Stay Awake

All right, Mark 13. If you have your Bible, open up there to Mark chapter 13.

Mark 13 · chapter mention

I'm thankful to be with my church this morning.

The verses we're looking at are Mark 13, verses 32 through 37.

Mark 13:32–37

So let's read this. This is the words of Jesus.

He says,

to my wife, of course, and I've even warned Mike in the past,

if you're ever up here and you look out and you see me dozing off,

I promise it's not you, it's me.

Sometimes, you may not fall asleep as much as I do,

but sometimes falling asleep feels like the easiest thing in the world, doesn't it?

And sometimes staying awake feels almost impossible.

It feels like I just cannot keep my eyes open.

We've all experienced that.

Our King, Jesus, is calling us here in this text to stay awake.

To stay awake in anticipation of the day of his return,

which is a day that we do not know when it will be.

And he says, you don't know when it is, so stay awake.

In Mark 13, Jesus is speaking to his disciples

because at the beginning of Mark 13,

he said something that caught them by surprise.

As they're coming out of the temple one day in Jerusalem,

one of his disciples said to him,

look, teacher, what wonderful stones

and what wonderful buildings here in this temple complex.

And Jesus said to him, do you see these great buildings?

There will not be here left one stone upon another

that will not be thrown down.

He says this temple is going to be destroyed.

So that got his disciples' attention.

And they come to him and they ask him,

hey, tell us when will these things be

and what will be the sign

when all these things are about to be accomplished?

So in chapter 13, Jesus is teaching his disciples

and he's telling them about the signs of these things.

Now the temple was destroyed in the year 80-70.

So we know when that happened.

That's a historical occurrence

that Jesus was predicting at this time.

And so as Jesus is going through in chapter 13,

he's telling them, hey, what are going to be the signs

that tell you that this time is approaching?

But he goes beyond that even.

And as he goes through in chapter 13,

he also starts talking about a day

even beyond the destruction of the temple in AD 70,

the day of his return when he sets up

his full and final kingdom on earth.

And there's a lot of debate

about where in chapter 13

is Jesus talking about the events

surrounding the destruction of the temple

and where is he talking about the signs

and events surrounding his full and final return?

There's arguments about where he's talking about what.

But when we come to verse 32,

and he says concerning that day or that hour,

there's pretty solid agreement

that when he says that day and that hour,

he's talking about his full and final return.

And as we think about Jesus

talking about future events,

there's a word, a term that he uses

over and over again in chapter 13.

He says either, it's either translated

be on guard or see to it.

Either way, but it's the same word.

In verse 5 and verse 23, he says,

be on guard because false Christs are going to come.

Try to lead you astray.

In verse 9, he says, be on guard

because persecution is going to come.

And then in our text in verse 33,

he says, be on guard because you do not know

when that day will be.

So as Jesus is teaching about coming events

and he keeps saying, be on guard, be on guard,

be on guard, another way you could hear this

is Jesus saying, hey, heads up.

Heads up, disciples, I'm telling you

what things are going to be like.

Because here, as in most places in the New Testament,

when we're learning about future events,

the point is not that we can construct

a perfect timeline so that we know

exactly what is going to happen when

and what corresponds to what

and who should we be watching out for.

The point is that we get heads up

about what things are going to be like

so that we know how to live faithfully.

So chapter 13 is a big heads up from King Jesus

to us as his disciples.

And in verses 32 through 37, he's saying,

heads up, you don't know the day of my return.

So stay awake.

Stay awake.

Stay awake.

Stay awake.

Be on guard.

Don't be found sleeping.

Stay awake.

So if it's so important to Jesus

that we stay awake in anticipation of his return,

what does that mean?

What does staying awake mean to Jesus here?

Obviously it does not mean that

none of us ever sleep physically.

So what does staying awake mean?

In these verses we see three things

about what it means for us to stay awake

in the way that Jesus is calling us to.

Staying awake in obedience to Jesus

means that we live expectantly,

means that we live diligently,

means that we live in the fear of the Lord.

Live expectantly, live diligently,

live in the fear of the Lord.

First of all, Jesus is calling us to live expectantly.

Look at verses 32 and 33.

Jesus says,

concerning that day or that hour,

no one knows.

Not even the angels in heaven,

nor the Son,

but only the Father.

Be on guard.

Keep awake,

for you do not know when the time will come.

