Following Judah's Lion

Behold He Comes

Matt.24:3-13 - And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
The world sleeps while they are awake, and the church by and large mirrors the world. The days are evil and continue to constrict the time of His arrival, but the church continues to act as if He will never come, except for the Second Coming embedded in our doctrinal statements. If we stop and consider the implications of His coming, if indeed it is a literal reality that is as real as His first coming, then how is it that we are so lukewarm and content in our present spiritual state? And even the most militantly orthodox among us live lives so unremarkable within the culture that their distinctiveness is almost completely doctrinal without what should be a corresponding lifestyle.
If we truly and completely believe that Jesus is coming again, and if we believe that the signs are closing in around us, then why are our lives so redundant and so fully camouflaged inside this fallen culture? The answer is as painful as it is simple: We do not actually believe what we say. Doctrine without works is dead. Just defending truth with words and Scriptural exegesis falls immeasurably short of an observable exhibition of the authenticity of our beliefs.
If there is a lack of passion that escapes the parameters of “normal” behavior as set forth by the unbelieving culture, then those around us have every right to remain unconvinced of that truth, and especially unconvinced that we ourselves are convinced of that truth. In short, if we are living in a fallen culture and are exhibiting a reasonable facsimile of those around us, save a few spoken convictions about a few moral issues, then we are by all standards frauds.
The believing followers of Jesus must have some attributes in word and in deed that profoundly distinguish them from those who refuse to follow Christ. And these words and these deeds must be arresting and observable and with such a peculiarity about them that those in darkness are confronted with what we believe simply due to the overwhelming weight of our idiosyncratic existence. To put it simply, we should be like Jesus. And in that context, we should also be looking for His return in such a profound way that it affects our being and significantly alters our entire lifestyle.
And I say this with conviction: Jesus is coming soon. This is no time to settle in and rest in your orthodoxy. This is not the time to sup from the world’s cup or get caught up with earthly issues. If the Son of God is on the brink of His return, then we cannot be entangled with the affairs of this world and its antichrist system. But it is not enough to refrain from participating in what the world believes is important. No, we must be diligent in allowing the Spirit to transform our thoughts, our speech, our hearts, and our very lives.
The old cliché is still applicable. What would Jesus do? And how would Jesus live today if He Himself lived right beside you? No wonder the lost world doesn’t even feel confronted with the question that Jesus Himself asked: Who do you say that I am? The lost world continues to field moral grounders from the church but rarely is confronted with line drives that target the question that can save men’s souls. If Jesus is coming back soon, and if we say we believe that, then everything is on the table. And to be honest, we have a great deal to change personally and collectively. If we are to be believed, then mere words will not suffice.
Lk.12:39-40 - And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.
40 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
Ti.2:11-14 - For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
This temporal existence will soon be over, and the other side of eternity will soon begin. Churches by the thousands have workshops and Sunday School lessons about many earthly endeavors. Marriage, finances, health, and politics are but a few of the hot topics that saturate the evangelical church. But where is the class entitled, “Preparing for Eternity”? How about a class about prayer that instead of teaching about prayer does nothing but pray?
How tragic it is that we who claim to know and worship Him have so diminished His coming that it has little if any effect upon our lives. He is the Blessed Hope that we should be anticipating. Our hearts should be bursting as we envision bowing before our Majestic Redeemer in all His unspeakable glory! But alas, the cares of this world have overtaken us in ways that bind us to the temporal and blind us to the eternal. And in our present condition we lose such blessings that can only come from God’s Spirit. Only the Lord can bless us for no earthly reason and with just a shaft of light that lifts the veil ever so slightly and rewards us with a fresh revelation of Him.
In the Tabernacle the shekinah glory rested upon the mercy seat between the cherubim. It was a taste of God’s glory. But God’s glory in all its fullness was embodied in the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus the Christ. John said, And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. But that glory was shielded by His borrowed human form.
When He comes again, the shield will no longer filter His eternal glory. And His brilliance will fill the heavens and we will join the angelic hosts and worship before Him. That coming reality can never be captured by words, but as believers the vision should imprison our hearts and minds in such a way as to mold our lives accordingly. We will see Jesus.

Oft times the day seems long, our trials hard to bear,
We're tempted to complain, to murmur and despair;
But Christ will soon appear to catch His Bride away,
All tears forever over in God's eternal day.

It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,
Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ;
One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,
So bravely run the race till we see Christ.