Who Will Enter?

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning the 27th of September, 2020, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service, also streamed live, due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Questioning authority seems to be the norm nowadays.  So many people appear to have little or no respect for those placed in a position of authority over us.  The result is usually hatred and distrust on all sides.  And this questioning of authority is not just between law enforcement and elements of the general public, but increasingly in all aspects of our daily lives, even within the church.

Much of it seems kind of ironic to me.  Consider the person who wants to attend an event at a private club, so they go and wait in line with everyone else.  When they finally get to the head of the line, just short of the door, there’s this big burly bouncer checking names off a list.  “Nope, sorry, you’re not on the list, you can’t come in.”  Do you think that person makes a fuss right there, perhaps picks a fight with the bouncer, or just walks away muttering and cursing under their breath?

Yes, we humans can be inconsistent in how we react to things, and especially we independent minded Americans, for whom questioning authority almost seems to be a God-given right.  But it’s not just us, and it is certainly not a new thing.  Jesus had His authority questioned often in His day.

Let me read to you one exchange between Jesus and the chief priests and elders of the people.  This discussion occurred the next day after Jesus had driven out all those who bought and sold in the temple, where He had overturned the tables of the money changers, proclaiming, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”.  Listen and follow along to what the Apostle Matthew recorded for us in the 21st chapter of his Gospel account, in verses 23 through 32, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

23 Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”

24 But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: 25 The baptism of John — where was it from? From heaven or from men?”

And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.”

And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ 29 He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?”

They said to Him, “The first.”

Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him."

--Matthew 21:23-32 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for all the examples You saved for us in our Bible of how we should react in almost any situation.  The religious leaders of Jesus’ day very often did not react in a manner pleasing to You, and Jesus rebuked them for it.  Yet through Your great mercy, He gave them every chance to do the right thing.  Thank You, Father, for giving us second chances to do right in Your eyes.  Please help us to learn from our mistakes and the mistakes we see others make.  Help us be more righteous and more pleasing in Your sight.  And Father, please protect us from all the effects of the coronavirus and all the troubles of the world around us.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind in our love and worship, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us for this day.  We acknowledge Your authority as our Creator and Sovereign King.  Please help us take guidance, strength, and encouragement from Your Holy Spirit within us.  This we pray under the blood and in the name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

English minister Alexander Maclaren once noted that...

The caricature of heaven as an eternity of idleness has no basis in Scripture.  Instead, the New Testament conception unites the two thoughts of being with Christ and of service for Christ.  This blending is definitely set forth in the last chapter of Revelation where we read of “those who serve Him, and see His face.”  Here the life of contemplation and the life of active service are welded together as being not only compatible, but absolutely necessary for completeness.  But remember that if there is to be service there, the exercising ground is here.  I do not know what we are in this world for unless it is to apprentice us for heaven.  Life on earth is a bewilderment unless we are being trained here for a nobler work which lies beyond the grave. 

And C. S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity, wrote:

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."

We were made for another world.  We were created with something else in mind.  This place is not our home.  But it is our training ground, where we must prepare for that other world, that better place.  We will not be idle there, nor should we be idle now.  Instead, let us increase our service to our Lord here and now in preparation for an eternity of service and worship to come when we enter heaven.

In our scripture reading, the religious leaders confronted Jesus, asking by what authority He acted.  Rather than answering outright, He offered them a trade: “You answer my question, I’ll answer yours.”  Of course, being the cowards they were, they refused to answer Him, so He refused to address their question.  Instead, He launched into a lesson about who will be allowed entry into the kingdom of God.

He started out making it sound quite simple, asking which son had actually done the will of their father: the one that said he would not go to work, but eventually did, or the one who said he would go, but didn’t.  They answered correctly by saying the first son, and then Jesus had then.

They were the “second son”, who said they would do the will of our Father God, but really didn’t.  John the Baptist came preaching repentance and preparing the way for Jesus, just as their own prophecy foretold, yet they refused to listen, refused to believe.  But the very ones the priests and elders called sinners, they did believe.  They repented and accepted Jesus as Lord and were saved.  And still the religious leaders refused to believe.

Family, this is all about who will enter the kingdom of God, and who will be forever barred.  This was not the first nor the only time Jesus made this point, trying to get those to understand who most needed to.  In fact, Jesus kept trying to push home this truth in the same discussion with these leaders.

