We Must Be Ready: Let the Imminent Return Drive What You Do Today

Well, shalom.

Shalom.

Hey, I got more shaloms this time.

It's a joy to be back, and hopefully we can be a blessing to

you.

And hopefully it was a blessing this morning.

We've enjoyed talking to some of y'.

All.

Some of y' all got the books and material, and so we appreciate

that.

That's always encouragement to me.

It tells me that it had an impact.

You might turn to Titus.

We're going to get there, but I want to do something first.

I like to talk about something close to my heart is always dealing

with Israel.

And there's what is called the Abrahamic Covenant, and it's a very

famous Statement, Genesis chapter 12, and you may know it.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

I love to hear people quote it because they always misquote it.

And let me start it there in the Abrahamic Covenant, where it

says in verse two, and I will make thee a great nation.

This is Genesis 12.

Two, I will bless thee and make thy name great, and thou shalt

be a blessing.

And says, I will bless them that bless thee.

And can you quote the rest of it?

Curse them that curse thee.

Right.

You all flunk.

Because it doesn't say curse them.

It says curse him.

Personal.

It's personal, but you notice it's got the word curse twice there,

but it's two different Hebrew words.

The first one about curse him is the same word used when speaking

of what the snake did, where God cursed him to crawl on its belly.

And so this is a covenant curse to nations, to groups of people

that have want to destroy the Jewish people.

There's a covenant of curse.

But then the second part is curse him that curses thee.

That curse is someone who takes Israel lightly and looks at

Israel and just says, well, it's no big deal.

They're just another people's group.

They're just a not very good people.

I've had people tell me that Jews are terrible or that they had

some relationship.

And so this understanding of God said earlier, I'll bless them.

How many want God's blessings?

God promised a special blessing, the Jewish people.

And what's the greatest blessing can we give the Jewish people

but the gospel?

And who else has been authorized?

Who else has been commissioned but you in this church?

Now, some of y' all raised your hand, said you knew Jewish people,

and I'd ask you to write it down a piece of paper and hand it

in.

Some did.

Some didn't.

Let me encourage you.

We need to pray for people, Jewish people, hear the gospel and

prayer for you to be that witness.

We have a tract booklet on our table called God's Greatest Promise

to Israel.

And if you hand me a tract booklet, I'll give it to you.

For I have a hard time saying this word for a free.

Free.

I don't like saying that too often I lose my street creds as a

Jew.

Now my prayer card's on the table for free as well, but nothing

else is.

Everything else you can purchase if you like, but the tract

booklet.

And we'll give you as many as you'll use.

And so we've got to get our churches to get a vision and burden

to reach their Jewish friends in their community.

And so that blessings when you'd say, no, I don't need to give

the gospel to the Jews, basically saying, well, I hope they

die and go to hell.

So I want to encourage you to have that burden for Jewish people.

And I could list the names of the famous Jewish people of yesterday

years who became great evangelists.

Hyman Appleman, Sanford Mills, Dr. Cohen, Garden House.

And I'm in that same group this one respect.

They were great Jewish evangelists.

I'm not there, but I have a small connection that they had.

We were all led to the Lord by a Gentile.

God used the Gentile to do it.

So let me encourage you that as my sermon number one gets through

and we go to sermon number two where it Titus chapter two and.

And I have a message I want to give because to me it's what's missing

in our churches today.

It's what we're losing and we're missing it and it's causing

problems.

So we're in Titus chapter 2.

Titus 2 · chapter mention

Would you do me a favor again?

Would you stand for the reading of God's word as we go through

sermon number two?

Hopefully it'll be better than sermon number one.

But let's go on.

It says in Titus chapter two, the Bible says, speak of the things

which.

Which become sound.

Ooh, there's that word again.

Doctrine.

Now, the Bible's not totally PC anymore, you do know that.

For it says that the aged men.

We don't like to be called aged men, do we?

We're young elder saints.

That the aged men may be sober, grave, temperate, sound in

faith and charity and patience.

And then verse three.

Well, see it, ladies, the same way with y'.

All.

The aged women likewise.

That they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers,

not given them much wine, teachers of good things.

