1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:06,400 Message and we give this service to you in Jesus name Amen well 2 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:09,960 welcome my name is Mike. I'm one of the one of the 3 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:12,960 pastors here at Redemption North Ogden. 4 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:18,760 Welcome to our our sermon series anticipating Advent and 5 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:21,920 specifically our our lesson today that I've titled on 6 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:24,840 mission for the anticipated king. 7 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:30,920 Last week Eric walked us through the the first week of of Advent. 8 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:35,600 Advent meaning the the coming referring to the coming Messiah. 9 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:40,440 And we learned that we'll be looking at 2 advents in this 10 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:44,520 series. His arrival on earth as a baby, 11 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:47,600 his life and ministry as a man, and his death on the cross. 12 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:52,440 The Old Testament The Old Testament is is all about the 13 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:55,320 anticipation of that first advent. 14 00:00:55,320 --> 00:01:01,040 The entire Old Testament points to Jesus first coming and then a 15 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:06,960 second coming, a second Advent. Throughout his ministry, Jesus 16 00:01:06,960 --> 00:01:10,080 taught that he would come back again one day after his 17 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:14,960 crucifixion, after his resurrection, and and after his 18 00:01:14,960 --> 00:01:18,120 ascension to heaven to fulfill the remaining prophecies about 19 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:21,600 him and to collect his followers. 20 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:26,920 We saw that we live now in a period where we are looking 21 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:31,360 backward and forward to Christ, where we are joyfully 22 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:35,360 anticipating the peace and safety of the coming Messiah. 23 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:39,320 And one passage that Eric walked through last week that that 24 00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:45,040 specifically really connected with me was Isaiah 2 verse four 25 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:47,200 said he shall judge between the nations. 26 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:51,040 They shall decide disputes for many peoples and they shall beat 27 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:55,000 their swords into plowshares and their Spears into pruning hooks. 28 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:58,320 Nation shall not lift up sword against nation. 29 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:01,720 Neither shall they learn war anymore. 30 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:07,280 Now here's why that affected me. My background all of my adult 31 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:10,639 life. I was a police officer and, and 32 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:15,480 with all of the conflict that comes with, with that job, in my 33 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:18,240 role as a police officer, I was specifically, I was a use of 34 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:24,560 force instructor firearms, non lethal, you know, weapons, hands 35 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:26,360 on arrest control kinds of things. 36 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:30,800 And, and I, I, so I taught people that continuously 37 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:34,200 throughout my whole career. And during my career, I, I had 38 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:39,120 to physically fight for my life and to defend other people. 39 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,200 And, and although when you, when you train and prepare for stuff 40 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:49,040 like that for so long, training for, for gunfights and, and 41 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:52,520 violence and, and, and crime, you kind of just, you kind of 42 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:57,440 just incorporate that mindset into your normal life. 43 00:02:57,440 --> 00:02:59,640 I always remember my wife over those years. 44 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:04,080 You know how often you had to pull bullets out of the washing 45 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:06,920 machine, right? Or she was rounding up holsters 46 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:09,080 around the house or my different, like the gear that I 47 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:12,200 had for that, for that life. It was just part of it was just 48 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:17,360 part of, of, of our life. And, you know, in your own life, 49 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:20,520 maybe you can relate to something like that, right? 50 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:25,320 Maybe you, you've seen examples of people that are like, you 51 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:28,280 know, we might, you might call doomsday preppers, people who 52 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:30,960 look at everything happening in the world through the lens of 53 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:35,920 disaster and, and calamity, where they see every 54 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:38,800 geopolitical thing that's happening. 55 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:42,520 Every geopolitical act is the verge of World War Three or 56 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:44,000 something. And there's this sort of sense 57 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,840 of continual worry and, and, and overwhelming fear. 58 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:56,000 But then here at Christmas time, in this Advent series, we're 59 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:00,320 reminded of that passage in Luke 2 in the story of the Nativity 60 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:04,880 and the multitude of angels proclaiming peace on earth, 61 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:10,240 goodwill towards men. That sounds wonderful. 62 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:16,279 We long for that, right? I think that's why I think 63 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:21,839 that's why we love things like like this, the song Silent Night 64 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:25,520 sung on a snowy, peaceful Christmas Eve, because it 65 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:30,040 reminds us of, of something better that we know in our souls 66 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:33,840 can exist. A world where we don't have to 67 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:36,720 train to fight for our lives, where our kids don't have to 68 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:40,280 practice lockdown drills, where as we learned last week, where 69 00:04:40,280 --> 00:04:43,960 the the wolf lays down with the lamb and the leopard lays down 70 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:47,520 with the go. So looking forward to that kind 71 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:52,920 of peace sounds amazing to me. For, for, for many of us, this 72 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:57,960 concept of, of looking forward to, to real peace and safety is, 73 00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:03,280 is too good not to dwell on, to let it dominate our thoughts and 74 00:05:03,280 --> 00:05:06,640 our Christian life. We could easily find ourselves 75 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:11,200 so singularly focused on trying to figure out when Jesus will 76 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:14,880 return to, to so we can experience that, that we ignore 77 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:17,160 everything else that he taught us. 78 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:21,320 Or we could be tempted to see all the, the nonsense going on 79 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:24,680 in the world and just kind of throw our hands up and, and do 80 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:28,360 nothing while sitting in anticipation of his return. 