In 1986 I was invited by the South Pacific Division to visit the Cook Islands and hold a two-week revival.

The night I presented the message on the blessed hope, I noticed a woman wiping tears from her eyes. After the meeting she came and asked me to pray for two children. Then, before leaving, she said, "I'll be expecting you at lunch tomorrow." (Arrangements had been made for me to have meals at the members' homes.)

The next day when the pastor came to pick me up, I asked him to tell me a little bit about the family. After a momentary pause he told me that one day her husband told her he was going fishing and would be back soon. Five years later he had not returned. Nobody knew what had happened. A search team had looked for him, but they had found nothing except his boat. This woman spent hours every week sitting at the place where they found his boat, waiting, expecting that someday she would see her husband.

That afternoon, after the meal, she told me her story. None of us could keep back the tears. She said to me, "Pastor, I don't know what happened to my husband. Friends have advised me to forget this incident and go on with my life.

"Last night you assured us that Jesus will keep His promise to take us home. I have looked forward to that day for 10 years. Should I continue to believe His promise?"

I sat on the chair next to her. I opened my Bible and read the promise "'Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also'" (John 14:1-3).

I ended our conversation with the verses "'Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) . . . . For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry'" (Heb. 10:23-37).

The Danger Facing Us
There may be somebody here this morning under the stress of life, disappointments, and discouragements, wondering how long we will have to wait. There may be those who believed and broadcast the message of the Second Coming who have become cynical about it. They were confident that Christ would come in their youth. But now, decades later, they have become disillusioned.

Even Christian preachers--including some Seventh-day Adventists--have decided that they will not preach on the topic of the Second Coming.

Fifty-three years ago, as a young boy, I heard the message of the second coming of Jesus. I still remember how the preacher narrated the events. I believed that Jesus was coming soon; that I was not going to finish high school or college; that there would not be time to marry and have a family.

Yet here I am, and Jesus is not here.

But I am not ready to give up. I am not disillusioned. I am not embarrassed to tell people that not only do I believe in the second coming of Jesus, I am eagerly waiting and watching for it. By God's grace I cannot, I will not, give up.

What is the alternative? What hope do I have other than the hope promised by Jesus?

A Lesson From the Past
The Jews in A.D. 27 looked hopefully toward the fulfillment of Malachi's prophecy: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (Mal. 4:5). They longed for the coming "day of the Lord," when everything would be set right in Israel. When God would come suddenly and purify His people and restore their former glory.

If you had stopped at random any person on the street in Jerusalem to inquire, "Do you believe in the coming of the Messiah?" the answer would have been a positive "Yes." Everybody knew about it; it was part of their tradition. Yet only a handful was ready to receive Him.

In Luke 2 we read about a devout man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel.

Then a woman--Anna--"spoke of him [the Messiah] to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem" (verse 38, NKJV).

These individuals never lost hope in the promise of the Messiah. They believed the promise of God and built their lives around it.

But the priests, the scribes, and the Pharisees were unprepared for the coming of the Messiah. It was not because they did not know. The problem was that they had heard of it far too long and had become used to it.

The Faithful and Evil Servants
It is against this attitude that Christ told His parables about watchfulness and readiness (Matt. 24:45-51; 25:1-13; Mark 13:34-37; Luke 12:42-45).

Faithful servants, while waiting and expecting the master to return, do not sit idly, but continue to serve with expectation. Christians have duties and ethical responsibilities as we watch and wait.

On the other hand, evil servants neglect their responsibilities and misbehave because of the unfortunate delay. In the parable of the faithful and evil servants the evil servant beat his fellow servants, ate and drank with the drunkards because he assumed there was plenty of time to change.

Could the Lord's delay also affect our relationships with one another in this family of faith?

Are you surprised by the problems in some of our churches? Are you surprised about name-calling among us? We identify some as liberals and some as conservatives; progressives and nonprogressives. Are you surprised that in every world division, every union, and conference "concerned Adventists" are reporting fellow members to government authorities?

I am not surprised at the rise of tribalism, nationalism, regionalism, racism, and congregationalism--even among God's people.

The debate still continues about the proper style of worship. We fuss about the rigidity of our standards, or the increasing lack of them. We spend time arguing about who is right and who is wrong. It's hard to believe that we are looking forward to the soon return of Jesus Christ. If we cannot get along here on earth, how can we live together in heaven?

Dr. Paulsen, our president, in his book Let Your Life So Shine makes the following appeal: "It is late in the day, and we are almost home. We cannot now become reckless and careless. We owe it to the church, which is His body, to shore up and strengthen the whole body--the international family."

He continues, "I pledge to do what I can to make our church a loving community in which we support each other--carry each other, if need be--lift up our Lord, and seek to live our lives in obedience to Him; and arrange our lives, values, and choices, personally and in the church, accordingly. Now, let us embrace and hold hands firmly, let us 'press together,' as we move forward to finish the journey!"

