Here Comes De Judge

The very popular television program, Laugh -In, has not only given us an entire new format on most modern -day television comedies, but it's also given a very popular popularization of the coming of Jesus Christ. I'm rather sure that they didn't have that in mind, nor that they even knew it was in the Bible when they started talking about the coming of the judge to this world, when about every time they turned around, they began saying, and got most of us saying, here come the judge. But the truth of the matter is that the focal point of the entire word of God is the coming in judgment of this world, of the judge of all the world, Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us he came to the earth once. That's a matter of history. But it says repeatedly that he's coming the second time, and that's a matter of prophecy. The Bible says more about the second coming of Christ than it did about his first. The Bible says more about the second coming of Christ than it does about repentance, hell, heaven, baptism, the Lord's Supper, and baptism all rolled into one. Over 300 times the New Testament refers, either directly or indirectly, to the second coming of Jesus Christ. Approximately one in every 24 verses, from Matthew to Revelation, says the judge is coming to this world. Behold, the bridegroom cometh, has been the cry and the crux of the message of every New Testament writer. Jesus Christ himself said, if I go, I will come again. Once in every nine minutes, it is estimated, as the Holy Spirit of God dictated the pages of this book, he said, stop, wait a minute. I want you to warn people that I am coming back to the earth in judgment. Now, the Jews have made a grievous mistake. They seem to misunderstand that the coming of Christ, the coming of Messiah, the Savior, is not going to be, as was only given in the New Testament, when he came in ignominy and shame, but that the coming of the Messiah is twofold. He came the first time to a cross, yes, but he's coming the second time to a crown. He came the first time to poverty, but he's coming the second time to pomp and circumstance and ceremony and prosperity. He came the first time to board here. He's coming the second time to be boss here. He came the first time to die here. He's coming the second time to dictate here. He came the first time to just be a resident. But he's coming the second time to be president. The Bible says he shall reign upon the throne of his father, David. In the book of Luke, the Bible tells us repeatedly that Jesus Christ shall sit upon the throne that David once inhabited. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is coming quickly. He's coming personally. I'm glad they're not going to send a substitute. The very same one, the one to whom we've prayed, the one of whom we've sung, the one for whom we have lived, the one for whom martyrs have died through the centuries. This very same Christ, the Bible says, is coming, taking judgment and vengeance on them that know not God. Now the Bible says to the Christians, the coming of Christ is to be a comfort, a hope, an inspiration. You that have lived with him shall reign with him. And the Thessalonian writer said, wherefore comfort ye one another with these words. The Bible says we shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Jesus Christ himself said, of that day and hour knoweth no man, not the angels, nor the Son, but my Father only. Did you know that Jesus Christ does not know himself the appointed hour that the Father has said that he's going to come back on this earth? Not the angels, nor the Son, but my Father only. I can imagine that many times Jesus Christ looks across the precipice of heaven and looking onto a world that's forgotten him and rejected him. He must say, now, Father, may I go and ransom my church? Now may I go and reveal my glory? Society is in disarray. My name has been desecrated. My tithes and offerings have been stolen. My blessings have been perverted. My work and word have been blasphemed. Now may I reveal the glory of the Father? Father, now may I go. And God says, no, son, give that old church one more chance at revival. Give that nation one more opportunity to turn to God. Give America one more opportunity for a great sweeping mass of evangelism. Give that boy one more night to turn back to the Lord. Give that teenager one more invitation to come down the aisle to Christ. Give that school one more privilege to turn once again to the great doctrines of the faith upon which she was built in which she is so soon forgotten. The reason the king has delayed his coming is not because he isn't going to come, but because God is a loving, sovereign, patient, forbearing God. The Bible says heaven and earth are going to pass away, but the word of God endureth forever. You may be sure of this, the rising stock markets and the crumbling stock markets as men's hearts rise and fall on every movement of the Dow Jones averages may fluctuate. The bottom may fall out. They may go all out of sight the other direction. Economy may change. Society may fail, but the coming of Jesus Christ is as sure as the breath that you drew five minutes ago. Jesus is coming again. I believe that Christ is coming for many reasons. I believe Christ is going to come because my heart tells me that he must. I cannot believe that