Fresh Life Church: “Time Is Running Out” with Pastor Levi Lusko

Date: September 1, 2025
Theme: Living with urgency and hope because Jesus is coming back—what it means to be a child of God, and how that identity shapes our lives.

Main Theme Overview

In this message, Pastor Levi Lusko invites listeners to embrace the urgency of the Christian life in light of the imminent return of Jesus Christ. Drawing from 1 John 2–3, he explores the hope of Christ’s coming, the transformation that awaits believers, and the practical outworking of being God’s children. He issues a wake-up call to those distracted by the world, reminding the church that “time is running out,” and encourages listeners to let anticipation of Christ’s return motivate purity, hope, and confident living.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Everyday Urgency: “We don’t have time for this!”

• Pastor Levi opens with a humorous take on family life—how getting kids ready is a constant lesson in urgency.
  • “I don’t know why everybody thinks the time we’re supposed to get in the car is the time to start a science project.” (01:06)
  • He uses this as a parallel for spiritual life: “There is in 1 John 2 the flavor of that—of the urgency—of time is running out.” (03:42)

2. Scripture Exploration: 1 John 2:28–3:10

• Pastor Levi connects the end of chapter 2 to the start of chapter 3 as a unified thought.
  • Stresses that “chapter and verse divisions were added later—they're not inspired.” (04:16)
• John the Apostle—writing with urgency, aged and likely the last living eyewitness to Jesus—addresses confusion and false teaching in the church.

3. False Teaching and Context

• The early church in Ephesus was being infiltrated by false ideas—mixing Christian truth with mystical and “feel-good” philosophies.
  • “We're pulling in this from mysticism, something our yoga teacher said... making the truth a lie by blending the truth with a lie.” (13:11)
• This is why John, “an agitated, pissed off pastor… is trying to cut through—this is a wake-up call.” (16:40)

4. Six Takeaway Truths

a. Jesus Is Coming Back

• “Jesus is coming back. He says, guys, do you realize he's coming back? We are going to see him.” (22:01)
• The Second Coming is one of the Bible’s most frequently repeated themes:
  • “In the New Testament’s 260 chapters, the return of Jesus is mentioned 318 times.” (23:12)
  • “The greatest argument... why I believe... that Jesus Christ is going to come again is this: He came the first time.” (23:54)

b. Multiple Phases of Christ’s Return

• Explains rapture, Christ coming “for” and “with” his church, the millennial reign, then eternity.
  • “First, he comes for his church... he comes with his church... then there’s a period called the Kingdom.” (27:28)

c. We Are Going Forward—Transformation Awaits

• Illustrates using “The Little Mermaid” (King Triton’s restoration as a visual for believers’ future renewal): “That visual... all these little worms... brought back to their full splendor... because we know that's exactly what the Bible says the earth longs for.” (32:10)
• “Your body, Johnny Cash said it well, 'Ain't no grave holding this body down.'” (38:27)
• “When we come out of the grave, we’re going to have a body just like Jesus’s resurrection body.” (38:49)

d. Motivation from Anticipation

• “There is great motivation to be gleaned from anticipation—yearning for, longing for, setting your mind… seeing your citizenship as being a part of heaven, not this current world system.” (44:09)
• Living with a future focus “puts into perspective any pain you do face in the present. Paul said, ‘the sufferings of this present time are not even worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.’” (53:48)

e. Confidence Flows From Family Resemblance

• John gives “a spiritual paternity test.” Are you a child of God, or of the devil?
  • “If you say you’re of your Father but you're still living in continual sin... you're not of him.” (01:02:07)
  • “How can we say he changed my life if my life didn’t change?” (01:07:03)
  • Encourages: “If you sin all the time, but you hate it, that should reassure you. That shows your allegiance is to Him.” (01:08:34)

f. Worship Crowds Out Sin

• “It is impossible to worship and to sin at the same time. Don’t try to sin less; try to abide with Jesus more.” (01:09:11)
  • “If I keep my stomach full of chicken breast, I'm much less likely to pull through Taco Bell!” (01:09:48)

g. We Are Already Children of the King

• “Celebrate even the smallest victories… We are children of God. I am a child of God.” (01:11:11)
• “Become what you already are.” (01:13:13)
• “In our world, we say, ‘Practice makes perfect.’ But God says, ‘Perfect makes practice.’” (01:13:55)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On urgency:

  “There is in First John, chapter two, the flavor of that—of the urgency—of time is running out.” (03:42)

• On John’s tone:

  “This is an agitated, pissed off pastor who’s bummed out that the people in the church were now confused. This is a wake-up call.” (16:40)

• On the certainty of Jesus’ return:

  “The greatest argument I could give you to make a case for why I believe … that Jesus Christ is going to come again is this: He came the first time.” (23:54)

• On eternal transformation:

  “Your body, Johnny Cash said it well, ‘Ain’t no grave holding this body down.’ I’m coming out of that grave… And there won’t be arthritis… no OCs or OCDs… no cancer.” (38:27)

• On hope and grief:

  “Because Jesus took on a body, I can stand at my daughter’s grave with hope, facing the future with confidence…” (41:15)

• On future motivation over worldly living:

  "It’s not your past that should mark you, but your future—where you're going, where you're heading to.” (54:30)

• On family resemblance:

  “He essentially laid out for us a little bit of a spiritual paternity test… How can we say he changed my life if my life didn’t change?” (01:05:12, 01:07:03)

• On assurance and identity:

  “Become what you already are.” (01:13:13)

• On God’s parental love:

  “That’s a child... jumping into the arms of her parent. And that is how God sees you… He wants you to throw your backpack down on the ground and let Him love you.” (01:15:36)

• Spurgeon on assurance:

  “When I stand at God’s right hand amid the lamps of eternal brightness… I shall not be one bit more a child of God than I am right now.” (01:16:32)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:00–03:42 | Opening story: urgency in family life | | 03:42–05:40 | Introduction to 1 John 2–3 and reading of passage | | 13:00–16:50 | Context: false teaching and urgency for the church | | 22:00–27:40 | Jesus is coming back: Second Coming explained | | 32:10–39:00 | “We are going forward”—resurrection, Little Mermaid metaphor | | 44:00–54:55 | Living with future motivation and anticipation | | 01:02:10–01:09:11 | Family resemblance: paternity test for spiritual life | | 01:09:11–01:11:45 | Worship overcomes sin: “You can’t worship and sin at once” | | 01:11:11–01:16:32 | Assurance: “We are children of the King”—identity in Christ |

Conclusion/Reflection

Pastor Levi closes by reminding listeners that God’s love is relentless and secure. Our identity as children of the King is not based on performance, but on the finished work of Christ; we are to “become what we already are.” Living with the anticipation of Christ’s return motivates us toward purity, hope, and confident living—struggling forward, not to earn, but to honor the love that found us first.

Final Questions & Call to Action

• "Are you a child of God? That's the big question."
• “Become what you already are… His heart leaps every time he thinks about you.”
• Invitation to respond: Pastor Levi leads a prayer for new life in Christ for anyone ready to say yes to being a child of God.

For Further Reflection

Pastor Levi’s message is both a loving warning and a hope-filled encouragement:

• Live like time is short.
• Let your future with Christ define your present choices.
• Abide in Him—worship, don’t just “try to sin less.”
• And rest in your identity: you are a beloved child of the King.

For more information or resources from Fresh Life Church, visit freshlife.church.