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Last week I implied at the end of the message that at any moment any one of our
lives could end.
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Advent is the season of the year that we prepare for the coming of Jesus, as we
look forward to Christmas.
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But Advent is also a season of the year for the Christian to pause and consider
the second coming of Jesus and evaluate our readiness for his coming.
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The title of this sermon series is Life Unexpected and that title has a wide
variety of possible meanings and whatever you think I mean by that title, the
answer is yes.
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Today, we're going to look at The
Unexpected Hour.
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I want to start with a question: are we
living in ways that show we are expecting Jesus to return?
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We just read moments ago from Matthew's gospel, Jesus own admission that not
even he knew the day or the hour at any time of his return.
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Only the Father knows.
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Although Jesus was God, he submitted himself to the will of his Father.
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Although Jesus was God, he took on human flesh, limiting omnipresence to
bodily, individual presence. He couldn't be everywhere at once.
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Although Jesus was God, his humanity limited his omnipotence and omniscience.
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While we see glimpses of his power in the Gospels, we do not see the full
measure of his power.
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While we see divine displays of knowledge and awareness in the Gospels, we do
not see that knowledge and awareness, extending to everything.
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Jesus submitted himself to God the Father's eternal plan and part of that plan
is secrecy surrounding the day and the hour of Christ's return.
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We live in a time where the secular world no longer expects Jesus to return.
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False prophets have been attaching dates to Christ's return for centuries.
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Peter prophesied that in the last days people would scoff at the second coming
of Jesus, deliberately forgetting that God spoke everything into being (2 Peter
3).
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Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be with the second coming of
Jesus.
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The message for the believer is: keep expecting the unexpected Christ.
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Jesus would not have us turning to false prophets and doomsday Sayers who
concern themselves with the day and the hour of his coming.
*-Jesus
would not have us fall prey to the delusions of scoffers who say, "What
happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of
our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was
created." (2 Peter 3:4)
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Jesus also would not have us choose to sit on the fence because Satan owns the
fence.
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Keep expecting the unexpected Christ. Why? Because just as it was in the days
of Noah, so will it be with the coming of Jesus.
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Sin keeps people ignorant of the truth. Sin closes the eyes of awareness, making
them blind to the truth.
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What truth is that? Jesus is coming again.
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Just like it was in the days of Noah, right up to the very day the flood began,
people were banqueting, partying, feasting and getting married.
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They were obsessed with their daily lives without a single thought to their
debts and responsibilities before Almighty God.
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They continually went about their daily living without ever thinking of God.
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For about 100 years, Noah constructed the great boat and warned the people of
the impending judgment until the day he, Mrs. Noah and their sons and their
families entered the ark.
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It wasn't just simply a matter that people did not realize what was going to
happen because Noah told them and that great ark was a sign to them that it was
going to happen.
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Because of their obsession with daily life and their sin, they failed to
recognize that God was about to judge the earth "until the flood came and
swept them away."
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Doesn't that sound like today? Most people today live like they haven't a care
in the world when it comes to God's judgment.
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Are they so blinded by their obsession with daily life and their own sin that
they cannot see their need of a Savior?
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Jesus thought so, as he said, "That is the way it will be when the Son of
Man comes."
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"Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the
other left. Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken,
the other left" (vv., 40-41).
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Jesus was speaking about the coming judgment. Therefore, those taken will be
taken in judgment.
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People will be going about the normal daily activities of life when the end
comes most unexpectedly and they are judged.
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Keep expecting the unexpected Christ, expectantly living for him.
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That is the conclusion Jesus wants his followers to draw. “Keep watch!” Keep
expecting the unexpected Christ. “For you don't know what day your Lord is
coming.”
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Those who keep watch are always expecting something or someone.
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Those who keep watch are always vigilant in their duties and their
responsibilities.
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For the Christian who keeps watch, he/she must not grow weary in doing good and
daily wear love as the general all-purpose garment.
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Since it is sin and obsession with daily life that blinds us to the signs, then
we must watch over and guard our lives because our place in eternity depends
upon it.
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When the Lord Jesus returns, and he is going to return, every one of us will
have to give an account of our thoughts, speech, and actions.
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Keep expecting the unexpected Christ, expectantly living for him.
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"Understand this," said Jesus, "If a homeowner knew exactly when
a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken
into." (v., 43)
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If someone warned us that a thief was coming to break into our house, but we
didn't know exactly when, we would bolt the doors and lock the windows and sit
up ready to dial 911.
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Friends, Jesus is our spiritual lifeline. He alone will protect us from the
coming judgment.
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If we are living daily for him, focused on him, then we will be ready.
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As he said, "You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will
come when least expected." (v., 44)
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Because Jesus will come when we least expect it, we need to be ready all the
time.
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Keep expecting the unexpected Christ, expectantly living for him.
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The cost of not being ready for the return of Jesus is too severe to overlook.
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Because we know that Jesus is coming,
but not when, the Christian must learn to arrange all of life around expecting
his coming.
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The natural tendency for people is to arrange our lives around ourselves and
our interests and our enjoyments and our comforts.
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That is our default position. And when we don't arrange our lives around
Christ, then our lives will inevitably return to the default position of
arranging our lives around the self.
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That default position, if we allow ourselves to return there, will guarantee us
being caught unprepared for Christ's return.
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Because we know that Jesus is coming,
but not when, Christians must not live as if this life is all that matters.
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Being obsessed with this life, living as if this life is all that matters is
the mindset of the unbelieving world.
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Such a mindset is not appropriate for the committed disciple of Jesus Christ.
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The Christian needs to concern him/herself with what concerns Jesus.
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We need to immerse ourselves in the mind of Jesus, learning to think how he
thought by reading and meditating on his words, submitting our lives into his
control.
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Since Jesus is coming again, this life will fade away.
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1 John 2:17 says, And this world is fading away, along with everything that
people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
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Because we know that Jesus is coming,
but not when, the Christian must be ready to deflect the false claims of false
prophets.
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Since Jesus said only the Father knows the day and the hour of Jesus return,
anyone who claims to know is a fraud.
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Fraudulent prophecy is not of God, and as such is fake and unchristian.
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Committed Christians need to steer clear of fraudulent Christianity.
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Because we know that Jesus is coming,
but not when, then, the Christian must work to accomplish every possible good
for God's kingdom.
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Doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly before God, are the key
goals for the Christian life.
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As John Wesley said:
“Do
all the good you can.
By
all the means you can.
In
all the ways you can.
In
all the places you can.
At
all the times you can.
To
all the people you can.
As
long as ever you can.”
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Keep expecting the unexpected Christ,
expectantly living for him.
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