You Also Must Be Ready
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
I would like to open today’s message with a poem:
.......
If Christ should come next Sunday,
And it may be that He will,
Would the thing that I’ll be doing
Set the Master’s heart a thrill?
.......
If the Christ should come next Sunday
Would he find me loyal, true,
In my place with my influence
Doing what He’d have me do?
.......
If the Christ should come next Sunday,
Let’s suppose He came at ten,
Would He hear me answer “present”
In the class I should attend?
.......
If the Christ should come next Sunday,
If He came just at eleven,
Would He find me in His service,
Singing praises unto heaven?
.......
So, that is the million-dollar question?
If Jesus was coming next Sunday...
How would you live your life during this week?
What would yo do differently than what you would normally do?
.......
Think about that, Beloved...
For we as believers shouldn’t just live lives as if Christ was coming next Sunday...
We should live lives that reflect the reality that Christ could very well come this very moment.
.......
So, please turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke.
We will conduct our study in Chapter 12 and focus on verses 35 through 40.
Our message this morning is titled, “You Also Must Be Ready”
.......
As you are turning to our passage...
Keep this in mind...
The message today will be about how the followers of Christ need to be ready for His return...
For He may come at a time we do not expect...
So, the only thing we can really do is to be ready at all times.
.......
So, this morning we will cover three main points:
1) The Command
2) The Blessed
And...
3) The Ready
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
.......
Heavenly Father...
Thank You for giving us the Scriptures for they are our ultimate authority...
Thank You for giving us the Holy Spirit for He is our comfort and guide...
And thank You for sending Jesus for He saved us when we could not save ourselves.
.......
Help us to obey and follow the truths contained within Scripture...
Help us to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading in our lives...
And help us to be more like Christ each day in our process of sanctification.
.......
And it is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...
Amen.
.......
Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
35 “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning,
36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.
37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.
38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!
39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into.
40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) The Command
1) The Command
Verses 35-36: “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.
Beloved, Jesus opens this passage with the phrase, “Stay dressed for action.”
To truly understand the depth of this command we need to realize that the word “dressed” speaks of preparedness...
That is, to be ready for service.
This is similar to the phrase of having one’s “sleeves rolled up” as we would say today.
Literally “stand, your waist having been belted.”
This comes from the practice of how long, flowing robes, which hindered free movement, would be tucked into one’s belt or sash and were kept above the knees so they would be allowed freedom to work, travel, or engage in battle when necessary.
Some translations will render it as “gird up you loins” or “let your loins be girded.”
Overall, this portrays someone who, instead of waiting until the last moment, is always prepared to act.
.......
In fact, Israelites were to eat the first Passover meal with robes tucked into their belts and sandals on their feet, ready to leave Egypt the next morning.
We know this from Exodus 12:11 which says:
11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.
.......
Now, that we understand the first part of Jesus’ command we need to continue to the next item He brings up.
So, next, Jesus says, “Keep your lamps burning.”
As the Pillar New Testament Commentary on Luke says:
“The burning lamp imagery likely reflects a Hebrew figure of speech admonishing Israel not to allow the ‘lamp’ (of revelation) to go out in Israel.
If Jesus uses it analogously here, it exhorts disciples not to allow the lamp of the gospel to grow dim.”
So, we need to be ready at all times for the return of Jesus...
And we need to make sure that while we are waiting for His return the light of His Gospel keeps burning bright in our lives...
We need to make sure that as we are waiting for Christ, we are sharing the Good News with the world.
We must share God’s saving message with our family...
We must share God’s saving message with our friends...
We must share God’s saving message with our neighbors...
We must share God’s saving message with our community...
We must share God’s saving message with our nation...
And we must share God’s saving message to the farthest corners of the world.
.......
Beloved, there is a great purpose for God leave us on this earth after we were saved...
He didn’t automatically take us home because now that we know the truth of His saving message...
We need to share the truth with others.
.......
God loved us enough to not leave us in our helpless estate...
So, we should likewise, our of that overflow of love, not leave others in their helpless estate...
Especially since we have the answer to all their real problems.
.......
Now the command to keep one’s lamp burning is similar to Jesus’ parable given in the Gospel of Matthew...
So, look with me at Matthew 25:1-13 which says:
1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,
4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.
6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’
7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’
10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.
11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’
12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
Now, here is a little background...
