Latest / Max Lucado Daily Sermons / Max Lucado - The Second Coming of Jesus

Transcript

Max Lucado - The Second Coming of Jesus · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

0:00
Speaker 1: That's the first time we've ever applauded the announcements. Happy
0:05
New Year everyone, Now, that was kind of half hearted.
0:11
If I do it again, well, you give it your all.
0:13
You're ready. Happy New Year, everybody. Now we're talking. Now
0:19
we're talking. You know. Twenty nineteen it's going to be
0:22
an exciting year, but not nearly as exciting as twenty
0:26
twenty promises to be. Twenty twenty could very well be
0:31
one of the, if not the most important year in
0:33
the history of the world. We may just be two
0:37
short years away from seeing something that no one has
0:41
ever seen. You and I could very well be alive.
0:46
When a mile marker is achieved, that could trigger a
0:49
new day, a new era, a new kingdom. What is
0:52
this mile marker? It is the spread of the Gospel
0:56
throughout the world. Just last month, experts from around the
1:02
world gathered in Mission Viejo, California, to participate in what
1:07
is called the Finishing the Task Conference. A couple of
1:12
weeks after the conference, this letter went out a report.
1:17
Finishing the Task is delighted to report the achievement of
1:22
a major milestone in the effort to fulfill Jesus' command
1:26
to make disciples of every nation year. At this year's
1:31
Finishing the Task Conference, every remaining known, unengaged, unreached people
1:38
group was adopted for gospel engagement in the coming two years.
1:44
A people group is a group of people without a
1:47
single known worker doing evangelism and church planting in their society.
1:53
In many cases, these unengaged, unreached people groups don't have
1:58
a single believer and have never had an opportunity to
2:02
hear about God's love and God's forgiveness. The conference began
2:06
by presenting the three hundred and forty three remaining unreached
2:10
people groups to those in attendance. Leaders asked the over
2:15
six hundred missionaries, strategists, and pastors in attendance to roll
2:20
up their sleeves and spend the week praying, planning, and
2:23
working to get laborers to each of them. When final
2:28
commitments were made, organizations and churches far exceeded the faith
2:32
goals of the conference. In all, six hundred and three
2:35
unique people group adoptions were indicated. Many people groups were
2:40
adopted twice, three times, sometimes four times, increasing the likelihood
2:45
of the people group receiving a team of missionaries soon
2:48
or even multiple teams of missionaries. The Body of Christ
2:52
will now take the next steps in the work, that
2:55
of recruiting, training, and sending workers to these three hundred
2:59
and forty three groups. The commitments of these first missionaries
3:03
will begin the important process of making disciples, thus hastening
3:08
the day when the apostle John's vision of a great
3:11
number of people from every nation, tribe, people, and language
3:14
of the earth will be standing before the Throne of God.
3:18
That dream will be finally realized. So this achievement has
3:23
huge implications. If we were sitting in your living room
3:27
in a small group, I might ask the question, what
3:30
is this significance of seeing a beachhead of the Gospel
3:35
established in every single people group on the planet. Your
3:42
answers might include, well, people will finally know that God
3:45
loves them. People will hear about Heaven for the first time.
3:49
People will understand the meaning of grace, have exposure to scripture,
3:53
have the opportunity to receive the power in the presence
3:56
of the Holy Spirit within them. After everyone had had
4:01
the opportunity to create that list, I would like to
4:04
add to that list what might be the most important
4:08
reason to be excited about this report, and that is
4:12
the reaching of the world with the Gospel is a
4:16
prerequisite for the return of Jesus Christ. Jesus himself said
4:23
in Matthew twenty four fourteen, the good news about God's
4:26
Kingdom will be preached in all the world to every nation.
4:30
Then what church? Then the end will come. Christ will come.
4:39
We do not know when he will come, but we
4:41
do know that the preaching of the Gospel to every
4:44
nation is a prerequisite for his return. So for the
4:49
very first time, listen to this, for the very first
4:52
time since the day of Pentecost, when the Church began,
4:57
for the very first time, we will enter into an
5:01
era which qualifies as a season of the Lord's return.
5:08
I do not know when Christ is coming back. No
5:11
one does. I do not know exactly how to interpret
5:15
the phrase preached in.
