Sometimes, it feels as though things in life are tearing us apart. But let me ask you – are you torn between this life and the next? Are you torn between living a full life here and now, and spending eternity with Jesus? Because if you’re not, you should be.

It’s great to be starting a new series on a subject that pretty much all of us are really interested in. Hope. I don’t know how much you’ve thought about it, but having hope for the future is fundamental to our wellbeing today.

Think about it, if you don’t have anything to look forward to, if you have no hope for the future then you and your life are, what we call, hopeless. And hopelessness – if you’ve ever been there – is the place where people start thinking about taking their own lives, because they have nothing left to live for. The future looks so bleak that they come to the conclusion – well, what’s the point of living.

I once read a book about a holocaust survivor, Victor Frankel and he makes the point so powerfully when he recalls an experience from the concentration camp. Have a listen to what he writes:

“The prisoner who has lost faith in the future, his future was doomed. With his loss of belief in his future he also lost his spiritual hold. He let himself decline and became subject to mental and physical decay. Usually this happened quite suddenly in the form of a crisis, the symptoms of which were familiar to thee experienced camp inmate. We all feared this moment, not for ourselves which would have been pointless but for our friends.

”Usually it began with a prisoner refusing one morning to get dressed and wash and to go out on the parade ground. No entreaties, not blows, no threats had any effect; he just lay there hardly moving. If this crisis was brought about by an illness he refused to be taken to the sick bay or to do anything to help himself. He simply gave up, there he remained lying in his own excrement and nothing bothered him anymore.”

What a devastating picture of hopelessness. But a lack of hope in our lives takes many different forms. Sometimes, it’s not as desperate as that, it’s just that we have this … this numbness, because we’re so buried in the minutia. We worry about this and that … we worry about, well, just about everything really. Saw a great quote the other day on Twitter – that went something like this: Worry is nothing more than your imagination creating negative visions of the future.

It’s true isn’t it. We create all these negative snapshots of how things could turn out – as thought that’s any way to live your life. Hope is the complete opposite of that. Hope is about creating positive snapshots. It’s about a vision in our heads and our hearts, of a life that’s worth living. 

And the sort of hope that God is into, is the sort that makes a powerful difference in good times and bad. We don’t find it particularly difficult to have hope for the future when things are going well. The time we struggle is when things aren’t going well. And it’s right in that place, that God wants to pour His hope into your life and mine. Romans 12:12

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Did you pick it? God’s hope is right in there, next to, butted up against, tribulation – a word which in its original Greek language, literally means to have the life squeezed out of you. So, when you’re being squeezed, crushed, when it feels like your very life is draining out of you, it’s right there that God plans to give you His hope.

Our problem is that the hope that we’re all too often looking for is way, way too short–sighted. We hope that the pain will stop. We hope that the thing that’s causing us grief will go away. Not next month, not even next week, not even tomorrow. We want it fixed now. But it doesn’t always work that way. Can’t tell you the number of letters and emails I receive from people who’ve been suffering for a long time – some of them, a lifetime – and they want to know, “What the blazes is God up to?! How can I possibly have the hope that you’re talking about?” Those are eminently reasonable questions to be asking.

So let’s lift our gaze and take a much bigger, more expansive view of the sort of hope that God has for each one of us, by listening to the Apostle Paul who was going through his own tribulations, on death row in a Roman dungeon:

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance. It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again. (Phil 1:18–26)

So much hope does Paul have in the eternity that He is going to spend with Jesus, that instead of panicking about the consequences of being on death row, he’s actually torn – not between this and that in this life – but between continuing in this live, or moving on to the next. Just stop and think about that for a minute. Take a deep breath and let it sink in. 

Paul has so wrapped His heart and His mind around the amazing eternity he is going to spend in the Presence of God, with Jesus – that He’s completely torn between finishing the course that God’s set for him on planet earth, and letting it come to an early end so he can be with Jesus.

