Everybody in the world has been fascinated by the court case here in Florida. The whole world is focused upon this case anxiously awaiting the outcome.
The attorneys on both sides have laid out their case for the jury to make a decision.
You can be sure that the lawyers on both sides vigorously prepared for this case. They did everything within their power to anticipate every aspect of this case. No lawyer wants to be surprised in court.
It is impossible to know everything that will take place, which is why attorneys go to great lengths to make sure they prepare their case as tight as possible. So that, if something comes up they did not anticipate they have room to wiggle, so to speak.
The key to every case is preparation. Without preparation, there is little chance that a case is going to be won.
That is what is before us today in this parable. The key would be preparation. Without preparation, we will go down in the flames of failure. Too many examples of this truth to give now.
If I am going to be faithful to the Lord in my service, I must be adequately prepared and the preparation is my responsibility.
Many people have the attitude "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)", and they have no responsibility whatsoever. That is not the case.
We are to do our part and then let God's part to Him.
Some people have an odd idea about sovereignty. They believe everything that happens is God's will. The Scriptures do not bear that out.
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
According to this verse, it is not God's will for anyone to perish. Yet, millions every day perish and go out into a Christ-less eternity.
God's sovereignty is of such a nature that it encompasses man's freedom of will. Man’s free will does not compromise, contradict or compete with God’s sovereignty.
The question that comes to mind is, how can I be adequately prepared for things I don't know will be happening? I cannot predict the future!
If I am responsible for my actions, how can I prepare when I do not know the future? How can I be a diligent servant?
I am going to talk to you today as believers. We all know that the first step in preparation in this regard is to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. Sometimes we get the idea that that is all we have to do. Just accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and everything will turn out all right.
There are some problems with that.
It would be like a baby born into this world and the parents take it home from the hospital and say to the little newborn, "Okay, now get on with your life."
That baby needs a lot of nurturing and discipline before it is able to stand on its own two feet.
Every believer needs to be nurtured and discipled in order to stand firm in the things of God. The reason so many people fumble in this area, is because they are not adequately prepared for the Christian life.
So, I am assuming that you are a Christian and have been taking care of this part of your life.
Now that you are a Christian, some things need to be done in order to be adequately prepared for what happens in life.
I. Cultivate a Spirit of Steadfastness.
“Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning” (35).
Steadfastness in the Christian life is probably one of the most crucial. Sometimes we get the idea that everything is taken care for us and there is nothing more that we can do. After all, we are saved and on our way to heaven.
Notice what Jesus says here. Two words: “stay” and “keep.” Action words. A continual action.
Let’s look at them.
1. “Stay dressed for action.”
This presupposes that we are already dressed for action. There is nothing passive about the Christian life. We begin our Christian experience with the rumble of a spiritual battle. To come out of darkness into light is a dramatic experience for us.
Conversion brings us out of darkness and into a life of Light.
Now that we are born again, we need to stay dressed for action. We need to be ready at all times to stand our ground for the Lord Jesus Christ, regardless of the cost.
Sometimes we get lazy in our Christian life. Nothing is more damaging to the Christian church than lazy Christians.
We start out in the dynamics of living for Jesus.
Slowly, we lose our enthusiasm for Christ.
Many people start out in the Christian life very enthusiastic about coming to church, about witnessing, about Bible reading and prayer. Soon the world’s attraction is too much for them and pulls them away from the center of their Christian experience. The world is too much with them.
“Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb?
And shall I fear to own His cause,
Or blush to speak His name?”
(Isaac Watts)
Becoming a Christian does not make you an angel, it makes you a soldier. A soldier of the cross.
The apostle Paul writes,
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).
This is present tense.
2. “Keep your lamps burning.”
We are to keep our testimony and witness brightly shining in the world around us. Like the old fashion lighthouse that guided the ships safely to shore, we too must be a beaming light directing people to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The key to this is the assumption that we have access to the provisions. A lamp does not burn on its own. In fact, if not fueled properly the lamp will go out.
We have access to all the resources we need to be everything God wants us to be.
Our responsibility is to connect, and keep connected, to that resource and keep our lamps burning brightly right where we are.
I believe the key here is that we are to be burning brightly where we are. You cannot shine where you are not. Where you are right now, your home, your community, your business, your workplace, your school is where you shine. Keep the bright shining.
We have a responsibility to shine where we are, and God has made available to us the resources we need to shine brightly.
Our responsibility is to keep at it.
We are to stay dressed for action and keep our lamps burning for Jesus Christ. And shine where you are!
II. Cultivate a Spirit of Expectation.
“You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (40).
This is the undergirding of our Christian experience. Our hope is not in this world alone, but in the coming of the Son of Man, and that He is coming for me. A personal expectation.
Listen to what the apostle Paul says.
“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19).
If you are miserable today, it is because your hope is in this life. Nothing in this world will last. When I am expecting my joy and peace to come from this world, I am of all men most miserable.
On the other hand, if my expectation is in Jesus Christ I am of all men most happy. My peace comes from Him. My joy comes from knowing that He is coming back for me.
“When this passing world is done,
When has sunk yon glaring sun,
When I stand with Christ in glory,
Looking o’er life’s finish story
Then, Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.”
(Robert M. McCheyne)
Every day I live, I should live in the expectation that this could be the day that Jesus returns. Never lose sight of this.
Am I a diligent servant of the Lord Jesus Christ today?
Is my life steadfast?
Am I living in the expectation of His return?
We can do many things in this world. We can be busy every day of our life. I find I can become rather addicted to busyness myself. The temptation is to think that because we are busy we are about our Master’s business.
Too often, we are doing our own thing believing that God is pleased.
My challenge is to cultivate a spirit of steadfastness and expectation in everything I do and be the diligent servant God expects me to be.
