CAPITAL BIBLE CHURCH December 28, 2008 SERMON NOTES PASTOR BILL HAKEN Ready Or Not, Here I Come Revelation 22:7-20 INTRO: It s tough to miss Christmas if you live in America today. Just about anyone with a pulse can tell you what time of year it is. We hear the ads on the radio and TV, see the lighted houses and buildings, the decorated yards in our neighborhoods, the displays inside every store make sure we don t forget, and even the banners at that scroll across the top of the Internet search engines are there to remind us Christmas is coming in case we ve missed all the other signs. The clues many times are there to tell us simply be prepared. Don t get caught without just the right gift the right decorations the right treats and goodies the right wardrobe accessories. But what amazes me about all the hype and fanfare leading up to Christmas today is the pardoxical picture it paints when set alongside the world of Christmas Eve a little over 2000 years ago. Who, do you think was fully prepared for Christmas #1? God had given them many signs of His coming. But the first Christmas was not without its own signals and signs dating back a few centuries. The prophets had predicted a coming Savior, the Messiah, who would be born of a virgin, from the ancestral line of David, born in Bethlehem all Jews, even the marginally religious had known such things from the time they were toddlers. The world missed the first coming of Jesus to the earth. And yet on the eve of the very first Christmas business pretty much went along as usual for most. People came home from work and cleaned up for dinner. Children played in the dusty streets until time for bed. Spouses rolled over and gave good night kisses before turning out the light. Ho-hum, life goes on. Except, perhaps, for those who still had yet to comply with that crazy census. The one Caesar had ordered. For those who still needed to register, their minds were occupied with getting to their hometown, if they didn t still live in it, filling out the necessary documents and going home. One young couple arrived in Bethlehem on just such a mission. Jesus was born, placed in manger Who really knew? Apparently, no one. An angel woke up some shepherds to tell them news.
Some wise men were intrigued by a strange star and followed it. But apart from these unlikely guests at the manger, no one else really seemed to notice Christmas #1. Jesus came, and though many had been waiting for him, few noticed his arrival. The first Christmas might have been easy to miss. But the subsequent ones in our lifetimes are practically impossible to overlook. I d like to look at the book of Revelation to gain some perspective on the birth of Jesus. The text is Revelation 22 where Jesus said he s coming again. He said it s soon. Behold, I am coming soon! (Revelation 22:7, 12) Yes, I am coming soon! (Revelation 22:20) Here s a question I pose to you today: Have we done more to prepare for the celebration of a past event than we have to prepare for His future coming? In other words do our efforts to observe and remember his first coming surpass our attention to the details of being ready for Him to come again? The stakes are much higher for this preparation. Some of us might have a better idea of how to prepare for a great Christmas celebration than we do for how to prepare for Him to suddenly appear today. After all, Christmas preparations, if you boil them down, are pretty basic: decorate, purchase and wrap the gifts, make plans with the family, attend a church service, cook or cater, clean up. I know there are many other exciting nuances that make Christmas far more elaborate and far more busy. But really, you and I would essentially be ready for Christmas if we just gave attention to those things. And even when we re not ready, Christmas is still going to come. God has given us many signs of His second coming Matt. 24 How can we be prepared for His second coming? TRANSITION: There some basics to keep in mind for a person who wants to be fully prepared for Jesus to return. 1. We can be alert and watchful. Illus Sometimes at Christmas we are alert and watch for sales. We receive wish lists and we watch the ads for good deals. As of Friday night, ABC News was reporting that this year s Christmas retail sales were only up 5% over last year s the smallest increase in 3 years. To help bring in more revenue, K-Mart boldly pledged to stay open 36 hours straight until midnight tonight. There s still time to be prepared, because we know Christmas is coming soon. Being alert and watchful helps us get ready to observe an event that has already taken place. But Jesus said, that to be ready for him to come again, this is also what we should do
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. (Matthew 24:42) Christmas is December 25 every year. Easy to keep track of. What day will Jesus return? We don t know. The key is to be watchful and alert all the time. Constant attention needs to be given all the time, because it could be any moment. After all, Jesus said it would be soon. Ready or not. TRANSITION: Which leads us to the second item to keep in mind If we re going to be fully prepared for Jesus to return 2. We can live godly lives. The Apostle Peter makes it very clear You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. (2 Peter 3:11-12) Illus - At Christmas children are told they shouldn t be bad or they ll get coal in their stocking. The prospect of Santa coming soon spurs them on toward good behavior. The prospect of Jesus coming back has a lot more on the line than candy or coal in a stocking. We re talking eternity. Heaven and Hell. So we ought to live holy and godly lives. Don t get too attached to this world. It s not home we re just a passin through. Peter refers to us as aliens and strangers here. People whose citizenship is in heaven. That means if there are things we are practicing now that we wouldn t if we were sure today was judgment day we need to change them today. How would you want Jesus to find you on the day He returns? Would you like to: Be less tied to materialism Deeper tied to Him through prayer Put an end to that secret little habit Be passionate about sharing your faith Whatever it is, start living that way now. Just do it! Make preparations. We don t know the day, but He s coming soon. TRANSITION: Third, if we re to be prepared for Jesus to come 3. We can encourage each other.
