This has been a very challenging and difficult week with racist and prejudiced situations, COVID-19 suffering all across this globe, economic upheaval, unemployment, and so many other challenges all across this planet.
Greetings to each of you. This has been a very challenging and difficult week with racist and prejudiced situations, COVID-19 suffering all across this globe, economic upheaval, unemployment, and so many other challenges all across this planet. You know, in all of this, God calls us to be His hands and His feet to bring healing and hope to those around us. Micah 6:8 is a favorite of mine. I share it with many world leaders as I visit them. It’s a powerful verse and it says, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly . . .”
Do that which is right, do that which is just. But you know what? We don’t always do what is right. And so the Lord says, secondly, “to love mercy.” God shows mercy to us. We need to show mercy to other people and to help them in their time of need, and to be concerned about them, and to help them in a very special way. And then it goes on to indicate, “and to walk humbly with your God.” What an opportunity for us to share Christ and to serve Him with humility. To show value to every human being. To show value to human dignity, and to bring Christ to people being His hands and His feet, showing healing and hope.
You know, hope is so important, and it is so needed today. And during the past few weeks, during all of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic we focused on the Psalms, and the last two weeks, on Matthew 24–passages of hope and encouragement.
Today, I’d like to just focus for a few moments on Matthew 24, and on the ending portion of that—verses 36 to 44. And as we look at this, it says, “but of that day and hour, no one knows not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” Only the Father knows when Christ will return, but we know it will be soon.
And then it talks about the days of Noah, verse 37 and in verse 38, the same things will be happening. People will be living and “eating and drinking,” and “marrying and giving in marriage,” verse 38, “and they did not know until the flood came and took them away.” Then it talks about individuals who will be out in the field or people—”two men in the field,” “two women will be grinding at the mill and one will be taken and the other left,” meaning each of us need to be ready at a time when the Lord is coming, because we don’t know when that is. And those who are not ready will call for the rocks and the mountains to fall on them. And they will suffer death. But those of us who are looking forward to Christ soon coming, those who have been able to share hope and healing with people, will look up and see our Lord coming, and we will be so excited!
Verse 42 says, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.” Verse 44—”Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” What an opportunity for you and me to be hands and feet of Christ and to show healing and hope— hope in Christ—not only for the future, but for today.
Let me share with you a beautiful quotation from the Spirit of Prophecy, from the book Last Day Events, and page 200 and over onto 201. It’s a marvelous book. If you don’t have this, you can go online and you can find it, Last Day Events. And, you can purchase it at an Adventist book center.
Beautiful message here—”The last message of mercy to be given to the world is a revelation of His character of love.” Those wonderful hands and feet of healing and hope, the Holy Spirit working through us. “The children of God are to manifest His glory. In their own life and character they are to reveal what the grace of God has done for them.” What an opportunity in these very troubled times to show people the love of Christ in everything we do.
Let me pray with you. Our Father in heaven, we thank You for this marvelous encouragement, and the hope that we have in Jesus’ soon return, and the abundant life we can live here on this earth as we share with others, in sensitive and careful ways, being hands and feet of healing and hope. And may Christ’s love flow through each of us so that people will be drawn to the Lord and know of the Three Angels’ Messages and of Jesus’ soon return, as we serve Him every day, helping others in the footsteps of Christ. We thank you for hearing us in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.