When we gather together to preach,
when we gather together to worship, we rightly turn frequently to
the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross. There to see the wonderful outworking
of the Saviour's love for us. the shed blood, the pains that
he suffered, the price that was paid, the ransom, the redemption,
and the glorious accomplishments of his substitutionary atonement
for his church and people. It's a good subject for us to
think upon. I remember as a little boy, weighing
up what I heard as a contradiction in the way in which two preachers
described this sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. One spoke about the
dying love of Christ, the love that prompted his death, and
the other spoke of the undying love of Christ, The undying love
that endures for eternity, for the elect. And as a little boy,
I was sitting thinking, what? Is it dying love or is it undying
love? Well, that was just the foolishness
of the little boy. Because it was Christ's love
for those that were placed into his hands in covenant purpose
that brought him into this world to secure their redemption and
their justification and their cleansing and their sanctification. It was Christ's love that did
that. That love extended from everlasting. It's an old love and it will
endure to everlasting. It is verily an undying love
that Jesus has for his people. And yet it was love that brought
him to die. It was that dying love that took
him to the cross. It was that dying love that brought
him to that place of saying he would give everything for the
redemption of his people. It was distinguishing particular
love that he had. Love that was old and enduring,
everlasting as Christ himself, but love that led him, that brought
him to die for his people. So now, perhaps a little older,
I'd like to think a little wiser. I cherish and delight in both
the dying love of Christ and the undying love of Christ. but it's the undying love of
Christ that I want to think about this morning. I want to think
about the continuing love of the Lord Jesus Christ for his
people. Christ died because he loved
us, but he rose again from the dead loving us. He ascended into glory where
he still loves us. He watches over us and intercedes
for us because he still loves us. It's all for the love of
his people. And soon, because he loves us
with a never-dying love, He is coming again to take us to Himself. We've been thinking a little
bit about the simplicity that is in Christ. We took that phrase
from 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 3 where it says, I
fear less by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve through
his subtlety so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity
that is in Christ. And we've thought a little bit
over the past few weeks about various aspects of the Lord's
work where that simplicity is manifested in his coming, in
his life, in his death, in his resurrection. And this morning,
I want us to think about the simplicity of Christ's returning
for us. We call that the second coming. But actually, that's not a Bible
phrase. Rather, what the Bible speaks
about is the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not the second
coming, just the coming. And it anticipates the coming
of Christ for his church. And the apostles spoke of that
coming. They wrote of that coming. It was a big part of their message
in the letters that they wrote to the churches, comforting,
encouraging the Lord's people to hold on, to press on, to maintain,
to stand fast, because soon, Out of his love for us, the Lord
Jesus Christ was coming back to take us to himself. And all
of the disciples, all of the apostles for whom we have a written
witness, they eagerly await the coming of the Lord in their own
lives and encourage the church and believers to do so also. There were two main reasons,
perhaps, if I could say it like this, that the apostolic hope
and confidence continued to look forward to the return of the
Lord Jesus Christ. The first reason was this. that
before he died, the Lord Jesus told his disciples that he would
return for them again. John chapter 14 and verse 2 he
says, 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. That was a statement from someone
who loved them and someone they loved who was going away but
would come again to take them to himself. It spoke about all
of the good things that those who love one another enjoy, to
be in their company, to be in their presence, to be under their
care, under their attention, to be experiencing that love. And the Lord Jesus Christ promised
those disciples whom he loved, and who loved him, that he was
coming back for them. When he left, what is it they
say about absence makes the heart grow fonder? When he left, they
looked forward to that return. The other reason that the disciples
had confidence in this return was that when the Lord ascended
into heaven, we're told that two angels repeated that promise
to them. And in Acts chapter 11, or sorry,
chapter 1 verse 11, Disciples heard the angels declare,
ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This
same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so
come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. And today, for your encouragement,
for your blessing, For your help, I want to take just a few points
and mention them with respect to the blessings that are to
be had in the believers' anticipation of the soon return of the Lord
Jesus Christ, the simplicity that is in the return of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He said, I will come again. and he will come in like manner
as we have seen him go. So here's the first of these
truths that I want to draw to your attention. The Lord is coming
at any moment. We might not even get finished
this sermon. What are your plans for this
afternoon? Somebody's already been telling me where they're
going in the afternoon. I hope you get there. And maybe I don't
hope you get there. The Lord's coming imminently. There's no unfulfilled prophecies
that remain to be fulfilled before Jesus Christ comes back for his
church. There's nothing that still has
to be done. The Lord is coming. In fact,
there's a lovely little phrase, the beginning of Revelation,
the book of Revelation. It's verse seven of chapter one.
