Craig Groeschel - Preparing for the Return of Christ
If you’ve ever looked at the current state of the world and you see the wars all over the world, and you see the natural disasters, and you see the division in our nation and that even globally, and then there’s the sudden rise of AI, which certainly will probably take over the whole world in a number of years. If you ever look at everything going on and you wondered, do you think that we’re nearing the end? Do you think that Jesus might be returning soon?
If you ask questions like that, you’re actually not the first to ask. In fact, 2000 years ago, there was a group of new Christians in Thessalonica that were asking the very same questions. So today we’re starting a new message series. We’re gonna do an overview of the book of First Thessalonians, and we’re calling this message series «Living in the Last Days». Now, let’s play a game today, all of our churches, those of you online, I’m gonna ask you a question, then you can vote. Question is, «Do you think we’re living in the last days»?
All of our churches, how many of you would say, «I think we probably are living in the last days»? Raise your hands up. Online you can say, «I think we’re living in the last days». Others of you would say, «Hey, they’ve been saying that forever. My grandma thought that». People think we’ve probably got some more time here. How many think we got some more time? Gonna raise your hands. You can type in the comments section, «I think we have some more time». Question, and I’m gonna answer it.
«Are we living in the last days»? The answer is, yes, we actually are living in the last days because the Bible teaches us that we’re living in the last days. And the Bible shows us that the last days actually begin when Jesus ascended into heaven. If you remember on the cross, Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins, and three days later, the stone was rolled away, the tomb was empty, and he was not there. And 40 days after the resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven. And then at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on people and the Bible actually shows us that was the beginning of the last days. So from that moment on, we’ve all been living in the final chapter of God’s redemptive plan.
And what’s amazing is when you look at God’s word, the Bible, nearly every section of the Bible in the Old Testament, the law and the prophets, in the New Testament, in the gospels, in acts, in the epistles, and in Revelation, nearly every section of the Bible foreshadows or directly teaches us that Jesus is coming again. So if you’re asking, «Are we living in the last days»? Technically, we actually are living in the last days, and the last days started about 2000 years ago. And so every generation since then is called to live with a very sincere and faithful spiritual urgency because we know that every single day we are one day closer to the return of the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. Let’s pray together.
God, we ask that by the power of your spirit and through the teaching of your living word, that you would create in us a spiritual urgency to be ready, to be prepared to show your love as we look forward to the return of your son, Jesus. Is in his name that we pray and everybody said amen.
Type in the comment section, amen. So that we know that you are there. Let’s talk about the context of First Thessalonians. The Thessalonians were a group in the time we’re studying of new Christians that were really concerned about the future. And so Paul wrote this letter, First Thessalonians, and talked about the last days not to scare them, but really to study their faith. The book starts this way, First Thessalonians one through three, Paul says, «To the Church of the Thessalonians, we always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father, your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ».
What’s beautiful about this text is that Paul’s writing in a very relational tone. I remember you, we’re praying for you, I’m thankful for your work, and it actually makes sense if you understand the background and context of the Thessalonian Naked Church. Around 50 or 51 AD, Paul took his second missionary journey, and if you look all the way up at the top left hand corner, you’ll see him on his journey arriving at Thessalonica. And according to Acts 17, you can read about this if you want to, but Acts 17 tells us about his visit there. He visited this major city population of over 200,000 people that he knew was important and strategic because it was the capital. And also, if you’ll see up there, it was a port city.
So Paul knew if he could reach those people with the gospel, the gospel could spread from there to places around the world. Now, how did the church start? Well, according to the Book of Acts, Paul preached in Thessalonica on three different Sabbaths. And when he preached, some Jews got saved and some Greeks got saved, and there was a new little revival going on. The problem is some of the non-believing Jews got angry and jealous of Paul. And so they literally ran him out of town.
So he’s there for about three weeks, probably less than a month. He preaches, a bunch of people get saved and boom, there’s baby Christians and a brand new church. So they’re like loving God, but they’re being persecuted and they’re scared. So what does Paul do? He writes a letter to them and he’s very, very relational and he starts with talking about the love of God. Watch what he says. In verse four he says, «For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God». Hey, don’t be afraid, God’s with you, he’s for you, he loves you. «Brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel,» I love this, «Came to you not simply with words, but also with power».
