“Preparing for His Coming”

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Last Sunday God spoke to us “Ready or not, Jesus is coming.” While we are waiting for the second coming Jesus Christ, how do we prepare for his coming?

Julie was expecting John to show up for a date. She was dressed up and waiting patiently. However, by the time he was an hour late, she figured she had been stood up. So, she took off her makeup, put on her pajamas, gathered all the junk food in the pantry and sat down to watch TV with the dog. As her favorite show was just coming on, the doorbell rang. It was John. He stared at her wide eyes, “I’m two hours late, and you are still not ready?” Jesus said; do not let my return sneak up on you. Be ready all the time.

How do we prepare for Jesus’ coming?

Heaven and earth will be changed. When Jesus comes back, do not think the house that you are living in will stand as it is because the earth will be changed. Some of you may have a piece of land, but by the time when Jesus comes back, it is not worthy. All visible will be changed.

2. Holding on the Word of God, that is unchangeable Isaiah 40:8, “All things will be passed away, but the Word of God will stand forever.”

Wednesday Night I lost a screw from my old glasses. Thursday I was on the parking lot of Wal-Mart on Skibo Rd. As I took off my vest, accidentally I pulled my glasses and it fell on the asphalt and was broken two pieces. Do you know what my first reaction was? I could not see anything. As soon as I found I am a blind, I thought about our spiritual blindness. If there is no word in our heart, there is no light in us and we are totally blind. Psalmist says, “Thy word is the lamp onto my feel and a light of my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

· Repent (Mark 1:4) - means changing your heart. By changing your heart, the way that you think, speak, and act will be changed. Matthew 3:8, “Bear fruit worthy of repentance.” There will be 5 fruits of repentance.

· Be baptized (Marl 1:4, Acts 2:38) Baptism is “An outward sign of inward grace.”

· Live in the world, do not live of the world. John was in the world, but he was different from other people. If you are preparing for the kingdom of God today, the way that you are living should be different from other people in the world. Live with honesty, humility, and hospitality.

Talk about Jesus, Talk to Jesus, - John’s main message. Do you know why Cornerstone UMC is different from other churches in town? Because we focus on Jesus. We clearly believe that the Great Commandment and the Great Commission is our priority because Jesus wants us to be and do.

· Humble before him (Mark 1:8) – “I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals.” It was not easy to say like that for John, who had a great crowd to follow him. But he put Jesus above me. In the Gospel of John John says, “He must increase and I must decrease.” (John 3:30)

Do you know how many people follow John the Baptist? According to a study, there were more than 5,000 people came to see John. “The whole people from Judean country and Jerusalem came to John” (1:5) what was it that attracted people to John the Baptist? Was it his outfit? No. He “was clothed with camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist.” Was it his diet? Certainly not. He ate locust and wild honey. Maybe his linage was attractive to some people because his father was a priest, not like Jesus’ father, who was nobody and lived with biweekly check. His personality was not attractive to people either. I believe people were attracted to John the Baptist because of his message from God.

When Cornerstone UMC wants to be an unique church in this community, our church should hold the great Commandment, that is “Love the lord your God with whole your heart, with your whole mind, with your whole strength and love your neighbors as you love yourself,” (Matthew 22:37-40) and the great Commission, “Go therefore make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you,” (Matthew 28:19-20) that Jesus has taught us and wants us to live.

B. Opening spiritual eyes (2 Peter 3:8-9) “With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think or slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.”

Holiness belongs to God according to Isaiah 6:3, “And they were calling to one another, Holy Holy Holy is the lord Almighty, the whole earth is full of his glory.” And Holiness to Christian is consecrated to God’s service, and are conformed in all things to the will of God. Personal holiness is a work of gradual development.

Paul in his letter to Corinth says in 1 Corinthians that we Christians discipline within the church family because the family of God is to reflect the Lord’s own purity. Christ prays for his disciples saying, “Sanctify them by the truth your word is truth.” (John 17:17)

Godliness is an attitude and style of life that acknowledge God’s claims on human life and seeks to live in accordance with God’s will. It is the whole of practical piety 1 Timothy 4:8, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” Godliness supposes knowledge, veneration, affection, dependence, submission, gratitude and obedience.”

(2 Peter 3:13) “In accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new hearth, where righteous is at home.” At our eternal home we will have the tree of life, a river of life that flows from the throne of God right through the middle of city, and eternal vision of and communion with God forever and ever. The new heavens and the new earth echoes Isaiah, who prophesied in 5:17

In conclusion, G. Campbell Morgan, a preacher from the last century said, “To me the second coming is the perpetual light in the path which makes the present bearable. I never lay my head on my pillow without thinking that; maybe before the morning breaks the final morning may be have dawned. I never begin my work without thinking perhaps he may interrupt my work and begin his own.”

Christian writer Warren Wiersbe tells about a town where a horse bolted and ran away with a wagon carrying a little boy. Seeing the child in danger, a young man risked his life to catch the horse and stop the wagon. The child who was saved grew up to become a lawless man, and one day he stood before a judge to be sentenced for a serious crime. The prisoner recognized the judge as the man who years before had saved his life; so he pled for mercy on the basis of that experience. But the words from the bench silenced his plea, “Young man, then I was your savior, today I am your judge, and I must sentence you to be hanged.” Likewise, one day when Jesus comes back with great power and authority, he will say to rebellious sinners, “During that long day of grace, I was the Savior, and I would have forgiven you. But today I am your judge.”

I am sure that Julie was prepared for her date with John well. But when John came back to her, she was not ready because John came two hours late. You may think that Jesus comes not today, not this week, not this month, and not this year. But you and I do not know when he comes back. So my beloved, brothers and sisters, prepare for His coming daily. Surely he is coming. He is! Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen

Isaiah 40:1-8

40:1 Comfort, comfort my people,says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed,that her sin has been paid for,that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.
3 A voice of one calling:"In the desert prepare the way for the LORD ;make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up,every mountain and hill made low;the rough ground shall become level,the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,and all mankind together will see it.For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
6 A voice says, "Cry out."And I said, "What shall I cry?"
"All men are like grass,and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. 7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,because the breath of the LORD blows on them.Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,but the word of our God stands forever."
NIV

2 Peter 3:8-13

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.

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. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
NIV

Mark 1:1-8

1:1 The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

2 It is written in Isaiah the prophet:

"I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way"—

3 "a voice of one calling in the desert,
'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.'"

4 And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
NIV

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