Text relating to this Sunday's sermon at The River: Matthew 24:42-51...
42 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. 43 Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. 44 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.45 “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. 46 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 47 I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. 48 But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ 49 and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? 50 The master will return unannounced and unexpected, 51 and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Keep watch. For you don't know. Be ready. He will come when least expected.
Hmmmm... seems as though Jesus is trying to tell us something about His second coming in this passage. But what could it be? Is He telling us that we should diligently study our Bibles and try to set the date and time of His return? Is He encouraging us to try to read His Word "between the lines" like a murder mystery novel... attempting to construct a detailed map of what will take place in the end times? Has God - through the biblical writers - left us a treasure map of how and when and where, and by what means He will return in glory? If that is the case, then surely Tim LaHaye has it all figured out, and has passed on his biblical wisdom in his classic novel series, "Left Behind" to us, right? I mean, what mystery...? Just read the books and you'll be so freaked-out by the idea of being left behind as God systematically destroys the earth (and sinners) that OF COURSE you'll want to repent now... so that you'll be raptured with the rest of God's elect in Judgment Day: Part 1. (Part 2 is after he destroys the earth and remakes it... then He comes back to reign and rule).
Nope. Sorry. Don't buy it. Now, the Bible does have some things to say about Jesus coming back. It does have some wild - very mysterious - passages about resurrection and judgment and eternal destiny... but none of them are terribly clear about the details from our earthly perspective.
But doesn't the Bible tell us what we need to know about God, and earth, and people, and salvation, and life, and death, and the afterlife? Yes. Exactly. In fact, precisely what we NEED to know... but not much of what we WANT or DEMAND to know about the age to come.
Then what should we do? Okay... now THAT Jesus made abundantly clear over and over again throughout the Gospels... and so did the other New Testament writers: Are you ready for the big secret? Okay, here it is:
Be ready.
That's it. Be ready. Live your life as though Jesus were returning soon. Don't be caught off guard. Don't push Jesus to the margins of your life. If you believe, don't live as though you don't. Don't be lazy. Don't give in to evil. Don't be stupid. (Okay... I ad-libbed that last one... Jesus never said that to my knowledge!) But here's what I'm getting at: God knows you inside and out, right? He knows what you do, what you think... He knows your motives, and knows your deepest fears and hopes and dreams and passions. He is intimately interested in you.. little 'ole you, and everyone else on this planet. So let Him in to the deep recesses of your being. Let Him guide you, and strengthen you... heck, let Christ DEFINE you. And when that beautiful divine/human encounter takes root and fully germinates in your heart... don't spend your time trying to figure out when (and how) He's coming back... just simply LIVE as though it were today! Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness... let God send you... and do with your life what He wills!
Dude (I mean that generically)... He doesn't want to magically remove His people from this world so He can destroy it. For goodness sake, He strategically placed you and me in this world so we can join Him in redeeming it for His kingdom purposes! I've got some news for you (in fact, Good News!) - at the "end" of time... God has plans for those in Christ... and for planet earth. On that day when Christ returns, there will be resurrection... and there will be judgment. And it whatever way He plans to do it... Jesus will bring His Kingdom fully and completely to earth... and those in Christ will dwell with Him in glory. Wow! So let's do ourselves a favor... let's keep it simple:
Keep watch. For you don't know. Be ready. He will come when least expected.
