Wirksworth | 31/05/26 | The King is Coming | Ray Novotny

Wirksworth 

Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/354059/episodes/19267496-wirksworth-31-05-26-the-king-is-coming-ray-novotny.mp3

Ray spoke about the coming again of King Jesus.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

And um we do record the talks here and then we put them on the uh Church and website. So if anybody ever misses them, we can come back and listen to the talk. Lord, we thank you for Ray, his heart for you, Lord Jesus. Would you just bless him this morning? The words that you have given him, that they would bless everybody here this morning, Lord Jesus, in whatever way you know that we need. We lift him up to you. Praise your name, Jesus. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Amen.

unknown 0:35

This is cool.

SPEAKER_00 0:41

Are you not you can't see me then, can you? Morning. Whoa, what a morning. I love coming here. Where were you last week? I missed you all last week. Well, I hope you'll all be encouraged this morning what I'm going to bring. Um I hope that you'd be encouraged in your Christian walk. As the writer of Hebrews says, let us run with perseverance, the race marked out for us. And we pray that you'll be encouraged to keep running that race this morning. Wherever you are in your Christian walk, whatever situation you find yourself in, no matter how difficult it might be at the moment, how weary you are, whether you're on the top of the mountains, whether you're stuck in a really heat-filled tent worshiping God. Hebrews, the writer of Hebrews says, let us throw off, say, say throw off. Throw off, throw off. Yeah, got a response. Let us throw off everything that hinders us. So yeah, it's funny how it says throw off, in it. So you know, it's not something you just say, it's something you do. And sometimes when I'm struggling with something that's really doggy me only, you know, something tempts you during the day, you can't just say, Jesus, if you can rebuke it and it'll go away. Uh, but you can also, it's the same thing as throw it away, throw it off. Hebrews 12, let's read the whole thing. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great crowd, cloud of witnesses, cloud of witnesses, who are they? Old Testament saints, innumerable believers that throughout history have preserved in faith, and also we too are witnesses to each other, aren't we? So let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, for the joy set before him. It is joy. He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you'll not grow weary, weary and lose heart. So that's what I want to encourage you with this morning that you don't grow weary, lose heart. It's not the subject I'm talking about. The subject I'm talking about is the king is coming. Wow. The king is coming. I drive to work over to Rochdale uh twice a week, and what I started to do, it's about an hour, an hour and three quarters each way, so it's quite a long time. Um, and I'd usually listen to all kinds of podcasts, but I picked up um this art called Audible, I think I'm sure some of you know about it, and I saw on there that David Suchet was doing he just reads the Bible from beginning to end, uh, and I picked the one that started with the first of the prophets all the way to Revelation, and it took uh quite a few journeys, but I was so blessed that you know, instead of being in my own mind, in my own space, you know, you've been fed the word, and it it it does it so so really well. Um but recently, well sorry, recently a couple of months ago, um it was coming back, it was coming to the end of Revelation, and I thought, oh, I wonder what I'm going to read next. Uh but I was listening as as he was narrating through the end of Revelation and um the bit that you know you do know you know stuff and you've read stuff and you've been taught stuff and you know it and you know it, but sometimes God pulls out a verse and it kind of hits you a little bit more, and it's at that time you know that Jesus is actually drawing your attention for a reason. So sometimes you know you can get used to all the stuff that you read and you're here now, what we encourage each other with. But sometimes God just picks up a little word and uh it was the end of Revelation, verse 17, Revelation 22, the last chapter. The spirit and the bride say, Come. I thought, wow, the spirit and the bride say, Come, and let the one who hears say, Come, let the one who is thirsty, come, and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. And I thought, oh, thank you, Lord. And there's a sense, oh come, you're coming again soon. The king is coming. And then I had to wind back a couple of uh when you're on audible, you can wind back, you just press the button, you winds back 30 seconds, and you say, Oh, there was something I'm I that that caught my attention, follow me just matched, got this, and then it says, Blessed, ah, this is verse 14, blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates to the city. And I just bless me, but the really