Are you Watching
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Are You Watching
Are You Watching
Serious topic
Needs to be heard but is not nice on the ears
One of the most serious speeches given by Jesus
A sermon you don’t hear to often
A sermon you don’t hear to often
But it needs to be heard once in a while
I know there are a great deal of eschatological undertones and arguments
Not today
Matthew 24:45-51
“A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? The master will return unannounced and unexpected, and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
“At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’
“All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’
“But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’
“But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’
“But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’
“So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.
Basic Training
Drill sergeants
Attention
Parade Rest
Making the beds
Always on alert
Battle buddy fell asleep (Cannot remember his name, DS yes, him no)
DS caught him sleeping
woke him up and fought
punishment for a while
Punishment:
Smoke sessions
Make it rain
Every time you see him give him 50
You learn quickly
If right in front of you how do you react?
Do you truly understand in what you say you believe?
Do you truly understand in what you say you believe?
So let’s move on and go a bit deeper
Vs. 45 Jesus calls him a wise servant
As we go through this
Seriously ask yourself, are you a wise servant?
What is he doing?
Working
Two things here
Define work
understand what a servant is
He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?
Same thing here
Responsible
Managing his other household servants
feeding them
doing right by people
Walking by the Spirit and not the flesh
Social Justice
Politics aside
Can we Christians just sit by and watch?
News over the last week
Fake police reports
Human trafficking
Massive drug busts
Sex abuse with minors
and on and on
Church is dying? Why
Easy to understand church is against
Easy to understand church is against
But its getting very hard to know what the church is for.
I understand not everyone is guilty of this
I am though, I don’t do enough
WE NEED TO LIVE OUT THE GOSPEL!
How? By becoming a servant
What is a servant?
Doulos - Slave or slavery
Defined as one without freedom
Without property
Don’t even own your family
Everything you do is for the master
Ask yourself and be honest
Are you living like a slave for Christ?
Or are you living like a slave to this world?
Very legitimate question
Paul Identifies with this line of thinking in his greetings
Move on to vs 46
If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward.
Now we are not necessarily talking monetary here
This is a parable
eternal reward
Then look at vs 47
I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns.
You become a partner with the master
A part of the family
You become heirs in Christ
For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
Not saying you’re saved by works
Works do show your faith
Can a man that truly believes not care about the purpose of God?
Evidence of your salvation is your desire to please him.
Foolish servant
But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’
But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk?
Ask yourself again
Really think about this
A lot of self reflection today
Are you more like the evil servant?
Do you take your faith seriously.
These are serious words and they are spoken by Jesus
Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,
The key word here is consider
Great thought
Deep sincerity
Don’t take your faith lightly
Are we Sunday only Christians?
Are we check the box Christians?
How deep is your relationship with the Lord?
**Masters unexpected entrance**
Susan TV Story
Sydney does the same thing
Kids always do the same thing
Matthew 24:
the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,
the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Many of us don’t like this type of message
Its uncomfortable
Like I keep saying, these are the warnings of Jesus Himself
He is describing the eternal battle
The one that cannot be taken back
Many of us think we are safe but in fact we are not
We come to church
We volunteer
Say all the right things
Make all the right relationships
But our heart is far from God
Maybe its not anyone in here
Maybe its a relative or friend
Reach out to them
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Many in Greek 51% or more
Massive warning
And keep in mind Jesus is referring to the end times here.
He is warning us of the worst to come
Don’t have time today to study all but please do
Jesus is saying now is the time
Jesus is saying now is the time
Get serious
Get real
Stop playing games
Parable of the ten virgins
Almost the same thing
Uses this to bring the point home
Wise and unprepared
Others are not really concerned
Do you see the connection to today’s Christians
Some are wise and prepared
Others are Sunday only Christians
Christmas and Easter only Christians
Look at vs 8
Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’
“But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’
“But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’
“But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’
Matthew 25:8
Your maturity is your responsibility
Your spiritual maturity cannot be given to you it must be earned
Cannot ride the coat tails of anyone into heaven
Perhaps one of the most serious parable in all of Scripture
Tracy story…no names
Lets get real
entire chapter is about the return of Christ
desperate warning
“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
Watch Greek word is used 23 times
means to be on constant look out
be on constant alert
be ready at all times
Prophecy today, being fulfilled like crazy
me and ben
, , third temple
Temple institute in Jerusalem amazing things
We are living in time that are extemely prophetic
Not saying go crazy buttttt WATCH
Lord could come at any time
Climate change, political chaos, falling away of the church, plagues, you name it
Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Matthew
“Look, I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for me, who keep their clothing ready so they will not have to walk around naked and ashamed.”
Reality many of us think we have all the time in the world
We don’t and we need to take Jesus seriously
No better time than now
No better time than for our family and friends
Many of us know others that fall into this category
Its time to reach out
Time for us to disciple others
Learn the word of God
Take it serious
Go into the world obey the great commission
Finally
Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
I know how this can come across
but here is the Hope
there is always hope
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
We are living in amazing times
We as Christians have everything to look forward to
Nothing to fear
Prophecies
Rope illustration
Lets reach the world for Christ.