Welcome from all of us at Albuquerque Reformed Church, a particular congregation of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church located in New Mexico. We thank you for joining us for this week's sermon. For more information about Albuquerque Reformed Church or to contribute to its ministry, visit abqreformed.org. And now, we invite you to open your Bible and listen to the preached Word. Let me begin this time by asking you a question. How many of you are looking forward to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ? How many of you are looking forward to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ? If He comes today, if He comes today, what will be your condition or In what way are you going to receive him? Are you going to be happy, elated, euphoric, joyful? Or if he comes today, you will be depressed and it will be a paradigm shift for you. So if he comes today, what would be your condition? Will you be happy or will you be depressed as the whole reality as you perceived has come crashing before you. Last week we looked at the theme of worry and how worry about the future could paralyze one in the present, one even in the present. Jesus said, Do not worry about your life, what you will eat, nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. If God could feed the ravens and clothe the lilies, then He could provide for all your needs, because you are more valuable than ravens and lilies. Food and clothing is not the thing a child of God should worry about. But there is something better, there is something better you should worry about and that is the Kingdom of God. You should think about the Kingdom of God. Jesus said to his disciples to seek the Kingdom of God and all other things will be added to them. God will take care of all other things, your needs, but you must prioritize, you must prioritize the Kingdom of God above every other thing. That means there is an order of priority in a Christian's life. That means there is an order of priority in a Christian's life. You are just not like the people of this world. You are a peculiar people. If you have believed in Christ Jesus, if you belong to Him, then you are a peculiar people. In fact, we are a nation. We are a nation in a nation. We are a nation in a nation, nation consisting of people from all tribe, tongue and nation. So Jesus taught us to prioritize His kingdom. He said in verse 31, seek the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added to you. So you can live a bold life, confident life, knowing that your Father in heaven will provide for all your needs. The only thing which you have to do is to seek and prioritize His kingdom above every other thing. Then in verse 32, we also saw that Jesus said to His disciples that it is the Father's good pleasure to give the kingdom to His children. God, it is God's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. That means if you suffer with Him now, then you will reign with Him when He returns again with His holy angels. So there is a reward if you suffer for Christ now. And in this passage which we have before us, we are going to see how we are to prepare ourselves as we await the coming of our Lord from heaven. So the first point which we are going to see here is keeping a watch in light of His imminent return or being prepared. Now this is the first time Jesus is talking about his return in the gospel of Luke. We have seen Jesus talking about his death, burial, and resurrection, and hardly his disciples have understood the significance of those things. And now he speaks about his coming in glory. Here he likens his coming to a master who returns from a late night wedding and whose servants waited patiently for him to return to his own house. Ancient Near Eastern weddings lasted for many hours. Even today in Asian countries, especially in Hindu weddings, especially in rural areas, villages last for a whole week. Whole week! And usually most of these activities will take care in the night. So by the time people come home, it will be like 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. in the night. And in the Eastern Wedding, it was the same thing. People would stay late, you know, talking to people, enjoying all the meals, the good food, the drinks, and the rituals. And people would stay long. And this is the picture which Jesus is using here. Now it is one thing for a master to come home late after a wedding, but it is another thing for the servants to wait for their master. Most people do not like waiting on other people. Most people. It is not our nature. It is not in our nature to wait for other people. and it is not natural and especially if you know your friend or your spouse or whoever it is if they are coming late in the night then it is not easy it is not easy for us and someone is coming at 2 a.m or 3 a.m in the night no not at all but Jesus says blessed are those servants whom the master when he comes will find watching and waiting Now this is not the only place where Jesus refers to himself as the one who comes late in the night and expects his servants to be watching and waiting for him. In the parable of the ten virgins, Jesus likens himself to a bridegroom who comes late in the night to take his bride with him. Then what is the meaning of this short parable? Why is Jesus even using this illustration? The meaning is simple. Jesus expects His disciples to be waiting and watching for His return. He has not come for the past 2,000 years. People in all centuries waited and longed for Him, but He still wants His people. He wants you to be waiting and watching for Him. He wants you to be prepared for Him. He says in verse 35, he says, let your waist be girded and your lamps burning. People in the ancient Near East wore long robes, and if not tucked properly while working, there was a real danger of tipping and falling to the ground. Here Jesus uses that expression to tell his disciples