81 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:32,440 You can, you can imagine, you know, sitting at, at work when 82 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:35,840 you've got reports to write or you've got thingamajigs to build 83 00:05:35,840 --> 00:05:38,600 or, or whatever it is that your job is. 84 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:41,320 And you're just sitting there watching the clock tick, tick, 85 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:45,320 tick, tick. And you're anticipating the, the 86 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:48,480 end of your day, right? But that's not what you're there 87 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:50,120 for. You're there, you're there to, 88 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:55,080 to do work And, and you, you have something to do right? 89 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:00,320 That's kind of, you know, that's what a lot of Christians do. 90 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:04,080 They, they spend a lot of time looking forward to that time of 91 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:08,040 peace and a, and a ton of effort trying to figure out when the 92 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:09,720 second coming of Christ will happen. 93 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:15,360 There have been some famous examples of, of Christians doing 94 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:17,680 this, some even notorious examples. 95 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:22,280 One, one guy who was his name's Harold Camping, he Harold 96 00:06:22,280 --> 00:06:26,640 Camping used to be the president of Family Radio, which back 97 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:30,960 before the Internet, you know, he had a huge impact, a huge 98 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:34,920 influence anyway. And and he kind of was famous 99 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:37,640 because he had predicted that the second coming would happen 100 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:41,480 in September of 1994. And then when it didn't happen, 101 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:43,920 he said it would be in May of 2011. 102 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:46,520 And then when that didn't happen, he tried to change the 103 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:48,200 date. But at that point, nobody wanted 104 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:51,680 to listen to him anymore. But he but he influenced so many 105 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:55,960 people in in looking at this and spending so much energy that 106 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:58,000 way. Hal Lindsay, another one for the 107 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:00,480 more experienced people in the in the room. 108 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:02,680 You might remember him. He was the author of a book 109 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:06,080 called The Late Great Planet Earth, and he wrote that Jesus 110 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:12,960 was coming back in 1988, forty years after Israel was recreated 111 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:16,000 as a nation state. And and that book sold 112 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:21,520 35,000,000 copies, 7 million of those sold in the 10 years after 113 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:26,680 his failed prediction. Because people wanted to know so 114 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:30,520 much that they were even willing to consume bad information to 115 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:35,880 try to get a better sense of this, because they were so, so 116 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:38,880 focused on wanting to know when Jesus was coming back. 117 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:41,520 There's even a significant number of Christians that 118 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:44,840 believe that the COVID-19 pandemic was indicative of a, of 119 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:48,400 an imminent second coming, and they tried in vain to link that 120 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:51,680 situation with cherry pick passages from Scripture. 121 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:56,800 So I, I guess that it's, it's somewhat natural for, to, to see 122 00:07:56,800 --> 00:08:00,440 all of the bad things happening in the world and to longingly 123 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:03,160 look forward to something much better. 124 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:10,000 But today I want to look at why we need to avoid focusing simply 125 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:14,480 on the second coming and rather get motivated to grow the 126 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:18,320 Kingdom beforehand. And so our our main idea here 127 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:22,240 today is that although we can look forward to Jesus return 128 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:26,440 with hope and anticipation, we have work to do now that is 129 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:30,080 important and it's commanded by Jesus himself. 130 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:34,000 So here's the passage that we're going to focus on today in, in 131 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:41,520 Mark 13, verses 32 through 37, it says, But concerning that day 132 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:45,240 or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor 133 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:49,560 the Son, but only the Father be on guard, keep awake. 134 00:08:49,560 --> 00:08:51,520 For you do not know when the time will come. 135 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:54,480 It's like a man going on a journey when he leaves home and 136 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:59,080 puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands 137 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:02,480 the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake. 138 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:05,720 For you do not know when the master of the house will come in 139 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:08,360 the evening or at midnight, or when the rooster crows are in 140 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:11,360 the morning, lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 141 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:15,480 And what I say to you, I say to all stay awake. 142 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:20,800 So the first point today, and one that I'll admit is, is a bit 143 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:27,840 difficult to understand, is that only the Father knows when this 144 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:32,160 will happen. So earlier in this chapter that, 145 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:36,160 that I just referenced up here, it says that Jesus was talking 146 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:40,920 privately with Peter and James and John and Andrew when they 147 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:44,520 asked him when these things would come about. 148 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:48,160 And, and, and, and earlier in the chapter, Jesus had just 149 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:50,880 mentioned that the temple would be destroyed. 150 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:56,640 So they are certainly curious about this, right? 151 00:09:56,640 --> 00:10:01,240 They, they've asked multiple times before about the, the, the 152 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:02,680 future. I think it's natural. 