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Reading: Luke 12 v’s 35-48. Text: v. 37 “Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching.” The opening verse of the chapter sets the scene. By the time we come to v. 35 the emphasis is on the bridegroom. No one knew for certain just when He would come! But everyone was expected to be fully alert, on the lookout. Once he was spotted, the cry would go up, “The Bridegroom is coming!” Jesus took this familiar circumstance in Jewish life and applied it to Himself. Just as the Jewish bridegroom broke on the scene out of the shadows of the evening darkness, so one day Jesus Christ will break through the sky – coming for His Bride (His people). The joyous celebrations will begin – for those who have been on the lookout. So, in this context, God’s message to our hearts is straightforward:
1. The Bridegroom is Coming – Be Ready! During 1940, Vice Admiral Patrick Bellinger and others were warning the U.S.A. of a possible Japanese assault on Pearl Harbour. Suddenly at 8.00 a.m. on 16th January 1941, bombs and torpedoes rained down and splashed into the battleship Arizona. Over eleven hundred crew members were killed, eighteen ships destroyed, one hundred and eighty planes destroyed, one hundred and sixty two damaged and two thousand four hundred lives lost. Bellinger was on duty that morning and sent out the first radio alert: “Air raid – Pearl Harbour – This is no drill!”
Momentous events stand out in people’s memories. How about this question? Where were you when Jesus Christ returned for His people? In bed! In school! In work! In the supermarket! At the sports arena! Those who are left behind will be asking this question.
Are you sure you’re born again and washed in Jesus’ Blood?”
2. The Bridegroom is Coming – Be Working! When a believer thinks the Lord is not coming back yet, he begins to deteriorate. His zeal dies down. His material gain becomes more significant. The Lord and His work are squeezed out. The apostles had a special responsibility to feed God’s household (His Church) v. 42. But all of us have a service assigned to us in this world. On 19th May 1780, New England was shrouded in almost total darkness. By 1.00 p.m. panic began to set in. People thought the Day of Judgement must have come. Thousands of people crowded into churches. Both houses of legislature were in session in Hartford, Connecticut. One quickly dismissed as members reckoned the world was coming to an end. A motion to dismiss was made in the other. A Mr Davenport objected saying, “Mr Speaker, this is either a day of judgement, or it is not. If it is not, there is no need to adjourn. If it is, I desire to be doing my work. I move that candles be brought in and that we proceed to business.” The meeting went on. As the darkness of evil intensifies across the world, and the Day of Judgement inevitably approaches, there is a message from the Lord: Let the lights be burning and the business proceeding! Is the business of your life fitted to the day of the Lord’s return? Is the diligence of your soul concentrated to the Day of Judgement? What will you have to offer? Do you think it will stand His approval? What will happen to it all on the day that tries by fire? . If you would like spiritual counsel and feel you would like to talk to our pastor then click HERE to e-mail him directly.
Due to be updated: end December Archived Messages.
14/06/06 The Border Land of Fulness. |