5:17
Speaker 2: All the world, but we do know this. The worldwide
5:20
spread of the Gospel helps turn the key on the
5:25
door to the New Kingdom.
5:28
Speaker 1: Our Lord will not return until the Gospel is spread
5:33
and preached to every nation. And for the first time ever,
5:37
toward the end of twenty twenty we have the opportunity
5:40
to say the new era has begun. Are we two
5:44
years away from the return of Christ again? I do
5:47
not know. Quit asking me, but supposing we are. Supposing
5:53
we are, how does that make you feel? How does
5:58
that make you feel? How does it make you feel
6:01
to think that, my goodness, I could be standing on
6:05
the earth the day that the skies open up, the
6:08
trumpet blast, and the angels descend, and Jesus Christ comes
6:11
to rescue his church. That could happen. It's going to
6:14
happen in some generation. It could happen in ours. It
6:18
could happen as soon as twenty twenty. Everyone else in
6:24
our country during the year twenty twenty is going to
6:27
be focused on something else, donkeys and elephants and the
6:33
next occupant of the White House. But it could very
6:37
well be that in the great scheme of history, the
6:40
inauguration of the next president matters far less than what
6:46
something else that could happen in twenty twenty, and that
6:49
is the inauguration of the new Kingdom. Again, I do
6:52
not know for sure. Do not text your grandmother and
6:56
tell her that Locato forecasted the return of Christ. But
7:01
you can text your grandmother and tell her that lo
7:05
Cato urged us to lift up our eyes and look
7:09
into the future and live like Christ is coming. Because
7:14
we believe He is thinking that Christ could come next year.
7:18
What does that make you want to do? How does
7:22
it make you want to think? How does it make
7:25
you want to manage your money, your talents, your tying,
7:28
your skills? How does it change the way you view
7:32
this year twenty nineteen? I can think of a couple
7:35
of good questions to ask at this point. How does
7:39
the eminent return of Christ impact our church? How does
7:43
the imminent return of Christ impact the Old Kills Church?
7:48
Twenty nineteen is the first year of what we're calling
7:51
our Harvest vision. If you're new to Old Kills, or
7:55
you're visiting Old Kills, or if you have a short
7:57
memory like I do, you might need a reminder of
8:01
what we're doing, what we're about. Last September, we began
8:06
a process of turning all of our campuses into churches.
8:10
I shared with you this paragraph as representing the leaders.
8:14
We sense that God is calling the Oakhill's Church to
8:17
pursue a focused and deliberate strategy to plant churches in
8:20
the San Antonio and Hill Country area, starting with the
8:23
release and planting of our existing congregations. Our target date
8:28
is August thirty, first, twenty twenty one. By this date,
8:31
each campus will either be an independent church or declared
8:34
mission of the o'kill's Church. So we began this transition
8:38
from one church on many campuses to a family of
8:42
independent churches. We envisioned this family of churches which we
8:46
share a common history, common values, in some cases, common services,
8:51
but linked by our history, yet released to pursue the
8:58
expansion of the church and developed of the church as
9:01
seems right for that particular community. This only made sense
9:05
after several years. We've realized that our campuses are becoming
9:09
self sufficient. They're appointing their own leaders, They're making good decisions.
9:15
Many of them are meeting even exceeding their budgets. They
9:18
have the capacity. They understand the context of their region.
9:23
Reaching Fredericksburg is different than reaching the region around Journey,
9:27
Reaching the west Side is different than reaching the demographic
9:30
footprint around Crown Ridge. They understand the unique context of
9:35
their neighborhoods, and then this is the time to do it.
9:40
A multi site strategy depends primarily on one or two
9:43
primary communicators. And as I'm getting older, it seems to
9:47
make sense that as I move into semi retirement, that
9:50
we release and empower the leaders within those campuses to
9:55
become a senior leaders, to become the lead minister on
9:59
each of the campus is like we've done on each
10:01
one of them, like we've done here at Crownridge with
10:04
Travis Ads, and I'm happy to report after a few
10:08
months in we're seeing great progress. There's a sense of
10:11
excitement and enthusiasm for which we are very very grateful.