153 00:10:03,560 --> 00:10:06,080 It's a natural question for for any of us. 154 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:11,960 Obviously something this big is exciting and it deserves much of 155 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:15,560 our consideration. I think it's natural that people 156 00:10:15,560 --> 00:10:20,880 would continue to look for signs and signals to to reaffirm what 157 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:24,640 they've come to believe because none of us wants to be taken for 158 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:28,560 a fool, right? But Jesus answer here is very 159 00:10:28,560 --> 00:10:33,320 interesting says but concerning that day or that hour, no one 160 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:38,800 knows, not even the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the 161 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:43,760 father. Now it might it makes sense that 162 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:45,760 the angels might not know, right? 163 00:10:47,560 --> 00:10:52,680 But but Jesus is God and God is all knowing. 164 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:55,280 Jesus is God. That's called the the the 165 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:58,280 hypostatic union that he is both. 166 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:04,680 He's fully God and fully man simultaneous, simultaneously and 167 00:11:04,680 --> 00:11:11,640 incomplete harmony. 2 distinct natures without confusion or or 168 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:15,280 division. So how then if God is all 169 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:17,680 knowing, how can the Son not know? 170 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:25,280 Well, he was still fully God in his life on earth, but Jesus 171 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:30,880 voluntarily chose to set aside the use of some of his 172 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:33,960 attributes. Here's how the apostle Paul put 173 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:38,960 it in Philippians 2 says Christ Jesus, who though he was in the 174 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:42,320 form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be 175 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:47,000 grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant 176 00:11:47,560 --> 00:11:50,000 being born in the likeness of men. 177 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:58,360 Jesus lived his his life in full submission to the Father, and he 178 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:01,160 did this because it glorified the Father. 179 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:08,680 Jesus did this despite the fact that he is worthy of glory. 180 00:12:08,680 --> 00:12:12,840 He chose to glorify the Father through His submission. 181 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:16,720 He set the example for us that that even though he didn't have 182 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:21,800 to empty himself of his claim to the rights and privileges of 183 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:31,600 God, He chose to do so. Regarding Jesus not knowing the 184 00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:36,840 the day or or hour of his return, Iranius, who studied 185 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:40,400 under Polycarp, who was a disciple of John the Apostle, 186 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:46,640 says the Son was not ashamed to ascribe the knowledge of that 187 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:51,360 day to the Father only, but declared what was true regarding 188 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:54,520 the matter. Jesus simply spoke the truth. 189 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:00,720 See, it's, it's OK to believe something, even if you can't 190 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:04,920 fully comprehend how it, how it works, right? 191 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:09,480 Think about, you know, young children, you take them to an 192 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:12,400 amusement park and they, they see this, this great big tall 193 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:15,120 roller coaster or something. And, and, and they're scared 194 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:17,040 because they, they don't know that it's safe. 195 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:21,320 And you can try to explain, you know, I don't even know what 196 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:24,680 organization checks roller coasters and stuff like OSHA or 197 00:13:24,680 --> 00:13:26,320 something like that. You can try to explain that to 198 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:28,440 them, but they're not going to understand it, right? 199 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:32,160 But, but you can, you can try to explain these kind of things to, 200 00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:34,880 to a child. They, they won't understand it, 201 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:37,320 but they will get on that ride with you, right? 202 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:41,000 They will believe what even if they can't fully comprehend how 203 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,560 it's safe, they'll believe that it is safe. 204 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:49,200 So in, you know, in our humanity, the fact is with that 205 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:51,800 is that Jesus just simply spoke the truth. 206 00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:54,520 And so we can we can believe it because he said it in our 207 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:57,720 humanity. Some of us, probably all of us 208 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:03,200 at at some point can, can feel slighted if the the praise and 209 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:07,840 and glory is is put on someone else in our hearts. 210 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:10,960 We probably wonder, yeah, but but like, what about me? 211 00:14:10,960 --> 00:14:13,800 Like I did a lot too. I I worked really hard at that. 212 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:15,800 Why is he getting all of all of the attention? 213 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:21,040 But Jesus didn't do that, even though he was actually worthy of 214 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:25,200 of glory. None of us is owed A 215 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:28,560 comprehensive understanding of of this concept, but we can 216 00:14:28,560 --> 00:14:30,800 believe it because Jesus said it. 217 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:35,200 But to try to help us to understand some of some of this 218 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:40,200 concept that Jesus, the Son of God wouldn't know the the day or 219 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:44,800 hour of his return. To understand that a bit better. 220 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:48,520 Let me explain the Galilean wedding ceremony briefly. 221 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:51,600 And I think maybe this will help us to add some some context to 222 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:54,680 it. So in Galilee, which is where 223 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:58,480 Jesus and his disciples were were all from, there was a 224 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:02,600 custom regarding the process of two people coming together in 225 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:05,200 marriage. So first, when, when, when this 226 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:08,440 young man has a, you know, his eyes on a particular, you know, 227 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:10,880 young lady that he thinks he might be interested in marrying 228 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:13,440 the the groom. He leaves his father's home and 229 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:16,880 he goes to the home of the potential bride. 