Do You Love His Appearing?

But verse 30 tells us the moment that He is revealed. It’s called, in verse 30 it says the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then in verse 30 it goes on to say shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. So the sign that is a visible token of His coming, no doubt with great, it says power and great glory.

If you can visualize it, we saw in verse number 27 the lightning as lightning shines like in an instant the whole sky lights up and that’s kind of the picture given when Christ is revealed from heaven. The whole world is going to see Him and there’s a lot of that though that we don’t really know all the specifics. Like even when we read Revelation we don’t know all of the detail, but there’s enough detail for us to know that everybody is going to see it.

So let’s go to Revelation chapter 1 and we’ll park there for a little bit because it covers some of the same material as Matthew 24 verse number 30. Revelation chapter 1. Revelation chapter 1 and verse number, look at verse number 4. The Bible says, John to the seven churches which are in Asia, grace be unto you and peace from Him which is and which was and which is to come and from the seven spirits which are before His throne and from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead and the prince of the kings of the earth unto Him that loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever.

Amen. And behold, He cometh with clouds and every eye shall see Him and they also which pierced Him and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, amen. Let’s pray together. Our fathers, we come to your word. Lord, would you just want to take a minute first of all to give you thanks for the mothers that we know in our life, for the mothers that have borne us into this world and for those who are even now carrying babies and we pray for them that you would bless and protect those mothers.

We pray for those who desire to be mothers that you would give them grace and if it be your will that you would bless them so that they could have children and experience the indescribable blessing of having children that are their own and that they can raise for you. And Lord, we pray for those as well who have lost children, who are mothers but their children have passed away.

Lord, please give mercy and please give grace to those, especially at this time that can be difficult. Lord, please be the comforter to those. Lord, there’s also a number here among us who have mothers who have passed away and have gone to heaven. Lord, we thank you for their memory and we thank you, Lord, that you have allowed their words to resonate and ring in our ears and we pray, Lord, that you would continue to give comfort to those who miss their mothers.

Lord, we’re so thankful for the godly heritage and the godly history that you’ve given to each one of us. Lord, we pray that you would help us not only to follow those things, but Lord, we pray especially that you would help us to set that same godly example for those who follow us. As we look in your Word in Revelation, as we concentrate on your coming, your second coming, Lord, we look forward to that day when you are revealed from heaven.

And Lord, we say just like John, even so, come Lord Jesus. Bless our time in your Word and guide us as we study. Please give clarity of thought and clarity of understanding as we receive the Scripture. Oh Lord, may it affect us and change our life for the good, for the better. In Jesus’ name, amen. So you’ll notice in Revelation chapter 1 verse 7, the Bible says, behold, he cometh with clouds and of course that matches Matthew chapter 24 verse number 30 when Jesus comes in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

And notice what the Bible says here, and every eye shall see him. Now that tells us something, it tells us one thing, that this is not just a figurative kind of symbolism or anything like that. Know that Christ will be revealed such that every eye, the eyeballs of humanity will see him. That means his coming is personal. This is what we mean when we say that the coming of Christ is visible and personal.

By contrast, some people say that the coming of Christ is spiritual and secret, but that is not the description here. In fact, a lot of people as we’ve already covered in Matthew 24, they try to interpret all of Matthew 24, most of it, as history, referring to when Jerusalem was destroyed as if that was the coming of Christ. But the problem is, well this verse is the major problem, because as of this, which was the destruction of Jerusalem, Jesus is still coming, and all the eyes are still going to see him.

So that tells us that Jesus’ coming is personal, and it is visible. The Lord will appear, every eye will see him. Now notice the groups that are mentioned. It says, and they also which pierced him. They also which pierced him. Now what this is, is this is a clear statement of prophecy regarding the Jewish people. Let me show you what I mean by that. Look at Zechariah, if you would.

