Kingdom Come

Jesus returned to the father, but will one day, which we do not know, will return to destroy evil, and judge all humankind, therefore, we must be ready for His return.

Almost immediately after Jesus returned back to the father, people have been predicting His return.

We see in John 21 that some people thought that Jesus would come back before John died, and John making sure people know that this isn’t what Jesus actually said.

John Wesley, who was and still is considered a great Church leader who’s preaching led untold numbers of people to Christ, still fell into the trap of predicting the end times to begin in 1836.

Charles Taze Russell, the founder of what we now call Jahova Whittnesses, predicted the return of Christ to be in 1874, and continued to teach till his death that Jesus did indeed come on this day, but invisibly. The Jehova witnesses continued to make several other predictions on Jesus’s return since then.

F. Kenton "Doc" Beshore predicted Jesus would come in 2021.

People are fascinated with when He will return, but we can’t ignore the teachings of Christ in this area. Jesus plainly says that nobody knows when He will return.

He never told us when, He just tells us to be awake and ready, knowing His return is coming.

So that is the focus of today’s sermon. Not when He will return, but that He will return, and that demands action from us.

We are going to look at this through three points, using the text the MC read for us a few minutes ago.

They are.

Be awake

Be Active

Be assured.

We will begin with Be awake.

I. Be Awake

What do I mean by be awake? Am I saying that you must never sleep, but load up on the coffee, chug your macha, and press on with eyes wide open day and night?

Obviously not, that would actually contradict the teachings to care for your body.

I am getting this directly from the text itself, so let’s look at what it says.

Let’s read Matthew 24:36-44

Matthew 24:36–44 ESV

36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

If the master knew what part of the night the thief was coming,

he would have stayed awake,

he would have been ready,

He would have been Alert.

Yes, we must sleep,

but we must also always be ready and aware of what is happening in the world around us,

because we do not know when He will come,

and we want to ensure we are diligently working when He does.

Matthew, writing to a Jewish audience, chose to include Jesus comparing his second coming to the day of Noah, a story that his Jewish audience would all understand. The people were eating, drinking, living life, up until the day that Noah entered the Ark.

Then the flood waters of God’s judgment came upon them and it was too late. Their time was up. They could have repented,

they could have turned to their Merciful and loving creator and served Him,

but they chose to serve themselves.

In the same way, when Jesus returns, it says two men will be in the field, one will be taken and the other left. As it was too late for those in the days of Noah who refused to repent and turn to God, so will it be for those in the day Jesus returns.

Many say that they have time to follow Jesus later in life, but first, they want to do their own thing.

I remember someone in highschool who basically said this very thing to me in art class on day. Another student at the table was trying to share the need of the gospel with him, and his response was that he understands it, but he plans on following Jesus later in life. I honestly could not tell you what his name was, nor do I have any idea how I would look him up, but I pray that he no longer has this mindset, and has turned from His sins to follow Christ Jesus, because we are not guaranteed tomorrow.

Transition: So we must be awake and alert, because we do not know the day of His return. But what does this mean?

Do we just sit around and wait?

I’m afraid that is what many are doing.

I have a close family member who often talks of the Lord coming back soon, but that knowledge does not seem to invoke any short of action in her.

.

II. Be Active

Being Awake and alert to His return does not mean much if the reality of His return does not bring forth action. That is what the parables here are teaching.

They are urging us to see our time on this earth as a time to be actively serving God in the fullness of our capacities.

Let’s continue reading where we left off in verse 45.

Matthew 24:45–51 ESV

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

In this parable, we see two possible responses the servant could have taken,

one wise,

and one wicked. The wise one knows that His master will one day come, and works diligently for that day.

He ensures that all the Master has given him was taken care of and nothing was wasted.

The wicked response was to see that the master’s return is taking longer than expected, and therefore begin to no longer care about those the master gave him to care for.

Instead of saying “these servants and those in my masters house deserve to be cared for, the wicked servant instead sees them purely as a way for his own pleasure or profit.

We see a very similar image in the parable of the talents.

