So you wake up in the middle of the night,
and you're going to get a drink of water
and you just happen to glance out the window,
and you see your neighbor's roof is on fire.
You think you'd tell him?
You think you'd maybe wake him up
and let him know?
You're at the Grand Canyon,
and you glance over
and you see some children playing near the edge,
unattended to.
You think you might warn them a little bit?
Or you finally get engaged
to the absolute love of your life.
You think you might post a few pictures
and call a few people?
You find out for the first time
you are going to be a grandparent.
Think you might tell a few folks at your workplace?
Of course you would, right?
In all of these situations,
whether it's extreme news of danger or warning
or incredible news of joy,
these are absolutely the times
that we love to tell people what's going on,
and we love to tell them the news.
So then why don't we talk about Judgment Day more often?
Judgment is a day of extreme warning
for people who don't know Jesus yet.
And of course, a day of extreme joy for believers
who are waiting for that ultimate victory.
Why don't we talk about this more often?
When was the last time you were
out doing yard work next to your neighbor
or maybe it was Thanksgiving
and you had a family gathering,
and you struck up a conversation,
and maybe in the middle of it you said,
"You know, Jesus is coming and I'm excited!
"Are you ready?
"Are you prepared?"
Do you talk about things like that?
Or maybe for all the news that you
share on your social media and all the pictures,
do you post Bible verses to encourage other people?
Do you talk about things like death and Judgment Day
and what to expect
and what we're looking forward to?
As we wrap up this week,
I want to leave you with some words from the Apostle Paul.
He had just finished writing about death
and how we look forward to life
because we have hope in Jesus.
And he talks about the joy of Jesus returning in victory.
And here's what he has to say.
He actually says this twice.
He writes,
"Therefore encourage one another with these words."
Kind of like a little kid on Christmas,
you wait for that moment when you finally open the presents,
that big moment,
and then you're so excited to tell everyone,
"Look at what I got!"
Well the same is true for us as Christians.
That moment of Jesus' return,
that ultimate victory gift
that he gives to us by his grace,
we have news to tell other people.
So when you are stuck in a rut,
or especially you see your friends
or family are caught up in the struggles of this life,
encourage them,
encourage one another with these words,
encourage them with the good news
that Jesus came once.
He was born for us,
he lived, he died for us.
But as he rose and ascended into Heaven,
he's coming back again for us.
That he's prepared a place for you,
he's prepared a place for me,
and he's going to take us to be there with him.
Encourage one another with those words.
Friends, by God's grace through Jesus,
you are ready, you are prepared for Jesus to come back.
So keep watch,
keep preparing,
stay connected,
encourage one another.
And then get ready to rejoice like never before
because Jesus is coming.
So what Bible verse do you use to encourage other people?
I love to use John 11
where Jesus talks about being the resurrection in the life.
If you have a favorite verse to encourage other people,
please, post it in the comments below.
And thanks so much for joining us this week
as we look forward to that great day when Jesus returns.