During a men’s breakfast, one man asked “what should we be doing in anticipation of the return of Jesus and the rapture?” There were several answers. Then I shared an experience I had at a revival meeting a couple of years earlier. An evangelist and guest speaker came to the pulpit and asked the question, “Jesus is coming back soon. Are you excited?”, to which the congregation exploded in cheers and applause.
Then this evangelist became quiet and in a low and serious voice he said, “Too many Christians are doing little more than staring skyward waiting for the Lord to return, but He has told us we are to be busy with His works. So, it is time we stopped looking at the sky and get busy with the Father’s business!” He then went on to preach about the relationship between Abraham and his nephew Lot. God instructed Abraham to leave his land and go where God would instruct Him, in Canaan. The two travelled together, but soon they land they came to would not support both families and lot began to grumble and complain. In brief, Abraham was generous to Lot and gave him choice of the land they had come to, and Lot was self-serving and chose the choice lands. Abraham took what was left and dug his wells and pastured his flocks. God rewarded Abraham’s obedience to Him, his kindness and generosity toward Lot.
The takeaways and examples for us, especially in these last days and in preparation for His Return, are:
Trust in Divine Direction: Abraham showcases the blessings that flow from obedience.
Flee from Sin: God’s urgent command to leave Sodom encourages believers to depart from compromising environments.
Intercession: Abraham’s plea for Sodom demonstrates the power of prayer for those in peril or unbelief.
Grace Under Pressure: Even when we make shortsighted decisions, as Lot did, God offers rescue to those who heed His call.
Conclusion
Abraham and Lot’s accounts converge to depict both the rewards of faithfulness and the repercussions of unwise choices. Supported by biblical manuscripts and corroborated by historical and archaeological discoveries in the regions around the Dead Sea, the story stands as a testament to divine sovereignty, mercy, and the outworking of God’s plan through His chosen people.
As the narrative unfolds, these two figures continue to inspire readers to trust divine promises, heed God’s warnings, and anchor their hope in the One who fulfills all covenant faithfulness. Their lives illustrate that true prosperity emerges not from the world’s allure but from walking in step with God’s word.
Scriptures tell us that just before Jesus returns there will be an onset of cosmic and terrestrial cataclysms (Matthew 24:29), such as the world has never seen before and never will see again (Matthew 24:21). So what does this have to do with what we be doing in anticipation of the return of Jesus and the rapture? It has everything to do with being obedient to God’s commands in these Last Days; to be inspired by Abraham’s obedience and to inspire others to trust divine promises; to heed God’s warnings, and anchor our hope in the One who fulfills all covenant faithfulness. Our lives, like the life of Abraham, should illustrate that true prosperity emerges not from the world’s allure but from walking in step with God’s word.
And it is sadly true that, in my observations, far too many Christians are doing little more than waiting around, ‘staring skyward’ waiting for Jesus’ return, in anticipation of certain events to occur – many of which have already begun. The Lord Jesus said we are to be about His Works as this day draws near. He also warned against idleness, in no uncertain terms: “Why do you call me Lord, when you have not done the things I commanded you?”
Whereupon, another man pointed out how his pastor was going to receive many crowns for his hard work, but he probably would receive very little. Yet another man cautioned that we should be careful and witness as often as we get the opportunity, and yet another man said, “we should make the opportunities and take them or we might here ‘depart from me, I don’t know you because you did not do what I said’.
WOW!
But let’s get this straight. What am I to do and how am I, are we, as Christians, to be prepared for Jesus’ return? Rather than complicate and already complicated matter, let’s look at what Jesus says we are to do, to be and to be doing in preparation for His Return and the End of The Age.
Signs of Christ’s Return
Matthew 24:1, Jesus left the temple area and was going on His way when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. 2 But He responded and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”
Verse 3. And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
Verse 4. And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. Verse 5. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many people. Verse 6. And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. Verse 7. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. Verse 8. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.
9 “Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10 And at that time many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people. 12 And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will become cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. 14 This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Matthew 24:21, For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
The Glorious Return
Matthew 24:29 “And immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. 31 And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET BLAST, and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
Parable of the Fig Tree
32 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33 so you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I say to you, this generation (this epoch – “to become, and signifies a change of condition, state or place“; i.e., these conditions…) will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
36 “But about that (exact) day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37 For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 At that time there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.
Be Ready for His Coming
42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. 43 But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44 For this reason you must be ready as well; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
45 “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household slaves, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. 47 Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ 49 and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and he eats and drinks with those habitually drunk; 50 then the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, 51 and he will cut him in two and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Parable of Ten Virgins
Matthew25:1, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they did not take extra oil with them; 4 but the prudent ones took oil in flasks with their lamps. 5 Now while the groom was delaying, they all became drowsy and began to sleep. 6 But at midnight there finally was a shout: ‘Behold, the groom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 But the foolish virgins said to the prudent ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ 9 However, the prudent ones answered, ‘No, there most certainly would not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the groom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. 11 Yet later, the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Be on the alert then, because you do not know the day nor the hour.
