The Return of Christ Part 2

You’re listening to a podcast by Lance Lambert Ministries. For more information on this ministry, visit www.lancelambert.org or follow us on social media to receive all of our updates. In this episode, Lance continues to speak on Revelation 1:7 and emphasises the 3 characteristics that the Lord will look for on his return — faith, hope, and love. Let’s listen to The Return of Christ Part 2. Last Sunday morning, I spoke on one verse in Revelation chapter one, it is the verse seven, the 7th verse. Behold, he cometh with the clouds, and every eye shall see him and they that pierced him and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him. Even so amen. A phrase that kept on going through my heart when the Lord gave me this word was this phrase faith, hope and love. I'm not sure that I mentioned that at the end of the time last Sunday, but I must say that I thought, well, there are many things that are connected with the coming of the Lord. Why should one say, here are three supreme qualities or characteristics that the Lord looks for in his own at his coming? Faith, hope and love. Faith, hope and love. So, when I was reading 1 Thessalonians chapter five in the week, I was perhaps a little amazed to find these very three words in connection with the coming of the Lord. I will read the passage again. You remember, of course, that in the last part of 1 Thessalonians four, the apostle has been speaking about the Lord descending from heaven and the dead in Christ rising first, and then those that are alive and remain being caught up to be together with the Lord. Chapter five, verse one. But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that aught be written unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. When they are saying peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall in no wise escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief. For ye are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night, nor of darkness. So then let us not sleep as do the rest. But let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the night, and they that are drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, since we are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God appointed us not unto wrath, but unto the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him, wherefore exhort one another and build each other up even as also ye do. So here is the supreme thing that the Lord looks for. He wants us at the end to be those who are exhorting one another and building each other up. These three qualities — the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. Now, it is a good thing concerning the coming of the Lord that we should dynamite any false anticipation. That is, it is perfectly possible because of our evangelical background, to believe that the coming of the Lord is very near, to rejoice in the coming of the Lord and not to make our calling and election sure. It is vital that every one of us should make our calling and election sure. Make sure that our salvation rests on a true and firm foundation. Now, here are the three qualities that the Lord looks for — faith, hope, love. I would like just first to take hope. Hope. Now, it may surprise some of us that the New Testament says so much about hope, a tremendous amount about hope. And I am not unsure that in the 20th century we haven't overlooked very much of what the word of God says about the hope that is before us. Now the apostle says, in the light of his coming, take this helmet. I think you know that a wound in the head is serious, especially in warfare. The head, after all, is vitally important. If a man is wounded in the head, there can be very, very serious consequences indeed. Now, this helmet, this spiritual helmet with which we guard our mind, our spiritual intelligence, if you like, is this hope of salvation. Now just wait. Surely, we all know we are saved. So why do we have to guard ourselves with the hope of salvation if we're all saved? We are saved! We know that! Any man or woman who has been born of the spirit of God, any man or woman who's been washed in the blood of the Lamb, any man of God who has been justified by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ through faith in him and his finished work, that person is surely saved. For by grace have ye been saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. Well, we know that. Or again, we have peace through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have been justified by faith in him. Well, we know that. Well, now let's just look at one or two scriptures. First of all, let's look at 1 Peter chapter one and verse three. Here the two things are brought together. