Living as Positive People In a Negative World:
3 That Blessed Hope
Text: Titus 2:13
Introduction:
Review: Titus 2:11-13 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation
hath appeared to all men, Teaching us
that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly,
righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope,
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
In
verse 11 we saw the reason that we are positive people. That reason was
God’s grace which brought us salvation has appeared to all men in the person of
Jesus Christ. In all this universe that reality will overcome a lot of
negativity.
In
verse 12 We learned how we are to live as positive people. Denying
ungodliness, and worldly lusts. We should live in soundness of mind with in
ourselves, rightness of heart with others and godly in our relationship with
Him.
Now in
verse 13 we are going to see that looking for Jesus return gives us hope
to overcome even the darkest days and most terror filled nights.
In the library of
Congress there are several inscriptions, written on tablets in letters of gold,
most of them taken from the Bible but one is a quote from the poet Alfred
Tennyson. It says: "One
God, One Law, One Element and One far-off divine event toward which the whole
creation moves." That divine event is what we are going to talk
about today. The event toward which all of creation inexorably is being drawn
and the event which shines as a bright rays of light no matter how deep the
gloom of this world may become.
Expectation Vs 13
Looking for
The Greek word speaks of expectation, eagerness and
anticipation.
To the people of the New Testament, those who Paul and Peter
and the other apostles wrote to, looking forward meant not just an positive attitude
but a positive lifestyle. They thought and acted differently because they were
looking for the return of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 3:11-14
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting 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 of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting 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 of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
Positive People are really looking for the return of Christ.
If you
are really looking for His return then it affects your attitude.
How can we be negative if we look for his coming? How can we carry bitterness, hurt, or sorrow?
Jesus is coming, that truth should lift our spirits and
hearts. It should bring us closer to Him who is coming, and my brothers and
sisters in Christ who wait for Him with me.
If you
are looking then it should affect your lifestyle.
How can I live a life that in any way denies Christ if I
believe He is coming back? How can I dwell on the hurt, the pain or the
suffering when I’m looking up for the return of Jesus Christ? My goals, my dreams, and my actions must change
if Jesus is coming back and I am sincerely looking for that event.
Quote: The
primitive church thought more about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ than
about death or about heaven. The early Christians were looking not for a
cleft in the ground called a grave but for a cleavage in the sky called Glory.
They were watching not for the undertaker but for the uppertaker. - Alexander Maclaren (1826–1910)
Illustration: Senior Saint at Nursing Home “Keep Looking
Up!”
Transition: So we are positive because we are looking and we
are positive because of what we look for, the blessed hope and glorious
appearing. We are filled with the anticipation of that coming event.
Anticipation
That Blessed Hope and Glorious Appearing,
Paul
says it is that blessed hope. A specific hope, not a general hope but
that hope of that one blessed event when Jesus returns. Often when we read Paul
speaking of that hope or the hope it is in reference to the return of Jesus
Christ. That is THE Hope above all others. The hope that shines when all others
have been dimmed.
Paul says that hope is blessed. A blessing is a gift from God.
The return of Christ gave hope to those in Paul’s time who
were suffering persecution due to their belief in Jesus Christ.
Hope was their long-range faith. A faith that could see all
the way to the end of time. That hope would be their final, indisputable proof
that their faith was not misplaced. It
would be their final and greatest defense. Jesus would return to defend and
fight for them against all enemies.
Hope would keep them going.
Hope would keep them faithful.
Hope would overcome their worst trails. They could hold out and hold on
because Jesus was coming back!
Our ancestors in the faith, the ana-baptist were persecuted,
imprisoned, exiled and murdered. They were driven from the homes, had their
children taken from them and put on trial for their faith. At times it seemed
all the world and the power and politics of all state churches were against
them. How did they keep going? Why would they bother to keep going. One
historian said this, “Their
eschatology (belief in the second coming) saved them from utter despair. - W.
R. Estep.
Paul goes
on to say it would be a glorious appearing. I can’t do anymore to
explain that than to read from the book of Revelation which opens that window
into the future and lets us see for ourselves.
Revelation
19:11-17 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that
sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge
and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were
many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called
The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon
white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his
mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he
shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the
fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on
his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
No more doubts, no more fears, no more hypocrisy, no more doubts,
Jesus has come as Lord of Lord and Kings of Kings.
We need to reclaim our anticipation and joy for the return of Jesus Christ.
We need to understand how vital it is for us in this present
evil age and how powerful a motivator it can be.
More
than a fourth of the Bible is predictive prophecy.
Approximately
one-third of it has yet to be fulfilled.
Of the
260 chapters in the New Testament, there are more than 300 references to
the Lord’s return, one out of every thirty verses.
Twenty-three
of the twenty-seven New Testament books refer to this great event.