Zechariah chapter 12. Zechariah chapter 12. Getting close to the end of the Old Testament. Zechariah chapter 12 is a chapter that covers the day of the Lord, which is what we’re talking about today, when Christ returns. And verse number 9 says this, Zechariah 12 verse 9, and it shall come to pass that in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Now we know that happens in Revelation. There’s a clear description of those who surround Jerusalem and seek to destroy it. And the Lord Jesus, his second coming, part of that is the rescue of those that have surrounded Jerusalem. But verse number 10 says this, rescue from those rather that have surrounded Jerusalem. Verse number 10 says this, and I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplications.

And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced. And they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. Now some try to say that the church is Israel, and that’s a doctrine that seems to be on the rise, that the church is spiritual Israel. In other words the church has inherited the promises of Israel.

The problem with that is in verse number 10 it says this, I will pour upon the house of David. It doesn’t say Israel. It says the house of David, which is a statement of the physical lineage of the people of Israel, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Now unless we’re talking about heavenly Jerusalem, this is in the context has to be earthly Jerusalem. And that is the Jewish capital.

And the Bible says and they, that is the house of David, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Jewish people, shall look upon me whom they have pierced. Look upon me whom they have pierced. Now the one thing I want you to note about this is who’s the speaker? Anybody catch that? Who is the I will pour out? Who’s the I? It’s Jehovah. It’s Jehovah. And if you look in the context, verse number 8, and that day the Lord shall defend, and he shall come to pass, verse 9, I will seek to destroy.

Jehovah’s speaking. And then you get down to verse number 10 and Jehovah says they will look upon me whom they have pierced. But who was pierced? Jesus Christ. Now how do we know Jesus Christ was pierced on the cross? The Bible says it very plainly in John 19. It says this, but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.

And someone might say, well that’s not talking about this. This is not. Well then he quotes the verse that we’re reading. He says, and again another scripture saith they shall look on him whom they pierced. Now that’s a clear connection between Jesus on the cross pierced with that Roman spear. I forgot the Latin term. It’s like padulum or something like that. There’s a smart person in here that knows it.

But there’s a particular type of spear, but it’s a spear. And they rammed it up in the side of the Lord Jesus after he was dead, and John records that as one of two signs that indicated that Jesus truly was dead. John saw it with his own eyes. And by piercing him the Roman soldiers fulfilled the prophecy. Now think about that for a minute. They fulfilled the prophecy that Jesus would be pierced.

Now it wasn’t the Roman soldier, although it was the hand of a Roman soldier that holding a spear, you could technically say the Romans didn’t spear Jesus, the spear speared Jesus if you want to be really highly technical about it. But it was Roman hands holding the spear that pierced his side, but it was the Jewish heart that was driving the Roman hands. It was the Jewish heart that put him on the cross that cried crucify him, crucify him.

So ultimately it was the Jewish people who rejected Christ that are responsible for this piercing. That’s why in Zechariah it says they shall look upon me whom they pierced. And so in Revelation 1 verse 7 when Jesus appears, those who pierced Jesus, Zechariah 12, 10, that’s the Jewish people, the Jewish rejecters of Christ, those who pierced Jesus will see him whom they pierced. Think about this, what an amazing fact.

What an amazing fact of the wisdom of God. Jesus Christ was pierced on the cross. He was pierced on the cross to us 2000 years ago. And the Jews were the ones primarily responsible. But although they are the ones who are responsible for piercing him, they have not, like this verse says, looked upon him yet. They did pierce him, but they have not looked upon him. Because it says they shall look upon him whom they pierced.

Look upon me whom they pierced. So in order for Revelation, going back to Revelation chapter 1, in order for verse 7 to be true, Jesus had to have two comings. In the first coming he was pierced, and in the second coming he will be looked upon. And he will be recognized, if you will, by the fact of his piercing which came in his first coming. So in this one verse you have both comings of Christ all in one, tied together.

He had to be pierced in the first so that he could be seen as pierced in the second. What an amazing truth. But notice verse 7 back in Revelation chapter 1, so that’s where it says, every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him, there’s the Jewish people there, and it says, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Now think about it.