The wedding would begin at the bride’s house when the bridegroom arrived to observe the wedding ritual.
Then a procession would follow as the bridegroom took the bride to his house for the completion of festivities.
For a night wedding, “lamps,” which were actually torches, were needed for the procession...
So, making sure to keep one’s lamp lit was imperative.
.......
Now, this parable of the ten virgins was given to underscore the importance of being ready for Christ’s return in any event—even if He delays longer than expected.
For when He does return, there will be no second chances for the unprepared.
.......
Jesus continues and says, “Be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.”
I like this note I read in the MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Luke which says:
“Weddings in ancient Israel did not start or stop at a specific time.
When the preparations were complete, the guests were summoned.
The celebration could cover up to seven days, depending on how many people were there and how long the food lasted.
The men who were waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast could not have known the exact time that he would return.
Therefore, they needed to be constantly vigilant, so that they could immediately open the door to him when he arrived at home.”
.......
The only way to be ready for Jesus’ arrival is to have a saving relationship with Him.
We need to put our trust fully in Jesus.
We need to fully surrender to Jesus in every way.
We need to exchange our old desires for His perfect desires.
We need in, every aspect of the word, to abide in Him...
As 1 John 2:28 says:
28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.
.......
Now, before we move on to our next point...
I would like to share that the word “knocks” in our passage is used differently than Revelation 3:20 which says:
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
You see Beloved, in that passage the knocking symbolizes Jesus’ desire to be present in the church at Laodicea (and any church today)...
However, in our text it refers to the return of the Lord at the very end of history.
.......
Now, that we got all that...
Let’s take a look at what Jesus says next about who are the ones that will be considered blessed...
And that takes us to our next point.
2) The Blessed
2) The Blessed
Verses 37-38: Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!
So, Jesus explains that if the servants are prepared for when their master comes...
They will be blessed...
In fact, they will be blessed by the master for he will actually wait on them and share with them a banquet.
In other words, Jesus will be so pleased with those who wait for Him that He will serve them at the great banquet table, which pictures final eschatological blessing.
.......
Now, Jesus is saying that even if He comes back during “the second watch, or in the third” He will find His most loyal and faithful servants awake and ready to greet Him.
So, what does Jesus mean by the second and third watch?
Well, most interpreters think Jesus is using a Jewish understanding of “three watches of the night” which was three four-hour watches.
However, others think He may be using a Roman understanding of four watches which was four three-hour watches.
So, the “second watch” was either 9:00 pm to midnight on the Roman watch...
Or 10:00 pm to 2:00 am in the Jewish watch...
And the “third watch” was midnight to 3:00 am on the Roman watch
Or 2:00 am to 6:00 am in the Jewish watch...
So, the second or third watch would thus put the master’s return in “the dead of night.”
In either case, the point that Jesus is making is that “the master” could come at any time, even when one is not normally prepared.
As the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament on Luke says:
“The image points to the deep-night watch, the time when one would not normally be ready.
Only a ‘perpetual watch’ will get the job done.
The stress is on those who are ready, even when the hour is unknown.
Those whom Jesus finds ready will be blessed.”
.......
So Beloved, if someone out there is trying to tell you exactly when Jesus is coming back...
Run from that foolishness...
Jesus’ coming happen all of a sudden at the time that God has determined...
And that date has never been revealed to us.
.......
Now, we may see signs to indicate that we are getting closer to the end...
But the precise date is not for us to know...
As Mark 13:32-37 says:
32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.
34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.
35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—
36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.
37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”
So, we need to stop trying to calculate the day Jesus will return for it will come unexpectedly...
But what we should do is be at a constant state of ready...
So, whether Christ comes back today, next Sunday, or 100 years from now...
We are always ready to meet our Creator.
.......
As G. Campbell Morgan once said:
“I never begin my work in the morning without thinking that perhaps He may interrupt my work and begin His own.
I am not looking for death.
I am looking for Him.”
So Beloved, don’t take your focus off Christ...
Instead, live a life that truly looks unto Him.
.......
Now, some may be critical that it has been nearly 2,0000 years since Christ ascended into Heaven...
And this great amount of time is somehow proof that Jesus is not really coming back...
Yet, for those who doubt...
I would recommend you point them to 2 Peter 3:3–10 which says:
3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.
4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”
5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God,
6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.
