What to do While you Wait For Jesus

I have sworn by Myself,
The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back,
That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.
- Isaiah 45:23

In this passage God is speaking through Isaiah and He mocks the utter uselessness of idols while declaring His glory and His power. He also warns His people of that day, the Jews, that this ignorance and this idolatry will one day come to an end.

One day, God says, every knee will bow and every tongue will acknowledge the true God. Paul quotes this verse in Philippians 2:10 to point to the return of Christ as the final demonstration of God's glory, and for unbelievers, their last glimpse of God before their eternal condemnation.

Both Isaiah and Paul point to the fact that the final justice will be that scoffers and doubters, and idolaters and unbelievers will be forced to confess (to their dismay) that what they so vigorously rejected in this life turned out to be true and the cause of their banishment into darkness.

When Jesus returns it will be impossible to deny His existence, His position and His power – even the Taliban will concede His Lordship!

For believers, His appearance will be a vindication of their faith and obedience; for unbelievers and the rest, His coming will be a final judgment that they were wrong to disbelieve, evil to reject His efforts to save them, evil to confess some other name.

Because both the prophets and the Apostles warned of His first coming and return, we as believers should heed their word by doing several things:

1. Keep the Faith

Your efforts to remain faithful, your efforts to serve and give are not wasted. One day you will be so happy that you remained true to Jesus and made every effort to confess His name to others.

2. Do not be Frustrated

Godless people, unbelievers, mockers will always be in the majority, they will always have a superior platform to scoff at faith and those who rely on faith (i.e. DaVinci Code). Do not let that frustrate and discourage you because even though they may have the advantage now, they will not have it forever.

In the same way that you believe that Jesus resurrected from the dead, believe that He will return and when He does, all the mocking and disbelief will end suddenly. No one will be able to deny Him His place, His honor when He comes.

3. Do not Waste Your Time

Isaiah promised that "some day" would come and when it did it was too late for the Jews who had rejected him and all the prophets that followed him. Paul said "one day" when Jesus returns and the wise person is the one that realizes that the one day could be today.

If you believe,

• Do not waste any time in obeying Jesus by confessing His name, repenting of your sins and being baptized to wash away all guilt.
• Do not waste any time being unfaithful to Him thinking you can make it up after He returns. He is coming for the faithful not the unfaithful.
• If you need to be restored, today is the day to do it; tomorrow may be too late.
• Do not waste any time being unfruitful. Being unfruitful is the same as being unfaithful.
• When Jesus comes, I pray we will be in the middle of something:
  • the middle of a project,
  • the middle of a baptism, worship, retreat, activity, study,
  • the middle of a spiritual war,
  • not just talking about what we used to do or we are going to do.
• Your faith is seen in your works:
  • your obedience to Christ
  • your giving to Christ
  • your involvement and service to His church.
• Many are good talkers, but after being here a few years I am beginning to see who are the ones who talk and who are the ones who do.

As we wait for Jesus, let us keep on believing, hoping and working hard so we will be happy to see Him when He appears.