230 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:22,280 And the groom is given wine to pour into a ceremonial cup of 231 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:24,920 joy. And the potential bride can 232 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:29,800 either accept it or refuse it. And when she accepts it 233 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:34,600 together, they drink to mark and and remember their betrothal. 234 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:38,560 But then the groom makes a statement to to everybody and he 235 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:43,000 says, I won't drink of this again until we are reunited in 236 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:45,080 marriage. For some of you, you're going to 237 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:48,000 see a whole lot of connections here with the Lord's Supper and 238 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:51,920 the things that we see when we when we participate in 239 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:57,840 communion. Then the groom leaves and he 240 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:03,280 goes to build a house, and he will work continuously on that 241 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:06,760 for for a long time. He'll go in and continuously 242 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:08,040 build. He'll start with one room and 243 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:09,520 then he'll add another room and then another. 244 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:12,640 And he'll just keep doing this. As long as he has time. 245 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:17,240 He will continue to build, and he'll do that until his father 246 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:20,480 tells him to go and collect his bride. 247 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:22,920 Only the father knows the day and the time. 248 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:28,800 Now, in the meantime, the bride is to remain pure and to ready 249 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:32,600 herself for her husband. She's she's, she's learning to 250 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:35,520 submit to her husband. She's no longer going to be 251 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:38,200 under the authority of her parents, but she will be under 252 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:43,160 the headship of her husband. And she and the wedding party 253 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:47,000 are to make preparations for the wedding celebration to gather, 254 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:50,240 you know, the, the clothes for her to wear, to keep their, 255 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:53,840 their lamps filled with oil, all of the different things that are 256 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:57,880 being collected and, and prepared for this wedding 257 00:16:57,880 --> 00:17:00,160 ceremony. And then months later, as the 258 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:04,160 time draws nearer, still not knowing what day and what time 259 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:07,640 it's going to happen, the bride and the bridesmaids would sleep 260 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:12,079 in their wedding clothes so that they were ready at a moment's 261 00:17:12,079 --> 00:17:14,560 notice. Because once the wedding began, 262 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:17,680 the doors would be shut for a week and no one would be allowed 263 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:22,400 in late. So the entire wedding party was 264 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:28,280 anticipating his arrival as they continued to prepare. 265 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:32,520 So I explained that because Jesus is speaking with these 4 266 00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:36,440 disciples and he's telling them that only the Father would know 267 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:39,840 the day and the hour and this would make complete sense to 268 00:17:39,840 --> 00:17:44,040 them because this was a custom that they were familiar with. 269 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:48,680 They had asked him multiple times previous to this. 270 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:52,360 They'd asked him about the future multiple times, but 271 00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:54,960 Scripture doesn't record them ever asking about the timing 272 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:59,120 again after this. And we can also gain 273 00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:02,480 understanding here when we are reminded that throughout the New 274 00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:10,000 Testament, Paul, John, Matthew, they refer to the church as the 275 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:15,240 bride of Christ. So we are the bride awaiting our 276 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:18,280 groom coming to collect us and take us home. 277 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:24,400 And so from that same familiar custom, the disciples also 278 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:30,120 understand our next point, which is there is a right way to wait. 279 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:38,280 So in verse 34 of our, of our passage, he said it's like a man 280 00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:41,480 going on a journey when he leaves home and puts his 281 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:46,320 servants in charge, each with his work and commands the 282 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:52,760 doorkeeper to stay awake. So remember, each with his work. 283 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:55,360 It's, it's, we're not watching the clock. 284 00:18:55,360 --> 00:18:57,800 Like I said, we're not sitting there waiting for the, for the 285 00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:02,800 end of of the, the shift, but we're focusing on the, the job 286 00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:05,240 that we've been given. So what does that look like 287 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:11,840 though? Well, although there are lots of 288 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:17,600 things that Jesus calls his disciples to do, we can largely 289 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:21,920 categorize them under serving and disciple making. 290 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:30,160 And so in in Mark 9 verse 35, Jesus himself tells us this. 291 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:33,000 It says, and he sat down and called the 12 and he said to 292 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:37,640 them, if anyone would be first, he must be last of all and 293 00:19:37,640 --> 00:19:44,720 servant of all. And then in Galatians 5 verse 294 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:48,040 13, Paul says something similar. He says for you were called the 295 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:51,440 freedom brothers only do not use your freedom as an opportunity 296 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:54,840 for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 297 00:19:56,560 --> 00:19:59,400 Paul writes this to remind believers that we are no longer 298 00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:05,280 slaves to Mosaic law, an impossible works based 299 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:09,920 salvation. But he he, he warns us not to 300 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:12,640 allow this freedom to become an excuse for. 301 00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:17,520 Sinful self indulgence and and self centeredness. 302 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:24,880 We are free from having to earn our heavenly reward, but not 303 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:28,240 free of responsibility to look out for others. 304 00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:33,360 And in first Peter 4, verses 9 through 10, it says show 305 00:20:33,360 --> 00:20:38,160 hospitality to one another without grumbling as each has 306 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:42,320 received a gift. Use it to serve one another as 307 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:45,360 good stewards of God's very grace. 