At this time of year we say, Merry Christmas a lot. We encourage each other to have a nice holiday celebration. Christmas is coming soon, hope you have a good one. Christians can do the same as we prepare for Jesus 2nd coming. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18) But let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:25) Seek one another out. Pat one another on the back. Remind each other Jesus is coming. Hang in there. It s not much longer. Hang on to Jesus. Keep up the good work. He s coming soon. Encourage each other. We shouldn t bring each other down. We should feel free to express our hope in the return of Jesus to other Christians. TRANSITION: Lastly, if we re going to be ready for Jesus to return 4. We can persevere Illus In some ways this has been a tough Christmas. The snow and the extreme cold have made our usual preparations a bit more difficult. The traffic getting out of Yorktown and Oak Brook Malls. The traffic on Butterfield. Yikes! And there is a lot to get done for Christmas. Come home exhausted from shopping, fighting traffic, driving in this horrible weather but you got it done. You persevered. And you celebrated. Listen to what Paul tells Timothy about the Christian life. Fight the good fight of the faith I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Timothy 6:12, 14) Persevere. Don t give up. You ll be tempted to think, it s not worth it. You ll be tempted to think, Jesus isn t coming back. You ll be tempted to turn away. You ll be tempted to take your eyes off of Jesus while you wait. You ll be tempted to make a compromise here or there because it s been a long time already, and Jesus hasn t come yet. But don t give in to those temptations. Persevere. What s the best strategy for life-long perseverance? Remember that He s coming soon! 5. We can tell others the good news. What is it? The Gospel. This will actually hasten His coming.
TRANSITION: Those are the basics to be prepared for the return of Jesus. There is a poem that was written several years ago loosely based on The Night Before Christmas. This poem however is one man s tale of The Night Before Jesus Came. Twas the night before Jesus came and all through the house Not a creature was praying, not one in the house. Their Bibles were lain on the shelf without care In hopes that Jesus would not come there. The children were dressing to crawl into bed, Not once ever kneeling or bowing a head. And Mom in her rocker with baby on her lap Was watching the Late Show while I took a nap. When out of the East there arose such a clatter, I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash! When what to my wondering eyes should appear But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here. With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray I knew in a moment this must be The Day! The light of His face made me cover my head It was Jesus! returning just like He had said. And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself. In the Book of Life which He held in His hand Was written the name of every saved man. He spoke not a word as He searched for my name; When He said "It s not here" my head hung in shame. The people whose names had been written with love He gathered to take to His Father above. With those who were ready He rose without a sound While all the rest were left standing around. Page 8 I fell to my knees, but it was too late; I had waited too long and this sealed my fate. I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight; Oh, if only I had been ready tonight.
In the words of this poem the meaning is clear; The coming of Jesus is drawing near. There s only one life and when comes the last call We ll find that the Bible was true after all! It s never too early to start getting ready. Because even when we re not fully prepared, Christmas comes and Jesus is still coming! If he said it was soon 2000 years ago, think of how soon it must really be now! Read Rev. 22:17 Yes, I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. (Revelation 22:20) Matthew 24:1 As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings. 2But he told them, Do you see all these buildings? I assure you, they will be so completely demolished that not one stone will be left on top of another! 3 Later, Jesus sat on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and asked, When will all this take place? And will there be any sign ahead of time to signal your return and the end of the world? 4 Jesus told them, Don t let anyone mislead you. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, I am the Messiah. They will lead many astray. 6And wars will break out near and far, but don t panic. Yes, these things must come, but the end won t follow immediately. 7 The nations and kingdoms will proclaim war against each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. 8But all this will be only the beginning of the horrors to come. 9 Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because of your allegiance to me. 10And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. 11 And many false prophets will appear and will lead many people astray. 12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. 13 But those who endure to the end will be saved. 14 And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then, finally, the end will come. 15 The time will come when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about: the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the holy place reader, pay attention! 16 Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. 17 person outside the house must not go inside to pack. 18 A person in the field must not return even to get a coat. 19 How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for mothers nursing their babies in those days. 20 And pray that your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For that will be a time of greater horror than anything the world has ever seen or will ever see again. 22In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, the entire human race will be destroyed. But it will be shortened for the sake of God s chosen ones.
23 Then if anyone tells you, Look, here is the Messiah, or there he is, don t pay any attention. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great miraculous signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God s chosen ones. 25 See, I have warned you. 26 So if someone tells you, Look, the Messiah is out in the desert, don t bother to go and look. Or, Look, he is hiding here, don t believe it! 27 For as the lightning lights up the entire sky, so it will be when the Son of Man comes. 28Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near 29 Immediately after those horrible days end, the sun will be darkened,the moon will not give light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. 30And then at last, the sign of the coming of the Son of Man will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the nations of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man arrive on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31And he will send forth his angels with the sound of a mighty trumpet blast, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven. 32 Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its buds become tender and its leaves begin to sprout, you know without being told that summer is near. 33 Just so, when you see the events I ve described beginning to happen, you can know his return is very near, right at the door. 34 I assure you, this generation will not pass from the scene before all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will remain forever. 36 However, no one knows the day or the hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. 37 When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah s day. 38 In those days before the Flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. 39 People didn t realize what was going to happen until the Flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes. 40 Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. 41Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. 42So be prepared, because you don t know what day your Lord is coming. 43 Know this: A homeowner who knew exactly when a burglar was coming would stay alert and not permit the house to be broken into. 44 You also must be ready all the time. For the Son of Man will come when least expected. 45 Who is a faithful, sensible servant, to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his household and feeding his family? 46 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 47 I assure you, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. 48 But if the servant is evil and thinks, My master won t be back for a while, 49 and begins oppressing the other servants, partying, and getting drunk 50 well, the master will return
unannounced and unexpected. 51 He will tear the servant apart and banish him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.