Christ WILL Return

Happy Sunday. In 1969, Larry Norman wrote a song entitled I Wish We'd All Been Ready. Do you remember that song? I remember singing that song years ago and feeling bad for those who were not ready for the return of Christ.

Let me read a bit of the lyrics to you. One of the verses says, "A man and wife asleep in bed. She hears a noise and turns her head. He's gone.

I wish we'd all been ready. Two men walking up a hill. One disappears and one's left standing still. I wish we'd all been ready."

And then the bridge, the chorus says, "There's no time to change your mind. The sun has come and you've been left behind." Today I want to talk about this truth. Christ will return.

One day, a couple of thousand years ago, Jesus was talking about the end times. His disciples asked him for more information, and you can read of that conversation in Matthew chap 24. Jesus talks about signs of the times towards the end. Today, we'll look at verses 36- 44.

Jesus is talking about being ready. Jesus said, "About that day, the end of time, when Christ returns, about that day and hour, no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage until the day Noah entered the ark.

And they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away. So too will be the coming of the son of man. Two will be in the field and one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together.

One will be taken and one will be left. Then Jesus gives great advice. He says, "Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming." Understand this.

He said, "If the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." At a few minutes after 8:00 on the morning of January the 13th, 2018, so 7 and a half years ago, the emergency alert system in Hawaii sent an alert out television, radio, text messages. They sent an alert instructing people to seek shelter due to an incoming ballistic missile.

It did not say that it was it was a test. It did not say that it was a drill. It said that a ballistic missile was on the way for 38 minutes. The warning stayed active.

It was pandemonium in many places. Finally, it was broadcast that the message was recalled. But for those 38 minutes, people were trying to seek shelter. People were phoning loved ones to say goodbye.

People were getting on their boats to get as far off the island as they could. It was a fiasco. In a subsequent survey, 28% of people believed the alert, 45% were unsure, and 27 did not believe the initial message at all. Today, I wonder what percentage believe the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 24.

I believe each and every word. It's always true. I'm encouraged by Jesus saying, "You also must be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." I'm encouraged.

I'm excited. I'm ready. The best way to be ready is to always have your bags packed. I'm talking spiritually here, of course.

If I'm anticipating the return of Christ, I'll live a much better life. I won't go to places I should not go to. I will not live a life that I'm ashamed of. I'll keep my eye on heaven.

Oliver Wendel Holmes is attributed with first saying that some people are so heavenly minded that there are no earthly good. His point is that some will accomplish nothing in this life because they're so focused on the next. I disagree. I love how CS Lewis put it.

He said, "If you read history, you'll find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next." As I think about the return of Christ, I want to make sure those around me are ready. Look around. Who can you invite to go with you?

The truth is, he's coming back and we best be prepared. Pray with me. Father, as a Christian, I'm ready. But as a Christian with friends who don't know you, I have a job to do.

All of us do. Help us to have the courage and the love and the compassion to share the truth of Jesus with the world around us. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

God bless. Have a great week.