Be prepared
Series: The Return Of The King
Speaker: Chris Jones
Date: 14th December 2013
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Leave your Bibles open where Amish just read to us.
00:00:09 --> 00:00:10 And I'm going to pray.
00:00:11 --> 00:00:13 Lord Jesus, as we come to your word
00:00:13 --> 00:00:15 and as we think again about your coming again,
00:00:17 --> 00:00:19 open our hearts to you
00:00:19 --> 00:00:22 and help us to live our lives in the light of your coming
00:00:22 --> 00:00:25 and to see what your coming means for those who are safe in you.
00:00:25 --> 00:00:27 Great joy, great security
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 and help us to rejoice in what we see in here tonight.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:32 In Jesus' name, Amen.
00:00:33 --> 00:00:36 I had a pretty low day the other day.
00:00:36 --> 00:00:41 I had a moment where I was desperately in need of God's wisdom
00:00:41 --> 00:00:47 and I think also wanting a sense of his nearness and his care.
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 You know, you hit a low spot,
00:00:49 --> 00:00:52 you almost want to feel God's there as well as know God's there.
00:00:54 --> 00:00:56 And I went to a quiet spot.
00:00:56 --> 00:00:57 In fact, I went up to the foyer at church.
00:00:57 --> 00:00:58 Nobody was around.
00:00:59 --> 00:01:00 And I sat there to pray.
00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 And the best I was able to do was pray,
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 Lord, please give me wisdom and love.
00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 That was about as big as the prayer got.
00:01:10 --> 00:01:16 I needed God's presence.
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 I couldn't feel it.
00:01:19 --> 00:01:20 And then I phoned a friend.
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 And he was wisdom in the flesh for me.
00:01:25 --> 00:01:30 I don't know how I really expected God to answer my prayer,
00:01:30 --> 00:01:33 but I tell you that he did it in a way that was really simple.
00:01:34 --> 00:01:36 He answered it in the person of my friend,
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 whom I call wisdom personified.
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 In fact, my wife knows who this man is
00:01:41 --> 00:01:42 because I said to her,
00:01:42 --> 00:01:45 I prayed to God and then I rang wisdom personified
00:01:45 --> 00:01:47 and she knew exactly who I rang.
00:01:47 --> 00:01:50 And in that moment,
00:01:50 --> 00:01:54 I take my friendship with my friend as God's blessing to me.
00:01:55 --> 00:01:57 I was reassured about the presence
00:01:57 --> 00:01:58 and the protection
00:01:58 --> 00:02:02 and the purposes of God in the person of my friend.
00:02:06 --> 00:02:08 Life this side of heaven
00:02:08 --> 00:02:11 is sometimes very difficult.
00:02:11 --> 00:02:15 And I guess when I talk to church family even tonight,
00:02:16 --> 00:02:18 each of us are walking in a different place
00:02:18 --> 00:02:20 and a different moment
00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 and experiencing different things.
00:02:22 --> 00:02:23 So some of us will be sitting here thinking,
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 it's pretty cool at the moment,
00:02:25 --> 00:02:25 it's pretty great
00:02:25 --> 00:02:26 and it's coming up to Christmas
00:02:26 --> 00:02:27 and I'm going to get all the things I wanted.
00:02:28 --> 00:02:29 And that's for you.
00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 But there may be another one or two amongst us
00:02:31 --> 00:02:32 who are really struggling at the moment
00:02:32 --> 00:02:33 for whatever reason.
00:02:35 --> 00:02:37 And when life is difficult,
00:02:37 --> 00:02:39 I think that's when we really want to pray
00:02:39 --> 00:02:41 the last words of the Bible,
00:02:41 --> 00:02:42 which are,
00:02:43 --> 00:02:45 come Lord Jesus, come.
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 Come back again, please Lord Jesus
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 and wrap this whole show up
00:02:50 --> 00:02:53 because it's just not that cool
00:02:53 --> 00:02:54 being here at the moment.
00:02:55 --> 00:02:57 I want to say tonight
00:02:57 --> 00:02:59 that the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 is an essential part of Christian understanding
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 and it helps us to wait
00:03:05 --> 00:03:08 and make sense of the very imperfect world
00:03:08 --> 00:03:09 which we're living in at the moment.
00:03:11 --> 00:03:12 I'm preaching this short series
00:03:12 --> 00:03:15 on Jesus coming,
00:03:15 --> 00:03:16 the return of the Lord Jesus.
00:03:16 --> 00:03:17 I spoke about it last week
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 and went to three passages,
00:03:19 --> 00:03:20 a few different passages,
00:03:21 --> 00:03:23 some in John's Gospel,
00:03:23 --> 00:03:25 some in 1 Thessalonians
00:03:25 --> 00:03:26 and some in Acts chapter 1.
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 And I said that Christians believe
00:03:31 --> 00:03:33 very distinctive things
00:03:33 --> 00:03:34 about life after death.
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 We believe in the resurrection of all people.
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 We don't believe in reincarnation.
00:03:41 --> 00:03:44 We don't believe in endless cycles of life.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:46 We don't believe that you can come back
00:03:46 --> 00:03:47 as a flea on a dog's bottom.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 And we don't believe in annihilation,
00:03:51 --> 00:03:53 back to dust with no further consequences.
00:03:54 --> 00:03:57 We believe that people cannot escape
00:03:57 --> 00:03:58 the ultimate justice of God
00:03:58 --> 00:04:00 by dying out of this world.
00:04:00 --> 00:04:04 And we believe in the resurrection
00:04:04 --> 00:04:06 to face the judgment of God
00:04:06 --> 00:04:07 and of ultimate accountability.
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 We believe in the justice of God
00:04:10 --> 00:04:11 which does not allow us
00:04:11 --> 00:04:12 to escape responsibility.
00:04:13 --> 00:04:15 And we believe in the mercy of God
00:04:15 --> 00:04:16 in the Lord Jesus Christ
00:04:16 --> 00:04:18 which allows us to stand safe
00:04:18 --> 00:04:18 at his judgment.
00:04:19 --> 00:04:20 We do not have to fear
00:04:20 --> 00:04:22 the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 So Jesus' second coming
00:04:25 --> 00:04:26 from a Bible point of view,
00:04:26 --> 00:04:27 it is certain,
00:04:27 --> 00:04:28 it will be sudden,
00:04:28 --> 00:04:29 it will be seen by all,
00:04:29 --> 00:04:30 it will happen
00:04:30 --> 00:04:32 when his father says it will happen.
00:04:33 --> 00:04:34 Nobody can predict the moment.
00:04:34 --> 00:04:36 So when somebody tries to,
00:04:36 --> 00:04:37 somebody puts a date
00:04:37 --> 00:04:38 on the coming of Jesus,
00:04:38 --> 00:04:39 somebody says you can be slow,
00:04:39 --> 00:04:40 it's not coming yet,
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 or it's going to happen next year
00:04:42 --> 00:04:43 on such and such a date,
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 I want you as Christian people,
00:04:45 --> 00:04:46 as my brothers and sisters
00:04:46 --> 00:04:47 to be able to just say
00:04:47 --> 00:04:47 straight out rubbish.
00:04:49 --> 00:04:50 It's nonsense.
00:04:51 --> 00:04:53 Even if it's the most well-meaning
00:04:53 --> 00:04:54 and well-intentioned person.