that they should never let their guards down. They should always be morally vigilant. they should always be ready to receive Him as soon as He returns again with their lamps burning. So that means if today evening Jesus comes, your attitude should... you know when Jesus comes, He wants people to be waiting for Him rather than He just comes there. It's like everyone is there in some club or you know some park and it's like He came here. It's like I'm here and where is everyone? So He expects people to be watching and waiting. You should be ready with your lamps burning. Here being ready means first receiving Him as one's Lord and Savior. If you have not received Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, then You need to receive Him because without receiving Him, you will not be ready to receive Him. Instead, you will be shocked. It will not be a matter of joy for you. If you are not in Christ today and if He comes, it will be a shock to you. Shock, disbelief, gnashing of teeth, tears. But if you receive Him, then it will be a joy to you. The second thing you can be ready for the return of Christ is by being busy in laboring for His kingdom without being disappointed for His delay in return. Without being disappointed for His delay in return. The Apostle Peter reminds his readers in 2 Peter chapter 3 that in the last days many scoffers will come and say Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. Is this not how people think? Is this not how people say? Even if they don't say this, with their life they show that this is what they believe. How do we know that? When people teach all kinds of false doctrine, what are they confessing? They are confessing perhaps he is not real. He is not real. He is not going to come back. And if he is not going to come back, we are free to teach whatever we want to teach. And this is how ignorant people speak and act. But a faithful servant would be watching for the return of his Lord and would be eager to receive Him. And Jesus says here that the Master Himself will serve those who will wait for Him. In verse 37, He says, Assuredly, I say to you that He will gird Himself and have them sit down to eat and will come and serve them. How amazing this is! How amazing, how amazing this is that Lord Jesus Christ, the God of heaven and earth, the King and Head of the Church, He Himself will come and serve His people. What a role reversal! What a role reversal! Now this is the most unimaginable gesture a Master could make towards His servants. From the beginning of creation, masters receive service from their servants and this is how things are across cultures. But here Jesus says that those who are always ready and waiting for their master's arrival will be served by the master himself. That means if you faithfully serve him, if you are watching for his return, if you are waiting to receive him eagerly, the Lord Jesus Christ himself after he comes he will serve you the master will gird himself and have them sit down to eat and will come and serve them which master serves their servants in this manner the scripture says that there is only one master who serves his creature in this way and that is the Lord Jesus Christ 2 Corinthians 5 21 says, For he made him who knew no sin to be a sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. This is his serving you, that he becoming sin for you, that you might become the righteousness of God in him. And then Philippians chapter 2 shows us that he took the form of a born servant. You know, often we don't want to do the things which are lowly. things which are considered menial. That's how most of us are. We don't want to do things, you know, which is kind of befitting of a servant. But Philippians 2 shows us that he took the form of a born servant. Was it required for him to take the form of a born servant? No. If no, who would have suffered? We. Who would have been the loser? We. But who took the form of a born servant? Jesus. Him. It says, and came in the likeness of man and humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Even before that, just notice this, humbled himself and became obedient. We don't like becoming obedient. It is not in our nature that obedience comes hard. It is difficult for us to be obeying. It is difficult for us to be obedient. But Philippians 2 shows us that He humbled Himself and became obedient. God became obedient. God became obedient. And then He became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Jesus became a servant. Jesus became a servant to redeem his beloved servants. So whosoever believes in him should have eternal life. But here Jesus shows us that whoever prepares himself to meet him when he will return with his holy angels will be served by him again a second time. He himself will prepare a table for them and his servants are going to feast on that day. He has prepared a table for you, my dear beloved. He has prepared a table for you and you are going to feast on that day. He himself is going to serve you on that table and you are going to feast on that day. In verses 35 to 38, he first shows his disciples that he is going to return again and they should be ready and watching. And in verse 39 to 40, he uses a slightly different metaphor to teach his disciples that he will be coming at a time when no one is expecting him. This time he uses the image of a thief who breaks into people's houses. Look at verses 39 and 40. Now when we think about a thief breaking into people's houses to steal, we associate it with wickedness. It is a wicked thing to steal. Stealing is a wicked thing. We read in the Law of God today morning, thou shalt not steal. But Jesus is using here the image of a thief breaking into a house to teach his disciples about his sudden unannounced coming. About his sudden unannounced coming. We read the same expression in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 1 and 2. It