Embedded Files
It’s Day 95!!
ARTICLE 7 FROM THERE HE WILL COME AGAIN TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD
HE WILL COME AGAIN IN GLORY
Today and tomorrow is this section we are in
CHRIST ALREADY REIGNS THROUGH THE CHURCH…
Christ’s Kingdom has been established ON THIS EARTH through His Church
IT IS ALREADY HERE!!
AT THE SAME TIME…
IT IS STILL TO COME!!
This reality of ALREADY
This reality of NOT YET
So what are the ways in which Jesus Christ CONTINUES TO REIGN?
He continues to reign in His Church, HIS BODY ON EARTH
He continues to reign because He is EXALTED in Heaven at the right hand of the Father
He is HEAD of the Kingdom
He is HEAD of the Church
…UNTIL ALL THINGS ARE SUBJECTED TO HIM
Paragraph 671 says, “Though already present in his Church, Christ’s regin is nevertheless yet to be fulfilled ‘with power and great glory’ by the king’s return to earth.”
This KINGDOM is still under attack on earth
We are called THE CHURCH MILITANT
We are the Church that CONTINUES TO FIGHT IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST against the Powers and Principalities ON the earth and UNDER the earth
We continue to pray for Jesus to RETURN
Even though Jesus is WITH US
Even though His Church is established ON THIS EARTH
Even though the Kingdom reigns in Heaven
There is still THE TIME OF WAITING
We await Christ’s return with POWER AND GREAT GLORY
We have this prayer, “MARANATHA!”
COME LORD JESUS!!
AND YET…
Paragraphs 673 to 674 are THE GLORIOUS ADVENT OF CHRIST, THE HOPE OF ISRAEL
This is something we as Christians believe
Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of EVERY PROMISE that God made to the People of Israel
So Christianity IS the fulfillment of Judaism
That can sound so triumphalistic
It sounds like “Hey! We win!”
BUT…
We got brought into this
We get GRAFTED ONTO THE TREE as St. Paul said
What God WANTS is for the People of Israel to win
Paragraph 674 says, “The ‘full inclusion’ of the Jews in the Messiah’s salvation, in the wake of ‘the full number of the Gentiles,’ will enable the People of God to achieve ‘the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,’ in which ‘God may be all in all.’”
THIS IS THE GREAT PRAYER!!
THIS IS THE GREAT HOPE!!
Here we are having been brought into CHRIST’S BODY
Here we are having been brought into CHRIST’S REIGN
Here we are having been brought into CHRIST’S CHURCH
Here we are having been brought into CHRIST’S KINGDOM
AND YET…
There is something UNDONE when the People of God…
(SQUIRREL!! 😉)
When we read the Old Testament we recognize the GREAT LOVE God has for the Chosen People of Israel
You can imagine the GREAT PAIN for all those Chosen Jewish People who do not yet know Jesus
So we continue to pray for ourselves
COME LORD JESUS!!
BUT…
We also pray for that FULFILLMENT of the Chosen People of God
God has not revoked His choosing of them
He has not turned back His love
He has not voided His Covenant
He wants it to be fulfilled in the life of EVERY HUMAN BEING
And in a particular, mysterious, beautiful way in the life of EVERY JEWISH PERSON
THAT IS A POWERFUL THING!!
It might sound strange to say
Because we live in a culture that says LIVE AND LET LIVE
At the same time…
It is NOT saying, “I don’t care about you!”
At the same time…
The more we CARE about someone the more we care about someone, the more we want them to know the FULLNESS of what God wants for them
That is true for our family members
That is true for our friends
That is true for ourselves
You are someone who is WORTH LOVING
You are someone who is WORTH TAKING CARE OF
Even though we have a division when it comes to religion and what we believe and who we follow
We PROCLAIM AND PROFESS that Jesus, God our Father, and the Holy Spirit have not revoked their choosing of the People of Israel, the Jewish People
So let’s pray now for ourselves
Let’s pray for the Church on Earth
Let’s pray for the Kingdom yet to come
Let’s pray for ALL PEOPLE ON EARTH who do not yet know Jesus Christ
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we ask you please send your Holy Spirit into our hearts that we can be fully converted to you. Please send your Holy Spirit into the hearts of all of our friends, our family members who have walked away from the Church, all those who have never encountered you and your love. We ask you to send your Holy Spirit upon all people who share other beliefs, that they may be drawn by your Spirit of Truth to your very heart which is Truth. Lord God, your Son Jesus Christ declared that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to you except through Him. And so we ask please help us all, all of us. Whether we are professing Christians or not, help us all to come to know the Way, the Truth, and the Life Jesus Christ and by that knowledge and by that following of Him to come to you, Father. We make this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen”
THERE IT IS!!
THERE IS SOMETHING SO POWERFUL ABOUT THIS REALITY!!
FROM THERE HE WILL COME AGAIN TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD
HE WILL COME AGAIN IN GLORY
CHRIST ALREADY REIGNS THROUGH THE CHURCH…
Jesus is the Messiah
As the Messiah He has established THE KINGDOM
That is one of the things the Messiah would do
The Kingdom is THE CHURCH ON EARTH
Paragraph 669 says, “As Lord, Christ is also head of the Church, which is his Body.”
THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!!
The Body of Christ on Earth ALSO HAS A HEAD
WE NEED BOTH!!
This is one of those declarations we will dive more deeply into later on in the REALITY OF THE CHURCH and the NECESSITY OF THE CHURCH
The Church on Earth is Christ’s BODY
SO WE NEED THE CHURCH!!
Jesus Christ is the HEAD of the Church
WE NEED THE HEAD!!
Sometimes people have a problem when they MERELY have a “one on one” relationship with Jesus
Now, of course we all NEED to have a “one on one” relationship with Jesus
ALL OF US need to have a personal relationship with Christ
IN FACT…
That’s why all of us were MADE
We are made to have a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE HOLY TRINITY
AT THE SAME TIME…
We are meant to have a COMMUNAL RELATIONSHIP with His Body
So to have a relationship with JUST the Head and to consider ourselves EXEMPT from the Body would be to DECAPITATE JESUS in some ways
It would be cradling the Head and IGNORING the Body
As Christians we are made to love our Head, Jesus Christ
We are also made to love His Body, THE CHURCH
Paragraph 669 continues, “Christ dwells on earth in his Church.”
Paragraph 670 says, “Since the Ascension God’s plan has entered into its fulfillment. We are already at ‘the last hour.’”
We sometimes think, “So WHEN is Jesus going to come again?”
WE ARE ALREADY IN THE LAST HOUR!!
THIS IS THE FINAL AGE!!
Paragraph 670 continues, “‘Already the final age of the world is with us, and the renewal of the world is irrevocably under way…”
Not only are these THE LAST DAYS
BUT…
THE RENEWAL OF THE WORLD!!
THIS IS REMARKABLE!!
The Holy Spirit is PRESENT HERE ON THIS PLANET
The Holy Spirit is PRESENT IN EVERY SINGLE CHRISTIAN
So this RENEWAL of the world is IRREVOCABLY UNDER WAY
Paragraph 670 continues, “...it is even now anticipated in a certain real way, for the Church on earth is endowed already with a sanctity that is real but imperfect’”
THE CHURCH IS HOLY!!
When we hit THE CHURCH we will talk about this
The Holy Spirit is the SOUL of the Church
THEREFORE THE CHURCH IS HOLY!!
THE CHURCH IS THE BODY OF CHRIST!!
THEREFORE THE CHURCH IS HOLY!!
IT ALREADY HAS A SANCITY!!
It is VERY IMPORTANT for us to EMPHASIZE THIS and to be able to TRULY AND BOLDLY PROCLAIM THIS
By virtue of the Holy Spirit, Christ’s Kingdom aka THE CHURCH ON EARTH is endowed already with a SANCTITY THAT IS REAL
So the Church has a HOLINESS that is REAL
BUT IT IS IMPERFECT!!
The Church is DIVINE and HUMAN
The Soul of the Church is the Holy Spirit
AT THE SAME TIME…
The Church is comprised of human beings who are like us
We are BROKEN
We are CLAIMED BY JESUS
We are MADE HOLY BY JESUS
We have the Holy Spirit DWELLING INSIDE OF US
We are TEMPLES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
We can be HOLY IN A UNIQUE WAY
AND AT THE SAME TIME…
WE ARE BROKEN
Why would we expect anything different from the Church of God?
The Church is already endowed with a sanctity that is REAL BUT IMPERFECT
Paragraph 671 says, “Though already present in his Church, Christ’s reign is nevertheless yet to be fulfilled…”
THIS IS THE LAST AGE!!
THIS IS THE FINAL AGE OF THE WORLD WITH US!!
THIS RENEWAL IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW!!
AND AT THE SAME TIME…
Paragraph 671 continues, “This reign is still under attack by the evil powers, even though they have been defeated definitively by Christ’s Passover.”
Tomorrow we will talk about that
Tomorrow we will talk briefly about the Antichrist
We are ALREADY and NOT YET
The Kingdom is established ALREADY and NOT YET
CHRIST HAS COME!!
YES!!
HE DEFINITELY HAS COME!!
So the reality of His Reign IS ALREADY HERE
So the reality of His Reign is NOT YET
There is something that HAS BEEN DONE
AND…
There is something YET TO BE DONE
He has won DEFINITIVELY
AND AT THE SAME TIME…
There is still a battle to be fought
Have you read The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien?
One of the critiques about the final movie The Return of the King is that the goal of the entire movie is to destroy the ring of Sauron
So they destroy the ring (Hey!! It’s been 20 years since this movie came out. The moratorium on spoilers is now null and void!! 😉)
And then there is still a lot of movie left!!
There is 27 MINUTES LEFT!!
People complained how there are multiple endings to this movie
So THAT’S the end…
OH WAIT THERE’S MORE!!!
Ok THAT’S the end…
OH WAIT THERE’S MORE!!
