Ready or Not, Here I Come
The Life and Teachings of Jesus • Sermon • Submitted
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· 7 viewsWhen we are focused on the right treasure, we will be ready to harvest the reward
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Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.
Ready or Not, Here I Come
Ready or Not, Here I Come
Ready or Not, Here I Come
Ready or Not, Here I Come
Introduction:
In February 2014, a northern California couple made a discovery that so many long to find. Buried treasure on their property!
The couple were walking their dog on their own property when they spotted something beginning to emerge from under the dirt of the pathway. It was a corroded tin can that had been buried years before. Digging it up, they found more cans, all containing gold coins—more than fourteen hundred coins total, valued at more than ten million dollars. The coins had been minted in San Francisco at various times between 1847 and 1894—dates that span the California gold rush era. One particularly rare coin in the collection was valued at more than a million dollars. It was believed to be the most valuable hidden treasure ever uncovered in the United States.
However, as Christians, we should not be among these that seek this kind of treasure. The truth is, we have already all the treasure we need found in Jesus Christ and our God eternal. Bow your heads with me as we pray and prepared our hearts to hear from Lord today.
Pray
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 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. 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. 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. 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. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
Luke 12:32-40
When I was a kid, one of my favorite games with my friends was hide and go seek. We lived on a hundred acre farm and we had a large yard with a great big pool, a bath house, an outdoor fireplace and lots of trees. There was a long drive way that went back to several barns and pens and even more trees. It made for a very challenging game of Hide-and-go-seek. It did not mattered if I played with my siblings or the kids from church who were often at our house for fun and fellowship. One would be the seeker. They would lean up against a tree and begin counting while the rest of us sought out good hiding places. If you were patient and mischievous enough, you could go a long time without being found!
When I was a kid, one of my favorite games with my friends was hide and go seek. We lived on a hundred acre farm and we had a large yard with a great big pool, a bath house, an outdoor fireplace and lots of trees. There was a long drive way that went back to several barns and pens and even more trees. It made for a very challenging game of Hide-and-go-seek. It did not mattered if I played with my siblings or the kids from church who were often at our house for fun and fellowship.
However, in the Christian life, when it comes to Ready or Not, we want to be ready as Jesus will not take time to seek us out.
Jesus is slowly, but purposely making His way to Jerusalem. At times He is teaching to the multitude and at other times He is directing His teaching to His disciples. In this instance, Peter asks Him who He is addressing and Jesus tells him in a round about way that it is the disciples that He is addressing.
Previously in this chapter, Jesus addresses the crowd regarding the greed of the nation of Israel and their desire to accumulate things to provide for themselves. He shares the Parable of the Rich Fool who decides to build large barns to store enough grain for his animals and items for himself so he does not have to work and can just have fun in life. Jesus shares God’s response to such a case.
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“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’
Jesus says it will be the same for each who acts the same as this rich young fool.
Then Jesus turns his attention to His disciples and shares with them that they should not worry about their needs; the food they need to eat or the clothes they need to wear.
A. Fear Not (v 32)
A. Fear Not (v 32)
“Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. “But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!
Luke 12:27-
This brings us to what is probably the first and only 3 point sermon I have every preached! :-)
First off Jesus says...
A. Fear Not (v 32)
A. Fear Not (v 32)
“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
A. Fear Not (v 32)
A. Fear Not (v 32)
God Almighty, creator and sustainer of all, owner of all things, is our Father and He has no other desire than to give us what we need! In fact, Matthew records Jesus saying...
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Our world is ruled by sin. Many do not know God and even those who do are not perfect, yet many can be pointed to who love their children and try to give their children incredible gifts. If we, in an imperfect state of sin, can love and lavish our children with gifts, how much more will the God of love desire to give to us! If we truly believe this, we have no need to fear, but instead can live totally relaxed about our needs knowing that God will provide.
When we trust God to provide for our needs, we can then turn our attention to the...
B. True Treasure (v 33-34)
B. True Treasure (v 33-34)
“Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
God is our true treasure. It is Him and His kingdom that we should be focused on. When we are not worried about striving to provide for ourselves, but instead follow His lead, we find the true treasure.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Abraham is an incredible figure of faith when you think about it. He lived in a time when most were not devout to God. They were focused on the very things we are talking about; land, possessions, wealth… Yet Abraham walked away from those things when God called him to go. He went to a land he knew nothing about. There was no law from God yet. We do not see prophets in his story telling him what God said. There was Abram and God. When you look at Abram’s family, we see ordinary people striving for the same things others around them were striving for. Lot chose land and wealth when he was asked what he wanted. Later we see Laban as a deceptive man working to use others to gain wealth for himself. Yet from out of this family we find Abraham who...