unrighteousness will ultimately triumph over good. I cannot believe that God is dead, nor that he has gone out of business, nor that he is unaware of what's going on in the world today. You see, when God created this world, the Bible says it, says that he did it by the power of his son, Jesus Christ. In the beginning was the word. That's Christ. And the word was with God. That's Christ. And the word, Christ, was God. All things were made by him, Christ. And without him, Christ was not anything made that was made. He came unto his own. Christ did, but his own received him not. Shortly before his death, Dag Hammershul said, I see no exit for the world dilemma. The Bible tells us that just before the coming of Christ, things will be just like that. Sociologically, the world will be in a tremendous mess. The word, no way out, no escape, pressed in, and its ramifications are mentioned all through the word of God in reference to the coming of Christ. Philosophers, preachers, politicians, theologians, they're all throwing up their hands and saying there's no escape for the human dilemma. There's no tomorrow. Women are not safe in the streets. Education has gone crazy. 92 % of writing theologians disbelief in the coming of Jesus. Disbelieve in a literal hell, the virgin birth and the coming of Jesus Christ. Two out of every three marriages end in divorce. Many people are saying that seven out of ten brides have already confessed the premarital sexual experience. Our boys are dying around the world. There's no tomorrow. What are we going to do? Everyone's throwing up their hands. The Bible says in the last days there'll be such confusion that men's hearts will fail them for fear. Knowledge will increase. We've learned more in the last 20 years than we've learned in the body of knowledge that we've garnered throughout the history of the world. The Bible says in the last days many shall run to and fro, going everywhere but accomplishing nothing. Did you know that you can get on an airplane in New York City and leave at 10 o 'clock and be in Los Angeles at 9 30, a half an hour before you left? Now friend, that's moving down the line. I mean that's really flying. You can do it because of the time change. Knowledge shall increase. Travel shall increase. And along with all of man's prosperity, as he attempts to build a power of Babel to heaven, his spiritual righteousness will hit an all -time low. And then as a root out of the dry ground, not when we've made the world a brotherhood. We've made the world a neighborhood but not a brotherhood. Not when the world is good enough to receive him. Not when this world is so righteous. Not when we've established such an educational and philosophical and theological and materialistic and sociologic utopia that we can finally get along with Christ. But when we've made such a bad mess out of things that we can't get along without Christ, then he's going to come back to the world. And the Bible tells us when he comes, he shall rule and reign on the earth. I believe he's coming because something inside of me tells me that it just has to be. Do you mean to tell me that this world that's spinning on its axis into oblivion that seems to be going nowhere without direction with every cross segment of society trying to answer the questions of what and why and whence that there's no order there's no direction to it the coming of jesus christ is the one event toward which all of history is moving and without which none of history makes any kind of sense at all it's this simple god in christ made this world for his son he made man in his own image to inhabit the world he made man for fellowship with himself as a showcase a test tube an experiment a window dressing a display to show to all of the universe what god will do with a race a nation a people that will honor him and bless him now remember this the will of god though detained is ultimately going to be done i repeat the will of god though dissipated though deferred though detained is ultimately going to be done israel shall know her king the bible says when christ comes every knee shall bow every tongue shall confess that christ is lord to the glory of the father now if you will do it now willingly today in this world it will be a confession unto salvation but if you wait till the coming of christ catches you unaware then your confession of the lordship of christ will be a confession unto damnation but god created you and this world to give him honor and that's exactly what we and this world are going to do you may confess him willingly as your lord today or you may confess him as judge one day but you will confess christ every knee shall bow every tongue shall glorify him every kindred and kind every race every nation every society in the history of the world is ultimately going to bow their knee and to claim that this world is my father's world the coming of christ in judgment is very near i believe it because something inside of me tells me that history doesn't make any kind of sense without the authorship and the finality of the coming of jesus christ i believe that he's going to come because of the multitude of times with which the bible says christ is coming i believe jesus is going to come back because every great theologian has believed that god is blessed and used there are no great evangelists there are no