So let me ask you this question? How different would your perspective on your life be, if you had that sort of hope filling your heart right now, tomorrow, the next day? Well, that’s precisely why we’re going to be talking about this hope – the hope we have in Christ for eternity – in this series that I’ve called “Merchants of Hope.” 

Why have I called the series “Merchants of Hope” – well quite simply for this reason. Because not only is every man, woman and child who believes in Jesus called to be filled with the same hope of eternity that Paul had, not only is it meant to make a powerful difference in our lives, it’s meant to impact the people around us.

Look at the needy people out there – your family, your neighbours, your friends, your work mates. Look at how many people are struggling through this and that; how many of them are in desperate need of real hope in a real future … today.

Have a listen to the Apostle Paul again – Romans 15:13:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Just picture a life – your life – abounding in hope. Abounding, flooded, overflowing, with so much hope that you can’t contain it. With so much hope that it flows into the hearts and lives of those around you. With so much hope that eventually, they want to know what you’re on, because they want some too.

I believe that every Christ–follower is called to be a merchant of hope. Someone who shines the light of hope into the hearts of others. Because when they discover the hope that we have in our hearts, they’ll discover the One who put it there. Am I right? But before they can discover the hope that Jesus has for them, we ourselves need to be abounding in it.

Well, that’s what this series of messages over the next couple of weeks is all about. I believe that the Jesus who died for you and rose again to bring you newness of life, want you to be abounding in hope; torn between this life and the next.

I believe that it’s time to stop being so myopic and short–sighted in our hope, and wrap our hearts around the eternity Jesus has planned for us. Are you ready?

So what do you have planned for the rest of today, tomorrow, the next day, next week? Are you looking forward to it or not? Well here’s something you can really, really look forward to. Jesus. Jesus is coming back. Soon. Real soon. 

Okay, tomorrow starts off like every other day. The alarm clock goes off. You roll out of bed. Into the bathroom. Breakfast. Off to work. You look out the window, but the sun’s not there. Hang on, what’s the time? What’s going on?

Here’s the picture that Jesus Himself paints of His return – Matt 24:29–31

Immediately after the suffering of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Is that good news to you or bad news? Is that something you’re looking forward to or not? And what about this – verses 36 to 44?

But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

Are you looking forward to that with a sense of anticipation, or not? Because it could happen any time. When – we don’t know. We’re not meant to know. It could be today, tomorrow … next week … or in another few thousands years’ time.

But are you looking forward to Jesus’s return? I have to tell you something, I am. I love labouring in His field to play my small part in bringing in the harvest. I love doing what He calls me to do. Sure, some days it’s hard. Some days you groan, right, but by and large it’s a joy for me to do what I’m doing.

But the more I read and think and pray about what it will be like to be with the Lord for all eternity, the more I yearn to be there with Him, despite how much I’m enjoying this life. Does that make sense? And let me tell you, God has a lot to say in his Word about the return of Jesus.

Here are some interesting facts. One verse in every 30 in the New Testament relates to the return of Jesus. 1 in 30!! For every prophecy in the Old Testament about the first coming of Christ, there are 8 in the New Testament about His second coming. In fact, there are 316 references in the New Testament to the second coming.

So as much as we get lost in the present, God truly wants us to focus on what is to come. Because when we actually know what’s coming, when the wonder of spending eternity with Jesus fills our hearts, can I tell you, this world, this life and all its riches and tribulations looks completely different. 

Have you ever been exhausted at work – it’s been a long year and you could really use a break. Your nerves are frayed, you’re snapping at people at work, just the smallest thing sets you off, and you get home and you’re grumpy with your family too. It’s because the pressure of it all is getting to you. But then you remember that you have a holiday break coming up. 

And all of a sudden all your anxiety melts away, it completely changes how you face the day and the next day, because you know that something good is coming. Well as much as that works on a micro scale, knowing your destiny in Christ for all eternity completely changes the way we look at life from a macro perspective as well.

