From His Heart

Speaker 1

Jesus says, behold, I'm coming quickly. Quickly didn't mean I'm coming tomorrow, obviously, because it's been many centuries, but it means he's coming.

When he comes, it'll be sudden and it'll be rapid.

So the question is this: How are we to live until the Son of Man comes?

Speaker 2

Until Jesus returns, Christians must be wise stewards of the time and resources God has given, while also being spiritually alert, obedient, and committed to following him.

In today's compelling message from Pastor Jeff Shreve on "From His Heart," he'll share three essentials for living watchful and wise lives as you anticipate the return of Christ, a promised return he made to us in the Book of Matthew. The message is from Pastor Jeff's new nine-lesson series, "When the Son of Man Comes," a study of Matthew 24 and 25, and it's filled with prophecy from Jesus himself.

Now you can get this series for your support of any amount this month. Just go to fromisheart.org. When you do, you help us continue to reach the world for Christ.

First though, open your copy of God's Word to Matthew chapter 24, and let's begin this timely message.

Speaker 1

Watchful and wise, Jesus says, "Behold, I'm coming quickly." Revelation 22, the last chapter of the Bible, emphasizes this message. Three times in Revelation chapter 22, Jesus states, "I am coming quickly." If he says it once in the last chapter of the Bible, you would take note. If he says it twice, you'd really be like, "Well, this is important." He says it three times. With 21 verses in Revelation 22, the repetition of "I am coming quickly" is significant. The term "quickly" doesn't mean he will come tomorrow; it was given to John in the first century around 95 AD. It signifies that when he comes, it will be sudden and rapid.

So, the question is this: How are we to live until the Son of Man comes? How are we to live until the trumpet sounds? I want to share three essentials with you today, drawn from the end of Matthew chapter 24, beginning in verse 42. Therefore, Jesus says, "Be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming." But be sure of this: if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think he will.

Essential number one: We must be ready. Look at verse 44 again: "For this reason, you must also be ready." The word "ready" means to be prepared. Jeff Kinley, a friend of mine who took over for Ed Hindson with the King Is Coming broadcast, wrote a commentary on Matthew 24:25 titled "The End of the World According to Jesus of Nazareth." He shares a short parable about a thief coming and recounts a personal story. He said that some years ago, when his kids were still young and living at home, he and his wife took them to the movies. When they returned, they discovered that someone had broken into their house and stolen several thousand dollars worth of property, including a television and electronics. He described the terrible feeling of coming home to find that a thief had been there and taken their belongings.

He reflected, "If I had known that the thief was coming that night, I wouldn't have gone to the movies. I would have been there to greet him," meaning he would have been there to protect his property. But he didn't know; he was unprepared. Jesus likens himself in several places in the New Testament to a thief, saying, "I'm coming like a thief in the night." If the head of the house had known what time the thief was coming, he would have been ready and prepared, and he would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

I was reminded of the true story depicted in the movie "Sully," about Captain Sullenberger, who faced a bird strike that took out all his engines. He had no power and had to land the plane on the Hudson River, which was an unprecedented feat. In the movie, just before they were about to hit the water, he announced, "This is your captain. Brace for impact." That's not what you want to hear when you're flying, right? But it meant they needed to prepare themselves for the impact.

Jesus said, "For the Son of Man is coming at a day when you do not think, in an hour you do not think he will." The word "ready" means to be prepared. The big question is: Are you prepared? The passengers on that plane had time to brace themselves for impact. We know the Lord is coming back, but we don't know when. He will come like a thief, and he won't tell us. He will come at an hour when we do not expect him. So, are you prepared?

Preparation comes from the heart. Our hearts must be ready for the return of the Lord. Many of us have our heads ready; we know things about Jesus and believe in him. If we went through each person here and asked, "Do you believe that God exists in three persons?" the answer would likely be yes. "Do you believe in the Trinity?" Yes. "Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and God the Son?" Yes. "Do you believe he died on the cross for your sins?" Yes. "Do you believe he rose again from the dead?" Yes. Many would check off "yes" to all these questions, having it all in their heads, but many do not have it in their hearts.

I was once someone who believed all that about Jesus. I believed he died on the cross for my sins and rose again from the dead. I believed in Jesus like a person believes in George Washington. James 2:19 states, "Do you believe that God is one? You do well, for the demons also believe and tremble." The devil knows that Jesus is God, that he died on the cross for the sins of the world, and that he rose again from the dead. He doesn't deny any of that. However, he knows it in his head, not in his heart. He has never surrendered his heart.

Many people in church are not ready; their hearts are not prepared. Romans 10:9-10 states, "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." Your heart must be involved. Jesus chastised the religious leaders, saying, "You honor me with your lips, but your heart is far away from me." He pointed out that their worship was in vain, as they taught doctrines that were merely the precepts of men.

To be ready and on alert, our hearts must be prepared. But not only must our hearts be prepared, our lives must be on red alert. Verse 42 states, "Therefore, be on the alert." This literally means to be watchful, like a watchman on the wall, as Ezekiel describes. They had night watchmen guarding the city, watching over Jerusalem. There were different watches of the night: from 6 to 9, from 9 to midnight, from midnight to 3, and from 3 to 6 in the morning. The watchmen needed to be awake and alert; falling asleep was the worst thing they could do.

The Lord says, "You need to be alert because you don't know when I am coming." That's heaven's most guarded secret; no one knows. That's why we're not supposed to set dates. While I believe he is referring to the Second Coming, the Rapture is even more signless. The Second Coming has many signs that indicate the season, but the Rapture can happen at any moment. Therefore, we must be on the alert.

Speaker 2

Wonderful news that we can know when the Second Coming is close. But the Rapture has no signs. It'll be a shock to just about everyone. Pastor Jeff will return for more of this lesson, watchful and wise, in just a moment.

You know, we have just started this new year, and it's continuing like the last one. The world around us feels like it's unraveling by the day. Every headline brings fresh turmoil and wars and disasters and moral confusion and deception. People everywhere are asking, what in the world is going on?

Well, Jesus gave us an answer in Matthew chapter 24 and 25, and he spoke clearly about the end of the age, about the signs that would precede his return and the urgency with which his followers should be ready. And that's what Pastor Jeff's new nine-message series is about. It's called "When the Son of Man Comes." And it's also our gift to you for your support to From His Heart this month of any amount.

To get your copy on a USB flash drive, CDs, DVDs, or an MP3 download, call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or simply go to FromHisHeart.org. We want you to have this series because as we step into the new year, we can't think of a more timely or important message.

Jesus said that before his return, the world would see spiritual deception, political unrest, natural disasters, persecution, and a worldwide proclamation of the gospel. And he told us these would be like birth pains, increasing in both frequency and intensity until the day he comes again.

So we hope you'll step up and help From His Heart reach the world for Christ. And when you do, we'll send you the series "When the Son of Man Comes." You can call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or go to FromHisHeart.org. God bless you.

Now, let's get back to our message today called "Watchful and Wise" from Pastor Jeff's new series, "When the Son of Man Comes."

Speaker 1

Now, how many in here like the series Star Trek? Anybody watch Star Trek? Anybody like the original Star Trek that came out, like in the 20s? No, not in the 20s. William Shatner, I think William Shatner's like 140 years old, but he was Captain Kirk so came out in the 60s, and that was the series I liked. And I haven't gotten into the other ones, although I did like Captain Picard's hair. I thought he had a really good hairstyle. But Captain Kirk and Spock and Scotty and Bones, I liked that.

Now, one of the things I learned as a little kid watching Star Trek, the reruns, if the ship was in danger, Captain Kirk would call for red alert. You remember that sound, red alert? We were practicing that earlier and somebody said, "That's kind of annoying." Yeah, okay, are you gonna keep going? I said, the whole sermon is just red alert. That's all we're gonna do. People are gonna walk away saying, "Man, I learned about red alert. Be on the alert."

But when Captain Kirk would say, "Hey, we're in danger. Red alert," that means everybody get to your battle stations and keep your eyes peeled. Because something is getting ready to happen, the ship is in danger, or something is going on that you need to be on your tiptoes, so to speak. You need to be wide awake. Well, we need to live that way.

Now, the church in Sardis, you know the seven letters to the seven churches? One of the churches was in Sardis, and the church in Sardis was asleep. Asleep in the light. This is what the Lord says to them: "Wake up." Same word that's used for be on the alert. "Wake up and strengthen the things that remain which were about to die. I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of my God. So remember what you have received and heard, and keep it and repent. Therefore, if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you."

He says the exact same thing there in Matthew 24. He's going to come like a thief. And you need to be awake. You need to be alert. You need to be thinking in terms of this could be the moment. I mean, how would I live my life differently if I knew that Jesus was coming back at the end of today? Who would I witness to? What would I do? What kind of relationships maybe are strained? And I would make the move to try and fix those relationships.

You know why we don't witness like we should so much of the time? It's because we're not on alert. I mean, we've all had the experience of being somewhere. You're at a checkout line somewhere, and you sense the Lord is saying, "Talk to that person about me." You're like, "Lord, I don't know how to start this conversation. I can't really do that." But see, if you really were living on alert, you were on red alert, you'd be like, "Yes, Lord, I will talk to them." Because you could be coming back at any moment. I don't want that person to be left behind.

We maybe don't give like we should. Why? Because we're not living on red alert. Maybe we don't praise like we should. And we're not involved. We're just kind of hit and miss as far as church goes. We're not involved in a Bible study class. Those things are important. Why don't we do that? Because we're not living on alert. And as Jesus told to the church in Sardis, "Wake up."

I had Erwin Lutzer on the program, on the radio program not too long ago. And I was asking him, I said, "Which church? Where would you put America in the seven letters to the seven churches?" Because lots of Bible teachers put America like Laodicea. I said, "Do you think we're like the church at Laodicea?" He said, "No. I think we're like the church in Sardis. We need to wake up. We're asleep in the light."

