3 Warnings Jesus Gave About His Return

Hey, we're Todd and Julie Mullins, Senior Pastors here at Christ Fellowship Church, and we're so glad that you're tuning in for service today. Yeah, Christ Fellowship is one church that meets in lots of different locations, including right here with you. Yeah, and our prayer for you today is that you would sense God's love for you. See, I don't personally know all that you're going through today and what you're up against, but God does. And He hears your prayers, and He knows your name, and He's right here for you today as you call out to Him. Yeah, thanks again for joining with us today. We love you, and we're praying for you. God wants to exceed your expectations this year. What are you expecting God to do this year in your life? Those who are planted in the house of the Lord will flourish. We are a church for the one who is lost, that they will be found, and they will find their purpose in Jesus. The one who gave it all so that we could experience life and life to the full. God is more in store than you have in mind, and I believe so much more that it's going to blow your mind. Come on, welcome home. Our God has done great things. So let's praise Him today all over this place. Come on, this is a great exchange. Oh, they call my name. Come on, we sing of His mercy. Oh, Jesus. Oh, ♪ Out of the darkness into your glorious day ♪ I'm so thankful for the good news. Anyone else here thankful for the good news of the gospel?

Come on, would you repeat after me? Listen to this. ♪ Seem looking what the Lord has done ♪ ♪ I'm never going back to the way I was ♪ Come on sing with me today. ♪ Look at what the Lord has done ♪ ♪ I'm never going back to the way I was ♪ ♪ I'm never going back to the way I was ♪ ♪ Look at what the Lord has done ♪ ♪ I'm never going back to the way I was ♪ ♪ My eyes are open, cause when you call my name ♪ ♪ I ran out of that grave ♪ ♪ Out of the darkness, into your glorious day ♪ Yeah, he calls on me. ♪ You call my name, and I ran out of that grave ♪ ♪ Out of the darkness, into your glorious day ♪ Come on, it's a new life with Jesus. We're going to do a new life with Jesus. Come on, welcome home church. Welcome home Christ Fellowship. This is the invitation, come and see what God has done. In fact, I'm reminded in Psalm 46 and Psalm 66 and so many others through the New Testament, there is an invitation that says, come and see what God has done. Oh, he's good teach towards mankind. So maybe you're new in this place or you are participating with us online right now. I want you to know the invitation is this, come and see what God has done.

Oh, he's brought us through grief. Oh, he's done miracles in this house. Come and see what God has done here at Christ Fellowship. And all over the world, I'm so thankful for our time together church. We're going to continue to worship. We get a chance to honor our dads, the house, and we get to lean into God's word with Pastor Ryan McDermott. Oh, it's going to be a good day in his house. Let me pray for us. Father, we pray in ancient prayer, come spirit, come have your way in this house. As we call on the name of Jesus, our banner, we thank you that victory rests with your church. We thank you for it today. In Jesus name, the church says, amen. Come on, let's worship. ♪ I know a name that can silence roaring waves ♪ ♪ I know a name that can empty out a grave ♪ ♪ I know a name, it's the only name that saves ♪ ♪ It's the only name that saves ♪ ♪ And it's worthy of all praise ♪ ♪ I call you Jesus, I call you, I call you healer ♪ ♪ Risen and reigning in power ♪ ♪ Something comes out of the grave every time, every time ♪ ♪ I call you Jesus, I call you, I call you savior ♪ ♪ Worthy of glory forever, something comes out of the grave ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name ♪ ♪ I have a king with dominion over death ♪