Now one caveat to make here is that

as I'm talking this morning

and I talk about the unknown nature of that day

or the uncertain nature of that day,

I mean from our perspective,

we don't know when it will be.

But when we say that it's unknown

or it's uncertain,

we don't mean that we don't know

whether or not it's going to happen

or that we're not certain

that it's going to happen

because one person does know

exactly when it's going to happen.

It's the Father.

And he has fixed a date

on when Jesus will return

and set up his full and final kingdom.

He knows when it's going to be.

And so as we talk about,

hey, we don't know when this day will be,

it does not mean that it's not going to happen.

It doesn't mean that it's up in the air.

We just mean that we don't know.

So the unknown timing of that day

should make us people of expectation.

We should be living expectantly.

Our minds should be always oriented

towards living appropriately

in light of our King's return.

The return of Jesus should always be

in the background of our thought process,

in our mental landscape

as we're thinking about our lives

and where we're at.

The return of Jesus is the sunrise

that's always just about to peek over the horizon.

And living expectantly in this way

doesn't mean that we can't make long-term plans.

It doesn't mean that we don't think

about future generations.

But it means as we think about our lives,

if we're living expectantly,

we acknowledge that all of our plans

are always provisional.

There's an old-fashioned saying

that some people still say

in conversation.

They say,

should the Lord tarry?

As they're making plans

and thinking about,

hey, we're going to do this or that next year

or this is what we're hoping for.

They say, should the Lord tarry?

Now, of course,

with all sorts of kind of Christian phrases like this,

we could go overboard.

You know, my wife asks,

hey, what are we having for lunch today?

I say, well, should the Lord tarry,

Janie, we're going to go to La Fogada.

No, we're just trying to have

a normal conversation here, right?

But there's wisdom in keeping that phrase

in your vocabulary.

As you're sitting with your family,

as you're making plans for your future,

as you're thinking about

the growth of your children,

as you're thinking about career moves,

as you're thinking about education,

just always keeping that phrase

in the back of your mind.

Hey, should the Lord tarry?

Because there's a chance

He might return

before these plans come to fulfillment.

So we live expectantly.

When we live expectantly like this,

it frees us from being ruled

by the world's terms.

We're not always running

the calculus of, okay, well,

hey, is this a time

where kind of we're in the clear

and we're safe

to pursue our own ends maybe?

And then later,

as we approach that day,

we'll start thinking a little bit

more about the kingdom.

Jesus explicitly wants us

not to know when He will return

so that all of our lives

will be lived

in readiness and expectation.

We know what specific due dates

tend to do for a lot of us.

It gives us a date

so that we can procrastinate

for a long time

and then the week before

that due date,

we're hitting it hard.

And so Jesus says,

hey, I want you not to know

because I think

when you don't know,

it's going to affect

the way you live

in a certain way

and that's exactly the way

I want you to live.

He thinks there's something good

that happens for us

when we're living

with expectation of His return.

And for us,

the return of Jesus

is the amazing thing

that's always about to happen.

Every day is a day

of anticipation.

So we live expectantly.

You know what a super simple

way to say that is?

We think about that day more.

That's what it means

to live expectantly.

We think about that day more.

So this requires of us

that we give time

and thought

and mental headspace

to anticipating that day.

Staying awake

isn't just kind of a feeling

that comes and goes.

Staying awake means

that we're doing something

with our minds intentionally.

We're asking ourselves,

what does that day mean

for my life now?

And you have to do this

for yourself.

Other people can't live

in expectation for you.

What does that day mean

for my life now?

If Jesus' return

could happen

on your drive home

from church today,

and if not then,

perhaps on your way

to work tomorrow,

and if not then,

then maybe when you're

doing laundry

in the afternoon,

what does that do

to your life?

How do you carry yourself?

How does it impact

your priorities?

How does it impact

the way you live

with the people around you?

Living expectantly

means we think about

that day more

and we ask ourselves,

okay, if that day

really could be

right around the corner,

what does that mean

for me right now?

Living expectantly

thinking about

that day more

also means

imagining what

will it be like?

Practically,

what will that day

be like?

Have you ever imagined

what that day

will be like?

You should.

We imagine everything

that we're looking

forward to.

If you have a vacation

coming up

in the weeks

leading up to it,

you're looking forward

to it,

you're thinking about it,

you're daydreaming

about it,

when you're at work

and you're thinking

about how nice

it's going to be

to get away

from some stress

and if you're going

to a place

that's kind of far away,

you might be thinking

about some enjoyable weather

or a great destination

that you're going to.