Not everybody is going to be happy at the coming of Christ, the second coming of Christ. Not everybody is going to be happy at the second coming of Christ. Think about, it says, all the kindreds of the earth, which is another way of saying all people. This is a statement of the world, humanity as a whole. Think about this. All this time for these 2,000 years between his piercing and his revelation, unbelievers, all kindreds of the earth have denied who Jesus is.

They have denied him. He was an imposter. He was definitely not the son of God, definitely not God manifest in the flesh. They have denied the scriptures that have told of his sacrifice for sinners. They have denied his resurrection. These same ones who see him in the future, who will, all the kindreds of the earth whose eyes will see him, these are the same ones who have denied him.

They’re the ones who denied his sacrifice for sinners for their sin. They’re the ones who have denied his resurrection thinking that he’s still dead. They’re the ones who’ve disdained and rejected all of Christ’s commandments. And throughout history, they’re the ones that have ridiculed and mistreated those that did believe in this Christ who is pierced. They have scoffed at the promise of his coming that all of this time, this is not a 2026 problem.

This problem goes way, way, way back. These same people, 2 Peter 3, 3 and 4 say this, knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts and saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. So this very coming we read about in verse number 7 is something they have been mocking and scoffing at all these years.

But you know what? Did you know there are some unbelievers, that is some people who are not Christians, who are not children of God, who do believe that Jesus is coming? You probably have some people in your family like that. That as far as you know, they do not know God, they’re not believers, but they do accept that Jesus is coming. How many of you know somebody like that?

I know somebody, I know people like that. And then there’s, and you think about how frightful it must be to be in that group, to believe that Jesus is coming but not be in Christ. That’s just crazy, that’s crazy think. But yet they exist. But then there’s some others among believers, actual children of God, who are the people of God, who believe also that Jesus is coming, but they are not looking forward to Jesus coming.

They are not hopeful, and they are not anticipating, and desirous for Jesus to come. But they are children of God, they are on their way to heaven, they are sealed by the Spirit of God, they have eternal life, and yet they do not want Jesus to come. You see, that’s hard for us to believe, but it does make sense. Look if you would at Matthew 24, back in Matthew 24, verse number 48.

This is a parable to describe the coming of Christ and the surrounding events. Notice what he says, verse 48, talking about one of the servants in the parable, he says Notice that. What is this person saying? This person, in other words, I think the thinking of a lot of people, whether they’re believers or unbelievers, who are not happy about the coming of Christ, they are not looking forward to that.

If I were to tell you, which I’m definitely not, but if I were to tell you that the Lord Jesus Christ could come today, that would not strike a note of joy in them but fear. But they would recoil from that, and that’s believers and unbelievers. That can exist. They often have the same thinking that we find in this servant here. My Lord delayeth his coming. And to say that is not only to say that’s not only a statement of their belief that Christ is not coming soon, but it is also a statement of their hope.

They don’t want him to come. If you’re at your job and you’re doing something you shouldn’t be doing, you not only think the boss is not coming back anytime soon, but you hope he’s not because you’re going to be in big trouble. Why would someone who claims, just think about it, why would someone who claims to be a believer in Christ hope for his delay? They’re not prepared, right?

I’m talking about believers and also unbelievers. They wish Christ would delay. They wish to put off that day of reckoning and that day of judgment. They’re not looking forward to standing before the Lord Jesus Christ. They have many sins and lusts and desires that they wish to indulge in before that time. They are not interested in repentance. They want more time. Listen now, they want more time to do all of those things before they at the very end of life, now this is the way a lot of people think, they want time to indulge in all of these sinful practices that they know are not what God wants them to do and that break God’s law.

They want to indulge in those things until the very end of their life, they hope, they think that after they’ve indulged in every sinful pleasure, they can finally at the end tell Jesus they’re sorry and everything will be fine. Well the coming of the Lord, the potential, listen the promise, surely I come quickly, that promise that the Lord said 2,000 years ago, what it does is it ruins that kind of thinking.

Well I hope he doesn’t come soon. I got more to do. I got more to do. Here’s the problem. Look at Matthew 24 verse 50, to that servant, here’s what it says, the Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him and in an hour that he is not aware of and shall cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

What a terrible place to be in, to think I hope the Lord doesn’t come. I’ve got a lot of things I want to do and nobody, I mean of course nobody articulates it like that, nobody says I have sin I want to commit but that’s exactly why they recoil and are afraid of the coming of the Lord because they’ve got a lot of things they want to get done.

