Will you please turn to Matthew chapter 24.
We'll read from verse 32 to verse 45.
Matthew 24, 32 to 45.
But learn the parable from the fig tree.
When already its branch becomes tender and produces
leaves, ye know that the summer is near.
Thus also ye, when ye see all these
things, know that it is near at the
doors.
Verily I say to you, this generation will
not have passed away until all these things
shall have taken place.
The heaven and the earth shall pass away,
but my words shall in no wise pass
away.
But of that day and hour no one
knows, not even the angels of the heavens,
but my Father alone.
But as the days of Noah, so also
shall be the coming of the Son of
Man.
For as they were in the days which
were before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying
and giving in marriage, until the day on
which Noah entered into the ark, and they
knew not till the flood came and took
all away, thus also shall be the coming
of the Son of Man.
Then two shall be in the field, one
is taken, and one is left.
Two women grinding at the mill, one is
taken, and one is left.
Watch therefore, for ye know not in what
hour your Lord comes.
But know this, that if the master of
the house had known in what watch the
thief was coming, he would have watched, and
not have suffered his house to be dug
through or into.
Wherefore ye also be ye ready, for in
that hour that ye think not, the Son
of Man comes.
Who then is the faithful and prudent bondman
whom his Lord has set over his household
to give them food in season?
The song that we just have sung always
touches me very deeply.
This was a song written by our dear
brother Watchman Lee.
During the persecution in China, he wrote this
song to express not only his own feeling,
but also the feeling of all the saints
throughout the generations.
And hopefully this same feeling will be in
each one of us.
The more we look into what's going on
in the world, the greater the cry of
our heart, O Lord, Generation
after generation, believers, true believers, those who love
the Lord, they have been waiting for the
long promise of his return.
But somehow he is delayed.
We remember what Peter said, to God a
day is like a thousand years, and a
thousand years are like one day.
It is not that our Lord delays his
return.
It is because of his long suffering, how
he suffers long for his own bride.
As long as his bride is not ready,
he has nothing to come to, to return
to.
So dear brothers and sisters, how important, not
for ourselves, but for our beloved Lord, that
we be ready.
He will not delay even a moment if
his bride is made ready.
So this is the reason why we gather
together this time.
I do feel the importance of this hour.
Everything seems to indicate to us that his
return is imminent.
We cannot go on.
The world cannot go on any longer.
Every sign shows that his return is very
near.
And brothers and sisters, may we be a
generation that have the privilege of welcoming him
in our time.
And I hope that this will be prayer
of our hearts.
Let's have a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, we do praise and thank thee
for gathering us together here this time.
We thank thee for thy long suffering.
We thank thee for thy loving kindness and
tender mercies.
Lord, thou hast created within our heart a
longing for thyself.
How much more, Lord, the longing, the waiting,
the desire in thy heart to come and
to receive us to thyself.
Oh dear Lord, do deliver us from being
so unwatchful, so complacent.
Forgive us for being occupied with so many
things that are transient.
Lord, do capture our hearts that there is
only one thing in our heart.
It is thou, oh Lord.
Use this time to prepare us.
We thank thee that during thy first coming,
thou hast prepared a few here and there
whose hearts are really prepared the way of
thy coming.
Will thou, Lord, in these last days, thou
will also raise up people here, everywhere, throughout
the whole world that will cry unto thee,
come quickly, Lord Jesus.
Use us to bring back the King.
Privilege us, Lord, with this privilege.
We offer ourselves once again to thee, working
us, prepare us.
We ask in thy precious name.
Amen.
I do thank the Lord for the theme
of this gathering.
I feel that it is not so much
having another conference.
It is good for us to come together
once in a year for fellowship, but to
me I feel this is a very special
time.
And I thank the Lord that the theme
for this time is really timely, spiritual readiness.
Now when you think of spiritual readiness, the
first question probably you will ask is, why?
Ready for what?
There is nothing more important in the world
to be ready than what we are going
to share together.
To me, I feel there is only one
reason, one and only reason for spiritual readiness.
It is to be ready to welcome the
coming of the Lord.
You know from the very beginning of human
history, after Adam and Eve sinned, God
came to the garden and He gave man
a hope.
In Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 it says,
the seed of the woman will crush the
serpent's head and the serpent will crush his
heel.
This is the promise of God to the
sinful world.