You're just imagining,

oh man,

that's going to be so great.

You're running it through

in your head

anticipating it.

We imagine everything

that we're looking forward to.

So if you never imagined

what that day

will be like,

it might indicate

that you don't really

believe that's going

to happen,

at least not

in your lifetime.

So my challenge

to you

this week

is someday

this week

as you're driving

around Kenosha,

maybe you're on your way

to work

or school

or maybe you're

dropping the kids

off somewhere,

maybe you're on

75th Street

or Green Bay Road

or Sheridan,

as you're driving

around Kenosha,

take a few minutes

and ask yourself,

what would it be like

if Jesus returned

right now?

Like right now

as I'm driving.

So maybe you're thinking

to yourself,

okay,

so there's going to be

a trumpet blast,

right?

So you imagine

as you're driving,

boom,

there's a trumpet blast.

You're like,

what is going on?

And you're,

okay,

what is that like?

And then there's light

shining from the sky

and you're like,

what's going on?

You're trying to look

through your windshield

to look up into the air

and you see heavenly armies

in the clouds

and a rider on a white horse

and you're like,

oh,

it's happening.

It's happening.

But what do I do?

Should I call my family?

Should I try to get home

really quick?

I think at some point

I'm going to be like

caught up in the air

to meet the Lord,

so should I get out

of my car right now?

And right now

you might be sitting

right there thinking,

Caleb's like,

talking like really specific here.

Yeah.

We imagine

what we look forward to

so I challenge you

this week to imagine

what is it going to be like

on the day

that the Lord returns?

You don't know exactly.

You can imagine.

You can read the Bible

and get a few ideas

and say,

okay,

what's that going to be like for me?

How am I going to feel?

How am I going to respond?

And it's going to help you

think through,

hey,

how should I be living

right now?

In 2 Timothy chapter 4,

2 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

Paul is writing to Timothy

near the end of his life

and he writes

these famous words

that we've all heard.

He says,

Paul says,

I have fought the good fight,

I have finished the race,

I have kept the faith.

And then right after that,

Paul says,

henceforth,

there is laid up for me

the crown of righteousness

which the Lord,

the righteous judge,

will award to me

on that day

and not only to me

but also to all

who have loved his appearing.

You see what Paul

is saying there?

Paul never saw that day.

He died in faith

but what he's telling us

is that he lived his life

loving that day.

Loving the appearing

of his king

and Paul says,

God has a reward for me

because I lived my life

loving that day.

And not only that,

Paul's saying,

there is a crown

for all of you

who live your life

loving that day.

All who have loved

his appearing.

So staying awake

for our king

means that we live

expectantly.

It also means

that we live diligently.

Working at what God

has placed before us.

Look at verse 34.

Jesus gives us

a little mini parable

to kind of help us

think about,

hey, what is it like

for us to be

staying awake?

He says,

it's like a man

going on a journey

when he leaves home

and puts his servants

in charge,

each with his work

and commands the doorkeeper

to stay awake.

We are the household of God.

That's what the Bible

calls the church.

And our master Jesus

has given each of us

work to do.

You see what it says there?

He puts his servants

in charge,

each with his work.

He has delegated

his authority

and Jesus has delegated

his work to us.

So if you are a follower

of Jesus,

he has placed in front of you

and around you

good, meaningful,

life-giving,

eternally relevant

work to do.

And it's not just your job

where you're employed

and it's not just

any ministry you might do

here at the church.

It's comprehensive

and it's unique to you.

He has placed you

in your workplace.

He has placed you

in your family,

in your school,

in your church,

in your neighborhood

to be doing good work.

His work.

He's entrusted that to you

and to be awake

in light of the day

of the Lord

is to be fully engaged

in that work,

in those areas of work.

Because just because

they're before us

and around us

does not mean

that we are engaged

with them.

So to be awake

in the light

of the day of the Lord

is to be fully engaged

in these areas of work.

Because our master

has left us

so much more to do

than to just punch in

and punch out

at a workplace

and then zone out

on football highlights

and hope for the weekend.

He has given us

friends who need us

to check up on them,

children who need

full care and attention,

spouses who need

our support,

co-workers who need

to be shown

what it means

to work with honor

and dignity

and integrity

and all of these

are people

who He has entrusted

to us

for us to pray for

and to share

His Word with.

So you don't need

to wonder,

hey, what work

does God have

for my life?

