Surprise! What If Today is THE Day?

I recall an embarrassing story when my sibling and I were in our early teens.

During summer break, out parents would head to work in the morning and warn us that when they returned, they’d better come back to a clean house just as they left it. Somehow, within a few hours of them leaving, the house would magically turn into a mess through no fault of our own (at least that’s what we told ourselves). Naturally, we would shift the blame onto one another, insisting that the other sibling do the clean-up. This would go on for most of the day until a few minutes before our parents returned from work when panic would start to set in.

Every knock on our compound gate would send us into a flurry of activity as we hurriedly tried to put some semblance of order to the disarrayed house. This almost never worked, and if you grew up in the 80s-90s, you know exactly what we experienced next when our parents walked through the front doors.

We did, however, have a moment of epiphany when one of our favorite uncles came to stay with us for a few days. As he observed our comical procrastination, he offered some wise counsel.

“He said, What if instead of waiting till the last minute, you all cleaned the house in advance so that your minds are at rest when your parents get back?”

Actually, I think his suggestion was something about setting a specific time to start cleaning up so that it wasn’t so close to when our parents got back.

Now, let me remind you that we were between ages 11-14 at the time. So, his words hit powerfully, like Angel Gabriel speaking to Mary or Yoda giving advice to young Luke Skywalker! Our young minds were like, “WHOA! This is genius! Why didn’t we think of this!” And thus began, for my siblings and me, a daily process of preparation where we no longer needed to fear the return of Dad and Mum. On any given day, we were always prepared to meet “The End” because we were ready.

YA’LL READY FOR THIS?

There is another return that we all need to be ready for, but most are not prepared; that is the return of Christ, or what is known as the Second Coming of Christ. Whatever punishment or rewards our earthly parents might have in store for us depending on what they meet when they come back home will pale comparison to what you and I will face on the day of Jesus’ Second Coming to earth.

In this blog post, I want to share how you can best prepare yourself for the most important meet-up of your life – The Return of Jesus Christ. To do so, I’ll help us examine how God prepared the world for the firstcoming of Jesus Christ through the ministry of John the Baptist in the opening verses of Mark’s gospel. Then we’ll discuss one practical way you and I can prepare for that day when the archangel announces with a loud shout and a trumpet call, “Arise, O sleepers! Your day of salvation has come!”

““The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”— “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.””

— Mark 1:1-8

If I were to take this passage and sum it up into one central thought, or one big idea, it would be this:

START PREPARING FOR THE END NOW!

Just as the daily process of cleaning up our house (in advance of our parents' return) became a practice that saved us from the panic and chaos of last-minute efforts and taught us the value of readiness, so in the same way, I want to instill in your hearts the value of advance preparation for the ultimate return of Christ, because quite frankly, the stakes are infinitely higher, and the consequences far more eternal.

Three Ways God Prepared the World for Jesus' First Coming

1. GOD GAVE ADVANCE NOTICE THROUGH FULFILLED PROPHECIES

I find it so interesting that, “The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God” does not start with Jesus, but instead starts with two prophecies from Old Testament prophets predicting the arrival of John the Baptist.

The prophecies in verses 2-3 about a messenger preparing the way for Jesus are from the Old Testament books of Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3, both of which were written 400 and 800 years before the book of Mark was written. This was God’s way of giving His people advance notice to let them know, “Hey, when you all hear the ‘voice of one calling in the wilderness,’ just know it’s Messiah time!”

One of the questions that kept eating away at me in writing this post was, “Why did John the Baptist need to come first to prepare the way for Jesus? Couldn’t Jesus just have shown up and included the heart-preparation in His preaching ministry? Why the advance messenger?”

Let me illustrate the answer to that question this way.

My family and I relocated from New Jersey to Jos a little over three years ago. I miss some things about our life there, but the one thing I absolutely do not miss is the winter: especially the shoveling and driving in snow. It’s like trying to run on a marble floor after someone has poured oil on it.

In America, when it snows heavily, it can pile up so high that it is next to impossible for cars to pass through. So, the city sends out a plow truck that not only clears the snow off the road, but another truck follows with industrial salt that gets sprinkled on the ground to melt the ice so that cars aren’t sliding all over the place. So, when you’re stuck at home and you hear the engine and the siren of the trucks, that is usually the signal that the roads are now cleared to drive on.

