Enduring to the End

But now we're going to turn to God's words and Karen and Pui will come and read Matthew 24.

We're going to read the whole chapter.

Now, some of you think, wow, we're reading such big chunks.

We kind of try to get to Easter kind of at the same time as Matthew, right?

So that's kind of when we look at the cross and the resurrection,

that is exactly when we are celebrating the cross and resurrection.

It is a long reading, but, you know, this is authoritative and infallible.

Well, I'm just a sinner.

So let's listen to this rather than to me.

But let's hear God's word together.

Matthew chapter 24.

Matthew 24 · chapter mention

Jesus left the temple and was going away when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.

But he answered them, you see all these, do you not?

Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying,

Tell us, when will these things be?

And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

And Jesus answered them,

See that no one leads you astray.

For many will come in my name saying,

I am the Christ and they will lead many astray.

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.

See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place.

But the end is not yet.

For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.

And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death.

And you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.

And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.

And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.

And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.

But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world

as a testimony to all nations.

And then the end will come.

So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel

standing in the holy place, let the reader understand.

Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house.

And let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.

And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days.

Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.

For then there will be great tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world

until now, no, and never will be.

And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved.

But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.

Then if anyone says to you, look, here's the Christ or there he is, do not believe it.

For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

See, I have told you beforehand.

So if they say to you, look, he is in the wilderness, do not go out.

If they say, look, he is in the inner rooms, do not believe it.

For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the son of man.

Wherever the corpses, there the vultures will gather.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.

And the stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Then will appear in heaven the sign of the son of man.

And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn.

And they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call.

And they will gather his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.

From the fig tree, learn its lesson.

As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.

So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near at the very gates.

Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

But concerning that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the son, but the father only.

For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the son of man.

For as in those days, before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,

until the day when Noah entered the ark.

And they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away.

So will be the coming of the son of man.

Then two men will be in the field.

One will be taken and one left.

Two women will be grinding at the mill.

One will be taken and one left.

Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming,

he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.

Therefore, you also must be ready.

For the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Who then is the faithful and wise servant whom the master has set over his household to give them their food at the proper time?

Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.

Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.

But if that wicked servant says to himself,

My master is delayed and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards,

the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him,

and at an hour he does not know,

and will cut him in pieces and will put him with the hypocrites.

In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Amen.

Thanks so much, Karen and Pui, for reading so well.

Let me put this here.

And why don't we pray together?

Our Father, thank you for your words.

Thank you for, yeah, that we have the words of Jesus.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but his words will never pass away.

So please, would these words be real in our hearts, speak through me, speak to all our hearts,

help us to, yeah, learn, help us to be ready for his coming.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Now, a couple of months ago we had the leaders retreat, as you may remember,

and I was supposed to lead a hike, and that hike, the one that I wanted to do,

that one didn't really work, and so I quickly had to come up with another one,

and so I took people on another hike.

And here's a nice photo, and we're all smiling, but for some people that's only on the photo.

The rest of the time they were not smiling at all, because it was a bit of bouldering,

a lot of hands and feet, and big spiders, and it was not really what they had expected.

And they kind of said, well, you could have told us a bit more, and they were right.

I hadn't done that.

But you want to know that, right?

Sometimes, you know, if you're going to do something, you know, how hard will this be?

How long will it take?

What can I expect?

They're the kind of things you want to know, right, before you go and do it.

You know, your boss wants you to do some exam.

Hey, this is good for your career.

Well, how much study?

You know, how much work is this going to be?

You want to know before you get in there, right?

If you're a mom and you're expecting your first child, I guess you are going to, right,

you want to read up on what actually is going to happen, because it just, you know, we want to know.

It's just good to be prepared, right?

Imagine being lost, and I have just no idea what's going to happen when you can't live like this.

And actually, the Christian life, well, that's where we're going.

Isn't it the same thing?

You know, Jesus wants us to come and follow him.

It would be great to know what it's like, right?

Okay, Jesus, we want to live for you, but, you know, what can we expect?

How hard will it be?

How long is it going to take?

Those kind of questions we have, right?

And if you don't know, if you just feel like, well, here's a survival game, and Jesus, well, go for it,

and I'll see you on the other side.

If you make it, that wouldn't be great.

Now, Jesus is kind, and Jesus tells us what's going to happen.

And basically, that's what this chapter and next chapter is about.

I mean, the disciples had that question.

What's actually going to happen?

I mean, this is such a great moment, right?

Jesus, the king, is here.

He's bringing the kingdom, right?

He's done all these miracles.

It's wonderful.

Except that, you know, he said, actually, it's going to be different.

I'm going to die.

And only later will I come back in glory.

And you, my followers, well, it's not the kingdom now.

Actually, right now, well, deny yourself.

Take up your cross and follow me.

Suffer with me.

And then there will be glory for you later.

What a message.

And now, kind of, they're in the temple.

And the tension is high.

And Jesus will soon be killed.

They kind of, they feel that.

They know that.

And he's been talking how the temple will be destroyed.

And how the world will be completely changed.

And then, you know, and then they're walking away.

And Jesus says again, you know, all these stones.

They're just going to not, this temple.

There's not going to be one stone left on another.

And so, they ask, hey, Jesus, how is this all going to work?

Hey, in verse 3, what do they say?

When will these things be?

What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

And this is not just curious about things.

You just, hey, you know, you're going to leave.

You say, this is going to be destroyed.

You're going to come back.

What's it going to be like?

You know, what is it going to mean to follow you?

What can we expect?

What can we expect?

Those kind of questions, right?

And we have that as well.

And so, it's great that Jesus, in his kindness, just tells us.

He doesn't just leave them to it.

Guys, this is what's going to happen.

This is what you can expect.

And that's relevant for them.

It's relevant for us.

We call this series, Following Jesus in Everyday Life.

Now, what is that like?

Following Jesus in Everyday Life.

Well, although some of it doesn't sound like everyday life.

Now, I don't know what church background some of you are from.

This chapter, it does have some weird things.

And certainly, in some churches, they say, oh, this is all about the end of the world.

I don't think so.

I think he's talking about three different things.

Verses 4 to 14, he's just talking about, you know, everyday life.

What things are generally going to be like.

Then 15 to 28, he will talk about the fall of Jerusalem.

And then 29, he gets to his return.

For the disciples, this was like one thing.

But no, Jesus says, there are different things.

The fall of Jerusalem, but then later, I will come.

So, maybe if you come from a background and you think this is all about the end of the world, bear with me.

I mean, maybe you have questions.

Come and talk to me later.

But I do think these are different things.

And we just put a little table out here.

Because why do I think it's not the end of the world?

Well, first of all, Jesus is talking to his disciples.

Right?

It surely is relevant for them.

It needs to be something that speaks to them.

Not something just 2,000 years later.

He says all this will happen in this generation within 40 years.

And look at these two different events.

He talks about, you know, one he calls those days.

And the other he calls that day.

He always uses that consistently.

It seems to be different.

One is in Judea.

The other, well, you know, from the east all the way to the west.

That's worldwide.

They're different things.

One of them, well, when you see this, you will know.

And the other, well, you don't know.

They are two different events that Jesus is talking about.

They're both important.

But this is how I'm going to take this chapter.

Just so you know.

And again, if you want to know about the Antichrist and the Great Tribulation and the Rapture and whatever, come and talk to me later.

This, I don't think this is really what it's about.

Okay?

But let's go in.

What does Jesus expect?

So we can be prepared and ready.

Well, verses 4 to 14.

Well, we can expect general trouble.

General trouble.

What's life going to be like?

Well, trouble.

Right?

It's going to take a long time.

It's not going to be straight and way.

There's all kinds of things happening.

But it's going to last a while.

And what can we expect?

Well, there will be wars and rumors of wars.

And verse 7.

Nation will rise against nation.

Kingdom against kingdom.

There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

He says, don't be alarmed.

That's not the end yet.

This is what life's going to be like.

You know?

It's just that life will continue.

There's wars.

And there's all these big events.

Yeah.

There will be lawlessness.

And there will be people will fall away.

And yeah.

That's what life is going to be like.

For them, of course, it's going to be slightly worse.

Right?

If you're a Christian, verse 9.

They will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death.

You will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.

And we heard that last week.

It's quite hard to be a Christian in some places.

And that's what Jesus says.

You know?

It's going to be hard for you.

But just in general.

This is what life is going to be like.

But the thing is, that's not the end yet.

Right?

He keeps saying, well, that's not the end.

They are only, verse 8, the beginning of the birth pains.

The very first contraction.

When it's still, well, it's going to be another two days.

Whatever.

It's going to be a while.

This is what it's going to be like.

And what's interesting, he keeps on going on about false prophets.

Right?

