3 Ways to Prepare for Jesus' Return

Are We Living in the Last Days?

Let's play a game. I'm going to ask you a question, and you can vote. The question is: Do you think we're living in the last days?

Some of you would say, "I think we probably are." Others of you would say, "Hey, they've been saying that forever. My grandma thought that. We've probably got some more time."

Here's the answer: Yes, we actually are living in the last days. Not because of the headlines, but because the Bible teaches us we're living in the last days.

Scripture shows us that the last days began when Jesus ascended into heaven. Remember the sequence: Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Three days later, the stone was rolled away and the tomb was empty. Forty days after the resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven. Then at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on people. That was the beginning of the last days.

From that moment on, we've all been living in the final chapter of God's redemptive plan.

The Whole Bible Points Forward

When you look at God's Word, nearly every section foreshadows or directly teaches that Jesus is coming again — the law and the prophets, the Gospels, Acts, the epistles, and Revelation.

So technically, we are living in the last days, and they started about 2,000 years ago. Every generation since then is called to live with a very sincere and faithful spiritual urgency, because every single day, we are one day closer to the return of the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords.

God, we ask that by the power of your Spirit and through the teaching of your living word, that you would create in us a spiritual urgency — to be ready, to be prepared, to show your love as we look forward to the return of your Son, Jesus. It's in his name that we pray. Amen.

The Context of 1 Thessalonians

The Thessalonians were a group of new Christians who were really concerned about the future. Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians to talk about the last days — not to scare them, but to steady their faith.

The book starts this way:

"To the church of the Thessalonians... We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 1:1-3)

Notice Paul's relational tone. I remember you. We're praying for you. I'm thankful for your work.

How the Church Began

Around 50 or 51 AD, Paul took his second missionary journey and arrived at Thessalonica. According to Acts 17, this was a major, strategic city — a port city with a population of over 200,000 people, and the capital of the region. Paul knew that if he could reach those people with the gospel, it could spread from there to places around the world.

Paul preached in Thessalonica on three different Sabbaths. Some Jews got saved, and some Greeks got saved — a little revival began. But some of the non-believing Jews got angry and jealous, and they literally ran him out of town. So Paul was there for about three weeks, probably less than a month.

The result was a brand new church full of baby Christians who loved God — but who were being persecuted and were scared. So what did Paul do? He wrote them a letter, and he started by reminding them of the love of God.

Not Just Words, But Power

"For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction." (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5)

Paul wanted them to know: God loves you. He's with you. He accepts you. He's forgiven you. He's made you new. But God didn't just give them his love — he gave them his power.

The gospel is not just words. It comes with power:

• Power to change your life.
• Power to break the chains that hold you hostage.
• Power to heal what's broken.

Many of you know that God loves you. You embrace the love of God, but maybe you're living without the power of God. Some of you are thinking, "Okay, I'm saved. Now what?"

The same power that raised Christ from the dead — the Holy Spirit — dwells within you if you're a follower of Jesus Christ. God's love secures you, but God's power strengthens you and transforms you to live with victory in the last days.

Don't just enjoy the love of God — yes, embrace it — but tap into the power of the living God that will help you overcome the temptations of this world and defeat darkness.

3 Ways Believers Live Ready in the Last Days

So how do we as followers of Jesus live ready in the last days? We do three things:

1. We turn.
2. We serve.
3. We wait.

1. We Turn — From Idols That Deceive to the God Who Saves

"They tell us how you turned to God from idols." (1 Thessalonians 1:9)

Thessalonica was a very pagan culture. They worshiped all sorts of false gods — Greek gods like Zeus, Apollo, and Artemis. Some even worshiped Caesar and called him Lord. They had household idols — small carved creatures — that they believed would protect them from evil, help them be more productive, and give them financial blessings.

Turning to Jesus meant rejecting the popular idols — turning away from what brought them perceived status, comfort, or security. It was costly, because they were rejecting what everyone else embraced. But it was clear: they were committing that Jesus alone was Lord, and everyone knew it. There was no such thing as a secret Christian. They had turned completely to the Lord their God.

What Are Our Idols?

