Participants: Henry Juarez
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000030
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00:28 Hello, welcome to our program.
00:30 Thanks for joining us today. 00:32 My name is Henry Juarez. 00:34 I've been working with young people, 00:35 I've been a youth leader for the past 12 years, 00:37 first in Texas and now here in Illinois. 00:41 The message today that I'm going to share with you 00:43 is an easy one to grasp hold of. 00:46 It's something that we all need to hear. 00:48 It's about the coming of Jesus. 00:50 And before we get started, 00:51 I'd like to have a word of prayer. 00:54 Father in Heaven, as we look forward to Your coming, 00:58 I pray that each one of us is making 01:00 whatever provisions we need to, 01:02 whatever preparations, to meeting you, 01:06 to being ready to go home with you. 01:08 It's my prayer that somebody here today listening 01:12 will get a glimpse of You 01:14 and how You treat us, how You value us. 01:17 In Jesus name, amen. 01:22 When I was a boy about eight or nine years old, 01:25 I was living in San Antonio. 01:27 We got a word that my uncle Simon 01:29 who lived in Washington D.C. was coming to visit. 01:33 Now he lived so far away that we rarely got to see him. 01:37 Maybe three or four times as I was growing up 01:39 I remember seeing him. 01:41 There was years in between visits. 01:44 And we got all excited because Uncle Simon was coming. 01:47 But it wasn't just me and the kids who got excited. 01:51 My aunts and uncles, my cousins, 01:52 my grandmother and grandfather, they got excited too, 01:56 because Simon was coming 01:57 and you should have seen the commotion 02:00 as people were getting ready for that return. 02:04 People were--I know one uncle who finally got enough time 02:10 to patch up his screen door 02:12 that his wife had been nagging him about. 02:14 But my aunt got a big surprise when, 02:18 not only did he patch the door, he went ahead and replaced it. 02:21 He replaced the door, another uncle painted his house 02:25 to the pleasure of his wife. 02:27 She said, "Oh, he should come more often 02:29 if this is gonna happen. " 02:31 One of my uncles didn't know him, 02:33 he married into the family. 02:35 He didn't know Uncle Simon but he caught the Simon bug 02:39 and my dad saw him downtown one time 02:41 and he said "hey, look Rudy, I got new shoes. " 02:44 "Oh, really?" "Yeah, because Simon's coming. " 02:47 He didn't even know Simon, but he got new shoes 02:49 because Simon was coming. 02:52 You know, it was so amazing to me that when he did come, 02:56 when Uncle Simon arrived, 02:59 he didn't care about the screen door, 03:01 he didn't care about the house that had been painted, 03:04 he didn't even care about my uncle's new shoes. 03:07 He didn't come for all of that. 03:10 He came to see his family and to spend time with them. 03:15 You know, we're told that Jesus is coming, 03:18 Jesus is coming back soon. 03:20 Are we getting ready for His return, 03:23 as my family was getting ready for Simon's return? 03:29 You know, Isaiah 25:9, there's a text 03:34 that I really like because it gives an idea 03:38 of what the people who are here waiting 03:41 for Jesus are gonna be like. 03:44 Isaiah Chapter 25:9 it says, 03:48 "And it shall be said in that day, 03:50 Lo, this is our God, we have waited for Him, 03:55 and He will save us, this is the Lord, 03:59 we have waited for Him, 04:02 and we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. " 04:07 Well, waiting for Him the crowd of people, 04:11 a group of people is gonna be waiting 04:13 for the return of Jesus. 04:15 And my question is, are you one of those 04:17 who are waiting for Jesus? 04:19 Are you making preparations to meet Him again, 04:21 face to face this time? 04:25 Are you waiting for Jesus? 04:29 You know, my question here is 04:33 of concern because we're told that 04:36 Jesus is coming as a thief in the night. 04:40 If you'd like to look at that, 04:41 it's in Second Peter Chapter 3, 04:44 and a lot of people are confused about what this means. 04:48 Second Peter Chapter 3:10. 04:53 They're confused because 04:54 it says, He's coming as a thief in the night, 04:56 that means that He's gonna come 04:59 and snatch people up without us being aware of it. 05:04 But I don't think that's what it means. 05:06 Second Peter 3:10 says, "But the day of the Lord 05:08 will come as a thief in the night. " 05:11 First of all he is declaring that it will come, 05:14 it's going to happen. 05:16 He's coming as a thief in the night, 05:17 "In the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, 05:21 and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, 05:24 and the earth also and the works that are therein 05:26 shall be burned up." 05:28 This is going to happen. 