When Jesus returns will He find us faithful?
(The Command of Jesus – “Teaching to Obey”)
Matthew 28:19
Luke 17:22-30
Here are some announcements that appeared in church bulletins.
Ladies, don’t forget the rummage sale. It’s a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don’t forget your husbands.
Don’t let just worry kill you off – let the Church help.
For those who have children and don’t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack’s sermons.
The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.
One of the qualities that we all need is the ability to laugh as our mistakes and enjoy the humor of the moment when we are not perfect in our writing or speaking. We grow in maturity as we are able to keep from stumbling and become focused on our failures and keep the main thing the main thing.
One of the main things Jesus taught during his 3 ½ years of public ministry was the importance of obedience. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus gave his final command: “Go makes disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” “Obedience.” Is necessary for a person to become a disciple of Jesus.
We may do many great things in our life-time according to the standards of this world. But the paramount question we all must face is this, “When Jesus returns will he find us faithful?” Luke 18:8, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” When you meet Jesus face to face will he find you faithful to His teachings?
It is a sobering truth that the Bible teachers that when Jesus returns He will find the majority of the world population being unfaithful and disobedient to His teachings.
Look at Luke 17:22-30. Jesus taught His disciples that He would return when people lest expected His coming. “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.”
During the days of Noah the majority of the people enjoyed wine, women and sinful pleasures. There were no moral standards. Life was just one big party. Genesis 6 describes the wickedness of the people. They laughed at the idea that God was creator and Lord. As far as they were concerned God did not exist. Right up to the time God shut the door of the Ark, people had no time for their Creator. “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Genesis 6:8
Noah was faithful and obedient to His God and Creator. Because He was faithful his family was saved.
Jesus spoke with clarity about the consequences of disobedience. “And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business – eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building—until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. Yes it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the hour when the Son of Man returns. Remember what happened to Lot’s wife!” (Luke 17:28-30, 32) NLT
Lot and his wife wanted to live on the wild side. Lot moved away from the godly influence of his uncle Abraham and settled near Sodom located near the Southern end of the Dead Sea. In that city he pursued the comforts and customs of that wicked city. Going against God’s will Lot not only moved near Sodom he soon became an Elder in the City and was “sitting in the gateway.”
Fortunately for Lot he had a praying Uncle in Abraham the brother of his father, Haran. God told Abraham that the sinful and moral degeneration of Sodom and the adjacent city of Gomorrah would soon be destroyed. Abraham pleaded with the Lord and asked God to not destroy the city if 50 righteous people were found and when God agreed he asked for 45, then 40, 30, 20 and finally 10. God said, “For the sake of ten who are righteous I will not destroy it.” Abraham probably thought that surely Lot and his family and friends would number more than 10 and respond to the call of God’s messengers to leave the city. Genesis 19:1-26
When the two angels came to Sodom they found Lot sitting at the gate of the city. Lot welcomed them and invited them to his house to stay the night and then they could be on their way the next day. Lot had a great feast prepared for them. Following the meal men from the city, young and old came pounding on the door and shouting out to Lot: “Send the men out who are staying with you out so we can have sex with them.” Lot stepped outside and pleaded with the men to not touch his guests but instead take his two virgin daughters. Lot’s response revealed how low he had become in his moral values. The men of the city insisted on seeing the men and began to push Lot out of the way and tried to break down the door.
The two angels reached out the door and pulled Lot into the home and blinded all the men outside the house so they could not find the door.
The angels told Lot to gather together all his relatives in the city, sons, sons-in-law, daughters, or anyone else willing to go. God was going to destroy the city. Lot rushed out and pleaded with his daughters’ fiancés and friends. “Quick get out of this city the Lord is going to destroy it.” But the young men thought Lot was only joking.
The next morning the angels had to take the hands of Lot and his wife and two daughters and drag them out of the city to save their lives. The Lord was merciful to them because of Abraham’s prayer for their safety. But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following along behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
Luke 17:32 Jesus said, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Jesus speaks to all of us, “Don’t fool around with disobedience.”
Disobedience always has a ripple affect. Only Lot and his two daughters survived the judgment of God on Sodom and Gomorrah. God’s grace saved them but they didn’t appreciate God’s grace. The daughters got their father drunk and each had a son by their father, Moab and Benammi and they became the nations of the Moabites and Ammonites. Both nations worshiped pagan gods and rebelled against the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses.
Disobedience has consequences. Disobedience prevented the children of Israel under the leadership of Moses to enter the Promised Land.
