Stay Dressed For Action

Silicon Valley Reformed Baptist Church

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:01

Well, good morning beloved You have a Bible, please turn to the gospel of Luke chapter 12

00:15

Luke chapter 12 verses 35

00:24

To 48 when you have that please do stand for the reading of God's Word Again the text is

00:30

Luke chapter 12 starting verse 35 here ye this morning the word of the Lord Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding

00:43

Feast so they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes truly

00:52

I say to you he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table And he will come and serve them if he comes in the second watch or in the third and finds them awake blessed are those servants, but know this

01:05

That if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming

01:10

He would not have left his house to be broken into You must also be ready for the

01:16

Son of Man is coming at an hour. You do not expect Peter said Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?

01:26

and the Lord said Who then is the faithful and wise manager whom his master will set over his household to give them their portion of food at?

01:35

the proper time Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes truly

01:40

I say to you he would set him over all his possessions But if the servant says to himself My master is delayed in coming

01:47

It begins to beat the male and female servants in to eat and drink and get drunk The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him in an hour

01:55

He does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful And the servant who knew his master's will

02:02

But did not get ready or act according to his will will receive a severe beating

02:08

But the one who did not know and did what deserved the beating will receive a light beating

02:14

Everyone to whom much was given of him much will be required and from him to whom much of whom they entrusted much

02:21

They will demand the more. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated Join me as we pray father.

02:31

We come before you in the precious name of Jesus Christ by whom we have received reconciliation with you by means of the

02:41

Regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. We approach you Oh trium godhead father son and spirit

02:48

Beseeching you this morning to given us Heart to receive and ears to hear that's what you have laid before us in the gospel of Luke We pray

02:57

Lord that we would Internalize these truths and that we would be in fact ready for action fit for action waiting upon the master's return for the sure

03:07

Promise of Scripture is this that the Lord Jesus Christ shall come again in glory and Lord Jesus may you find us to be a people eagerly waiting and expecting and with with great joy and Anticipation that great arrival and Lord may we not be like the covenant people of pass through when the our visitation came

03:30

They were found to be unfaithful servants. May we be found to be faithful servants in this day for your glory and your namesake

03:37

Amen Have you ever had great anticipation for an event?

03:47

for a day, maybe Most of you know, I grew up as one of Jehovah's Witnesses and as a kid

03:54

I always had this weird relationship with Christmas because we get this time off in December and Most kids are building up great anticipation for Christmas presents

04:05

And as one of Jehovah's Witnesses in my upbringing we didn't celebrate Christmas. We didn't get any gifts on Christmas maybe if we're lucky we might get a gift in that season

04:15

But it certainly wouldn't be called a Christmas present And so for me I saw the world's anticipation the kids anticipation for for Christmas and all the things that they were

04:26

Expecting eagerly awaiting and I couldn't help myself also to have some form some level of anticipation

04:31

Even though I knew I wasn't going to receive anything you see Anticipation can be a great thing

04:38

It can be a wonderful thing in that it helps us it motivates us It helps us to look towards something in the future that is yet to be realized and fulfilled

04:49

Here in the gospel of Luke chapter 12 Jesus is calling for his people for his disciples for those who love him to have great anticipation for his return

04:59

And he says he puts it this way in Luke chapter 12 verse 35. He says stay dressed for action and Keep your lamps burning

05:12

Jesus is Admonishing his people to be dressed for action.

05:17

Have you received a bulletin this morning? you received inserts this week and you can join along in the teaching by filling in the

05:24

The blank spaces that Jesus admonishes us to be dressed for action Did you ever lose track of time and miss maybe an important an important?

05:39

Appointment or missed a flight or a bus ride In my travels back and forth to the

05:47

East Coast to be with my family we have had instances where Either I'm late or the plane is late and it makes a mess of the travel schedule

05:57

The importance of readiness cannot be overstated in terms of domestic travel

06:03

For instance, they tell you if you go to the airport that you should be there at least two hours ahead

06:10

No, I like to flirt with destiny and I like to push the limits of that because I absolutely hate waiting at the

06:18

Airport it to me is such a waste of time and usually when I go there's no lines in the TSA Especially when you're flying out of here in San Jose, the lines are not that crazy

06:26

But then there's been a couple times where I'm I meet The line and it is nearly at the door and my flight is about to get ready to board in 30 minutes