reads, But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourself know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. So here we read the same expression that Lord coming as a thief in the night. You know, you know the quality which stands very unique with thieves are that they are very stealthy. That they are very stealthy. They are very, very secret about their coming. The whole trade depends on the secrecy. The whole trade depends on the secrecy. What would you say about a thief who just announced, you know, announced his coming before he comes or leaves some clue, leaves some clue? I think you would laugh at, yeah, you would just laugh. That would be most funny thieves, most funny thief. Thieves are secret about their coming. And Jesus shows His disciples that His coming will be sudden and unannounced that everyone who was not ready will be caught off guard. Everyone who is not ready will be caught off guard. But on the contrary, who is ready, they will not be caught off guard. If you are in Christ Jesus, if you are looking for His arrival, if you have prepared your heart to receive Him, even if He comes today, it's not going to be a surprise. You're not going to be shocked. In fact, you will be euphoric. Perhaps you'll be screaming, screaming and yelling with joy and you'll be running around screaming that Christ has come, but you will not be shocked. You'll not be caught off guard. But if you have not prepared your heart, then you will be caught off guard. So how should you live the light of His coming? Should you gaze at the stars if He is going to return today? See, the point is that watching is not gazing up for any moment return of the Lord. Watching is not gazing up for any moment return of the Lord. It is a moral vigilance that keeps you ready at all times doing your duty. It is a moral vigilance that keeps you ready at all times doing your duty. This is how you watch for Him. This is how you prepare your heart to receive the Savior. You will not get reward for merely looking up for signs of His coming, but you will get reward when He comes if you are faithfully serving Him in light of His return. If you are faithfully serving Him in light of His return. He wants, my dear congregants, He wants you to seek His kingdom. He wants you to seek His kingdom and labor for the riches which do not perish in light of His sudden unannounced appearance. If you will not labor for the riches which will not perish, but if you labor, for the things of this earth, the moment he comes back again, everything is useless. Everything is waste, whether you have possessions, property, positions at workplace or whatever he has, it will not be of any use. But last week we saw that he said that labor for the things which do not perish. In verse 41 Peter says, Lord do you speak this parable only to us or to all people? Perhaps he thought that Jesus was speaking this to the 12 apostles only. For some reason he thought that Jesus is speaking only to the 12. But Jesus' response now shows us that he was not limiting this to the twelve only, but to anyone who is faithful in hearing and obeying his commandments. And verse 42 onward shows us that there is a reward for the faithful and condemnation for the unfaithful at his return. So first we looked at that we need to be waiting and watching for His return and now in verses 42 to 48 onwards shows us more clearly that there is reward, that there are rewards for those who wait for Him patiently and those who serve Him faithfully. Now, verse 42 is a rhetorical question which elicits an answer. Question is simple. Jesus said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Who is a steward? ESV uses the word manager. And the concept is same, it is just both ESV and NKJV are using the word interchangeably. A steward is one who is entrusted with the goods and properties of his master to manage the affairs in his absence. A steward is one to whom the master gives authority to execute the affairs of the business in his absence. his authority goes as far as he uses it for the good of the affairs of his master. But he is never allowed to use that authority for his own selfish gains because at the end of the day, he is only a servant and not a master. So primarily, this parable is referring to those who are interested with the care and shepherding of the people of God. That means Jesus is primarily directing this to the apostles. And that's why Peter asked, to whom are you speaking this parable? Are you speaking only to us or to all the people? So Jesus is primarily directing this to the apostles and elders, the teachers of the church who will be overseeing the people of God after his departure for a long time. In Acts 20, the Apostle Paul reminds the Ephesian elders to take heed to themselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made them overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. Then in Hebrews chapter 13, the writer reminds the church to obey the elders, saying, Obey those who rule over you and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls as those who must give account. let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you." So when Jesus in verse 42, when he is saying, who then is a faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household to give them their portion of food in due season, he is primarily speaking to the leaders of the church who has been entrusted with the care of the sheep. Jesus is the master who has appointed elders and ministers over his household to give them their spiritual food in due season and shepherd them to the end that all may come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man. And Jesus says, Blessed is the servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. That means there is a blessedness who faithfully serve Christ. There is a blessedness those who faithfully serve Christ. And then he attaches a promise to his faithful servant saying that