“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” Romans 1:18-20

The gospel is the good news that God sent Jesus to undo what Adam undid; Romans 5:18-19 says “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 “Jesus died and rose again for sinners, just as God promised! Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you- unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance wight he scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised again on the third day according to the scriptures.”

It is the good news that we can once more be truly human. No longer are we, like Adam, evicted from God’s presence and under his wrath. The garden—the kingdom—has been regained with a plus. It is the good news that we are sons of the second Adam and have been remade—not just considered to be remade, but new creatures. 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” We have been actually remade—not fully … yet—but actually, truly. We’ve been re-born, made new, in a word, regenerated.

We, the sons of the second Adam, or Jesus, have been raised with him to new life. His resurrection guarantees our own; Ephesians 2:5-6 tells us that “even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” We are new creatures. All things become new in Christ- His person, His Life, His death, His burial, His resurrection, His ascension, His seating, His interceding, His coming, His reigning. And, yes, it means we’ve got something we must share now with our unbelieving neighbors before its too late. However, for far too long we’ve missed what the gospel means for us now. We’ve missed why the gospel is good news for Christians today. We have missed the changes it can make in our lives right now.

In one of my sermons I shared the story of Albert McMakin who was a twenty-four-year-old farmer who had recently come to faith in Christ. He was so full of enthusiasm that he filled his truck with people and took them to a meetings to hear about Jesus. There was a good-looking farmer’s son whom he was especially keen to get to a meeting, but this young man was hard to persuade – he was too busy falling in and out of love with different girls, and did not seem to be attracted to Christianity. Eventually, Albert McMakin managed to persuade him to come by asking him to drive Albert’s truckload of guys. Since driving was always a treat, his friend relented. When they arrived, Albert’s guest decided to go in and was ‘spellbound’ and began to have thoughts he had never known before. He went back again and again until one night he went forward and gave his life to Jesus Christ. That man, the driver of the truck, was Billy Graham. The year was 1934. We have all heard of Billy Graham, but few of us have heard of Albert McMakin. We cannot all be like Billy Graham, but we can all be like Albert McMakin – we can all bring our friends to Jesus.

We don’t need to be afraid to share. We are new creatures, we are regenerated, we are reborn and our old fears are passed away.

“For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 3:18-20

Anticipating the return of Christ is part of the joy of being a Christian. We have been promised in the Word that Christ will return and we can be sure of God’s promise. There is actually one return that the Body of Christ anticipates and it is called the rapture. During that return we will go to meet Christ in the air and forever be with Him. At the Second Coming of Christ He will come to earth to establish His kingdom and set in motion the final series of events that will lead to a New Heavens and New Earth. Sound too fantastic to believe? Well, it sounds fantastic, but not too much so to be believed. After all, it is promised and God keeps His promises. He certainly kept His promise about Christ’s first coming and He will for the rapture and the Second Coming, as well. Both the Old and New Testaments are full of promises about the return of Jesus Christ. Over 1800 references appear in the Old Testament and 23 of the 27 New Testament books refer to the Second Coming. These promises should remind us that we are to stand firm in our hope of Christ’s return and reject the spirit of antichrist that dominates the world around us.

One of the most inspiring stories of World War II was the promise that General MacArthur made to the people and troops in the Philippines. The day after Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941, Japan launched its invasion of the Philippine islands.After struggling against great odds to save the Philippines from Japanese takeover, MacArthur was forced to abandon the islands. MacArthur was disheartened to find out that relief of his forces trapped in the Philippines would not be forthcoming. Left behind were 90,000 American and Filipino troops, who, lacking food, supplies, and support, would soon succumb to the Japanese offensive. Deeply disappointed, MacArthur issued a statement to the press in which he promised his men and the people of the Philippines, “I shall return.” This promise would become his mantra during the next two and a half years, and he would repeat it often in public appearances. The people of the Philippines were heartened by the promise that he would return. That promise became the beacon of light and inspiration to the beleaguered Filipino soldiers, and guerillas mushroomed everywhere constantly battling the Japanese troops.

In the Japanese takeover of the Philippines 70,000 American and Filipino soldiers were captured and were forced to undertake a death march in which at least 7,000 perished. Finally, the last of the 90,000 troops were captured. But the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff had no immediate plans for their liberation because resources had to be put elsewhere. However, MacArthur would not give up on his promise and launched major offensives, winning a string of victories with his limited forces in his efforts to work his way back to the Philippines.

