1 Getting Rid of Religion: Semper Fi

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1 Getting Rid of Religion: Semper Fi Luke 12:35-48 Dr. Jon McNeff, Senior Pastor November 7, 2010 Note: The following are the pastor s notes used in preaching this message. This is not a complete, word-for-word transcription of what was preached. These notes serve as a companion to the complete message, which is available by listening to the audio version. Marine Corps Semper Fi Always prepared! Second Coming of Christ precious doctrine of the Bible all Christians look forward to it no matter what their prophetic scheme the final solution to sin will be the return of Christ to the earth in 260 chapters in New Testament (N.T.) the Second Coming is mentioned 318 times one verse in 25 Galatians and 2 and 3 John are the only N.T. books not to mention it Today parable of the faithful and unfaithful servant teaches the reality of the Second Coming Jesus will return to bring history to an end to take His bride, the church to be with Him to establish His Kingdom on the earth and to punish the wicked the Bible is as clear on this as it is on the Deity of Christ Second Coming of Christ is one of the most important doctrines of Christianity because it is the culmination of redemptive history it teaches the complete and final salvation of the elect the complete and final judgment of the wicked the establishment of His earthly kingdom and the complete and final exaltation of Jesus Christ as the visible King of Kings and Lord of Lords no matter what we think of this, it will be fulfilled with absolute precision by God it has already been planned, it has already been written it is as sure as anything in the mind of God anyone who minimizes this or demotes it to secondary doctrine comes perilously close to the judgments in Revelation 22:18-19 if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book. And yet many evangelicals do just that: Reformed theologians hold to absolute interpretation of Genesis 1-3 in a six-day creation, the absolute clarity of Scripture on the nature of the Gospel, the necessity of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, and yet end up waffling on the issue of eschatology by denying a future for a literal Israel as taught by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and all the minor prophets, as well as the Olivet Discourse, much of the N.T., and the whole book of Revelation simply because they uncritically acclaim Calvinism which never really dealt with eschatology and basically accepted the eschatology of the Roman Catholic Church! Preterist theologians go so far as to say that all prophetic events have already happened they call it realized eschatology which means you have to twist all the Old Testament (O.T.) passages on Israel into some kind of contorted message for the church today and say that all the prophetic events of the N.T. have already happened this means there is no rapture, no tribulation, no abomination of desolation, no trumpet judgments, no seal judgments, no bowl judgments, no earthly millennium, no Armageddon, no resurrection, and no Great White Throne judgment all of those are spiritualized into either past or present events in history literally we are living past all the events of Revelation they say the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 was the Second Coming of Christ in the church age, the binding of Satan spoken of in Revelation 20 occurred with the beginning of the church age, and that we are now living in the time of the new heavens and new earth spoken of in Revelation we are literally living in the concordance or the map section of your Bible! Modern mission-driven pragmatists don t deny Jesus is coming but say Second Coming is an optional doctrine not very important second class not very practical because the main impetus of Jesus teaching is to accomplish His Kingdom on earth this is driven by some of the same mistakes outlined above those who misinterpret the Kingdom, end up trying to do the full Kingdom work they see in Scripture without the King present i.e. before Jesus returns to the earth 1 Getting Rid of Religion: Semper Fi

