Michael Youssef - The Return of Christ
Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us there's a great deal of difference between waiting and watching. In fact, he makes this very clear distinction between waiting and watching in both Matthew 24 and 25. It's known as the Olivet Discourse. There might be lots of people waiting or thinking about it, about the return of Christ. The question is, how many are watching for the return of Christ? And I'm gonna explain this, I'm gonna unfold this, because in those two chapters, 24 and 25, our Lord taught the disciples about that faraway day that is to come. Some of his teaching was very plain and open and clear. But some of it is in parables about his Second Coming.
In Matthew 25 he told them a parable about ten bridesmaids. Five of them were prepared, five were not. And Jesus concluded the story with the words, "Therefore keep watch, for you do not know the day or the hour". The ten bridesmaids represents all those who claim to be Christians, that's including you and me. But the point our Lord is making in Matthew 25 was this. Please listen. There were five professing Christians who were not prepared for his return, but there were five who were watching and preparing for his return. And Jesus said, "Only the Father knows that day". Only the Father knows the time of his return. Why did he say that? Because he said when the door is shut, it's gonna be permanently shut.
There is no second chance. There is no second opportunity. All the chances are here, all the time is here. All the time is now. But the most devastating words of our Lord Jesus Christ to those church people, make no mistake about it, these were church people who were not prepared for his return. Most devastating five words, I think, in the whole of this scripture for me: "I do not know you". And he goes on to give a second parable, Matthew 25, beginning at verse 31. Jesus said, "When the Son of Man comes in glory, and He sits on His glorious throne, He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left".
See, the goats here in this parable are the same as the five bridesmaids who were not watching and not preparing for his return, who were Christians in name only. Those who had the lamps and the oil in the lamps ready, and those are sheep and those who were not, they're the goats. They have symbols but no substance. They had so much in common and yet they were far apart. They were professing Jesus with their lips, but they were not professing him with their lives. As a matter of fact, from a distance, you could not tell the difference between the ten bridesmaids. From a distance, you still can't tell the difference between the goats and the sheep. They all look alike. They have four legs.
It means that those who look like believers, but they are not, deep down, they're all about self and "whatever God that can give me, whatever the church can give me". Those who believed that Jesus is a savior and the difference is between them and the ones who believe that Jesus is the only Savior, those who went to church, but their hearts were in the world system and those who might have occupied pulpits but yet preached false gospel and false message and false teaching. Please listen to me. Jesus spoke about sheep in many other parts of the scripture. He says, "My sheep listen to My voice. I know them and they know Me, and they obey Me".
That's what another word for follow me, "They obey me". They follow me no matter how difficult the road may be. They obey me no matter how false accusations are leveled at them by the world, they are faithful to Jesus and his Word. They are not ashamed of the true gospel of Jesus Christ. They have no divided loyalty to the world and to Jesus, but only to Jesus. Now, here's a personal opinion. I always tell you my personal opinion. I personally believe that this process of separation has already begun. We are seeing it with our own eyes. We are witnessing it taking place right now.
That is why, beloved friends, I want to tell you this great separation that has already begun, it will be completed by our soon-coming Lord. And it is very simple. It's not complicated. Sheep to the right, goats to the left. Is it Jesus of the Bible who declared that only those who go through the narrow gate, not those who go through the wide gate, will make it to heaven? Is it only Jesus who will create that division, who draws line in the sand, or the Jesus that is created in their own image who never demands repentance from sinners? This question should haunt everyone at the sound of my voice. Am I a sheep or am I a goat? Am I a bridesmaid with oil in my lamp and ready any time, even if it's the nighttime and I'm physically asleep? Or have I deceived myself into thinking all the ways will lead to God, all the ways lead to heaven?
That is the most important decision you can make in life. There is no one even close to it, why? Because Jesus said in Matthew 24:42, "Therefore watch. Therefore watch because you do not know what hour the Lord will come". Then Jesus goes on to explain this parable by saying that his return will be like a thief in the night. I've said this many times before, in the Middle East most of the stealing takes place at night when people are in bed, tired and asleep. During the day, somebody's in the house. And that is why they understood where the thief in the night comes in and what damage the thief in the night can create. Those who are totally unprepared, those who are unexpecting, those who are spiritually asleep, not physically but spiritually asleep, they will not only be surprised, they're going to be devastated.
Paul picks up the same theme, obviously read the Gospel accounts, read the Gospel, learned from the other disciples what Jesus taught. And so in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 2, he says the same thing, "For we know very well that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night". But then he continued. He said, the night life of those who are not prepared or even expecting his return, look at verse 4, 1 Thessalonians 5, "But you, brothers and sisters, you are not in darkness," talking about spiritually, not the physical darkness. "You're not in darkness, so this day should not surprise you like a thief". It shouldn't surprise us.
We should... waiting, we are watching, we're working, we're doing, we're serving, we're giving, we're doing all this with the eyes are waiting for his return. Then he continues. Paul says, "We don't belong to the night or to the darkness". Imagine the shock of those folks who thought that Jesus is a milquetoast Jesus, that Jesus is a weak and mild, or that Jesus, oh, he's accommodating to all sinfulness and sinful desires. Any worldly lifestyle, Jesus is good with, the Jesus who acquiesced to the rewriting of his Word, the Jesus who never draws line in the sand, separating the goats from the sheep.
