The Second Coming 01 I Will Come Again — Stan Ford

It's a joy to be back here again and look around and see so many friends. I want to read tonight, with the subject matter that's before us, for the whole week, and if the Lord will, the next week or once again, of the coming of the Lord Jesus, I want to read those majestic words in the fourteenth chapter of John.

Jesus’ Promise to Come Again

John, chapter fourteen. If you have your Bibles and care to turn with me, or maybe you have your Bible and what's much rather I just read the scripture. John, chapter fourteen. Let not your hearts be troubled.

Ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go and prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself.

That where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas, say unto him, Lord, Lord, whither goest thou? And we know the way. Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the light.

No man cometh unto the Father but by me. May the Lord just add his blessing to the reading of his own precious word. Just a word of prayer. Would you join me in prayer? O God and Father, as we bow in thy presence this evening, this first evening of this gospel crusade, we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus that thou, by thy Spirit, wilt be our teacher.

As we may realize that thou hast something to say to us in our generation, grant we the blessing to be that should there be amongst us some who found not the Lord Jesus. We ask that they may find him tonight.

We ask it in the Savior's name. Amen. If there is one thing I am persuaded of tonight, it is this. That as I move from country to country and town to town, never has the temper of the nation been more disquieting than it is in the days in which we live.

Trouble and Anxiety in the Modern World

It was so of my country. I am persuaded, it is true, of your country as well, that men and women are looking around and saying, O God, where are we? And every one of you will agree with me that there seems to be five things that mark our modern day.

It seems to me that, again and again, men and women come to me, saying, O Mr. Ford, I'm so troubled, I'm so worried, I'm so upset. Trouble seems to mark this whole world of ours, whether we look at it internationally or whether we look at it individually.

But, there's something more of a trouble. It seems to me that as I look around, treachery seems to mark the nations of the world. There is not one of us who find ourselves tonight with anything but a heavy heart as we think of the hostages of Ray Gonder in Iran.

Those of us that move from country to country, we know something of the treachery that seems to abound in the political affairs of pain. You wonder whether a person's word can be trusted. You open your newspaper and you turn away, saying, what is right?

What can we believe seems to mark the day in which we live. But, if trouble marks it, and treachery marks it, humor marks it, it seems that yesterday I was away in the land of once before Rhodesia. If I look around today and what a stirring of the nation there is, what a beating of hearts and a wondering as to what is going to happen, and turmoil seems to mark our day.

Turmoil and trouble mark our day. Would I not be right in saying also that trickery marks our day? I am utterly amazed when speaking to businessmen, when speaking to scholars as well, when they tell me of trickery that's found in the commercial world today.

But, there's one other thing, and I think you will grant me, the trials mark our day. All of us have to face the trials day by day of our addiction. But, never let us forget this, that this was always said, marks the day, marks the day of the Lord Jesus.

Jesus’ Answer to Trouble, Treachery, and Trial

Why, when I think indeed of trouble, I remember the Lord Jesus starts this chapter by saying, let not your heart be troubled. Oh, there was a Peter, there were disciples who wondered whatever the Lord was talking about.

They were troubled in heart. The Lord Jesus says, I suffer for the day of trouble. Let not your heart be troubled. Why, when I think indeed of treachery, I am not but mindful that there was gathered with those disciples one who was called Judas.

When I think of the treachery that laid in his heart, the willingness to sell the Lord for miserable pieces of silver, then I have to say that Jesus Christ had a message for those who not only were filled with trouble, but those who had in their hearts humor or what turmoil there was.

Some of them said, we can't follow thee now. One of them even looked at him and said, how can we know the way? Why, when I think indeed of trickery, why it was so in the Lord's day, those disciples were gathered in the portions of God.

There were no others but those disciples. And on the outskirts, as it were, of that crowd of disciples were found the high priests who were seeking indeed to take the Christ of God. And the poor disciples were giving to him to lead him away and nail him on a cross.

When I think of trial, oh, what trial! What trial the Lord has had! But those disciples, will they believe? Will they follow me? Will they do that which I ask them to do? All that there was worse than that.

And I look around this world with all it's worth with me tonight. And if you are a thinking man or woman, you will face it. I dare suggest you will ask it. For it's the form of a question. The first thing we have to face is simply this, the credibility of the man who said, I will come again.

The Credibility of the One Who Promised to Return

How important it is for us to consider his credibility. Who is it that says it? There are many men and women who've made all sorts of statements during the history of this world. Men and women that we love when we hear what they say.

But as we think of this one, we're going to face the question, how about his credibility? But then we're not only going to think of his credibility, we're going to think of his concern. How concerned is the Blessed Saviour with those people who find themselves surrounded with trouble and treachery and all the other things we mention?

How concerned is he? Suddenly we hear him say, if it were not so, I would have told you. I'm concerned that I want you to understand this, that if my credibility passes the searchlight of heaven and the searchlight of earth, then I want to tell you that no one could be more concerned than me, for what I have to tell you is truth.

