Being Faithful & Wise Series

"Being Faithful & Wise"

Luke 12:35-48

A sermon for 9/4/22 - Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Pastor John Bright

Harmony & Swansonville UMC

Luke 12 “35 “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; 36 and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. 38 And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 40 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

Pause right there. Those words I just read; they were “Breathed by God”! God wants you to hear His Word right now! So, what is your response? Do you want to transformed by that Word or do you want to be informed about the words? You must choose.

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Anybody that ever lived close to a powerplant knows that not all the lines carrying electricity are the same. Transmission lines are on tall metal towers and they carry the higher voltages from the power source to locations far away. Then, that electricity is moved into the Distribution lines that we see around our houses and along the road. These lower voltage lines are usually on wooden poles. Most of us live far from the power-producing stations, but we expect the electricity to be there when we flip a light switch or cook frozen veggies in the microwave.

In the same way – we are far removed from the days of Jesus’ earthly ministry and the explosive growth of the early Church. The Word of God and the Apostolic faith are God’s gifts to assure faithful transmission of the beliefs and practices that define the Body of Christ – the true Believers – in every generation. Whose responsibility is that faithful transmission today? YOU & ME! In this, we keep the Believers today and those who come after us ready for the return of Christ.

Be ready, v. 35-40

Luke 12 “35 “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; 36 and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. 38 And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 40 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

Jesus is giving them encouraging words – He will return! Do we hear these words with hope today as those who read the Revelation of Jesus Christ written by John to the seven churches? They longed for His return because they were persecuted. We lead comfortable lives because we have worked hard to make it that way – so we have a lot to lose. How do you feel when you realize it might be today when The Great Shepherd comes back to take His sheep home? We don’t know when, but we know how. We also have instructions on how to be ready.

Here we find Jesus telling them – “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning” – this is 1st century language for being ready – being constantly prepared. He goes on to compare them (and us) to servants waiting for the master to return to the house. How pleased will the master be to find them ready? So pleased that they switch rolls and the master becomes the servant of those in the house.

Let me fill in the blanks here – Jesus is the master that is going to return. The Body of Christ, the Church, is the house. We are the servants that tend to His house until He returns. We are also the ones that allow the Thief – satan – to break in. God has called us to treat what we have received as a precious gift and we are accountable to God in this: