Sermon Tone Analysis

What You Do Today

One day Jesus was teaching His disciples and as they left the temple, they pointed out to Him how wonderful and magnificent the stone work and the buildings were (Mark 13.1).

He responded by telling them a prophecy that the buildings would be destroyed, which was fulfilled by the Romans in 70 A.D. (Mark 13.2).

They asked Him when that would be and He told them of upcoming tribulations and signs that would precede His Second Coming (Mark 13.4-28).

He then reminded them that the fig tree’s budding leaves are a sign that summer was coming and told them in the same way that the tribulations He spoke of (deception, wars, natural disasters, and intense persecution) would be a sign that His return would be immanent (Mark 13.28-31).

He finishes with our text, saying that no one knows the day or hour when this is going to happen other than the Father…but it is going to happen.

And that is why I want to talk to you about the importance of what you do today.

Even though it may not seem like it, that day and hour is coming sooner than we think.

Illustration: State Wrestling Tournament; match against eventual champ; lost because I misunderstood the time and the score.

I thought my coach told me I was up by two points going into the period.

I was working on stalling to keep the score down and maintain the lead, only letting an escape (worth 1 point) at the last moment if I couldn’t maintain control.

Unfortunately, I was down by two points.

I gave up the escape and even with a takedown, I was down one point.

I ran out of time and lost the match.

I could have won, but didn’t, because I thought I had time.

That conversation with Jesus happened nearly 2,000 years ago and He is coming back.

Time is running short.

People are lost, and we need to be working.

We need to be ready for when Jesus returns.

Imagine that Day when the trumpet sounds and Jesus returns and God finds you ready.

He will find you busy, carrying our your Father’s business.

Think for a moment of the joy He will have to see that you weren’t stalling or waiting idle but instead you were living out your faith in a practical way.

The Time Is Now

A casual review of the signs that Jesus said would precede His return should make us realize that He could come any day now.

Some may think that God is not coming or that He has delayed so much that it doesn’t matter (2 Peter 3.3-7).

But that is far from the truth.

The reason for His delay is His great compassion.

He has been giving people time to respond to grace.

The Day is coming, and when it does, it will just happen.

And then it will be too late for anyone to change, for us to be working, etc.

The One Thing You Can’t Do in Heaven by Mark Cahill

But unlike the servants in Jesus’ warning, we won’t be sleeping.

God will find us ready for His return, walking in our calling and doing the good works He appointed to us (Ephesians 2.10, Matthew 5.16).

News headlines, social media feeds, and even every day experience remind us that the need is great.

There are multitudes that need to encounter Jesus.

And if they are going to hear about Jesus, we are going to have to work in the harvest fields (Romans 10.14, John 4.35).

Let us not be found sleeping on the job.

When Jesus comes back, let Him find us ready and working.

Taking Care of Business

Even from His youth, Jesus was invested in His Father’s business.

And as children of God, we are invited to join Him.

From Jesus’ warning here are three ways that we can live today so that we are ready for that Day.

Stay Focused

Because no one knows when exactly the Lord will return, we need to stay focused.

Illustration: Eisenhower Matrix - Urgent, Important, Not Urgent, Not Important…one of his ways of prioritizing the tasks and demands of the Presidency.

Being focused is about prioritizing the kingdom.

It is about recognizing and understanding that there are things in life that have greater worth and value.

Illustration: ‘need first, then want’

God wants you to enjoy this life but more than that, He wants you to enjoy eternity.

The way we ensure that we are ready for that is by staying focused and setting the right priorities.

Stay Busy

At the heart of Jesus’ warning, was a reminder to stay busy and keep working.

What do we stay busy working on?

The will of God.

What is the will of God, the mission that Jesus came?

Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost (Luke 19.10).

The will of God for our lives is to represent—we re-present—Jesus to the world around us.

This we do by good works and through sharing the good news (Matthew 5.16, Mark 16.15).

Stay Ready

We need to stay alert and ready.

Illustration: Marine Corps are a “force in readiness.”

(ACB within 24h) - train so that we are ready when called.

In a similar way, we need to be ready for every good work (Titus 3.1).

We live prepared.

We stay “prayed up.”

That way, when we need to respond we are able to.

We should always be ready to respond with the gospel and with the power of God through prayer in any and every situation (cf.

Ephesians 6.18).

Not only should we stay ready for good works, we should anticipate and be looking for our Savior’s return (cf.

Revelation 22.20).

Conclusion

The Eternal God stepped down into time (Isaiah 57.15).

He did so in order to seek and save that which was lost (Luke 19.10).

He did it because He saw people who were scattered and weary as sheep without a shepherd and He had compassion for them (Matthew 9.36).

He did it because of love (John 3.16).

And when we respond to Jesus’ teaching we will experience a deeply meaningful faith that will produce fruit.

When we stay focused and recognizing that our time to help people find salvation is running out, we will stay busy by living for the Father’s will, and that means we will stay ready for every good work and His return.

When we do that we become God’s partners in the family business.

We will not be ashamed at His coming, and we will rejoice in the Day of His coming.

Illustration: Marine, saved, told me 12 years later.

When we chose today to focus on the will of God, ready for every opportunity to testify of Jesus, we will someday have people come to us and say, “It was because of you that I met Jesus and got saved.

It was because of you...”

What you do for God today matters for all of eternity.

Pray that we would live focused, and get busy, and stay ready for whatever God wants to do; that we would be a church who is mindful of the heart and mission of God and therefore engage the lost and do good works that glorify our heavenly Father.

Amen.