Ready or Not Part 3

Ready Or Not

Part 3

"Caught By Surprise"

Matt. 24: 33-44 "So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! 34 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

Now, for the last 2 weeks we've talked about Jesus' reply to 3 questions asked him by the disciples...

"What will these things be, and what shall be the sign of your return, and of the end of the age" (24:3).

Jesus predicted many general signs that would increase, He said, with frequency and intensity just prior to His return.

And then He mentioned two other signs--the sign of Noah, and the sign of Lot.

"As it was in their day," said Jesus, "so shall it be in the days..."

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If you look at the entirety of Jesus' response, you will find that it covers two whole chapters, and you can break it down like this:

In Chapter 24: 4-35, Jesus gives us signs of His return.

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In Chapter 24: 36 through 25: 13, Jesus looked back to Noah's generation and the city of Sodom---both were caught by surprise by God's judgment.

Then He looked forward and illustrated His return with various scenarios:

First, three individuals are caught by surprise at His return--two co-workers and a friend.

Next He presents three parables, one about a householder who goes on a journey and leaves His servants in charge until He returns.

The second about a man traveling to a far country who leaves his goods called "talents" with his servants.

The third parable is about ten virgins who go to a wedding and are waiting for the bridegroom. When he appears, five are ready and five are caught by surprise, unprepared.

All three parables are about being "caught by surprise" in an unprepared condition at the masters return.

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And finally,

Jesus' prophetic discourse closes out in chapter 25:14-46 with how to live wisely before His return:

He said that we should invest our God-given gifts into His work...

And that we should invest our ministry in--the poor, sick, hungry, naked, and imprisoned.

So in a nutshell, Jesus answered the disciple's question with the signs of His return, the call to be ready for His return, and how to live wisely before His return.

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Now today, I want to talk about the second part--being ready for His return.

Jesus said, "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." (24:44)

He immediately launched into one of the parables I just mentioned about a householder that goes away on a journey.

It contains two main characters--a wise servant, and an evil servant.

First, the wise servant:

Jesus said, ""Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their meat at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he returns, will find so doing? Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods." (24:45-47)

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In this parable the Master of the house is Jesus Christ, Who has ascended to heaven and left others in charge of His house.

The household is God's family, His church...it's us.

The faithful servant is directed primarily to church leaders, but could also include all believers, for all are ministers:

The Apostle Peter wrote:

"EACH of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms" (1 Pet.4:10).

And then, the word "MEAT" here refers to what is needed to support and nourish spiritual life...

So it is the things of the Spirit like love, the Word of God, prayer, and so on that the good servants are found faithfully providing to the household when the Master returns.

It's a picture of healthy, life-giving ministry going on...

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The WISE servant is "providing meat" to the other servants in the house.

He is busy with his Christian calling, he is doing the Lord's work.

He may have a secular, full-time, manual labor job in order to provide for his family, but he also has a spiritual, "Immanuel" labor job ministering to others through His God-given gift.

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Jesus' point here is that, the thing that keeps the wise servant pure and faithful is his undying expectancy of the Master's return.

Jesus said, "Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, finds so doing...he is feeding, nourishing, blessing, and caring for the members of the Master's household!"

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Now catch this promise: Jesus said that "That man is made ruler over all the Master's goods!"

In other words, faithful servanthood in the here and now prepares you for rulership in the hereafter when Jesus sets up His earthly kingdom!

Faithfulness in this life, said Jesus, is rewarded in the next life.

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Then next in this parable we have the wicked servant.

And we see that the cause of his wickedness is revealed in what he says to himself:

"But if that evil servant says in his heart, "My master delays his coming..."

The minute this 2nd servant decides that his Master will not return as soon as expected, or perhaps not at all, he starts to backslide.

His backsliding first affects the way he treats others.

Jesus said that He begins to abuse and mistreat the people in the Master's house, "And begins to beat his fellow servants..."

Isn't it interesting that the closer you are to Jesus, the better you treat others.

And the further you get from Him, the worse you treat others.

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Second, his backsliding affects his personal life-style:

Jesus said that he began to "eat and drink with the drunkards."

As soon as this servant took his eyes off of the imminent return of the Master, he chose ungodly companions.

As they say, "Birds of a feather flock together."

FACT: The people we choose to run with always reveals where we are spiritually.

Once he lost sight of the return of his Master, personal discipline went out the window.

He soon loses himself in a life of debauchery and sin.

The Bible says that, "The fear of The Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

FACT: When we have a healthy fear of God it produces righteous living.

This wicked servant has no fear of the Master because he has come to believe that the Master is not coming back.

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So in this parable we have the two servants:

At the return of the Master, one is found with his hands faithfully at the plow, ministering the good things of the kingdom of God to those around him.

He had faithfully anticipated the Master's return; and has kept one eye peeled on the door, expecting him at any time.

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The second servant makes a fateful assumption in his heart...

"My Master is not coming back; I have nothing to fear; I can live like I want."

He becomes abusive toward others, and backslidden in his lifestyle.

He discards his righteous friends and starts running with the wicked.

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The whole gist of this parable is in line with what Jesus said about the unpreparedness of Noah's generation and of the city of Sodom, of His examples of two people being together with one taken to heaven and the other left behind...

Jesus is stressing the danger of being "caught off guard" in an unprepared condition.

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QUESTION:

Are you ready today?

If Jesus were to return in the next hour, would you greet Him with joy?

With excitement?

Or would you wish you had some extra time to get your life right?

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LET'S PRAY