Introduction: Are you looking for Jesus to return and take
you to heaven? This is our last study in the book of Psalms.
It ends with the message that we should wait for the Second
Coming of Jesus.
When I’m waiting on something I’m anticipating whatever has
me waiting. A great meal? An exciting experience? A
promotion? An unavoidable unpleasant experience? While
waiting do you think about what will happen if it does not
work out? If Jesus’ Second Coming is supposed to be a focal
point of our life, it seems logical to consider the
alternative. Eternal life in glory or being burned.
Why would we be reluctant to mention the burning part? I
would like to know about it if I were being presented with
the choice for the first time. Perhaps a lack of focus on
the final outcome has to do with the fact that people are
less concerned about the future than the present. People
fighting cancer carefully follow their doctor’s advice.
People facing diabetes are most concerned about enjoying
their current meal. Let’s dive into our study of the Bible
and see what we can learn about these questions!
I. The Two Outcomes
A. Read Revelation 20:4-5. What does this describe?
(Two resurrections. The righteous are raised at
the beginning of the thousand years and the “the
rest of the dead” are not raised until after the
thousand years.)
B. Read Revelation 20:6. In which resurrection would
you like to be a part? Will those raised in the
first resurrection ever die again? (No. “Death has
no power.”)
C. Read Revelation 20:7-9. Where are the righteous?
(They are in the New Jerusalem (“the beloved
city”) with Jesus.)
1. Where are the newly resurrected wicked? (Led
by Satan, they attack the New Jerusalem and
the righteous.)
a. What happens to the wicked? (“Fire came
down from heaven and consumed them.” They
die by burning.)
II. Is Waiting on Jesus Easy?
A. Read Psalm 27:1-3. How do these words of David fit
the verses in Revelation that we just read?
(Perfectly. An army of “evildoers” attack David.)
B. Let’s jump down and read Psalm 27:10-13. What is
the “land of the living?” (David is looking for
God to deliver him even though all others have
forsaken him. The ultimate land of the living is
in heaven and the earth made new.)
C. Read Psalm 27:14. King David tells us to “wait for
the Lord.” Why? What is the Lord bringing with
Him? (Psalm 27 is about deliverance from
evildoers. David tells us to wait for
deliverance.)
1. In the introduction I compared those with an
immediate medical problem with those with a
likely medical problem years ahead. Which kind
of waiting is being described here? (It is
both. David asks God to deliver him now and to
deliver him to the land of the living.)
2. If we are presenting the gospel to those who
do not know or not believe, what should we say
about the timing of their decision? (Choosing
God makes a difference both now and in the
future. Choosing later may be too late.)
D. Read Romans 8:18-19. Wait a minute! Will we suffer
now even though we choose Jesus? (Just as David
tells us that bad guys are after him, so this text
says that living in this world presents us with
suffering.)
1. My wife tells me that I am an optimist. That
is true. My view is that life is going very
well. However, I recently spoke to a very
hostile crowd that caused me to worry about my
safety. My low mileage car just had a
catastrophic failure. A close family member
has a fatal illness. And both my wife and I
are temporarily having trouble walking. Am I
suffering?
E. Read Romans 8:20-21. Who caused our current
“futility?” (Read Genesis 3:17-19. Eve and Adam
made the decision not to trust and to disobey God.
God cursed the ground which made life difficult
for them. Romans 8:20-21 tells us that out of this
arises hope that we will be free from our “bondage
to corruption.”)
III. How to Wait
A. Read Psalm 126:1-3. Has this happened? (Read
Psalm 126:4. No. This is what God’s people think the
future will be like.)
1. Note that Psalm 126:1 says it is like a
“dream.” Do you dream about what it will be
like in heaven? In the earth made new?
2. Have you ever dreamed about a new car, a new
house, or a great trip? If so, how did the
reality compare? (Often the dream is better
than the reality. That will not be true for
heaven, but our experiences in anticipation
show that we can have great joy in just the
dream.)
B. Read Psalm 126:5-6. Notice that these verses twice
refer to sowing. One says, “sow in tears,” and the
other says, “seed for sowing.” Why is life here
like sowing? (Recall that we read Genesis 3:17-19
which reveals that life on earth is more difficult
because of sin. In our daily lives we labor under
the curse of sin. If we choose Jesus, then the
harvest will be “shouts of joy” in heaven.)
1. What, exactly, are the “seeds” and the
“sheaves?” (Since we cannot bring our
possessions to heaven, sheaves must refer to
those we have influenced to accept Jesus.
Seeds must be our effort to influence others
to accept Jesus. It may also refer to our
sufferings on earth which are part of our
effort to advance the gospel.)
IV. The Sabbath View
A. Read Psalm 92:1. For what time is this Psalm
created? (The Sabbath.)
1. I read through Psalm 92 and at first it seemed
to be a very odd Sabbath song. It says nothing
about the creation. It says nothing about
rest. Do we have the wrong view of the
Sabbath? Or, does this psalmist have the wrong
view?
B. Read Matthew 12:10. The Jewish leaders are asking
Jesus this question. What are they anticipating
that Jesus will answer? (That it is lawful. This
will give them a basis to accuse Jesus.)
C. Read Matthew 12:11. Jesus’ answer is to first ask
the leaders a question. Is this a relevant
question? (No, at least not obviously. Jesus asks
about an emergency situation. The man with the
withered hand was not an emergency. He could wait
to be healed until after the Sabbath.)
D. Read Matthew 12:12. What does this teach us about
Jesus’ view of the Sabbath? (The emergency aspect
of the sheep question is irrelevant. Jesus says
humans are more valuable than sheep, you should do
good to animals and humans on Sabbath. Jesus
teaches us that the Sabbath is about restoration.)
E. Read Matthew 12:13-14. Compare the attitude of
Jesus and the Jewish leaders when it comes to
restoration? (Jesus restored on the Sabbath. The
leaders plotted destruction on the Sabbath.)
F. With this view of the Sabbath in mind, let’s go
back and read Psalm 92:1-2. What are we singing
about on Sabbath? (God’s love and faithfulness.
This makes sense with the proper view of the
Sabbath.)
G. Read Psalm 92:4-6. While we wait for the Second
Coming, what can we understand about Jesus that
stupid people cannot? (God has great works and
thoughts. The Jewish leaders’ understanding of the
Sabbath was not deep enough. They did not
understand that the day was for restoration.)
H. Read Psalm 92:9-11. What should we keep in mind as
we wait for Jesus’ return? (That God will win. We
will win. Evil will be destroyed.)
1. What should that make us do? What attitude
should we have? (Since this is a Sabbath song,
we should seek to restore the wicked. We need
not doubt that we will be restored.)
I. Read Psalm 92:12-15. What is your future? (You are
not like the grass, you are like a great tree that
will “flourish in the courts of our God.”)
J. Read Psalm 30:5. Joy comes in the morning! Will
you look forward with joy to your ultimate
restoration?
K. Friend, you don’t want to be defeated. You don’t
want to burn. Why not rejoice now and later by
choosing Jesus? Why not choose joy?
V. Next week: We begin a series of studies entitled “The
Great Controversy.” We will study the overall conflict
between good and evil.
Copr. 2024, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are
from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All
rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within
parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail,
but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this
link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the
Holy Spirit as you study.