And John says there, Now that was written a long time ago. But that little phrase that he
uses there, it is not that he says, he's going to come. What he says is, he's coming.
He's coming. Even then, John was saying, look,
Christ's coming. It's almost as if he'd started
his journey and he was on his way. He's coming. And the thing about the coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ is that it's not going to be a hidden
event. It's not going to be a secret
thing when the Lord Jesus Christ comes for his people. I do love these Montana storms
that you get when the sky gets heavy and dark and the thunder
rolls and the lightning flashes. It flashes from one side of the
sky to the other side of the sky. And there's just a flash,
and if you're fortunate and you happen to be looking up, you'll
see it. And if not, if you say to somebody, oh, did you see
that? Do you see what? It's gone, it's gone, it's just gone already.
In Luke chapter 17, verse 24, There the apostle Luke writes,
For as the lightning that lightneth out of the one part under heaven
shineth unto the other part under heaven, so shall also the Son
of Man be in his day. You will see it, it'll light
the sky. When the Lord Jesus Christ comes
back and he's coming, it will lighten the sky. There's not
going to be anyone who says, well, I didn't notice that. It
is going to be absolutely glorious. It's imminent. And that imminent
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ was an apostolic theme. They
wrote about it constantly to encourage and comfort the Lord's
people. James, in his fifth chapter,
verse eight, says, Be ye patient, for the coming of the Lord draweth
nigh. Hold on, stand fast, endure for
a little while longer, because the coming of the Lord draweth
nigh. Second Peter, chapter three,
verse 12. We are looking for and hastening
unto the coming of the day of the Lord. Titus chapter two,
verse 13, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing
of the great God and our saviour, Jesus Christ. That blessed hope
of the imminent arrival of the saviour here upon earth. Second thing that I want to draw
your attention to is that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming and
when he comes, he will come in power and in glory. His coming will be both awesome and terrifying. Awesome and terrifying. It will mean rest and peace and
joy and happiness for one, and it will mean vengeance and destruction
for another. It will be majestic and magnificent
in equal parts. In 2 Thessalonians 1, verse 7,
we read these words. To you who are troubled, rest
with us. when the Lord Jesus shall be
revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire,
taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not
the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished
with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord
and from the glory of his power. when he shall come to be glorified
in his saints and to be admired in all them that believe in that
day. The Lord Jesus Christ is coming
and he is coming in power and in glory. He is coming with mighty
angels. He is coming to declare that
he is King and Lord. and he will give rest and blessed
happiness to one group who believe in him and he will judge the
other. He will bring vengeance and he
will bring a sword. He will bring everlasting destruction
and he will bring punishment upon those who do not obey the
gospel and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. The third thing
I want to point out is that the Lord Jesus Christ's coming, and
this is all part of just the simplicity of the Lord Jesus
Christ's coming. He is coming with a real body.
The Lord Jesus Christ is coming with a body. This will be the
bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour. That body
that walked the dusty streets of Capernaum and Jerusalem and
Nazareth, That body that built the tables and made the gates
for the people that lived in that town. That body that went
to the cross. That body that was pierced. That
body that went into the grave. That body that was raised. The
Lord Jesus Christ is coming with that body. So we read in Acts chapter 1
verse 11, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken
up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye
have seen him go into heaven. You know, he might even descend to
the very same place. He might even descend and stand
there on the Mount of Olives. Job believed that he would see
him with his own eyes. Recognisably Jesus of Nazareth,
but brilliant, dazzling, glorious, just the same. something perhaps
akin to that vision, that view that Peter and James and John
had at the transfiguration of the Lord where his face shone
with glory. The Lord Jesus Christ is going
to come back in bodily form and he will come back with his angels. The fourth thing that I want
to show you is that the Lord Jesus will usher in a general
resurrection when he returns. The dead are going to be raised
from their graves. The graves will be opened. Think of it. Think of it, the
graves in the town will be opened and the people will come up out
of those graves. This isn't a Hollywood movie,
this is for real. The marked graves and the unmarked
graves. The ground might be moving all
around our feet. for all the blood that has been
spilled in these lands over the years. The graves will be opened
and all will be raised from their tombs. Dust will be brought out
of a fire. Bones will be brought up from
the bottom of the sea. None will be head. All will be
gathered. And there will be a grand gathering
of all who have ever lived upon this earth at the time of the
Lord Jesus Christ's return. We have a little memorial a cenotaph,
if you like, in one of the big churches down in London, in the
UK, and it's marked to the unknown warrior. It is called the Tomb
of the Unknown Warrior. Well, he won't be unknown that
day. From Adam in Eden, to the last
funeral in the cemetery before it's even filled in with dirt,
everyone will rise when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back. He says
in John chapter 5, marvel not at this, for the hour is coming
in the which that all All that are in the graves shall hear
his voice and shall come forth, they that have done good unto
the resurrection of life and they that have done evil unto
the resurrection of damnation. There will be a general resurrection
of the dead when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back. Fifthly, when
the Lord Jesus Christ comes back, there will be judgment to follow. The Bible tells us that it is
appointed unto all ones to die, and then the judgment. The judgment
is going to take place. People think that they can live
their lives with impunity. That really doesn't matter what
they do. Just don't hurt people too much and get on with things.