00:04:54 --> 00:04:55 What do I say to them?
00:04:55 --> 00:04:55 Rubbish.
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 Because the scripture says otherwise.
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 All people will be raised
00:05:00 --> 00:05:01 to face the judgment of God.
00:05:02 --> 00:05:03 Jesus' coming will mean
00:05:03 --> 00:05:04 that judgment and destruction
00:05:04 --> 00:05:05 for those people
00:05:05 --> 00:05:07 who have rejected him,
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 but joy for everyone
00:05:09 --> 00:05:10 who trusts and hopes in him.
00:05:11 --> 00:05:12 So to have your name
00:05:12 --> 00:05:15 written in the Lamb's book of life
00:05:15 --> 00:05:16 means that you will be safe
00:05:16 --> 00:05:17 on the day of his coming.
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 I'm particularly preaching tonight
00:05:20 --> 00:05:21 about Matthew chapter 25,
00:05:22 --> 00:05:23 verses 1 to 13.
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 Jesus tells a story
00:05:25 --> 00:05:26 about 10 virgins
00:05:26 --> 00:05:27 waiting to meet a bridegroom
00:05:27 --> 00:05:28 and to escort him
00:05:28 --> 00:05:29 to collect his bride.
00:05:29 --> 00:05:30 That doesn't sound very good,
00:05:30 --> 00:05:31 does it?
00:05:31 --> 00:05:32 I think the virgins
00:05:32 --> 00:05:33 are the bridesmaids
00:05:33 --> 00:05:35 and they're waiting
00:05:35 --> 00:05:36 for the groom to come
00:05:36 --> 00:05:37 and to collect his bride.
00:05:38 --> 00:05:40 I've preached this passage before
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 and I was going to preach it,
00:05:42 --> 00:05:43 not I haven't preached it here,
00:05:43 --> 00:05:44 I've preached it in another place,
00:05:45 --> 00:05:46 and I was going to preach it
00:05:46 --> 00:05:47 unchanged for the night
00:05:47 --> 00:05:48 and I got it out
00:05:48 --> 00:05:48 and I thought,
00:05:48 --> 00:05:49 oh, this is easy,
00:05:49 --> 00:05:50 easy work of preparation,
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 I've done this before
00:05:52 --> 00:05:53 and as I started to read
00:05:53 --> 00:05:54 over the work
00:05:54 --> 00:05:55 that I'd done before,
00:05:55 --> 00:05:56 I realised I'd done
00:05:56 --> 00:05:57 a really lousy job last time
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 and I hadn't understood
00:06:00 --> 00:06:01 the passage properly
00:06:01 --> 00:06:02 and all of a sudden
00:06:02 --> 00:06:03 I had a workload
00:06:03 --> 00:06:04 which I didn't expect
00:06:04 --> 00:06:07 and I want to say to you tonight
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 that I think I've learnt some things,
00:06:09 --> 00:06:10 I think I've got better
00:06:10 --> 00:06:11 in understanding the passage
00:06:11 --> 00:06:12 but I don't think
00:06:12 --> 00:06:13 I've got it perfect,
00:06:13 --> 00:06:14 so if you're sitting there
00:06:14 --> 00:06:15 reading the passage
00:06:15 --> 00:06:16 while I'm speaking to you tonight
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 and you see some things in it
00:06:18 --> 00:06:19 and you go,
00:06:19 --> 00:06:21 aha, tell me about it afterwards
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 because we don't see everything
00:06:23 --> 00:06:24 every time we get up to speak.
00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 You can't understand this passage
00:06:28 --> 00:06:31 without understanding
00:06:31 --> 00:06:32 Matthew chapter 24
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 which is immediately before it
00:06:34 --> 00:06:36 and Matthew 24
00:06:36 --> 00:06:39 is a notoriously difficult chapter
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41 of the Bible to understand.
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 So the people of the first century,
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 the people that this was written to
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 were like some of us,
00:06:50 --> 00:06:51 they were living at a time
00:06:51 --> 00:06:53 when God hadn't spoken
00:06:53 --> 00:06:53 for a long time,
00:06:54 --> 00:06:55 maybe 500 years
00:06:55 --> 00:06:56 since one of the prophets
00:06:56 --> 00:06:57 had spoken.
00:06:58 --> 00:06:59 There hadn't been a word of God
00:06:59 --> 00:07:00 for a long time
00:07:00 --> 00:07:04 and there was this growing expectancy
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 that God was going to turn up
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 and show his face.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:11 some people were expecting
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 the coming of the Messiah,
00:07:13 --> 00:07:13 the King
00:07:13 --> 00:07:16 and they associated his coming
00:07:16 --> 00:07:17 with the end of time,
00:07:18 --> 00:07:18 one coming,
00:07:19 --> 00:07:19 one end.
00:07:19 --> 00:07:20 So when the Messiah comes,
00:07:20 --> 00:07:21 that'll be the end,
00:07:21 --> 00:07:22 it's all wrapped up.
00:07:26 --> 00:07:27 We're a bit the same.
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 We're looking for one more coming
00:07:31 --> 00:07:32 of Jesus
00:07:32 --> 00:07:35 and we associate his coming
00:07:35 --> 00:07:36 when he comes again
00:07:36 --> 00:07:37 with the wrapping up of history
00:07:37 --> 00:07:38 as we know it,
00:07:38 --> 00:07:39 the end of the world,
00:07:40 --> 00:07:41 one more coming,
00:07:41 --> 00:07:42 one end.
00:07:46 --> 00:07:48 Jesus lived in revolutionary times.
00:07:48 --> 00:07:50 You find this out
00:07:50 --> 00:07:51 when you read the New Testament.
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 People were anticipating a king
00:07:53 --> 00:07:54 who would lead them to glory,
00:07:55 --> 00:07:56 who would reestablish
00:07:56 --> 00:07:57 the kingdom of David
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 with all its magnificence
00:07:59 --> 00:08:00 for a thousand years before.
00:08:02 --> 00:08:03 A king who would drive
00:08:03 --> 00:08:04 the pagan Romans
00:08:04 --> 00:08:05 out of the land
00:08:05 --> 00:08:06 of God's promise
00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 and there were false Christs
00:08:09 --> 00:08:10 in Jesus' day
00:08:10 --> 00:08:11 who were going to lead
00:08:11 --> 00:08:12 God's people to glory.
00:08:12 --> 00:08:13 You can read about them
00:08:13 --> 00:08:14 in the New Testament.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:15 Two of them are mentioned
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 in Acts chapter 5.
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 They were Jewish revolutionaries.
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 Their names were Thutis and Judas,
00:08:21 --> 00:08:23 not Judas who was Jesus' disciple
00:08:23 --> 00:08:24 but another Judas.
00:08:25 --> 00:08:26 And both these men
00:08:26 --> 00:08:27 led uprisings
00:08:27 --> 00:08:28 of several hundred men
00:08:28 --> 00:08:29 against the Romans
00:08:29 --> 00:08:31 and these movements collapsed
00:08:31 --> 00:08:32 when their leaders were killed.
00:08:33 --> 00:08:33 So kill the leader,
00:08:33 --> 00:08:34 the movement collapses.
00:08:37 --> 00:08:38 Jesus was executed
00:08:38 --> 00:08:39 in an environment
00:08:39 --> 00:08:41 where he was seen to be
00:08:41 --> 00:08:42 a threat to national security.
