Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nyberg. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 1030 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
945 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Now here's our pastor, Todd Nyvert. In Mark chapter 13, verse 26,
the Lord makes this announcement, and then shall they see the Son
of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. I want to speak to you this morning
on the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The second coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I love the way John ends
the book of Revelation. The Lord's last words were, Behold,
I come quickly. And John says, Even so, come,
Lord Jesus. The second coming of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now the Lord makes this prophetic
statement about His coming in the middle of what is known as
the Olivet Discourse, the sermon He brought just a day or two
before His betrayal and crucifixion. on the Mount of Olives. Now this is also found in Matthew
chapter 24 and Luke chapter 21. And in all three books where
this olive discourse is given, it begins the same. In Mark chapter 13, verse one,
and as he went out of the temple, One of his disciples saith unto
him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings
are here. He was talking about the grandeur
of the temple. And Jesus answering said unto
him, Seest thou these great buildings? There shall not be left one stone
upon another that shall not be thrown down. Now he is talking
about what is going to take place in Jerusalem in 70 A.D., about
40 years from the time he said this. In 66 A.D., Israel, Jerusalem
would rebel against Rome and refuse to pay taxes. And in 70
A.D., Titus, a Roman general who would one day be emperor,
came into Jerusalem and leveled it. You can read about it in
Josephus, the Jewish historian. He tells about all the atrocities
that took place during that time. In 70 AD, Jerusalem was completely
leveled. There was not left one stone
upon another of any of these grand buildings. And so we go
on reading, and as he said upon the Mount of Olives, like I said,
it's called the Olivet Discourse, over against the temple, Peter
and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, tell us,
When shall these things be? And what shall be the sign when
all these things shall be fulfilled? When is this going to take place? Now, the Lord speaks in this
Olivet Discourse of two different events. He talks about the leveling
of Jerusalem that is going to take place in 70 A.D., and he
talks about his second coming. The Lord is coming again. Now look in Verse 24 of Mark
chapter 13, but in those days after that tribulation the sun
shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light and
the stars of heaven shall fall. and the powers that are in heaven
shall be shaken." Now, he's talking about the time immediately preceding
his return. Now, somebody says, what does
that mean? Does that mean the sun really will quit shining?
Does that mean the stars will fall from heaven? Well, I suppose
it may mean that, but I think what the Lord is talking about
is everything that we count stable. will seem to be not stable, actually
unstable, the stars of heaven. Now, how did they navigate on
the seas at that time? with the stars of heaven. They
would be fixed. They could know what direction
they were going because they could count on the stars of heaven
being stable. And the Lord is letting us know
at the time of His coming there will be nothing that men count
as stable that will be stable. It'll all be shaken, verse 26,
and then shall they see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with
great power and glory. Who are they that shall see this?
Everybody. There will not be anybody that
does not see his return. He promises us of his return. Then shall he send his angels
and shall gather together his elect from the four winds from
the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. He's coming in omnipotence. He's coming in indescribable
glory. John tells us in Revelation 1,
verse 7, because of him. It's not going
to be good news for the majority of the population when they see
him return. And John says, even so, Amen. We read in the pages of the New
Testament that he will come as a thief in the night, catching
many by surprise. He said, as the lightning cometh
out of the east and shineth even under the west, so shall the
coming of the Son of Man be. Now, at that time, all will know
who he is when he returns. The message of the Old Testament
Scriptures is somebody is coming. The message of the Gospels is
He's here. The message of the epistles is
He's coming again. Someone is coming. He's here. He's coming again. And you can be sure He will return. He said, if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again. and receive you unto myself
that where I am, there you may be also. This one that I've never
seen, yet love. I'll see you then. He is coming
again. Now, someone is coming. This was announced right after
the fall of our first parents in the Garden of Eden. We're
told of the seed of woman that shall come and bruise the serpent's
head. That's a prophetic statement
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Somebody is coming. When Abel
offered up that sacrifice that God was pleased with, He was
saying by that sacrifice, somebody's coming. He knew the blood of
that animal didn't put away his sin. He knew it's what that animal
represented, the one who's coming who would put away his sin. And
as a matter of fact, every Old Testament sacrifice stated somebody's
coming. He's going to come and do something
about sin. Now, I think of the prophecies
concerning his coming. A virgin shall come. A virgin. A virgin. He shall be born of
a virgin. A virgin shall be with child. That tells us somebody's coming,
and this one who's coming is not of Adam's seed. He's the seed of woman, just
as it was said in Genesis chapter 3. You see, if he were not born
of a virgin, he'd have a sinful nature like you and I do, but
he is born of a virgin. He is the God-man, Christ Jesus. Unto us a child is born, Isaiah
said. Unto us a son is given. That
son is not born, that son is eternally given. It's that when
he becomes man and flesh, born through the virgin, the child
is born. I love what Zachariah said in
that day, speaking of this one who's coming. In that day shall
be open for Jerusalem a fountain for sin and for uncleanness. Somebody's coming. This one who
is coming is prophetically stated in the Old Testament. He was
wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him and with his stripes we're healed. All we like sheep
have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his
own way, and the Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all."
The entire Old Testament can be summarized. Somebody's coming. Now, when he came, in the flesh,
The gospel state, he's here. That one who is coming is here. Now before his birth, when the
angel told Joseph of his coming, he said, thou shalt call his
name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. That's
why he came. Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh. He was before he came as the
eternal son of God. He came in the flesh. Great is
the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh.
The word was made flesh and dwelt among us. The eternal creator
came as a man in the flesh and he did what he came to do. He came to save his people from
their sins and that is exactly what he did. When the angel appeared
to Mary, we read that the angel announced, that holy thing that
shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And the heavenly host exclaimed,
glory to God in the highest on earth, peace and goodwill toward
men. Now for 30 years, he lived in
obscurity. His brothers and sisters didn't
know he was the Son of God. They witnessed someone living
a perfectly holy life, and they didn't get it. That demonstrates
to us how little men really know what holiness is. It was right
before them, and they couldn't see it. But during those first
30 years of his life, there's only one statement we have that
he made when he said, I must be about my father's business. And that is exactly what his
life was when he was here. He said, I've glorified Thee
on the earth. I've finished the work Thou gavest
Me to do. He came to save His people from
their sins, and that is precisely what He did. When He was nailed
to the cross, He was nailed to the cross bearing the sins of
His people. who his own self bear our sins
in his own body on the tree. He lived a perfect life. That
perfect life is counted to his people. Their sin is counted
to him. That is why he died. He said,
it is finished saying mission accomplished. I've saved everybody
the father sent me to save. He died and he was raised from
the dead. He was raised from the dead because
God accepted what he did. That is why he was raised. And when he ascended back into
heaven, the angel said, ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing
at this? This same Jesus. As you see him
go up, he's going to return in like manner to you. Now, this one that we have never
seen, we're going to see him physically at that time. He shall
return. Now, I think it's very interesting
in this passage of Scripture. He says with regard to his return,
and it's going to be a time of great tribulation, great trial,
great trouble, just like the time before the leveling of Jerusalem
in 7 B.A.D. was a time of great trial and
trouble. His second return will be a time of great trial and
trouble. And look what he says in verse
32. But of that day, speaking of
the day of his return, But of that day and that hour knoweth
no man. No, not the angels which are
in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." Now, every time
you hear a man give a date and a prediction about the return
of Christ, you can write this down, he's a phony. The Lord
says, no man knows the hour, no man knows the day, not even
the sun. Now, somebody says, explain that
to me. How is it that Jesus Christ can
be God and not know the day of His return? Now, I don't know
how to explain that, but because the Bible says it, I believe
it. And let me give a stab. Jesus Christ is fully God, just
as if he were not man at all. And as God, he knows the time
of his return. And he is fully man, just as
if he were not God. And as man, he doesn't know the
time of his return. But he tells us that he does
not know the time of his return. But child of God, that one you've
never seen but love, you will see Him face to face. Just like Job, I know that my
Redeemer liveth and that upon the latter days he'll stand upon
this earth whom mine eyes shall see. Mine eyes shall behold and
not another's. I shall see him face to face. He will return. Now I'd like
to read a scripture from Hebrews 9 that speaks of His first and
second advent. In verse 25, He says, "'Nor yet that he should
offer himself often,' speaking of Christ dying on the cross,
And let me say this, under the Catholic view, he offers himself
often. He suffers every time there's
a mass. Now, the scripture forbids that
kind of thinking. He offered himself once. No need to do anything else.
Nor yet that he should offer himself often as the high priest
enters into the holy place every year with the blood of others.
