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weekly sermon 7-12-09
On A Cloudy Day
I was driving today, before I was given this message, and it was extremely dark and gloomy. The rain was coming down very hard and the clouds covered as far as the eye could see. This got me to thinking about what it would be like if the Lord were to come back today. The Bible talks about what it will be like, many times, when Christ returns. I wanted us to look at a few of the passages that talk about this.
First I wanted to know what the Bible said about clouds, because of it being so cloudy today. While searching the word "clouds" in the Bible, I discovered one important factor. The word "clouds" appears eight times in the new testament. That is not the important thing to notice though. The common factor in every verse, except two, about clouds, in the New Testament, dealt with the coming of Christ.
I want us to take a look at the several passages of scripture that deal with clouds and what we are discussing in this message.
Matthew 24:30, "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
Matthew 26:64, "Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven."
Mark 13:26, "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory."
Mark 14:62, "And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven."
1 Thessalonians 4:17, "Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
Revelations 1:7, "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they [also] which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen."
Notice the one thing in common in all the verses shown here, from the New Testament. All of these verses talk about how our Lord and Saviour will come back, in the clouds.
This common theme, in all these passages, really got me to thinking. I really started to take a different look at the dark and gloomy condition of the day. Yes, the day was clouded over, the rain was coming down heavily, it was extremely dark outside, and the day was just a complete damper, but with my new found knowledge, I really looked at the day in a whole new light. Not only did I see the clouds as a mode of transportation for our Lord's coming, but I really saw it as a giant umbrella for our own lives.
I know this last paragraph may have left you wondering what in the world I was talking about, so let me shed a little light on our gloomy day.
It brought me a great sense of comfort knowing that when I see clouds, it meant the Lord could be coming to take us home at any time. It also gave me another sense of comfort. I really started taking a look at how the rain and clouds could resemble our own lives. When we are down, sad, or in just any type of trouble, we refer to our lives as being in a gloomy state.
None of us like when our lives are in a state of gloom. This is a time when we are at our lowest. When we are down and very sad, we are having problems in our lives and require help. Many of us do not like to ask for help because we feel bad asking for the help. Since we do not really like asking for help, we should understand one thing, help is already here without our own knowledge. What I mean is, Christ is with us at all times, good times and bad. When everything seems to be going ok, Christ is with us. When times are not going so great, Christ is with us. So whether we need or want the help or not, Christ is there for us.
How does all this really tie together? Well let me explain. When things are not going so well and things in our lives look gloomy, the clouds seem to be covering our lives, and it looks dark, just remember one thing about the passages of scripture we read, that Christ comes in on clouds. What I am really trying to say is, Christ will come in on clouds, just as it says in the passages, and if your life really seems to be in bad times and all gloomy, we have nothing to fear, because we have the knowledge of knowing He is coming to aide us.
Matthew 28:20, "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen." This tells us that Christ is with us at all times. So if we are down and out, feeling sad and gloomy, or depressed and alone, remember Christ is with us, coming in on OUR clouds.
Now that we know that Christ is with us and arriving on clouds in our lives, we need to understand the real meaning of those passages. On a day, possibly like this one, Christ will come in on clouds. The darkness and gloom will part and on a cloud will arrive the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, and our personal Saviour. This is a glorious way of looking at a rainy and cloudy day. That on a day just like that, our Saviour could come calling us home, to be with Him forever.
If your life is sad and gloomy and you need the Lord to arrive in your life on a cloud, or if you want to know your soul is ready, on a cloudy day, when our Saviour returns, all you have to do is say a simple prayer with me.
Say this simple prayer with me, Dear Lord, I want you to be the Lord over my life, forgive me of my sins, and give me the gift of everlasting life. Amen.
If you have said this simple prayer, then we believe that you have received salvation. We would love to rejoice with you, so please drop us a note, in our link, to let us know and confess Jesus before man, so that we may send you a few things that we hope will help you in your new Christian walk.
With Love in Christ, Pastor Stone
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