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Hebrews 9:27-28 | March 22, 2020

Have you ever been eager for something?

Right now, a lot of people are eager to get out of the house. 

This time of wise quarantine is creating a sense of restlessness that our culture is not accustomed to.

But for all of us this could be a time where we learn a new kind of eagerness.

Instead of being eager binge-watchers of the collection of fine films known as High School Musical this could be a time where we learn to be eager readers.

I saw where one elementary school has an eager reader program.

Over the course of 7 months, students can earn prizes for how many minutes they read. 

The lowest amount that you can win a prize for is 600 minutes of reading and the prize is a multi-colored pencil and a writing pad.

The top amount you can win a prize for is 3,600 minutes of reading and for that you win an invite to an eager reader party.  

Now, personally, I feel like they miscalculated the prizes because for 1,800 minutes of reading you get a coupon for free stuff at a place called Legendary Doughnuts.

In my book, all pun intended, how can an eager reader party possibly be better than free stuff at Legendary Doughnuts?

I guess the only way would be if the eager reader party was at Legendary Doughnuts – then the party would be legendary.

But what if we aren’t talking about doughnuts and reading books?

What if we are talking about finding the answer to the greatest problem in your life?

Would you be eager about that?

Would you be eager to find an answer to the first and greatest and utmost problem in your life?

Maybe in your mind right now you are thinking

• “Which greatest problem are you going to pick, buddy?”
• “The uncertainty of school and work and sports?”
• “The uncertainty of running out of essential oils?”
• “The uncertainty of what’s happening in my marriage?”
• “The uncertainty of what’s happening with my kids?”
• “The uncertainty of what’s happening with my aging parents?”
• “The uncertainty of the economy?”
• “The uncertainty of the spread of this virus?”

All of those are real, genuine, difficult, confusing, heart-breaking problems in life – but they fall short of the greatest problem.

So, what’s the greatest?

And why should you be eager to get an answer for it?

Let’s find out. 

Listen to the truth of God from the book of Hebrews, chapter 9, beginning with verse 27:

27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,

This series was mapped out about 6 weeks ago when COVID-19 was an international news story – not a national pandemic.

I make that note to say that I didn’t pick this passage as some kind of scare tactic toward God. 

This passage was planned for today on February 10.

So, I am compelled to believe that God was and is kindly drawing us to the greatest problem we have – sin and death. 

We might think of those as two different things, but they aren’t. 

Sin and death are eternally linked.

Death exists because of sin.

Paul was writing to the folks in Rome and he put it this way:

Romans 5:12

…just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned…

There is so much we don’t know about the how’s and the why’s when it comes to the spread of this deadly virus wreaking havoc on our world – and things seem to be changing by the hour.

But when it comes to sin there is no confusion.

The first human rejected God’s truth and fully embraced sin and that sin led to the reality of death and the reality of sin and death has spread to all of humanity. 

There are many people in the world today that scoff at the notion of original sin and death and God.

And we can argue and debate existential philosophy and dark matter and political preferences and just about anything else you want to debate, but deep in the heart of every person is the spiritual and emotional and mental and practical reality that every person has an appointment with death.

If you were to take just a casual look at human history for the last 2,000 years you would find that a short life expectancy has been a consistent reality for every generation.

In the United States, a significant portion of the population living past the age of 60 is, historically-speaking, a new development that according to statistics began around 1920. 

For the last 100 years we have grown accustomed to longer life for ourselves and the people we know.

And we greatly rejoice in that and praise the Lord for his common grace and his specific mercy through research and science and doctors and nurses and medicine.

But far too often we take that grace and mercy for granted and lose sight of the reality of death. 

I was listening to a podcast recently that noted that many, if not most, modern churches no longer have cemetery’s adjacent to the church.

It was noted how that shift has possibly moved the church away from remembering the reality of death when we come to worship what it means to be alive in Christ. 

I saw something once about how President Jimmy Carter did something pretty unique during his presidency.

From time to time he would stay in the homes of regular American people.

Imagine getting a call that the president or the queen or some other dignitary was coming to your house for dinner and a sleepover.

Wouldn’t you prepare a little – pick up the Legos in the dining room, clean the bathroom, and spray some Febreeze in the den?