I can imagine their horror when they see Jesus as the judge, as the judge. Listen to what Jesus said in John's Gospel. I'm gonna show a lot of references. But please, if you're taking notes, write them. And the only reason I'm doing this, I'm showing you that the scripture is consistent. Whether it is Paul, whether it is John, and whether it is the Lord Jesus himself, the Word of God is a consistent Word of God. And so, in John chapter 5, beginning at verse 22, here's what our Lord Jesus said: "The Father judges no one, but he entrusts the judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son as they honor the Father".
Beloved, please listen to me. This is the first time our Lord Jesus Christ during his earthly ministry that he refers to himself as the Judge and the King. During his earthly life, the Son of Man lived in humility, but one day he will return to rule with an iron scepter. The one who died on that cross helpless in humility is no other than the King of heaven and the Judge of the earth. And that is why the apostle Paul again picks up the same theme again. In Acts chapter 17, you could say in Mars Hill to the Athenians, he says, "The time of ignorance, God has overlooked, but now he commands everyone everywhere, not just the ones in the West, not just the ones in the East, but everyone everywhere in the world to repent," why? Because he will judge the world, he will judge the world.
Those who always want to focus on the love of God and ignore the justice of God, they're gonna be in for a world of hurt. And as a proof for his judgeship, as a proof for his judgeship, he raised him from the dead. The truth is, we should not be astonished that Jesus will return with all of his power and glory. We should be astonished rather that Jesus ever came in humility and grace to die for us and give us the gift of salvation. We should not be amazed that he will judge the world. We should rather be amazed that he offered us pardon and forgiveness for every repentant sinner. But there's something else about the return of the Lord I don't want you to miss.
Revelation chapter 20, verses 11 and 12, "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who seated on it. Earth and sky fled from His presence, and there was no place for them". Verse 12, "Then I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and the books were opened". I think each one of us have a book. I know mine probably is very thick because I've been forgiven much. "Another book was opened, which is the book of life". You know, the first time we read about the Book of Life is in Psalm 69. Psalm 69. There, David cries out to the Lord. Read it when you go home. Read it. It's an amazing Psalm. He was drowning in a sea of trouble and his enemies arrayed against him. And he begs God to take up his case, to defend him against his foes.
So he writes of his enemies, he said, "Charge them with crime upon crime. Don't let them share in your salvation". Well, you can tell, David is ticked off. Man, it's, "May they be blotted out of your Book of Life". That's the first time we hear about the Book of Life. In the book of Revelation, the Book of Life is mentioned six times, six times, including the passage that I just read to you. Or listen to how our Lord Jesus Christ himself described this scene in Matthew 7:22 and 23. Here's our Lord Jesus, how he described the scene. "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did not we prophesy in your name and in your name we drove our demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will say to them plainly, 'I never knew you.'"
Luke chapter 6, verse 46, Jesus said, "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' when you don't do what I say, when you go directly against my Word, when you want to follow your whims and your desires, when you want to follow the current of culture"? Beloved, this is an extremely sobering scene here. These people addressing Jesus as Lord, and yet he said, "I never knew you". If that does not keep us alert and sober, I don't know what will. If that does not warn us against false teachers and false preachers, I don't know what will. If that does not cause us to never compromise his Word, I don't know what will.
What a tragic day it will be for countless people who never gave a thought to their eternity, countless people who assume that they're good enough for God, countless people who thought that they're doing God a favor when they are bringing doubt in people's minds and hearts about parts of the scripture. They really do. They think they're doing people a favor. 'Cause that's the only way you can reach the next generation. Countless people who thought they've done their bit, by rushing in and out of church on occasions, countless people who celebrate the birth of Christ every Christmas, countless people who are goats, but they're hidden among the sheep, countless people who deceived themselves into thinking they were sheep, when they were goats all along. Only you know, in your heart, only you know.
By contrast, those who have confessed and repented of their sins, those who have acknowledged their sin and their desperation apart from God, those who have gratefully and thankfully accepted Jesus's payment on the cross to be for them, those who daily grow in intimacy with Christ, those who sought to obey all of his Word. How many of us, all of his Word, day in and day out. They will inherit the joy in the presence of God. You know and I know there are genuine believers and there are cultural Christians. There are sheep and there are goats. So ask yourself, "Where do I stand? Where do I stand? Where do I stand"? Ask yourself, "Is my name written in the Book of Life"?
The Bible gives us absolute assurance that you can know here and now that your name is written in the Book of Life, because Jesus said so. Nothing to do with me. Ask yourself, do you live day in and day out in obedience, obedience that comes out of gratitude, out of thankfulness for being eternally saved, for being eternally loved by God? Only you can answer that. In 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 1, all the way to verse 5, "There will be terrible times in the last days". Imagine more terrible times than we are facing right now. "People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people," end of quote.
One of the great distinctions between the true believers and those who look alike, the difference between sheep and goats, the difference between the prepared maids with oil in their lamps, which is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, and those who don't, the difference is great. The believers and the lovers of the Lord Jesus whose names are written in the Book of Life is the person who conducts his or her life with heaven in mind. Listen, if I sought to do anything during the series of messages, if I sought with all my heart to do anything is to communicate a sense of urgency, urgency to conduct our lives with eternity in mind.
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, he was the seventh Earl of Shaftesbury. He accomplished so many reforms. In fact, some of the things are not even known in society. He reformed, single-handedly, the child labor law. He stopped, literally, what was known back then as the opium trafficking, which was rampant during that time. He helped the evangelical movement within the Church of England. There are many, many more. Here's what he said. He said, "I do not think that in the last 40 years I have ever lived one conscious hour," one conscious hour, "that was not influenced by the thought of the return of Christ". This man took Jesus at his word, "Occupy till I come". That means serve, give, work, bring glory to his name while you're waiting for him to come.