ARE YOU READY
Matthew 24:36-44 "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your LORD will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
This morning I want to talk about the 2nd coming of Christ. This is going to be a great day for the saved and a day of chaos for those who are left behind. The return of Jesus is mentioned throughout the Bible. And, the Bible is clear that there is a heaven and a hell, and the decisions we make in this life time will determine where we will spend eternity. My friends, you must think beyond the present and look to the future as we prepare for Jesus’ return and the rapture of the church. We must be ready at a moment’s notice for the return of Christ. We must be found doing the Fathers business. So, I ask you this morning, are you ready? You know, that’s a question that we ask people quite often. Are you ready to go to church? Are you ready to go to work? Are you ready to go to school? Are you ready for the big game? This question is one that we ask a lot, but do we ask it when it matters? We get ready for so many things in life, but people often overlook the biggest thing that we need to get ready for. We spend countless numbers of hours on things we think are very important, like work, school, weddings, parties and so on. And, while those things seem to be important right now there is something else that we need to get ready for that is of greater importance. Church, we need to get our spiritual lives ready for the return of Jesus Christ! We know that Christ came to this earth in human form, He paid the penalty for our sins on the cross and then God raised Him from the dead, victorious over sin and death. And, for all those that believe in Jesus Christ and have that personal relationship with Him, then He is our Lord and Savior today. *In Acts 1, Luke tells us that Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, but we are promised in verse 11 that He will return! Again, my question today is, when Jesus comes again, will you be ready? *My friends, Jesus’ return will be unpredictable, unexpected and it will bring judgment. You know, it always amazes me to see people make predictions about when the world is going to end or when Jesus will be coming back. What amazes me even more, is when Christians buy into these doomsday prophecies or believe these predictions about Jesus’ return. People love to try and figure out these great mysteries. Every time a new prediction is proclaimed I always see that the one proclaiming the message gets all the glory. Let me ask you this, is Christ’s return about our glory? No, it’s about Christ’s! I also see Christians getting wrapped up in all the excitement surrounding such a prediction. There’s a man by the name of Harold Camping who proclaimed that the rapture would take place on May 2011, it didn’t! After he failed with the May date, he then predicted that the rapture would take place in October 2011, it didn’t! I’ve already heard people saying that Jesus is coming back in 2017 or 2018. In fact, the world was supposed to have ended yesterday according to a man named David Meade. Listen, if Jesus returns in 2017 or 2018, it will not be because a human man predicted it! It will be because of the choosing of God Himself. *What does scripture teach us here in Matthew 24:36? It says, no one knows the day and hour! No one, absolutely no one! So, trying to figure out the time, is a pointless attempt. We cannot be told by the angels because they don’t know. Believe it or not, the Bible says, Jesus Christ can’t even tell us because Christ Himself does not even know the time that He will come back. So, I laugh every time I see one of these predictions because they are claiming to know something that Jesus doesn’t even know! So, if the angels don’t know, if Jesus doesn’t know and scripture tells us that only God knows when Jesus will return, then why do we make these wild claims and why do people believe in them? If we read this scripture and remember what this scripture says, then we will not make the mistake of falling for any prediction lie. We don’t know when Jesus Christ will return and rapture His church, nor do we know when the world will end. Church, His timing will be unpredictable. But one thing is certain though, you better be ready before He comes because Jesus’ Return will be unexpected! *Not only will we not know when Jesus will return, but He will return when we least expect it. Jesus says, that it will be like it was in the days of Noah. How does Moses describe the days of Noah? Genesis 6:5-6 says, “5 When the LORD saw that man’s wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every scheme his mind thought of was nothing but evil all the time, 6 the LORD regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.” In the days of Noah, evil ruled men’s minds. Wickedness was widespread and everything that man thought of was nothing but evil. God had determined to send a great flood to rid the world of wickedness. If you remember, God had commanded Noah to make a huge boat, so that he, his family, and many animals would be saved from God’s judgment. People had to see what Noah was building and wonder why he would be making such a huge boat. Can you imagine how they might have reacted when Noah told them about the coming judgment of God? The earth had never been fully flooded before, so people probably thought Noah was crazy. They probably thought that surely a loving God would not bring judgment on people