great soul -winning churches in america nor have there ever been nor will there ever be that do not believe and preach and herald the truth of the imminent return of jesus christ none without exception the men of history that god has used to move multitudes and nations and empires godward have believed in the imminent return of jesus christ the bible says he that hath this hope in him purifies himself i believe that he's coming because the disciples believe they look for him to come in their lifetime the bible is not erroneous because he didn't god expected them to it was the greatest constraining force the greatest motivating factor in their lives that they would work every moment and live every day and make every decision in light of this question what will i be doing what would i want to be doing when christ came how would you spend this afternoon would you go to the picture show or would you go witness to a lost friend about christ would you watch television or would you be back in training union if you knew that tonight this were the night that christ were going to split the heavens wide open and come the bible says behold he cometh in clouds and all his holy angels with him and many a sleepy deacon many a backslidden teenager many a careless church member many a lost young person is going to be waiting and expecting that they had year after year after year to get their life right with god i urge you today to make that decision to start living that kind of life that you would make if you knew christ were coming today now you say preacher we believe that he's going to come we've heard that before we've heard that from a greater lips than yours but what we want to know is when is Jesus going to come? Well, that's what everyone wants to know. The disciples wanted to know, and so Jesus answered the question in part for them from Matthew chapter 24. If you have your Bibles, I direct your attention to that and want you to read it quickly with me, following along as we see what Jesus has to say. In the third verse, Matthew 24, and as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately saying, tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? Verse four, Jesus answered and said unto them, take heed that no man deceive you. Now there is great confusion and great deception as to the coming of Jesus Christ. And ladies and gentlemen, there will continue to be more and more and more. You're going to find more kind of screwball religious doctrines, more kinds of upstart denominations, preaching and believing every crazy thing under the sun just before Jesus Christ comes than you can possibly imagine. You pick up a Los Angeles Times newspaper some Saturday and see the church ads. They've got the church of the green turban, the church of the purple misty. They've got the church of this and the church of that. Everywhere there was, will be, and shall continue to be great confusion and deception. But I want you to know how you can know whether a doctrine is true and whether the church is preaching the truth. If it is preaching the divinity, the incarnation of the virgin birth, bodily incarnation of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. If it believes that salvation is by grace, by grace, basically apart from, absolutely apart from, from worse, which are the results of salvation. And if that church adheres to and believes in the Bible as its sole means of authority in the church, and that church is believing and preaching the Word of God, if they believe in the incarnation of Christ, the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, if they are preaching that salvation is by grace, apart from worse, and the authority for their doctrine is the Word of God, then you may be sure that they are very close to the gospel of the New Testament. You can turn on your television, and on your radio stations, and pick up tracks, and pamphlets, and get all kinds of confused and confusing, crazy ideas about what salvation is really all about. Now he says, in the sixth verse, you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. The fragmentation of society, intersections absolutely unable to get along with themselves, will be another sign of the coming of Jesus Christ. How long has it been since you picked up a newspaper? If you haven't seen a Tibet, a Lebanon, a Laos, a Vietnam, or Korea, or Korea, and Indochina, somewhere, every day, Hungary, Cuba, always, wars and rumors of wars. We've made the world a neighborhood, but not a brotherhood. We've grown so tall in our intellectual ivory towers that we've forgotten that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God, and man has forgotten his God. He's created a materialistic utopia. He's worshiped at the shrine of understanding so long, he has forgotten about wisdom, which only comes from God. Now the Bible tells us that man, understanding himself, believing God out of it, is going to fight more and more with himself, and war and crime, the inability of people to get along with each other, will be an increasing sign of the coming of Jesus Christ. Look in the seventh verse. Nations shall rise against nation. That we understand. And kingdom against kingdom. What does that mean? A kingdom is within a nation. In other words, every time you have a nation, not only warring against another nation, but fighting against