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??Intro：What wonderful things the Lord Jesus, God's Son has done for us! It was the Lord Jesus Who created the world and all things. John 1：3 tells us, "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."
??Can you realize how much He cared about us, that after He created us, He Himself would come down from Heaven to live among us？What a wonderful thing! Jesus came as a human being, born as a baby. We celebrate His birth as Christmas. Even though Jesus grew up in a sinful world, He lived a perfect life.
??How different from you and me! The Bible tells us about ourselves in Psalm 53："God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Everyone of them is gone back：they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no not one." God sees all people, including you and me, as filthy in their sin. That sin keeps us from being able to be with our pure and perfect Creator. But when the Lord Jesus came to the earth, He did another wonderful thing for us! He took all that sin upon Himself! The hatred, cursing, spitting, beating, and death our Lord Jesus endured was because He was taking our sin, and the punishment for it. I Peter 3：24 says, "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we'should live." The Lord Jesus died and was buried. Do you know the wonderful thing He did on the third day？He came back to life!
??Now the Lord Jesus is back in Heaven with His Father, but there is another wonderful thing He has promised He will do. He will come back again! It has been over 1900 years since He left, but He will surely come again. Does that make questions come to your mind？Like, "How will He come, and when and where？" Our answers must come from God's Word, for only God knows the truth about when He will send Jesus back.
??1. One question many people ask is, "How can you be sure the Lord Jesus is coming again？" Because God's Word says so and God's Word is true. Jesus Himself promised His disciples He would come again. In John 14 we read, "Let not your heart be troubled：ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions：if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
??Later, after Jesus had risen from the dead, the disciples watched Him go back into Heaven in clouds. Two angels suddenly appeared and said to them, (Acts 1) "You men of Galilee, why are you standing and staring up into heaven？this same Jesus who has been taken from you will come again just as you saw him go into heaven."
??Also the apostle Paul wrote of Jesus' certain return. Paul wrote 14 letters in our New Testament. And he was continually reminding the believers in different churches that Jesus would return. He urged them to stay true to the Lord and serve Him faithfully.
??Peter wrote to the believers：(II Peter 3：3-4) "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming？For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." But Peter went on to say that these scoffers are willingly ignorant. They choose to forget that God Who warned for years that there would be a worldwide flood kept His promise. Scoffers back then laughed at Noah and did not believe or prepare. They were all destroyed, except the ones who believed. Peter reminds the believers that this is the same God Who tells us in His Word that the Lord Jesus will surely return!
??Perhaps you are wondering, "How will He come？" The two angels told the disciples Jesus would come the same way He went up？in clouds. I Corinthians 15：52 says, "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump." How will the Lord Jesus come？Quickly! A twinkle is not even a blink of your eye. When the Lord Jesus appears in the clouds, we who have believed in Him as our Savior will go up so quickly to meet Him,
??Faster than a twinkle of your eye! The apostle Paul wrote to the believers in I Thessalonians 4, "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God：and the dead in Christ shall rise first：??Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air：and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." If you have believed in the Lord Jesus, you don't have to worry that you might be asleep and miss His coming, or too sick, or even dead! AS the dead in Christ rise and those believers who are alive all join together to go up to the Lord Jesus, a quick and awesome change will take place! Our old bodies will be changed to wonderful new bodies like the Lord Jesus! A body that will not be affected by sin or sickness or sadness! No more death! Don't you wish the Lord Jesus would come soon! And by the way, Jesus said if someone tells you that Jesus has come and He is in a certain place, don't go there and don't believe them. When the real Jesus appears, He will be seen in the clouds and we who believe will go up to be with Him by the power of the His Holy Spirit.
??That brings us to another important question："When will He come？" One businessman who was a believe in Jesus hung this sign in his office for all to see："Today？He may!" The truth is, Jesus could come today! Paul the apostle and al the believers in the early churches were certain Jesus would come back any day! And that was about 1900 years ago, and He still hasn't come. Jesus Himself said two important things：In Matthew 24：36 He said, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." Jesus said the most important thing was to "Be ready？for the Son of man comes at an hour when you think not."
??Jesus said no one knows the exact day or hour, however He did give us some signs that would help us know His coming was near. Some of them are：wars, and rumours of wars, increase in earthquakes, famines, increase of sin causing the love of many to grow cold. (Matthew 24) Paul wrote that children would be more disobedient, and that leaders of nations would talk a lot about peace. (II Timothy 3：1-4; I Thessalonians 5：3) The newspapers and tv reports are full of these very things every day. What does that tell you？Jesus could come today! Paul and other Christians looked for Jesus to come back any day. The important thing for us is to be ready!
??Which brings us to our final question："How can you be sure you will go to be with the Lord Jesus'" The most important answer to that question is found in Acts 16：31, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." Have you believed what God's Word says about your sin？God says we have all sinned and are lost from Him. But because God loves us so much, He sent Jesus His Son to take our punishment for sin. Jesus is risen from the dead and is now alive forever in Heaven. He is ready to save you from sin, so that you will be prepared to go with Him when He returns. Why not go right now to "How To Be a Child of God."
??Those of you who have already believed on the Lord Jesus, listen closely to what John said to the believers：(I John 2：28), "And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming." If your mom tells you she is leaving for the grocery store, and gives you a list of things to do while she is gone, you have a choice. When you see her leave, you can get busy doing those chores, or you can watch tv, have a snack, call a friend, and delay your job. However, when your mom returns, you will either feel confident and ready, or very ashamed. The Lord Jesus is our King, and we are His servants. He has given each of us work to do until He returns or until we die. What is your work as a child？Obeying your parents cheerfully, reading and obeying God's Word, praying, doing your best in your education, telling others about Jesus are all things our King wants us to be doing.
??The old Apostle Paul said this to young Timothy：(II Timothy 4：7-8) "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith：...there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day：and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." There are rewards for those believers who are serving the Lord Jesus on earth!
??May I share the wonderful thing I am anticipating in Heaven？We will get to see family and friends who knew Jesus, and died before us. We ache with missing them down here, but one day there will be a joyful reunion as we see them again, well and happy, and we'll be together forever! Just think, you'll get to meet Aunt Dee up there too!
??Don't forget! "Today？He may!"
