First Sunday in Advent December 1, 2013 GETTING UNSTUCK FROM A RUT (MATTHEW 24:37-44) 73 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 73 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 73 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 04 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 04 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 04 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 07 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 00 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Introduction: This is the first day of the Church year, which begins with the inspirational season of Advent. Advent is from a Latin word that means coming. This season commemorates Christ s first coming, which focuses on His birth and the mission of His birth His substitutionary death on the cross and victorious resurrection for our salvation. Yet it also looks forward to His second coming, His second Advent, which we passionately long for. Indeed, we can be described as people who are between two comings, two advents, confidently looking back 2,000 years ago for the basis of our faith and eagerly looking forward to see God fulfill His eternal purposes for us and planet Earth.
The meaning and power of Advent are so clear, so real, so relevant, right? Well, not for everyone. There are those who reject Jesus and what He has done for the world (see John 3:16), and they are basically stuck in their unbelief. They so desperately need the message of Advent. Can this season also have a special relevance and power in us believers? Can it help us to get unstuck from the problems that plague us? Let s take a look at our Gospel reading and deal with these practical issues. I. Unbelievers Stuck in a Rut in the Days of Noah (24:37-39a) 24:37 The story of Noah is found in Genesis 6-9. 24:38 Eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage imply that the people in Noah s day had an attitude of carrying on with business as usual in spite of the preaching and serious warning of impending doom given by Noah. However, it was even much worse than that according to Genesis 6:5-11: The LORD observed the extent of the people's wickedness, and He saw that their thoughts were consistently and totally evil. So the LORD was sorry He had ever made them. It broke His heart. He said, "I will completely wipe out this human race that I have created. I am sorry I ever made them." But Noah, a righteous man, found favor with the LORD. He consistently followed God's will and enjoyed a close relationship with Him. Now the earth had become corrupt in God's sight, and it was filled with violence. Some other verses on Noah in the New Testament are as follows: - By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. Hebrews 11:7 - The spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water 1 Peter 3:19-20 - If God did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness 2 Peter 2:5 Unfortunately, these unbelievers did not tap into the magnificent power, grace, and peace of God. They refused to put their trust in Him and cry out with sincere worship, acknowledging Him as King of their lives. Only Almighty God can break th e power of the flood:
In His temple all cry, "Glory!" The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever. The LORD gives strength to His people; the LORD blesses His people with peace. Psalm 29:9-11 24:39 Took away (airō) obviously refers to being taken away for judgment. Were the people of Noah s days so much more wicked than all the other people groups throughout human history? Not really. Jesus emphasis is that they ignored God s message of truth and were carrying on with business as usual. They were stuck in the rut of self-indulgence, self-satisfaction, and self-glorification. God did not fit into their worldview in any real or significant way. Undoubtedly they believed that their views were at least as valid as those of Noah, if not more so! How sad, for they missed out on the blessing of knowing the one, true God, and instead experienced divine judgment in a remarkably dramatic way. Not only were their earthly lives cut short; they are in bondage now with a Christless eternity. What a waste; what a rut.
