In a recent sermon, Pastor Louis Giglio made an important point about being ready for Jesus' return.
As first reported by CBN News, during the sermon, The Passion City Church pastor drew seven conclusions from Matthew 24 to show how Jesus' coming would have a profound effect on people's daily lives.
"This has been the plan all along," he stated "Yes, Jesus would come at Christmas and do what only He could do, but that He would come again to planet earth. And I want you to know that Jesus is coming soon."
The first was to remain attentive, yet unnerved.
"Wars and rumors of war," according to the Bible, are inevitable, but Giglio urged people to focus on what Jesus says in the scriptures rather than on the headlines.
"I would prefer you would wake up tomorrow and say Jesus is coming soon and he could come imminently," he said. "I want to live alert, but I don't want to be frantic.
Second, the enemy's strategy involves deceit. Thus, a deep relationship with God is essential for discerning right from evil, he said.
"The enemy's plan for you and for me, in light of the fact that Jesus is coming soon, is that you would get deceived," he warned.
Third, Christians should "live ready." In his sermon, Giglio urged Christians to live each day as though Christ might come at any moment. He said that if they want to share the Gospel with their loved ones in the future, they should do it now.
According to him, the enemy's strategy is to keep people focused on the future rather than living in the now, as Jesus instructed them to do.
Fourth, the Great Commission's completion is the pivotal moment for Jesus' second coming.
Giglio emphasized that spreading the Gospel to all people groups is what sets off Christ's return.
"So the Great Commission, just to be clear, is still, go ye therefore into all the world and preach the Gospel to all people," he said. "This is still the mission of the people of God."
Fifth is about the "Abomination that Causes Desolation"
Giglio warns that idolatry will lead to people worshiping anything other than God in the last days.
That which is defiling the Holy Temple is "coming against the altar," he said, and "specifically against the Blood of The Lamb."
This is the kind of idolatry that says, "forget about the Blood of the Lamb, I am the one that is to be worshipped and exalted" and it causes devastation as a consequence, Giglio said.
In addition, he pointed out that society has shifted toward idol worship, and that this shift is clearly seen in human nature.
"If you ask the average psychologist to describe the psyche of the human condition, they would say to you 'futile, meaningless and empty,'" he said. "Why? Because man is already trying to plant God and already it's fall in the Church, and hearts are growing cold."
Sixth is all about "making the move."
Giglio encourages the church to "store up treasures in Heaven" and to make their heavenly home the focus of their lives.
"Some of us have spent the entire pandemic looking at houses, but we have not spent five minutes thinking about the one that is being prepared for us in Heaven," he said.
Last but not least, he warned that not everyone would get to Heaven.
"The tell-tale sign of the Son of Man coming is that most people's hearts are going to grow cold," he said. "Start now, knowing Jesus is coming soon by making the move ... the move from earth to Heaven."
