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091213 The Spirit and the Bride Say Come pt 3
Longing Leads to Preparation
Tim Franklin
Introduction:
· Today is part three of a series entitled “The Spirit and the Bride Say Come”. The theme of the series is: We do not long for His appearing because we do not know Him. If we did know Him we would long for his return. The next few Sundays will be shaped around creating a heart that longs for Him.
· As we have found, longing or to long is to have a great ache in the heart. Longing in its simplest form is an ache in the heart. It is an empty place in the heart that desires to be filled.
· Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. NKJV
· One type of illustration we keep coming back to in this series is the wedding. It is an illustration that Jesus used often. Weddings reveal much about longing. I want to look at one of the serious aspects that longing for the return of Jesus produces in the life of the believer. That aspect is preparation.
1. Preparation Takes Time
A. It takes time to get ready. If you do not believe that ask my wife. She is the queen of preparation and will defend that statement with her life. Guys be glad your wife does not have the Esther anointing. Esther spent one year getting ready for one night with the king. Esther 2:12-13 Each young woman's turn came to go in to King Ahasuerus after she had completed twelve months' preparation, according to the regulations for the women, for thus were the days of their preparation apportioned: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfumes and preparations for beautifying women. 13 Thus prepared, each young woman went to the king, and she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the women's quarters to the king's palace. NKJV
i. Most everything we do in life involves a preparation time, whether you are going to school, getting married, or cooking dinner. Preparation is a part of life.
ii. In the context of building longing for the return of Christ in our daily living, preparation will be a major part of the proof we actually have the longing in our hearts.
B. Time is our friend.
i. Jesus is waiting on the Father and the Father is waiting on us.
a. We are waiting on Jesus to return. Part of the problem with that is that we get discouraged waiting or frustrated that He is not coming and begin to go our own way and not His.
b. Jesus is waiting for the Father to say, “Go get your bride.”
c. The Father is waiting on us. Look at 2 Peter 3:9, God isn't late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn't want anyone lost. He's giving everyone space and time to change. THE MESSAGE What is the Father waiting on? He is waiting on us to prepare/get ready for His Son.
ii. Time is our friend in that the father does not want anyone to perish. Mt 22:11 parable of the wedding feast. A man responds to wedding invitation but does not have on the right garment. The garment is faith in Jesus which results in righteousness. This man was doing the works but not working his faith. Time allows us first of to respond to the invitation and secondly to clean up our act as we long for His appearing. Faith and works go hand in hand. One without the other is not good.
iii. Time is our friend because if we live with a longing for His return in our hearts we will live daily establishing our heart and lives in Him. God does not want us to be idle. Idleness easily leads to idolatry.
C. The purpose of time in preparation is to establish our hearts in Him.
i. James 5:7-8 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. NKJV
ii. Establish comes from the Grk. Word—sterizo, meaning to fix, establish, strengthen or make firm, to cause to have steadfast resolve.
a. The strengthening is by God, the Lord, the truth, or others. It may be accomplished, besought, or commanded. It presupposes an assault that threatens faith or zeal. Its aim is impregnability of faith in spite of afflictions. God strengthens the Thessalonians so that they may be blameless at the parousia (1 Thess 3:13). (from Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, abridged edition, Copyright © 1985 by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. All rights reserved.)
b. 1 Thessalonians 3:13 so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. NKJV
iii. God wants our hearts established in His son. He wants them fixed, strengthened, firmed. He wants us to be found by His Son with great resolve in our hearts towards Him.
iv. And we must have the patience of the farmer James says. Paul also says the same in Romans 8:25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. NKJV
2. Preparation Takes Work
A. Preparation is work! IE. We just finished our Christmas party for our leaders a week ago Friday. We started getting ready the first week of Nov. Kelly worked really hard after we got back from vacation preparing for this party. Was the party fun? Yes. Was the food good? Yes. Did people have a good time? Yes. Was it work? ABSOLUTELY! Preparation is work! When you live with a longing for Jesus to return. You work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Every bride I have known is all astir on the week before the wedding—everything has to be perfect. Knowing that He is coming we should joyfully workout our salvation in order that we may be what He desire on the He comes.
B. Work out your salvation Phil 2:12-16 work until day of Christ
i. Work out. Grk. Katergazomai=To overcome, work at, to make or to produce.
ii. In Eph. 6:13 it is translated, “having done” all now stand. That passage is work! It takes everything you have to stand trust/or working your faith.
iii. In Phil 2:12 we are exhorted to work out our salvation because of vs. 16 the day of Christ—His return.
C. Deny ungodliness and lusts
i. Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. NKJV
ii. We have to work at spiritual growth. It does not just happen. You have to, in faith, work at growing in Christ. It is work denying the flesh!
D. Put to death sin in our lives.
i. Colossians 3:4-5 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. 5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. NKJV
a. Grk. Nekroo=to kill. Kill fornincation, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, covetousness etc.
b. I have been a Christian for 29 years—I am still working on killing some of these things.
c. Preparation is work!
E. Purify yourself
i. 1 John 3:2-3 Beloved, now we are children of God; and 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. NKJV
a. James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. NKJV This takes effort to draw near. Time to pray, time to fast, time to work on character.
(i) Cleanse your hands
(ii) Purify your hearts from double-mindedness.
b. 1 Peter 1:22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere … NKJV
F. Preparation is work: takes time to deny, put to death and purify ourselves of dead works. But it is worth it!
3. Preparation Pays Off
A. If we deny ourselves Titus says He will redeem us. Titus 2:11-14 He will redeem us and purify us for himself, making us his own special people, zealous for good works. NKJV
i. To redeem simply means to buy back. To pay the ransom.
B. If we put to death sin, we will appear with Him.
i. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.. Col 3:4
ii. Grk. Phaneroo—to appear, to make manifest or visible. To bring into the open that which was hidden.
C. If we purify ourselves, we will be like Him. “we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him” 1 Jn 3:2
i. Grk. Homoios—of the same kind. When He shows up we shall be like He is. He was not sick. He was not still bleeding. He was not weakened by death. He had a new body!
D. To be redeemed, to appear with Him, to be like Him—this is what Christmas is all about! This is the Gospel-God made a way to get us back. God made a way for us to be with Him. God made a way for us to be like Him—righteous! Wow!
Conclusion:
· We do not long for His appearing because we do not know Him. If we did know Him we would long for his return.
· And according to the measure that we believe He is returning will be the measure of which we prepare for that return. Preparation:
o Will it take time? Yes, and we are not concerned—it gives us more time to prepare.
o Will it take work? Yes, and we are not concerned—it gives us more time in case of snag/delay on our part.
o Will it be worth it? Absolutely! To be with Him and to be like Him! That is a miracle in itself.
· Invitation to receive Christ.
o 2 Timothy 4:8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. NKJV
· Invitation to clean up.
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