06:38

You see Anticipation and readiness have to go hand -in -hand

06:43

One can have great anticipation But if you're not ready If you don't give yourself the time the space to be to to ready that anticipation then you will be

06:55

Lost you will be found not ready when the appointment comes You see in the previous section of Scripture Jesus warned us not to be caught up with the anxieties of this life anxieties of this world

07:07

Which can easily divert our attention from the kingdom hope which we have in Jesus but now he turns his attention to give this at admonishment to be prepared for Action to be watchful to be prepared for our masters return and the call is simple

07:23

He says to stay dressed for action in the Greek here

07:28

You might see a footnote in your Bible if you're reading from the ESV The term that is used here in the

07:34

Greek literally means to gird up your loins Loins, this is again reference to the style of clothing back in the day if you were seeing

07:44

Imageries or pictures of Jesus or other first century characters in the Bible you see that they're wearing something akin to what you might

07:52

Recognize as a dress It's not actually a dress But it looks kind of like a dress and one of the components of this dress at the time is that there are

08:03

Ways in which you can roll up kind of sleeves of your of your of the of the bottom dress so that if you need it to you could run and you can be found ready and And meet the needs of the moment

08:21

And so Jesus is literally calling them to gird up their loins to to take their clothing and to and to roll it up to be ready for action

08:30

And the call to stay dressed for action or to grow below Jesus is calling or recalling to his disciples the archetypical image of preparedness

08:39

By conjuring the image of an Israelite taking his loins and wrapping it to actually make a belt

08:48

You see they would take the Fabric of clothing and not only would they roll it up But then they would also make it as such that it would become a belt to hold the rest of their dress up And so this was done

09:03

So that a man's legs were not hindered for running or battle like we see in Exodus chapter 12 verse 11

09:12

Where God commands his people to gird up their loins to be ready for action to be ready on this

09:18

Exodus trip It's the akin today to the phrase that's used in The business world or in work when they say today's gonna be a tough day son.

09:30

So roll up your sleeves it is a imagery of action and not simply reaction

09:40

Christians today are very Reactionary. We're not always ready for the moment

09:46

We're usually reacting rather than being proactive and Jesus is calling his people to be a proactive

09:52

People to roll up their sleeves to gird up their loins to be ready on that great day of action on that great

10:00

Exodus to be ready for the Lord's Work and for his return.

10:07

This is of course alluding to a constant state of Readiness for the

10:12

Christian notice again verse 35 stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning

10:19

You only burn a lamp at nighttime Recognizing that sometimes in life one must be found ready not just during the time of day, but also at night

10:29

This is there's a spiritual metaphor that is at work here Not only is he referring to the distinction of day and night as we would understand today but he's also alluding to the fact that the world in which we live in is spiritually dark

10:46

You look out these windows these great windows of this church edifice and obviously you see the outside.

10:52

It's a beautiful day The light is coming in. It's shining in bestowing light and warmth to us

10:59

But when you really consider what's outside of these doors and windows is a world not filled of light

11:07

But instead filled with darkness and so the Lord Jesus reminds us that the world is dark therefore you must always have your lamp burning your lamp meaning your spiritual state of readiness your walk with the

11:24

Lord the light that you have in you being the light of the Gospel of Christ ought to always be on and ready to illuminate to shine

11:34

Brightly in a world that is so darkened by sin and wickedness

11:41

And so the Lord Jesus calls us to keep our lamps burning So if you want to write this in the notes as well

11:48

Jesus admonishes admonishes us to be dressed for action keeping our lamps burning

11:54

Meaning this that we are to be ready For our master being ready for our master

12:04

Now if you would turn your attention to what the Word of God says here in verse 36 and be like the men who are waiting

12:09

For their master to come home from the wedding feast so they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks

12:17

Jesus again is pointing to the state of spiritual readiness that his people must have in What sense should the

12:26

Christian be ready? The Christian ought to be ready for a couple things

12:32

One for every good work. We are called to be a distinct people ready for every good work meaning that in our day -to -day lives in our interpersonal relationships at our job site in our school wherever it is that we have a field of responsibility or or Influence we are called to be ready for kingdom service

12:57

Meaning that we should always be ready once to prepare and be prepared to give as The scripture says in first Peter 3 15 to give an answer to the hope that lies within us

13:10

To be ready to give a defense for the Christian gospel to be a witness to unbelievers

13:17

We ought to be ready for that action We also ought to be ready and be found ready

13:24

Not only to be a good witness in our lives and community

13:29

But we should also be found ready to be of service in the kingdom in the local church

13:37

Meaning that when there's areas of opportunity of service that we make ourselves available to the master and to his work

13:46

Again what we see here is this dichotomy that Jesus sets up between a master and his servants understand that the nature of that of those roles and of the responsibilities that come with it the

14:00

Master is calling us to service He says stay dressed for action.

