Glorious Words, Glorious Lord

Glorious Words, Glorious Lord

11/19 2nd last

Dan 7:9-10, Heb 13:20-21, Mark 13:24-31

† In the Name of Jesus †

Grace, mercy and peace, of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, is yours.

I wish we’d all been ready…. But for a different reason…

It’s all in the hearing….

Wait til your Father gets home?

As I was growing up, music started to change in the church, or at least in some churches. As Christian musicians began to take what they knew about God, and putting that to music, all sorts of songs came about. One song I will always remember, was written by a hippy named Larry Norman. It was called, “I wish we’d all been ready”, and talked about the mess the world would be in, at the end of time, prior to Christ’s return. The words still echo in my head….

“life was filled, with guns and wars, and everyone got trampled on the floor,

I wish we’d all been ready…

Children died, the days grew cold, a piece of bread could buy a bag of gold

I wish we’d all been ready

For there’s time to change your mind, the Son has come, and you’ve been left behind.”

It was one of those songs, that for us who sang it, provoked us, by fear, to get out and share the message, that Jesus was coming back. And it did, I worried greatly about my friends, knowing that if Jesus came back that night, had they ever had the change to receive Christ’s grace, or would they end up, in hell?

It ended up being like that phrase I used in the children’s sermon – wait til your father gets home….as if the only reason for Dad to come home was to punish Steve and Kelly…well – yeah, me too occasionally….

As I said then, the meaning of those words, Wait till you Father gets home, have a different meaning, depending on your relationship with Him. But there is a definite truth, that we deal with – our Lord will return for us, in a manner quite glorious.

• Words of Glory, Lord of Glory

o Daniel’s words

o The power and authority of Jesus – 1 Peter 3:25

o He is coming – but whether we should dread this, or

You can’t really look at the Bible’s promises concerning Jesus return, without realizing a sense of awe, a realization of God’s glory, and power, and honor. To realize the numerous pictures like the one in the reading from the Book of Daniel,

9 As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. 10 A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.

I think that we need to remember, that when we are talking about God, whether the Father, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, we are talking about the God of the universe, we are talking about the Creator of the Universe. This glorious description of Him should leave us in awe. When we think of Christ’s power and authority, we should think of passages like that in 1 Peter 3:20,

And he, (that is Jesus the Messiah) has now entered Heaven and is at God’s right hand, with all angels, authorities and powers subservient to him.

All power, all authority, all honor, all glory, belong to Him. Angels and all those having authority and power in Heaven, serve Jesus. His power and authority is complete, far more authority and power than has ever existed on earth.

One day, all that authority, all that power, will return in full glory, with none of it hid.

Today’s gospel describes it,

the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory

But like the child waiting for his father to come… is the waiting done in fear, or in exhilarating joy…

• Harsh words – Harsh Lord?

o Mark’s Words, Revelation’s Words

o For some – yeah…

o Joel’s quote

 The answer – we can!

There seems to be the idea floating around in the world today, that who one’s faith is in, is not as important as the very idea that they have faith. It is a subtle change from the old idea that all roads lead to God. There is just a sliver of truth in that statement, for eventually all will stand before God – but not all to the same eternal destiny.