Picturing the Real Whit Camp

Wow, okay, this is a real pleasure to talk to everyone around the world
today. I will admit that it’s a slightly intimidating pleasure, but a
pleasure nonetheless. From what Beth and I have seen and heard, it seems
like everyone’s had a really fantastic time fellowshipping, so a huge
thanks to everyone that’s put in to organising this weekend. This is a
very special day for me, particularly because ever since I met Beth, I
have always wanted to go to Whit Camp and here I kind of am. Woohoo!

Now let’s see if I get this right. We’re in the middle of a big field
covered in that luscious English grass that you’ve got over there. It’s
of course, a sunny day with the blue sky. There are lots and lots of
wonderful people milling about, kids running about making happy noises.
Over to one side there is an outrageously high mountain of sticks being
collected for a bonfire that would definitely be illegal in an
Australian summer. To the other side there’s a game of football going on
with all of you Brits showing off your ridiculously good football
skills, but I might add, it’s very good to see that Mattie and Scottie
are doing ourselves proud. In the middle of the field, there is a
massive white tent, now I have to admit that I’m picturing the “British
Bake-off” tent, but that’s okay. And here we all are, I believe a very
large number of us all, inside the white tent, sitting down for the
exhortation. The emblems are on the table before us, and we are all
fellowshipping together remembering Jesus.

Now I’m sure that we were all wishing that that was the case. But under
the current circumstances, this is pretty good, isn’t it? This is a real
blessing. Speaking of the current circumstances, this is a very
unprecedented time, isn’t it? You can almost picture the angels behind
the scenes moving all of the chess pieces around the world, directing
the events, lining things up so that everything is finally perfectly
ready for Jesus to triumphantly return to his family, his brothers and
sisters, who are us.

We’re going to do a little bit of reading from First Thessalonians
today, and we’re going to start with four verses 16 to 18, from the NLT
we read

  For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding
  shout, with the voice of the Arc-Angel and with the trump call of God.
  First the believers who have died will rise from their graves, then
  together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth
  will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we
  will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these
  words.

These are absolutely wonderful words aren’t they brothers and sisters?
That is what we are so desperately excited for every single day,
especially now with what’s going on.

But when brothers and sisters, when is this going to happen? We’ll
follow straight on, First Thessalonians 5.1-3, and Paul says:

  Now concerning how and when all this will happen dear brothers and
  sisters, we don’t really need to write to you, for you know quite well
  that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly like a thief
  in the night.

Jesus Might Return any Minute Now

Personally, I don’t think there’s anything scripturally left that has to
happen before Jesus returns, and personally, I also don’t think the
world has to get any worse before Jesus returns, I like to think that he
could return any day. He might not, it’s God’s will, but I want to
expect it any day now because I want to be ready. If we hear what Jesus
says in Matthew 22.44, he says:

  You also must be ready all the time for the son of man will come, when
  least expected.

Well it’s not really least expected now, is it? It’s too obvious I hear
you say, it’s not going to be a thief in the night if he comes for us
now, with all this going on. Let’s keep reading First Thessalonians
5.4-6:

  But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and
  sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the Day of the Lord comes
  like a thief, for you are all children of the light and of the day. So
  be on your guard, be ready, not asleep like the others, stay alert and
  be clear headed.

Now these are really encouraging words, aren’t they? We won’t be
surprised, we don’t know when it’s gonna happen, but we’re not gonna be
surprised when it happens. Now I said just before that I want to expect
Jesus’ return any day because I want to be ready.

Being Ready

Being ready for Jesus’ return, that’s something that I want to still
have a little bit of a think about. Jesus tells us the parable of the
Wedding Feast where the guests who were ready when the groom comes are
invited into the wedding feast. Remember the ones who had prepared had
their lamps filled with oil. Now I almost hate to admit it, but there
have been times in my life where, even though I was asking for Jesus to
return soon in my prayers, maybe in the back of my head, I was secretly
a bit fearful of it, thinking, ‘well, maybe not yet, actually, because
I’m now ready, I’m just not good enough.’

Now, I don’t think I’ve really ever given it any clear conscious thought
before this exhortation, this concept of being ready and whether I am,
other than probably in the past, thinking in the back of my head, I
really know I need to get ready and hopefully that will happen when I’m
older and I’m a better person ’cause I’m not good enough now.

Well, interestingly, one of the positives that’s come out of this whole
Coronavirus debacle, shenanigans, whatever you want to call it…
disaster. One of the things that’s come out of it for me has been a real
clarity about this concept of being ready for Jesus’ return. Can I
consider myself already? I never have before.

