Be Ready

Soon Coming King  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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Well, we are one week closer to the day - the day on which we celebrate the arrival of Jesus! Christmas is all about celebrating the coming of our Lord!
Jesus is the greatest gift this world has ever recieved! He is God’s gift to the broken and the sinner. He is the answer the entire world needed.
Throughout the season, many folks will share and exchange gifts. It is something we like to do and something that has been a part of our family for as long as I can remember.
With our kids, I remember the days when we would buy them a fancy toy… the toy would get played with for 15 minutes… then they would play with the box for hours if not days!
Giving is a GREAT thing to do! But let’s talk about receiving for a moment. Just curious… have you ever received a gift before that… wasn’t exactly what you wanted or needed? I’m sure all of us have at some point. But we still accept it and recognize that it is the heart behind the giving that matters most.
Now… have you ever received a gift that in the moment you didn’t see as useful… but as time went by you realized it really was a great gift?
Some of my favorite tools (yes I have favorite tools) were given to me and in the moment, I didn’t appreciate the gift like I should have. Over time, their usefulness has been proven over and over again!
My mom-in-law gave me a Craftsman staple gun years ago. Nothing fancy, red and grey, shoots staples. I remember thinking “that’s nice… I guess I will find a use for that.” That staple gun has been used more times than I can count, has been patched up, taped together, and prayed over because I LOVE how it functions and it has been a “staple” in my toolbox ever since! And… every time I pick it up, I remember where the gift came from.
When Jesus came to this earth, He didn’t come with flash and awe… He didn’t come with trumpets and fanfare. When God gave His Son to this world, He came in a way that the world did not expect. Perhaps the world didn’t recognize how incredible this gift truly was in the moment… but this gift is STILL making a huge impact today!
Born of a virgin, laid in a manager, Jesus had come! The King the people had been waiting for had arrived and He came to do something only He could do.
Jesus was born to die. Christmas is for Easter. God gave Jesus that His life would be given for us… the broken and the sinner. His humble beginning in the manger would lead to His triumph over sin on the cross. Jesus DID exactly what God Sent Him or gave Him to do! And I pray tonight… that every time His grace picks us back up… we remember where this amazing gift came from!
I am glad that God gave His Son for us! Even though the world may not recognize the importance of this gift… Jesus is the greatest gift this world has ever received! This truth is the reality for those who believe! This truth remains the opportunity for those yet to call on His name! The King has come and redemption is found through His blood!
Last week, we talked about what Scripture had to say in the days leading up to His arrival. Last week, we talked about what Jesus was coming to do… and we touched on what Jesus did - Through the cross, Jesus has won the victory over sin, the death, and the grave! JESUS HAS OVERCOME!
Tonight, we are not going to talk about what He came to do… but rather we are going to talk about what He is COMING to do!
This evening We give praise to God for the work that has been done, but we also give praise to God for the work that is to come. Church, JESUS IS COMING SOON. Jesus WILL return… the question is… will WE be ready?
Similar to the prophecies that spoke of His initial arrival, Scripture is FULL of information that speaks of His second coming. We are given signs to look for and details to recognize… but most importantly it is made clear that Jesus will in fact return to this earth… and He will do so in a way different from his initial arrival.
No longer the baby wrapped in clothes and laid in a manger… Jesus will come as the conquering and victorious king!
Here’s what I want us to understand tonight. While I am THANKFUL for what Jesus came to do… I am also THANKFUL for what Jesus is COMING to do! And I pray tonight, church, that we NEVER lose sight of the truth that He is coming soon!
There is a lot going on that can distract us from the truth that our Savior is coming again. It can be easy to look to the troubles of this world and forget the victory that is ahead. When God laid this message on my heart… two words stood out to me in Scripture… two words that were spoken by Jesus in Matthew 24:44. These two words can carry us through any situation and circumstance because of the truth that follows them. Those two words are BE READY.
What does this mean exactly? It means that we anticipate the soon coming King to arrive at any moment! it means we trust the words spoken regarding his second coming and we take them to heart. It means we find peace in that trust and assurance in His promise.
His words are proven… His words are true. In order for His words to be followed, they must be known and they must ring louder in our hearts than any other word.
Tonight I want to give three quick reminders regarding the soon coming king. These three reminders, I pray, will help us to do exactly what Christ said to do in Matthew 24 - BE READY!