After many battles in the Pacific the US leadership felt they were once again in a position to invade the Philippines. The Joint Chiefs put their support behind a plan devised by MacArthur. On October 20, 1944, the invasion began and few hours after his troops landed, MacArthur waded ashore onto the Philippine island of Leyte. That day, he made a radio broadcast in which he declared, “People of the Philippines, I have returned!” Unfortunately, only one-third of the men MacArthur left behind in March 1942 survived to see his return. “I’m a little late,” he told them, “but we finally came.”

MacArthur’s promised return gave hope to the people of the Philippines. He became a national hero. Although his return was delayed, they anticipated it and that anticipation became the energy for their constant battle against the Japanese. As we see in the verses above, there is an opposition to God’s glory, truth, and holiness in our world today. Paul talks of those whose end is destruction serving the god that is their belly, and thus, they glory in their shame. They are seeking whatever satisfies self over the glory of God. We see an opposition to truth and holiness as their minds are set on earthly things. They are neither listening to God’s Word nor seeking to be set apart from the world’s desires.

So like the people of the Philippines we are surrounded and we too have been promised a return. Christ said, “I will return” and though there have been two-thousand years pass since that promise, it will take place. In the meantime, we should not be sitting on our hands, idly awaiting His return. There is work to be done. If we sit we will be overtaken by the world. We must anticipate Christ’s return, but not be discouraged by its delay. MacArthur kept his promise and that was fortunate, but we can be assured that a promise by God will always be kept.

As we anticipate the return of Christ, our lives should reflect a standard that is remarkable and unusual to the world. We must not become part of the world as we await Christ’s return, but be people who submit our lives to God’s Word over the whims of society or our flesh. Christ’s promise is real and when He says “I shall return,” 

He shall return. We can bank on it. Remember, we cannot break God’s promises by leaning on them. Someday we will know that the promise “I shall return” will have become “I have returned.” In the meantime, we should do all we can to invite as many people to His homecoming as possible.

“We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”  Acts 4:20

In a America we are a pretty cushioned bunch. A while back at our church  we heard a sermon from a pastor from Africa who told about the persecution his people endure in following Christ. They face the possibility of imprisonment or death every time they gather to worship, but yet they gather.  In the Voice of the Martyrs magazine there are stories every week about people being jailed or executed for their faith. Earlier this week, an entire underground church in Vietnam was raided and people were hauled off.  Some will never be seen again. In contrast, in our country we face little reprisal (for the time being) if we openly worship or speak of Christ. But yet it is all too easy not to speak about the gospel truths which we have seen and heard. Far too often, we bury the gospel light we have been given under a basket full of excuses and justifications for our silence.

But this was not the testimony of the apostles. Having seen the risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ themselves, having learned at his feet, and having received his instructions to spread his name, they had no other inclination than to share the gospel where ever they could.  Notice that Luke says they could do nothing less than speak the truth of what they had seen.  Remember that these were the same men who were hiding after the death of Christ.  The same men who virtually said, “it was a good run, but it is time to go back to fishing.”  The same men who had watched Christ beaten and hung on the cross and die in the most painful way known to man.  Why, then, just a few days later did they become so compelled to share the word in hostile territory up until the very day of their martyrdom?  Because they had seen the risen Christ.

The Jewish authorities had just threatened the apostles and commanded them not to speak any more in the name of Jesus. They no more got back out on the streets when they started boldly sharing the Word again.  They could have kept silent, they could have watered down the message, they could have become non-threatening story tellers leaving out the truth of Christ’s ministry, but they didn’t. Instead they determined to “be right in the sight of God” and to reach out in hostile territory with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

We too, if we are believers, have seen the risen Christ.  We too, like the apostles, should be compelled by Holy Spirit within us to share what we have seen. In our country we might face snickers or name-calling or finger pointing and maybe even occasional discrimination, but no bullets, no burnings, no beatings on behalf of Christ.  The apostles had hobbies, interests, and professions, yet they were quickest to talk about Christ above all things.  There is nothing we can talk about that is more important to others than Christ.  Let’s face it.  In America we have been spoiled into silence.  It is so easy to share, that we don’t share. It is like having so much food, that we walk away leaving half of it on the table- they sure don’t do that where meals are once a day.  In countries where Bible are few, they cherish them.  In a country where we can have a roomful, they gather dust.  In countries where they cannot speak, they do.  In a country where we can speak, we don’t.  Ironic, huh?

