Is Jesus Coming Back Again? | Sunday Message

Hey there. Thanks for listening to the Greg Laurie Podcast, a ministry supported by Harvest Partners. I'm Greg Laurie encouraging you.

If you want to find out more about Harvest Ministries and learn more about how to become a Harvest Partner, just go to harvest.org. Now we bring our hearts ready to hear, because we live in a crazy, topsy-turvy world, where right is celebrated, or excuse me, wrong is celebrated as right, and right, well, that scene is wrong. Everything needs to be turned around. But we're so thankful that Jesus is coming again. And we pray that you'll give us a sense of expectancy and anticipation as we open your Word now. So we commit this time of Bible study. To you, in Jesus' name we pray, amen.

You can all be seated. Well, aloha. I know what you're thinking. Greg, where's your Hawaiian shirt? I'm wearing a Hawaiian shirt in my heart right now, okay? Just want you to know that.

We're so thankful for all that God has done through this outreach in Maui, and glad you could all be here with us in church today. At the end of the world, what does the Bible say? So grab your Bible and turn to James chapter five. So I heard a story about an elderly couple that went to bed one night. And I'm not gonna say what an elderly couple is, right?

But they're old, they're old. And just as they were getting ready to turn out the lights, the wife said, honey, I wish I could have a hot fudge sundae, but we don't have any of the things we need. Would you be a deer and go to the market and get it for me? He goes, okay, dear, I'll do it. Vanilla ice cream, don't forget, vanilla ice cream. Write it down, you always forget. He says, I won't forget vanilla ice cream. With chocolate sauce, actually hot fudge. Don't forget it, write it down.

I got it. Vanilla ice cream, hot fudge with whipped cream. Don't forget the whipped cream, okay, I got it. Vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream. Oh honey, with a cherry on top, don't forget, write it down, you always forget. He says, I won't forget, vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, cherry on top, got it. So he went to the market, came back about a half hour later and threw a ham sandwich on the bed. She opened it up and said, I told you to write it down, you forgot the mustard. Get it? Are you elderly?

What's happening here? Okay, so it's fun to lose your mind when you do it together, right? I have often said that Kathy and I, and we've been married now 50 years, so that's a celebration for us.

And our church is celebrating 50 years of ministry, so two milestones at the same time, but I've often said between us, Kathy and I, we have one single functioning brain. It's amazing how I'll remember half of something and she'll remember the other half. Sometimes when I'm telling a story, she'll interrupt me and say, that's not the way it happened. I'll say, Kathy, you weren't even there. I was there, she says, yeah, but the first time you told me the story, you told it differently.

And you know what, she's right about that. So sometimes we forget things, but God never forgets anything. He knows the past, He remembers every detail of the past, but He also knows the future. Our life is a continuum to Him. Past to God is present, future is past. Therefore, when God predicts the future, it's not as though He's going out on a limb.

It would be like us speaking of the past, but more accurately, because we do forget the past. So this is a new series, as I said. We're starting End of the World, What Does the Bible Say? And I wanna answer this question, in fact, this is the title of the message, Is Jesus Coming Again?

Let me just get this out of the way. The answer is, yes, He is. Jesus Christ is coming again. Because how do you know that, Craig? Because Jesus said, I will come again. And so we look at Bible prophecy. What is Bible prophecy?

It's basically God revealing history in advance. Did you know that the scripture oozes with the return of Christ? 27 to 33% of the Bible is prophecy. And more than 10,000 of the 31,102 verses in the Bible contain prophecy, and half of those have already been fulfilled.

That's not a small down payment. So what was once the future, but is now the past, because these prophecies have been fulfilled, that's happened, so now when we look at the other ones that have not been fulfilled, we know we can take it to the bank, and it's going to happen exactly as God has said. And all around us right now are signs of the times, telling us one thing, Jesus Christ is coming again. What are some of the signs of the times? Well, I would say the emergence of China as a superpower. Is that prophesied in scripture?

I think it could be, and I'll make a case for that down the road. The lessening of the United States as a superpower would be included in that. Also the emergence of Iran and the repeated threats against Israel, spoken of in Bible prophecy, as a matter of fact, yes.

Even the war in Ukraine, causing our world leaders from the President of the United States to the President of Russia, start throwing the word Armageddon around is a frightening thing. I would also add the explosion of intelligence and technology, especially artificial intelligence, also known as AI. I would add government overreach in our lives, where the government is more aggressively trying to get control of us. The dramatic increase of drug use decimating our cities.

International financial instability, mass shootings, the disintegration of the family. These are all signs of the times. The Bible says in the last days, there will be satanically energized times and things will go from bad to worse. I have to tell you something. I've been a student of Bible prophecy for 50 years now.

I don't think I'm an expert, but I am a student of it. And I have to say that I have been shocked what's happened in the last five years alone. Even the last couple of years, what we see before us, the blatant promotion of immorality on every platform imaginable, from movies, TV, to social media. The redefinition of what a man and a woman are, including child gender mutilation, as young children think they may be transgender, and the parents that encourage and even implement these things.

I can't even believe this. This is evil on a level like I've never seen it before. I would also add what the Bible calls an apostasy, the falling away of people from the faith. The Bible says in the last days, some will fall away from the faith, giving heed to the doctrines of demons and seducing spirits. We see leaders fall. We see people that we thought were committed Christians fall. We hear of Christians deconstructing their faith.

I wonder if some of them have even constructed it in the first place. But all these things happening around us, these are signs of the times. I know these are pretty negative. There's some positive signs of the times too. I see signs of potential revival in our nation and in our world. Think of the spontaneous outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Asbury College in Kentucky, where thousands of students were just praying day and night and people were literally coming from around the world to see this for themselves.

I don't think we can ignore the fact that God has dramatically worked through the Jesus revolution film. Not only was it a great box office success, but we've heard so many stories of changed lives, people coming to Christ in theaters, spontaneous baptisms happening after the movie was shown and now because it did well at the box office in America, it's gone international. It's been in Ireland, England, Scotland. It's been in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore.

Right now it's in Mexico and Brazil and it's headed to India. So it's really reaching all kinds of people and this week, starting on Monday, it opens on Netflix. And so that's a big deal. It's a big deal. Because you know, when you see a movie, you might be interested in it. Oh, I don't know if I want to pay the rental fee for it. But if you already subscribed to Netflix and that pops up on your screen, you say, well, maybe I'll watch it for five minutes.

And then you find yourself pulled in, right? And we're praying that God will use this film to impact lives. And let's not forget the largest baptism in American history that just happened at Pirate's Cove, the Jesus revolution baptism. 4,500 people were baptized on that day and only a few weeks before, maybe a month before, there was another baptism where 4,000 people were baptized. That means 8,500 people were baptized in a one month span of time.

This is amazing. Okay, I'm telling you. We talk about what happened 50 years ago in the Jesus movement. Nothing like this was happening back then.

So it's really reminding us that God is at work. And where is it happening? It's happening in California, isn't it? Right? So all you Californians that have moved to Texas and Arizona and Utah, I have one thing to say to you.

Nanny, nanny, nanny. No, not really. But God's at work. He hasn't given up on our state. And the Bible says in the last days, God says, I will pour my spirit out on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams. So when I first came to Christ, I was seeing visions.

Now I'm dreaming dreams. But I'll tell you what. I'm just happy to see God's spirit at work. But God is working. These are signs of the times.

And what does Jesus say? When you see these things begin to happen, look up for your redemption is drawing near. He did not say when you see these things begin to happen, freak out.

But rather look up. And I think there's a lot of frightening things right now in our world today. In fact, there's a phenomenon now that they call doomsday anxiety, which includes the fear or worry about the end of the world or life as we know it.

They say symptoms include chronic nightmares, an underlying feeling of fear, and an obsession with the news or doom scrolling through online media. But listen, there's hopeful signs and God is at work. That's why we need to study Bible prophecy. We need to understand it. Some people say, well, you can understand it. That's wrong.

You can. You can really learn a lot from it. And there's a blessing promised to the person who studies end times events. In the book of Revelation, we read that blessed is the one who reads and hears the words of this prophecy and keeps the things that are written in it for the time is near. So there's a specific blessing attached to the study of Revelation.

And I think in principle, this applies to all study of what is sometimes called eschatology, which is a study of last things. And by the way, it is not God's desire to conceal. It is his desire to reveal. That's what Revelation means. The last book of the Bible, sometimes it's called Revelations. People say, I've been reading Revelations. It's Revelation. It's singular. Never say Revelations again or I will have to slap you.

No, I don't. You can say it if you want. But it's a single revelation. And the word Revelation means the unveiling. God is showing us something. Bible prophecy is not given to scare us but to prepare us. So it's good to learn these things together. But of course, there are always people who go a little too far with it.

And they engage in date setting. There was a book that came out in 1988 that was a best seller. The title of it was 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Happen in 1988.

Then 1989 came and it didn't sell so well. And there's always someone who thinks they've cracked the code and they set a date. But Jesus says no man knows a day or the hour when the Son of Man will come. There's a Latin term for this obsession with Bible prophecy and it's rapturous nuttiness.

I don't know if you've heard it but I just made it up actually. So we want to keep these things in balance. You know some people think everything's a sign of the times.

They sit in the theater and when the movie's over it says the end. That's a sign of the times, right? I heard a conversation the other day where one person was actually asking, I saw a hamburger for sale for $6.66. Is it okay to buy it? And I said go ahead and buy it because after they add tax it'll be a different amount.

As long as they don't require a mark on your right hand or forehead, I think you're okay. But we'll talk about all those things. The mark of the beast, $6.66, Antichrist, Armageddon, the rapture.

What is it? When is it? Could it happen any time? The second coming, the millennial period and all those things. We'll discover what they're all about together. But as we learn these things there's a reason for it. And it should have a purifying effect on our lives spiritually. 1 John 3, 2 says, beloved now we're the children of God as it has not yet been revealed what we shall be but when he's revealed we shall be like him for we will see him as he is. And it goes on to say, he that has his hope purifies himself even as he is pure.

So if I really understand Bible prophecy as I ought to, it should cause me to want to live a more godly life. Start a story of an old dude who was out fishing and he's waiting for a bite and he suddenly hears a voice say to him, hey you. He looks around and said that, didn't see anyone, must have been hearing things. Moment passes, he hears it again, hey you, pick me up and kiss me and I'll become a beautiful princess. Who said that?

He didn't see anybody. Then the third time he hears the voice say, hey you, pick me up and kiss me and I'll become a beautiful princess and he realizes it's a frog. Who says for the fourth time, pick me up and kiss me and I'll become a beautiful princess. The old man picked up the frog and gently tucked it into his pocket. The frog said, did you hear what I said? I said, kiss me and I'll become a beautiful princess.

The old man said, at my age, I'd rather have a talking frog. We can be like that, miss the point, right? Let's not miss the point of the study of last things, of eschatology. It should cause us to want to live a godly life. So let's look at James chapter five. Because we're gonna discover five takeaway truths on how to live as a last days believer. James five, I'm starting at verse seven. Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord's return.

Under the farmers who patiently look for the rains and the fall and in the spring, they eagerly look for the valuable harvest to reap. You too must be patient. Take courage for the coming of the Lord is near. Don't grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged.

For look, the judge is standing at the door. For examples of patience and suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We give honor to those who endure under suffering.

For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him in the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy. So if you're taking notes, here's point number one, something you need to be doing as a believer waiting for the return of Christ. Be patient.

Point number one, be patient. Look at verse seven, dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord's return. The word used here for patience is not speaking of a passive resignation, but rather a patient expectant waiting on the Lord. Sort of like the way you felt when you were a young person and Christmas Day was coming.

You could hardly wait to open up your presence. That's how we should be watching and waiting. The problem is some believers are spiritually asleep. And Paul deals with this attitude in Romans 13 and he says, understand this present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your sleep because our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is nearly over. The day is almost here.

So he's saying, wake up, man. Pay attention. Be looking forward to the return of the Lord. And by the way, this word used for wait means to look expectantly.

The farmer who patiently waits. And we have to have that patience as well. And that's not easy in our culture today. We don't like to wait for anything. We don't like to deprive ourselves.

You know, a little history lesson for you who are younger. When we used to listen to music, we listened to something called an album. It's sort of like a really giant DVD, okay? And it had little grooves in it and we would take the album out of the jacket and place it on our turntables. And then we would take the needle and put it down into the grooves and we would listen to the sound.

We might pour over the lyrics of the album. So then after that, a new technology came along cutting edge. It was called 8-track.

Big old giant plastic thing. And you would put it in your car and you'd listen to your 8-tracks. How many of you remember 8-tracks?

Okay then, new technology. It was a cassette player. So now we listen to it on cassettes and then along comes the CD. Then along comes the DVD. Now you just download it. In some cases you don't even have to download it. Just stream it.

Just pick the song off the record that you want. So we like things fast. You know, you don't have to go down to the mall and search for what you want anymore. You just go to Amazon and if you have Amazon Prime you might even have same day delivery. If you're hungry you don't have to go and wait in line.

You just call Uber Eats. Everything comes fast, right? And so when we look at things like the return of the Lord we think well the Lord seems late. But God is never late. God is always on time. The Bible says when the time was just right God sent forth His Son born of a woman made under the law to redeem those that are under the law. So really what it's saying is when the time is just right God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be born in the manger of Bethlehem. And when the time is just right Jesus Christ will come back again. Martin Luther made this statement and I quote, there are two days on my calendar. This day and that day.

The day you're in right now and that day, the day of the Lord. Now sometimes we may feel as though Jesus is overdue. Hey Lord, we ask, have you looked around at this crazy world? Have you seen how wicked things have become? The Lord is fully aware of that.

In fact in the book of Genesis when there was so much evil on the earth that wickedness stunk effectively to high heaven and God intervened. God is aware. But God is waiting for something. Or maybe I should say He's waiting for someone.

You say what are you talking about? Peter 3 and 9 says, the Lord is not late as some men count lateness. He is long suffering toward us, listen, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Lord why have you not come back? The Lord would say, because I'm waiting. I'm waiting for more people to believe.

I'm waiting for people to put their faith in me before I bring judgment upon this earth. I don't know if you ever saw the film Schindler's List. How many of you have seen that film?

It's a powerful film. And it's a story of a German business man named Oskar Schindler who saw how the Jews were being so mistreated by the Nazis and they were being sent to concentration camps and so he started hiring Jewish people to work in his factories. And it went from a business decision to really the mission of his life because he thought they're killing these people, I've got to do more. So he was hiring more and more Jewish people to work for him. He was selling off his possessions and there's a powerful scene in the film where it's toward the end of the film and he's thinking about all the people that he could have still saved.

And he's having a conversation with his accountant Itzhak Stern and he says I could have gotten more out, I don't know, I could have gotten more. And Stern says, Oskar, there's 1,100 people who are alive because of you. Schindler responds, but I could have gotten one more person and I didn't.

And these people today that are survivors are known as Schindler's Jews, the descendants of the 1,100 people that he saved. And I wonder if some of us could be there on that final day and at the end of our life and say, wow, I wish I would have told more people about Jesus. I wish I would have invited more people to church. I wish I would have shared the gospel with my family.

So number one, be patient. Number two, as much as possible, stand in unity with fellow Christians. As much as possible, stand in unity with your fellow Christians. Look at verse nine. Don't grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged.

For look, the judge is standing at the door. Don't complain about other believers. Go to them and try to help them. This phrase here, to grumble about each other, means to groan from within oneself. It describes someone who has a bitter attitude. These are the people that are always complaining and always criticizing. They think they have the spiritual gift of criticism.

That's not a spiritual gift, by the way. But always tearing others down. Don't be that person. I find today that people are so quick to talk about someone instead of talk to someone. There's so much false information out there, especially on social media, especially on Twitter, which I guess is now called X. So I don't know, do we no longer tweet?

Do we X? I'm not sure how that works out. But people will just say anything on Twitter and people will retweet it and they'll repeat it and believe it as though it's gospel truth. And a lot of times these things are simply not true at all. I'll even see Christians attacking one another.

The Bible actually forbids that. Talk to each other. Make sure that you even understand the other person's position before you publicly criticize them. In Matthew 18, Jesus says, if another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense.

And if they listen and confess it, you won the person back. Listen, don't be the person that tears others down. Be the person that builds others up. And this is what the Bible is saying to us. Now number three, be aware of the afterlife. So as you live in this life, be aware always of the afterlife.

Look at verse nine. Or you will be judged, for look, the judge is standing at the door. Judgment is coming to the world. Judgment is coming to every non-believer. Because the Bible says they'll all stand before the great white throne judgment.

But listen, you may not know this. Judgment is also coming to the believer. But it's a different kind of judgment than what the non-believer faces.

The non-believer, when they die, stand before the great white throne and if their name is not found written in the book of life, they're cast into the lake of fire. But for the believer, our judgment is at the judgment seat of Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5, 10 says, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ and each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether it be good or bad. So this is not a judgment to determine whether or not you get to heaven. Because in fact, this judgment takes place in heaven.

This is more like an awards ceremony where rewards are given out. You see, when you faithfully serve the Lord, God takes note. And as the Bible says, your father who sees you in secret will one day reward you openly. So the key is just be faithful in what God has set before you. God will not hold you accountable for what he has called me to do. He won't hold me accountable for what he has called you to do. Each one of us will stand before God. But the good news is that rewards will be given out and I think there'll be some surprises in heaven.

There'll be people that will be rewarded and will say, I never heard of them. They never pastored a church. They never wrote a book.

They never were in a Christian worship band. Who is this Maude Furkenbinder? I just made her name up. I don't think she exists. But there's some little old lady you never heard of before who faithfully prayed for others and did what God had set before her and she will be rewarded. So we'll stand before this judgment. But the key is be aware that life is short.

There's an afterlife. Make every day count. Live every day as though it were your last day because one day it will be.

Point number four. Be courageous. Be courageous. Look at verse eight. Take courage for the coming of the Lord is near. So as I wait for the return of Jesus, it should cause me to be bold and courageous. The New English Bible translates this verse as put iron into your soul. It's also translated to be resolute. By the way, that's the same word that is used to describe Christ going to the cross.

He resolutely set himself to go to Jerusalem to be crucified. We need to be resolute. We need to be courageous. We need to be bold. You say, well, I'm not bold by nature. I'm a bit timid. And I'm a bit afraid. Well, you need to get your eyes off of yourself and put them on the Lord and on the afterlife. I think of young Stephen, the first martyr of the Christian church. Credulous young guy.

Wouldn't back down. He was standing before the Sanhedrin. That was the ruling body of the time. They ruled in civil and religious matters.

They were sort of like the Supreme Court of their day. And so Stephen is standing before him and he begins to boldly proclaim the gospel. And while he was doing that, the people that were watching noted that he had the face like that of an angel. So there was something happening with his face and his countenance where he was almost glowing and they noted that. And why did he have the face of an angel? Because he was getting a glimpse into heaven. In fact, we read in Acts 7, 55, Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God. And he saw Jesus standing at the place of honor at God's right hand. And he said, look, I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God's right hand. They freaked out.

They put their hands over their ears. And they began to hurdle the rocks at Stephen and he died a horrible, violent death. And we read in Acts 7, 59, as they stoned him, he prayed, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he fell to his knees, shouting, don't charge them with this sin. And with that, he fell asleep.

Wow. Where did he get that courage? He had his eyes on Jesus. And he was thinking of the afterlife. And isn't it interesting that Jesus was standing at the right hand of God?

Every other time we read of Jesus in heaven, he's sitting at the right hand of the Father. Here he's standing. Why was he standing? I don't know. I'll give you my opinion. I think he was standing in honor of the first martyr of the church. Come on home, son.

I'm proud of you. And with that, he fell asleep, the Bible says. What an interesting description to describe that. Here is this young man dying a horrible death and he fell asleep. But that's what death is like for the believer. It's like falling asleep.

By the way, this phrase is never used of the death of the non-believer, only the believer. So do you like to fall asleep? Generally you do. If you're older, you like to take naps. If you're younger, you never like to wake up to like 12 or something, right? So sleep is not something we have to be afraid of. And so we need to be courageous.

One last point. Be trusting. Be trusting and think of the example of Job. Look at verse 11. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him in the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy. Job, by the way, is the oldest book of the Bible.

Did you know that? It was written before the book of Genesis. And in the story of Job, we have God's servant, a godly man, so godly in fact that God bragged about him. And one day the angels of the Lord were present before the Lord and Satan was among them because Satan or Lucifer is a fallen angel. God starts bragging about Job, his perfect and upright servant who fears God and chuns evil. And Satan pushes back and says, you blessed him with everything and you put a wall around him. Satan says, if you stretch forth your hand and strike him, he'll curse you. And then a series of calamities fell upon Job. And the problem with Job is he'd never read the book of Job. You know sometimes people will say, well look at all the calamity that's coming to the life of that Christian. They must have done something horrible to deserve it.

It could be the very opposite. It's because of the godliness, not the godlessness of Job that the hardships came. So when something happens to you that's inexplicable that doesn't make sense, God has either done it or he's allowed it. And it's for your ultimate good and his glory. Let me say that again. If something happens to you that doesn't make sense, God either did it or God allowed it and it is for your ultimate good.

Notice I didn't say temporary good. Your ultimate good and his glory. Because he promises that all things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to his purpose. But what is God's end game? It's to make us more like Jesus.

Here's something people don't often notice. Under Romans 8.28, there is Romans 8.29. That's a good insight, isn't it?

So let's put it together. Romans 8.28, we already know this verse. All things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to his spirit. Verse 29, for those whom he foreknew, he also did predestine to be conformed into the image of his own dear son.

Ah, that changes everything. Because I interpret Romans 8.28 in an isolated way. I say, well, whatever's happening, God's going to make it good.

Bible doesn't promise that, does it? All things work together for good. There are bad things that happen to us that are bad when they happen and they'll always have been a bad thing. But God can bring good despite the bad. But what is his ultimate objective answer? To make us more like Jesus.

For whom God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed into the image of his own dear son. So anyway, Job just gets up one morning and all hell breaks loose. Everything that could go wrong goes wrong and then some more things go wrong. First of all, his servants are killed. His livestock is killed. More bad news comes and then the worst of all, his children were dead.

It was so bad. How's he going to survive this? My wife asked me a while ago, Greg, what is the greatest miracle that has happened in your life? I had to think about that. Think about that for a moment for yourself personally. What is the greatest miracle that God has done for you? I said, well, I would say two things.

Number one, the first miracle is when God literally pulled me out of darkness into the light. No one took the time to share the gospel with me. No one invited me to an evangelistic event or to church.

No one said anything to me. In fact, when I would hang around in Newport Beach down at the fun zone, when the Christians were out giving booklets, they would walk around me. But I'm walking across my high school campus and I come across these Christians singing songs about Jesus and I'm intrigued and I sit down. I found out just recently that this particular group of Christians did not normally meet on the front lawn of the school.

They normally met in the science room but the air conditioning was broken that day so they moved to the front lawn for that time only. And that was the time I'm walking across the campus. I would have never walked into a classroom with a bunch of crazy Christians. But I could sit far enough away where I could eavesdrop on their conversation and I heard the gospel when Lonnie Frisbee stood up and proclaimed it and I believed in Jesus. I was literally like, as the Bible says, a brand plucked out of the fire. So that was miracle number one. Miracle number two was when Kathy and I were able to survive the death of our firstborn son.

Come on Craig, you're a preacher. I know I'm a preacher but I'm also a father and I'm also a human being and I was devastated. When I heard the news that my son had died in an automobile accident I did not know how I could survive it. If words could kill you I felt as though those words could have killed me on that day.

Worst thing. And I thought, my life is over, it's ruined. And even though I've stood behind a pulpit and conducted services for parents who've lost their children and have always tried to say the right thing, when it happened to me it was different. You know it's one thing when you're up here and the family's in the front row and you're trying to console them.

It's another thing when you're a member of that family sitting in that front row thinking about life without your child. But God was there with us and God has been there with us and we just marked 15 years since Christopher went to heaven. But we got through it. And our marriage didn't get weaker, our marriage got stronger. And our faith grew stronger and deeper. And I can see how despite this horrible thing coming back to a bad thing happening, I'll never look at that event as a good thing. I'll always look at it as a horrible tragedy. But I will say without question that despite how horrible that tragedy was I can see good that is coming to my life and to the life of my wife and the life of our son and the life of our family as a result of Christopher being called home unexpectedly to heaven.

We all have our personal miracles, don't we? Back to Job. He hears the news that his family's gone. And what does he do? The Bible says that he fell to the ground and he worshiped the Lord and he said, naked came I from my mother's womb, naked shall I return.

The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord. And he gave God the glory. And then he lost his health and he broke out in boils. Have you ever had a boil before? Have you ever lanced a boil?

Ooh. He was covered head to toe in boils. And if that wasn't bad enough his wife said to him, why don't you just curse God and die? Thanks for those encouraging words, Miss Job.

Very, very helpful. Well, as it's pointed out here in James, God restored things to Job. He got his possessions back.

He got his health back. You probably wish the Lord would have taken his wife, I don't know. But he didn't get his children back, did he?

But he knew he would see them again. Because his hope was in the return of Jesus and the resurrection of the body. Job looking ahead to life said prophetically in Job 19, I know that my redeemer lives and after my body is decayed yet in my body I will see God.

So Job has given us an example on how to trust God in times of uncertainty. So what are we to do as we await the Lord's return? To review. Here are the five points. Number one, be patient. Number two, as much as possible stand in unity with fellow Christians. Number three, be aware of the afterlife. Keep your eyes in heaven. Number four, be courageous.

Number five, be trusting. Let me loop back to a point I already made. Why is the Lord waiting? Why has Christ not returned yet?

We would all love him to return. And we will talk about that in our messages to come because I believe the next event on the prophetic calendar is the rapture of the church. When the Lord will come in a moment in the twinkling of an eye, the dead in Christ shall rise first and we which are alive and remaining shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. The word caught up comes from the Greek word harpazo and we get our Latin translation rapturus from it and our English word rapture from it. So we are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Call it what you like. The rapture, the rapturus, the harpazo, the great escape.

It's all good. He is going to come and call us to heaven. That is the next thing I think will happen on this calendar of end times events. But it hasn't happened yet.

Why? Because the Lord is waiting. What if he was waiting for one person? What if you actually knew who that person was? Would you be tempted to put a little pressure on them? Dude, could you believe so we could all go to heaven already? Come on.

Imagine if you were that person. Lord, I am just waiting for you and you believe and we are called up to be with the Lord. That is why you need to be ready because the Bible talks about two in a field.

Jesus actually said this. There will be two in a field. One will be taken and the other left.

Two will be grinding at a mill. One will be taken and the other left. Two will be lying in a bed. One will be taken and the other left. And then he says watch therefore for you don't know when the Lord is coming. That shows it is a universal event. Some are working in a field.

Some are laying in a bed. So it is going to happen globally. But my question for you is will you be taken to meet the Lord? You have a choice. Get right or get left.

That is not a political statement though it is a good one there too. That is a theological statement. Get right with God or get left behind.

What is it going to be? So in a moment we are going to celebrate communion together. Jesus has given us this beautiful thing that we do that is sometimes called the Lord's Supper where we gather together and we break the bread and we drink of the cup remembering his broken body and his shed blood. And this is something we should do until Christ comes again. For 1 Corinthians 11 says Paul writing, whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. So it is something we are to do until Christ comes again. So when I do it I am proclaiming the Lord's death.

But then Paul adds these words. For anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Therefore you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. Isn't that interesting? Maybe you might say well I will do this little ritual that the Christians do.

This will get me closer to God. Au contraire. That's French for snails with garlic.

No that's escargot. But no to the contrary. You don't want to do this if you are not a Christian. Communion the Lord's Supper is for Christians only. See the idea of taking the elements and using them and receiving them in an unworthy manner is the idea of not believing in the one they represent. The bread that we will hold will not turn into the body of Jesus. The cup that we will drink will not turn into the blood of Jesus. We don't believe in transubstantiation. But they do represent one who is holy.

And therefore when we receive these elements we want to have faith in him. And so you should examine yourself and ask yourself the question am I a real Christian? Not a perfect Christian. No one is perfect. We all are flawed. We all sin. But are you a real committed Christian? There might be someone who is living a double life.

You put on a good show. And this is a good time to say I don't think I am living the way I ought to be living as a follower of Christ. I need to repent and make a recommitment. There might be another person who would say I am not even sure if I am a Christian. I don't know if Christ is living inside of me. And I don't know if I will be ready for his return.

But I want to be. Well you need to make that commitment to Jesus. So before we receive these elements together let's pray. And I will extend an invitation for you to put your faith in Christ or make a recommitment to him. Let's all pray. Father thank you for your word to us.

Thank you for your love for us. Thank you for sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins and Lord Jesus thank you for coming and laying your life down. And now I pray for anybody here or anyone who is watching wherever they are if they don't know you if they don't have a relationship with you if they are not sure that their sin is forgiven speak to them now and help them to see their need for Jesus and help them to believe. Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying together maybe there is somebody here that would say I need Jesus. I need to come into this relationship with him. I want to be ready when the Lord comes.

I don't want to be left behind. Pray for me. If you want Christ to come into your life if you want him to forgive you of your sin if you want to be certain that you will go to heaven when you die if you want to be ready for the Lord's return would you just lift your hand up right now and let me pray for you.

Wherever you are lift your hand up and I will pray for you. God bless you. Lift your hand up. God bless you.

Anybody else? Wherever you are I can see you. Raise your hand up.

If you are in an overflow area watching the screen you can raise your hand as well. God bless all of you for raising your hand. God bless you.

While our heads are still bowed maybe there would be someone who would say man I have been living a compromised life or even I have fallen away. I have backslidden but I need to come back to Christ. I need to return to the Lord. Pray for me.

If you need to make that recommitment to Jesus would you raise your hand up right now and let me pray for you. God bless you. God bless you. Oh I am sure there is a few more of you that need to do this.

Yes. God bless you. God bless each one of you. I am going to ask every one of you that has raised your hand to make this commitment or recommitment to pray this prayer out loud after me. Again as I pray pray this prayer out loud right now. Pray these words. Lord Jesus I know that I am a sinner but I know you are the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I turn from that sin now and I choose to follow you Jesus from this moment forward. Thank you for hearing this prayer and answering this prayer in Jesus' name I pray Amen. God bless each one of you that prayed that prayer. Hey everybody thanks for listening to this podcast. To learn more about Harvest Ministries follow this show and consider supporting it just go to Harvest.org and to find out how to know God personally go to Harvest.org and click on Know God.