Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “Hospitality Evangelism (Ready or Not, Shall Be Caught)” – Saturday, 23 August 2014 - Scripture: Luke 17:20-37

Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “Hospitality Evangelism (Ready or Not, Shall Be Caught)” – Saturday, 23 August 2014 - Scripture: Luke 17: When the Son of Man Arrives
20-21 Jesus, grilled by the Pharisees on when the kingdom of God would come, answered, “The kingdom of God doesn’t come by counting the days on the calendar. Nor when someone says, ‘Look here!’ or, ‘There it is!’ And why? Because God’s kingdom is already among you.”
22-24 He went on to say to his disciples, “The days are coming when you are going to be desperately homesick for just a glimpse of one of the days of the Son of Man, and you won’t see a thing. And they’ll say to you, ‘Look over there!’ or, ‘Look here!’ Don’t fall for any of that nonsense. The arrival of the Son of Man is not something you go out to see. He simply comes.
24-25 “You know how the whole sky lights up from a single flash of lightning? That’s how it will be on the Day of the Son of Man. But first it’s necessary that he suffer many things and be turned down by the people of today.
26-27 “The time of the Son of Man will be just like the time of Noah—everyone carrying on as usual, having a good time right up to the day Noah boarded the ship. They suspected nothing until the flood hit and swept everything away.
28-30 “It was the same in the time of Lot—the people carrying on, having a good time, business as usual right up to the day Lot walked out of Sodom and a firestorm swept down and burned everything to a crisp. That’s how it will be—sudden, total—when the Son of Man is revealed.
31-33 “When the Day arrives and you’re out working in the yard, don’t run into the house to get anything. And if you’re out in the field, don’t go back and get your coat. Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! If you grasp and cling to life on your terms, you’ll lose it, but if you let that life go, you’ll get life on God’s terms.
34-35 “On that Day, two men will be in the same boat fishing—one taken, the other left. Two women will be working in the same kitchen—one taken, the other left.”
37 Trying to take all this in, the disciples said, “Master, where?”
He told them, “Watch for the circling of the vultures. They’ll spot the corpse first. The action will begin around my dead body.”
“Hospitality Evangelism (Ready or Not, Shall Be Caught)” by Patricia Kissell
This a song from my childhood Sunday school days:
Say, will you be ready, when Jesus comes?
Are you truly born again, washed in Jesus blood?
Are your garments spotless, are they white as snow?
Will you be ready, when Jesus comes?
Two shall be together, grinding at the mill;
Two shall be together, sleeping calm and still.
One shall be taken and the other left behind.
Will you be ready, when Jesus comes?
As a child, I had either deep respect for or perhaps fear of the Lord’s return. One night as I walked out on our front porch I gasped, “Here comes Jesus.” My mother reassured me that it was just the moon coming out from behind the clouds and showing through the swaying branches of the large, old maple tree. I was relieved!
As a young nurse, I remember vividly a morning when the sun did not “come up.” Midmorning was dark as late evening. The whole hospital was stirred up. “Was this the end of the world?” we wondered. I continued to care for my patients as I knew if it was the end of the world, I was ready.
Do we anticipate the return of Christ?

Hymn for Today:

"When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder" by James M. Black
1. When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and time shall be no more, 
And the morning breaks, eternal, bright, and fair; 
When the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore, 
And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
Chorus:
When the roll is called up yonder, 
(When the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there,) 
When the roll is called up yonder, 
(When the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there,) 
When the roll is (When the roll is) called up yonder, 
When the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
2. On that bright and cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise, 
And the glory of His resurrection share; 
When His chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies. 
And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
Chorus:
When the roll is called up yonder, 
(When the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there,) 
When the roll is called up yonder, 
(When the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there,) 
When the roll is (When the roll is) called up yonder, 
When the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there. 
3. Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun, 
Let us talk of all His wondrous love and care; 
Then when all of life is over, and our work on earth is done, 
And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
Chorus:
When the roll is called up yonder, 
(When the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there,) 
When the roll is called up yonder, 
(When the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there,) 
When the roll is (When the roll is) called up yonder, 
When the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.

Thought for Today:

“And then—then!—they’ll see the Son of Man welcomed in grand style—a glorious welcome! When all this starts to happen, up on your feet. Stand tall with your heads high. Help is on the way!”(Luke 21:27-28).
Prayer Needs:
For Those in Africa who minister to the victims of HIV and AIDS and their families.
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