There is much talk in this present day about the return of Jesus, many talking about the mark of the beast, signs of the end, etc
I believe in the return of Jesus Christ to planet earth, I believe in the catching away of the Church(the bride of Christ) to be with the Lord
But this catching away is not an escape, it is a celebration to become one with the Lord
Practicing for the rapture or training for reigning(our eternal ministry)
Jesus is not coming back for a worthless bunch of nobodies, just trying to survive, but for a glorious church without spot or wrinkle
Our destiny is not to be heavenly drifters and Holy Ghost hobos, but to rule and reign with Christ for eternity – Rev 5:9 – 10 – And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
However, His Kingdom is not just in eternity, but Luke 17 says the Kingdom of God is in us as His people and we are taught to pray for His Kingdom to come in the here and now
Luke 19:13 – Occupy until I come
We need to get as excited or more excited about growing up as we do about going up
Honestly, I don’t care if the antichrist is alive today, and I will not be distracted by all the many conspiracy theories floating around the internet(even if true), but my focus and message is that Jesus in Alive!
So many Christians today are focused on the work of the enemy, and yes, we are in a battle and are called to fight the good fight of faith against the enemy, who the Bible tells us is not flesh and blood but spiritual forces of wickedness and evil. And yes, just like the Lord uses His people to extend His Kingdom, satan works through his servants to extend the destruction of his kingdom of darkness.
And we need to see the exposure and defeat of the works & plans of the enemy, and I pray that those who are advancing satan’s kingdom on earth would be arrested by the Spirit of God, bringing the revelation of Jesus as the Lion & the Lamb to them, the fear of the Lord and the mercy of the Lord, and that if they do not repent and change, that God would arise and His enemies would be scattered!
But cursing the darkness is not enough. Even more, we need to shine the light of Jesus to displace the darkness in culture around us.
And I believe God wants to arise in and through His church to express and extend and declare and manifest His Kingdom & Glory on earth as it is in heaven
Matthew 16 – Jesus said, I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it
Ephesians 4
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
Isa 60
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
And as we saw last week, the work that Jesus is accomplishing in earth today is through and by His Holy Spirit
2 Cor 3:17 – 18
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
What does this work of the Spirit look like in being transformed into the likeness of Jesus?
YWAM – Know Him & Make Him Known
Expanded expression of this theme
To Know Him Intimately –
One of the greatest works of the Holy Spirit is to reveal Jesus in the fullness of His
loveliness and draw us into His heart
Song of Solomon 1:4 – draw me and I will run after you
To Be Like Him Consistently – character, holiness, compassion, humility, fruit of Spirit
I Pet 1 – be holy even as I am holy
To Do What He Did Humbly
Mk 16 – they that believe will lay hands on sick, cast out devils, speak with new
tongues
John 14:12 – I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been
doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father
The Power of Heaven – The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
I Cor 12
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
To Make His Name Known Passionately – Mt 28 & Mk 16 – Great Commission
Pray – So Jesus, by your Holy Spirit in and through your Church, may Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven! Amen!