PITP #10

Watch, therefore, for you know not what hour the Lord does come. But know this: if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore, be ye also ready. For in such an hour as you think not, the Son of Man comes.

Let's pray. Father, I do ask that you would speak to us through this passage tonight. Lord, as we get into Your Word, may Your Word find its way into our hearts. Lord, may Your Word continue to transform us. By Your Spirit, using Your Word, transform us by the renewing of our minds. Wash us by the washing of the water of Your Word. Prepare us to be a holy people unto You. May we be bright, shining lights in the days in which we're living. May we be that priesthood that we read about in Peter's letters, that peculiar people, Your own special people. Help us to proclaim Your praises as You have called us out of darkness and into Your marvelous light. We dedicate this next hour to You as we study Your Word. Speak to us, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen.

You can be seated. For the last nine weeks, we have been going through the prophets, both major and minor. This study primarily focuses on the Old Testament, but we are also looking at New Testament prophetic passages. We are considering, through the lens of the prophets, the days in which we are living.

This is not something without precedent. As we read through the Scriptures, especially the major and minor prophets, we see that the words spoken by Isaiah, Ezekiel, or Jeremiah were read and understood by the people during their own time. As they looked at the events happening around them, they recognized that God was speaking through His Word and through the circumstances they faced.

We took notice of this a couple of weeks ago when we looked at the prophecy that Joel gave to the people. He spoke about an invasion of locusts that came into the land. It was a current event, something that happened during their day. Then God spoke and revealed that there was another invading army of locusts that was going to come.

But it was a human army that was going to come and destroy the nation and really take them out. However, God ultimately prophesied that He would spare His people. We see that there are passages of Scripture that relate to the things happening in the world. As we look at the events occurring in our world today, we see that God's word is coming to pass. Amen?

For those who have understanding, we read repeatedly in the Scriptures, "He who has an ear, let him hear." We need to take keen notice that God is speaking. The real question is not whether God is speaking, but rather, are we listening? Are we really seeking to hear what the Lord would have to say to us?

Tonight, we come to a very interesting passage, which will be our last study in this series, "Profiting in the Prophets." I have been looking at this passage for a number of weeks and believe that this is where the Lord wanted us to conclude. Although we are not finishing our study in the Scriptures on Wednesday night, make sure you come out next week. We will be starting 1 Timothy and going through the pastoral epistles.

When you consider the words that Paul spoke or wrote to Timothy and Titus, they had an application to men who were living in what they perceived to be the last days. God was speaking to them, and I believe the Lord has a message for us in 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus as well. So, make sure you come out next week when we start those books. You can read ahead into 1 Timothy chapter 1.

Tonight, we come to a passage spoken by Jesus, known as the Olivet Discourse, because it took place on the Mount of Olives. In Matthew chapter 22 and Matthew chapter 23, Jesus is being examined by the leadership of the nation of Israel in His day. He is the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world, the perfect spotless Lamb that the Passover foretold.

We have talked about how the Passover Lamb was selected and chosen on the 10th day of the month of Nisan. It was then brought into the house and inspected for the next four days. On the 14th day of the month of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, it was to be sacrificed as the Passover Lamb for the people of that household. Jesus came into the city of Jerusalem on the 10th of Nisan, and for the next several days, He was inspected. He was asked all kinds of different questions. The chief priests asked Him questions, the Sadducees came and asked Him a question regarding the resurrection, and the Herodians came and asked Him a question about taxation.

The lawyers and the scribes came and asked Jesus a question about the law. Every single time, we see that Jesus is proven to be spotless and blameless. Not just the religious leadership in the nation, but then He is brought before Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judea, the Roman governor. Pilate says, "I find no fault in this man." Then, Jesus is sent to the Jewish king of the region, Herod, who also finds nothing wrong with Him.

This whole process continues as Jesus is inspected. After Matthew chapter 23, after Jesus is examined by the chief priests, the scribes, the Herodians, the Sadducees, and all these different groups of people, He is getting ready to walk out of the city of Jerusalem. He has just made a great declaration about the hypocrites. Eight times in Matthew chapter 23, He talks about the hypocrites in the nation, saying, "Woe to these religious leaders, these blind guides."

After delivering this heavy message, His disciples come to Him, likely trying to loosen the tension. They say to Him at the beginning of Matthew chapter 24, "Look at these great stones, look at this great temple." Even though the religious community and its leaders were corrupt, they point out how beautiful the temple is. Jesus responds, "I tell you the truth, not one stone shall be left upon another; it is all going to be torn down." He then departs from the city.