They’ve got a lot of sin they want to practice. Another, hey listen, there’s another reason why people are not happy about the coming of the Lord is their secrets. There’s one thing the coming of Christ and the accompanying judgment does is it reveals the secrets of the life and it reveals the secrets of the heart. And listen I know there are a lot of people in this world, there’s a lot of people in this world who live with dirty dark secrets that they have never gotten right with God nor man and they hide thinking nobody else knows and for that reason they are not looking forward to Jesus coming when he is going to lift that log and all of those maggots and all of that filth and ungodliness is going to be revealed to everyone.

No, they are not looking forward to that. I hope the Lord delays his coming a little bit longer. You know if you’re that person you know what you need to do? You need to get right with God today. You need to get right with God today. The coming of the Lord is not a threat. Why would I try to use it as a threat? If it was a threat it’s not from me, it’s from Christ.

It is a reason to get right with God today so that you don’t end up like this, the Lord of that service shall come in a day when he looketh not for him. Now go back to Revelation chapter 1 and verse number 7 where we are looking and examining this morning, Revelation 1 verse number 7. Notice what it says here, it’s not just the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him there’s another three words in the verse.

So there’s a lot of people that are not looking forward to the coming of Christ for a number of reasons. But then there’s some people who are. Our dear brother John who God used to write the book of Revelation, he adds three words at the end of this verse. Now all of these terrible judgments are going to come upon this world and the Lord is going to punish the world for its wickedness, yes.

And in spite of that here’s what John says, even so, amen, so be it. Even though all of those terrible things are on the horizon and the Lord is going to judge and people are going to wail and it’s going to be terrible. John answers and says, Lord come please today, amen, so be it Lord. You see that? So not everybody’s trying to avoid the coming of the Lord.

There are some people who are happy about it and I hope you’re among that number. Revelation 22 verse 20 says this, he which testifyeth these things saith, surely I come quickly and John answers, that’s the words of Jesus, John answers, amen, even so come Lord Jesus. Man, I want to tell you something. In fact I want you to take a minute, I want you to say this with me.

I want you to say this with me. I want you to say, even so come Lord Jesus. Say it with me right now. Even so come Lord Jesus. Now here’s the thing, when you said that, did you feel it? Did your heart match the words? Now I’m not going to sit here and throw a stone at you, I’m just trying to say we ought to all get to that point, right?

Where we’re saying Lord come today, today, don’t delay another moment, come now. That should be our heart, right? That’s where we should want to get. And I know at this point a lot of, you know like your brother David’s getting married and brother Ben wants to get married and stuff and you know there’s that thought that goes through people’s minds, young adults like that and it’s like man, it would still be better if Jesus came, I’m sorry, it’s just true.

And you know that, you know that. Think about what will be the result. Why would people be happy about the coming of Christ? The first reason, I have three reasons and we’re done. Number one, when Jesus comes we will receive a resurrected body free from both pain and the attraction of sin. The scriptures call this salvation, not salvation of the soul but salvation of the body. Hebrews 9 28, if you want to peek at it, it says this, so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many and unto them that looked for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Brother listen, brother, sister, if you have salvation, if you are saved, you have it already. But there is one part of you that is not saved and has not received salvation and that is that the body in which you live, it is not saved. It loves sin and it is corrupt. Here’s what Romans says this, Romans 8 23, and not only they but ourselves also which have the first roots of the spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves waiting for the adoption to wit the redemption of our body.

I want you to note something here though. We will receive a resurrected body and a lot of people that have pain in their body, and I get it, I get having pain in your body you want a new body with no more pain. But what’s in focus in Romans 8 and this salvation is not being free from pain in the body but being free from the corruption and the magnetic attraction that this wicked nature has.

