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BELIEVER’S PREPARATION FOR THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST (Part 1) – Pst. (Dr.) L.O OLADELE (TACN, Abuja FCT Area).

Published

4 years ago

April 18, 2020

Text: Acts 1:9-11 “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;

Which also said, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven”.

INTRODUCTION: Brethren, the certainty of Jesus Christ’s second coming was confirmed by Jesus Christ Himself in John 14:3 which reads:

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also”. This is the word of Jesus Christ Himself, the Lord of lords and God of gods, the Mighty Saviour and the Lord who is able to fulfil all His promises.

He told the people when He was on His earthly ministry and He’s still telling us today that He has ascended, to prepare a place for us, that when He would have finished preparing a place for us, He would come back and take us to where He is. What else do we want as the word of assurance? Jesus Christ is coming back and this period is the right period for us to ruminate, to meditate on this message that, Jesus Christ is coming back.

I don’t want to belabour you with many theories, many views propounded and saturating the available social media on strange doctrines, that Jesus Christ will not come back again.

Brethren, I want to assure you that, the scripture says it, Jesus Christ confirmed it, and that is enough a reason for us to believe that, He will come back.

Let us reason together, if all the prophecies about His first coming came to pass, if all the prophecies about His sinless life, atoning death on the cross of Calvary came to pass, if all the prophecies about His resurrection came to pass, what reason do we have to doubt the promises, the prophecies and predictions of His second coming, even if it is delayed, it doesn’t mean that He will not come back. Brethren, let us bring our faith back to the Bible, let us stand on the promises of the Lord; this same Jesus as you see Him going up, He will come back in like manner.

“I am coming soon”, means His coming is imminent. Revelation 22:12 says “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”

Jesus Christ is coming back soon, what is your preparation? What is my preparation? Will His coming meet you unaware? Will His coming meet you unprepared? Will His coming bring regret to you? or will His coming bring joy to you?

You have the choice to make, it’s time to heed the warning, it’s time to get ready, it’s time to prepare, it’s time to shift our attention from things of the world which will go with the world, Jesus is calling us, the signs are almost fulfilled, we can all see it, that Jesus is coming back.

The world will soon be rolled away as a mat, with all the alluring things there, let us not be decieved with all the fallacies that, He will not come back again, which many denominations, erroneously today, are shifting their doctrines towards. That He hasn’t arrived since these long years, He is not coming back again, that is not the Bible.

The scriptures can’t be broken, it cannot be changed, Jesus is coming back, let our faith come back to it, let the contemporary Christians believe this that, our Saviour is coming back, He is coming back to take us and to give us reward.

SOME OF THE PROPHESIES ABOUT JESUS CHRIST’S SECOND COMING

1. Prophet Daniel; in Daniel 7:13 ; “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.”

This revelation, God gave to Daniel over 100 years before the birth of Jesus. If this prophecy is given and the bible says, no single word in the bible will go back unfulfilled, not even an iota, what then could make mortal man with limited knowledge, say, Jesus will not come back again? Jesus will surely come back!

2. Jesus Christ Himself in Matthew 25:31; “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:” Jesus predicted this and His word is Yea and Amen. The Son of man is coming at a time the world will not expect. All what is happening today are signals to warn us, the wise will heed the warnings and will escape from danger.

Also, in Matthew 24:39-42 ; “And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.”

3. The Apostles’ testimonies. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 says; “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.”

1 Timothy 6:14; “That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Thus, Apostle Paul warned his son in the Lord, Timothy, about the coming of the Lord.

4. The Angelic prophecy. Acts 1:11; “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven”.

These are the prophecies about His Second coming. He is coming back, even this generation, technology, people and power can’t stop it. Believe, Jesus is Coming back.

PURPOSES OF JESUS CHRIST’S SECOND COMING

1. He came at the first time, as the lamb that was slaughtered to save the whole humanity. Isaiah 53:5-10 contains the sufferings of Jesus. He suffered that we may live.

2. He is coming to judge the world with thousands of His holy ones (Jude 14; Revelation 19:13-16). What type of judgement are you expecting? Can you say, you are on the Lord’s side? Can you say, you are ready for Him, if He comes now?

3. He is coming to complete the work of salvation of the Saints (Hebrews 9:28). He will bring rewards for those who believe in Him, both the dead and living. What a day it will be! The coming of the Lord will bring joy to believers in Christ.

4. He is coming to glorify Himself at His second coming (2 Thessalonians 1:10).

5. Jesus Christ is coming to bring every hidden work of darkness to light (1Corinthians 4:5). What is your work like? That day, there would no be coverage for anyone. Nobody will be able to tell any lie, your work and my work will be shown to us. Repent now!

6. Jesus Christ is coming to judge the living and the dead (2 Timothy 4:1).

7. He is coming to reign (Revelation 11:15); Jesus is coming to reign as King of kings, His kingdom will be unquestionable.

8. He is coming to receive the Saints unto Himself. Those who qualify, those who prepare themselves without wrinkles, they will reign with Him.

9. He is coming to destroy death itself. (1 Corinthians 5:15; 15:25-26).

APPLICATION

The power of death and the fear of death is now gripping the whole world, people are afraid of dying because, they are not sure of where they are going, it’s not the will of God that people of God should perish from a pandemic, but the fear of death has gripped the whole world now. Brethren, in His second coming, He will come to destroy death, death is the last enemy that will be destroyed and, if you prepare for His second coming, you will have no portion in the second death.

Therefore, believe in Christ, confess your sins, reject all the lusts of this world for the world will go with all its alluring attractions. Your education, your authority, your power can’t save you, it is only Jesus that can save you.

Jesus Christ, in His first coming, came as the loving Saviour to save the whole world; John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Likewise, the Book of John 3:36 says whosoever fails to believe in Him, is condemned already and the wrath of God is on him.

As you are reading this message, are you a true confessor of Jesus Christ or just a mere church goer? Are you just a mere religionist or philosopher of religion? You may know the Bible but if you don’t do it, you are even worse than those who did not hear the gospel at all. (Matthew 7:21).

The grace and opportunity is now. As you read this message, review and amend your Christian life. What is your faith based upon? What is your motive of going to the Church? Now that there is a pandemic, many people are crying to the Church to render one help or the other, to provide succour, and many people are ready to go to any denomination that can give victuals and palliatives as succour but it is better and more important that you heed to the word of God because, this word is the one that will judge all of us at His second coming, He has warned us. Jesus Christ told the people of His time, you will be condemned by this word which I speak, because you have heard it, should you fail to do it. I pray, we will not be condemned, I pray, we will not be put to shame at His second coming.

Say this confession after me, “Lord Jesus, I accept you as my Saviour and my Lord, I confess all my sins and my wrongdoings, I denounce Satan, flesh, the world and their works. I am determined to follow Jesus, and to do His will forever. Therefore, Lord, save my soul.

If you have made that decision, and stand by it, I congratulate you, because you will be rapturable with Him. Your further preparations for Christ’s second coming which are very important now start from this point. God bless and protect you.

(Part 2 of this message continues next week).

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Nigeria Will Take Good Shape In No Distant Time- Olawande

Published

6 hours ago

September 16, 2024

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Minister of State for Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande has urged the citizens of the country to be patient with the Administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in transforming the lives of its citizens through various policies and programs of the federal government.

The Minister made this submission while delivering his speech at the Joint Union Negotiating Council’s week of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development branch. This is the first edition since both Ministries of Youth and Sports had been damaged. The JUNC week which was held at Atiku Hall, Office of Head of Civil Service of the Federation in Abuja had its theme: “The working people in a volatile, uncertain, and complex economy”

In the words of the Honourable Minister: “I urge you to be patient with this administration. In no distant time, the country will take good shape and the lives of its citizens will be transformed”.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not a pauper, he is an acknowledged epitome of wealth, and so it cannot be said of him that he desires to loot the treasury of Nigeria. He has seen money and as a result of this, he is not interested in looting the nation’s treasury”, Olawande explained.

He emphasized that “leadership is all about being committed to serve. If you are a Minister now, tomorrow you will be addressed as a former Minister, likewise a Director because there is no permanent position but the impact that you made while in that office will speak after you”, the Minister reiterated.

Olawande expressed his gratitude to the workers of the Ministry for being supportive of the government policies and programs. He promised that the welfare of the staff would not be compromised, adding that workers deserve remuneration for being hardworking.

Earlier in his address, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Olubunmi Olusanya admonished the staff of the Ministry to put in their best as “Performance Management System” which replaces APER is the criteria to be used for promotion effective next year. This, according to him is because the Performance Management System (PMS) records the best efforts and input of each staff which will in turn be used to grade such staff.

Olusanya who disclosed that the welfare of the staff is his priority as workers deserve the best for the services rendered. He opined that “the hungry man is angry and as a worker, if you are not treated fairly and properly, it is impossible to get the best out of you. As a result, all staff will be treated properly as motivation to propel the best in you”, he concluded.

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Esther Didi Walson-Jack, OON, MNI, in her address, informed that the activity to reinvigorate the Civil Service in a bid to ensure that Civil Servants carry out their duties with much diligence to have efficient and incorruptible civil service is currently on course. She advised workers to wake up and be committed to the service of the nation.

In his closing remarks, Mr. Jerry Akume, the General Secretary of the Union expressed his delight in celebrating this year’s edition of the Union week, while highlighting the achievements of the union so far. These include:

Upward review of staff welfare, prompt payment of repatriation allowances, payment of first 28 days allowance, assistance to the sick, general training of staff, and sending forth/retirement package for retired staff.

He also appealed to the Management of the Ministry, saying that irrespective of the aforementioned achievements, a lot still needs to be done in such areas as procurement of staff buses, upward review of welfare payment for festive periods, consistent general staff training, and procurement of office and work materials.

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