14:06

It's like if you had a security job and your boss lets, you know Hey, there's there's some things that might go down.

14:13

So I need you to be ready and alert imagine if on that day You were found instead of being ready and alert you're found to be in the office snoozing

14:25

You may not know this about me, but I worked a security job once before I was a what's called an asset protection

14:34

Officer at my local Walmart. Yes Walmart has Secret undercover agents that are watching people and making sure that there's not shoplifting activities and that was one of my jobs and responsibilities and when my son my firstborn was born

14:53

Nehemiah I was very restless as you can imagine being a first -time dad and not having a lot of sleep and one day on one of the most important days when our

15:04

District manager for asset protection was coming into town I was found to be snoozing for maybe about 15 minutes

15:13

And so the person who checks the cameras, which was me I didn't realize that someone was checking that camera, which was my boss and So when the hour came he asked me what were you doing?

15:26

And I said well I think it's pretty self -evident. I was tired and so Thankfully, they were gracious enough to work with me in the understanding of my situation, but how embarrassing was that for me?

15:38

I was so embarrassed and I was terrified of What the implications would mean if I was to be let go?

15:46

In the same way in the same fashion brothers is doing even with more anticipation We ought to be found ready and not snoozing when it comes to Kingdom work in action

15:56

We have to be a people that are ready to serve both out in the world for the

16:03

Christian witness and testimony, but also within the local church and of course there is an eschatological

16:10

Expectation that Jesus is also asking us to to consider and to build up and that is for his glorious return

16:18

Jesus Christ Came in the fullness of time Born of the

16:23

Virgin Mary lived a holy perfect sinless life as a result of his perfect Obedience he purchased for us in eternal salvation by going so far as death even death on the cross

16:37

The Bible says in Philippians chapter 2 Therefore God has highly exalted this Jesus and given him the name that is above every name

16:44

So the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he's Lord to the glory of God the

16:49

Father in this Jesus is now Ascended at the right hand of the Father where he now lives forever as our high priest and he intercedes for us even now as we speak this great and exalted

17:03

Jesus is Coming again as sure as he has come the first time

17:11

So he shall come again Not dealing with sin, but rather to bring forth salvation to all those who are eagerly expecting him

17:21

Jesus has certainly come You see I was reading I was uh, I like a lot of things in the apologetic world and I've been listening more and more to this debate surrounding the his what's called the the theory of the historical

17:35

Jesus and there are people out there who believe that Jesus did not exist that rather he was a a mythological character that has been reincarnated through other various myths so for instance

17:49

They they make him akin to the Horus God of the Egyptians who supposedly had 12 disciples who died who was resurrected and also akin to the

18:02

Greek God or Greek God called Mithras Who are the

18:07

Persian God of Mithras and he also supposedly had 12 disciples He also had a ministry.

18:13

He then also died and then he was resurrected and that Jesus is just a neat retelling of this ancient

18:20

Mythology and when you dig a little bit deeper down the surface you actually recognize this that all of it is a farce

18:29

I'm a person who I loved studying Egyptology as a kid So when I heard this I was suspicious because I never heard of Horus being referred to as his messianic figure son of God Light of the world having told disciples and then having a death and resurrection.

18:44

This was all foreign to me And so when I digged a little bit deeper, I saw that Horus had no such equivalency to Jesus When they say that he had 12 disciples, that's not true when they say that Horus died.

18:56

Well, that is true He was cut into several pieces and then they say he was resurrected well not really his mother

19:02

Isis came in and had to bring all the pieces of his body from the Nile River and bring him back

19:08

Completely and then kind of raise them in a weird sense No, nothing even close to the resurrection account of Jesus.