00:08:45 --> 00:08:46 He died
00:08:46 --> 00:08:49 and the movement around him
00:08:49 --> 00:08:50 didn't collapse,
00:08:50 --> 00:08:50 it grew.
00:08:54 --> 00:08:56 When Jesus was on trial
00:08:56 --> 00:08:57 before Pilate,
00:08:57 --> 00:08:58 the Jewish leadership
00:08:58 --> 00:08:59 whipped up the crowd
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 to demand the release of Barabbas.
00:09:01 --> 00:09:02 Set Barabbas free.
00:09:02 --> 00:09:03 Don't set Jesus free.
00:09:03 --> 00:09:04 Set Barabbas free.
00:09:05 --> 00:09:05 We want him.
00:09:06 --> 00:09:06 And Barabbas was
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 a murderous insurrectionist.
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 When Jesus was arrested,
00:09:13 --> 00:09:14 Peter drew his sword
00:09:14 --> 00:09:15 straight away,
00:09:15 --> 00:09:15 didn't hesitate
00:09:15 --> 00:09:16 and cut off the ear
00:09:16 --> 00:09:18 of the high priest's servant.
00:09:18 --> 00:09:19 Great stroke.
00:09:20 --> 00:09:21 Magic to see.
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 Because he was expecting
00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 to have to swing his sword
00:09:27 --> 00:09:28 in following his king,
00:09:28 --> 00:09:29 Jesus.
00:09:33 --> 00:09:34 These were all people
00:09:34 --> 00:09:35 who were expecting
00:09:35 --> 00:09:36 to use weapons
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 to help God achieve
00:09:38 --> 00:09:38 his purposes.
00:09:40 --> 00:09:42 They had preconceived ideas
00:09:42 --> 00:09:43 about what the coming
00:09:43 --> 00:09:44 of the Messiah
00:09:44 --> 00:09:45 would look like.
00:09:45 --> 00:09:46 And that's why
00:09:46 --> 00:09:47 so many of them
00:09:47 --> 00:09:48 had no idea
00:09:48 --> 00:09:49 that it was even happening
00:09:49 --> 00:09:50 when it was actually happening
00:09:50 --> 00:09:51 because they had
00:09:51 --> 00:09:52 such another idea
00:09:52 --> 00:09:52 in their head
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 about what would happen.
00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 even Peter.
00:09:57 --> 00:09:59 And what you see here
00:09:59 --> 00:09:59 is that God
00:09:59 --> 00:10:00 is very active
00:10:00 --> 00:10:01 in his work
00:10:01 --> 00:10:01 in a way
00:10:01 --> 00:10:02 that they cannot see
00:10:02 --> 00:10:03 and is not yet understood.
00:10:07 --> 00:10:08 So Matthew 24
00:10:08 --> 00:10:10 begins with Jesus saying,
00:10:10 --> 00:10:11 well, it's all over
00:10:11 --> 00:10:11 for the temple
00:10:11 --> 00:10:12 and it's all over
00:10:12 --> 00:10:13 for Jerusalem.
00:10:15 --> 00:10:16 The disciples
00:10:16 --> 00:10:17 are with Jesus.
00:10:17 --> 00:10:18 They're travelling.
00:10:18 --> 00:10:19 They're marvelling
00:10:19 --> 00:10:19 at the cityscape.
00:10:19 --> 00:10:20 I did it yesterday.
00:10:20 --> 00:10:21 We went,
00:10:21 --> 00:10:22 by the grace
00:10:22 --> 00:10:23 of some of our friends here,
00:10:23 --> 00:10:23 we went and saw
00:10:23 --> 00:10:24 the Messiah
00:10:24 --> 00:10:25 in the Sydney Opera House
00:10:25 --> 00:10:26 yesterday afternoon,
00:10:26 --> 00:10:26 Kerry and I,
00:10:27 --> 00:10:27 with a few of you.
00:10:27 --> 00:10:28 Who else went?
00:10:28 --> 00:10:29 Look at the hands going.
00:10:30 --> 00:10:31 It was the
00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 Foo Club.
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 The Foo Fan Club
00:10:37 --> 00:10:38 because we were supporting
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 Chrissie Fulcher
00:10:39 --> 00:10:39 who was singing
00:10:39 --> 00:10:40 in the chorus.
00:10:42 --> 00:10:43 And, you know,
00:10:43 --> 00:10:43 the city skyline
00:10:43 --> 00:10:44 is pretty magnificent,
00:10:44 --> 00:10:45 isn't it?
00:10:45 --> 00:10:46 You can sit on the northern
00:10:46 --> 00:10:46 side of the harbour
00:10:46 --> 00:10:47 and you look across the city,
00:10:47 --> 00:10:48 you see the Opera House,
00:10:48 --> 00:10:49 it's silhouetted
00:10:49 --> 00:10:50 by the bridge down this side
00:10:50 --> 00:10:51 and the high-rise buildings
00:10:51 --> 00:10:52 on the other side
00:10:52 --> 00:10:53 and you can go sometimes,
00:10:53 --> 00:10:54 oh, wow,
00:10:54 --> 00:10:54 isn't it awesome?
00:10:56 --> 00:10:57 And that's what these guys
00:10:57 --> 00:10:58 did outside Jerusalem.
00:10:58 --> 00:10:58 They're travelling
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 with Jesus,
00:11:00 --> 00:11:01 they're looking back
00:11:01 --> 00:11:01 at Jerusalem,
00:11:01 --> 00:11:02 they're seeing the walls
00:11:02 --> 00:11:03 and the temple
00:11:03 --> 00:11:05 and the other buildings
00:11:05 --> 00:11:05 out there
00:11:05 --> 00:11:06 and they're saying,
00:11:06 --> 00:11:07 it's awesome, Jesus.
00:11:10 --> 00:11:11 And Jesus says,
00:11:11 --> 00:11:13 it's up for demolition.
00:11:14 --> 00:11:15 It's all coming down.
00:11:15 --> 00:11:20 And in AD 67,
00:11:20 --> 00:11:20 the Roman army
00:11:20 --> 00:11:21 came in
00:11:21 --> 00:11:22 and totaled the city.
00:11:24 --> 00:11:25 And 600 years later,
00:11:26 --> 00:11:27 Muslims built a mosque
00:11:27 --> 00:11:27 on the side,
00:11:27 --> 00:11:28 the third holiest shrine
00:11:28 --> 00:11:29 in Islam
00:11:29 --> 00:11:31 and it's been
00:11:31 --> 00:11:32 the most contentious
00:11:32 --> 00:11:33 piece of real estate
00:11:33 --> 00:11:34 in the world
00:11:34 --> 00:11:34 ever since.
00:11:37 --> 00:11:37 A temple
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 hasn't been rebuilt.
00:11:39 --> 00:11:39 Why wasn't a temple
00:11:39 --> 00:11:40 rebuilt?
00:11:40 --> 00:11:41 Why doesn't a temple
00:11:41 --> 00:11:42 need to be rebuilt?
00:11:42 --> 00:11:42 Help me out.
00:11:42 --> 00:11:42 Help me out.
00:11:45 --> 00:11:48 God is everywhere.
00:11:51 --> 00:11:52 We are the temple
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 of the living God.