You just need

to look around

at where you are

because He has

entrusted things to you

in His household

for you to do.

And the unknown

timing of that day

means every day

here counts.

we have limited time

to do what God

has given us to do.

No day is promised

to us.

We can't always

put things off

to the future.

When Jesus tells us

you don't know

the time,

when the time will come,

He's also saying

you've got to get busy.

We don't know

how long we have

to do the work

that God has given us.

And to be honest

with you,

for me right now,

if that day

is today,

I don't think

I'll be satisfied

with what I have done

with the work

that God has

entrusted to me.

There have been

too many wasted days

for me.

And so in light

of Jesus' words

to us this morning,

I'm saying,

hey,

I want to be awake.

I want to be

working diligently

at what He's given me

because one way

or another,

my time is limited

and I want to make it count.

So we live

expectantly.

We live diligently.

Thirdly,

staying awake

means living

in the fear

of the Lord.

Look at verse 35

and 36.

Jesus has just

told this little parable

about the man

who goes on a journey

and so now He's

applying it directly

to His disciples

and He says,

therefore,

stay awake

for you do not know

when the master

of the house

will come,

in the evening

or at midnight

or when the rooster

crows

or in the morning,

lest He come suddenly

and find you asleep.

So Jesus focuses in,

He makes it really clear,

He emphasizes

the master can return

at literally any time

and you must stay awake

because you absolutely

do not want

to be found sleeping.

But here's my question.

Why not?

Why does it matter

if the master

finds you sleeping?

I don't think Jesus

is here suggesting

that being found sleeping

equates to

eternal condemnation.

Jesus tells

other similar parables

that do have some

of that kind of warning

but I don't see it here.

I don't think

that's His point.

So what is our motivation

that would make us say,

hey,

no way

do I want

to be found sleeping?

Well,

it has to be

that pleasing

our master,

our king,

matters to us

very,

very much.

His opinion,

His assessment

of us

carries weight

in our hearts

like no one else.

In other words,

we live in the fear

of the Lord.

Fearing the Lord

means taking God

seriously

in your life.

Taking God

seriously

in your life

means living

as if God

actually is

who He says

that He is

and living

as if He

actually is going

to do

all the things

that He says

He will do.

Fearing the Lord

means taking God

seriously.

So to live

a life

of wakefulness

means living

for the approval

of your king.

When someone

is insignificant

to you,

their opinions

and their instructions

are insignificant

to you,

right?

It's just like,

I don't care

what you think.

But when you

have someone

in your life

who you really

respect

and you really

trust

and also

maybe they happen

to have a lot

of influence

and authority,

you never want

to let them down.

We've all had

people like this

in our lives,

right?

Maybe it was a teacher,

maybe it was a coach,

maybe it was a really

great boss,

but someone

who we said,

their opinion

really matters.

And if they

entrust something

to me,

I never want

to let them down.

Can you think

of people like

that in your life?

To live a life

of wakefulness

means living

in the fear

of the Lord.

We take Him

seriously

and His approval

on that day

matters more

to us

than anything else.

We say,

man,

He could come

at any time.

I do not

want Him

to find me

sleeping.

I want Him

to find me

awake

because what

He says

about me

matters.

I want

to finish

this morning

with a few

specific warnings.

We've all

heard of

sleeping pills,

sleep aids.

In the

pharmaceutical

industry,

these are

sometimes called

hypnotics or

tranquilizers.

tranquilizers.

I'm going to

go with

tranquilizers.

I like that

word.

I want to

warn us about

three day of

the Lord

tranquilizers that

will put us to

sleep very

quickly.

Three things

that deaden

our expectation

of that day,

that distract

us from the

work that God

has given us

to do,

and that

trivialize the

things of God

so that we do

not live in the

fear of the

Lord.

three tranquilizers,

three things that

will put us to

sleep that we

need to watch

out for.

I gave the

first one a

funny name.

I'm calling it

algorithmic

online activity.

So we all

know, right,

that social media

and YouTube

and Netflix

and pretty much

a lot of the

things we do

online,

they're based on

these different

algorithms that

these companies

concoct,

and their

sole purpose

is to identify

what it is that

gets us most

engaged on that

platform and

then to feed

that to us over

and over and

over again so

that we are

perpetually engaged.

The goal is that

you always keep

scrolling, always

keep watching,

always keep

clicking no matter

what it takes.

so they'll feed

us little funny

videos or things

related to our

hobbies or interests

or things that

we're looking to

buy or stories

about celebrities

that we're

interested in.