And then I want you to notice not only his credibility, not only his concern, but also his comment. I want us to hear those who didn't grasp all that he means. We know the way, and I want to hear his comment as looking at them he says, I am the way, the truth and the light.

No man cometh unto the Father but by me. First of all is credibility. The first question I must ask, when I think of the credibility of the man who's speaking, the first question I must ask is, who is he, Nazareth, who dares to stand before men and women and say, I'm going back, I'm going back where I came from, and if I go, I will come again.

Who is he? And my Bible leaves me in no doubt as to who he is. My Bible dares to tell us that that man that walked the pebbly beaches of Galilee and the cobbled streets of Jerusalem was none other than the creator of heaven and earth, God himself, Immanuel, God with us.

God Seeking the Sinner in Christ

And I think of his stoop on heaven, and I remember that down in the Bethlehem barn he came, and my heart is stirred. I know not, friend, how much your heart is stirred. I only know this, that God could not have loved you more than he did love you.

God could not have done more than he did do for you. I have said many times, and I dare to say it tonight, that in this the Christian faith is absolutely unique. Of all the questions I get asked when every year I visit the University of Cambridge to hold Bible readings with the undergraduates, of all the questions I get asked, this is right at the top of the list.

Mr. Thorne, what's the difference between your religion and ours? Between your faith and ours? Why, I may be speaking for someone who has come to my country and naturally he is a follower of the Islamic faith.

I may meet folks who find themselves engulfed with the thoughts of Buddha. I find many of them that come from the land of India, and they're Hindu with a multiplicity of gods, and they look at me and say, what's the difference between your faith and our faith?

Well, here tonight, let me say what I've said a little bit of times, and I don't want you to forget it. The difference between the Christian faith and every other faith is very marked. Every other faith, you name it and I will quote from its holy writings, every other faith tells us that the sinner has to seek after God.

The Christian faith is the only faith that tells us that God came to seek after the sinner. Oh, what a difference. Down from his glory, my Lord and Savior came, and I gaze at that face. That's God. God has come into the world, and he's come into the world to show us that he cares.

He's come into the world to tell us there's no need for us to be afraid of God. Is that the message of Christmas? Isn't that the message of Nephilim 5? Men and women, when they think of their sin, and they think of the holiness and the righteousness of God, rightly they feel that their knees should not.

How can I fall into the hands of a God like that? The message of Jesus Christ is this, there's no need for you to be afraid of God. Have you ever met anyone who was afraid of a baby? Oh, I've met Pope and I've been one of them who's been afraid of their handling of a baby.

You know, when my grandchildren were brought to me and handed to me, I wasn't sure which hand to hold them up. I was a bit afraid how I handled them, but I wasn't afraid of them. And oh, bless God, whoever you may be, Jesus Christ tells us there is a way whereby you need not be afraid of God.

Christ’s Death, Resurrection, and Promise of Life

He came to Beth. Oh, he lived as a man doing good. He satisfied Adam. For God looked down to see if there were any that could understand, that could seek after him. God said they'd all together become one.

But did good, though not one. He looked as it were down the avenue of time, into your heart and my heart, and he dared to stand short of the glory of God. Blessed be his day. There was a time when heaven looked down on this beast, and God saw a man.

Oh, my delight, I say, he not only satisfies heaven, but oh, he subdued death. I see him as he quenches love and infamy and shame. He died. Oh, death, where is my sin? We find that it's locked in the womb of the Savior.

By victory, and held from the heights of hell. Because I live, ye shall live also. Oh, the wonder of it all. Savior, not only is this one who said, I will come again, the one who satisfied heaven, the one who hath subdued the grave, the one that satisfied heaven, the one who subdued death, he's the one who has shut you off.

As gazing upon the Savior, he heard the Savior's voice. I am he that liveth. Oh, I am alive again forevermore, amen. And I hold the keys of death and of hell. I hold the key of a Savior who satisfied heaven, a Savior who subdued death, a Savior who, my Bible tells me, God can't lie.

My Bible simply tells me, God, and I hear him say, if I go, I will come. He looked around those disciples, and they think that they look down the avenue of time and so on. He realized men need it. It needs, man needs happiness.

I love the words of the 32nd Psalm, don't you? Happy is the man, happy is the woman, whose transgressions are forgiven. I think of he who, on Calvary's cross, died. He gives happiness. Can I ask you something?

Are you happy? Do you know Jesus Christ is your Savior? Oh, he came that we might have happiness. Why, my favorite verse is almost in the Bible. Apparently, in the 13th chapter of Hebrews, he has said, I will never leave thee to forsake thee, that we may hold this day.

The Lord is my helper. I will not fear what they humble, and we hear the Savior say, fear not. If you'll trust me, I'll be with you. I'll give you happiness. I'll give you health. Ah, but hallelujah. I'll praise God tonight.

He says, I'll give you hope. If I go, I'll have what hope is. I don't find myself hopeless tonight. I find myself looking for the day when I shall see him. Looking for the day when his promise will be fulfilled.

