Please turn in your Bibles this morning to Hebrews chapter 9 as we look at the appearances of Jesus Christ and what they mean to us. You see, for many people, even some Christians, this is not something they think about, and that truly is tragic.  There are three appearances of Jesus that we are going to be looking at this morning.  We are going to be looking at the past, the present and the future appearances of Jesus Christ and what that means to us.

            Before we get to our text this morning, listen to this story that will help set the stage for what we will be talking about. We are told:

            I worked in a machine shop for four-and-a-half years alongside a fellow named George. His job was to sweep and clean out the shavings underneath the huge lathes and machines we were running. George was born again, and he loved the teaching of Scripture on prophecy.  I remember hearing him sing hymns as he worked.  Many of them had to do with the coming of Christ, such as “In the Sweet By and By” and “When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder.”

            Late one Friday afternoon about ten minutes to quitting time when we were all weary, I looked at George and said, “George, are you ready?”  He said, “Uh-huh.”  But he was all dirty. He was just obviously not ready. In fact, he looked like he was ready to keep on working.  I said, “Look at you!  Man, you’re not ready.  You’ve gotta go clean up.”  “No,” he said, “let me show you something.”  So he unzipped his coveralls and underneath were the neatest, cleanest clothes you can imagine.  He had them all ready.  All he did when the whistle blew was just unzip and step out of that coverall, walk up, and punch his clock and he was gone. He said, “You see, I stay ready to keep from getting’ ready – just like I’m ready for Jesus!”

- Charles Swindoll, The Tale of The Tardy Ox Cart, pp. 506-507

            My prayer as we go through this study is that your hearts would be stirred and you would not only have your eyes focused on His return, but that glorious hope you would share with others because if they are not ready for His second coming, if you are not ready for His second coming, then you will face His judgment!  Now, please understand that when I speak of being ready I am talking about Jesus Christ being your Lord and Savior, that is what prepares you to meet your Maker, and we will see that as we go through these appearances of Jesus here this morning.  With that said, let’s begin reading in Hebrews chapter 9, starting in verse 24 and see what the Lord has for us this morning.

            Keep in mind that Paul is writing to Jewish Christians who were struggling with their faith because of the persecution they were facing by their fellow Jews, many times their own family!  Thus, some were being drawn back into the legalism of Judaism, compromising their faith and Paul wants them to consider Jesus, not to lose sight of who He is and what He has done.

            Thus, this letter is written with a slant towards the practices of Judaism and Paul shows them that Jesus is superior to angels. He shows them that Jesus is superior to Moses.  He shows them that Jesus is superior to Joshua. And he hits the pinnacle of this letter in Hebrews chapters 5-10 where he shows them that Jesus is superior to the Levitical priesthood.

            We saw in Hebrews chapters 5-7 that Jesus came from a better priestly order than Aaron, the order of Melchizedek. As we moved into Hebrews chapter 8 we saw that Jesus has a better covenant for us, not one that dealt with the outward cleansing, more of a ceremonial cleansing, but one that worked on the inside and was manifested outwardly in our actions.  It was through the New Covenant that our sins could be cast as far as the east was from the west to be remembered no more!

            And in Hebrews chapter 9 we have seen that Jesus is a better sanctuary than the earthly sanctuary, the tabernacle. You see, that was a picture of the throne of God in Heaven with all the furnishings being a picture of Christ and the work He was to do. In the verses we will be looking at this morning, Paul shows them the greatness of Christ’s sacrifice, what He has done, is doing and will do in our lives!

            That is what we will be focusing on this morning, the appearances of Christ and what they mean to us. First of all we will be looking at, THE PAST APPEARANCE OF CHRIST – TO PUT AWAY SIN – HEBREWS 9:25-26.  Then we will be looking at, THE PRESENT APPEARANCE OF CHRIST - IN HEAVEN FOR US – HEBREWS 9:24.  And lastly, we will be looking at, THE FUTURE APPEARANCE OF CHRIST – TO TAKE US TO GLORY – HEBREWS 9:27-28.  This future appearance will have two aspects to it. The first dealing with the Rapture as the Lord comes for His bride, the church and we meet Him in the air. And then the second aspect where He comes with His bride in judgment to set up His kingdom on this earth as He separates the sheep from the goats or those who came to know the Lord during the tribulation period and survived from those who rejected Him during the tribulation period!

1.  THE PAST APPEARANCE OF CHRIST – TO PUT AWAY SIN –

     HEBREWS 9:25-26

            Paul, speaking to Jewish believers is comparing the work of the high priest to that of Jesus.  You see, besides the morning and evening sacrifices, besides the many daily sacrifices, each year on the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice on the mercy seat to atone for the sins of the people as well as his own sins. But his work was never finished because the sacrifice of an animal could never take away your sins, it could only cover them for a time, more of an outwardly ceremonial cleansing.

            But Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest does not offer Himself over and over again as a sacrifice for our sins.  His sacrifice was perfect and thus, He died once for the sins of the world and that work can be received by faith into our lives!  That is what Peter tells us in I Peter 3:18, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.”