308 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:50,320 Now maybe you've heard this call to serve before. 309 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:52,320 Maybe you've even grown a bit tired of it. 310 00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:59,080 In our men's group yesterday, someone reminded us that a Good 311 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:04,560 Shepherd is a pushy shepherd. He carries that that staff 312 00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:07,360 right? And it's his job is to poke the 313 00:21:07,360 --> 00:21:12,400 sheep to to prod them to pull them to his job is to move the 314 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:16,000 sheep. So so maybe you have grown a bit 315 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:20,240 tired of being called to serve, but let me challenge you to 316 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:25,440 submit to the authority of Scripture and then make the case 317 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:28,680 that there is a way to ignore this command without being 318 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:33,840 disobedient to God. So in that verse there first 319 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:37,880 Peter 4/9 it says to use your gift. 320 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:41,840 That's your talents, your your skills, your finances, your 321 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:45,440 abilities. Use your gift to serve each 322 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:47,440 other. And guys, this is a letter to 323 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:51,000 the church. He's specifically saying to 324 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:54,880 prioritize serving your church family without grumbling. 325 00:21:54,880 --> 00:22:00,760 And I'll be a transparent here for a second because transparent 326 00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:04,160 lives is something that we believe in very much. 327 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:07,760 I have to admit that I occasionally get up here and I 328 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:11,680 try to recruit people to serve. And, and the reality is 329 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:13,840 sometimes I do it with grumbling in my heart. 330 00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:21,520 You know, as as pastors, we've heard all the excuses. 331 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:26,280 We're too tired, we're too busy. I'm just not comfortable serving 332 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:30,000 in that position. And guys, I am not saying that 333 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:35,120 your reasons aren't valid. I know that you're tired. 334 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:40,040 I know that you're tired. But those kids back there in the 335 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:43,680 back, they need to hear the truth about Jesus Christ. 336 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:51,400 There are eternal consequences for them if they don't come to 337 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:58,280 know Jesus. And I know you're busy, but are 338 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:01,320 you busy about the work that Jesus told you to be busy with, 339 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:03,760 or did you prioritize something else? 340 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:10,320 Look, the bottom line is that you don't have to serve. 341 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:13,960 Jesus didn't have to empty himself of his divine right to 342 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:18,880 be glorified and serve, but he chose to serve other people 343 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:21,360 anyway. And those were some messy 344 00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:25,440 people, right? People who actively and 345 00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:30,120 aggressively mistreated him and attacked his character and his 346 00:23:30,120 --> 00:23:35,440 message. But do you guys know, how do you 347 00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:43,360 know how amazing it is to get to be part of serving God's church 348 00:23:43,360 --> 00:23:48,400 in, in being a part of and in celebrating someone's coming to 349 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:54,800 Christ moments? It is a it's an amazing blessing 350 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:58,320 that we get to do this for people. 351 00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:04,520 Everybody who everybody who who served last week got to be a 352 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:09,120 part of that baptism for Clint. What a great thing that we got 353 00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:14,240 to be a part of that. So no, we don't have to serve. 354 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:19,160 We don't have to serve, but we do have to have the intellectual 355 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:23,120 integrity to admit that when Jesus tells us to serve, when he 356 00:24:23,120 --> 00:24:28,320 tells us to pour ourselves out, when we choose not to do that, 357 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:33,120 we are refusing. We are rebelling. 358 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:40,560 Now, guys, if that has been your story of of finding excuses not 359 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:43,840 to step into those serving positions, please hear me. 360 00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:48,960 It is not my intent to make you feel guilty. 361 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:54,880 So please don't, please don't sit and Stew in guilt. 362 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:58,400 Hey, guilt has a, a negative feeling that's often associated 363 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:02,720 with shame, right? And it, it, it can, it can lead 364 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:08,320 to despair and isolation. Meanwhile, conviction on the 365 00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:12,800 other hand, is a is a good thing that's brought about by the Holy 366 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:16,640 Spirit to lead people towards repentance and restoration, to 367 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:20,400 lead us into changing our behavior. 368 00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:24,800 Guilt is stagnant. We sit and we wallow in that 369 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:27,320 with no change and it feels horrible. 370 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:34,920 Conviction, though, is a movement to change, but that's 371 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:42,120 our choice. Which one we do in in Second 372 00:25:42,120 --> 00:25:50,360 Timothy 4, Paul is warning believers to avoid preachers and 373 00:25:50,360 --> 00:25:53,840 and teachers who who tickle their ears and who refuse to 374 00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:58,200 preach the truth of the gospel. That that changes us, that that 375 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:02,480 convicts us and prompts us to to be different. 376 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:09,240 And then and then he says in verse 5, But As for you, always 377 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:14,520 be sober minded, endure suffering, endure suffering, do 378 00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:17,800 the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 379 00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:21,800 And this is a letter. This is a letter to Timothy 380 00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:25,720 primarily, right? But the, but the, the universal 381 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:27,760 church is the secondary audience. 