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[0:00] please turn your bibles to matthew chapter 24 starting at verse 36 matthew 24 36 through 51 please remain standing if you are able for the reading of god's word 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 must also 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 his 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 put him with the hypocrites in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth this is the word of the lord thanks be to god you may be seated good morning you don't know me and i don't know you you're looking at me just like i'm looking at you this is a different place than the one that i'm normally in at this time on a sunday morning so i know that you're looking at me wondering can this guy preach and i am in turn looking at you wondering can these people pray because the old preacher is right and he said where there is praying in the pew there can be preaching in the pulpit amen listen would you do me a favor and help me thank god for your pastor my friend and brother pastor david helm thank god for this great great opportunity to come and share with this wonderful congregation in this wonderful church he um he only told part of the story the truth of story about us meeting i signed up for his class just looked interesting and i went into the classroom and we were supposed to take a different set of classes each day

[4:02] and after having sat in this class for the first session of that week myself and another pastor who was from chicago we determined that we would spend the rest of the week mesmerized by the teaching gift of pastor david helm who knew that his church was three miles from mine and that god would navigate the circumstances of our lives so that we could now be brothers in the gospel ministry so once again would you help me thank god for your pastor my friend and brother pastor david helm all right and so i'm gonna lay it i want don't worry about the delay i'll make up the time for the delay in the air all right um i want to um add something because this this is something that's um significant to me david pendleton would you raise your hand brother i was not the only first graduate of chicago course on preaching um david was um co-laborer and sufferer through the course chicago course on preaching along with me i have two members who are here present with me um wave your hand this is uh i'm not sick but in black church culture we have what we call a nurse just in case i fall out while i'm preaching she's gonna be the person to call ambulance make sure they get here quick amen and then i have one another one of my members i just noticed is here god bless you thank you so much for following your pastor so i got at least two amens i'm gonna hear last last piece of information you need to know um in black church uh it's a dialogue that means i talk to you and you talk back to me amen i've been given a time limit only way i can keep my time limit is if you keep your end of the bargain all right so i know you wonder what what does he mean like when you hear me say something that sounds like the truth you should say amen let's try it amen all right all right if you hear me say something that uh i don't know i want you to say help him lord if if if you if you hear me sure enough if i if i really really hit where you need i want you to say what i tell him in my church to say cut it straight revvin and when you say cut it straight revvin you can't sit down and say that you got to stand up and say cut it straight revvin this this this this this is the way i kill my nerves i joke and i have a good time but this this text is not a laughing matter this this text i thought dave was my friend this this text has been really kicking my behind for about two weeks but i think i found something and i want to label the message before i get started i want to talk from this thought in the meantime in the meantime in the meantime won't you look at your neighbor and say neighbor what shall we do in the meantime in the meantime as a child me and my sister celeste she is not here with me today we were what is known as latchkey kids we had to let ourselves in and out of the house because our parents both had to work and at the time we got out of school no one was home so we had to let ourselves in my mother very deliberately and strategically raised us to be self-sufficient

[8:05] she wanted to make sure that when we got to be old enough we could take care of ourselves so she wouldn't have to do as much for us she left a list of instructions for us every day written right there on the refrigerator she had a magnet and she would write a little note and put the note on the refrigerator and and the note read something like like this um when you come in don't get on the phone no company do your homework wash the dishes y'all mama don't do that clean up your room and whatever you do don't go outside and you know you could look at me and probably tell i was a mischievous little boy i often broke this set of rules but usually i was able to get my act together before the six o'clock time when my mother and father would make their way home and yet on this particular day i came in i was hungry i made myself something to eat i wanted to watch my favorite television show the six million dollar man y'all don't know nothing about that i wanted to watch my show and and in the middle of my favorite show after having eaten black people we go to sleep after we eat you know i fell asleep only to be awakened by the early arrival footsteps and key turn of my mother y'all some of you all have met my mother y'all y'all you got to know like what my mother would do to us she would go to jail for today she came in the house and she was greatly upset but not only was my homework not done not only what had i been on the phone i was watching television and fell asleep without the things that needed to be done being done and i believe whether you know it or not in a joking way i've slid into the parking lot of this passage proper and let you know exactly what jesus is trying to communicate to the disciples then and i believe to us right now here it is i want to give to you my sermon in a sentence my it's just in case you want to go to sleep and wake up when i get loud at the end i i i want to i want to tell you exactly what this text is about it's it's rather lengthy statement you you should you should grease your pen up and get ready to write it down you ready get ready because in the end you won't have time to get ready you you got you let me say let me say it a different way stay ready because in the end you won't have time to get ready in this text jesus is responding to the disciples inquiry from earlier in this chapter where they want to know what is the end going to be like and what will be the indication uh what will be some clues about your coming after he has already been uh clear about the clues of the coming age all the mysterious talk that i am grateful to god that milton had to preach last week he now turns to respond to their inquiry but does not answer their question and yet he gives them and us a far more valuable lesson and it is very simple that you and i must live in a constant state of preparation we must always be on guard and ready for the imminent return of the lord now

