"A Back Seat View"
James Pardue • March 22, 2020
A Note From the Pastor
Revelation 19 : 14
“And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.”
I never have liked riding in the back seat of a car. Call it being a control freak or just plain being bored and cramped in the back of a vehicle. Give me the drivers seat and a good view and driving becomes a joy. Spiritually speaking though this is a habit we must learn to break. We must learn to allow Christ to take control and let him do the driving. Then we begin to learn that the back-seat view is not that bad. No greater place is this seen then in Revelation 19 at the Lord’s second coming to the earth!
When Christ returns the Bible declares emphatically that the armies of heaven will follow Him back to the valley of Megiddo. The description of these armies leaves no doubt that the armies are made up of the Saints who have come through the blood and trusted in Christ. They will follow the Lord back in His victorious return and will be witness to a site from a truly wonderful vantage point. You say, “Preacher, what will they see?” Well may I say we will view the following:
First, we will see our Savior returning to the earth in all His splendor! Arrayed like a King displayed for all to see.
Next, I would remind you that we will see Him coming in power and great glory! Not just to win a battle, but to defeat Satan and set things right upon the earth.
Then I would say that we will come viewing the reality of being on the winning side! Oh, want that be grand to know that our faith in Christ has put us on the winning side for all eternity of the battle between good and evil.
We will witness the greatest battle ever won by the sheer might and force of Christ spoken Word. Man has built many powerful weapons as seen at Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II, but no one has ever seen the power demonstrated by a risen Christ greater than His regenerating power of Salvation and the power He will demonstrate when he returns to Megiddo.
Finally, we will view the judgement of the Beast and the False Prophet who will have caused so much havoc upon the earth for seven years. We will see them finally put in their rightful place.
All of this we will witness from the “back seat” view as Christ takes the lead! What a day and a view that will be.
Pastor James
While going through some of my notes I came upon this poem by J.R. Naylor that I pray would be the desire of each of our hearts for those who are lost around us. "Dear Lord, I have a friend who's lost, without Thy love and care. I have a friend who's lost tonight - out in the dark somewhere. O Shepherd of the sheep, there's not one in the fold when day is done. O Shepherd of our souls, I pray, help Thou my friend to find the way! Dear Lord, I cannot help my friend who's lost and deaf and blind, but Thou the Great Physician art the Savior of mankind. And so I bring my prayer to Thee with earnest heart, and trustingly believing Thou - who draws all men unto Thyself - will help my friend!"
This weekend, while staying home like so any other Americans, my wife Karen decided it was a good time to repaint our laundry room from the beautiful canary yellow (my sentiments) to the nice clean "Swiss Coffee" that was her choice. Two gallons of good old Lowes Hardware Valspar Paint, a brush and a roller, and some other odds and end necessities and she was off to the races. Good bye Yellow and hello white (Swiss Coffee). The thing that I quickly noticed as I watched my wife go to painting (yes I helped some too :)) was how much cleaner, whiter, and revealing the new paint looked compared to my old favorite of yellow. What once I thought was clean and bright was instantly dark, dirty, and unwanted. What I thought was a pretty color instantly was shown to be dirty when put up against something bright and clean. I was then reminded as I looked at the two colors what God said in His Word that if we would come to him He would make us "Whiter than Snow" from our sins. Not White as snow but "whiter than snow". God promised that when He was finished with us that even the new fallen snow would look dirty in comparison to how clean He would make us in Christ. O my friend, it is beyond comprehension for us to realize just how clean and pure we have been made through the blood of Christ. This one thing I know, if the new fallen snow that glistens and makes us to squint due to the way it reflects the sun will be made to be dirty in comparison to the way we will be through the blood, then we will be clean and pure and fit for the presence of our Heavenly Father. Praise His holy name!!! Pastor James
I Thessalonians 4 : 18 “The Comfort of His Coming” “Wherefore comfort one another with these words”. Words are useless if they have no credibility, basis of fact, or help in what they promise. Many are the words that are spoken today that are just ramblings that offer no help to the hearer. Paul in contrast had just reminded the Thessalonian believers, and every believer down through the centuries, of words that were sure, credible, and provided for a great resurrection we all should look forward to in the very near future. You see Paul’s instruction concerning the rapture of the saints out of this world was based upon a living faith in Christ, certain resurrection that would take place, and a reunion that we would be able to enjoy for all eternity with our loved ones and so many more that we will meet who were saved by the grace of God. These words given by God through the Holy Spirit speak peace and comfort to our hearts. They remind us that this world is not our home, that we will soon be leaving out of this world for a new home, and that we will see Jesus face to face soon. Of the comfort that brings to our hearts when we face life’s way knowing that whether by the grave or by the air we are victors in Christ! Wherefore comfort one another today with these promises given to us by our Lord! Pastor James