382 00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:31,440 Guys, that's, that's a message for all of us. 383 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,520 Endure any suffering and do the work. 384 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:44,320 I as I was prepping this, I kept thinking back to when I was like 385 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:47,320 17 years old working as a bagger at Smith's. 386 00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:50,440 And I was a funny guy. I did lots of funny, funny 387 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:54,080 things. My boss would, you know, I 388 00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:59,200 remember all often him saying, stop screwing around and just do 389 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:03,360 your job. And I, and, and that's kind of 390 00:27:03,360 --> 00:27:05,920 what we're, we're being told here, right? 391 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:11,960 Just do your job. The fact is, God's word is clear 392 00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:16,360 about what is expected of us. Whether we dwell in guilt or 393 00:27:16,360 --> 00:27:21,720 shame or are convicted to to change and to serve is dependent 394 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:26,800 on our obedience or our refusal. It's our choice guys. 395 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:37,520 But remember, we serve others to glorify God in our obedience and 396 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:40,720 because when we embody the traits and character 397 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:46,360 characteristics of Jesus to other people that serves as a 398 00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:51,160 powerful witness to those who don't yet know him and helps us 399 00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:58,000 as we strive to make disciples. That's the second part of of of 400 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:02,120 the right way to wait in our in our second point right and and 401 00:28:02,120 --> 00:28:05,680 and it's also what Jesus is talking about when he says each 402 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:08,400 with his work in our original passage. 403 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:14,200 Now you might be very well familiar with with what we call 404 00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:18,080 the the Great Commission. Matthew 28 verses 19 through 20. 405 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:21,360 It says, go therefore and make disciples of all nations, 406 00:28:21,360 --> 00:28:24,560 baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of 407 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:28,680 the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have 408 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:32,800 commanded you and behold, I am with you always to the end of 409 00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:39,160 the age. Making disciples means going to 410 00:28:39,200 --> 00:28:43,080 non believers and calling them to repent from their sinful 411 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:49,840 lives and and to follow Jesus. It means walking with them as 412 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:53,960 they come to understand God's word and as they learn to follow 413 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:56,920 him. And amazingly, many modern 414 00:28:56,920 --> 00:29:00,560 churches have tried to redefine what disciple making is. 415 00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:04,440 They often try to make it as unobtrusive as they can or as 416 00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:08,720 easy as possible. We might try to get people 417 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:12,600 involved in serving or in discipleship through the 418 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:15,040 smallest of commitments. You know, you only have to do 419 00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:19,720 this once a month or something. Or, or just send this link to 420 00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:23,280 someone and get them to come check out the church where you 421 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:26,160 know, they, they, they might tickle their ears with 422 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:29,800 unintrusive and unoffensive messages. 423 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:34,640 What they need though, what they need, just like every human that 424 00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:39,200 has ever walked the earth is to repent of their sins and put 425 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:43,800 their full faith in Jesus sacrifice on the cross to pay 426 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:47,520 for their sins. Now, of course, guys, I am not 427 00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:49,720 telling you that you need to scream that at people. 428 00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:52,960 And we've probably all seen examples of that right on social 429 00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:56,080 media or or whatever. And sometimes it's people with 430 00:29:56,080 --> 00:30:00,920 the best of intentions, but but their their delivery is, is may 431 00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:05,440 may be described as unkind. See, the fact is, guys, that it 432 00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:10,560 may take you some time to to build a relationship with, with 433 00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:13,760 someone where you can effectively share that message. 434 00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:22,000 But you must share the message. And let's be honest, you know, 435 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:25,280 if you are trying to share the gospel or if you are trying to 436 00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:30,440 avoid it, I've been guilty of that many, many times and in my 437 00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:37,160 life, modern society will tell us that doing this is, is hate 438 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:40,920 speech, but it's not. It's the most loving thing that 439 00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:48,160 that we can do. Even then, even then maybe they 440 00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:53,280 they do feel like learning about sin and wrath is is harsh, but 441 00:30:54,200 --> 00:30:56,960 in in Jude, we were we looked at this yesterday in our men's 442 00:30:56,960 --> 00:31:02,200 group in Jude verse 23, it says to save others by snatching them 443 00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:06,400 out of the fire. There's there's an abruptness 444 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:10,120 about that. Think about this though, guys, 445 00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:16,200 you just say that right now people are probably more open to 446 00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:20,800 hearing and, and considering it that at any other time of the 447 00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:26,840 year, just from a cultural, societal standpoint, we've seen 448 00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:31,080 a shift in in recent months of people who have been a bit more 449 00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:34,800 open to hearing something about the God of the universe. 450 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:38,520 But, but at this time of the year, right now, think about 451 00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:40,320 this. You can walk into your local 452 00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:44,120 hairdresser or mall or grocery store or whatever and hear some, 453 00:31:44,720 --> 00:31:47,800 you know, traditional Christmas songs being played. 454 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:50,880 And outside of the dumb ones like, you know, last Christmas 455 00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:54,520 or, or Jingle Bells or, or Santa baby or something. 456 00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:58,320 Many of our traditional Christmas songs are, are written 457 00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:03,840 around the facts of Jesus birth of, of the first advent. 