10:16
I hope you can sense it, and also I hope
10:18
you know how much I appreciate the encouragement that you're
10:21
giving to Travis and Alicia as they assume this role
10:25
of lead minister on the crown Ridge campus. I began
10:29
my preaching ministry and a congregation of fifty people. Can
10:33
you imagine beginning your preaching ministry and a congregation of
10:36
over five thousand. It's quite a challenge that Travis has
10:39
taken on. He'll be bringing many of the messages this
10:42
winter and spring. Thank you for your encouragement. We're so
10:46
proud of him. Keep praying for him, standing with him,
10:50
and worth thanking God for him and his wonderful family. Now,
10:54
as we move in to twenty nineteen, anticipating the potential
10:59
return of Christ in twenty twenty. I want to give
11:02
you one big challenge, and that is this help old
11:06
kills become less a clubhouse and more a lighthouse. Less
11:14
a clubhouse and more a lighthouse. Do you know the
11:19
difference between a clubhouse and a lighthouse? When I was
11:24
seven years old, my big brother and I turned my
11:28
father's workshop into a clubhouse. We had a club. Not
11:33
just anybody could be in this club. It was for
11:35
a few elite people. You had to number one, be
11:39
a boy, You had to number two live on our street,
11:44
Alamosa Street. You had to like baseball, collect baseball cards,
11:50
you had to know the secret handshake, and you had
11:52
to not like girls. I think our dudes were a
11:57
nickel a month. I can't quite recall. But our club
12:01
existed not to have everybody come in, but really to
12:05
keep certain people out. We wanted people who were just
12:08
like us. You know, many churches, after some time begin
12:13
to feel a lot like clubs. They exist to serve
12:16
the insiders. They actually begin to repel outsiders. They exist
12:22
to entertain, or to cater to, or to prop up
12:28
the people who have been around a long time. How
12:31
many of you know that Jesus did not die on
12:33
the cross to start a club. He did not. He
12:38
lived thirty three years on this earth, showing us how
12:44
he wants the body of Christ to behave. He throwed
12:48
the doors wide open. Racism couldn't keep him from the
12:51
Samaritan woman. Demons couldn't keep him from the demon. The
12:56
demon possessed men. He had a Facebook page that had
13:00
the likes of a ponseimeister by the name of Zach
13:04
and a tax collector by the name of Matthew. He
13:07
made room for people. He made room for all types,
13:13
all sorts, and he left an invitation for those who
13:17
follow him to do likewise. He said, you will be
13:20
my witnesses, first in Jerusalem, then in all of Judea,
13:24
then Samaria, and then to the other most parts of
13:28
the world. That circle just kept getting bigger and bigger
13:31
and bigger, so that when he returns, whether it be
13:34
in twenty twenty or some other year, he will collect
13:37
for him a family that represents every tribe, every people,
13:42
all nations. This is his dream clubhouse. No lighthouse, how
13:49
many of you know what a lighthouse does. A lighthouse
13:53
exists for one reason, and that is to send the light.
13:58
That's all it does. Every brick, every stair, every window,
14:04
every lens, every light bulb, everything about a lighthouse exists
14:09
to send a light. And it sends not just a light,
14:12
but did you know it sends an indiscriminate light. If
14:17
you're out in the dark, and if you're in a
14:18
stormy time. It doesn't matter if you're a domestic vessel
14:21
or a foreign vessel, doesn't matter if you're a yacht
14:25
or a dinghy, doesn't manster if you matter, if you're
14:28
brand new or if you're rusty. The light goes to
14:32
anyone who needs it for the purpose of helping that
14:36
vessel find the shore. Every church has to continually ask
14:41
itself the question, are we still a lighthouse or are
14:46
we becoming a clubhouse? Will you pray that Oak Kills
14:50
can be a lighthouse, that a place where anybody with
14:54
any problem, with any challenge, with any struggle will find
14:59
this to be a safe place to find light. Will
15:04
you continue to reach out to those who need help,
15:07
who need encouragement? Will you continue to be the kind
15:11
of people that you already are. I think we have
15:13
the right plan, and that's planting churches, But you know,
15:18
the right plan doesn't matter unless we have the right heart.
15:21
Which takes us to the second and final question, and
15:24
that is, how does the imminent return of Christ impact
15:28
your life? Thinking that Christ could return before the end
15:33
of twenty twenty, how does that impact the way you live?
15:39
Jesus said, open your eyes and look at the fields.
15:42
They are ripe for harvest even now. The one who
15:46
reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life,
15:50
so that the sore and the reaper may be glad together.
