Last sermon of 2015- Pastor Prince on the Second Coming :)

Death and illness are not God’s plan for us
Brought about by sin. Recapped that God didn’t make us to be R2D2 or C3PO. Gave us free choice. If God surrounds you with good choices only, no free choice. No exercise of free choice. Can choose whatever u want but u can’t choose the result. Choose fire, fire burns. Choose finger in fire, u choose burn. U can’t say you choose to put finger in fire but not to burn. In order to save us, Jesus had to shed his blood. God can’t change the consequence of sin. Creation came about by God just speaking. To save us, He had to pay the price and bleed. 

God gave us breath yet we use it to blaspheme Him & even then, He loves us. God had to send His Son to die for our sin and free us from our liability. 

Phil 3:20-21

Jesus body that rose from the dead looked like a body still. Just that he had holes from crucifixion. 

Going to heaven in this body. The perfection and excellencies of heaven, your current lowly body can’t take it. As u grow older, u are dashing here and there, but it’s happening in your mind coz u are moving slowly. Lol. You tie a thread around your finger and forget why it is there in the first place lol. One day you will go to heaven and can’t go there in this body. The bible says we will sleep, not die. As we are going up, He transforms us. Even for believers in a plane crash, before we can suffer a painful death, He takes us away. 

Jesus wept at the funeral of His Friend although He knew He would raise him up. He knew this wasn’t His Father’s plan for men. That’s why Jesus came- to  conquer death. 

Jesus resurrected in a physical body. Not some astral one. Brand new body and same new Jesus. Could eat. Could be touched and felt. But new body that could transcend matter and can transcend time which God created. 

In Heaven and the new body… U think here we have the best life? God could have given us one tongue and maybe one taste bud and we would be only able to taste bitter, then we taste diff gradients of bitter. But He gave diff taste buds to let us enjoy. Even the pleasures of this world are from him. 

The world makes death a sombre thing. But He takes away the sting of life. The believers before they can suffer a tragic death, God takes them up to Him. 

1 Cor 15:51-56

The world won’t see us go up. Not like as we go up we will be waving to people. It will happen in an atomic second. Devil has been preparing movies to explain our rapture. Aliens, UFOs, Sci Fi. 

There are those who teach- “Pastor, don’t u know not all of us are going up?” Then who is going up? U? You think you are more obedient? To what extent?

Bible says we shall not all sleep, but we shall ALL be changed. What’s the meaning of all? All. 

We receive our final inheritance, our new incorruptible body, as we are raptured.

All atoms are not lost to God even if our loved ones are dead and lost at sea or now, ashes. This is His victory over death. 

V54- that’s why Jesus rose bodily from His death

V55- that’s our taunt to Death as we go up

— atomic second for the world, going up slowly and victoriously for us. 

V56- the strength of sin is the law 

Paul speaks about in 1 Thess 4:13/28

If bible says don’t be ignorant, pay attention. If ignorant about it, will be robbed of our peace, robbed by the devil. 

Jesus conquered death. We do not fear death like the world. The snake can bite u but there is no more sting. We are not those who sorrow as we have no hope. 

We sorrow at being apart from each other. Eg. It’s like our kids are overseas studying. We miss them and feel sad they aren’t with us even though we know where they are. Similarly, if our loved ones have gone first to the LORD before us, we know the separation is temporarily and we will be reunited again. 

V15 and 17 – ‘who are alive and remain’ (not who are very faithful)

Caught up together= rapture 

And we will be WITH THE LORD. Forever. Comfort one another with these words. 

Many people like to look at the blood moons and wonder about it. Don’t bother about the stars and the moons. Focus on Jesus. On the Word of God. 

Tell us when these things be?- disciples to Jesus. He gave His longest discourse to them. Pastors and preachers, if He spends so Long to explain to them, don’t u think u should touch on the second coming?

Jesus told them no stones will be left… Ad70 Romans came in and burnt the temple and not one stone was left. 