Not sure if you picked up what I was getting at, but let me spell it out:

GOD WILL ALWAYS PREPARE THE WAY BEFORE HE CALLS YOU TO GO ON A MISSION.

In the case of the Israelites, they knew about those prophecies by the prophets Isaiah and Malachi; that when you hear the voice of one calling in the wilderness (like John the Baptist), that is an advance notification system to let you know someone important was coming (in this case, the Messiah). In that period, when a king was coming into town, he would send a representative ahead to not only announce his upcoming arrival but also so that a path could be cleared, and any unpleasant sights could be removed from the view of the arriving king.

Christian author and Bible teacher, Henry Blackaby, once said, "When God prepares to do something through you, He has to get you from where you are to where He is. So, He will be acting in your life to bring about His purposes for you and for His glory."

You may not be where you believe God would have you, but my question is this; how is God preparing you where you are for what’s next? Where and what has God been calling you to focus your energy and attention on next?

2. GOD CALLED JOHN TO LIVE A LIFE SET APART TO DISTINGUISH HIMSELF

Verse 4-6, “And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.”

John the Baptist was a little strange.

His birth involved an angel visiting his father to announce his birth, then telling his father he would have to keep quiet for nine months because he was doubting God. Then his mother gets pregnant at a very old age even though she was barren (and way past the age of having children). Then when John himself grows up, he doesn’t have an apartment but lives in the desert. He doesn’t really have a closet of clothes, just uses camel’s hair as clothing, and his diet is made up of unseasoned locusts and wild honey.

So once again, my mind is running with questions, “Why did John have to live such an austere life, almost like a survivalist?” I mean, wouldn’t his ministry have been more impactful if he were in the city where there were people, houses, and real food?

There are four answers to that question.

• Number one, John did not so much choose this life as much as it was assigned to him by God. Remember what I said about angels at his birth? Well, in Luke 1:11-15, angel Gabriel tells his father that when John is born, “…He [would] be a joy and delight to [his parents], and many [would] rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord [but] He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.”

So, the number one reason for his strange lifestyle is, God told him to. That and the fact that it was a fulfillment of the prophecy from verses 1-2 about “a messenger” being sent ahead to “prepare the way” for the Messiah.

• The second reason John chose to live in the desert is so that he could be far away from all the distractions of the bustling activities in the city so he could hear God clearly. Many people complain about not being able to hear God, and I’ve often said that is because our lives are too loud. We wake up in the morning, and the first thing we do is check our phones. Without knowing it, you have watched something that has taken a stronghold on your emotions. Then on your way to school or work, you listen to the radio or music in your free time. During lunch, you’re back on your phone, either on social media or playing games. You get home, you turn the TV on, go on your laptop, or play video games. When it’s time for bed, you doom scroll until you fall asleep. And then we wonder why we can’t hear God.

This is one of the reasons why someone like John the Baptist chose to live in the desert, which historically is where God often communicates with His prophets. I’m not judging, but if God seems to have “fallen silent” in your life, perhaps it’s time to fast from some media noises in our lives?

• The third reason why John chose to live in the desert was to capture the undivided attention of the people. Do you know who people thought John was? They assumed John was the prophet Elijah returned to earth. If you recall the story of Elijah, he was one of, if not the greatest Old Testament prophet. Elijah is the prophet who called down fire from heaven (2 Kings 1:10; 1 Kings 18:16-45) and who, by the way, never died. On his last day on earth, he was walking by the Jordan River when God sent an Uber service made of chariots of fire to take him to heaven (2 Kings 2:11-12).

That Jordan River is the same location where John the Baptist was preaching and baptizing people, so naturally, this caught the attention of all of Israel who were anticipating the return of the Messiah. I mean, talk about brilliant brand marketing!

• The fourth reason John the Baptist lived such an austere lifestyle in the desert was to sharply distinguish himself from the hypocrisy of the religious leaders in the city who preferred luxury homes and positions of authority over doing God’s work.

Remember, Jesus described these religious leaders as “white-washed tombs” (which look beautiful on the outside but are full of dead bones and impurity on the inside - Matthew 23:27). He called them “hypocrites” (for their outward show of godliness while neglecting the more important aspects of the law, such as justice, mercy, and faithfulness - Matthew 23:13-29). And He called them “lovers of money” (namely because of how greedy they were - Luke 16:14).John lived as he lived so that it would be clear to everyone observing his life that he was NOT one of those religious leaders, but he was different, and people needed to pay immediate attention to him for that reason!