Now I can’t remember what made me start doing this, but early on when
Australia was hit, Beth and the kids were isolating, and I had to keep
going out into big factories full of people from all over the world,
most of whom looked like they didn’t care about socially distancing or
they didn’t understand about socially distancing, and I was genuinely
fearful of bringing the virus home to the kids, especially our newborn
Eden.

I started saying in my prayers, ‘Lord, please, please send Jesus back
today. Me and my family are ready.’ I’ve never said that before in a
prayer to God, I don’t think I’ve ever said it out loud before, but do
you know what? I’ve kept saying it because it’s 100% true. I really do
feel and believe that we are ready. Now good old Strong’s Concordance
tells us that the word ready in this parable in Matthew 25.10 (that’s
the parable of the virgins and the lamps in the oil) means to be
prepared — ready means prepared — and one of the Bible usages for this
word that Strong’s talks about is being prepared to receive one’s
coming, and it says Matthew 25.10, and what we read before Matthew 24.44
(NLT) where Jesus said you [also] must be ready all the time. Strong
says. This is about being prepared to receive one’s coming.

I feel ready for Jesus’ return because I feel prepared to receive Jesus
and we’ll talk about why in a sec, but saying to God, please send Jesus,
we are ready, and saying every day and meaning it and believing it, has
felt incredible, and interestingly I haven’t had any feelings of fear of
Jesus’ return during the Coronavirus. I haven’t even thought about fear
it all to be honest, other than what’s going on in the world.

Considering how close and real the current situation makes me think
about Jesus’ return, this is really interesting to me. I’ve just been
very earnestly and excitedly praying for him to come back as soon as
possible because we want it, and let’s be honest, we really need it, and
hopefully that’s had an effect on Beth and the kids too, hearing those
words. Words are very powerful brothers and sisters, you believe the
words you speak if you keep seeing them.

Be Bold

Now how can I possibly be bold enough to say to God ‘I’m ready for
Jesus’ return’. Let’s just break this down a little bit, this is how I’m
feeling about it. I’m ready because I’m praying for Jesus to return
every day, I have for years, but especially now, and if we read Isaiah
62.6-7 from the NLT

  Take no rest all you who pray to the Lord, give the Lord no rest until
  he completes his work, until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the
  Earth.

What a great concept. This is talking to the Israelites back in Old
Testament times, but the concept applies to us too I’m sure. Give the
Lord no rest, keep praying! I’m ready because I’m expecting Jesus any
day and I’m watching the world every day and I’m seeing the signs that
his return must be getting close. In Mark 13 we read a little parable
from Jesus where he says:

  You don’t know when the master of the household will return in the
  evening, at midnight, before dawn or a daybreak, I say to you what I
  say to everyone: Watch for him.

I’m ready because I cannot wait for his return. I am so excited, so
desperate for it that I pray every day that today is the day, and if we
read Hebrews 9.28 this time from the NET:

  Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, but to those who
  eagerly await him, he will appear a second time not to bear sin, but
  to bring salvation.

Definitely eagerly awaiting. I’m ready because unlike Lot’s wife, I’m
ready to leave all of this as soon as he gets here. Yeah, we’ve got…
things… and stuff, so much stuff, but you know what? I can’t wait to
leave it all behind. Matthew 6.19-21:

  Don’t store up treasures here on Earth. Store your treasures in
  heaven. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart
  will also be.

and I’m ready for Jesus’ return because his return and his kingdom is my
confident hope.

Romans 15.13

  I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy
  and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with
  confident hope.

Be Hopeful

Now I apologise to some of the people in Melbourne. You’ve probably
heard me say this a couple of times, but at the minute I am loving the
definition of the word hope. The Greek word elpis in Strong’s, is to
anticipate, usually with pleasure, expectation, confidence, faith. Now
doesn’t that warm your heart brothers and sisters, to anticipate, with
pleasure, expectation, confidence, faith?

But here’s the big question:

Do I need to feel good enough to be so bold as to say I am ready for
Jesus’ return? And the answer is simple:

No!

No. I’ve finally realised that that fear that might have bean in the
back of my head when I was younger, no longer holds me back from telling
God I am ready for Jesus’ return today, because let’s face it, if I need
to feel good enough to be ready I am never going to be ready, and that
feeling of relief is just another reason why I am so ready and so
desperate for Jesus to return because I finally want to be able to give
God the praise and the glory that he truly deserves for giving us his
son because he’s the only reason that we can be not good enough, and we
can still have this wonderful confident hope because through Jesus our
sins are forgiven — we are justified in God’s sight.

