Christ’s Return is Imminent

Lord, I pray that you would bless your people. Lord, in the greatest way that you can bless them. Lord, by understanding your word and applying it and doing it. And Lord, you said that to the man that hears the word and does the word, that man shall be blessed in his deeds. So Lord, help us to do that and that we might be blessed indeed. Guide us now and we commit this time to you in Jesus’ name, amen.

Now verse number 32 says this. This is right after the Lord gathers his elect from the four winds, which is the gathering of those who are alive there during this time and who believe in Christ. He gathers them, and then he also, we’ll see, he destroys the wicked. We’ll see in just a minute. But notice verse 32. Now learn a parable of the fig tree. When his branch is yet tender and put it forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh.

So likewise ye, when you shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. What’s interesting is when the Lord says in that last verse, verse 35, heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away, he is equating his word with the Old Testament scripture because that is a common truth.

And there’s a lot of debate over, or there has been over the years anyway, a lot of debate over what is scripture and what is not scripture and how authoritative and all those things. Well, Jesus makes no bones about it. His word, the New Testament, is just as authoritative as the Old. And so notice the parable of the fig tree. Now, one thing I want to address as far as the parable of the fig tree, some of you no doubt have probably heard this.

This parable is sometimes interpreted as a prophecy of the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. And the reason the logic goes like this is based upon some verses I’ll share with you very briefly, but the logic goes that the people of Israel in the Old Testament are often compared to figs or fig trees. And so therefore, when you see this parable of the fig tree, now as a side note, the Lord does not tell us that this fig tree symbolizes anything.

He’s using it as an analogy, which we’ll get to in a minute, but he does not say in the context that the fig tree is Israel, like he does in other parables. But sometimes people assume or kind of deduce that since Israel is referred to or compared to a fig tree in various parts of the Old Testament and in one place in Matthew, that this fig tree represents Israel and that the buds and the putting forth of leaves represents then the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948.

And then going down to verse number 34, following that idea, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. So the logic goes like this. Whatever generation is alive during the establishment or at the establishment of the state of Israel will then be alive at the coming of Christ based upon verse 34.

And so here’s the verses they use. I’ll go very quickly. The comparison of Israel to the fig trees, Hosea 9 verse 10 mentions Israel in comparison to grapes and fig trees, actually grapes and fig trees, but not just fig trees. It’s just a very brief comparison. Jeremiah 24 compares Israel to good and bad figs but not fig trees, good and bad figs. And then Joel chapter one, verse seven compares again, Israel to a grapevine and to a fig tree.

But although those are kind of generalized associations, the primary passage where they say that Israel is referred to as a fig tree is in Matthew 21 in which Jesus cursed the fig tree. Now we’ve already covered that. So we’re not gonna rehash that. But one thing you’ll note that’s missing from Matthew 21, 18 to 22, which is the cursing of the fig tree, is that Jesus never says that the fig tree represents Israel and that his curse of the fig tree is somehow symbolizing the curse, like the curse of Israel or something like that.

That is an assumption that’s kind of placed over the text. It is not something that the scripture actually says. Now it might have reference to Israel being cursed. That is because they reject their Messiah and their judgment, their barrenness and those kinds of things that the fig tree indicates in that passage, but it is not directly interpreted that way. But it is the key. It is assumed to be.

And based upon that assumption, which is an interpretive choice, we go to our passage here and it says, when the branch is yet tender and put it forth leaves, you know that summer is nigh. So the idea is the fig tree that Jesus cursed, although that was an actual fig tree, is barren, but now it’s coming back to life. But that’s not what this is saying at all.

In fact, in Matthew 21, when Jesus curses the fig tree, there is no indication that it ever comes back to life, not to mention the fact that he doesn’t refer to Israel in that passage. But then what you see here, so my point is this, is this is used to date the coming of Christ. That’s the point. By saying whatever generation is alive in 1948 at the establishment of the state of Israel, which is not the same as the nation of Israel.

Just so you know, there is a difference between the two, but whatever to say that is to say that whoever is alive in 1948, that Christ must come before that. And that’s, listen, this has been a linchpin of a lot of prophecy teaching for a long time. Those of you kind of nod, you probably know what I’m talking about. But here’s the issue, not to mention just the scriptural problem with that, but also the practical problem with that.

If you were, say you were 20 years old when the state of Israel was established in 1948, how old are you now? Anybody can do quick math? You were 98 years old.

