THE MIDNIGHT CRY
The recent events, taking place in the news, continue to challenge my heart with the fact that Jesus is coming soon. Although I am troubled with the terror that has gripped our nation, I am not discouraged or surprised with what the Lord has planned for this world.
As believers we have comfort in knowing that our hope is in Christ and eternity with Him.
I know that we have studied a great deal of information from the Bible as these events have occurred, but it is not about information. We have come into the house of the Lord seeking His revelation of what tomorrow holds for us.
Text: Matthew 25:1 thru 13
Prayer:
In 1666 a rumor had spread throughout the world that the end of world was fast approaching. Many people were troubled with this rumor. As that year played out, there was a growing fear among many people. Few people in the world knew much of anything about what the Bible has to say about the coming of the Lord.
The rich and the poor both fell prey to this word of impending doom of the last days.
The fear of the end of the world caused a lot of confusion and chaos in nations thruoughout the world.
That year there was an unusual storm that covered much of western Europe and the British Isles. There was one man that was strong in his faith. His name was Judge Hale. Judge Hale was well studied in the Word of God, and confident of what to expect in the last days.
As the story is told, Judge Hale was presiding over a case in his court room in the summer of that year. One of the lawyers in the courtroom (that day) recorded the following statement in his dairy this strange event.
(And I quote.)
"All of the courtroom suddenly grew completely black, although it was still mid day. The entire building seemed to shake as thunder shook the walls and bright flashes of lightning momentarily illuminated the room. The people in the court room were overcome with fear. And as if by common consent, each person fell to their knees and prayed for mercy believing that the terrible day of the Lord had finally arrived."
But the lawyer noticed that the judge was unmoved with all of this activity. He continued to take notes of the trial as if nothing else was happening.
The attorney made this final remark,
"Judge Hale’s heart was so stayed on God that no surprise (no matter how sudden) could discompose him."
Let me ask you a question. When you consider the coming of Jesus Christ, what do you see taking place in your life?
The prophecies regarding the coming of Christ found in the word of God was never meant to bring you thoughts of panic, doom or discouragement.
Do we understand that the Word of God is our Good News for these last days? The Word of God is our Word of Hope.
I tell you this because there are many people today who are not Christians. Without Christ, many are frightened about the threat of terrorism and the war we will be fighting. In fact, they should be worried about these things.
They need to rely on Jesus Christ for the safety of their soul.
As well, we Christians should not panic when we talk about the coming of Christ.
The coming of Christ should bring joy to our hearts.
Listen to these words of caution that Jesus spoke about the last days. Luke 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;...
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,...
This morning there is a growing distress among the nations of this world. The most recent and most serious threat to our way of life is not terrorism. It is fear.
We must not be frightened with what we see and hear going on in the world. For we have Christ as our way of salvation from what we see and hear.
The Apostle John confirmed what Jesus had said and why "mens hearts (should) fail them..."
They are frightened of what the Bible calls -
The Great Tribulation.
Rev 6:12-17
12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.
13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.
14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.
15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains,
16 and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!
17 "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"
Unfortunately, there are those who will choose to ignore Christ, deny Christ, or reject Christ. Mankind has no hope without Christ. Mens hearts will fail them.
And there are others who have received Christ as their Lord and Savior who have a love for the cares of this world, and they don’t understand the coming of Christ.
They need only to read the last 2 chapters of the book of Revelation to see what we have waiting for us.
If I were not saved and redeemed by Christ, and I were to read and understand what this passage is saying, I would be trembling with fear. I would be terrified with what this world is faced with in these last days.
But as a believer when I see the news on television, I must remember what the Apostle John also recorded in
Rev 22:20,
20 He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
For the saints of God, these are not days of despair, these are days of rejoicing. We should be looking up.
Luke 21:27-28
27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
Don’t be sad. Be glad. The Lord is coming soon! We must be ready. We can no longer put it off or ignore that Jesus is coming soon. Our focus today must not be on the troubles of this world, but on the hope and the glory of the coming of Christ. The tragedies of terrorism (today) can be depressing, whereas we have the promise of our tomorrow.
Why is the Lord’s coming important for us to know?
Because His rapture is the only way of peace and comfort.
These days may be troubling, but the Lord is coming to take us home to be with Him forever.
Those of you with small children need to use discretion and wisdom when your children see the news on television. Perhaps they have asked you about what is going on, and you didn’t know what to tell them.
I would encourage each of you to do what the Bible has told us to do.
Whenever Jesus spoke of these days, He always told us to comfort one another with the Truth that He is coming to save us and take us home.
I make no apology in telling you these things.
If I am offending you or making you uncomfortable, you may someday have to forgive me.
But if I am to one day stand before Christ and give an account of my actions, and if I have failed to warn you of the coming of the judgement of the Lord, God will not forgive me.
The concern for terrorism is a reality in our world, but this problem is nothing by comparison with what this world will have to deal with during the Seven Years of Tribulation.
As a believer in Christ, we know that the Lord will take His church home to be with Him in eternity, and the only thing left will be the terror of the Anti-Christ.
Jesus is coming soon. Praise the Lord for His salvation.
We love and worship an awesome God!
When He came the first time, He was born in a lowly manger with typical odors of a cow barn.
His bed was made of straw and there was no one there to meet Him but Mary and Joseph.
But when He comes the second time it will be with the voice of the archangel and the trump of Almighty God.
When He came the first time to the sleepy town of Bethlehem, they may not have even known it.
But when He comes the next time He will descend upon the valley of Meggido, every eye shall see Him as is.
And the world that has mocked him, ridiculed Him, ignored Him, rejected Him, and denied Him will know that He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
Revelation 19 tells -
• He will come riding, a white horse.
• He will be called Faithful and True.
• His eyes will be like a flame of fire, and on His head will be many crowns.
• He will be clothed with a robe dipped in blood.
• And His name will be called The Word of God.
And when He comes, He will be coming not just to rule and reign over the world, but to judge the world and deal with sin once and for all. What that means to us is this -
1. There is coming a day when there will be no more evil.
2. We will finally experience what we have been created for, and that is to live on and enjoy this wonderful creation called Earth.
3. Sin will never tempt us or destroy us ever again.
Question: Why wouldn’t we want to prepare for the coming of the Lord?
We know that preparation is what He expects of us.
The text we read earlier in Matthew 25 tells us there were 10 virgins waiting for the Bridegroom.
Five were wise, but five were foolish.
The five who were foolish had no oil in their lamp.
There are 3 things we must do to prepare for the coming of the Lord.
1. You must have sufficient oil for your lamp. The Bible uses the illustration of oil many times. We need the oil of the Holy Spirit. People who have the Oil of the Holy Spirit are people with power, and positive attitudes. They have joy in their life. Our problem is not terrorism. It is oil.
2. We must be awake at midnight. We must be alert and aware of what is going on. We must be busy about God’s business.
3. We must live in purity. Flee immorality and idolatry.
I John 3:2-3
2 it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
