Are You Ready for Christ’s Return?

Well, I chose a topic that I think is very needful in the day we live: “Prepare to Meet Your God.”

You know, Jason read about the children of Israel and how bad they got. They wouldn’t listen to God. They just wouldn’t. The churches back in that day, they didn’t want God to rule over them. And He called Amos to say, and preach the topic, “Prepare to meet your God.”

You know, I looked at another scripture, come from Genesis, the fourth and fifth chapter. You know Cain slew his brother Abel, and God asked him where his brother was, and he says, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” And God said, “Why does his blood cry from the ground to Me?”

Time went on, and God gave Adam another son and called his name Seth. And his descendants, I was reading down, and they lived to be 900 and some odd years. Lots of them did. Adam lived to be 900 and something years old.

He got down to Enoch, and Enoch had a son, his name Methuselah. He was the oldest one recorded in the Book; he lived to be 969 years old. But then it jumped out at me: Enoch lived 365 years. He had children and grandchildren, but the Bible says he “walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” Just took him.

The second coming of Jesus Christ—I went into the New Testament, and it says this in the fourth chapter of 1 Thessalonians, the 13th verse:

“But I would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep…”

And I want to stop there for just a minute and emphasize something.

Friday, I walked out here in the graveyard. Kathy called and asked me to come up and check on the tombstone for her husband, Robert. She said to see if they put it down right. So, I walked down through the graveyard, and I found it there. I see where it was at, and I said, “Man,” I looked at it; it looked okay to me.

I walked over and looked at Ray Williams’, and his was recently put down. It looked good too. I walked by my mom and daddy, my brothers.

I can remember when I got saved. God saved me in March, the last Sunday of 1966. This past March has been 60 years.

I’d take my Bible up out of Mom and Dad’s. I wasn’t raised in church like you; I didn’t come to church. I did what I wanted to. Mom and Daddy didn’t go to church. My brothers didn’t go to church. My family didn’t go to church.

When I got saved, I got my Bible and I got to reading. I’d lay it on Mama’s table and tell her how to get saved and tell Mom and Daddy. I won’t forget what Daddy told me.

I told him, “You must be saved.” They went to the Primitive Baptist when they went, but they didn’t go, except when somebody died or a wedding. Daddy looked at me and said, “I don’t smoke. I don’t drink. I’m good to my neighbor, and I try to do things.” And I know he did. Daddy was a good neighbor. He was good to people, helped them, worked for them when they was in the hospital.

Daddy looked at me and said, “I try to be a good person.” I said, “Daddy, one thing you lack. Good won’t take you to heaven. You can be as good as you want to. You can do all the right things, seemingly to you, but that won’t take you to heaven.”

Nicodemus looked at Jesus and said, “What must I do to be saved?” And He said, “You must be born again, or your eyes will never see the kingdom of God.”

Back to those that are asleep. He says:

“I don’t want you to be ignorant concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.”

Picture that.

The ones that are saved out there, born again, are going to come up. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye—Jason read that in 1 Corinthians, the 15th chapter—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the dead will rise first.

And we who are alive when He comes back, if we are, or whoever is alive when He comes back, we’ll go up to meet Him in the air, and thus shall we ever be with the Lord.

Then:

“We which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.”

He’s not going to set His foot on earth then; we’re going to catch Him in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord.

“Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

I want to tell you something, and it might not get through completely like I’d like to tell you, but I want to make this a day that you won’t ever forget what these words say.

When Jesus comes back, He’s coming in an hour you think not.

We chose the scripture, “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” You know, they ate and drank, they married and were given in marriage, and they didn’t pay any attention to God. Noah built the ark for 120 years, and he preached to them for 120 years, “It’s going to rain,” and it never had rained before. Water came up and watered the earth with a mist on the ground. They’d never had rain.

They lived long lives, 900 and some years old—some of them. But I’m going to tell you what: I don’t know how long he lived before the flood when we read that. But they were eaten up with sin, the imagination of their mind continuous and all evil, doing cruel things.

I see this world change dramatically in my lifetime. Sin is rampant. It’s on every hand. You don’t know, if you walk out of this building, go down the road, if somebody’s going to stop you and stick a gun out and shoot you. You don’t know. When I leave the house, I don’t know if I’ll come back or not. I might get to that point sometime.

But the second coming of Jesus Christ could be any moment, and He could come before I quit preaching. He’s coming back.

He came the first time when the Bible says, “When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son made of a woman.” Jesus Christ. He came for one purpose: to save you and I, to make a way for us to go to heaven.

We’re all born in sin. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission. Jesus gave His blood. He died on that cross. He bowed His head. He said, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” God turned His face from Jesus when He took your sin and mine and nailed it to the cross. Darkness fell upon the earth for three hours. Pitch-dark darkness. He bowed His head and He died.

Three days in the ground, as Jonah was three days in the belly of the whale, and He rose on the third day. And He walked among His people for about forty days.

Then He went back to heaven. He said, “I go back. When I do, I’ll send you the Spirit”—the Holy Spirit. And if you trust Him as your Lord and Savior, you ask Him to forgive you, He’ll wash your sins as clean as anything can be clean.

He said He’ll come and take up His abode right here. The Holy Spirit walking in you, never leave you nor forsake you, go with you all the way to the end.

In Matthew He said, “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” They eat and drink and marry and give in marriage. And He went on to say:

“Two will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.

Two will be in bed; one will be taken and the other left.”

What will He do with you?

