded for us in John chapter 5, verses 26 through 28. It’s written there that the Lord Jesus said, “As the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth– those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation. I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” Oh yes! The day of the coming of the Lord will be a great day! I don’t know for sure, but perhaps those verses were the inspiration for the hymn we used to sing– or to hear so much. The one that says, “There’s a great day coming, A great day coming, There’s a great day coming by and by; When the saints and the sinners shall be parted right and left, Are you ready for that day to come? There’s a bright day coming, A bright day coming, There’s a bright day coming by and by; But its brightness shall only come to them that love the Lord, Are you ready for that day to come? There’s a sad day coming, A sad day coming, There’s a sad day coming by and by; When the sinner shall hear his doom, “Depart, I know ye not,” Are you ready for that day to come?” Well, are you ready, friend? The Lord is coming. I confess: I don’t know when. Oh, I want to be ready? Are you ready?
“The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth– both the good and the evil.” The Lord doesn’t promise that the righteous will be raised, then the unrighteous some seven years later. No, that isn’t taught in the Scriptures. The passage that’s most commonly used for that is 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 13 to 18. The Christians at Thessalonica looked with great anticipation to the coming of the Lord. Not knowing the day or the hour, they believed that He would come immediately, in their very own generation. But, some of them were dying. They feared those saints who died before Jesus comes, were going to be deprived of being in that glorious event. So, the Holy Spirit inspired the apostle Paul to encourage them in that letter, those who were dead in Christ. Let us pray. Holy Father, we are so thankful to You for all that You have revealed to us about the coming of the Lord, that precious promise that He is coming to receive His own and take them into glory. Lord, we want to be ready, and we pray that others who hear this message will have been encouraged to be ready; stay ready; and be ready when He comes. In Jesus’ lovely name, we pray. Amen!
Oh say, friend! The teaching that God has predestined certain ones to eternal life and others to eternal death, so the number can neither be increased or diminished by human choice is a false idea, friend. That’s Calvinism. You need to put your faith and hope and trust in Jesus Christ, the Savior. And He said of His identity as the Son of God, “If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). When three thousand Jews who had insisted that Pilate crucify Jesus; when they were convinced that they had sinned, they cried out. “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” And, Peter, inspired of God, answered, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit...Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them”-- that is the disciples (Acts chapter 2, verses 38, 41). Do I hear someone say, “Oh, must I be baptized in water to be saved by the blood of Christ? My preacher doesn’t say so! He says salvation is by grace.” Yes it is, friend! Oh yes, salvation is by the grace of God.
You see, it was your sin that separated you from God (Isaiah 59:1 and 2). But, God is gracious, and being so, He devised a plan for your salvation He sent His Son. His Son died so that you could be reconciled to God. His Son did say, however, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved (Mark 16, verse 16). So, you have the choice to do what He says. And that’s the way to receive His grace and to be saved.
Well, if you would like a free copy of this program in any form-- audio cassette tape or printed form or on a CD, please mail your request to In Search of the Lord’s Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083 or by e-mail to searchtv@searchtv.org.. Our toll-free telephone number is 1-800-321-8633. Use one of those addresses or the telephone number to enroll in our free Bible Correspondence Course, too. It is a systematic study of the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation. You do eight lessons at your own pace– one a week or one every two weeks, or whatever best fits into your time. Well, we plan to be back here next week with a timely lesson. We hope you will, too. God bless you now.
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