itself, kingdoms within nations. It is an increasing sign of the coming of Christ. In other words, man without God, will make such a hell on this earth, that he will not only be unable to get along with other people, he won't even be able to get along with himself. And every time you have a kingdom against the kingdom, a nation divided, you have a sign of the coming of Christ. What about East and West Germany? We've got free China and communist China, free Cuba, communist Cuba, North and South Korea, North and South Vietnam, and God help us, we may have black against white America and social revolution unless the gospel of Jesus Christ is preached and proclaimed in the strategic cities that makes an impact on a nation so desperately in need of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom. Now he goes on, oh there are so many, there's but little time to speak of them. Famines, pestilences, earthquakes, 60 % of the world's people will go to bed hungry tonight. Pestilences, disease, earthquakes, what about those earthquakes? Has there not been an incidence, an increase in the incidence of mine disasters and cave -ins recently? West Virginia, Germany, Colorado, Oklahoma, Tokyo, everywhere. What is this? Listen closely. The Bible tells us that when mankind sinned in the garden, that God's beautiful utopia, utopia fell with him. The earth fell when man fell. There were no thorns on the roses before Eden. There were no poisons. There were no weeds in the flowers before the garden of Eden. But when man sinned, the Bible says the earth sinned. The earth fell as well. Now when God comes at the coming of Christ, there's a millennial reign on this earth and reconstructs the social order. The Bible tells us ultimately that he's going to reconstruct the earth. Heaven and earth shall pass away. It shall dissolve with fervent heat. There'll be a new heaven and a new earth. Now the Bible tells us that all of nature travaileth, grown together, preparing for the coming of Christ. In other words, the shifting of the earth, the shifting of the sands that make up this little globe of ours that's little more than an eggshell with all of the lava and the power and the heat and the energy within is cracking, is shifting, is preparing for the day it too shall be recreated at the second coming of Jesus Christ. The earthquakes, the mine disasters, the cave -ins are all but the shifting, shuffling of the earth, preparing for the day it shall be recreated at the coming of Jesus Christ. Ah, there are so many things. The 12th verse says, because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. I don't know what excuse your husband gave you for not coming to church this morning, but there's only one reason a man's love for Christ cools off, and that's because of sin. Because iniquity abounds. That word literally means get out of bounds or to unbound. There was a time that sin was in the gutter. It was in the brothel. It was in the alley. But now for 50 cents, you can see anything anywhere. It's in the home. It's everywhere. And because sin has become more accessible, it has become more acceptable. Because of that, people's love for Christ has begun to cool off. If you don't love to go to church, if you'd rather see a show than to read the Word of God, if priorities are all upside down in your life, look to it. The one reason you do not love Christ as you used to is because you've fallen in love with the world and with sin and with self. Because iniquity, sin is everywhere. The dearth of the church, the backslidden condition of the church will be a sign of the coming of Christ. The love of many shall cool off for Christ. But I thank God that against the backdrop drop of a dying and decadent society, with religion almost down the drain, that here and there, there are going to be isolated islands of revival. Churches remembering their first love. Congregations ablaze with the glory of God. With crowds coming and people being saved. My heart's desire and prayer for us is that in the first Baptist church of this great city, we shall have an impact with the gospel of Christ that will make this a different town in which to live. Because the fire of God in the hearts of God's people permeates the schools and the shops and the campuses and the gospel of Christ is burning in this city as a great crossroads to the world. I'll tell you exactly why I came. You knew I was an evangelist at heart when I came. And I shall always be at heart that. I cannot go to all of the world, but I believe in Houston, Texas, the world will come to us. I believe in this great city, the crossroads of the world will come. And we can have a great citadel of faith and power and evangelism that can shake our world as people come and go in and out of the bounds of the city of Houston, Texas. Does it not inspire you? Does it not challenge? Does it not stir you that in a day when the church is so dead and impotent, when people are so ignorant of God and His love and His word, that you and I can do something about it, we can dare to be different. God help us. May First Baptist Church never have it said of them that in the love of our hearts we wax cold. When the salt hath lost its savor, just close up the doors, go out of business, trample it underfoot, and build highways out of the salt. It is worth nothing but to be trampled neath the feet