Two weeks ago we finished off with Jesus talking about His
second coming. We saw how no one would be surprised and that there was no way
anyone would miss it. Many will not see the signs of what is happening, just
like those who missed the very obvious sign of Noah building that huge ark.
Some will be taken up to be with Jesus and others will be left behind for the
coming judgement.
The main take away for those of us alive today, since we won’t
be here for Jesus’ Second Coming is that we need to stay alert.
Matthew
24:42-44
“42 Therefore be alert, since you don’t know
what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this: If the homeowner had known
what time the thief was coming, he would have stayed
alert and not let his house be broken into. 44 This is why you also must be ready, because
the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
We
need to stay faithful to Jesus through everything. We don’t know when our days
are up, we don’t know who is watching, we don’t know what will try to push
Jesus off of the throne of our heart. We need to stay alert. The timing will
catch us off guard, but we need to continue to make sure our hearts, minds, and
our lives are exactly where God wants them.
One
of my prayers is:
Psalm
25:4
“Make
Your ways known to me, Lord; teach me Your paths.”
I
pray that God makes His ways known to me and guides me down the path He wants
me to follow.
We
need to be living our lives fully for God and letting Him lead the way so that
we are doing exactly what He created us to do. If we are living for God our
desires are aligned with the purpose, He created us for. If we are doing what
we were created to do, we will be following His path.
Living
like that will ensure we will not be caught unaware by the thief. We will not
fall away, we will not be lead astray, instead we will be ready when the time
comes. Whether it is the rapture, our death, or the Second Coming of Jesus,
none want to be caught unaware.
That
is one of the reasons we are looking at the end times, through the teachings of
Jesus. So that we understand the times we live in and so that we are not caught
unaware.
After
Jesus was telling everyone that they need to be ready, He went on to talk about
service.
Matthew
24:45-51
45 “Who then is a faithful and sensible slave, whom his master has put in
charge of his household, to give them food at the proper time? 46 That slave whose master finds him working when he comes will be rewarded. 47 I assure you: He will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked slave says in his heart, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and starts to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with
drunkards,50 that slave’s master will
come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the
hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
In
these verses Jesus is telling us what it means to be ready. He does not expect
believers alive today or living through the tribulation to just sit on their
hands and watch for His return. There is so much more for us to do. Jesus has
given us a job and we need to be doing it every day of our lives.
A
tale of two servants, one who does what he is supposed to do and the other who
does not. To start, what do they have in common?
Both
of these servants have been given some level of responsibility. They have been
put in charge of their master’s household. Sounds to me that they would be like
a Butler, who is in charge of all of the other workers in the house. They don’t
control everything that belongs to their master but they are responsible to
keep everyone on task.
The
question I have when reading this is Jesus talking about two people who say
they are followers of His or just any two people. After all every person
created was given the task to rule over the earth and all the creatures on it.
At least that is what we were told in Genesis. For some reason that just feels
hollow to me. The word ‘servant’ coming from Jesus mouth, seems to me, that He
is to referring to people who are following in His footsteps. Or has at least claimed
to be following Him.
Matthew
20:28
“just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and
to give His life – a ransom for many.”
Jesus
called every believer to be a servant. So the good and wicked servants could
have very well both been believers. One stayed faithful and did what he was
supposed to do. The other was either never a true servant of Jesus’ or was
tempted by the things of the world and lost his way. Either way, he was not faithful
in carrying out his duties.
Two
servants a faithful one and a wicked one.
Let’s
talk about the faithful servant.
Matthew
24:45-47
45 “Who then is a faithful and sensible slave, whom his master has put in
charge of his household, to give them food at the proper time? 46 That slave whose master finds him working when he comes will be rewarded. 47 I assure you: He will put him in charge of all his possessions.”
In
Jesus’ example we find the faithful servant who takes care of the people around
him. He makes sure they have food and is right there with them working to get
the job done. This is what we expect from the people we work with, it is what
we expect from our children or grandchildren when they have chores to do when
we are not around, and it is what God expects from all believers. Regardless if
they are alive today or during the tribulation.
So
what does it mean to be faithful?
Micah
6:8
“Mankind,
He has told you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you; to act
justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.”
Our
desires should be to live like this every single day. But what does this look
like?
Matthew
22:36-40
36 “Teacher,
which command in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to
him, “Love the Lord your God
with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.38 This
is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as
yourself.40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on
these two commands.”
If
we are being faithful, we are to Love God and Love Others.
What
is one way we do that?
Matthew
28:18-20
“18 Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given
to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have
commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
If
we are being like the faithful servant, we are going out of our way to make
disciples.
James
1:27
“27 Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after
orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the
world.”
Being
faithful and showing love for others, would be to care for those who do not
have enough or who cannot care for themselves.
Ephesians
2:8-10
“8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from
yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from
works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.”
Our
salvation is the gift of grace we are given through faith, but we were ‘created
in Christ Jesus for good works’.
Being
faithful means we are doing what we were created to do. First and foremost is
loving God, which is followed by loving others. That takes so many forms and
for each of us it will look differently but at the core of it, we will be
sharing God’s gift of grace, we will be reaching out to those in need, and we
will be actively serving others.
The
faithful servant of Jesus day, did what he was supposed to. Faithful servants
of today and during the tribulation need to be doers of the Word.
James
1:22-25
“22 But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving
yourselves. 23 Because
if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at
his own face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets
what kind of man he was. 25 But the
one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it,
and is not a forgetful hearer but one who does good works—this person will be
blessed in what he does.”
The
faithful servant will be blessed, but that is not the case for the wicked one.
Matthew
24:48-51
“48 But if that wicked slave says in his heart, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and starts to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with
drunkards,50 that slave’s master will come on a day he
does not expect and at an hour he does not know. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the
hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The
wicked servant is the one who loves the things of the world, more than the
things of God. He does not put God above all things, he does not love his
fellow man, he does not care for those in need, and he obviously is not one
whose faith drives him to do the good words that Jesus created for him to do.
We
also see here that the wicked servant does not see the signs of his masters
return. He is so caught up in his life and the pursuit of pleasure that he does
not know that judgement is coming. A judgement that will be eternal, a
judgement that there will be no turning back from, a judgement that means he
will never be in the presence of Jesus.
The
message is clear for us today and for those living during the tribulation.
First
be alert and pay attention to signs around you. Do not be caught like those in
Noah’s day or like the wicked servant. Know the signs to watch for, pay
attention to the isolation of Israel, pay attention for when the Third Temple
of God is desolated.
The
second is to be faithful. Live out your faith. Do the works that God has
created for you to do. Love God. Love Others. Tell everyone you meet about the
amazing gift of grace you have received and so much more.
Every
believer, regardless of when in history they are living needs to be Alert and be
Faithful.
Thank you for reading and God Bless!
Robert
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