II. Unbelievers Stuck in a Rut in the Days of Christ s Coming (24:39b-41) 24:40, 41 Will be taken (paralambanō) has been used with a positive connotation of taking someone with oneself in 1:20; 17:1; 18:16; 20:17. This verb is in the Greek present tense (literally reads as are being taken ), which emphasizes the certainty of this action taking place. Even though the time is unknown, this event will most definitely occur. 24:41 Grinding with a hand mill was a regular activity for women in first century Palestine. One woman would typically sit on the ground with a lower millstone between her knees (twelve inches or more in diameter), while another woman crouches down and turns an upper millstone by means of a peg on its outer edge. Thus, that day s grain would get crushed into flour so they could bake enough bread to feed the family. The women doing this grinding were normally a mother and daughter, two sisters, two close neighbors, or two fellow servants. To break the monotony of this labor they would talk or sing together, and hopefully enjoy one another s company. What a disruption when one of them is gone! QUESTION: Do the man and woman being taken (24:40, 41) refer to the rapture before judgment, or are they taken away to be punished by the Lord? ANSWER: The taking of the man and woman in 24:40, 41 refers to the rapture, not divine judgment. In 24:39 the people were taken (airō) in judgment by the flood, but in 24:40, 41 a different Greek verb (paralambanō) is used which signifies to take someone along with a positive connotation. However, this deliverance occurs at the time of Christ s second coming (see 24:30-31). From this context a secret rapture of the church prior to a seven-year tribulation cannot be inferred. One must go to other verses to prove or disprove this doctrine. How tragic for people to miss out on the greatest hope in all of human history the coming of Jesus Christ. We who know the love and grace of our Lord can t imagine what life would be like without Him. His promises are so precious to us, particularly His future second coming. The reality of His presence and glorious return really make a difference in our lives, as Titus 2:11-14 so poignantly brings out: The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-- the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. III. Believers Unstuck from a Rut through Christ (24:42-44)
24:42 Keep watch (grēgoreō) is in the Greek present tense which indicates a constant state of readiness and perpetual alertness. 24:43 Broken into was a literal threat, because the Palestinian house was made of mud brick which could be dug through by a thief. The illustration of the thief is given to emphasize the need for being ready for Jesus coming due to its sudden and unexpected nature. 24:44 Because (hoti) indicates a reason for constantly being ready. Rut broken! The Son of Man will come at an hour that you do not expect Him teaches an important principle: His coming is certain but our knowledge of its timing is unknown. Therefore, we have a confident hope in Him and eager expectation for His return. Personal Application Unbelievers are definitely stuck in the rut that began with original sin and continues on with a trust and reliance upon themselves rather than Jesus Christ. That rut, that self-centered, self-deluded stranglehold, can only be broken by the power of the gospel. Only the power of the cross and empty tomb can so dramatically turn someone from the darkness of self-delusion and deliver him/her into the light of God s grace and love. Unfortunately, we believers can get stuck in ruts, too, and not even be aware of it. We all know what ruts are. For example, three very common ruts in our society are constant negativity (toward circumstances), bitterness (toward others), and guilt (toward one s self). How can we be in a state of readiness and not get lulled into bothersome ruts? Here are five suggestions: 1 Pray to our Lord in humble dependence upon His mercy and grace. However, I have a warning: don t just pray and let your mind keep wandering back to the things that are keeping you in a rut. Your perspective needs to change, so move on to the following. 2 Stay in fellowship with fellow believers and be consistently uplifted by God s Word and worship with the community of faith. Don t become isolated and mope in self-pity or sulk in disappointment, depression, and anger. 3 Say what s on your heart to someone else. Someone who will lift you up in Christ, not someone who will feed your negative attitude. Go to a counselor if you feel you need it, and if it s available to you. But at least get it out to someone you trust. I have discovered that probably 70-80% of the problems that people struggle with are effectively solved when they simply share their feelings with another concerned, sensitive, caring person. 4 Stray away from your circumstance and do something new. Don t just stick around at home laying on the couch moaning about how miserable your life is. Get out and take a walk, go for a drive, ride a bike, or even go shopping! Don t get stuck in the same position, the same posture, with the same perspective.
5 Play, that is, lighten up (or rather let Him lighten your load Matt 11:28-30 My yoke is easy, and My burden is light ). Don t take yourself too seriously; God doesn t! He doesn t look at your problems and say, This is so deep, so big, so intense, so complex, so damaging, that I can t do a thing with it. No way! Jesus said, All things are possible with God (Mark 10:27). How, then, does Advent help us to get unstuck from our ruts? First of all, we need to realize that Jesus has already delivered us from the greatest rut of all an eternity without Him! Secondly, we are to look to Someone (Christ our Lord) or something (His second coming) that is infinitely above and beyond our mundane realm of existence. Thirdly, we are to walk in wisdom (see Colossians 4:5), reaching out for God s help and submitting to His direction in our lives. His Son has already paid the price on the cross to deliver us from the greatest eternal rut of all, and He is daily reaching out to you and me to give us the most fulfilling lives we can possibly have in Him. We matter to Him, and He s there to take us through whatever rut comes our way. May Jesus coming (first and second!) be a constant source of hope and strength for us, particularly during this wonderful season of Advent. Unstuck from an eternal rut by the grace, mercy, and love of Jesus Christ, Pastor Steve Waterman