19:15

And so they bring these farce comparisons and even individuals like Bart Ehrman who's an apostate who's a scholar who was a previous evangelical scholar

19:26

Even testifies that Jesus Christ was surely a historical person that Paul had an actual

19:37

Probably mythical encounter that changes like even someone like Bart Ehrman would agree that Jesus actually existed

19:45

Jesus truly came Jesus actually existed Jesus truly made these incredible divine claims and among his claims

19:56

Brothers and sisters is that Jesus said he will come back Are you ready?

20:02

Are you dressed for action? Is the return of Christ something that is part of your daily? anticipation desire and walk now, of course without getting into too much controversy the spectrum of eschatological expectations runs the gamut within Christianity You have all sorts of theories and theologies and understandings of the second coming

20:27

So I want to focus on some things that we would all at least hold in common When you look at the great ecumenical councils of the church that touch on the return of Christ Most of them and even along with some of the great confessions of the faith all basically agree on one thing

20:44

Jesus Christ is coming again to judge the quick and the dead. Amen So we can all agree on that Jesus Christ is coming

20:54

He is the judge of the world and he shall judge the world and righteousness when he appears the brightness of his coming

21:02

Jesus is building us or asking us to have this innate desire for his return

21:10

Notice what it says in verse 37 blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes

21:18

Truly I say to you he will dress himself for Service and have them recline at a table and he will come and serve them

21:29

So beloved I want you to write this in the notes blessed is The one who is found awake

21:38

At our Lord's coming Along the theme of anticipation again another question

21:45

I would have for you to consider have you ever been so excited for something that you could literally not sleep

21:52

Again, I think to the kids around Christmas time Maybe the kids have so much anticipation like mines that they can't even sleep.

22:00

They're just too excited Waiting for Christ's return means to be waiting in a state of action and readiness

22:09

Not in a state of passivity It's not a passive. Wake me up when you're ready type of waiting instead

22:18

It's a being found awake alert ready to go when

22:23

Christ is revealed from heaven You see in this wicked age in this wicked world that we live in Be sure to find yourselves awake and not woke

22:35

Because the two are not the same be awake To the Lord's return be awake to the matter of God's justice be awake to the matters of righteousness

22:45

But not woke in the sense in which the world has twisted these words and meanings see wokeness today is more of a

22:55

Mental disease or illness that on the offset on the on the outside seems to be kind of good

23:02

The term to be woke You know from a couple years ago and still kind of used in our vernacular today was to be a person who was conscious of people's

23:13

Privileges a person who is conscious of people's Struggles whether it's through racial struggles or or poverty struggles or socio -economic status

23:25

And these are all things on the outset that seem to be good things to be aware of but rather what the world does is that?

23:31

They then offer a solution That is not based upon God's Word Are there problems in the world today?

23:39

Yes matter of fact Jesus says you should expect Trouble in this world.

23:47

You should expect there to be wickedness. You should expect there to be war You should expect there to be diseases.

23:54

You should expect there to be Wickedness, these are all things to be expected as we are

24:00

Expecting the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, but what's the solution? The world says the solution is that we all share in the common misery

24:09

Whether it's through cultural Marxism or it's through some social theory, but the reality is that the only answer to the to the sickness of today's world is

24:22

Not woke ism But it's being awake to the gospel and the gospel is the only thing that can make eyes

24:30

To see and they give hearts that can be changed and transformed

24:35

You see all the social theories in the world will fall short of changing the human heart all of them the only thing that can effectively change the heart is the gospel of Jesus Christ the world will never be able to Offer what

24:52

Christ through his gospel offers? Therefore we should be awake to the truth of God's Word We should be awake to the realities of this world the reality of God's love the reality of God's justice

25:02

But also the reality of Christ's coming Every Christian should have an eschatological

25:10

Expectation for the world that is to come why? Because all the woes that we see in this world all the pain all the suffering all the inequality will one day find its

25:23

Resolve and find its answer in the new world that Jesus is establishing through the church

25:31

You see there's a new world that's coming that's coming into being and it's actually it's happening right now

25:36

You the church are part of the ushering in of a new heavens and new earth where righteousness will dwell

25:45

This is the eschatological Climax of human history is Jesus returning at the end of the age to bring and to make all things new again

25:55

But he began that work He began that work at Pentecost when he sent forth his

26:00

Holy Spirit to anoint the new temple of God tongues of fire descending upon the people and the people of God now anointed for sacred service are to be found awake serving the

26:12

Lord until he comes and When he comes though, we be the first fruits of his resurrection