[12:11] the day of the lord in the old testament was a day of judgment and i believe that this is what jesus is getting at in this text and so the question that's on the table and i want to ask and answer is this what should we do in the meantime don't you want to know i told you what you have to say lord help him or something say something i know you heard uh uh what what shall we do in the meantime just two things i believe the text teaches that we ought to do the first thing is repeated several times in the first five verses of this text it's to stay awake something that many of you might have trouble doing today because you your favorite preacher is not preaching i'm up here and and and listen the the text is clear that you have the responsibility to stay awake jesus illustrates the unexpectedness and unpredictability of his coming he wants the disciples to know that you have to be on guard you have to be awake and he literally tells them to stay awake stay awake stay awake stay awake stay awake i can still hear jesus can't you hear him stay awake and i i want to tell this church and i want to tell this people and this pastor and many of the students of the chicago course on preaching and the people who have gathered in this place to support this preacher for whatever reason the only reason i came to tell you this morning is to stay stay awake y'all do talk back i like that stay awake but there's at least three motivations for staying awake that i believe the text teaches verse number 36 tells us to stay awake because of the secrecy of his coming yeah jesus says no one knows the day nor the hour he goes on to specify how serious the secret is he says the angels in heaven don't know then he looks at him and says something rather confusing i don't know what he means and i don't even know how it's possible but jesus said it and i'm going to tell you what he said he said he said not even i know the disciples want insider information as to the time and occasion and indication of his coming and jesus said don't worry about all of that your job is to stay stay awake because the the time of his coming is a secret and this is a theological challenge i don't know that i can resolve but it's the truth well jesus says i don't know how is it possible that jesus who is one with the father can not know something that the father knows i don't know that that's not the point of the text the point of the text is that when he comes not even he knows and because he doesn't know as close as he is to god then you and i certainly don't know and that means that you should stay stay stay stay awake not not only should you stay awake because of the secrecy of his return but you should also stay awake because of the suddenness of his return jesus now illustrates the unexpected uh nature of his return by comparing it with noah's flood the days of noah he turns as he often will and pulls his bible out and shows them genesis 6 and 7. he doesn't really do that but he points to a familiar story of the scriptures that would have made the disciples wonder what was going on and he he wanted them to look back at what happened uh in genesis 6 and 7. don't you want to know how won't you holler at me and say what what happened the no noah was given a charge from god to tell the

[16:16] people that it was going to do something that they had never done before it was going to rain and and noah had the the preaching responsibility to warn the people about the impending judgment that would come in the form of rain and only noah and his faithful family were saved and everybody else uh were looking at me cat looking at uh noah like y'all looking at me and the message is very clear that those people were swept away in judgment because they were going about business as usual life as usual everybody was happy he even goes on to suggest that they were marrying and giving in marriage and eating and drinking that just means to communicate the idea that they were doing business as usual let me park here for a moment parenthetically and ask you a question are you doing business as usual you see i think that really what the problem is that people have forgotten this warning this warning is that judgment is coming that jesus is going to return and there will be accounts given for all the things that we do in this body and the reality is this because judgment is coming you ought to stay awake at that time the world was wicked and they were totally caught off guard they probably laughed at old man noah dave he preached the same sermon for 120 years and not one person walked down the aisle and he was faithful to his assignment his children were probably the bible doesn't say this but but i can only imagine how the children were made fun of as their father was out there building something that people had never seen before saying that it was going to do something that it had never done before and and they took it for granted and they went about business as usual don't let business as usual rob you of your wakefulness don't let the regular rhythms of life rob you of the seriousness and impending judgment that awaits all of us it's it's it's it's a it's a secret we don't know when it's going to happen we do know that it's going to happen it it's it's going to be sudden that as soon as the rain came i love the way the bible reads it says that god shut them in god closed the door that means that god decided who would be saved and who would be lost which leads me to the third motivation to stay awake not only should we stay awake because of the secrecy of his return the suddenness of his return you you you have to stay awake because of the selectiveness of his return verse 40 and 41 describe the activities of a typical first century household men and women were at work in their respective tasks farming and grinding at the meal in this illustration jesus is talking about the unexpected end that will come the day of the lord this day of judgment it's going to be selective he says one will be taken and one will be left i like the fact that he he equals the ground between men and women because there was one man who would be taken and one man who will be left mary and one lady will be taken and one lady will be left now

