I had just finished preaching a message on the second coming of Jesus in one of our Adventist churches in the northwest recently. One of the members came up to me and said, “Do you know how long it has been since I heard a sermon on the second coming of Jesus here at our church?”
“No,” I responded.
“Never, in the seven years I’ve been coming here,” he said.
One of the other members standing nearby tried to be helpful. “One time I heard our former pastor allude to heaven.”
The message that soon we will see Jesus face to face (Titus 2:13) is energizing to a congregation. I feel invigorated when I preach a joyful, positive sermon on the blessed hope. With all the Secret Rapture confusion in the Christian world it is especially important that this Bible truth is presented from Adventist pulpits.
Here are a few reasons why—
- In the upper room the night Jesus was betrayed, He said that when He went away it was the guarantee that He would come again to take us to a place He would prepare for us. (John 14:1-3)
- In 1st Thessalonians, probably the first book of the New Testament written, every chapter concludes with the second coming.
- Every prophecy in both Daniel and Revelation ends with either the second coming of Jesus or the kingdom of God.
- I believe every book of the Bible refers to the second coming of Jesus in some way.
- Dwight L. Moody, the great evangelist of the 1800s, said that the Bible refers to the second coming of Jesus 2,500 times.
- Funerals are much different when we picture the incredible day of resurrection, reunion & rejoicing that is ahead for those who died trusting Jesus. (1st Thessalonians 4:16-18)
- When Jesus is our best friend we can hardly wait to see Him again, and every sign He gave us (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 17 & 21) is a reminder that soon He will come to take us home.
- As a church we have counsel that “The truths of prophecy are bound up together, and as we study them, they form a beautiful cluster of practical Christian truth. All the discourses that we give are plainly to reveal that we are waiting, working, and praying for the coming of the Son of God. His coming is our hope. This hope is to be bound up with all our words and works, with all our associations and relationships.–Letter 150, 1902. {Evangelism, p. 220.1} From Chapter 8 “Preaching the Distinctive Truths”
When I present this wonderful Bible truth I like to emphasize some or all of these points—
1) Reminders that Jesus is coming soon. (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 17 & 21 compared with Today’s newspaper)
2) We will all SEE Jesus come (Revelation 1:7; Matthew 24:27, 30)
3) We will all FEEL Jesus come (Revelation 16:18, 20)
4) We will all HEAR Jesus come (1st Thessalonians 4:16-17)
5) What God’s people will be like when He comes (1 Corinthians 15:51-53)
6) What Jesus will be like when He comes (Acts 1:9-11)
7) Jesus won’t be coming alone (Matthew 25:31)
8 ) What does Jesus mean when He says…
• He will come as “a thief in the night”? (Matthew 24:42-44; 2 Peter 3:10)
• “One will be taken and the other left”? (Luke 17- v26-27 Noah, v28-29 Lot, v30 When Jesus returns, v35-36 one will be taken and the other left)
9) What happens to those who are lost? (Revelation 6:15-17)
10) Every day we are making decisions about eternity- we have come here today so we can know Jesus better, love Him more, and be ready to say “Lo, this is our God, we have waited for Him and He will save us.” (Isaiah 25:9)11)
Final Illustration- I picture the second coming of Jesus and what it will be like to see specific godly people who have been a part of my life. Sometimes I invite 8-10 people to say very briefly some specific people they look forward to seeing when Jesus comes for His people.
Blessings to you,
Dan Serns
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Posted in Bible Study, Pastoring, Preaching, Second Coming, Why Not Try This?
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