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 Sermon > Official Service |
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Title |
I am coming soon |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
1Th 4:13-17 |
Date |
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We live a religious life to be saved and live eternally in Heaven. We can be saved when we we accept Jesus as our Savior and belive in our heart that he died and rose again from the dead. It is as Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth, ’Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
If some don’t believe in the resurrection of Jesus, they can hardly believe that we will also be resurrected at the second coming of the Lord. This means that they cannot believe in the second advent of Jesus. Then they can’t believe in Heaven and Hell that they will not be able to live by the word of God. Ultimately they will not be saved.
Therefore we must bear in mind that the saved children of God should firmly believe in the resurrection of Jesus. When we believe it in our heart, then we can believe that Jesus will come again and we will be revived at that time.
Now, we will look into the biblical prophecies and evidences about the second advent of Jesus Christ so as to meet him with joy and gratitude.
1. Jesus will come again after preparing the beautiful heaven for us
1 Corinthians 15:19 says, "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."
The children of God go to church on Sunday to worship Him and serve their duties faithfully, which is different from the life of those who don’t believe in God.
Sometimes they fast to live according to the word of God. Instead of taking rest, they pray in the sanctuary from early morning till late night. They don’t seek their own interests but try to serve others. This is why it is said that if there is no Heaven, they are the most pitiful ones.
However, it is crystal clear that our Lord Jesus Christ will surely come again and he is preparing the beautiful heavenly kingdom for us. God will reward each of us according to what we have done in the earth(Matthew 16:27).
But this doesn’t simply mean that only our destination will be decided whether it is heaven or hell. Even in the heavenly kingdom, we will live in different places according to our faith.
1 John 2: 13~14 says, "....I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one."
The calling as children, young men and the father is the measure of faith. That is, every one doesn’t have the same faith. According to how much we live by the word of God and resemble the heart of the Lord, we will live in different places in the kingdom of heaven.(1 Corinthians 15:41, 2 Corinthians chapter 12). It is like that even same citizens of one country live in different places - some in the countryside or an island, others in big cities.
So If we indeed have faith, we should take better heaven forcefully(Matthew 11:12). We must not confess with mouth, "I look forward to the second coming of the Lord" but pray earnestly and fast and to become holy. We also should preach the Gospel to others and give offerings so as to build our residences in the heavenly kingdom.
2. Jesus promised that he is coming soon.
Revelation 22:20 says, "He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus."
When Jesus said that he is coming soon, he meant two things.
First, men cannot live over a hundred years(Psalms 90:10). Today, so many people die of either accidents or diseases. If they face death all of a sudden, it is the time when they meet the Lord. It will be decided whether they will go to heaven or hell according to their deeds until the time of death.
Also we live in the last time as it is written in the Bible when the time of the coming of the Lord is close.
When God created the heavens and the earth and all creatures, he planned all things until the last time. He created man after all creatures and has cultivated him. According to his divine providence and plan, six thousand years of human cultivation have been passing. We are now facing the last time close to the second coming of the Lord Jesus.
In the 24th chapter of Matthew, Jesus said to his disciplines about the sign of his coming again and of the end of the age. The fifth verse says, "For many will come in my name, claiming, ’I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many." In fact, for 2000 years after Jesus went up to heaven, many people have claimed to be the Christ. But they were all heretics.
The sixth and seventh verses say, "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars.... Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places."
Today, through the mass media, we can see the famines, earthquakes, and disasters everywhere. Wars take place between races or nations. But all these are the beginning of the birth pains.
So Jesus said to his disciples about the sign of the end of the age.
First, it will not be the end of the age until the gospel of the heavenly Kingdom is preached all over the world.
Matthew 24:14 says, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."
Acts 1:8 says, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
As Jesus said, his disciples and apostles and the ancestors of faith have preached the gospel to all nations. Today, thanks to the development of mass media, the gospel can be spread all over the world instantly. So we should realize it is getting near to the end of the age.
Second, love will grow cold because of the increase of wickedness.
Matthew 24:12 says, "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold."
Today, beyond our imagination, even some children commit homicide. The love of people grew cold and money became what counts the most. People don’t
get along well unless they agree with each other. Due to the love for themselves, people are eager to seek their own interests and they love money as much as their own life. All this implies that to God who cultivates man to get the true children for the exchange of spiritual love, it is getting close to the time to finish the human cultivation.
Third, many people will go here and there to increase knowledge.
Daniel 12:4 says, "Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge."
In the past, people had to walk or at most used horses for transportation. Naturally it took them long time to move around. But today due to the development of transportation, it takes only one day to go anywhere in the world.
Furthermore, the knowledge has made remarkable progress in recent a few ten years which exceeds that of the last several thousand years.
Revelation 13:17-18 includes 666 or the number of beast regarding the bar-code which is commonly known nowadays. Now this bar-code is imprinted on goods or electronic cards, but in the future it will be marked on the forehead or hand of human beings to prevent loss. Then every trade or service in everywhere will require this mark. And to our surprise this is already happening in some advanced countries.
What we have to remember is that the Bible already prophesied about this 2000 years ago. As it is becoming reality, we should realize that the end is getting closer.
3. Many things will happen when the Lord comes.
1 Thessalonians 4:13 says, "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope."
In the Bible, ’those who fall asleep’ are those who died in Jesus Christ(John 11:12). When Jesus Christ comes again, they will rise from the dead as he did. That is why they are said to have fallen asleep.
Jesus Christ will not come again in shabbiness as he did 2000 years ago. He will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God as King of kings, Lord of lords among a great company of the heavenly host. At that time, the dead in Christ will rise first and we will go up to the clouds with them. We will meet Jesus Christ in the sky and always be with him(1 Thessalonians 4:14-17).
In other words, when Jesus Christ comes again, the dead in Christ will be changed into imperishable flesh first and will be taken up in the air. Then their bodies will be reunited with their souls that come from above with the Lord to become the perfectly resurrected being of the spirit, soul and body. After that, those who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. This is what we call the Rapture.
All of them will enjoy their wedding feast for seven years as brides of Jesus Christ. And then, they will follow the Lord to the earth again and reign with him for a thousand years. After that, through the last judgment of the white throne, they will be with the Lord in the heavenly kingdom forever.
In the meantime, those who fail to meet the Lord in the air will be left on the earth and suffer greatly for seven years.
4. If we long for the second advent of Christ, we should always be alert.
As God said in Amos 3:7, "Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.", He reveals His plan to those who are suitable. He revealed His plan of the judgment of water to Noah. He said to Abraham that he would judge Sodom and Gomorrah with the rain of burning sulfur. He also revealed His plans to His prophets in advance.
Therefore, we can assume about how soon the Lord will come through many signs. But we can’t surely know what time, what date of what month the Lord will come(Matthew 24:36). So if we long for the second advent of the Lord, we should always be alert to meet him anytime.
Some people may say that Jesus could have said when he will come again exactly. Then they would do their best to live a good religious life. But the Lord comes to take not every one but those who live by the word of God. Although he might have told us abut his second coming, we cannot prepare ourselves as his brides in short time and have the due faith to be saved.
Therefore we must be wise enough to prepare ourselves as bride in our daily life, worshiping God with heart, praying earnestly and living by His word.
Dear brothers and sisters,
The Bible is the word of God. The smallest letter and the least stroke of a pen will not be changed. So remembering that Lord Jesus is truly coming soon as he said, we should pray continuously and be alert in the Holy Spirit.
I pray in the name of Jesus Christ that you will live by the word of God and become pure and holy bride of the Lord and meet him in the air confessing boldly, "Amen. Come Lord Jesus." |
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