The Day and the Hour is Unknown

Last week we spoke about the power of the words Coming Soon. These words are used to build anticipation regarding the arrival of something or someone.
In the world of business… those words are typically given with a time stamp. “Coming soon this summer” or perhaps, “Coming this fall.” Other times the exact date is given so that the consumer can prepare themselves and be ready for the day the product is made available.
Depending on the product and on the interest of the consumer… that wait can be difficult at best! With each passing day the excitement and the anticipation builds!
This is done on purpose to drive sales and to increase interest in the product! We like to know what we are getting and when we can expect to get it.
But we know tonight that Jesus does not operate according to the way the world operates. Scripture tells us that He is in fact coming again… but the exact day and the hour are unknown. We are not given a time stamp as to when He will return. In fact… only One person knows exactly when this will take place. Matthew 24:36

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

God sent His Son before… He’s gonna send His Son once more. Only the heavenly Father knows when Jesus will come again. His coming will be accompanied by signs and clues but ultimately, Only God knows the day and the hour.
Jesus goes on to speak of how swiftly this will take place. But the point He desires for all of us to understand is made clear in Matthew 24:42

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

KEEP WATCH. Do not lose sight of the promise. Although the time stamp was not given, the Word has been given that Jesus is coming - we must be found ready!
Consider this: the trouble of this world is increasing and as it goes up, so does our natural instinct to do something about it. Trouble is on the horizon… pick a topic and we can talk about how the systems of man are failing under the influence of wickedness.
I have heard people give messages from pulpits saying how we need to prepare financially, store up food, do all these things to prep for the soon-coming trouble. But church, these messages are not from God… they are from the troubled heart of man.
Jesus said to BE READY. Jesus said to be assured… especially in the face of the troubles of this world. To be ready for His return is not to prepare out of fear… it is to proclaim out of peace!
Look at Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:45-46

45 “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 food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.

The one found ready is the one doing the work of the Lord! The one found ready is the one found serving the interests of the master, not the interests of the world!
Church, we know that He is coming soon and we know there is a work to be done! When He returns, I pray the Lord will find us hard at work in the heartland doing all that we can to make sure everyone has the chance to call on His name!
We do not know when He will come… but we know He is coming! We do not know what the day or hour will look like… but let’s be resolved to be about His business when He arrives!
AND… let’s not fall for the false teachers who would claim they have figured out when Jesus will return. Stay focused on what Jesus said and let’s be about the mission God has given His church!
That mission… is to make the name of Jesus known! And… the return of Christ will mark the completion of that mission. We may not know the day or the hour… but we do know that the world will know His name BEFORE He returns!

The World Will Know His Name

Jesus makes this very clear in Matthew 24:14

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

We need to understand something very important regarding what Jesus came to do and what He is coming to do. EVERY PERSON MATTERS TO JESUS.
Jesus CAME to give His life for ALL.
When Jesus arrived and was laid in a manger, He came to give His life as a ransom for many. He came to give EVERYONE the opportunity to receive redemption and eternal life. He is the ONLY answer to the universal sin problem that ALL people face.
It is God’s desire for all people to repent. He desires that NO ONE would perish. Jesus was given for ALL sinners.
Before Jesus returns, all will have the opportunity to call on His name. That means everyone will know His name.
Now… this doesn’t mean that all will call on His name… but the world will know His name. They will know the gospel message and will have had the chance to say yes, I accept it or no, I reject it.
The mission work we do as a church is a two-fold work.
One - we declare the gospel message so that people might have the opportunity to choose Jesus. We invest into the lives of others the same salvific message that was invested in us.
Two - we declare the gospel message to make ready for the return of our Lord and Savior. We, the body of Christ, are the extension of Jesus’ ministry until He returns. Our mission must continue until the work is done.
God is not satisfied at 75% or even 90%. The whole world will hear and the whole world will know. ALL will have the chance to repent and to be forgiven of sin.
Church, that is the mercy and love of God at work once again. This world didn’t deserve Jesus the first time He came and we do not deserve the victory that comes with Him the second time either… yet God would demonstrate His patience with this broken world as all will be given the opportunity for salvation.
2 Peter 3:9 is where we find this truth spelled out.

