Text: Matthew 24:36-44
(North Toronto, March 17th 1991 PM)
(Glen Vowell, February 23rd 1997 AM - Band Weekend)
(Whitehorse, April 13th 1997 AM)
When I was young, I hated making my bed. I figured, why make it when I’m only going to mess it up again?
As I grew older, I came to appreciate the nice crisp sheets and freshly made bed, but the grogginess of morning still kept me from wanting to make it when I got up. Why make it when I get up? Why not wait until bed time and then just make it before I go to bed?
Well, I supposed I might be too tired when I go to bed, but then if I’m too tired when I go to bed, then I probably don’t appreciate it anyway – at least not for long before I’m asleep – so I’m back to not making it at all.
Can you tell that I am a procrastinator?
There are a lot of things in life we prepare for ahead of time: careers, marriages, children. Some even pre-arrange their funerals. Unless of course you are a procrastinator like me.
Or maybe you were all boy scouts, and girl guides when you were kids – remember the motto? “Be prepared”.
It’s good to be prepared, to be ready, and lots of us are well prepared for just about anything… but are we? Are we prepared for the most important event in history? Are we prepared for our own Judgment before the throne of God?
Matthew 24:44 tells us “So you must also be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
Are you ready? Are you prepared? No one knows the time when Christ will come. Just like in the days of Noah, it will come quickly – not without warning, because we have been warned, just as Noah warned the people of his day – but at a time we do not know.
Many people will miss their chance because they are unprepared. You and I have been warned. Are we ready?
NO ONE KNOWS
These days it seems there is always someone predicting the end of the world – and some are even bold enough to put a date on it. There are some who claim they know exactly when Christ is coming and believe the scriptures tell them exactly when that is. But I don’t think they are reading the same bible I am, because Matthew 24, Verse 36 tells us no-one knows when Jesus will come again. The only thing we know with any certainty is that he will definitely return one day.
You might think the angels would have some inside knowledge about this. They are working with God day in and day out, and for much longer than any of us. They not only know the scriptures, but listen to the very words uttered by the almighty directly from his mouth. They have a pretty good grasp of what is happening on earth and have even participated in some of the most important moments in history. They do God’s bidding, and yet even they have no idea when God will send his son again.
God’s word clearly tells us: “No one knows about the day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the son, but only the Father.”
That verse even states that Jesus himself – the son - has no idea when he will return. Like some modern day fighter pilot, he is on standby, sitting in the ready room, waiting to jump up and go on his next mission, not knowing when that will be.
Verse 30 tells us “They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.” And yet even he doesn’t know the day or hour of his arrival.
Perhaps like me, you have sat in an airport at some point, waiting for your flight? You sit there an hour before there’s even a plane at the gate, ready to board it, knowing that in a few hours, you will be hundreds or thousands of miles away.
Yes, you probably have a departure time, but there isn’t even a plane there for you to board. But you know it’s coming. You trust that eventually it will arrive, and when it does, you must be ready. You are prepared to board. You know what will happen when you do, and you are looking forward to your destination – even though you may never have been there before and have only heard about it. If you’re not ready, however, you might miss your flight and your vacation or business trip would become a disaster very quickly.
Only God the Father knows exactly when Jesus will return, and although we don’t know exactly when, we do know he is coming. We are looking forward to it. Only God the Father has a complete understanding of everything, and only He can discern the right time for Jesus to return.
Nonetheless, we can be certain there is a day coming, known by the Father, and when it comes we know that we must be ready for it, because not being ready… well, let’s say for now that would not be good...
THE DAYS OF NOAH
In our text, Jesus reminded us of what it was like to live in the days of Noah. Do you remember the story? It wasn’t just about fuzzy animals climbing aboard a cruise ship to sail the ocean for a few weeks. God gave Noah a revelation, and prepared him for a cataclysmic event that would wipe out the face of the earth as he knew it.
Noah was not only working hard to build a boat in the middle of dry land, which seemed absolutely crazy in and of itself, he was also out there telling everyone to save themselves, warning that if they didn’t build themselves an ark, they would all perish. He couldn’t tell them exactly when, not that the people cared. They laughed at him and carried on with life the way they wanted to; eating and drinking. They acted like they didn’t believe there was a God, like they were the masters of their own fate and that nothing could hurt them.
Sound familiar? I wonder if one day there will be a note in history similar to verses 38 and 39 about us and our society?
“For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.”
Now, we all have to admit that it sounds a little crazy to say Jesus is returning. Perhaps you’ve even had the experience of explaining it to someone who politely listened, but whom you knew was holding back a snicker.
There are all kinds of believers around us today. Some say they don’t believe in God. Others say they believe in God, but their understanding of him is totally different. Some say they believe in God, but have no idea who or what he is all about. Some simply don’t care and go about their lives not caring whether God exists or not.
Unfortunately believing there is no God, or believing he would never destroy the earth, will not stop it from happening. The scriptures clearly state that one day there will be a judgment, and only those who have put their trust in the Savior of Man will be saved – the rest will perish.