♪ He holds the key, yes he does, in his holy name ♪ ♪ He holds God's hand, he is the healer, yes he is, yes he is ♪ ♪ He has crushed the serpent's head ♪ ♪ Our resurrection grace, I call you Jesus, I call you Jesus ♪ ♪ You're my healer, risen and reigning in power ♪ ♪ Something comes out of the grave every time, every time ♪ ♪ Praise, every time I call you Jesus ♪ ♪ I call you, I call you Savior ♪ ♪ Worthy of glory forever ♪ ♪ Something comes out of the grave ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name, chains break ♪ ♪ I know, oh yes, every time I call your name ♪ ♪ The gates of hell shake, every time I call your name ♪ ♪ Oh, chains break, drive holes away ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name, the gates of hell shake ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name, Jesus, how we need you today ♪ ♪ He's risen and resurrected, He's risen and resurrected ♪ ♪ So what do I fear, what do I fear, so we sing ♪ ♪ Where, oh death, is now your sting and where, oh grave ♪ ♪ Your victor, come on, sing it again, sing it again ♪ ♪ Where, oh death, is now your sting and where, oh grave ♪ ♪ Your victor, come on, sing it again, sing it again ♪ ♪ Where, oh death, is now your sting and where, oh grave ♪ ♪ Your victor, come on, sing it again, sing it again ♪ ♪ Where, oh death, is now your sting and where, oh grave ♪ ♪ Your victor, come on, sing it again, sing it again ♪ ♪ Death is come alive, death is come alive, death is come alive ♪ ♪ I call you Jesus, I call you, I call you, Jesus ♪ ♪ Every time, so it comes out of the grave, every time I call on you, every time I call on you, Jesus, I call you, I call you, Jesus ♪ ♪ Where you go me, everywhere and anyway, so it comes out of the grave, every time I call your name, you've been faithful, God, every time I call your name, every time I call your name ♪

♪ Every time I call your name ♪ I've seen you move in my life, oh God. Every time I, go your name, Jesus. There's healing, in his name, Jesus. There's so much freedom in his name, Jesus. Oh there's power, Jesus. I call you Jesus, I call you, I call you even. Risen and reigning in power. Something comes out of the grave. Every time I call you Jesus, I call you, I call you savior. Worthy of glory forever. Something comes out of the grave. Every time I call your name. ♪♪ Thank you Jesus. ♪♪ I cast my mind to Calvary. Where Jesus bled and died for me. I see his wounds, his hands, his feet. My savior on that cursed tree. Oh we look to you Jesus. His body, love, it transcends years. They lay him down in Joseph's tomb The edge was sealed by heavy storms Messiah's dead and all alone That was not the end, amen Oh praise the name of the Lord our God Oh praise His name forevermore For endless days we will sing Your praise Oh Lord, oh Lord our God

Oh thank You Lord Then all the earth had prayed the dawn The Son of Heaven rose again Oh triple day, where is your King? The angels roared for Christ the King Oh praise the name of the Lord our God Oh praise His name forevermore For endless days we will sing Your praise Oh Lord, oh Lord our God Oh praise the name, oh praise the name Of the Lord our God Oh praise His name forevermore For endless days we will sing Your praise Oh Lord, oh Lord our God He shall return in rolls of wine The blazing sun shall pierce the night And I will rise among the saints My case translates on Jesus' face In glory, in victory Oh I am not confident in myself But I am confident in the One I am confident in Jesus And in His work That He will save the church And He will raise us up To live eternally with Him, amen Oh we stand in victory today Come on, sing His name, just Jesus, Jesus You are the Lamb of God, anointed One Who was and is and is to come

Seated on the throne of love Holy, holy, righteous One Who shed His blood and proved to us The Father's love Jesus Christ, be lifted up Holy, holy, Lamb of God, anointed One Who was and is and is to come Seated on the throne of love Holy, holy, righteous One Who shed His blood and proved to us The Father's love Jesus Christ, be lifted up Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one Only Jesus Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one Only Jesus There is no one Only Jesus There is no one Only Jesus Come on, there is no one else. Can I tell you there is nothing better to put our trust in. There is nothing greater. There is nothing more strong or firm. There is nothing that lasts in eternity like the name of Jesus. He is worthy to build our lives on.

