Excitement for Jesus' Return, Pt. 5

God does not fail to keep His promises.
All Bible-believing Christians know He is coming back.

Excitement for Jesus' Return, Pt. 5

"And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come."

(Luke 19:11-13, KJV)

This week in our devotions, we have looked at the doctrine of Jesus' return. The Apostles, the angels, and most of all, Jesus, said that He would come back to earth. God does not fail to keep His promises. All Bible-believing Christians know He is coming back. The basic outline for what I believe will happen in the future, based on my understanding of Scripture is: Rapture, Great Tribulation, Return of Christ, 1,000-year Millennial Reign, and then the New Heaven and New Earth.

We do not all agree on how the end times will unfold, but we know that Jesus is in control and will bring all things to their proper end. I shared with some pastors recently that I may not be right in my eschatology, but I am right with Jesus! I am thrilled that I am saved and confident that wherever Jesus is that is where I am going to be.

Yesterday, we discussed two ways Dr. Stanley said we are to act as we wait for the Lord to return. He said we are to:

Watch faithfully.
Wait peacefully.

Today, we will explore the remaining two responsibilities we have as we wait with anticipation for when Jesus comes back:
Work diligently until He comes. Our focus should be more on how we live our lives in light of Jesus' coming again rather than trying to figure out precisely when He is coming back. We are to diligently serve the Lord. Stanley said retirement is unscriptural. True, we will retire from our jobs, but the job of serving the Lord never ends! Until Jesus comes, we keep on serving the Lord. There is much you and I can do in our local churches or serving in other ministries where we stay busy for the Lord as long as we can do so. There is coming a time when no one can work (John 9:4). We are responsible to God to serve until we take our last breath.
Worship Jesus joyfully. As we wait on Christ to return, we do so with a joyous expectation. We worship the Lord gladly with His people, the Church, and we sing and rejoice together, and encourage one another. Time goes by swiftly. How are you spending and investing your time?

My great-grandfather, Samuel Isaacs, was a faithful evangelist until he passed away at the age of 99. He dedicated his life and ministry to the Lord's return. He wrote hymns and preached numerous sermons on this subject. I visited him many years ago when he was in a nursing home in Lawton, OK. He had this gleam in his eye when he talked about Jesus coming back. He said, "There are 12 hours in a clock, and we are living in the 11th hour." I will never forget that visit. Lord, grant us all this same passion and expectation as we await Your return.