IT’S GOING TO CHANGE – SOON
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Matthew 18:11-13 |
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For the Son of Man is come to save that which is lost. How think ye? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. KJV |
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. NIV |
This parable likens us to sheep being looked after by Jesus and receiving all His love and care as only He can give it. One sheep, however, loses its way and goes off on its own. Jesus, the Shepherd, leaves the rest of the sheep and goes up into the hills to find it.
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Luke 15:10 |
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Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. KJV |
In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. NIV |
I can’t help but think of the time when Jesus will not be there to be called upon. A time when even if you want to return to the fold, you will not be able to because the time for repentance will have passed. The Bible is very clear that time is running out and that the end of the age is upon us. We are all living on borrowed time, there are no more prophesies to be fulfilled for Jesus to return to take all the believers to be with Him.
The return of the Saviour has been one of the issues most mocked and ridiculed by unbelievers in the world and even at this late hour, there are those who say there is no life after death and that the Cross, Jesus and Heaven are all myths. But this way of thinking is going to change and accelerate as we see things in the end times happening exactly as the Bible has predicted for hundreds and hundreds of years.
It has been said the average time before a civilisation has collapsed is 200+years, and that nations have progressed from:
| · Bondage to Spiritual Faith. | · Spiritual Faith to Great Courage. |
| · Great Courage to Liberty. | · Liberty to Abundance. |
| · Abundance to Selfishness. | · Selfishness to Complacency. |
| · Complacency to Apathy. | · Apathy to Dependency. |
| · And from Dependency back to Bondage. |
The world is gripped by terrible bondage. The evil that is going on all around us, is absolutely incredible. The depths to which mankind has sunk to gain riches, positions of power and possessions has accelerated over the last generation to such an extent that whole countries and even continents are groaning under burdens hitherto unheard of.
Millions of people are losing their jobs as a result of bad management and money grabbing, most of which continues unabated and which Governments are powerless to stop. The amount of drugs entering countries which in turn ruin the lives of millions of people is heart breaking. The number of wars going on around the world where hundreds of thousands are killed each day is sickening. Violence, theft and murder are the number one items in Newspapers and on tv news broadcasts daily. One of the problems with the world is that it NEVER stops to think of where it is heading. Time is running out. If we haven’t yet reached that stage, we are definitely rushing head-long into a stage of complete bondage, and things can only accelerate from then on.
If a man will not obey the Lord, it matters not who he will obey: He is lost! Is it any wonder, therefore, that the Bible exhorts people to turn to Christ and repent before it is too late?