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CHRIST THE ROCK CONGREGATION
SUNDAY JULY 5TH 2020
Sermon
Soyez semblables à des hommes qui attendent que leur maître revienne des noces
Be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding
L’ÉTAT D’ALERTE RECLAMÉ DES SERVITEURS DE DIEU CONCERNANT LE RETOUR DE JESUS
THE STATE OF READINESS REQUIRED OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD CONCERNING THE RETURN OF JESUS
Luc 12:35-40
Que vos reins soient ceints, et vos lampes allumées.
36 Et vous, soyez semblables à des hommes qui attendent que leur maître revienne des noces, afin de lui ouvrir dès qu’il arrivera et frappera.
37 Heureux ces serviteurs que le maître, à son arrivée, trouvera veillant! Je vous le dis en vérité, il se ceindra, les fera mettre à table, et s’approchera pour les servir.
38 Qu’il arrive à la deuxième ou à la troisième veille, heureux ces serviteurs, s’il les trouve veillant!
39 Sachez-le bien, si le maître de la maison savait à quelle heure le voleur doit venir, il veillerait et ne laisserait pas percer sa maison.
40 Vous aussi, tenez-vous prêts, car le Fils de l’homme viendra à l’heure où vous n’y penserez pas.
Luke 12:35-40
35 “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning;
36 “and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.
37 “Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.
38 “And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.
39 “But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.
40 “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
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INTRODUCTION
- Although we don’t stress on it as we should, the return of Christ is more at hand than we think.
- Many have had a fatigue to talk about it and some may also be tired of hearing about it.
- The fact remains the same, Christ may soon return.
- As Christians, we are warned to be always on our guards to keep watch for His return.
- God wants all the redeemed of the Lord to be in a posture of readiness for the return of the Master.
Lu 12:35 “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning;
35 Que vos reins soient ceints, et vos lampes allumées.
- Many clues about the return of Christ are given in this parable of the gate keepers.
- First, all Christians should remain in a state of readiness for the Lord’s return at all times.
- Second, a late return should also be anticipated.
- Third, there will be no excuses and no mercies for those who are not found ready.
- Fourth, the servants will need extra oil for their lamps just in case.
- Fifth, the servants must be awake to open the door
- Sixth, the good servants will be rewarded immediately by the Master
- Seventh, the timing of the return of the master will remain a mystery.
- Eighth, distractions must be avoided.
- Ninth, each servant must be ready individually.
- Tenth, the retiring gatekeepers must instruct the new generations of watchmen to keep the same watch with the same diligence.
THE MYSTERY OF THE MONARCH BUTTERFLIES
- There is a mystery in nature that no one seems to phantom.
- There is a species of butterflies called the monarch. Although they migrate as far as 2000 to 4000 miles away, mysteriously, they manage to make to long trip back to the volcanic mountain of Mexico each year.
- The mystery is that most of the ones that make the journey back have never been there before.
- Sometimes they are the third or the fourth generation of the last one who left from there.
- The questions are:
- How do they know that this trip is important?
- How do they know the way back
- How does this information get conveyed to the next generation of Monarch butterflies?
- The people who live in that region build a pagan religion around this phenomenon thinking that these returning insects are spirits.
THE MANDATE FOR ALL GENERATIONS OF CHRISTIANS TO BE EXPECTANTS OF THE RETURN OF CHRIST WITH THE SAME EXCITEMENTS AND ANTICIPATION.
- Christ is expecting the Christians of our days to watch for His return with the same tenure than those were with Him when He made these statements.
- No slack is allowed, we must live our lives as if Christ was returning tomorrow.
- All the apostles and the members of the first century church lived with the expectation that it would happen in their days.
- Each generation of Christians is expected to pass on the fever of the return of Christ.
- As our earthly pilgrimage comes to an end, as we pass the baton to the next generation of watchmen, we are indebted to instruct them to keep the same close watch for His return.
- The church had been doing that for two thousand years, but recently, we have seen that the church wants to shift from that watch to prioritize other duties.
- His coming will resemble the ancient rite of wedding in Palestine.
THE ORIENTAL WEDDING CUSTOMS IN THE FIRST CENTURY
- The Eastern oriental weddings were no small affairs in the time of Jesus.
- A year to the date of the wedding, a big engagement party must take place where the man pays the (dot) to the parents of the future spouse.
- The wedding celebrations could take a full week of festivity.
