Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!

Here are a couple of illustrations from my latest sermon about the return of Jesus.

The word "maranatha" is a Syriac expression that means: "Our Lord comes." It was used as a greeting in the early church. When believers gathered or parted, they didn?t say "hello" or "goodbye," but "Maranatha!" If we had the same upward look today, it would revolutionize the church. O that God's people had a deepening awareness of the imminent return of the Savior!

Here is an example of the type of attitude we should have.

On the shore of beautiful Lake Como, nestled in the Italian Alps, is a lovely old villa, perhaps two or three hundred years old. For years the grounds have been immaculately kept by a trusted old gardener. One day some tourists were complimenting him on his work. “The owner must come here frequently to supervise your work,” one of them said.
“No, sir,” answered the gardener. “He has been here only once in fifteen years and then I did not see him.”
“Well, then, how do you get your orders?” came the next question.
“They come from the owner’s agent, who live in Milan,” the old man replied.
“Then he must come here often.”
“No, not often, perhaps once a year or so.”
“This is quite amazing,” said the tourist. “You have no one to supervise your work, and yet the grounds are as neat as if you expected the owner to come back tomorrow.”
“Today, sir!” came the old gardener’s firm reply. “Not tomorrow, today!”

Are you ready and watching for Jesus to come.