of men. Another word, quickly, just before I close. You know when a preacher says in closing, that means just take up another hitch. We've got about two hours to go. No, seriously. Over in the same chapter, chapter 24, look with me in verse 32. Learn a parable of the fig tree, symbolic of the Jewish nation. When its branches tender, it puts forth leaves, you know summer is near. What does that mean? The Jews rejected Christ. He cursed that little tree, and the branches, the leaves, withered and died. When the Jews rejected him, they have never been as blessed. They have been cursed and dispersed by their rejection of Messiah and down through history. But anyway, when the fig tree puts forth new leaves, when Israel begins to blossom, you know that summer is near. It's at the very door. Ladies and gentlemen, since 1946, there's been a Jewish nation. For 24 years, we've been living on the threshold of the coming of Christ. The Jews have been going back to Jerusalem. Israel shall be intact. Israel shall know our king when they come. All of the Arabs in all of this world will never drive the Jews out of Israel. Israel, that's where Christ is going to, that's where the Jews are going to be when Christ comes. You know why those Jews got that war over, that Arab war over in the six days? Why those Jews, they're no fools. They had those guns and those tanks rented from Hertz Rent -A -Tank. They had to get them back. It didn't take them long to get them over. But nobody will drive the Jews from there. Because it is to Jerusalem that the king is going to come. Now, I call to your attention, in closing, this last word, verse 34. He climaxes it by saying, This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. He does not say they will run concurrently. We're not one after the other. But all of them together, they will be running concurrently, all together when Christ comes to this earth. There will come a time in history when every major sign is being fulfilled at once. Then, look up, your redemption draweth nigh. Now, he has said, This generation shall not pass away till all of this is fulfilled and the king comes. Listen very, very closely. What did he mean? Bible scholars have argued this through the centuries. Obviously, he did not refer to those people to whom he was speaking. Because 2 ,000 years later, he still hadn't come. Obviously, he did not refer to the building of a temple. He did not refer to a 70 -year period later. Because that's gone by. I leave one possible alternative with you. That he was describing this generation refers to what he just said. The generation he was describing that would go back to Jerusalem that would be intact when Christ came. Now, a Jewish generation is about 30 years. That's been 24 years. Could it be that you and I have less than six years to go before the coming of Christ? I do not know. I don't know when he comes. I'm not trying to set dates. But I know this. It's closer than it's ever been before. And some of you are going to be sitting on the back row of a church, hanging on to your sin, rejecting Christ, refusing to go to work with a thousand things, a thousand reasons. And the heavens will split and Christ will come. And you'll be called upon to give an account of your stewardship. You have influence. You have talents. You have personality. You have so much to give to Christ. He's coming soon. What have you been doing with what you are and what you have? If I were a member of another church, and I believe God wanted me to join First Baptist Church and invest my life in this wonderful group of people that mean business for God and are willing to pay the price to give the gospel out to a city, I wouldn't wait till next Sunday. Jesus may come tonight. I wouldn't put it off till next month. I wouldn't shop around anymore. I urge you, if you're a Christian and know Christ and not a member here, if you believe the Spirit of God in any way is leading you to be a part of this congregation, I urge you to come now while there's time and make every possible day and moment of your life count in the service of the kingdom of God. Now, some of you are Christian. You're already a member of this church, but your life is not right with God. You haven't won a person to Christ. You're a hearer of the word and not a doer. You know the New Testament in every language. You can teach it, but you haven't won someone to Christ. A dear man in this church brought his friend 80 years to the Lord and into church membership just this very week. You can do that very thing. If you'll try, if you'll do it, it can be done. Now, there are some of you that are unsaved. You say, well, I'm a Methodist or a Presbyterian or I'm a Baptist. I'm an Episcopalian. I'm already a church member. If the Bible teaches anything, it is that not all who say, but those who do are children of God. Have you just said it with lip service or have you had a life transforming experience with Jesus Christ? I urge you today, don't wait. Don't make up your mind tomorrow. Don't come back tonight like neon signs from heaven. Christ has been warning, I'm coming. I'm coming. I'm coming. Be ready. Be prepared. The coming of Christ is near. I urge you with all of my heart to make that decision today that you know you would make if Jesus were coming in the next two or three minutes.

Matthew 24 · chapter mention