The gospel is not just words, but the gospel came to you with power, with the Holy Spirit, and deep conviction. He says, «I want you to know and understand that God does love you, he loves you, he’s with you. He accepts you, he’s forgiven you, he’s made you new. He loves you. But God didn’t just give you his love. God gave you his power». Paul said, «our gospel is not just words, but our gospel is power. The gospel is power to change your life. The gospel is power to break the chains that holds you hostage, that the gospel is power to heal what’s broken. It’s not just words, it comes with power».
You know that God love you. Many of you, you embrace the love of God, but maybe you’re living without the power of God. Some of you right now is like literally, «Okay, I’m saved. And okay, now what»? No, no, the same power that raised Christ from the dead, the Holy Spirit, that same spirit dwells within you if you are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, yes, God’s love secures you, but God’s power strengthens you and transforms you to live with victory, overcoming in the last days. Don’t just enjoy the love of God. Yes, enjoy it, embrace it, but tap into the power of the living God that will help you overcome the temptations of this world and defeat darkness.
God doesn’t just love you, but his gospel comes with power. So you can see what Paul’s doing. He is like going, «Hey, here’s some new believers and they’re afraid. Don’t forget God loves you and there’s power». And then he actually gets very direct in teaching. And I’m gonna show you and summarize what he taught. Three ways believers live ready in the last days. So are we living in the last days? Yes or no, the answer is? Yes, we are, we’re living in the last days.
So how do we as followers of Jesus live ready in the last days? We’re gonna do three things. We’re gonna turn, we will serve, and we wait. Let’s all say this aloud, what do we do? We turn, we serve, we wait. I need some people in Albany. I see people in Southern Florida. I need some people in in Kansas. Everybody say it aloud, what are we gonna do? The first thing we do is we turn, what do we turn from and turn to? Paul’s gonna teach us that we turn from idols that deceive us to the God who saves. We’re gonna turn from the idols that deceive us to the God who saves.
And we’re gonna look at 1 Thessalonians 1:9. We’re gonna look at it a few times he says this, «They». And the they is other believers in the region, these other Christians, «They tell us how you turned to God from idols. They tell us how you turn to God from idols». What does it mean to turn to God from idols? Well, Thessalonica was a very pagan culture. They worship all sorts of false gods. Some of them worship Greek gods like Zeus and Apollo and Artemis. Others, believe it or not, they worshiped Caesar and called him Lord.
Now, I’m thankful that we live in a time where people wouldn’t worship politicians. Just saying, and I’m talking both sides here. So if you, I’m trying to offend all of you. So don’t just think I’m picking on one of you, okay? Like I’m just thankful that it’s not like that now. Can I have a little bit of fun with you? Okay, half of you, great.
The rest of you just sit there like a stick in the mud, okay? They would, they literally would worship Caesar and call him Lord. They had these household idols that they’d worship as well. These kind of small, like carved little creatures or things. And they thought that these things would protect them from evil. They thought they, sometimes they would help them be more productive. You, we didn’t have them, but some people might think we did because we had six kids. They thought that they would give them financial blessings. And so turning to Jesus meant rejecting the popular idols, turning away from the idols that brought them perceived status, or perceived comfort, or perceived security. They turned away, and it was costly because they were rejecting what everyone else embraced and accepted.
It was costly, but it was clear. They were committing that Jesus was Lord and they would serve him only. And when they made that turn, everyone knew it. These people, they belong to Jesus. It wasn’t like maybe where you live, where you worked somewhere for six years and somebody said, «Oh, you go to church? I didn’t know you were a Christian». There was none of that. It’s like we have turned away from culture, from these deceptive idols, and we have turned completely to the Lord our God.
Now, the good news is most of you probably don’t worship Zeus or Caesar, but pretty much all of us battle with idolatry. We all have idols in our life. You may say, like, what is exactly an idol? Well, an idol is anything you put in God’s place. An idol is anything that you ask to do what only God can do. It’s replacing God with something else. And what do many of us idolize? Some idolize success, right? I mean, it is the endless hustle. We’re gonna climb the ladder and we’re gonna get ahead and we’re gonna build our brand. We’re gonna make a name for ourselves. And why do we do this? Most of you do this because you believe your worth is directly tied to what you produce. You believe that your value is based on what you do.