9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

This is God’s desire. And as we look forward to the soon coming King, let’s make sure we are doing all that we can to make His name known! This again speaks to our level of readiness regarding His return!
And… let us never forget that God has given us all that we need to make the name of Jesus known.
He has given us the church - the vehicle through which His Word is to be proclaimed.
He has given us His Spirit - the empowerment through which our testimony is given.
Acts 2 tells us that in these last days God will our out His Spirit on all people! These last days will be marked with amazing moves of His Spirit and power as the church works to tell of what Jesus has done!
It is our honor and privilege to make known the name of Jesus! He is coming soon and we have the honor of announcing His soon coming arrival!
Lastly, I want to close by talking about something we don’t like to talk about often. As we make ready for His return, we need to also make ready our hearts for what is to come.
The closer we get to the return of Jesus, the more difficult the trouble of this world will become. We don’t like to talk about trouble… but we know the One who can help us overcome ANY trouble we might face so long as we take a stand for faith!

The Need for Faith will Rise

We don’t like to talk about the troubles ahead. We don’t like to talk about the struggling or suffering that can come because of our faith. But troubles will come and suffering will take place… but take heart - for we serve the One who overcame all of that.
When Jesus is talking to His disciples in Matthew 24, He begins to speak of things that will happen in a general sense… things that will be happening around the world that will serve as signs. He speaks of these things as “the beginning of birth pains.”
Then… Jesus gets a bit more specific and personal in Matthew 24:9-12. He tells His disciples that trouble is on the way.

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

I realize this isn’t the happy note we were hoping for. Yet… even with this news we have no reason to fear. Jesus has overcome the world! And He gives that sense and reality of victory at the end of this passage: THE ONE WHO STANDS FIRM TO THE END WILL BE SAVED.
As trouble increases… so must our faith. As the world becomes more hostile, our hearts must become more loving. As the the love of others grows cold our love for others must shine brightly.
Again… this speak to our readiness for His return. This speaks to our decision to not be overcome with fear or trouble but to be overcomers though Christ.
This world may never recognize Jesus as the amazing gift that He truly is. But church… I hope we never lose sight of how amazing the gift of Jesus is for all people!
In all of what Christ talks about in Matthew 24, the point He is wanting His disciples to understand is that when He returns, we mus be found ready for His return.
His return is NOT a matter of if… but when. And when He returns, we need to be about the mission of the master. We need to be serving as Jesus commissioned us to serve.
Jesus will be returning to a world that knows His name. Not all will believe in His name, but they will know Him nonetheless. We need to be doing all that we can to help people know and call upon the name of the Lord.
Jesus is coming for those who stand firm in the faith. Jesus is coming for those who will not be deceived and for those who will follow Him no matter what.
Jesus came and did something only He could do. Jesus is coming again and will do only what He can do. His ability to overcome has been proven over and over again.
The question to ask ourselves tonight is… do we trust in the words He spoke? Will we take heart in knowing He will overcome? Will we find peace in Him and in His promised return?
Today we sing away in a manger. Today we remember what He came to do… but we also look forward to the work He has in store.
Jesus IS coming. We are living in the last of the last days. I truly believe that. But does that belief translate into a readiness for His return?
Church, the window of opportunity is closing. With each passing day we draw closer to His return which means we need to be doing all that we can to share His name with others.
We also know that hostility towards the gospel is on the rise. We need to be resolved in our stance and determined to never compromise the Word of God.
Lastly, we need to keep our eyes on the skies. heaven WILL open and there before the world will be a white horse whose rider is called faithful and true!
Will we be ready? Will we find peace in Christ and be assured of His promises? Will we overcome… or be overcome?
We close tonight once again through worship… and similar to last week’s song, I want this time of worship to be a proclamation of our faith and a dedication to be ready… to be about the mission of God until Jesus returns!
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