He keeps saying, there will be many false Christs.

Don't believe them.

There will be false prophets.

Don't be deceived.

Later again, they will say, oh, look, there is Jesus.

No, he's not.

Don't be deceived.

Why all this emphasis on false prophets?

Well, I think because life is difficult.

And what do you want when life is difficult?

You want a quick fix.

Right?

You want to get out of it.

And so when someone then says, hey, Jesus is here.

Great.

People love that.

Finally, it's over.

Oh, here.

Now it's going to happen.

Great.

Now the end is here.

Great.

People love that.

But Jesus says, don't be deceived.

No, the end is not yet.

People may say it's now going to happen.

No, it's not.

You're going to be in here for a while.

And so Jesus says, don't be alarmed.

Don't be deceived.

Be patient.

Or as he says in verse 13.

The one who endures to the end will be saved.

You need to endure.

Jesus is going to bring a perfect world, but not yet.

Right now we just live in a world.

I mean, we can see it, right?

You see on the news.

You see the wars and you see the plagues and everything.

But it's just not the end.

And I know some Christians, they get very excited when there's a war.

Not because war is good, but now it's happening.

Now Jesus is coming.

No, actually it's not.

Wars is not the end yet.

When COVID happened, oh, here's a plague on the whole world.

And maybe now Jesus is going to come.

Well, COVID is kind of over, right?

And Jesus isn't here yet.

No, we need to just keep enduring, keep going.

And there's no quick fix.

I don't know what you expect for your life.

A lot of following Jesus is just a normal life with, you know,

the normal things of life.

And sometimes it's hard and sometimes it's less hard.

And sometimes there's war and sometimes there isn't.

And sometimes the economy tanks and sometimes the economy is doing okay.

We just need to be patient.

I don't know.

I often don't feel ready for it, right?

When I see the economy going down and I worry about my savings,

they get halved because they're in UK pounds and those kind of things.

Then I sometimes feel, oh, Jesus, you know, can you just spare me?

Well, he doesn't promise that.

And so let's be patient.

And it's not all negative.

You know, this sounds hard, but verse 14 is so encouraging, right?

Why does Jesus actually do this?

Well, we're going to come back to that, especially in chapter 28.

Well, this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world

as a testimony to all nations.

And then the end will come, right?

Why is Jesus not here yet?

Because the gospel needs to spread.

If Jesus was here earlier, then Vicky and Moor wouldn't be there on the last day,

for example, right?

And Alona and Eve and Amanda and Grace and those kind of,

we're going to hear of in the future or for yourself, right?

Why are we waiting?

Why do we need to be patient?

Because the gospel is going out.

But that is general life.

But then Jesus moves on, that in the midst of that, well,

there will be one predicted crisis, one big crisis that, yeah,

they should be aware of.

This is going to happen.

Verse 15.

I think this is, yeah, it seems to be about Jerusalem and the temple.

Verse 15.

So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel

standing in the holy place, so in the temple,

and let the reader understand,

then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

And when you see this happening in the temple,

if you're in Judea, flee to the mountains.

That's what it seems to say, right?

So this is about the temple in Jerusalem.

Now the abomination of, this is such a weird phrase.

He says it's from the prophet Daniel.

Daniel, Daniel, lots of things about, yeah,

especially the reign of the Greeks back in like the second century BC.

And one time there was a really crazy Greek king who kind of invaded Jerusalem

and he offered a pig to Zeus in the temple.

I mean, how much more can you desecrate the temple than doing that?

And basically that was the start of this big war and everything.

So the kind of desecration of the temple that led to a war.

Something like that.

And so Jesus says, well, something like that is going to happen again.

Something will happen in the temple.

It will be desecrated.

And that is your, well, you need to flee.

If you're in Judea, flee to the mountains.

Not the whole world, but, you know, around Jerusalem.

Run for your life.

It sounds very serious, right?

Pray that it wouldn't be in winter.

Alas for women who were pregnant or nursing infants.

You know, just run away.

Because something really bad was going to happen, right?

In those days, verse 21, there will be great tribulations.

It's just not been from the beginning of the world until now.

No, and never will be.

Something terrible is going to happen to Jerusalem

and you really don't want to be a part of it.

So run away.

Well, if we know the history, we know the history books.

And yeah, there was a big war between the Jews and the Romans,

AD 66 to AD 70.

And the Jews, in the beginning, they had a lot of success.