One of the key forerunners of the Reformation was Bohemian John Hus. He devoted himself to Scripture and taught that Christ, not the Pope, is Head of the Church.  He was convicted of heresy and sentenced to be burned at the stake unless he recanted.  But he would not and on the day of his martyrdom he said: “God is my witness that the evidence against me is false.? In the truth of the gospel I have written, taught, and preached, today I will gladly die.? As the crackling flames consumed him, he joyfully sang a hymn.

Probably none of us (in the near future anyway) will ever be called to be martyred for Christ, but we are called to speak for Him.  It is funny (strange) that those who face persecution are more inclined to evangelize than those who do not.  Even more ironic is the fact that many third world countries are actually sending missionaries to America.  Those men and women of Christ’s time who had seen and heard the resurrected Christ were clearly and helplessly consumed by the experience and could not help but speak of it. We should pray that we would be filled with the same consuming fire to speak of the things know to be true, in spite of what we might face.  We cannot sit in an upper room and say, “finding out about Jesus was pretty cool, now let’s go back to our old lives when we never spoke of Him at all.”

Of course, not all are silent, but if all those who say they believe in Christ, actually lived for Christ, actually shared Christ, actually centered on Christ- this world would radically change. Let’s draw a circle, jump inside, and ask God to start the change inside that circle. Then we can start reaching outward. The apostles did not try to change Judea, Samaria, and the outer most parts of the world until they were changed inside.

If we are changed we will change others.  We can do nothing less.

“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18

We have done a lot of cool things with the grandkids over the years, but what I have noticed is that no matter what we do, the kids are ready to do the next thing with great anticipation. We may have just come off setting up a tent, making houses for small animals, or even having milkshakes, but if they hear we are going to something else, they are ready. They are always ready.

As believers we should be the same way. One day, perhaps sooner than we realize, Jesus may return. For the believer that is a day to be anticipated. We will get to heaven in one of two ways- we will go to Him or He will come for us. According to Thessalonians if He comes for us, we will not be getting several warnings like we give the grandkids when we are going to go somewhere. We let the kids go back several times to get the shoes they forgot or the fishing pole they wanted to take or to say goodbye to someone who is not going with us. We will not have that opportunity when Jesus comes. We will just be “caught up” and be gone.

That term, “caught up” is translated from that Greek word harpazō, which means to take forcibly, to snatch, or to catch up. And that is what the Rapture will be. In 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”  There will be no warning that allows us to go say good bye, gather our things, or even read a couple of quick verses to impress God. We will be gone.

The word “maranatha” is a Syriac expression that means: “our Lord comes.” In the early church it was used as a greeting instead of hello or goodbye. Some Christians today have a similar thing in mind when they say, “See you there (someplace here) or in the air (heading for heaven). Regardless of how we say it, we need to carry that awareness of the imminent return of the Savior with us all the time.

I have read two books on British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and they are two of the best I have read. When the expedition’s main boat was crushed by enclosing ice while headed toward the South Pole, Shackleton had to leave part of his crew on Elephant Island while he took the other half to try to reach civilization. He promised the crew that he would return. Later, when he tried to go back to rescue the crew left behind, huge icebergs blocked the way and it looked like the men would perish. But suddenly an avenue opened in the ice and Shackleton was able to get through. His men, ready and waiting, quickly scrambled aboard and no sooner had the ship cleared the island than the ice crashed together behind them. Shackleton said to his men,
“It was fortunate you were all packed and ready to go!” They replied, “We never gave up hope. Whenever the sea was clear of ice, we rolled up our sleeping bags and reminded each other, ‘The boss may come today.’”

We need to be like kids anticipating the arrival of the coming event. At our house it is Nana who is the boss and the kids are excited when they know she is coming. How excited we should be when we know that the arrival of our boss, Jesus, may happen any minute. We should always be ready. We don’t want to be half-packed or carrying things we shouldn’t. It could be this afternoon, so when we see each other, let’s not say goodbye, but say “Maranatha!” See you there or in the air!