Christ And The Rapture of The Church - B

Voiceover (Male): Today, on Real Life Radio.
Jack Hibbs: Next time you drive by a graveyard, future resurrection site. That's what it is. Their bodies are going to come out of the grave. Don't ask me how. Their spirit's going to come with the Lord. The saints are going to come with him. And we're going to meet them, it says, in the air.
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David J: Welcome to Real Life Radio with Pastor Jack Hibbs. I'm David J, thanking you for joining us today as we listen, learn, and are challenged by God's Word, the Bible.
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David J: On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack continues with his series now called The Life and Times of Jesus Christ, and a message titled The Rapture of the Church. Now, this is a series about who Jesus really is, not the Jesus of popular opinion, but the Jesus of the Bible. God Himself, who stepped into our world. And the same Jesus made us a promise that He's coming back for us, and He could come at any moment. You see, the rapture isn't something to fear. It's our greatest hope as a matter of fact. It means Jesus could return today without warning to gather His people to Himself. Now, when He does, every believer who's ever died will rise, and we'll meet the Lord in the air. So today, Pastor Jack teaches that Jesus could come at any moment. And there's no prophecy that needs to be fulfilled before He does. So, living with that expectation changes how we walk, drawing us to holiness and away from the things of this world. Before we get into the message, I had a chance to sit down with Pastor Jack and talk about it with him. So let's get into that.
David J: Pastor Jack, quite frankly, you offer this up as your favorite topic, the moment that Christ catches His church away. You just come right out and say it. It's your favorite topic. In your words, Pastor Jack, you say, "I need this to happen today." Why does the rapture land on you that personally? Can you tell us?
Jack Hibbs: Well, first of all, the Bible speaks of the rapture as being the blessed hope. So, I have to ask every Christian, is that your blessed hope? And it's the blessed hope of our glorious God, Jesus Christ, His return. While we wait for the blessed hope in the glorious coming, return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So that said, I live in that moment by moment hope that it could be today. And somebody might say, "Well, that's ridiculous because what happens if He doesn't come today?" So I get up like I have for 50 years, and I look for Him tomorrow.
David J: Yeah.
Jack Hibbs: Well, what if you live like that and He doesn't show up for 10 more years? Then guess what? I will actually be fulfilling the scripture that says, "Watch and be ready, for you know not when the Son of Man appears." So, it is imagine imagine me saying to our audience, "Hey, I'm going to come by and pick you up soon, and I'm going to take you all on an all-expense-paid trip to Disneyland."
David J: Yeah.
Jack Hibbs: Well, I would think every little kid would just say, "Let's go stand on the curb. Let's wait." So that's how I live.
David J: I love what you say at one point, that whenever you drive by a Pastor graveyard, we should call it a future resurrection site.
David J: Oh, yeah.
Jack Hibbs: That's awesome.
David J: Yeah.
Jack Hibbs: Wouldn't it be amazing? I've often joked around how I'd love to be doing a service here in the LA area, Forest Lawn or Rose Hills, these famous these famous sites. And could you imagine you're just lowering the body into the ground? And the Bible says the dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are alive and remain will be caught up. Could you imagine? We just have a service for John and we lower John into the ground and his body comes flying out, and then we who are alive follow behind him up to meet Christ in the air. By the way, folks, if you think that's crazy, then I want to encourage you where to find crazy. It's 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 13 through 18. That's the promise.
David J: I'd like to be the guy mowing the lawn on a ride-on lawnmower, you know, in the cemetery, when it happens. Wouldn't that be cool?
David J: Yes.
Jack Hibbs: Yes, as long as you're the guy going up behind them, riding the mower.
David J: Yeah, good point. As long as I'm in line.
Jack Hibbs: As long as you go up with them.
David J: Christ and the rapture of the church. Let's jump in.
