Are You Ready?
An excerpt from the message, 'Are You Ready?' based on the text of Matthew 24:36-51
1) Faithfulness is a Choice
We must understand something, that faithfulness is something that God requires.
1 Corinthians 4:2. Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
Faithfulness is a choice. Faithfulness is, is what we need. Faithfulness is what we'll need to finish the very end of the race that was set before us.
See, in that day when we either breathe our last breath, or Christ comes back. The blessings of God will be upon those who are faithful and wise. Let's become faithful and wise in our day. There's so much blessing on the way for those of us that are in Christ. There's so much blessing on the other side when we get to heaven, friends.
Wisdom in the Bible has this implication, the ability to put into practice, the knowledge of God. See people who are faithful don't allow the delay in the King's return to get them to stop doing what they know is right in the King's eyes. I'm going to keep loving people, not because it's always easy, but because my King commands me to love like he loves.
I'm going to continue to help people around me even though they take advantage of me, not because I'm a doormat, but because I'm a servant for the master's use and he's asked me to serve and so therefore I'm going to do it. Let's remain faithful and wise. Why? Because the blessings of God are awaiting us.
Look at how he ends it in verse 48.
Matthew 24:48-50: But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 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,
Why? Because he wasn't patiently enduring and being watchful until the end.
Matthew 24:48-51:And will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
2) The return of Christ will be horrific for those who are found to be unfaithful.
It will be horrific. There is no other way to say what Jesus is saying here in the text other than the plain reading of it. Those that will be found unfaithful to him will experience a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. It's gonna be horrific. And so many people live their life today with this thinking that they have time to change.
It's easy to say,"One day I'll live for God like I used to. One day I'll start going to church. One day I'll begin to read my Bible like I did in the past. One day I'll give up that addiction. One day I'll stop sleeping with my boyfriend or my girlfriend. I mean, God knows my heart." The problem with this thinking is that you and I are not guaranteed this afternoon.
See Jesus, in this passage, this is the emphasis here... Jesus is saying that the person that is unfaithful says in his heart Jesus isn't coming back for a while, so I'll live however I want right in the here and now because I'll change later on...because I have time.
2 Timothy 4:9 - Be diligent to come to me quickly for Demas has forsaken me He has chosen to be unfaithful Having loved this present world and has departed for Thessalonica...
2 Timothy 2:20-21 - “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.”
What's he saying? He's saying that you and I are all vessels of dishonor, but we could choose in this moment to be a vessel of honor. And if we do, we are actually setting ourselves up to be used in an honorable way. You and I must understand something. Just as faithfulness is a choice, so is choosing to be unfaithful.
It's our choice.
James 4:17 - Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Ah, that's a painful verse. See, the, the crux of the story seems to be on the illustration that people were living life as however they wanted.
They were living life as if there was no God, or they were living life as if they had more time to believe and get into the boat. But what was Noah doing? He stayed busy with what God commanded him to do in that moment, which was to build the boat.
The Genesis account tells us that he built this boat, this ark, for 120 years! Think about that! 120 years! What else was he doing while he was building this boat? Well, Peter tells us this...
2 Peter 2:5 - And did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of the eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly.
Did you catch that? He was a preacher of righteousness in his day. Every day, people probably made fun of him. Like, why are you building that? What are you building? ... Oh, I'm building this ark because the Almighty God, the creator of all things is going to send a flood that is going to wipe out all mankind and every living thing except for those that are in the ark that I'm building.
"He's gonna send a flood? How on earth is he gonna send a flood?" Well, it's gonna rain. "What's rain?" Well, it's water that comes from the sky. "Ha! Dude, that's never happened like that before. Noah, you're a jokester. You're so delusional."
I'm sure that they mocked him every single day. I'm sure that every single day they saw Noah out there building this ark that they walked by. "Hey, Noah! What's the weather gonna be like today?" This is ten years in. He's got a hundred and ten years more to go. And he just every single time, maybe he's like, 'Feels like rain.'
Are You Ready?
Don't let those around you get you to feel as if he's not coming back just because there's been this gap in his first appearance until now. There's another flood coming. We know that God will not send another physical flood to wipe out the earth, but there's going to be a spiritual flood that's going to take place and all who are not in the ark will be swept away.
Jesus is that Ark, and don't let the delay of our king get you and I to think that there's more time that we could step into later on down the road because you and I are not guaranteed tomorrow. Our judgment day may be today, and those in Christ are going to experience the blessings of God, but those not in Jesus will experience the wrath of God and be sent to hell for all eternity.
For all eternity. Scripture never promotes the question, when will Christ return? Rather, it asks, will you be ready when He does? We should stop thinking about when Jesus returns and simply live as if every day could be that day.
