Second Coming of Christ - Part Four

SECOND COMING OF CHRIST - Part Four

 

Point to the Lord Jesus Christ as the One Whose coming makes us zealous of good works.

 

Practical effect of His coming. 

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We know that the Lord Jesus may come at any moment, to take us to be with Himself. Does this make any difference in the way we live? We are not afraid of His coming, for we know that He can see us just as truly today, while He is in Heaven, as He will when He comes and we can see Him. But the moment of His coming is going to be the most wonderful moment that there has ever been. But if, when He comes, we are doing something that would not please Him, or saying something unkind or untrue, or if we are in some place that He would not like, it will spoil that beautiful moment for us. It is not that He would not take us to be with Him if we were doing something that would displease Him, for He takes us because we are saved, not because we are being good. But think what a sad thing it would be if we had to meet Him with our head hanging down, ashamed to see His face! And since He may come any moment, we should always be waiting for Him.

Some very sad things happen in this world. People get sick, and die, and leave their loved ones here to mourn. But Christians do not sorrow as the world does. People who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ do not have any hope at all, for they will never have the joy of living in heaven with their loved ones. But when Christians die, their friends know that they have gone to be with the Lord, and that they are much, much happier than they would be if they still lived on earth. And then they have the hope of the Lord’s coming. For since we believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for us, and rose again, we know that those who die, trusting in Him, will come back with Him when He comes for us. For those who are alive and remain until the Lord comes will not go before those who have died. For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, and with the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ—those who have believed in Him and have died, shall be raised from the dead first. Then we who are still alive and who remain until the Lords coming, shall be caught up into the air together with those who were dead, to meet the Lord in the clouds. And so we shall all be with the Lord forever. It is these words that God has given us when there is sorrow.

 

But in all our joy in the Lord's coming, we cannot forget those who are not saved, and who will be left behind when He comes. That will be a terrible time for unbelievers. And we want, so much, to let them know about the Lord Jesus Christ, so that they will believe and be saved, and go to meet Him when He comes. We know that not all the world will be converted, so we are not just trying to make things better here, but we are trying to rescue all we can from Satan before the Lord comes. If we really mean this, we will be telling our friends about Him, bringing them with us so that they can hear about our Saviour. And we will pray for them, and for missionaries who are preaching to so many about Him, asking God to bless them, and to bring many, many, many to Himself.

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