Perhaps today. Perhaps today. And I thank God for a whole more. I thank him for my promise. If I go, I will come again. Oh, I think of his presence. We should thank the works of the one who came to us today, and today in glory is sitting as our great high priest, as our advocate with the Father, as the one who one day will return.

The Way, the Truth, and the Life

Oh, we cannot doubt. And help. And hope. But if I think indeed that it is a commitment, I must this evening say a word about his. For the Lord Jesus having said, if I go, I will come again, there were young disciples that surrounded him.

And there he looked at them and said this, I told you, if I go, I told you I'm going back to my Father's home. If you wonder where he is and you wonder how can you know the way, then let me tell you. Let me tell you this.

These coming nights we will be taking some looks at the coming of the Lord. We've been thinking of why he's coming and when he's coming. But for tonight I want to ask you something. Not just is the Lord coming, I know he's coming.

But are you coming? Are you going to come to him? Are you going to trust him? Jesus left us in no doubt of the tremendous fact that we can know the way back to God, men and women say. Here's the answer.

I am the way. But if I know how to come back, I think of the truth of God. Jesus says I am the life. Oh, what a comment. One love at all. Many years ago, dear, dear friends, when I was converted, I had a longing desire to serve God in the land of Angola.

God never made that possible for me to serve a man in Angola, at least as a visionary. Thank God I've been there since and stood almost in the very place I intended to go. But I was hoping, when first converted, that I might be able to join Mr. Fred Alford, and that was the father of Stephen Alford, who's radio programmed many of you.

I was hoping to go with Fred Alford a way younger to Angola. And of course I went down to see him. He was living then in Newport, in South Wales, at home on Perla, was unable to get back because of the war.

I witnessed him, and I heard him tell a story that his son uses so frequently, and I heard it from the real source of the story. When Fred Alford first went to Angola, things were extremely primitive.

They are now. But he wanted to go from the place where he was found, a mission station called Beulah, away into the very heart of the bush, that he might raise some choke-free friends for the Lord Jesus.

But there were no maps, and there were no roads, and the bush was extremely thick. He said to one of his African brethren, he said, Do you know the way to get to the village where these choke-free are found?

And the man said, I know. Would you take me? I'd love to take you. And on he went on his journey, following this dear African brother. As they went along, Fred Alford was sure they were lost. They got into the middle of the bush.

There was no track. There seemed indeed to be no way through. And he turned to the man, and he said to him, Are you sure you know the way? And the man, as he looked, the wolesome preposition showed in his arms.

Know the way, said he. Do you see these scars? These were the scars I made when first released to this village. And you don't know it, but, Mr. Alford, let me tell you this. It isn't just any way. I'm the way, for I made it with Calvert.

I see he who tears the nails of his feet. I see he who tore the nails of his feet. Lord, thou art the way. If you want salvation, you'll find it in Jesus Christ. The way to God, Jesus. The way to know God, I am the truth.

Why, the Master has just said, He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. Isn't it wonderful to know that the more we know Jesus Christ, the more we know about the whole Godhead?

For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Fatherly. In Christ, not only does he give us the answer to, How can I come to God? How can I know God? How can I live for God? He does not stand in front of us and say, Gaze upon me.

I am the apostle to show you the way to live for God. He says, I'll come in your life. And I'll live my life through you. The fullness of the Godhead dwelleth in Christ. What about the third chapter of Ephesians?

That may dwell in our hearts. He might be filled with all the fullness of God. That eternal. That's more than children. He's longing. And I see you coming to the service tonight with your Bible God's lessons.

The Invitation to Receive Christ

I wonder tonight if there are some here who only hold their Bible in their hands. They've never taken its truth and the one of whom it speaks into their hearts. If you haven't, will you do it tonight?

Will you see, receive Christ tonight? And you may be ready to be received of him. How simple it is this. The older I live sharing with men and women the truth of the Bible, the more persuaded I am that this is the truth of the Bible.

The faith I give to Jesus Christ in time. That Jesus Christ will give to me in eternity. You receive him tonight by saying to him, Lord, come now. Anyway. Hymn number 5 here. And I welcome to you. The call for cleansing and the pressure to ensure that you will not misbehave.

I've never done it before. I'm coming one day. I'm coming tonight. I'm coming today. I'm going to take you. Hymn number 142. It is not my conscience to make appeals. I don't usually make orders. The Word of God and the Word of God alone.

We sing together. Those of you that are trying to trust the Lord Jesus. You are willing. It's not my way. I haven't got it. Someone who didn't stand as you should have. I'll be here in the process. I will introduce you.

All praying in our ears. Words of the Savior. If I go, I will come again. And each one of us may realize his credit. It's not a concern for men who are facing troubles and trials and trickery of the sea.

That we may be willing to come to him. And in that day when he comes. We shall be ready. Speak then to all here assembled. We part one cup from thee. May the love of God the Father. The grace of God the Son.

Fellowship and communion of God the Holy Spirit. Median joy dividing portion of all who love the Lord. In sincerity and in truth. Now this day. For Jesus' sake.