Ready For The Rapture

Some glorious morning, sorrow will cease.

! Some glorious morning, all will be peace.

! Heartaches, all and death,

!

Labor all done!

Heaven will open, Jesus will come!

Some golden daybreak, Jesus will come!

Some golden daybreak, battles all won!

He'll shout the victory, break through the blue!

Some moment like Him to be!

Some glorious daybreak, Jesus will sing!

Oh, what a meeting there in the skies!

No tears, no tears, no tears, no crying, shall dim our eyes!

Oh, what a daybreak!

Oh, what a daybreak!

Oh, what a daybreak!

Some golden daybreak, Jesus will come!

Some golden daybreak, he'll come!

Some golden daybreak, battles all won!

He'll shout the victory, he'll come!

He'll shout the victory, break through the blue!

Some golden daybreak, some golden daybreak, for me!

And I'll sing for you!

Amen!

Are you looking forward to the coming of the Lord?

Have you heard the promise He has given in His holy word?

Are you looking forward to the coming of the Lord?

Have you heard the promise He has given in His holy word?

Are you looking forward to the Lord of love?

Will you come and miss a miracle be through the clouds above?

When the trumpet call is shouted, we'll meet Him in the air!

If your name is in the book of life, I'm gonna see you there!

It's the blessed hope of all who know the good news of His grace!

Now the day is fast approaching, when I'll see my Savior's face!

And then my troubles will be an end!

What a happy day for me!

I am looking for the moment, when my Savior comes for me!

When my Savior comes for me!

My Savior comes for me!

Are you looking forward?

Do you know His promise true?

Have you heard that this name Jesus will come again for you?

We will come without a warning, with a twinkling of an eye!

Should it be before this song is done?

We would never die!

It's the blessed hope of all who know the good news of His grace!

Now the day is fast approaching, when I'll see my Savior's face!

And then all troubles will be an end!

What a happy day for me!

I am looking for the moment, when my Savior comes for me!

Looking for Jesus, looking and longing, longing my Savior to see!

When there before Him, bathed in His glory!

Oh, what a joy it will be!

Caught up to heaven in clouds to meet Him!

Can it not be far away?

Hope of the Christian that keeps me expectant!

And looking for Jesus today!

Looking for Jesus each hour that passes!

For He may come any time!

Sunrise or sunset, noonday or midnight, could be that moment sublime!

I must be ready!

I must be ready!

Waiting and watching!

How solid or do away!

Poised for the sound of that heavenly trumpet!

And looking for Jesus today!

I'm looking for Jesus today!

I'm looking for Jesus today!

I'm looking for Jesus today!

Poised for Jesus today!

If you thought that I was stepping to the pulpit a few moments ago, you were right.

I was.

I was so anxious to get up here after that choir number that I just was saying in my heart,

get out of my way and let me at them.

That was kind of the feeling there.

That's what a song's supposed to do to you, I think.

Well, we're glad to be here.

If we weren't here, we would rather be in heaven, but we are glad to be here.

And from the message from the bulletin again, you've noticed we're talking about on being ready for the rapture.

The whole concept of readiness is a familiar one to us.

Before you came to church tonight, in some way or another, you got ready.

It might have meant calling the kids in and getting them washed up and maybe giving them a sandwich or something.

It may have meant washing yourself up and brushing your teeth or having that cup of coffee so you'd stay awake during the dry sermon or something like that.

But the whole concept of getting ready to come to church is something familiar to us.

I have discovered that one of the hard things about vacation is getting ready.

What a terrible thing to have to get ready to go rest somewhere.

And by the time you get the house cleaned, you know, we have to leave the house immaculately.

I tease my wife.

Maybe I shouldn't tell you this.

Maybe I shouldn't say it to you or to her.

But she always, in rebuttal, she says, well, I can't leave the beds unmade, etc.

What would happen if the Lord would come?

To which I normally respond, let him make the beds when he comes.

And that's a terrible thing to say and probably my wrist should be slapped for that.

But you have to leave the house immaculate, all of the dishes done and put away, etc.

And to pack the car.

I'll tell you that is a struggle to get ready to go.

And we have all, normally what I like to do, I like to take everything out and put it behind the car

and get it all laid out and kind of know what's going, etc.

And get some kind of a system in my head.

I take the heavy things, put them in first, get them in the middle,

and then the lighter and lighter and the lighter on top and so on.

