His Return - Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Real life presents the Jack Hibbs podcast with intention and boldness to proclaim truth, equip the saints and impact our culture. There's going to be a generation when Christ returns, not in the manger, not born of a virgin, that's already happened, that when he comes back in power he's going to speak forth and resurrect his dead and he's going to call up his living and meet them in the air. What an amazing thing. You can get the outlines of this podcast by going to jackhibbs.com slash podcast. Today if this podcast lifts you up and encourages you to live a more fulfilled life in Christ then make sure you leave us one of those five star ratings. To us that's like saying amen or yes, then that rating will encourage others to listen. Now open your hearts to what God's word has to say to you. Here is Jack Hibbs. His return is without warning. Now I need to unpack this for a second. Everybody you have to watch my hands because I'm not smart enough to articulate it with my mouth so you have to look at it this way. Jesus came at the first coming born as a baby skin flesh humble took upon himself the form of a human. Bible says so live 33 and a half years, crucified, died, resurrected from the dead. You read it a moment ago, ascended back to heaven from where he came. He died in our place. He was our tonement. That's the first coming. He presented himself to Israel by the way at his first coming. The second coming he comes in his glorified state. Yes it's flesh but it's glorified. He comes. He returns to Israel. He returns to Jerusalem and he establishes his kingdom and mind you. Revelation chapter 19 tells you that when the heaven when heaven's door is opened up and he comes out of heaven he's returning in the second coming to earth and it says to punish all the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. Isn't that interesting? If you're astute you're saying wait a minute. I thought he died for all of our sins at the cross. Oh he did but he's coming back to punish those who refuse to receive the gift. They shunned the gift. They threw it back in his face and he's not doing it because he's angry. Not like the way you and I would think. He has to judge sin and when he returns in the second coming the Bible calls it the great and terrible day of our Lord and Christ. That's the second coming and he physically returns to Jerusalem but when I'm talking about the awakening that is without warning in the middle of those two events that deal with Israel and Jerusalem is an event in the middle that deals with the church. It's called the rapture in Latin or Harpazzo in Greek or caught up in English. In John chapter 14 verse 3 I love this. John 14 verse 3 Jesus said if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you to myself. Oh that's good news. That where I am there you may be also. Do you see that? Okay you guys hey everybody I'm leaving you see you. I'm all done. Resurrected from the dead. Time to go back home but don't worry about it. If I go I promise to go I'm gonna prepare a place for you. I will come again and receive you to myself. The word that implies I'm gonna hold you to my chest. Okay that where I am we can you can look at this way that where I have been preparing to place for you that place that where I am well that's where I'm gonna take you. According to the Bible that could happen any day. It could have happened any day since he left. We are so now near the end of time as we know it as we've studied over the years in the scripture tells where there will be a time when he focuses on the nation of Israel for the last and final time before his great second advent. Yet something's gonna happen before that and it's gonna be the fulfillment of John 14. You see what's it gonna be like? We don't have to guess and first Thessalonians 4 verse 13 without a warning. He says Paul said to the Thessalonians by the way you can go take a cruise it's one of the oldest cities in the world you can still visit today. Isn't it amazing that he says do I do not want you to be ignorant rather than concerning those who have died or fallen asleep. Don't be uninformed. Don't be without knowledge. It's amazing to me that if you were to meet a graduate student from some seminary today and you were to ask them can you tell me about the first come in of Christ? Can you tell me about the second come in of Christ and can you tell me about what happens in between that according to scripture? Did you know that most seminary students cannot answer this question that I just put before you right now? They've never been taught it. They don't know it. And the Bible says I don't want you to be ignorant about this stuff. That's the first warning. My goodness right there about there won't be a warning. Be ready man. Concerning those who have fallen asleep lest you sorrow as others who have no hope for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again watch this even so God will bring with him those who sleep or those who died in Jesus. So I don't want you to be confused about this when a believer dies the Bible says when the flesh dies to be absent from the bodies to be present with the Lord. Okay so if you drop dead right now if I drop dead right now my body falls down but my spirit immediately goes to be the with in the presence of the Lord. Okay instantly it's awesome. That's for the believer. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep or those who die. Say wait a minute what? So imagine this somebody dies they're a believer we go to forest lawn we bury them right where at their service Uncle John's dead but Uncle John believed in Jesus so he's really with with Jesus but we we're stuck with his body so we have to bury him so we go to forest lawn and we put him down on the ground and I'm saying verses in prayer and the families gather together and they're weeping and I make the announcement his body is going to be on the ground until the resurrection. Well imagine we're on the slopes of forest lawn mortuary watch what happens for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God the dead in Christ will rise first we just put him in the ground we just put him in and there's a trumpet blast there's a shout there's a voice and up he goes just and then nanoseconds behind him we're following him his body's resurrected watch this his body's resurrected then we her alive look what it says then we her alive for 17 and remain shall be caught up the Latin word is rapture the Greek word is Harpazzo together with them who's the them the them are the dead that's been resurrected so awesome oh I want to be doing a funeral that day it's it'd be like it'd be like a it'd be like a pop tart you put him in you put him in oh my goodness that'd be amazing then we her alive in her nation we caught up to meet them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air sounds like John 14 huh and thus we shall always be with the Lord therefore comfort one another with these words the awakening of his return Christ is coming at a time where the Bible says for the church there's no warning there's no warning it's imminent always what what's gonna happen to me first Corinthians 1550 now this I say brethren that flesh and blood like this cannot inherit the kingdom of God you and I need to be changed nor discorruption inherit encryption behold I tell you a mystery we shall not all sleep but we shall be changed in a moment in a twinkly of an eye at the last trumpet for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incredible this is a shocking statement the scholars have enjoyed over the last two millennia notice everybody watch the screen I'm gonna read it wrong so that you remember this forever for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible and they shall be changed what did I miss what did I miss up we let me read it again now for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible and we not the dead Paul was believing in his lifetime and it's not until second Timothy chapter four where he stopped saying we when he is told he's gonna lose his head for Christ that's when he stops using the word we we shall be changed there's gonna be a generation when Christ returns not in a manger not born of a virgin that's already happened that when he comes back in power he's gonna speak forth and resurrect his dead and he's gonna call up his living and meet them in the air what an amazing thing what a glorious thing we can expect that his return can be expected the Bible teaches us and Luke chapter 12 verse 35 the Bible says let your waste be girded and your lamps burning the lamps symbol of the Holy Spirit and you yourselves be like men who are waiting for their master verse 37 blessed are those servants whom the master when he comes we'll find them watching being an attitude of watching therefore you also be ready for the son of man is coming in an hour you do not expect is that awesome I love it and then finally under this point here it's this his return is our deliverance you see if you're a follower of Jesus this world this is this is this is as close to hell as you're gonna get is this world right here if you're a believer this is bad as it gets think about it think about it the cancer the rot the pain the hurt all that this is this is the for the believer this is as bad as it gets when we go home we're going home to perfection to absolute absolute joy light thing all of the amazing beautiful holy things that God has made are going to be perfected before our eyes an incredible wonder we sing these songs of Christmas we sing about his deliverance of us happily we don't have a clue what we're about to experience see what do you mean do you know something I don't know anything I don't know when he's coming nobody knows the day or there but I know this if you're the youngest person in the house today if you live to be an old man or woman it ain't it ain't far away from now that's not long isn't time a weird thing kind of place tricks on you right it's like wait I thought it wait it's what it's what month is it why we just go here man the the fact that he's going to deliver us the Bible tells us that in Luke 2 11 we read it earlier today in the town of David a savior has been born to you he is the Messiah the Lord boy there it is he is the savior why because we're lost we need saving he's Messiah because we need a tonement and he's the Lord listen he's our master you will not be going to heaven if you're not following Jesus think of that that's a very simple thing a lot of people think they've accepted Christ just for a fire insurance they accepted Christ they think they're not going to hell they think they're they'll go live up their life and they don't have any passion for God at all no love for God no conscience for God they got the little Jesus card your first the the membership card what membership card think about maybe you're new here today you're visiting it's Christmas you're visiting and you think well you know what what I decided to be a member we don't have membership well then why do I why would I go to your church because we don't have membership well don't you want to know what I want a card we'll make you a card membership no membership there's no membership in the Bible there's only one the membership the Bible says that Jesus Christ his body is the church and the Holy