- On the set day of the celebration, the groom leaves his father’s house with a convoy to go meet the future wife at her parents’ house.
- Another journey now gets started, from the women’s house to the groom’s house, no matter how far that is.
- Take in consideration the means of transportation available in those days, yet many would be walking.
- Meanwhile, all the guests are waiting for the return of the bride and groom to begin the celebration.
- Weather and other conditions may take their toll; the return of the convoy can hit unexpected delays.
- With no means of communications to track their ETA, the guests and the gate keepers can easily be disengaged to the real event in question.
- As the expected convoy map their way back to the place of the wedding, one thing is in the mind of the future couple is that they have a crowd of exited guests waiting for their arrivals to make all kinds of noises and dances of jubilation.
- To the grooms, the welcoming is very much part of the event.
- After the couple makes it back, they shower, and consummation occurs.
- If everything is right and the women is virgin as she confessed.
- The groom would come out with blood evidence on a white piece of cloth.
- Then, the signal is given to begin the ceremony.
- Now, imagine the feeling, for the groom to arrive and find that all the guests and servants are sound asleep. No cheers, no dances, no jubilations.
- For years, the memory would hunt you heart.
- He would take it personal.
- He would not hear any excuse from anyone.
- Now, imagine that you get the same welcome from the bride’s house as well.
- Imagine how unhappy you would on this day that was supposed to be your best day in life.
THE CHURCH IS THE BRIDE, THE VIRGIN, AND THE GATE KEEPER
- We the children of God are both the bride and the servants.
- Jesus left this earth with a promise. (I shall return for the wedding)
- My Father is very rich and He has many mansions.
- Still, I will not use any of the existing mansions, I, the only begotten Son of my Father am going to prepare a distinct place for my bride (the church).
- When the place is completed, I the groom will come down to get my bride and together, we will go to my father’s house where a big feast is prepared for the wedding of the Lamb of God.
37 Heureux ces serviteurs que le maître, à son arrivée, trouvera veillant! Je vous le dis en vérité, il se ceindra, les fera mettre à table, et s’approchera pour les servir.
Jesus gave several parables and illustrations using the analogy of wedding feast to help us understand a key principle in the requirements of God as to who will be able to partake in His feast.
- Out of the ten virgins, only five were allowed to enter.
- Of the gate keepers, only those who were awake and clothed in a state of readiness were allowed to enter in the feast.
- Of the invitees from the wayside, only those who were properly dressed were allowed to remain in the feast.
- Five virgins were casted out
- Some of the gate keepers were casted out.
- The man who was improperly dressed was casted out.
- All of whom have had some connection with the banquet.
- The five foolish virgins were officially invited and have responded to the invitation.
- The sleeping gate keepers were officially invited and have responded to the invitation.
- The improperly dressed person from wayside was officially invited, and has responded to the invitation.
- They were all disqualified in the last hour because they failed to please the Master.
THE SOON RETURN OF JESUS
- What is in front of us right now is an invitation to go to heaven.
- Many have responded with a lot of enthusiasms
- Many have began a good watch
- Many have started with a lot of oil in their lamps
- Many have decided to head over to where the feast is.
- And then, the wait becomes longer than we anticipated.
- And then we become sidetracked by the things of this world.
- And then, we allow our clean wedding clothes to get dirty
- And then, we refuse to go through the process of sanctification, we jump in any how and began to eat from the Lord’s Table with our dirty clothes.
- And then, we use up all our oil forgetting that the coming of the Master is ahead of us.
- This is a warning for the choir
- This is a warning for those who started right with God and then now no one understands your stand with God.
- This is warning to repent quickly in the small window that you may have before you before the return of Christ.
CONCLUSION
THE REWARD WILL BE GREAT
37 Heureux ces serviteurs que le maître, à son arrivée, trouvera veillant! Je vous le dis en vérité, il se ceindra, les fera mettre à table, et s’approchera pour les servir.
THE WAITING MAYBE LONG
38 Qu’il arrive à la deuxième ou à la troisième veille, heureux ces serviteurs, s’il les trouve veillant!
THE COMING WILL BE IN A TIME THAT NO ONE EXPECTED
39 Sachez-le bien, si le maître de la maison savait à quelle heure le voleur doit venir, il veillerait et ne laisserait pas percer sa maison.
THE COMING IS FOR SURE
40 Vous aussi, tenez-vous prêts, car le Fils de l’homme viendra à l’heure où vous n’y penserez pas.
AMEN !
Pasteur Marc Simeon 