Ready For The Rapture

Some glorious morning, sorrow will cease.

! Some glorious morning, all will be peace.! Heartaches, all and death,!

Labor all done! Heaven will open, Jesus will come!

Some golden daybreak, Jesus will come! Some golden daybreak, battles all won!

He'll shout the victory, break through the blue!

Some moment like Him to be! Some glorious daybreak, Jesus will sing!

Oh, what a meeting there in the skies! No tears, no tears, no tears, no crying, shall dim our eyes!

Oh, what a daybreak! Oh, what a daybreak! Oh, what a daybreak!

Some golden daybreak, Jesus will come!

Some golden daybreak, he'll come! Some golden daybreak, battles all won! He'll shout the victory, he'll come!

He'll shout the victory, break through the blue! Some golden daybreak, some golden daybreak, for me!

And I'll sing for you! Amen! Are you looking forward to the coming of the Lord? Have you heard the promise He has given in His holy word?

Are you looking forward to the coming of the Lord? Have you heard the promise He has given in His holy word?

Are you looking forward to the Lord of love? Will you come and miss a miracle be through the clouds above?

When the trumpet call is shouted, we'll meet Him in the air! If your name is in the book of life, I'm gonna see you there!

It's the blessed hope of all who know the good news of His grace! Now the day is fast approaching, when I'll see my Savior's face!

And then my troubles will be an end! What a happy day for me! I am looking for the moment, when my Savior comes for me! When my Savior comes for me!

My Savior comes for me! Are you looking forward?

Do you know His promise true? Have you heard that this name Jesus will come again for you? We will come without a warning, with a twinkling of an eye!

Should it be before this song is done? We would never die! It's the blessed hope of all who know the good news of His grace!

Now the day is fast approaching, when I'll see my Savior's face! And then all troubles will be an end! What a happy day for me!

I am looking for the moment, when my Savior comes for me!

Looking for Jesus, looking and longing, longing my Savior to see!

When there before Him, bathed in His glory! Oh, what a joy it will be!

Caught up to heaven in clouds to meet Him! Can it not be far away?

Hope of the Christian that keeps me expectant! And looking for Jesus today!

Looking for Jesus each hour that passes!

For He may come any time! Sunrise or sunset, noonday or midnight, could be that moment sublime!

I must be ready! I must be ready! Waiting and watching! How solid or do away!

Poised for the sound of that heavenly trumpet! And looking for Jesus today!

I'm looking for Jesus today! I'm looking for Jesus today! I'm looking for Jesus today!

Poised for Jesus today!

If you thought that I was stepping to the pulpit a few moments ago, you were right. I was. I was so anxious to get up here after that choir number that I just was saying in my heart, get out of my way and let me at them.

That was kind of the feeling there. That's what a song's supposed to do to you, I think. Well, we're glad to be here.

If we weren't here, we would rather be in heaven, but we are glad to be here. And from the message from the bulletin again, you've noticed we're talking about on being ready for the rapture.

The whole concept of readiness is a familiar one to us. Before you came to church tonight, in some way or another, you got ready.

It might have meant calling the kids in and getting them washed up and maybe giving them a sandwich or something. It may have meant washing yourself up and brushing your teeth or having that cup of coffee so you'd stay awake during the dry sermon or something like that.

But the whole concept of getting ready to come to church is something familiar to us. I have discovered that one of the hard things about vacation is getting ready.

What a terrible thing to have to get ready to go rest somewhere. And by the time you get the house cleaned, you know, we have to leave the house immaculately.

I tease my wife. Maybe I shouldn't tell you this. Maybe I shouldn't say it to you or to her. But she always, in rebuttal, she says, well, I can't leave the beds unmade, etc.

What would happen if the Lord would come? To which I normally respond, let him make the beds when he comes. And that's a terrible thing to say and probably my wrist should be slapped for that.

But you have to leave the house immaculate, all of the dishes done and put away, etc. And to pack the car. I'll tell you that is a struggle to get ready to go.