It’s not a happy message. It might even sound crazy. But it is the truth. And a truth that is best headed.
Right up to the very day the flood came, people laughed at Noah and ignored his preaching. They didn’t believe what he was saying, and they were not prepared for what was going to happen. They scoffed at Noah until the rain began to fall, and then they clamored at the doors of the Ark crying to be let in, but it was too late. They all perished.
It is sad to think that when Christ returns - which could be tomorrow, or this afternoon, or even this very hour – there will be people lost simply because they are not prepared. Simply because they have not accepted Christ’s sacrifice for their sin, and therefore have no means of saving themselves.
Does that disturb you like it does me? Does that stir you? Does it motivate you to talk to people who might be amongst those who will be lost?
It concerns me to think that one minute I may be sitting talking to someone, knowing that I am no better or worse than they are, only that I know Jesus and have trusted in his precious blood to wash me of my sins, and the next moment I will be on my way to heaven and they… will be lost.
In an instant. In the twinkling of an eye. It will happen quickly. One second, your friend will be looking at you, and the next second you will be gone. One second, the Christian announcer will be on TV, the next there will be dead air. Can you imagine the free-way accidents at that moment when all the Christians disappear from behind the steering wheels?
THEREFORE KEEP WATCH
We don’t know the day or the hour when Jesus will return, but we do know he is coming. We know there will be some taken and some left. We know there will be those who will scoff until He actually returns. But what about you? Will you be one of the scoffers or one of those who are taken? Are you prepared?
What do we need to be prepared? We don’t have to commit ourselves to life in a monastery… We don’t have to give up everything we love unless what we love does not honor God. We simply need to watch and wait for Christ’s return.
When I was younger, we used to get ready early on Sunday morning, dressed in our finest, and stand in the front room of our house waiting for a big purple bus to come and pick us up – that was the Sunday School bus. When it came, the bus would stop in the circle in front of our house and wait for a minute for us to come out and climb aboard – but it wouldn’t wait long. The driver wanted us to climb aboard, but we were not the only ones he was picking up, and the minutes were precious.
We had to be prepared because the bus would not wait long. We would watch anxiously because we did not want to miss it. Like the parable in verse 43, we will miss Jesus if we are not ready when he comes, “like a thief in the night” he will be here, and then he will be gone, and if we are not ready, we will miss him.
In Egypt, during the plagues of Moses, the final plague was the death of the first born child. For the Israelites to be protected, they were to paint the blood of a lamb on their door posts so that the angel of death would not enter their houses. The children of those who did so were untouched. Since that time, the Jews have celebrated Passover, in remembrance of the passing over of the angel of death. But there is a newer meaning to this ritual. The ceremony was also a prophecy of the coming of Christ. So we sometimes refer to Jesus as our Passover lamb.
Without the preparation of the blood on the doorposts, the Israelites would have also lost their first born sons. Without the preparation of the blood of Jesus, we also will perish.
In California, where there are frequent earthquakes and rampant wild fires, and in other parts of the world where natural disasters threaten to occur without warning, people often keep a suitcase packed with enough clothes and goods that they can pick up and leave their homes at any time. They are ready. They don’t know the day or time when it will happen, but they are pretty sure it will happen one day, and they are ready to leave. Being ready to leave doesn’t affect their day to day lives. They get used to the idea and simply are prepared. But when it happens, they are ready.
At the second coming, Jesus will come like a thief in the night. We need to be ready no matter when that happens to be. Not by sitting on the edge of our seats staring into the sky constantly watching, but by being prepared. While we carry on our daily business, we have our spiritual bags packed, ready to leave on a moments notice.
When a fire strikes a town, we have men and women who are trained to deal with the fire. Police rush to the site, Ambulances and Fire trucks arrive. The situation is controlled because people are ready and prepared. Being prepared doesn’t mean they go around setting fires so that they have something to do. They make it their business to be prepared. They learn the things they need to know. They study how fire reacts and how they can fight it. They take the time to tell people about the dangers of fire, and how they too can prepare. When the alarm rings, they drop all they are doing, and move out without thinking twice about what they were just doing. Something more important has called them, and they must go. Just as it should be with us when that trumpet call comes and we are called to be with Jesus.
CONCLUSION
So… Have I encouraged you to be prepared? Are you ready? Are you anxiously awaiting Christ’s return? Will you rejoice when it happens or will you be surprised?
Even though we don’t know the day or the hour – and don’t let anyone tell you they do – Christ’s coming should not take us by surprise. We know he is coming and we can be prepared and expecting Him.
Will He be happy with what we are doing when He finds us? Are we doing all we can to prepare by learning more about Him? Are we keeping our ears tuned to hear what He has to say to us? Are we ready to drop everything, to follow Him when he calls?
If not, then why not? Now is the time to begin getting ready. Start packing your bags and be ready. He is coming.
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