“Amen. Come, Lord Jesus”
“He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.(Revelation 22:20).
When we reflect back year 2016, we came thus far solely by God’s grace. As we worship God every New Year eve, I realize more and more that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting nearer and nearer. And this gives us comfort and hope because we will see our Lord Jesus Christ face to face when He comes back. If fact, this is what the Lord said in Revelation 22:20 says – “Yes, I am coming soon.”
You see, Jesus who came to this world about 200º years ago said that He is coming soon. He did not say only once but 3 times in Revelation 22: (V.7) “Behold, I am coming soon!”, (V.12) “Behold, I am coming soon!”, (V.20) “Yes, I am coming soon”. That’s how much the Lord Jesus wants to come back for sure. In fact this is what the Bible says in Revelation 22:6: “The angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.” Do you have faith and conviction that Jesus is coming soon? Jesus, who bored our sins and died on the cross, arose from the dead 3 days later and after 40 days in this world he ascended to heaven, promised us that He is coming soon(Rev.22:7, 20). Do you believe His promise? Why is Jesus coming back? This is what He said when he first came to this world, before he left us: “In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (Jn. 14:2-3). The reason why Jesus is coming back is to take us home so that we also may be where He is (Jn.8:35). That’s why we who are waiting for His coming are making this kind of confession as the psalmist did: “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Ps.23:6).
Now, how shall we live? We who are waiting for Jesus’ second coming, how shall we live? I want to receive 4 lessons from the Scriptures tonight:
First, we must be able to pray to God “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” as Apostle John did.
Look at Revelation 22:20 - “… Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” I hope and pray that all of us can say “Amen” to the Lord’s Word “I am coming soon”. Let us trust this promise of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not only that we must believe His promise, we must be able to pray “Come, Lord Jesus.” That’s how much we should expect His second coming.
Second, we must serve Him continually.
Look at Revelation 22:3 - “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.” When Jesus comes back, He will take us home. And when we go to our heavenly home, we will serve him forever. Until that time, we need to imitate Jesus Christ who came to this world not to be served to serve others (Mt.20:28). We should serve Him by serving others. And that should be our joy.
Thirdly, we must keep the Word of God.
Look at Revelation 22:7 - “Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.” Those who love God obey his commands. And those who keep his commands remain in God’s love (Jn.15:10) and will be loved by God (14:21). And this is what the Bible says in Exodus 20:6): “but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.”
Lastly, we must worship God.
Look at Revelation 22:9 - “But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!" The reason why God sent his own Son to die on the cross and arose from the dead is to save us. And the purpose of our salvation is to worship God (Exod.3:12). Therefore, we who are saved by God’s grace alone, it is our grateful responsibility is to worship God all the days of our lives. And when Jesus comes back, we will all go to heaven and worship God in front of his holy throne. May that blessing be up on you all!
As I wait for the Lord’s coming,
James Kim