Maranatha And The Waiting

The disciples asked the question we all want answered: “Is this the time?” We go to Acts 1 to sit in that moment with Jesus, where He refuses to give a timetable and instead gives a mission. The Father holds the times and dates by His own authority, but Jesus promises something immediate and tangible: power when the Holy Spirit comes, and a life that becomes a witness from our neighborhood to the ends of the earth.

We also slow down at the ascension, because it’s not just a dramatic exit, it’s a defining promise. Jesus is taken up before their eyes, a cloud hides Him, and two angels deliver a line that still steadies the church: this same Jesus will come back in the same way. If you’ve grown tired of hearing “Jesus is coming soon,” we talk honestly about the strain of waiting, the temptation to “go back,” and why patience is not weakness. We explore how eternity reshapes the word “soon,” and how hope can be restored when our hearts feel worn out.

From there we get practical and personal: staying ready with oil in our lamps, resisting the flood of bitterness and frustration, and letting God refine us so we can host His presence. We connect end times anticipation to unity in the body of Christ, because becoming one is part of the witness the world can’t explain. We close with prayer and a simple cry the church has carried for centuries: Maranatha. If this encourages you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it.

Transcript

Why We Preach His Soon Return

SPEAKER_01 0:31

One of the things that we've been emphasizing over the past five years in this particular podcast is the soon return of Jesus Christ to planet Earth. We are committed to declaring that to be true today because the word of God is true because it's eternal. The word of God carries with it eternal weight. And we're going to be looking into the book of Acts today, involving a declaration that Jesus made. And he being the living word of God, his declarations are as true today as they were when he first made them two thousand some years ago.

Acts 1 And The Father’s Timing

SPEAKER_01 1:36

And Luke, the author of the gospel of Luke, is also the author of the book of Acts, records in the first chapter, starting at verse four, he said on one occasion, while he, Jesus, was eating with them his disciples, he gave them this command Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my father promised which you have heard me speak about, for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. So some time went on from that post resurrection appearance of Jesus. He appeared to his disciples several times after his resurrection, and he gave them clear instructions and clear commands. And those commands are relevant to us today because once again the word of God is eternal. So it says in verse six, so when they met together, they asked him, Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? Because they thought, okay, we're back in Jerusalem, we've met together, we've been hearing about the kingdom being at hand, we've been anticipating the kingdom to be manifest now in its fullness. Is this the time that that's going to take place? It wasn't going to take place a few days ago, but is it going to take place now? Because we're here, we're meeting together, we're doing exactly what you commanded. And he said to them, It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has said by his own authority. Very key, by his own authority, sovereign, his sovereign choosing. It is not for you to know the times or the exact times or dates the Father has set by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Powerful, powerful commission. He gives his disciples a commission

Power Of The Spirit To Witness

SPEAKER_01 4:25

concerning their activity and what would take place in the days to come. And that same commission is applicable to us today. That we are called to be witnesses as to who God is. We witness as to who God is. And how we do that is by Him demonstrating Himself to us and through us.

SPEAKER_00 5:04

But we need power.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

We need the power of the Holy Spirit to be the witnesses that God has called us to be. And some of us have yet to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. And the reason I can say that is this. If you wonder whether or not you've been empowered by the Holy Spirit, if you wonder, if you wonder whether or not you have been, you haven't been. Because you will know when the Spirit of God comes upon you in power. You will know when you are baptized in Him. You know, you will know when you are filled with the Spirit. It's unquestionable because it's a power that is beyond you. It's beyond human strength. It's being empowered by the Holy Spirit of God who comes to dwell within us when we place our faith in Jesus. And so in verse 9, Luke says, and after he said this, he was taken up, meaning he was snatched up. He his feet left the ground. The feet of Jesus left the ground. He was lifted up, he was taken up. He was snatched. Raptured. Jesus was taken up before their very

The Ascension And The Angels’ Promise

SPEAKER_01 6:27

eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. And they were looking intently up into the sky as he was going. I mean wouldn't you? You see a man lifting up off the ground, and he is going up, up, up, up, and a cloud takes him and he can't see him anymore.

SPEAKER_00 6:54

Wouldn't you be looking up? I I'd be looking up.

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They were looking up intently into the sky as he was going when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. That would be he that would be angels appearing to them. Two angels came, two messengers of God came from his presence, from the kingdom of heaven, manifesting on earth. And they still do that today, by the way.

SPEAKER_00 7:25

Angels are among us.

SPEAKER_01 7:32

They said to them, Men of Galilee, they said, Why do you stand here looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way you've seen him go into heaven. He's coming back. The Lord Jesus is coming soon. Now you see, we've been hearing that for two thousand years. Two thousand years. I'm returning, says Jesus. I'm coming back for those who are my own, says the Lord. And yet here we are still waiting, still anticipating.