That kind of knifes that interpretation to death, does it not? I think we can safely say that that generation is, we’re past that generation is a practical matter. But here’s the thing, it’s okay. Because if you read the text, look at what it says. Now learn a parable of the fig tree, verse 32. When his branch is yet tender and put forth leaves, you know that summer is nigh.

So likewise ye, when you shall see all these things. Now these things is not referring to the establishment of the state of Israel. These things is referring to all of these signs and events that the Lord has been describing in Matthew 24. So it goes like this. When you see the branch putting forth leaves is analogous to seeing all these events. And when you see the branch putting forth leaves, you know that summer is nigh.

In the same way that when you see all these events, you know that the second advent of Christ is nigh, verse 33, even at the doors. It is upon you, okay? Now this makes total sense. This is so simple. Every, you know, I have some Asian lilies. I think they’re called Asian lilies in my front yard, in my flower bed. And they’re perennial. And so every year they die and it looks terrible over the, right, at fall they all start wilting and dying off.

And you’re embarrassed about the flowers that you planted to make them pretty. And then over winter, they just kind of sit there and rot. And then right, you know, sometime in the fall or sometime rather in the early spring, sometime in February or March, green starts to appear out of that plant. Out of the death, it starts to come back to life. What does that tell me?

Right, it tells me that spring’s coming, right? I mean, it’s obvious, spring is coming. This is not a difficult parable to understand. It’s not like super symbolic. It’s something we see. My front yard has a red maple tree. Every year in the spring, little buds of the red maple tree start to come out and you know we’re getting close to spring. This is all that the Lord is saying here.

When these signs become evident, when they’re seen with the eye, you know that the second Advent of Christ, that is what we’re reading in verse number 30, is right there. It is imminent. It is about to happen. That’s all that’s being described here. Now here’s the problem.

If we interpret this parable as, if we understand it not to refer to the establishment of the state of Israel, if we understand this parable differently, well then the whole argument falls and much of the prophecy preaching that hinges around that. I mean, forever, prophecy preachers have been saying, well, it’s, you know, the fig tree, you know, Jesus has to come, you know. But that’s not what the parable says at all.

That’s not what the parable says at all. Now let’s go down to verse number 36. But of that day and hour, knoweth no man. No, not the angels, but my father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and you not, till the flood came and took them all away.

So shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Then shall too be in the field, the one shall be taken and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken and the other left. Now we’ve already covered this when we covered verse 31, but this idea of when you compare it to the days of Noah, this idea that those who are taken away are not taken away to be saved, but taken away to be judged, just like those in the days of Noah were taken away to be judged, not to be saved.

But this is another example of a misuse of a parable or a misuse of a comparison. This is not really describing how evil the society of Noah is. Do you see that? Do you see any indication of how, now we know the society of Noah was evil. In fact, the Bible says that God saw the wickedness of man that was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 6, 5. Genesis 6, 11 says, the earth also was corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence. But do you see that here? Do you see anything about the corruption of society in these verses? No. In fact, what’s being described in verse number 38, look what it says, for as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking. See, that’s evil.

We’re about to go downstairs and eat and drink. That’s not evil. And they’re marrying and giving in marriage. Where’s David and Liberty? We’re about to celebrate that in just a minute. That’s not evil. You know what’s being described here? This is described as the kind of blase, head in the sand idea of the society of Noah. They had no idea that destruction was upon them. They were just living life normally.

They were just living life just like everything’s fine. And the flood took them completely by surprise and they were totally unprepared. This is what the Lord is describing, referring to Noah. And here’s why I say how this is misused.

I’ve actually heard people with my own ears say things like, well, I mean, just look at society around us. I mean, we are worse than the society of Noah. This is worse than Sodom and Gomorrah. This is worse than the society of Noah. Let me tell you something. If it was worse than Sodom and Gomorrah, our country, our society would be a pillar of smoke at this moment.

Not only that, listen to this. The wickedness of man was great in the earth and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. I don’t think we have a very good grasp about how terribly wicked the society of Noah’s day was. I don’t think we’re that bad. Now we’re bad, but I don’t think we’re that bad. Okay? Every thought, every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

And that’s all of humanity with the exception of eight. Not only that, the Bible says the earth was filled with violence. The earth was filled with violence. I’m gonna ask you, I’m gonna take a poll real quick.

