When The Rapture Happens

when it comes to the rapture of the church the bible tells us that the day of the lord will come like a thief in the night it tells us that in a flash in the twinkling of an eye those who have died will be raised to live forever and we who are living will also be transformed this tells me that when jesus christ comes to rapture his church away it will be sudden it will be unexpected in the sense that many will be going about their day-to-day business many will be immersed in their day-to-day activities people will be enjoying the entertainment of this world and then suddenly many will be caught off guard when the master returns [Music] and it's not like we haven't been given ample warnings does revelations chapter 22 verse 12 not say behold i am coming quickly does first thessalonians chapter 5 verse 2 not say for you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the lord will come like a thief in the night there should be an urgency in our lives there should be an urgency in terms of how we live because there is certainly an urgency in the word of god about how soon christ is to return it will be sudden it will be unexpected so rather than waiting until the last minute wouldn't it be better to be prepared now wouldn't it be better to be ready all the time wouldn't it be better to live in a constant state of preparation so we will never be caught off guard this is what the scriptures ask of us and what jesus commands us to do matthew chapter 24 verse 42 through 44 says therefore stay awake for you do not know on what day your lord is coming but know this that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into therefore you also must be ready for the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect the apostle paul reiterates these commands by telling us what it will be like when jesus returns he tells us in first thessalonians chapter 4 verse 16 to 17 for the lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command with the voice of an archangel and with the sound of the trumpet of god and the dead in christ will rise first then we who are alive who are left will be caught up together with him in the clouds to meet the lord in the air and so we will always be with the lord what we learn from this passage is that when jesus returns those who have died in christ will be raised from the dead and those that are still alive will be caught up to meet them in the clouds this passage of scripture in 1st thessalonians chapter 4 tells us by what method we should expect to see christ coming however the question we need to be asking today how do we know that christ's coming is near what are the signs we should be looking for how do we know when it is time to prepare and what does it mean to prepare first paul tells us to look out for a figure that will appear in the end times called the antichrist second thessalonians chapter 2 verse 3 to 4 says let no one deceive you in any way for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed the son of destruction who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship so that he takes his seat in the temple of god proclaiming himself to be god paul tells us that the day of the lord would not come until this antichrist figure appears this figure will claim to be god this figure will stand for the devil and he will lead the world in deception the antichrist will work signs and wonders so that he can woo people and entice them however the lord told us that if we see such a person claiming to be the messiah or the christ we should not believe them matthew chapter 24 verse 42 says therefore keep watch because you do not know on what day your lord will come the point that the lord is making here is that we should not wait on any signs in order to get ready his point is that we should be ready all the time we should be prepared all the time we are to live ready because we just don't know the time of his return therefore the best way to prepare is to simply be ready all the time in short we must live as if jesus is coming today and that means we should rethink how we spend our time are we using our time reading and spreading the word of god or are we drowning our time in entertainment are we using our time serving others and fulfilling christ's commands or are we using our time tearing other people down and dividing others are we using the time we have now to seek and chase after the lord's presence are we hungry to get closer to god and spend more time with him or are we spending our time getting closer to everyone but god let us not wait for signs and wonders to prepare for the coming of the lord because if we are to wait until the last minute many of us will be caught off guard will be caught unprepared and i am sure that no believer wants to be left behind when jesus christ comes for his church now i don't know about you but i don't want to be left behind i would rather be caught up with christ in the clouds than to be caught up in the world i want to be caught up in the heavens rather than being caught up in frivolous entertainment i would rather be caught up in the word of god rather than being caught up in things that don't matter i want to be caught up in the kingdom of god and i encourage you to shift your perspective chase what's eternal chase what's godly [Music] you