Transforming Hope of Christ's Coming — Don Wilkerson

Of the Times Square Pulpit Series. It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City. Other tapes are available by writing to World Challenge P .O. Box 260, Lindale, Texas 75771 or calling 214 -963 -8626.

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The Promise of Christ’s Return

The last words spoken to the disciples and the future church, little church gathered on Mount of Olives, following the death and resurrection of Christ and after his ascension into heaven, and prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit, the words that were spoken to them by two men who appeared in white apparel, I believe are the most encouraging words to believers next to the message of the cross.

In the 11th verse of chapter 1 of Acts you will see it. Verse 10 says,. And while they were looking steadfastly towards heaven, as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, and these are the glorious words, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?

This same Jesus, this same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Now when Jesus ascended to the Father, he took or he was given a round-trip ticket.

He's used half the fare, but he's not used the return fare yet, but he will, praise God. What glorious words these are, this same Jesus which ye have seen go up. Jesus literally ascended, and he will literally descend, and he will stand in the latter days upon the earth.

Hallelujah. But you know the amazing thing about this announcement is that the early church never forgot those words. They believed that Christ was going to return in their lifetime. Now think of that, in their lifetime.

They lived in the aftermath of Christ's first coming, but they also lived with the expectancy and hope that he was going to return very, very soon. An 18th century preacher by the name of Alexander McLaren, he stated this, the primitive church thought more about the second coming of Jesus Christ than about death or about heaven.

The early Christians were not looking for a cleft in the ground called a grave, but a cleavage in the sky called glory. They were watching not for the undertaker, but for the upper taker, hallelujah. From the beginning to the end in the scriptures, we're told about the coming of Christ.

Do you know who the very first man was that preached the coming of Christ? The very first man, I don't know if these preachers, these students up here know it or not, and if I hadn't studied it, I probably wouldn't have thought of it either.

The seventh man from Adam preached on the second coming of Christ. Listen to what Jude says. And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these things, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand saints to execute judgment upon all and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which the ungodly have committed and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

Enoch preached on the coming of Jesus. All the Old Testament writers from Paul to Jude to John the Beloved believed Jesus would return to take them up, not in death, not in a resurrection, but in the rapture or the revelation of his second coming.

John wrote this, he said, And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears, we may be confident and not shrink away from him in shame at his coming. And one of the reasons that I believe John, John believed so strongly in the second coming of Christ in his lifetime, that in John chapter 21, Jesus had prophesied of Peter's death and his martyrdom.

And after he did so, Peter turned to Jesus and he said, What about John? Is he going to die like me? And Jesus said this, answered and said, If I want him to remain, or if I want him to be alive until I come, what is that to thee?

You follow me. In other words, John, based upon that, John could have interpreted that to believe that Jesus was going to come in his lifetime. And so both the Old and New Testament are full of promises about the return of Christ.

Over 18 ,000 such references appear in the Old Testament, and 17 Old Testament books give prominence to this theme. Of the 260 chapters in the New Testament, there are more than 300 references to the Lord's return.

One of every 30 verses. And for every prophecy on the first coming of Christ, there are eight prophecies on his second coming. Now Paul had to clear up a matter and a problem and a question for the church at Thessalonica.

They were concerned that those who died would be at a disadvantage to them, not being a live when the Lord came for them, which they believed would take place at any time. And so they were concerned because they believed that the Lord was going to come any time, and so they wondered about those that already died.

And so Paul wrote, he said, For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. That's what the living believers were concerned about, about their loved ones, their friends who had died.

And Paul said, No, he said, They're going to rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Wherefore comfort one another with these words. And when Paul wrote that, they believed that he was going to come in their lifetime. And if they, nearly 2 ,000 years ago, believed that they were in the last days, and they expected to hear Gabriel's trumpet, how much more ought we to be a people of expectation, a people of readiness, a people that live in the light of the soon coming of Christ.

Readiness for the Lord’s Coming

Now someone might say, when you talk about the coming of the Lord, someone might ask, say, But Pastor Don, don't you believe and don't you pastors preach that the church is going to go through judgment, and there's going to be tribulation, and we're going to go through at least part of the great tribulation?

In other words, aren't there certain prophecies and judgments that have to come upon the land first before Jesus comes? Well, yes, that may be true, but I also know that Jesus said this, Be ye ready. Be ye therefore ready also, for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when you think not.