We were out in Denver this last summer.

We took a rather prolonged vacation, five weeks, six of us in our wagon.

And we just tented in a tent for ten nights and a few other things.

And we had a big time.

But in one of our stops in the city of Denver, I was repacking the car.

And I had this stuff spread out all over.

And this little girl came riding on her bicycle and she stopped.

And she looked at all that stuff and she said to me,

Mr., how much is that sleeping bag?

I'd like to buy that.

And I told her, well, it wasn't for sale.

You know, I'm packing.

And she says, oh, I thought this was a yard sale.

So just getting ready for vacation is really quite a chore.

Some of the young people know what it is to get ready for a date.

Oh, the preparations come Saturday.

The hair's got to be washed and set and the suit's got to be pressed or taken to the cleaners

or gotten out of the cleaners and the ties and the shoes and all of everything.

The car's got to be washed and all these plans laid down.

And all of the hubbub and the excitement as the hour approaches,

getting ready to go on a date.

We're kind of used to that.

Of course, there's another kind of readiness, too, and that is getting ready for a test.

But we won't talk about that.

We kind of get schooled as we come up in life that readiness is important.

Similarly, of course, it is very important that we, as the children of God, are ready for the rapture.

Fanny Crosby really puts us on the spot when she asks us musically,

when Jesus comes to reward his servants, whether it be noon or night,

faithful to him will he find us watching with our lamps all trimmed and bright.

Say, can you say you are ready, brother, ready for the soul's bright home?

Will he find us watching, waiting, waiting when the Lord shall come?

How ready are you?

How ready am I for the rapture?

Well, let's run straight to our text, okay?

1 John 2.28

This verse tells me, in a nutshell, how I can be ready for the rapture.

1 John 2.28

I like to hear the rustling of the pages of people's Bibles as they turn to the text.

I like a Berean attitude that they search the scriptures to see if these things were really so.

And it wasn't just simply the taking it for granted because somebody said it.

But we look in the book to have kind of a healthy skepticism,

or at least an interest to find out what the word of God really does say.

Look at this verse.

John tells me,

And now, little children, abide in him.

Why?

That when he shall appear, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

Now, if I understand that verse correctly, it is written to believers.

He does call them little children, and we'll talk about that in a moment.

But if I understand the verse correctly, he is suggesting that it is possible for you and I,

for you and me as a believer,

to stand before our Lord ashamed.

He says,

I would much rather that you stand there confidently, unashamedly, boldly,

and be able to look your Lord straight in the eye

than to stand there red-faced and embarrassed.

Abide in him so that when he shall appear, whenever that is,

we may have confidence and not be ashamed from him at his presence or at his arrival.

And so my mind asks the question, and I lay it before you tonight,

how can I be ready?

I would really like to stand before my Lord and hear those words,

well done, thou good and faithful servant.

I'd love to hear that.

Wouldn't you like to hear that in your life as well?

Well, we'll have to look rather closely at what John does say.

You'll notice right at the beginning here, he says,

and now little children, you abide.

In him.

Seems to me the most logical place to begin

is with this thought, which is so familiar to us

that I'm almost hesitant to mention it.

If we are truly to be ready for the rapture,

first of all, we must accept Christ as our Savior.

Now that really is basic, isn't it?

And you really weren't surprised by that.

We must accept Christ as Savior.

I pointed out a moment ago, this verse is written to those who are little children.

That's a family term, isn't it?

Those who are in the family of God.

Those who can call God Daddy.

You read in Ephesians chapter 4 that once we are saved because we are the sons of God,

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

that God dispatches His Spirit into our hearts,

and the Holy Spirit enables us and causes us to feel a freedom

in addressing God as Daddy.

Father.

Abba.

Father.

The word Abba simply means in the Aramaic, Daddy.

We sense that we have a family tie.

He's our dad, and we are His children.

We're in His family.

What a wonderful truth that is,

to be in the family of God.

What is God to you?

Is He just a distant deity out there somewhere,

perhaps totally disinterested in your life?

Or have you come to Him by faith in Christ

and have been born again

into His family?

Obviously, you are not ready

for the rapture

until you have accepted Christ

and become a part

of His family.

Keep your finger right here in 1 John,

and I'm inviting you to come with me

to the Gospel of John chapter 1,

John 1 · chapter mention

and then to chapter 3.

I just want to stay here a moment.

