Our Beliefs : Sermons : Sermon Archive - 2006 : November 12, 2006

Theme: Jesus Will Come To Judge

Church year occasion: Final Judgment Sunday

Look at the last verse of Abide with Me. Henry Lyte cuts through all the stuff of this world, all the troubles and pains, and puts everything in its proper place with this simple prayer to Jesus:

Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom
and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks,
and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

This is a favorite hymn for funerals. The comfort is almost poignant. After a full life on this earth and as we face death, I hope that each of us has these words and thoughts or similar ones in our minds and maybe even on our lips. But we might never see death ourselves. We might be one of those who is alive when, as our text promises: "[Jesus] will appear a second time." Alive or dead, we will be judged when Jesus returns to this earth visibly. Does that scare you? The writer to the Hebrews, or Jewish Christians, wants to make sure that Judgment Day doesn't scare you. He writes, "These words were written to give us hope and comfort as we await the Day when Jesus Will Come to Judge."

Life can be hard. You can be having a great day and even a great year, when all of a sudden calamity strikes. Financial problems, health difficulties, friends who show they aren't your friend, a lack of fulfillment or feeling of failure in one's calling can lead to a feeling of hopelessness and despair. God knows that. That's why he gives us comfort in the words before us. And it all depends on our relationship with Jesus.

The believers in the Old Testament had many blessings from God, but many of them let other things crowd into their lives and take their focus from the coming promised Savior. The result was that when God sent his Son into this world, many of the Jews didn't see him as their Savior. We can fall into the same boat. Whether the world is crashing in around us or whether the allurements of this world have called out to us with their Siren song, we can easily lose our sight of our source of comfort and strength -- Jesus. The believers at this time were starting to lose their focus on Jesus. They were beginning to think that Jesus wasn't all that important, but the worship practices of the Old Testament were what they should focus on. So the inspired writer gets them to see clearly.

He writes, "For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence." The worship at the temple had brought believers comfort with its many rituals and ceremonies -- they were used to it. But compare that with heaven. There's really no comparison. As we are making plans to build a house of worship to our God, we still have to keep our focus straight as well -- we need to focus on heaven where we will be able to worship Jesus while seeing him with our own eyes, not just through the eyes of faith.

Then the writer to the Hebrews plays his trump card. He writes, "Nor did [Jesus] enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. ... But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself....so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people." We dare not get too attached to our earthly things in this world, including the way we worship and the where we worship. Eventually everything in this world will be destroyed by fire. Instead we always remember Jesus and what he's done for us -- that is what brings us comfort. Jesus didn't have to offer himself many times, like the Old Testament high priests had to offer the blood of animals year after year after year after year after year after year. Do you get the idea? Jesus paid the price. When your failings before God trouble you, turn to the one reason you have for comfort and peace -- Jesus died for you, and he now lives to prove it. As much as this world might forsake you, God never will. Jesus' death and resurrection now mean that when we die (or if Jesus comes back before then), we will live forever in heaven, just as Jesus had said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." (John 11:25-26) So you don't have to face Judgment Day with fear. Just the opposite -- our sins are already paid for and forgotten. We will stand before God himself with not a single sin charged to us because Jesus took them all away. God will only see the good things you have done that flowed from your faith. That's why we can say that Jesus' first coming assures you of heaven. But the writer to the Hebrews also tells us that Jesus' second coming will give you heaven.

The troubles of life can be difficult to bear. But something better is coming. Just as Old Testament believers could look forward to promises being fulfilled in Jesus' first coming, so we also can look forward to promises being fulfilled when Jesus will come again to judge the world. Then all the troubles of this world will fade away. Then all the pain and misery and everything else that is a result of living in a sinful world as sinful people will be gone. We will enter a new time in our lives -- when we will finally be released forever from the results of our sins and we will live in God's presence forever. If Jesus' first coming assures us of heaven, Jesus' second coming will give us heaven.

That is why we don't want to lose our sight of Christ and of our heavenly home even as the world weighs down on us and it seems like all hope has fled far away. Hope and peace will always be ours when we focus on Jesus for strength and comfort, and then when he comes to judge to world, we will receive what we've always been waiting for -- our heavenly home. Verse 28 summarizes it beautifully: "Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him."

Jesus will come to judge you. Are you waiting for Jesus? Then you will keep your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith, and you will have a proper perspective on all life's cares and troubles. You will find your comfort and peace in your Savior Jesus. Amen.