This is the only way to save and
to deliver us.
God promised this from the very beginning of
human history.
And then you find this promise was reiterated,
reinforced many, many times through the Old Testament,
through the prophets, that God's promise will be
fulfilled.
For instance, in Isaiah chapter 9, it is
prophesied unto us a child is born, a
son is given, and government shall be upon
his shoulder.
His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty
God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace.
Of his government and of peace there shall
be no end.
He shall sit upon the throne of David
and his government shall be established in judgment
and righteousness from henceforth forevermore.
And the zeal of Jehovah shall perform it.
And yet at the same time, you find
in Jeremiah chapter 53, we have a whole
chapter on the coming Messiah.
But he will be a suffering one.
He will be rejected.
His life will be taken away.
He will bear the sin of the world.
He will be crushed.
Therefore, those in the Old Testament times, they
just couldn't understand.
Why is it that God promised the seed
of the woman to be a reigning one,
a glorious one, who will establish his kingdom
forevermore?
And yet at the same time, it is
prophesied that this Messiah will suffer, and even
unto death.
So to the Old Testament people, they were
confused.
They could not reconcile these two sides of
the Messiah.
Among the Jews, they even questioned whether Isaiah
53 referred to another person, because at that
time, it was not yet revealed.
Thank God, he is always faithful to his
promise.
After about 4,000 years, one day, a
child was born of the woman.
A son was given.
The world became flesh.
God came to become man, tabernacles among man,
full of grace and truth.
Christ has come.
But during his lifetime, it
seems as if he is interested only in
the spiritual condition of his people.
He does not seem to be interested in
the physical condition of his people.
In the beginning, the Jewish people welcomed him,
thinking that he might be the long-promised
Messiah.
But gradually, they lost their faith.
Why?
Because he does not seem to be the
one that will fulfill all the promises that
government shall be upon his shoulder, that he
shall sit on the throne of David, and
he shall rule over the nations.
You remember when our Lord Jesus first began
his ministry.
He went into the synagogue in Nazareth, and
they gave him the scroll of Isaiah.
He opened it up.
He read Isaiah 61.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.
He has anointed me to preach the glad
tidings to the poor and to proclaim the
acceptable year of the Lord.
Then he stopped.
He didn't finish Isaiah's prophecy.
He did not continue on with the day
of vengeance.
He left something behind.
Why?
Because our Lord Jesus, in his first coming,
he is as the Lamb of God, who
takes away the sin of the world.
He is to bear our sins and our
sorrows.
He is to be our substitute before God.
He is to redeem us.
That is his work while he was on
earth.
As to the reigning part, as to the
glorious part, he leaves it, as it were,
beside.
Instead, he says, my glory, the day of
my glory, refers to his crucifixion, not to
his enthronement, because in the first coming of
our Lord, he concentrated himself on the first
necessary work.
But even though you find in the Gospels,
sometimes he will try to leak out something,
but in a parable, he did not speak
openly and frankly how he will come back
and rule over the nations.
But in parable, for instance, in Luke chapter
19, we find a parable of the nobleman.
The nobleman went away to receive his kingdom,
and before he left, he gave ten minas
to ten servants and said, trade with it
until I come.
Then one day, he comes back, and he
reckons with his servants.
And you know the story, one earned ten
more, one earned five, and one was unfaithful.
So in other words, you find that he
did give hints that there will be a
returning.
And even while he was on earth, especially
you find towards the very last, one day
he left Jerusalem, and his disciples pointed out
to him, the beautiful stones decorated the temple
in Jerusalem.
You know, the Jews took great pride in
this temple.
It was so magnificent.
And yet, when our Lord left with his
disciples from the temple, he quietly said, yes,
but one day, not a stone will be
upon another stone.
Now the temple was built with massive stones,
so solid, and yet our Lord said, one
day, not a stone upon a stone.
The disciples heard it, but they dare not
say anything on the way, because this will
be such a shock to the Jews.
But after our Lord arrived on Mount Olive,
he sat down, and four of his disciples
came secretly to him, and said, Lord, Master,
when shall these things be, and what will
be the sign of thy coming, and the
end of this age?
You know, to the disciples, they combined all
these three things into one.
Now, if the temple is destroyed, and completely
destroyed, that means the end of the world,
and that will be the sign of the
coming of the Messiah.