Disobedience resulted in the downfall of King Saul, Samson, and King Solomon. All who are disobedience will result in their being judged and missing the Kingdom of Heaven.
That’s why Jesus said, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Don’t look back, don’t long for the old life lived without God. Lot’s wife was taken out of Sodom, but Sodom wasn’t taken out of her.
Jesus declared that a final day of judgment is coming when there will be a separation of the righteous from the unrighteous. There will be a great divide between all who are in Christ and those who are not in Christ. (John 5:11-12) “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
Jesus taught that no one knows the day or the time of Christ’s return. Matthew 25:13, Jesus said, “So stay awake and be prepared, because you do not know the day or hour of My return.”
The story is told of a young lady getting ready for a blind date. The date was going to be at an exclusive restaurant with live music and dancing. To make a good impression she took a day off from work to get ready. She cleaned her apartment, had her hair done and also got a manicure. She put on her makeup, her best dress and got ready for her date’s arrival. But his time of arrival arrived and went but she continued to wait for over an hour. Finally she gave up and let her hair down and put on her pajamas and gathered her favorite junk food and sat down to watch TV with her dog. Sometime later there was a knock at the door; it was her blind date. He looked at her surprised and said, “What, I gave you an extra two hours and you’re still not ready to go!”
Jesus is coming again and expects to find us faithfully watching for His return. Jesus said, Matthew 24:44, “You also must be ready all the time. For the Son of Man will come when least expected.”
Matthew 24 Jesus told his disciples what people can expect just prior to His Second Coming.
“Don’t let anyone mislead you. For many will come in my name saying, ‘I am the Messiah.” They will lead many astray.” Verse 4
“And wars will break out near and far, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must come, but the end won’t follow immediately.” “The nations and kingdoms will proclaim war against each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world.” Verses 6-7
“You will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world, because of your allegiance to me And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and lead many astray. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But those who endure to the end will be saved. And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then, finally, the end will come.” Verses 9-14 NLT
The return of Christ is a call to faithful obedience to the teachings of Jesus. When Jesus returns will He find us ready and living faithfully according to His Word?
All of you like the disciples can respond in obedience to the teachings of Jesus. Some of the followers of Jesus were only following Jesus for the handout of food and when Jesus called them to full surrender they turned away and deserted Jesus. Jesus asked the disciples that remained if they were also going to leave Him.
Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom should we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life. We believe them, and we know you are the Holy One of God.” John 6:68-69 NLT
True obedience to Jesus is always followed by action. When Zacchaeus made a decision to follow Jesus he paid back all the people he had cheated in over charging them for their taxes and paid each one a bonus.
God’s blessing in on all who are obedient in following Him.
Jesus comes to each of us and asks: “Will you follow me and obey my teachings?” You may answer, “I will follow you but first I have to remove the barriers that stand in the way.” I’m not ready right now, maybe at a later time. What barrier comes to mind that hinders you to follow and obey Jesus?
John 11 Mary and Martha sent Jesus a message that their brother Lazarus was very sick. By the time Jesus arrived in Bethany Lazarus had been dead four days. When Martha heard that Jesus was near Bethany she went out to meet him while Mary stayed at home. When Martha saw Jesus she said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Verse 21 When Jesus finally arrived at the home of Mary and Martha, Mary fell at the feet of Jesus and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Verse 32
Jesus asked Mary and Martha where they had put their brother and they took him to the grave, a cave with a large stone blocking the entrance. When Jesus came to the grave he told the people standing near the cave “Roll the stone away.”
Martha protested, “Lord, by now the smell will be terrible because he has been dead for four days.” Jesus tested their faith and tested the level of trust they had in Him. He asked them to move the stone. The stone had to be moved before Jesus would work a miracle of healing.
For you to fully trust and obey Jesus you may need to remove stones in your life. What stone do you need to remove?
Before you can experience the healing power of God in your life maybe you need to remove the stone of rivalry, or the stone of jealousy, or a critical tongue, or the stone of unkindness, or unforgiveness, or prejudice?
Jesus says to you, “If you want me to work in your life take way the stone.
After they moved the stone “Jesus looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing her, so they will believe you sent me.’ Then Jesus shouted, ‘Lazarus, come out!” Lazarus came out, bound in grave clothes, his face wrapped in a head-cloth. Jesus told them, ‘Unwrap him and let him go!’” John 11:41-44
What stone in your life do you need to roll away so you can follow Jesus and obey His teachings? I encourage you to take the initiative. Trust Jesus and obey his teachings.
As you partake of communion it is an opportune time to look to Jesus and remove any stones that are hindering your walk with the Lord.