bit that really stood out to me and really touched me was blessed are those who wash their robes. And for a moment just had a thought then I said to the Lord, but Lord, when I was born again, when I gave my life to you, you washed me through and through. You made my you gave me a garment spotless, and that's who I am. And blessed are those who wash their robes, and then I it's taken me through a process of exploring that, and I begin to realise that we are continuously washing our robes, aren't we? As we rub, we're not of the world, we've given our lives to Jesus. I and I think I know enough of people around here, I think everybody uh giving their life to Jesus. We know that we're born again, we know that our uh that we've washed clean, but we're not of the world, but we're rubbing shoulders of the world, and the enemy is always at work rubbing shoulders with you. And as I was driving along, Jesus was saying, I'm coming, you know, the king is coming. And I said, Well, I know you're coming. He says, But I'm coming, the king is coming, and as I was repeating that to himself, my heart started jumping. Wow, and I'm reminded that you know he can come at any moment. Above all else, the reality that should stir our spirit-filled hearts more than anything is this the king is coming, and he's coming soon. Praise God. Jesus himself tells us that no one knows about the day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know what day your Lord will come, Matthew 24, verses 36 and 42. So, why is it so important that we know that the king is coming? And he could come at any time. Because if you know, yeah, exactly. When you know you could come like while we're talking here, tomorrow, the next hour, next week, next month, next year. But when you know you can come like a thief in the night, Jesus says you come as a thief in the night. Trying to keep all this in context uh rather than getting out of sing here. Oh but it all refers back to Jesus spoke in Matthew a lot in his parables, um, and he was writing back to the ancient Jewish wedding. But when you know that Jesus could come any moment, you live your life differently. It's so important, it's the second most talked about topic. I didn't know that, in the Bible. The return of Jesus Christ, also known as the second coming. While salvation is the ultimate overarching theme of scripture, the future return of Christ is explicitly mentioned roughly 318 times in the New Testament alone. And listen to this appearing in 23 of its 27 books. So important that Jesus himself speaks a lot about it, and rightly so. So the King is coming and he's coming soon. This glorious hope strengthens us to persevere, remain faithful, and keep our eyes fixed on him. Not to be distracted, distracted, lots of different distractions, even fear or the pressures of daily life. It's like driving a car, you know where you're going. You might glance down at your satinav every now and then. There might be lots of different signs taking you different places. Even a satinav sometimes tells me uh there's a better way to go. But no, just keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. We may look down briefly, but keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. So we look forward to the day when Jesus Christ will return. And when I ponder things like that, I think, well, he's coming soon, he could come tomorrow, come next week, next month, but what's he doing right now? Well, Jesus tells us he's preparing a place for us. That's exciting. You know, all these things have been really began to begun to really excite me again, really stir up. Coming here to this fellowship, I don't know how or why, I just know that God's placed me here, me and Sue here. And there's just a spark, there's the Holy Spirit spark. I just know the Holy Spirit's in it. Uh, and there's an increased vigour and there's a uh an increased expectation. So what's he doing? Where is he in his present glory? We know that he's playing preparing the place for us, like I said. If he wasn't, he said, I wouldn't say so. I think my mind goes on all kinds of wondering paths. I wonder what that looks like, you know. And I think when you think of what he's created, uh, this universe, this heaven, this earth, and everything in it, and you think how marvellous, how wonderful he is. And you think he knows our hearts, he knows what floats our boat, so to speak. So he's preparing a place for us. And I'm thinking, I wonder what that's like. I wonder what he's doing now. I mean, does he even have time to prepare a place for us? There's so much going on in the world, isn't there? How does he do all that at the same time? There's all things going wars and rumours of wars, all the when you look at the world situation right now, I'm sure I'm sure that Jesus is very, very busy. But he's not too busy to prepare a place for us. I get excited about that. As you read early in Hebrews, it tells us that after enduring the cross and conquering death, Jesus sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Wonder that looks like to