Just listen to these words that Jesus spoke while hanging on that cross, to a criminal that was also hanging on his cross beside the Lord:

The man said to Him Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said to Him: Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise. (Luke 23:42,43)

Just think, in the middle of that extreme suffering, that man hanging there on a cross next to Jesus, and the Lord, the miracle working Jesus – the same one who’d healed lepers and blind men and demoniacs and who’d waled on water and stilled the storm – that Jesus says to this suffering criminal who by the way deserved every bit of his punishment – truly today you will be with me in paradise.

Do you think those words pierced his heart with love and hope amidst his suffering? You bet it did. Because Jesus spoke those words into the little that remained of his life here on this earth.

And when Jesus was telling his Disciples – fearful and suffering as they were just before the crucifixion – about heaven He said this to them – John 14:1–3:

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also

Friend those words are for you as much as they were for the disciples back then. As you take up your cross and follow Jesus every day, He is already preparing a room with Him, for you!

Just let that sink in. Look at all the things causing you pressure and uncertainty and grief right at this moment. As you live through those, not only is Jesus in this with you every step of the way, not only does He have the rest of your life prepared and ready to go for you according to His good and perfect plan, not only does He want to hold you close through the trials and celebrate with you during the triumphs as any good father would do – He has already prepared a room for you in His father’s house for you to spend the rest of eternity with him.

Does anyone want to shout hallelujah? Does the knowledge of this wonderful eternity fill you heart with joy? Does it make you want to hurry up to be there with Him?

Because that’s the power of the certain hope that you have if you have put your trust in the Jesus who died to pay for your sins and who rose again to give you a new and eternal life in His Presence. Listen again to Jesus (John 5:24):

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Death will have no power over you – all it will mean is the shedding of this earthly body and exchanging it for your resurrection body – a body that will never cry, never feel pain, never face trial or tribulation again.

A body and soul and spirit that will spend eternity in Jesus’ Presence, worshipping Him, rejoicing in Him … for ever and ever and ever. No wonder the Apostle Paul was torn between this life and the next. No wonder he wrote to the Philippians (1:23):

I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

And as you and I lay hold of the reality of the eternal hope that we have in Jesus Christ, we too are meant to be torn – torn between this life …. And the rest of eternity with Jesus.

Each one of us will one day stand before God on that day of judgement. Depending on who you are and what you believe, that can either be bad news or good news. So which will it be for you? Bad news … or good news?

When Jesus comes again – something that I for one am looking forward to – one of the things that’s going to happen is that we’re each going to have to give an account for our actions. Like it or not, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Here’s how Jesus put it: Matt 25:31–46:

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me. ’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you? ’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me. ’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. ’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you? ’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. ’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

So how does that make you feel, knowing that Jesus will judge you one day? A little nervous; a little uncomfortable? Of course it does – we’ve all done things wrong, we’ve all knowingly rebelled against Him – even though He gave His very life for us. The idea of judgement makes people feel … twitchy.

So – what am I doing, talking about Judgement in the middle of a series called “Merchants of Hope”? What does judgement have to do with hope exactly? Answer … everything.

I was watching a news item on TV recently – they were interviewing a young woman who had been deliberately set alight by some people who were drug addicts – they poured a flammable liquid over her and set her alight. This beautiful young woman now had burns to most of her body – even her face was in one of those body stockings. All you could see were her eyes and mouth.

The perpetrators were given only 13 years in prison. I was outraged. These people had laughed as they set this beautiful young girl alight and ruined her life. They should have been given life! Lock them up, throw the keys away. Would you agree?

There are many, many evil things done on a daily basis in this world. Extreme things like that, men beating their wives, women cheating on their husbands, people being enslaved, abused, tortured, demeaned. On the same night they showed a trial of a union official who had embezzled over a million dollars from the members. 

None of that has escaped God. None of it. And all this evil in the world that people seem to get away with is not going to go unpunished. Proverbs 11:21:

Be assured, the wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will escape.

