Be Right Back

Matthew 16:27; Matthew 24-25; Luke 12:35-40; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; Hebrews 9:28; John 14:3

I'm going to bet that I am not the only parent that has left the house with one or more of my children at home alone and told them I would be back in a little bit, not really wanting them to know how long I was planning to be gone, thinking that if they were expecting me at any time they might stay out of trouble. Bosses do the same at work, to keep their employees on their toes. A fifth grade teacher never leaves her classroom full of students without someone in charge or leaving the impression that she will only be stepping out for a few seconds.

In Matthew 23, Jesus prepares His disciples about His soon departure, the end times, and His return. In the next chapter He tells them to be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. (Matthew 24:42) He then speaks to them in parables that would be a reminder to be ever ready and watchful, eagerly anticipating His return at any given moment. Even as they watched intently into the sky as He was being lifted up into the clouds in the first chapter of Acts, they were reminded that He would return in just the same manner. It would be the last time that they would see Him this side of Heaven, but they certainly didn't know that. They were not meant to. 

It's obvious that the writers of the New Testament believed that Jesus' return could have been during their lifetime, even expecting that to be the case. They worked desperately to reach as many as they could for the cause of the gospel. The same should be true of us. We should be ever ready and watchful, keeping the thought of His return fresh in our minds. We should treat each day as if it were our last. We should be making disciples as if there were no tomorrow... because that just might be the case. Are you ready for His return? It just might be today!

2 Peter 3:10–12a (NASB) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.

Pastor Mike Deese