Jack Hibbs: Second Timothy 4:8, Paul finally gave up his anticipation of the rapture and he said, "Okay, my head's going to roll. I got it. I'm not going to get raptured from this prison." But I have loved the expectation of His appearing. People, do you hear me? Are you having sex with your boyfriend? You cannot be having sex with your boyfriend and be longing for the presence of Jesus to come. You can't be having sex with your girlfriend and saying, "Oh, even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus." I don't think so. God is convicting you. You can't be drawing that line of coke and say, "Oh, yeah, I'm living for the imminent return of Christ." The Bible says all of us who have this hope that He's coming purifies ourselves. Not that we're perfect, we want to walk with Him and make the best of this life that we can until He comes because by golly, He's coming. And when He comes, I don't want to be ashamed. In the last couple of weeks, if He would have come, there were hundreds of you praying for the team in Mexico and for the team in Germany. And many of you sharing the Lord out on those streets of those various countries. What if He would have come at that moment? Where would you have been? Where would you, where were you? Were you sneaking by and doing one at Joe's bar and grill, you know, or whatever the thing might be. Were you saying, "I'm going to be left behind"? I'm saying you're going to be ashamed of yourself at His coming. You're not going to be left behind. You're going to be embarrassed. Paul lived because Christ was coming soon. And it came across in his messages. The third thing that we see right here is that it's intended to give us encouragement. This shouldn't bum you out. You know, I don't know, maybe there's an emergency or something going on, but just this morning when I mentioned rapture, I saw two people just get up and leave. Now, maybe, you know, maybe their car alarm went off or whatever, but some people this scares people. Rapture, uh-oh. Why, why in the world when Jesus says, "I'm coming back for you," unless we love this world so much that we don't want Him to come back. No, it's intended to encourage us. In Acts chapter one, there are two men in glorious apparel and they're standing there as Jesus ascends up to heaven and they speak to the disciples. And I love what they say. They say, "What are you looking at?" Now, it seems pretty normal to me. Jesus, they're all talking, I mean, Jesus is talking to them. Can you imagine? He's standing on the hilltop there. Some of us have been over there, standing there. Jesus starts going up. And He's going up and a cloud descends out of heaven and it engulfs Him. And they're like, and it says two men in white apparel say to the disciples, "Why stand ye here gazing up into heaven?" "This same Jesus who went up this way will come again in like manner." And it says they turned around and went back to Jerusalem. What an encouragement. He's going to come again. Jot it down quickly because of time. 1 Thessalonians in all of its five chapters, Paul ends each chapter. It's beautifully and it's intended, it's very, very, very well intended by Paul, in each of its five chapters of 1 Thessalonians, he gives them a shot of encouragement in the arm. 1 Thessalonians 1:10. He says, "Wait for His Son from heaven." Notice, He didn't say, "Wait for the Antichrist, the European Union to form." Wait for, you know, hailstones to fall from heaven. He doesn't say, "Wait for asteroids to blow up the Earth and the sea to turn to blood." No, He says, "Wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come." Guess what? Somebody will say, "Oh, yeah, that word means hell." That word does not mean hell. It means from God's judgments. 2 Thessalonians, or yeah, 2 Thessalonians. No, 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 19. 1 Thessalonians 2:19. "For what is our hope?" Paul says, "Our joy, our crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you at the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming, for you are our glory and our crown?" That was a collective moment he was waiting for. Do you get that? 1 Thessalonians 3:13. "So that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness." That's another thing that it does to your life. It causes you to walk more holy with Him. "Holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all of His saints." Yeah, He's going to bring with Him the ones who have died believing in Jesus. Maybe your son, or your daughter, or your child, or your mom, or your dad. Their spirit will come with Him. And the Bible says that their bodies will be resurrected in a glorified state. I got to tell you something. We're going on the tram up some street. I don't know what street it was. I couldn't read the names anyway, and I punched the button because it stops the door, and I grabbed my camera and I ran into a graveyard. I had about six people with me. They go, "He's nuts, he's flipped." It's an ancient graveyard. And I'm out there shooting pictures. I'll show you them later. If I would have got home sooner, I could have put them up on the screen, showed you. Ancient graveyards. Tombs. You say, "What are you going to take a picture of that for?" Because I want to drop a statement underneath, "Future resurrection site."