By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Abraham exemplifies for us the kind of live we are to live; focused on a land and kingdom we have not seen and yet know has everything we will ever need. That is where our true treasure lies.
So Jesus directs us not to fear and to be focused on the true treasure, then he cautions us to...
C. Be Ready (v 35-40)
C. Be Ready (v 35-40)
Or as Mark puts it, “Be on your guard! Be alert!” The end of things as we know it will come suddenly. We do not want to be caught unaware, but if we are fearful and focused on the wrong treasure. We will miss it. However, if we are at peace in our spirit and are attention is on God and His kingdom, we will be aware of God’s movement. We will touch more on this next week, however Jesus completes this passage with two parables to alert us. These are not to make us fearful. Jesus began with “fear not.” That is because if we have our sights on the right things, we have nothing to fear. However, if we do not have our sights on the right things, we may lose it all. Look with me at the parables Jesus shares at this point.
Parable of the Watchful Servant,
Parable of the Watchful Servant,
Parable of the Watchful Servant,
“Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 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. 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. 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.
Luke 12:
There are two things to take note of in this parable.
1) The servants need to be ready and expectant to receive the master of the house when he returns.
1) The servants need to be ready and expectant to receive the master of the house when he returns.
Step 1 - Betrothal: This occurred when the prospective groom traveled to the home of the prospective bride to pay the purchase price establishing a marriage covenant.
Step 1 - Betrothal: This occurred when the prospective groom traveled to the home of the prospective bride to pay the purchase price establishing a marriage covenant.
They do so by remaining dressed, keeping the lamps lit and ready to open the door.
I have a brother who is 14 months younger than me. When we were kids, he was always wanting to go to bed dressed as he was afraid Jesus would return and everyone would see him in his underwear. :-)
This occurred when the prospective groom traveled to the home of the prospective bride to pay the purchase price establishing a marriage covenant.
That is not exactly what Jesus is referring to, but the attitude is the same. We are to be faithfully doing the work the Father has given us to do and expectant of His return.
2) The master is so delighted over the faithfulness of his servants that he in turns serves them.
2) The master is so delighted over the faithfulness of his servants that he in turns serves them.
Jesus is the prospective groom. He is on earth at this particular point in time in order to pay the bride price and establish the marriage covenant with His bride the Church (body of believers).
Step 2 - The groom returns to his father’s house for 12 months to prepare the living accommodations for his bride to live in his father’s house.
Step 2 - The groom returns to his father’s house for 12 months to prepare the living accommodations for his bride to live in his father’s house.
As Jesus is sharing this with His disciples, He knows He is even now on the road that leads to His paying the bride price. Once that is completed, He will be returning to His Father’s house to prepare the accommodations for us His bride.
Step 3 -
I believe we see this exemplified through Jesus when at the Last Supper He went around the table and washed His disciples feet. One day, Jesus will serve us in similar fashion. Now I do not mean that Jesus will become a full-time servant to us; our Genie in a Bottle if you will. But He will throw us a party on that day the likes that have never been seen. What a day that will be! Gets me all excited to think about it!
But Jesus follows this parable of jubilee with a cautionary tale in the...
Parable of the Absent Homeowner,
Parable of the Absent Homeowner,
“But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. “You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”
There will not be a warning bell giving you time to put your life in order. When He comes, it will be sudden and you must be ready to receive Him, for if you wait, it will be too late!
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. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
Luke 12:
There will not be a warning bell giving you time to put your life in order. When He comes, it will be sudden and you must be ready to receive Him, for if you wait, it will be too late!
Conclusion:
Allow to close with this fun example of preparedness.
When it comes to being on the alert and ready at any moment to do the job, it’s hard to beat the Pony Express. This historically famous mail service between St. Joseph, Missouri, and California depended on constant movement and readiness. Relay stations were established every ten to fifteen miles. A rider would shout aloud as he approached a station, giving the station master very short notice that he needed to be outside waiting with a fresh mount. Even when a rider came to the station where he was to spend the night, another rider was already mounted and waiting, ready to grab the first rider’s bundle of packages and continue the trip.
