Luke 12:45-59 "The Plight of the UNPREPARED

Intro: The Title of our study this morning is the "The Plight of the UNPREPARED

  1. Have you ever found yourself unprepared for a SITUATION – Dinner GUEST – you thought you said 6:00 / they heard 5
  2. They show up / house is a mess / you’re a mess & the dinner you haven’t even begun?
  3. DATE – He said I will pick you up at 6:30 / You heard 7:30 / he shows up – You have your Bathrobe on – and curlers in hair
  4. Few times unprepared to give a message – Bumbling IDIOT !
  5. Being unprepared can definitely be a EMBARRASSING THING / & we have all been there / Bible study – wrong lesson.
    6.
  6. But there is one event your definitely don’t want to be unprepared for & that is the COMING OF OUR LORD !!!!!!

1) Not just EMBRACED BUT GREATLY GRIEVED !!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now in our study last time we saw where – Jesus gave us the Characteristics & the Blessing that were in store for those servants that He would find READY AT HIS RETURN

  1. Their lives were marked by 4 things :

1st Waist Girded – Ready for service / Ready for Battle.

2nd LAMPS BURNING – Lives shinning Brightly for the Lord – Lives that see the need to be constantly DEPENDENT ON THE H.S.

3RD – WAITING - Anxious Expectation - Not Distracted

4th WATCHING – being aware of the signs / the times & the seasons

  1. Watching also speaks of Prayer 1Pet.4:7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.

Joe Lewis was the heavyweight boxing champion of the world./ Brown Bomber's / He fought 71 times professionally; he lost only once. During the decade and a half he held his title, he defended it 25 times.

Interviewed – toward the end of his Career – what was his SECRET – how could he win over people who were at times much larger than he.

His answer was very simple "I study my opponent, I plan my fight very carefully. The results are always the same. 1) I'm never surprised and 2) I stay on the offensive".

Good advice for the Christian living in a world where – difficulties & temptations / enemy – seeks to rip us off / defeat us /

  1. That is what is meant by having Waist girded / Lamps burning / Waiting & watching -

 

Today we want to see the Contrast that Jesus gives concerning the Person who is found not ready at his return found in v.45-59

  1. Divide this portion of scripture into 3 sections

1st Note the Characteristics of the unprepared Person

2nd –Note the REASONS WHY

3RD – THE JUDGEMENT THAT AWIATS ( READ V.45-59 )

SO JESUS BEGINS BY GIVING US THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE UNPREPARED IN V.45

  1. NOTE 2 THINGS lives are marked by : Brutality & Carnality

B) 1ST BRUTALITY - 45 "But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to BEAT the male and female servants,

C)BRUTALITY – BEATING PEOPLE - Oh not necessarily – Physical

beating / but how about VERBALLY – LASHING OUT at them

  1. Verbally coming down on People – speaking & saying unkind things about others

D) That person who doesn’t’ believe that Jesus could come back today is

not going to be that concerned about how he treats people or talks to them

Here’s something I have been doing a lot lately – asking myself – this QUESTION – What do I want to be doing when the Rapture happens?

  1. AND – WHAT DO I NOT WANT TO BE DOING.
  2. Now think about this: GUYS how would you treat your wives if you knew the RAPTURE was going to happen today - could be this hour.
  1. Would you go home & Rail on them – be mean to them?
  1. Ladies how would you treat your husbands – how speak to them?
  2. Imagine –being in a heated argument w/ your wife / Hubby / not married a friend – when the Rapture happens –
  1. There you are – RRRR GGG - going at it – BOOM – in HEAVEN

Why is everyone looking at us ? / What is up w/ those two?

  1. Now I don’t know if it is going to happen that way – but if it does that would be TERRIBLE
  1. PT. IS if I believe that Jesus could come back today – I am going to

treat people a whole lot differently

Col.4:5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.