Jack Hibbs: Next time you drive by a graveyard, future resurrection site. That's what it is. Their bodies are going to come out of the grave, don't ask me how. Their spirit's going to come with the Lord. The saints are going to come with him. And we're going to meet them, it says, in the air. That's going to blow Spielberg's mind. It's going to be a I don't know how he's going to do a movie after that one. He can't beat it. It's going to be incredible. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verse 17, "We who are alive and remain shall be Harpazo, rapture, caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air." And thus shall we always be with the Lord. Verse 18, "Therefore, comfort one another with these words." It's to be a comfort. "Oh boy, you're going to go through the tribulation, you're going to get your head cut off, and you're going to resist the mark of the beast, you'll starve to death or you'll get your head cut off, and you know, have a great time." That's your blessed hope? That's not what the Bible teaches. That is what's ordained for the tribulation saints, which you are not. There's the Old Testament saints, there's three groups of saints. Old Testament saints, church age saints, which began at Pentecost, will end on the at the Day of the Rapture, and there's the tribulation saints. You guys already know all this stuff. You should be up here telling that instead of me. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verses 9 through 10 is the fifth one, and that is God did not appoint us unto God's judgment. It has nothing to do with hell, but the judgment upon Earth, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, and whether we are alive or we die, we should live together with Him.
Voiceover (Male): Awesome. You're listening to Real Life with Pastor Jack Hibbs. To learn more about this ministry or to catch up on some previous episodes, go to jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com. And now, let's get back to today's message. Once again, here's Pastor Jack.
Jack Hibbs: The second thing that we see this morning, its roots, that is, the rapture, are in God's words, the very, very Word of God. I already mentioned to you John chapter 14, which is Jesus's first mention of the rapture. But note it, it's on the authority of God Himself. Paul says, "For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord." That's a New Testament way of saying, "Thus saith the Lord." That's a strong statement. John 11:25. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life." By the way, in the in the Greek, that's a continuum. He continues to be the resurrection and the life. "He who believes in Me," that's presently, "do you presently believe in Him?" "Though he may die," that is a yet future statement during the time of Christ, "yet shall he live." In the Greek, that is a future event. Live on and on and on. The second thing that we see, or I should say, that's was the first thing. Sorry. See that? That was ordained for the church. It's a promise. It's dedicated to us. Secondly, it's Paul's doctrine, the doctrine of imminency. He says in verse 15 that "we who are alive and remain." Notice that he he didn't say, "You guys." Or he didn't say, "Somebody, those believers of the future." 2000 years ago, He said, "We who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those," those are the ones who died, "who have died in Christ." In other words, their bodies are going to come up before we're raptured. But the scripture goes on to say, "and will meet them in the air." Someday, maybe we need to draw a picture of this, you know, just to show it. The word coming in Greek is Parousia. The word means a being near physically, or a physical advent. Not necessarily a coming, or it could be. It could mean that something's in the vicinity. So it could appear both for the Second Coming, but also the appearance or the rapture of the church. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 52, the Bible says "in a moment" when this thing happens, when the rapture happens, "in a moment we're going to be changed in a twinkling of an eye." That's pretty quick. Now, somebody says, I read this, I don't know how you prove it, but that's 18 thousandths of a second. It says that the dead will be changed incorruptible, it may in their changing, incorruptible. People love the dead, and you know, that's natural. I mean, seems normal to me. This guy's dead. But isn't it wild that God is so powerful? He's going to take the dead and bring them to life in the resurrection of their bodies. You might say, "Man, I don't believe this." You are so cool to be thinking that, because the Bible says in 2 Peter chapter 3, "Know this first, that in the last days scoffers will come, walking after their own lust, saying, 'Where's the promise of the Father?'" This news. "Where's this promise? For since the fathers have fallen asleep, everything's continued as it has been from the creation." Where's His return? It's coming. Paul's doctrine of imminency? Yes. It's ordained for the church? Yes. And the rapture is a, listen, it's a Christ event, not a Father event. You got to write that down. The Father, He has His role in end-time affairs, but concerning the rapture, this is very exciting. Concerning the rapture, it's a Christ event. What does that mean? It means that when Christ comes, He's coming for the church. In Philippians 3:20, the Bible says, "So we eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly bodies that we may be conformed to the glorious or to His glorious body." Again, you can read 1 Corinthians chapter 15. But notice the sequence. Number one, and don't you I mean, wouldn't you love to hear this? Number one, it says, "It will be with the shout of the Lord." How do you think the Lord shouts? I mean, just just imagine for a second. How do you think He shouts? Remember when Elijah the prophet, the Lord whispered and it freaked him out? Well, it's going to come with a shout. The second thing it says, "And it will be with the voice of the Archangel." What is that going to sound like? And the third thing it says, "It will be with the trumpet of God."
Jack Hibbs: See you.