he created. Matthew 24 tells us that the people were just going about their daily routines when all of the sudden the flood came and swept them all away. V38 tells us that people were “eating, drinking, marrying and given in marriage” You see, what probably started off as a regular routine day turned into a day of judgment and destruction. Church, in the same way, when Jesus Christ returns, we will not be expecting Him. We too will be going about our daily routines. We will be going to work, school or checking off things on our to do list, but when we least expect it, Jesus Christ will return for His bride! We’ll just be going on with our daily lives when all the sudden the world will be turned upside down! Again, I ask you, will you be ready? When He returns, He’s bringing judgment with Him. Scripture paints a very vivid picture about the instantaneous rapture of the church! • V40 says, two men will be working in the field, one taken and one left behind. V41 says, two women will be grinding at the mill, one taken and one left! Can you imagine the chaos that those left behind will have to deal with? People will be driving when all of the sudden many cars will be without drivers. Many wrecks will be caused and many will die without Jesus Christ. Air planes will be flying their regular flights and all of the sudden pilots will be raptured as planes fall to the earth causing many to die without Jesus Christ. Governments will be thrown into disarray as chaos ensues for those that are left behind! Can you imagine how brutal and cold this world will be once the church is raptured and the judgments are poured out on all those who do not belong to Jesus Christ? You may be asking yourself, how bad will it be to be left behind? Revelation 9:6 says this, “In those days people will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them.” Church, we are not promised tomorrow and Jesus’ return will be unexpected! Do you want to be left behind? If not then you need to get ready! In V42, we are called to be alert now since we do not know when Jesus is coming. Jesus uses the analogy of a thief. I don’t know of anyone who expects a thief to come to their house. Jesus tells us that if the homeowner was expecting a thief to break in then he would have stayed and protected his home. You see, when we expect something, we can make all the needed preparations before we are caught off guard. My friends, we must get ready because Jesus Christ is coming back at any moment and when He does He will bring judgment upon all those who do not believe in Jesus Christ or have a personal relationship Him. He will bring judgment on all those who have rejected Him and denied His name! *I still hear people asking the question, “How can a loving God bring judgment to humanity? Doesn’t He love us?” We must remember that God does not condemn us, we do that ourselves when we choose to reject Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior! You might be here and asking, how can I avoid judgment? How can I get ready? It’s very simple, accept Jesus Christ today! Isaiah 51:6, "Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: BUT my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished." Aren’t you glad that there is something that will last forever! With all the changes in this world, and all of the instability in the world and in our lives, it’s good to know that there is something that never changes. God’s Word never changes. God never changes. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The plan of salvation through the Blood of Jesus never changes. The righteousness that Jesus gives to us when we accept him as our Lord and Savior never changes. Nothing that God has promised to those who love him and live for him will ever change. God’s promises are true and finished and nothing can change that! Conclusion- Isaiah 51:11, "Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away." Church, because Jesus lives, because He has washed our sins away, because he has clothed us in his righteousness through his own blood, because He is coming to take his bride, the church, those who are watching and waiting for his coming, those who are redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb, we will go to Heaven singing with joy, shouting the victory, and there we will have joy forever and gladness will ever reign in our hearts. *The bible says, that sorrow, sickness, death, and mourning will be no more and we will be with Jesus forever! The final part of God’s message to you this morning is simply this, are you washed in the Blood of Jesus this morning? Has there been a time in your life when you confessed your need of a Savior from sin? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and then surrendered your life to him? Are you watching and waiting for his soon return? I believe the end is near and I don’t want you to be left behind to suffer God’s judgment as it falls on this earth. I don’t want any of us to end up in the flames of hell because Satan has kept us blinded to what’s really happening around us. I want us all to be in Heaven with Jesus. There’s only one way to escape God’s judgment, and that way is to accept Jesus as your Savior and surrender your life to Him! If you haven’t done that then will you do that with me this morning as we close this service? Again, I say this to you. Jesus’ return will be unpredictable, unexpected, and it will bring judgment. My friend, when He comes, you want to be ready!
