Today's Passage - Luke 17:28-32

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 17:28-32   'It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.  But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.  It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.  On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.  Remember Lot's wife!'   In the Old Testament time, Lot's wife lust over Sodom, and she became a salt pole.  Lord used this example to remind us that if our hope is in the matters of the world, then our hearts lust over the matters of the world and we don't want to be with the Lord.  When elderly John was writing the book of Revelations, he saw the scene of the return of the Lord: Devil Satan bound, sin wiped out, all angels and soldiers in heaven sang together to praise and worship God.  Therefore, at the end of Revelations, He wrote the ultimate plead from the saints: "Come, Jesus."  What a beautiful prayer!  Christians should not only have hope in the current life, but also hope that one day we will return to heaven to be with the Lord.  When that day comes, the Lord will wipe our tears off, for there will be no sorrow and no death.   If we are only hopeful of things in the world, we will ultimately be disappointed, because Bible tells us that the world and everything in the world will pass away, so if our expectation is in the return of Jesus Christ, we will have joy, peace and strength through the sufferings in the world.   Expecting doesn't mean waiting while doing nothing, as 2 Peter also taught us to expect Lord's return, and the word "expect" has the meaning of working diligently.  It means we should expect Lord's return zealously, but also actively working for the Lord.  There was one time when President Roosevelt went on a hunting trip in Africa, and on his way back to the U.S. he ran into reverent Morrison who went to Africa for evangelism.  In his evangelistic meeting, over a thousand came to the Lord.  They came back to the U.S. on the same boat, and lots of people where there to welcome the return of the President, but Morrison had to go home alone.  Morrison was full of complaints, because he worked hard for the Lord but no one came to welcome him.  When he prayed, the Lord responded to him that the President had come home, but he hasn't, because his home is in heaven.  When we returned to heaven, he will see a scene of welcome.   Home of the Christians is in heaven, so when the Lord returns we shall be together with the Lord in God's Kingdom.  Lord's promise also assured us that our labor in the Lord will not be done in vain.  May God help us to have the same zealously expecting heart of elderly John, to wait before the Lord and say, "Come, Jesus!"     Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, please adjust our eyesight, for we don't want to be like Lot's wife who loved this world but cannot enter God's promise land.  May your Spirit stir up the eager for you and your return inside our heart, to live for you all our life.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!