2 this drives much of the missional element today but His Kingdom will never be fully instituted by our activities, nor will our activities bring about His Kingdom this will only be instituted when Jesus returns to the earth to judge sin and implement His earthly Kingdom by fulfilling His O.T. promises to Israel The return of Christ is critical to us I. BE READY (after teaching on the rich fool and anxiety) Luke 12:35-36 Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. picture of a master who attended a wedding be dressed in readiness Luke 12:37 (King James Version) have your loins girded refers to the practice of tucking their longflowing robes into their belt so they could work easier this isn t preparation for the wedding it s preparation for a master coming home from a wedding feast like today, it could go far into the night when he returns home his servants are waiting up for him lamps lit, fire in the fireplace, chocolate chip cookies and glass of milk waiting! they were vigilant, awake, alert, prepared they did not give in to fatigue or grouchiness no attitude picture is active service and joyful anticipation in preparation for the return of their master In like manner, being dressed in readiness is a picture of our preparation for the return of our Master Jesus Christ but He is coming as the groom to pick up His bride the church in Revelation 19:7 the church is called the bride of Christ Luke 12:35 refers to the preparation of the bride for the coming of the bridegroom the preparation of the church for the Second Coming of Christ Being dressed in readiness means: You attend church everyone focuses on the bride at a wedding look around you this is the bride of Christ failure to attend church is like ignoring the bride at a wedding! You love the church to love Christ is to love His bride ignoring the church is like ignoring your friend s wife You serve the church the person next to you is the bride of Christ! serve him/her! [ Reclamation Project got ideas from Shepherd s Conference security on bikes in parking lot greeters shoe shine popcorn we went one better chocolate chip cookies as folks exited Sanctuary wipes, mints, mouthwash in speaker s bathroom free books! this was service just to please someone else cause them to ask, Why are you doing this for me? ] You preserve the purity of the church through guarding against sin, both privately and corporately in church discipline by being devoted to Scripture The Second Coming is not a secondary doctrine we are to look forward to the return of Christ Revelation 1:7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. no matter what eschatological position you take, all Christians look forward to that time Scripture teaches that the Rapture of the church will occur first 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. every rainbow, every storm, every blast of trumpets should cause our eyes to look up! the Second Coming will also be seen in the clouds Matthew 24:30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. but He will descend and set His feet physically on the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem Zechariah 14:4 In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by Getting Rid of Religion: Semper Fi 2

3 a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. there is nothing in that passage that makes me think this is symbolic it is literal! A bride spends months preparing for her wedding dress caterer photographer church bride s party reception, etc., etc.! Finally, the day arrives doors open and all she can see is him! how can the Second Coming be a secondary doctrine? that s like saying the most fun of the wedding is the preparation don t think so! just watch the face of bride and see what she thinks is important! II. BE BLESSED Luke 12:37-38 Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. Tables turned here the master is so please to find his slaves on the alert that He takes on the role of a slave Himself and serves them! what an unexpected joy when the Master tucks His robe into His belt and serves His servants this is what Jesus did at the last supper they gathered for the meal John 13:5-18: Dirty feet were the order of the day common courtesy for slaves to wash feet of guests peers never washed each other s feet disciples were in a temporarily rented house to celebrate the Passover so there were no slaves to wash their feet Luke 22:24 says that right after dinner there arose a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest right after dinner! Jesus tucked His robe into His belt and began to wash their feet bony, ugly, calloused, scaly, smelly incredible act of humility disciples must have been stunned into silence! That s how we show ourselves to be on the alert John 13:14 If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another s feet. those who anticipate the Second Coming will be washing feet serving others and when Jesus returns and sees His servants, His slaves preparing His bride for His return, He will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them Luke 12:37 again! when will this happen? is it literal or figurative? I believe it is literal to have them recline at the table speaks of the future marriage supper of the lamb Luke 13:29 And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. Jesus promises this specifically to the Twelve Luke 22:29-30 just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom then in Revelation 19:7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. That passage helps explain the rest of Luke 12:38 Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. the second watch is 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. third watch is 2 a.m. to 6 p.m. refers to the very last time period on earth before the return of Christ all whom Christ finds ready will be blessed those whose robes are tucked in around their belts those who have the lights still on those who are standing fast for the name of Christ those who are serving the Church and making the bride of Christ beautiful for His Coming all will be blessed What are you doing that will show Christ that you are on the alert, anticipating His return? III. BE SURE Luke 12:39-40 But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is 3 Getting Rid of Religion: Semper Fi