And the good news is, I would personally never battle with that. Guilty as charged. I wanna be productive so that I feel valuable. And we idolize success. Some people idolize like pleasure and comfort and money and things. And it just, society rewards. Like we work hard, so you deserve some luxury. You deserve the good things in life. And so, I mean, we want a bigger house and we want a newer car. We want the dream vacation. And there’s nothing wrong with that at all until it takes the place of God. And then one day, essentially for some people that their goal is, lemme say it this way, to build bigger barns and bigger barns, and take life easy and eat and drink and be merry.
And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, there’s actually a parable where Jesus says, it doesn’t go good for people who do that. It’s essentially what he said. Some people idolize relationships. I mean, like is all about getting married. I need me a wife, I need me a man. And until then, like nothing matters. And then you get married and you have kids. So what happens is, I mean, I’m gonna talk directly to some of you. You literally idolize your kids above anything else. Scripture teaches he’s supposed to be first, but he gets cut out for your kids every single week. Your marriage gets cut out for your kids every single week. Do you wanna know how to raise godly kids, serve God, have a godly marriage, and that produces godly kids better than centering your life around your kids, which just makes them spoiled.
That’s another sermon. I don’t know how you got me off on that, but it’s true. Some of you idolize your kids and it’s not good for your kids. They are not God, don’t treat them like that. Serve God, bring your kids into the family of God. Let God work on your kids and say I’ve Godly kids. Some of us, we just idolize what people think about us. It’s all about the image. Because if we were really pushed to it, we would say, I mean like by the way we live, what people think about us might actually be more important than what God thinks about us. And then there’s a lot of people in our culture today, they just, you just idolize yourself. It’s your body, your life. Live your way, live your truth. You first, your happiness matters most. And this is a far cry from what we’re called to do as Jesus followers.
Paul says, in the last days, you’re gonna see this kind of stuff. You’re gonna see people idolizing the sinful things of this fallen world instead of being truly submitted to the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. This is what Paul said. I wanna show you what he said about the last days and see if you recognize any of this in the world today. He said second Timothy 3:1, he said, «Mark this, there’ll be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves». Check. «Lovers of money,» check. «Boastful,» check. «Proud,» check. «Abusive,» unfortunately, check. «Disobedient to their parents,» check. «Ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying its power». Paul says, «Have nothing to do with such people».
In the last days we’re gonna have to make a cautious choice to turn away from the lower things of this world and turn to the truth of God’s word. The the biblical word is repent. Re means to turn. Pent is that which is the highest. Repent, turn. In fact, for some of you, your one assignment is to turn in the right direction, turn away from the lower things that are distracting you from the higher things of the kingdom of God and turn toward him. And the problem is, today it’s very common and very acceptable to have one foot in the church and one foot in the world. You’re essentially split. And what do you do? You turn away from the things of the world. You turn to the things of God. You turn away from selfishness and turn to God. You turn away from pride and turn to God. You turn away from entitlement and you turn to God. You turn away from the sins of the world and you turn toward God. Somebody say, «I’m turning».
What are we doing? We turn and then we serve. Paul says this, not only do we turn, but we serve the living God, not dead idols. We turn and we serve the living God, not dead idols. First Thessalonians 1:9, again, we’ll look at a little more of it. He said, «They tell us how you turn to God from idols». Why did you turn? The reason you turned is to serve the living and true God. You turn from the dead idols to the living and the true God. Paul doesn’t just say turn, but turn and serve. And who do you serve? You serve the living God.
What’s the problem with idols? A lot of things. First of all, they’re lifeless, they’re dead. They’re deceptive. They promise freedom, but they enslave us. They promise happiness, don’t they? Every advertise. If you get it, you’ll be happy. And you get it and you’re still empty. They’re dead. But our God is alive. His word is alive. It’s living, it’s active, it’s powerful. Our God is living, he hears your prayers. Our God moves, our God saves, our God is powerful. So what do you do? You turn from sin to God to serve.
