My name is John the Baptist, and I didn't like what I saw. All around me everywhere, corruption, corruption and sin, people living extravagant lives while widows who had no means lived in squalor, orphans roaming the streets, met by folks in need everywhere I went. And not only was there greedy extravagance but the people who were trying to get wealth by any means possible, ill-gotten gain, rigged scales and weights, cheating a little here, cheating a little there. You'd have thought that the religious leaders would have done something about it. But no. Self-righteousness was what they majored in. It was all they knew. Smug in their fine robes, secure in their fixed salaries, comfortable in their seats of honor. They'd been bought off. They didn't want to bite the hand that fed them. Plus, they were so consumed with luxury themselves, they were unable to fulfill their purpose. Let's be honest, the people I saw were corrupt and sinful. The Sabbath was a forgotten custom. God was no longer central or a priority. They were so consumed with their vacation homes and weekend excursions to the Sea of Galilee. Scrambling to get their work done, run errands, buy groceries, homework finished, no switching gears, just kicking into overdrive.

And it was made all the worse by a corrupt government. Do as I say and not as I do. In many ways, what I saw was a world without hope. And then the voice of God came to me one night and said, "John, I have a purpose for you. I'm about to send the One, the Son of Hope. He will bring my winnowing fork. He will separate the wheat from the chaff on his threshing fork. And I want you to set the table to prepare the way for him. Go and tell my people that there is time. Repent, be baptized, be forgiven, be made clean." So I went. And I stood up to that brood of vipers. I taught the people what God had said. If you have two coats and someone needs one, give it to them. If you have food and somebody needs food, share it with them. In a world of excess and luxury, you have an opportunity to do just what God says to do. And those religious leaders, they didn't like it, and they didn't like me, not one bit. So I told them, "You better not lean on your ancestors just because your daddy was a leader in the synagogue doesn't give you anything with God. You are responsible for you. And there's a day of coming where the one who is to come will be here and he will stand with the power of God. I baptize you with water, but He's going to baptize you with the Holy Spirit and He will separate you, some with Him, and others to the place of unquenchable fire."

And that day came. He came. God came. I was out preaching, telling folks what the Lord was about to do, and here he came. Up he walked, the Lamb of God, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Oh, he was so beautiful. He looked so ordinary until you saw his eyes. The purity, the beauty, the majesty, clear and piercing. I knew I had seen the salvation of God. What a moment. It was a holy moment beyond words I have seen and testified that He is the Son of God. So I'm here today to tell you the day is coming. Just as sure as I saw Jesus then, He will be returning. God's promises will be made whole. This earthly tent shall pass away, the new Jerusalem shall come and a new heaven shall be all around us. So what are you going to do about it? Repent. That's what I say. Create holy moments now so you will be ready then. If there are things between you and the Lord, repent. Ask forgiveness. If you're squandering your life on things that will pass away, repent. Turn around before it's too late.

If you're obsessed with wealth, with yourself, with your passions and pleasures, repent. If you've sold your integrity and your ethics and soul to obtain your passions, turn around. Turn to the Lord. You're going in the wrong direction. Because the day is coming when Jesus will return. And there is hope for that day that is strong and never yielding. All flesh shall see the salvation of God, and for those who follow Jesus, the joy and oh the hope. Soon. It's coming soon. He is coming soon. We wait for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our God and Savior.