I have a feeling that His disciples stood there, looking at each other and at the building, thinking, "That can't possibly be." They came and found Him sitting on the Mount of Olives. It was often the case, as you read through a bit of Jewish culture and history, that when rabbis walked around the city, they would sit down, and their disciples would come and sit at their feet to learn from them.

So, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, and His disciples came to Him with some very important questions. He had just prophetically told them something that would blow their minds: that the temple and the city would be destroyed. To a Jewish mind, that would be the end of the world. They came and asked Him these questions. In Matthew chapter 24, verse 3, we find their inquiries.

Over the last nine weeks, we have considered those questions and some of the answers that we find in the Scriptures related to them. We have explored what the signs of the times are, the day and the hour of the Lord's coming, and we have gone in-depth into all of that. If you haven't been here for our whole series,

Then get on our website, and you can download it there for free to see what we've looked at. But tonight, we come to really an application of all that we've considered over the last nine weeks. As the Lord has revealed these things to us, as He has revealed to us what He is going to do before He does it, we need to take consideration and figure out what that means for us who are living here in the year 2009.

The Apostle Peter was one of the apostles who heard Jesus talk about these things, and he says something very interesting in 2 Peter, chapter 3. Let me read this to you, starting in verse 9.

2 Peter, chapter 3, verse 9 states, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness. But He is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." There have been people for a long time saying, "Where is the Lord?" The church has been saying, "Jesus is going to return. Where is He?" Well, Peter tells us that the Lord is not lazy, and He is not just kicked back and slack concerning His promise, but He is long-suffering. He doesn't want anybody to perish in hell for eternity.

We read in verse 10 of that same chapter, 2 Peter, chapter 3, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with a fervent heat, and the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up."

Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conduct and godliness? What a great question! As God has laid out for us what He is going to do, as He has revealed to us the end game, so to speak, Peter says, "All right, with all of that understanding, with the recognition that God has a specific and set plan that He is going to accomplish, how then should we live? How should this affect us? What manner of life ought we to have? What manner of conduct ought we to have in the world that we're living in?"

Then, in verse 12, it says, "What a great exhortation Peter gives to us there in his last letter, as he says, as we know these things, let us basically press on. Let us continue walking with Him."

Let us continue to strive to be those who are walking in Him in peace, blameless before Him, and holy. We have already considered that our holiness is not a result of our own doing. It is not a result of the works that we have done, but rather the result of Christ in us, the hope of glory. He is the one who makes us holy.

However, we do have a responsibility, especially in light of the coming day when the Lord is going to return. God has given us very clear commands and a clear commission as the body of Christ. We know what our commission is: to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe whatsoever the Lord has commanded us. He says, "Lo, I am with you always, even until the end of the age." There is an end.

Even though the scientists and evolutionists of the day may claim that the universe has no beginning and will just continue on, we know that the Scriptures make it very clear that there is a beginning and an end, and God knows when that end will come. I have made it a point not to try to set dates, and I don't believe we have the scriptural basis to do so. However, we have been given clear outlines in the Scriptures regarding the times, the seasons, and the things leading up to the time when the Lord will return.

This prophetic word that the Lord God has given us should have an effect in our lives. One of the effects, one of the byproducts of this prophetic word, is given to us by Paul in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. At the end of the chapter, he says that God's prophetic word is a comfort to us who are saved because we recognize that although we may go through difficulties in this life, and although we will suffer trials, tribulations, and persecution, we know that this is not all there is. Amen? That should put a big smile on each of our faces. We should recognize that this is not all there is, and I am very thankful that this is the case.

Not only is the prophetic promise a comfort to us, but it is also a great exhortation, as we will see in the passage we are going to consider tonight at the end of Matthew 24 and into Matthew chapter 25. There are four things that we will consider as we go through this passage tonight. The first one starts here in verse 42 of Matthew chapter 24, and it is very clearly summed up in the first word of the first verse that we looked at.

Watch. We are to be a people who are watching. As we consider all that the Lord has prophetically told us about the things that are going to come to pass, we need to be, if you're taking notes tonight, watching. He says, "Watch therefore." Anytime we find a "therefore" in the Scriptures, we need to figure out what it is there for. We have to go back to the verses that came before and consider it in context.

