Isaiah 53:1-3 (NJKV): Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
John 1:1-5, 10-13 (NKJV): In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 (NKJV): But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
Revelation 16:15 (NKJV): "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame."
Revelation 22:12-17 (NKJV): “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
UNDERCOVER BOSS is an American television series where the President, Founder, or CEO of a company disguises himself or herself, changes his or her name, and travels across the country, infiltrating and assessing his or her own company, working and interacting with company employees (who usually have no clue about this person’s real identity). The employees are told that this person being filmed is a contestant in a competition and they must evaluate his or her performance, deciding whether he or she should win the grand prize. The Big Reveal doesn't come until the end of the show when the employees arrive at a designated location with the intention of giving their assessment of the contestant, and they ultimately find themselves confronting the "contestant" without his or her disguise, and he or she reveals the truth, often giving the employees praise and rewards or rebuke and punishment, depending on their words, actions, attitudes, works, personalities and performances.
And in reality, we as believers have an UNDERCOVER BOSS, and we have a day of reckoning with this CEO, Employer, President, Founder, Creator, and KING of KINGS: JESUS.
The first time JESUS came and walked the earth as the SON of GOD who became a man and was called the SON of MAN, most of His own denied and rejected Him, and even His enemies, including the law-abiding and religious ones, threatened, slandered, and mocked Him and sought every opportunity to trap and kill Him. They were led of the flesh, not of the SPIRIT, so they were blind to see and deaf to hear, most notably the truth. They saw an uneducated man, not the WORD MADE FLESH. They saw a poor peasant, not the PRINCE of PEACE, the KING of KINGS. They saw a rebellious criminal, not the RIGHTEOUS JUDGE. They only saw through natural eyes JESUS of NAZARETH, a carpenter's son; they didn't believe Him to be and some didn't want Him to be MESSIAH, the CHRIST, the ANOINTED ONE, the SON of GOD and the SON of MAN, so in the end, JESUS, who is perfect and good, holy and pure, was crucified, for crimes--SINS--He didn't commit. His life and His blood weren't taken from Him but were given for ours, because our debt to GOD was the wages of our sins--death. And JESUS PAID IN FULL our debt with His life and His blood. But He didn't stay dead; He ROSE, RESURRECTED by GOD, through the POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT. Now, He sits in heaven at the right hand of GOD, INTERCEDING FOR US DAILY. And we who RECEIVE Him and INVITE Him into our hearts, ACCEPTING Him as SAVIOR and LORD, are now SAVED, REDEEMED, FORGIVEN, DELIVERED, HEALED, CLEANSED, JUSTIFIED, and RECONCILED to GOD the FATHER through HIM, JESUS CHRIST. This is the GOOD NEWS--the GOSPEL of GOD'sWORD--but that's not all, JESUS is coming back soon, for HIS CHURCH, HIS BODY, HIS FAMILY, HIS BRIDE, HIS OWN. And He will return like a thief in the night, in the twinkle of an eye, and we will all be called to give an account of our performance, our words, our thoughts, our actions and our attitudes during this window of time in GOD’s grace on earth.
Those of us who have endured, overcome, persevered and walked in faith as JESUS DID; those of us who have been obedient and faithful, compassionate and humble, forgiving and giving; and those of us who have borne the FRUIT of the SPIRIT (love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, kindness, and self-control), seeking GOD and His Righteousness first; and those of us who have revealed the FACE, CHARACTER, and HEART of CHRIST and have abided in Him and His WORD, surrendering our wills and purposes for His, will receive praise and rewards for MISSIONS, ASSIGNMENTS, MINISTRIES, SERVICES, and LIVES well-done and well-spent, and we will then spend an eternity in GOD’s Presence. However, those of us who have rejected and denied JESUS; those of us who have compromised the TRUTH and the GOSPEL and have sanitized and distorted GOD’sWORD and have rewritten and reimagined JESUS, stripping Him of HIS TRUE IDENTITY, NATURE, CHARACTER, and PURPOSE and denying, belittling, or discounting HIS POWER, AUTHORITY, DIVINITY, and HUMANITY; and those of us who have aligned ourselves with the adversary and the world and have been content to be NOMINAL, LUKEWARM, or UNDERCOVER CHRISTIANS, vocal and visible in church but silent and invisible in the community, on the job, in school, in society, or in public, may find ourselves standing before JESUS, the RIGHTEOUS JUDGE, who rebukes and punishes us, denying us eternity in His Presence.
So, here are questions we professing believers must ask ourselves: If JESUS went UNDERCOVER today and infiltrated and assessed HIS CHURCH and HIS BODY of BELIEVERS, or if He visited our homes, our jobs, our schools, and our communities, would He be pleased with our conduct, our thoughts, our words, our attitudes, our relationships, our lifestyles, our beliefs, our values, our ministries, our services, or our good works? Would He recognize the Church or the Believers as His? Would He see a reflection of Himself in us? Would He find the FRUIT of HIS SPIRIT in us: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, kindness, faithfulness, and self-control? Would He commend us or condemn us? Reward us or rebuke us? Welcome us or reject us? Acknowledge us or deny us? If JESUS arrived like a thief in the night, would we be ready—well-prepared?
Finally, after the Big Reveal, would JESUS as JUDGE say to us, "Well done, my good and faithful servant," or would He say, "Depart from me. I never knew you"?
For many believers, past and present, JESUS has been the ultimate UNDERCOVER BOSS, but here’s the truth of GOD’sWORD from Genesis to Revelation: JESUS IS COMING SOON, and if we want to be reconciled to GOD and spend eternity with Him, we need to be FAITHFUL, VIGILANT, PRAYERFUL, EXPECTANT, SPIRIT-LED, and READY, with ears to hear and eyes to see, so we can discern Good from Evil, Truth from Deception, divine signs and wonders, and the time and season of our LORD JESUS’ return.