Picking up immediately following our message scripture, still in Matthew chapter 21 and continuing with verses 33 through 44, Jesus tells the chief priests and elders…

33 “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. 34 Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. 35 And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. 37 Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.

40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”

41 They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.”

42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

‘The stone which the builders rejected

Has become the chief cornerstone.

This was the Lord’s doing,

And it is marvelous in our eyes’?

43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. 44 And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”

--Matthew 21:33-44 (NKJV)

Again Jesus poses a question to the religious leaders, this time asking how the vineyard owner will react to those who rented his land and then killed his own son.  He will destroy them, they answered, and turn the land over to others who will be more responsible for it.

They – these leaders - were the evil vinedressers.  They kept killing the servants sent by the owner of the vineyard, the true servants of God.  They were supposed to be the ones leading the people in the ways of righteousness, supposed to be good servants of God themselves, yet they refused His Son, and were indeed about to kill Him.  Therefore the kingdom of God will be forever taken from them and given to those more responsible, those who acknowledge and accept God’s Son as Lord.

These people who turned religion and service to God to their own advantage and gain will be forever barred from heaven.  This is a stark warning to all who would use the name of our Lord for their own gain in this life.

Family, we are in dark times right now, made even murkier still by the height of the political season.  All around us, the truth is being stretched thin, evil intentions are being hidden.  And in some cases, true believers are being misled.  Some folks say they’ll do something, but never really intend to, while others promise they won’t do something, but then turn around and do it anyway.  Some do their best to silence the messenger, no matter what it takes.

We must stay strong in our faith.  We must understand what this wonderful book, our Bible, tells us and do what it says, following the examples of righteousness it holds for us.  This book, the words of God and our blessed Savior Jesus, this is the only thing we can put our full trust in.

Let’s do what Jesus tells us so we can enter heaven when our time comes, and not be forever barred.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, our Savior, the one true Son of God.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for our Bible.  Thank You for the words of encouragement and instruction it contains.  Help us, please Father, to trust in Your word.  Help us to act and react in righteous ways to all situations that confront us.  Help us to take courage in these troubling times, and not let all the turmoil overwhelm us and weaken our faith.  And Father, help us be more loving, more trusting, more merciful, and more kindhearted toward others in our daily walk.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You straight from our hearts, promising to repent of our sinful ways, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You rebuked the religious leaders of Your day for not truly doing the will of God.  Time after time You used little stories to show them where they were going wrong.  But it never sunk in, they never listened.  Forgive us, Jesus, when we act too much like those leaders.  Forgive us when we try to bend our service to God to our own benefit.  Help us, please, to see ourselves in Your parables and fix the broken areas of our lives before we find ourselves barred from heaven.  Strengthen us, Jesus, through these times of great uncertainty.  And Lord, please heal the divisions between us, that creep in and separate us, even within Your church family.  Give us Your heart for loving others.  Help us to love one another as You love us, to see one another as You see us.  Help us remain faithful and obedient through the storms raging around us, concerned more with the needs of others than with our own wants and desires.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Working for God

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning the 20th of September, 2020, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service, also streamed live, due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Since I was sidelined a bit two Sundays ago, I wasn’t able to bring you my annual Labor Day offering.  Elder Jim Neese gave a wonderful message on Jesus’ “Interrupted Sermon”, but I still feel the need to address what the Holy Spirit put on my heart.

So today we’re going to talk about our labors in this life, in our daily walk.  And who better to lead the discussion than one of the greatest, hardest working, most faithful laborers in the early church: the Apostle Paul.

Please listen and follow along to what Paul has to say about working for God, in his letter to the Galatians, chapter 6, verses 1 through 10, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For each one shall bear his own load.

6 Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.

7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

--Galatians 6:1-10 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for looking into the hearts of every person and discerning our true motives and intentions.  Thank You for ensuring that what is sown shall, in due season, be reaped.  You promise that those who sow goodness will be richly rewarded in Your timing, while those who sow evil will be punished.  Father, please help us to cleanse our hearts of all evil intention and hurtfulness.  Help us be more obedient to Your word and thus more pleasing in Your eyes.  And Father, please protect us from all the effects of the coronavirus and all the troubles of the world around us.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind in our love and worship, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us for this day.  Lay the groundwork for all our future labors, that everything we do be pleasing in Your sight.  And please help us take guidance, strength, and encouragement from Your Holy Spirit within us.  This we pray under the blood and in the name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Some unknown wag once noted that there are three kinds of workers.  For example, when a piano is to be moved, the first kind gets behind and pushes, the second pulls and guides, and the third grabs the piano stool.