How many of you have ever witnessed a violent crime? Three hands. I wouldn’t say that that would indicate the earth is filled with violence. If the earth was filled with violence, you would expect that most people in here would have seen something like that. Here’s what I’m saying. I’m not trying to poke fun. I’m not trying to jab people in the eye. What I’m trying to say is when we look at the text, it’s not describing how wicked the society is.

And the truth is we know that the society in which we live prior to the coming of Christ as it approaches is going to worsen. Now we’ve already covered that. But we need to make sure that we use this correctly. And the truth that’s being conveyed here is the truth of Luke 21.35, which says, as a snare, it shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.

They’re gonna think everything’s good and then boom, destruction. That’s how the second coming, the second advent of Christ is described. You say, well, what about the rapture? Won’t they all know? Again, that’s left behind theology. Let me give you my personal opinion on that, okay? This idea that, well, if the rapture happens, everybody’s gonna know that Jesus is coming and people will repent, just like in the Left Behind movie.

My personal belief, and this is just Adam theology, you can have your own idea. I think that the rapture of the saints is actually going to be a minor event. I don’t think this world is gonna pay a lot of attention to it. That’s what I think. And you know why I think that? I think because the number of true believers in Christ is far less than the number of people who profess to know Christ.

And I have scripture to back that up, Matthew chapter seven, many shall say unto me on that day, Lord, Lord, then will I profess unto them, depart from me, I never knew. Many professors will be turned away. So I think actually, I think it’ll be an event of some kind and nobody really knows that, but I don’t think it’s gonna be the, I don’t think it’s gonna be quite the blip that it’s been portrayed in the media.

Look if you would now at verse number 36 again, notice this, but of that day and hour knoweth no man, no not the angels of heaven, but my father only. Verse 39, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Verse 42, watch therefore for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

Verse 43, but know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched. Verse 44, therefore be ye also ready for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh. Verse 50, the Lord of that servant shall come in a day that he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of.

You see this thread that goes through this whole passage which is talking about one central theme. Here it is. It’s this idea of not knowing when Christ is going to come. Some, there’s a focus here on some that know that the Lord is coming, and some that don’t know the Lord is coming. And we’ll see it again when we turn to 1 Thessalonians in just a minute, but it says in verse number three of that chapter that this world will think, like we just saw, peace and safety, and then sudden destruction will come upon them.

That is, they will be taken by surprise. They will not know. They will not know. And so when we look at verse 36, what is the response to this truth that we do not know when the Lord comes? Now, as we’ve gone through this, you might have questions that come up in your mind. If you’re thinking about the implications of all the things we’re reading here, you might ask yourself, well, hold on.

Aren’t there signs? Wouldn’t you know that Jesus is coming? Right? Aren’t there signs to indicate that? Yet the Lord repeatedly says, you don’t know. You don’t know. You don’t know. And for us, you don’t know when Christ is coming. You can assume, and to be honest with you, I think theological structures have been built and created to kind of push off the coming of Christ so that we can say, well, I don’t know when he’s coming, but I know it’s not soon.

But that is exactly the opposite of what the Lord is repeatedly teaching here, which is, you don’t know when Christ is coming. And that mystery that surrounds the coming of Christ is something that the Lord wants to impress upon us. He might come soon. We don’t know. He repeatedly says this.

Now notice verse 36, but of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my father only. So that’s the first thing. We don’t know when he’s coming. Verse 42, look at that again. Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. So the Lord says, watch. When you don’t know when Jesus is coming, what is the command? The command is to watch, to pay attention, to be prepared.

Not only that, verse 44, therefore be also ready. For in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh. If you don’t know when Jesus is coming, the Lord tells us to be ready. Now let me ask you a question. I don’t say this to be sensational at all, but it does fit right into what we’re studying here, which is this. I don’t mean to be sensational, but here’s the question.

Are you ready for Jesus Christ to come? Now here’s the, in this particular subject, more than I think other subjects in scripture, we have this kind of discontinuity between what we say we believe and what we do that we believe.

All right, do you believe that Jesus Christ could come any time? Almost everyone in here, practically everyone in here would probably nod and say yes. But do you live like he could come at any time? That’s that discontinuity. That’s this disconnect. Because the Lord tells us you and I don’t know. And I know for fact, I know that in my own mind, and I know also through the testimony of others, especially people who are not yet converted, how they said before they, after they were saved, they afterwards said that, you know, I heard people talk about the coming of Christ, and it scared me and I hoped that he wouldn’t come.