In light of this, the personal reflection question you and I must wrestle with is, “How is our life set apart from the people around us?” If a stranger were to follow you for 24 hours, would their report reveal that you are a Christian whose life is set apart and devoted to Jesus Christ, or would the report reveal that you are no different than the other non-Christians around you?

Brennan Manning, a well-known American author, speaker, and former Roman Catholic priest, is quoted as once saying, "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."

As you prepare for the end, what do you need to start doing more of or less of in order for your life to look like it belongs to Jesus?

3. GOD CALLED JOHN TO PREACH A MESSAGE OF REPENTANCE

Verse 4-8, “And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

In the Old Testament, the Jews assumed that the way they would be saved and make it to heaven was through their Jewish ancestral heritage. Specifically, they believed that because they were descendants of Abraham, it granted them a special status before God. They also believed that as long as they were able to observe all the Mosaic laws, it would keep them in good standing before God.

John’s message in the desert, however, conflicted with these beliefs. In fact, at one point in Matthew 3:9, John basically says, “You think your ancestral relationship with Abraham is going to save you? Good luck with that! God can pick up stones and create new children for Abraham!”

Not only that, but all their law-abiding, rule-keeping was just a show because, in secret, they were disobeying those very laws they were telling everyone they obeyed. That is why Jesus rebukes the religious leaders in His day by quoting the Old Testament prophet Isaiah in Matthew 15:7-9 when He says to them,

““‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’””

So, John’s message to them was essentially this, “If you think I am a holy man from God, you haven’t seen anything yet. There is someone coming after me who is more holy and more powerful than what we have ever seen, and HE is the answer to all our problems. I am only baptizing you all with water, not to wash away your sin, but to PREPARE YOU FOR HIM because when He gets here, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”

CAN YA FEEL THE SPIRIT?!?

To be baptized with the Holy Spirit means to have the Holy Spirit take up permanent residence in your heart so that you are led by Him and empowered by Him in all affairs of life. This, by the way, is what happens on the day and in the moment you put your faith in Jesus Christ. On that day, the Holy Spirit moves into your life and remains a part of your life till the day you stand before Jesus. The Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as a “seal,” a verification that you indeed belong to God (Ephesians 1:13-14).

Some denominations teach that after you become a Christian, you need to experience a second baptism of the Holy Spirit where you are empowered to really do powerful works of God in your life. The Bible would disagree with that because Ephesians 4:4-6 says, “There is ONE body [the Church] and ONE Spirit, just as you were called to ONE hope when you were called; ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism; ONE God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” [caps mine]

What the Bible instructs us to do instead is to be “filled with the Holy Spirit” in Ephesians 5:18. In other words, it’s not that we need to seek a second baptism of the Holy Spirit or that we need MORE of the Holy Spirit, but rather, are we making space in our lives for the Holy Spirit to have MORE OF US!

It brings up the question, “Where or how have you been “crowding” out the Holy Spirit in your life?”

DR. ROB REIMER, AUTHOR OF THE BOOK, “SOUL CARE” OFTEN SAYS THIS: “God is far less concerned with your BEHAVIOUR than you think He is and way more interested in the condition of your heart than you will ever know.”

In your quiet moments with God, in His word, in your prayers, what has God been calling you through His Holy Spirit to repent of? The more you surrender to God in response to His leading, the more space you create for the Holy Spirit to take up in your life and empower.

SOON AND VERY SOON

Just as sure and as suddenly as an angel showed up one evening to announce to a young teenage girl named Mary that she would “be with child and give birth… to the Son of the Most High” and that child would grow to become the Savior of the world; so, in the same way, the Bible assures us that there is a day coming when “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so, we will always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

So, how can you start to prepare for that day, now? I’ll give you one:

INVEST IN ETERNITY

Many of us, even Bible-believing Christians, have picked up the false notion that eternity in heaven will be a drag. We have formed inaccurate and unappealing ideas that heaven will be us sitting in a perpetual worship service floating on clouds and playing harps forever. I saw a clip once on America’s Funniest Videos where a kid said honestly what a lot of older Christians think. He said, “I don’t want to go to heaven; I want to go to Disney World!”