05:31 But if a thief were gonna come to your house, 05:34 if a thief decided "I've been staking it out, 05:37 I've been observing and I know his habits, 05:41 I know this person's routine, 05:46 and I know exactly when to strike. " 05:49 Do you think a thief before he came 05:51 would send you a note saying I'm coming on this date 05:54 with--I'm coming on this date at this time? 06:00 No, if he sent you a note telling you when he was coming, 06:02 not only would you be there waiting for him 06:04 but you'd have the police there with you waiting for him. 06:08 He's coming unannounced. 06:10 Oh, and when the thief comes he's only gonna 06:12 dig through your garbage to see what you left out 06:14 that he could use, right? 06:16 No, he's coming to things that are valuable to him, 06:19 he's gonna leave your trash behind. 06:22 In the same way Jesus is coming unexpected. 06:27 He's coming not to take your trash, 06:32 He's coming to take something 06:33 that's valuable to Him and that is you. 06:38 He is coming unannounced 06:40 and He's coming for value, 06:42 so He does come as a thief in the night. 06:45 Now we not knowing when He's coming 06:48 need to be ready because it could be anytime, 06:51 and that's what I think the urgency is. 06:54 He's coming as a thief in the night, 06:56 but not to be sneaky about it 06:57 just because we don't know when He is coming. 07:00 He's coming unexpected, but we need to be ready. 07:04 We need to be waiting for Him like Isaiah said, 07:08 "Jesus is not coming for a trash, 07:10 He's coming for His precious valuable children. " 07:17 I'd like you to turn to John Chapter 8 now. 07:20 There's a story in the Bible that concerns a woman 07:25 and the way that she was made to feel. 07:27 John Chapter 8. And we'll begin with verse 3. 07:33 "And the scribes and Pharisees 07:35 brought unto him a woman taken in adultery, 07:38 and when they had set her in the midst, 07:42 They say unto him, Master, 07:44 this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. 07:47 Now Moses and the law commands us, 07:50 that such should be stoned, but what sayest thou?" 07:57 They said Jesus, 07:59 they drag this woman threw her at Jesus' feet 08:02 and said "Jesus, we caught this woman doing something bad, 08:06 something she shouldn't have doing, 08:08 we caught her doing a no, no. " 08:09 Now the Law of Moses says that we have every right 08:13 to stone this woman but we're asking you, 08:16 what do you say what should do with her. 08:19 And Jesus stooped down on the ground 08:21 and started writing with His finger in the dirt, 08:25 in the sand there. 08:28 They were looking at Him and saying, 08:29 why is He avoiding the question? 08:32 "Jesus, tell me what should we do? 08:36 Moses law says we should stone her, what do you say?" 08:39 So Jesus stands up. Look at verse 7. 08:42 "So when they continued asking him, 08:45 he lifted up himself, and said unto them, 08:49 He that is without sin among you, 08:52 let him first cast a stone at her. 08:56 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. " 09:01 I don't know what He wrote. 09:03 Maybe He was writing their sins, 09:06 maybe He was writing things that 09:08 they identified with an uh-oh, 09:10 she's not the only guilty party here, I am too. 09:14 But whatever He wrote on there was very effective 09:17 because the Bible says that starting from the oldest, 09:21 down to the least they started walking away. 09:25 Let's look at verse 10 again. 09:30 Let's look at verse 9. 09:32 "And they which heard it, 09:34 being convicted by their own conscience, 09:36 went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, 09:40 even unto the last, and Jesus was left alone, 09:43 and the woman standing in the midst. 09:46 When Jesus had lifted up himself, 09:47 and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, 09:51 Woman, where are those thine accusers? 09:55 hath no man condemned thee? 09:59 She looked around and She said, No man, Lord. 10:02 "And Jesus said something very assuring to her--reassuring. 10:07 He said, "neither do I condemn thee, 10:10 go and sin no more." 10:13 Now Jesus was the only one in that group 10:15 who was without sin. 10:17 He was the only one 10:18 who was able to follow that Law of Moses 10:21 and be the one without sin and cast that first stone. 10:24 Did He do that? No. 10:27 He said, I don't condemn you either. 10:31 But don't continue what you're doing, 10:33 go and sin no more. 10:35 Now, I have a piece of paper. 10:40 It's just a little piece of paper 10:44 but it's been given a value the value is $20. 10:51 Now a lot of people would take this in an instant. 10:55 Yeah, I'll take that, 10:57 that's a valuable piece of paper. 