And we have all, normally what I like to do, I like to take everything out and put it behind the car and get it all laid out and kind of know what's going, etc. And get some kind of a system in my head.

I take the heavy things, put them in first, get them in the middle, and then the lighter and lighter and the lighter on top and so on. We were out in Denver this last summer. We took a rather prolonged vacation, five weeks, six of us in our wagon.

And we just tented in a tent for ten nights and a few other things. And we had a big time. But in one of our stops in the city of Denver, I was repacking the car. And I had this stuff spread out all over.

And this little girl came riding on her bicycle and she stopped. And she looked at all that stuff and she said to me, Mr., how much is that sleeping bag? I'd like to buy that.

And I told her, well, it wasn't for sale. You know, I'm packing. And she says, oh, I thought this was a yard sale. So just getting ready for vacation is really quite a chore.

Some of the young people know what it is to get ready for a date. Oh, the preparations come Saturday. The hair's got to be washed and set and the suit's got to be pressed or taken to the cleaners or gotten out of the cleaners and the ties and the shoes and all of everything.

The car's got to be washed and all these plans laid down. And all of the hubbub and the excitement as the hour approaches, getting ready to go on a date. We're kind of used to that.

Of course, there's another kind of readiness, too, and that is getting ready for a test. But we won't talk about that. We kind of get schooled as we come up in life that readiness is important.

Similarly, of course, it is very important that we, as the children of God, are ready for the rapture.

Fanny Crosby really puts us on the spot when she asks us musically, when Jesus comes to reward his servants, whether it be noon or night, faithful to him will he find us watching with our lamps all trimmed and bright.

Say, can you say you are ready, brother, ready for the soul's bright home? Will he find us watching, waiting, waiting when the Lord shall come?

How ready are you? How ready am I for the rapture? Well, let's run straight to our text, okay?

1 John 2.28 This verse tells me, in a nutshell, how I can be ready for the rapture. 1 John 2.28 I like to hear the rustling of the pages of people's Bibles as they turn to the text.

I like a Berean attitude that they search the scriptures to see if these things were really so. And it wasn't just simply the taking it for granted because somebody said it.

But we look in the book to have kind of a healthy skepticism, or at least an interest to find out what the word of God really does say. Look at this verse.

John tells me, And now, little children, abide in him. Why? That when he shall appear, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

Now, if I understand that verse correctly, it is written to believers. He does call them little children, and we'll talk about that in a moment.

But if I understand the verse correctly, he is suggesting that it is possible for you and I, for you and me as a believer, to stand before our Lord ashamed.

He says, I would much rather that you stand there confidently, unashamedly, boldly, and be able to look your Lord straight in the eye than to stand there red-faced and embarrassed.

Abide in him so that when he shall appear, whenever that is, we may have confidence and not be ashamed from him at his presence or at his arrival.

And so my mind asks the question, and I lay it before you tonight, how can I be ready? I would really like to stand before my Lord and hear those words, well done, thou good and faithful servant.

I'd love to hear that. Wouldn't you like to hear that in your life as well? Well, we'll have to look rather closely at what John does say.

You'll notice right at the beginning here, he says, and now little children, you abide. In him. Seems to me the most logical place to begin is with this thought, which is so familiar to us that I'm almost hesitant to mention it.

If we are truly to be ready for the rapture, first of all, we must accept Christ as our Savior. Now that really is basic, isn't it?

And you really weren't surprised by that. We must accept Christ as Savior. I pointed out a moment ago, this verse is written to those who are little children.

That's a family term, isn't it? Those who are in the family of God. Those who can call God Daddy. You read in Ephesians chapter 4 that once we are saved because we are the sons of God, that God dispatches His Spirit into our hearts, and the Holy Spirit enables us and causes us to feel a freedom in addressing God as Daddy.

Father. Abba. Father. The word Abba simply means in the Aramaic, Daddy. We sense that we have a family tie.