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy begat us again unto a living hope. Born again unto a living hope. Well, then, let's look at another scripture. A living hope. Let's turn back to Colossians chapter one, verse five. Verse three, first phrase. We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ … Verse five: … because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens. The hope which is laid up for you in the heavens whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel. Verse 23: If so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard which was preached in all creation under heaven, whereof I, Paul, was made a minister. The hope of the gospel. Now what's that? Turn back and you'll be even more confused. Galatians five and verse five. For we through the Spirit, by faith wait for the hope of righteousness. But are we not already justified? Have we not already been declared righteous by the finished, through the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the hope of righteousness. Turn over again, further back. Romans chapter 14,15, I'm sorry. Romans chapter 15. Now you see how he brings this matter up. The end of verse twelve: … and he that ariseth to rule over the Gentiles, on him shall the Gentiles hope. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that ye may abound in hope in the power of the Holy Spirit. Another Scripture, Colossians chapter one, verse 27. To whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you the hope of glory. Well now then, what is this hope? Take for a helmet the hope of salvation. Surely it is this, that however much the Lord does for us here, however much we're changed, however much we're filled, however much we go from glory to glory, from faith to faith, from strength to strength, from righteousness to righteousness, there is always a tremendous amount that will only be done when he comes. However far we go, however deeply we go, however much we possess, there is still a sense in which at his coming, and only at his coming, will it all be finally and forever effective. That's why you have the paradox in the New Testament. On the one side, you have life, and yet it's death. Death worketh in us, life also. You've got it in 2 Corinthians chapter four, and much else. And it seems to me that this hope is very much connected with the body. Now thank God for what the Lord is able to do for our physical bodies. We make far too little of what the Lord can do for our physical well being. He is the God who, if he can save the Spirit, the greatest miracle of all and can win the soul, is a God who can well touch the body. But if we look at one or two Scriptures, I think we shall begin to understand a little more about this hope. For instance, Romans, chapter eight. Romans, chapter eight, verse 23. Now listen to this. And not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit. Now mark that. The first fruits of the Spirit. We hadn't got the whole harvest, we've got the first fruits of the Spirit. Even we ourselves, grown within ourselves, waiting for our adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. Now listen. For in hope were we saved. But hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopeth for that which he seeth. But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Now, of course, when we're young. I don't think this means too much to us, but I think as the years begin to add up, this begins to mean something to us, the redemption of our body. Now, listen. So utterly glorious is your salvation that God is not going to allow one hair of your head to perish. Do you remember when Moses went in before Pharaoh and said to him about, let my people go? That was his message. And Pharaoh parried it by saying, well, all right, we'll let the women go, or we'll let these go, or we'll let a selective group go, but you leave the rest. No, he said. And each time he said, the Lord has said, not one hoof or horn shall be left in Egypt. Now, is the Lord so bothered about hoofs and horns? Couldn't the Lord have said, to help Pharaoh, take the cattle? We'll have a special creation on the other side of the Red Sea. We'll produce cattle, just like the quails came or the manna came. But no, the Lord said, not one hoof or horn shall be left in Egypt. My redemption is so great, the blood of the Lamb is so effective that there shall be not one single thing left in Egypt. I will redeem them with such a redemption that not one hoof or horn shall be left there. Now, is that not something for us? We may not feel we have hoofs or horns, but we have much that the Lord has redeemed. Don't think for a single instant that God has only redeemed your spirit or your soul, the invisible part of you. There is this common 20th century conception that when the body is dead, that doesn't matter. That doesn't matter. The body is nothing. We Christians are not metaphysical in that way. We believe in the redemption of the actual body. Just as the Lord Jesus will come back with the body that he went into heaven, so thank God you and I are going to in the final fulfilment of our salvation, we're going to receive a body like unto his. Now, people have got some strange ideas about this. They say, oh, well, now, if I live to the coming of the Lord, I suppose suddenly I shall be taken and my old body will fall on the ground dead, and then a new body will appear which will go up to him. That's nonsense. This is the miracle of it. The actual body you've got will be changed. Think of it. The actual body you've got will be changed. Now, I know some of us are not so beautiful. And may we always desire that one day at this coming, we should be changed to an apparition of beauty. But we should have a different we should have a different conception then of beauty altogether, your actual body will be changed. I don't know how it