How many of you are tired of being tempted to sin all the time? How many of you are tired of the constant allure that sin like a magnet pulls on you even when your inner man is saying get away I don’t want this. Every Christian, every child of God should be fed up and fit to be tied living in a body that’s constantly craving that which God hates.

You know what? That fact will make you want and long for the coming of Christ. That when Christ comes and that day of redemption when he appears the second time without sin unto salvation Hebrews 9 28, when that day comes we will finally be free not just from pain although that’s a definite blessing but we will finally be free from a body from a corrupt nature that constantly wants to sin and we will be like Christ perfectly whole we will love righteousness and be drawn to righteousness instead.

Man, what a blessing. You know if you don’t resonate with that again I’m not throwing stones at you but if you don’t resonate with that one thing that will teach you for that to resonate is when you’ve lived a little while longer and you’ve tried to battle the sin you’ve tried to deal and grapple with this wicked old nature and you’ve lost the battle lots of times and even when you won the battle you just barely edged it out by the grace of God carrying you through you’ll be like man I am tired of this.

You’re tired of apologizing to your family and friends you’re tired of asking God to forgive you for the same stupid stuff that you and I do all the time over and over constantly tempted listen that will make you want the Lord Jesus Christ to come because part of his coming is salvation of our body. You see this truth is attractive to only one type of person. It’s attractive only to the person who is right now presently grieved with his constant temptation and attraction towards sin.

A person who truly hates the sin that he sees in himself. Paul said this, but I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death? You know what he’s saying? That’s the coming of Christ.

That’s the resurrected body when Christ returns. So loving Christ appearing is directly related in scripture to that daily struggle with sin that every child of God deals with. That struggle yes the cause of it is evil but that struggle itself is actually a good sign it’s a sign of the grace of God working in you the struggle. And it’s a good reason to keep hope for his coming.

I’m done. I’m done. The second reason is this. When our Lord comes for us our Lord will reward us according to our faithfulness. Now when we talk about the judgment seat of Christ we often think of it, how many of you would agree? We often think of the judgment seat of Christ in negative terms. Do we not? We do. It’s a warning and it’s a good warning.

The Lord is going as I mentioned a minute ago he’s going to examine all of our motives and our deeds and our words and are the secrets of our heart and he’s going to examine it and if we have not been faithful we’re going to suffer loss like the scripture says in first Corinthians. But the judgment seat of Christ is also about rewards. It’s not negative entirely it’s also positive it’s something to look forward to I’ll be honest that’s hard for me to look forward to because I know the baggage.

I know the Adam wood baggage in my life. But the Lord wants us to look forward to it. Paul looked forward to it when he mentioned it. For those who have fought in Christ’s fight, for those who have finished the course Christ has given to them, to those who have kept the faith of Christ there is a crown of righteousness. Second Timothy 4, 7 and 8. I have fought a good fight.

I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. And henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. Notice what it says. Which the Lord the righteous judge shall give me at that day and not to me only but unto all them also that love his appearing. You know in this life we’re often not rewarded for our service to God. That’s just the truth of it.

And truth is that shouldn’t be our motivation anyway. Should it? Ultimately, I mean we all like to be thanked. You should give thanks. That should be. We should be a thankful people not only to God but to others. But we cannot do what we do in service to God and our faithfulness and devotion to God for thanks. It has to be to God. That’s why the Lord tells us to do it in secret.

But what are these crowns? I mean I think there are actual crowns. I think Revelation chapter 5 points that out. There are crowns but what do they represent? Why are these crowns significant? Have you ever thought about that? The Lord decides to give us crowns. I think the crowns first of all indicate authority like a crown does in Christ’s kingdom. Right? We’re going to rule and reign with him.

But the crowns are also the public recognition before all of God’s creation of your faithfulness to God. As I said our motivation for our devotion, our motivation for our service to Christ should be Christ himself. And the crowns recognize that because they are given by him. Paul said, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord shall give me in that day. The Lord shall give me.