  1. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

If I am REDEEMING the TIME my speech is going to be marked by GRACE – Which speaks of UNDESERVED FAVOR & FORGIVENESS

  1. My life is going to be seasoned w/ SALT - salt here speaks of FLAVOR

My life is going to bear the FLAVOR OF CHRIST

 

2ND CHARACTERISTIC of those who are not ready for His COMING IS CARNALITY – V.45b and to eat and drink and be drunk,

  1. The Person who doesn’t believe that Jesus is going to come today –

    2. says lets PARTY - LIVE IT UP – WE HAVE TIME

  2. Listen if you really believed that Jesus could come back tonight – you wouldn’t head out to Pachinga – some other CASINO
  1. Wouldn’t be so interested in going to THAT PARTY / or seeing that

QUESTIONABLE MOVIE - / STUFF ON INTERNET

  1. That is why the Rapture is an important TEACHING for PURIFYING THE CHURCH
  1. John Declared – Whoever has this hope in Him Purifies himself just as He is Pure .
  1. If I believe in the IMMENIENT – Return of Christ – My life , my speech, my actions, my MOTIVES are going to be marked by a PURITY
  1. But if I say in my heart – My Lord delays – I will be susceptible to get caught up in CARNLITY - Lash out at others in BRUTALITY

 

 

 

1 THES. 5: 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.

5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.

6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.

7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.

8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

  1. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

 

Next lets note the Reasons why Some are not going to be Prepared

3 REASONS :

  1. 1st v.45 – He says IN HIS HEART – my MASTER delays his coming –
  2. You see that is where it starts in the heart – THAT BURNING FIRE that was once there – thought – Jesus could come today – begins to fade .

    3. 1) Instead of waking up & thinking – IT MIGHT BE TODAY - I wake up & say in my HEART - IT PROBABLY WON’T HAPPEN TODAY

  3. For one reason or another I stop thinking that it could be today – oh this needs to happen first . LOSE THE EDGE

    4. 1) I become DULL - spiritually -

    Hebrews 10: 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

  4. Start thinking I don’t need to be in Bible study I don’t need fellowship – not going to invest time in godly relationships – to stir up & be stirred

1) I’LL HAVE TIME FOR THAT LATER !!!! Don’t be a FOOL

2nd REASON – He is not looking v.46 / not WATCHING & PRAYING

  1. Because he is not looking – he is unaware OF WHAT IS GOING ON AROUND HIM – doesn’t see the signs !!
  2. Jesus alludes to this in v. 54-57 54 Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming'; and so it is. 55 "And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot weather'; and there is. 56 "Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time? 57 "Yes, & why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right?

b) Jesus is stating how is it that you guys can tells what the weather is going to be like by watching the signs

  1. Observing the patterns – STORM OR CALM / HOT OR COLD
  1. So too Jesus says you should be able to follow the Prophetic Patterns / aware of the Prophetic climate

    2. A tourist driving through West Texas stopped at a gas station and observed a piece of rope dangling from a sign labeled "Weather Forecaster." "How can you possibly tell the weather with a piece of rope?" the tourist wanted to know. "It's simple, sonny," was the droll answer. "When the rope swings back and forth, it's windy, when it gets wet, it's raining, when it's frozen stiff, it's snowing, and when it's gone... tornado!"

  2. Jesus is saying to them in light of the time that they were living – if they had been paying attention to the signs /
  1. they would have known He was the MESSAIH
  1. He road into Jerusalem the very day that Daniel Prophesied the Messiah would come – 483 yrs or 183,880 days
  1. That is the reason that He cried out when He came into Jerusalem YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN YOUR DAY BUT YOU KNEW NOT
  1. They were not paying attention to BIBLE PROPHECY – not Looking at the signs therefore – Not Prepared Unaware / Not Looking
  1. Same is true today – You would have to have your head in the sand to not DISCERN THE EVENTS HAPPENING IN OUR DAY.
  1. We spoke last week of some of the events – that our taking place in our time – tension in RUSSIA & MIDDLE EAST

1) Moral Decline -

WHAT ARE SOME MORE OF THE SIGNS THAT TELL US LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS

  1. Bible Prophesied that the nation of Israel would dispersed & would be a nation no more ( Israel is God’s stop watch )
  2. But in the Last days – God would restore them once again as a nation & Bring them back to their Home land .
  1. Now in A.D. 70 when TITUS the Roman Gen. Came into Jerusalem & ransacked the place – Jews were DISPERSED
  1. From that point on Israel ceased to be – ceased to exist as a NATION

And it stayed that way for nearly 2,000 yrs / stop watch stopped

  1. But - May 1948 - Israel was REBORN – did what no other nation or people has ever done – after almost 2,000 yrs – REFORMED

Jeremiah 30:3 3 'For behold, the days are coming,' says the LORD, 'that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,' says the LORD. 'And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.'"

