Suddenly

By Rev. Richard Burgett

A few weeks ago in the home church, the Lord placed a message on my heart. The title came to be called "Suddenly". Using Mal. 3:1 which says; "Behold, I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me;" (quoted of John the Baptist, fulfilled in Mt. 11:10; Mk. 1:2; Lk. 7:27 speaking of the first advent)" and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall SUDDENLY come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, he shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts." (second advent).

Nowhere in the New Testament is the statement "the Lord who ye seek," etc. Found. The first advent would and did usher in GRACE. The Second Advent will usher in JUDGEMENT, (Mt. 24: 29-31; Mt. 25: 31-46). In preparation for these great events now 2000 years waiting, God sent His Spirit to aid all men of faith in those preparations that will lead up to the end time.

This Spirit of Grace and Truth, whom the world cannot receive, would lead and guide the believer into all God given truth. The Spirit of God would go with the believer even unto the end of the world. Another way of saying it could be that once the Spirit has entered the world (Pentecost), He will not depart until He takes the Church out of the world (Catching Away). For this to happen Jesus said, "he must go away or the Spirit would not come."Now in Acts 2:2, the Spirit came, but how did he come? "And SUDDENLY there came a sound from heaven like a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house, where they were sitting; tongues as of fire came and sat upon each and every one of them, all present being filled with the Holy Ghost. They spoke with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." The empowerment to those disciples of the Upper Room (120 in number) gave them power to do God's work.

On the way to PRAYER in Acts 3:7, "Immediately" (suddenly) a man received healing at the gate of the temple called Beautiful. When the apostles Peter and John spoke in Jesus name, they took hold of him, lifted him up and suddenly he was healed. Paul said of his own conversion that his encounter with a light in the midst of the day blinded him and he asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The answer was Jesus. Paul had come face to face SUDDENLY with the one true God and Lord of Israel.

Let us not forget the very birth announcement of the Christ child, an angel with a message and the shepherds to receive the news; then suddenly there was with that angel a multitude of the heavenly host. Their message of "Peace on earth, good will toward men", still gives hope in our troubled world.

There is a great mystery Paul said. That mystery of the SUDDEN CHANGE, in I Cor. 15: 51-52, speaks of the hope of resurrection which is also implied by the statement of "in the twinkling of an eye", found in I Thess. 4: 4-17; now that is Sudden!

There appears to be a clear message about God doing a sudden work. Even when people think that Jesus is not coming, the word still warns that our Lord will come Suddenly. When he will come we cannot say, but he will come and it will be a sudden event. In that day there will not be any time to correct one's sinful life that they have lived, because when Jesus comes, it will be Sudden.

God may be speaking to your heart, suddenly you feel this need in your life, an emptiness in your heart, a loneliness in your spirit, that is conviction; which comes on you by the hearing of the message about the saving Grace of Jesus. Suddenly you feel your need of him to come into your life.

STOP WHERE YOU ARE, ASK HIM TO FORGIVE YOU OF ANY AND ALL OF YOUR SINS. BELIEVE ON HIM AS YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOR. CAST ALL YOUR CARES ON HIM FOR HE CARES FOR YOU. BELIEVE THAT HIS BLOOD ON THE CROSS PAID FOR ALL OF YOUR SINS. Pour out your heart to him in prayer. THEN RISE; FIND YOU A MINISTER THAT WILL BAPTIZE YOU IN THE "NAME OF JESUS" FOR THE REMISSION OF SIN (SO THE RECORD IN HEAVEN IS CLEARED "REMITTED"). tHEN GET READY, FOR SUDDENLY, GOD WILL FILL YOU WITH THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST WITH THE SIGN OF SPEAKING IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE; Acts 2.

Come on now, why not do something for yourself? Suddenly you will know what it is to come in contact with the power of God and the joy of being Born Again; John 3. Then suddenly there will be a change in you. Old things will lose their hold on you. New things will take the place of the old, making your life better than it could ever be while living in the world and sin. Suddenly you have come to the end of this article and thank you for reading it. But in the same time you could come to know Jesus and have started on a brand new life. Salvation could be compared to swimming. Some people try to ease in and freeze in the attempt, while others Suddenly plunge in and find the water is just right. What will you do suddenly, now that you have read this? Will you Suddenly plunge into a relationship with Jesus or Suddenly turn away?

Be careful of making a sudden decision. It could be the wrong one. If it is to decide to walk away from Jesus, it will be the wrong choice!

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