15:55
So if you knew for sure that Christ was returning
15:57
in twenty twenty, what would you do in twenty nine nineteen?
16:04
If you knew that twenty twenty was the end of
16:07
the world as we know it, how would that impact
16:10
the way you manage your time, your talent, your treasures.
16:16
Some of you may recall a song, a country Western
16:19
song that came out in the year two thousand and four.
16:23
Tim McGraw related the story of a man who discovered
16:27
that the end was coming, and the name of the
16:29
song is live like you were dying. Does anybody remember
16:33
this song? Okay, I'm not going to sing it, but
16:36
I am going to read a verse. Knowing he had
16:40
only a few days to live, this man went sky
16:43
dive in Rocky mountain climbing. He went two point seven
16:47
seconds on a bull name fu Manshoe. Some of you
16:51
got it. He loved deeper, spoke sweeter, and gave forgiveness
16:55
he had been denying. He had a chance to live.
16:59
He is dying. You know, when you know the end
17:02
is near, it focuses your life. Knowing that the end
17:07
may be near. How will it change your focus? Somebody
17:12
should write a song called live like Christ is coming,
17:16
because he is going to do exactly that. So the
17:20
question is what can you do in twenty nineteen that
17:25
you will be glad you did when Christ returns? What
17:30
can you do in twenty nineteen that you will be
17:33
so glad you did when Christ returns? Can I urge
17:37
you to do at least this, receive so you can give.
17:42
A biblical principle is this, you cannot give what you've
17:45
never received. And sometimes in church work we forget to
17:50
urge people to receive so they can give. But you
17:52
can't give if you're not received. Jesus said, the person
17:55
who's forgiven only a little will love only a little.
18:00
So if you're having a hard time giving forgiveness, it
18:03
might be because you're not receiving forgiveness. If you're having
18:07
a hard time giving love, it might be because you're
18:09
not allowing your heart to receive love. If it's hard
18:13
for you to be kind to others, begin by receiving
18:16
the kindness of Christ. Right now, even now, folks, I
18:19
sense in my heart the Holy Spirit saying, there are
18:21
some people here who have never let me love them.
18:26
Some of the busiest, hardworking people in the church, but
18:29
they have never let me love them. Does that describe you.
18:36
Let your first resolve of this year not be something
18:39
you do, but something you receive. You receive the love
18:44
of Christ. The apostle Paul said, May your roots go
18:49
down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. You
18:56
can have the greatest tree in the world, but that
18:58
tree won't do any good if it's not rooted in healthy,
19:03
nutrition rich soil. This is the time of the year
19:07
when all of us, hopefully if not most of us,
19:09
have taken our Christmas trees down. We used to use
19:12
a real Christmas tree. Now we go the fake route.
19:15
We almost went back to it. Anyway, we're still with
19:17
a fake tree. But when we used to use the
19:20
real tree. What struck me is that when we would
19:23
take the tree down, all of the needles would fall off.
19:27
They were dry and crusty. And I was reminded that
19:30
if you don't have a tree rooted in healthy soil,
19:35
it cannot bear good leaves. How true with trees, How
19:41
even more true with people? If you're not rooted down
19:46
in the love of God, how can you bear good fruit?
19:51
You cannot give what you've never received. Would you, right now,
19:55
let God love you for just a moment? How do
20:00
you do that? Maxwell, I don't know. You Just let
20:02
him love you. You just trust, you, just believe. You.
20:06
Just remove that deflector shield. You take away those excuses.
20:10
You quit seeing yourself as an exception to the rule.
20:13
You quit thinking God loves everybody but me. Listen to me.
20:17
He would leave the ninety nine sheep and come after you.
20:21
He loves you that much. Oh, let him love you,
20:25
And you'll find that as you let him love you,
20:28
you'll find it easier, not always easy, but easier to
20:31
love other people. You'll find it easier to forgive people.
20:36
You find it easier to be kind and patient and
20:39
tolerant of others when you remember how God is kind
20:42
and patient and tolerant with you receive his love so
20:47
you can give it if Christ does return in twenty twenty,
20:52
you'll be so glad you use twenty nineteen as the
20:55
year to receive his love so you could give it
20:58
when Christ returns. I don't think any of us would
21:01
look back on twenty nineteen and say, oh my, I'm
21:03
so glad I worked more hours. I'm so glad I
21:06
got more money, I'm so glad I went into more debt.