He is worthy to put our trust in. He is worthy to give all the praise and all the honor and the glory because nothing will outlast Jesus. God, you are a worthy foundation, something that we can trust in, that we can build our lives on. God, I love your promise that you were, you are, and you will come again, that you will last forever, that this earth will fade away. But the reality is, if we put our faith and our trust in Jesus, that we will never end, but we will continue to give you praise and honor and glory because your kingdom has no end, your power has no end, and your church has no end. Come on, church, can we give Jesus praise today? Come on. Man, I'm loving this series we're in, these songs we've been singing. It's building my faith. I hope it's building yours as well. Hey, whether you're watching with us online or here in Gardens, why don't you turn to one or two people, give them a high five, shake their hands, say to, hey, to somebody in the chat, and you can grab your seats today. Joining, not watching, joining. Well, I want to welcome everybody joining us across all of our campuses today, but I do want to take just one more minute and honor all of the dads in the house today. And in order to do that, come on, let's make some noise. In order to do that, I actually want to do something that Christians have done for centuries, and I want to speak a specific blessing over the fathers of our house today. I've been praying for you this week, dads, and I've written a special blessing for today that I want to speak over your life. And so I want to invite you across all of our campuses, if you are a dad in any way, shape, or form, would you stand to your feet right now across all of our campuses? Come on, make some noise one more time for the fathers of our house. In scripture, blessings are specific prayers that have been spoken over a group of people

to call out destiny and blessing and purpose in their lives. And so I want to pray over you today, and I want to invite you across all of our campus locations, if you're comfortable, just to extend a hand towards the dads around you, or if you know them, you can put a hand on your shoulder. Don't touch somebody you don't know, but no, just stick your hands out today. And I want to pray this specific prayer over our dads. Dad, may God bless you today with integrity. May you be the same man in private that you are in public. May your character be rooted in truth, your convictions anchored in God's word. May your life be marked by faithfulness. May your children, your family, and those around you see in you a man who walks humbly with God. Dads, may God bless you with wisdom today. When the path ahead is uncertain, may the Lord direct your steps. May he give you discernment for every decision, patience in every season, and understanding beyond your own experience. May you lead, not merely with knowledge, but with godly wisdom that comes from above. And dad, may God bless you with strength today. Strength to stand firm in your faith, strength to lead with courage, strength to love sacrificially, strength to preserve when life is difficult. May your home be better because you are there. May your family be stronger because of your example. May your faith echo through generations, and may you become all that God has called you to be, a man of integrity and wisdom and strength. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and all of God's people said, amen. Come on, make some noise for the dads, you can be seated. Well if you've been with us over the last couple of weeks, you know that we've been in a series called Reconstructing Our Faith. And it's all about tackling the questions, what do we believe?

And how do we know? And why does it really matter? And the whole idea in this series is to go back to the foundations of our faith. And really take some time to examine those foundations, to sure up those foundations. Because as you well know, when you try to build on a faulty foundation, things grow wrong very quickly. One of my favorite examples. Examples of this, favorite examples of a faulty foundation is the Leaning Tower of Pisa, okay? You've probably seen it before. Many of us have been there. Maybe you even tried to take like this picture, you know? If you have this picture in your camera roll, you know what I'm talking about. What's fascinating to me is that every single year, five million visitors flock to this monument to mediocrity. Think about what this construction really represents. It's interesting that so many people are fascinated by this structure. You might not know, but construction on the Tower of Pisa that was not meant to be leaning began in 1173. And the builders had this grand vision. They wanted to build this bell tower that would last through the centuries. And the plans were impressive and the craftsmanship was excellent and the materials were beautiful. There was only one problem. The foundation was only about 10 feet deep.

And it was actually constructed on soil that was a mixture of soft clay and sand and shells. And so here's the problem. The ground was never strong enough to support the structure they were trying to build. And so by the time they got to the third floor, they noticed that this building was leaning, right? And they actually didn't know what to do. And so they paused construction on this beautiful world-renowned structure for over a hundred years. And then at the end of a century, since they had so much time to come up with a good plan, they decided just keep going. And so literally they put on the fourth floor and they tried to build this beautiful structure and literally they put on the fourth floor and they tried to make one side like a little bit bigger than the other side. And then they got to the fifth floor and they tried to like balance it out a little bit. And literally they built the rest of this entire structure trying to level things out in this building. In the 654 years since the tower was completed, an enormous amount of time and energy and money has been poured into trying to manage a problem that could have been avoided. If they had simply stopped, taken a few steps backward, maybe even torn some things down

that had been built up over time, but then actually advanced with strength, 654 years later, they're still managing a problem that could have been avoided. And here's the truth. Many people spend years of their lives trying to straighten up what is leaning. Relationships, habits, priorities, purpose, identity. We work harder, we make adjustments, we add new disciplines, we're trying to compensate for the tilt. But sometimes the issue isn't actually the visible structure, it's the foundation. And here's something that's true about each and every one of us. Eventually, our faith will reveal the strength of its foundation. Eventually, our faith will reveal the strength of its foundation. There will come a moment in life where maybe something that you have believed forever is challenged. What kind of foundation is your faith built on? Or maybe something does not turn out the way that we expect it to turn out. Or we get some news that we didn't expect to get and they're just, for a variety of reasons, there can become a moment in our lives where the foundation of our faith is revealed. And so what we have been attempting to do

over the last couple of weeks is go, man, how do we sure up the foundation of our faith? How do we know what we really believe, why it matters? What is this whole thing actually really built on? Because if we build it on the wrong thing, that tower comes crumbling down really quickly. But if we can actually return to the core components of Christianity, if we can actually return to the foundation of our faith and build our lives on timeless truth, man, that changes everything. And so we've been returning over the last couple of weeks to timeless truth that has survived wars and plagues and persecution, truth that has withstood the test of time. These foundational truths that we're gonna recite together in just a minute, they've been sung in prisons and declared in palaces and recited in churches all across the globe for centuries. I'm talking about the creed, the statement of our Christian faith. And again, we're gonna recite it together in just a moment, but it's important to remember that the. Earliest versions of this type of creed date all the way back to about 150 AD. Very soon after the life of Christ, these creeds are formally coming together and shared across the known world of the time. And here's what's true about a creed. It doesn't tell us everything that Christians believe,

but it gives us the core tenets of our faith, and these are the beliefs that we build everything else upon. And so I wanna invite you across all of our campuses one more time to stand to your feet. We're gonna get some exercise in church today, y'all. You good? We're gonna stand to our feet, and here's what we're gonna do. We're actually going to join our hearts and our voices with the saints around the world and through the centuries who have recited this creed and others just like it. Let's repeat this together. Recite this together. With me, believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord, who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. On the third day, he rose again in accordance with the scriptures. He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy universal church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sin, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting, amen. Amen, you may be seated.

I'm gonna be honest, there's something in me that just my heart lights up when we recite those words together. But because the creed is meant to be this beautifully unifying piece of theology, where we go like, this is what it comes down to if you tear away everything else that Christianity has become. Here are the core tenets of our faith. And there is something so powerful about going back to these words together. And the statement from the creed that I wanna draw your attention to today is this. This is a statement about Jesus, and it says this. He, Jesus, will come again to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. He will come again to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. This is an incredibly important foundational truth for our faith. If you remind yourself that the earliest versions of the creed go all the way back to the first century, first and second century, here's what this line tells us. This line tells us that from the very conception of Christianity, believers have understood the return of Christ to be an essential doctrine of our faith. It's that important that it would get space here. Now, I actually believe that we don't talk about the return of Christ enough.

We don't talk about it enough. I mean, people used to talk about it, they used to sing about it, they used to pray for it, they used to long for it, but somewhere along the way, we've stopped talking about the return of Christ the way that we should. What's interesting is that the Scriptures actually have a lot to say about the return of Christ. In fact, some scholars would argue that it is the most frequently discussed thing in Scripture. They would actually argue that it is covered more than any other topic. There are over 1,500 passages in the Scripture that reference the second coming of Christ. Scholars would argue that at least one in every 30 verses in the New Testament references Jesus' second coming. That's like you can't even get through your devotional in the morning without stumbling across a verse or a reference to the return of Christ. The second coming of Jesus is directly referenced in 23 of the 27 New Testament books. Jesus personally referenced his second coming more than 20 times. So here's the truth. God talks about the return of Christ a whole lot in his word, but we don't talk about it a lot. We don't really think about it a lot. A lot.