will happen. All I know is that sin in these members will forever be gone, that death and corruption and decay will be forever banned. And I shall have a body like unto his. Thank God for that. For 2000 years, the Lord Jesus has had a human body in the heavens. Think of that. A human body in the heavens. Why, they boiled him fish and he ate it and said, see, a spirit doesn't eat like this. Oh, some people are puzzled about that. Why did the Lord do that? Because the Lord wanted to attack this idea that it's all spirit only. God made us spirit, soul and body. And that's why in Thessalonians one, Thessalonians chapter five, we have this rather wonderful word, verse 23. And the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire. No loss. The Scripture speaks of those who are hurt by the second death, injured by the second death. And the apostle Paul says we who are believers, he says, may the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly. May your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you who will also do it. If you only let him do it, he'll do it. The Lord is absolutely faithful. If you are not preserved entire, it's your own fault, because you have not let the Lord do it. He is utterly faithful. He aims to do it. Well, now then, this to me is something just marvellous. And I say again, in the 20th century we overlook these things. Why, you think of an enormous chapter of some 58 verses devoted entirely to the resurrection of the body. Some people would much prefer to have the whole question of the coming of the Lord sorted out. They don't think it's so important, the body. Why, when we go into the presence of the Lord, that's all that matters. We shall just be before him. But there's a tremendous amount in this book about the final chapter of our salvation. How furious the devil will be, how angry the powers of darkness will be when that final day dawns. And the Lord snatches from under his nose, as it were, even these bodies that have so often been the playground of Satan. Not a hoof nor a horn shall be left in Egypt. When that great redemption comes, thank God, every single bit of us will go, Why, now look at Luke 21. Luke 21. Here we've got it. It's all about the coming of the Lord. Verse ten. Nation rising against nation, kingdom against kingdom. Verse 16. Ye shall be delivered up even by parents and brethren and kinsfolk and friends. They shall cause you to be put to death. Ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. Verse 17 and not a hair of your head shall perish. What a strange little word to come in there. Not a hair of your head shall perish. Let them kill you, let them kill you. Let them do their worst to you, says the Lord Jesus. Not a hair of your head shall perish. Now there are many people who long to see the coming of the Lord. I've heard it again and again. Many of my friends I remember when I was first saved, older people who are now in the presence of the Lord, and they said to me that one of their great longings was if only they could see the coming of the Lord. I'm not so sure about this. I'm not even sure that it is absolutely scriptural. Of course it would be nice not to die, not to go through the valley of the shadow of death. But which is the greatest miracle? A body that's been mouldering for 2000 years, suddenly raised, gloriously alive, vital, animate or for you to suddenly be changed where you are and caught up to be with the Lord. Which is more wonderful? To see the body of the apostle Paul, the atoms which have long ago, they're all there. But I mean his body. Where is it? Where are the very bones? There’s nothing left of it. Where are those early Christians eaten by lions? Where are they? Where are those that were burnt so not a cinder remained of them? Where are those that died in the gas ovens in the last war? Where are they? What remains of them? Don't you think that the devil, who it says in Jude, tried to snatch the body of Moses, Where is Moses? Moses was in paradise. So what was the devil bothering about the body of Moses for? It says the archangel Michael darest not bring a railing accusation against him, but said the Lord rebuke thee Satan, when he tried to steal the body of Moses. But what is the devil bothered about a bit of dead flesh and blood? Why, most of us would say it doesn't matter what happens to that. The devil knows better. If he couldn't get the man, he says, I've got the body. But you just wait. When this day comes, all those people the devil seems to have triumphed over, their bodies have disappeared. The very atoms that made them up will be brought back together and they will be raised. And the apostle says because some had died in the church at Thessalonica he says, don't be worried, you folk that are looking for the coming of the Lord. You're terribly sad because sister So and So's gone, brother So and So's gone. What's going to happen to them? Oh, we're going to see the Lord’s coming, but they'll be dead. Why, says the apostle, don't you worry about that. Before you get there, they’re going to get there first. So that when you're caught up, they’re there. They're there. Now, that is the hope of our salvation. Well, if any of you know anything about sin in your members, if any of you know anything about a body which is weak, if any