he will make him ruler over all that he has. That means if His servants are faithful with little, then He will give them more. He will give them more responsibilities. But is this parable limited to elders and ministers only? Peter asked the question, saying, Lord, do you speak this parable only to us or to all people? The thing is that Jesus did not give him a straight answer, and that means He did not give them a straight answer because this is not limited to elders or teacher. You know, Jesus is referring to all, all His servants, all those who belongs to Him. In fact, even the unbelievers, they are His stewards. In fact, even the unbelievers, they are his stewards. Anyone who has any position in the world is a steward of God. Anyone who has any position in this world is a steward of God. That means whatever a person has, it belongs to God. If you have anything, then it is God who has given you those things first. Whether it be gifts, talents, graces, possessions, it belongs to God first and you are just a steward. 1 Timothy 6.17 says that it is a living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy. It is a living God, the true God, who gives us all things to enjoy. That means if you have a house to whom it belongs. It belongs to the Lord. If you have a good car, to whom it belongs? It belongs to the Lord. If you have savings in your bank account, to whom it belongs first? To God. If you have gifts and graces, talents, a talent to play, you know, musical instruments, talent to sing, to lead, managerial graces, who gave you those things? It is God. Whatever you have, it is God who has given you those things and God requires you to use that for the good of His kingdom and God explicitly requires you to use that for the good of His kingdom. One of the differences between a faithful believer and unbeliever is that the believer uses all things for the glory of God, as he ought to, and the unbeliever uses all things for self-indulgence. This is the difference between a true believer and an unbeliever. An unbeliever uses all things for his self-indulgence whether it is his house or car or property or whatever it is he uses all things for his self-indulgence and Jesus says blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes That means the praise is not of the one who merely says things about God, but who does things for God. One who is a faithful steward, who faithfully discharges his duties as he anticipates the coming of his Lord from heaven. Such stewards would receive a greater responsibility at the coming of Christ. And this is the promise which remains for all those who are faithfully laboring for the kingdom of Christ. You're called, you're invited to labor for His kingdom. And there is a promise that, you know, when He comes, He will give you greater responsibilities. He will give you greater responsibilities. But now in verses 45 to 48, Jesus is also warning those who are unfaithful in discharging their duties. Often ignorant people say that Jesus only spoke about love and acceptance. He only spoke about love and acceptance. Hence, Christians should only speak about love and mercy of God and that he loves all and he cares for all, but he should never speak about the wrath of God or the hell. But the New Testament shows us that Jesus also spoke about hell where the worms do not die and fire does not quench. Here Jesus speaks about beating. Jesus speaks about beating. He speaks about severe punishment for those who are unfaithful in managing his affairs. First he speaks about a servant who thinks that his master is delaying and hence becomes violent towards his male and female servant and shamelessly engages in self-indulgence rather than faithfully serving his master. My dear friends, every false teacher, every false teacher who is surrendering to the LGBTQ agenda today falls into this category. Every false teacher who is preaching a prosperity gospel falls under this category. Everyone who says, Lord, Lord, and not faithful in his walk and not generous towards those who are under his care, everyone who claims to be a Christian, but abusive. I warn you that you have to give an account. You have to give an account on the day when he returns with his holy angels. There are consequences for actions. those who abuse the people of God in the name of Christ, those who are using people as a resource for their wicked gain. Jesus says that He will come on a day when they are not looking for Him and at an hour when they are not aware and will cut them in two and appoint their portion with the unbelievers. I think the expression coming like a thief is a warning of judgment to unbelievers. I think this is not something you should be worried about. He coming like a thief. It is a warning to the unbelievers that it is a matter of alarm, that He will come at a time when they are not expecting and they will be caught off guard. It is a warning to the unbelievers. For the unbelievers, it is going to be a difficult day because He is going to come with vengeance. He is going to come with vengeance. And Jesus says that all the unfaithful servants will be caught off guard on that day of judgment when he once again returned to the earth. I don't think that the expression here, cut him in two, is literal. This is equivalent to saying, my boss would kill me if he finds it out. But the point is true. There will be judgment on all the unfaithful servants when Christ will return, even though now they may teach error and abuse people in his name. That means there is also going to be judgment on people who are just abusing people. Abusing people, those who do not receive His word and those who reject Him. There is going to be judgment on all. Scripture shows us that it is a pointer for men to die once and then the judgment. Now in verse 47 and 48, Jesus shows us that to whom more is given, more will be expected from them. This is the principle Jesus is teaching here. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required. And to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. That means if you have been given more in the sense of if you grew up in a Christian church, if you have gone through the waters of baptism, if you have heard the Word of God preached to you week after week for years and years, more will be required of you. More will be required of you. You just cannot live life as it is. You just cannot live life as it is. More will be required of you. If you continue to neglect to obey and walk faithfully before Him, then there is a greater condemnation on you. Jesus says, that servant who knew his master's will and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes, but he who did not know yet committed things deserving of stripes shall be beaten with few." But I don't want you to be comfortable reading this verse here, that perhaps, you know, I did not know it and, you know, I'll get less beatings. At the end of the day, beating is beating. Whether you get less or more, you know, It is never fun. I don't think that there are degrees of punishment in hell, but one thing is clear, that there is a greater condemnation of those who grew up in the Christian church, sat under the preaching of God's Word and enjoyed the benefits of living in a covenant community. They have also experienced the benefits of living in a covenant community. And Jesus is pretty serious here. There is a greater condemnation of them because they knew the truth, they knew the will of God, but still rejected the will of God for themselves. So how should you live in the light, in light of His coming? How should you live in light of His coming? First, If you are not walking faithfully with Him, if you have not received Him, receive Him. This is how you prepare. First, by being found in Christ. By being found in Christ. By being covered in the righteousness of Christ. By being covered in the righteousness of Christ. The second thing, you prepare for the coming of Christ by serving Him. by serving Him faithfully, by serving Him faithfully, knowing that you have a Master in Heaven, knowing that you have a Master in Heaven who sees all things. One may say, nobody is watching me. There are ministers and elders who do stuff thinking that nobody is watching them. There are husbands who do stuff thinking nobody is watching them. There are fathers and mothers who do stuff, not faithful as a steward, not faithfully leading their children. And they think that nobody is watching, but there is a master in heaven. This is what this passage is teaching, that there is a master in heaven who sees all things. And a day will come when everyone will need to give an account of their life. The thing is that all of us, as individuals, we fail. We are not good stewards. We are not always good husbands, good fathers, good church leaders, good managers, good property managers. We do not take good care of what others entrust to us in our hands. We are not always faithful. But the thing is that Jesus became a servant. Jesus became a servant in order to wipe all your sins, which you commit, which we commit as unfaithful servants. He became a servant in order to wipe all the sins which we commit as unfaithful servants. Because Jesus has served His people by giving His life as a ransom, you must serve Him as you await His coming from heaven. Because Jesus has served His people, He was not ashamed to serve us. He was not ashamed to serve you. If He was not ashamed, then we should not be ashamed to serve Him. We should not be ashamed to serve Him as we await His coming from heaven. This is how we prepare for His coming. How? We serve Him. We serve the people of God. We seek His kingdom without being ashamed that we would also like our Master would take the form of a servant and we serve our brothers and sisters in Christ. We would love our brothers and sisters in Christ that we would spend. We would spend for our brothers and sisters in Christ. We would open our homes for our brothers and sisters in Christ. We would give rights to those who perhaps who need a right to church. And we should be willing to divest in this world and invest in the Kingdom of God because that is eternal. That is what is going to stay for all eternity. All other things will fail in this world. May Lord prepare our hearts as we pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, first of all, Lord, we praise you because what a wonderful God you are. What a wonderful God you are. Lord, thank you for exposing our hearts often. Lord, we commit many sins and especially, Lord, we commit sins as a steward. Lord, at the end of the day, we are your servants and whatever we have, it belongs to you. So in that respect, we are your stewards. Our positions belong to you, our life belongs to you, the gifts and graces, all of these things belong to you. But how often in pride we say that these things belong to us or We did this because of our own intelligence or smartness or talent. How often we fail to give you all the glory. So Lord, we confess our sins. We confess that we have not been faithful stewards. We have not been faithful stewards. And if Lord comes today, perhaps there are many areas in our life for which we would be ashamed. So Lord, we ask forgiveness. We pray that you would forgive all our sins in this respect. Lord we pray that we would be faithful and humble servants of your humble servants of your son and till the day he returns again we would faithfully serve him with all our heart mind and soul. We ask this prayer in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Thank you for joining us. If you were blessed by this sermon, we invite you to visit us at abcreformed.org, where you'll find more information about our ministry. We look forward to you joining us again, online or in person. Until then, may peace, comfort, and grace be given to you through our Lord Jesus Christ.