Teaching of Jesus (Part 22) Be Ready
Teachings of Jesus (Part 22) Warning to Be Ready for His Return.
Intro: Pretend to be afraid. And then ask, ‘Is there anything that you are really afraid of?’ Maybe you are afraid of those things go bump in the night, those strange noises you hear at night when it’s totally dark. Or maybe you are afraid of getting attacked by someone, or getting sick with some kind of terrible disease like cancer. Maybe you are afraid losing your shirt financially. Or maybe you are afraid of losing you mind as you grow older with Alzheimer disease. People are afraid of all kind of things in this world.
Today I would like to show you something that sets me on edge. It seen in 2 Peter 3:1-14. It says ” Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.
3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 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.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.[a]
11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. 14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
This event is a bit scary to me and I pray that I am ready when that day comes. I mean, how would you feel right now if you knew for sure that this was all going to happen in 3 hours? Even though there people all around us every day who seem to care less about, or even doubt this event will ever happenings, you can be sure that one day it will. There are a number of scripture verses that warn us that we need to be ready to meet our Lord whether we die, or if He decides to bring about this event which we read about here in 2 Peter 3 before we die.
So far in this series of warnings, in our series of lesson on the Teachings of Jesus, over the past few weeks we’ve talk about Him warning people to: beware of Hypocrites, beware of Greed, and last week we saw that we need to beware of worrying. And this week we’ll see that the next warning Jesus gives in Luke 12 is that we have to be ready for His return.
I would like to read the text to you in Luke 12:35-48. It says “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
41 Peter asked, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?”
42 The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? 43 It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. 44 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. 46 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.
47 “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. 48 But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”
There are just a few things I would like to make note of from this text:
#1. In both scripture verses the one in 2 Peter and here in Luke, we read that when the Lord returns, He will come like a thief in the night, unannounced and when we least expect it. So we have to be ready all the time.
I read about someone in California who goes to bed every night with shoes and a flashlight under the bed. When she was a child, her father required every family member to be ready to leave the house in a hurry if an earthquake were to come during the night. She said that during a tremor windows would shatter and electricity would be lost. With shoes a hand reach away she could walk on broken glass and with a light she could find her way in the dark. Therefore till this day she never goes to bed without them there. She is ready.
When Jesus spoke to His followers about His return, He said, “Be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Luke 12:40). What does it mean for a Christian to be ready for Christ’s return? Jesus said in verses 22-31 that instead of worrying about material things, we are to trust in God’s provision and make His kingdom our priority. In verses 32-34 He told us that instead of worry and fear, we are to put God and His kingdom first in our life. And here we read that like faithful servants, we should expect our Master at any time. Peter said, “You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.” Be sure of this, He will return at an unexpected hour (vv.35-40).
Since we know what coming, and if we are wise enough to prepare and get ready, that should help takes away some fear when this event unfolds. That is if you are really ready.
#2) Jesus as well as Peter also let us know that there are certain things that we should be doing, and we should not be lulled into inactivity by the fact that the Lord has delayed His coming. Every day that passes by we are one day closer to His return, and we should be preparing for eternity, not frantically or desperately but responsibility. We should even be looking forward to this day.
A man commented, “I hope I don’t die suddenly. I want to have time to straighten out some relationships.” Another man asked, “Well, why don’t you do it anyway? If it’s worth doing, do it now.” The point is, if there are things you need to straighten out, do it now in a thoughtful fashion. Don’t wait until the doctor tells you you’ve got three weeks to live. Do it now!
One day while St. Francis was hoeing his garden, he was asked, “What would you do if you knew you only had one day to live?” “I would keep on hoeing my garden,” was the reply. Our longevity ought not to determine our day-to-day agenda. We should be doing what we should be doing on a daily basis. We should be ready right now or at a moment’s notice.
Jesus promised to return and told us how to live as we wait for His coming. We need to be ready!
A teacher told his class that he would be GOING AWAY for several weeks, and he offered to give a prize to the student whose desk he found in the best order when he came back. But he didn’t tell them what day he would return. Because the prize was big, each child was determined to get it, including a little girl whose desk was normally quite messy. Her classmates jeered, “Mary, you’ll never win, Your desk is never neat.” “Oh, I plan to clean it the first of every week from now on.” “But,” someone said, “Suppose he comes at the end of the week?” “Then I’ll clean it every morning,” “But,” another classmate persisted, “He may come at the end of the day.” For a moment the child was silent in thought. Then she said decidedly, “I know what I’ll do. I’ll just keep it clean!”
Jesus also lets us know that He will bless those that He finds prepared and faithfully serving when He returns, In verses 37, He said, “37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.
And in vss 43 &44 He says, “43 It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. 44 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.”
If we want to receive our Lord’s approval and blessings at His return, we must always be ready. Jesus did not tell us to “get ready,” but rather to “be ready” (Mt. 24:44). We are to live constantly in a state of spiritual preparedness, anticipating the moment when He will appear and ask us to give account of our stewardship.
#3) And finally Jesus also lets us know that it won’t be as good for those who slack off in serving Him and others, even if you are a Christian. He said, 47 “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows.”
This is a stern if not strong warning for all of us to be ready. Someone once wrote, “We are to wait Patiently, we are to wait expectantly, as we are to wait faithfully. “ One thing for certain, He is coming.
The question is are you ready?
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