7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
.......
Next, Jesus will give use yet another illustration of what the return of Him can be compared to...
And that takes us to our third and final point.
3) The Ready
3) The Ready
Verses 39-40: But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
To help put this in context and share the image that Jesus’ hearers would have imagined...
We need to understand that in Isreal during the 1st century thieves often dug through the walls of houses to break in a steal...
So, what Jesus is saying is that had the master of the house known when the thief was going to strike, the master would have surely been a lot more ready to prevent or thwart this thief's attempt.
For example he may have made sure to move all his valuables to an inner room that was not able to be dug into from the outside...
He may have kept greater watch of the perimeter to his home...
And he may have enlisted few well armed friends to catch the thief the moment he broke in...
But since the master of the house was not expecting to be robbed...
He became a victim if thief...
However, this could have been prevented if he was always on guard and ready.
.......
Beloved, the return of the Son of Man is certain...
However, its timing is unpredictable...
So, Jesus’ servants must be alert at all times....
We must be ready to welcome Him whenever He comes back...
Whether that is in the early morning or in the middle of the night...
Whether that is today, tomorrow or 10 years from now...
A faithful follower of Christ is always ready!
.......
If we are not focusing on God and following His commands then at Jesus’s return we will be in utter dread...
So Beloved, be watchful regrading yourselves...
Or as Luke 21:34 says:
34 “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.
.......
Don’t you know Beloved...
That the return of Christ will come at a time similar to Noah’s time...
But this time instead of a flood...
The world will be baptized in fire and the tribulation will be quite great...
Yet, unfortunately, many will just go on living their lives without a care about God and His ways...
And that mistake will have eternal consequences...
As the Word of God says in Matthew 24:38–39:
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.
Did you see that, Beloved?
The world as a whole will believe that they are living in a time of peace...
Yet, they are rebels to God in a war with Him...
The world as a whole will believe that they are living in a time of security...
Yet, they are as far from secure as one can be for they have no saving relationship with God.
.......
The reality is that without the complete surrender to Jesus Christ...
Whether you lie it or not...
There is no escape for the ones harden towards the love of God.
.......
However, for the believer...
We have a hope and joy that can’t be taken away from us.
As believers we will be ready and welcome the Lord with open arms.
Just consider what 1 Thessalonians 5:1–9 says:
1 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.
2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.
5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.
6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.
7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.
8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
So, as this message comes to a close...
I would like you to consider another poem:
If He should come today
And find my hands so full
Of future plans, however fair,
In which my Saviour has no share,
What would He say?
.......
If He should come today
And find my love so cold,
My faith so very weak and dim
I had not even looked for Him.
What would He say?
.......
If He should come today
And find that I had not told
One soul about my Heavenly Friend
Whose blessings all my way attend,
What would He say?
.......
If He should come today
Would I be glad, quite glad?
Remembering that He died for all
And none through me had heard His call,
What would He say?
.......
When I opened this message I read you a poem about what you would do if you knew Jesus was coming next Sunday...
Well, what if Jesus comes today?
Can you honestly say you are ready?
.......
If you are ready then keep doing what you are doing...
Keep sharing the Word of God and the Gospel with others...
And don’t slow down.
.......
If you are not ready...
Then I beg you to stop delaying...
If you are not in a saving relationship with God...
Then surrender to Jesus...
Live your life in light of the fact that Jesus is Lord and is your Master...
.......
If you really don’t know if you are saved...
Then see me after service...
We can talk about it and make sure you are truly right with God.
.......
If you are a true follower of Jesus but have not been sharing the Good News with others...
Then start today...
There is no delay...
Everyday that passes is a day closer to Jesus coming...
And if you really love people...
Then you will not just live your life as they perish...
So, go...
And reflect God’s light to this world.
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
Let’s pray...
.......
Heavenly Father...
If anyone hearing this message right now does not know You in a saving way...
Then please Lord, open their eyes...
Kill their pride...
Obliterate any obstetrical in their way that is preventing them from surrendering to you.
.......
I appeal to Your Name’s sake!
.......
For those hearing this message who already know You...
Give us hearts that are hungry for Your Word...
Give us hearts that mourn over the lost...
Give us courage to share Your saving truth with others.
.......
Again, I appeal to Your Name’s sake!
.......
It is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...
To God be all the glory.
Amen.