That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their

husband, to love their children.

To be discreet chastity keepers at home, good obedient to

their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Young people, you're in there too.

Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded in all things, showing

thyself a pattern of good works in doctrine, showing uncorruptness,

gravity, sincerity, like that word, sound speech that cannot be

condemned, that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed

having no evil things say to you, things to say of you.

Look at verse 11.

Now, for the grace that bringeth salvation hath appeared

to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust

we should live how soberly, righteously and godly in this present

world.

Why?

Why are we doing all that?

What is our motivation that we are to do these things?

The next verse gives us that answer.

Looking for that blessed hope that's the rapture and the glorious

appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave

himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify

himself.

A peculiar people zealous of good works.

Let's pray.

Our gracious heavenly Father, thank you again for this opportunity

and privilege.

Lord, impact the people this evening.

May they see the importance of what we're saying, that the importance

of what we're doing, that our motivation that is on a 24 period,

seven days a week, always should be on our mind.

That will motivate us to do what needs to be done, impact us.

Now, in Jesus name I pray and with thanksgiving.

Amen.

You may be seated.

What is your motivation?

Sometimes it's interesting.

I'm at churches all the time and not all the time when I'm preaching.

But there's always someone that you see are sleeping, falling

asleep.

They're not motivated, they're tired.

And the old joke that if everybody fell asleep in church service

and you put them end to end in front of the church, they'd be all

more comfortable than sitting on their chair.

But what is your motivation of what you're supposed to.

What you're doing on a daily basis?

The key statements aged men, aged women, young women, young men.

Now the question is, what will cause or motivate us to want to be

obedient to the word of God?

The purpose of this message is to motivate us, to encourage us,

to exhort our service to the Lord.

I don't want to give you the title yet because I like to hold

it back on this particular message because when you hear it,

most people go, oh, Yeah, I know that.

And I want you to build up to the title the purpose of prophecy.

We're waiting for that shout to meet him in the air.

It's the urgency of the time.

That's the purpose of prophecy.

It's to motivate you to do something for the cause of Christ.

What are you doing for the cause of Christ?

Years ago, back in bc, that's before children, my wife and I were

looking for a stereo.

We're kind of old.

It's one of those quadraphonic stereos about 4 or 5 foot high, 3

foot wide, had a stereo, a quad, a record player and we got

the upgraded cassette which was high dollar back then.

Young kids, if you don't know what a cassette is, just talk to

mom and dad, they'll tell you.

And we were looking for one and we've been saving for one.

We were just been married a year or so and so we went to our

favorite place, Sears, to look at one and there it was, the stereo

of our dreams, what we've been looking for.

But I'm one of these guys that I'm not quick to spend and we like

to be patient.

And so we're looking at this stereo with all the things that's

on it and a salesman seeing our interest comes over and began

telling us what all it was.

And it was beautiful piece of furniture and all it did.

And he still saw my hesitation so he looked at us and now this stereo

that you're looking at is a great stereo.

But if you want to buy this stereo at this price because it was

on sale, you.

The sale ended that night and it was 8 o' clock and they were closing

at 9.

So you need to make your decision.

He brought urgency.

Now this is before the Internet, this is before where you

could look it up.

You didn't know that with Sears if you wait just a month or

two, it'd probably go on sale cheaper.

But you didn't know about those things.

We didn't know about those things before we had kids.

And so I said to the man, well, give us a little bit.

And we walked around and the bottom line is we bought that stereo.

Now I told you that story for a reason.

What caused urgency for us to make the decision that day?

It was what Sears is famous for, their sales and it ends tonight.

And you got to make that decision now it motivated us to do

something we've been saving for months buy.

We had the money, we knew what we wanted.

But it needs some type of urgency to make the decision to Go

out and do it.

As a believer, what occupies your mind each morning to serve God

when you wake up?

What pushes you to invite your lost friends and loved ones to church?

What motivates you to give time and talents to the Lord?

What motivates you to give to missions or special offering?

Except the pastor says, if you don't, you're a backslidden heathen.

What is that motivation for you to do what you're supposed to

do?

