The Day Is At Hand (Imminency Part 2)

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts.

Morse Corner is a non -denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist

D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's Word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information is at our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message.

Okay, look at verse 53, 1st Corinthians 15. 1st

Corinthians 15 verse 53, for this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality.

So when Jesus returns, it's gonna happen fast, this is what takes place. This corruptible, for those who are alive, this corruptible body puts on incorruption.

This mortal puts on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory.

So when Jesus returns, the dead are raised, our body is changed, and we have then an immortal resurrected or translated body.

So death is swallowed up in victory. Oh death, where is your sting? Oh Hades or the grave, where is your victory?

He says the sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our

Lord Jesus Christ. How do you get the victory? How is a person raised from the dead or translated to where they meet

God and enter into his heavenly kingdom? How do you get the victory by believing upon the gospel of Jesus Christ that he died for our sin and rose again?

And Paul says in verse 58, based on all of this, therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the

Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the

Lord. So I'd just like to add this. This is what we should be doing as we are waiting the imminent return of Christ.

We should be laboring. Amen? We don't work for our salvation, but we should be working.

Every believer should be laboring. And you know what? Keep working, keep planning, and keep building for the future.

I think one point of criticism people have towards those of us who believe in the imminent return of Jesus, that sometimes we can have an escapist type of an attitude, where things are so bad, or we perceive them to be so bad, we're like,

Lord just take me out of here right now. That's not a wrong desire, but the

Lord might leave you here for another five years, ten years, whether it's the rapture or whether it's death, you might be around for a long time.

Don't have an escapist attitude. Look for Christ's return, be ready for Christ's return, but prepare as if he's not going to return.

Understand? Okay. But he could return at any time, and we believe this, not because, you know, we hope so, or because some end -time preacher on television says so.

Why do we believe this? The Bible says so. We went through all those verses that the day is approaching, that Christ's return is near, it is at hand, it is at the door.

So because he has not returned, how long has it been? Yeah, we're talking almost 2 ,000 years, and because it's been such a long time from man's perspective, what does that cause some people to do?

It causes some people to wonder, well, I wonder, is this ever gonna happen? I remember my grandfather talking about this 50 years ago, and he's come and gone, and it still hasn't happened.

That's irrelevant. That's irrelevant. It's close, it's 50 years closer.

Amen. Hey, but that's the devil's trick, to plant that seed of doubt, and for someone, even a believer, can be tricked into thinking, well, am

I ever gonna see it? Maybe you will, maybe you won't, but you could. Amen? You could.

So this is what we need to be watching out for. There are people who would say that because Jesus has not yet returned, and it's been 2 ,000 years,

I guess that means he's never going to return. You know, what does that prove, that it's been 2 ,000 years?

Yeah, yeah, Jesus still hasn't come back. So, Jesus hasn't come back, and your point is what?

Yeah, the only thing that proves, number one, God is patient, and you're not, and it proves that God is on a completely different timeline than man is, and don't we know that?

What does the Bible say? That a day is to the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as a day.

I would ask you to consider for a moment, from Genesis chapter 3, the first promise of the

Messiah, in Genesis chapter 3, until Jesus came at the first advent, that was 4 ,000 years.

So we need to recalibrate our thinking if we're starting to wonder. Look at 2 Peter, are you in 2

Peter? Turn there if you're not. 2 Peter chapter 3, this is kind of the main text on those who doubt.

You know, thoughts of doubt sometimes enter into your mind. I think that's something that happens, it's normal, but then there are those who are scoffers, where they are just openly saying, ah, this is never going to happen.

Why do you believe this? And this is what Peter is dealing with, 2 Peter chapter 3, verse 3.

Addressing this subject, Peter says, knowing this first, that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, where is the promise of his coming?

For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.

Is that true? No, it's not true. I'll explain that in a moment, but he says, for this they willfully forget that the word of God, or by the word of God, the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed did what?

It perished. The world has already been destroyed once with water.

