This week, there 
was a story in the news about a man who fell off a cruise ship and
drowned.
His wife went frantically to the captain to try to
search for her husband.
The cruise ship did not send out any search or rescue party and when she
got to the nearest island she rented a helicopter to search for her
husband.
The coastguard did not send out any ships. She could
see from the helicopter there were no ships searching for her husband.
Later on his body washed up on shore.
When they asked the spokesman for the cruise company why they had
not sent out rescue boats, he said it was not the cruise-line's fault
because the man had leaned against the railing and they are not
responsible.
When they asked the coastguard why they had not gone to search for
the man, they said that the proper authorities had been informed.
Why is this story important?
 If
Christ did not come and rescue us, we would have as much chance as
the man who drowned in the deep blue sea. The "beast" will
control the entire earth, and there will be no safe place where you can
hide.
When Christ comes, the important thing is to get on board.
Mark 13:15
"The one who is on the housetop must not go down, or go in to
get anything out of his house;
Mark 13:16
and the one who is in the field must not turn back to get his coat.
Mark 13:27
"And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather
together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the
earth to the farthest end of heaven.
Do not spend your time gathering things that you think you might need on
the trip. All you need is to get onboard the ship.
As for those who are left behind, imagine how that man felt in the
middle of the ocean, seeing that gigantic ship leaving.
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Luke 17:33
"Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose
it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.
 What
is Christ talking about?
Luke 17:30
"It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is
revealed.
Luke 17:31
"On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in
the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is
in the field must not turn back.
Some think that we will be leaving with Christ in
spirit form and our clothes stay behind neatly folded.
Why would someone try to gather GOODS if he is a
spirit?
Also, why would someone try to go back into his house
if he is a spirit being?
Christ's warning, as given to us, comes with
this context:
Luke 17:32
"Remember Lot's wife"
Luke 17:33
"Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose
it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it."
What do we need to remember about Lot's wife?
Christ is comparing Lot's escape from Sodom as
our escape from this earth. Lot's wife turned back. Why did
she turn back?
Jesus states "whoever seeks to keep his life....
Evidently, Lot's wife thought that she needed to
preserve her life....that she needed "things" to
keep her alive. Christ specifically warns us not to do that;
He tells us to remember what happened to Lot's wife. She did not
preserve her life by turning back...she lost it. She longed too
much for the "life" she had in Sodom.
If we want to make it into the Kingdom of
Heaven, we have
to leave behind the material things we have on this earth.
Luke 17:30
"It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is
revealed.
Luke 17:31
"On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose GOODS are
in the house must
NOT go
down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field MUST NOT
TURN BACK...
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