Please don’t miss the grace of this day – this pandemic is marked by a virus that seems to be changing and mutating in different ways as it goes along.

In the recent words of philosopher M. David McConaughey, this virus is:

• Raceless
• Faceless
• Sexless
• Non-denominational
• Bi-partisan

This virus is no dignitary, but the call is still the same.

And, so, I graciously ask:

Are you prepared?

Are you ready for your appointment?

But this conversation is about more than death.

Listen again to what the writer of Hebrews says: 

27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,

After death comes judgment. 

We live in a world clamoring for judgment and accountability. 

• We want to hold politicians accountable
• We want to hold CEOs accountable
• We want to hold doctors accountable
• We want to hold researchers accountable

We just don’t want anyone or anything holding us accountable. 

Again, though, in the heart of every person who has been created there is an unmistakable truth written on our hearts that somehow, someway we know we will be held accountable. 

W.C. Fields was a famous comedian during the early to mid-1900’s.

He was not known as a religious man, but the story is told that when he faced the possibility of dying, he started reading the Bible. 

Someone asked him why he was reading the Bible and being the comedian he was, Fields replied:

W.C. Fields

I'm looking for loopholes, my friend. Looking for loopholes.

There are no loopholes – but there is an answer. 

There is an answer to the greatest problem that any person has – the problem of sin and death.

What is that answer?

Listen to verse 28:

28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin,

As surely as there is an appointment with death, Jesus Christ has made a way for there to be an appointment with life. 

The greatest problem we have in life is not finding a loophole to escape death.

The greatest problem we have in life is needing to have the penalty of our sin put away. 

That’s what it means for Jesus to bear our sins. 

Listen, I might jump out in front of a car to push you out of the way and save your life.

I might substitute myself in that moment to rescue you. 

But that is no comparison to what Christ has done!

The cross was no accident. 

Jesus didn’t at the last minute make a quick decision to run up to the cross and bear the penalty of your sin.

He bore your sin in his own body. 

When a person repents and turns to God and believes in Jesus and his death on the cross for the sin of the world, that faith in and through the death of Jesus puts their sin away.

The greatest problem is solved through Christ. 

And this is the beauty of the Bible. 

The Bible is the only book that as it is preached all over the world today has the same divine power to show people their greatest problem and the only solution to that problem. 

And that solution is Jesus!

The solution to the greatest problem in your life is not money or medicine or makeup or market shares or major cool cars or devices or homes.

The solution to your greatest problem is Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God!

How – and why?

Well, when Jesus becomes our greatest answer and our greatest solution and our greatest treasure it means that we can look at any moment in life no matter how hard or confusing or scary that moment may be – we can look at that moment and we can say:

Horatio Spafford

My sin, oh, the bliss

of this glorious thought

My sin, not in part

but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross,

and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord,

praise the Lord, o my soul

I bear it no more!

I bear it no more!

Can you say that?

If so, that is the most intensely real vaccine that your soul could ever be inoculated with.

• You don’t have to carry the guilt of sin
• You don’t have to carry the fear of sin
• You don’t have to carry the fear of death

Just marinate on those words for another second:

I bear it no more!

• You don’t have to go to bed in fear
• You don’t have to wake up in fear

When you are banking your life on the reality that you no longer bear the burden of your sin, you can look at the economy and the stock market and the panic and boldly say with the Psalmist:

• “The Lord is my helper!”
• “I will not be afraid!”
• “What can man do to me?”
• “What can the market do to me?”

Does that mean that saving faith in Jesus Christ means that someone can’t hurt you or that you will never lose any money or that you will escape every sickness known to man?

No.

It means that if the one, true God of the universe would send his one and only Son to once and for all deal with the spread of sin and bring life where there is nothing but death, then we can trust him.

Why?

Why can we trust God?

Because we bear it no more!

We are not just a mass of cells that sometimes are healthy and sometimes are sick and eventually we just die and cease to exist. 

We are fearfully and wonderfully made with purpose and meaning and value and Jesus died to save us from sin and death – the two things that in a sense devalue our existence.

And why do we exist?

We exist to glorify and enjoy the beauty and majesty and sovereignty and grace and mercy and love of God.

