"KNOWING WHAT TO DO"

b. VISIBLY, and

There are a number of verses that bear this out. That He will come personally is confirmed when He says in John 14, in talking of His Fathers house and of His going to prepare a place for those who are His, "I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also." That He will come visibly is borne out in Revelation where John says, "Everyone will see Him" That He will come suddenly and unexpectedly is clear from our reading this morning.

1. The FACT of His Coming in verses 35-38. That is, He WILL return. We can count on it. It is not a matter of if, but when. The main point in these verses is to be ready for His return. The words, literally translated, say, "let your loins be girded about and the lamps burning." "Your is in the emphatic form, which means that whatever others do, YOU must be ready. The girding of the loins is a step toward being prepared. The long flowing robes of the Easterner were picturesque, but made it difficult for anyone doing manual labour, so when work had to be done, they were tucked into a belt about the waist. To keep the lamps burning, one had to make sure there was plenty of oil, and the wick was kept clean. Both these pictures emphasise the importance of being awake and alert to what is happening about us, and to be faithfully doing whatever God has given us to do, that is prioritizing Gods work and being in step with His plans and purposes and priorities. We can do this by being daily filled with His Spirit, which is like the oil that keeps a lamp burning, and by living godly lives. Peter says, "The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers." Be clear minded and self-controlled is how the New International Version translates these words.

2. The TIME of His Coming in verses 39-40. No one knows when it will be, except that it may well be delayed. Jesus says it could be "late at night or early in the morning." The Jews divided the night into three watches, the Romans into four, so it could be in the second or third watch, or the fourth watch if we go by the Roman system. Whenever it is, it will be like a thief in the night, unannounced and unexpected. What we must do, as Jesus says, is, "Always be ready!" As we begin each day we need to say, The Lord may come today. And when we go to sleep, to make sure everything is in order as far as we can make it, so that if He were to come in the night, we would be prepared. Paul wrote to the Christians at Thessalonica saying, "Others may sleep, but we should stay awake and be alertSo we must stay sober and let our faith and love be like a suit of armour. Our firm hope that we will be saved is our helmet." We need to be ready to go at a moments notice.

3. The ISSUES of His Coming in verses 41-48. Peter asks Jesus the question, "Did you say this just for us or for everyone?" Jesus doesnt answer Peters question directly, but the implication is, and which is backed up in many other places of Scripture, that it does apply to everyone. And so the first Issue of His Coming is

William Barclay adds, No one should ever lightly leave undone a task one ought to have finished, before night falls. We need to make every effort to find out Gods will for our lives, and do it.

b) God will reward the FAITHFUL. This is encouraging. God rewards faithfulness. The apostle Paul says, "Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy." Trustworthy is another work for faithful. Note that it does not say that stewards are required to be successful. Not everyone is successful, nor will be. If that were the requirement of being rewarded many would fail. But faithfulness is something that everyone can aspire to. That is, to diligently do the work they have been given to do, and use the wonderful gift, or gifts, God has given them to serve others. Paul also says, the Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others. "If we can serve others, we should serve. If we can teach, we should teach." God is entirely fair in how He will judge us. We will only be judged in accordance with what we have been given. Faithfulness will be rewarded with increased responsibility. Jesus says here in Luke, "A servant who is always faithful will surely be put in charge of everything that master owns." This was true of Joseph, both when he served in the home of Potiphar, the kings official in charge of the palace guard in Egypt, and when he served Pharoah. It is also supremely true of Jesus, who because of His humble service and obedience, has been given the highest place and His name is honoured above all others.

c) God will punish the UNFAITHFUL There are two mistakes that the unfaithful servant made. First, he thought he could do as he liked while his master was away. He put to the back of his mind that one day the master would return and he would be accountable for his actions. We have a habit of doing this, dividing our lives into different compartments. There are compartments where we are happy for God to be present, and others that we leave God out of all together. We make the false distinction between the sacred and the secular. God does not know anything of such a distinction. Sacred and profane, Yes. But not sacred and secular. God is present in every part of our lives. He is, after all, the One in Whom "we live, and move, and have our being." As William Barclay says, We are working and living forever in our great task-masters eye.