00:11:54 --> 00:11:55 So why do we need
00:11:55 --> 00:11:56 a temple rebuilt
00:11:56 --> 00:11:58 to sacrifice animals
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 over and over again
00:11:59 --> 00:11:59 to God
00:11:59 --> 00:12:00 in worship of him
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 when we have had
00:12:01 --> 00:12:02 the one true sacrifice
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03 for sin
00:12:03 --> 00:12:04 that Romans describes
00:12:04 --> 00:12:04 in the person
00:12:04 --> 00:12:06 of the Lord Jesus
00:12:06 --> 00:12:07 step onto the stage
00:12:07 --> 00:12:08 of the world history?
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 So Christians
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12 who want to bring
00:12:12 --> 00:12:12 a temple back,
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14 we need to be able
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 to say to them,
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 rubbish as well.
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19 There's two rubbishes
00:12:19 --> 00:12:20 tonight.
00:12:22 --> 00:12:23 If you go to the chapter
00:12:23 --> 00:12:23 before,
00:12:24 --> 00:12:25 Matthew chapter 23,
00:12:26 --> 00:12:27 Jesus actually brings
00:12:27 --> 00:12:28 the curtain down
00:12:28 --> 00:12:28 on the whole
00:12:28 --> 00:12:29 of the Old Testament.
00:12:31 --> 00:12:33 He says these words,
00:12:33 --> 00:12:33 O Jerusalem,
00:12:34 --> 00:12:34 Jerusalem,
00:12:34 --> 00:12:35 Jerusalem,
00:12:35 --> 00:12:38 the city that kills
00:12:38 --> 00:12:39 the prophets
00:12:39 --> 00:12:40 and stones those
00:12:40 --> 00:12:41 who are sent to it.
00:12:41 --> 00:12:45 how often would I
00:12:45 --> 00:12:45 have gathered
00:12:45 --> 00:12:47 your children together
00:12:47 --> 00:12:48 as a hen gathers
00:12:48 --> 00:12:48 her brood under
00:12:48 --> 00:12:49 her wings
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 and you would not.
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 Your house is left
00:12:55 --> 00:12:56 to you desolate
00:12:56 --> 00:12:57 for I tell you,
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 you will not see me
00:12:58 --> 00:12:59 again until you say,
00:12:59 --> 00:13:00 blessed is he
00:13:00 --> 00:13:01 who comes in the name
00:13:01 --> 00:13:02 of the Lord.
00:13:02 --> 00:13:06 Jesus has told
00:13:06 --> 00:13:06 parables
00:13:06 --> 00:13:09 about the rejection
00:13:09 --> 00:13:10 of God's messengers
00:13:10 --> 00:13:12 and ultimately
00:13:12 --> 00:13:13 God's son
00:13:13 --> 00:13:15 and a new age
00:13:15 --> 00:13:16 is coming
00:13:16 --> 00:13:16 and a new dawn
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 is about to begin
00:13:17 --> 00:13:19 and so in chapter 24
00:13:19 --> 00:13:19 verse 3,
00:13:20 --> 00:13:20 he sat on the
00:13:20 --> 00:13:21 Mount of Olives,
00:13:21 --> 00:13:22 the disciples
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 came to him privately
00:13:23 --> 00:13:23 and they said,
00:13:24 --> 00:13:24 tell us,
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 when will these things
00:13:26 --> 00:13:27 be and what will be
00:13:27 --> 00:13:28 the sign of your coming
00:13:28 --> 00:13:29 and of the close
00:13:29 --> 00:13:30 of the age?
00:13:30 --> 00:13:34 So you get
00:13:34 --> 00:13:35 information here,
00:13:35 --> 00:13:36 you see that Jesus
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 is alone with his disciples,
00:13:38 --> 00:13:39 he's teaching them privately,
00:13:39 --> 00:13:40 this private teaching
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41 goes on through
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 the whole of chapter 24
00:13:43 --> 00:13:45 and the whole of chapter 25
00:13:45 --> 00:13:49 and his close friends,
00:13:49 --> 00:13:49 his disciples,
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 his followers
00:13:50 --> 00:13:51 have got two
00:13:51 --> 00:13:52 really big questions,
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 when and what?
00:13:55 --> 00:13:56 When will these things
00:13:56 --> 00:13:56 happen?
00:13:58 --> 00:13:59 And what will be
00:13:59 --> 00:14:00 the sign of your coming
00:14:00 --> 00:14:00 and of the close
00:14:00 --> 00:14:01 of the age?
00:14:01 --> 00:14:02 How will we know
00:14:02 --> 00:14:02 that it's about to happen
00:14:02 --> 00:14:03 so that we can see
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 it coming and be warned?
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 They have this mindset
00:14:06 --> 00:14:07 that the coming of Jesus
00:14:07 --> 00:14:08 means the close
00:14:08 --> 00:14:08 of the age,
00:14:08 --> 00:14:09 for them the end
00:14:09 --> 00:14:11 of history is upon them
00:14:11 --> 00:14:13 and they want to be
00:14:13 --> 00:14:13 ready for it.
00:14:18 --> 00:14:19 And the first question
00:14:19 --> 00:14:20 has an easy answer,
00:14:20 --> 00:14:22 chapter 24 verse 36,
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 concerning that,
00:14:23 --> 00:14:24 this is Jesus speaking,
00:14:24 --> 00:14:25 concerning that day
00:14:25 --> 00:14:26 and hour,
00:14:26 --> 00:14:27 no one knows,
00:14:27 --> 00:14:28 not even the angels
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 of heaven
00:14:29 --> 00:14:29 nor the son
00:14:29 --> 00:14:30 but the father only.
00:14:32 --> 00:14:32 Only the father
00:14:32 --> 00:14:33 of God in heaven
00:14:33 --> 00:14:34 knows when this
00:14:34 --> 00:14:35 is going to happen,
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 not even me.
00:14:39 --> 00:14:40 And then in verse 44,
00:14:40 --> 00:14:41 therefore you must
00:14:41 --> 00:14:42 be ready
00:14:42 --> 00:14:43 because the son of man
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44 is coming at an hour
00:14:44 --> 00:14:46 when you do not expect.
00:14:47 --> 00:14:49 And so the easy answer
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50 is be ready.
00:14:50 --> 00:14:51 My father is the only
00:14:51 --> 00:14:51 person who knows
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 the timing,
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 it will be sudden,
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 it will be unexpected
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55 and if anybody else
00:14:55 --> 00:14:55 has got a suggestion
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 about the timing,
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 just forget it.
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59 They don't know.
00:15:01 --> 00:15:02 But the second question
00:15:02 --> 00:15:03 is much harder.
00:15:05 --> 00:15:06 It's a really good question
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 but they're asking it
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 with wrong expectations.
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 They don't yet understand
00:15:11 --> 00:15:13 that Jesus will come twice.
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 All the end time expectations
00:15:17 --> 00:15:18 which they're expecting
00:15:18 --> 00:15:20 to happen right now
00:15:20 --> 00:15:20 aren't going to happen
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 just right now,
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 they're going to be spread
00:15:22 --> 00:15:23 over time.
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25 Not everything's going
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 to be completed
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 with Jesus' first coming.
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29 It's a brand new idea
00:15:29 --> 00:15:30 and it's never been
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 on their radar before
00:15:31 --> 00:15:33 that Jesus might come once
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 and then he might come again
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 or the Messiah,
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 the King might come once
00:15:36 --> 00:15:38 and then he might come again.