And why is that the ultimate purpose of our existence?

Because only the glory and beauty and majesty and sovereignty and grace and mercy and love of God can satisfy our souls.

What does that look like in real life?

Henry Martyn was born and raised in England and went on to become a missionary in India and died at the age of 31. 

Henry Martyn

Let men do their worst, let me be torn to pieces…or let me labour for fifty years amidst scorn, and never seeing one soul converted; still it shall not be worse for my soul in eternity, nor worse for it in time.

Henry Martyn

…the Lord Jesus, who controls all events, is my friend, my master, my God, my all.

Henry Martyn

If Christ has work for me to do, I cannot die.

What gives someone that kind of confidence?

Henry Martyn woke up every morning and said to himself:

“I bear it no more!”

He woke up every morning under the confidence that if his appointment was that day he would immediately be with Jesus.

Or if it wasn’t his appointment, he woke up every morning with confidence that it would the appointment of Jesus – what appointment?

His follow-up appointment.

The appointment where he comes to save – once and for all.

Jesus is coming again.

To some that sounds like a fairy tale. 

To those who are saved it is the most epic hope in the universe.

And it is not just some wishy-washy hope. 

Jesus was crucified for the sins of the world and three days later he was raised from the grave to guarantee that our epic hope in his return was real. 

When Jesus comes again, there will not be one more verse of “Just As I Am” in hopes that you might finally come.

The time to come to Christ is today.

Charles Spurgeon said the first time Jesus came to us was in a manger in Bethlehem and he came to open wide the door of grace – and that door is wide open to you today. 

But Spurgeon goes on to say that when Jesus returns, he is coming to shut the door.

The story is told of a frontier town where one day a horse that was hooked up to a wagon got spooked and ran off. 

There was a little boy in the wagon and the wild actions of the horse left the child in great danger, but there was a young man there that day that risked his life to catch the horse and rescue the little boy.

Many years went by and the little boy grew up to be a scoundrel and found himself in front of a judge. 

The young man who saved his life grew up to become that judge.

The boy now a prisoner pleaded for mercy, but his former rescuer soberly announced, “Young man, then I was your savior; today I am your judge…”

Again, I graciously ask:

Are you ready for your appointment?

Are you ready for the return of Jesus?

And who is Jesus going to appear to?

Well, he will appear to the whole world.

Everyone in the world will know that Jesus has returned. 

According to the language of the Bible it will be an immediate, global reality – no one will not know that Jesus is here. 

But beautifully and more strategically, Jesus will be appearing to a specific group of people.

Who?

28 to those who eagerly await Him.

What must you do to be saved?

Someone put it something like this:

Trust Christ in such a way that makes you eager to see him.

Are you eager to see Jesus?

That doesn’t mean ignore your family and your job and your school and your friends and your responsibilities and the calls to love your neighbor and yourself by quarantining.

It just means that if you are in Christ you remember that your greatest problem has been dealt with and you no longer bear the burden and the guilt of your sin and now you desire Jesus first and most.

You are eager to see Jesus.

Did you hear that some people have been putting their Christmas decorations back up this week?

During this time of fear and confusion and discouragement the idea is that the joy of Christmas will bring a little hope and happiness into the uncertainty. 

It’s not a bad idea – but only if you can grab the true meaning of Christmas.

Charles Wesley put it this way:

Charles Wesley

Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace!

Hail the Sun of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings,

Ris’n with healing in His wings.

Charles Wesley

Mild He lays His glory by,

Born that man no more may die;

Born to raise the sons of earth,

Born to give them second birth.

Charles Wesley

Hark! the herald angels sing,

“Glory to the newborn King!”