10:59 But they might not if I crumbled it up. 11:02 You know, I was-- I work with editing 11:06 and I was editing some tapes, so logging them. 11:10 One of the tapes that I saw was of a prison in California. 11:15 They had a graduation ceremony 11:16 from the prisoners there who were getting their G.E.D. 11:22 and somebody there said "before you all graduate, 11:27 I'd like to tell you something. " 11:30 And He told us this story that I'm--this illustration 11:35 that I'm sharing with you 11:37 and I thought it was really appropriate for here. 11:39 He showed them the $20 bills and said, 11:41 "Now if I were to crumble this up, 11:44 how many of you would still take it?" 11:46 And all of those hands went up, "I'd still take that $20 bill. " 11:50 He said, "really? It's all wadded up. 11:53 Surely it's not the same value. 11:55 Maybe it's only worth $18 now. " 11:57 No it's still worth $20. 12:00 And so he said, 12:02 "well, what if I were to throw it on the ground 12:04 and step on it, 12:06 what if I were to step on it? 12:11 Now would you like that $20 bill, 12:14 how many of you will take it?" 12:16 And all their hands went up. 12:18 He said, "I don't understand it, 12:20 when it was brand new and crisp, it was worth $20. 12:23 Now its all crumbled up and stepped on. 12:26 Maybe even stained from the bottom of my shoe. 12:29 It's still worth $20, you'd still take it. 12:33 If you were to see it as you were walking down the street 12:37 crumbled up and you say oh, 12:39 there is a piece of paper with the 20 on it, 12:42 you would still pick it up. 12:45 They said, yes we would. 12:46 How about you, would you pick it up? 12:48 You sure would. 12:51 And the reason you would pick it up is 12:53 because even though the condition of it has changed, 12:58 the value of it hasn't changed, 13:01 the value remains the same, It's still worth $20. 13:06 Now think about your life and he was telling these people, 13:10 "You all have done some bad things, 13:12 that's why you're here in prison. 13:14 You all have done some bad things 13:16 where your lives have now been crumpled up 13:19 and disfigured, maybe defaced. 13:23 But I want you to realize 13:26 that no matter how bad you've been, 13:28 no matter what you have done, 13:31 God still looks at your value 13:33 and He is waiting to come and just straighten you out, 13:41 straighten up your life 13:43 because you're still worth something to Him. 13:46 Jesus saw that woman, 13:50 that dirty prostitute laying at His feet 13:54 and He saw her value and He reached down, 13:58 He didn't think it was too much trouble 14:00 to bend down and pick her up. 14:05 He admired her so much, He loved her so much, 14:08 this was His child, she still had value to Him. 14:13 And so He picked her up and He made a difference 14:17 in her life saying, I don't condemn you either. 14:21 And He says the same thing to you. 14:23 It doesn't matter what you have done, 14:26 it doesn't matter how far you've gone, 14:28 how bad you've been, where you've ended up 14:31 or where you are now. 14:34 God is waiting for you 14:36 to come so that He can smooth out 14:39 the rough edges in your life and to make you whole again. 14:43 He wants to restore the value in your eyes, 14:47 the value is still there but He wants you to realize 14:51 that you're still a valuable child of God. 14:57 Second Corinthians 5:17 gives a beautiful illustration 15:02 or a beautiful text telling what this all means 15:08 because when you come to Jesus 15:09 just like this woman came to Jesus, 15:12 you don't stay the same. 15:13 Second Corinthians Chapter 5:17 says, 15:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, 15:21 he is a new creature, old things are passed away, 15:25 behold, all things are become new. " 15:29 If you are in Christ. 15:32 Come to the foot of the cross, come to the feet of Jesus, 15:36 so that He can do for you what He did to that prostitute, 15:40 so that He can take you and make you a new creature, 15:44 a new creation, give you a brand new start. 15:48 He is not going to reject you, because of how dirty you are, 15:51 sinful you are, He's going to restore 15:54 the value in your eyes. 15:57 It's always been there for Him 15:59 and He's going to reassure you that you're still valuable. 16:07 Jesus was on a donkey, 16:11 He was riding up the road that leads to Jerusalem 16:17 and as He was on that donkey, 16:19 there are multitudes of people surrounding Him, praising Him, 16:24 waving palm branches at Him saying 16:27 "Hosanna, King of the Jews." 16:30 Some taking off their coats and putting in on the path, 16:32 so that the donkey can walk across it. 16:36 All of these people were excited, 16:38 but Jesus was not happy. 