Now watch this, turning to God to save you, that happens one time. You repent of your sins and he call on Jesus and he hears the cries of your heart, and he makes you brand new. He separates your sins from you. As far as the East is from the West. You become a brand new creation. The old is gone and the new is there. Turning to God to save you happens once, but serving God happens daily. It’s daily, it’s an every day, every moment. God, I’m here, I wanna serve you. In fact, the word serve in the text comes in the Greek word douleuo.
And this word means this. It means to serve with complete loyalty. It means putting the will of another above your own. Our mission at Life Church is to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ, is to serve with complete loyalty with our whole heart, to love God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. To put the will of another ahead of our own will. This is to serve. It’s not like this is what I want. It’s God, «I want what you want». It’s more than a Sunday religion. It’s a daily surrender. It’s not God, bless my agenda. It’s God, I surrender my agenda to you. Your will be done on earth through my life as it is in heaven, I exist to serve you. So I wanna just talk to somebody who’s kind of on the fence.
I wanna talk to somebody who’s just a little bit straddled. And I wanna tell you, now is the time to serve the one who loves you. Now is the time to serve the one who gives you power. Now is the time to serve the one who saves you. Now is the time to serve the one who’s worthy of all your praise. Now, this moment, today, right now. Not tomorrow, not later, not when you get around to it, not once you get older, not once you get married, not what your kids get, not another stage of life. Now is the time to serve the one who is coming again. And so living in the end times we turn and we serve and we wait, and we turn and we serve and we wait, and we’re prayerful and we turn and we serve and we wait.
What does it mean to wait? Well, Paul teaches us, this is how we wait. We wait actively, preparing for the return of Christ. We wait actively, preparing for the return of Christ. First Thessalonians 1:9 and 10, continuing he says, «They tell you, they tell how you turn from God to idols, to serve the living and true God, and to wait». He’s coming back, we’re living in the last days. «And to wait for his Son from heaven whom God raised from the dead». What’s his name? «Jesus, he is the one who rescues us from the coming wrath».
We wait for the Son from heaven who God raised from the dead, the King, the Savior, who rescues us from wrath. Waiting doesn’t mean doing nothing. Waiting doesn’t mean wasting time. There’s a Greek word that’s translated as waiting, and I’m gonna spell it for you because it’s really hard to say. It’s spelled A-N-A-M-E-N-E-I-N. And it’s from two root words, Anna, which means again and intensely. It’s again, and again, and again. And it’s very intense from the deepest part of your being. And the second word, you actually see this word 11 different times in John 15. if you remember John 15, Jesus said, «Remain in me, abide in me, remain in me, abide in me, remain in me, abide in me». 11 different times you see it. And this word means to remain, to stay and to abide.
So wait literally translate as you put these two together, means to wait actively and faithfully with great expectation. How do you wait? Actively and faithfully, with great expectation? How do you wait, we’re living in the last days and Jesus is returning soon. You wait actively and faithfully, with great expectation. You wake up and say, «Today could be the day I better be loving people today. I better be found serving Jesus today. I better be a bright light today. I better be not lost in the things of the world. But my heart drifts toward the kingdom of God today. I’m waiting actively and faithfully and believing that he could even come today».
I lived this way in 1988. 1988, I was a brand new Christian, brand new, like brand new like the Thessalonians brand new. And there was a book somebody wrote in 1988 called «88 Reasons Why The Rapture Will Take Place In 1988». I found a copy online. I’m gonna just shoot straight with you. I don’t think I read the book. I just heard the title «88 Reasons Why The Rapture Will Take Place In '88». I figure if there’s 88, that’s enough to be ready. And he’s coming back. And so every single day I was, I was a brand new Christian, I’m waiting, I’m active, all this kinda stuff. I’d be walking along with my new Christian friend. We’re walking along. Jesus could be coming back, he could be coming back soon. There’d be a tree right here.