26:19

We are the first fruits of the new birth being regenerated by faith will one day find a consummation of all these things in the new heavens and new earth when

26:30

Jesus returns in glory and So We are called to be found awake

26:40

During this time blessed are those who remain awake Though the world will seek to weigh you down and tire you out with its many anxieties

26:51

Beloved it is indeed tiring to be a Christian and a world and culture that celebrates and elevates sin and tramples upon truth and Righteousness, it's hard to be a

27:04

Christian. Can we be real? Transparent right now. Maybe it was really hard to come to church this morning

27:13

Man No, you guys had it all together this morning. You guys were all perfect. You woke up.

27:19

No issues ready to go singing Hallelujah, praise the Lord right out of the bed. I don't think so Let's be real

27:26

It's hard It's hard to be a Christian. Sometimes it's hard to be here on Sunday morning

27:32

Sometimes it's hard to read our Bibles. Sometimes it's hard your devotions. Sometimes it's hard to do family worship some of these things can be hard and It's so easy to be weighed down by the pressures and the anxieties of this world

27:49

Be awake Be found ready be dressed for actions and gird up your loins roll up your sleeves

27:56

It's time for work It's time to be found awake for Christian work and duty

28:04

It's found it's time to be found awake Awaiting the blessed return of our

28:10

Savior Jesus Christ Because in the end blessed is the one who is found awake

28:17

Waiting for our Lord's coming. This is what we see again when Jesus says truly

28:22

I say to you he would dress himself for service and have them recline at the table He will come and serve them Jesus is waiting in eagerly expecting that you are expecting him.

28:33

So then he can come and serve you The Son of Man who came to serve and not to be served is ready to serve you should you be found ready?

28:45

Should you be found watching and waiting and awake? And it says in verse 30 and if he comes in the second watch or in the third and finds him awake

28:53

Blessed are those servants blessed Yeah, beloved.

28:59

We we know We know it's hard. It's hard sometimes to stay awake because the world can tire you down so much

29:08

The stresses of illness the stresses of work the stresses of finances. These are all things which work against us to weigh us down but we have in our possession something that outweighs all those things and It's our faith in Jesus not just in what he has done and accomplished

29:28

But what he is yet to do as we await his glorious return and so beloved have this joy and Anticipation don't fall asleep live with such an eagerness an

29:44

Expectation of the Lord's return that you do not slumber spiritually, but you live with anticipation and joy in his return

29:53

Jesus Puts it this way in verse 40 He says you must be ready for the

30:02

Son of Man is coming at an hour. You do not expect Eschatologically, I believe in the imminent return of the

30:12

Lord Jesus Christ now though many many Christians will agree with that statement on the

30:18

You know onset of it and they seem to agree with that statement most because of their

30:24

Theological preconceived notions actually don't adhere to an imminent view of Christ's return especially those who hold to a dispensational view of the end times

30:36

Meaning that there are steps and things that are to be chronologically followed before Jesus comes and so for instance many would be waiting for a third temple

30:47

So Jesus can't come imminently. He can't come at any hour because there first has to be a temple

30:55

So that's keeping Jesus from coming. So that's not an imminent return There would be other things that in that framework would keep

31:04

Jesus from coming like the revealing of the man of lawlessness Who according to our confession is the

31:09

Pope? There would be also others things that would keep Jesus from coming imminently which would hinder

31:17

Jesus from coming Imminently and I believe that Jesus Christ can come at any moment because there is little if anything

31:27

Left in eschatological history that would stop him from returning

31:33

Jesus is coming soon He is coming soon What does that soonness look like?

31:42

beloved Would you tarry if Jesus were to come back in a year or a thousand years?

31:51

with the soonness and the imminency of his return Change anything in your

31:58

Christian life Here's the expectation Jesus Christ is coming again but Should it be in our lifetime?

32:08

We don't know but there's a even more microscopic view of Eschatology that you should not overlook.

32:17

There's biblical eschatology study of the end times looking at it from from a historical perspective of future events and then there's a personal eschatology

32:28

Meaning there will come a day And him some it may be sooner than others in which you shall see the

32:38

Lord Jesus Because you will die This is a personal

32:45

Imminent eschatology that we all must grapple and face So then in one sense or the other you shall see him as he is

32:56

The question is will you be ready on that day and The personal eschatology of your own life and death and therefore as the

33:04

Bible says in Hebrews chapter 9 verse 27 It is appointed for man to die once and then the judgment You shall see him you shall be judged on that day will you be ready and how about if He should come before our death.