But the Romans struck back with a big vengeance.

And in AD 70, they besieged Jerusalem.

And when they finally broke through,

it was one of the worst massacres in history.

The number of people who died versus the number of people who survived.

It was really one of the worst things ever.

Terrible.

You really want to flee that.

But the thing for Christians, Jesus warned them.

Jesus told, look, when you see this, run away.

Flee.

What was the desecration of the temple?

We don't know exactly.

I don't think it was when the Romans were in the temple,

because that's too late.

Something earlier, you can ask me.

But the thing is, the Christians knew it.

And history says they actually, they did something.

Actually, just before the war started,

all the Christians left Jerusalem.

And they went to the mountains.

And then they went to another city and settled there.

They ran away.

They believed what Jesus said.

And they left everything.

And it must have been really hard, right?

Leaving your home and fleeing away.

But actually, they survived.

Unlike 1.1 million Jews.

Right?

They survived.

Now, and so I think, of course,

we don't need to wait for something and then run up the peak.

This is about Jerusalem back then.

But I hope the point stands.

Right?

We need to take Jesus' words at least seriously.

Right?

I mean, Jesus said the temple would be destroyed.

And it did.

And Jesus said it would be happening within one generation.

And it did.

And Jesus said there would be the sign in the temple.

And that's your sign to run away.

And there was a sign.

And so run away.

These Christians, they believed it.

And it must be, you know,

imagine them in the mountains hiding or settling in another city.

Were we doing the right thing?

And they hear you hear what's happened to Jerusalem.

I'm so glad that we took Jesus' words seriously.

Right?

So do we believe it?

We should do the same.

Jesus says it so clearly in verse 35.

Heaven and earth will pass away.

But my words will not pass away.

Well, there's so much here that we should take seriously.

When he says life's going to be hard.

Believe it.

When he says, you know, I will help you.

We can believe that.

When there's warnings that we need to be ready.

Take it seriously.

Right?

I don't know if there's things in the Bible that you find hard to believe.

We have our normal life.

And some of the things we hear here can seem rather strange.

It's very hard to believe in the end of the world.

Right?

I remember once explaining the gospel.

And I just casually said, yeah, Jesus is going to make a new world.

And people were just so confused.

And actually, do I really believe this?

Do you believe that Jesus is going to completely transform the world?

And renew it.

That's what it says.

But, yeah, that's what we should believe.

Right?

Do we take it seriously?

His words are more solid than heaven and earth.

And, you know, if we want to follow Jesus, the only way we can do that is by holding on to his words.

Right?

I mean, if you're going to do something hard, you want to make sure you have something you can rely on.

And Jesus says, well, I've told you what's going to happen.

Rely on it.

And why do we need it especially?

Well, the last thing.

It was huge what happened in Jerusalem.

But still, there are still false prophets.

This is still not it.

No.

At the end.

There is an unexpected end.

Thirdly.

29 to 31.

I think they're tricky verses.

But I think they are about Jesus' final coming.

And that's going to be so huge.

Right?

It's unbelievable.

But verse 29.

In those days.

The sun will be darkened.

And the moon will not give its light.

And the stars will fall from heaven.

And the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man.

And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn.

And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call.

And they will gather his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.

And he will send out his language from the prophets.

But it sounds so grand.

Right?

Jesus will return victoriously.

The whole world will see him.

Not on television screens.

But the whole world will actually really see him like lightning.

One billion believers are going to be gathered together by angels and brought to Jesus.

Right?

This is going to be so huge.

And I hope it's a good thing.

Right?

It's great to be.

It is his triumph.

And all those who are on his side, they'll be there.

That's the great hope that we're waiting for.

Can you imagine just being there?

Imagine when Jesus returns.

You know, the Son of Man in the sky.

And going to him.

And the whole world is coming to us and holds.

You know, we've seen infinity war maybe.

There's nothing going to be like compared to this.

Right?

It's huge.

The only thing is we don't know when.

Jerusalem, you know.

Verse 33.

Also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near.

But, verse 36, concerning that day and hour, no one knows.

When Jesus returns, no one knows.

Not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

Some people find it confusing.

Some people find it confusing.

How can Jesus not know?

Isn't he God?

Isn't he all-knowing?

Shouldn't he know?

Well, remember, Jesus is God and man.

He has a divine nature and a human nature.

And so, he knows in his divine nature.

Yeah, of course.

But as a human, he doesn't know.