He's our dad, and we are His children. We're in His family. What a wonderful truth that is, to be in the family of God.

What is God to you? Is He just a distant deity out there somewhere, perhaps totally disinterested in your life? Or have you come to Him by faith in Christ and have been born again into His family?

Obviously, you are not ready for the rapture until you have accepted Christ and become a part of His family. Keep your finger right here in 1 John, and I'm inviting you to come with me to the Gospel of John chapter 1, and then to chapter 3.

I just want to stay here a moment. I'd like to emphasize this just a touch more. John 1.12. It's a wonderfully simple verse that tells us how to become a part of God's family.

John 1.12. We read, But as many as received Him, to them gave He the authority to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.

It is, of course, by believing on Christ, which equals receiving Christ as Savior. Those who believe and those who receive Christ become His children.

They are born into His family. And then we can hardly think of that without looking at John 3 and a very quotable quote of our Savior. John 3.3.

Speaking to Nicodemus, a very religious man, the teacher of Judaism of his day, he says to that Old Testament scholar, but unsaved, Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

How do you get into any family? Is it not by birth? We get into God's family, or as he calls it here in John 3, we get into God's kingdom by being born into it.

And the emphasis in this text is that that birth is a second birth, and it is a spiritual birth from heaven. You see, Nicodemus' problem was that he felt that he had had one birth.

He had had a physical birth, a fleshly birth. He was a Jew. And as such, because he was a Jew, he was in the kingdom. And the Lord Jesus is simply cutting across the grain of his thinking and saying, Hey, Nicodemus, it's not enough that you were born a Jew.

One physical birth into an earthly family is not enough. You must have two births. The other one must be spiritual, born of the Holy Spirit.

Now, that may not seem too significant to you unless you have people in your family or acquaintances who say to you, Hey, you know, I'm a Roman Catholic.

I was born a Roman Catholic, and that's going to get me into heaven. I was born and bred a Lutheran or an Episcopalian or a Reformed individual, and I've been brought up in that thing.

I was born into that family, and really, that's all I need, isn't it? I was born into the right kind of family, the right religion. Jesus says to all of those Nicodemuses, it's not enough to have that birth.

It doesn't matter what physical family into which you were born, what kind of a fleshly birth you had, you must be born again, and that from heaven.

A spiritual birth. Now, we all know that, and some of you may be sitting here thinking, I hope you're not thinking like this, boy. let's not dwell too long here.

This is the basics. This is the basics. But I believe that we ought to love the basics. There's a verse in the song that goes something like this, I love to tell the story for those who know it best seem hungering and thirsty to hear it like the rest.

Somehow we've lost that. Somehow there are folks who say, well, you know, if you're going to preach the gospel, then I'm already past that stage, and I've heard the gospel, and I believe the gospel, let's get on to something else.

There's something wrong in that spirit. We ought to appreciate and never weary of hearing or telling the gospel.

And now, little children, you who have been born into the family, you who can look into the starry heavens at night and say, Father, you who have been born again, you little children, he says, and I'm back in 1 John 2, 28, abide in Christ.

Not only must I accept Christ in order to be ready for the rapture, but this text primarily tells me that I must abide in Christ if I'm going to be ready.

Isn't that what it says? And now, little children, abide in him. Why? That when he shall appear, we may not be ashamed but have confidence before him at his coming. So, if I am abiding in Christ, I'll be ready to meet him.

And I'll have nothing for which to be ashamed or feel ashamed or red-faced when I stand before my Lord if I abide in him.

Well, you know what the next question is. What in the world does that mean? What does it mean, then, to abide in Christ? What did John have in mind when he brought up this term, abide?

Well, when I think of this, I must confess to you my mind always runs back to John 15 because this is, that is where the Lord Jesus Christ introduced to the disciples this concept of abiding.

John was there on that final night. John heard the Lord talk to them about abiding. Jesus said over and over again, abide in me, abide in me, abide in me.

And I can't help but think that John is referring us back to that expression and to what the Savior taught his men on that final night.

Therefore, in order to understand what he means here, abide in Christ, I'm taking you back to John 15. And let's just look there a moment. John chapter 15.

I wish I had more time to set the setting here. I'm afraid there isn't that kind of time this evening.

These sermons have a way of getting longer and longer. You'll find out that professors are geared for 50 minutes in the classroom and when there's no clock in the classroom, they just forget the clock. So you have to kind of understand that.

Or maybe I should just understand it and cut it off quicker. I don't know. at any rate, in John 15, I'm going to read a few verses here and if you wanted to, you could underline the word abide every time you see it and you're going to come up with about nine different times the Savior said abide, abide, abide.

Notice this. John 15. I am the true vine, my father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away. Every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit.

Now you're clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide, there's the first one. Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide, there's another one in the vine, no more can ye except ye abide in me.

I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit for without me you can do nothing. If a man abide not in me he is cast forth as a branch and is withered, men gather them and cast them into the fire and they're burned.

If ye abide in me and my words abide in you ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my father glorified that ye bear much fruit so shall ye be my disciples.

As the father hath loved me so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments ye shall abide in my love even as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love.

Obviously the Savior had something to say about abiding. At least nine different times in those verses ten verses or so he says abide, abide, abide, abide, abide in me.

What's that? What does it mean to abide in Christ? I'm going to use this definition.

To abide in Christ means that I will maintain an intimacy with Christ. An intimacy with Christ.

Now if you don't like the word intimacy perhaps a synonym would help. A closeness with the Savior. Perhaps as the songwriter has said, nothing between my soul and the Savior.

Not of this world's delusive dream. I have renounced all sinful pleasure. Jesus is mine. There is nothing between.

In other words, there is a closeness, there is an intimacy between me and my unseen Lord. I'm going to prepare a place for you.

And they were absolutely crushed. Wouldn't you have been? All of your hopes, all of your dreams set on him and now all of a sudden he's kind of pulling the spiritual rug out from under your feet and he's saying goodbye, see you later, I'll be back.

And they were crushed. In John 15 he is saying to them, hey men, I may be out of sight but I don't have to be out of mind.

We can still have a vital tie. We can still have an intimate fellowship. Even though there is physical distance between us, there does not have to be any emotional or spiritual distance between us.

We can maintain an intimate fellowship together. He was comforting their broken hearts.

Now, I think you know that friendships operate at different levels. There are some folks in our frame of reference whom we might call acquaintances.

they might have a familiar face to you. Perhaps you work at the same plant or in the same office. Perhaps you even attend the same church and you really don't know them very well but there is something familiar about them and so we would call them acquaintances.

There would be another level of friendship which we would call companions. people whose name you know and perhaps you pal around with them. Maybe you're in the same class at school or you work in the same line at the job or your desks are in the same area at the office and they are companions.

You carry on casual conversation with them etc. Then there's a third level of friendship which I'm going to call intimacy. These are people whom you know very well and who know you very well and you would be willing to share everything with them all of your griefs and all of your sorrows as well as all of your joys.

You just feel so comfortable around them. You feel so close to them. They are intimate with you. I think you'll agree that we may have a whole lot of acquaintances and a fewer companions and very few intimates.

The Savior wants to be the number one intimate in my heart and yours.

He's inviting us into a unique friendship. A high level friendship. and he calls it abiding.

Abiding. Why should I be ashamed to be caught away and step into his presence and look him straight in the eye if I'm on intimate terms with him?

If I'm maintaining a closeness with him? If indeed there is nothing between my soul and my savior, why then would I be ashamed to be caught up and stand before him?

So John I think is right on the button when he says abide. Maintain an intimacy with him so that when he comes you won't be ashamed.

It'll just be like a friend walking in the door. My mind is not satisfied with that however because my crazy mind says well how do you do that?

How do you maintain a fellowship? How do you stay close to the Lord? Well, I don't want to take something extremely simple and make it extremely difficult.