The context is all the prophetic utterance that Jesus gives there on the Mount of Olives as He tells them about the things that are going to come to pass before He comes and how He is going to come. He says, "Watch therefore, because you do not know what hour the Lord does come." Now, I believe that the Lord has revealed in the Scriptures the times and the seasons. Paul said in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 that concerning the times and the seasons, we don't need to be worried about that. He had no need to write to us because we are those, the children of the light. We are not of darkness that we should be taken unaware, but we need to be watchful, as the exhortation that Paul gave in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5.

Here again, Jesus reminds us to watch because we don't know that specific hour that the Lord does come. But know this: if you did know the hour, if the good man, the guy who watches the house, knew the hour that the thief was going to come, then he would have watched. He would have been waiting. If he had some sort of an idea about what time, what watch he would come, he would be watching and waiting, and he would not have suffered his house to be broken into. Therefore, be you also ready. We need to be ready and watching and waiting for the Lord to come.

Although I'm jumping a little bit ahead, we need to be watching and considering what the Scriptures have to say, looking around the world in which we're living, and recognizing that what the Word of God says is actually happening in our day.

Now, we are going to be having, in just a couple of months on April 4th, a big prophecy conference here in San Diego, the Epicenter Conference. Joel Rosenberg is going to be down here at the Cox Arena, and also Chuck Smith and retired General Boykin are going to be sharing some of the things that are happening in the world and how they line up with the Word of God. It's a free event, and we're looking forward to it. We'll have some more information about it coming up in the coming weeks.

But God is on the move, and we, as the body of Christ, need to wake up and be watching. The sad fact is that there are a lot of people within the body of Christ who are asleep. The book of Revelation, the seven letters to the churches, reveal...

There are those who are asleep, those who are lukewarm, and those who aren't recognizing that what is happening in the world is just in line with what God said would happen. Two thousand years ago, as our Lord was here on the earth, or two thousand five hundred years ago, as Ezekiel spoke, or two thousand seven hundred years ago, as Isaiah spoke, God has clearly outlined for us what is going to come to pass.

Now, we may not fully grasp every aspect of it, and I guarantee there are passages of Scripture that you will read and just go over your head, thinking, "I have no idea what that means." It’s a regular occurrence for me. I read passages of Scripture and just think, "All right, we're moving on to the next one. I don't know what it means." But I know that God has prophetically outlined for us this general outline of what is going to come to pass. He continues to unfold it to us, just as He promised to the prophet Daniel. He told Daniel two thousand five hundred years ago, "Seal up this book because it's not going to make any sense until knowledge be increased."

I believe we are living in those days where knowledge is being increased, amen? We are seeing how God is beginning to put all these puzzle pieces together. Sometimes things happen, and we think, "Man, that looks just like what we're seeing in the Scriptures." We need to be those who are watching. We need to be ready, for in such an hour as you think not, the Son of Man comes. I sure am looking for that. I am hoping for and expecting His soon return.

Jesus asks in verse 45, "Who then is a faithful and wise servant?" Anytime you read a question like that from Jesus, you should perk up and pay attention. How many of you want to be counted by the Lord on the day of Christ Jesus as a faithful and wise servant? I'm glad to see all those hands go up. We all want to hear the Lord say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

We will look at that in a little more depth here in just a moment. But He asks the question, "Who then is the faithful and wise servant?" Our attention should perk up. The blessed and wise servant is the one who does what his Lord has commissioned him to do. It's exactly what Jesus says here. The blessed and wise servant is the one who is obeying the commission that God, our Lord, our Master, has given to us. When the Lord returns—and He will—

He promised He will. Will He find us doing what He commissioned us to do? Again, what is the commission of the church? In Matthew chapter 28, we are told to make disciples. We are not called to make converts; we are called to make disciples. That takes investment on each and every one of our parts. We all have to be invested in the work that God has called us to do, that He has commissioned us to.

Now, that work does not save us. But you know what? That work does involve bringing salvation to other people. Amen? We want to make sure that we are fulfilling the commission that the Lord has given to us, that when the Lord returns, He finds us doing just what He commissioned us to do.

The sad fact is that there are many in the church today who have lost sight of that commission. The Great Commission is not to go into all the world and spread democracy. It is not to go into all the world and feed the poor. It is not to go into all the world and ease suffering. That is not the Great Commission.

Now, those actions can be a byproduct of the work that the Lord has sent us forth to do. We are commanded to love our neighbor, so we are called to go into the world to do those things. However, that is not the prime commission of the church or the primary mission of the church. The primary mission that God has given to you and to me is not just for the pastors and leaders of the church; it is for the body of Christ to go and make disciples.

