Christmas - He's Coming To Town!

"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, & all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power & great glory.

“And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, & they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."

Every eye will see him, & every knee will bow before Him, & every tongue will confess that He is Lord! And this time He's coming with power & glory!

II. WHEN WILL JESUS COME?

Well, we've been told how Jesus will come, but when will He come? This is a problem for some because as a people we like to be prepared. Most of us will be prepared for Christmas because we have a deadline to work with.

We know we need to have our presents bought by Christmas Day. But the problem we have with the coming of Jesus is that we don't know when He will return, we only know that He is coming.

Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 24:37-44, "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

“For in the days before the flood, people were eating & drinking, marrying & giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; & they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came & took them all away.

“That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken & the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken & the other left.

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch & would not have let his house be broken into.

“So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him."

Jesus says when you least expect Him, that's when to expect Him. When would that be for you? Would it be just after you've finished buying most of your Christmas gifts? Or, would it be on January 1st, just when the really big bowl games are starting?

Paul wrote in 1 Thess. 5:1-2, "Now, brothers, about times & dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night."

Paul tells us to avoid setting dates & getting all wrapped up in thinking we know when Jesus will return because His return will be like a thief in the night.

III. WHY IS JESUS RETURNING?

We have looked at how Jesus will return, when Jesus will return, & now let’s look at why Jesus is returning. There are really two different reasons why Jesus is coming back.

A. First of all, Jesus is coming back for His followers - for me & you, that we might be with Him forever. The evening before Jesus was taken to the cross He told His disciples in John 14:1-3,

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You trust in God; trust also in me. My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?