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord (Romans 12:19)

One of the great hopes that we have for the future, when Jesus returns, when He judges the nations and their peoples is that justice will finally be done. I get great comfort from the system of justice in my country, which as fairly as possible punishes people for their deeds. 

And I get a huge amount of comfort knowing that God will punish the wicked on that day of judgement. Not because I’m a mean person, but because I like you have in me an innate sense of justice. Why is it there? Because you and I are made in the image of God and He is a just God. 

Now so far as I know, I’ve never done anything wicked in my life – I’ve never poured petrol over someone and set them alight, I’ve never embezzled union funds. I’ve not committed any crimes. But I have fallen short of God’s perfect ideal. In fact, I fall short pretty much each and every day, so on God’s scale of justice, I deserve to be punished on that day of judgement. Truly I do. The difference for me … and anyone who puts their trust in Jesus – is this:

In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:10)

My hope for justice is my hope in Jesus. I know that He paid for all my wrongs – past, present and future. And whilst justice will be done, I am forgiven because in my case, through my faith in Jesus, justice has already been done. It was a done deal when Jesus died on that cross to pay for my sins.

Doesn’t seem fair does it? I get off scot-free when others will have to suffer. You’re right. It’s not fair. It’s grace and grace isn’t fair.

My hope on that day of judgement is in Jesus – and that’s something to look forward to. How about you?

So … when was the last time you fell for the devil’s age old lie that you’re not worthy of God … therefore, by clear implication … you never can be. When have you worried about 

Well, know you’ve heard the truth – perhaps again, perhaps for the first time – and knowing that truth you are totally, completely set free from any condemnation. 

Martin Luther once had a dream in which he stood, in the Day of Judgment, before God. Satan was there to accuse him; and when the books were opened, he pointed to transgression after transgression of which Luther was guilty. Luther’s heart sank in despair. 

Then he remembered the Cross and, turning upon the devil, he said, “There is one entry which thou hast not made, Satan.” “What is that?” asked the devil. “It is this,” answered Luther: “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (I John 1:7). 

That’s the truth – the God, honest truth. IF you’re one of those people who has given their lives to Jesus, I want you from this day forth to hope in the day of judgement, when justice will finally be done by God. And as you hope in that day, know that your faith in Jesus means that your justice is already done.

But if you don’t yet believe in Jesus, if you haven’t yet put your trust in His hands, then I don’t want us to part ways today without giving you the opportunity to pray the prayer of faith with me, and put your life in His hands.

This is just too important to leave until tomorrow. Let’s pray – now, pray these words with me in your heart.

When you’re dead … you’re dead right? I mean death is the end of everything. We’re born, we live, we pay taxes, then we die. Hmm. Here’s the thing though. If you believe in Jesus – then death is just the beginning. The beginning of an eternity that we can’t even begin to imagine. Death, as things turn out, is not the end at all. 

It’s an interesting question, isn’t it? What’s going to happen to you when your time on this earth is done and dusted? That will happen in one of two ways. Either Jesus will return – at which point everything on this earth will be over.

Or – and perhaps you consider this option to be more likely – your body is going to give up the ghost, when you breathe your last breath and your heart stops beating. And it’s that latter option that we’re going to talk about right now. 

***SOUND EFFECT HEART BEAT … BEEEEP ***

We’re in the middle of a series of messages that I’ve called “Merchants of Hope”. Hope is such an important thing. Without hope, today’s not worth living – and tomorrow … well who cares. So many people – can I say, even people who believe in Jesus – are living without hope. 

And that’s crazy. Because our lives – whether we believe in Jesus or not – don’t end with a beep. There’s life after death – either in the presence of Jesus for all eternity – hallelujah – or apart from Him, in a place of eternal punishment an anguish and regret – that place with Satan and his demons that we call… hell. Hmm.

So… where are you going to go after your beeeeep? Well, I believe… in fact I know… that that’s not the end. It’s just the beginning of where you’re going to spend the rest of your eternity. And there are two parts to that eternity for anyone who believes in Jesus. The part between when you die and when Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead, and the part after Jesus’ return. 

