Hello All:
I will start this one off with a scripture; it is talking about the second coming of Christ. Believe it or not, we are living in the last days. And believe it not, Jesus is coming again and sooner than we all think. Get it right on this side while He can still be found. I know you’re saying we’ve heard this from you before. I’m gonna keep reminding you every now and then until you get; until He returns, and I go to be with Him and can no longer write.
36"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[a] but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24:36-39 New International Version)
Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing with marrying, marriage, eating and drinking. I’m married; marriage is good. But all too often we allow things to consume our time; we put the things of God on the “back burner” when we should be putting Him first. Now is not the time to have things consume us taking up all our time. Now, if you are getting married or planning on getting married, GREAT! Congratulation! But don’t leave God out. Don’t forget to pray, to study His Word, to pay your tithe or forget to do things He has instructed you to do. To many times we allow things that are harmless to take precedent over God. We’d rather hang out with friends than get before the Lord and pray or we’d rather rest or maybe our favorite show is on and God puts a scripture in our heart or wants us to come away and pray (ouch hallelujah!). The people in Noah’s day are just like us; we are busy doing our “own thing” or the things that make us happy. But while we are doing these things that are harmless, they’re not bad things, what if Jesus comes back? We see in the Word of God above that we, nor the angels, nor the Son knows the day or the hour of the coming of the Son of Man, Jesus.
The Word of God tells us over and over that Christ is coming back. Take a look:
13May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. 1 Thessalonians 3:13 (New International Version)
Jesus Is Coming
7"Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book." Revelation 22:7 (New International Version)
10Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. 11I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take our crown. 12Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. Revelation 3:10-12 (New International Version)
Some of you might be thinking “I’ve heard this all before, and we are still here, and if this really true, when will it be?” Matthew 24 talks of the signs of the times, and I believe that before there were only a couple of the sign, but look again all are happening together at the same time; but wait, this is only the beginning. God has warned us, in His Word, to be watchful. He’s given examples and stories (parables). Have you heard of the saying “Better safe than sorry”. Would you take the chance thinking that all this is not true, live anyway you want, and it happens – Jesus Returns! Would you take that chance? Can I tell you when He’s coming, No! Do I believe that He’s coming back? Yes. I want to be ready at all times. I have settled it – I will do all that I need to do to be ready. I don’t care if it’s not tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or next, or ten years from now; I will be READY! It’s not like living your life for Christ is bad or hard. I think I have a better quality of life because I choose to serve Christ and only Him completely; I’m a little nicer too (wink). So many times we try to have one foot in the Kingdom of God and the other in the world, but it can’t work like that. Take a look……
Watchfulness
35"Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. 39But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." Luke 12:35-40 (New International Version)
1"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6"At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
7"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'
9" 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
10"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11"Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'
12"But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'
13"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. Matthew 25:1-13 (New International Version)
1 Thessalonians 5:2 and 2 Peter 3:10 tells us that the Lord Jesus will come like a thief in the night. We are to be ready at all times. We should make sure that we have enough oil for ourselves. No one can get you to Heaven, but YOU! Momma and Daddy can’t pray you into Heaven. You can’t get into Heaven on your spouse’s oil; it has to be the oil that you’ve acquired on your own. You can’t work your way into Heaven. We all have to make the choice to serve and live our lives for Him. We have to choose to give God the level of importance that He deserves and that we want Him to give to us. He tells us over and over again, but do we heed His words? Don’t take my word or anyone else’s word; you search the scriptures for yourself – you get your own oil. You study to show yourself approved. 2 Timothy 2:15-19 (New International Version) states:
15Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 16Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. 17Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. 19Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his,"[a] and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.
So I ask – How will Jesus find you when He returns? Will He find you faithful to His Word or will find you like those mentioned in Timothy 3:1-5 (New International Version)
1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. Now I know you’re thinking “The world has always been like this.” True, true, but it has gotten to this extreme level that it is now; just take a look around you. When Jesus returns will he find you in one of these conditions? Are you allowing any of these to operate in your life? Have you become a Christian mentioned in Revelation 3:15-16 (New International Version): 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
Luke chapter 18 asks when the Son of Man, Jesus, comes will He find faith here on this earth? When Jesus comes will He find you doing everything else or will He find you faithful to His Word? Hebrews 10:35-38 states:
35Do not, therefore, fling away your fearless confidence, for it carries a great and glorious compensation of reward.
36For you have need of steadfast patience and endurance, so that you may perform and fully accomplish the will of God, and thus receive and [a]carry away [and enjoy to the full] what is promised.
37For still a little while (a very little while), and the Coming One will come and He will not delay.
38But the just shall live by faith [My righteous servant shall live [b]by his conviction respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, and holy fervor born of faith and conjoined with it]; and if he draws back and shrinks in fear, My soul has no delight or pleasure in him. When Jesus comes will He have delight and be pleased with you? Will you be patient and endure so you can perform and FULLY accomplish the will of God? Jesus is coming………… Will He say “Well done thy good and faithful servant; enter into the Kingdom of Heaven? Our confession should be as it is in Galatians 2:20-21, 20I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
21[Therefore, I do not treat God's gracious gift as something of minor importance and defeat its very purpose]; I do not set aside and invalidate and frustrate and nullify the grace (unmerited favor) of God. For if justification (righteousness, acquittal from guilt) comes through [observing the ritual of] the Law, then Christ (the Messiah) died groundlessly and to no purpose and in vain. [His death was then wholly superfluous.]
Some of us think we are ok. We go to church every time the doors are opened, we pray, we live at peace with man as much as we can; yet we only have form of godliness that’s not the real thing. 1 Corinthians 10:12 (New International Version): 12So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!
Don’t be like the Pharisees in Luke18:9-14: 9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about[a] himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
13"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
14"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
I know that I have given a lot of scriptures here, but I wanted you to see what the Word of God says; these are not my words but the Word of the Lord. Take the time and take out that Bible, blow the dust off if needed, but get in God’s Word. Get that oil for yourself. How many times does He have to say that He’s coming back before you will prepare yourself? See that no one deceives you. Jesus is coming back, and He’s coming back for those who look like Him; those who have remain faithful to His Word. What state/what condition will He find you? Salvation is available now – grab hold of it, take it to heart. Choose life so that you may live and have a place with Him for all eternity.
Did you put your armor on today????
Be Encouraged Today!!!!!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment