I used to get scared at the thought of the Lord’s coming. I don’t think I’m the only one. But the more I get to know the Lord, the more I realize that there’s really nothing to worry about. After all, the Bible tells us that all we have to do is cry out to Him to save us and we will be saved. If the scripture is true and it tells us the Lord does not lie, then it will be so.
And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. {Acts 2:19-21}
Now, the only thing to get concerned about is this scripture:
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. {Matthew 7:21}
Which leads me to ponder, have I done the will of my Heavenly Father? Have I done what He has desired for me to do? Because sure, I can call on Him to save me, but have I done His will? Is that really all I have to do, call on Him and be saved? Believe on the Lord and I will be saved? But what about doing His will? Well, what is His will?
That’s a very good question, what is His will? Many of us will probably think that doing His will is preaching His word and converting the lost souls out there. But is that really His very first desire for us to do? Sure, that’s a great part of His will. He surely wants people all over the world to be saved. This is why He came and died for us, so that we will be saved. The scripture even tells us this:
For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. {Luke 19:10}
His desire is to save us. His desire is to bring us to where He is for eternity. But His first desire and first will for us is not to go out there and proselytize people and preach to the lost. It is actually simpler than that, and yet so very important to Him. Jesus was asked by a scribe, “which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered:
The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. {Mark 12:29-31}
We will never do wrong to doing this first. If you’re ever wondering what you’re supposed to do for the Lord in this life, this is your very first marker – this is your very first launching pad. If we skip this one we will never get anything right. We might think preaching God’s word, starting a Bible study group, evangelizing on the street, you name it, might be God’s will for us. But unless we love Him first with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we can end up lost ourselves. We could end up helping to save people, but we ourselves become lost. Surely that cannot be His will. This is what in essence Apostle Paul spoke about in regards to his own salvation. He said,
But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. {1 Corinthians 9:27}
Apostle Paul and the rest of the apostles knew what is the most important will of God – and that is their relationship with Him. They must minister to Him first, before they can minister to others.
His will is for us to love Him first, be saved first, then save others. That’s why this is the first and utmost will of God – to love Him first. This is His will. This is His desire: that we love Him first and foremost. That means we spend time knowing Him, talking to Him, seeking Him and knowing what He desires for us to do. We don’t jump to our own conclusions of what we should be doing first. We should be seeking Him first for direction and instruction. Otherwise, how will we ever know what He truly wants for us to do if we don’t love Him first and seek Him first?
We must get to a point that we know His voice, His face, His desire for us and we are sure what He wishes us to do. It’s imperative that we do this very first commandment of loving Him first with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, because this is the very thing that will ultimately save us. Then He will help us to do the second commandment of loving our neighbors as ourselves. We then can go and do His work, which is guided by Him, directed by Him, approved by Him, and anointed by Him. We don’t want to go and do His will and be lost. This is what the Christians in Jesus’ parable ended up experiencing. The Lord described it this way:
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. {Matthew 7:22-23}
I cannot emphasize this enough: It is crucial to spend time with Jesus, talking to Him, loving Him, praising Him, waiting on Him, and seeking His face. Because at the end of the day, we don’t want to end up lost. We don’t want to end up just doing great righteous works for Him and be found with iniquity in our lives. When we spend time with Him, talking to Him, learning who He is and seeking after Him, He will show us what we need to do. That means if there is sin in our hearts, He will show that to us too. He is the one that saves us, not ourselves. He will show us step by step what to do. He will show us where to go and how to be. How to live a holy life with Him. We will end up falling in love with Him too in the process of spending more time with Him, which is the key to being saved by Him. After all the Lord wants to be with people that love Him very much and that know Him well. This happens when we do the first work – spending time with Him. His work will become easy and His yoke light because we love Him. When this life is through and He comes back for those that look forward to His return, not only do we end up saved, He will also crown us with a crown of life. We will end up with our works rewarded by Him. So it is so crucial to spend time talking to Him, knowing Him and loving Him first. The Lord admonished us regarding His coming:
And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. {Luke 21:34-36}
If we do these things, if we seek Him first and love Him first and know Him first, then His return will not become a surprise to us but rather something we are looking forward to. Not only that, we will know in our spirit that His return is imminent. We will know because the Lord will show us and will tell us He is coming. The Holy Spirit will prepare us for that day too so that we are not caught off guard and be lost. There is nothing we need to be afraid of regarding His return. We will be ready, and even so willing with all of our heart and soul to see Him. We will not be ashamed, because our hope and life and everything in our hearts is looking forward to being with Him and spending time in eternity with Him.
They looked unto Him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. {Psalm 34:5}
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. {1 Corinthians 15:52}
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. {1 Thessalonians 4:17}
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. {2 Timothy 2:19}
I am the good shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine. {John 10:14}
He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. {Revelation 22:20}
Prayer
Our Righteous Father, who is so loving and kind, I thank You for Your great love for me. I thank You that there is nothing too hard for You. I thank You that You are able to save me and keep me until the end.
Father, I pray, Lord Jesus, that You will please help me to love You and spend time with You in prayer and in supplications always. Help me to seek Your face and know You everyday for myself. Help me to confess all my sins to You. Help me to be opened and honest with You all the time with my heart and soul and not hide anything from You so that You can help me and save me. I want to look forward to Your return Lord Jesus. I pray this Father, in Your most wonderful and gracious name, Jesus. Thank You, Father. Amen.