16:41 Something was troubling Jesus, 16:43 and Jesus finally gets to the point 16:45 where He could overlook the whole city of Jerusalem 16:49 and He puts His hands, His face in His hands 16:52 and He starts to weep. 16:55 And you can find it in Matthew Chapter 23:37 16:59 but He says, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 17:01 how often I would like to have gathered you 17:04 as a hen gathers her chicks but you would not, 17:07 you wouldn't let me get close to you. " 17:10 There was the businessman down there. 17:13 He had talked to Jesus many occasions 17:15 and he had come to believe what Jesus was saying 17:18 and what He had to offer. 17:21 But he came to Jesus one day and said you know, 17:23 Jesus, I really believe what you're saying 17:25 and I understand it and I agree with it. 17:28 But right now, my business is on a-- 17:31 you know, unsteady right now, 17:32 it's on shaky ground and I feel that 17:35 if I took a stand towards you, I could lose it all. 17:39 I wouldn't be able to support my wife and my children. 17:42 But give me a couple of years, 17:44 let me get my business order in, business things in order. 17:48 And then I'll be ready to make a decision for you 17:53 and to follow you all the way. 17:56 And oh, how that crushed Jesus' heart. 18:00 Because Second Corinthians 6:2 says, 18:04 "Behold, now is the accepted time, 18:07 behold, now is the day of salvation. " 18:09 You may not get another chance. Do it today. 18:15 That hurt Jesus. 18:17 How many of us are putting our business 18:22 in front of following Jesus. 18:25 When Jesus tells us follow me all the way, 18:28 keep all of My commandments, keep a day holy. 18:32 The fourth commandment says, keep the seventh day. 18:35 But we say, you know, we have to work on that day 18:37 to provide for the family. 18:39 These days you know we have to work that sixth day 18:42 which is the-- we have to work Saturdays 18:44 which is the sixth work day, the seventh day of the week. 18:50 And Jesus is saying, 18:52 don't concentrate on your business, 18:53 concentrate on following me. 18:56 Now is the accepted time, you may not get another chance. 18:59 Follow me and all these other things will fall into place. 19:04 Overlooking that city there was a society woman down there. 19:08 She'd come to Jesus and said, "Jesus, I believe you too. 19:13 But you know, I am just afraid 19:15 because none of my friends believe you 19:17 and they make fun of me 19:19 when I bring this up and they ridicule me. 19:22 And I don't think I could handle all this 19:24 made fun of and this ridicule, but I have a plan. 19:29 I'm going to slowly and gradually work on them 19:34 and one of these days I know it, 19:36 one of these days, I'll get through to them 19:38 and they will come to you as a group. 19:41 Wouldn't that be better? 19:42 Coming as a group to you rather than just me by myself?" 19:47 And that hurt Jesus too, 19:48 because Jesus doesn't save groups, 19:51 He saves individuals. 19:53 Now a group can be saved but one individual at a time. 19:58 Are you in a group that isn't ready to follow Jesus? 20:04 Leave them behind because Jesus is calling you. 20:07 And if you put Jesus off to go try to win them over, 20:11 chances are they're gonna change your thinking 20:13 and win you back to their side. 20:16 Follow Jesus now while you can. 20:19 And in following Jesus, be the example for them 20:24 that will lead them to Him. 20:27 But Jesus was looking at all those people 20:29 who for one reason or another 20:32 didn't accept Him and it was crushing Him. 20:37 And how He longed to have somebody in that city 20:44 that would stand up for Him. 20:47 Does He long for somebody in your household, 20:50 in your community to stand up for Him? 20:52 Could that somebody be you? 20:55 Stand up for Jesus while you can. 20:57 Stand up to Him, stand up for Him 21:00 while there's still time for you. 21:02 Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. 21:07 You may not get another opportunity. 21:10 Remember that prostitute 21:15 who was--who had given their life to Jesus, 21:20 who had come at Jesus' feet and Jesus transformed her. 21:24 He was thinking about her in the garden 21:30 and He was thinking this is why I was doing it, 21:33 because in the garden, he was wondering 21:36 "God is this even worth it?" 21:39 He was wondering "God, is there any other way 21:42 that I can accomplish what I came to accomplish 21:44 without having to go through with it?" 21:46 And Satan was right there ready to whisper in his ears 21:49 "Jesus don't do this because its not worth it for you. 21:53 You know, all these people who you came to 21:55 and mingled with and all that, they're not accepting you, 21:59 just give them up start over. " 22:02 Satan was there saying "look, not even your closest friends, 22:06 your disciples not all of them are here 22:09 and even the 11 that are here, 22:12 they're not with you, they're not understanding, 22:14 they're not in turn with you, they're back there sleeping. 