Jesus Is Coming Back... What Are You Building? | Pastor Wayne Francis | Hope City

The return of Jesus stands as the greatest drop in history, bigger than Rihanna, sneakers, makeup, video games, rodeo lineups, or any surprise album. The image of the drop exposes how people can build calendars, budgets, group chats, and whole lives around things that may or may not come, while treating the certain return of Christ like background noise. Psalm 23:6 pushes past goodness and mercy following the believer and presses toward the line that often gets left sitting there, “I will live in the house of the Lord forever.” The forever that is waiting matters more than the benefits that are following.

God has always been announcing drops before they came. God announced plagues, Passover, the Messiah, and now the return of Jesus. Noah received a word before he received any evidence, and that word was enough. Noah built before the rain, before the proof, before the culture agreed, and before anybody stopped laughing. Faith builds before the drop. Faith acts before it sees.

The return of Jesus creates only three real responses: apathy, anxiety, or anticipation. Apathy does not hate the promise, it just does not think about it. Distracted disciples worry about the wrong text messages instead of the message from the text, the school they may get into instead of the eternity they are heading toward, retirement instead of the return. Anxiety turns the return of Christ into fear, like old school Christian horror movies, where salvation feels fragile and religious people keep wondering if they are “cooked.” The gospel answers that fear with the righteousness of Jesus, not with the nervous work of trying to be good enough.

Anticipation is the right posture. Titus calls the church to look forward with hope to the appearing of the great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Genesis shows that God gave Noah specific instructions, even down to cypress wood, because obedience does not get to edit the details. Noah did everything exactly as God commanded, and the church is called to build with the same confidence.

Jesus says, “I will build my church,” and that makes the church the most exciting thing being built in the earth. Hope City is not done just because a new building is standing. People are still far from God and close to the church, so serving, giving, joining groups, showing up, and inviting others become part of building before the drop. The ark matters, but the altar matters too. God closed the door and secured salvation, so the response to being saved is not mere relief. The response to being saved is worship.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Faith builds before proof arrives. Noah received a word before there was one drop of evidence, and obedience started swinging the hammer anyway. Faith does not wait until the forecast agrees with God. The life that trusts God begins building while other people are still laughing, planning, and assuming tomorrow will look just like yesterday. [09:31]
• 2. Apathy is distracted discipleship. Apathy toward Christ’s return is not always open rebellion; sometimes it is just a divided mind. The soul can be full of notifications, plans, admissions, retirement thoughts, and pressure, while eternity sits untouched. The danger is not that the promise is denied, but that the promise becomes irrelevant to daily life. [11:30]
• 3. Anticipation is not panic. The return of Jesus is meant to create confidence, urgency, and hope, not paranoia. Anxiety keeps measuring salvation by personal goodness, but the gospel rests salvation on the righteousness of Christ. A prepared heart is not a terrified heart; it is a heart that knows the King is coming and starts building accordingly. [14:30]
• 4. Jesus is building his church. The most exciting thing being built is not a company, platform, brand, or empire, but the church Jesus promised to build. Serving, giving, connecting, and showing up are not religious busywork; they are partnership with what Christ is doing before his return. The church cannot act finished while people are still far from God. [19:52]
• 5. Saved people build altars. Noah built an altar after the ark because rescue should turn into worship. Salvation is not just a sigh of relief that judgment has passed over; it is a life lowered before God in honor, repentance, and gratitude. The God who closes the door and secures salvation deserves more than survival language; he deserves worship.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [02:27] - Waiting For The Drop
• [05:41] - Building Around Christ’s Return
• [06:51] - Psalm 23 And Forever
• [08:40] - Noah Builds Before Evidence
• [10:24] - Scoffers And The Promise
• [11:05] - Apathy, Anxiety, Or Anticipation
• [14:55] - Hope In Jesus’ Return
• [15:53] - Obeying God’s Specific Word
• [18:23] - Faith Before The Rain
• [19:52] - Jesus Builds His Church
• [20:41] - Serving, Groups, And Generosity
• [23:04] - The Surprise Drop Of God’s Work
• [28:41] - Fans Or Followers Of King Jesus
• [30:33] - Grace, The Ark, And The Altar

1. In Psalm 23:6, what two things are said to follow the believer, and what final destination is held out at the end of the verse? [07:19]
2. According to Genesis 6:22, how complete was Noah’s obedience to what God commanded him? [17:04]
3. What are the three responses to the return of Jesus that are named, and how are they different from each other? [11:05]
4. In Matthew 16:18, who says he will build the church, and what does he say will not prevail against it? [19:52]

1. Psalm 23:6 ends with “I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” Why is that last line easy to overlook, and what does it reveal about what believers should value most? [07:23]
2. Noah obeyed before there was visible proof. What does that show about the relationship between God’s word, faith, and action? [09:31]
3. Titus 2:13 calls the return of Jesus a “blessed hope.” Why should Christ’s return create hope and confidence instead of panic and dread? [14:55]
4. Jesus says, “I will build my church.” How does that shape the way a believer should think about serving, giving, and staying connected to the local church? [20:41]

1. Everybody is building life around something. What has been getting the most attention in this season of life—career, school, money, relationships, comfort, plans for the future? What would it look like to build more intentionally around the certain return of Jesus? [05:41]
2. Apathy often looks like distraction, not open rebellion. What kinds of distractions most easily push eternity to the edge of the mind for you? What helps you notice when your heart has gone spiritually numb? [11:30]
3. Anxiety about Christ’s return often shows up when salvation feels tied to personal performance. When do you find yourself slipping into “I need to be good enough” thinking? How does the righteousness of Jesus speak to that fear? [14:06]
4. Noah did exactly what God commanded. Is there any area where obedience has felt delayed because you wanted more clarity, more proof, or more control first? What might simple obedience look like right now? [15:53]
5. Jesus is building his church, and people are still far from God. What is one concrete way you could participate more fully in that work right now—serving, inviting someone, joining a group, showing up more consistently, or giving more generously? [29:45]
6. It is possible to admire Jesus like a fan without following him like a disciple. Where is that difference showing up in your life right now? What would deeper follow-through actually look like this month? [28:58]
7. Noah built an altar after the ark. Has your response to salvation been mostly relief, or has it become worship? What practices help move your heart from “I made it” to “I honor you”? [31:23]