Just like, I mean, as God, he's omnipresent.

So, he's everywhere.

But in his human nature, he has to get into a boat from one side of the lake to the other.

Right?

Jesus has to.

So, don't be confused by that.

But the point is, no one knows.

It's going to be a huge surprise.

It's going to be like, well, what did he say?

Like the days of Noah.

Right?

And verse 37, for as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

For as in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,

until the day when Noah entered the ark.

And they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away.

Well, yeah, totally unaware.

They're just people going in the field.

They're just working and people grinding at the mill.

And suddenly, gone.

Right?

And it's not just the outsiders, right?

The disciples.

Verse 42.

Stay awake.

You do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

It's not just outsiders.

None of us will know when he comes.

Just suddenly.

I know there's some Christian movements and they're trying to predict everything.

And they have detailed timelines.

I know this war is happening.

And so, that is from here, this scripture.

And now we know in this many years, Jesus will come.

I don't think so.

With many of them, they read the Bible slightly too literally.

If something is poetry, it's poetry.

You can talk to me about that.

But Jesus says it so clearly, right?

You don't know.

Don't, yeah.

So, don't be deceived.

You won't know.

It's unexpected.

It's going to be so sudden, right?

You know?

It will be like a thief in the night.

And, well, verse 43.

If the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake.

Thieves don't announce when they're coming.

You get off on a spam call.

You never get a thief saying, hey, I'm going to come at 2 o'clock in the night.

They don't do that.

They just come suddenly.

And you don't know.

And he tells one parable, and the master comes sooner than expected.

And then he tells another parable, and he comes later than expected.

So, which one is it?

Sooner or later?

And the answer is we don't know.

We just really don't know.

The only thing is we know that it will happen.

And so, well, be ready, right?

That's what he keeps saying.

Stay awake.

Be ready.

As we endure, as we follow Jesus, be ready.

It's not going to last forever.

It's going to be hard.

You need to take up your cross and deny yourself, but it will end.

We just don't know when.

But he will triumph.

He will win.

And we want to be on his side.

But if we want to be on his side then, we'll be on his side now, just in case he comes back now.

Keep your eyes on his return.

He said he will come.

Be ready.

Now, what does it look like to be ready?

Actually, chapter 25, he will talk a lot about that.

And that's next week.

So, next week will be 25.

It's kind of part two.

Well, actually, it's a very good idea here of what it looks like to not be ready, right?

Because we're going to look at one parable already.

And he talks about, well, the two servants.

Verse 45.

Who then is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has set over his household to give them their food at their proper time?

And mainly address the leaders.

Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.

Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.

So, here's a master and here's a servant and that servant has a job to do.

And the master comes home and he's doing that job, right?

He's ready.

And, well, he's blessed.

He gets a huge promotion, right?

He will set him over all his possessions.

I don't know what that means for us.

But the idea is it's great, right?

The master comes home.

If you're ready, it's going to be great.

But there's also, what about a wicked servant, right?

If that wicked servant says to himself, my master is delayed, begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards,

the master of the servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he doesn't know.

And suddenly there's this guy who thinks, well, I have all the time in the world.

I can live whatever I want.

And then suddenly he's surprised.

And there is the master.

And it doesn't end well for him.

Worse than this picture.

Right?

Now, it's easy to talk about this to people who don't believe, right?

Make sure you are ready.

And so often you try to explain the gospel to people and say, yeah, that sounds interesting.

But I'll think about it later.

Right?

Maybe that's you here today.

And you hear about Christianity.

And, yeah, that's interesting.

But actually I'm having too much fun.

So I'll do something about it later.

I'm so busy with work.

Later, when I've reached my level that I want to or when I retire, then I'm going to...

You often hear that.

Of course, Jesus would say, don't do that.

Don't wait.

Because what if he comes earlier?

Two people will be working in an office.

And one will be taken.

And the other left.

But actually, that's not this parable, right?

Because who is the person who is not prepared?

It's a servant.

It's someone who belongs to the master.

It's someone who considers themselves a Christian who actually is not ready.

That is what this parable is about, right?

It's not about non-servants.

That's the shock, right?

Here is someone.

He's a Christian.

And they...

Yeah.

They...

Well, what do they do?

They just live.

You know, Jesus won't be back for a while.

So it doesn't really matter how I live.

I can live however I want.

And I'll clean up later.

And it's like when my wife goes away for a few weeks to Korea.

I don't clean the house.