Parable of the Talents
14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16 The one who had received the five talents immediately went and did business with them, and earned five more talents. 17 In the same way the one who had received the two talents earned two more. 18 But he who received the one talent went away and dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.
19 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have earned five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your master.’
22 “Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have earned two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your master.’
24 “Now the one who had received the one talent also came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed. 25 And I was afraid, so I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you still have what is yours.’
26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You worthless, lazy slave! Did you know that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter seed? 27 Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28 Therefore: take the talent away from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’
29 “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30 And throw the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The Judgment
31 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You as a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it for Me.’
41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you accursed people, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44 Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or as a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not [i]take care of You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for Me, either.’ 46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Matthew28:18, And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
So, what are you to be?
Galatians 5:22 Be filled with the Spirit and demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit as well.
Philippians 2:2, Be of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. 9 For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to desire and to work for His good pleasure.
14 Do all things without complaining or arguments; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 16 holding firmly the word of life.
So, how are you to do what are you to do?
Acts1:7, But He said to them, “It is not for you to know periods of time or appointed times which the Father has set by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses (martyrs – whether by dying for or giving up your own life for Him) both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.”
Not everyone is an evangelist, are they? Nor is everyone a preacher or a pastor. God has given each of us our own unique spiritual gift that is for witnessing and the building up of the Body of Christ.
SO, DO YOU KNOW YOUR SPIRITUAL GIFT?
Have you ever wondered about that or been asked that question before?
So, do you? Do you know your Spiritual Gift? And, if you do know your Spiritual Gift?
Spiritual gifts, (charismata) are an endowment or extraordinary powers given by the Holy Spirit.
These supernatural graces, are given to individual Christians by the Holy Spirit with the purpose of building up the Body of Christ which is The Church and are needed to fulfill the mission of the Church. Spiritual Gifts enable Christians to serve the Lord and His Church.
Two important Truths have been lost over time and this loss is rendering God’s Church as less effective in Her mission and is, in fact, soiling His Bride.
Truth #1. The Church has become grossly self-serving.
It is through Spiritual Gifts that God empowers and enables us to serve Him and to serve His Church, which is His Body. We are, as Christians, to serve the Lord and His Church.
Jesus, Himself, said, “…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…” and that is our calling also.
We are not here to “be served”, we are here to serve.
Truth #2. You and I are The Body of Christ, that is we are “The Church”.
We have become accustomed, over the last two millennium (beginning with Constantine) with the idea that we ‘go to church’, but that is impossible in God’s Kingdom and in His economy because we are The Church.
Jesus created His Church – His Body – and made it so the whole Body fits together – perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
The Holy Spirit lives IN us to guide us – His Body – to convict us, defend us and to empower us.
Jesus transformed the practice and attitude of ‘going to church’ and having externals things to convict or to defend us. Those requirements are now written on our hearts and in our consciences.
We must BE the Body, The Church, and behave as such, or we simply are not following Jesus.
No matter what you believe or say or do, otherwise, you are not a follower of Jesus and you should not call yourself by the Holy and set apart name (Christian) if you do otherwise.
We are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus and called to be His Witness and to serve.
We are God’s church.
Here is a list of the Gifts which God gives His Body. See if you can find which gift(s) is/are yours? Can you imagine how different things would be in The Church and the world around us if we engaged and used these Gifts, daily?
- Romans 12 1 Corinthians 12 Corinthians 12 Ephesians 4Prophecy Word of wisdom Apostle Apostle
Serving Word of knowledge Prophet Prophet
Teaching Faith Teacher Evangelist
Exhortation Gifts of healing Miracles Pastor
Giving Miracles Kinds of healing Teacher
Overseer Prophecy Helps
Mercy Distinguishing spirits Administration
Tongues Tongues
Interpretation of tongues
Sometimes, Spiritual Gifts are mistakenly considered to be a natural talent or a person’s proclivity, a natural inclination. Natural talents can mimic Gifts of the Holy Spirit, but, they will never accomplish God’s purposes effectively.
Please remember, these are not natural talents. These are supernatural Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Here is a more detailed description and function of the Gifts.
Apostle: The title apostle comes from the Greek word apostolos which means “a messenger, one sent forth with orders”. It refers to one who has been delegated authority by another in a foreign land. Apostles were the first leaders of the Church; they were commissioned by Jesus to initiate and direct the preaching of the gospel. (There is no passage in the Bible saying this gift was temporary nor that is has ceased)
Prophet: In the New Testament, the office of prophet is to equip the saints for the work of service through exhortation, edification, and consolation (1 Corinthians 12:28; 1 Corinthians 14:3 Ephesians 4:11). The prophet’s corresponding gift is prophecy. Prophecy is “reporting something that God spontaneously brings to your mind”.