He also makes the point that this servant thought he had plenty of time to put things right before his master returned. It is a fatal mistake to make to think we have plenty of time. Jesus knew this was not so. There was always a sense of divine urgency about his work. He said, "As long as it is day, we must do what the one who sent me wants me to do. When night comes, no one can work." There is no guarantee that there will be a tomorrow.

Jesus rounds off this section with a warning of the certainty of punishment for those who fail to do their duty. Note, that people are punished not simply for doing wrong, but for failing to do what is right. As James says, "If you dont do what you know is right, you have sinned." There is no such thing as complete ignorance. Paul makes this clear in Romans, where he says, "Gods eternal power and character cant be seen. But from the beginning of creation, God has shown what these are like by all he has made. Thats why those people dont have any excuse." Then further on he says, "Some people naturally obey the Laws commands, even though they havent got the Law. This proves that the conscience is like a law written in the human heart." It is possible for people to sin in spite of the light. Knowledge and privilege always brings responsibility - the greater the privilege, the greater the responsibility.

Question: If you had known that Christ would come tomorrow morning, would you have lived this last week as you have done? You do not know that He will not come tomorrow?

1. A WARNING In Jewish thought, fire is almost always a symbol of judgment. Jesus coming in itself is just that. He says, "I came to make people choose sides." We cannot sit on the fence so far as Jesus in concerned, or "try to have things both ways", as Elijah challenged the people of Israel. If the Lord is God, we are to worship Him. There can be no compromise with evil, none whatsoever. We cannot have one foot in Gods camp, and one in the world. God will not have any rivals to His throne. If He is to be Lord of our lives, He is to be Lord of all, nothing less than that. The question we have to answer is, Who will I serve? It is exactly the same question Joshua put to the people of Israel just prior to his death "Choose this day whom you will serve." Our response must be as his was, "My family and I are going to worship and obey the Lord." We must do no less than that. Moses challenged Israel even before they entered the Promised Land, "Today I am giving you a choice. You can choose life and success or death and disaster." The choice is very stark, but very true. This is what it boils down to. Surely it would not take very long to choose what it was going to be, when confronted with choices like that. This is the reality of the situation. William Barclay says (p169), However much we may wish to eliminate the element of judgment from the message of Jesus it remains unalterably and stubbornly there. Jesus coming amongst us is a judgment in itself. Gods plan for our salvation involves judgment, but a judgment that Jesus will bear for others, not one that He will inflict on others. It is not an attractive prospect, but Jesus longs for it to come, for only so can Gods saving work be accomplished. Here in Luke, we catch a glimpse of the cost of the cross to Jesus when he says, "I will have to suffer a lot of pain until its over." Through Christ, God is speaking to us through His own Son. What is our response? This is why Jesus says, "No one who has faith in Gods Son will be condemned. But everyone who doesnt have faith in him has already been condemned for not having faith in Gods only Son." How tragic if we should refuse, or turn our back on, Gods gracious provision for humankind.

Secondly, Jesus gives a

2. A REBUKE Jesus says in verse 57, "Why dont you understand the right thing to do?" He says that they can tell what the weather is going to do by observing the clouds, but they could not recognize that their Messiah was in their midst. One can sense something of the tragedy of Gods people in Jesus words, "but you dont really know whats going on right now." Had they been open to Gods Spirit, as Simeon was at the birth of Jesus, they would have known the times and seasons. God always reveals to those who are waiting and watching what He is about to do. This brings home the importance of keeping in step with Gods Spirit, being daily filled with His Spirit, as He will give us the discernment to know what is going on right now. This will be very important for our Planning Team as they go about their work. Please pray for them. The danger is that we can get so caught up with our own agenda, that we are blind to what God wants us to do. And what does God want us to do. Jesus tells us. When the crowds asked Jesus, "What exactly does God want us to do? the people asked. Jesus answered, God wants you to have faith in the one he sent." In the closing verses Jesus speaks about settling things before being taken to court. The assumption is that the defendant has a bad case that will inevitably go against him. Every person, Jesus implied, has a bad case in the presence of God; and if they are wise, they will make their peace with God while yet there is time. Jesus and all who have served Him well, have always had that sense of urgency about time. There are some things that we cannot afford to put off; above all, making peace with God. Have you done this?