Most of you probably don't worship Zeus or Caesar, but pretty much all of us battle with idolatry. An idol is anything you put in God's place — anything you ask to do what only God can do.

• Success. The endless hustle — climbing the ladder, building our brand, making a name for ourselves. Why? Because we believe our worth is tied to what we produce. I want to be productive so that I feel valuable. Guilty as charged.
• Pleasure, comfort, and money. Society rewards it: "You work hard, so you deserve some luxury." A bigger house, a newer car, the dream vacation. There's nothing wrong with that at all — until it takes the place of God. (Remember the parable about the man who built bigger and bigger barns to take life easy? It didn't go well for him.)
• Relationships. "I need me a wife. I need me a man." And until then, nothing matters. Then you get married and have kids — and some of you literally idolize your children above everything else. Scripture teaches God is supposed to be first, but he gets cut out for your kids every single week, and so does your marriage.

Do you want to know how to raise godly kids? Serve God and have a godly marriage. That produces godly kids far better than centering your entire life around your kids, which just makes them spoiled. They are not God — don't treat them like that. Bring them into the family of God and let God work on them.

• What people think of us. It's all about the image. If we're honest, sometimes what people think about us matters more to us than what God thinks about us.
• Ourselves. "It's your body, your life. Live your way, live your truth. You first. Your happiness matters most." This is a far cry from what we're called to do as followers of Jesus.

The Marks of the Last Days

Paul warned us this is exactly what the last days would look like:

"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving... lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God — having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people." (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

In the last days, we have to make a conscious choice to turn away from the lower things of this world and turn to the truth of God's Word. The biblical word is repent. Re means to turn. Pent refers to the highest. To repent is to turn away from the lower things that distract you and turn toward the higher things of the kingdom of God.

The problem today is that it's very common and acceptable to have one foot in the church and one foot in the world. But we're called to turn:

• Turn away from selfishness and turn to God.
• Turn away from pride and turn to God.
• Turn away from entitlement and turn to God.
• Turn away from the sins of the world and turn toward God.

2. We Serve — The Living God, Not Dead Idols

"...how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God." (1 Thessalonians 1:9)

Paul doesn't just say turn — he says turn and serve. And who do we serve? The living God.

The problem with idols is that they are lifeless, dead, and deceptive. They promise freedom but enslave us. They promise happiness — every advertiser says, "If you get it, you'll be happy" — but you get it and you're still empty.

But our God is alive. His Word is living and active. He hears your prayers. He moves. He saves. He is powerful.

Saved Once, Serving Daily

Turning to God to save you happens once. You repent of your sins and call on Jesus, and he hears the cries of your heart and makes you brand new — separating your sins from you as far as the east is from the west. The old is gone; the new has come.

But serving God happens daily. Every moment: "God, I'm here. I want to serve you."

The Greek word for serve here is douleuo, which means to serve with complete loyalty — putting the will of another above your own. To serve God is:

• More than a Sunday religion — it's a daily surrender.
• Not "God, bless my agenda," but "God, I surrender my agenda to you."
• "Your will be done on earth through my life as it is in heaven. I exist to serve you."

If you're on the fence, straddling the line, hear this: Now is the time to serve. Now is the time to serve the one who loves you, who gives you power, who saves you, who is worthy of all your praise, who is coming again. Not tomorrow. Not later. Not once you get older or married or reach another stage of life. Now.

3. We Wait — Actively Preparing for the Return of Christ

"...and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead — Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath." (1 Thessalonians 1:10)

Waiting doesn't mean doing nothing or wasting time. The Greek word combines two roots: ana — again and again, intensely, from the deepest part of your being — and a word used eleven times in John 15, where Jesus says "remain in me, abide in me." Together they mean to wait actively and faithfully, with great expectation.

You wake up and say: "Today could be the day. I'd better be loving people today. I'd better be found serving Jesus today. I'd better be a bright light today. My heart had better be drifting toward the kingdom of God today."

Living Ready in 1988

I lived this way in 1988. I was a brand new Christian — like the Thessalonians, brand new. Somebody wrote a book called 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Take Place in 1988. I'll shoot straight with you — I didn't read the book. I just heard the title, and I figured 88 reasons was enough to be ready.