Some see it's their duty.

Some perceive that this is what a Christian should do.

There's old saying, do God's work for the right reason and the

right way, and God will rightly bless it.

Now, one of the problems I have in teaching, besides several

things.

But one of the problems I have is I teach at Norris, and I get to

teach two and a half hours every class.

So I'm used to teaching for two and a half hours on my zoom class.

I teach once a month.

It's an hour and a half.

But when it comes to teaching in churches, you got 30 minutes.

So it's hard to kind of shrink everything down.

And I try not to go over because I won't take considerable

time.

But then the second problem I've had is all my jokes.

The young kids don't have any idea what I'm talking about.

They'll look at me and have no idea.

I talked about Lil Abner, you know, and people looked at me and

Lou Abner.

They had no idea.

I know some of you all know all about that.

Was drawn by a cartoonist called Al capp back from 1909 to

1979.

And he had a certain character that he would walk around and he

always had a cloud, rainy cloud over his head.

Some of you are smiling.

You know this.

His name was Joe.

I can never say his last name.

It doesn't have a vowel.

That's why.

And when he walked, he always had a hole in.

In his shoe.

And it was a picture symbolic of wherever he went.

He had bad luck.

And it became the most iconic image of Liu Abner.

So some people, I ask today, what's hanging over your head?

And some people say bad luck.

Like good old Joe there.

And like the cartoon, always making wrong decisions.

But if you look up, what's hanging over your head?

Most of the time, our life's decisions are normally based on the

squeaky wheel where we're impulse buys.

You go in the store, how do I have that?

Eating when depressed, quick to anger, things of that nature where

we just live off emotions instead of Letting the Lord lead

in our walk with him.

I still haven't given you the title purposely, because I want you

to stay with me and think about it.

If we can comprehend this message tonight, if we can take it

to heart, it'll clear up many of our problems and point us in the

right direction.

That's the key.

In the right direction and the right biblical direction.

That's the best key you can be going a direction, think you're going

the right way, and next thing you know, oh, man, I took the wrong

turn.

Everything looks so familiar.

I thought I was going the right direction.

And the GPS says, you know, turn around, you're going the wrong

way.

So as a believer, what is hovering over your head?

Now?

When I say believer, let's make sure we got our definitions

right.

I mean, one who has repented of their sins and called upon the

name of Lord for salvation.

I've led 15 trips to Israel, and we've gone to Jordan.

I've gone to Greece six, seven times, and I've the seven churches

of Asia Minor.

And one of our trips a few years back, the pastor's mother came

on the trip and she brought one of her granddaughters.

And the granddaughter was an older lady and she was a Catholic,

and she gave her testimony to the group and said that she was born

a Christian.

And so a lot of people name what they think they are, and not

by faith.

It's just one they're born into.

So we got to make sure we have the right terminology.

One who has repented of their sins and called upon the name of

the Lord for salvation as a believer.

I mean, one who reads and studies their Bible, praying for

God's direction in their life.

A lot of people will have a Bible and hold their Bible and they

open it when the preacher says open it.

But they don't have any daily reading.

They don't have any studies.

They never look at it in any depth.

As a believer, we should seek to be like our statement there in

First Peter 2, to be Christ like we're to be that Christian.

Since the Bible teaches us to number our days, number our footsteps,

we are looked through that Bible lens as we strive to live in

God's direction.

Psalms 90.

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts

in the wisdom.

Knowing the word of God is the beginning of wisdom.

There's a particular doctrine.

Yes, I haven't said it yet.

There's a particular doctrine the Bible teaches us that will help

you and I to keep ourselves on that biblical path.

And What I found is when I lose this particular doctrine in

my thought process, if we lose this type of teaching, we will struggle

with our daily lives as we're given over to what pulls us.

The squeaky wheel, the impulses.

And this process, this thought process never grows dim.

And like Lil Abner cartoon, it's always hanging over our heads.

If we're a believer in Christ, let me give you the title of our

message is that the imminent return of Christ can happen in any

moment.

The imminent return.

You've heard that before, have you not?

Typically you hear it in a sermon where it's a throwaway line,

the Lord's coming back and everybody goes, amen.