And I think in part, that's because there's a lot of confusion around it. There's a lot of disagreements around it. And if we're really honest, there's a lot of fear around it. Some of us in this room and across all of our campuses, when we start talking about. out eternity, death, the second coming of Jesus, the end times. There can be a lot of fear around these subjects, right? Because I think, again, there's so much confusion, there's so much disagreement. And then some of us, we read like the left behind books. And if you got up in the morning and your parents were gone, you're like, I've been raptured. You know, everybody else has been raptured. I'm here, I'm left behind. There's some very real fear to talk about these things. But here's the truth. The return of Christ as Christians gives us so much confidence in this life. I actually think it's the enemy of our souls who wants us to be confused or disagree or be fearful because Jesus wants you to know he's coming back. He wants us to know that we can actually set our sights on this truth, that we have in Jesus a soon coming King. And one day Jesus will return. And on that day, he will ultimately and exhaustively get his way. The kingdom and the systems and the brokenness of this world will be undone.

And Jesus will establish a new rule, a new reign when he comes again. And the Bible says that on that day, Jesus, he's gonna wipe away every tear from our eyes. The death shall be no more. There'll be no more mourning, no more crying, no more pain for the former things have passed away. We have a great hope in our soon coming King. In fact, everything about this world that we find painful or difficult or broken is resolved, resolved at the return of Christ. And so we have to fix our eyes on this truth if we are going to be able to endure the turmoil of this world. One of the things that's true about me that I wish was not true about me is I get very, very seasick. I get very, very seasick. I wish it was not true. I wanna be out on the boat. I wanna be fishing. I wanna be catching. But I get seasick very, very quickly. In fact, I've gone out with some of my good friends from the Jupiter campus and Greg and Jim will tell you it is not good, right? Like it's not good. And one of the things I've always heard as I've dealt with this throughout my life is just like, man, look out,

like don't fix your eyes on the waves, right? You gotta look up. You gotta look beyond the horizon. What do you do? You set your sights on something that is fixed, something that is steady, something that it does not move, right? Look there and you won't feel it as much. And I believe that when we set our sights on the return of Christ, it's almost as if we are looking beyond the waves, the chaos, the turmoil of the day, and we're fixing our hope on something else entirely. Now that doesn't mean we won't have questions. I got a lot of questions about what it's gonna be like in the end and when Jesus is coming back. And I got a lot of questions. In fact, the disciples, the closest followers of Jesus, they had a lot of questions for him because they heard Jesus talking about this all the time. And there's one specific instance in Matthew chapter four where they're asking Jesus about the end times and that he's coming again. And what are they gonna be the signs? And how will we know? And they have all the same questions that we have. And in Matthew chapter 24, I want you to watch his response starting in verse four. Jesus answers all of their questions about the end times

by saying this, watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming I'm the Messiah and they'll deceive many. You will hear wars, you will hear of wars and rumors of war, but see to it that you're not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquake in various places. All of these things, all of these things, they're the beginning of the birth pains. What's interesting to me is that when they ask all of these questions about like, Jesus, what's gonna happen? When are you coming back? How do we know? What should we look for? And yeah, he gives them some things, but largely he does not directly answer their question. He doesn't give them the answer that they want, but he gives them the answer that they need in order to take their sights off of the waves and the turmoil and the chaos of their day and fix their eyes on something else entirely. So what does Jesus actually say in Matthew chapter 24 to those who have questions about the last days

and about his return? Here's the first thing he says. Number one, don't be deceived. He tells them pretty plainly, don't be deceived. Be deceived. And he starts talking about how, watch out that no one deceives you because don't believe everything that you hear. There's gonna be some people who come along, false teachers, false prophets, false versions of Jesus try to pull you away from the truth, right? There's gonna be some people who say, hey, the world's gonna end on this day, at this time, in this hour, right? And Jesus says, don't get caught up in any of that. Don't be deceived. Here's what you should know, I am coming back. And when I come back, there is a truth that you can cling to, that all things will be made right again. And so he's going, don't be deceived. And my fear is that many people are deceived. In fact, the fact that we are maybe confused, or disagree, or are fearful about the return of Christ is evidence that we've been deceived. Because your spiritual enemy doesn't want you to know about the great hope that we have in his return. He wants you to get caught up in when,

