Matthew 24:42-51 Mark 13:33-37 Luke 21:34-36

Matthew 24:42-51 42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. 43 “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44 “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will. 45 “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. 47 “Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 “But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; 50 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, 51 and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Mark 13:33-37 33 “Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come. 34 “It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. 35 “Therefore, be on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 “What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert!’”

Luke 21:34-36 34 “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; 35 for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. 36 “But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

The fact of Christ’s return is sure.  We know that He is coming; we just don’t know when.  Jesus instructs those who follow Him that they need to be careful about how they wait for His return.  Since the return of Christ is a mystery, it could easily be ignored or forgotten.  The passing of time naturally causes us to forget or lose urgency in our responsibilities.  Jesus knows this about human nature, so he warns us to be very careful not be become complacent.  There are several lessons we need to learn about how we should wait for His return. 

BE ALERT: Jesus warns His disciples to be alert as they wait for the return of the Lord.  He compares it to the work of a watchman who has no idea when a thief might threaten his charge.  Boredom and falling asleep are the two greatest struggles a security guard faces.  When you are working a job in the area of security, there is rarely any activity that requires attention.  However, when there is activity it is high intensity.  Watching for the coming of Christ can easily become a wasted life.  I have always found it ironic that those who try to predict the return of Christ typically will sell all they have and go sit on the top of a mountain looking into the sky for Jesus to return.  I don’t think that is worthwhile activity.  The Lord has given us a mission to accomplish.  When the Lord returns, He expects to find us accomplishing that mission; not sitting on top of a mountain.  We must never allow boredom to be a descriptive term for our walk with God.  Being alert means to stay on mission.  We don’t know when He will return or when we will be called into His presence; but until that day we have a mission to accomplish.

BE FAITHFUL: The key to pleasing God is to simply do what He has asked us to do and not do the things He has told us not to do.  Jesus compares the wait for the return of Christ to a master who leaves his servants in charge of responsibilities and then goes away on a long journey.  If that master comes back and finds the servant doing what he had been told to do, the master will know that this man be trusted with even greater responsibility.  Being faithful in small tasks will prove that we can be entrusted with even greater tasks.  Faithfulness is God’s primary requirement for those desire to serve Him an any capacity.  God uses faithful men and women much more regularly than incredibly talented or gifted individuals.  Disobedience disqualifies while faithfulness opens even more significant doors.    

BE PATIENT: The coming of Christ will be at a time that we do not know and cannot expect.  The warning of Christ is that it will likely take longer than we think.  Believers will need to endure for a long period of time before Jesus returns.  We need to face this time of waiting and suffering with patience.  When the Lord returns, we want to be found working at the things He has called us to do and being good examples to those around us.  The lapse of time before the return of Jesus can be difficult for us to endure.  There will be times where we will be mistreated.  We will be tempted to just live our lives as if the Lord would not be returning.  Discouragement and disappointment will be realities for which we need to prepare our hearts.  This will not be a short sprint to a finish line.  Following Jesus will be a marathon with an undetermined distance to complete.

APPLICATION: Focus on the prize that the Lord has promised in the future.  Don’t allow the routine of life to lull us into a sense of security and mediocrity.  Faithfully serve the Lord with excellence and energy.  Don’t allow comparisons of the giftedness of others to bring discouragement in our lives.  Focus on being faithful.  Giving up should never be an option in our lives.  No matter how long it takes for the Lord to return; we must wait patiently.