I pray that in our Seventh-day Adventist Church in Ghana we will no longer speak about Ashantis, or Gas, or Ewes; in Rwanda, no Hutus or Tutsis; in South Africa, no Blacks, Whites, or Coloreds; in America, no Blacks, Whites, Asians, or Latinos. But that we will speak about the members of God's church as the children of God.

Exceeding Our Expectations
If you have doubts about the soon coming of Jesus, or feel that Jesus did not mean what He promised, read the story of Lazarus (John 11).

The chapter begins with the sad news that Lazarus was sick. Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha, were among Christ's best friends on earth. Because Jesus was known as a great healer, they sent a messenger to Him: "Your friend, Lazarus, is very sick."

The sisters expected that Jesus would drop everything and hurry to be with them. Or that He would speak a word of healing. They had faith in Jesus.

But Jesus' response was, "This sickness is not unto death" (verse 4). This was good news to the messenger. He returned the following day to tell Mary and Martha the good news.

As the messenger approached Bethany he heard weeping. He must've said to himself, "They are not mourning Lazarus; it must be another person. Jesus said Lazarus' sickness would not end in death." He soon discovered, however, that Lazarus was indeed dead.

Mary spotted the messenger and asked, "Did Jesus come with you?"

Then Martha, running after Mary, asked, "What did Jesus say?"

The messenger knew the relationship between these women and Jesus, and the trust they had in Him. Finally he gathered his strength, looked down, and said, "He said that the sickness would not end in death."

Mary and Martha then faced the greatest contradiction and disappointment of their lives.

Confused, Mary and Martha were in despair. Was Jesus what He claimed to be? They had trusted Him, but He had let them down.

Two days passed. Suddenly Jesus suggested to His disciples that they should go to Bethany. When they objected, He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up" (verse 11, NIV).

"Well, Lord," they said, "if he is asleep, he will wake up."

Finally, Jesus informed them that Lazarus was dead. He added, "And for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe" (verse 15, NIV).

Martha was the first to hear of the arrival of Jesus. She ran to Him, and with a voice full of disappointment and frustration she said, "Lord, . . . if you had been here, my brother would not have died" (verse 21).

Mary soon joined them, and Jesus wept with them. In the eyes of the sisters Jesus had proven to be unfaithful to His word.

But when they got to the grave, Jesus spoke, and Lazarus rose from the dead. Jesus not only met their expectations; He exceeded them.

Yes, it has been a long, long wait. Jesus' delay has raised doubts in our minds and has affected the way we live. But don't give up; don't look back! Jesus will exceed our expectations.

Rescued
During the presidency of Uganda's Idi Amin, an Air France plane was hijacked and diverted to Kampala, Uganda. Almost 100 Israeli passengers on that plane were detained by President Amin.

The governments of Israel and France condemned the hijacking, and appealed to Amin to release the passengers. They were soon joined by protests from the United Nations. But the more the Western press criticized Idi Amin, the more he threatened to execute the hostages. He visited them and told them that their government didn't care about their safety.

Finally Amin threatened that on a certain date, if the Israeli government had not complied with his demand to release some Palestinian prisoners, the hostages would be killed.

Meanwhile, Israel was working on a plan. They sent spies to Uganda to observe how Idi Amin visited the airport. The military put together a rescue team of commandos. Two C-130 planes took off for eastern Africa. One of the planes carried a rescue team, the other a black Mercedes-Benz sedan and a Land Rover. The planes managed to land at the Entebbe Airport undetected.

When the vehicles were unloaded, the commandos got into the Land Rover. Inside the Mercedes-Benz was a man who looked like President Amin. The car was like the one he used, adorned with the Ugandan flag and coat of arms.

The vehicles proceeded toward the building where the hostages were held. When the Ugandan security forces saw the vehicle, they stood at attention and saluted. When the vehicles stopped near the building where the president always stopped, security forces rushed to open the doors. The commandos followed, and, if I remember correctly, it took less than 10 minutes for the hostages to be rescued.

Friends, about 6,000 years ago the devil hijacked this planet. He is holding us hostage.

But the good news is that our rescue team is on the way--led by Prince Emmanuel, our Lord and Savior Himself.

Our rescue team will not be camouflaged. It will not be in secret. John the revelator wrote: "Every eye will see him" (Rev. 1:7, NIV).

We are almost at the end of our journey. Don't give up! Jesus will not only fulfill our expectations; He will exceed them.

We might have to weep sometimes, but don't give up. We might face tough times, but don't give up. We might have some questions that have no immediate answers, but don't give up. We might be disappointed by the brothers and sisters, but don't give up. We might even disappoint ourselves, but don't give up.

Today God is inviting a people who are willing to live by faith in His Word and proclaim by faith the nearness of His coming.

Are you ready to respond to God's call to play your part in announcing the glorious reunion with our Savior, Jesus Christ?

He says, "I am coming quickly."

Let us respond by saying, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Rev. 22:20)!