and is this a sign, and what about this war, and what about this leader, and what about that thing? Does this all mean, and can we put together the pieces, and can we figure out, that is not the point. At least not according to Jesus. And I'm gonna go with his words on when he says he's coming back. He goes, don't be deceived, right? The last days aren't a time to be obsessed with speculation. They're a time to be anchored in God's word. So when we don't know, when we have questions, what do we do? We go back to the scriptures. We go back to what Jesus says. If you wanna avoid deception in this present day, and around this subject, man, we stay close to Jesus, and we stay grounded in the scriptures. So they're going like, what should we look for, Lord? And he goes, don't be deceived. That's not what it's all about. And then he says to them this, not just don't be deceived, he says, don't be alarmed. This is a big deal, don't be alarmed. Don't be surprised, don't be caught off guard. And when Jesus makes this statement to them, he actually says this way, you will hear wars, and rumors of war, but see to it that you are not alarmed, right? So when Christians who have their sights set on the return of Jesus, turn on the news,

or open their X-feed, you should not be surprised, or alarmed at the state or the condition of the world. Jesus has warned us about this, that there are going to be wars, and rumors of wars. And what does he say? He says, do not be alarmed. Why? Because followers of Jesus are not called to live in fear. Every single generation since Jesus has looked at the headlines and wondered if the world is falling apart. Is the world falling apart? Yes. Every single generation since Jesus has wondered, looked at the headlines and wondered, is this the end? Yes. It is. Because basically every day since Jesus was here, the first time is the last days. We have a promise to hold on to, and here's the promise. The promise that we have is not that it will get better. It's that he's coming back. The promise that we must cling to is not that it will get better. It's that he's coming back. Because if we cling to the promise it will get better, and it doesn't, the whole tower comes crashing down. We instead cling to the promise that he's coming back. Why? Because he never said it will get better

until he comes back. We have to fix our faith on the right thing. Jesus says, don't be alarmed, don't be surprised, because there are gonna be plenty of people who are worried and fearful and confused, and we don't have to be that. We can have a confidence, we can have assurance, we can be a firm foundation in a world where everything else is chaotic and being in upheaval and turmoil and all that. We don't have to give in to any of that. While the world may feel out of control, the truth is that history is still in God's hands. And the return of Christ is not meant to create panic for his people, it's actually meant to produce peace. Because if my peace and my confidence and my hope is in the leaders of this world, the rulers of these nations, the generals of these armies around the world, if my peace or. or hope or confidence is in those things, it will fail every single time. That's not where my peace comes from. My peace comes from a promise that Jesus said he's coming back, and when he comes back, he's gonna make all things right again. And so I have to fix my faith to the right thing. Our hope isn't in the fact things are getting better. Our hope is in that he is coming back.

Here's the third thing Jesus says. He goes, don't be deceived, don't be alarmed, and don't be unprepared, don't be unprepared. And the overwhelming majority of the time that Jesus spends talking about his second coming falls into this category. Don't be unprepared, don't be caught off guard. And the way that Jesus says it to them in that moment, right, he's just going like literally, he actually spends a great deal of energy here talking about this, because we need to understand how very important it is to prepare for his return. We spend an enormous amount of time and energy and effort preparing for things that might happen. We spend a lot of time and energy and effort preparing for retirement that might happen, hurricanes that might happen, college that might happen, vacations that might happen, and yet many people are completely unprepared for the one event that is guaranteed to happen. And in Matthew chapter 24 and Matthew chapter 25, Jesus keeps returning to this one theme, be ready, stay awake, don't get caught off guard, be faithful, live prepared. See, the disciples, they wanted information about the future from Jesus, but Jesus was far more concerned about their condition in the present. And if you think about it for just a second, a lot of times, what we want from Jesus