But our Lord Jesus began to teach them.
Now, without going into details, probably it will
be a help when you read Matthew chapter
24 and chapter 25, the so-called Olivet
Discourse.
Generally speaking, you can divide these two chapters
into three sections.
The first few verses, of course, is the
background.
The disciples ask the Lord about, when shall
these things be?
When shall the temple be totally destroyed?
And then, follow with, what is the sign
of thy presence, and the end of this
age?
Now, in answering their questions, our Lord seemed
to answer these questions towards the three
sections of the world, the Jews, the Church,
and the nations, because the world is composed
of the Jews, the Church, and the nations.
So, it seems as if, from chapter 24,
beginning with verse 4, until verse 31, it
seems as if this section is addressed especially
to the Jews, because if you read carefully,
you find everything is literal.
The Lord does not use parables, and everything
will be fulfilled, literally.
And then, from verse 32 to chapter 25,
verse 30, this will be a section when
our Lord addresses the Church, because there you'll
find parables of being used.
It is a spiritual emphasis in that section.
The first section is literal, physical.
The second section is spiritual, in essence.
And then, of course, the last section, chapter
25, verse 31 onward, to the end, that
is addressed to the nations.
So, if you remember this properly, it will
be a help to your understanding of these
two chapters.
But, do not forget that even though our
Lord seems to be addressed to three different
people, and yet there are many things that
overlap, and many things that happen to all.
So, if we remember this properly, it will
be a great help.
Even towards the end of the life of
our Lord, during His last supper with His
disciples, He said, I go to prepare a
place for you, and I will come back
and receive you to Myself.
When He was judged by the High Priest
and the Sanhedrin, the High Priest, clear first,
said, Are you the Son of God?
Our Lord said, you say this, and you
shall see the Son of Man coming on
the crowd.
So, here you'll find our Lord did hint
of His return.
Even in John chapter 21, after His resurrection,
He appeared to the seven by the Sea
of Tiberias, and He said to Simon Peter,
Come, follow Me.
So, Peter followed Him, and then another disciple
also followed.
So, Peter turned and said to the Lord,
What about this man?
Of course, he refers to John.
And you remember our Lord said, If I
want him to wait until I return, what
is that to you?
So, you'll find hints here and there, even
during His first coming, He hints about His
return.
He finished the first part of His work,
and there is another part He has to
finish at His second coming.
So, brothers and sisters, to us today, His
second coming is evident.
There are two comings of Christ, two comings
of the Lord.
In His first coming, He came as a
Lamb of God, taking away the sin of
the world.
But at His second coming, He will come
as the Lion of Judah, and He will
judge the world with righteousness, and reign over
the world.
His disciples gathered around Him on the Mount
of Olives, and there He was taken
to Heaven.
If you read Acts chapter 1, you will
notice that our Lord Jesus was standing on
Mount Olive.
His disciples were around Him, and then you
find He was taken up.
He left Mount Olive.
He ascended, and the disciples look at Him,
see Him going up, until a crowd, they
could not see Him anymore.
But they were still looking up, and at
that time, two men in white appeared, and
these two men said, men of Galilee, why
are you looking up?
Don't you know that the same person, Christ,
who has taken up, He will come back
in like manner?
Of course.
The disciples, they saw the Lord going up,
but then the crowd took Him.
They couldn't see.
Now, did the Lord really arrive at the
throne?
Thank God, He did.
How do we know?
Well, number one, on the day of Pentecost,
the Holy Spirit came down from Heaven, and
120 disciples were waiting in that room, were
baptized into one body, and that is the
evidence that our Lord has arrived at the
throne.
Why?
Because the Bible tells us, and even Peter,
he said it, he said, what you have
seen and heard proves one thing, that God
has made Him Christ and Lord.
After our Lord Jesus arrived at the throne,
then God the Father anointed Him with oil,
with the Holy Spirit, and as the oil
upon the head of Aaron, it flows down
to His beard, and it covers the whole
body to the skirt of His garment.
That is the picture.
So after our Lord was anointed in Heaven
as the High Priest, then you find the
same oil, the Holy Spirit, came down upon
the 120, and not only the 120, but
to the very end of any member in
the body of Christ.
That is a definite proof, and not only
that, we find in Revelation chapter 5, John
was in the Spirit, and the Heaven was
open, and he saw a vision.