You will be a blessed servant of the Lord, counted as a faithful and wise servant if, when the Lord returns, He finds you doing what He has called you to do and commissioned you to do. I know that every single one of you here tonight who know the Lord want to be counted as a wise and faithful servant.

He gives us the answer here on how to come under that testimony. In verse 47 of chapter 24 of Matthew, it says, "Truly, or verily, I say to you, that He shall make him ruler over all His goods." But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, "My Lord delays His coming," and shall begin to smite his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunken, the Lord of that servant shall come.

Circle the word "shall" there in verse 50. He shall come in a day when he looks not for Him and in an hour that he is not aware. He shall cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Now, does that sound good? Again, we have talked about this before.

Jesus reveals a place of torment, of everlasting torment, and a place of outer darkness separated from God the Father. This place is described as having a worm that dies not and is characterized by weeping and gnashing of teeth. Again, I do not fully know what that means, nor do I ever want to find out. I don't want to fully comprehend what that means. All I know is that what Jesus says and how He describes it indicates that it is not a pretty place.

Hell is not a place to party with your friends, even though that seems to be one of the lies that the enemy has spread throughout history. You'll hear people say, "Well, yeah, I'm going to hell, but I'll be there with all my friends." No, that's not the case. When we read about it in the Scriptures, it is a fearful place. The Bible has a lot to say about this place described as hell, and I don't want to go there. I don't even want to visit there for a nanosecond to see what it's like. I want to stay as far away from there as I possibly can. If this is the worst it ever gets, praise God! I want to be with the Lord eternally in heaven. Amen?

The fact is that I would not wish hell upon even my worst enemy, if I had one. The judgment, wrath, and torment that God describes in the Scriptures is not something that we would want for anybody. Hell is a place created for Satan and his angels, a place that he should rightly go. However, it was never intended or created for man to go there. Out of man's own choosing, he finds himself in this place of gnashing of teeth, of weeping and darkness.

Notice what Jesus says leads this evil servant there: it is one who says in his heart, "My Lord delays His coming." This is the one who rejects the fact that the Lord will return once again very quickly.

There is a group among Christians today who call themselves preterists. They believe that all of the Old Testament passages of prophecy are fulfilled, but they also believe that all of the prophecies of the New Testament are completely fulfilled right now. They assert that we are actually living in the midst of the millennium at this moment. The millennium, as described in Scripture, is a time when Jesus rules and reigns here upon the earth and forces righteousness.

I don't know about you, but as I look around and watch the news and read the newspaper, I don't see righteousness. Therefore, I don't think we are living during that time. Among the preterists, there are those who call themselves partial preterists. They believe that everything of prophecy is already fulfilled as of 70 AD.

Except for one important prophecy, they say that they still believe in the second coming of the Lord. Now that's good, but the fact is that they've belittled everything else that the Scriptures have to say. We look forward to the soon return of our Lord as it's described in many prophetic passages in the Scripture.

However, the unwise servant, the evil servant, as Jesus describes him, is the one who says, "Nah, he's not coming back. The Lord delays his coming." When we lose sight of the imminent return of the Lord, we begin to lose sight of the need to walk in holiness and righteousness. I already mentioned earlier tonight that the prophetic passages of Scripture are a comfort to those who believe them and understand them, but they're also an exhortation to us to walk in righteousness and holiness. If you lose sight of the fact that the Lord is going to return, then there's no need to be holy. There's no need to seek after Him in righteousness and follow hard after Him.

This individual, this servant, begins to become lax and lazy. It says that they smite the fellow servants. Remember in Matthew chapter 24, Jesus described the last days as a time when the love of many would grow cold. Here we see love growing cold. When you don't have love for your neighbor, when you don't have love for that person sitting next to you or down the street from you, you will begin to deal with them in unloving ways.

This is an individual who smites the fellow servants and they eat and drink and are drunken. They are the person that says, "Eat, drink, and be merry because tomorrow we die." Just as we read in the book of Isaiah, "Tomorrow shall be like today and many more hereafter." So let's just eat, drink, and be merry. This is the mindset and heart of the wicked servant. That wicked servant described here will be judged by the Lord because the Lord will come in a day and an hour when he is not aware. He will take that servant and cut him asunder, appointing him his portion with the hypocrites.

