[SUB12] A VINDA DE JESUS - Luciano Subirá

What do you know about the coming of Jesus? Besides being an indisputable Biblical fact, that is important, relevant and has to be understood, we have many people approaching facts that are not nearly important. We need to understand what in fact is and is not relevant.

If you follow me in the next few minutes we’ll make a perspective on the important facts of the coming of the Lord. The word of God says, in the book of Acts of the apostles on chapter 1, from verse 3: " He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. " The Bible is speaking about Jesus after His resurrection.

The text continues and says on verse 4: "while eating with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. So when they had come together, they asked him: Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them: It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and to the end of the earth. And when he had said these things, " verse 9 says he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven, As he went behold, two men stood by them in white robes and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?

This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. " Jesus, after resurrected, stays 40 days with his disciples. Teach, speaks about the things concerning the kingdom of God and so they get to the moment where he ascended to heaven before their eyes.

But in the moment he was taken To the heavens, we see angels coming to the apostles and telling them: the same way you saw him going up, something perceivable to the eyes, in the same way you’ll see him return. He shall return. " The return of Jesus is a promise from Him.

The return of Jesus is a promise of God trough his angels. The return of Jesus is an indisputable fact in the word of God. However, there are some things we need to know about.

Firstly, Jesus was talking about them receiving the promise of the Father and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was highlighting this empowerment from heaven because there was a mission to the apostles there was a mission presented to the church. But in the moment Jesus is presenting the mission, the job, the quest he had for his church, they ask: "Is this the time you’ll restore the kingdom to Israel" They were looking at it from the perspective of the old testament promises, the establishment of a kingdom and they understood it would be established in a physical and literal way.

They are worried: "isn’t it about time for the fulfillment of these things? " Jesus says: "hey, there are some things that the father reserved to his own authority and you don’t necessarily need to know when these things will take place. " He says: "what you really need to know is: you will receive from above the Holy Spirit and shall be my witnesses.

" Jesus was saying: "on this moment, what you need to worry about are not the dates, the calendar, or the unveiling of the prophetic events, what you need to focus on is the mission that I am giving to you. You have to proclaim the Gospel. You need to establish the kingdom on earth, you have a mission to fulfill.

" With that Jesus was not saying that we as Church should not think about the conclusion of all things. With this he was not saying that we should not cherish in our hearts the expectative of his return, on the contrary, right after giving the instruction on the task, when he is taken to the heavens, the Lord sends two angels to them saying: "hey, in the same way you saw him going he will return. " So we have a promise, a clear and distinguished one that you need to consider and it should warm our hearts in the same way it warmed theirs.

Our Lord Jesus will return. But people are trying to discuss facts that are not important For example, they’re always trying to predict when the return of Jesus will be. When actually, Jesus Himself said: "no one knows the day nor the hour, not the angels in heaven, not even the son, if not the Father.

" In other words, Jesus is saying: "this date is a surprise and you need to know. " Actually, Jesus showed that just as the thief comes and it is a surprise, he does not want this date to be known for us to live in the imminence of his return, in the expectative of his return, for us to be ready and prepared all the time without the necessity of knowing when these things will take place. So, the first thing I want to say is: it is irrelevant to try to establish a date, try to measure a precise time or season that the Lord will come.

In fact each generation ever since the beginning of the church, each generation must live in the expectation of his return. Trying to establish dates, times, seasons is something that never worked and it never will work, because this was never the idea and the purpose of God. But something that you and I must understand is that we have a mission.

This same church that can have eyes looking above awaiting the return of the Lord, that receives warming words in its heart that ensures the survival of the promise of his return, is a church that shouldn’t only look to the heavens but to the white fields, to the harvest. We should understand a mission was given to us. We get in the teachings of Jesus, in Matthew 21, from verse 33 to45, Jesus tells a parable about the kingdom of God, comparing to the owner of a vineyard, that hired a bunch of tenants, he expected to receive the fruits be he did not.

What is Jesus talking about? If he compares the kingdom to the vineyard, so we have the understanding that the vineyard is, in fact, the kingdom of God. So who is the owner of the vineyard?

By logic, God Himself. Who is the first group of tenants that he entrusted the vineyard but didn’t give back the fruit? Even sending the servants to charge, to whom they killed, stoned, never listening to them.

Later he says: "I’ll send my own son. " This first group of tenants is the nation of Israel. The Bible says that they, the Jew, Understood that it was about them that Jesus was talking.