21:10
But I do think we would look back on the
21:12
year and say, I'm so glad that I loved my family.
21:16
I'm so glad that I cared for my children. I'm
21:19
so glad I reached out to my neighbors. I'm so
21:21
glad I befriended the new person at the office. I'm
21:24
so glad. What can you do in twenty nineteen that
21:28
you'll be so glad you did when Christ returns. Don't
21:32
be rootless. Let your roots go down deep into the
21:36
love of God. You know what, You're not going to
21:39
regret anything you do for others out of God's love
21:43
for you. Some of you World War II bus will
21:46
recall the story of Oscar Schindler. Oscar Schindler was a scoundrel,
21:54
He was a womanizer, he drank heavy, he was a
21:58
member of the Nazi Party. But curiously, this troublemaker had
22:05
a soft spot in his heart for the persecuted Jews
22:09
of Krakow, Poland, and he set out to save as
22:14
many of them as he could, and he succeeded. When
22:20
the war finally ended and the Nazis went into hiding,
22:24
now it was Oscar Schindler's turn to be persecuted, and
22:29
so he was escaping in the night to go into hiding.
22:35
And if you saw the movie by the same name,
22:37
you'll recall how he left his factory, and on the
22:41
way walking from his factory to his car, he was
22:44
surprised to see on both sides of the path a
22:49
throng of Jewish men and women whom he had rescued.
22:54
And one by one they stopped him and said thank you,
22:58
thank you, thank you, And then they handed him a letter,
23:01
signed personally by each one of them, saying thank you.
23:07
You know, when Christ comes, there's going to be a
23:09
lot of people saying thank you to you. Those of
23:13
you who are loving your family. Your family's going to
23:16
say thank you. Are those of you who are patient
23:20
with people who are hard to get along with, They're
23:22
going to say thank you. Those of you who are
23:24
showing up at work being responsible, your boss, your friends,
23:28
your coworkers. They're going to say thank you. Those of
23:31
you who are teaching classes at church or working with
23:34
the children or the young people. Those of you who
23:37
are working in the host ministry. Those of you who
23:39
are faithful tithers and givers, those of you who are
23:43
supporting the expansion of the kingdom. On that day, that
23:47
great day, they're going to say thank you. Why don't
23:52
you live like Christ is coming? Live with the end
23:56
in mind. One of his expeditions to Antarctica, Sir Ernest
24:03
Shackleton had to leave some of his men on an
24:06
island called Elephant Island, with the promise that he would
24:10
return and rescue them and take them back to England.
24:15
His return was delayed by weather, and then finally when
24:19
the weather permitted, it took him some time to find
24:21
passageway through the ice, but he finally succeeded, and when
24:25
he saw the men on the island on the snowy shore,
24:29
he was surprised to see that they were standing there
24:32
waiting on him. Like they knew he was coming. They
24:37
boarded ship and headed to England. And one of the
24:40
first questions he asked was how did you know to
24:43
be ready for my return? And one of them said, well,
24:47
our leader every morning would roll up his sleeping bag
24:51
and pack up his tent and say, boys, get ready.
24:55
The Boss may be coming today. Church, get ready. Christ
25:02
may be coming today. The return of Christ is far
25:09
more guaranteed than the return of Ernest Shackleton. We do
25:14
not know when he's returning, But wise are the ones
25:18
who live like Christ is coming again. Jesus said, open
25:23
your eyes and look at the fields. They are ripe
25:28
for harvest even now. The one who reaps draws a
25:33
wage and harvests a crop for eternal life. So that
25:36
the souler and the reaper may be glad together. Let's
25:40
be glad together. Let's join our hearts in this great
25:44
and noble work that God has given to us. As
25:47
a church. Let's serve like Christ is coming. As individuals
25:51
us live like Christ is coming. For the truth of
25:54
the matter is he is, and it's going to be
25:57
very soon. Amen, Lord, we thank you for the promise
26:02
of your return. For Lord, there's parts of this world
26:06
that are just really beginning to stink. So much violence,
26:10
so much racism, so much hostility. Heavenly, Father, let your
26:16
mercy please be upon this earth, But do not tarry.
26:21
Come soon, Father, and inaugurate your new kingdom. Through Christ,
26:26
we pray, and all the statt warm