But you don’t know that. You think, well, when he comes and the rapture happens and then I’ll get saved. No, you won’t. Because you have something where the Lord is sending strong delusion. That is the very thing the Lord is warning us of. That very thinking. I don’t need to worry about it. He’s not coming. I hope he doesn’t come.

But the truth is you don’t know. The truth is you should prepare yourself. And if you’re unconverted and you do not have eternal life, you are not certain that you are in Christ and that he is in you. That is the first and most important thing you need to do to prepare, is to get right with God and make sure your eternal life is a settled matter.

Anybody say amen? That’s true. That’s the most important thing you can do to prepare. Now you’ll notice in verse number 36, but of that day and hour knoweth no man, no not the angels, but my father only. This and these other verses we’ve been looking at speak to something that we call the eminence of Christ’s return. Eminent means something that is impending, threateningly, something that is hanging over one’s head, ready to fall or ready to overtake.

It’s close at hand, coming on shortly. It’s the same thing as we read in Revelation multiple times. Surely I come quickly. That’s a statement of eminence. That’s a statement of eminence. Now what’s interesting in this passage though, is the Lord has already provided in this passage a general timeframe that brings us within probably weeks or months of his second advent. You notice that? Notice the mention of the fig tree.

Now learn a parable of the fig tree. When his branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near even at the doors. Now when we talk about eminence, how do you reconcile those two things? The Lord says, when you see these things, it’s at the door, it’s eminent.

How do you reconcile that? Because he’s giving them signs that bring them very close to the second advent of Christ. But then in verse 36 he says, but that of that day and hour. Here’s what I would say. I would say all of this passage indicates that those alive at this time will have enough information to know within months at least that Christ’s coming is upon them, like the second advent of Christ.

I’m not referring to the rapture of the saints right now. I’m referring to the second advent of Christ, which is what we’re talking about here. Because there’s signs. Then you go to Daniel, and Daniel mentions various numbers of days related to the second coming of Christ. Revelation 11, Revelation 13 both mention 42 months, which is three and a half years, which is a time period. Daniel 12, Revelation 12 also mention three and a half years.

You know what all those things do? If you have a time period like that, then you’ve narrowed it down to within probably months of the actual glorious second advent of Christ. And we already saw the fig leaves, the parable of the fig tree rather, and where it says, it is near even at the doors. But what is not known is the hour, verse 36. But of that day and hour, verse 42, watch therefore for you know not what hour your Lord do come.

You know what that is? Extreme specificity. You go to chapter 25, we see the parable of the 10 virgins. They knew the Lord was coming that night, or the bridegroom rather was coming that night, but they didn’t know the exact time. They didn’t know the exact time, the exact hour that the bridegroom would come. But yet, in chapter, in piquet chapter 25, verse 13, notice what it says.

He says the same thing we’ve been reading, watch therefore for you know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh. Now, what are you getting at? What are we trying to see here? This idea of eminence. Jesus could come at any time. Remember this, who is Jesus speaking to in this chapter?

He’s speaking to his 12 disciples. But many of the things in this chapter don’t reference the 12 disciples. In other words, these reference disciples far into the future, disciples that will be alive when Christ during his glorious return. You see that? So there’s two audiences. But it’s not just his disciples then in the first century, and then his disciples and believers at the second coming of Christ, but everybody in between, like us, who haven’t seen these things.

And these things are for us too. You gotta remember the audience. So the Lord is talking to people, he’s talking to several different groups of people, but the message might apply a little bit different in each case depending on when we live, but the admonition to us is the same. And it’s according to where we are in history. For those living in this time just prior to the second advent of Christ, God provides them with signs that help them understand that Christ’s coming is even at the doors, verse 33.

Now imagine you’re a believer in Christ during the tribulation, and you see these things. You’re being hunted, that’s what we’ve seen, right? You’re being hunted and persecuted. Your life is being chased down to be beheaded is what Revelation describes. You are certainly looking for these signs. You know why? Because you’re wanting Jesus to come and rescue you from these terrible judgments, which is what he does in verse 31.

And so you’re definitely looking for that. Now you don’t know the exact time, but you know it’s getting close because you’ve seen 42 months, three and a half years, certain numbers of days, you’ve seen the parable of the fig tree and the abomination of desolation. All these are marked signs of the coming of Christ. All these are time markers.

But what about us? Because we’re not there. Obviously this hasn’t happened. So what does that mean to you and to me? For those of us who do not see these signs, and indeed those of us who will escape these judgments, Luke 21, 36 says that, which we’ve already covered last Sunday, we have a warning to remember that we also do not know when the Lord will be coming.