00:15:41 --> 00:15:42 And so Jesus tells them
00:15:42 --> 00:15:44 things about the destruction
00:15:44 --> 00:15:44 of the temple,
00:15:45 --> 00:15:46 many false Christs,
00:15:46 --> 00:15:47 wars, famines,
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 persecution of believers
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 to death,
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51 sun, moon and stars
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 not giving light,
00:15:52 --> 00:15:52 the abomination
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 of desolation
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 standing in the temple.
00:15:56 --> 00:15:58 And in verses 34 and 35
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 he says,
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 I tell you the truth,
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 this generation
00:16:02 --> 00:16:04 will certainly not pass away
00:16:04 --> 00:16:05 until all these things
00:16:05 --> 00:16:06 have happened.
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09 And he's saying
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11 that there are events
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 of cosmic consequence
00:16:12 --> 00:16:14 in the life and times
00:16:14 --> 00:16:15 of the current generation.
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 You're living in them
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 at the moment
00:16:17 --> 00:16:18 to the people back there
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 2 years ago.
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21 They're happening
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 with this current visit
00:16:22 --> 00:16:23 of God to his world
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 and in the person
00:16:24 --> 00:16:25 of his son,
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 You have to move past Christmas.
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 Christmas is nothing
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 compared with what
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 Christ is about to do.
00:16:31 --> 00:16:32 It's a great time of the year
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 but in terms of what
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 Christ is about to do,
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 it's what he's come to do
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 and who he is
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 which is really important.
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 We move beyond
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 the baby story
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41 to the glory of Christ
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 and the kingship
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 which he's going to exercise
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 and he's particularly
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 going to exercise
00:16:46 --> 00:16:46 that cross,
00:16:47 --> 00:16:47 that,
00:16:47 --> 00:16:47 that,
00:16:47 --> 00:16:51 his kingship
00:16:51 --> 00:16:51 on a hill
00:16:51 --> 00:16:53 outside of Jerusalem
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 when he gives his life
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 for the sins
00:16:55 --> 00:16:55 of anybody
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 who would trust in him
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 and when God vindicates him
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 by raising him
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 from the dead.
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 And the Bible says
00:17:01 --> 00:17:03 that this is a climactic event
00:17:03 --> 00:17:05 with cosmic consequences.
00:17:07 --> 00:17:08 What Jesus is doing
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 back there
00:17:09 --> 00:17:11 has implications
00:17:11 --> 00:17:13 for the whole of history.
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14 That's how big this event is.
00:17:16 --> 00:17:18 I think when Jesus died
00:17:18 --> 00:17:18 on the cross
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 that was the abomination
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 that causes desolation.
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 There is nothing
00:17:22 --> 00:17:23 that has happened
00:17:23 --> 00:17:25 in the whole of human history
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 which is as gross
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 as what happened
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28 to Jesus on the cross.
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 Because we,
00:17:31 --> 00:17:33 the people that God has made,
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 even the religious leaders
00:17:34 --> 00:17:36 of his own time,
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 the people who were supposed
00:17:37 --> 00:17:38 to protect religion
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 and the temple
00:17:39 --> 00:17:40 and keep it holy
00:17:40 --> 00:17:42 and all those things
00:17:42 --> 00:17:44 seized God himself
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 with their own hands
00:17:45 --> 00:17:47 and tried to destroy him
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 as ridiculous
00:17:48 --> 00:17:49 as that is.
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 That is an abomination.
00:17:52 --> 00:18:00 So Jesus is also preparing them
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 for an intervening period
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 and another coming.
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 In chapter 24,
00:18:04 --> 00:18:06 verses 39 to 44,
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 he says,
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 keep watch
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 because you do not know
00:18:09 --> 00:18:09 on what day
00:18:09 --> 00:18:11 your Lord will come.
00:18:11 --> 00:18:13 But understand this,
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 if the owner of the house
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 had known
00:18:15 --> 00:18:17 at what time of night
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 the thief was coming,
00:18:18 --> 00:18:20 he would have kept watch
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21 and would not have let
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 his house be broken into.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 If the thief had made
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 an appointment,
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 the owner of the house
00:18:26 --> 00:18:27 wouldn't have got caught out.
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 So you also must be ready
00:18:31 --> 00:18:32 because the Son of God
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 will come at an hour
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 when you don't expect him.
00:18:34 --> 00:18:35 God's not going to make
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 an appointment
00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 for you to look forward to.
00:18:40 --> 00:18:42 There will be another coming.
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 There will be a delay
00:18:44 --> 00:18:44 between the two
00:18:44 --> 00:18:46 and that is where
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47 the story of the wedding
00:18:47 --> 00:18:49 in chapter 25 comes in.
00:18:49 --> 00:18:49 Ten virgins
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50 took their lamps
00:18:50 --> 00:18:52 and they went out
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 to meet the bridegroom.
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 Five of them were foolish
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 and five were wise.
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 The foolish ones
00:18:59 --> 00:19:01 took their lamps
00:19:01 --> 00:19:04 but did not take
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 any oil with them.
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 The wise, however,
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 took oil in jars
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 along with their lamps.
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 Bridegroom was a long time
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 in coming
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 and they all became drowsy
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 and fell asleep.
00:19:17 --> 00:19:23 So Jesus tells this story.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:23 There's a wedding.
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 No, I can't say
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 what I want to say.
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 And you hear nothing
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 about the bride
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 in this wedding.
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 It's bridegroom focused.
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 It's man-centric.
00:19:44 --> 00:19:44 It's man-centric.
00:19:47 --> 00:19:50 The man spends the money.
00:19:50 --> 00:19:52 The man makes the arrangements.
00:19:53 --> 00:19:53 I'm a dad
00:19:53 --> 00:19:55 and I've got
00:19:55 --> 00:19:57 one married son,
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 one unmarried son
00:19:58 --> 00:20:01 and I've also got
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 three unmarried daughters.
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 So I like this passage
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 because
00:20:04 --> 00:20:06 I think it's great
00:20:06 --> 00:20:08 for the man's family
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 to bear the cost
00:20:09 --> 00:20:11 of the marriage
00:20:11 --> 00:20:13 and I think
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 dowries
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 are especially
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 encouraged
00:20:16 --> 00:20:19 and
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 I know I'm right
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 because I talked
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 to my boss this morning
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 and he totally agrees
00:20:23 --> 00:20:23 with me.
00:20:28 --> 00:20:30 So in Jesus' day,
00:20:30 --> 00:20:30 marriage was like
00:20:30 --> 00:20:32 this three-stage process.
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 You'd get engaged.
00:20:33 --> 00:20:37 There was engagement,
00:20:38 --> 00:20:38 there was betrothal
00:20:38 --> 00:20:40 and then there was marriage
00:20:40 --> 00:20:42 and the story Jesus tells
00:20:42 --> 00:20:44 is about the third stage
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 where the bridegroom
00:20:45 --> 00:20:47 returns from his dad's place
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 to take his bride.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 He's been building
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 and what he's been doing,
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 he's been at his dad's house
00:20:52 --> 00:20:54 building on an additional room
00:20:54 --> 00:20:56 that he can bring his bride to
00:20:56 --> 00:20:59 to begin their married life together.