And then off they go in their message.

But rarely have I ever heard a message on the imminent return.

And that's what this message is purposed for.

The word imminent is from the Latin word imino.

It means like an overhang, it project.

It means something hanging over one's head that's ready to befall

or overtake one.

It's close at hand and good news.

It's not bad luck.

If you're a born again believer.

It leaves the impression that something can happen any moment.

The imminent return.

All events have been cleared at the start to very point of this

Revelation.

Chapter one, verse three says, blessed is he that readeth, and not

just read, talking about the book of Revelation, but and they

that hear the words of this prophecy and then keep those things

which are written therein, for the time is at hand.

The imminent return can happen any moment.

It should be your motivating factor, what you do.

Everything that needed to be done has been done.

Jesus died on the feast of Passover.

He was buried on the feast of Unleavened Bread.

He arose on the feast of first fruits, and the Holy Spirit came

right on time at the feast of Shavuot, the feast of weeks, or you

know, as the Feast of Pentecost.

Everything is done.

God's word is closed.

Revelation 22 says, if you add that there's going to be plagues

that will be written in this book, and if you take away, God's

going to take you away from the word of God and take you away

and close the vision and out of the book of life.

The next thing on God's agenda is his coming back where we're going

to meet him in the air.

The shout first.

1 Thessalonians 4:16

Thessalonians 4:16 speaks of that shout.

Now the feast of Trumpets is for Israel.

That's the trumpet.

But the shout is for us.

It's our blessed Hope it's what we're all thinking about when

you partake of the Lord's Supper.

I didn't see Edwin there take the Lord's Supper table.

He speaks of Christ, speaks of him coming back.

When an event is truly imminent according to we never know

exactly when it's going to happen at Pearson stated the imminence

is a combination of two conditions, certainty and uncertainty.

By imminent event we mean one which is certainty to come at some

time but uncertain at what time that will be.

I think of it a little bit.

When we had our first child we didn't know when it was going to

come.

We prepared though.

I went through Lamaze, had it all scoped out, I went through the

class, understood everything, had everything prepared.

We knew it was going to come, we just didn't know when but it was

going to come.

Matter of fact, on our second child we had to prepare because we

didn't have insurance and we found out that if you come into the

hospital at 11:59pm they charge you for a full day.

They didn't prorate it and we talked about what would happen if

that happened and it did.

And we sat in the car for five minutes as long as she was going

to be okay and at 12:07 we go walking in the hospital and so that's

what you do when you don't have money.

But we did.

But imminent time plays no factor when the event will happen.

Can't know exactly when the event will happen so we must be prepared

as we prepare for the child to come.

Can't say a date because if you set a date that destroys the

concept of imminency.

I was coming back from Israel 2014 with the Pastor I co led with

him and the book John Hagee had written his book the Blood Moon.

It was some years ago and it was a book that was written for the

purpose of the Blood Moon that that was supposed to be that the

Lord was going to come.

Now he couldn't say that because he knows enough not to say

it.

So it was a wink wink.

We all know something big is going to happen and sure enough we

think we Christians know what that is.

But he couldn't say it and so he sold millions of book.

But when of course Blood Moon day that was supposed to happen.

I was up in Washington State, I had preached that we had the service

earlier and then just as the moon was coming up we all left our,

we left the church services over and we watched the blood moon

come up and of course I was joking you all Feel lighter.

And of course it didn't happen.

I had preached that it wasn't going to happen.

And because the verses he was quoting is verses that were going

to take place during the Tribulation, Hagee was off.

I kept wanting to email him, say, are you sending me your.

My money back?

Because what you said didn't happen.

Of course I bought mine.

I'd never buy anything full price.

I bought it less than half price off of someone that didn't

read it.

But so anyway, Blood Moons is what the book was written and had

just come out, and the pastor asked me what I thought about it.

And the first thing I immediately said is, one, he's wrong

because that's going to happen, like I said, in the tribulation

time period.

And two, no man know the day of the hour.

And so it's not going to happen.

And he smiled and said, well, that's what I thought, but it's good

to read.

And I said, well, that's okay.

You can just don't pay full price for that book.

But anyway, of course it didn't happen.

They just.

He came up with another excuse and off he went.

The word imminent, we have a problem.

Sometimes people say.

Well, they'll say, soon.

The Lord's coming soon.

No, there was a song Andre Crouch wrote 1976, a popular song.

Soon and very soon, we're going to serve the king.

No, not soon.

The soon is imminent does not mean soon.

It may be soon, but then again, maybe another 50 years.

When I do prophecy conferences, I always get asked a

question just about every.

We have a Q and A in most of my conferences, and they always come

back and they always.

Someone asks a bunch of questions as they try to stomp the

preacher.

And so anyway, so the question always gets asked.

I've been waiting 30 years.

When's the Lord coming back?

And my answer is that you know what that means?

That means we're 30 years closer to when that time was going

to happen.

The coming of Christ was just as imminent in the New Testament

as when the New Testament was written as it is today.

There are 17 New Testament texts that deal with the imminent

coming of Christ.

No, we're not going to deal with all 17 because of time.

But there are 17 key texts, and let's cover just a few of them.

First Corinthians 15.

Behold.

First Corinthians 15:51.

1 Corinthians 15:51

We cover three or four of them.

Behold, I show you a mystery.

We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.

All your nurseries always have that verse, we shall all be changed.

Well, that's not talking about that type of change, but we like

to take that out of context.

But it's fun.

Nothing wrong with that.

Bible says in a moment in verse 52 of First Corinthians 15,

in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump.

For the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible

and and we shall be changed.

R.C.

Linsky, famous scholar of the 18th 19th century, stated, the simple

fact is that Paul did not know when Christ would return.

He was in the exact position in which we are.

All that Paul knew and all that we know is that Christ may come

and at any time.

There's a word that they use for this imminent return and the

word is called perusia.

It's a Greek word, ancient Greek word.

It just means official visit.

And it's used a number of times.

It used for other individuals besides Jesus, Titus Stephanus and

others.

Even Paul used it will not cover those things.

But the promise Paul referenced the future coming of Christ

with the observance at the communion.

For as often as you do eat this bread, remember and drink this

cup as you do.

That ye do show the Lord's death till he come.

That is the imminence.

That is our motivation factor.

Every morning we wake up, every night that we go to bed, we

wake up with 10 things to do.

We go to bed with 15 things to do the next day.

But with our first top of list is this could be the day the imminent.

It is our motivating factor to tell the neighbors that the Gospel

story because time is going quickly.

First Corinthians 16 says if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ,

let him be anathema.

And then there's a word there that comes afterward.

It says maranatha.

The key of this verse, that maranatha is a eschatological statement

concerning Christ's coming.

It's Aramaic in its design.

It says it means our Lord come this return of Christ, that we're

going to meet him in the air now, not the second coming.

Just make sure you don't get confused in your eschatology.

When we talk about for Christians, we're looking for the

shout, we're looking for the upper taker, not the undertaker.

And so maranatha was a term Aramaic to mean our Lord come that

would take place the Lord coming back.

William Barclay explained it this way.

It's strange to meet with an Aramaic phrase in a Greek letter

to a Greek church.

The explanation is that Phrase had become a watchword, a password.

It summed up the vital hope of the early church.

And Christians whispered it to each other.

They identified each other with it in a language and with the

he said, heathens, we'll just say the lost people could not understand.

And so maranatha, they would whisper quietly to identify other

believers.

The Lord comes.

The Lord is coming.

He's coming back.

And they would say, maranatha.

Now we're not.

We don't have that problem today.

We have to identify that way because we can talk openly in America,

at least so far.

That could change under this next election.

But that's another story, another message.

But I was up in Israel back in 2005 as part of my PhD work.

I was studying at Jerusalem University College.

It was a highlight of my academic education.

And there was a couple guys that we became friends with at the

school there.

And we were had some free time that afternoon.

And so one of them said to me, hey, Brother Savoloski, let's go

down.

There's some people that weren't far away.

They were a bunch of people and they were having a group out

there.