It doesn't really matter. Just enjoy life. But there is
a judgment coming and the Word of God is clear about this and
it will occur at the time of the Lord Jesus Christ's return.
That glorious return, that return in glory in which the church
will find rest and peace and joy and happiness and the world
will find terror and vengeance and a sword. will be as a result
of this judgment, this opening of the books that will take place. Turn with me to Revelation chapter
20. I want to just show you a few
verses there. Revelation chapter 20 and verse
11 speaks about this judgment which will take place at the
time of the Lord Jesus Christ's return. Chapter 20 of Revelation
and verse 11 says this, And I saw a great white throne, and him
that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled
away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the
dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books were
opened. And another book was opened,
which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out
of those things which were written in the books according to their
works. And the sea gave up the dead
that were in it. And death and hell delivered
up the dead that were in them. And they were judged every man
according to their works. And death and hell were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast
into the lake of fire. This judgment is sometimes called
for obvious reasons, the great white throne judgment. But this
throne that is great because it is the seat of the great God,
our Lord Jesus Christ, because it is the seat of his authority
and power. This seat, which is great and
majestic, is also white to show that it will be a pure judgment,
a righteous judgment. And it is a throne because the
one who sits upon it has the authority to determine the eternal
place of all who come before him, and all will come before
him. The apostles wrote of the coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ in order to comfort and encourage the
saints in the time of their persecution and trouble. But this should
terrify those who have no knowledge of Jesus Christ as their saviour.
This is the moment, this is the moment where their eternal destiny
will be declared. This place will be a terror for
unbelievers and there's nowhere to hide because the earth and
the heaven has already fled away before the presence of his face
and we stand before Almighty God on his great white throne,
and he declares our eternal destinies. A place of terror for unbelievers,
but for believers, there is no fear in this place. There is
no dread before this throne. There is no shame here. Only
joy. Only praise. And there will be
a separation takes place at this throne, a separation of the wicked
for hell and for those who trust Christ, for those who are the
righteous, glory and heaven evermore. Some wonder whether the sins
of the people will be held up here and exposed at this judgment
when the books are open and the allegations and the convictions
are made. Will our sins be exposed on that
day to be seen? Well, let me ask you a question.
When you get there to that great white throne, as one of the Lord's
people, are you going to lift up your sins and declare what
they are? No, and God certainly isn't going
to do that. God certainly won't do that with
your sin. The sins that we have committed
will never be remembered against us evermore. Why? Because the
Lord Jesus Christ carried them away at the cross. Listen to
what the Word of God says about the sins of his people. Numbers
chapter 23 and verse 21. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob. Neither hath he seen perverseness
in Israel. The Lord his God is with him
and the shout of a king is amongst them. Believe it or not that
was Balaam who said that. Balaam, an unrighteous man, understood
that the sins of God's people, once removed and taken away by
the Lord Jesus Christ, carried by him on his shoulders, in his
body, to the tree at Calvary, would never be remembered against
them evermore, even at the great white throne judgment. Jeremiah
50 verse 20. In those days and at that time,
saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for. They'll send someone to look
for it. And there shall be none and the
sins of Judah and they shall not be found. For I will pardon
them whom I reserve. That people that have been reserved,
that people that have been sanctified, that people that have been set
apart, separated for the purposes of God's glory, they will never
find a sin, though they look for it, because that sin has
been removed. I wonder where it's gone. Micah
7 verse 19 says, They're gone. They're gone. Because the sea's
gone. And that's where the sins were. They've all been taken
away. That's the work of Christ. That's a picture of what the
Lord Jesus Christ has done when he carried the sins of his people
and he took them all away. God looks upon his people as
holy, righteous, perfect, pure in Christ and he's never going
to dig up those dirty old sins again and hang them up and pray
them out. No, they're gone. Our saviour,
the final judge of the living and the dead. He is the one who
is sitting upon the great white throne. And remember what we
said about him? He loves us still. It's the reason
why he's come for us. He loves us still. He is our
brother. He is our head. He is our surety. He is the Lamb
of God to our souls. He's our husband. He who loved
us and gave himself for us in dying love, he loves us still
in undying love. And he will never, ever shame
his loved ones, even at the great white throne. Sixthly, The Lord
Jesus Christ's coming brings a new heaven and a new earth. The old heaven and the old earth
have fled away. Sin being removed, condemned,
it's cast with the lost and the reprobate and the unbelievers