Hey, how are we to live until the Son of Man comes? The first imperative, the first essential is we must be ready. Essential number two. Not only ready, but we must be faithful. So Jesus goes on to say, he gives that little parable about the thief coming and the person being ready for the thief. And then he says in verse 45, "Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that evil slave says in his heart, 'My master is not coming for a long time,' and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour when he does not know. And he will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Who then is the faithful and sensible slave? Well, we must be faithful as we are waiting for the Lord to come. Not only ready, not only prepared, our hearts ready, hearts prepared. We're living on red alert, but we're faithful.

Now, the word faithful in the Greek is "pistis." It's used 243 times in the New Testament, we read about being faithful. Being faithful. Being faithful. Well, what does it mean to be faithful? Well, let me point out two meanings for this number. One, it means that you're trustworthy and dependable. That's obvious from the context of what he's talking about. Who then is the faithful and sensible slave? He's the one that the master can trust. He's the one that is going to do the master's will.

The Lord gives you a job, and when you're faithful, you do that job. You take on a position, whether it's at work or it's at church. And you're going to be faithful to do that job. They can depend upon you because you're going to do what you said you're going to do. You're going to be a man, a woman, a boy, a girl of your word. I love what Howard Hendricks said about faithfulness. He said, "Be so dependable that if you don't show up, they send flowers; they think you died," right? Because, "Hey, he's going to be here, she's going to be here, unless they're dead." Be that kind of person, faithful, and the Lord can trust you with assignments.

Sometimes people wonder, "Why doesn't God give me more? Why doesn't he give me more opportunity?" Well, maybe it's because you're not very dependable, you're not very trustworthy. You know, lots of people would love to have financial resources. "I wish I had financial resources." Well, maybe God can't trust you with that. You know, why don't you do something with what you have and God will entrust you with more. And we're faithful with what we have. As we're going to talk in a couple of weeks about the five talents, two talents, and one talent. The guy with two talents wasn't upset that he didn't have five. He just used what the master gave him and said, "Look, master, your two talents that you entrusted to me, I made two talents more."

Be faithful. Be a person that God can depend upon. You know, Noah was faithful. Faithful to preach for those hundred plus years as he was building the ark. Faithful to call people to repentance and call people to come to the ark. Somebody once said that Noah had a track made up that he was handing out. Just had three words on it: "It's Gonna Rain." That was his gospel track. Here's the way to be saved from the judgment that is coming. It would have been hard to be Noah. It's hard to be faithful when you're not seeing any results. Yet he was faithful. The Bible says about Moses, he was faithful, faithful in all his house. No wonder God spoke to him face to face as a man speaks to his friend. Because Moses was faithful.

But what else does it mean to be faithful? Not only that you're trustworthy and dependable, but it means you're walking by faith and not by sight. So a faithful person is dependable, he's trustworthy, and he's a person who walks by faith. The Bible tells us that commands us that in 2nd Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 7. "For we walk by faith," Paul says, "and not by sight."

Now, faith is always connected to the Word of God. There really isn't faith until you have the Word of God. Romans 10:17 says, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." Hebrews 4:2 says, "Indeed we had good news preached to us, just as they also. But the word they heard did not profit them. Why? Because it was not united by faith in those who heard."

Now, when Jesus talked about the end of the Sermon on the Mount, he talked about everyone who hears these words of mine and acts upon them. "Let me tell you who he's like. He's like the wise man who built his house on the rock." He heard and he did what he heard. He wasn't a forgetful hearer. He was an effectual doer. And when you believe God, that means that you say, "God, I think you're telling the truth." And so I'm not going to look at my circumstances. I'm not going to walk according to the course of this world, according to conventional wisdom, according to what my eyes see; I'm going to walk based on what you say, on the promises of God.

Speaker 2

Well, that is eye opening and hopefully motivating for us all to trust in the promises of God and lean on him in all we do today. You heard part one of the message "Watchful and Wise." It's from Pastor Jeff Shreve's new eight-lesson series, "When the Son of Man Comes."

Now, this extensive and exciting series is our gift of thanks to you for your support from His Heart. This month, you can get the series on a USB flash drive, CDs, DVDs, or an MP3 download. Just call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-24253) or go online to fromhisheart.org to get your copy and support the growing outreach of From His Heart Ministries. Pastor Jeff receives no income from this ministry. He is our chief volunteer and a faithful supporter of the ministry.

The number again is 866-40-BIBLE or go to fromhisheart.org to make your gift and request the series "When the Son of Man Comes."

Hey, thank you for joining us today. I'm Larry Nobles inviting you to be right back here next time for part two of this lesson entitled "Watchful and Wise." From His Heart is a listener-supported broadcast ministry of Pastor Jeff Shreve, speaking the truth in love to a lost and hurting world. Remember, no matter what, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Find out more at fromhisheart.org.