The crown that the Lord gives to those who are faithful in their service and devotion to Christ is a recognition of that secret private devotion and service to him. He has seen what you have done and he is pleased with it even though nobody else did. That’s something to look forward to. The one, listen, the one upon whom your eye has been focused as you have in the background and silently worked for and served and devoted your life to when nobody saw it behind closed doors in the secret of your prayer closet, in the secret place of service where there was no acclaim, the Lord saw it and in that day he’s going to publicly acknowledge it.

That’s what the crown shows. That’s something to look forward to. Because listen, your eye was on him the whole time anyway. For a person with these kinds of sincere motives, there is no greater reward. The crowns are not about praise to others. The crowns are about praise from our Lord. First Peter chapter 1 verse 7 says this, the trial of your faith being much more precious than that of gold, than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, it says, your faith, tried faith, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

Did you know that the Lord is not going to overlook and he’s not going to forget to reward you and publicly acknowledge that you walked through a trial and a test by faith and were victorious? He’s not going to forget that. First Peter chapter 5 verse 1, look with me at that verse if you would. First Peter chapter 5 verse 1 says this, the elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed.

Be the flock of God which is among you, taking oversight thereof, not by constraint but willingly, not for filthy lucre but of a ready mind. Neither is being lords over God’s heritage but being in samples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd shall appear, notice who he says, this is his coming, right? Ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. That’s a reward.

But this reward is to whom? The elders. Now don’t get confused. Lard is not equal to preacher. Elder is not equal to preacher. You know there are many people who lead the flock of God who aren’t preachers. Listen, I’m just going to say something, this is my hobby horse, I’m about to say it. We have gotten hung up on this whole preacher thing. We’ve gotten hung up on this preacher thing in a way that’s not scriptural.

Everybody who’s not a preacher is somehow a secondary Christian and that is not true. And this is a perfect case. These are people who lead the flock of God, who lead in the church, who are spiritual leaders and examples in the church. And these people specifically are named, right? They’re in a specific office and role of leadership in a church. And the Lord says he is not going to overlook them.

They have a reward. Now he does tell, I’m speaking primarily to the men now, listen, the Lord tells us to be not many masters. Don’t take that leadership role lightly. Because with this great reward comes great responsibility. But that’s not a reason not to step up, listen man, not to step up and say, no I’m going to lead my family, I’m going to lead my wife and my children, I’m going to step up and I’m going to be a leader among the people of God, I’m going to set an example for others.

The Lord is paying attention to that. He’s going to specifically note that. And that’s a reason to look forward to His coming. The last reason to look forward to the coming of Christ is this. Colossians 3 verse 4. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then ye also shall appear with Him in glory. We’re going to be with Him. That’s a good reason. Have you ever thought that you might not have to, you might not have to pass through the door of death to go be with Christ?

You might. Either way you’re going to get there. Either way you’re going to get there. I would prefer to get there without having to pass through that door. And I know you would too. But either way we will be with Him in glory. First Thessalonians, you know this verse well. Chapter 4 verse 16. 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.

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Here it is. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Lastly look at Revelation chapter 5 and this is where we’ll close. Revelation chapter 5. Look at verse number 9. We’ll look at this Lord willing in more detail tonight. But this chapter deals, part of this chapter deals with this group of 24 elders.

And like I said we’ll look at that maybe tonight. But verse number 9 is quoting the elders. And they sung a new song saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof, for thou was slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation, and hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth.

Not only will we be with Christ, and that’s reason enough to look forward to His coming, but we’ll be with Him and reign with Him. I get so tired of politics and the corruption that’s found in it. I for one am looking forward to a day when the Lord reigns and everybody that’s in charge is godly. Say amen, brother David. Everybody that is in charge is godly and loves Jesus and makes all the right decisions.

And that’s something that when Christ comes we will participate with Him. So let me ask you a question. Do as a child of God, if you are a child of God, you have a lot of reason to look forward in expectation to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. To love His appearing. But my question to you, and this is where we’ll close, this is the invitation, this is what I pose to you to consider.

But do you love His appearing? You have many reasons to, but do you love it? And if you don’t, I want to invite you to get right with the Lord so that that coming is no longer a terror and a dread to you, but something that you love and that you hope happens even today. Let’s pray.