458 00:32:04,360 --> 00:32:07,640 And and so there is some familiarity with the story of 459 00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:11,800 Jesus birth, even if they've never heard the fleshed out 460 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:17,760 gospel preached to them. Christmas movies often have a a 461 00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:19,960 message about hope. And it's something that kind of 462 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:23,840 permeates our our culture at this at this time of year. 463 00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:28,560 The closer we get to Christmas, the more we seek out that peace 464 00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:32,360 on earth, goodwill towards men dynamic that I referenced from 465 00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:37,960 from Luke. But sadly for the unbeliever 466 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:42,600 that that feeling often fades away right after Christmas when 467 00:32:42,760 --> 00:32:46,880 when when people pack away their Christmas spirit with their 468 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:51,680 their tree and their decorations and guys, that's because they 469 00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:55,520 only see it as as like a seasonal tradition rather than 470 00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:59,880 as a way of life. But it doesn't need to be that 471 00:32:59,880 --> 00:33:04,560 way. We need to be about the work 472 00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:09,040 that Jesus gave us to do, telling others about what peace 473 00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:12,840 on earth and goodwill toward men means. 474 00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:20,240 Making disciples means walking toward God through life with 475 00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:21,040 each other. We have to. 476 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:22,640 We have to get to know each other. 477 00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:27,880 We have to spend time together. We have to stop lying about how 478 00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:33,920 busy and tired we are. Or if we really are that busy 479 00:33:33,920 --> 00:33:38,040 and tired, then we have to stop using that as an excuse to 480 00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:44,920 disobey God. Making disciples means teaching 481 00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:51,280 them all that Jesus commanded us to do and we can help them, We 482 00:33:51,280 --> 00:33:57,720 can help each other to turn, you know, 6 or 8 weeks of Christmas 483 00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:03,000 spirit into a lifestyle. 11 where we as as believers are 484 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:06,840 always looking back to Jesus first Advent that he would come 485 00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:11,800 and, and live as a man and, and die as a sacrifice for those who 486 00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:15,520 believe so that we can then look forward with hope and 487 00:34:15,520 --> 00:34:20,239 anticipation to his second advent, the day he comes and 488 00:34:20,239 --> 00:34:25,560 takes us home. And if we're going to be, if 489 00:34:25,560 --> 00:34:30,719 we're going to lead people into being followers of Jesus, then 490 00:34:30,719 --> 00:34:36,679 we, we better be studying and, and learning what that means 491 00:34:36,679 --> 00:34:40,080 ourselves, making God a legitimate priority in our 492 00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:44,000 lives, right? Because our Third Point here in 493 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:49,840 our passage today is that we need to make ourselves ready. 494 00:34:50,600 --> 00:34:56,679 So six different times in that passage that we looked at at the 495 00:34:56,679 --> 00:35:00,160 at the beginning six different times in that short passage here 496 00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:04,960 he re emphasizes his command to us to to stay alert or to keep 497 00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:08,360 awake, right. We we see here, be on guard, 498 00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:12,760 keep awake, stay awake, stay awake lest he come suddenly and 499 00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:19,440 find you asleep. Stay awake when just so you 500 00:35:19,440 --> 00:35:22,960 know, when we when we study Scripture and we think we see 501 00:35:22,960 --> 00:35:26,560 things that are repeated, we can, we can generally understand 502 00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:30,280 that to be of significant importance, right? 503 00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:35,240 Stay alert, keep awake is there when you see this, Is there any 504 00:35:35,240 --> 00:35:38,160 doubt that Jesus thinks it's important for us to be ready? 505 00:35:40,720 --> 00:35:43,280 Because that's what these warnings are all about, right? 506 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:46,040 He doesn't actually want us to go without sleep. 507 00:35:46,920 --> 00:35:49,240 That's not what the stay awake is about, right? 508 00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:52,960 He wants us prepared and ready for Him, returning for His 509 00:35:52,960 --> 00:35:57,520 bride. In fact, He says exactly that in 510 00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:01,240 Revelation 19 verses 7 through 9. 511 00:36:01,240 --> 00:36:05,080 It says, Let us rejoice and exalt, and give him the glory. 512 00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:08,360 For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made 513 00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:11,080 herself ready. It was granted her to clothe 514 00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:15,240 herself with fine linen, bright and pure, For the fine linen is 515 00:36:15,240 --> 00:36:16,920 the righteous deeds of the Saints. 516 00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:20,760 And the Angel said to me, Write this, Blessed are those who are 517 00:36:20,760 --> 00:36:22,680 invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. 518 00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:25,800 And he said to me, These are the true words of God. 519 00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:32,440 So if in our second point, Jesus told us to be about the work 520 00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:36,760 that that he set for us, the serving and and discipling of, 521 00:36:37,040 --> 00:36:40,160 of other people, then what does he, what's he mean in here when 522 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:46,160 he says for us to be ready? Well, just like in this, in this 523 00:36:46,160 --> 00:36:50,800 passage, the the bride again, that's us, makes herself ready 524 00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:53,600 by clothing herself in fine linen. 525 00:36:53,880 --> 00:36:57,600 And the fine linen, as it says, is the righteous deeds of the 526 00:36:57,600 --> 00:37:04,400 Saints. Isaiah 6110 says, I will greatly 527 00:37:04,400 --> 00:37:08,040 rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall exult in my God. 528 00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:12,520 For he has he has clothed me with the garments of salvation. 529 00:37:12,800 --> 00:37:16,520 He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a 530 00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:19,520 bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a a beautiful 531 00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:23,200 headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with jewels. 532 00:37:24,600 --> 00:37:29,960 See, that's it's not something old, something new, something 533 00:37:29,960 --> 00:37:35,280 borrowed, something blue, right? Or, or a sweet tuxedo with Air 534 00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:40,240 Jordans. It's not about the tangible, you 535 00:37:40,240 --> 00:37:44,480 know, physical decorations. It's about what Jesus sees 536 00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:50,680 inside of us. For for some of you who are not 537 00:37:50,680 --> 00:37:57,840 married yet, perhaps some of the weightiness of how beautifully 538 00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:01,160 understandable this parable is might not fully connect with you 539 00:38:01,480 --> 00:38:04,360 just yet. But husbands, you're going to 540 00:38:04,360 --> 00:38:08,240 get this. It may have been our wife's 541 00:38:08,240 --> 00:38:14,600 beauty that originally attracted us to them, but it is so much 542 00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:18,360 more about their hearts and who they are that really defines 543 00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:23,920 their beauty, right? And Jesus looks at us for what's 544 00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:27,440 on the inside, not on the outside. 