            Thus, Jesus is the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world, that is what His first appearance was all about, to take away our sins, to make us as white as snow.  Jesus didn’t come to condemn us, in fact we were already condemned because of our sins!  No, Jesus came to save us from our sins, to set us free as He said in John 8:36, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

            When Jesus began His earthly ministry we are told in Luke 4:16-21, “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.’  Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’”

            Jesus has come the first time to bring healing to our lives, to heal our broken hearts that have been broken through sin.  He has come to deliver us from the bondage of sin and to open our eyes to the things of God.  It is interesting to me that Jesus is quoting out of Isaiah 61:1-2, but he doesn’t finish quoting the last part of verse 2.  Why is that? Because that last verse says “And the day of vengeance of our God . . .” Jesus came the first time to set us free from our sins, but He will come again as a righteous Judge! And here is the thing, Christianity is not about man being good enough for God to receive him into His presence. No, man starts out a sinner and has no capacity within his being to change that reality. Thus, God stepped into redeem man from His sin and He paid the price on the cross of Calvary for us, for our sins!

            I’m sure many of you are familiar with the encounter Nicodemus had with Jesus in John chapter 3, but let’s read over it and look at a few important points that are made in this chapter.  In John chapter 3, starting in verse 1 we are told, “There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.’  Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’  Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?’  Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. . . .

. . . Do not marvel that I said to you, “You must be born again.”  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ Nicodemus answered and said to Him, ‘How can these things be?’  Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.’”  John 3:1-21.

            Nicodemus recognizes that Jesus is more than just a man but just can’t figure Him out completely here. Thus, Jesus gets him thinking by telling this man he will not see the kingdom of God unless he is “born again.”  This religious leader does not understand what Jesus is saying so Jesus tells him.

            You see, when Adam sinned his spirit died or that part of him that connected him with God.  Thus, as the sin nature was passed on to his descendants, they too were born with a spirit that was dead or insensitive to the things of God.  Thus, to be born again speaks of the spirit in man being re-born so that man can fellowship with God once again!

            The problem though was sin, it separated man from God, thus, God sent His son to pay the penalty for our sins so that we can be born again!  Again, look at John 3:17, which says, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”  Notice, God did not send His Son into this world to condemn us, why? Because John 3:18 tells us we are already condemned and if you reject the solution to that problem, if you reject Jesus, you will remain condemned in your sins. But understand that God sent His Son into this world to save us!  Thus, the past appearance of Christ was to put away sin!

2.  THE PRESENT APPEARANCE OF CHRIST - IN HEAVEN FOR US –

     HEBREWS 9:24.

            Jesus did not enter the Holy of Holies made with hands, the tabernacle and later the temple, but He went right into the presence of the Father. You see, the earthly tabernacle was just a copy of what Heaven is like, thus, Jesus entered the reality, not the type!

            Yes, His sacrifice for us was made on this earth and it is because of the work He did on the cross of Calvary that He continues as our mediator and High Priest in Heaven. We see this intercession spoken of in Isaiah 53:12, “Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.”  Then, again in Romans 8:34 we are told, “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.” And in Hebrews 7:25 Paul tells us, “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

            You see, it is not just that Jesus appears before the Father, but He appears before the Father for us!  Why does He have to intercede for us? Because Revelation 12:10 tells us, “Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.’”  You see, Satan loves to bring accusations before the Father regarding us, but Jesus is saying to the Father, “Paid in full!”  It is as Paul said in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”  Yes, we are not perfect, but Jesus did not die for perfect people, He died for sinners and we qualify. And even after we are saved, we still fall short but God sees us as we will be not as we are because the blood of Jesus cleanses us from ALL our sins!

            Not only that, but listen to what Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:4-7, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”  Jesus has taken us with Him, He has ushered us into the very presence of God!

            In knowing all that Christ has done for you, doesn’t that just stir your heart and make you want to serve Him?  “But I can’t because of this or because of that” you say. Listen to this true story. We are told:

            Larry McKenzie, polio poster boy, whose picture and story were used by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis to help thousands of other stricken children, made his testimony as a Christian count in helping others.

            In his tour of the country in behalf of the polio drive, the Christian lad frequently told of his love for the Lord Jesus.  Now his testimony has been printed in a tract, “Rise Up and Walk,” published and distributed by the American Tract Society.

            Says Larry in his tract, “I met many famous people on my tour – President of the United States, J. Edgar Hoover, Chief of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and others, but I think often about the time I will meet the Lord Jesus, and until then I really want to serve Him any way I can.”

   - Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, 7398

            You see, it doesn’t matter where you came from, it doesn’t matter how talented you are, it doesn’t matter the degrees of schooling you have, even your health is not an issue because you can serve the Lord no matter where you are at.  And folks, after looking at all that He has done for you, I hope you desire to serve Him out of love and not constraint.  He doesn’t want you to feel you have to serve Him but what an honor it is that He allows you to serve Him!  Thus, we have seen the present appearance of Christ in Heaven for us!