Waiting Without Losing Heart

SPEAKER_01 8:27

And some of us have given up waiting and have given up anticipating and have gone back to what we were doing before. You've gone back to the old way of life because you're tired of waiting. You're tired of waiting for this move of the Spirit. You're tired of waiting for the return of the Lord. You're tired of waiting for these things of God. And yet here we are in the realm of time and space, trying to put conditions on eternity. God is eternal, and he's speaking things from an eternal perspective, well aware of what's going on in the realm of time and space, and also well aware of the fact that it's requiring patience. Which, by the way, patience is not deadly. It's actually a good thing. Having patience while still waiting and anticipating is a high quality. It's not worrying, it's not wringing our hands and wondering, I wonder if he's gonna do it, I wonder if he's gonna come. I wonder. No, he's coming. Jesus is coming, and we are called to anticipate his soon return. Soon to meet him. How that's gonna take place? I have my ideas, and we're gonna be sharing some of those coming up, but this today is just a reminder to us that Jesus is coming soon. Even though we've been saying that for 2,000 years, in light of eternity, that's soon, man. Because there is no time in eternity, it's eternal. So everything is now. So Jesus is returning soon. When the exact time is, we don't know. That's sovereignly known by God the Father. But the reality is he is coming, and we get to be part of His kingdom's demonstration on earth if we don't lose heart. So I'm encouraging you to come back to your place of anticipating and longing for and looking for the soon return of Jesus. Let the Lord restore within you your faith, your hope, your love. That he can give you his faith, his hope, his love, and that the fire would be on your heart again so that you can tend to the flame. And for some of you, it's just grown weary. And a word of encouragement is all you need, because sometimes that's all I need. I just need to hear something from someone somewhere. Maybe in passing, as I'm listening to a podcast, someone says something and it sticks with me. Well, I'm saying to you, Jesus is returning soon. The scripture says so clearly, and that was 2,000 years ago. How much closer is it now than it was then when we're looking at it in the realm of time and space? And a funny thing happens when it happens. It's gonna feel like it's always been like that. Because that's the way it is in time and space. When we move on and something new happens, it's like, man, it's always been like that. When in all reality, it hasn't. When we look at history, we see changes. Well, we're in the midst of a very significant change right now, and the earth is making preparations for the return of the Lord because we can feel it. We can feel the earth shake, we can feel the volcanic eruption, we can feel the coming together of the thick clouds that encompass the Lord and his mercy so that his glory doesn't destroy us because of its purity. We are in need of the refiner's fire refining

Refiner’s Fire And Becoming One

SPEAKER_01 12:26

us so that we can host and steward his glory, as he makes us holy as he is holy. And he's doing it to his body across the nations because he is calling us to become one. And the only way that that's going to take place is by his presence melting us like gold to flow in and become one. Because on our own, we won't do it. We'll try, we'll come up with councils and we'll come up with different creeds that we agree on intellectually, but inwardly, things haven't changed, and there's divisions that multiply across the body of Christ, and that's not the plan of God. He has called it to be one as he is one, so that the world will know that he is God when they look in on us and say that's the only explanation we have is for why these people behave the way they do, to one another and to God, whom seems to be invisible, but yet they worship him as though he's visible. Hallelujah. That's because we are anticipating and preparing ourselves for the great return of the Lord when we do worship him and we can see who we worship. Hallelujah. Jesus is returning soon, and I want to encourage you to have oil in your lamps, have your wits trimmed, be ready for the return of the Lord, don't get caught with no oil and don't harden your heart and turn your life into one of unbelief and bitterness and disappointment, frustration, anger, jealousy, strife. All those things that try to crowd back in instead of having that pure devotion and anticipation of the Lord. Let that fill your heart instead of anger, frustration, skepticism, bitterness, strife, all that other stuff negative stuff will flood in when the positive stuff leaves. Let's not be that person, but be the person who allows God to continue to nurture you, to mold you, to form things within you that you can't on your own, and some of it's taking time because he loves you and wants you to fit in to the scheme of his wise planning and unfolding. His plans and purposes are unfolding, and we are called to be part of it. Hallelujah. And he's returning soon to see to it that it will be fulfilled just as he declared it would be. Hallelujah. The king is coming. Let's pray to him right now. Lord, we look to you. And we say, Maranatha, come quickly, Lord Jesus. And Father, you sovereignly know the date and the time. It's just in our hearts, we can feel it. We can feel the the earth groaning for the revelation of the sons

Maranatha Prayer And How To Reach Us

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of God, as well as the true revelation of your son Jesus being manifest once again, coming to earth to rule with the government on his shoulders of all nations.

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Hallelujah. So we worship you as God, Lord Jesus, because you are God.

SPEAKER_01 16:42

And Father, we worship you. Holy Spirit, we worship you. God, we worship you. Three in one, one and three, the unique and divine mystery. We honor you and offer ourselves to you to be useful in your hands. Mold us, shape us, use us. Just like you did Jesus. And it's in his name that we stand here and we say, Amen, amen, amen. Amen. Alright, folks, we love you. And if you have any thoughts, questions, concerns, please feel free to fire out a email message. That's our face, excuse me, not Facebook, that's our email address. LifeAroundThefire at gmail.com. LifeAroundThefire at gmail.com is our email address. And you can also just type in Life Around the Fire and look us up on the web. In the meantime, we love you. And we say God bless you. Adios, amigos.