There have been a number of factors contributing to my recently increased burden for this lost world, and my sense of urgency about fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives before Jesus comes again. A couple of weeks ago on a Wednesday night, we talked about these words of advice from Jesus to His followers:

1. Don’t be deceived. - As we approach the end of this age, false teaching will abound. Don’t get hooked - stick to God’s absolute truth no matter what.
2. Don’t be discouraged. - Jesus said several times, “don’t be troubled.” We have an ultimate hope in His return.
3. Don’t be deterred. - Endure to the end. The gospel will be published to all nations and Jesus will return, so hang on to hope for now.

Tonight, we’re moving into talking about some details concerning events that will take place during what many Christians call “the tribulation.” It’s a time when God confronts the world over its deep sinfulness, when all the forces of evil battle against Him, and when God gathers His nation, Israel, to Himself again.

Why hasn’t Jesus come yet? When will it finally be time? I don’t know. It certainly isn’t my decision and I will know only when it happens. But I do know at least three details of His coming…

1. It’s imminent - nobody knows when but Him.
2. He’s patiently waiting for more souls to be redeemed.
3. The time is approaching us with increasing haste - God’s clock is speeding up.

Are you ready? Are you burdened? Are you living with a heightened sense of expectancy?

We’re down to the final study in our Wendesday night journey through the “one another’s” of the New Testament. This one is pretty awesome - we’re to comfort one another. It’s based on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, a familiar passage to many. It concerns itself with Jesus’ second coming, which forms the basis of our comfort of one another. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

I just opened my mail and received a postcard in an envelope. There is no return address and no organization or individual named anywhere. Just a postcard. And it reads…. “Friends, Neighbors, Americans, Be hastily preparing all for the fall of ‘That Great City’ as described in Revelations Ch. 18. Repent and be baptized and join Jesus on a white horse as described in Revelations Ch. 19. God bless.” WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

Today, Jesus got an ovation, and it was awesome! There is something about applause during a sermon that makes me extremely uncomfortable in my own skin, yet today it was highly appropriate. The verse was Revelation 1:7, a strange text for Christmas Eve, though very appropriate when the context is compared to the night before the first Christmas.

John relates the truth of the second coming of Christ to a lost world. Billions of Christ-rejectors will “wail because of him” on the day when “every eye shall see him.” Then John closes the verse with the words “Even so, Amen!” Jesus is coming. Everyone will see Him. Most will wail. Let it be so!

I can’t help but believe that we are on the eve of the second coming of Jesus Christ. In fact, I believe a heightened expectancy of His return should mark the committed Christian life. I would further describe this expectancy as anticipation, the kind you felt on Christmas eve just before going to sleep for a long winter’s night.

On the other hand, I realize the terror that will wash over the world when He comes. Imagine the turmoil of a world which lost millions of Christians unexplainably, especially considering that millions wearing the Christian label were also left behind and a few not found in church on Sunday vanished away.

Imagine a world that has experienced seven years of the harsh wrath of God toward sin. Economic upheaval, worldwide famine and disease, political tyranny will have dominated the news. Then… the sovereign God sends His Warrior-King to fully and finally disseminate His justice. The whole earth will issue forth a funeral lament. Why in the world would John say “Amen!” to this kind of an event?

Believers in Christ get to say “so be it” to the return of Christ because all of the injustices committed against us from the persecution of the Caesars to the Sudan will be avenged at last. Righteousness will rule. Our redemption, which currently “draweth nigh” will be full. And more than all of these, our Lord will be glorified when “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of the Father.”

We are on the eve of His coming, as was the world in 4 b.c. Do you want to applaud? Repent? Believe? Say Amen? It all depends on where you stand with the God of the universe. He’s coming tomorrow, why not invite Him into your life today? Receive Him and say, “Amen, even so, come Lord Jesus!”

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass;…” -Revelation 1:1a

This simple title to the most profound book in Scripture contains within it a wonderful hope. John begins the final book of the Bible with this phrase… “the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Many are afraid of the teachings of this final chapter of Scripture. Others are merely curious. John’s intention was to present to us his vision of a very special event, the unveiling of the Lord Jesus in all of His glory. I believe that the Revelation is, first and foremost, a book about worship. It’s a book that leads us to exalt Jesus as Savior, Redeemer, and Lord.

John uses the term apokalupsis to describe the book. We derive our word “apocalypse” from it, but it did not originally have a connection with the end of the world. Rather the word means to pull back the veil. This is exactly what will happen someday as the clouds are retracted and Jesus Christ shines forth. He’ll be seen by all, even they who pierced His hands and feet. Heaven, earth, and hell will witness this momentous event.

