THE LAST LAP - THE LAST CRY
It's not over until Jesus Christ, our Lord, says it's over! He's coming back to take back His beloved Earth, but before then, there will be one last triumph, one last victory. We are approaching the greatest phenomenon ever recorded, "The Last Lap - The Last Cry!"
"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel: and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
Barnes' Notes on the Bible states, "With a shout - the word here used (keleusma), does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. It properly means a "cry" of excitement, ... as of sailors at the oar, .. of soldiers rushing to battle ... It does not mean here (Barnes further states) that the Lord himself would make such a shout, but that He would be attended with it; that is, with a multitude who would lift up the voice like that of an army rushing to the conflict." Interesting? This concept that it will not be the Lord shouting, but perhaps the Saints shouting as they rise? It's not that unreasonable, because when He comes, we, the Saints of God, will already be in a "shouting" mode!
The world, at present is abundant with "cries" of revolution, anarchy, and protest, but a new "CRY" is coming. It is a Cry of the army of God, the soldiers of Christ, the Holy Ghost filled, the baptised in Jesus' Name, walkin', talkin', arms wavin', Lord praising, Saints of Almighty God taking their last Lap as witnesses for the soon coming King, the Lord Jesus Christ, the righteous! Oh, satan, you see a dying, half-crazed, confused tumult of Hell-bound humans, but our Lord Jesus Christ sees His earth filled with the Holy Ghost, exuberantly running the race for the finish line. They're on the last lap, all weariness dispelled by the refreshing Spirit of God, with their arms raised high and a Hosannah Cry from their mouths; they're panting with anticipation, longing to see the clouds parting amidst a burst of blinding consuming light.
The Lord will come remove His beloved before He unleashes judgment on the earth, but before that day, He will strengthen His church for one last Lap. He leans down to hear one last Cry from His well-equipped, Bible-fed, Spirit-filled, homecoming infantry. From house to house, transforming into church to church, as neighborhoods become chapels and coffee tables become altars, His army fights harder and moves faster as the clock ticks to the "final number" and it's over!
The earth is not our home; we're justa' passin' through, as the song says, but that "somewhere beyond the blue" is becoming more and more visible as we pick up the pace on our home stretch run. The race has become long and it's now nighttime; we squint in the darkness, trying to catch a glimpse of the soon coming light. The Lord will come as a thief in the night, and thieves only take what is "valuable." He's coming back for the "running" and the "proclaiming," or if you prefer; He's coming for those with a "Lap" and a "Cry!"
By Sheryl Fowler
(Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com. PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, "Austin In Love," Pastor Kenneth Phillips)
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