My Father Only (8/1-3)

Matthew 24:36 “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”

Holy Spirit woke me up with this song, “Coming Again, coming again, it may be morning, it may be noon, it may be evening, it may be soon, coming again, coming again …” I couldn’t remember the rest of the words so I found it from the book, Sing His Praise and typed it below. Awesome inspiration! It’s been many years, I have not sang this until now.

You might wonder, what’s up with Matthew 24? There were wars going on in another country so that got me to study Matthew 24. I was refreshing myself to what Jesus was saying about the signs of time. I looked up the **commentaries from Quick Verse Life Application Bible. I choose this because it is short, simple and very impressive.

 **It is good that we don’t know exactly when Christ will return. If we knew the precise date, we might be tempted to be lazy in our work for Christ. Worse yet, we might plan to keep sinning and then turn to God right at the end. Heaven is not our only goal; we have work to do here. And we must keep on doing it until death or until we see the unmistakable return of our Savior. (Matt. 24:36)  [Dorothy: This is a good thought not to be lazy.]

**Christ’s second coming will be swift and sudden. There will be no opportunity for last-minute repentance or bargaining. The choice we have already made will determine our eternal destiny. (Matt. 24:40-42)  [Dorothy: Scaring, isn’t it? Let’s keep in tune with Him.]

**Jesus’ purpose in telling about His return is not to stimulate predictions and calculations about the date but to warn us to be prepared. Will you be ready? The only safe choice is to obey Him today. (Matt. 24:44-46)  [Dorothy: In the past some preachers had set the date of His coming and that’s a big mistake. Let’s guard ourselves with Jesus’ Word, My Father Only.]

**Jesus asks us to spend the time of waiting taking care of His people and doing His work here on earth, both within the church and outside it. This is the best way to prepare for Christ’s return. Knowing that Christ’s return will be sudden and unexpected should motivate us to be prepared. We are to live responsibly—not using His tarrying as an excuse to not do God’s work of building His kingdom or to pursue pleasure, not developing a false security based on someone’s calculations of events. (Matthew 24:45-51)  [Dorothy: Let’s work till Jesus comes and then we’ll be gathered home. Oh, what a wonderful day that will be!]

Song: Jesus Is Coming Again

Marvelous message we bring,

Glorious carol we sing,

Wonderful word of the King;

Jesus is coming again!

Chorus:

Com - ing again; com - ing again;

May - be morning, May – be noon,

May - be evening, and may – be soon!

Com - ing again, Com - ing again;

O what a wonderful day it will be;

Jesus is coming again!

(John Willard Peterson, Sing His Praise)