  1. At that time THE STOP WATCH STARTED TICKING AGAIN -
  2. Also Luke 21: And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
  3. Although Israel had regained their land in1948 – they still did not have possession of their capital city - CONTROLED BY GENTILES
  1. But in 1967 6 day war - recaptured Jerusalem
  1. At that Point Prophetically speaking the RAPTURE COULD HAVE happened – TIMES OF THE GENTILES WAS FULFILLED
  1. ( Now we are in period call overtime )

H) Those were 2 very significant – EVENTS THAT HAPPENED

We Know from the Book of Dan. & From what Jesus taught in Matt. 24 & John in the Rev. – that in last days TEMPLE – REBUILT

  1. We know that the Abomination of Desolation that Dan. Spoke of would happen at the 31/2 yr. Mark of tribulation. In the temple

B) Ask a Orthodox Jew in Israel – How will you know who is your Messiah

    1. Invariably they will answer – the Man who HELPS US BUILD OUR TEMPLE

C)They are so convinced that – they are close that they have begun training

Priest & Producing Temple Instruments –

  1. Once a site is approved they could have it up & running in short order
  1. We read in the Book of Rev. about 2 witnesses slain in Jerusalem. Bodies lie in the streets for 31/2 days – while the whole world looks on
  1. That would have not been possible before Satellite TV.

  1. One world monetary system – under the control of antichrist – where everyone takes a mark – Can’t buy of Sell - How possible ?
  1. TATTOOS ARE INN - But also – Bio Chips inserted under the skin – all the info that we one would ever need about you.

E) Capacity to blow up the World – several times over - could be the explanation of the mass DESTRUCTION we read about in the book of Rev.

Now we could spend all morning – talking about the signs – mentions some last week as well.

A) But that is a Characteristic of the one who is unprepared – not watching/ not paying attention to details / therefore ignoring the signs

  1. Monday – night went to Padres game – friend his wife / my wife – go see Sammy Sosa hit # 63 – Wives sick – ended up w/ Howard

    2. 1) Dinner – excited – tonight is the night - #63

  2. We get to the Game – go up to the gate - my friend pulls out tickets & hands them to the guy - Wrong Night – Tues. night / bummed
  1. Plight of many People who are going to find out that because they were not paying attention they were not prepared – Lord’s coming

c) Now we were Able to get – tickets trade – Grace

  1. That is going to be the Plight of many people – they are going to stand before the Lord w/ their ticket of Good works / Religious affiliation
  1. Wrong TICKET – No TRADING -
  1. Not Prepared not paying attention to Scripture – IGNORING –what the LORD clearly laid out – HOW A PERSON IS SAVED !!

1) Only through faith in Jesus Christ !!!!!

 

3rd Reason some will not be ready – Waist girded / Lamps burning / Waiting & watching is Because of the Difficulties that go along w/ Living your life that way v. 49 –53

49 "I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

50 "But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished! 51 "Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. 52 "For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three.

  1. "Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

Now I want to come back in a minute to v. 49 & 50 tie in the context – but for the flow of our outline – consider v. 51-53 3rd REASON.

  1. See Jesus knew that there would be some of would have a hard time following Him- really Living for Him – because it would mean Division
  2. Because it would have a Divisive affect on their Families – w/ their Friends
  3. Later Jesus would warn his disciples: (Luke 21:16-17.) "...you will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all on account of My name."

D) Jesus knew that following Him / could me – Loss for some –

  1. 1) venture to say all of us have experienced loss of important
  2. relationships because of our Faith in Christ.
  1. Ethan – High scholar in Irvine – saved – study I taught – Family was Buddhist – meant – He would be cut off –
  1. Written out of mom’s will – cut off from the family

 

Perhaps you have gone through a similar thing – or perhaps you have a Relative / Husband / wife / Mom or a Dad – unbearable to live w/ because of YOUR FAITH

A) Encourage you to HANG in there – remember the Words of our Lord

  1. 1)Jesus told his disciples in the upper room just before he was led to the
  2. cross, (John 16:33.)