Message by Dow Welsh |

March 22, 2020 © Holland Avenue Baptist Church

 

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Above are pre-sermon manuscript notes, not sermon transcript

Sermon scriptures NASB unless otherwise noted

Lots of help from many pastors and theologians

Weekly help from Bruce Hurt at www.preceptaustin.org

So have you ever been eager about something? You know, eager, You know, you're just your own and you're ready to go. I would imagine a lot of folks were eager right now toe to get out of the house. This this wise social distancing that we're having as a way to toe love our neighbors and really love ourselves. It has also created a a restlessness that many of us have never experienced in life. But this could be an opportunity for us to learn a new type of eagerness. Maybe instead of being eager binge watchers, you know, that fine collection of franchise films known as high school musical, you know, maybe maybe then binge watching that Maybe this could be a time where we could learn to be eager readers. Yeah, eager readers. I saw where one school has an eager reader program. Over the course of seven months, the students at this elementary school can earn prizes for how much time that they read. So the lowest prize you can get us for 600 minutes of reading, which is like 30 minutes for, like, three weeks. Something like that. 30 minutes a day. And so the prize for 600 minutes of reading. Is this really cool pencil in some kind of drawing pad? So on 600 minutes, you get something cool toe kind of play along with now, the highest prize is for 3600 minutes. That's a lot of lot of reading time. I think it's like, I don't know, maybe 30 minutes a day for, like, 12 13 14 15 16 weeks. Don't trust any of my math, but but the price for that is that you get invited to an eager reader party. Now you get your own party now. Personally, as I looked over the prize list, I think they miscalculated because for 1800 minutes that's a lot less than 3600 minutes. For for 1800 minutes, you get a coupon for free stuff at a place called legendary Doughnuts. Yeah, legendary doughnuts. So, you know, in my book, all pun intended, the reality is for me. If you're talking about a prize, I think free stuff from legendary doughnuts is always going to trump everything else, especially an eager reader party. Unless, of course, the eager reader party is at legendary doughnuts and then the party would be legendary. Yeah. For those of you at home, there's no social distancing from my corniness. Sorry, It's just always there. But what if we are talking about doughnuts? What if we're not talking about reading books? What? We're talking about finding the answer to the greatest problem in your life. Who would you be eager to know? An answer to find an answer to find a solution to the greatest problem in your life. Now you might be thinking. Well, which one you going to pick, Buddy? Which greatest problem you're going to go after? Is it the uncertainty of work and school and sports right now? Is that the greatest problem you're going to pick? Is it the uncertainty of running out of juice? Boxes are running out of essentials. Is that Is that what you're going to pick up? The greatest problem is the greatest problem. Maybe what's happening in my marriage? What's happening with my kids or what was happening with my aging parents? Maybe. Maybe the greatest problem is is the uncertainty of what's happening with the economy and the uncertainty of what's happening with this virus. Yeah, which, which created a problem, are we going to pit? All of those things are really They're genuine. They're difficult, They're heartbreaking. They're all real problems. But they all fall just short of the greatest problem. So what's the greatest problem and what's the answer for the greatest problem? Let's see if we can find out. Listen to God's truth from the Book of Hebrews and the New Testament Bible, we're starting in Chapter nine, Verse 27. It says this, and inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, this series of messages was mapped out about six weeks ago before Cove it 19 was a national pandemic. It was just an international news story. The reason I point that out is because I don't want you to think that I pulled this passage out about up an appointment with death because of these days. This message was actually planned on February 10 and so I'll just take that as God's kindness to us, to draw us into our greatest problem in our greatest problem of sin and death. Now some people think that's that's two different things sin and death. But But they are eternally linked together. Death exist because of soon Paul was writing to his friend's room, and this is what he said and rummaged. Chapter five, Verse 12 just is through one man centered in there to enter the world and death through sin. And so death spread toe all men because all send, there's a lot we don't know about. All that is transpiring, and the spread of this virus and then things seems to be changing by by the hour. But there is absolutely no confusion about the spread of sin. The first human rejected God's truth and fully embrace sin. And that sin led to the reality of death and the reality of sin and death spread toe all of humanity. Now there are many people that scoffed at the idea of doing that math together that but sin and death and God have have anything to do with one another. You know, we can debate, you know, existential philosophy, weaken debate, dark matter. We can debate political preferences. We