And they for

sure will feed

us two of the

most potent forms

of this content,

sexual content

or political

content, so that

either on the

one hand we keep

coming back to

feed our lust or

on the other hand

we keep coming

back to get more

and more agitated

and worked up

to feed our

disgust and our

outrage at our

political opposites.

Algorithmic

online activity

will put you to

sleep if you're

not careful.

It will deaden

your expectation

of that day.

It will distract

you from the

good work that

God has put right

in front of you

for you to do

and it will kill

the fear of the

Lord in your life.

Make everything

else seem more

important or more

interesting.

The second

tranquilizer to

watch out for

is known,

ongoing,

protected sin.

When there is

something in your

life that you

keep coming back

to you that you

know is direct

disobedience to

your king but

you are not

willing to

address it,

you're already

asleep.

And

now here's the

truth, right?

We know this.

We all sin.

We all have

things that we

struggle with for

a long time.

And really the

truth is when

Jesus returns,

he is going to

find plenty of

Christians in the

midst of some sin

at that moment.

sin.

But if there is sin

that you know

about in your

life that you

keep returning

to and that you

are protecting

from repentance,

it will be

impossible for you

to stay awake

in the way that

Jesus commands.

It will kill your

expectation of his

return.

It will keep you

from the work he's

called you to do

and it is the

opposite of the

fear of the

Lord.

So watch out.

Stay awake.

The last

tranquilizer I want

to highlight is

the pursuit of

wealth.

And I said the

pursuit of wealth

because you don't

have to have much

money to be caught

up in the pursuit

of wealth.

Now working hard

and saving and

providing for

yourself and for

others are all

values straight from

the Bible, but we

know that we can

get carried away.

We can always feel

like we need a

little more.

We can start to

feel like our

security and our

happiness is based

on achieving some

level of financial

accumulation.

And we can

sacrifice a lot to

achieve that.

And so we keep

working and planning

and maneuvering like

crazy without

realizing that we've

totally fallen asleep.

And Jesus' return

has no place in any

of our plans or

calculus and we

have no time to

engage with the

various work that

God has given us

and numbers carry

more weight in our

hearts than Jesus'

approval.

It's a tranquilizer

and it'll put you

to sleep.

So be on guard.

Stay awake.

You do not know

when that time will

come.

Live expectantly.

Live diligently.

Live in the fear of

the Lord.

I want to read the

Lord.

I want to read the

Lord.

I want to read the

Lord.

I want to read the

Lord.

I want to read the

Lord.

To close, I just want

to read two texts

about that day

to help generate some

expectation in our

hearts to wake us up

a little bit as we

leave this morning.

The first one is

1 Thessalonians 4,

15 through 17.

For this we declare to

you by word from the

Lord that we who are

alive, who are left

until the coming of the

Lord will not perceive

those who have fallen

asleep.

For the Lord himself

will descend from heaven

with a cry of command,

with the voice of an

archangel, with the sound

of the trumpet of God,

and the dead in Christ

will rise first.

Then we who are alive,

who are left, will be

caught up together with

them in the clouds to

meet the Lord in the air,

and so we will always be

with the Lord.

Stay awake.

Revelation 19, starting

in verse 11.

Then I saw heaven opened,

and behold, a white horse.

The one sitting on it is

called Faithful and True,

and in righteousness he

judges and makes war.

His eyes are a flame of

fire, and on his head

are many diadems, and he

has a name written that

no one knows but himself.

He is clothed in a robe

dipped in blood, and the

name by which he is called

is the Word of God.

And the armies of heaven

arrayed in fine linen,

white and pure, were

following him on white

horses.

From his mouth comes a

sharp sword with which

to strike down the

nations, and he will rule

them with a rod of iron.

He will tread the wine

press of the fury of the

wrath of God the Almighty.

On his robe and on his

thigh he has a name written,

King of Kings and Lord of

Lords.

That's worth staying awake

for.

Let's pray.

Father, some of us are

wide awake, loving,

appearing.

Some of us are kind of

dozing off and starting up

once in a while, realizing

we've fallen asleep, and some

of us have been sleeping for

a while.

I pray that Christ the King

Church would be a church

that's awake.

Father, by your grace, help

us to see that day, help us

to believe that day, help us

to love that day.

in the name of Jesus, amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Fingres CREAMS