Sunday, August 29, 2021

HOW SHALL WE LIVE IN THE SEASON OF HIS RETURN?

How Shall We Live in the Season of His Return?

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Wake up, for the King is coming! 

It's hard not to recognize that His time has come.

In Matthew 24:32-34, Jesus says, 

"The fig tree, its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away."

The King gave you all the signs to know when His season would start. 

How can you not be ready?

 Have you not prepared for His return?

Israel was born in a day. 

Jerusalem is no longer trampled by the Gentiles. 

The global signs of His return are told across the world news and internet on a daily basis. 

He has sent one sign after another. 

You should know that His summer has come.

Thus Jesus introduces His five parables to teach us how to be about our Father's business in this special moment in time. 

We are to be active and ready, busy preparing the way so we will not be like the Gentiles caught unaware that the King has come.

This opens the door to the parable as in the days of Noah, where Jesus tells us to get our house in order, so we will be ready for when He comes in the clouds of glory with His angels.

We are not to be like the Noah generation; so consumed with the things of this world, they were not about the purposes of God and refused to believe that judgment was coming.

Far too many, at least half of the Gentiles and Jews, will have their lives fixed on the temporary pleasures of this world. 

They will be unprepared for the next age to come.

We are to watch and be ready lest the thief break into our houses. 

Who is the thief that comes to steal, rob and destroy, but Satan and his demons. 

They are entering our households through the internet, books, television, movies, music by false prophets and false teachers indoctrinating us into secular humanism and the philosophies and false religions of men and demons.

We need to be engaged in spiritual warfare, doing battle daily for the souls of our family and friends. 

We need to know the ways of God in His Word and revelation knowledge of the Spirit to combat the deception of this age that Jesus warned of earlier in the chapter.

Matthew 24:44 says, 

"Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." 

Are you ready? 

Are you actively watching and prepared, or are you passively asleep at the mercy of Satan and his host of wicked ones?

The season of His coming is upon us. 

Your eternal destiny and those of your loved ones depends on getting into the game and giving Jesus all you have to give in the war for the salvation of souls.

The third parable teaches who is faithful and wise, who is living an obedient life that is always ready for the return of the Master as opposed to the evil servant who is in the house of God but not prepared for his Master to come.

Noah's time concerned the Gentiles. 

Now Jesus focuses on the religious saved and unsaved living in the Master's house. 

The wheat and the tares as we know in His other parable in Matthew 13:24-30.

The faithful and wise servants are feeding their Master's household with food, spiritual food, that will make His servants ready for the arrival of their Master. 

While the evil servant lives a selfish life, has no regard for the lives of his fellow servants but is consumed with the wicked ways of this world.

He will suffer the judgment of his Master and will be banished from the eternal reward that the faithful servant received. 

We are to know our Master's heart and commands, so we can faithfully fulfill His vision for our day.

Jesus will give us the Holy Spirit with dreams and visions for how we should be about the Master's business. 

I do not want my dreams and vision for living. 

I want Jesus and His vision and dreams for my life to build His kingdom. 

My dreams are built on sand, but His rest on the rock of salvation and will endure the storms of life.

Jesus teaches in these three parables how we should live in this season: know, act and obey. Know His time of His return. 

Actively watch and be ready as we fight the good fight of faith by making disciples and building His kingdom. 

Out of love for our Master, obey His commands with the wisdom of revelation knowledge that He has given us by His Spirit. 

Put aside our selfish desires to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus. 

You will be ready!

Author's Note: The Presence of God lives in us. The Word tells us the Holy Spirit comes into our lives the moment we are born again. We also know that the Father and Son abide in us as they have made Their home in us. This life we have in Jesus is a glorious one. We are being changed from one degree of glory to another to be like Jesus. We hunger for less of us and more of God to fill us completely. There are also moments when God's presence fills the atmosphere where we worship as our Lord did when Solomon dedicated the temple or when Isaiah saw Jesus, the Lord of Hosts, in the temple, or when the Holy Spirit was poured out in Cornelius' house in the book of Acts. When God acts in His glory, lives are transformed to live for His purposes and plans to redeem the world.

We have set our hearts on God to come in His glory at our "Hosting His Presence" event on Sept. 9-12. We do not want only an encounter with God but for Him to remain, so it is not just a visitation but a habitation that draws us daily to Himself. This glory moment will inspire us with dreams and visions to go into the world as Jesus sent His apostles and disciples to the nations of the earth. Begin praying now for this Holy Spirit gathering, that Jesus will be exalted, and we will see a nation transformed for Jesus.

Our gathering is free. You can register at eventbrite.com

Once a professional baseball player with the Chicago Cubs Organization, Blake Lorenz was called to Asbury Seminary after a radical encounter with Jesus, where he received his master's degree. He has pastored in the Orlando area for 33 years and has been blessed with the opportunity to evangelize globally, visiting five continents and preaching the gospel to tens of thousands. Blake has also helped plant 500 churches. He has been working in Israel for the past 20 years, includes serving on the board of the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast in connection with the Knesset. In 2020, blakelorenzministries.com and the Awaken podcast launched to teach and challenge others to join him on a journey of anticipating the return of Jesus. He has used the three books he's written in his seminars and conferences. He and his wife, Beverly, share three children and six grandchildren.

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