00:20:59 --> 00:21:02 So he will come
00:21:02 --> 00:21:04 as soon as the building's completed,
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 he will come
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 at that moment
00:21:06 --> 00:21:08 with his entourage
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 to get his bride
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 and take her to his house
00:21:10 --> 00:21:12 to consummate the marriage
00:21:12 --> 00:21:14 and to live in their new home.
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 It's a great moment.
00:21:16 --> 00:21:16 It's a moment
00:21:16 --> 00:21:18 that they've been anticipating
00:21:18 --> 00:21:20 together for some time.
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 Really interesting,
00:21:23 --> 00:21:25 Jesus uses similar language
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 and imagery
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 in John chapter 14
00:21:27 --> 00:21:27 when he said,
00:21:27 --> 00:21:30 in my father's house
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 are many rooms
00:21:31 --> 00:21:33 and I am going there
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 to prepare a place for you.
00:21:35 --> 00:21:37 And he also said,
00:21:37 --> 00:21:39 I will come back
00:21:39 --> 00:21:41 and take you to be with me
00:21:41 --> 00:21:43 that you may be where I am.
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 I'm going away,
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 there are going to be rooms
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 for my followers,
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 I will return
00:21:50 --> 00:21:52 and we will journey
00:21:52 --> 00:21:54 to the place where I am.
00:21:57 --> 00:21:59 So these ten young women
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 are going to light the way
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 for the groom
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 when he arrives
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 and they will go with him
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 to the wedding banquet.
00:22:05 --> 00:22:07 Five are described as foolish,
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 five are wise,
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 all of them have lamps,
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 the lamps are not the little thing
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 they carry around a house,
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 they're probably long sticks
00:22:13 --> 00:22:13 with a rag on the end
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 soaked in oil
00:22:14 --> 00:22:16 that creates a blazing light
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 outside as you travel
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 through the night.
00:22:18 --> 00:22:21 Five are called wise
00:22:21 --> 00:22:23 because they have jars of oil,
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 five are called foolish
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 because they don't.
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 They all look the same
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 while they're waiting,
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 they don't look any different,
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 there's no difference
00:22:33 --> 00:22:35 except the oil.
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 The bridegroom's delayed,
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 he takes a long time,
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 he doesn't come as quickly
00:22:41 --> 00:22:43 as they had expected him to come,
00:22:43 --> 00:22:45 everybody gets the nods
00:22:45 --> 00:22:45 and they go to sleep.
00:22:45 --> 00:22:48 And it's really interesting
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 because there's no judgment
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 in this passage
00:22:50 --> 00:22:52 about them going to sleep,
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 it's not as though
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 going to sleep
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 was a wrong thing
00:22:55 --> 00:22:55 for them to do,
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 they all go to sleep.
00:22:59 --> 00:23:01 But what Jesus is preparing them for
00:23:01 --> 00:23:03 is a delayed return,
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 that's a new thought.
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 It may well be
00:23:08 --> 00:23:10 an unexpectedly long time
00:23:10 --> 00:23:10 into the future
00:23:10 --> 00:23:13 and for people like us
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 we can see that,
00:23:14 --> 00:23:14 we can look back,
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 we can say,
00:23:15 --> 00:23:17 well it's been 2 years already,
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 of course it was going to be
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 a long time into the future.
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 But it doesn't take faith
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 for us to see that,
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 we just look and see.
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 But we do need faith
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 to know that Jesus
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 is still coming.
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 It was probably
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 very difficult
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 for Jesus' disciples
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 to come to terms
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 with a slow return
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 because they just thought
00:23:36 --> 00:23:38 it was going to be imminent.
00:23:38 --> 00:23:38 You know,
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 this same Jesus
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 that you've seen
00:23:40 --> 00:23:40 going to heaven,
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 he's going to return again
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 in the same way
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 that you've seen him
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 going to heaven,
00:23:44 --> 00:23:44 said the angel.
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 And they thought
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 it was going to be
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 in their own lifetime.
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 But it shouldn't fill us
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 with a,
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 or lull us
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 into a false sense
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 of security either.
00:23:56 --> 00:23:56 One of,
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 when I was in
00:23:57 --> 00:23:59 country town
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 in New South Wales
00:24:00 --> 00:24:00 ministering,
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 one of my precious
00:24:01 --> 00:24:03 90 year old ladies
00:24:03 --> 00:24:05 who was full of faith
00:24:05 --> 00:24:05 and she'd walked
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 through some hard yards
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 in her life
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 and God had been
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 really gracious with her
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 so I really respected her.
00:24:10 --> 00:24:12 but she said to me
00:24:12 --> 00:24:12 one day,
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 she said,
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 I don't think
00:24:14 --> 00:24:16 Jesus will return yet
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 because I don't think
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 all the prophecies
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 have been fulfilled yet.
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 She was trying
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 to be scriptural
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 but she was limiting
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 God with her theology.
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 And I lovingly
00:24:32 --> 00:24:32 disagreed
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 and reminded her
00:24:33 --> 00:24:35 that Jesus teaches us
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 to be at the ready.
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 I don't think
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 I changed her mind
00:24:38 --> 00:24:38 by the way
00:24:38 --> 00:24:40 but we differed
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 and it was okay.
00:24:43 --> 00:24:43 And when you think
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 about readiness
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 I think there's two ways
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 of understanding
00:24:46 --> 00:24:48 or thinking about readiness.
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 There's a right way
00:24:49 --> 00:24:49 and there's a wrong way.
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 So the wrong way
00:24:52 --> 00:24:52 is the story
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 I told in my message
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 last week
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 about the deputy principal
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 at Frenchess Forest High School
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 who resigned his job
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 in 1981
00:24:58 --> 00:25:00 absolutely convinced
00:25:00 --> 00:25:02 that Jesus would return
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 in 1982.
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 I'm not sure
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 what he did
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 after 1982.
00:25:06 --> 00:25:08 And I was thinking
00:25:08 --> 00:25:08 about this
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 because I thought
00:25:09 --> 00:25:11 if I knew Jesus
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 was coming back
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 in four weeks time
00:25:13 --> 00:25:15 I'm going to stop
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 putting money
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 into superannuation
00:25:17 --> 00:25:17 straight away
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 and I'm going to
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 start spending it.
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 I'm not going
00:25:21 --> 00:25:21 to do any work.
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 I said that to Steve
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 this morning.
00:25:23 --> 00:25:23 No work.
00:25:24 --> 00:25:24 Sorry Deb.
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 You have to do it all.
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 You do it all anyway.
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 That's probably
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 what you're going to say.
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 I'd be with my family
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 and I'd probably
00:25:35 --> 00:25:35 be pleading
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 with any members
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 of my family
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 to prepare
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 to meet Christ.
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 That would be
00:25:40 --> 00:25:40 important for me
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 just because I know
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 and love the Lord Jesus.
00:25:46 --> 00:25:46 But if I was
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 in the country
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 I wouldn't bother
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 planting any more crops.
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 Wouldn't even bother
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 harvesting them
00:25:51 --> 00:25:51 because there'd be
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 no one to sell to
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 in four weeks time.
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 People who aren't
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 Christians
00:25:56 --> 00:25:59 I think would go
00:25:59 --> 00:25:59 into a frantic
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 indulgent panic
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 if they thought
00:26:01 --> 00:26:01 it was true
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 if the world
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 was going to end
00:26:03 --> 00:26:03 in four weeks time.
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 I think you'd
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 go and load up
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 your credit card
00:26:08 --> 00:26:08 knowing that you'd
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 never have any bank fees
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 again never have
00:26:10 --> 00:26:10 to pay it back.
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 I think life
00:26:13 --> 00:26:13 would be turned
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 on its head.
00:26:14 --> 00:26:14 We'd become
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 totally irresponsible
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 and selfish.
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 We'd go out there
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 and live and do
00:26:18 --> 00:26:18 whatever we wanted
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 to do without
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 regard to the
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 consequences.
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 The routines
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 of life would be
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 shot to pieces.
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 Nobody would be
00:26:24 --> 00:26:24 serving one another.
00:26:24 --> 00:26:29 That's the wrong
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 type of readiness
00:26:30 --> 00:26:33 and when somebody
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 preaches to us
00:26:34 --> 00:26:34 that you've just
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 got to be ever ready
00:26:35 --> 00:26:35 as though he's
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 going to walk
00:26:36 --> 00:26:36 in the door
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 tonight
00:26:37 --> 00:26:37 well yes
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 that's right
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 but no
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 in terms of panic.
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 So what is
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 the right way?
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 Well I think you
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 see it in the
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 remainder of the
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 story.
00:26:48 --> 00:26:48 The moment of
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 truth arrives
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 verse 6
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 at midnight
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 the cry rang out
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 here's the bridegroom
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 come out to meet
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 him and all the
00:26:55 --> 00:26:55 virgins woke
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 and they trimmed
00:26:56 --> 00:26:56 their lamps
00:26:56 --> 00:26:59 and the bridegroom's
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 return catches
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 everyone by surprise
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 the wise and the
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 foolish everybody's
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 caught up in the
00:27:04 --> 00:27:04 surprise of his
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 return.
00:27:06 --> 00:27:06 They all have to
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 wake up to meet
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 him.
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 He turns up in the
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 dead of the night
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 when all the women
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 are asleep.
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 Everyone needs to
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 do the normal
00:27:13 --> 00:27:13 things including
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 sleep so it's all
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 right to sleep
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 but now there is a
00:27:16 --> 00:27:18 problem because the
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 difference between
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 the two groups
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 becomes immediately
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 obvious with the
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 coming of the
00:27:23 --> 00:27:23 groom.
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 Some are ready
00:27:24 --> 00:27:24 to meet him
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 and some
00:27:25 --> 00:27:25 aren't.
00:27:26 --> 00:27:26 And the
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 foolish ones
00:27:27 --> 00:27:27 in a panic
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 say to the
00:27:28 --> 00:27:28 wives give us
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 some of your
00:27:29 --> 00:27:29 oil our lamps
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 are going out.
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 No they replied
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 there mightn't be
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 enough for both
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 of us and you
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 you get down
00:27:34 --> 00:27:34 the shop really
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 quickly and go to
00:27:35 --> 00:27:36 the cellars of
00:27:36 --> 00:27:36 oil wake them
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 up and buy
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 some for
00:27:38 --> 00:27:38 yourselves.
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 And while they
00:27:41 --> 00:27:41 were on their
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 way to buy
00:27:42 --> 00:27:42 some oil the
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 bridegroom arrived
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 the virgins who
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 were ready went
00:27:45 --> 00:27:45 in with him to
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 the wedding banquet
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 and the door
00:27:47 --> 00:27:47 was shut.
00:27:47 --> 00:27:52 it's a hard
00:27:52 --> 00:27:56 word and if
00:27:56 --> 00:27:56 you're like me
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 you sort of you
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 ask all sorts of
00:27:58 --> 00:27:58 questions when you're
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 trying to prepare a
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 message and figure out
00:28:00 --> 00:28:00 what's going on here
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 but you know
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 couldn't they have
00:28:02 --> 00:28:02 shared?
00:28:06 --> 00:28:06 But you've got to
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 look beyond the
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 parable to see that
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 this is a decisive
00:28:09 --> 00:28:11 moment of truth.
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 There just isn't
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 enough for everyone.
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 It is the moment
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 when preparedness
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 is going to be
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 seen in a final
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 and an unchangeable
00:28:20 --> 00:28:20 way.
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 When Jesus
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 returns it will
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 be too late to
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 decide to get
00:28:26 --> 00:28:26 ready.
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 The opportunity
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 will be in the
00:28:29 --> 00:28:29 past.
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 You can't rely on
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 another person's
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 preparedness.
00:28:34 --> 00:28:34 You might live in
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 a family where
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 one partner knows
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 and loves the
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 Lord Jesus Christ
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 or maybe your
00:28:39 --> 00:28:39 mum or your
00:28:39 --> 00:28:41 dad do and
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 they are well
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 prepared for the
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 return of Christ.
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 They know him
00:28:46 --> 00:28:46 and he knows
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 them.
00:28:49 --> 00:28:49 And they don't
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 have to fear the
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 day and on that
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 day you won't be
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 able to say my
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 partner did all the
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 church going for
00:28:55 --> 00:28:55 our family.
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 Or don't you see
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 the fine Christian
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 kids that I've
00:28:59 --> 00:29:01 raised or my
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 family goes back
00:29:02 --> 00:29:02 three or four
00:29:02 --> 00:29:04 generations,
00:29:04 --> 00:29:04 believers, we've
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 been saying grace
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 for the last
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 hundred years in
00:29:07 --> 00:29:07 our family.
00:29:07 --> 00:29:07 family.
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 Or the really
00:29:12 --> 00:29:14 hard one from a
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 parent point of
00:29:15 --> 00:29:19 view is take my
00:29:19 --> 00:29:21 faith, take my
00:29:21 --> 00:29:23 oil and give it to
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 my children, please
00:29:24 --> 00:29:26 save them instead of
00:29:26 --> 00:29:26 me.
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 That doesn't work
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 either.
00:29:30 --> 00:29:37 We have to answer
00:29:37 --> 00:29:37 for ourselves.
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 Do we have any
00:29:41 --> 00:29:41 oil?
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 Have we prepared?
00:29:42 --> 00:29:44 It's about you and
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 whether you have
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 prepared for that
00:29:46 --> 00:29:46 day.
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 Will you go in with
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 the groom or will
00:29:49 --> 00:29:51 the door be shut in
00:29:51 --> 00:29:51 your face?
00:29:51 --> 00:29:56 And I know as I
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 speak tonight that
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 there may be some
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 people here who
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 know that what I'm
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 saying about Christ
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 and his return is
00:30:02 --> 00:30:02 true.
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 You also know that
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 you are unprepared to
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 face him.
00:30:10 --> 00:30:12 You may know lots of
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 true things about the
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 Bible especially
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 because you hang
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 around churches and
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 churches are a great
00:30:17 --> 00:30:17 place to hang around
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 so no discouragement
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 of that.
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 Even if you don't
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 believe this is a
00:30:21 --> 00:30:21 wonderful place to
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 be.
00:30:26 --> 00:30:26 You may know that
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 Jesus died.
00:30:28 --> 00:30:28 You may know that
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 Jesus was raised.
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 You may know that
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 Jesus is king in
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 heaven right now.
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 You may know some
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 great theology and you
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 may have read some
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 great Christian books.
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 But to know about
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 Jesus is different
00:30:42 --> 00:30:44 from knowing Jesus
00:30:44 --> 00:30:45 and loving Jesus.