Spirit is the one that baptizes you in the body of Christ did you know that and it says we're members one of another well where's your card we don't have a card the moment we have a card then we start trusting that we'll frame it we'll go play it look I got my card God doesn't issue cards God issues forgiveness and salvation to any man or woman boy or girl who will turn to him and love on him deliverance and then number nine is our closing argument the applause of his return the applause what do we mean by that well number one we can applaud him for his goodness hasn't God been good listen think about your own life right now I don't does whatever you're going through you've got to stop say Jack are you serious no I'm very serious the I heard this great program the other day I was driving and somebody called this great thinker was being interviewed and somebody called in and they said if God is so good then why is there so much bad in the world and the guy said the great thinker what mentioned his name the great thinker said how do you know there's any bad in the world and the guy's the guy pause he was like shot what he said how do you know that there's bad in the world well this is wrong that's wrong yeah but how do you know it's wrong you can only know it's wrong when you put it up against that which is good to to find out something bad you've got to have a reference point and the reference point will be good the goodness of God God has been good to you you may be an atheist today he's still been good to you and he's so incredibly patient in his goodness right he is patient so we hate patients God says when you God says we're praying God will give us a word from the Bible wait wait we'd rather hear yes or no but wait can you and you tell your kids you know look we're such hypocrites you and I don't handle it very well at all and then we tell our kids that are four years old you're gonna have to wait and then they freak out and we're going what's wrong with you and then God says to you you're gonna wait and then you just melt you just fall apart and cry no wait yes God says wait and we can thank God for his goodness and his patients because people are walking around the world cursing God there's a website you can go to now and you can officially log on and post forever your cursing of the Holy Spirit if I were God the first post I would have just went still marshmallow I'm not God though people who don't believe in God should be glad that I'm not God he's so patient aren't you glad he's patient I'm glad he's patient he's so kind his goodness we applaud his goodness God is good the Bible tells us in Psalm 145 verse 9 the Lord is good to all and his tender mercy is over all his works God is good you just need to look for his goodness it's there everywhere remarkable and then next we applaud him for his grace the Bible says listen Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 this comes as a ginormous insult to a lot of people for by grace that's God's grace for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God yeah listen let that soak in for a minute you say what does that mean that means you ain't going to heaven on your own merit it means people who have lived the worst darkest most sinister life they're closer to heaven than than you are because you see yourself okay and we're not okay we just know how to dress it up I mean I mean for those of you who are visiting don't come back next week and expect a tie I'll tell you that right now I don't do this I was pressured into this Jesus did not wear a tie just trying to be as biblical as possible here but people you know it's Christmas and you should wear a tie I'm doing this I'll do this that maybe you know you'll listen to the message how's that but just know this none of us are getting to heaven on our works it's impossible that's an insult to God if you think you're good there's only one good and that's God and this is listen this is his path for by grace by grace grace listen grace operates in the world of what we conclude with and that is the applaud of God for his gift grace gives gifts God says to us I love you so much that I have given you my gifted only son the only one that will ever be glorified there's not another one coming he's the only one he's the one and only and I want to give him to you and and with this gift when you unwrap this gift you go into a whole new world and that's just that's just a start of it and we reach out and we're thinking what's the what's the what's the hook and God would say to you don't don't do that to me I'm God you're not hurting my feelings you're just not understanding me I'm telling you I I said it earlier for God so love the world I choose who I love and I've chosen to love you and I want to give you this gift of eternal life do you understand now the magnitude of the expense of that gift when somebody says I don't want it you keep it that was the very gift that would remove from you the curse that's upon your life because of Adam and Eve and the their blood that flows through our veins that's why we're liars that's why we that's why we are humans and we do what we do we've got to get made new and the Holy Spirit does that the moment you accept the gift but if you push the gift away you you are moving away from you the very very thing you need to be made new for given and you're denying the love of God upon your life there's no one you can blame for this it's your choice and so we pray I pray that you choose him this Jack Gibbs podcast as well as all the broadcast outreach opportunities are listener supported will you consider partnering with us through a special gift go to jackhibs.com to learn more and stay connected