Wonderful Holy Spirit we welcome your awesome presence to reveal your word to our hearts for this hour Move on the hearts of the hearers of this message Bring conviction as only you can do in Jesus name to the book of Acts chapter 1 I'm gonna start at verse 10 and while they look steadfastly toward heaven as He went up behold two men stood by them in white apparel and which also said, ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner, as ye have seen him go into heaven. Our thought today is, Jesus went away, but he's soon to come. We're living in a time of great distress a time of perplexity, a time that the Bible called perilous, dangerous times. And in the midst of how dangerous it may be in the world, because when this pandemic hit the earth or came from one part of the world, and now it it more or less started as a epidemic and is spread it from being an epidemic to a pandemic. That simply means that when this COVID-19 virus left one location, it began to spread. I began to think about that and I said, Lord, it's amazing how this virus has spread around the planet and many lives have been lost or taken from the earth because of a virus. I began to look at it from a positive standpoint. If this virus can spread around the entire planet, how much more should the gospel of Jesus Christ spread around the world? This pandemic, this COVID-19 has killed people, but the gospel comes to bring life to people. The word gospel simply means good news. We noticed something in Acts chapter one. Angels are telling the men of Galilee Why are you standing here looking up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven. They actually watch Jesus after he rose from the dead They actually watch him go back up into heaven and the angels are telling them that This same Jesus that you saw taken up from you into heaven, watch, shall so come in like manner. Jesus went away, my friend, but he's coming back. The signs of the times are all around us. When you see things happening in this world that is just like it's unexplainable, In every part of the world, they're encountering some kind of natural disaster. Just on the news the other day, I think that was in Germany, how they had the 500-year flood. They had water at least six feet high, came through a town that just wiped out everything. In 2016 in Baton Rouge area, we had what you call the 100-year flood. Disasters that's happening on the planet now. I remember this many years ago There's a lot of things that you and I as humans have no control over We can't change what's happening in the world, but we can change for it's like this Since we can't change the times we can change for the times Simply meaning that there's a lot of things that's happening on this earth that you and I are powerless to do anything about. But then there's one thing that we can all do, and that's to be ready before Jesus comes back. In Matthew chapter 24, the disciples asked Jesus a question. He said, tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming in the end of the world? And in Matthew chapter 24, Jesus began to tell him, take heed that nobody deceive you or mislead you into error. He said, many going to come in my name saying I'm Christ and shall deceive many. You're going to hear of wars, rumors of wars. We've been hearing of that for the last couple of years now, threats of war actually taking place on the earth between different nations. He said, listen, Nation shall rise against nation Kingdoms against kingdoms and listen to this part. There shall be famines their shortages pestilence Kovat 19 now, there's the Delta variant or the Delta virus that this is even worse than the Kovat 19 but Jesus is telling his disciples in Mark in Matthew chapter 24 verse 7 that Nation going to ride against nation kingdoms against kingdom. They're going to be shortages and diseases, infectious diseases, watch and earthquakes in different places. Now the only thing here is not just in different places, but it's in every place because like I said earlier, when this COVID-19 started, um, it began to spread and now we became a pandemic. where it's worldwide, where every nation and country on the planet has been impacted by this thing. Some places have been hit harder than others. And even now in different parts of the world, many people still have not recovered from what's going on. And yet there's another one in the world. But what Jesus is saying is, look, these are the signs that I'm soon to come back. These are the signs that i'm going to be returning. So in the book of acts When they was told to wait They begin to look up And they was wondering just looking at jesus going to heaven And they will say you men of galilee the angels say why are you standing here gazing? up into heaven this same jesus Not another jesus this same jesus that you saw taken up watch shall so come. See, Jesus is going away, but he's soon to return. But the question that I want to ask you that's listening to me, you watch the news and you're not watching a lot of stuff that's encouraging. You're watching stuff that can depress you, make you sad because every time you turn around is something happening in somebody's family, in a different part of the world. And do you not recall when the whole world was on lockdown where people was limited to what they can do? If you went to the store, that's all you could do is go to the store, then come back home. A lot of things took place. Many people just begin to crack and to break under such pressure because there wasn't a custom to just being locked in the house all day, but there was no, vaccine for the COVID-19 virus when this first started. But I thank God today that God has given humans the wisdom in actually making a vaccine. But yet in the midst of that, there's another Delta variant of that, uh, uh, epidemic that's even worse than a COVID-19. What is my point? In spite of all what's happening in the world, and as I said, there's a lot of things we have no control over. The only thing you and I can control, it is good, is your eternal resting place. The question I want to ask you, my friend, where will you spend eternity? You know what really gripped my heart when I watched the news and watched the numbers constantly go up? people that died in hospitals Young as well as old people leaving this earth. They're leaving time. They went into eternity But where did they go? When they left this earth, what eternal place did they go to? Was it in heaven or was it in hell? We don't know but see we can't concern ourself about where they went and I'm praying that they went to heaven and But the only one you can concern yourself about with my friend is where will you spend your eternal resting place? Or we will love everybody that left this earth to go to heaven. And guess what? My friend, that's God's wheel that nobody perish, but that all men come to repentance. But sad to say many people will not and see the greatest thing that a person can do now Make preparation because as the Bible says for man also know it not his time The people that left this earth they didn't think or even contemplate that was their final time on the earth and I've read a lot of stories that just broke my heart of Young people who actually died even children that actually caught this virus many people managed to bounce back from it, but many people did not and the thing about it is where would you spend your eternal resting place? The Bible talks about two places, heaven and hell. Heaven is a prepared place, my friend, and hell is a prepared place. But understand something, Jesus died on the cross. He shed his blood for our sins. He gave his life for you and I so that we won't die and be lost when we leave this earth. But the thing is, although he paid our sin debt, he can't make us change. Let me say that again. Jesus paid our sin debt, but he cannot make us change. The Bible says, choose you this day who you will serve. So your eternal resting place is not by chance, not by luck, but by choice. It's a choice we have to make while we're alive. My friend, listen, regardless of what church building you may be going to, if you don't know Jesus Christ, you're in a building and you're lost. You could have been baptized in water, but if you have never given your life to Jesus Christ, you just went down in water. You're still lost. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the father, but by me. Jesus said I am the door by me if any man enter in he shall be saved Jesus said behold I stand at the door and knock if any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in to him and will sup with him and he would meet So the question comes again Where will you spend your eternal resting place? Will you be ready if Jesus was to come back today? If Jesus was to call your name right now, my friend, could you respond and say, Lord, here I am? You shall call and I'm going to answer you as Job said. Or would you have to say, Lord, can you come back because I'm not ready? Think about this, my friend. Jesus went away, but he's soon to return. Stay tuned for part two of Jesus went away, but he's soon to return.