00:30:47 --> 00:30:48 Need both.
00:30:48 --> 00:30:54 people who know and
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 trust the Lord Jesus
00:30:55 --> 00:30:56 will be well prepared
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 to meet him when he
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 comes.
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 We don't have to be
00:31:00 --> 00:31:00 afraid.
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 He has prepared us for
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 his coming by taking
00:31:04 --> 00:31:06 our sin and nailing it
00:31:06 --> 00:31:06 to the cross.
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 And we have already
00:31:08 --> 00:31:10 entrusted ourselves to
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 him in response to what
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 he has done for us.
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 We will be safe when he
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 returns by the grace of
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:31:20 --> 00:31:21 Story goes on and
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 almost comes to a
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23 conclusion in verse 11.
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 Others came to him.
00:31:26 --> 00:31:26 Sir, sir, they said,
00:31:26 --> 00:31:27 open the door.
00:31:27 --> 00:31:29 The others, the others,
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 that's the foolish ones,
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 came to him and said,
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 sir, sir, open the door
00:31:32 --> 00:31:32 for us.
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 And he replied,
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 I tell you the truth,
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 I don't know you.
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 I don't know you.
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 And then Jesus says,
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 therefore keep watch
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 because you do not know
00:31:52 --> 00:31:53 the day or the hour.
00:31:53 --> 00:31:58 See, the rejection for
00:31:58 --> 00:31:59 the unprepared is
00:31:59 --> 00:31:59 dreadfully clear.
00:32:00 --> 00:32:00 It's too late.
00:32:01 --> 00:32:03 There is no reversal.
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 Rejection is final.
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 And I think at the very
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 heart of this story are
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 the words at the end of
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 the story which are,
00:32:13 --> 00:32:14 I don't know you.
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 The wise ones are known
00:32:17 --> 00:32:20 by the groom and the
00:32:20 --> 00:32:22 foolish ones aren't.
00:32:23 --> 00:32:27 I said this morning,
00:32:27 --> 00:32:28 nobody invites guests
00:32:28 --> 00:32:29 to a wedding whom
00:32:29 --> 00:32:29 they don't know.
00:32:30 --> 00:32:31 Well, one of our mums
00:32:31 --> 00:32:31 contradicted me,
00:32:31 --> 00:32:32 but there you go.
00:32:34 --> 00:32:34 It's the gardener wedding
00:32:34 --> 00:32:36 next week and they've got
00:32:36 --> 00:32:37 250 people coming.
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 I don't think they know
00:32:38 --> 00:32:38 them all.
00:32:39 --> 00:32:40 But take the principle.
00:32:44 --> 00:32:45 You don't get invited
00:32:45 --> 00:32:46 if you're not known.
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 So being ready for Jesus'
00:32:51 --> 00:32:52 coming does not mean
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 frantic panic,
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 really important.
00:32:55 --> 00:32:56 It means knowing the
00:32:56 --> 00:32:57 Saviour now.
00:32:59 --> 00:33:00 It means being on about
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 his business.
00:33:01 --> 00:33:02 I'm going to come to that
00:33:02 --> 00:33:02 next week.
00:33:04 --> 00:33:05 Chapter 24,
00:33:05 --> 00:33:07 verse 44 says,
00:33:07 --> 00:33:08 you must also be ready
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 because the Son of Man
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 will come at an hour
00:33:10 --> 00:33:11 when you do not expect
00:33:11 --> 00:33:11 him.
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 Who then is the faithful
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 and wise servant whom
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15 the Master has put in
00:33:15 --> 00:33:16 charge of the servants in
00:33:16 --> 00:33:18 his household to give them
00:33:18 --> 00:33:19 the food at the proper
00:33:19 --> 00:33:19 time?
00:33:20 --> 00:33:20 The Master has given
00:33:20 --> 00:33:21 him a job to do.
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 Who's the faithful servant?
00:33:23 --> 00:33:25 It will be good for that
00:33:25 --> 00:33:25 servant whose Master
00:33:25 --> 00:33:26 finds him doing what
00:33:26 --> 00:33:27 he's supposed to be doing
00:33:27 --> 00:33:28 when he returns.
00:33:31 --> 00:33:33 So when Jesus returns,
00:33:33 --> 00:33:35 people will see what they
00:33:35 --> 00:33:36 are missing out on and
00:33:36 --> 00:33:36 they will want it.
00:33:38 --> 00:33:39 But it will be too late.
00:33:41 --> 00:33:42 When Jesus returns,
00:33:42 --> 00:33:43 there won't be anybody
00:33:43 --> 00:33:45 having a peek at how good
00:33:45 --> 00:33:46 it is and saying,
00:33:46 --> 00:33:47 I don't want any of that.
00:33:48 --> 00:33:49 We'll all want in.
00:33:52 --> 00:33:54 And those who reject
00:33:54 --> 00:33:55 Christ now face a future
00:33:55 --> 00:33:56 of grieving what they
00:33:56 --> 00:33:57 have missed out on.
00:33:59 --> 00:34:01 But the call throughout
00:34:01 --> 00:34:02 the Bible is to a life
00:34:02 --> 00:34:03 of faith now.
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 Faith which has impact
00:34:06 --> 00:34:08 on how we live now.
00:34:08 --> 00:34:09 Faith which is driving us
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 to want to know Christ
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 now.
00:34:12 --> 00:34:13 Faith which leads us to
00:34:13 --> 00:34:15 hope in Christ now.
00:34:16 --> 00:34:17 Faith which is hungry
00:34:17 --> 00:34:18 for the righteousness
00:34:18 --> 00:34:19 of Christ now.
00:34:20 --> 00:34:22 Faith which leads us
00:34:22 --> 00:34:23 to bow our knee to Jesus
00:34:23 --> 00:34:25 and to give way to him
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 now.
00:34:27 --> 00:34:29 Faith which puts all our
00:34:29 --> 00:34:30 hope and trust in Jesus
00:34:30 --> 00:34:31 now.
00:34:32 --> 00:34:33 It's a verse in Acts,
00:34:33 --> 00:34:34 isn't it?
00:34:34 --> 00:34:35 Today is the day of
00:34:35 --> 00:34:35 salvation.
00:34:38 --> 00:34:40 Knowing the groom now
00:34:40 --> 00:34:43 is what will keep us
00:34:43 --> 00:34:44 safe then.
00:34:46 --> 00:34:48 So, and that makes us
00:34:48 --> 00:34:49 safe right now,
00:34:49 --> 00:34:49 even tonight,
00:34:50 --> 00:34:50 to pray,
00:34:51 --> 00:34:52 come Lord Jesus
00:34:52 --> 00:34:53 come.
00:34:54 --> 00:34:55 And we can only pray
00:34:55 --> 00:34:56 that safely now
00:34:56 --> 00:34:56 because we know
00:34:56 --> 00:34:58 that we will be safe
00:34:58 --> 00:34:58 then.
00:34:59 --> 00:35:00 Amen.
00:35:00 --> 00:35:02 that you will take
00:35:02 --> 00:35:06 who lives
00:35:06 --> 00:35:06 with Christ.
00:35:06 --> 00:35:08 You
00:35:08 --> 00:35:11 father
00:35:12 --> 00:35:13 and
00:35:13 --> 00:35:13 how
00:35:13 --> 00:35:13 you