There is another sense in which we need a continual unveiling today. There is a veil of misunderstanding over our spiritual eyes. We would see more of Jesus, but our sin and our selfishness stands in the way. But as we draw closer to Him, as we see His glory through the Scriptures, and as we watch Him at work in our lives, the veil is slowly removed… and we see Jesus in all of His splendor. Perhaps today, we need a fresh vision, as John enjoyed. Behold Him in His Word, see Him in His glory, enter His throneroom through prayer and pray for the veil to be removed. Prevail until you see Him, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Behold, I come quickly…” -Revelation 3:11

Many skeptics will accuse Jesus of failing to keep His promise contained in this verse. But we need to understand that the word “quickly” is translated from tachu which means “with haste, suddenly, by surprise.” Jesus was not referring to the chronology of His coming in history but rather to the manner of His coming when the time does arrive. His coming will be swift, sudden, and instantaneous. When He appears, there will be no further time to consider Him, to argue about Him, or to decide for Him.

Peter answered the skeptics of His coming by asserting that He “is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) If you question Jesus’ promise, then it is for you that He tarries! If you have yet to prepare, if you tarry in getting ready, why should you question His gracious willingness to wait on you? Today is the day to prepare for His coming.

“And the gospel must first be published among all nations.” -Mark 13:10

Did you know that eight out of every ten dollars held by Christians in the world is held by Christians in America? Did you also know that the average American gives less than two percent of his income to missions? A great fear of mine is that Jesus will come and we (American Christians in general) will be sitting on all of the money He intended to be used for missions.

The statement by Jesus referenced above was in connection with Jesus’ “Olivet Discourse” in which He was explaining the end of the world to the twelve. According to at least some good scholars, Jesus is saying that He won’t be returning until the gospel has been proclaimed everywhere that He wants it to be. His message must fill the earth. But don’t be mistaken. God is not binding Himself to a particular sign that requires technical fulfillment before He can come again. No, this sign seeks fulfillment before He will come again.

So the “must” of this verse was not meant for our superstitious predictive purposes as in, “Hey, I think the time will be soon because…” Instead it is meant to express the heart of God. Jesus proclaimed, “I’m not coming until the task is complete.” Do you know how I know our task of telling the gospel is not complete? Jesus isn’t here yet! So let’s keep telling. Let’s hasten the day of the Lord’s return.

Is there something you need to do to share the gospel today? Is there someone who needs to hear the message in your own circle of friends that you’re burdened for? Pray for them now. And if you’re sitting on something that the King has called for, let it go, sow your seed into the greatest cause of all - world missions!

“Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways…”—Ezekiel 33:11

God is so holy and so just that He must remain eternally separate from anyone who falls short of His perfection. In fact, as the Creator who gave us live and who spells out His rules through nature, conscience, and Scripture, only to have His creatures break His rules, God certainly has every right to destroy us now, today, without delay. His holiness and justice demand it! But He tarries. Why?

God must punish sin, and He will, but He’s delaying that imminent punishment so that all men may have opportunity to repent and come to faith in His Son. It’s a part of the “common grace” that He bestows on all people. All of us are lost and deserve nothing but hell, but God loves us all and wants to give all of us the opportunity to be saved. The next time you question His right to judge the world, remember His patience, His sacrifice, and His beyond-the-call-of-duty efforts to get the message of Jesus out to all the world through the Bible and His people. He tarries for you and me!

What a great day! We saw our highest Sunday School attendance since April and enjoyed a wonderful day with Bro. Grady Higgs. The morning message was especially impactful to me personally. There are times when the Pastor needs to hear some bold preaching and it was “high time” for me as Bro. Grady expounded Romans 13:11-14. I was moved to consider my own shortcomings in the evangelistic arena. So often we think we’re doing okay until God’s Word points out just how much more room for growth we actually have.

WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

“They will suffer punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his might.”-2 Thessalonians 1:9

God is just, therefore He will punish those who reject Him, His Son, and His message. Paul said in Romans 1 that even those whose only witness of God’s existence is in creation “did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened.” So a failure to experience, enjoy, and magnify the glory of God on earth will end with not only eternal destruction but with an even worse fate: separation from His glory forever.

You see, there is a real hell, an eternal lake of fire, that awaits all those who reject God’s witness to them. But the greatest punishment is not physical, emotional, or intellectual. It is spiritual. The worst punishment will be that not only did they pass up every chance to glorify Him as God, but after the judgment, they will never again have the chance. There is a finality about death and about the second coming of Jesus. That finality is tragically wrapped around an eternal inability to share in the glory of God.

Do you know the one way to avoid eternal separation from the presence of the Lord? It is to begin a personal relationship with Him and enjoy His presence in life today through His Son Jesus Christ, who died on the cross and rose again from the grave to reconcile us to God. Anyone who comes to Jesus in this life, in genuine repentance and faith, will be saved and will enjoy God’s presence and glory now, tomorrow, and forever!