Prophecy is addressed to the human understanding “he who prophesies speaks to men,” Corinthians 14:1-25. The prophet “edifies the church” (14:4).
Evangelist: An evangelist is one who devotes himself to preaching the gospel. In the New Testament, evangelists preached from city to city, church to church.
Pastor: This term derives from a Greek word for “shepherd”. Pastoral Gifts include integrity and compassion.
(The tasks of a Near Eastern shepherd were to watch for enemies trying to attack the sheep to defend the sheep from attackers to heal the wounded and sick sheep to find and save lost or trapped sheep to love them, sharing their lives and so earning their trust.
During World War II, a shepherd was a pilot who guided another pilot whose plane was partially disabled back to the base or carrier by flying alongside him to maintain visual contact.)
Teacher: Someone who devotes his or her life to preaching and teaching the Christian faith. When teaching is provided for the Church by God, two gifts are actually given—to the Church is given a teacher and along with the teacher comes a divine capacity to teach.
Service: The word translated as “ministry” is diakonia, which can also be translated “service”. Since there are many types of ministries and service to the Church, this then describes a broad array of gifts rather than a single gift.
Exhortation: The ability to motivate Christians “to patient endurance, brotherly love, and good works”.
Giving: Those with this gift share their own possessions with others with extraordinary generosity. While all Christians should be givers, those possessing this gift will go beyond this normal giving.
Overseeing: This gift speaks to the various roles found in the Church. While many think of roles such as administration, management of funds, strategy planning, etc. as functions outside of the supernatural realm, in reality individuals in these positions are just as in need of supernatural empowerment as are ministers of the gospel. This is sometimes inappropriately called ‘leadership’.
Mercy: Possibly identical to the gift of helps, the mercy-shower possesses a ministry of visitation, prayer, and compassion to the poor and sick.
Word of wisdom: An utterance or message of wisdom supernaturally granted to an individual. For Paul, wisdom refers to “the knowledge of the great Christian mysteries: the Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection of Christ, and the indwelling in the believer of the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2; Ephesians 1:17)”.
Word of knowledge: The knowledge referred to is often said to relate to understanding Christian doctrine or scriptural truth. It is sometimes said to be connected with the ministry of teachers.
Faith: This refers to that strong or special faith “which removes mountains, casts out devils (Matthew 17:19–20), and faces the most cruel martyrdom without flinching”. It is distinguished from the “saving” and “normal” Christian faith.
Gifts of healing: The ability to supernaturally minister healing to others. The plural indicates the variety of sickness healed and the many forms the gift takes, such as healing by anointing with oil, by the laying on of hands, by saying the name of Jesus or by the sign of the cross.
Working of miracles: The performance of deeds beyond ordinary human ability by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Visions. An outpouring of this gift is prophesied in Joel 2:28 and Acts 2:17 and is expected to increase and be of great value in the “last days”.
Discerning of spirits: The capacity to discern, distinguish, or to discriminate the source of a spiritual manifestation—whether it emanates from a good or evil spirit. It seemed to have been particularly associated with prophecy as it would be necessary to know whether a prophetic utterance was truly inspired by God.
Tongues: The supernatural ability of speaking an unlearned language. Paul seems to have distinguished between the public use of the gift (which must always be interpreted) and the private use which was for the spiritual strengthening of oneself.
(Among Christians there is a discussion as to whether tongues were/are always xenoglossy, which is speaking an unlearned human language, or whether it also included/includes glossolalia, which is speaking an unlearned and allegedly non-human language of heavenly or angelic origin).
Interpretation of tongues: This gift always follows the public exercise of the gift of tongues.
(In 1 Corinthians 14, the Apostle Paul required that all speech in Christian worship should be intelligible. This required that speech given in an unknown tongue be interpreted in the common language of the gathered Christians.)
Helps: This gift has to do with service to the sick and the poor. Possessor of this gift has a “spiritual burden and a God-given love for the needy and afflicted”.
Administration: Also called the gift of governing, the Greek word translated “governments” is kubernesis, the verb form of which means “to steer” or “to be a helmsman”. This gift then refers to the God-given capacity to oversee or guide the Church through storms and difficult seas.
(NOTE: Many versions of the Bible and many theologians and bible teachers say the word “leader” or “leadership” is a Spiritual gift. That is a misunderstanding of the correct word and intention of the word is presbyter or “overseer”. )
I pray that you will consider the Gifts God has given you and how you can serve His Church and affect the world around you as we make ready for His return.
There are many places you can find and take a Spiritual Gifts test for the purpose of applying what God has so graciously and generously given you. This is His Gift to you for witnessing, serving, and being prepared for His Return.
Spiritual gifts test link to an external site
Or, you can click on this image to take a the test and grade it yourself by clicking on the image below
Your Friend and Brother
Mike Young
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