10,000 Sermon Illustrations Pony Express
Pony Express
When it comes to being on the alert and ready at any moment to do the job, it’s hard to beat the Pony Express. This historically famous mail service between St. Joseph, Missouri, and California depended on constant movement and readiness. Relay stations were established every ten to fifteen miles. A rider would shout aloud as he approached a station, giving the station master very short notice that he needed to be outside waiting with a fresh mount. Even when a rider came to the station where he was to spend the night, another rider was already mounted and waiting, ready to grab the first rider’s bundle of packages and continue the trip.
The completion of the transcontinental telegraph system rendered the Pony Express obsolete after just eighteen months. But we have this service’s intriguing example of what it means to be ever watchful,. Jesus used two parables to teach us the value of readiness and watchfulness as His servants.
Today in the Word, December, 1997, p. 17
When it comes to being on the alert and ready at any moment to do the job, it’s hard to beat the Pony Express. This historically famous mail service between St. Joseph, Missouri, and California depended on constant movement and readiness. Relay stations were established every ten to fifteen miles. A rider would shout aloud as he approached a station, giving the station master very short notice that he needed to be outside waiting with a fresh mount. Even when a rider came to the station where he was to spend the night, another rider was already mounted and waiting, ready to grab the first rider’s bundle of packages and continue the trip.
When it comes to being on the alert and ready at any moment to do the job, it’s hard to beat the Pony Express. This historically famous mail service between St. Joseph, Missouri, and California depended on constant movement and readiness. Relay stations were established every ten to fifteen miles. A rider would shout aloud as he approached a station, giving the station master very short notice that he needed to be outside waiting with a fresh mount. Even when a rider came to the station where he was to spend the night, another rider was already mounted and waiting, ready to grab the first rider’s bundle of packages and continue the trip.
The completion of the transcontinental telegraph system rendered the Pony Express obsolete after just eighteen months. But we have this service’s intriguing example of what it means to be ever watchful.
(Pony Express, Today in the Word, December, 1997, p. 17)
How ready are you for the return of the Master? Are you storing up your barns with possessions accumulating the kind of treasure that moth and rust destroy? Or are you storing up the kind of treasure that is eternal? That treasure consists of love for God, for your husband, wife, children, neighbors, friends, etc...
Those are the only kinds of treasure that you can take with you when it comes time to leave this world.
How ready are you for the return of the master. Are you storing up your barns with possessions accumulating the kind of treasure that moth and rust destroy? Or are you storing up the kind of treasure that is eternal? That treasure consists of love for God, for your husband, wife, children, neighbors, friends, etc...
Have you ever noticed how the more you accumulate of things, the more time and energy it takes to survive? There is room required to store them. There is insurance required to replace them. There is time required to keep them clean and maintained. I have to tell you, I really have given serious thought to getting rid of it all and living in a camp trailer. The idea is catching on, that is why tiny houses are getting so much attention!
Let me tell you something. God does not expect us all to live in camp trailers or tiny homes. God has provided me some beautiful homes. He would not have done that if that was wrong. It is not the house or items we possess that are wrong, but our attitudes and focus on them. When we give more attention to them than God or the work God has for us to do, then it becomes a problem.
Now I am not telling you to do that. You have something that I do not have that makes a home more necessary. That is family. It is good to have a place to spend time with family.
John
Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), He left Judea and went away again into Galilee.
The truth is, the time is coming when we will receive something far better than any home we could ever build here on earth.
“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
The Jewish wedding was an interesting event. First, was the betrothal. The prospective groom traveled to the bride’s home and paid the price for the prospective bride establishing the marriage covenant. Second, the son would return to the father’s home to prepare the accommodations for his bride to live in his father’s house. Third, when the accommodations were prepared, the son waited until the father said, “It is time, go get your bride.” Fourth, the son would then go and unexpectedly show up at the bride’s house to bring his bride home.
Jesus is the bridegroom. He paid the bride price when He died on the cross. He has returned to His Father and has prepared a place for each of us and when the Father says it is time, Jesus will return for us, His bride and bring us home. I am ready for that day. I serve each day ready and watching for His return. Do you?
Today, in anticipation for that return, we will receive communion. As we prepare our hearts to do so, take time to do an inventory of your life. Are you ready? If not, what needs to change to be ready?
Receive communion
Pray and dismiss