There almost seems to be a contradiction in the scripture over the fact that Jesus said be ready for his coming at any moment, and that in the last days perilous times will come and certain signs have to be fulfilled in the heavens and on the earth.

But I want to tell you, I find no such contradiction. Paul said, But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write to you. Jesus and Paul said we are to live in a state of readiness, and the one who lives in readiness does not look at or for signs to determine the time to get ready.

The believer is always ready. It's the unsaved, it's the backslider who needs to be warned regarding the last days and the times and the seasons. But the believer looks for Jesus, not just for the signs.

The overcomers and the righteous know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. The great D .L. Moody used to say, I never preach a ceremony without thinking that possibly the Lord may come before I preach another one.

Dr. G. Campbell Morgan, a distinguished preacher, clergyman of the same time said this, I never begin my work in the morning without thinking that perhaps he may interrupt my work and begin his own. I'm not looking for death, I'm looking for him.

Now I grew up on second coming preaching. I grew up on the teaching and the preaching that Jesus was coming. And we used to have a little phrase when I was a kid, when we'd make announcements about Sunday's meeting, we would say, if Jesus tarries, we'll have our missions conference this weekend.

If Jesus tarries. And it was not only on our lips, but it was a part of our lifestyle. We lived in the expectancy of Christ's return and I'm afraid that the church has lost some of that. Now the Bible has some important things to say as to why we should be in a state of readiness and expectation regarding the immediate return of Christ.

I want to share two things that second coming saints do in preparation for Christ's return. Now the title of my message is the transforming hope of Christ's coming. There is a transforming hope that takes place in the people who know that their Redeemer draws nigh.

In fact, there are 22 references to Christ's coming in the epistles in which in connection with that statement or the call, the statement regarding his coming, in connection with it, there is a call to purity, to preparation, to patience, and to service in connection with his teaching.

And so I want to call your attention to two important truths in connection with Christ's coming. First of all, we ought to have in the light of his return, we ought to have a transformed look. And then secondly, we ought to have a transformed love.

A Transformed Look and Heavenly Hope

A transformed look and a transformed love. Now those who live in the light of Christ's return, they have a transformed look. Hebrews 8 .28 says, So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Philippians 3 .20 says, listen carefully, don't turn there. It says, For our conversation is in heaven from whence also we look for the Savior our Lord Jesus Christ who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.

There is a segment in the church today whose conversation is not in heaven, it's not about heaven, and it's not about Christ's coming. They are not looking for the Savior Christ Jesus, they are looking for some kingdom on this earth.

I am referring to what is called, among other things, is called the Kingdom Now Theology. There is a group in the church today that teach and advocate a take over the world for Christ theology. They have a manifesto that they have put out, and I was shocked to learn that the majority of the many evangelicals and charismatics have signed on to that manifesto.

They have become convinced by a false interpretation of the scripture that the Great Commission calls for a reconstruction of society that will result in what they call the Christianizing of the world.

And since they believe that this reconstruction is going to take place, that we're going to have a, first of all, we're going to have a Christian president. Folks, we've just been through three of them, and we're in a worse mess than we've ever been in.

Or in fact, we're into our third so-called president. They also believe we're going to have a Christian congress, now I could go for that in the light of some of the things that are happening. They also believe that Christians will eventually control not only the government, but business and industry, the media, the arts, including the theater and the movie world, movie business.

They believe we'll take over the court system and the jail system that all be run by Christians. And also, since they believe that this is going to take a long time, thousands and thousands of years, it makes no sense according to their theology not to lay up treasure on earth.

Now these people who are also called Reconstructionists and Kingdom Now people, they are not looking for a savior to come, they're looking for a politician to come. Their conversation is not on heaven or towards heaven, their conversation is all directed to this earth and to now.

Now the key word in the Kingdom Now theology is dominion. In fact, their teaching is best known as Dominion Theology. And here's how they take one verse and build a whole teaching of dominion on it. And I don't have time to go into their teaching at this point, but I want to make reference to it.

Some of you may have never heard about it, some of you have and some of you will. But take for instance 2 Corinthians 10 where it refers to bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

This is interpreted as a strategy for worldwide dominion. That every thought on this earth, every structure on this earth, everything is going to be brought into dominion of Christ. And here's a quote from their teaching.

