Dear brothers and sisters, we welcome Rev. Dr. Quek Suan Yew to our midst to preach twice a month and one chapter per message from January 2011 through December 2011.
‘Even so, come, Lord Jesus!’ is the church theme for the year 2011. This theme will not make any sense if you do not believe that Jesus is coming back soon. The Lord Jesus Christ has mentioned three times in Revelation 22:7 and 12, ‘Behold, I come quickly’ and in verse 20, ‘Surely I come quickly.’ The Lord knows the weakness of our flesh and our inclination to forget, therefore He has given us His Word of assurance, ‘Surely I come quickly.’
Only God’s people will pray and long for the return of Christ. The downward and deteriorating trend of the world will continue from this New Year to God’s appointed time of the rapture that will be fulfilled in the Bible before the seven years of Great Tribulation. The downward spiral of all things in the world is evident with the sudden change in weather conditions and the environment around us. In addition, with all kinds of sins that are appearing on the flesh as Bible affirms to us that the world is on a course to self destruction.
However, Christians can say with joy, ‘Even so, come, Lord Jesus’ because He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords who will come to establish His millennial kingdom for a thousand years. God’s people through the ages have been longing and praying for this time and in this age of ours, our prayer to the Lord is also, ‘Thy kingdom come.’ In the millennial rule, Christ will be over all and will visibly be ruling over all and there shall unprecedented peace in the world.
All of us have struggles, struggle in relationships; struggle to be patient; struggle to be kind, struggle against sinful habits. And an eager expectation of Christ’s return will help us to worship the Lord, to pursue holiness and to proclaim the Gospel.
The apostle John was given a vision of a time when the Lord will wipe away all tears and sorrow and sadness will be things of the past. John wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit three times of Christ’s promises, ‘Behold, I come quickly’ that all Christians including you and me can respond by saying, ‘Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.’
Pastor Douglas Ho