If you don’t know Jesus Christ when He comes, you’re not going up. That one that stays behind is in sad trouble. Many times, he probably missed the opportunity to get saved. He just chose not to.

You know, the rich man, when he died, he lifted up his eyes in the middle of torment in hell. And Lazarus, on the other side, desired the crumbs. He was a wealthy man. Lazarus was a poor man, and the rich man had plenty, fared sumptuously every day. And that poor man desired the crumbs off the table just to survive.

But the Bible says, when he died, the rich man went to hell. He went into the place of torments. He desired a drink of water. He wanted Lazarus to go over. He told Abraham to let Lazarus go get a drop of water, that he might have a drink. He was in torment.

But Abraham said, “Not so.” There was a great gulf fixed between them. You cannot pass over the other way, and they cannot pass over to you.

He said, “Go warn my brothers then. I don’t want them to come to this place. Go tell them.” Abraham said, “No, they have the prophets.”

We have the Word of God. We have the Word to tell us to be ready. Get your heart ready. It’s urgent.

Turn to Jesus if you don’t know Him. If you’re not living for Him, live for Him—because it is urgent. I’m going to tell you why.

I went to a lady not long ago—I told this to my Sunday school class. Didn’t know her real well. Spoke to her, talked to her two or three times. And I said, “Are you a Christian? Do you know Jesus?” She said, “No, and I’m okay with that.”

Oh, bless your heart. You’re not okay. You’re not okay with that. I’m going to tell you one thing: them words will burn in her soul forever and ever if she dies and goes to hell, don’t choose Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. Them words will burn in her soul.

That’s what the children of Israel said in Amos’ day: “We will not. We will not.” Then God said, “Prepare to meet your God.”

If you don’t know Him here this morning, you better know Him. He’s urgent. He’s urgent to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

I’m going to tell you what: when He writes your name in the Book, He writes your name in the Book of Life when you give your heart to Jesus Christ.

When you was born to your mother and daddy, before you come home, you had a birth certificate. And forever, wherever you live, that’s your mom and daddy.

When you give your heart to Jesus Christ, He writes your name in the Book of Life. Forever and ever, “A child I am of God.”

When the church is raptured and after the church has gone up, there’s a seven-year period of tribulation this world has never known. You say there’s something now—it’s a lawless society—but seven years like that.

There’ll be some saved during that time, but they’ll die for the testimony. They’ll die martyred. And the rest will see the mark of the beast, and ones that don’t—they’re doomed.

At the end of that tribulation time, Jesus is coming back and setting His foot down on the Mount of Olives. You know, they’ve seen Him go up. They watched Him go out of sight. He’s gone. He’s coming back in like manner. He’ll come back and set His foot down on the Mount of Olives and He’s going to rule this world for a thousand years. And the rest of the dead won’t move till that thousand years is past.

And then, in the 20th chapter of Revelation, He said the sea is going to give up her dead. Death and hell are going to give up their dead. Every knee’s going to bow. It’s the great white throne judgment.

Every knee. Satan’s gonna bow, recognize He’s God, He’s Lord, He’s Creator, He’s Savior.

There they’ll get the judgment and be cast, because their name’s not written in the Book of Life. All that’s not written there are going to the lake of fire and torments forever and ever.

You might think that’s a joke. You might think that’s a story told. But I want it to burn in your soul and in mine. Jesus is coming back, and the Bible says, “Be ready and watch. Look up. Your redemption draweth nigh.” Prepare to meet your God.

The Brevity of Life and Invitation

Enoch walked with God, and he was not, because God took him. You don’t know when you’re going away.

I want to tell you some close. I had notes here that I could have given you. I couldn’t take that long. I’m old-time now. But I want to tell you this.

A friend of mine goes to Dario. We go preaching every Wednesday at Dario. Been knowing him for about eight years now. I heard him preach. His turn come—Brian Beverly. He had a son. I think it’s his only son. Him and his wife had twins two years ago, and they died at birth. Both of them.

And just a few months—two or three months, ain’t been that long—she had another child that was born. She loved it. She nursed it. On the third day, she laid it down beside her, and it fell dead, just like that. We don’t know how long we’re going to be here, what’s going to happen to you.

Might have a heart attack just like that and be gone. Might have an aneurysm, and if the doctors had been there, they couldn’t save you. You don’t have time. You say, “I’ll wait.” You don’t have time. Time will soon be no more.

But I’m going to tell you this: if you don’t know Jesus, you ought to. If you’re not walking with Him like Enoch, you ought to be.

Everything you do, do it in the name of Jesus. Listen to Him speak to you. When you need to talk to somebody, you talk to them when the Spirit lets you. My spirit bears witness with His Spirit that I’m one of His. And if the Lord leads me to somebody, I’m going to talk to them. You won’t be around me long till I find out if you’re a Christian or if you’ve been saved. I witness what God tells me.

So let your light shine, that men might see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Everybody’s got an appointed time when you’re going to leave this world. Some of you may have been close. I’ve been close to death a couple of times. I felt just like my light went out. But I’m telling you now, I’m well alive in Jesus Christ.

I want everybody to stand. I want you to think. Let God use the words that have been spoken. It ain’t me—hide me away. Let Him speak to you. And whatever He tells you, do it.

See that you refuse not Him that speaks from heaven, because He might not give you but one chance. He might give you a lot of chances. You know, when He gave me my chance, I dealt with it for about a week or two, and I couldn’t get away from it. I had to come.

I went to a church I’d never been in, and the man gave the invitation, and I went down the aisle and said, “Lord, here am I. Send me.”

Prepare to meet your God.