Teachers have a way of being good at doing that. I don't want to do that with you. But just think a moment with me of the analogy. He says I am the true vine. my father's the husbandman and you're the branches.

Obviously they're walking through the grape arbors between the garden of Gethsemane and the upper room. As they're walking through this area he says hey my father's the farmer.

He says I am the vine and you're the branches. The vine is unseen. He's up there in heaven. And his branches the extension of the vine.

We're down here on earth. And somehow there has to be a vital link, a vital tie between that vine up there and the branches down here.

Otherwise if that tie is severed, if it's cut, there's no fruit. There's no life. There's no vigor. And that's what he says.

If you can, in your mind's eye, if you can picture yourself as a branch, it may seem like a crazy thing in our American minds, and we are plugged into the vine up there.

And we've got to maintain a vital flow there. How do you do that? Well, I must confess to you, the first word that comes to my mind is communication.

There has to be a flow of communication between that vine and the branch. I'm no horticulturist, I'm not a farmer, but I have observed some trees, and so on, you've observed this, the spring of the year comes, and the weather begins to warm up, you know, and there's fleecy clouds, and there's a warm breeze, you know, and the sun comes out, something happens inside that tree.

Somewhere there's a communication system inside that tree that says, hey, it's time to wake up, not be dormant anymore, and those roots start bringing up the goodies out of the ground, and pretty soon all that sap and the juices are running, and isn't long until there's buds and leaves and later fruit.

And then fall comes, and you get a few cool breezes and a frost like we had last night, and something in that tree says, whoops, let's go back to sleep, and it starts pulling back all of those juices and back down into the trunk, and the leaves die and drop, and that's it.

Somehow there's a communication system in there between the trunk of that tree and the branches and the leaves out there. Similarly, there must be a flow of communication between the vine in heaven and the branches on earth.

Which being interpreted means I must sit down and feed on his word so that he can communicate with me and then I must open up my heart and lay my burdens and requests and praises out before him so that I can communicate with him.

It is a two-way communication street. Otherwise, there's no intimacy. you're married, you know that.

The only way a husband and wife can maintain an intimacy is by communication. And if a husband and wife do not communicate, there is a separation that can come.

I'm not talking about divorce, although that can happen too, but I'm talking about an emotional distance just because they failed to communicate. Intimacy is built on communication.

But there's something more in this text than simply the analogy. when I get down into the text in verse 5, Jesus is saying to me the very last part of the verse, without me you can do nothing.

He's saying that look, I'm divine up there and you're the branch down here and all of your life and all of your vitality and all of your ability to produce comes from me the vine.

Apart from me you are a zero with the ring rubbed out as far as really accomplishing something. Nothing.

You mean to tell me Mr. Warren that if I don't abide in Christ that I don't have any ability to produce fruit? Exactly.

Just like a branch that is sawed off from that trunk and it's broken loose you know what happens to that branch? It withers it grows stiff and is ultimately cast off so that believer who does not abide in Christ withers in his or her spirit.

They become stale and dry. Christianity becomes a lifeless heavy responsibility and soon we find ourselves set on the sidelines watching the action.

I'm not suggesting the loss of salvation I am suggesting the loss of vitality and usefulness and that's what Jesus is talking about.

so that intimacy abiding involves for me a dependent spirit. If I come at the Christian life like that little train I mentioned this morning I think I can I think I can if I come at life and say I can handle this this isn't too hard I can teach on my own ability I can preach and do this thing I can sing that song I can play that instrument I can witness to that friend I can I can I can it's like a branch who says I don't need the vine I don't need your strength I don't need the sap that flows from you I just do it on my own an independent spirit if I'm living like that I am not ready for the rapture because I'm not abiding abiding means communication abiding means dependence and abiding also means obedience obedience can you imagine a vine telling a branch to do something time to sprout those leaves now time to get the grapes out can you imagine the branch saying no way

I'll do it my own way thank you no no there's a complete cooperation there the one obeys the other look at 1 John 3 24 he's talking about abiding here again it may appear to you that I'm jumping all around but in all honesty I'm not I'm following a word through the New Testament that's really what's happening here 1 John 3 24 same word John says and he that keeps his commandments abides in him and Christ in him it is the believer who is obedient it is the believer who is doing what the vine up there is telling him to do that's the believer who is abiding the obedient believer doing what his Lord tells him to do well we've come a long way but where have we come

I've said simply this in order for me to be ready for the rapture I must first accept Christ become a part of his family it is a family reunion isn't it secondly I must abide in Christ abiding means to maintain an intimacy with him a closeness and I do that by communicating with him I do that by maintaining a dependency upon him and I do that by obeying the orders that my Lord gives me if I'm communicating if I'm dependent if I'm obedient and the rapture comes I'm not going to be ashamed you will have nothing to have a red face for and stand before your Lord because there will be a closeness a one on one fellowship and instead of simply being an unseen fellowship all of a sudden it will be face to face and so

John says abide in him I should point out something to you that's not an option in 1 John 2 28 that is an order we are not given the option do it if you feel like it or if it's convenient or you want to it is an imperative abide and it's a present imperative keep on abiding all your life maintain a fellowship with him I guess maybe that's why that song is so wonderful even though it's an old song constantly abiding Jesus is mine he never leaves me lonely whispers oh so kind I will never leave thee Jesus is mine that song breathes intimacy all over it how intimate are you with Christ right now when was the last time you communicated with him when was the last time you sat down with his word and allowed him the opportunity to communicate with you hearing his voice in every line how dependent on him are you do you feel that there are certain areas of the Christian life that you can handle on your own you really don't need him we can we can get pretty cocky as Christians

I think we can because we've had a little bit of experience or a little bit of training or a little bit of education or a little bit of expertise and maybe a personality to carry us along we can get pretty pretty self confident and think boy you know I can handle this thing cocky is the word I like to use but we're not dependent if that's the way we approach ministry how obedient are you you know I remember when I was a kid my mother told me now I don't want you ever to play with matches and I'm sure that all parents would say that to their children but I remember one Saturday the children may now turn off their ears my mother went shopping and it was the fall and there was nice dry weather you know how the weeds get in the fall it's so much fun and I found a book of matches and there were some friends and we went walking through the fields and I knew my mom was shopping there wasn't anyone around

I took out these matches you know I was a real biggie then and I started striking the matches and just throwing them just to see what would happen just you know nothing happened there you know try another one one too many I don't know how it kind of got out of control but I'll tell you it didn't take long and all of a sudden we turned around and there was this black circle getting bigger and bigger you know and it had caught some really dry stuff and we stomped that out there were four or five of us man we're going like crazy we got it out you know I went home and my mother came home you know I really didn't want to see her I really didn't we sat down to lunch she fixed lunch and one of those same friends quote unquote came running up on the front porch and he put his nose right against the screen you know and his hands up there and he said

Mrs. Warren and I said he's a liar mother he's a liar I didn't do it I was already hung I didn't realize David was playing with matches oh man I shall never forget that afternoon when you are living in disobedience you don't want to see your mom or dad they're the last person in the world you want to see when we are not abiding in our savior and he has given us a pretty clear marching orders and we are fighting it and rebelling and kicking against it the last person in the world that you want to see is the Lord Jesus Christ so can't you see why it makes good sense that John says abide communicate depend and obey and when he comes back you'll be glad to see him accept him abide in him but I really would do you harm if I didn't wrap it up with the other thought of the New

Testament we are trying to draw the whole thought of the New Testament together the scriptures also teach and the choir talked about it and the both special numbers talked about it tonight even the chorus as we sang this whole matter and I've mentioned it before await anxiously for Christ there must be an anxiousness an excitement what is it Paul said about it in 2nd Timothy chapter 4 verse 8 he spoke of those who love his appearing they're looking forward to it so anxious so excited I can hardly wait I think I mentioned the other Sunday about the end of the New Testament as the Lord Jesus says behold I come quickly and John responds Jesus so come come on I'm waiting I can hardly wait there's an anxious awaiting for him