Now that sentence is always struck me, that’s impossible right? Being
made right in God’s sight, being justified in God’s sight. But
thankfully, we’ve got all things are possible. A couple of verses that
are just really standing out to me. Second Tim 1.9 from the NLT

  For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this not
  because we deserved it, because that was his plan from before the
  beginning of time to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.

and Romans 5.2:

  Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of
  undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and
  joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

That’s funny, though, isn’t it? Because we read these words and we nod
and we agree, and we say, Yep, wow, that’s amazing, but then, deep down,
in the middle of the night, when we’re thinking about it, do we actually
believe they apply to us? And those are the kind of thoughts that can
hold you back from feeling even remotely able to say, ‘I am ready for
Jesus’ return.’

Be Humble and Faithful

Along with the thoughts of being ready versus being good enough, I’ve
been thinking a lot about the relationship between humility and faith
now — understatement of the century — we are obviously incredibly humble
before God aren’t we? Psalms 8.3-4 say it so well, they say:

  When I look at the night sky and I see the work of your fingers, the
  moon and the stars you set in place, what are mere mortals that you
  should think about them?

Here’s an interesting question brothers and sisters, that I’ve been
pondering, and the answer could well be different for everyone. Is it
possible to be so humble before God that we’re not allowing ourselves
some of the benefits that he has graciously given to us now while we
wait for Jesus return. I’m not ready because I’m not good enough. Those
lovely versus that James just read out about forgiveness and salvation,
they can’t ever apply to me because I’m not good enough. One of the
songs that I wrote for this year’s Dawn Chorus, which Alex has put
together again like a champion, is called “I Want To Praise You,” and in
this song I explored this idea a little bit.

The song starts off by saying:

“Why is it so hard for us to believe your power to save?
The most powerful force the world has ever seen is the life that Jesus
gave”

It’s easy to talk about and to celebrate the forgiveness that comes from
Jesus’ sacrifice, but it can sometimes be hard to apply it to ourselves
and really believe it, really feel its power wash over us and cleanse us
and give us the energy that we all need. But brothers and sisters, the
words are there in the Bible so many times, and this is another one of
my favourite passages at the minute. Titus 3.4-7, again from the NLT,
gives a good clarity:

  when God our Saviour revealed his kindness and love, he saved us not
  because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.
  He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and a new life through
  the Holy Spirit. Because of his grace, he made us right in his sight
  and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.

and later in this Dawn Chorus song, I say:

“Please don’t let humility dent the power of your faith”

because you can be incredibly perfectly humble before God and have
incredible faith in his love and the power of his son’s sacrifice at the
same time. In fact, the more I think about it, for me personally I feel
like those things go hand in hand, humility and faith.

So let’s bring this full circle. Let’s go back to First Thessalonians 5,
we’re up to verse 8, and we read:

  Let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armour
  of faith and love, wearing as our helmet the confidence of our
  salvation. For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not
  to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us so that whether we are
  dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. So
  encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already
  doing.

Isn’t that last bit very, very apt for this weekend?

Say it Out Loud

Brothers and sisters, I really recommend having a think about saying out
loud that you are ready for Jesus’ return. Believing that Jesus’
sacrifice is more than powerful enough to forgive even your sins and
mine, and having confidence in God’s desire and ability to give even you
and me salvation, and I’m sure that we’re all anticipating the kingdom
and Jesus’ return with a lot of pleasure.

These thoughts are not being proud or presumptuous. I don’t have any
confidence in myself. I have complete confidence in Jesus and in God.
God wants us to feel joy and comfort that He sent us His son on that
there is a brilliant kingdom coming. But why would God do so much for
us, we’re mortal we’re sinners? Why?

It’s this question that can at times make these things difficult to
apply to yourself. It doesn’t make sense, why would God do this? But
think of it like this: God offers us joy and comfort and confidence so
that we can serve Him better, so that we can produce more fruit, so that
we can give him more praise and glory, so that we can inspire others
around us to praise God with our energy and our excitement.

Because God is Love

It makes a huge amount of sense when you put it like that, doesn’t it
brothers and sisters? Talk about an undeserved privilege. Now I do have
to say that not every day is full of joy and energy and excitement. But
these gifts to us from God are also there to help us through the harder
days. Because no matter what’s going on, no matter how we feel, we
always have Jesus to fall back on for help and strength and forgiveness,
and we always have the kingdom toe look forward to.

So let’s keep building ourselves, building each other and encouraging
each other up this weekend with these thoughts brothers and sisters and
let’s remember with joy and humility and faith our wonderful saviour
Jesus Christ in the emblems before us and the wonderful things that
these emblems give us access to now to help us in our walk together,
waiting for Jesus’ glorious return.

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Jamie Wallace