How should I live if Jesus could return at any moment?
By: Dr. John Ankerberg; ©1996
Dr. John Ankerberg: The Bible says, “Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3). The Bible says, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:11-15).
How does “looking for that blessed hope” affect our everyday life? Let me see if I can illustrate this. A mother taught her two little boys that Jesus could come back to earth any minute and rapture us to be with Him in Heaven. She noticed that the next week the cookies in the cookie jar weren’t disappearing as usual. And so she asked one of her sons, “Why is it that you aren’t taking the cookies out of the cookie jar and eating them like you usually do?” Her son said, “Mamma, we didn’t want Jesus to come back and to catch us doing something wrong.”
That’s why the Apostle John says, “Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as He is pure.”
But Christ’s imminent return is also to comfort us. The Apostle Paul teaches, “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together [that is, raptured] with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” Then Paul says, “Wherefore, comfort one another with these words.” This world is not our final home. We’re traveling toward heaven. As Jesus said in John 14:1,2, “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
1 Thessalonians 5:9 says, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
I look for my LORD and SAVIOR, every day. He promised, He would John 14:1-3.
I think to be purified means to earnestly repent of our sins before the Lord. Knowing that we ourselves can’t clean it but it require the blood of the Lord to do this. And then the adoption process will be taken care of by the Lord also. What excitement lies ahead for those who will do this!!!
What time is it now according to God and his word.
The ending period to the age of churches.
God bless you all for the work you are doing and we want more of it
Thank You GOD BLESS YOU ALL
Thank you Dr. John Ankerberg for this message of word of our Lord Jesus Christ..
To God be the Glory!
thank you so much for this powerful message.
Thank you for this message of hope – very convicting. To God be the glory!
Thank you so much for this inspiring message… how can you be sure that you are called by God to preach the Gospel.
FOR ME I DO BELIEVED FIRMLY THAT JESUS CHRIST IS COMING BACK ANYTIME…THUS, RAPTURE IS AT HAND…!THEREFORE WE SHOULD ALWAYS BE PREPARED ANYTIME..BE CLEANSED AND BE PURIFIED MOMENT BY MOMENT BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB..LET’S TRUST GOD’S WORD…BELIEVE AND PRAY THAT GOD IS ALWAYS IN OUR MIDST TO HELP US AND STRENGTHEN US AND FAR US FROM THE COMING WRATH…AMEN!GOD LOVES EVERYONE THAT HE DOESN’T WANT ANYONE TO PERISH BUT EVERYONE TO COME FOR REPENTANCE!
Jesus only comes back one time not two? Preacher you are wrong.