of you know about ground in you physically that so often the enemy comes in on, my, so much of our critical spirit goes back to this, doesn't it? It goes back to our temper, our liver, our sort of general mode of living, our constitution. Oh, there's no excuse for it because the Lord is bigger than all that. But think of it. Just think of that day when we're going to be changed in the twinkling of an eye. Why, you can't see my eye twinkle, can you? It's so fast. It's going to happen in a moment. Some of these people have been in their graves for all these thousands of years. It was Spurgeon who said he wished he'd be around to see some of those great monuments lift. It'll be a day. The hope of salvation. And that's why Titus puts it like this in Titus, chapter two and verse 13. Looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Now, isn't it interesting that in Luke, chapter 21, it says when ye see these things begin to come to pass, lift up your heads for your redemption draweth nigh. Just wait. Many of you will say, we are redeemed. Yes, of course we are redeemed. That's the most wonderful thing of all. We couldn't partake of the Lord's table unless we were the redeemed people of God. Well, what does it mean, lift up your head for your redemption draweth nigh? It's the redemption of your body. Don't think of it as something small. It's the final effective stage or the final stage of your whole salvation being made forever effective. We shall see him. The apostle John put it like this in 1 John, chapter three. We sang the hymn based on it this morning. Verse two and three. Beloved, now are we children of God. And it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him, for we shall see Him even as he is. And everyone that hath this hope set on him purifieeth himself even as he is pure. Here is the hope, we shall be like him. Well, just think of that. We've only dealt with the hope of our salvation. We haven't even talked about faith and love, the hope of our salvation. A helmet. A helmet. If it can be at times so glorious to know the Lord here, if at times our hearts can be filled with true ecstasy, if we can be sometimes transported as we are, with joy unspeakable and full of glory in the midst of suffering and the trial of our faith, if it can be so altogether marvellous to walk with the Lord down here, my dear child of God, it's only the first fruits of a harvest. We are only engaged, not married. The marriage supper of the Lamb is still to come. The marriage has yet still to be consummated. Think of what it's going to be. Now, can’t you say even so, amen? Or are you walking in the dark? Is there some compromise in your life, some darkness, something that robs you of all the anticipation and joy of the Lord's coming? John the Apostle seems to me to be almost always falling over himself when he writes on this matter. As soon as it's mentioned, he adds in, Even so come. He says it a number of times, as if he just can't help it. He hears it and he adds a little bit, says Even so come. It's a wonderful thing, isn't it? Why, just you think. We have no idea what lies ahead of us, we Christians. No wonder the devil's trying us. No wonder he's pressurising us. No wonder he's trying to rob us of faith. No wonder he's trying to cause the love of the many to wax cold. No wonder he is seeking to trip us up. The fact is he can't win. The Lord has worked on the cross such a salvation that it means that not one hair of our heads are left to the devil, not one single part. Thank God for that. What a salvation and what a hope that is before us. Let's wear this as a helmet. Perhaps, oh, well, we'll see. We'll think another time about the breastplate of faith and of love. But I think this is an aspect of the Gospel which is very rarely today understood or taught. And yet it's a strange thing. As soon as people start to sing about it, as soon as people start to hear about it, everyone livens. Why? Only because the Holy Spirit bears witness in us that this is true. It has always been an Old Testament conception that the body would be finally raised. And of course, the Jewish people have always been accused of being rather materialistic in this outlook on heaven, that it'll be a new heaven and a new earth. It's not all just up there. And that is our hope. A new heaven and a new earth. The lion with the lamb, the child playing with a snake. Think of it. Everything speaking glory and we with bodies like unto his. What a hope. The hope of salvation. Begotten again unto a living hope. Christ, in you the hope of glory. Shall we pray? Dear Lord, we pray together that somehow this hope set on thee and Thy appearing may purify us, Lord. O, may it be delivered from mere theology, or from the realm, Lord, of theory, or even of truth as such. But, Lord, we pray, may every one of us know that these days in which we live are near to thy coming. Thou hast bidden us to lift up our heads for our redemption draweth nigh. Oh, may we be quickened, may we be strengthened. May we be encouraged and comforted, Lord, by the sure and certain knowledge of thy appearing. And we ask it all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. May your life be marked by living hope. May you walk in the light with the Lord. May you know the deep, deep love of Jesus.