Christians have an obligation, a mandate, a commission, a holy responsibility to reclaim the land for Jesus Christ. To have dominion in civil structures just as in every aspect of life and godliness. But when they go on, it is not dominion we're after, oh excuse me, but it is dominion we are after, not just a voice.

It is dominion we are after, not just influence. It is dominion we are after, not just equal time. It is dominion we are after, unquote. Now if this teaching and this concept is going to have any influence and more of a voice and more equal time, if they're going to have dominion, they better get started.

They better get started. Because not only does the Word of God prove them wrong, the news headlines tell me that there is very little Christian dominion in Washington or Moscow or Wall Street or Hollywood or Broadway or anywhere else.

And those who believe it ought to get started because I see very little dominion. But I want you to go to Acts, the second chapter, and I saw something here, I want to show you a picture of the very first New Testament dominionist or Kingdom Now people and what happened to them.

Second chapter of the book of Acts, there is a group of dominion people. Acts 2, after the birth of the church, we'll pick it up at verse 43. It says,. And fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles, and all that believed were together and had all things in common, or had all things common, and sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men as every man had need.

Now that particular thing that the early church did has perplexed Christians for many years. Those particular verses. And I've never had a satisfying interpretation as to why they did this until the Lord showed me something this week.

Now the people who sold their land were Jews. No people felt more attached to their land, to the land of Palestine, than did the Jews. It was more than a piece of real estate to them. It was a part of a covenant promise to their father Abraham.

Genesis 12, 7 says,. And the Lord appeared unto Abram and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land. And there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. Deuteronomy 1, 21 says, The Lord thy God has set the land before thee.

Go up and possess it. And from the days of Moses and Joshua on through the centuries and up to the time of Christ the Jews possessed, lost, regained, and lost again the land of promise. And at the time of Christ his followers expected the kingdom was now, or I should say then, but as far as they were, it was now going to be set up.

In fact the disciples were kingdom now people. They were in the land. Some of them owned property and houses, but of course they were not ruling the land. They were unoccupied people. And they hoped that Jesus was going to be their Messiah to bring salvation.

And listen, salvation to a people that are under oppression meant not only something spiritual, but something also physical, something political, something outward, including the leading of a revolt to kick the Romans out and to do what today's reconstructionists believe and that was to set up his kingdom there and then.

In Acts chapter 1 and verse 6, look at it, when Jesus is gathered on the Mount of Olives with his disciples, they don't know that he's about to ascend up to the Father. He has risen from the dead and they're saying, my goodness, with this power, you have power over death, oh, now the kingdom will be set up.

Now you'll go in and kick our oppressors out. And again they have the same question on their mind in Acts 1, 6. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom now to Israel?

Do you see it? They were kingdom now people, but something happened. Something happened on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was outpoured and they got a revelation of Jesus Christ. And these kingdom now advocates were no longer attached to the earth.

They were no longer attached to the land. They were no longer attached to their possessions or their property because they had eternity in their hearts. They had the kingdom and the king in their hearts.

Romans 14, 17 says, for the kingdom of God is not in meat and drink, but in righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. And they came out of that upper room having eternity in their hearts, having Jesus in their hearts.

Now some Christians have taught that today we should sell all of our possessions as they did in the early church. Others even advocate, based on that verse, kind of a Christian socialism or communism.

But no, when the early church sold their possessions and goods and properties, listen to me, it was one of the most important transitions in the history of the Jewish believer and the church because the church's look had changed.

They were looking away from the temporal to the eternal. They were looking away from the present to the future. They were looking away from earth to glory. And they were looking away from Jewishness to Jesus.

Acts 4, 37 says, Barnabas, who owned a track of land, sold it and brought it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. And when he did, Barnabas ceased being a dominionist. He ceased being a Zionist.

He ceased being attached to the earth. And he became what every true believer ought to become, as described by Paul, those who are looking for that blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus.

You see, second coming saints have a transformed look. They're not attached to this earth. They're not looking for treasures on this earth. They're looking for Jesus to come. Hallelujah. Peter said it, seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved.

What manner of persons ought ye to be in holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.

Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found in him in peace without spot and blameless.

You see, there's something about, there is something different about our look when Christ has captured our hearts. Not even, not even our theology, not only, we will not even be caught up in our own theology.

We'll be caught up into Jesus and the blessed hope of his soon return. And when we have the upward look, when we're looking for and hastening to the coming of the day of God, we'll be detached from everything that is self-centered and earth-centered and America-centered and sin-centered.

