His Return Overshadows Ours
It is a welcome, exceptionally good feeling to return to our home church this Sunday morning. We have greatly missed the fellowship of those in our covenant relationship within the Lord’s church. We thank God for your continued faithfulness to Him and the work He calls us to do. Often, the times and the seasons discourage us but thank Him for His promise never to leave us or forsake us.
We love this church because of your love for God’s word. With the diversity of opinions about what passes for acceptable preaching, it is difficult to gauge the value of the thirst for it. The most prominent desire of hearers is earthly pleasure and whatever satisfies felt needs. Churches center their attention on their core figure—easily identified as self.
The first part of today’s message reminds us of what Christians should live for. We enjoy the blessing of living in the freedom of the United States and with our economic prosperity as a bonus. These are benefits that most Christians throughout the centuries have not enjoyed. There is little doubt these advantages have captured our hearts leaving us with a lesser reward than what should be the pursuit of our lives. We should reshape our driving motivation for the Lord’s work by living in the hope of Christ’s return.
The Second Coming impresses us with the urgency of reaching out with the gospel. If we believed what we preach, our attitude about sharing the good news would be much different than it appears now. We sing songs and preach sermons that speak of the imminent return of Christ, and yet there is not an intense concern that today could be our last day. If it were our last day, the focus would not be on us and what happens to us. We know the answer to this delightful question. The answer is not the same and is vastly unappealing to those who have not heard and believed the gospel. We do not urgently pursue conversions because from pulpit to pew we live with much less expectancy.
The scriptures also use the Second Coming as encouragement for our moral lives. John said we should live so as not to be ashamed when Christ appears. I remember hearing this as a child growing up in church. These types of messages motivated me more than any others. I was far less afraid of hell than of Christ finding me doing what I should not be doing. When the preacher made Christ’s coming real enough, I wanted to be careful of every move I made. A simple child-like faith is often more sensitive than what many believe is mature faith. Our mature faith says we know too much to be excited with guesswork.
Peter also encouraged us to godliness by the theme of Christ’s return. He asked, “What kind of people should we be considering the world and everything in it will be burned up?” Likewise, Paul used the same motivation. He wrote, “When Christ who is our life shall appear…” He follows this with a significant list of our former sins and commanded us to put to death these sins that cause God’s wrath on children of disobedience.
I will add one more reason to think on Christ’s return. This strikes closer to home and is a daily prayer at our house. We want our Lord to return because it results in our transformation. This earthly body ravaged by sickness will transition into a glorified body made like that of Jesus Christ. John said we will be like Him for we shall see Him as He is. It is true that death will bring the same relief from pain but with infinitely less spectacle. I would rather pray for the return of Christ than the death of my wife. One I will do, the other I will not do.
Pastor V. Mark Smith