He saw the throne of God.
He saw in the hand of God a
scroll, which is the title deed of the
universe.
Satan may occupy this world as a usurper,
but he never been an owner.
The ownership is always in the hand of
God, and then John saw a Lamb, newly
slain, standing.
That means resurrection, and the Lamb is the
only one who is worthy, because he has
overcome.
He has overcome Satan and all the power
of darkness, and he is worthy to receive
that scroll, and to open it.
Thank God.
You know, this is a review of the
ascension of our Lord Jesus.
So by these two evidences, we are sure
that our Lord has reached the throne.
He is now sitting at the right hand
of God, waiting for his enemies to be
his busto.
Dear brothers and sisters, if his first coming
is true, his second coming must be true.
If you read the epistles, the writings of
the apostles, you find the return of the
Lord.
The coming of the Lord is everywhere.
For instance, the first epistle we have in
the Bible by the apostle is 1 Thessalonians,
and in 1 Thessalonians, as you read that
five chapters, in every chapter, you find the
return of the Lord.
The coming of the Lord is mentioned.
God has saved them, delivered them from idol
worshiping, to believe in the one true God,
and to wait for the return.
Paul told the Thessalonians, you will be my
joy and my crown at the coming of
the Lord.
One day the Lord would come with his
saints in chapter three.
In chapter four, the trumpet was sound, the
dead in the Lord would be raised, and
those who are living, still living, will be
changed, and they will be caught up into
the air to meet the Lord who has
descended from the throne to the air, and
they will be with the Lord.
And it is the prayer of the apostle,
Paul, for the Thessalonians believers, that the God
of peace will sanctify them wholly, spirit, soul,
and body, and be preserved, blameless, at the
coming of the Lord.
Brothers and sisters in the early church, the
coming of the Lord is their blessed hope,
especially when the church was in persecution.
The believers, they met each other, greeting each
other, comforting each other, saying, the Lord is
coming, the Lord is coming, throughout the centuries
and the generations.
The promise of the coming of the Lord
is the hope of the church.
Generation after generations, believers are waiting for his
return.
Even in the first generation, they waited for
his return.
Were they mistaken?
No, they were right.
Their spirit was right.
The more you read the Bible, the more
you feel that his coming cannot be too
far.
Remember, even in the first century, when you
read the book of Revelation, you find that
in the first chapter, chapter 1 verse 3,
it says, the time is near, he is
coming.
And if it is near in the first
century, how much more nearer now we are
in the 21st century.
No one knows when he is coming.
Our Lord Jesus himself told us, no one
knows, not even the angels, not even the
Son of Man.
The Father alone knows, even though no one
knows.
But one thing is sure, he is coming.
He gave us signs to indicate how close
he is coming.
For instance, the Lord said, look at the
fig tree.
When it begins to bust and to have
leaves, you know the summer is near.
So the Lord said, when you see these
things, you know it is near at the
doors.
You know, in the lifetime of our Lord
Jesus, he cut a fig tree.
At the end of his ministry, he came
to a fig tree full of leaves.
He thought there must be fruit, but there
was nothing, nothing to satisfy the longing of
his heart.
He cursed it and he dried up, withered
up and died.
Why?
Because the fig tree is a symbol of
the Jewish nation.
He had come to work upon that nation
for three years and a half, and they
produced no fruit.
Only leaves, a big show, but no reality.
Satisfying to man, but utterly unsatisfying to God.
The Jewish nation was set aside as it
did for almost two thousand years.
But the Lord said, look, when you see
the fig tree begin to bud and to
produce leaves, the summer is near.
When you see these things happening, you know
it is near.
I'm near at the door.
In 1948, after almost two thousand years, the
Jewish nation came into being.
It is the surprise of the world.
No race, no nation has ever been revived
after so many years, without land, without government,
and yet it did happen.
The summer is near.
How near it is?
At the doors.
Now I believe you have to be oriental
to understand this parable.
Because in this country, when you are at
the door, one door, open the door and
you're inside the house.
But in the orient, it wasn't so.
You find that in the orient, you have
many courts, door after door.
The richer you are, the more courts you
have.
And the family live at the very end.
So you don't need, you don't see the
family until you cross all the doors.
But as soon as you're at the front
door, you are near.
Brothers and sisters, that the Lord is already
at the doors.