[20:19] what is meant there there is a lot of theological discussion around what that literally means but i believe because of the connection to noah and the flood the people were swept away i think that what jesus is getting at here is that those who are not awake asleep those who are not prepared and not ready going about business as usual will be swept away in judgment won't you help me preach to your neighbor look at him and say are you woke are you woke are you woke are you woke are you woke are you woke are you woke are you woke are you woke are you woke are you woke look at your neighbor now look away imagine one is taken and one is left and this is the selective nature that everybody that that's talking about heaven ain't going that there are some people who come to church every week put their money in and everything they love past and the first lady god bless you release good to see and they're gonna bust hell wide open the reality is this how you live and how you handle the truth of the gospel even how you respond to the teaching today that you hear will determine as to whether you will be swept away in judgment i don't know about you but i don't i don't know what that day is going to be like but i know one thing i want to be ready we used to sing a song are you ready are you ready for the coming of the lord be ye also ready for you know not the day when the lord shall come when the lord shall come be ye also ready and this is the the truth and power of this entire section not just my text but whoever's preaching for the next couple of weeks you're going to hear this repeated message of being ready being vigilant being aware alert being on guard not going about business as usual some of you are college students some of you are young people and you seemingly have your whole lives ahead of you but can i tell you that there will be young people who will be swept away in judgment there will be college students who will be swept away in judgment and the question is is are you ready i wonder if you're ready have you made the necessary preparations for the day of judgment have you heeded the words of the lord have you remained faithful to your assignment are you ready because you don't want to be unprepared when jesus comes the coming of the son of man is similar to the uninvited visit of a thief it's a thief he says he compares the the timing of his coming in order to ratchet up the whole idea of staying awake he says that when you go to sleep you leave an opportunity for the thief to come in and steal and if you know that the thief is coming what were you going to do you're going to stay awake and the point of the point of the illustration is to turn up the volume and shout to the disciples get ready hey i know you're not used to people yelling at you like that some of y'all wait wait till i get to the end i'm trying to kill time i got a hammond b3 organ on the way

[24:23] when the organ get here we'll we'll close it together the truth is that you got to be awake and ready vigilant on alert having taken care of all that has been assigned to your head and you got to be alert in order to do that you can't be walking around with your eyes closed the young people say uh over on the other side of the expressway this is here's how they say keep your head on the swivel i said the other side expressway stay ready because you don't want to be unprepared when judgment comes when the burglar comes to your house you want to be ready now i'm gonna tell y'all something about me if you're in here and you're a thief come on by but before you get to before you get to the window or door that you plan to enter make sure that your soul is satisfied you better be ready no i'm just serious what then in light of the the guarantee that jesus is coming it's a secret it's going to be sudden and it's going to be selective what should you do in the meantime not only should you stay awake but text closes to suggest that you should stay faithful we live in a world in which i just cussed because unfaithfulness seems to be common play in our day it's all is regular normal for husbands to be unfaithful to their wives wives to be unfaithful to their not in this church but on the other side expressway employers are unfaithful to their employees and vice versa children are unfaithful to their parents this whole idea of unfaithfulness is far too common and i believe that the message that jesus leaves for them is as relevant for us now as if he wrote it this morning and printed it in the newspaper jesus wants all of us from both sides of the expressway to be found faithful again this is a message that you're going to repeatedly hear and i want you to examine your own life your own space this is not a time for you to look around and wonder who else is being faithful or to examine someone else's faithfulness this is a time for you to examine your own faithfulness jesus illustrates this particular point about preparedness and faithfulness in a more detailed way of what it means to be found faithful you got your bible he said who then is faithful and wise servant whom his master has said over his household to give them food at the proper time blessed everybody say blessed can you stand to be blessed blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes the point here is the motivation for faithfulness is that when jesus returns there's going to be two outcomes and this text lets us see both sides it's there's going to be a a reward

[28:28] and there's going to be a rebuke if the reward doesn't motivate you i pray that the rebuke does the reward is that when the lord finds you doing well what he has left to your hand this is a message of stewardship what has the lord placed within your hands have you looked at what you have in your hands and compared it with what someone else has in their hands as the man in chapter 25 does and takes it and buries it and as if to suggest you deserve more have you been faithful with what the lord has left in your control this is a message not just for us individually but i think it's a message for the church collectively we must be found being faithful to share the message of jesus christ with every man woman boy or girl no matter what race no matter what economic status no matter what educational background you must be found faithful with that which god has placed in your hands so the question is what has god placed in your hands for you to steward is it your money is it is it your well your stellar good looks is it your influence your personality is it is it your family whatever it is the lord has given all of us something to do for him to show our appreciation for his salvation and you should be found working working well with what the lord has left in your hands what is what are you the overseer of pastor since you invited me i might as well preach to you too this this reward is seen because the overseer is watch it feeding those servants who he had responsibility over our responsibility as teachers and preachers of the word of god is to feed the flock maybe you're not a pastor preacher or even a teacher in in sunday school but but i bet you you have a family at home and you have a responsibility to feed them not just physical food but spiritual nourishment you must feed them love you must feed them patience you must constantly be faithful to that which god has blessed you with too many times are we unfaithful and we want reward if you don't do well you won't hear well done well pastor what are we going to hear that the day of judgment there will be two results there will be one who will be rewarded and then there will be one that will be rebuked now jesus tells this story to the disciples using the same servant it's not two different people being compared it's the same servant and that that's a word to any of us that we can easily go slide from reward to rebuke he is warning the disciples as as as my friend milton told you last week don't be led astray this could be you he wants to paint this picture so that they would take seriously his word of warning to stay awake stay ready and stay faithful jesus says to them truly lord when jesus says truly you need to lean in i say to you he will set him over all his

