The Son of Man Is Coming at an Hour You Do Not Expect (Luke 12:35-40)

Jesus said, "You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Luke 12:40). Jesus wants us prepared to serve Him. Our waist must be girded so we’re ready to act quickly, but we need to be able to see where we’re going! We live in a dark world and the light we need to see comes from God’s Word: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). What is the blessing for those servants who are ready for Christ’s return? In an unbelievable reversal of the servant illustration Jesus says that he will serve the servants who faithfully served him. Jesus compares the way he will return with the way a thief will rob people. A thief does not announce his arrival. He comes when it is unexpected. The same is true with Jesus: the only way to be on guard against a thief is to live in constant readiness, and the only way to be prepared for Jesus’s return is to live in constant readiness. https://youtu.be/vKO5YMwcZ28 Jesus said, "You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Luke 12:40). He wants us prepared for Him. Table of ContentsSermon Lessons for The Son of Man Is Coming at an Hour You Do Not ExpectFamily Worship Guide for The Son of Man Is Coming at an Hour You Do Not ExpectSermon Notes for The Son of Man Is Coming at an Hour You Do Not ExpectLesson one: Christ wants us ready to serve Him.Lesson two: focusing on Christ’s return provides victory over sin.Lesson three: we need God’s Word to see where we’re going.Lesson four: Jesus will serve those who faithfully served him.Lesson five: every generation is supposed to believe they’re the last. Sermon Lessons for The Son of Man Is Coming at an Hour You Do Not Expect Lesson 1: Christ wants us ready to __________ ______ (Luke 12:35, Exodus 12:11, 1 Peter 1:13). Lesson 2: focusing on Christ’s return provides victory ________ ______ (Luke 12:1). Lesson 3: we need God’s word to see where __________ __________ (Luke 12:35-36, Psalm 119:105, Matthew 25:3-13). Lesson 4: Jesus will __________ __________ who faithfully served him (Luke 12:37-38, John 13:4-5). Lesson 5: __________ ____________________ is supposed to believe they’re the last (Luke 12:39-40, 1 Thessalonians 5:2, Hebrews 10:37, James 5:8, Revelation 16:15, 2 Peter 3:3-10, Revelation 1:1). Family Worship Guide for The Son of Man Is Coming at an Hour You Do Not Expect Directions: Read the above verses at the end of the lessons and then answer the following questions: Day one: what are the two illustrations Jesus uses to encourage us to be ready for his return? What does it mean – spiritually speaking – for our waist to be girded? In what way does the Jews participation in Passover serve as a type of our readiness? How does focusing on Christ’s return provides victory over temptation and sin? What temptations can you resist better by focusing on Christ’s return? Day two: why is a lamp such a fitting metaphor for God’s word? In what ways does the parable of the wise and foolish virgins resemble the teaching in Luke’s gospel? What does it mean to be awake spiritually speaking? Why do you think Jesus serves those who have faithfully served him? In what ways does this truth encourage you to live differently? Second to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, describe some of the most obvious times during Jesus’s earthly ministry that he served others. Day three: why did the New Testament writers of the first century write about Jesus returning soon, even though he hasn’t returned in the last 2000 years? Using 2 Peter 3 what are some of the reasons Jesus hasn’t yet returned? What does it mean that Jesus’s return is imminent? What does it mean that Jesus will return as a thief in the night? In what ways does this encourage you to live differently? Sermon Notes for The Son of Man Is Coming at an Hour You Do Not Expect The title of this morning’s sermon is, “Coming at an Hour You Do Not Expect.” We are continuing our verse-by-verse study through Luke’s gospel. Go ahead and turn to chapter 12. We will cover verses 35 through 40. Please stand with me for the reading of God’s Word… Luke 12:35 “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” You may be seated. Let’s pray. In this section not only does Jesus tell us to look forward to his return, he tells us how to prepare for it. Look at verse 35… Luke 12:35 “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, There are two illustrations that have great application to the Christian life… The first illustration requires us to take our minds to pictures and movies we’ve seen of men in Jesus’s day. We know they were long robes, which were not the most ideal for working or moving quickly, because they could easily trip. So they had to pick up their robes and tuck them into their belts. This was called “girding the loins,” which is how it’s translated in some Bibles. The New King James says… Let your waist be girded; If you’re using the ESV you’ll see a footnote that says something like this. A close equivalent today is, “Let’s roll up our sleeves.” We must be ready to act…and this brings us to lesson one… Lesson one: Christ wants us ready to serve Him. This looks back to Passover and the Hebrews being ready at any moment. Remember how they were told to eat the Passover meal… Exodus 12:11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. I’ve told you many times that the Old Testament prefigures the New Testament. There is often an Old Testament physical account that foreshadows a New Testament reality, and that’s the case here. When they had to eat this way it wasn’t just about being ready to leave Egypt physically. That’s the superficial understanding. It looked forward to the way we must be ready spiritually. Peter unpacks this for us so we can see the reality… 1 Peter 1:13 Therefore, GIRDING UP THE LOINS OF YOUR MIND, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Peter is applying this metaphorically to our thoughts. We need to get ready for action mentally and spiritually. Just as people in biblical times would gather up their long robes so they could move quickly and freely, we need to focus our thoughts on things that allow us to serve God quickly and freely and eliminate thoughts that would trip us up. Simply put: we shouldn’t be mentally or spiritually lazy. Listen again to the end of 1 Peter 1:13… at the revelation of Jesus Christ Peter is talking about Christ returning…just like our verses in Luke. Christians who look forward to Christ’s return have greater motivation to obey him than those who don’t. Let me say this one more time… Peter is saying Christians who look forward to Christ’s return have greater motivation to obey him than Christians who don’t…and the reason I’m emphasizing this is we see this in Luke 12…and this brings us to lesson two… Lesson two: focusing on Christ’s return provides victory over sin. I need to give you an elevated view of the chapter for you to be able to appreciate this lesson. So look back with me at verse one… Luke 12:1 In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to SAY TO HIS DISCIPLES FIRST, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. First, notice Jesus is teaching his disciples. This is the lowercase d disciples. They’re simply the thousands of people following him. Second, we won’t read all the verses, but you should be able to look at the headings in the chapter to see what Jesus taught: In verses 1 through 12 he warns about hypocrisy In verses 13 through 21 he warns about covetousness In verses 22 through 34 he warns about worrying Then, between verses 34 and 35 he shifts the emphasis from being worried about the present to being watchful of the future. And in verses 35 through 40 he warns about carelessness Here’s what’s interesting, and follow me for a moment… When we think about resisting temptation and overcoming sin there are many tools that we know we have at our disposal. For example, we’re struggling with temptation, so… we read verses that convict us about that sin we pray that God helps us resist that temptation we reach out to someone to help us be accountable But have you ever thought that one of the best ways to resist temptation is to focus on Christ’s return? To conquer the sins Jesus discussed – hypocrisy, covetousness, and worry – we focus on his return. Just think about it… When we are focusing on Christ’s return: We don’t want to be hypocrites We aren’t going to covet, because all earthly things we might covet don’t seem very valuable anymore We aren’t going to worry, because all the things we might worry about don’t seem very big anymore So, I would encourage you when you’re tempted, go to these verses, read them, and focus on Christ’s return. Now look at the second illustration in the verse, which is that of a lamp burning and providing light… ...