Bible Lesson: Parables-Our Lord's:
Waiting And Watching Servants.
Occasion: WARNING!
Lesson: Be
Ye Also Ready (Matthew 24:44)!
Bible Text: Luke 12:36-38 KJV
36 And ye yourselves like unto men
that wait for their Lord, when He will return from the wedding; that
when He cometh and knocketh, they may open unto Him immediately.
37 Blessed are those servants, whom
The Lord when He cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you,
that He shall gird Himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and
will come forth and serve them.
38 And if He shall come in the
second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed
are those servants.
Luke 12:36-38 NLT
35 “Be dressed for service and
keep your lamps burning,
36 as though you were waiting for
your Master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready
to open the door and let Him in the moment He arrives and knocks.
37 The servants who are ready and
waiting for His return will be rewarded. I tell you The Truth, He
Himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit
and eat!
38 He may come in the middle of the
night or just before dawn. But whenever He comes, He will reward the
servants who are ready.
To Warn: To tell a person of a danger, coming evil,
misfortune, etc.; put on guard; caution.
(New World Dictionary)
The verses above are a warning, The
Master is away, but He is expected to return, unannounced, shortly.
The difference between, reward, condemnation and judgment, are within the reach of each servant.
Warnings:
The doctor says, we need to operate,
its a tumor.
The mechanic says, your brakes are bad
and must be repaired.
The sign says, bridge out ahead.
The police warn, there is a crazed gun
man in the neighborhood.
The Surgeon General warns, smoking
causes cancer.
The intersection stop lights are out, yet cars race
ahead without stopping.
On and on, warnings in everyday life.
Do we take note of them, and act accordingly, or do we go our merry
way, acting as if we never heard them?
The tumor becomes malignant.
The brakes go out on a hilly road.
Speeding along, you realized all too
late, the bridge is out.
Not staying at home, you find someone
chasing you down the sidewalk.
You develop a persistent cough, and
wonder if its to late to stop smoking.
Speeding through the intersection with
no working lights, you see a blur off to the right.
What does not heeding warnings lead to?
Destruction and death.
Greek story teller, Aesop, once told a
story of a little boy who cried wolf.
A little boy had been placed in charge
of watching the sheep on the hillside over the village.
He grew restless and a funny trick came
to mind, cry wolf and see the villagers come to help for nothing.
So, he cried wolf, and sure enough, the villagers came running to
help him, but there was no wolf. In anger they said never do anything
like that, as they returned to the village. But he thought to
himself, if it was funny once, do it twice, and so he did. And so
again the villagers came running to help him. This time they were
very angry, as the little boy only laughed. Some time passed and
towards late afternoon, a large wolf loomed on the horizon, afraid,
the little boy screamed for all he was worth, Wolf! Wolf! But no one
came to help him, because they new he could not be trusted.
A warning, is no better than the one
who issues it!
The verses we read, who gave this
warning of the approaching reward or damnation?
This warning was given by Jesus Christ, The Master of all creation!
Proverbs 8:36 KJV
But he that sinneth against Me
wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate Me love death.
Luke 12:35
NLT
“Be dressed for service...”
A Warning, that The
Lord's servants are to live holy lives.
Revelation 19:8
KJV
And to her
(The Bride of Christ) was granted that she should be arrayed in
fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness
of saints.
I Peter 1:16 KJV
Because it is
written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
As servants of The
Living God, we may only serve God, if our lives are holy lives.
Luke 12:35
NLT
“...and keep
your lamps burning,
Lamps burning speak
of, Oil, and Fire, fire which gives Light.
Revelation 4:5
NLT
From the throne came flashes of
lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were
seven Torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit Of
God.
Matthew 5:14-16
YLT (Young's Litteral Translation)
14 `Ye are the Light of the world, a
city set upon a mount is not able to be hid;
15 nor do they Light a lamp, and put
it under the measure, but on the lamp-stand, and it shineth to all
those in the house;
16 so let your Light shine before
men, that they may see your good works, and may glorify your Father
who [is] in the heavens.
The anointing oil
and fire speak of God The Holy Spirit in the life of God's servant.
The radiance of The Light speaks of confession.
Luke 12:36
NLT
“...waiting for your Master to
return ... Then you will be ready to open the door and let Him in the
moment He arrives and knocks.”
Matthew 24:43
KJV
But know this, that if the good man
of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would
have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
Matthew 25:13
KJV
Watch therefore, for ye know neither
the day nor the hour wherein The Son Of man cometh.
Matthew 10:32
KJV
Whosoever therefore shall confess Me
before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in
heaven.
Dressed for
service, lamp burning brightly, watching for the returning Master.
The description of
God's true servant.
Warning, there is
coming a time of separation!
Matthew
25:32,34,41 KJV
32 And before Him shall be gathered
all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a
Shepherd divideth His sheep from the goats:
34 Then shall The King say unto them
on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
41 Then shall He say also unto them
on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels:
Revelation 3:20
KJV
Behold, I stand at the door, and
knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to
him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.
II Corinthians
6:2 KJV
(For He saith, I have heard thee in
a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured
(helped) thee: behold,
now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
Dear friend, hear the warning, surrender your heart and life to The
Master, living for Him in holiness and service. And when He returns,
you will be rewarded, not condemned.