Don’t make My Father’s house a den of thieves- what He said initially to them. Then later He said, ‘your house has been left desolate’- presence of God has left the temple. 

94 verses in His discourse about the signs of the birth pangs of the end. Matthew 24. Written to the Jewish people and not to the church. 

Stage is now set. Marco Polo when he went through Israel said it was desolate, fruitless, and malaria infested. But when Jews returned to Israel, land became fruitful again. 

Jesus spoke about the one world rule, about what would happen. A discourse on the future history of Europe.

Son of emperor of Rome- Titus. Told his men not to destroy the temple. But when the city was set ablaze, the fire melted the gold down and the soldiers picked up the temple’s stone and dashed them to get at the gold. Despite what the Son of the emperor said to them. Fulfilling what the Son of a carpenter spoke about. 

Paul talks about faith, hope and love. We know faith and love- being preached today. But the blessed hope- the second coming- has been forgotten. Hope is future. Faith is present. Happy hope. Second Thessalonians- talks about how your faith is growing, your love increases but where is the hope? Forgotten. 

2 Pe 3:3-9

Scoffers will come on the last days and mock the second coming because time has passed. But remember v8- God doesn’t live confined by time. V9- and that He is long suffering toward us and not willing that any should perish but that all should come to Him. 

Exodus 32:1-4

Moses delayed coming down and it resulted in the golden calves

Delay preaching on second coming, that’s when the golden calves happen

“The question is are they really happy?” – something Pastor Lawrence always says when they are watching a show and there are rich idols on telly

Money can buy physical things but can’t buy joy, love, sweet sleep. God is against us having money but doesn’t want it to enslave us and have a hold over us.

Some pastors say second coming sermons are controversial… Who says so?

When we preach second coming there will be a stability in us the world doesn’t have. We will have a hope. We hold the things of this world lightly. We are heavenly minded and do earthly good. Not we are heavenly minded and not of any earthly good. We will not be worldly. We will walk with God. There is a beauty beyond physical beauty. When we walk with God, we walk into the room and there is His glory with us. 

We are not happy with what God gave us, but what about the substance and sparkle that comes from living a life of pure conscience or the comfort u bring people because u reflect the glory of God? That’s something plastic surgeons can’t give u. There are those who cut and add and are never pleased with the final cut. 

What are u looking for in 2016? 

1 Thess – Rapture looked in great detail 

2 Thess 2:1-4

Faith that grows
Love abounding
Hope- lost?!

Hope here not positive expectation of good —> but about the second coming of the LORD. 

-Israel back in the land
-Sabbath observed
-Technology for the mark of the beast is in place if it is supposed to be a chip
— all the pieces are in place

People hear the sermon, go back and read what the critics say and then feel poisoned and spirit isn’t fed. Happened also in V2. 

There are those who preach there is no second coming and they have been left behind. 

V3- Let no one deceive u by any means.

Some like to preach on the falling away will happen first but is that in context? 

Greek- Apostasia – used only twice in NT
Acts 21:21 ( forsake Moses

Apos- oppose
Histami- depart

Apostasia- can also mean departing

Now read 2 Thess 1:3- the falling away here is the departing. The rapture.

Until we depart, the AntiChrist can’t rear his head. 

Now when u read in right context, it is the good news. The day won’t happen until we are raptured and the AntiChrist appears 

Pastor shows us an old bible – and it uses the term ‘departure’ instead of ‘falling away’ as well. 

First book printed ever was the bible. When the bible was printed in original Greek. The original language is God breathed. No error. But things can be lost in translation. Some are very pro King James, but it is translated. The original language is inspired.

Tyndale was a brilliant linguist. Before the King James Version, William Tyndale 1526 edition. Also used departure. 
 

Ditto with the Geneva bible- used by Bunyan who wrote Pilgrim’s Progress and Shakespeare… Also says departing first. Not falling away.

This is the good news. He will come and receive us to Himself that where He is, there we will be always.