And you got to be very careful in Israel, especially in Jerusalem,

to witness because it will get you in trouble big time.

Matter of fact, you'll see signs in Jerusalem.

I've led 15 trips.

We always point out when I, when we go to Jerusalem, there's

a sign that says, tourists Christian, thank you for coming,

but leave your Bible at home.

And if you get caught witnessing to someone, there's a

sign that says underneath it.

If you see someone witnessing, or they call a missionary, because

if you're witnessing, you're a missionary, and you see it, call

this number.

And Jerusalem is not a large place and there are several yeshivas

and seminaries, so to speak.

And if you call that number because they see you witnessing to

someone, they'll call that number and within five to seven minutes

you'll have 15, 20 Hasidic Jews upset.

And they'll run at you, they'll separate.

Half of them will go to the person you're witnessing and, and

splits you apart.

It's all choreographed.

And then they'll come after, the other half will come after you

and they'll argue with you, yell at you, whistle, you're a missionary.

And there was one famous, he's Dr. Michael Brown, he's a well known

apologetic Jewish apologetic teacher.

What they did to him was the guy, one of the guys got next to

him, got in his face and then went like this, but stopped Just

before.

And of course what's your reaction?

Like Dr. Brown, his reaction is to throw your arm up to protect

yourself.

Well, it touched his hand.

And of course they immediately called another guy's videotaping

and they immediately called what we call 911.

Police came and they arrested Dr. Brown and took him to the police

station.

And for three hours he was there.

And then after three hours they let him go.

They knew, he knew this was a setup.

They've underdo this but they can get you in a fight.

Guess who gets kicked out of the country?

Not those Hasidic Jews.

You get kicked out and so you have to be very careful.

So we were down there.

I just wanted to tell you how it's like that in Israel.

It's very difficult place to witness.

And so I went down with this one young men in the school.

And so we went down there to talk with the people.

We were talking with some of them, they were out there, there

was a quartet type playing Jewish music.

And this man came up to me real quietly and said here, I want

to give you something, a little CD and I'll tell you about

Jesus.

Off he went because he couldn't stay long and he had to

do it quickly because if anybody sees him it would be a very

terrible thing.

And so it had a little CD and a little tract booklet in English

and it was telling about Jesus.

And so we don't have that problem in America.

We don't understand, we can witness at least now.

But in that day and time period you could not do that.

Rome hate Christians.

They use them as torches to light the games as they poured oil

on you and literally burnt you so you can light the stadium.

And so it was a very difficult time in that time period.

And so you have that problem elsewhere around the world as well.

And in Jerusalem it's not near as bad in other places, but Jerusalem

is probably the worst.

So let's continue on.

My time is going about gone.

I'm going by this clock, not that one.

I turned this one back.

I'm just joking.

Philippians 4 says, Let your moderation be known unto all men.

The Lord is at hand.

Your motivation is for unbelievers.

And here's the key.

Your motivation is for unbelievers to see your actions as

moderation.

Why the Lord is at hand as the rapture could take place any moment.

Let's think of some time periods.

Remember on 911 how was your testimony?

What about on Y2K?

Remember that long time ago, people were scared.

I saw More people in church then than ever before.

We held my first prophecy conference in December of 1999 because

people were wanting to hear the gospel.

Think of COVID Oh, we got churches fighting about whether you

should take a vaccine or not.

Vaxxer not take a vaccine.

That's not what we should have been fighting on.

We should have been fighting on the gospel.

People were scared death was at hand.

Rich or poor, it didn't matter.

Oh, the motivation is to see our actions.

You're the only Bible people see.

Paul, Harold, Edwin Harold pointed out of that text the imminence

of the Lord's return is used as a motivation for Christian conduct.

This does not mean that the apostle contemplated that return

be tomorrow another place.

In the letter he admits the possibility he might die before the

anticipated event.

That was Philippians one where he says for I am a strait between

two, having a desire to part and to be with Christ, which is far

better.

And then he later reveals plans that he had made in chapter

two where he says him therefore I hope to send presently

so soon as I shall see how it will go with me.

And so he was.

He was.

He planned for both.

You've got a plan as if it's going to be another thousand years,

but your actions need to happen if it's happening right now.

They thought imminent meant soon.

At that time it meant an immediate time period.

Paul had taught the truth, but in typical fashion I found that lay

people have a way of taking it too far.

D Edmund Hebert made this application the best preparation

for our Lord's return.

Let me stop here for a second.

I've gone to a number of big time prophecy conferences.

You've probably heard about them.

They got the bigwigs, all the big book writers that written prophecy.

Maybe you've attended one before, maybe not.

Every, every December I think they have a pre trib conference in

Dallas and they have big name people.

And I remember going to one in Tulsa some years ago.

There was 1200 people at this hotel to hear this.

Some big names prophecy guys had written these latest books and

it was funny because my pastor, the pastor I was with said

to me most of these people don't even go to church, they just

fly to hotels, the hotels of where the new speakers are at.

They know the book of Revelation but they don't know anything

else.

It's true.

I'll never forget when I was first saved and on my own, this Jewish

friend that I had, that we were in the synagogue, in the Jewish

youth group together.

He married a gentile Girl who was a believer and the lady.

So he introduced me to her.

She knew the book of Revelation.

She could quote half the book, but she couldn't quote John 3:16.

John 3:16

Because prophecy became something like a 9:1 number.

9 1:1 number.

I'm sorry, a 1:800 number to where what does the future behold?

And so D. Ebert Hebert says the best preparation for our Lord's

return is the faithful performance of our present duties

and our churches the furthest of his cause.

The word looking for that blessed hope Looking has a sense

to wait.

It's a use.

It's a Christian expectation.

I expect every year at my birthday.

We expect every year to do something special.

Expectation looking.

Hope doesn't mean a wish.

I hope, I hope, I hope.

It speaks of a sured promised that is described as the blessed

hope.

1St John 2 Now little children abide in him.

Abide is an imperative.

Another way of saying that it's a command.

Christians must continually abide in Christ and then it says

abide in him.

That this is First John 2:28 for taking notes that when he shall

1 John 2:28

appear when lets us know that we are to be steadfast in abiding

him.

Whenever this event happens, we may have confidence and not be

ashamed for Him.

His coming.

Our confidence that we're ready to face him.

That we did our best.

We did all that we know how to do.

We witnessed the best, we know how we gave like we best we could.

We put Christ first in our life.

That is our confidence is in Christ and not be ashamed at his

coming.

Like I tell my students when they don't do well on my exam because

they did not study.

They are ashamed when I have to give them the the grade.

In contrast, if you did on your best on the exam, you ought

to have a certain calm.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon Listen to what he shows.

We're talking about the imminent coming of Christ.

The date of that coming is concealed.

When he shall come, no man can tell.

Watch for him and be always ready that ye may not be ashamed

at his advent.

Should a Christian man go into worldly assemblies and amusements?

There's a famous story of Gypsy Lee, a famous preacher, not

Baptist second blessing with his well known about.

But he was a godly man.

Well, he was going to revival and he was on the way to the revival.

It was getting late and his car broke down.

So they had to get out of the car and it was raining, was pouring,

was cold and they found, I don't know, a quarter of a mile half

Mile down the road, there was a building that was lit up.

He could hear the music coming out of it.

He says that he went to the door.

He knocked on the door, opened up, and it was a dance hall.

And so he was pouring down rain.

He had nowhere to go.

So he went into the dance hall.

And this young lady comes up to him and says, will you dance with

me?

And Gypsily said to the lady, well, ma', am, I always talk to the

Lord first before I do anything.

He got down on his knees and started praying that this people

who were living like the devil and dancing ways, they should not

be dancing.

And he continued to preach as he prayed.

And when he.

When he stood up, there wasn't an individual that wasn't on their

knees praying and crying out to the Lord.

He had his revival, all right.

Just wasn't at the church.

But Spurgeon continued, he said, would he not be ashamed should

His Lord come and find him among the enemies of the cross?

I dare not go where I should be ashamed to be found.

Should my Lord come on a sudden, suppose His Lord should be

there and then come, Would he not be ashamed?

But listen to this.