1) Faithfulness is a Choice
We must understand something, that faithfulness is something that God requires.
1 Corinthians 4:2. Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
Faithfulness is a choice. Faithfulness is, is what we need. Faithfulness is what we'll need to finish the very end of the race that was set before us.
See, in that day when we either breathe our last breath, or Christ comes back. The blessings of God will be upon those who are faithful and wise. Let's become faithful and wise in our day. There's so much blessing on the way for those of us that are in Christ. There's so much blessing on the other side when we get to heaven, friends.
Wisdom in the Bible has this implication, the ability to put into practice, the knowledge of God. See people who are faithful don't allow the delay in the King's return to get them to stop doing what they know is right in the King's eyes. I'm going to keep loving people, not because it's always easy, but because my King commands me to love like he loves.
I'm going to continue to help people around me even though they take advantage of me, not because I'm a doormat, but because I'm a servant for the master's use and he's asked me to serve and so therefore I'm going to do it. Let's remain faithful and wise. Why? Because the blessings of God are awaiting us.
Look at how he ends it in verse 48.
Matthew 24:48-50: But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 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,
Why? Because he wasn't patiently enduring and being watchful until the end.
Matthew 24:48-51:And will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
2) The return of Christ will be horrific for those who are found to be unfaithful.
It will be horrific. There is no other way to say what Jesus is saying here in the text other than the plain reading of it. Those that will be found unfaithful to him will experience a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. It's gonna be horrific. And so many people live their life today with this thinking that they have time to change.
It's easy to say,"One day I'll live for God like I used to. One day I'll start going to church. One day I'll begin to read my Bible like I did in the past. One day I'll give up that addiction. One day I'll stop sleeping with my boyfriend or my girlfriend. I mean, God knows my heart." The problem with this thinking is that you and I are not guaranteed this afternoon.
See Jesus, in this passage, this is the emphasis here... Jesus is saying that the person that is unfaithful says in his heart Jesus isn't coming back for a while, so I'll live however I want right in the here and now because I'll change later on...because I have time.
2 Timothy 4:9 - Be diligent to come to me quickly for Demas has forsaken me He has chosen to be unfaithful Having loved this present world and has departed for Thessalonica...
2 Timothy 2:20-21 - “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.”
What's he saying? He's saying that you and I are all vessels of dishonor, but we could choose in this moment to be a vessel of honor. And if we do, we are actually setting ourselves up to be used in an honorable way. You and I must understand something. Just as faithfulness is a choice, so is choosing to be unfaithful.
It's our choice.
James 4:17 - Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Ah, that's a painful verse. See, the, the crux of the story seems to be on the illustration that people were living life as however they wanted.
They were living life as if there was no God, or they were living life as if they had more time to believe and get into the boat. But what was Noah doing? He stayed busy with what God commanded him to do in that moment, which was to build the boat.
The Genesis account tells us that he built this boat, this ark, for 120 years! Think about that! 120 years! What else was he doing while he was building this boat? Well, Peter tells us this...
2 Peter 2:5 - And did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of the eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly.
Did you catch that? He was a preacher of righteousness in his day. Every day, people probably made fun of him. Like, why are you building that? What are you building? ... Oh, I'm building this ark because the Almighty God, the creator of all things is going to send a flood that is going to wipe out all mankind and every living thing except for those that are in the ark that I'm building.
"He's gonna send a flood? How on earth is he gonna send a flood?" Well, it's gonna rain. "What's rain?" Well, it's water that comes from the sky. "Ha! Dude, that's never happened like that before. Noah, you're a jokester. You're so delusional."
I'm sure that they mocked him every single day. I'm sure that every single day they saw Noah out there building this ark that they walked by. "Hey, Noah! What's the weather gonna be like today?" This is ten years in. He's got a hundred and ten years more to go. And he just every single time, maybe he's like, 'Feels like rain.'
Are You Ready?
Don't let those around you get you to feel as if he's not coming back just because there's been this gap in his first appearance until now. There's another flood coming. We know that God will not send another physical flood to wipe out the earth, but there's going to be a spiritual flood that's going to take place and all who are not in the ark will be swept away.
Jesus is that Ark, and don't let the delay of our king get you and I to think that there's more time that we could step into later on down the road because you and I are not guaranteed tomorrow. Our judgment day may be today, and those in Christ are going to experience the blessings of God, but those not in Jesus will experience the wrath of God and be sent to hell for all eternity.
For all eternity. Scripture never promotes the question, when will Christ return? Rather, it asks, will you be ready when He does? We should stop thinking about when Jesus returns and simply live as if every day could be that day.
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