22:17 Jesus, it's not worth it. Don't go through with it. " 22:23 But there were some people that He kept thinking of, 22:26 and that's what made Him worthwhile for Him. 22:30 Do you think that you made it worthwhile 22:34 as Jesus was thinking about you 22:39 as He looked through time into today's date 22:43 and as He saw you? 22:45 Were you one of those who made it worth it for Jesus? 22:50 I pray that it was, 22:53 I pray that you were the one 22:57 who made it worth it for Jesus. 23:02 Going back to that prostitute, Simon gave a party 23:07 and Jesus was the honored guest 23:10 and as they were there mingling and having a good time, 23:14 in walked this prostitute, in walked Mary Magdalene. 23:19 This former prostitute, 23:24 and she was so thrilled 23:27 with the way that He had 23:29 touched her life and transformed it, 23:31 she left her past behind her. 23:33 Now somebody once said that her past, her prostitution, 23:38 the money that she made from that, she was saving up 23:41 and she had like a year's supply there 23:44 and it was money from her past 23:47 that she had to do something with, 23:48 to get rid of somehow and she came up with the thought 23:52 "I will honor the one who had freed me from this past", 23:57 and so she took that money and went and spent all of it 24:01 and gave it, and bought some perfume. 24:04 Came to that party and when she found Jesus, 24:08 she came to where He was seated, broke that jar of perfume 24:13 and spilled it at His feet, 24:16 took her hair and started wiping His feet with it, 24:22 showing that Jesus this is my past. 24:26 I took my past-- the money from my past 24:29 and bought this and I'm pouring it at your feet. 24:32 Have you done that? 24:34 Have you packaged up your past and given it to Jesus? 24:40 Have you said "I want to leave this behind, 24:42 I'm giving it to you so that you can dispose of it properly?" 24:46 That's what Jesus wants you to do. 24:51 We're told that Jesus was weak, He hadn't had a lot of food 24:55 since the last supper, He hadn't had lot of sleep 24:57 but there He was walking up the hill to Calvary. 25:02 And He was weak and He was falling down. 25:05 And somebody gave a beautiful illustration 25:07 saying that, when He was down on the ground 25:10 wondering if it was worth it, 25:13 that whiff of perfume from couple of nights before 25:16 that Mary had put on Him, He caught a glimpse-- 25:20 a whiff of and said yes, it is worth it. 25:24 And as He got up there on to the hill 25:29 and they nailed Him to the cross, 25:31 it was the thief on the cross who believed 25:34 that made it worth it for Him. 25:36 It was this Mary who gave-- 25:41 who changed her life because of Him, 25:43 who accepted Him, who made it worth it for Him. 25:47 It was acknowledged that some people living today 25:50 would stand up for Him and say "I am going to accept You 25:54 and I'm going to be one of those waiting for You" 25:57 that made it worthwhile for Him. 26:02 And some people say if I had been there that day, 26:04 that crucifixion day, I would have looked up to Jesus 26:06 and said "Jesus I accept you. " 26:09 But what about today? 26:11 Can you look up to Jesus and say "I accept you. 26:15 Now I am going to live for you. " 26:17 That's what Jesus wants, 26:19 that's what would make Him happy. 26:23 Are you waiting for Him? 26:25 Now some of you feel impressed 26:29 that you know, my life hasn't been what it should be. 26:32 I've never really packaged up my past 26:33 and given it to Jesus, I've never come to Him 26:36 and you'd like to do that right now? 26:37 I encourage you to do that. 26:39 And others have given your life to Him 26:41 but your life hasn't been following exactly in line with 26:47 making Jesus proud and pleased. 26:50 And so you'd like to say, Jesus I'd like to recommit myself. 26:54 I invite you to do that right now as well. 26:56 Let's have a short prayer. 26:58 Father in heaven, as we look into our lives 27:02 and see that we're not where we should be, 27:05 and we see that we're still clinging to our past 27:07 I just pray that You help us package it up 27:10 and lay it at your feet and leave at there. 27:14 And I pray, Lord, that 27:16 we have a working relationship with you, 27:19 that we give our life to serving and living for You. 27:24 I pray that You come into our hearts, 27:26 into our lives and transform us, make us into new creatures, 27:30 in Jesus name, amen. 27:33 You know, my Uncle Simon isn't coming anymore, 27:38 but Jesus is coming and He doesn't care 27:41 about your screen door, or your painted house, 27:44 or even your shoes. 27:47 He is coming to see His family 27:50 and to take them home with Him. 27:53 It is my prayer that you are one of those waiting for Him, 27:57 that He is coming to take home. |
Revised 2014-12-17