“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”
+1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
About 4-5 years ago, I was practicing worship music with the praise team at my church, Warren Baptist Church on the eastside of Indianapolis. I was the associate pastor who led the youth ministry and helped in leading worship every Sunday morning at that time. I was also with my band Broken Chains-me, Tyler Martin and Gary Lett. On that particular night, we were inspired by the Holy Spirit and I saw a picture in my mind of Jesus descending from heaven to return to rule and judge the world. This truth came directly from the Bible and the reality of Christ’s return (1 Thess. 4:16-17; 5:1-11; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; Rev. 19-22). This was a hopeful image which inspired me to sing the words, “Raise it up, raise it loud, Jesus has come down for us!” As I sang this, more words came to my heart and mind. A joyful, upbeat song flowed from my lips and my guitar.
Christ’s Return
One area of the Christian life which is severely lacking in the Church is expectation for the Lord’s coming. Our consumer culture, with an an instant gratification, must have now, all about me mindset has hijacked the Church! This includes the anticipation of Jesus returning to bring judgement and God’s reign upon the earth. Paul heavily emphasized this in his letters 1 and 2 Thessalonians. He was ready for Jesus to come back, now! We too should have this mindset that at any moment, in the blink of an eye, like a thief in the night, Jesus could return (1 Thess. 5:2)! We won’t know the time or the circumstances that will surround his return but we do know that it will be immediate and it will be powerful (2 Thess. 1:7-10). For those of us who have repented of our sins and have given our lives to Jesus, our Savior and King, this will be a joyful day to rejoice! But for those who who rejected Christ and remain in their sin, it will be a sorrowful day when eternity apart from God in hellish separation will be made a reality (Rev. 20:11-15). All of us will be judged for our lives and accepting or rejecting Christ. This should bring a sense of terror and reverent awe.
Do you know King Jesus?
Our lives are bigger than us! We must wake up from our sinful slumber and embrace the sobering reality that Jesus Christ, the resurrected Son of God, is coming to judge our sin and establish his kingdom on the earth. Do you know King Jesus? I pray you do. He is coming soon and will judge your life-words and actions. If you know him, you can rejoice with me and sing “Raise it up! Raise is loud! Jesus has come down for us!”
Raise It Up!
Chorus
Raise it up! Raise it loud!
Jesus has come down for us
Raise it up! Raise it loud!
Jesus has come down for us
Verse 1
One day, we will stand before the throne
To answer for every action and every word
Jesus, the Son of God
Will judge the whole world
Verse 2
Do you believe in Jesus, our Savior and our Lord?
Clothed in radiant light
Shines brighter than a million suns
We’ll see the Resurrected Lord
He’ll say “My child, well done.”
Bridge (by Gary Lett)
One day we’re going to stand before your throne
One day you will come and bring us home
Please give me the strength to carry on
Lord you are the words that make me strong
You are the beating of this drum
You’re the voice in the strings that we strum
You’re the reason we came undone
You’re the light that shines, you’re the Son!
Ending
I’m found, I’m found, I’m found, thank God I’m found!
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