4 coming at an hour that you do not expect. Possibly the greatest hindrance to serving Christ is a lack of a firm conviction that He is coming back but Jesus said, Be sure of this lit. be knowledgeable about this imperative gnosis implies a growing, experiential knowledge it frequently indicates an intimate relationship between the parties Jesus is saying, You d better develop a working, intimate knowledge with this fact Be sure about being ready. The point is that we don t know when the Second Coming will occur: Paul 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, Peace and safety! then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief Peter 2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Jesus Himself Revelation 3:3 remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. The thief motif stresses the unknown time of His return you don t schedule a break-in! Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. there have been 750,000 days since the resurrection not one have brought the Second Coming doesn t mean it won t happen just not yet! We plan for everything in life weddings, babies, graduation, jobs, vacations can t plan for this but be sure it is coming! IV. BE FAITHFUL A. Who are they? Peter asked a logical question in Luke 12:41 Lord, are You addressing this parable to us, or to everyone else as well? remember, Jesus was standing right in front of Peter he had no knowledge of Jesus death, burial, and resurrection no historical benefit he was probably trying to figure out if Jesus was saying that there were some among them who would not be ready to meet the Master Jesus didn t give a clear answer just said that faithful slaves will follow their master Luke 12:42-44 Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations 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. Same thing in Luke 19:15-17 When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know what business they had done. The first appeared, saying, Master, your mina has made ten minas more. And he said to him, Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities. profound principle here! Faithfulness in this life has a direct bearing on what you will do in the next life! This is profound: Revelation 20:6 resurrected saints at the beginning of the 1000-year millennial rule of Christ on earth they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. Getting Rid of Religion: Semper Fi 4

5 Zechariah 14 Jesus will return to Jerusalem verse 9 And the Lord will be king over all the earth Revelation 5:9-10 all those purchased with the blood of Christ from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. will be made to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth. Whatever we will be doing will have some priest-like qualities over the earth possibly over unbelieving countries who will not come to Jerusalem mentioned in Zechariah 14 Our faithfulness now may not be seen John Broadus was a Southern Baptist professor during Civil War after the war the seminary had four professors and seven students, one was blind only one student signed up to take Dr. Broadus class on preaching the blind student he was faithful his lectures to that one blind student became The Preparation and Delivery of Sermons, one of the best known and loved books on preaching today B. The unfaithful Luke 12:45-46 But if that slave says in his heart, My master will be a long time in coming, and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. terrible judgment for the unfaithful slave proves he really has no love and no devotion for the master like teenager who is caught partying when parents come home early! some people are Christians in name only they would rather party than wait for their master and they will be assigned a place with the unbelievers. C. A greater punishment Luke 12:47-48 And that slave who knew his master s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few God is fair, even to unbelievers some have greater culpability because they have heard the gospel many times others have not all have rejected God and are without excuse according to Rom. 1:20 but the principle of grades of punishment is taught here: Matthew 11:22 it will be more tolerable for the Gentile cities of Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for the Jewish cities of Chorazin and Bethsaida because they rejected the law and the witness of Christ Matthew 23:14 Pharisees will receive greater punishment Hebrews 10:29 How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? Questions for Discussion 1. Do you think most Christians live in light of the return of Christ? Why or why not? 2. How would a Hebrew wedding of Jesus time relate to Luke 12:35-36? 3. What correlation do you see between Luke 12:37-38 and Revelation 19:6-9? 4. What is the point of Luke 12:39-40? 5. What is our response to be regarding the Second Coming of Christ according to Luke 12:40-48? 6. What might you change about your life if you knew that Jesus was returning next year? Next month? Tomorrow? 5 Getting Rid of Religion: Semper Fi

The Second Coming of Jesus Christ should motivate every Christian to be obedient and holy, and should cause fear for

The Second Coming of Jesus Christ should motivate every Christian to be obedient and holy, and should cause fear for every non-christian. The first time Christ came, He came to die for the sins of the