The hypocrites that are described in chapter 23 of Matthew, upon whom a woe and judgment are pronounced. At the end of Matthew chapter 24, verses 42 through 51, we see the exhortation that you and I need to be watchful. We need to be watching in these last days, watching as a result of the prophetic Scripture that God has given to us. "Watch therefore."

Then we come to chapter 25, verse 1, which says, "Then shall the kingdom of heaven..."

The parable can be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Again, we have the wise and the wicked servant, or the wise and the foolish servant. Jesus says the kingdom of heaven will be likened unto these ten virgins. Five of them were wise, and five were foolish. The foolish took their lamps but took no oil with them. However, the wise took oil in their vessels along with their lamps.

As you read through the Scriptures, oil is oftentimes associated with the Holy Spirit. Flip over in your Bibles to Romans chapter 8 just briefly. Paul the Apostle, writing to the church at Rome, notes that we are living in similar times to what you and I are seeing in our days. In Romans chapter 8, notice what he says down in verse 9: "But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now, if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."

Here in Matthew chapter 25, we read of these five virgins that did not have oil in or with their lamps. They were not ready; they were not prepared. When the Lord, the bridegroom, came, we are, of course, called the bride of Christ, and we are waiting for the bridegroom to come. We are looking forward to the shout when the Father sends His Son and says, "Go get your bride." How many of you are hoping that that day is not too far away and that the Lord would come?

The Jewish wedding ceremony is a lot different from what we experience in our day. In the Jewish wedding ceremony, prior to the wedding, there would be a time of betrothal, during which the parents would decide or choose a bride for the husband. They would set up the arrangement, and the bride would be betrothed to the husband. Then there would come the time of engagement, which typically lasted about a year. During that time, the bridegroom would be preparing the house and making a place for his bride.

And then, oftentimes, in the middle of the night, the father would go to the groom and say, "All right, now's the time to go and get the bride and bring her back into the wedding feast." The wedding feast would take place over a seven-day period, and ultimately, the end of that was the consummation of the marriage, making them husband and wife.

As we come to this passage in Matthew chapter 25, we read of the virgin who is already betrothed and is now in that engagement period. She is gathered together with her bridesmaids, the other virgins, and they are waiting for the coming of the bridegroom. They are in that engagement time where the bridegroom is preparing a place. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 14? "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. Were it not so, I would not have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." Our bridegroom, our Jesus, is preparing a place for us. As we will see in this passage, He has been preparing this place for a very long time.

It only took Him six days to create this place, and there are some very beautiful places even upon this fallen earth. However, He has been preparing this place for us for a long time. I have a feeling it is a lot nicer than this place, and I am looking forward to it.

In the midst of this engagement period, the father says to the son, "Go get your bride." But here we see the virgins waiting. Notice that there were five who were wise and ready. They had their wicks trimmed and oil in their lamps, and they were prepared for the coming of the bridegroom, who would often come in the middle of the night.

On the other hand, there were the unwise, the foolish virgins, who had no oil, which in the Scriptures is associated with the Holy Spirit. It says in verse five that while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. All of them slumbered and slept, but some were ready and expecting. Why? Because they were not only watching; they were also waiting.

We need to be watching and waiting. These ones were expectant for the coming of the bridegroom. It says that they all slept, and at midnight...

There was a cry made: "Behold, the bridegroom comes. Go you out to meet him." Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said unto the wise, "Give us of your oil, for our lamps have gone out." Boy, that's a scary thought. They didn't have the Spirit; they did not have the oil. They asked, "Give us of your oil." But the fact is this: you cannot give of the Holy Spirit that you have to somebody else. They need to ask of the Lord for the Holy Spirit for themselves.

Jesus told His disciples in Luke chapter 11, "If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to him who asks?" These individuals, the foolish virgins, asked the others, "Hey, give us of your spirit." But you cannot rub it off onto other people. The wise answered in verse nine, saying, "Not so, lest there be not enough for us and for you. But go you rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves."

This is interesting because in the book of Revelation, as Jesus is writing His letters to the seven churches, notice what He says to the church at Laodicea in Revelation chapter 3. Turn over there if you'd like. In verse 14, we read, "But unto the angel of the church of Laodicea write: These things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I would, or I desire, that you would be cold or hot. But so then, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth."

He continues, "Because you say, 'I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing,' but you do not know that you are wretched and miserable, poor, blind, and naked." Then notice what He says to them in verse 18: "I counsel you to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich, and white clothing, that you may be clothed, and that the shame of your nakedness do not appear; and anoint your eyes with eye salve that you may see."