So every day, I was on high alert. I'd be walking along with my new Christian friend, and I'd jump behind a tree to make him think there'd been a rapture — "Where'd Craig go?" One morning I set my roommate's clothes out on his bed and hid, hoping he'd think he'd been left behind. His alarm went off, he looked over, and said, "You're dumb." It didn't work — but that's what we were doing, because Jesus could come back at any time.

Now that I'm older and slightly more mature, I'm working to bring this urgency back to the front of my mind. Even if the last days stretch beyond our lifetime, I've only got so many days left to serve him. Time is short.

4 Questions I'm Asking Myself

For about six weeks I've been asking myself four questions. I'd encourage you to work through these together in your life group — because we don't do life alone. We are the family of God, and iron sharpens iron. If you're not in a life group yet, now's the time to get into community.

1. Have I forgiven those who hurt me?

When I asked myself this, a name or two came to mind, and I realized I'd better take it seriously. Jesus said:

"For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." (Matthew 6:14-15)

I know there are real hurts and big betrayals some of you are facing. How do you forgive someone who's hurt you? Scripture says you forgive as you've been forgiven.

2. Have I shared my faith with those who need Jesus?

This doesn't mean the whole world — you can't reach everyone. But there are people in your normal sphere of relationships: family members, teammates, the people who serve you at the restaurant you keep going back to, your golfing buddies. If Jesus were to return, do they know him?

I would hate for someone I love to say on the other side, "Why didn't you tell me about Jesus?"

3. Am I more focused on this world than on eternity?

This one trips me up the most. I'd like to say I'm all about the world to come, but honestly, I get sucked into managing this and that — helping my kids, helping the church — and sometimes I wonder if I love the world too much. So many things pull my attention away from the things of God. Do you love this world more than you think about the one to come?

4. Am I trusting in God's grace alone to save me?

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

The only way you're made right with God is by his forgiveness and grace through faith in Jesus — never by your good works.

This one trips me up too. If you asked me, "Craig, if you die at 92, are you saved by grace?" I'd say, "Absolutely." But if you told me, "Jesus is coming back next Wednesday," my gut reaction is, "Uh-oh, I'd better get to work." That's the pull to earn it — and we can't.

Get Ready — He's Coming Soon

When will Jesus return? Jesus said no one knows the day or the hour. We don't know. But we do know, according to God's Word, that we are living in the last days, and time is short.

So what do we do? We turn. We serve. We wait.

• We turn from idols and from sin to serve the living God.
• We wait actively, preparing for his return, pursuing holiness and living with spiritual urgency.

Because at any moment — not someday, not maybe — the trumpet of God could sound, the skies could open, and Jesus could return. And when he does, at that moment, it's too late.

If you're under the care of the Good Shepherd, please be ready. We're living in the last days, and our King is coming soon.

Father, do a work in us and in our church. Give us a spiritual hunger and urgency to know you, to serve you, to live for you, to forgive freely, to share boldly, and to let go of the things of this world. Give us not just an emotional moment, but a righteous craving to do your will. Get us ready.

An Invitation

Examine yourself right now. If you'd admit that if Jesus came back tomorrow, you're not sure you'd be totally ready, you might need some heart adjustments. If you'd say, "God, help me get ready," lift your hands.

And if Jesus came back right now and you'd be nervous because you don't know where you stand with God — maybe you feel guilty for what you've done, or that you're not good enough — recognize this: you'll never be good enough. I'm not good enough. You can't be good enough. You have to trust his grace alone.

What is the gospel? The good news:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son..." (John 3:16)

Jesus, the Lamb of God, was without sin. He died on a cross for the forgiveness of our sins, and God raised him from the dead — so that anyone, no matter what you've done or where you've been, when you call on his name, he forgives your sins and makes you brand new. You're not saved by works. It's only by grace through faith.

If that's your prayer, don't just call on Jesus to save you — call on him to serve him. Turn from your sins and say:

Heavenly Father, I'm turning to you to serve you, to be ready for your return. Jesus, save me. Forgive my sins. Fill me with your Spirit so I can know you. My life is not my own. I give it all to you. Thank you for new life. In Jesus' name, amen.