A master was leaving on a long journey and left his property to three different servants. The servants did not become the owners of the property, but were left to manage it while their master was away.

He did not leave them with equal portions, but rather only left them with what he knew they could handle.

When He returned, he expected the servants to have worked what they were given and have profit to give back to him as a result.

Two of these servants did just that.

They worked hard with what they were given and as a result, they made much in return.

The third one however was the lazy wicked servant whom allowed a twisted view of his master incite fear that led him to instead of working with what the master gave Him, burying it in the ground.

In this parable, the Master is clealry Jesus, who has left to go back to the father, but will one day return.

While He is away, He has given us work to do. There is an expectation that we use all that He has given us.

spiritual gifts wealth,

our talents,

our inteligence,

and everything else He has given us,

to be used to further His kingdom.

So how are you using what God has given you?

Transition:

Are you actively working for the Kingdom of God? Are you daily looking at how your actions will have the Glory of God shone through you?

These are important questions to ask because they have assurances attached to them.

III. Be Assured

This leads us to our final lesson we can take from our text today.

Be Assured.

But what are we being Assured in? We can be assured in the Promises of God.

There are about 7,000 promises God makes in scripture, and we can rest assured that each and every one of them will come about. We often sing a song that goes “Promise keeper, light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are.” (Rico)

we know our God is not only a promise maker, but also a promise keeper.

So let us look at what Jesus tells us in this text that we can be assured will take place for those who are and are not staying awake and active.

Let’s first read the promises God gives to the good servants.

Matthew 24:45–47 (ESV)

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.

Now lets read the promises made in the parable of the talents

Matthew 25:20–23 ESV

20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

It is my prayer today guys that every one of us in here will one day hear these words. “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”

There is no greater praise any one of us could ever receive, than to hear the words of our savior tell us well done, good and faithful servant. just think About it

The Savior of the world,

who stands above all things,

who’s magnificence and Glory is more than our human minds could possibly imagine or even handle,

will one day say to me, a broken sinner with so many problems, “well done, good and faithful servant.”

But the part that fills me with the most excitement, is “Enter into the joy of your master.”

There is no greater joy than the joy that comes in being in the presence and glory of god. Even on this earth, our true joy is only found in Christ.

Happiness can be found in many places, but true joy is only found within the perfect will of God.

God’s Glory and our joy are beautifully intertwined.

Not in a man centered way, but rather in that our joy is found in God’s glory because that is where our ultimate goal is found.

This is what awaits all of those who have put their hope and trust in Him and have persevered till the end.

We can be assured this, so take comfort in that assurance.

But there is another promise made for those who fail to do the work of the father. Let us read these as well.

Matthew 24:48–51 ESV

48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

This describes the wicked servant, who has clearly not been made a new creation.

He has not repented of His sins.

The spirit does not reside in Him,

and we know this both by His actions, and by Christ’s reaction.

He does not do well,

He does not produce fruit,

He does not take care of what God has given Him,

and therefore He will face the just and righteous judgment that comes to all sinners who have not been made righteous by the blood of Christ.

We see the same being told to the one in the parable of the talents.

Matthew 25:25–30 ESV

25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Many churches don’t like talking about the coming judgment.

They don’t like talking about God’s wrath and the realities of Hell.

I’ll be honest with you, I don’t particularly enjoy talking about it either, but we must be a church who preaches the whole truth.

The fact is, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

None is righteous, no not one.

We also know that the wages of sin is death. This is both physical death and spiritual death. Spiritual death meaning eternal seperation from God, in hell.

But the good news is the second part of the verse I just quoted. The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God is a just God, He must punish sin. We also should find joy in this attribute of God, because evil shouldn’t go unpunished. But that also means our sin should not go unpunished.

Jesus, being not only Just, but loving, Merciful, and full of Grace made a way to satisfy His righteous and just wrath towards sinfulness, allowing us to have a relationship with our creator.

that is what Jesus did on the cross. He took the wrath for my sin, for my shame, and He put it upon Himself. Now, when Jesus looks at me, He does not see my sin, because it has been bought, it has been paid for. When Jesus looks at me, He sees His perfect righteousness imparted onto me by the work of the cross.