Jack Hibbs: If you're Jewish, you just got goosebumps right now because that was a traditional blast right there. Thirdly, this, the rapture is our expectancy. How many of you would have went up at that moment if that would have been it? Yeah, I would have. Oh, that's because you're the pastor. No, believe me. I have more strikes against me than positive things. Again, it's because of the blood. Did that blast scare you or was it like, "All right." Would you have been pulling up into this parking lot next week if that blast would have been real? "Gee, look, Harriet, we can find a parking spot right up front." We long for His appearance. If you're a Christian, you can't wait for Him to come. If you're a Christian and you're goofing off, then you're kind of scared of His coming. The rapture is final. The rapture in theological terms, brings a conclusion to the longevity of the church on Earth. Did you know that? This this fact alone ought to startle you. The rapture of the church ends the church age. When was the church born? On the day of Pentecost. When will the church end on Earth? The day of the rapture. Whoever those people are, they're clothed in fine white linen for all eternity. Different clothing from the Old Testament saints and the tribulation saints. And His soon return compels us. Every time there's a problem in our perspective, it's a huge opportunity for God to show Himself mighty. You got a problem? It's an opportunity for God to show Himself mighty. He uses the people who listen to Him. Yeah, we have a problem. We have a problem or a huge opportunity. Will you join with us to get the gospel to every corner of the globe until Jesus comes, even though we be such a small church, seemingly insignificant? God is doing insane things here. The guys that are here, they've they're going to market this thing. It's going to go out around the world. Teachings, 24 hours of teaching. And Jesus said, "This gospel shall be preached in all the world, and then the end shall come." Isn't that fun? Isn't that fun just to get close to something something that He might be doing? I think it's fun. Jet lag and all. Father, we ask You to come. We ask You to come right now, Lord. We pray that you'd call us up. Wouldn't it be awesome if that if that little queue for the trumpet blast to go off at that point? You interrupted it and blew it about 20 minutes earlier. Freaked out the sound man and all of us. Who would have been left behind? Who would have gone up? We all know, Lord, that if we trust in the blood of Jesus Christ and ask You to forgive us of our sins and to look to You as our King and Savior, we would have been up there right now. Oh, just think where we would have been right now. We would have all been running right to Noah and said, "How was it? What was it like?" Running over to Paul and shaking his hand and Martin Luther and Dietrich Bonhoeffer and saying hi to Charles Spurgeon. Dwight L Moody. Wondering is is he as fat as he was in heaven as he was on Earth? Wow. Can you imagine? "God, it's great to be here. Thank you, Lord, for saving me. This is too cool." Where would you have been? My friend, if that trumpet blast startled you, if that blast of the shofar startled you, you can change that right now by saying, "Jesus Christ, God's risen Son from the dead, come into my life. I exchange my sin for Your righteousness, and I'm asking You to write my name in Your Book of Life and to save me from my sins." I'm not going to goof off anymore. If you're having sex outside of marriage, dedicate your life to God and and get married or get separated, one or the other. If you're pursuing dollars, seek first the kingdom of God. If you got to have that little drink to calm you down at night, why don't you learn how to pray? If you want to be ready, look up.
Voiceover (Male): Pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs. Here on Real Life Radio, and his message called The Rapture of the Church. Thanks for being with us today. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack's series called The Life and Times of Jesus Christ. It's a series about the real Jesus of the Bible, God in the flesh, and why knowing Him more deeply really changes everything. And we'll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio.
Voiceover (Male): Are you searching for answers these days in a world where truth is hard to find? Well, my friend, as you heard in our broadcast, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. And if you'd like to learn more about what that means to you personally, just go to our website, jackhibbs.com. And then click on that tab there that's labeled "Know God." And there you'll be guided through what committing to Jesus Christ really means and the freedom that you'll find in knowing God. That's the Know God tab at our website, jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com.
Voiceover (Male): Hey, thank you again so much for listening. And if you'd like to hear or see more of what we do here, you can always go to jackhibbs.com for all the latest on what's going on with this ministry. And please, if you're ever in the Southern California area, come see us at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills. We'd love to see you there in person. It has been so good to be with you today, and I pray you find yourself in the grace and mercy of our Lord, Jesus Christ. See you on the next episode. This program is made possible by the generous contributions of you, our listeners. Visit us at jackhibbs.com, that's jackhibbs.com. Until next time, Pastor Jack Hibbs and all of us here at Real Life Radio wish for you solid and steady growth in Christ and in His Word. We'll see you next time here on Real Life Radio.