Let’s talk about the first part first. If you believe in Jesus, here’s what you will happen. Immediately upon your death, you will go immediately to be with Jesus, in conscious blessedness – having escaped your punishment because you have put your faith in the death of Jesus – in the fact that He paid for your sins on that cross. Just like the criminal who hung next to Jesus on that fateful day. Have a listen to what happened to him Luke 23:39–42.

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

So… exactly when would this man be in paradise with Jesus? Today. The Apostle Paul knew it too, that straight after his death, he would be in the presence of Jesus. Phil 1:21–23

For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

What happens to him when he departs this life? He is with Christ. So if you and I die before Jesus returns, and if we believe in Jesus, we go immediately to be with Him, in His Presence. Just sit there now for a minute and look at all your present circumstances – all your pressures and worries – through the lens of that truth. See that hope, that certain hope – is meant to make a huge difference in your life.

Paul the Apostle wrote that letter to the Philippians while he was in a Roman dungeon on death row. Have a read of it some time. It’s full of hope and rejoicing – because it’s written by a man who sees his present bleak circumstances through the lens of his certain hope in Christ. And at some point Jesus will return and we will all – those who believe in Jesus and those who don’t – stand before Jesus in judgement. We’ve already talked about that.

And when that happens, those who believe in Jesus who have died, will rise in Him. Have a listen – 1 Thess 4:13–16:

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

Now we’re going to talk about what happens after that next week on the program. I’d love to go there right now because it’s awesome, we just don’t have time, so you and I are just going to have to wait.

Just picture this glorious day. The dead in Christ will rise first. I was in a hospital a few months ago, visiting a friend who has since died of cancer. Hospitals have always seemed to be impersonal, sterile places. He was in a room of three other men who were also dying. The smell of death is a powerful thing, in this sanitised, brightly lit place with linoleum floors polished so much that it squeaks when you walk on them. There’s something stark and confronting about death.

It’s inevitable. It’s not pleasant. And yet at the other end of that, is this triumphant, jubilant day when all those who have died in Christ will rise again with Him. Hallelujah. That’s hope. That’s why you and I and anyone else who believes in Jesus can look at our present day circumstances through the same lens as the Apostle Paul on death row. That’s why Paul wrote:

When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? Hallelujah!

I know there are some people listening today who have lost a loved one … and you’ve been missing them terribly. Perhaps your wife or your husband. Well, the good news is that if they believe in Jesus, one day you will see them again – because they will be raised in Christ.

Or perhaps you’re getting pretty close to the end of your life, through old age or sickness – and you’re staring death down the barrel and that’s a scary thing for you.

Wherever you and I are on our journey through life and towards death, the important thing to know, the thing that Jesus wants you to know –not just in your head but in your heart is this. Death is not the end, it’s just the beginning.

It’s the beginning – for anyone who believes in Jesus – of an eternity praising Him and worshipping Him and celebrating with Him. It’s the beginning of an eternity without fear or tears or sickness or pain or illness.

It’s the beginning of an eternity, that compared to our fleeting lives on this earth, is so awesome, so forever that you just can’t compare the two. That’s why Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, writes this to his friends in Rome – Chapter 8 verse 18:

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.

Friend, the eternity that lies ahead for you is as glorious as it is certain. That’s what Jesus wants you to know today. That’s the hope that He wants to fill your heart with … today. 

So, you get up tomorrow morning, have breakfast, brush your teeth – you’re thinking about all the things on your to–do list – but unbeknown to you, it’s the day that Jesus decides to come back. Wow! What will that look like? And more importantly, what’s going to happen … to you?

So you get up tomorrow, it’s a day like any other day – or so you think – but completely unbeknown to you – it’s not just any day. It’s the day that God decides to send Jesus back to this earth. The thing that Christians call… the second coming. 