Verse 42, watch therefore, for you know not what hour your Lord doth come. In other words, it still applies. Do you know when Jesus is coming? No. So it’s for us as well. Now go to 1 Thessalonians chapter five. Verse number one.

Now if you would pay close attention, keeping in mind the things that we’ve read in chapter 24 of Matthew. But of the times and the times and the times, we have seen the signs of the coming of Christ. And we’ve seen the signs of the coming of Christ. And we’ve seen the signs of the coming of Christ. And we’ve seen the signs of the coming of Christ.

But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. You know what that is? That is language taken directly from Matthew 24. I’ll read it. It says this. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

So the Lord uses his second coming in judgment. He uses an analogy of a thief in the night. And of course, that’s not a good thing. That’s a bad thing. You don’t want somebody showing up at your house at night to come bring it to your house. So this is an analogy of judgment.

Now, back in verse two. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. Now notice this.

But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief. Now, here’s what you have to understand. Unlike Matthew, Matthew’s audience is those disciples, we who are reading it, and then those believers who are alive at that time, right? That’s quite a broad audience, is it not? In fact, Jesus’ audience also includes unbelievers because of the warnings we’ll see in just a minute.

So it’s believers primarily, and also there’s words in their front believers. But in 1 Thessalonians chapter five, you know who the apostle Paul is talking to? He’s talking to you. He’s talking to me as a part of the church of God. He’s talking to us as the saints. This middle group, if you will.

Look what he says, verse four. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief. It won’t come as a surprise to us.

Now notice, verse number five. Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. You see, when the night falls, that’s when the thief is gonna show up. But we’re in the day. We’re children of the light, children of the day. Let us therefore, let us not sleep as do others, but let us, what’s it say?

Watch. Now I’m gonna come back to this, verse six, but pay close attention. Let us watch and be sober, for they that sleep, sleep in the night, and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us who are of the day, notice this distinction between us and them, us and them, us and them. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for in helmet the hope of salvation.

Again, this is not salvation of the soul, but of the body, the resurrection. We covered this before. Verse nine, for God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore, comfort yourselves together and edify one another, even as also ye do. So even though this passage plainly describes this escape from judgment that the Lord promises to the church, yet there is still the truth that we don’t know when he’s coming.

And he repeats in this passage spoken directly to us, in verse six, the same admonition of Matthew 24, which is, watch and be sober. Now listen, as a child of God, as a part of the church of the living God, you have a promise that you will be delivered and you will escape the coming judgment that God is going to pour out on this world. Yes, you have that.

But that is not an excuse to live in a way as if the return of Christ is not imminent. No, the Lord tells you as well as they, he says, watch. You don’t know when he’s coming.

Are you watching? Are you watching? Revelation 22 verse seven, verse 12, verse 20, all say this, I come quickly. That’s not the speed of his coming, that’s the nearness, the imminence of his coming.

Now go back to Matthew 25 and we’ll come in and finish up. Sorry, Matthew 24, look at verse 45. The Lord gives a final parable in this context of watching and being prepared. Verse 45, who then is a faithful and wise servant whom his Lord hath made ruler over his household to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing.

Verily I say unto you that he shall make him ruler over all his goods, but if that evil servant shall say in his heart, my Lord delayeth his coming, and shall begin to smite his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunken, the Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

So we have these two categories of servants. And this parable of the wise and foolish servants has forever been debated. Is Jesus talking about lost people or saved people? And some say, well, it says servant, so it must be saved, and then, well, maybe it’s not talking about saved people because in verse 51 there’s weeping and gnashing of teeth. Look, I don’t think the Lord’s talking about that at all.

I think that’s kind of the wrong premise to get started. Remember his audience. It’s believers, unbelievers. It’s disciples of various periods of time. The Lord’s audience is inclusive. So there’s something in here for you and me, and there’s also something in here for those who aren’t believers. Notice what it says in verse 45. Who then is a faithful and wise servant whom his Lord hath made ruler over his household to give them meat and due season?

That’s you. Now this wise servant knows his Lord is coming, but you gotta remember, you have been given by God, and I have as well, duties, jobs, and responsibilities in his service. The word is his household. It’s God’s work, God’s family, if you will. He’s given you things to do.

