"Are You Ready For The Rapture?"

“Are You Ready For The Rapture?”

INTRODUCTION: I begin this morning a SERIES on “The Rapture”. In the weeks ahead we will take a look at “The Signs of His Coming” … “What Jesus Expects Us To Do Until He Comes” … “What It Will Be Like For The SAVED/LOST Immediately After The Rapture”.

Do you really believe that the Rapture of the Church is soon? If you really want to be honest with yourself, your answer is probably “No!”. While we might believe that He COULD come at any time … we really don’t believe that He WILL.

There are probably some here today who don’t believe that Jesus will come in their lifetime.

• MAYBE within the next 20 years.

• CERTAINLY not this YEAR … or this MONTH … or this WEEK.

• DEFINITELY not before midnight tonight.

• NO WAY He will come before NOON today (before the end of my message).

We are like those in 2 Peter 3:3-4, 8-9 – all turn.

We don’t know WHEN the Lord will come. Jesus says this, in the CONTEXT of His coming at the REVELATION, but it also holds true for the RAPTURE. Matthew 24:36 – “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”

HOWEVER … there are several things that we DO KNOW:

I.- HE WILL COME

We might not know WHEN … BUT … we do know that He WILL. LISTEN to the words of an angel, as he saw Jesus ascending from this earth. Acts 1:11 – “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.” As soon as Jesus left, He gave us the assurance that He would come back.

TURN to 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18.

TURN to 1 Corinthians 15:51-52.

Jesus leaves us NO DOUBT that He is coming back. John 14:3 – “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.”

I.- He Will Come.

II.- HE WILL COME QUICKLY

LISTEN to what Jesus said in Rev. 3:3 – “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”

In the last chapter of the Bible, LISTEN to what Jesus says:

• Revelation 22:7 – “Behold, I come quickly.”

• Revelation 22:20 – (Next-to-last verse in Bible) - “Surely, I come quickly, Amen.”

When Jesus comes at the Rapture, there will be no warning. It will be INSTANTANEOUS. 1 Cor. 15:52 says that it will be in the “twinkling of an eye” … as long as it takes you to blink your eyes. There will be no time to get ready. No time to get your life straightened out. No time to repent. No time to be saved.

The Bible tells us that there WON’T be a 2nd CHANCE for salvation, after the Rapture. If you’re left behind, your eternal destiny has been sealed. You will believe the lie of the Anti-Christ during the Tribulation Period. 2 Thes. 2:11-12 – “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: [12] That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

If you weren’t saved BEFORE the Rapture … after being exposed to the Bible, the preaching of the Word, the church, the witness of Christians, the conviction of the Holy Spirit … what makes you think you’ll be saved AFTER the Rapture. All the Christians will be gone. Churches will no longer be preaching the truth. The Holy Spirit will no longer be convicting you. The Anti-Christ will be in control. That’s why the Bible says in 2 Cor. 6:2 – “behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

I.- He Will Come

II.- He Will Come Quickly

III.- WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY

What are we to be doing in the meantime … until Jesus returns?

1.- Live Right So As To Not Be Ashamed When He Comes.

CHRISTIAN … Someday, Jesus is coming back for you … AND … you will meet Him face-to-face. You will have to look at Him straight in the eyes … eyeball-to-eyeball. Are you going to be ASHAMED?

The Apostle John has some ADVICE for us – 1 John 2:28 (NLT) – “And now, dear children, continue to live in fellowship with Christ so that when He returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from Him in shame.”