545 00:38:29,800 --> 00:38:35,040 Galatians 3 verse 27 says, for as many of you as were baptized 546 00:38:35,040 --> 00:38:40,200 into Christ have put on Christ. So when we connect those last 547 00:38:40,200 --> 00:38:45,120 couple of passages, right Revelation 19, Isaiah 61 and 548 00:38:45,120 --> 00:38:48,040 then this one here in Galatians 3, we see that the bride of 549 00:38:48,040 --> 00:38:53,480 Christ readies herself through salvation that comes about 550 00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:57,800 through faith. That's how she readies herself. 551 00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:04,400 So we see that that we are finally and and truly ready when 552 00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:07,320 we have put our faith in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness 553 00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:12,160 of our of our sins and committed to obediently following him, 554 00:39:14,960 --> 00:39:20,720 putting on Christ, this intimate relationship with him that that 555 00:39:20,720 --> 00:39:25,320 is our adornment, our our our fine linen dress, as it said, 556 00:39:25,320 --> 00:39:28,440 and our jewels right. It's Jesus. 557 00:39:28,920 --> 00:39:33,320 The more we conform our lives to him, to the will of God, the 558 00:39:33,320 --> 00:39:36,880 more beautiful and covered in jewels that we are to Jesus. 559 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:46,880 As we close here today, as we as we contemplate living today with 560 00:39:48,360 --> 00:39:52,560 anticipation of of Jesus return someday in the future, a day 561 00:39:52,560 --> 00:39:55,560 that we cannot accurately predict nor should we try. 562 00:39:55,920 --> 00:40:01,640 We must first ready ourselves as the bride of Christ by placing 563 00:40:01,640 --> 00:40:08,920 our faith in Jesus alone. If you don't know fully what 564 00:40:08,920 --> 00:40:12,920 that means or if you want to know more about that, we want to 565 00:40:12,920 --> 00:40:14,760 have that conversation with you today. 566 00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:19,400 All right, nobody knows the day or the hour that he's coming 567 00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:20,200 back. We want to have that 568 00:40:20,200 --> 00:40:23,280 conversation with you today. Don't put it off till tomorrow. 569 00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:27,720 Don't put it off till next week. Don't put it off till till 2026. 570 00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:31,000 That's a conversation that is worth you having today. 571 00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:34,360 If you don't know what that means, find myself, find Eric, 572 00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:40,880 find somebody here today and and get some clarification on that. 573 00:40:43,240 --> 00:40:47,600 And then when we have done that, we have put our our our faith in 574 00:40:47,600 --> 00:40:49,600 Jesus alone. When we've done that, although 575 00:40:49,600 --> 00:40:54,480 we can joyfully look with excited anticipation to his 576 00:40:54,480 --> 00:40:58,840 return, we cannot be singularly focused on that. 577 00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:04,480 But we busy ourselves with the work that he left us to do. 578 00:41:04,480 --> 00:41:09,080 We serve each other without grumbling, meaning we actively 579 00:41:09,080 --> 00:41:14,360 seek opportunities to expend our energy in caring for each other 580 00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:21,320 and we go make disciples. We don't shrug off that 581 00:41:21,880 --> 00:41:26,080 responsibility and expect or assume that someone else will 582 00:41:26,080 --> 00:41:33,000 will do it. We throw that life preserver of 583 00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:38,160 the the gospel to people who are drowning, and then we throw it 584 00:41:38,160 --> 00:41:40,920 out to them again. And then we throw that out to 585 00:41:40,920 --> 00:41:43,680 them again until they grab a hold of it. 586 00:41:46,440 --> 00:41:50,640 And then we continue to stay awake and to continue to do the 587 00:41:50,640 --> 00:41:52,800 work, right? We just keep doing this. 588 00:41:53,080 --> 00:41:55,400 Let's keep preparing and keep preparing. 589 00:41:55,640 --> 00:41:58,960 When that bride, when that bridegroom goes to build that 590 00:41:58,960 --> 00:42:01,640 house and he's waiting for his father to send him after his 591 00:42:01,640 --> 00:42:05,640 bride, he just keeps building. He just keeps doing the work. 592 00:42:05,920 --> 00:42:09,600 And the bride just keeps readying herself. 593 00:42:09,600 --> 00:42:15,400 That's what we're going to do. We continue to do the work so 594 00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:19,520 that when he comes back for us, Jesus will find us faithfully 595 00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:25,040 obedient, fully awake and ready. And then we can look joyfully 596 00:42:25,280 --> 00:42:30,520 and excitedly with so much anticipation for Jesus triumphal 597 00:42:30,520 --> 00:42:31,720 return. Let's pray. 598 00:42:34,200 --> 00:42:39,040 Lord God, I thank you that I get to live in this boxed in part 599 00:42:39,040 --> 00:42:44,400 of, of, of history where I can look back at your first coming 600 00:42:44,400 --> 00:42:48,400 and I could see the, the miracles and, and the, the 601 00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:52,680 beauty, the love that it, that that was demonstrated and you 602 00:42:52,680 --> 00:42:58,240 sending your son to be who he is, to live out the life that he 603 00:42:58,240 --> 00:43:02,520 lived and to be the sacrifice that he that he was for me and 604 00:43:02,520 --> 00:43:05,200 for other people in this room who have put their faith in you. 605 00:43:05,200 --> 00:43:09,280 I thank you so much, Lord, for that. 606 00:43:09,280 --> 00:43:15,120 And, and Lord, I, I know that that as we look forward, as we 607 00:43:15,120 --> 00:43:18,440 know that you are coming back again, we can be, we can be 608 00:43:18,440 --> 00:43:21,280 focused on that. We can we can look with joyful 609 00:43:21,280 --> 00:43:25,520 anticipation at that, your Lord. And yet we we recognize that you 610 00:43:25,520 --> 00:43:29,360 gave us responsibility to do here to prepare ourselves in a 611 00:43:29,360 --> 00:43:34,520 way that glorifies you and honors you that prepares us to 612 00:43:34,520 --> 00:43:39,440 be your your bride. And so, Lord, as a, as the body 613 00:43:39,440 --> 00:43:43,200 of believers, as the bride of Christ here, Lord, help us to 614 00:43:43,200 --> 00:43:47,280 help each other in, in preparing that to hold each other 615 00:43:47,280 --> 00:43:52,520 accountable to, to serve each other, to give opportunities for 616 00:43:52,520 --> 00:43:58,640 other people to serve, Lord. And, and as we do that, we know, 617 00:43:58,640 --> 00:44:03,120 Lord, that you are faithful to, to help us to understand and 618 00:44:03,120 --> 00:44:07,640 experience more of, of you and to understand your heart better. 619 00:44:07,640 --> 00:44:11,600 And then, and then we, we repeat that cycle and we pour that back 620 00:44:11,600 --> 00:44:14,680 out on, on people and they receive that and they know more 621 00:44:14,680 --> 00:44:18,080 about you, Lord, what a beautiful system that you set up 622 00:44:18,080 --> 00:44:20,040 for us. And we don't know how long that 623 00:44:20,040 --> 00:44:25,680 will be, Lord, a part of my, a part of me is so anticipating 624 00:44:25,680 --> 00:44:29,160 you in your return that I, I hope that it's today. 625 00:44:29,160 --> 00:44:31,880 And yet, Lord, I know that there are people who have not 626 00:44:31,880 --> 00:44:38,080 responded yet to the gospel. And so I asked for just a little 627 00:44:38,080 --> 00:44:40,600 bit more time, Lord, so we can share that with them. 628 00:44:40,960 --> 00:44:43,680 Don't let me have any excuses for not doing that. 629 00:44:43,680 --> 00:44:47,040 Help me to, to, to have a fire in my chest that wants to go 630 00:44:47,040 --> 00:44:50,440 share that with people, Lord, so that you can be glorified in 631 00:44:50,440 --> 00:44:54,080 them coming to know you. Ultimately, Lord, though we 632 00:44:54,080 --> 00:44:59,680 trust that the timing is perfect, it's, it's not up to us 633 00:44:59,800 --> 00:45:02,640 when that is, how long it is, how short it is from now. 634 00:45:03,320 --> 00:45:05,680 But Lord, we do know that you will be glorified in that. 635 00:45:05,680 --> 00:45:09,880 And for that we are thankful. And we say this in Jesus name.