is information about the future. What's gonna happen, how's this gonna turn out? My own life, maybe in this subject, right, but Jesus is far more concerned about our condition in the present. So the question for us isn't when is Jesus coming back, do you know when Jesus is coming back? The question is, if Jesus came back today, would we be ready? If Jesus came back today, would we be ready? Because everything that Jesus talks about here, that's the point of his teaching. Everything that he teaches about his return is like, will you be ready when I come back? And here's how he says it in Matthew chapter 24, just a little bit later, it says this, therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this, if the owner of a house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch, wouldn't have left the house to be broken into. And so you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come in an hour when you do not expect him. What does that mean? It gives us this posture of kind of always being on guard, always being on the lookout, expecting that any moment Jesus might be coming back to reclaim his bride.

We don't know the day or the hour, but we know we're supposed to live in this posture where we're kind of constantly expecting like today, today could be the day. It could be the day. Not because Jesus really cares about the day or the hour or the time, that's not for us to know. But Jesus absolutely cares about whether or not we are prepared personally for his return. That's the most important question. Are we ready for his return? To this day, our eight-year-old Kinley at home, she absolutely loves the game hide and seek, which I think is fascinating, because if you play hide and seek in your own home more than twice, you're out of places, right? It's not a new game every time, but she loves to play hide and seek, right? And so I love when you play hide and seek, what do you do? It's like, okay, you're in, and you find your spot kind of in the living room, obvious place, close your eyes. You got to count to, in our house, it's 30, maybe in your house, it's 10, I don't know, but we count, right? And then when you get to the end of your counting, no longer, how long it's been, right? You're going eight, nine, 10, what do you say? You're like, ready or not, here I come.

And the whole point is like, hey, if you haven't prepared yourself yet, time's up, I'm coming for you, you better be ready. And guys, I just want to tell you like in a way, There's kind of heavenly countdown going on. I don't know if Jesus is gonna count to 10 or 30 or 100, but I know there's gonna be a day where he goes, hey, ready or not, here I come. And the question on that day is how will you be found? If Jesus returned today, would you be ready? If Jesus returned tomorrow, how would you be found? In the very next chapter, Matthew chapter 25, Jesus takes what he has spoken plainly in Matthew 24, and he tells them three stories that help the disciples and us today know how to be prepared for his return. He tells them three parables, at least two of them you've heard before. The first one, there's a group of 10 virgins who prepare their lampstands, they fill them with oil, and they go out to wait for the return of the bridegroom, because that would be the celebration of his throne. When he gets back, they would throw a party. And some of them, talks about the wise ones, they go out and they bring oil with them because they don't know how long they're gonna have to wait. And half of them don't bring oil, and so they go out to wait, but then they fall asleep. They get drowsy, they use up all of their oil, and when the bridegroom returns, they're unprepared,

and they don't get to experience the wedding feast. I would encourage you to read it for yourself, but here's the point. Jesus expects that when he returns, he will find us pure with our lamps, our lights, blazing brightly for him. He expects that when we return, when he returns, excuse me, that he would find us pure with our lights shining so brightly for Jesus that everyone knows who we're waiting for. Then the second parable that he tells is the one that's more familiar. It's the parable of the talents. This is the story where the master is going away, and so he goes to his three servants and he gives them each an amount of gold, right? So one bag, two bags, five bags of gold, and he goes away. One of them buries it, the other invests it, and the third one also invests it. So when the master returns, he finds three servants. Two of them have been faithful to take what was put in their hands and multiply it and offer it back to the master, and one of them was unfaithful with what the master had put in their hands. Why would Jesus tell that story? Well, Jesus expects that when he returns for us, he would find servants that have been faithful, that we have taken every single thing

