Unprovoked Attacks

September 4, 1941

On September 4 1941 the USS Greer was attacked by a German submarine. As a result of this attack President Roosevelt issued orders to attack any ship approaching a US vessel. Three months later the US would be attacked again at Pearl Harbor leading to their involvement in WWII.

Fortunately the USS Greer was not damaged in its attack but Pearl Harbor is one of the worst days in US history in terms of loss.

8 Battleships

3 cruisers

3 destroyers

4 other navy ships

164 aircraft were destroyed or sunk

2403 americans were killed.

The United States completely changed it’s preparedness and defensive strategies as a result of Pearl Harbor and the unexpected attacks leading up to our involvement in WWII.

We were wholly unprepared and paid the price for it.

We’re gonna look at a teaching of Jesus that speaks of preparedness today.

The servants ready for the masters return.

Read the Scripture: Luke 12:35-48

Pray over it

Be Ready

Notice it says be in readiness not be ready at a moments notice or something similar.

Not like a firefighter who is ready at any second to put on his boots but more ready like your excited puppy waiting for you to get home staring out the window when you leave and waiting at the door when you get home.

What does it mean to be dressed in readiness?

For the servants of this time they would actually take their garment and tuck it into their waist belts so they could run around quickly without tripping over their clothing.

For us this obviously takes on a different meaning. Our master isn’t one that expects us to be ready physically and dressed right.

I think for us being ready starts with our salvation right. We have the highest level of readiness by first accepting that Christ is the son of the Father and part of the triune God. The Father the Son and the Holy Spirit.

We must be clear too that this is about our mental state. We should be constantly praying as Paul says and in constant communion with God even in the smallest parts of our lives.

We must be prepared for Christs return and we should be excited about it.

Blessings for those who are ready

This is a beautiful picture of the God we serve and how amazing he is. Jesus paints a portrait of Him serving us because we waited faithfully for His return.

The slaves are not masters here and the master is not a slave but their status is unimportant. It is just people loving one another in the presence of the Lord.

Warning for the unprepared

Jesus’ teaching in the second part of this parable is still to be prepared but He approaches it from a different angle. A thief coming to rob you is a really common picture of what the return of Christ will look like. It will be unexpected in the same way a robber is. It isn’t something we can ever be prepared for but we can always be alert and on guard.

We must keep one eye on the present and love those around us while keeping our other eye towards the future patiently waiting for Christ to return.

We too must be ready for the return of Christ will be like these things.

Peters Confusion/Pride and Jesus’ typical response with a question

So for me at least Peter is the most relatable of the disciples. He just doesn’t get it over and over again. He cuts the ear off the Roman guard in the garden of gethsemane before Jesus is crucified, before that he tells Jesus He is crazy for thinking He is going to be killed. And now Peter is like uhhhh Jesus.... “are you talking to me”

Jesus replies by saying I’m talking to everyone but it’s even worse for you buddy!

Jesus gives two images of what the slave could do while his master is gone in response to Peters question.

Blessings on the one working at his masters return.

The first slave is hard at work and when the master returns he is doing exactly what was asked of him. Because of that Jesus says he will surely be put in charge of many things.

He was faithful with what he had and at his masters return he was given more responsibility and authority.

Punishment for Wrong Deeds

Then there is the one who is just careless about his masters return unaware of when it will be. That slave mistreats the other servants and doesn't take care of the people of the house well at all.

For this slave his punishment will be severe for he will but “cut into pieces” and cast out with unbelievers.

The difference between the unaware and the uncaring.

I think this is one of the most interesting parts of the parable

The first person knows the will of his master but disreguards it and in doing so recieves “many lashes”

The second slaves does not know his masters will but has done more wrong than the first slave. Despite acting worse he is spared the lashes of the first slave because he was unaware of his masters will.

The Lord gives us the right amount of responsibility, no more and no less.

Application

For the Here and Now

I think one of the main points of application that could easily be overlooked here is that this means something to us know. It is a message of preparedness not just for Christs return but also for our work in his kingdom.

We need to be in our Bibles soaking up God’s word and in prayer so that when people ask those hard questions we don’t look like a deer caught in the headlights but we can answer them boldly and confidently.

Of course we don’t have to have all the answers but we should have some of them.

One of the most powerful tools we have as christians witnessing to those around us is also our testimony.

Not a person in this room is gonna convince someone to be a Christian by arguing them into belief.

There are three things we can do.

Number one is pray that God would stir in them and speak to them through us.

Number two is to pursue them like they are your own child. Constantly be in relationship with them showing them how different God has made you.

And the third one is by telling them how Jesus changed your life. telling your testimony is so powerful and the truth is it isn’t always easy.

It takes courage to be vulnerable with people and share a real testimony that goes beyond the surface.

So we must be prepared at all times to not only defend our faith but share our faith.

For Christs Return

We must also be in communion with the father so that we can be prepared for his return.

We must be praying that he keep us sharp and on the lookout so that we are serving him well up until he comes back.

We know that our salvation does not depend on the works we do while we are here or how ready we are for Christs return but i have two things i would like to point out to you.

The first is this: Wouldn’t you like to be told well done good and faithful servant. I don’t know about you guys but no matter how old i get the feeling of disappointment from my parents will always be so easy to remember.

They could scream and beat me if they wanted and that would have been better than those chilling words.. “I’m disappointed in you”

I don’t know about you guys but I really wanna be one of the ones that Jesus is proud of.

The second thing i would bring to your attention is that if we truly love our Lord and the people around wouldn’t we want to serve well and with endurance?

If we really care for the lost people of this world no matter how crazy they might be or how much they might bug us would we not pursue them for God’s kingdom?

And if we love God too would we not obey him out of that love and stay ready for his return. We truly don’t know when he will be back.

People will say his return is soon and I”m not saying they’re wrong but i will say people have been saying that for a long time. We just don’t know, it’s that simple.

What we do know is we must be ready for Him when he does come back.

So with all that in mind I will leave you with this.

Be prayerful and thoughtful about those around you. Pursue the Lord endlessly and with disregard for the consequences you might face in this life. We live in a time where true pursuit of God may actually cost us something but I can promise you it’s worth it. Don’t let your guard down and don’t let your hope waver. God will return someday and you’ll be so glad you served Him faithfully. If you haven’t made the decision to make Jesus the Lord of your life pastor Randy, Chris or I would love to talk to you about that!