I'd like to emphasize this just a touch more.

John 1.12.

It's a wonderfully simple verse

that tells us how to become

a part of God's family.

John 1.12.

We read,

But as many as received Him,

to them gave He the authority

to become the sons of God,

even to them that believe

on His name.

It is, of course,

by believing on Christ,

which equals receiving Christ as Savior.

Those who believe and those who receive Christ

become His children.

They are born into His family.

And then we can hardly think of that

without looking at John 3

and a very quotable quote of our Savior.

John 3.3.

Speaking to Nicodemus,

a very religious man,

the teacher of Judaism of his day,

he says to that Old Testament scholar,

but unsaved,

Jesus answered and said unto him,

Verily, verily,

I say unto thee,

except a man be born again,

he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus saith unto him,

How can a man be born when he is old?

Can he enter the second time

into his mother's womb and be born?

Jesus answered,

Verily, verily,

I say unto thee,

except a man be born of water

and of the Spirit,

he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

How do you get into any family?

Is it not by birth?

We get into God's family,

or as he calls it here in John 3,

we get into God's kingdom

by being born into it.

And the emphasis in this text

is that that birth

is a second birth,

and it is a spiritual birth

from heaven.

You see, Nicodemus' problem was

that he felt that he had had

one birth.

He had had a physical birth,

a fleshly birth.

He was a Jew.

And as such,

because he was a Jew,

he was in the kingdom.

And the Lord Jesus

is simply cutting across

the grain of his thinking

and saying,

Hey, Nicodemus,

it's not enough

that you were born a Jew.

One physical birth

into an earthly family

is not enough.

You must have two births.

The other one must be spiritual,

born of the Holy Spirit.

Now, that may not seem

too significant to you

unless you have people

in your family

or acquaintances

who say to you,

Hey, you know,

I'm a Roman Catholic.

I was born a Roman Catholic,

and that's going to get me

into heaven.

I was born and bred

a Lutheran

or an Episcopalian

or a Reformed individual,

and I've been brought up

in that thing.

I was born into that family,

and really,

that's all I need,

isn't it?

I was born into

the right kind of family,

the right religion.

Jesus says to all

of those Nicodemuses,

it's not enough

to have that birth.

It doesn't matter

what physical family

into which you were born,

what kind of a fleshly birth

you had,

you must be born again,

and that from heaven.

A spiritual birth.

Now, we all know that,

and some of you

may be sitting here thinking,

I hope you're not thinking

like this, boy.

let's not dwell too long here.

This is the basics.

This is the basics.

But I believe

that we ought to love

the basics.

There's a verse in the song

that goes something like this,

I love to tell the story

for those who know it best

seem hungering and thirsty

to hear it like the rest.

Somehow we've lost that.

Somehow there are folks

who say,

well, you know,

if you're going to preach

the gospel,

then I'm already past

that stage,

and I've heard the gospel,

and I believe the gospel,

let's get on to something else.

There's something wrong

in that spirit.

We ought to appreciate

and never weary

of hearing

or telling

the gospel.

And now,

little children,

you who have been born

into the family,

you who can

look into the starry heavens

at night

and say,

Father,

you who have been born again,

you little children,

he says,

and I'm back in 1 John 2, 28,

abide

in Christ.

Not only must I accept Christ

in order to be ready

for the rapture,

but this text

primarily tells me

that I must abide

in Christ

if I'm going

to be ready.

Isn't that what it says?

And now,

little children,

abide in him.

Why?

That when he shall appear,

we may not be ashamed

but have confidence

before him

at his coming.

So,

if I am abiding

in Christ,

I'll be ready

to meet him.

And I'll have nothing

for which to be ashamed

or feel ashamed

or red-faced

when I stand

before my Lord

if I abide

in him.

Well,

you know what the next question is.

What in the world

does that mean?

What does it mean, then,

to abide in Christ?

What did John have in mind

when he brought up

this term,

abide?

Well,

when I think of this,

I must confess to you

my mind always runs back

to John 15

because this is,

that is where

the Lord Jesus Christ

introduced to the disciples

this concept

of abiding.

John was there

on that final night.

John heard the Lord

talk to them

about abiding.

Jesus said over

and over again,

abide in me,

abide in me,

abide in me.

And I can't help

but think that

John is referring

us back

to that expression

and to what the Savior

taught his men

on that final night.