For
every prophecy on the first coming of Christ, there are eight on
Christ’s second coming. - George Sweeting
Illustration- Baptist Evangelist, Vance Havner – Answers in the Back of the Book
When I studied arithmetic, I remembered that the answers
were in the back of the book. No matter how I floundered among my problems, the
correct solution was on the last page. I have failed often in working out
life's problems, and I dwell in the midst of a people who are hopelessly trying
to untangle the riddle of this present age. But I am cheered by one unfailing
uncertainty-there is a Book that solves the enigma and the answer is in the
back of the Book, - Vance Havner
Transition: We can be positive people in this negative world
because we have the answer in the back of the book and that answer is Jesus Is
Coming Again.
Salvation
Our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ, Jesus is God and Savior
Paul declares That Jesus is Our Great God and Savior Jesus
Christ.
Some don’t like this verse because it is such a clear
declaration of Jesus deity.
They will admit he existed, they admit he died upon the
cross but they will never admit that He is also God. But you cannot believe in
Jesus without believing in Him as God and Savior.
Yet that is exactly what the Word of God says
John
8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before
Abraham was, I am.
John
10:30 I and my Father are one.
Romans
9:5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ
came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
You
cannot have the power of positive Christianity, you can’t have
Christianity at all, if you don’t
understand, believe and take your stand on the truth that Jesus is both Savior
and God.
Who is Jesus to you?
Is he a
great teacher? A great
prophet? A great man?
Is he messiah? Is he
the promised one of God?
He must
be all of these but if He is not God first and above all others then Jesus
is nothing to you at all. Your belief is mistaken, misplaced and
misappropriated and it will not sustain nor save you.
Names of Jesus
Scripture tells us that Jesus is the Angel of the Lord, the
branch of Jesse, the root of David, the Dayspring on High, the bright and
morning star, the Lilly of the Valley, the prince of Peace, the Messiah, the
Anointed One, the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega.
He is all these things but above all these, He is God!
John 1:1 In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Illustration: TASTE AND SEE
At the University of Chicago Divinity School each year they
have what is called "Baptist Day". It is a day when all the Baptists
in the area are invited to the school because they want the Baptist dollars to
keep coming in.
On this day each one is to bring a lunch to be eaten
outdoors in a grassy picnic area. Every "Baptist Day" the school
would invite one of the greatest minds to lecture in the theological education
center.
One year they invited Dr. Paul Tillich. Dr. Tillich spoke
for two and one-half hours proving that the resurrection of Jesus was false. He
quoted scholar after scholar and book after book. He concluded that since there
was no such thing as the historical resurrection the religious tradition of the
church was groundless, emotional mumbo-jumbo, because it was based on a
relationship with a risen Jesus, who, in fact, never rose from the dead in any
literal sense. He then asked if there were any questions.
After about 30 seconds, an old black Pastor with a head of
white hair stood up in the back of the auditorium.
"Docta Tillich, I got one question", he said as
all eyes turned toward him. He reached into his sack lunch and pulled out an
apple and began eating it.
"Docta Tillich ... CRUNCH, MUNCH My question is a
simple question, CRUNCH, MUNCH...Now, I ain't never read them books you read...
CRUNCH, MUNCH...and I can't recite the Scriptures in the original Greek CRUNCH,
MUNCH ... I don't know nothin' about Niebuhr and Heidegger" ...CRUNCH,
MUNCH...He finished the apple. "All I wanna know is: This apple I just
ate,------was it sour or sweet?"
Dr. Tillich paused for a moment and answered in exemplary
scholarly fashion: "I cannot possibly answer that question, for I haven't
tasted your apple."
The white-haired preacher dropped the core of his apple into
his crumpled paper bag, looked up at Dr. Tillich and said calmly, "Neither
have you tasted my Jesus."
The 1,000 plus in attendance could not contain themselves.
The auditorium erupted with applause and cheers. Dr. Tillich decided to take no
more questions and promptly left the platform.
Conclusion
If you’ve tasted and seen that the Lord is good, if you bow
before him as Lord, if you call upon him as savior, if you worship him as God
the Son. If you look for that blessed hope and his glorious appearing one day,
then you truly will be positive people in this negative world.
I may fall down but I can’t stay down, because Jesus is
coming back. I can’t be burdened down with unconfessed sin, because Jesus is
coming back. I can’t harbor unforgiven offenses because Jesus is coming back!
Jesus
is coming back; this world can never be so dark that I can’t see that far
off day shining like a city set on a hill.
Jesus
is coming back; my fears and worries aren’t greater than the hope of
that powerful reality.
Jesus
is coming back, my mistakes, failures and even my sin can’t distract me
from looking for Him.
Jesus
is coming back! Do you believe
it? Then it will show, you will be positive people overcoming this negative
dark world.
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