Now, let me say right up front that this church family is the hardest working I’ve ever seen or been associated with.  When there’s a job to be done, folks jump right in to help share the load.  But how many of us have experienced situations where too many “helpers” just grabbed the piano stool?  And how many times have we seen folks ride on top of the piano while others push and pull?

We can’t all carry the stool, and none of us should be going along for a free ride.  But as we push and pull and carry, let us remember that in all we do, let’s make our labors be for our Lord.  Let’s do the very best we can do, in everything we do.

In our scripture reading this morning, it may seem a little difficult to see how it applies to working for God, but there are many aspects to working other than physical labors.  At its heart, Paul is speaking more on spiritual labors rather than manual.

He begins by telling us it’s our duty to try to help another believer back onto the right path if they’ve gone astray, but to do so gently, kindly, with love.  He says we should bear one another’s burdens.  Now that can certainly mean to help each other with some physical chore if needed, but I believe Paul is more concerned about our spiritual burdens, those loads we carry on our hearts that can weigh us down.  We need to help each other with those loads, if for no other reason than to show our love for one another, as Jesus would have us do.

And then we get to the warning.  Do not be deceived.  Don’t let someone else put the wrong ideas in your head.  God is not mocked.  He cannot be fooled.  He can see into our hearts and He knows us.  He knows exactly what we are, which is not always what we say we are.  Those who do good will be rewarded and those who do evil will be punished; maybe not in this life but in God’s perfect timing.  So anytime we have the chance, we should do good.

Have you ever heard the expression that we should work to live, not live to work?  As a workaholic, too many times in my life I had a tough time remembering that.  Too many times my work, my job, became my life.  My labors were for the wrong things, the wrong reasons.

After the feeding of the 5000, the multitude chased after Jesus, seeking Him.  The Apostle John recorded what our Lord told them, in the 6th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 26 and 27…

26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

--John 6:26-27 (NKJV)

Jesus was speaking to me there, and to all of us, but I never heard His words until much later in life.  We shouldn’t waste our life working for things that perish, that rot and decay, that have no true value.  Instead, labor for that which is eternal.  Labor for our everlasting soul and eternity in heaven.

Still someone may ask why must we engage in this spiritual labor when we’re already having to work just to survive.  Why should we work for God?

The Apostle Luke, in the 1st two verses of the 10th chapter of his Gospel account, tells us that Jesus named His 12 disciples, and then…

1 After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. 2 Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

--Luke 10:1-2 (NKJV)

And now we’ve gotten back to the harvest that Paul also mentioned.  But again, this is more about spiritual labor than physical.  Sure, the apostles were required to physically go out into the villages and cities, preaching the Gospel and proclaiming the kingdom of God, but their actual work was in spreading the Good News of salvation, in reaching out to those whose hearts might be softened enough for the Holy Spirit to enter and do His work.  Their labor was to affect the spirit of mankind.

And if Jesus thought that 70 was not enough workers in His time, how many more are needed today, when the world seems headed toward ruin?  How many more people desperately need to hear about Jesus, to get to know Him personally?  There’s a lot of work to do, and it up to us – Jesus’ church – to do it.

In your bulletin, you’ll see a little exercise I had Dama include.  It talks about our labor for the Lord.  It is a labor of love, and not done in vain.  And it is for eternal things, as Jesus instructs us.

Take a few minutes when you get home and read the referenced scripture for each point.  Let God speak to you, through His Holy Spirit, and tell you what He would have you do for Him.  Let’s work for what is eternal.  Let’s get to work for God.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, our Savior, the one true Son of God.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for offering us an eternal reward for working for You, for our labors on Your behalf.  Help us, please Father, to do what is pleasing in Your sight.  Help us to not grow weary in our labors.  Help us to take courage in these troubling times, and not let all the turmoil overwhelm us and weaken our faith.  And Father, help us be more loving, more trusting, more merciful, and more kindhearted toward others in our daily walk.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You straight from our hearts, promising to repent of our sinful ways, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You specifically sent Your followers out to cities and villages in advance of Your own visits.  Their mission was to prepare the people for Your coming.  Their job was to spiritually ready them for what lies ahead.  This, too, is the mission You have set before us, Your followers, Your disciples in this present age.  We are to prepare the people spiritually for the day when You return to set the world right again.  Our job is to work for You, for the Kingdom of God, for that which is eternal.  We are to rescue the perishing, opening their spirit to You.  Forgive us, Jesus, when we don’t feel up to the task.  Forgive us when we grow weary or when we hesitate out of fear of what others may think of us, or do to us.  Help us, please, to remain strong in our faith and steadfast in our efforts.  Give us Your strength to get through these times of uncertainty.  And Lord Jesus, please heal the divisions between us, that creep in and separate us, even within Your church family.  Give us Your heart for loving others.  Help us to love one another as You love us, to see one another as You see us.  Help us remain faithful and obedient through these troubling times, concerned more with the needs of others than with our own wants and desires.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Homecoming

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning the 13th of September, 2020, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service, also streamed live, due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Today is homecoming for Pilgrim Reformed Church, when our relatives or others who have moved on to other churches might return and join us for the day.  Normally, we would all go down to the Fellowship Hall after the service and enjoy a big family lunch together.  And then tonight we would kick-off our revival services, which holds special meaning to me because the first time I ever came to Pilgrim was when my friend and mentor Rev. John Bigelow invited me to come speak at revival in 2011.  Unfortunately, the current pandemic has put an end to all that.  But we can still “come home” to Pilgrim, if not in person then in our hearts.

Let us remember, though, that nothing on this earth is home – not the structures we live in nor even this beautiful family house.  Our true home, our final and eternal homecoming, awaits us.

Please listen and follow along to the insight that the Apostle Paul shares with us regarding homecoming, in his 1st letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 4, verses 13 through 18, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with Him the believers who have died.

15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet Him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words.

--1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for the promise and the assured hope of eternal life with You in paradise.  Thank You for the faith to know that Jesus is Your Son and to accept Him as our Lord.  Father, please help us to stay true to Jesus, serving Him in all we do, as we await the day of our great homecoming.  And Father, please protect this church family from all the effects of the coronavirus and all the troubles of the world around us.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind in our love and worship, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us for this day.  Assure us of our reward for faithfully serving You and Your Son Jesus.  Help us keep our faith ever strong through the storms of this life.  And please help us take guidance, strength, and encouragement from Your Holy Spirit within us.  This we pray under the blood and in the name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Inspirational speaker Tim Hansel wrote in his book “Holy Sweat” about a close friend who attended his 40-year high school reunion.  His excitement grew and grew as the date of the reunion neared.  He looked forward to seeing all the friends he once knew, to see how much they had changed, to hear of their accomplishments, as well as seeing all the places he knew as a youth.  His wife became equally enthused as he spoke on and on of those halcyon days.  The night before they left out for the trip, he pulled out his old yearbooks and read all the silly comments and good wishes from those friends so long ago.  And he wondered how many of them had encountered Jesus Christ, who had so profoundly changed him.

When they returned from the trip, he seemed almost despondent when Tim picked them up from the airport.  He called the reunion “one of the saddest experiences of my life”.  In 40 years, no one had changed.  Sure, they had gained weight, they were wearing different styles of clothes, they had different jobs, but where it really mattered, down inside, no one had changed.  No one had become a new creation.  No one knew Jesus as their Lord and personal Savior.

On the drive home, he turned to Tim and said, "I never, never want that to be said of me, Tim.  Life is too precious, too sacred, too important.  If you ever see me go stagnant like that, I hope you give me a quick, swift kick where I need it -- for Christ's sake.  I hope you'll love me enough to challenge me to keep growing."

Tim’s friend was a changed man, a new creation, because of his personal encounter with Jesus.  The Apostle Paul speaks of this in his 1st letter to the church in Corinth, which I’ll read a little later.  But the man was saddened, even despondent, to learn that none of his old friends had yet undergone that transforming experience.  He asked that Tim give him a swift kick if he ever grew complacent in his faith, in his walk through life.