Therefore,

in order to understand

what he means here,

abide in Christ,

I'm taking you back

to John 15.

And let's just look

there a moment.

John chapter 15.

John 15 · chapter mention

I wish I had

more time

to set the setting here.

I'm afraid

there isn't that kind

of time this evening.

These sermons

have a way

of getting longer

and longer.

You'll find out

that professors

are geared

for 50 minutes

in the classroom

and when there's

no clock

in the classroom,

they just forget

the clock.

So you have to

kind of understand

that.

Or maybe I should

just understand it

and cut it off

quicker.

I don't know.

at any rate,

in John 15,

I'm going to read

a few verses here

and if you wanted

to,

you could underline

the word abide

every time you see it

and you're going

to come up

with about nine

different times

the Savior said

abide,

abide,

abide.

Notice this.

John 15.

I am the true vine,

my father is the husbandman.

Every branch in me

that beareth not fruit

he taketh away.

Every branch

that beareth fruit

he purgeth it

that it may bring

forth more fruit.

Now you're clean

because of the word

which I have spoken

unto you.

Abide,

there's the first one.

Abide in me

and I in you.

As the branch

cannot bear fruit

of itself

except it abide,

there's another one

in the vine,

no more can ye

except ye abide

in me.

I am the vine,

ye are the branches.

He that abideth

in me

and I in him,

the same bringeth

forth much fruit

for without me

you can do nothing.

If a man abide

not in me

he is cast forth

as a branch

and is withered,

men gather them

and cast them

into the fire

and they're burned.

If ye abide

in me

and my words

abide in you

ye shall ask

what ye will

and it shall be done

unto you.

Herein is my father

glorified

that ye bear much fruit

so shall ye be

my disciples.

As the father

hath loved me

so have I loved you.

Continue ye

in my love.

If ye keep

my commandments

ye shall abide

in my love

even as I have

kept my father's

commandments

and abide

in his love.

Obviously the Savior

had something to say

about abiding.

At least nine

different times

in those verses

ten verses or so

he says abide,

abide, abide,

abide,

abide in me.

What's that?

What does it mean

to abide in Christ?

I'm going to use

this definition.

To abide in Christ

means

that I will

maintain

an intimacy

with Christ.

An intimacy

with Christ.

Now if you don't

like the word

intimacy

perhaps a synonym

would help.

A closeness

with the Savior.

Perhaps as the

songwriter has said,

nothing between

my soul

and the Savior.

Not of this

world's

delusive

dream.

I have

renounced

all sinful

pleasure.

Jesus is mine.

There is nothing

between.

In other words,

there is a closeness,

there is an

intimacy

between me

and my

unseen

Lord.

I'm going

to prepare

a place

for you.

And they

were absolutely

crushed.

Wouldn't you

have been?

All of your

hopes,

all of your

dreams

set on him

and now

all of a sudden

he's kind of

pulling the

spiritual rug

out from under

your feet

and he's

saying goodbye,

see you later,

I'll be back.

And they

were crushed.

In John 15

he is saying

to them,

hey men,

I may be

out of sight

but I don't

have to be

out of mind.

We can

still have

a vital

tie.

We can

still have

an intimate

fellowship.

Even though

there is

physical

distance

between us,

there does

not have to

be any

emotional

or spiritual

distance

between us.

We can

maintain

an intimate

fellowship

together.

He was

comforting

their broken

hearts.

Now,

I think

you know

that

friendships

operate

at different

levels.

There are

some folks

in our

frame of

reference

whom we

might call

acquaintances.

they might

have a

familiar

face to

you.

Perhaps

you work

at the

same

plant

or in

the

same

office.

Perhaps

you even

attend

the same

church

and you

really don't

know them

very well

but there is

something

familiar

about them

and so we

would call

them

acquaintances.

There would

be another

level of

friendship

which we

would call

companions.

people whose

name you

know and

perhaps you

pal around

with them.

Maybe you're

in the

same class

at school

or you

work in

the same

line at

the job

or your

desks are

in the

same area

at the

office and

they are

companions.

You carry

on casual

conversation

with them

etc.

Then there's

a third

level of

friendship

which I'm

going to

call

intimacy.

These are

people whom

you know

very well

and who

know you

very well

and you

would be

willing to

share

everything

with them

all of

your griefs

and all

of your

sorrows

as well

as all

of your

joys.