and the wicked into hell. And our Saviour will burn up
that old order and he will recreate anew a world without sin where
only righteous, holy men and women dwell. Turn with me to
2 Peter chapter 3. 2 Peter chapter 3. I just want
to read a couple of verses from verse 10. 2 Peter 3, verse 10. But the day
of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the
heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat. The earth also, and the works
that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these
things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to
be in all holy conversation and godliness? Looking for and hastening
unto the coming of the day of the Lord wherein the heavens
being on fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat. Nevertheless, we According to
His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth
righteousness. That's our lot. That's where
we will go who love the Lord, who trust in Him, who see in
His death on the cross our way of salvation, who understand
all that He accomplished and effected for us when He took
our sins and He took them all away. The seventh thing that
I want to show you here is this, that the Lord Jesus Christ's
coming will instigate what is known as the marriage feast of
the Lamb. And here we're back to his undying
love again. Revelation 19 and verse 6 says
this, And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude,
and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thundering,
saying, Hallelujah! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice and
give honour to him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his
wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she
should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine
linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me,
Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage
supper of the Lamb. when the wicked are cast into
hell, when the world as we know it and the stars and the moon
and the sun has all been wiped away at the word and at the face
of the glory of Christ, then he will gather his church, he
will gather his people, he will call us his bride, and we will
be consummated together in that eternal union. at the marriage
supper of the Lamb. Blessed indeed, blessed we are,
blessed with the love and the grace and the mercy and the righteousness
of our Lord Jesus Christ, called into his presence, married with
him, united to our bridegroom, I guess that means that we're
engaged right now, we're betrothed right now and soon. What will
that consummation be? Oh, people love to go to weddings,
don't they? People, people. When they get
married, there's that joy and that flush of excitement and
enthusiasm in that couple that get married and come together. If a wedding on earth is joyous,
what will our wedding day be with Christ in glory? Isaiah
could sing. I will greatly rejoice in the
Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my
God. For he hath clothed me with the
garments of salvation. He hath covered me with the robes
of righteousness. As a bridegroom decketh himself
with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with jewels. And lastly, The Lord Jesus Christ,
upon his return, will bring everlasting glory for his church. I have
a friend, Don Fortner, Pastor Don Fortner, down in Danville,
Kentucky, and he wrote a little book quite recently called Going
Home. This is not an advert, but if
you haven't read that book, see me and we'll sort out that oversight
on your part. It's a lovely little book and
it speaks about the believer looking forward to and anticipating
his going home. In it, Pastor Faulkner takes
the psalmist's words from Psalm 84 and verse 11. These words, the Lord will give
grace and glory. No good thing will he withhold. The Lord will give grace and
glory. No good thing will he withhold. Can you see the contrast between
the fearfulness of the expectation and anticipation of a lost eternity
separated from God in hell and the no good thing that he will
withhold from his people? No satisfaction. will we be lacking? No glory that won't be bestowed
upon us. No promise that won't be fulfilled
to us. No inheritance withheld. No reward that someone else will
get that we won't participate in. No, there's not going to
be degrees of reward where somebody's got more and somebody's got less
because we've all got everything. No good thing will he withhold. Brothers and sisters in Christ,
no good thing will God withhold from us when he comes back with
everlasting glory for his church. He won't withhold anything from
his church, from his bride, from his people that he loves. We
are the possessors in Christ of every grace. We are heirs
with Christ of every glory. What is that going to be like
when Jesus Christ comes back? And look, He's coming, says John. He's coming now. He's coming. Soon he will be here. Paul says
to the Corinthians, I hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have
it entered into the heart of man the things which God hath
prepared for them that love him. And some people tell us that's
about our gospel age. Well, so be it. But if he's not
going to withhold any good thing from me when I get into his presence
upon his return, then I'm absolutely certain that my eye hasn't seen
it nor my ear heard that, neither has it entered into my heart
the things that God has prepared for the people that love him.
Soon we shall experience every glory Everything that has been
designed by God, by the great, omnipotent, omniscient creator
and maker, everything that has been designed for the happiness
of his people will be freely granted to them. What a prospect. What a privilege. So until then, Let us wait patiently,
for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Amen.