By Michael McFarland

If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. (John 15:19)

We are in this world but we are not of this world.  God has a place prepared for us.  John said he saw a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21:1).  There is coming a day when the trumpet shall sound and time will be no more and we will be caught up to be with Him.

We’ve all preached about Heaven.  We’ve heard songs sung about Heaven and saw dramas depicting what Heaven is going to be like.   It’s going to be a wonderful place where we will be with the One who saved us!  That great and marvellous day is soon approaching.  We are closer now than we have ever been.  Prophecy in Scripture is coming to pass and things are being fulfilled that let us know that we are definitely living in the End time.  The song says "I can almost hear the trumpet!" 

As pastors and spiritual leaders we have many things on our plates.  We have schedules, deadlines and appointments to fulfill.  Our calendars are filled up with church meetings and conferences before we even get a chance to plan a family vacation.  We run out of room to write in our daily planners.  We are busy with Kingdom work.  We are constantly about our Father’s business.  It would be all too easy to just quit and justify our quitting with being "burnt out."  However, if we could see with our spiritual eyes just how close we are to reaching our final destination.  If we could know exactly how close we are to the coming of the Lord, we would work faster and harder than we have ever worked before.  We would load up on Bible studies and go teach our whole neighborhood the Word of God.  If we could only see!

In 1952, young Florence Chadwick stepped into the waters of the Pacific Ocean off of Catalina Island, determined to swim to the shore of mainland California.  She’d already been the first woman to swim the English Channel both ways.  The weather was foggy and chilly; she could hardly see the boats accompanying her.  Still, she swam for fifteen hours.  When she begged to be taken out of the water along the way, her mother, in a boat alongside, told her she was close and that she could make it.  Finally, physically and emotionally exhausted, she stopped swimming and was pulled out.  It wasn’t until she was on the boat that she discovered the shore was less than half a mile away.  At a news conference the next day she said, "All I could see was the fog… I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it."

We are almost home.  We are almost to the shore.  Don’t let the "fog" of the world and Satan blind us from our destination.  Don’t let the duties that come along with being a pastor or spiritual leader get you burnt out and ready to give up everything.  God has called you to the kingdom for such a time as this (Esther 4:14).

Knowing that He could come any day now is exciting!  I definitely want to be ready and have oil in my lamp when the Bridegroom cometh (Matt. 25:6).  I don’t want to be caught sleeping and not living for God.  Now is not the time to lose out with God.  Now is not the time to walk away from everything we know is true and right.  It is not time to backslide and go back to what God saved us from.  Now more than ever we should be contending for the faith (Jude 3).  We should keep fighting the good fight and not give up!  Now is not the time to lay down our spiritual sword and throw in the towel.  We’ve come too far to turn back now!  Keep preaching!  Keep reaching!  Keep teaching Bible studies!  We are not too far from home!