February 20, 2022
Morning Service

Jesus has taken us from the Temple to the Mount of Olives that overlooks the beautiful city of Jerusalem.  In what is called the “Olivet Discourse,” He is answering our questions of “What will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”  His explanation gave us many signs to look for such as wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes.  He also strongly warned us to be aware of being deceived by false prophets.  He prophesied to us about the final days of a terrible tribulation that will come upon the earth at the end.  He reveals to us that His followers will be hated, betrayed, and persecuted.  A great many will be deceived, lawlessness will abound, and the love of many will grow cold.  This time of tribulation will last for seven years, but the final half of it will be terrible “such as has not been since the beginning of the world.”  Jesus, however, left us with a great hope as He also revealed it will be at the end of that time of sorrows that He will return “coming on the clouds with power and great glory!”  He promises that those who “endure to the end will be saved.”  Revelations chapter 21 gives us a glimpse of what our eternity will look like.  Our Savior will walk among us and there will be no more tears, pain, or death.  Hold tightly to that hope when troubles come and allow that hope to carry you through the struggles we now deal with and the ones that He tells us will come.  Our focus last week was for each of us not get caught in fear or worry of this coming tribulation, but to calmly allow the “peace of God to guard our hearts and minds.”  Jesus is revealing all of this to us so we can prepare for the coming storm by building our faith strong and so we will not be surprised when it comes.  He now emphasizes that point by using five different parables and illustrations to help us understand.  We will look at three of those this morning and the others tonight.

Mat 24:32-35 "Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.  (33)  So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!  (34)  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.  (35)  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

            Jesus chooses again to use an example from nature to teach us a deeper spiritual truth.  We all can sense by the changes in the weather and the blooming of the trees and plants when spring is coming; it does not surprise us.  He directs us to spiritually use the same wisdom in watching for the things He just described to us earlier to know the time of tribulation is coming.  You certainly don’t have to have x-ray vision to see that things are changing in our world.  Division, hate, and unrest are on the news every single day.  Good things are called evil and evil things are now being called good.  The leaves are becoming tender and time is winding down.  Jesus assures us that these things will happen quickly and the generation that sees these things come to fruition will not pass until the end comes. In verse 35 Jesus again gives us the perspective we need (read).  His words will last forever.  Nothing else we see or possess will last, it is all only temporary.  Focus on the thing that will last forever and don’t get caught clinging too tightly to something that you cannot keep.  

 

Mat 24:36-44 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.  (37)  But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  (38)  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, (39) and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  (40)  Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.  (41)  Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.  (42)  Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.  (43)  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  (44)  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

            No one knows the day or the hour that all this will occur, but we can recognize that the season is ripe for it to happen.  As in the days of Noah, the world will be indifferent to what is going on.  They will continue to live their lives “eating, drinking and marrying” being clueless of the magnitude of the moment.  Everyone ignored Noah’s preaching for 120 years until it began to rain and then it was too late.  Don’t ignore the warning we are being given here.  “Watch therefore, for you do not know the hour the Lord is coming.”  This is God’s way of keeping us focused on Him and His promised return.  It is a good thing that we don’t know.  If we knew the time and the hour, we would most likely live frivolously until that time came closer.  This way we are prepared at all times, busy about building our faith and doing the things that please our Lord.  Jesus uses the example of a thief here to help us understand His teaching.  Every night like clockwork we lock our doors before going to bed to be sure we are prepared for a possible break in.  We should be preparing in the same way every single day for the return of our Lord and Savior as well.  Focus on the task at hand.  We are to be preparing for His coming, growing in our faith, and building a relationship of trust and obedience with the One we have chosen to follow.  Watch!  Don’t get caught up in the busyness of this world that we lose sight of our goal of “seeking first the kingdom of heaven.”  Are you?   Take the time to stand in front of your spiritual mirror and be sure that the things you are doing are the things our Lord would have us to do.  Jesus emphasizes His point with this illustration of two servants who choose to focus on different priorities.

 

Mat 24:45-51 "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  (46)  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  (47)  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.  (48)  But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' (49) and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, (50) the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, (51) and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

            Our integrity, who we are when no one is watching, is revealed through our actions.  A servant’s true character is manifested by observing what he is doing when His Master is not around.  A good and faithful servant stays on task even when he is not being watched displaying a true integrity of who he is as a servant.  When we choose to follow Jesus, we choose to follow until the end regardless of where the journey leads us.  We can’t take any detours along the way, but we follow faithfully.  The faithful servant seeks to be pleasing to his Master from his heart, it becomes who he is not just what he does.  An evil servant loses focus and begins to do things the easy way if he does them at all.  His efforts are not from the heart, but are done only to be seen as doing something.  His goal is to make it easy on himself, not necessarily to please his Master.  He actually serves himself not his Master.  Jesus warns us that a day of judgement will come when we are not looking for Him and we will be held accountable for our actions; not only what we have done but why we did it.  Jesus’s goal for His followers is for us to give Him our heart, our motivation for doing what we do.  If we love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind and strength then we will be found a faithful servant when our Master returns.  By loving God in that way our servitude becomes who we are; we are followers of Jesus first and foremost.  We don’t have to think on what the right thing to do is, we just naturally do it following our heart and our Savior.

 

Heavenly Father open our hearts to grasp the reality of this passage of scripture.  Help us to not be afraid, but to build stronger our faith, love and hope in You.

 

Can you see the signs that Jesus spoke of occurring right now in our generation?

Are you preparing for this time of tribulation?

It really comes down to the question; do I believe it?

The people in Noah’s time ignored 120 years of warnings and perished in the flood.  Are you listening to these warnings Jesus is giving us through this Olivet Discourse?

Just as we prepared for the winter storm a few weeks ago, we need to be preparing for the coming spiritual storm.

If you have not accepted Jesus’ call to follow Him, the scripture says today is the day of salvation.  Ask Him to forgive your sins and accept Him to be both your Savior (the Forgiver of your sins) and Lord (Master of your life).