could debate anything you won't. But at the end of the day, deep in the heart of every person, there is this spiritual, emotional, mental practical truth that we all know that everyone has an appointment with death. If you just casual look at history over the last 2000 years, you'll see that a short life expectancy has always been normal for every generation. The United States that the idea that someone would live past the age of 60 especially a significant portion of the population historically speaking, that's a new development. Statistics kind of pointed around the 19 twenties when that shift started to happen. And so for the last 100 years we have been living longer and loving those that we love because they've been living longer. That's great. We should praise the Lord for that common grace. We should praise God for his mercy through science and research and doctors and medicines and nurses and hospitals. But if we're not careful, often we take that grace and that mercy for granted. And we kind of forget about the reality of death. Listen to a podcast recently, and one of the comments that was made was how most many if not most modern churches or no longer built with a cemetery next door. And the comment was made that that oftentimes that maybe has changed the vision of the church that the church no longer approaches the building to go worship what it means to be alive in Christ looking at the reality of death. And so maybe we have pulled ourselves away from that reality I saw some interesting years ago about President Jimmy Carter. It seems that when he was in office, from time to time, he would go stay at the home of just an average American. You just go stay at their house. I mean, imagine if the president or the Queen or some other dignitary we're coming over to your house for dinner and a sleepover. Don't you think you do something? Don't you think you'd prepare much thinking? You clean up the Legos that are all over the dining room, you know, maybe clean the bathrooms up, maybe spray Cem for Bree's all over the din they're taking. You do something that there'd be some type of preparation. I don't want us to miss the grace of today because the grace of today reminds us that there's grace. There's there's mercy. There's there's this opportunity in the midst of of fear in the midst of the stress and the midst of the uncertainty. The unknown God is being gracious today. He's showing us reality that we need to embrace. Perhaps you heard the recent words of philosopher M. David Makana Hey, this week, and he kind of hit the nail on the head. He said that this virus is race lis. Faceless, sexless, non denominational and bipartisan. It's true, this this virus is no dignitary. To be sure. It's no dignitary coming over for dinner, but the call is the same. And so I graciously asked, Are you prepared? Are you ready for your appointment? This conversation's about more than just death. Listen again to what the writer of Hebrews says, and inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment after death comes judgment about this time. You're like, Hey, let's go stream some other church. I got it. I understand, yeah, low heavy. But But stay with me. Stay with me through the heavy so that you can find the hope Death comes. But then judgement comes. We are a culture and a society clamoring for judgment and accountability we were all about, but we we want to hold our politicians accountable. We want to hold the CEOs accountable. We want to hold the doctors accountable. We wanna hold the researchers accountable. We wanna hold those who are not social distancing accountable. We want to hold all kinds of people accountable. But we do not want anyone to hold us accountable if we're honest, if we're honest, we wanna blow up social media with what we think is wrong and who we think is doing the wrong thing. But we cringe and we get defensive. If anyone has the audacity to tell us to stay at home, everyone has the audacity to question our opinion that we love accountability until it comes our way. But again, every person that has been created, we know that there's there's this thing in eight in us, created in us where we know deep in our heart. Even if we can't explain it that one day, in some way, somehow we will be held account. W. C. Fields was a famous comedian during the early 19 hundreds and up into the mid 19 hundreds. He was never known a cz, a religious man, but the story is told that that there was a time where he was facing the possibility of death, and and he began reading the Bible, and someone asked him a symbol. You know, why are you reading the Bible and being the comedian? That is he he said. This I'm looking for loopholes, my friend, looking for loopholes. There are no loopholes when it comes to standing before God. There's there's no loopholes. But there is an answer that there is an answer for the greatest problem. There is an answer for sin and death. And what does that answer? Listen, Haber's 9 28 So Christ, also having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to send it surely is there is an appointment with death. Jesus Christ has made the way for there to be an appointment with life. Jesus has dealt with the greatest problem we have. See. Our greatest problem is not finding a loophole for death. Our greatest problem is having the penalty of sin put away. That's our greatest problem. That's our greatest need. They have the penalty of our soon put away. That's what it means for Jesus to bear our sins as the Versace see Here's the