You just

feel so

comfortable

around them.

You feel

so close

to them.

They are

intimate

with you.

I think

you'll agree

that we

may have

a whole

lot of

acquaintances

and a

fewer

companions

and very

few

intimates.

The

Savior

wants to

be

the

number

one

intimate

in my

heart

and yours.

He's

inviting us

into a

unique

friendship.

A

high

level

friendship.

and he

calls it

abiding.

Abiding.

Why should

I be

ashamed

to be

caught

away

and step

into his

presence

and look

him straight

in the

eye

if I'm

on intimate

terms

with him?

If I'm

maintaining

a closeness

with him?

If indeed

there is

nothing

between

my soul

and my

savior,

why then

would I

be ashamed

to be

caught up

and stand

before him?

So John

I think

is right

on the

button

when he

says

abide.

Maintain an

intimacy

with him

so that

when he

comes

you won't

be ashamed.

It'll

just be

like a

friend

walking

in the

door.

My mind

is not

satisfied

with that

however

because my

crazy mind

says well

how do

you do

that?

How do

you maintain

a fellowship?

How do

you stay

close to

the Lord?

Well,

I don't

want to

take something

extremely

simple and

make it

extremely

difficult.

Teachers

have a

way of

being good

at doing

that.

I don't

want to

do that

with you.

But just

think a

moment with

me of the

analogy.

He says

I am

the true

vine.

my

father's

the

husbandman

and

you're

the

branches.

Obviously

they're

walking

through

the

grape

arbors

between

the

garden

of

Gethsemane

and

the

upper

room.

As

they're

walking

through

this

area

he

says

hey

my

father's

the

farmer.

He

says

I

am

the

vine

and

you're

the

branches.

The

vine

is

unseen.

He's

up

there

in

heaven.

And

his

branches

the

extension

of

the

vine.

We're

down

here

on

earth.

And

somehow

there has

to be

a vital

link,

a vital

tie

between

that

vine

up

there

and

the

branches

down

here.

Otherwise

if that

tie

is

severed,

if it's

cut,

there's

no

fruit.

There's

no

life.

There's

no

vigor.

And

that's

what he

says.

If you

can,

in your

mind's

eye,

if you

can picture

yourself

as a

branch,

it may

seem like

a crazy

thing in

our

American

minds,

and we

are

plugged

into

the

vine

up

there.

And

we've

got to

maintain

a

vital

flow

there.

How

do you

do

that?

Well,

I must

confess to

you,

the first

word that

comes to

my

mind

is

communication.

There

has

to be

a

flow

of

communication

between

that

vine

and

the

branch.

I'm

no

horticulturist,

I'm

not a

farmer,

but I

have

observed

some

trees,

and so

on,

you've

observed

this,

the

spring

of the

year

comes,

and the

weather

begins

to

warm

up,

you

know,

and

there's

fleecy

clouds,

and

there's

a

warm

breeze,

you

know,

and the

sun

comes

out,

something

happens

inside

that

tree.

Somewhere

there's

a

communication

system

inside

that

tree

that

says,

hey,

it's

time

to

wake

up,

not

be

dormant

anymore,

and

those

roots

start

bringing

up the

goodies

out of

the

ground,

and

pretty

soon

all

that

sap

and

the

juices

are

running,

and

isn't

long

until

there's

buds

and

leaves

and

later

fruit.

And

then

fall

comes,

and

you

get

a

few

cool

breezes

and

a

frost

like

we

had

last

night,

and

something

in

that

tree

says,

whoops,

let's

go back

to

sleep,

and

it

starts

pulling

back

all

of

those

juices

and

back

down

into

the

trunk,

and

the

leaves

die

and

drop,

and

that's

it.

Somehow

there's

a

communication

system

in

there

between

the

trunk

of

that

tree

and

the

branches

and

the

leaves

out

there.

Similarly,

there

must

be

a

flow

of

communication

between

the

vine

in

heaven

and

the

branches

on earth.

Which

being

interpreted

means

I

must

sit

down

and

feed

on

his

word

so

that

he

can

communicate

with

me

and

then

I

must

open

up

my

heart

and

lay

my

burdens

and

requests

and

praises

out

before

him

so

that

I

can

communicate

with

him.

It

is a

two-way

communication

street.

Otherwise,

there's no

intimacy.

you're

married,

you

know

that.

