S4-148 REBUILDING OUR SPIRITUAL WALLS

While most claim that Jesus is returning soon to establish the kingdom, few people live as if they believe it. And that disconnect between what we profess and how we live speaks volumes about our faith. Jesus said, "For as in the days that were before the flood {people} were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (Matthew 24:37-38). If we genuinely believed that Jesus was returning suddenly, should we not be preparing ourselves accordingly? In many regards, we are as the Antediluvians were: They saw Noah's preparation for the flood but were indifferent. They ignored the evidence, as many believers today likewise do. Our pastor stresses that it is one thing to create a religious IMPRESSION but another to have God work deeply in us to CHANGE our lives! We can sit in church and listen to great messages about the return of Jesus yet disbelieve the reality.