thing. If I see you walking down the street and I see a car coming at you, I might jump out in the road. Push you out of the way is as an attempt to rescue your life. I might make that kind of sacrifice in a split second, but But that has nothing to do with the cross of Jesus. Jesus didn't at the last second run upon the cross to die for sin. It was always the plan. It was what he was going to do. The Bible describes it this way. He bore your sin in his own bye. He bore my sin in his own body. He did that When a person repents and turns to God when they when they believe in the death and the resurrection and the ascension and the return of Jesus Christ, what they are believing in their faith through the death of Christ actually puts their sin away. Jesus bears your sin. Jesus deals with the greatest problem. This is the beauty of the Bible. The Bible is this book that today think of all the churches in our community Think of all the churches in our state in the country and in the world that air live streaming service is today. Maybe they're in the sanctuary. Or maybe it's the pastor sitting at his desk at home. But But they're communicating. The truth of the Bible and the Bible is this book that by God's design, has this divine ability for every single person that hears it. The Bible can help that person see their greatest problem and find the only solution and that solution the solution to send the solution to death. Jesus, the Christ the Messiah. The one and only reason Son of God. Jesus is the answer, you might say, but But how? Why, Why, What? What is the math of all this? Well, when Jesus becomes our greatest answer, when Jesus becomes our greatest solution, when Jesus becomes our greatest treasure, here's what happens then, in any moment that we're in, no matter what. That moment, maybe good, bad, happy, sad. Whether it's victory or virus, it doesn't matter whatever moment we find ourselves in, when Jesus Christ is our greatest treasure, when our faith in him is our greatest treasure, then that means we can look at every single moment and over and over again. Sing or say these words Gracias. Spafford, My sin Oh, the bliss of this glorious thought My stand Not in part but the hole is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord! Oh, my soul In any moment we can look at that moment and say I bear it no more I bear it no more, friend. Gracious, simple question. Can you say that? Can you say I bear? I said no more if you can. That is the most riel intense vaccination that your soul can ever be inoculated with Because that truth means that you don't have to carry the guilt of your sin. You have to carry the weight of your sin. You notto carry the burden of your sin. You don't have to carry the fear of your sin. And if you're not carrying the fear of your sin if your sin has been put away that penalty has been put away. Then you don't have to carry the fear of death. I bear it no more. I bear it. No more changes everything. When we lie our head down at night, we can sing to our soul. I bear it gnome. Or when we wake up in the morning to uncertainty and confusion we can still say I bear it no more. Hi, parent. No more. When you're banking, your life owned the reality that you no longer have to bear the burden and guilt of your sin. When that's what you're banking your reality own, then we can look at the economy and we can look at the stock market and we could look at the panic and we can look at the fear. We can look at anything in life and we can say with the Somis, the Lord is my helper. The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? What can the market do to me? This is the hope we have in Christ. The hope we have to constantly look at the beauty and the glory of God and find that were hiss Now does saying, Hey, what can man do to me? What can the market do to me? Does that does that mean that nobody's ever going to hurt us? That that will never lose money in the market or or that the economy will never affect us. Or that that will always escape every sickness that ever comes our way. No, that's not what it means. What it means is this. If the one true God of the universe gave his one and only son to once and for all deal with the problem of sin and death, then we can trust him. We can trust him. Why? Because we bear it no more. The wiles with the other reason that we can trust God even when it feels like we can't or if we don't want to. The reason that we can trust God is because we've actually been created, glorify and enjoy the beauty and the Majesty and the grace and the mercy and the love and the salvation of God. That's that's why we exist. We exist to enjoy God. We exist to worship God and And why would we exist for that? Why would that be an ultimate purpose in the ultimate meaning in life? Well, here's why. Because your spouse and your kids and your pastor and your president and your politicians and anybody else you want to fill in that blank. None of those people have the type of glory and beauty and majesty and mercy and grace and love that will satisfy your soul. That's why we glorify God. That's why we enjoy God. That's why we exist for him. Because he's the only one who can satisfy our soul. So what does that look like in real life? Henry Martin was born and raised in England. He went to be a missionary in India. He died when he was only 31 years old. Is what Henry said Let men do their worst. Let me be torn to pieces or let me labor for 50 years of its scorn and never seen one soul converted. Still, it shall not be worse