Then who is the second group of tenants? Because when the first one failed, not listening to the servants, that are a figure of the prophets, Jesus cries upon Jerusalem saying: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem that stones and kills the prophets that are sent to you. " He says: "because you did not hear the prophets I sent, because you did not hear my son, instead you killed him, I am taking the vineyard from you and giving it to another group of tenants that will give the fruits on their season.

" Who is the other group? John chapter 1, verse 11 and 12 says: "he came to his ownand his own people did not receive him, but to all who received him" not his own, the Jews, but now the gentiles, "he gave the right of becoming children of God. " The gentiles joined the plan and purpose of God forming now another group that is the church.

And Jesus said: "these will deliver the fruits on their seasons. " Something we need to understand is that the church was born with a mission and a prophetic declaration from Jesus that we would give the fruits. Now, we need to align that with the questions involved with the return of the Lord.

For example, when some are trying to determine the day, I want to say: this day is known by God, he is omniscient, he knows all things, he is prescient, he knows it all before it happens, but I believe there is day and hour scheduled in the calendar, although God exactly how it all unveils. The Apostle Peter writes on his second epistle, on chapter 3, He says that not only we should wait, but hurry the day of the return of God, and He is talking exactly about the return of Jesus. Does it mean it can be accelerated?

Of course. The Lord Jesus compared the days of His Coming to the days of Noah. Actually, when we look to the flood We see that the flood was God’s judgement to a sinful humanity But there was relief for those who feared, salvation for those who believe.

We need to understand that just like in the flood, this is how the Coming of the Lord will look like. Paul writes, on 2 Thessalonians, on chapter 1 And says: "God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to the afflicted. " Because God never judges the crooked with the just.

And the outcome of all things, inevitably, also involves judgement. But there is something we need to understand, when did the flood come? I was taught as a kid, on Sunday School, that God gave Noah a hundred and twenty year deadline, because it is written in Genesis 6:3: "the days of man will be a hundred and twenty years.

" But if you do the math it doesn’t work, regarding Noah, It doesn’t make sense. From the moment God spoke to Noah until the flood comes, he has, actually, a period that is less than a hundred years. These 120 were God reducing the age of men, that before, on Genesis 5, lived too much.

But from this declaration The average life time drops down until it hits 120. Moses, that lived exactly the 120 years, this full measure, wrote the Psalm 90 And said the life of man is 70, when too much 80 and what’s more than that is simply tired and bored. So, God was not talking about a date for the flood.

God did not establish a date because there was no specific date for the flood. The Flood only happened and Manifested when Noah finished his mission, that was to build the arc. And if we Understand that Jesus is establishing a parallel of his coming with Noah, actually, this will only happen When we finish our mission.

We as a church need to focus less in the dates, We need to focus less on the process And understand the mission. Let’s work, let’s do what he says, and in this Day hurry the day of God. Now, some want to argue with me And I’m not saying we shouldn’t have that position, "are you pre-tribulationist?

Are you post-tribulationist? Are you in the middle? Or are you an amillenialist?

" Some time ago someone gave me an example, I don’t even know Who said it, it was about people that like to drink coffe with milk In different ways. Some like to put the Coffee first to then put the milk. So this person is the pre-dairy, he puts the Coffee before the milk.

Some like to first put the milk to then put the coffee. I play that these are the post-dairy. They Like to put it later.

And some put them together at the same time and we could Call them mid-dairy. In fact, that way to play is because actually, it doesn’t Matter the order of the coffee and milk, what matters is drinking it. I’m not saying it is not important to have an opinion about The end times and its outcome, But more important than understanding the Prophetic chronology, is to prepare the church.

The other day someone told me: "but I believe the church will Stay on the tribulation. " I say: so be ready to face it. Other says: "no, I believe the Church goes before".

So be ready to depart. But more than Just being ready for the end times, we have A mission to fulfill and this is the most important fact. A church that received a mission And we need to, as we responsibly fulfill our mission, hurry The day of the coming of the Lord and the denouement of All things.

So, the most important is Is not when or how these things will happen, The important is to know they will happen and to be ready for it, We understand that the preparation is not something that alienates us. Paul Used to say: " But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior " that Demonstrated to live with this expectative also was the one who said: "I worked more than all the apostles. " Because waiting for the coming of the Lord is not A synonym of not wanting to work.

Understanding the purpose of his coming and And our responsibility of hurrying it will lead us to work and to work a lot. I want To encourage you, wait for this day, love the coming of the Lord like Timothy said and hurry this day fulfilling the great commission he entrusted you.