The idea of an idol Christian in light of the coming of Christ is incoherent. It is totally absent from scripture. Jesus said, occupy till I come. That’s a job in his household. That means, listen, verse 45 says, whom his Lord hath made ruler over his household, he’s given us jobs to do. My question is, are you faithful in the jobs? I’m not talking about your job at work, and I know everybody’s gotta work.

I’m not saying, hey, stop working and go cash in your IRA or 401K and go live in a mountain somewhere. I’m not saying that at all. In fact, those things are actually, so long as they’re in the right and proper priority, are part of your duties and responsibilities that the Lord has given you to do. But in the work of God, are you fulfilling the jobs the Lord has given you to do?

Because he has. Well, I don’t really know what to do. Man, listen, there are so many opportunities to serve God, live for God, and serve God, and honor God and be devoted to God in this life. Because I want you to see this, verse 46. Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. Now remember, you don’t know, and I don’t know when Christ is coming.

I’ll tell you one thing, though. It matters what you’re doing when he comes. Now you might have, listen, you and I, we might have blown the first part of our life, right? We might have just wasted that on vanity, or even sin. We might have whittled and wild away all of the years of our life. True, that might be the case.

But Christ hasn’t come yet. You can be, right now, serving, doing, and living for God when he comes. Even if you wild away all that time, what the Lord is pointing out is what you’re doing when he comes. Not all that other stuff. That’s another matter to deal with, but when he comes.

My question for you is this. Are you being the father and mother that you should be to your children if Jesus were to come? Are you reading the Bible with them? Are you praying with them? Are you praying for them? Are you serving God? Are you telling people about Jesus? Are you faithful to God in your private prayer when Jesus comes?

Are you living a life that is holy? Are you living a life that is upright and honest? Are you faithful at your job? Are you loving and serving your brothers and sisters in Christ? Are you constantly finding ways to be diverted? Remember, it will matter when the Lord comes what he finds you doing.

And then you go to verse 47. Verily I say unto you that he shall make him, that is the one who finds him doing what he should be doing when the Lord comes, he shall make him ruler over all his goods. You know what this is? This is what we might call holy ambition. Holy ambition. Not all ambition is evil.

Because the Lord is going to look at what he finds us doing in our faithfulness when he comes as the criteria of judgment for when he rewards us in the next life.

According to our faithfulness, it is determined our responsibility and position in his kingdom. You say, well I don’t really care, I’ll just be a trash man. Do you ever think that about your job? Okay, I’m gonna be the whatever, I’m gonna be the lowest guy on the totem pole forever. Is that what you want? No. If you have right ambition, you wanna do better, you wanna increase, have promotions, and increase in, right?

I mean, right? It’s not spiritual to say, well I’ll just be a trash collector in the kingdom, no. We all need some holy ambition. Do you wanna serve God? And see, the truth is that serving the Lord now is reflected in serving the Lord later. They’re connected.

Do you have holy ambition? Do you wanna serve God? Do you wanna serve God now? Do you wanna serve God then? Do you wanna be in a place where your faithfulness is rewarded by the Lord Jesus Christ? I’m not making this up. This is what the Lord says. He shall make him ruler over all his goods, verse 48. But and if that servant shall say in his heart, my Lord delayeth his coming.

This second wicked servant, he doesn’t believe the Lord is coming. He says in his heart that the Lord has delayed his coming. You know what that means? It’s not imminent.

This is actually a very strong argument for the imminency of the coming of Christ. In fact, you could even go so far as to say this, the imminency believing in the imminency of Christ, that Christ could come any time, is part of a healthy Christian life. Remember, look at this man as a negative example. He says, Lord’s not imminent, he’s not coming. He’s delaying his coming. And what is the result?

You see, what he believed in his heart came out in his life. Verse 49 says, he began to smite his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunken.

If you believe Jesus is coming, it will affect your life. For good, or if you don’t, for ill. You see, unbelief that Christ is coming will cause you and me to live in a way that is not pleasing to God.

Do you believe that Jesus is coming quickly? If your answer to that is yes, do you live like you believe it? Or does your life deny that you believe it?

If Jesus came today, and I believe there is firm scriptural ground to ask this question. If Jesus came today and he might, are you ready to meet him? Are you prepared with eternity? Are you ready to meet him in eternal life?

You see, for this wicked servant, the coming of the Lord takes him by surprise. Sudden destruction. But for every child of God, that should not be how we meet the coming of Christ.

We should meet the coming of Christ having watched, and having been faithful. Let’s pray.