for my soul in eternity, nor worse for it in time. Listen what he says here the Lord Jesus, who controls all events. He is my friend, my master, my God and my all and then this. If Christ has worked for me to do, I cannot die. What in the world give someone that kind of confidence? Here's what see Henry Martin. He woke up every morning with the confidence to say I bear it no more. And if he woke up the next morning, and that was the morning of his appointment. He would immediately be with Jesus. Or maybe if he woke up one morning, it it wasn't his appointment. Maybe it was the appointment of Jesus. What's the appointment of Jesus? Well, it's his follow up a point. It's the appointment where Jesus comes again, Jesus, because of more than 300 prophecies that he fulfilled with his birth Jesus because of all that, he said and did, why he lived on this earth. Jesus because of his crucifixion, his resurrection and his ascension, Jesus, all that he is gives us every reason to be confident in the fact that he is coming again. Not for some people. That's that's more like a fairy tale for others. They say, Well, you can come yet, so it must not be true. But for those who are saved, the return of Jesus the second appearing the second coming of Jesus is epic. Hope for our lives. Not not wishy washy hope No. See, Jesus was born. He lived and he was crucified for our sins. And he was buried and he was raised from the dead. He ascended into heaven. And all of those things service the guarantee that our hope is not a fairy tale. Our hope is not a legend. Our hope. Israel. When Jesus comes again, there will not be one more verse of Justus. I am hoping that that maybe you'll come. When Jesus came the first time he came as a baby in a manger in Bethlehem, Charles Virgin said. When he came the first time, he came to tow open wide the doors of grace. But in Spurgeon says this when he comes a second time, he's coming to shut the door. There's a story told about a frontier town, and there was a horse tied to a wagon. Something spooked the horse and the horse took off frantically running. There was a little boy in the back of the wagon. His life immediately became in danger. There was a young man there in the town. He saw what was happening and he took off. He ran as fast as he could. He was able to catch horse and rescue the little boy. Many years went by and the little boy grew up to be a scoundrel. One day he found himself arrested a prisoner and was taken before a judge. The young man who had saved him all those years ago grew up to be that judge. Once a little boy realized who it was, he he pleaded for mercy. But on that day, the young man who rescued him said this to him, young man. Then I was your savior. Today I am your judge again. I graciously ask. Are you prepared? Are you ready for the appointment? Are you Are you ready for the appearing of Jesus? Are you ready for the return of Jesus? And who's Jesus going to appear to? He's going to appear to the whole world. The language of the Bible says that in some way, somehow immediately the whole world will know that Jesus is here, but beautifully and strategically. Jesus also is very specifically appearing to a group of people who listen the last part of his 28 to those who eagerly await him. Question is asked, What must you do to be saved? I love how somebody has put it. What must you do to be saved? You must trust Christ in such a way that you are eager to see you. That you long to see you now Longing to see Jesus doesn't mean that that you ignore your family, which ignore your job, your school, that you ignore your friends. But you just kind of blow off all your responsibilities and you go put on the white toga and go settle on a mountaintop somewhere in Jerusalem. No, that's not what it means to be eager to see Jesus just means this, that when you realize that you are in Christ when you remember that the greatest problem of your life has been dealt with when you realize that you no longer carry the burden of your sin that you bear it gnome or when that reality strikes your soul strikes your heart strikes your mind with that truth hits you were again able to say, You know what my first and greatest desire is? Jesus, I'm eager to see Jesus. Maybe you've heard this week. Some folks are putting up their Christmas decorations. It's fun idea, right? I mean, the whole idea is Hey, you know, Christmas is just this time of hope, and we're in this time of uncertainty. So they're putting up their Christmas decorations putting up their lights hanging things up in the house, just just trying to bring some hope and some happiness into their life. It's It's a fantastic idea if you understand the true meaning of Christmas. This is what Charles Wesley said. Hail the heavenly Prince of peace. Hail the sun of righteousness light and life to all he brings risen with healing in his wings mild he lays his glory by born that man no more may die Born to raise the sons and the daughters of Earth born to give them a second birth born to bear their sin so that they bear their sin No more born to bring an appointment of life for the appointment of death Born to bring help and hope when everything feels hard and impossible Yeah, hang lights, Put up the decorations if for no other reason than just to remind your heart of what it means to be in Christ You know the rest of the song Even even you, kid John are the rest of the soul Don't we all sing it together just to close the sermon out a little bit? Hark! The Herald Angels Scene Glory to the newborn king