My friend’s there, he could be coming back. I jump behind the tree. I try and make him think there was a rapture. Where’d Craig go? My roommate. One morning his alarm would always go off at 7:00 AM. And so at 6:58, I just rolled over to the other side of the bed. I took all my clothes off. I got my T-shirt, I got my shorts, my socks. I just put them all there. His alarm goes off, he looks over and he goes, «You’re dumb». Didn’t work, but that’s what we were doing, why? Because Jesus could come back at any time. And now that I’m much older and slightly more mature, I’m actually working to bring this to the front of my mind again, that we’re living in the last days.
I mean, even if the last days is like he comes back next week or in our lifetime or even after our lifetime, I’ve only got so many days left to serve him. And time is really, really short. And so what I’m doing is I’m asking myself, and I’ve been working on this series about maybe six weeks. I’m asking myself four different questions and then are life groups this week, what I’d like for you to do is I’d like for you to work through these questions together and have I said how important it is being in a life group? I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned that recently. But we just, we don’t do life alone. We are the family of God and iron sharpens iron, and we love one another, and we serve one another.
If you’re not in a life group yet, now’s the time to get in community. We’re gonna ask these questions. We’re gonna ask these four questions. Have I forgiven those who hurt me? We’re gonna ask, have I shared my faith with those who need Jesus? We’re gonna ask, am I more focused on this world than on eternity? And we’re gonna ask, am I trusting in God’s grace alone to save me? Let’s talk these through one by one. The first question we’re gonna ask is, have I forgiven those who hurt me? I asked myself that question and there was a name or two that came to mind that I thought, I better take this thing seriously because I’ve been hurt. And maybe I was holding a grudge.
And why is it important to forgive if Jesus is coming back soon? Because this is what Jesus said. Jesus said, «For if you forgive other people when they sin against you,» he said, «Your heavenly Father will also forgive you». Then Jesus said something very, very sobering. He said this, «But if you do not forgive others their sins, your father will not forgive your sins». I know there’s real hurts, significant hurts, big betrayal some of you’re facing. How do you forgive someone who’s hurt you? Well, scripture says you forgive as you’ve been forgiven. So I’ll just ask you the question, have you forgiven those who’ve hurt you?
Another question that you might want to ask is, have I shared my faith with those who need Jesus? Have I shared my faith with those who need Jesus? And that doesn’t necessarily mean like the whole world because you can’t really necessarily do that. But there are people in your life that you love that are nearby, that are in your normal sphere of relationships. For me, it might be the people that serve us at the only two restaurants we go to, why? Because we’re boring and go to the same restaurants over and over again. It’s a couple of pilots that I fly with that may not yet be fully serving Jesus. Ask yourself family members, the people in your fraternity, sorority, on your softball team, your golfing buddies.
If Jesus were to return, do they know him? Because honestly, I would hate for someone I know and love on the other side to go, «Why didn’t Craig tell me about Jesus»? This third question actually trips me up probably the most. Am I more focused on this world than I am on eternity? And I’d like to tell you that I’m all about the world to come, but I just, I mean, honestly, I just get sucked into these things. I’m managing this and managing that and trying to help my kids and trying to help the church. And I just it, but I mean, sometimes I wonder, do I just, do I love the world too much, I don’t want to. But there’s so many things that take my attention away from my heart moving toward the things of God.
Do you love this world more than you think about the one to come? And then ask yourself this question, am I trusting in God’s grace alone to save me? Very, very important. Am I trusting in God’s grace alone to save me. Paul said this, he said, «For it’s by grace that you’ve been saved through faith». I want you to listen to this. The only way you’re made right with God is by the forgiveness and grace of God through faith in Jesus. It’s not from yourselves. Paul said, it’s the gift from God. It’s never by your good work.
So you can never, ever brag about it. And again, this one trips me up a little bit. I’m just gonna tell you right now, I’ve been living in this for six weeks studying and asking these questions, letting God work on me. And if you ask me, Craig, like, «Hey, if you die when you’re 92 are you saved by grace»? Then I’m like, «Yeah, absolutely, I’m saved by grace». But if you say, «Jesus is coming back next Wednesday». I’m like, «Uh-oh, I better get to work». That’s literally what I think. I better make sure I’m doing something because I wanna earn it and I can’t.
