June 13, 2006

Welcome back to our church growth, mission, and evangelism blog. We are glad you can join us. Thanks again to our sponsor www.thegreatcommissionchurch.org for their tireless support. Check out the changes to their web site. As always, there are lots of things to do there.

We continue our discussion of achieving peace with God:

The coming again of Jesus Christ is mentioned in the Scripture more than 300 times in the New Testament alone. This shows that the Holy Spirit, who directed the writing of the Bible, puts tremendous stress on the fact that Christ is coming back to this earth again.

 

CS Lewis said that there are three things that keep people from believing in the coming of Christ. First, Jesus didn’t come when they expected Him to come in the first century. The second reason is the theory of evolution-the idea that we are making progress on our own and really don’t need Christ. The third reason is that the coming of Christ cuts across our materialism and our good times-all the things that we like the most in this world.

 

The day is fast approaching when Christ will come back to snatch away his followers from all the graveyards of the world, and those of us who are alive and remain will join them in the great escape. That is the hope of the future for the Christian.

 

There are five reasons why Christ has to come back to this earth. First, He must come back because of the promises of the Old Testament that have yet to be fulfilled. Some day men are going to make spears into pruning hooks; and some day nation will not lift up sword against nation, because the Prince of Peace is coming back.

 

Second, Christ has to return because of His own statements. Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. The Bible says that we are going to reign with Him!

 

The third reason is the present position of Satan. The most powerful being in all of the world today, outside of God himself, is the devil. And the Bible says that he has access to heaven to the throne of God. The devil didn’t want Christ to go to the cross, because he knew what Christ would do on the cross. He knew that when Christ died on the cross that He was bearing all the sins of the world. Satan suffered his greatest defeat at the cross and in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

But the devil is still loose, still in charge of the cosmos, the evil that is in the world. In his supernatural power, he has a supernatural plan, even to try to dethrone God. That’s why Christ has to come-He is the only one who can deal with the devil. Forth, Jesus must come because of the present chaos in the world. Christ is going to come to set up His kingdom of righteousness and glory and peace and justice.

 

The fifth reason Christ must come is the dead in Christ-those people who have died believing in God and trusting in Him. Believers are going to be raised from the dead. Jesus said that there would be intellectual and mental confusion and disturbances throughout the world. We as a human race are going to reach a point where there is no way out!

 

Jesus said that there would be a collapse of morals just before He comes back. The world is on an immoral binge such as it’s never known in history. Jesus said just before He returns that will be the condition of the human race. Jesus also said that there would be a falling away of believers and that there would be many false prophets. Some may still believe, but they have fallen away in the way they live. Your life justifies what you believe.

 

Jesus indicated that there would be an increase in lawlessness. Terrorist activities are increasing in almost every country. There is rebellion against all authority. More than ever, people are searching for peace.

 

Jesus said there would be a world-wide emphasis on evangelism and the proclamation of the gospel before He came back. For the first time in history the gospel is being heard all over the world. One day we shall see Jesus face to face, and total sanctification is when we are as perfect as He is.

 

We are to wait with patience. He has appointed a day and God knows the day. We are to watch, to constantly think about His coming. We are constantly to be working to reach our fellow man for Christ. The last point is that we are to be prepared. For those who do not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, it means judgment, it means hell.

 

We know the price that was paid to get this thing called peace and happiness, but at the moment the world is heading toward anything but peace. We are to try for peace, but that does not mean pacifism. “Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.�

 

If by faith we accept Christ, we are justified by God and can realize the inner serenity that can come to man through no other means. Jesus told us that there are going to be wars until the end of the age. He knew that the vast majority of the human race was never going to be converted to Him.

 

We have peace with God through Jesus Christ. If you don’t repent of your sins and receive Christ as your Savior, you are going to be lost. If we turn our backs on Him and don’t commit our lives to Him, we will have no hope in the future. The war that exists between you and God can be over quickly, and the peace treaty is signed in the blood of His Son Jesus Christ.

 

The second peace spoken of in the Bible is the peace of God. Everyone who knows the Lord Jesus Christ can go through any problem, and face death, and still have the peace of God in his heart. The sense of guilt and sin that natural man carries within himself renders him unfit for the performance of his duties, renders him sick in both mind and body.

 

There are special privileges that only the true Christian can enjoy. The privilege of having divine wisdom and guidance continually, true optimism, and a world view. The third peace that the Scriptures mention is future peace. I want to make sure that I have peace with God. I want to be sure that I’m ready for death. It’s all yours, and it’s free.

 

The time is getting far shorter. Few of us know for certain when death will come for us. Make your peace with God today:

 

“O God, I am a sinner, I am sorry for my sin, I am willing to turn from my sin. I receive Christ as Savior, I confess Him as Lord, I want to follow Him and serve Him and others in the fellowship of His holy church. In Christ’s name. Amen.  

The plan for today is to produce our second short podcast. Be sure to check back this evening for that post. Same exciting content as before, just a shorter program that I hope will be more usable for the listener and simpler to produce.

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Thanks and God bless.

Pastor Bob Emery