So please hear what I am going to say next: heaven is a real physical place populated by real people. It has real entry gates, real streets, real buildings with real trees, and even a river. The book of Revelation indicates that there will be traveling to and from the eternal city “whose gates will never be shut” (Revelation 21:25). Jesus in the Gospel tells us that there will be kingdom responsibilities of overseeing cities (Luke 19:17). He says it simply enough in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Here are two ways to invest in eternity by storing up treasures.

1. AVOID OBSESSIVE ACCUMULATION

There is nothing wrong with having nice stuff. However, what’s your heart attitude behind accumulating more items in your life? Often, it’s to impress others, to catch up with the jones (who by the way are somehow always getting richer), and sometimes, it’s to fill a void in our hearts. But it’s never quite enough, is it?

I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed this, but there’s an interesting phenomenon that happens when you purchase a new item. Suddenly, you will start noticing how many other people have the same item. Several years ago, when we first purchased our silver-colored Honda CRV, within a few days, I was amazed at how many other people in the city also owned CRVs. They were everywhere!

Why do you think that happens? Simple.

Your heart and your attention follow your investments!

Jesus expressed it this way in Matthew 6:21, “…. for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Your treasures exert a gravitational force that pulls your heart after it, which is why Jesus says one verse earlier in Matthew 6:20, “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven...” Why? Because earthbound treasures will force your attention to focus solely on things of earth, whereas heaven-bound treasures will force your attention to be focused on things that are eternal! If all your treasures are invested only in things of this earth and you’re just working hard day and night to accumulate more, then every day brings you 24 hours closer to losing it all. On the contrary, if your investments are focused on eternity, then every day brings you closer to even greater eternal rewards. And that brings us to the second way you can invest in eternity.

2. STOCKPILE WHAT WILL BE VALUABLE IN HEAVEN

Listen, you and I came into this world naked, and naked you and I will surely leave it. In other words, you will not be able to take to heaven any of your accumulations on earth. All of it will have to be left behind. However, guess what? You can send it all ahead of you!

Randy Alcorn, in his book “Treasure Principle,” explains this eternal mindset with a DOT and LINE illustration. So basically, our lives have two phases. One is a dot. The other is a line that extends out from the dot and stretches on into the distant horizon beyond what the eyes can see (the line represents eternity). Our present life here on earth is the dot. All your accumulations, all your hustling, all your material wealth, and all you earn exists within that dot! Even if you live longer than the average life span and reach the ripe age of 102, that length of time is still comparatively short. It begins. It ends (within the dot).

Most of us only ever think about the dot. But, right after that dot, eternity begins, and eternity stretches on forever and ever. Now get this. Your experience in this length of time will be shaped by how generous you were and how well you stewarded all that was entrusted to you during the dot, including material wealth, relationships, opportunities, spiritual gifts, skills, and talents, just to name a few.

So, here are some practical ways to stockpile valuable wealth in heaven even while you live in the dot.

• You do it by going out of your way to do good deeds for others.

• You do it by sharing the Gospel with the lost not only through words but also through deeds.

• You do it by being incredibly generous with your material wealth, time, wisdom, or expertise.

• You do it by loving God with all your heart, all your soul, all your body, and all your mind, especially when no one is looking.

• You do it by living each day with the awareness that Jesus could return at any moment. This doesn’t mean living in fear, but rather in a state of readiness, with your heart and actions reflecting His teachings and love.

This, my friends, is how you stockpile valuable treasures in heaven while one earth!

IT WILL HAPPEN ON AN ORDINARY DAY

Someday soon, very possibly in your lifetime, you and I will begin our day like any other day. We’ll have our tea and breakfast, get in traffic to head to work, to class, or to care for the kids. Everything will continue as normal, until that unexpected moment during that ordinary day when 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says, “…[you will suddenly hear] the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God, [followed immediately or even simultaneously by] the Lord Himself descending from heaven [and] with a shout, calling every believer on earth to unite with Him in the sky.”

In that moment, the bodies of believers who were already dead will rise first, resurrected, and glorified, then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. On that day, all earthly currency will immediately lose its value. The only currency you will be able to use in the new world you are about to enter will be the one you sent ahead of you, the one you stored in a heavenly account by being rich towards God and His kingdom causes while here on earth.

So, hear me clearly and loudly when I say this:

“START PREPARING FOR THE RETURN OF JESUS BY INVESTING IN ETERNITY NOW!”

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