Here are these wise virgins and the unwise virgins in Matthew chapter 25. They said, "Hey, go and buy the oil for yourselves because what we have will not be enough for you." The oil that your spouse has...

The Holy Spirit that your spouse has will not be enough for you on the day of Christ Jesus when He comes. You may say, "Well, I haven't fully asked to receive the Lord tonight. I haven't fully received the indwelling Holy Spirit tonight, but my husband or my wife, they're good enough for me." It won't be so. Or maybe you'll say, "Well, my parents were Christians," or even, "My parents were missionaries." That won't be enough on the day of Christ Jesus. You need to ask of the Lord that He would give you His indwelling Holy Spirit.

In verse 10, we read in Matthew 25, "And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they were not ready. And so they went not in with him unto the marriage, and the door was shut. Afterward, they came also with the other virgins, saying, 'Lord, open to us.' But he answered and said, 'Truly I say to you, I know you not.'" It is interesting that in verse 11, they say, "Lord, Lord, open to us," but He replies, "I do not know you."

Can you think of another passage in Scripture where we see people saying, "Lord, Lord," and He says, "I don't know you"? Flip over to Matthew 7, the Sermon on the Mount. Here, Jesus finishes His great mountaintop sermon in Matthew 7 with this: "Not everyone that says unto me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? Have we not in thy name cast out many devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works?' And I will profess unto them, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness or work iniquity.'"

Then notice how He wraps this up in verse 24: "Therefore, whosoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man." I will liken him unto the wise man which built his house upon the rock. "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it did not fall because it was founded upon the rock."

"And everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does them not shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house."

And it fell, and great was its fall. There will be many in that day who say, "Lord, let us in. Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name and cast out demons in Your name and done many mighty works in Your name?" And He will say, "Depart from Me, I did not know you."

Just as we see here in Matthew chapter 25, one of the scariest parts about this declaration is that there will be many in that day. Many who perhaps have a lamp and think that they are of the Lord's. They have an appearance of godliness, but they don't know the power thereof. They don't know the power of the Spirit living inside of them or overflowing them. They will say, "Lord, look at all these great things that we did," but He will say, "Depart from Me, I never knew you."

So He says there in verse 13, "Watch therefore, for you neither know the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man comes." In Matthew chapter 24, verses 42 through 51, we see the exhortation that we need to watch. But in chapter 25, in these first 13 verses, not only should we watch, but we need to be waiting. We need to be ready when the Lord comes.

Not only should we be watching and waiting, but in verse 14 of chapter 25, we read, "For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country who called his own servants and delivered unto them his goods." To one, he gave five talents; to another, he gave two talents; and to another, one. Notice this next statement: "To every man according to his ability." God is not a respecter of persons, but gives to everyone according to his ability. He doesn't give them more than they can handle, which is basically what we read here.

To one, he gave five; to one, he gave two; and to one, he gave one. And straightway, he took his journey. Then he that received the five talents went and traded the same and made with them five more talents. Likewise, he that had received two also gained two. But he that received the one went and dug a hole in the earth and hid his Lord's money.

Now, after a long time—underline the word "long" there—the Lord of those servants came and squared His accounts. There was a day of reckoning that came.

Five talents came, and he brought five more talents, saying, "Lord, you delivered unto me five talents. Behold, I have gained beside them five more talents." And he said unto him, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." Say good and faithful. "Well done, thou good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, and I will make you ruler over many. Enter thou into the joy of the Lord." Boy, that sounds good, doesn't it? Enter now into the joy of the Lord.

He also that had received the two talents, verse 22, came and said, "Lord, you delivered unto me two talents. Behold, I have gained two other talents beside them." And his Lord said unto him, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." Say good and faithful. He didn't receive as much as the guy before him. He didn't receive as large a return as the guy before him. Although he doubled it just the same as the other guy, to both of these servants, the Lord said, "You are a good and faithful servant. Well done. You've been faithful over a few things. I'll make you ruler over many things." They both received the same blessing: "Enter into the joy of the Lord."

But then he, which had received one talent, came and said, "Lord, I knew that you are a hard man. Uh-oh. Reaping where you've not sown and gathering where you have not strawed. I was afraid, and I went and hid thy talent in the earth, and lo, thou hast what is yours." And the Lord answered and said unto him, "Thou wicked and slothful servant." Say wicked and slothful. We have the good and faithful versus the wicked and the slothful.