Things don't continue on as is forever. This has already gone down once, being flooded with water.

And you know it's going to happen again, but the next time it's going to happen with what? Fire. He says in verse 7, but the heavens and the earth, which are now preserved by that same word,

God promised never to flood the earth. That's what the rainbow is a symbol for, that God will never again judge the earth with water, but he is going to judge it with fire.

They're now preserved by that same word. They're reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

In other words, people, they live their lives, and the way it seems to the average person is that this world in general, nothing really changes.

Obviously there are social changes, and there are many things that change on a small scale.

And the way we live changes and all that, but kind of the big picture, the sun rises, the sun sets, generations come and go, and people have the idea it's just going to continue like this forever.

This is just the way the world is, and it's going to go on indefinitely. But that's not true.

And Peter reminds his readers that life on earth has already come to an end once, and people forget about that.

This is the flood, the great flood, or the flood of Noah. And speaking of scoffers, when we talk about the story of Noah's Ark, there's a lot of scoffers about that story, right?

Here's the thing, if you don't believe in Noah's Ark, you're not going to believe in the imminent return of Jesus. Why? Because it's the same book that tells us about both events.

So there are scoffers, we're living in a day and age where there are even churches that scoff at this story of Noah's Ark, and they say, well

I don't believe this ever happened literally. Or they'll say about Noah's Ark, have you ever heard someone, maybe again someone who even professes to be a

Christian, saying the whole thing with Noah's Ark and the great flood, that's impossible. People say that.

My response is, why is that impossible? No really, tell me, what's impossible about that?

Oh, but the universe creating itself is completely possible to you, right?

Life on earth just popping into existence out of nowhere for no reason. The complexity of DNA just happening.

Nobody times nothing equals everything. That's possible, but Noah's Ark is impossible. Really? Really?

Well that's what the science, no that's what scientists tell you. The science doesn't tell you that scientists tell you, and I would just add if there's anything we've learned over the past couple years, is that sometimes scientists lie.

Sometimes they make honest mistakes, but sometimes they lie because what? They're men. What does the

Bible say? Let God be true in every man, a liar. And I'm not asking you to believe me that Christ's return is imminent.

I ask you to go to the Scripture and to draw your conclusion from the

Scripture. You know as time goes on the one thing that I am more and more certain of, more and more day by day, the only thing, the only thing that I can trust 100 % is the

Word of God. Everything else is just shifting sand under our feet, but Jesus, He is the solid rock.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And if we are faithful, if we remain faithful, 1st

John 2 28 says that when He appears we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.

I don't want to be ashamed when Jesus returns. I don't want Jesus to return and find me doing something that I shouldn't be doing.

So this idea of the imminent return of Christ should cause us to live a more godly life.

Amen. Well I'll clean myself up five years from now. I'll have my fun and do that later. You might not have that chance.

Look at verse 8. But beloved, Peter says, going back to the whole subject of the flood and God's timing, he says, do not forget this one thing, that with the

Lord one day is as what? A thousand years. In a thousand years as one day.

And the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long -suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Why hasn't Jesus come back yet? And He may have many reasons.

He's patient, He's long -suffering, but one of the main reasons, there's still people being saved.

You realize God has His sheep right now. He knows they are going to believe.

Maybe they're gonna believe next week. Maybe they're gonna believe in six months from now. Whatever it is, people are still being saved.

That's why the Lord hasn't returned. People are still being saved. The work of the church is not finished.

When it's finished, He'll come back. But until then, He's long -suffering.

He's patient. So in the meantime, be busy. Be busy sharing the gospel, supporting the church, helping in the work of the ministry, trying to bring back the backslider, trying to save souls, trying to encourage people to remain steadfast.

That is all of our job, as we were reminded of earlier. Matthew 24 verse 44 says,

Therefore you also be ready, this is Jesus, be ready for the

Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Thanks for listening.

I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Cornick Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message, or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website

MorrisCornickChurch .com. We'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett.