Be Ready For Jesus To Come
Revelation 16.15
The next great event on God’s calendar of human history is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. All that has be written about our LORD and His work has been fulfilled except for that. He was born. He died. He rose again. He ascended... now we wait.
I was reading this week in Luke 1 about Zechariah. His prayer had been heard. I think this was a very old prayer, dating back to his early days of being married to Elizabeth. They didn’t have children and he asked the LORD to give them a son. When the announcement came he didn’t fully believe. He was old and it appears he had given up any hope of having a child.
The church is warned not to have such an attitude like that in reference to the LORD’s Return.
II Peter 3.8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
Let’s not grow weary in waiting or forget what Jesus said about His Return.
What are the clothes in Revelation 16.15? :
1. Faith
The question Jesus asks in Luke 18. When the Son of Man comes will He find faith on the earth?
Of course this is first of belief and trust in Jesus. That is basic to faith.
It is also working for and serving Him based on that faith. It is yielding to His Spirit so that the works He prepared in advance for us to do are coming through us for is glory.
Think about this in the context of the last days. Jesus spoke about it Luke 21.34 Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. We are being told by Jesus that there will be great excesses and great pressures at the time just prior to His return and the time leading up to it. We are being told not to allow ourselves to become weighed down by amusements, the excessive drinking of liquor. We are to guard against wasteful expenditures and consumption. Indulgence and allowing small things to waste time or distract attention from following Jesus are to be avoided.
Being people of faith means relying on the LORD. We are to lift up the shield of faith to extinguish all the fiery darts or flaming arrows of the evil one. Doubts, worries, cares, anxieties, fear and all the rest of Satan’s arsenal can be taken care of by faith in the LORD Jesus Christ in these last days. We can put them out by faith so they never harm us.
2. Grace is another part of our spiritual clothing.
Grace needs to be given and received.
We need to give it to those around us who fall short of God’s glory. Those who sin need grace and we must be in the line of giving it so we don’t harbor unforgiveness in our hearts.
We need to receive it when we fall short. We need God’s grace each day. It should be part of what we are known by. People of grace and mercy.
3. Holiness
II Peter 3. 10-12 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.
In light of Jesus’ soon return we ought to be living holy lives, lives dedicated to Him. We ought to be seeking to be free from the snares of sin and leading others in the same way. Clothe yourselves with holiness.
Jude 22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
4. God’s Word
Be ready for Jesus to come by staying in His Word. Remain in His Word. Abide in His Word.
Milk
Meat
Manna
5. Prayer
Be ready for Jesus to come by praying. Praying and the Word of God go together.
John 15.7 If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. Receiving answers to prayer by remaining in God’s Word is part of being ready for Jesus to come. This is wonderful beahvior for these last days.
6. Watch
Be on your guard. Keep a look out for the coming of Jesus.
7. Stay Awake
Don’t fall asleep on your watch. Those who guarded the walls had to be careful that they didn’t fall asleep allowing a breach in the security around Jerusalem. It was then a life and death issue for them and those they were guarding.
There are people who are watching us. There are people who would be greatly disappointed if we dozed off and allowed sin into our lives.
Lulled by life’s riches
May God keep us free from the love of money May we be satisfied and content with what we have.
Lied to by the Enemy
Satan is the father of lies. He has children who are going around today. They are false prophets, wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Lost in worry and anxiety
We can be lost in wonder, love and praise or we can be lost in worry and anxiety. We re warned about that in God’s Word. We already looked at the passage in Luke. Be on your guard about taking on your future and fretting over it. God will take care of you
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