And so I would ask you to wrestle with these questions. Have I forgiven those who hurt me? Have I shared my faith with those who need Jesus? Am I more focused on this world then on eternity? Am I trusting in God’s grace alone to save me? When will Jesus return? Jesus said, «No one knows the date or the hour». We don’t know. But we do know, according to God’s word, we are living in the last days. Time is short. So what do we do? We turn, we serve, we wait. Say it with me, «what do we do»?
We turn from idols and from sin to serve the living God. And we wait actively preparing for his return, pursuing holiness, and living with a spiritual urgency. Because we know at any moment, Jesus could return. Not someday, not maybe, at any moment the trumpet of God could sound and the skies could open, and Jesus could return. And when he does at that moment, it’s too late. I just want to beg you, if you’re under the care of this little shepherd, under the big good shepherd, please be ready. Please be ready. Because we’re living in the last days and our King is coming soon.
So Father, do a work in us. Do a work in our church. God, give us a spiritual hunger and urgency to know you, to serve you, to live for you, to forgive freely and to share boldly, and to let go of the things of this world.
And what I wanna do is just get you to examine yourself right now. And I don’t know how else to ask it, but like, you know, if you maybe would even admit, like if Jesus came back tomorrow and you’re not sure you’re totally ready, you might need some heart adjustments. I’m just gonna give you a chance to pray. Help get me ready. Get me ready. All of our churches today, you know there could be more passion. You know you’re distracted. There’s more in you not to earn it, but as a reflection of what he is done for you. If you’d say, «God, help me get ready». Would you lift your hands right now all over the place, lift them up. Online, just type at the comment section. «Help me get ready».
Father, we thank you that you’re here and that your spirit’s working in us and that your word is working on us. Stir up a passion to share your word, to share your truth, to love people, and to live like time is short, because it is. God, give us an urgency, a courage to turn from the lower things, the sinful things, the broken things of this world, and to turn to you and serve you wholeheartedly. Give us that passion, oh God, give us that hunger. Not just an emotional moment at church, but God, a righteous craving to do your will. Get us ready. God, get us ready.
As you keep praying today, I’m just gonna go ahead and say it. Like if Jesus came back right now and you think you’d be nervous, 'cause you don’t know where you stand with God, maybe you feel guilty for what you’ve done. Maybe you feel like you’re not good enough. What I’m gonna ask you to do right now is just to recognize you’re not good enough. You’ll never be good enough. I’m not good enough, you’re not good enough. You can’t be good enough. And you have to trust his grace alone.
The gospel is the good news. What is the gospel, for God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son Jesus, who is without sin. He’s called the Lamb of God who died on a cross for the forgiveness of our sins. And God raised him from the dead. So that anyone, this includes you. No matter what you’ve done, no matter where you’ve been, when you call on his name, he forgives your sins. He makes you brand new. You’re not saved by works, it’s only by grace through faith. If you don’t know where you stand, hey, it could be tomorrow, it could be today, it could be next week. Get ready, get ready, get ready to say I need it. And don’t call on Jesus just to help save you. Call on him to serve him. Turn from your sins and say, I give my life to him.
At all of our churches, those who say that’s me. I don’t know where I stand and I want to be ready. I want to know him, I wanna serve him. You’re turn from your sins and you’re saying, «Yes, Jesus, be the Lord of my life. I give you my life,» that’s your prayer. Lift your hands high right now. Now, up all over the place. God bless you. Others of you say yes over here, both of you up there, God bless you guys. Right back over here, I’ll Say yes Jesus, yes. Lift them up and say yes. God bless you. Others today say, «That’s my prayer». Right back over there, praise God. Oh, yes, yes, yes. Both of you praise God for you. Jesus, I wanna know you. Online, type in the comment section, «I’m surrendering my life to Jesus». Type, «I’m surrendering to Jesus». Pray with people all over. Nobody prays alone. Pray:
Heavenly Father, I’m turning to you to serve you to be ready for your return. Jesus, save me. Forgive my sins. Fill me with your spirit so I could know you. My life is not my own. I give it all to you. Thank you for new life. You have mine. In Jesus name, I pray.