33:21

Will you be ready on that day? I Heard a preacher once say that there are only two days that matter today and that day

33:32

Truly then Consider where you are in your walk and relationship with the

33:40

Lord Jesus Christ Are you one of those who are dressed for action with your lamps burning?

33:45

Are you among those of whom the master shall say you are a good faithful and wise? servant

33:52

Or will you be found unfaithful Not waiting not eagerly expecting the

33:58

Lord's return Notice how the Lord Jesus goes on to answer Peter Peter says in verse 41

34:04

Lord, are you telling this parable for us all for us or for all and the

34:10

Lord said who then is? The faithful and wise manager whom his master will sit over his household to give them their portion of food at the proper time

34:22

Blessed is that sir whom his master will find. So doing when he comes So the question that is presented imposed by Jesus is this who is

34:36

Martha's in the notes the faithful and wise manager

34:43

Who is the faithful and wise? manager Well, Jesus Answers the question of who is that faithful and wise?

34:54

Manager when he says in verse 43 blessed. It is that servant whom his master refined

35:00

So doing when he comes truly I say to you he will set him over all his possessions the one

35:08

No faithful and wise manager or servant is the one who is found serving at the proper time

35:17

You see knowing Jesus is a responsibility beloved part of that responsibility of being faithful and wise as we manage that which

35:26

Christ has entrusted to us and The greatest of our responsibilities as Christians is indeed the

35:32

Great Commission Sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is among the highest

35:41

Priorities and callings and responsibilities and duties of the Christian This is not just the work of the pastor or the clergy class

35:49

This is the role and responsibility For anyone who wants to be found faithful and wise before the coming of our

35:58

Lord This is your obligation Now, of course this obligation doesn't just stop there.

36:05

There's other areas of Responsibilities are included here in this call Among them our relationships our family our finances our friendships our obligations our businesses

36:17

We must serve honorably and be found faithful stewards of God's grace in every area of our life and influence

36:28

Truly that who is the faithful and wise manager? Jesus has given every single person here something to manage

36:38

Some great some small some little some much but be assured of this

36:44

Whether you're young or you're old or somewhere in between God has given you an area of responsibility.

36:52

How are you doing in that? Ask yourself. Are you rolling up your sleeves?

36:58

Are you girded up? Are you? Rest are you ready and dressed for action?

37:04

Is your lamp burning in whatever area of responsibility God has entrusted to you this morning?

37:12

Are you being found faithful and wise and them over the management of what

37:19

God has given you? Certainly there are so much Spiritual applications here that we can't and should not overlook but consider this in verse 45

37:30

But if that servant says to himself my master is delayed in coming It begins to beat the male and female servants and to eat and drink and get drunk

37:39

The master of that sermon will come on a day when he does not expect them in an hour He does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful

37:51

This is a serious call And a call the concern a call for self -examination

37:57

Jesus is saying that there'll be among those Who will not be faithful who will not be wise instead on that hour of visitation.

38:05

They will be found beating their fellow servants being unfaithful as stewards of God's grace this

38:16

Should I should worry us or call us to reflection in our interpersonal relationship with God's people?

38:24

Are we burdening them beyond despair? Are we putting on them a yoke of slavery?

38:31

Are we beating our fellow servants? Are we beating the fellow heirs of Christ's kingdom?

38:37

Are we loving them? being compassionate Walking with them. This is a call especially for those who serve in ministry

38:47

How we treat Christ's people how we treat one another is an area of great concern even

38:55

Eschatologically When you consider what Jesus says in Matthew chapter 25 When he comes in judgment among the questions that shall be asked is what did you do with the least of these?

39:07

How did you treat your fellow brother when he was found naked? When he was found in despair when he was found without food and clothing when he was sick in the hospital

39:20

What did you do? With Christ's fellow sheep This is not just an area of concern for the clergy or the minister, but for every

39:30

Christian you have a duty and responsibility Friends even within our own context in our own church if you've noticed someone hasn't been around in several weeks

39:42

Have you done all that you could on your end to reach out? To see how they're doing to pray with them.