help us understand. Uh, we can see that uh both John and Ezekiel had remarkable glimpses of heaven itself. Through their visions, we were given a picture, not a full description, for words can never fully capture what they saw. No words can't fully capture his majesty, but a glimpse of glory of the king who is seated on the throne. In Revelation 1:13, the Apostle John uses the most magnificent and radiant images available to convey the overwhelming glory, beauty, and splendor of the one seated on the throne. Reading from verse 13. And this really, I love pictures like this. God gives me pictures, but I never get one as good as this. And among the lampstands was someone that looked like the son of man, dressed in a robe, reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool. Getting there. As white as snow, not there yet. And his eyes were like blazing fire. Wow. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace. Get a picture of that. This mighty God in heaven. And his voice was like the sound of rushing water. Love all that. In his right hand, he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. And later in Revelation 2, verse 2, John continues, At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it, and the one who sat there had the appearance of Jasper and Ruby. Had to look at what colour is Jasper, and it's like translucent. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. We get glimpses there of the majesty and the awesomeness of Jesus Christ, the one that loves us. The Old Testament, we read, in the Old Testament, we read that Ezekiel had a similar vision. Chapter 1, verses 25. Sitting on the throne was what looked like a man. And then I saw that there was something like shining brass from the centre of his body and up to his head. It looked like fire all around within it. And from the centre of his body and down to his feet, I saw something like fire. There was a bright shining all around him. This light shining around him looked like the rainbow in the clouds on the day of rain. This was what the shining greatness of the Lord looked like. And when I saw it, I fell on my face. Wow. So all my well overwhelmingly powerful is Christ's awesome presence. But what's even more astounding and unfathomable is that this God, this King, this Jesus Christ, the Son of God, willingly left all that. Willingly left the glory of heaven and was born among us. I know it. Don't we know it? So let your hearts be stirred by that. He lived among us, showed in our joys and sorrows, and revealed the love of God. Yet he was rejected, mocked, cruelly beaten until he was scarcely recognizable, and then put to death on a cross. Though innocent and without sin, he endured suffering, humiliation, and death out of the love for us, and out of the love for the whole of humanity. And the one who came to save was rejected by those he came to save. But praise God, the great couldn't hold him. On the third day, Jesus Christ rose victorious from the dead, triumphing over sin, Satan, and death itself. Through his resurrection, he opened a way for all who believe in him to share in that same victory. Because he lives, we too shall live. The one who was crucified and raised is the same one who will return in triumph. And his return will bring the fulfilment of God's purposes. And for each one of us. And not only that, he rose to life so that we could have life with him. Fever and ever and ever, no longer struggling with this world. And in him we're rise to life. In him we're born again. There's a verse in there somewhere, is it 1, John 3? Behold, what manner of love that the Lord Jesus has bestowed on us that we would be called the children of God. He loves us so much. And yet he's coming back to pick us up. And he could come at any time. This God who gave all that up could come at any time. And there's a place in me when I was going through all of this with Jesus and saying, But Lord, I know you're coming. This is yeah. But you need to make yourself ready. Continue focusing on that. Don't rub shoulders with the world that much. Because it's so it's so subtle. It's so subtle. Rubbing shoulders with the world, it rubs on you, and sometimes you don't realise that you're not as prepared as you think you might be. And why Jesus speaks that, why Jesus was talking to me, wasn't because he was waving a finger, it was because he was encouraging me to walk closer with him, encouraging me to realise that he's coming again and he's coming again soon. As Scripture declares in Revelation 19, 7, let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. So we're his bride. You know, he considers us his bride, that's extraordinary. Absolutely extraordinary. And I think while we're in a we're in a place where we do weddings, it's extraordinary. That's got to be a significance. I don't know if you call it prophetic that we're here. But there's certainly a prophetic, there's something prophetic about that, isn't it? Um we're celebrating God and He could come any sooner, and we're ready. Has anybody know Godfrey Burkle?