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."

  1. Sad thing is because of the difficulty that comes w/ this type of DIVISION – many give up on walking w/ the Lord .

V.49 Some scholars think that v.49 is a reference to the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost,- Acts Chapter 2/

  1. That belief is based on the conversation John the Baptist had with some Jews who had asked him if he were the Christ (Luke 3:16).
  2. He answered them, "...As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."
  3. The fire would be the work of the Holy Spirit within the hearts his followers / empowering them for Service
  1. However, Luke 3:16 is followed by verse 17:

"And His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

  1. John proclaimed that the Messiah who would come after him was mightier in both salvation and judgment.

E) If they received the Christ, he would give them the gift of the person and

power of the Holy Spirit

    1. so they could live their lives in a way that was pleasing to God, to his honor and glory, and to their joy and peace.
  1. But If they rejected the Christ, they would be judged like the chaff on a wheat floor, which he would burn up w/ unquenchable fire,
  1. a symbol of hell.

Here is something that we need to UNDERSTAND sometimes we want to ignore the fact that Jesus spoke about Judgement –

  1. When in ACTUALLITY – it was a subject that He spoke a great deal about - HE KNEW WHAT HELL WAS GOING TO BE LIKE

B) Warned people to AVOID THIS at all cost - / Hell was not made for

man but for the DEVIL & HIS DEMONS

    1. But Men will go there – by their own Choice in rejecting Christ .

C) But there is another way - v.50 "But I have a baptism to be baptized

with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!

D) v. 50 – BABTISM – REFERING TO THE CROSS / Salome 2 sons – Are they able to be Baptized w/ the Baptism I am about to be Baptized w/

  1. Yes there is a Judgement – that is coming – But I have already endured the Judgement of Sin -

 

Now Listen : You who are currently going through difficulties of Division –

Because of your Faith –

  1. Here is how you can HANG IN THERE – It is by Daily remembering the one who HUNG ON THE CROSS FOR YOU !! ( Communion. Tonight)

There was a Knight of Bethlehem,

Whose wealth was tears and sorrows,

His men-at-arms were little lambs,

His trumpeters were sparrows.

His castle was a wooden Cross

On which he hung so high;

His helmet was a crown of thorns,

Whose crest did touch the sky.

 

 

 

 

 

3rd & Final thing that we want to consider is the Judgement that awaits those who are not Prepared . Note 3 things here also

  1. 1st Judgement will be SEVERE V.46 46 "the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
  2. Well there has been a lot of confusion & speculation about this passage and what it means & does not mean.
  3. For the sake of time today I am not going to get into the varying Definitions/
  1. Simple say that they range from – those who believe that Jesus is only speaking about – a loss of blessing & REWARD
  1. Although that doesn’t really – explain what is meant by the phrase - appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

Then there are those who suggest that this is talking about – Hell & Damnation – ( To be honest I DON’T KNOW )

  1. But I do know this I don’t want to find out !!!!! And I also know what ever Jesus is describing it is SERIOUS & SEVERE

2nd thing to note : v.47,48 It seems that the Judgement is going to be Predicated upon Knowledge

47 "And 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. 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.

  1. The Bible says that to whom much is given much is REQUIRED
  2. That means that an awful Lot is going to be REQUIRED OF us – here in U.S. & particularly here in So. Cal. – so Blessed

3rd - Avoid this at all cost v. 58-59 Coming back to the subject of Judgement – Jesus says

58 "When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 "I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite."

  1. Jesus is saying here – WHEN You have legal problems & you are headed for court – you give diligence to settle w/ your adversary before you arrive
  2. Especially when you know you are in the wrong – you are guilty – You want to settle – so you can avoid going to Prison –
  1. Knowing that if you go to Prison – you will be stuck because you can’t work off your debt in Prison.
  1. NO PURGATORY – Appointed unto man once to die after that JUDGEMENT

    2. 1) That Judgement will be FINAL !!!!!!

  2. Here today & you don’t know Christ – Know this – You are on your way to court - & You are Guilty
  1. Need to Avoid it at all Cost – How – Put your faith & trust in the one who – paid the Price for you!!!!