39:48

Let them know that you're there for them This is not just the work of the clergy. This is the work of every

39:55

Christian you have a role a duty Stay dressed for action be ready for action

40:02

Even in loving and caring for your neighbors Not only in the community, but also in the church

40:12

Neglecting to be ready for the Lord's return It's spiritual apathy. I want you to write this in the notes

40:19

And they've lacking to be ready for the Lord's return is indeed spiritual apathy And it's an act of desertion that according to Christ here in this text will count you among the unfaithful

40:32

Don't desert God's kingdom. Don't desert the brotherhood

40:39

For you then you will you shall be counted among the unfaithful on that great day

40:44

The Lord Jesus goes on to say in verse 47 and That servant who knew his master's will

40:54

But did not get ready or act according to his will will receive a severe beating

41:02

Believers who know God's will Yet did not act on his will will receive severe

41:13

Chastisement from the Lord God Because according to Scripture in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 6 the

41:22

Lord disciplines his own There are severe discipline

41:29

For not doing what God requires for not acting upon his will

41:35

And if you know what his will is what is perfect and his pleasing will is but do not do it there's consequences even for the believer and So, please consider the severity the love of God this morning his patience his kindness, but also his severity as You consider to do his will that which is perfect and pleasing in his sight

42:04

So then we leave with this text of Scripture in verse 48 It says but the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating

42:16

Everyone there is a great principle of life everyone to whom much was given of Him much will be required and from him to whom they entrusted much

42:29

They will demand the more what we see here beloved is

42:37

That there is a great Responsibility on the shoulder of every

42:42

Christian why? Because whether God has given you much or little

42:49

You will have to give an account for how you managed it Notice again the call to of Christ in verse 42 who then is the faithful and wise?

43:01

manager Manager, you are all managers of something even if you're a small child and you're given the

43:09

Responsibility and roles of having to clean your room or clean the dishes or some household household chore

43:15

That is an area which God has given you to now manage to do well

43:21

God does not celebrate nor does he exalt mediocrity and Sometimes as Christians we lose sight of that.

43:31

We look at God's grace as a means to mediocrity But by no means beloved

43:38

Mediocrity has no place in the Christian life. You were called by the excellencies of his grace

43:44

You were called for a life Far more of purpose than that which the world can offer

43:51

So whatever as the scripture says whatever your font your hands find to do Then you can do with all your might why because there's now purpose the gospel

44:01

Injects purpose into everything for the Christian whether you have a mundane

44:06

Job that seems to be purposeless it can find purpose When you know that you who you are actually working for is the

44:15

Lord That all that you have in life to manage over is for the glory of God so then

44:22

Paul can see and that which is right and true that whether you're eating or Drinking or doing anything else you do all things for God's glory

44:32

Truly then beloved that lifts us up from a life of mediocrity of just getting by to a life of substance a life of purpose a life that is driven by the gospel of grace

44:46

So then it is true when Jesus says everyone to whom much was given of him much will be required the more you have

44:56

The more you're required to be a blessing the more you're required to use your talent and your resources to advance the kingdom cause and it says again and From him to whom they entrusted much

45:13

They will demand the more This is part of the joy and responsibility of the

45:20

Christian Then beloved stay dressed Be ready for action and keep your lamps burning and whatever it is that God has given you over to manage

45:30

Manage it well for his glory until he comes again in glory

45:36

Even our Lord Jesus Christ The Blessed Savior our great God and Savior.

45:42

Let's pray Lord Jesus Because we have come to so great a salvation

45:53

We are then called by this word to stay dressed for action awaiting the revealing of Christ Awaiting that glorious coming from heaven

46:05

Even the great shepherd of the sheep the great Lord Jesus Christ who calls us now to repent to trust in him for eternal

46:13

Salvation Lord, we do wait with eagerness You're great revealing from heaven the great manifestation of our great

46:21

God and Savior Jesus Christ who shall be revealed from heaven and as he comes from heaven

46:26

He shall have protruding out of his mouth a two -edged sword that sword being the Word of God He shall be dressed in white white but dripped in blood the blood of his own enemies

46:36

The Lord Jesus Christ shall come forth from heaven riding on a steed Ready to conquer as King of Kings and Lord of Lords Lord Jesus.

46:45

May we be found ready on that great day May we be dressed for action today for while it is still called today you beckon and you call us to repentance and faith towards you and We look forward to that day whether upon death or upon your visitation