3.  THE FUTURE APPEARANCE OF CHRIST – TO TAKE US TO GLORY –

     HEBREWS 9:27-28

            Yes, Jesus came the first time to put away sin, to pay in full the penalty for our sins, but He is coming again to take us to glory, we call that the Rapture of the church when Christ comes prior to the start of the seven year tribulation period and He meets us in the air, we are caught up to Him. You can read of this in I Corinthians 15:51-58 where Paul tells us, “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed — in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’  ‘O Death, where is your sting?  O Hades, where is your victory?’  The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

Also, in I Thessalonians 4:13-18 Paul tells us, “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” 

            This is not something that was made up in our day, but Paul talked about the Lord coming back for His bride, the church and he was waiting for it to happen even in his own day!

Now for some of you, maybe you are not excited about the return of Christ as this story illustrates for us. H. A. Ironside tells us:

            I remember one night in Stockton, Calif., . . . I was preaching about the coming of Jesus. As I was in prayer I was conscious of a woman getting up and going out, for in those days the skirts would swish whenever a lady walked. It seemed to me that this lady must have gone out in a hurry. When I finished my prayer and went to greet the friends at the door, I found a woman pacing back and forth in the lobby. The moment I came, she said to me, “How would you dare to pray like that – ‘Come, Lord Jesus?’ I don’t want Him to come. It would break in on all my plans. How dare you!”  I said, “My dear young woman, Jesus is coming whether you want it or not.”  Oh, if you know Him and love Him, surely your heart says, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

- H. A. Ironside

            Like Ironside said, if you really know Jesus, you will be looking with anticipation, with joy at His coming for His bride, the church.  If you are not you have lost the perspective of who He is and what awaits us in glory. Can you imagine being caught up to be with the Lord! Even in death folks, for the Christian, it is just moving day as we move from this tent or temporary dwelling place for our spirit and soul to dwell in and into a mansion.

It is as Paul said in Titus 2:11-15, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.  Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.”

            For those who reject Jesus He is coming again in His second coming not as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world, but as the Lion from the tribe of Judah to execute His judgment upon a Christ rejecting world and to separate the sheep from the goats or the saved from the unsaved, and the sheep will enter into the kingdom age.

It is as this story illustrates for us:

            In Warren Wiersbe’s Meet Yourself in the Psalms, he tells about a frontier town where a horse bolted and ran away with a wagon carrying a little boy. Seeing the child in danger, a young man risked his life to catch the horse and stop the wagon. The child who was saved grew up to become a lawless man, and one day he stood before a judge to be sentenced for a serious crime.  The prisoner recognized the judge as the man who, years before had saved his life; so he pled for mercy on the basis of that experience. But the words from the bench silenced his plea: “Young man, then I was your savior; today I am your judge, and I must sentence you to be hanged.” One day Jesus Christ will say to rebellious sinners, “During that long day of grace, I was the Savior, and I would have forgiven you. But today I am your Judge. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire!”

- Doug Van Essen

            That is the reality and for us as Christians, we are called to be ambassadors for Christ, to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world, to be a light because Jesus is coming back to take us home and then, after the Tribulation Period He is coming back with us to set-up His kingdom on this earth and He will rule and reign for 1,000 years as righteousness fills this land!  The future appearance of Christ is to take us to glory!

            As I begin to rap this up this morning, what does this all mean to us? Listen to this story and then I will close. We are told:

            It is an oft-told story, but its moral points up a great truth. There was an extremely wealthy man who possessed vast treasures of art. The man had one son who was an ordinary boy, and who passed away in late adolescence. Having loved the lad deeply, the sorrowing father died of a broken heart only a few weeks later.

            The father’s will provided that everything would be sold by auction and, strangely, the father stipulated that an oil painting of his son was to be the first item offered by the auctioneer.  Large crowds came to bid on the widely reputed collection of art. In keeping with the proviso of the will, the boy’s portrait was first held up for bids. Not until several moments had passed, did an old Negro servant, who had always loved the boy, placed a seventy-five-cent bid.

            The picture was at once sold to the Negro, there being no further bids registered. Then the dramatic moment came; the sale was stopped, as the will had further provided that anyone who loved the son enough to buy his portrait should receive everything in the father’s house.

- Kenneth L. Miles

            How much do you love the Son?  Are you willing to give your life to Him as a living sacrifice, because once you come to Him, all that is the Father’s is yours!  Now here is the thing, look at the picture that is being painted here as on the Day of Atonement the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies to offer the sacrifices for sin, he interceded before God for the people, and when he appeared from the Holy of Holies the people rejoiced.  We too will rejoice when we see our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, appear apart from sin for salvation and to take us home with Him to live forever!

            Thus, the past appearance of Christ was to put away sin.  The present appearance of Christ is in Heaven for us.  And the future appearance of Christ is to take us to glory. You see, if you love the Son, Jesus Christ, all that the Father has will be given to you and folks, we will be with the Lord forever!  Isn’t that great news that we should be proclaiming to people who are searching for everything and have found nothing because they have not received Jesus into their lives?  Of course it is and may we be the ones who will bring people to meet Jesus and see them come into the kingdom of God, the family of God!  People get ready; Jesus is coming to take us home!