You will have a transformed look. When Jesus was giving a discourse on the second coming, right in the midst of it, he reminded us of some woman who had the wrong look. He said, remember Lot's wife? Lot's wife was given a last-day warning before and as Sodom was being destroyed.

And all she had to do was keep looking in the right direction. But she looked back, because where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Her heart was still in Sodom, so her look was turned to where her heart and her treasure was.

Genesis 19, 26 says, but his wife, Lot's wife, looked back from behind him and she became a pillar of salt. She became a heap of ashes. I was thinking about that. If you were in a similar situation as Lot's wife, and New York City was about to be destroyed, and you were given a warning to go, would there be someone or something that still had such a hold on you that you'd have to have one more look?

Some of you may be left behind when Jesus comes because you're going to have one more look, one more taste, one more fulfillment of your lust. And what if, what if you were to turn into the very thing that your heart was attached to?

Lot's wife turned into a heap of ashes represented by that city. If you were to turn back and look back, what would you turn into? Cocaine? Some people would turn into a stalk of corn or wheat. That's what alcohol is made from.

What is the treasure of your heart? If you would turn into what is the treasure of your heart, what would you turn into? And from the time of the early church, they sold their possessions on through the book of Acts and Epistles.

We see a picture of a church that had a transformed look. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Oh, my friends, we've got to have eternity in our hearts. And we know that if our earthly house or this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a home not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

For this we groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed upon with our home, which is from heaven. Oh, I don't know about you, but that blesses me because when Jesus comes, not only is he going to change our addresses, he's going to change our clothes.

We get new houses. And speaking of this body, and I can't wait to get mine because this house is about five decades old. And I got some problems with the wiring and the plumbing and some other things.

It needs rewired. It needs a new coat of paint. It doesn't hold up in bad weather anymore. But I want to tell you, it don't matter because I desire for in this I groan and even sometimes moan, but always desiring to be clothed upon with our house, which is from heaven and which I will receive at the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Hallelujah. How anybody in his right mind, anybody in his right mind would want to live on this earth anymore and be a kingdom now person when I can go and see Jesus. Hallelujah. Up there, they paved the streets with gold.

You know what that means? The highest thing down here is the lowest thing up there because all the roads lead to the throne of God. The golden streets don't mean anything. It's where they lead. Hallelujah.

Now, when you have this transformed look, you may not need to sell all your possessions as some of those did in the early church. It was important for them. It was important. They had to get detached.

They were into this whole kingdom now theology. But one thing is for sure, your possessions, if you are, if you are or have a transformed look, you may still have your possessions, but your possessions won't have you.

Second coming saints always travel lightly with their bags packed. Whatever that means. I don't know what that means, but it means you're going somewhere. You travel lightly. We're going to leave this mess.

And listen, I don't know if the Lord's going to get us out of here before the worst tribulations come to pass. I don't know. I don't have it settled. Brother Dave doesn't have it settled whether we're going to leave it.

You know, people say, are you pre-trib or mid-trib or post-trib? And I'm with brother Dave. He said, I'm a pan-tribunist. I believe it's all going to pan out in the end. This is going on in the church.

We're going out to the body. I realize I have a theology. I believe in what I call the IDM end time theology. IDM theology. Anybody know what that means? It don't matter. That's right. It don't matter.

Because when you see all these things come to pass, look up. And you know, Sunday night, as pastor David was preaching for the first time, you know, always in the past when I thought about the coming of the Lord, or excuse me, and I thought about the tribulations that are coming, I've always wanted the pre-trib people to be right.

I always hoped that they would be right. But I don't know if they are or not. But the first time when I heard that message Sunday night, I said, Lord, I want to live through a part of these last day judgments because I want to see what you're going to do.

I want to see your hand upon your people. I want to see that your grace is sufficient in a time of testing, in a time of trial. But if you want to come before that, that's okay too. It don't matter. Because when you have a transformed look and you're in a state of readiness as far as what will go through or not go through, it don't matter.

The one thing that does matter, if you're here tonight, the thing that matters is are you ready? Do you have a transformed look? Is your heart looking for him? You know, I heard the story about a dentist in his office had a young man that worked for him and he was witnessing to him and he finally decided to explain to him about the coming of the Lord, that Jesus could come at any minute.

And he said to the young man, he said, young man, he said, when Jesus comes, you can have my house. Young man kind of looked at him and then the dentist said, and furthermore, not only you can have my house, you can have my furniture, you can have my car and you can have my money.