The

only

way a

husband

and

wife

can

maintain

an

intimacy

is

by

communication.

And

if

a

husband

and

wife

do

not

communicate,

there

is

a

separation

that

can

come.

I'm

not

talking

about

divorce,

although

that

can

happen

too,

but

I'm

talking

about

an

emotional

distance

just

because

they

failed

to

communicate.

Intimacy

is built

on

communication.

But

there's

something

more in

this

text than

simply

the

analogy.

when

I

get

down

into

the

text

in

verse

5,

Jesus

is

saying

to

me

the

very

last

part

of

the

verse,

without

me

you

can

do

nothing.

He's

saying

that

look,

I'm

divine

up there

and

you're

the

branch

down

here

and

all

of

your

life

and

all

of

your

vitality

and

all

of

your

ability

to

produce

comes

from

me

the

vine.

Apart

from

me

you

are

a

zero

with

the

ring

rubbed

out

as

far

as

really

accomplishing

something.

Nothing.

You

mean to

tell me

Mr.

Warren

that

if

I

don't

abide

in

Christ

that

I

don't

have

any

ability

to

produce

fruit?

Exactly.

Just

like

a

branch

that

is

sawed

off

from

that

trunk

and

it's

broken

loose

you

know

what

happens

to

that

branch?

It

withers

it

grows

stiff

and

is

ultimately

cast

off

so

that

believer

who

does

not

abide

in

Christ

withers

in

his

or

her

spirit.

They

become

stale

and

dry.

Christianity

becomes

a

lifeless

heavy

responsibility

and

soon

we

find

ourselves

set

on

the

sidelines

watching

the

action.

I'm not

suggesting

the loss

of salvation

I am

suggesting

the loss

of

vitality

and

usefulness

and that's

what Jesus

is talking

about.

so

that

intimacy

abiding

involves

for me

a

dependent

spirit.

If I

come at

the

Christian

life

like

that

little

train

I

mentioned

this

morning

I

think

I

can

I

think

I

can

if I

come

at

life

and

say

I

can

handle

this

this

isn't

too

hard

I

can

teach

on

my

own

ability

I

can

preach

and

do

this

thing

I

can

sing

that

song

I

can

play

that

instrument

I

can

witness

to

that

friend

I

can

I

can

I

can

it's

like

a

branch

who

says

I

don't

need

the

vine

I

don't

need

your

strength

I

don't

need

the

sap

that

flows

from

you

I

just

do

it

on

my

own

an

independent

spirit

if I'm

living

like

that

I

am

not

ready

for

the

rapture

because

I'm

not

abiding

abiding

means

communication

abiding

means

dependence

and

abiding

also

means

obedience

obedience

can

you

imagine

a

vine

telling

a

branch

to

do

something

time

to

sprout

those

leaves

now

time

to

get

the

grapes

out

can

you

imagine

the

branch

saying

no

way

I'll

do

it

my

own

way

thank

you

no

no

there's

a

complete

cooperation

there

the

one

obeys

the

other

look at

1 John

3

24

he's

talking

about

abiding

here

again

it

may

appear

to

you

that

I'm

jumping

all

around

but

in

all

honesty

I'm

not

I'm

following

a

word

through

the

New

Testament

that's

really

what's

happening

here

1 John

3

24

same

word

John

says

and

he

that

keeps

his

commandments

abides

in him

and

Christ

in him

it is the

believer who is

obedient

it is the

believer who is

doing what the

vine up there

is telling him

to do

that's the

believer

who is

abiding

the obedient

believer

doing what

his Lord

tells him

to do

well we've

come a long

way

but where

have we

come

I've

said

simply

this

in order

for me

to be

ready

for the

rapture

I must

first

accept

Christ

become a

part of

his family

it is a

family

reunion

isn't

it

secondly

I must

abide

in

Christ

abiding

means to

maintain an

intimacy

with him

a closeness

and I do

that

by communicating

with him

I do

that by

maintaining

a dependency

upon him

and I do

that by

obeying

the orders

that my

Lord

gives me

if I'm

communicating

if I'm

dependent

if I'm

obedient

and the

rapture

comes

I'm not

going to

be ashamed

you will

have nothing

to have

a red

face for

and stand

before your

Lord

because there

will be a

closeness

a one

on one

fellowship

and instead

of simply

being an

unseen

fellowship

all of a

sudden it

will be

face to

face

and so

John says

abide