But it was not only the cost of sin that Jesus defeated on the cross, but also the power of sin.

If not careful, we can take these passages out of context to say that it is my works that save me, or my works that keep me saved. That would be the wrong message though.

At salvation, I went from dead in sin to alive in Christ.

I am no longer a slave to sin.

It has lost it’s grip on me.

I am alive in Christ, I am free!

The spirit lives within me, and I bear the fruit of this fact.

It is because of this, that I can do these good works.

All of these works do not save me, but they are a fruit, or a sign of the work that Jesus has already done within me.

If you have been reading along with us in Matthew, you would have read Matthew 7:16–20 a few weeks ago. It says…

Matthew 7:16–20 ESV

16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

Christians will bear fruit.

Christians are not perfect.

Christians still fail, but Christians will not live like the rest of the world.

The Bible does not teach an easy belivism gospel where we can come to Christ and continue to live a life that looks no different than before.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer called this cheap grace.

“Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our church. We are fighting today for costly grace. Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjack’s wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices … grace without price, grace without cost!… Everything can be had for nothing” (p. 37).

He also in the same book wrote…

“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without Church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without contrition. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ living and incarnate” (p. 38).

In contrast to cheap Grace, Bonhoeffer taught we must obtain what he called costly grace.

“Such grace is costly … because it costs a man his life and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner” (p. 5).

So those whom Christ has justified.

Those Whom the spirit lives within.

Those who are now dead to sin and alive in Christ,

these are the one’s who will show good fruit,

and they are the ones who have the assurance that they will enter into the joy of their master for all eternity.

But those whom have rejected the free gift of God, they may do good things, but their work is as filthy wags to God because of their sin. Their heart’s and motives are wrong. They have no fruit, and it is these whom Jesus will say “depart from me, for I never knew you.”

We see these two assurances even more in the last part of Chapter 25.

There, we read that God will…

separate the sheep and the goats.

The saved, and the unsaved.

Those who repented and were made a new creation, to those who remained in their sin.

To the sheep, God says ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

The evidence Jesus uses here is the works they did on the earth.

They fed the poor,

they welcomed the stranger,

and they clothed the naked.

But we also see the goats. God tells them that they…

did not feed the hungry

they did not welcome the stranger,

or do any of these things,

and Jesus will tell them to go away into eternal punishment.

Again, We have to be careful here. If we take this by itself, it could be wrongfully used to teach a work based salvation. But something I always impress on my middle schoolers at youth is that we must interpret scripture with scripture.

We know that works could never save us, lest we boast in our works.

We are only saved by the grace of God.

But that salvation will produce works.

There will be fruit of our salvation if the spirit lives within us.

Conclusion

So which promises are you assured in?

That is what I want you to think about as we come to a close.

We know that Jesus is coming.

We know that there are many who do not know Jesus, and they are not guaranteed tomorrow.

Are you going and telling them about Jesus?

we know there are many in poverty who need clothed and fed

are you seeking to help them?

we know that many are suffering at the hands of injustice

are you just sitting by, or are you seeking to be a voice for the voiceless?

This is the action we discussed in point two.

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Let us be a church that goes out and makes discipless of all nations, knowing that when He returns, not only oursleves, but those whom God have brought into our lives to speak truth into will be told, well done, good and faithful servent.

But I want to also speak to those in the room who don’t currently know the LORD. You have not repented of your sins and asked Jesus to forgive you, making you a new creation.

The spirit does not live within you. To you I say, turn to Him today.

Maybe you are still not convinced, but you are seeking. Please come talk to me, to pastor TJ, Rick, Ben…(name names you see in the room) and learn more about the God we worship. He is a God worthy of our praise, and it is our desire that you know Him as we do, and recieve the joy that we have in knowing Him.

So, my final words to you before I step down. Are you awake to the knowledge of His coming?

Are you actively working with the gifts He has given you until that day?

if so, be assured in the promises He has given you.