And the young man gasped a little bit and he said, thank you. And he went home that night and couldn't sleep. And he began to think, if the doctor goes to meet Jesus, what am I going to do? What do I want his house for?

What do I want his money for? What do I want his car for? He couldn't wait for the next morning to run to the office and ask the doctor, how do I get ready to meet Jesus? He left that office today, that day he had a transformed look, a transformed look.

Another blessed thing about the coming of Christ is that it can and it ought to produce a transformed love. One of the things so clearly taught in connection with the coming of Christ is that it ought to be an incentive to living a holy, spotless, blameless life.

I read to you before and I read it again, 2 Peter 3, 11, seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in holy conversation and godliness. And one of the ways that we ought to be walking blameless is in our interpersonal relationships.

Listen to 1 Thessalonians 3, 12, and 13. And the Lord make you to increase and inbound in love one towards another and towards all men, even as we do towards you, to the end that he may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all the saints.

You see, there is one very, very important commandment that we are to live by. Seeing that all these things are about to be dissolved and the coming of the Lord draw of nigh, Paul said, see that ye abound in love one to another or towards another.

We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. And he that loveth not his brother abideth in death. And I'm convinced that some so-called Christians are not going to be ready when Christ comes because they're abiding in death, because there's murder in their heart.

That's right. The Bible says they're murderers. They stab people in the back or the front with poison arrows called words coming out of a heart filled with anger and hate and bitterness. And John says that whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer.

And ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. And there are people who've laid aside all kinds of gross sins and immorality. And lust and sins of the flesh, but they have murder in their heart or unforgiveness in their heart towards a brother or sister in the church.

I have heard conversation in this church that was the language of a murderer. Hate words, hate language. First John 2, 28 says,. And now, little children, abide in him, that when he shall appear we shall have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

And no one can truly abide in Christ and at the same time have ill will or unforgiveness or bitterness in the heart towards the saved person or the unsaved person, either in your present life or your past life.

You see, one of the characteristics of the end time church is that the closer we draw nigh to the coming of the Lord, the more there's going to need to be the fruit of love and evidence in our hearts.

You see, after hearing Sunday night's message, perhaps the only thing that will be left after the four terminal judgments upon America is going to be our love one for another. Paul said in Hebrews, listen to what he said.

Hebrews 10, 24. He says, Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. But see how he, the context of it. Don't forsake the assembling of ourselves together. As the manner of some is, but exhort one another.

And so much the more as you see the day appearing. I believe that in the last days, as things get worse, we're going to begin to see a lot more of each other. A lot of people are going to be out of work.

We may have to open the church during the day, have services in the afternoon. We're going to need to love each other a lot more. If we see each other a lot more, we're going to need to exhort one another.

We're going to need to encourage one another. The scripture says so much more as we see the day appearing. Ah, but not only do we need to have a transformed love because of what is going to happen now, but we need to transform love because of where we're going.

We're rehearsing for heaven and eternity. Listen, I better love you and you better love me because we're going to see a lot of each other in eternity. Think of the person you least like to be with. You better change your attitude or the Lord's going to make you roommates in a mansion up in heaven somewhere.

Malachi 2 .10 says, Have ye not all one father? Hath not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother by profaning or breaking faith in the covenant of our fathers? And you'll break covenant, my friend, when you don't have a transformed love.

You know, Sunday night as the choir was singing, in fact, last Tuesday when our special choir that was called up there was singing, but also this Sunday night the choir was singing The King is Coming.

I thought about something that sent chills up my spine. I can't contain or express it adequately how I feel. I want you to go with me to Revelation chapter 7 and I want you to see something. Revelation chapter 7.

No, it's not chapter 7. Yes, it is chapter 7. Verse 9, it says,. After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms on their hands, and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

That's the heavenly choir. But look who's going to be there. All nations, all nationalities, all kindreds, all peoples, and all tongues stood before the throne and before the Lamb. Go to Revelation 5, chapter 5, verse 9,.

And they sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain, hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, out of every tongue, and people, and nation, and hast made us unto God kings and priests.

We shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beast, and the elders, and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousands and thousands and thousands.

But again, I want you to look at the mixture that was there. That's the Times Square Church, folks. The coming of the Lord is going to break down every barrier that separates man from man, and race from race, and class from class, and nation from nation.