Here was this one who says, "Hey, I knew that you were a tough guy, and I was afraid of you." There are people who know that God has very strict laws, rules, commandments, and so forth, and they're afraid of God. Yet, that fear has not moved in the direction of faith, and that faith has not moved in the direction of action. On the day of Christ Jesus, that individual, although they believe that there is a God, has not reverenced Him. They have not feared Him in a right way and followed Him. James tells us that even the demons believe that there is one God.

And they tremble. They're even fearful. Yet, James also tells us that faith without works is dead. In this passage, we see two individuals who had faith, and their faith led them to action. On the day of Christ Jesus, they received a reward. However, there was another individual who was fearful, even to the point of trembling, and he hid his talent because he knew that his Lord was a hard master.

He said, "Here’s what’s yours," but the Lord responded, "You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not strawed. You ought to have put my money with the exchangers or the bankers, so that at my coming I should have received it with my own interest. Take therefore the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. For unto everyone that has shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him that has not shall be taken away even that which he has. Cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

In light of the prophetic promise that we read in Matthew chapter 24, we should comfort one another with the words that Jesus spoke. We should also be watching, waiting, and working. As we look forward to the coming of the Lord, we need to be those who are watching, waiting, and working.

Why should we be watching, waiting, and working? We read in verse 31 that when the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He shall sit upon the throne of His glory. Before Him shall be gathered all the nations, and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. He shall set the sheep on His right hand and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, "Come, ye blessed of my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."

He has been working on this kingdom since the foundation of the world. There is coming a day, after the watching, after the waiting, and after the working, when the Lord will come. The Son of Man will come in His glory, seated upon a throne of His glory, and He will divide the sheep from the goats.

On His right hand are the sheep, and on His left hand are the goats. The King, the one enthroned in glory, is going to say to those sheep on His right hand, "Come, ye blessed of the Father, inherit the kingdom." Why? Well, because I was hungry, and you gave me meat; I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; I was naked, Jesus says, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came unto me.

Then shall the righteous say, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you as a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothed you? When did we see you sick or in prison and come unto you?" The King shall answer and say unto them, "Verily, I say unto you, inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these brethren, you have done it unto me." As much as you have done it unto the least of these, you have done it unto me.

We need to be watching, waiting, and working. Why? Because God is watching. Our Lord is watching, and there is coming a day when He is going to reward those He counts faithful. That may sound like a very fearful thing to you tonight, and maybe when you read this passage, especially verses 35 through 40 of Matthew chapter 25, you say, "That looks like works salvation."

But you know what's interesting about this passage? Notice that Jesus doesn't tell these disciples or these faithful servants, these sheep, that they did not take His name in vain, that they kept the Sabbath, that they obeyed their parents, or that they did not commit murder or adultery. Notice that He doesn't speak of the Ten Commandments here, which is very interesting. Instead, He says, "I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink; I was hungry, and you fed me; I was naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you took care of me; I was in prison, and you visited me."

These are all the fulfillments of the law of love. These are the fulfillments of the law of love. Jesus says the first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God.

With all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. But the second is like it: you should love your neighbor as yourself. What is interesting here is that He says, "I was in prison, and you visited me." That speaks to me. This is an individual who not only loved their neighbor but also loved their enemy, which is proof that they had faith towards God. Their faith towards God was exercised in the fact that there was the fruit of the Spirit effective in their life.

The fruit of the Spirit is, number one, love. This was an individual that displayed the characteristics of their Father who is in heaven. This is an individual that had the Holy Spirit, the oil in their lamp. They fed those who were hungry, gave a drink to the one who was thirsty, clothed the naked, and tended to the sick, the poor, and the needy. You see, the love of God was being worked out in their life. They were not saved by these works, but these works revealed that they were saved.

James reveals in his letter, the general epistle of James, that faith without works is dead. He says, "You show me your faith, and I will show you my faith by my works." Our works prove our faith. Here were individuals who had faith towards God; they had received the Spirit of God into their life, and as a result, they had the fruit of the Spirit in their life. While they were watching, waiting, and working, God was watching.

On the day of Christ Jesus, He will reward. But not only will He reward on that day, we read in verse 41 of Matthew chapter 25, "Then shall He say unto those that are on the left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'" It wasn't prepared for these ones that were cursed, but they are going to go there.