For then must he have often suffered since the foundation of the world,
but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put
away sin. by the sacrifice of himself. Now the reason he came the first
time, some 2,000 years ago, is stated so clearly in our text,
he has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
And beloved, when he said, it is finished, The sins of God's
elect were effectually and completely and finally put away. To this extent, 1 John 3, 5 says
He was manifested to take away our sins. In Him is No sin. If you are in Him, you have no
sin. It's been put away. It's been
canceled. You stand before God without
guilt. It's what the Bible calls justification. The perfect righteousness of
Jesus Christ is imputed. to everybody he died for, just
as their sins were imputed to him and became his, and he became
guilty of them. His righteousness becomes theirs,
and they become guilty of that personal righteousness that he
worked out. He appeared once to put away
sins by the sacrifice of himself. Now, look in verse 28 of Hebrews
chapter 9. So Christ was once offered to
bear the sins of many. Notice he doesn't say of everybody,
but many. And unto them that look for him
shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Now, when people think of the
second coming of Christ, they worry, well, what if he comes
and I'm doing something I shouldn't do? What if he comes and I'm
in a place I shouldn't be? What if he comes, oh, I need
to be ready when he comes? And that's just a wrong way of
looking at the second coming of Christ. You see, if he comes
again and you're in him, he's gonna come, the sin question
has altogether been put away. He's gonna come for you as one
who deserves to be in his presence forever if you're somebody that
looks for him. Now, what does it mean to look
for Him? I look to Him as everything in my salvation. When my name
is called on Judgment Day, you know what I'm going to do? I'm
going to look to Him to answer for me. I don't want to have
anything to do with giving account for myself. I want Him to be
everything in my salvation. That's what it means to look
to Him. And to them that look for Him shall He appear without
sin unto salvation. Those sins have been blotted
away, they are no more. It's been expunged from God's
universe, made not to be. The question of sin is forever
answered. He appears to those that look
for Him the second time without sin. All their sin has been put
away. You see, this is why God made
the universe. God made the universe to send His Son here. He's called
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And in time, He
put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And upon His return,
He's going to come for everybody that looked for Him without sin. Now when He returns, everybody
will know who He is. The atheist, the self-righteous,
religious, the scoffer, the one who does not believe. The one
who's indifferent, they'll all know who he is then. They will
not love the coming of his appearing when he cometh with the clouds.
What do you have to say now, you who boasted in your works? What do you have to say now,
you who denied his existence? What do you have to say now,
you who denied the efficacy of His work and the completeness
of His salvation? What do you have to say now that
used to use His word as a curse word? What do you have to say
now who were indifferent about Him? What do you have to say?
You say to the rocks and to the mountains, fall on us and hide
us from the face of him that sits upon the throne and the
wrath of the lamb for the great day of his wrath has come and
who shall be able to stand? You see, when he does return,
as you are, is how you will spend eternity. In Revelation 22, verse
11, we read, he saith, Seal not the prophecies of this
book, for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be
unjust still. He which is filthy, let him be
filthy still. He that is righteous, let him
be righteous still, and he that is holy, let him be holy still,
and behold, I come quickly. Now, there is a description of
two types of people. Those who are righteous and holy,
and those who are unjust and filthy. Now, if Christ died for
you, you're righteous, you're holy. If you're somebody that
looks to your own works, you're unjust. You're filthy in God's
sight. The Scripture says our righteousnesses
are as filthy rags. On his second advent, as you
are, you will spend eternity, some in eternal damnation and
some in eternal bliss in his presence. Now, I love what John
said in 1 John chapter 3. He said, it does not yet appear
what we shall be, Even speaking under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit, John says, I don't understand what it's going to
be like to be without sin, to be sinless. It does not yet appear
what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, We
shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. When He returns,
we'll see Him, every believer, not as He was in His humiliation,
but as He is in His power and glory and the great end of predestination. shall be realized. For whom He
did know, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of His Son. And every believer will be conformed
to His image. We will have the glorified resurrection
bodies upon His return. Upon His return, the dead should
be raised incorruptible. The scripture says the Lord should
descend from heaven with a shout. with the voice of the archangel
and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise
first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we be ever with
the Lord. Comfort one another with these
words. Now in this last chapter of the
book of Revelation, the last chapter in the Bible, The Lord
Jesus Christ says, behold, I come quickly. Now, he said that some
2,000 years ago. Somebody says, that doesn't seem
that quick to me. Well, one day is with the Lord as 1,000 years,
and 1,000 years as a day. And he does, in fact, come quickly. We can count on his return. Now, we read in verse 20, his
last words. He which testifieth these things
saith. These are the last words of the
Lord in the Bible. Surely I come quickly. And John's reply is, Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus. Now the only way a man can truly
anticipate his coming with joy is if the sin question has been
taken care of. That's why Paul said, oh, that
I may win Christ and be found in him. I love that hymn, when
he shall come with trumpet sound, oh, may I then in him be found,
dressed in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before
his throne. Now, with regard to every believer,
They can say, come quickly, because the sin question has been taken
care of. They have no sin. They stand before God without
guilt, being justified by Christ's righteousness. And they can say,
with John, Even so, come Lord Jesus. Now we have this message
on DVD and CD. If you call the church, write,
email, look at our website. We'll send you a copy. This is
Todd Nybert, praying that God will be pleased to make himself
known to you. That's our prayer, amen. To receive a copy of the
sermon you have just heard, send your request to todd.nybert at
gmail.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.