Jesus Himself described what it would be like. Not some guy on television claiming to be Jesus. But a huge, cataclysmic event that none of us – not you or me or anyone else – will possibly be able to miss:

Immediately after the suffering of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matt 24:29–31)

I’m imagining – that’s going to be kind of hard to miss isn’t it. You’re getting ready to go to work, you’re brushing your teeth, thinking about what the day holds. If you’re anything like me, you’re mind is already running through your t-o–do list and then … this.

Friend, that’s what it’s going to be like. Your mundane, every day reality, totally interrupted, totally disturbed, totally come to an end – together with the day that all the other 7 billion plus people on planet earth had planned – over. Because Jesus has just returned. The 24 hour news cycle, over. The news reader on TV – nothing left to read. Can you imagine? Are you ready? Because it can happen at any moment. 1 Thess 5:1–5:

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness.

So here’s the question, if you believe in Jesus and you are still alive on that day when Jesus returns? What’s it going to be like? And more importantly, what’s going to happen to you on that day? That’s worth knowing I think. Well, the Bible has the answers. In fact, Jesus has the answers.

Then he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. They will say to you, ‘Look there! ’ or ‘Look here! ’ Do not go, do not set off in pursuit. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first, he must endure much suffering and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking, and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all of them. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed all of them —it will be like that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, anyone on the housetop who has belongings in the house must not come down to take them away; and likewise anyone in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it. I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken and the other left.” Then they asked him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. (Luke 17:22–37)

It’s pretty dramatic. Do you see the picture that Jesus paints – it’s a business as usual day. Everybody is going about their normal business and then … one will be taken up and the other left. Whoo! The Apostle Paul describes it this way:

Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. (1 Cor 15:51–53)

Friend, are you ready for that? In your heart of hearts are you looking forward to the day when the Lord returns?

There are two things that I’m sick of. I’m sick of these doomsday people who keep predicting the day on which Jesus will return. I think to myself – What are they nuts?! Jesus made the point, you’re not meant to know when … just be ready.

But at the other end of the scale, I’m so desperately concerned about people who believe in Jesus and yet don’t seem to believe in the imminent return of Christ. We behave as though this life is going to last forever. We behave as though the rest of eternity is a million years away. Friends, it’s a lot closer than you think. In the context of eternity, it’s just around the corner. It could be this very day, this very hour that Jesus returns. That’s the certain hope that you and I have if we believe in Jesus. That’s the future that lies ahead.

Jesus could come back – today, tomorrow, next week. I don’t know whether you’re enjoying your life so much that you’re completely immersed in it – or whether you’re having such a rotten time that you’re drowning in your misery – or whether you’re somewhere in between. Wherever you are, whatever’s going on in your world, if you believe in Jesus, you have a certain hope that Jesus is coming back for you soon. And that… that’s meant to make a difference. 

Just as I sit here chatting with you, I’m about to head off on a couple of weeks’ leave. I love doing what I do – but it’s hard work and I need a break. So with my wife, I’m heading off for 12 days – away from emails and writing and recording radio programs, and managing a global team and all that stuff that I love – just to take a break and have a rest.

I can’t tell you how much I’ve been looking forward to that these past weeks, how much I’m looking forward to it now. The sun, the ocean, the rest, the time with my wife. Awesome.

But here’s what I’ve been thinking about – if Jesus returned the day before I head off on my holiday, would I feel robbed … or rewarded? Would I want to say to Jesus – look Lord – I’ve got a 12-day holiday planned, can you please come back at the end of it. In fact Lord as I look at my diary, hmmm, busy that day, meeting, speaking engagement – I’m thinking next month would be a much better time. Does that work for you? Let’s get it into our diaries and it’s a date.

Do you see my point? So many of us are so caught up in the things of the world, in our day to day reality that our hearts aren’t filled with the hope of Jesus’ imminent return. And I have to tell you – that is such a tragedy. Really.

Listen to what Paul says in Colossians 3:2:

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Come on. Set your gaze your vision on the things that are above, on the certain hope you have. Because Jesus is coming – ready or not.