Why? Verse 42 states, "For I was hungry, and you gave me no meat. I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger, and you did not take me in. I was naked, and you did not clothe me. I was sick in prison, and you did not visit me." Then they shall also answer, saying, "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister unto you?"

Then He shall answer them, "Verily, I say unto you, inasmuch as you did not do it to the least of these, you did not do it to me."

Do it to me, and these, those on the left, shall go into everlasting punishment, but these on the right, the righteous, unto life eternal. Yes, this is probably a fearful passage as you read through it and consider what Jesus says here. These are very powerful words in His Olivet Discourse. Some may look at this and tremble with fear. That's not entirely a bad thing because, you see, the prophetic word that Jesus gives to us is both a comfort and an exhortation.

We need to recognize that you and I, living in these last days, as we see the prophetic passage and plan of God coming to pass, need to be those who are watching, waiting, and working. He is watching, and He will return. Although many in the world say, "Where is the sign of His coming?" and they don't believe that He will return, more and more every day they say, "You bunch of Christians are crazy." But may we be those who do not lose heart in well-doing. Why? Because in due season, Paul told the church at Galatia, we shall reap if we faint not.

There are those who faint and fall by the wayside, saying, "Forget this! Where is the sign of His coming? I don't believe He's coming; maybe He's not even real." They become lax and lazy, and they begin to lose love. The love of many waxes cold, but God is watching. He is watching as we are working, waiting, and watching. He knows what's going on. There is coming a day when He is going to return with a shout, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Those that are alive and remain shall be caught up to be with Him, and we shall ever be with the Lord.

However, there is a day of reckoning coming. Sometimes we look around and say, "Doesn't God see all these wicked people?" He will recompense; He will reward. Vengeance is Mine, saith the Lord. We can trust and rely upon Him, waiting, watching, and working because He is coming. Amen! Our Lord is coming.

How then, as Peter asks, ought we therefore to live? What kind of conduct ought we to have? We should be those who are striving to walk in holiness and righteousness as the Spirit of God works in us to accomplish it. I'm not saying that you and I can manufacture righteousness on our own; it's God who works in us to will and to do His good pleasure. He is the one who works in us as we yield ourselves to Him, as we offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto Him, which is our reasonable service.

I think it's very important and interesting that over the last several months, a number of teachers have come up to share from this stage, this pulpit, or wherever it may be. As Pastor Josh, Pastor Todd, and Pastor Eric have spoken on Wednesday nights, every one of them has touched on Romans chapter 12. I believe that God is speaking to this church through this passage.

In Romans chapter 12, we read, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

Paul calls the church at Rome, which was living in difficult times, to present their bodies as living sacrifices, completely consecrated unto the Lord.

Then, just one chapter later, in Romans chapter 13, at the end of the chapter, he says in verse 11, "And knowing the time, that it is high time for you and I to wake out of our sleep." Why? "For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand."

The night being far spent and the day being at hand, let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envy. Instead, let us put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.

The Lord is going to come again, and when He comes, may He find you and I watching, waiting, and working, fulfilling the commission that He has called us to. Why? Because He is watching, and He is going to return with rewards one day. Oh Lord, come quickly! Amen.

But until He does, may we be those who are watching, waiting, and working, because He is coming. Let's stand.

And pray, Father, I do thank You so much that You have not left us ignorant. Lord, You have not left us without understanding, but You have clearly revealed in the pages of Your Word what You are working on and what You are doing. Lord, You have told us things that are going to come to pass before they come to pass. It is one of the great indications, one of the great proofs that this text that we read is divine, that it came from an author outside of time.

I pray that we would be those who take careful note of Your Word, that we would be those who are looking up because our redemption draws nigh. In light of all the things that we've looked at over the last ten weeks, I pray that You would work in us to be those who are watching, waiting, and working. Lord, may we fulfill the commission that You have called us to, to bring the Gospel into all the world.

But God, I also pray that You would work in us so that we would be a loving and compassionate people. May we be those who are reaching out with a cup of cold water to those who are thirsty. Lord, may we be those who are seeking to bring food to those who are hungry, visiting those who are sick or in prison, and comforting those who are dying. Lord, would You use us to be those who truly are the compassionate of this world when the love of many is growing cold?

Would we be those who are loving, declaring Your praises not only by our words but by our actions? God, we look forward to Your soon return. The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." Even so, Lord Jesus, come. May You find us as those who have oil in our lamps, with the wick trimmed and ready to go when the call of the bridegroom comes. We pray this in Jesus' name. All God's people say, Amen.

Amen.