I think we need to do the same, and ask someone to watch over us, ready to kick us back into action.  And maybe we need to apply a few kicks here and there ourselves, where needed, and with great love.  We’ve been changed.  Let’s not slide back to our old ways.

Homecoming…  That word stirs up warm, comforting memories for most of us, memories of those times when all the individual families within the church would come together as one, to sit down and eat together, to laugh together, to catch up on each other’s lives.

Sadly, we can’t do that today, not without risking spreading a horrible disease.  But the word “homecoming” should still elicit warm, comforting thoughts, because God has promised us a great and beautiful homecoming that will surpass any we’ve ever know.  Jesus gave us a very broad clue to this homecoming, as recorded by the Apostle John in his Gospel account, chapter 14 verses 1 through 3…

1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me. 2 There is more than enough room in My Father’s home. If this were not so, I would have told you.  I am going to prepare a place for you. 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am."

--John 14:1-3 (NLT)

Did you catch that promise, that hint?  Jesus said, “When everything is ready, when it’s all set up and the timing is just right, I will come and get you so that you will always be with Me.”  He’s talking to the church, and He’s talking about returning to take the church home.  He’s talking about our homecoming.

And He reiterates this promise a little later on, with more detail and an overtone of warning.  The Apostle Matthew recorded this for us, in the 24th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 29 through 31…

29 “Immediately after the anguish of those days,

the sun will be darkened,

the moon will give no light,

the stars will fall from the sky,

and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

30 And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send out His angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather His chosen ones from all over the world — from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven."

--Matthew 24:29-31 (NLT)

Jesus will come on the clouds in all His might and glory.  He will send out His angels and they will gather His chosen ones – His church – from the farthest ends of the earth and of heaven.  And He will take us home.

In the little story at the start, I told of a man who had been profoundly changed by his encounter with Jesus.  The same could be said of the Apostle Paul, profoundly changed by his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus.  Through the special insight Jesus gave him, Paul knew that each person truly touched by Christ would be changed.  He spoke often in his letters of our becoming a new creation when we accept Jesus as Lord.  And in his 1st letter to the Corinthians, chapter 15, verses 50 through 54, he tells us why that change is necessary…

50 My friends, I want you to know that our bodies of flesh and blood will decay. This means that they cannot share in God’s kingdom, which lasts forever. 51 I will explain a mystery to you. Not every one of us will die, but we will all be changed. 52 It will happen suddenly, quicker than the blink of an eye. At the sound of the last trumpet the dead will be raised. We will all be changed, so that we will never die again. 53 Our dead and decaying bodies will be changed into bodies that won’t die or decay. 54 The bodies we now have are weak and can die. But they will be changed into bodies that are eternal. Then the Scriptures will come true,

“Death has lost the battle!"

--1 Corinthians 15:50-54 (CEV)

We who believe, we faithful followers of Christ Jesus, will be changed.  We will be magnificently clothed for our great homecoming.  These frail bodies, irreparably damaged by sin, will be replaced with bodies that sin cannot stain, bodies that will no longer break down, bodies that will not rot or decay.  We’ll be outfitted for everlasting life with Jesus.  And we’ll enjoy the very best homecoming ever.

Let’s keep our faith strong, and our service to our Lord.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Master, our Savior, the one true Son of God.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for our gift of faith.  Through this we may believe in Your Son Jesus and obey His voice, and be granted eternal life in heaven.  Help us, please Father, to exercise our faith and keep it strong.  Help us to trust in Your word and Your promises.  Help us to take courage in these troubling times, and not let them overwhelm us and fill us with doubts.  And Father, help us be more loving, more trusting, more merciful, and more kindhearted toward others in our daily walk.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You straight from our hearts, promising to repent of our sinful ways, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, so often during Your ministry on earth, You promised great rewards to those who will believe in You and serve You to the end.  On those promises we place all our hope and trust.  Forgive us, Jesus, for those times when our faith is weak.  We seem under constant assault these days from Satan and his forces.  Help us, please, to be remain strong in our faith.  Give us Your strength and help us through these times of uncertainty.  And Lord Jesus, please heal the divisions between us, that creep in and separate us, even within Your church family.  Give us Your heart for loving others.  Help us to love one another as You love us, to see one another as You see us.  Help us remain faithful and obedient through these troubling times, concerned more with the needs of others than with our own wants and desires.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.