that God has put in our hands, and we've done our very best to steward it and to multiply it and to offer it back to him. I mean, this parable is about our time. It's about our talent. It's about our finances. It's about anything that God puts in your hands when he comes back, he would expect that you didn't just hold onto it, you didn't just keep it safe, but that you actually used it and multiplied it. So God expects that when Jesus returns, he would find us faithful and fruitful, pure, with our light shining brightly for Jesus so that everyone knows who we're waiting for. And then the third parable, he tells, is a little more serious. It talks about how on the day that Jesus comes back, there's this picture of Jesus sitting on the throne in heaven, and there's people before him, and he separates them into two groups. The vision is sheep and goats, but it represents two different groups of people. Sheep on his right, goats on his left. And to the sheep, he says, come into my kingdom. Come into my kingdom. Because anytime you saw me in need, you helped me. When I was naked, you gave me clothes. When I was hungry, you fed me. When I was thirsty, you gave me a drink.

When I was sick, you cared for me. When I was in prison, you visited me. Come into my kingdom. And they say to him, they're going, Jesus, when did we do any of those things? I never cared for you when you were sick, Jesus. I never visited you in prison. And Jesus says, well, whenever you've done it for the least of these, you've done it for me. Enter into my kingdom. And then to the other group, he says, depart from me. Why? Well, I was hungry, you didn't feed me. I was thirsty, you didn't give me a drink. I was sick, you didn't care for me. I was in prison, you didn't visit me. Like, when did that ever happen, Jesus? It's like, whatever you didn't do for the least of these, you didn't do for me. And the whole point of. that story is that those who are living on mission for Jesus, those who are actively being the hands and feet of Jesus are going to be the ones on the last days when Jesus returns who are ready. So these three stories tell us very clearly that when Jesus returns, he expects that we will be pure with our light shining so brightly that no one can confuse who it is that we're waiting for. He expects us to be faithful and to be fruitful and to actually be found on mission,

being the hands and feet of Jesus. And so if that's the standard, are you prepared? Are you ready for his return? Because all the words of Jesus are aimed at one thing, not speculation, preparation. Will we be prepared? I wanna invite you today across all of our campuses to join me just in a moment of prayer. And if you would, just close your eyes with me, bow your heads with me for just a moment because there's really two things that we need to do today to be ready for his return. The first is, if you've never given your heart to Jesus, today is the day of salvation because here's the truth. Here's what you need to know. In fact, this is so important across all of our campuses. One more second. Open your eyes. I was trying to hit my time. I can't hit my time. You need to know something. Here's the truth. If you are in Christ, the return of Christ gives us great comfort. If you are in Jesus, I want you to see this on the screen. If you are in Jesus, the return of Christ, it gives us great comfort. But if you're not in Jesus, his return should actually give us great concern. Because we will not be ready for his return.

If you've never began a relationship with God through the sacrifice of his son, Jesus, today's the day. Today's the day you can be ready for his return, that you can enjoy the promise of eternity and a soon coming king whose kingdom will have no end. But if you are a follower of Jesus, maybe if you're honest, you're getting a little drowsy, getting a little sleepy. Light's not shining so brightly. Gifts are being buried instead of multiplied. You're not feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, visiting the poor, being in the hands and feet of Jesus. So either you need to get right with the Lord today, or you need to get on mission for our soon coming king. Now let's pray. God, I pray for all of us in this room who are followers of Jesus. And God, if we have gotten sleepy, gotten drowsy, if our light is not shining brightly, if maybe we've gotten off mission, God help us today to remember to live each and every day as if you are coming back today, because you, oh Lord, you are our great hope, you are our great comfort, and we wanna be prepared. If you're here across any of our campuses today, and you've never started a relationship with God through the sacrifice of his son, Jesus, today is the day of your salvation. It's the only way to be ready for his return. You have to place your faith in Jesus.

And so we're gonna pray this prayer together. But if you're praying it for the very first time, I want you to say it just a little bit louder than everybody else. Say this, dear Lord Jesus, come into my life, make me new again. Give you my sin. I receive the eternal life that only you can offer. And for the rest of my days, as best as I know how, I will live to honor you. I wanna be ready, Jesus. Say it again, I wanna be ready, Jesus. It's in the name of Jesus we pray. Everybody said, amen, amen.