Making Ourselves Ready for the Lord's Coming -1

Message Title: Making ourselves ready for the Lord's coming by loving His appearing and not loving the present age

I. If the Lord's second coming is precious to us, we will not love His appearing. 

the Lord's coming should be precious to us, and we should love His apperaing, and look forward to it with earnest expectation ad joy. 

our Lord was crucified in this world, therefore, our Bridegroom is not in the world now, and our heart should be a heart of widow, with the apparent absence of our dear Husband. we do not love this world, this present age, not because this world is not lovely, but because, our heart has been captured by the Lord Jesus, who is our dear Bridegroom, whom we love. the One we love most is not in this world, so we do not love the world because He is not here. 

as those who love the Lord, and love His appearing, towards the Lord's coming, we should:

1. we need to be sober and watchful, actively preparing ourselves for the Lord's coming.

2. our attitude should be eargerly awaiting the Lord's coming.

3. we need to love the Lord and His appearing

4. we need to cleanse ourselves as the Lord is the clean and pure One.

5. the last prayer, the last cry out in the Bible, is at the end of the book of Revelation, "come Lord Jesus". this should also become our daily prayer, even our cry out to the Lord moment by moment, "come Lord Jesus." 

II. "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him"

we have to see that the world is an evil system arranged systematically by Satan, to usurp us, and to occupy us and our time. if we love the world, and are fully occupied by the world, we will have no heart for the Lord and His appearing. but, if our heart is fixed on the Lord and earnestly expecting His appearing, we will not care for the world, this present age and the things in the world. 

what is the world? the world is anything that causes our heart to be cold towards the Lord, that separates us from the fellowship with the Lord, that causes us to lose the heart and love for the Lord. 

God is dispensing Himself into us. but we have to be aware that Satan is also dispensing himself into us. we just need to open to Satan a bit, very little, his evil dispensing will get into us. therefore, we have to be on alert of the evil one. 

III. Loving the Lord's appearing is in contrast to loving the present age

Romans 12:2 And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.

2 Timothy 4:10 For Demas has abandoned me, having loved the present age, and has gone to Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia; Titus to Dalmatia.

Paul charges us not to be fashioned according to this age, because this age is standing in opposition to the Body life and replacing the Body life. this is the reason why Demas forsook the apostle Paul and went to love the present age. Demas loved the age, so he forsook the Body, the church life, and the apostle Paul. 

if we love the present age, we will take sides with the world; if we love the Lord's appearing, we will take sides with Him and fight with Him for His interests. 

IV. Those who love the Lord, wait for His coming, and love His appearing will overcome.

Loving the Lord's appearing is a proof that we love the Lord and live for Him today; hence, it also becomes a condition for us to receive His reward. the more we love His appearing, the more we need to live a normal life today. but, while we are living a normal life, we are awaiting the Lord's appearing. 

As those who love the Lord Jesus, take Him as our life, live Him, and magnify Him, , we should await His coming and love His appearing; this should be our heart's desire and our living as those who hope to enter in His joy, be saved into the Lord's heavenly kingdom, and receive the crown of righteousness. 

Lord, Thou wilt soon appear

Thy day is almost here

oh, how we love Thy coming soon!

we have no other

Lord, life or lover

than Thou, Lord Jesus, our Bridegroom!

- hymn 1314

https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/1314

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