BE EVER READY FOR HIS COMING

TEXT: MATHEW 24:40-44, 1^st THESSOLONIA 4:13-17

 

Help tell somebody closer to you, I’ll be ready before he come, shout a big Amen if you believe. There are biblical fact I will like to establish about the coming or second coming of Christ, before I continue. It is called the second coming because, He came before, but He is coming again, in two different ways. First, He will come in the air and take unto himself the good saint of God. These is said to be rapture. In 1corinth 15:50-52 He said we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be change. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raise incorruptible and we shall all be change to meet the lord in the air.

In 1thess 4:16 He also said, for the lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the arch angel and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we which are alive shall be caught up together with them in the cloud to meet the lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the lord. So the lord will come in the air and take we saint unto himself. Secondly, he will come down from heaven with the good saint of his into this earth. Jude 1:14b-15, He said behold the lord cometh with ten thousand of his saint, to do what? To fight with the ungodly. In Zachariah 14:5b said the lord my God shall come and all the saints with thee. This will happen when he comes back to take the leadership of the earth. So when we talk about the coming, it means he came before but he is coming again, in his first coming he came for sinners and died on the cross to save them, but in this his second coming, he is coming for the saints i.e the righteous only. Sinners have no part in the second coming, in his second coming, he will come like a thief; the bible says within a twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, the dead will raise first and we that are alive will be changed to meet the lord in the air. 1thess 4:16 will you be ready when the lord shall come? (say boys/girls). God is coming to meet prepared people and not unprepared persons. There is a journey we are about to go above the sky, there is a prepared place God has made for us. He said in John 14:1 I go to prepare a place for you, when am through I am coming back to take you home. Are you ready? He is coming again to take us home. Are you ready, because we are about to embark on a Journey.

How do you prepare for a journey?

1.     Pack your luggage; your clothes, shoes etc.

2.     Take the money you will spend there

3.     Wait for the departure time to come, and when the time comes you board a car and then you go.

So what are those things you must do to be ready for his coming

1.     You must be born again John 3:3 he said except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. To be born again, is been convicted of the sin in your heart by the holy spirit which lead into total repentance i.e. the Holy spirit convict you, of the sin committed, and make you to feel sorry about it, which lead you into making or taking a decision never to do it again. It brought us into a place of turning around, it brought a change into our life; a change of character, a change of life into the God kind of life. So when you are born again you are already in the progress of getting ready for his coming but that does not mean you are fully ready. What is the second thing I must do to get ready for his coming?

2.     You must declare your stand or what you call water baptism John 3:5 he said except a man be born of water, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. To be baptized in water what does it mean, every religion on earth has its initiation process, you must pass through before you belong and this has to be done publicly. The bible said in Mathew 3:13-17 that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, this serve as a foundation to all that follow Christ. In other words, if you must join the religion called Christianity, you must follow the same process as our lord Jesus did. So baptism is a public declaration that you have joined the religion called Christianity and that you are now a child of God. So the process of your readiness for his coming demands that you should be baptized in water if you don’t, you are not qualified for the kingdom. Somebody may ask what is the third thing I must do to be ready for his coming.

3.     You must be born of the spirit or what we call baptism of the Holy Spirit John 3:5. Being born of the spirit and baptism of the Holy Spirit, these two are the same thing. Baptism of the Holy spirit speak of our seal of faith; it is also known as the mark of ownership i.e. after being convicted by the Holy Spirit of your sin and you repented and your sin are forgiven, you now declare your stand i.e. where you belong, and you submit yourself for water baptism. The next thing that happen as you walk in Holiness and righteousness mixed with prayer and fasting, reading the bible, walking with God on daily basis. God now see you as his own and release the Holy Spirit upon you to seal up your faith and make you fully ready for his kingdom. The presence of the Holy Ghost in your life makes you fully ready for his coming. This process must be completed before he comes, tell your friend before he comes I will be ready. Will you be ready when the roll shall be called up yonder, will you be ready when the savior shall appear in the air to call out his own from the earth, will you be ready when the trumpet shall be sound, will you be ready when the Holy Ghost shall be lifting men from the earth to meet the lord in the air.

Prayer

1.     Oh lord make me to be ready now

2.     Every hindrance to my readiness be destroyed by the blood of Jesus