Why should I?

Right?

I know when she's flying back.

And the night before, I'll clean the house.

Yeah?

But Christians can think like that, right?

You know, you have a certain sin.

And you know it's wrong.

And you should do something about it.

But hey, I still have time.

You know, I can repent later.

Not right now.

I know I shouldn't marry this person.

And I know it's wrong.

But you know, I'll just go ahead.

And I'll get married.

And then when it's too late, then I'm going to feel really sorry for myself and come back to Jesus.

I mean, that's a problem in your heart, right?

Oh, yeah.

I know I need to be bold.

But you know, I'm going to just keep quiet and hide that I'm a Christian.

I'm going to live for my career.

And then later, when I have enough money, then I'm going to get serious about Jesus.

I think it's that kind of person.

And it's not about someone who tries to be ready, but he's not ready enough.

Here is someone who, in their heart, just doesn't really care.

In a way, he just thinks it's not going to happen, right?

You know, that's much later.

Right now, I can just live for myself.

And Jesus says, well, watch out.

Don't let that be you.

Now, I don't know when you think Jesus will come back.

Do you see this in your heart?

I mean, I can see it sometimes when I'm tempted that I, yeah, I'll repent later.

It's a dangerous attitude.

You know, do we really think Jesus can come back any time?

In a way, you should think like that, but also you shouldn't.

I mean, I find it very hard to think of Jesus coming back any time.

Because then I wouldn't do laundry or dishes or something, right?

Because if Jesus is coming back tomorrow, why do the laundry?

So, it's fine.

So, it's getting that balance.

But do you think he can come back soon?

I once heard a great talk about spreading the gospel, about evangelism.

And that person said, you know, just imagine Jesus comes back in two years' time.

Because if you think he's coming back tomorrow, well, how are you going to share the gospel

if Jesus comes back tomorrow?

You're going to grab people, right?

You need to believe.

And, of course, that doesn't work.

You shouldn't do that with your colleagues.

But then again, if you think I've got 50 years left, then you're not going to make

much effort because I've got 50 years.

How about two years?

You know, if you think in two years' time, my friends are going to stand before Jesus.

Well, you're going to do something, right?

If I look at my career, the way I'm living, actually in two years, I'm going to stand before Jesus.

Maybe I wouldn't make this decision this way if I knew that in two years' time,

I'm going to stand before Jesus.

Something like that.

But this is real, right?

Jesus will come back.

But do we think that?

It comes back to that second point, right?

Do we believe his words?

Do we believe that if he did one thing, he will do the next?

He said Jerusalem would fall.

He did that.

And so he is going to come back.

Or think more positively.

You know, think about the cross.

Jesus said, if I'm going to die for you, I'm also going to come back for you.

Well, he died for us, didn't he?

That's what we all believe.

Then he is going to come back.

I mean, ultimately, yes, there is here a wicked servant who gets judged.

But I hope at the same time it is good news, right?

Luke says, and Jesus also said, lift up your heads.

Your redemption is here.

Right?

When Jesus comes back, you're going to be gathered to him.

You know, it's going to be a great reward.

You know, blessed is that servant who is ready.

It's going to be wonderful.

Imagine if that wicked servant.

Imagine if he was looking forward to his master.

He wouldn't live like this, right?

That's what most of us think.

We don't think Jesus will come back.

So let me have fun now.

What if we believe that when Jesus comes back,

that will be the most wonderful thing ever?

You know, we will live for it.

We will want it.

And that is what Jesus would love for us.

Then we will look forward to it.

Now, how we should be ready, again, we'll talk about it more next week.

But for this week, you know, think about these things.

You know, just imagine Jesus coming back today, next week, next month, two years' time.

And, you know, imagine standing before him.

And, yeah, and make us want to be ready.

Why don't we pray together?

I thank you that you tell us what will happen.

Thank you that one day you will come.

Even though life now can be just a struggle or maybe it's easier.

But this is not it yet.

One day we will come to you.

One day we will stand before you.

One day we'll be with the one who died for us.

Please give us this vision.

Would this be something real in our hearts?

You know, we find it hard to believe.

We've never seen it.

Of course, no one in the world has ever seen this.

But we want to hold on to your word.

We want to believe it.

And we want to be changed by it.

So please help us be ready.

Would none of us here be caught out?

Would none of us, when it happens, be on the wrong side?

But help us to endure.

Help us to be patient.

Help us to be ready.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.