unknown 20:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:31

Yeah, yeah. He sings a song, Are You Ready, Ready, Ready? A lot of people didn't like it because after that it says ring-a-ding-ding ding. And I like the song, but most people don't. We are his bride, don't you think it's amazing that we yeah, I've done that. I've gone ahead of myself. Uh weddings today are so different though than they were in Jesus' time in ancient Jewish marriage custom. Uh this really blessed me. I kind of I kind of knew it, but sometimes God draws you to it because he wants you to draw closer and to realise um how much he loves you. And how to be his bride, what that really means. I mean, saw Sue walking down the aisle, how many years now, love. Okay, quick, quick. 41, 41. That's wrong. No, 84, 1st of September. Phil, you're married on the same day as us. I believe. It's just whispered, yeah. Um that's 43, is it?

SPEAKER_01 21:36

42. I might have to.

SPEAKER_00 21:40

84. Yes, it's 26, 84. And one of the most amazing times in your life, apart from seeing your kids being born, is seeing your wife walk down the aisle. It's absolutely amazing, and she's still beautiful today.

SPEAKER_01 21:59

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_00 22:02

And she was even more beautiful, and I love her more than I did then, so I loved her then, but you know, as you grow together, you your love grows stronger, doesn't it? So in the ancient Jewish marriage custom, the Moha was the bride price. So the groom would go to the family, and it was a gift given by the groom to secure and demonstrate his covenant commitment. The daughter in the house would have had lots of jobs to do and will have been a very integrated member of the family. So, apart from the bride price, it also paid the price because you were taking her away, and there's a price to be paid for those things not being done. A gift given by the groom to secure and demonstrate his covenant commitment, and in a far greater way, Christ paid the ultimate price with his own blood. That's the price Jesus paid. Redeeming his church and declaring his love in the most costly way possible. And I hadn't realized this, but the next bit, this covenant was also pictured in the sharing of the cup, known as the Kiddushin ceremony, where the groom and bride drank from the same cup to signify a binding covenant relationship. And it was that at that point that you were betrothed. And I think you'll look at that and you see how we God encourages us, like when he did that with the Last Supper with His disciples, you begin to see how all this fits into the ancient marriage and what Jesus was doing and how he sees us as his bride. That when we drink and when we share communion and we break bread, it's remembering what he did for us on that cross and that he paid that price, and that it's a covenant, it's a covenant that he makes with us to signify an eternal relationship. In that light, Jesus' words at the Last Supper take on a deep significance. This cup is a new covenant in my blood. Luke 22.20. It's a striking picture. The groom offers the cup, the bride receives it, and a covenant is established. The price is paid, the covenant is sealed, the groom departs to prepare a place. The bride waits in expectation. She's washing her roads, preparing herself. I believe it would take about a year. The groom returns for his bride. But the bride's family and the bride herself wouldn't know when the groom was coming. It was approximately a year, but it was tradition to make it a complete surprise. And she would have to be ready at any given moment to be whisked away. And they would come often, probably when it's just gone dark, and uh the idea was not to be spotted on the way because they wanted it to be a complete surprise. And there's a bit there where there's the virgins, the bridegroom, the bridesmaids, and all that. If we'll go into all that today, I'm not going to, it's quite exciting. And he whisks her away. Then comes the wedding feast, the joy and fulfilment of what was promised from the beginning. And this is the king that is coming. So let us not be distracted by the worries of life, our present challenges, or by the schemes and strategies of the enemy. Instead, let us remain focused and faithful as we wait for him. When we have the eager anticipation that Jesus could come at any moment, it helps keep us focused on his will and his purposes for our life. It helps us to continuously walk in his ways, living a godly and holy life. It's so important to be ready when he comes. So important that Jesus Himself spoke many parables calling us to this posture of readiness. And when I first wrote this out, I was going to go through some of those, but time's moving on. So maybe if I just share with you just a couple of things here. You might want to go on reading all these things you've read before, but if you want to read them this week, I'd encourage you to do so in the light that Jesus could come at any moment. And these are all things that Jesus strongly encourages us, because he sees this as important, because he knows the world that we live in. He knows how we'll be distracted, he knows all the things we come against. Parable of the ten virgins, Matthew 25, 1 to 13. Be prepared and spiritually ready for the bridegroom's arrival. Don't assume you'll have time later to get it ready, to get ready. Parable of the talents, Matthew 25, 14 to 13. Faithfully use the gifts, opportunities and responsibilities God has entrusted to you until He returns. Use your gifts. We've all been given gifts. Is a stone in the building. Each of us is part of the body. Can't say to my leg, which was hanging off the other week. Well, it wasn't hanging off, but it felt like it was. Can't say I don't need you, although I felt like it sometimes might have been hopping on one leg. We all need each other. Not everybody can be the eyes, nobody can be the ears. Each one of us has gifts and responsibilities. Parable of the faithful and unfaithful servant, remain faithful, obedient, and diligent, even when the master's return seems delayed. And lastly, parable of the watchful servant. Stay alert and watchful. That's Luke 12, 35 to 40. Because the Lord may come at a time when you do not expect him. So the king is coming. Be ready, be fruitful, be faithful, be watchful. And you know what I really like? We can all help us each other to do that. This morning when we were praying in the circle, I felt that just drawing closer God's love, just radiating out of everybody. And I just feel felt in that you feel in a safe, godly space. That you're all helping each other, you're all helping me to be ready, helping me to be faithful when things get hard. More so helping me to be fruitful, encouraging me to keep running that race, and also to be watchful. Thank you. The king is coming. I'll just pray if that's okay. Thank you for you that you encourage us to be ready, to be fruitful, to be faithful, and to be watchful. And Father, I just pray that as we go along this week, where things have rubbed off on us in the world, that you'd show them if they're there for Lord, and that you'd draw us closer to you. And Lord, that our hearts would be continually ready because you could come at any moment. But Father, will you help us to be even more ready, more watchful, Father, as we go on our journey with you. Thank you, Lord. Thank you so much, Ray. Thank you.