What Spurgeon said, One here says to offender, I will never forgive

her.

She will never darken my doors again.

Would you not be ashamed if the Lord Jesus came and found you

unforgiving?

Or that we may abide in him and never be in such a state that

his coming would be unwelcome?

Beloved, so live from day to day in duty and in devotion that

your Lord's coming would be timely.

Go about your business and abide in him, and then his coming

will be a glorious delight to you.

I remember one last illustration.

One more point will be finished.

Years ago, when I was young and foolish and played sports, I

remember the coach.

It was the big game.

It was a championship.

I remember the coach's words, because he said to the group, he

said, you're the better team, but you have to give your best 110%.

And I'll never forget what he said this.

He said, if you give your best, I promise you when you walk

off that field, you'll walk off with your head held high.

And he was so true.

When the Lord calls us home, when we hear the shout and we meet

him in the air, you're not going to be able to say, I was going

to give a special offering for the missionaries.

Oh, I was going to donate something for the Lord to help another

missionary.

Because when you hear the shout, it's too Late, you may not

get that big fat retirement that your 401k has been doing.

The Lord comes, It's all going to be gone in a twinkling of eye.

Finally, I have the final point in Revelation 22.

I always had problems with this verse because it says, he which

testify these things, saith, surely I come quickly.

Amen.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus, John is here, commanding.

I have a hard time trying to command God.

I'm sorry, who am I?

Who are you?

But he commands God.

He demands Christ to fulfill it.

His conviction was that Christ would indeed fulfill his promise

to come quickly.

So convinced we too should command Christ.

It's our expectation of the church.

We're to constantly watch.

That's why you hear in the New Testament, watch for you know not

when the hour come.

It's constant.

It's always hanging over your head.

It does not go away.

For a believer, it's the motivating factor why I did what

I do, what I do with my life and serving Christ.

It's why I wake up in the morning with the number one thing.

This could be the day.

It's my motivating factor to invite others because God knows how

we are.

We will put things off.

We'll set it aside.

We'll do it next week, next month.

I didn't finish my testimony, but when I was first saved, I was

going to the church.

I knew I was supposed to tell my parents how I got saved.

I knew what was going to happen.

So I always remember that time where I bowed my head very reverently

and said, lord, I will tell my parents next week.

Just like you do when you tell your neighbors and friends.

There's got to be a urgency in your heart and in your soul.

This church needs this urgency right now more than it needs anything

else.

It needs this church coming together as one.

Working together.

You say, well, we won't have a pastor yet.

Okay, bring the pastor.

Eventually he's going to come on board.

But until that time, someone's got to hold this church together.

And you've got to come together as one.

And there's got to be that urgency.

Desire to reach the lost, invite others, bring visitors.

You can still do without a pastor.

No one's going to sit there and say, oh, I'm sorry, he can't

come in.

He's not a member here.

No.

And we'll have a pastor to greet him.

No, we need to bring people in now.

Urgency we might not have next year.

You might never get a pastor because the rapture could take place.

We've got to have that urgency in the heart.

With your head bow and your eyes closed as we go.

The invitation time here.

Thank you for allowing me to go a few minutes over.

Our gracious Heavenly Father, the imminent return of Christ is

something that should weigh on our heart and mind.

There's no other doctrine that I know of that churns my heart.

Why I fervently prepare for my messages to preach that there might

be a soul that's not saved.

Oh, I would not want to be a lost person should the rapture happen

today tonight.

I would not want to have to go through the wrath of God pours out

his wrath upon the world.

I would not want my worst enemy to go through all that.

Lord, let this be a message to light a fire into this church the

light of fire to serve him in a greater way.

To give more, to do more, to witness more, to sing louder to to

fellowship more, to bless others, to give for more missionaries.

This church does that.

You'll have people jumping out of the woods to want to pastor this

church when they see the excitement.

Lord gracious Heavenly Father, help us this evening.

Let this be a lighting of the fire that never gets quenched.

It hangs over our head, never goes away.

Impact at the invitation In Jesus name I pray and with thanksgiving.

Amen.

As we sing quiet to stand quietly to our feet.