[32:34] possessions this is the the end of the reward but everybody say but when when you hear reward and then a but you ought to duck but if that wicked servant says to himself my master is delayed and begins to beat the fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards the master of that servant will come on a day i love this when he does not expect it and at an hour that he does not know and he will be cut into peace this this is a this is a horrible image this is this is where you don't want to be when that day comes let me ask you a question of course are you a procrastinator are you someone who thinks oh well i got plenty of time maybe you're young and life ahead of you and you believe that you're gonna get your three score and 10 and if by reason to scrimp i said scrimp yeah that's what i said he'll give you full you you you think you have time and i want to tell you that time is not guaranteed the point of this passage is to stay ready because in the end you may not have time to get ready here's the alternative at the day of reckoning that when the lord comes on that day you will be found unready and left behind or as this text suggests swept away taken away in judgment you you are you are to be on guard for this time you ought to watch and pray that you not enter into temptation that you should constantly be working with what the lord has given to you if you're hearing this sermon and you have not made the necessary preparations perhaps you are not a believer today is the opportunity for you to make ready for tomorrow this is not a time for procrastination i'll be back next sunday if you can hear me know this warning jesus is coming is a secret it's sudden and it will be selective your responsibility is to be ready well how do i get ready confess with your mouth the lord jesus and believe in your heart that god has raised him from the grave so that you can be saved and what does save mean it means ready this is the first step in getting ready you must make sure that you avoid the the imminent eternal judgment that awaits those who have not placed their faith in the lord jesus christ unless i only preach to believers there might be someone here who has not taken the first step are you saved do you know the lord do you study his word do you sit on the good teaching have you have you been given a gift an assignment with which you must be faithful doing don't be like me when i was young don't get caught sleeping this is one of those days that you want to be wide awake for and yes that day is coming there are times when i watch the news early in the morning and pendleton and i go outside and i look up and say even so come lord jesus the days are wicked and evil

[36:36] the church is even divided now more than ever before and it feels like many of those catastrophic events that jesus has talked about earlier in this chapter are coming to pass every day and the question that i have is are you ready are you being faithful to your assignment or do you let frustration and bitterness and unforgiveness keep you from being faithful three things i want to leave you with god and god alone is the judge of all of humankind and he rewards and punishes people on the basis of their stewardship of what they have been given by him faithful stewardship number two requires that you persevere through life's pressures pains and problems in order to continue to do the work that god has given into your hands i don't care if you have to drop out and get back in i don't care if you got to keep on studying and keep on preaching and keep on praying keep on forgiving keep on loving and continue the work that god has placed into our hands thirdly and finally in the meantime stay awake stay faithful here's the motivation i'm a black preacher i close with songs if when you give the best of your service the best of your service telling the world that the savior has come be not dismayed when men don't believe you he'll understand and say well done misunderstood the savior of sinners hung on the cross he was god's only son oh hear him call his father in heaven not my will but thy will be done if when this life of labor is ended and the reward of the race you have won oh the sweet rest prepared for the faithful will be blessed and finally well done but if you try and fail in your trying hands soar and scarred from the work you begun take up your cross and the staff of redemption he'll understand and say well done here's the course oh when i come to the end of my journey weary of life and the battle is one carry a staff and the cross of redemption he'll understand and say well done i'll say it again because i like the way i sounded the first time i said if you don't do well then you won't hear well done stay ready because in the end you won't have time to get ready let's pray lord we love you and we thank you for your word we even thank you for the challenge of your word lord we thank you for the conviction that it brings and we pray oh god that these words will not be left here on the seats in the sanctuary but that you would allow us to take it and apply it to our lives for the living out of these days i pray for that sinner who wants to come to salvation today that they would have holy boldness to to cry what must i do in order to be saved

[40:38]  allow them to do what is necessary in order to stay awake and ready and faithful for your return for we all want to ascend with you when you return to rapture your church to yourself we give you praise glory and honor in jesus name for all the fruit that will come from this time amen