How close, how near.
Suddenly, He's there.
Would that be a great surprise to you?
A pleasant surprise.
Without going into details, one thing we are
sure.
You may read the scripture, all the prophecies
about the coming of the Lord, the second
coming of the Lord.
So far as we understand, all the prophecies
concerning the coming of the Lord, before His
coming, have been fulfilled.
There are still prophecies left to be fulfilled.
But they will be fulfilled at the coming
of the Lord and after the coming of
the Lord.
But everything that is before the coming of
the Lord, they all have been fulfilled.
That is to say, the Lord can come
at any time.
Now the problem with God's people today is
because we do not have a real understanding
of the meaning of the coming of the
Lord.
You know, the Bible used different words to
describe His coming.
But one word that is used often, and
is used here in Matthew 24, the coming
in Greek is parousia.
And the word parousia means presence.
Today the Lord is absent, physically speaking.
Of course we know He is with us
in spirit, but physically speaking, He is absent.
But one day He will be present, physically.
And those who understand Greek, tell us this
word parousia, presence, is a word that covers
a period of time, including a series of
events.
In other words, the word presence has a
beginning and has an end.
It is not just something that happens suddenly,
immediately, once, and it's over.
No.
It covers a period of time, but that
time must be short.
And it has a series of events being
happening during His presence.
Now let us try to explain it.
You remember the two men in white in
Acts chapter 1, verse 11?
Men of Galilee, why do you look up?
He who is taken up.
The word taken up means received.
Received up.
He will return, come back in like manner,
in the same way.
So His presence is in two parts, as
His departure was in two parts.
When He departed from this world, from Mount
Olive to the cloud, visible.
From the cloud to the throne, invisible.
Therefore, when He shall come back and return,
it will be in the same way.
From the throne to the cloud, invisible.
From the cloud to Mount Olive, visible.
And that is the reason why you find
there are two different signs being given.
One is the sign of a thief.
When the Lord shall come, He will come
like a thief.
Why?
Because He will come quietly, hiddenly, suddenly.
He comes and He leaves.
But when the thief comes, what will you
take?
He will take your treasure.
He will leave your garbage.
And that is exactly what will happen when
the Lord uses that kind of metaphor.
It is clear that He wants to show
us that His presence from the throne to
the cloud is invisible, like a thief.
A thief will never blow a trumpet.
I'm coming, brothers and sisters, for
the Lord to come from the throne to
the cloud.
He will be like a thief coming.
No one knows when.
At the hour that you think not, He
comes.
And when He comes, He steals away the
treasure of His heart.
Then two women will be grinding.
One is taken, received.
One is left.
Two men working in the field.
One is taken, one is left.
Two men, two men who are sleeping.
One is taken, one is left.
Now remember, when the Lord says these things,
He refers to the church, not to unbelievers.
He refers to those who are still living
at the coming of the Lord.
We are still living.
We may have the privilege of being raptured,
taken, without going through death.
You remember, in Revelation chapter 12, John saw
a vision.
The vision of a woman in travail, and
then a red dragon waiting there.
That dragon is not concerned with the women
at that time, but he is deeply concerned
with the man-child in the womb of
that woman.
He is waiting there, trying to swallow that
man-child.
But the Bible says, as the man-child
is born, he is taken right to the
throne.
Brothers and sisters, this man-child is what
God is looking for.
The church is supposed to be the overcoming
church.
But unfortunately, God's people do not fulfill what
God purposed for.
Therefore, out of the travail of the church,
through the ages, God is looking for a
man-child, the overcomers.
The overcomers are not someone special.
The overcomers are the normal Christians.
They follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
They will be taken because they are the
treasure to the Lord.
But believers beware, if we are not watchful,
if we are laden, if we are eating
and drinking, and the cares of this life,
we may be so rooted to the world,
we cannot be taken and left behind.
This taken is taken to the throne.
They are the welcoming party to the beginning
of the presence of the Lord.
And immediately after the man-child was taken
to the throne, in Revelation 12, there will
be war in the cloud, in the air.
Michael and his angels will come and fight
with Satan and his angels.
And there will be no place for Satan
because the air is his headquarter.
He will be thrown from the air to
the earth.
The air was cleared.
Why?
For the Lord, brothers and sisters, is going
to happen.
Suddenly, anytime, today, may it be so, all
over the world, some disappear.
Blessed are those, they are ready, spiritually
ready.
He will come like a thief.
At the time that you think not, he
comes and steals away the treasure of his
heart.
And then you know, when Satan was thrown
upon this earth, what will happen?
But a great tribulation.
And unfortunately, Christians, many will still
go through that great tribulation.
But thank God, in one sense, it will
be difficult because it will be a great
tribulation that the world has never known before.
We have seen enough, but no, there will
be the great tribulation we have never seen
before.
But thank God, God gave us another chance.
Even those who failed Him will be given
another chance.
And then, the trumpet will sound.
As the lightning, as our Lord said, people
said, Christ is here, Christ is there, don't
listen to it.
Because His coming is like lightning.
His flesh is from the east to the
west.
The whole world will see it.
He will come with a trumpet sound, with
the angels, in the twinkling of an eye.
Those who are dead in Christ will be
raised, and those who remain and still live
will be changed, and all will be caught
up to the air.
Not to the throne, but to the air.
Brothers and sisters, every time I sing hymns,
singing about our blessed hope is when the
trumpet sound, and we shall be taken to
the air.
I feel too late, too late, too late.
How much better, as the Bible says, because
you keep the word of my patience, I
will take you away from the time of
the tribulation that will come upon this whole
world.
How much better is that?
And that's true.
That's the second part of Parousia.
His feet will come upon Mount Olive.
Mount Olive will be divided into two, and
the Jewish people, His chosen people, will see
Him and repent it, and He will come
to deliver them.
Dear brothers and sisters, don't you think it
is time that we wake up?
What will happen if He returns?
What will happen when we as believers, as
the church, will all be gathered in the
air to meet the Lord in the air?
What will be going on in the air
while the seven vows, the wrath of God,
was poured upon this earth?
What happened in the air?
The Bible tells us, the judgment seat of
Christ.
Dear brothers and sisters, thank God, because our
Lord was judged for our sins on Calvary's
cross, we will not be judged anymore for
life or death, eternal life or eternal death,
at the great white throne of God.
In other words, judicial judgment was passed.
He has saved us out of judgment, out
of death into eternal life.
Thank God for that.
That doesn't mean that believers will not be
judged.
There will be a judgment seat of Christ.
It is called a judgment seat.
It is not a throne, because throne is
judicial, and it determines life or death, eternal
life or eternal death.
But it is a seat, bima, and what
does bima mean?
Again, you find it is the oriental background.
In the orient, you have big families, and
in the big family, you have the head
of the family, maybe a grandfather, maybe a
great-grandfather, head of the family, has authority
over the whole family.
And once in a while, there will be
a family gathering.
Only members of the family could attend.
They will gather in a room, and in
one part of the room, there will be
an uplifted platform, and the head of the
family will sit there, and there he will
judge the members of the family.
Those who have done something that add glory
to the family will be recommended and rewarded,
and those who has brought shame to the
family will be punished, chastised, disciplined.
That's bima.
And in Romans, chapter 14, verse 10, 2
Corinthians 5, verse 10, they all speak of
the judgment seat of Christ, the judgment seat
of God.
And his family will gather around our Lord
Jesus and will be judged according to all
that we have done, not before we are
saved, but after we are saved and receive
his life.
How do we live before him?
Brothers and sisters, to those who are ready,
it is the most blessed time.
It is a time that all tears will
be wiped away.
It is a time that all misunderstanding will
be cleared up.
It is a time that a cross you
bear through the years will turn to be
a crown.
How the Apostle Paul looked forward to that.
But to those who are not ready, it
is a time to be feared.
Brothers and sisters, that's why we must be
ready, spiritually ready.
It is not an outward physical readiness.
Through the years, there are instances where people
prophesied Christ is coming today, or tomorrow, or
a certain date, and people left their homes,
go to the wilderness, clothes in white, waiting
for his return.
He didn't.
Not physical.
Do not be afraid to go to sleep
tonight.
Do not give up work and stop working.
Because the Lord is coming, why do you
work?
How can you sleep?
Brothers and sisters, readiness is not in these
things.
In your spirit, in your heart, are
you spiritually ready for the coming of the
Lord?
Oh Lord, make us ready, not just for
fear, but for love's sake.
We want you back with us in thy
precious name.