I'd like to nail that with a verse okay 1st Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 10 1st Thessalonians 1 10 you're good listeners tonight I've hit you with a loaded gun and you haven't ducked yet so hang on 1st Thessalonians 1 10 he describes their salvation experience in verse 9 he says that you were saved to serve the living and the true God and to wait for his son from heaven waiting the word means to anticipate to wait anxiously for his arrival are you doing that it does not say we are waiting for signs we're waiting for the son nor does it say that we are waiting to be delivered out of our troubles as though we look forward to the second coming of

Christ in a selfish manner somehow that he might rescue us from these troubles no no we are to be waiting for him for his own sake not simply for what he can do for us but because we love him we can hardly wait to see him you have a good imagination so I'm going to stretch it just a little bit I've told you to be a good time to be in Iowa you have to know that we lived in a two story house with a detached garage which sat kind of to the back of our property my wife was gone to a ladies meeting at our church and it fell my lot to watch the children I don't know if we played hide and go seek that night or not we may have it was ladies missionary meeting and normally she was home somewhere from 930 to 10 and she wasn't late it was just kind of a swing time there we didn't know exactly what time it would be but I do remember sitting down after I got the kids in bed it must have been nine o'clock and I grabbed a book and I thought well I'll read a little while until she comes did you ever try that

I'm a terrible waiter and every time a car went by out on the street I was sure that was my car and I could just envision the car pulling up in the driveway and so on and I'd kind of wait in another car it wasn't my car so I decided well I can't read I just put the book down decided well I'll tell you I'll go outside and I'll put up the garage door and I'll turn on the light so that when she does pull in she doesn't have to get out in the dark so I went outside turned on the light came back in I could look out the kitchen window into the garage I could see you know when she pulled in there I could also see when the lights hit the back wall of the garage I knew when she was pulling in the driveway so every once in a while I'd go and I'd look out the window no lights no wife so I thought that's no good I really can't see so I went to the side door the kitchen window and I looked out the kitchen window and I could see just past our neighbor's house about a half a block down the street that gave me a little running look you know and I thought for a while that satisfied me and I thought well front door

I went to the front door opened the front door and I could look down the street all the way to route 69 a block and a half down and when she turns the corner I'll know she's coming 915 turned into 930 or so and I thought well I'm so nervous I can hardly wait cup of tea so I put the water on got it boiling you know two cups and sugar for me and a spoon two spoons for the both of us she doesn't take sugar sugar for me two napkins there are the cups kitchen window no lights side door no lights front door no lights I thought well brownies it was near Christmas and I knew where she had hidden them from me so I took a saucer and I went downstairs got six or seven brownies out of the freezer came back up put them on the kitchen table kitchen window side door front door no white

I'm paced I can't wait I'm so nervous like I wasn't ready to preach I couldn't wait get out of my way and I thought candles so I went around the house and I found the candles we had one of these candelabra you know it was eight or nine candles on the thing I fished the candles and I got them in there and I put them on the table and I got them all lit you know adjusted the brownies and the tea was cooling off and there are the candles and the brownies and the tea and kitchen window lights and in she pulled and I could see her in the light turned off the car turned off the lights turned off the outside light pulled the door down what a wonderful reunion at the side door and in the kitchen around brownies and tea and candles

I have a feeling that that's the way we're supposed to wait for our lover from heaven to wait for his return Father we thank you for your word we want to be ready when the Lord comes we don't want to be caught surprised short living in sin ashamed may there be an eager anticipation an abiding and an acceptance of Christ fit the need to each heart by your spirit we pray in Jesus name amen number 617 please 617

I alluded to this song earlier it is a challenging song to us will Jesus find us watching let's stand please as we sing amen amen erfahren amen Thank you.