A Destination You Will Determine
Moving Through Matthew • Sermon • Submitted
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Last week as we finished Matthew 24, as Jesus is telling his disciples about his return someday, he gives an example of a wide servant and a faithful servant. And in this example he is showing those who while watching, waiting, and doing the work of the Master, and those who will not. Those who will not will have no care, no thought of what will happen to them.
This can be a problem for many people. If something does not concern them now, they turn, then they turn away and don’t think about it.
Remember I read you this verse: Matthew 24:14
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
And I told you last week that means that every people group would be able hear about the gospel before Jesus would return. There are still many people groups to be reached. So, do you think that tHE SECOND COMING OF JESUS COULD HAPPEN IN YORU LIFETIME? Do you believe, that what he says here in Matthew 24, and in the book of Revelation, could happen in your lifetime?
Now whether you says yes, it could happen in my lifetime, or no it could not… Jesus tells us this...
36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.
No one knows. That means you don’t know, I don’t know…only God knows. So your final destination will be determined by your readiness.
You don’t know what tomorrow holds. Tomorrow could bring your death, or tomorrow could bring the return of Jesus.
The writer of Hebrews talks about the importance of today.
13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
We are not promised tomorrow. As we look back on the lives from our family that have died, we can get an understanding that on the day they died, they were not promised tomorrow.
When we read the Scripture, we see that 2000 years has passed since his leaving to go to heaven, and we might think, well he isn’t coming anytime soon! We cannot think that! We cannot allow Satan to make us think that he is not coming back or that I can relax because he is not coming back anytime soon.
And that is why he said BE READY!
44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
The KING is Coming!! …at a time we do not expect. And we need to be ready.
This morning we are going to move through Chapter 25 and the first part of Chapter 26.
1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Now I read these two parables together because Jesus is pointing to somethings.
Those who are ready will show their readiness.
The five virgins who went into the night with their a flask of oil to add to their lamp if it should run out were expecting to use their lamps deep into the night. They were expecting a visitor. They were looking and ready for his arrival. Maybe they didn’t know it would come on that night, but they were ready for him just in case.
The man with 10 talents and the man with the 5 were also ready. They knew the master was coming, so when he did come they wanted to show themselves faithful and ready.
But we also see the opposite. The other 5 virgins who were not ready, they were not looking to the possibility of the bridegroom returning. And when they heard he was coming, they were so busy trying to prepare that they missed him.
What about us? Are we ready? If you knew today Jesus was coming in the night, would your life be ready? Spiritually, would you be ready to meet him face to face tonight?
2 Timothy 4:2 (ESV)
2...be ready in season and out of season;
In other words, our relationship with Jesus is that…a relationship…it is ongoing…fluid…it continues…and we are in eager expectation of seeing hi face to face....either at our death, or his second coming.
2. Those who are ready will already know their destination.
Look in verse 7 what the 5 virgins did when they knew he was coming...
7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.
They were ready for their destination with the bridegroom. They knew their destination and they came prepared.
Look at verse 19
19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
Two of the three servants were awaiting their master....awaiting their destination, and it was given to them for their faithfulness.
3. Those who are ready understand that there will be a delay.
As Jesus was giving these parables, in each one, he mentions that his coming may not be for a while. Look at what he says in the first parable...
Matthew 25:5 (ESV)
5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.
Then look at the second parable....
Matthew 25:19 (ESV)
19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
The disciples had asked in Chapter 24, what will be the signs of the end of the age, but maybe in their minds was when? Jesus said that no one will know, but he des tell us that every one must hear the gospel. This helps understand that it would take time. As of now it has taken about two thousand years. How much longer? I don’t know. But what we should consider is ---at our death, or if we are alive when he returns, what is our destination.” Will we be considered a sheep or a goat? Put on the right or the left. Will our destination be in the presence of God for eternity, or beside the Devil in hell for all time?
Look at verse 31.
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
I want you to think in your minds....
At your death, or when Jesus returns, whichever comes next, we will be standing before the throne of God. Not only you, but people of all nations. And the Lord God will separate the people. Not into countries or color, but like a shepherd would separate the goats and the sheep. The sheep he will put on the right, the goats on his left.
He will the look to those people on the right, the sheep, and invite them into a kingdom that was prepared for them long before the earth was formed. But for the others…they will go to a place of eternal punishment. Why?
Because they have rejected God and his Son Jesus Christ. He said here that the difference is highlighted in the way they love. It’s in the way they love.
But wait a minute, isn’t the difference between heaven and hell for someone their acceptance of Christ? Yes, but in that acceptance, there is a heart change. And that heart change towards Christ now resembles the heart of God. We see people who are hurting. We see people that need a drink. That need encouragement, and most all need to hear about Jesus. That’s why he says come with me into my eternal Kingdom.
Is that you? Are you ready? Are you preparing? Are you loving your Savior by loving other people? Or is your mind filled with the things that will pass away?
You will choose your destination. Will you line up with the sheep or will you line up with the goats? The choice is yours, but it will be a choice that wil determine your eternity.
With the ending of this chapter, it is Wednesday. On Friday Jesus would be hung on the cross to pay for your sins.
Chapter 26 starts with the plot to kill Jesus.
1 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, 2 “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” 3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. 5 But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”
They had tried to bring charges against him, but he had done nothing wrong. So how could they get him? “plotted together in order to arrest him in secret”
All of the times they tried to discredit him in public, they couldn’t, so now they tried in secret.
In a moment we’ll see their plan, but in the middle of all of this hatred and plotting,, Matthew shows us a wonderful moment of worship and honor, and it came from a woman.
6 Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. 8 And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? 9 For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” 10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. 12 In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
Once again Jesus points to his coming death and says that what this woman has done is in preparation for his death, but also he responded to the disciples who said that the money used for this oil, which was very big could feed the poor. But he reminded them that the poor will always be with them, but he will not physically be with them much longer.
This morning we will end with this...
14 Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.
The events that would take Jesus to the cross, were now set into motion. Judas, one of the trusted 12, betrayed the own he followed. He chose his destination. He rejected God and his Son Jesus who within two days would die for his sins. But Judas refused that gift. And today, Judas is a goat, in hell, separated from his Savior that he followed for three years.
The money he was given, is about N200,000. That’s a lot of money. But is N200,000 enough for you to lose yoru soul? Is what you want enough to lose yoru soul? Is your own way for yoru life enough to lose your soul?
Because, you will determine your destination, and I pray you are a sheep.