(It’s true…people in the audience actually groaned with each new “ending” but I loved this movie so much….ESPECIALLY this scene!!! Lord of the Rings- Legolas killing the oliphaunt 😉)
That’s kind of the critique from some people who didn’t understand Tolkien’s original work
The ring gets destroyed
The hobbits get rescued
The Fellowship gets reunited
THAT’S IT!!
NO!!
THAT IS NOT IT!!
Because the hobbits return to the Shire which had been untouched by darkness
BUT…
While they were away on this journey to destroy the ring and defeat the Evil One, Sauron, evil had infected their home
Even though the big bad guy, Sauron, had been definitively defeated when the ring was destroyed
They come back to their home and see that the effects of evil had touched their home and the people around them
So there was still a battle to fight even though there was a DEFINITIVE VICTORY
So one of the final chapters in The Lord of the Rings is called THE SCOURING OF THE SHIRE
Evil had been defeated
AND YET…
There was still work to be done
There are CONSEQUENCES to evil
Just like there are CONSEQUENCES to good
So Jesus Christ has CONQUERED DEATH
Jesus Christ has CONQUERED THE EVIL ONE
AND YET…
THERE IS STILL A BATTLE TO FIGHT!!
Paragraph 672 says, “According to the Lord, the present time is the time of the Spirit and of witness, but also a time still marked by ‘distress’ and the trial of evil which does not spare the Church and ushers in the struggles of the last days.”
That is what has been given to us
We worship God now in Spirit and in Truth
Before He ascended to Heaven Jesus said, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and you will be my witnesses.”
THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR US!!
It would be pretty ignorant of us to deny that the trial of evil has entered the Church as well as it has entered every corner of humanity
We have not been spared
The trial of evil has not been spared
The Church has been just as affected by this trial of evil as any other place
WE HAVE TO KEEP ON FIGHTING!!
IN FACT…
Paragraph 672 continues, “...the trial of evil which does not spare the Church and ushers in the struggles of the last days. It is a time of waiting and watching.”
THAT IS WHAT WE HAVE TO DO!!
WE ALWAYS HAVE TO BE VIGILANT!!
WAITING AND WATCHING!!
Remember when we read the books of the prophets in the Old Testament in THE BIBLE IN A YEAR?
There was THE WATCHMAN (Shall we take a stroll in our past? Go read Day 228: The Watchman’s Duty in The Bible in a Year Study Guide for a refresher!! 😃 www.thebibleinayearstudyguide.com/day-228 )
The job of the watchman is to BE ON GUARD
He is to be VIGILANT
The job is to say, “Ok when there is good I will call out and point out the good and say that is where we are going. When there is evil we must be willing to call out and point out the evil.”
For too long, what we do in our lives is we let the evil IN OUR HEARTS
IN OUR ACTIONS
IN OUR RELATIONSHIPS
We let the evil remain in darkness
We’ve done that in the Church at times too
We let the evil REMAIN IN DARKNESS
We do not BRING IT INTO THE LIGHT
AND YET…
THIS IS PART OF THE CHALLENGE!!
A TIME OF WAITING AND WATCHING!!
A TIME OF BEING VIGILANT AND ACTUALLY FIGHTING!!
Imagine this…
Part of that fight is simply bringing what is dark INTO THE LIGHT
That is what we start TODAY
RIGHT NOW!!
WE CAN START TODAY!!
What is in my own heart that is in darkness?
If you have been BAPTIZED as a Christian…
If you have been CONFIRMED by the POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
GOD HAS DONE A MIRACLE IN YOU!!
HE IS VICTORY!!
YOU ARE PART OF THE KINGDOM!!
YOU HAVE BEEN BROUGHT INTO THE BODY OF CHRIST!!
SO YOU ARE HOLY!!
THE HOLY SPIRIT DWELLS IN YOU!!
AND AT THE SAME TIME…
YOU ARE BROKEN!!
THERE IS PART OF YOUR LIFE AND HEART THAT REMAINS IN SHADOW!!
Just like The Church…
Just like Christ’s Kingdom on earth…
THERE IS HOLINESS
AND…
THERE IS BROKENNESS
One of the first things we need to do in this time of waiting and watching is to bring what is BROKEN to the Lord to be HEALED
To bring WHAT IS IN SHADOW into the LIGHT
To bring WHAT IS IN DARKNESS to be SEEN
That’s what we do TODAY AND EVERY DAY
THAT TAKES A LOT OF GUTS THOUGH!!
THAT TAKES A LOT OF COURAGE!!
THAT TAKES A LOT OF GRACE!!
MAN!! (OH MAN!! 😉)
WHAT A GREAT DAY!!
WHAT A GREAT INVITATION!!
To know that we are made HOLY even though we remain BROKEN
BUT…
THESE ARE THE LAST DAYS!!
THIS IS THE LAST AGE!!
THE LAST FINAL AGE OF PURIFICATION AND OF GLORIFICATION FOR THE LORD!!
Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!
Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!
I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!
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