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As a child, I remember my mom 
would get a Christmas calendar 

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that would count down the days 
to Christmas. 

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My parents were strict growing 
up about waiting until Christmas

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Day to open the presents. 
That means that in the Hensel 

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house we were not counting down 
the days to Christmas Eve, but 

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to Christmas morning. 
Each day we would open one of 

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the tabs for the appropriate 
day, inching ever so close to 

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December 25th. 
It felt that is each day we grew

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closer to the 25th of December, 
the days would go by slower and 

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slower. 
And the longest day of all, you 

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guessed it, December 24th, it 
felt almost impossible to go to 

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sleep. 
And if we did fall asleep, it 

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would not last long. 
We would immediately turn to 

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glance at the clock, only to 
realize that 20 minutes an hour 

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Max had slipped by. 
The longing for Christmas 

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morning was almost too much to 
bear. 

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Maybe that's why we were not 
given the time and the date for 

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the return of Christ. 
Jesus tells us in Matthew 24, 

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verse 36. 
But about that day or hour, no 

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one knows, not even the angels 
in heaven, nor the Son, but only

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the Father. 
If we were to know the time and 

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date, we would be paralyzed in 
expectation. 

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So while we don't know when He 
will return, we can be sure that

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He will return. 
How do we know that it will 

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happen? 
I'll tell you because Jesus told

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us it would happen. 
Revelation chapter 22, verse 7, 

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and behold, I am coming soon. 
This is Jesus talking. 

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Blessed is the one who keeps the
words of prophecy in this book. 

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To those of us longing for the 
return of Christ, to those of us

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yearning for things to be made 
right, to those of us aching for

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the end of pain and suffering, 
Jesus says, behold, look, I am 

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coming soon. 
You can doubt what a politician 

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says during an election cycle. 
You can doubt the accuracy of a 

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telemarketer who says that this 
is a limited time offer. 

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You can raise your eyebrows when
the used car salesman says that 

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this car has only been driven to
church and back. 

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But don't you ever doubt a word 
that comes from the mouth of 

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Jesus? 
Because Jesus is the word of 

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God, the word that created the 
universe in all of its galaxies 

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and with all of its beauty. 
That word. 

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So what is he doing now? 
What is Jesus doing in the in 

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between? 
What is Jesus doing in the 

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waiting? 
Jesus speaks to this in John 

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chapter 14 verses one through 3.
He says this to us. 

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Do not let your hearts be 
troubled. 

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You believe in God, believe also
in me. 

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My Father's house has many 
rooms. 

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If that were not so, what? 
I've told you that I am going 

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there to prepare a place for 
you. 

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And if I go and prepare a place 
for you, I will come back. 

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And what's He going to do to 
take you to be with me? 

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That you also may be where I am.
A widely respected man known as 

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Uncle Johnson died in Michigan 
at the incredible age of 120 

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years old. 
Perhaps it was his advanced 

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years that could be credited to 
the cheerful outlook that 

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characterized his life. 
One day while work in his 

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garden, he was singing songs of 
praise to God, and his pastor 

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happened to walk by, looked over
the fence and called Uncle 

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Johnson. 
You seem very happy today. 

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Yes, I was just thinking, said 
the old man. 

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Thinking about what? 
Questioned his pastor. 

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Oh, I was just thinking that if 
the crumbs of joy that fall from

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the master's table into this 
world are so good, what will the

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great loaf in glory be like? 
I tell you, Sir, there will be 

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enough for everyone and some to 
spare up there. 

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Earlier this year, Robert L 
Sturm passed away. 

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He was born in 1933. 
He served as a Lieutenant 

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Colonel in the United States Air
Force and while serving in the 

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Vietnam War, he was taken 
captive to North Vietnam, where 

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he was a prisoner of war for 
five years. 

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On March 17th, 1973, at the 
Travis Air Force Base in Solano 

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County, California, Associated 
Press photographer Slava Vietor 

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captured the moment he was 
reunited with his family. 

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That photo ended up winning the 
Pulitzer Prize and was given the

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name Burst of Joy. 
I think that this is the moment 

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that awaits all of us who are in
Christ. 

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One day He will return and we 
will run gleefully into His open

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arms and our hearts will 
experience a burst of joy. 

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We will finally take hold of the
object of our faith as He wipes 

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every tear from our eyes. 
We know He's coming. 

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So what are we to do in the 
waiting? 

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For nearly 40 years, an old 
lighthouse keeper served on the 

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rocky stretch of the northeast 
coastline. 

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This lighthouse was the only 
thing that stood between 

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incoming ships and the dangerous
jagged reef that had claimed 

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dozens of vessels before the 
construction of the lighthouse. 

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And every evening before sunset,
the age keeper would faithfully 

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ascend the long winding Rd. up 
the hill and then carefully walk

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up each steep step, circling the
perimeter of the interior walls 

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of the tower until he finally 
reached the lighthouse. 

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He would top off the oil supply,
trim the Wick and wipe the soot 

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from the glass, and then he 
would light the lamp. 

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As the sun disappeared behind 
the horizon, the beam of light 

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would sweep across the waves 
like a steady, faithful 

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heartbeat. 
The people in the village 

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admired his faithfulness, never 
missing a night despite the 

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aches and pains of old age. 
Each night, with jugs of oil in 

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each hand and matches in his 
pocket, he would make the long 

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climb. 
A vinsider once asked him. 

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Sir, you work like the 
lighthouse Inspector might show 

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up at any moment. 
The old man chuckled. 

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I don't know when the inspector 
is coming, but I don't do what 

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I'm doing just for him. 
I do it because the ships keep 

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coming in. 
The ocean is only becoming more 

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dangerous. 
The night is only becoming more 

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dark. 
People's lives depend on this 

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light staying lit. 
Storm after storm continued to 

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batter the coastline, and each 
evening, regardless of the heat 

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or cold, rain or snow, the old 
man made his way to the top of 

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the hill and then to the top of 
the lighthouse to make sure that

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the light was shining bright. 
There were times when the winds 

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shook the lighthouse so 
violently that you could see the

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whole tower tremble and shake, 
and still the light shone out 

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across the waters. 
Then one foggy morning, just 

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after dawn, there came the sound
of footsteps on the tower 

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stairs. 
The keeper turned and saw a man 

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in uniform standing in front of 
him. 

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No warning, no letter, no 
announcement, he just appeared. 

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The inspector looked at the old 
man with his tired eyes and 

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weathered hands, and said Well 
done. 

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This lighthouse has saved many 
lives, because you stayed ready,

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and you stayed faithful. 
You did not wait for my arrival 

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to be about my business Crossing
family. 

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If you wait until the return of 
Christ to be ready for the 

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return of Christ, it will be too
late. 

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The best way to get ready for 
the return is to be ready and to

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be about His business now. 
This upcoming year may be a 

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period of peace for you and your
family. 

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Get ready. 
Stay ready. 

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For others of you, this might be
the most difficult year that you

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and your family will ever face. 
Hear me, get ready, stay ready, 

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an old preacher once said, keep 
your knees on the floor, your 

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nose in the good book, and your 
eyes on the Lord. 

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And that is how you and I make 
sure that we have plenty of oil 

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and matches to keep our light 
lit so that others can find what

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we have found in Jesus. 
If you're watching this today 

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and you don't have a 
relationship with Jesus Christ, 

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I want to encourage you to reach
out to us either. 

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Click on the link below, hop on 
our website, hear me. 

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We would love to connect with 
you. 

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And if you reach out to us in 
the next 24 hours, somebody in 

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our team will contact you so you
can have the answers to life's 

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biggest questions, so that you 
can know beyond the shadow of a 

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doubt that when Jesus returns, 
he will be returning for you. 

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Right now, you and I, we live in
a state of grace and mercy, but 

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the judgments coming and I want 
you to be ready. 

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To those of you who already have
a relationship with Jesus 

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Christ, stay faithful, stay 
ready. 

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May your light shine bright so 
that other people can find what 

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you have found in him. 
Would you guys pray with me? 

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Heavenly Father, thank you so 
much for everything that you've 

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done on our behalf. 
And I just ask that you would be

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with every marriage, every 
family, every individual who's 

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watching this, you know exactly 
what they're going through. 

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You know exactly what season 
they're in. 

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You even know what season 
they're going into. 

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And God, would you help us to 
live for you no matter what that

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season is? 
God, would you give us eyes to 

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see what it is that you want us 
to do? 

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God, would you give us the 
courage and the strength to do 

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it? 
In your name I pray. 

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Amen.