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Caught in the Act! - Matthew 24:45-51

Taught on | Topic: Jesus' Return | Keywords: faithful, service, calling, character, Reputation, Recklessness, Reckoning, Jesus return, second coming, priorities

Every parent remembers walking into their child's room catching them in some act either good or bad. The youngster wasn't expecting you to be there and that child's look tells all, betraying innocence or guilt. The return of Jesus Christ will catch some people off guard while others will be diligently involved in the Master's work. Ever wonder what you'll be up to when Jesus returns: what activities, conversations and thoughts you'll be engaged in? Let's consider two possibilities.

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10/22/2006
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Caught in the Act!
Matthew 24:45-51
Skip Heitzig
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Message Summary
Every parent remembers walking into their child's room catching them in some act either good or bad. The youngster wasn't expecting you to be there and that child's look tells all, betraying innocence or guilt. The return of Jesus Christ will catch some people off guard while others will be diligently involved in the Master's work. Ever wonder what you'll be up to when Jesus returns: what activities, conversations and thoughts you'll be engaged in? Let's consider two possibilities.
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Rumblings of War and the Prince of Peace

Rumblings of War and the Prince of Peace

For 2,000 years the church has awaited the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. For 2,000 years men have tried to predict the exact moment of His return. Though no man knows the exact hour or even the day He will come back, there are signs to indicate His coming is near. In the teaching series Rumblings of War and the Prince of Peace, Skip Heitzig thoroughly expounds upon Matthew 24, explaining prophecy of what must take place and encouraging the church to always be ready.

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I. The Wise Servant: The Act of Faithful Service
A. His Calling
B. His Character
C. His Compensation

II. The Wicked Servant: The Act of Fickle Selfishness
A. His Reputation
B. His Reasoning
C. His Recklessness
D. His Reckoning

LIVING IT:

1. What spiritual priorities govern your weekly calendar? How often do you talk to God about His work on earth?

2. What are the ways in which you help to build and nourish God's people? Do you have a spiritual outlet that is both satisfying to you and helpful to others?

3. Get a list of the various ministries within the church and ask God where He wants you to plug in.

Topic: Jesus' Return

Keywords: faithful, service, calling, character, Reputation, Recklessness, Reckoning, Jesus return, second coming, priorities

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Caught in the Act!

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Heavenly Father, we do thank you this morning. We have been recipients of great fellowship with one another, fellowship with you, the songs that we have sung that bridge the gap between Heaven and Earth and allowed us to come into your presence.

Thank you, Father. For the last 14 weeks, we've been able to study in detail Matthew chapter 24, one chapter only one, one section of the words of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and we thank you, Lord. We've been benefited as we've taken a fresh glimpse into prophetic literature, and we're more excited than ever before.

We commit this time to you. We commit our lives to you. And pray, Lord, that everyone here listening to this either by radio, but especially that have gathered here this morning, would have an intimate personal relationship with you, and if they haven't, that they would come to make one today. In Jesus' name, amen.

Well, there was a four-year-old boy who had a bad habit of sucking his thumb. And so, his mom tried just about everything she could think of to get him to stop, from bribing him, to painting his thumb with lemon juice hoping that would deter him.

So the boy got really good at hiding it. He would hear mom's footsteps coming in the room, and he would have had his thumb in his mouth, but quickly pulled it out so she didn't know.

Well, one day she walked into his room and caught him in the act, thumb firmly in mouth. And so, she resorted to lying. She said, you know, boy, if you keep sucking your thumb your belly's-- your stomach is going to blow up like a big balloon.

Well, that did it. He pulled it out quickly. He was scared. And later on that day when that four-year-old boy and his mom took a walk in the park, they saw a very pregnant woman.

[LAUGHTER]

When that little boy saw her, his jaw dropped and he walked over to her, and pointed to her stomach and said, oh, I know what you've been doing.

[LAUGHTER]

The combination of being caught in the act, and then getting a visual to go along with it was enough to cure that boy. The Reuters news agency tells us that down in Sao Paulo, Brazil, a 23-year-old law student hired a hit man to kill his mother. True story.

His name is Adriano Lima Oliveira. He paid $40,000 reias, the local currency, $18,433 American dollars, paid it to a hit man to kill his mother, a real estate heiress, who he said was squandering all of his inheritance going out with boyfriends.

Here's the catch. According to a weird Brazilian law, that says you can't arrest a person five days before or two days after a public election, though all of the evidence plus his confession was there, they couldn't arrest him. The law says, unless you catch someone in the very act they cannot be arrested during that period.

Now the law was intended to keep away the power hungry politicians from arresting their opponent till after the election. So here's a guy who's guilty, said he was guilty, had all the evidence in court to say he was guilty, but because he wasn't caught in the act, it didn't stick.

You remember that story in the Bible when the leaders brought to Jesus a woman who was an adulterous. And they said, Lord, we have caught her in the very act? And I've always been interested in that story, because if you catch a woman in the very act of adultery, where's the guy? It takes two to two to tango.

Why didn't they bring the guy and the gal? Oh, no, they brought the gal and said, we've caught her in the very act. The law says stone her. Jesus was writing on the ground at that time-- maybe their secret sins. We don't know.

But then He said to them, hey, whoever is without sin, you throw the first stone. Here's the point. We've all been caught in the act before the eyes of an omniscient God. Proverbs 5, "The ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord. And He ponders all of His doings."

Matthew 24 closes with a story, a parable-- a parable about a wealthy master, presumably a landowner, who leaves for a period of time and places all that he has with a couple of servants. And he comes back, and he catches his two servants in the act.

One is a wise servant. The other is a foolish servant. One is faithful. The other is unfaithful. One is working. The other is wasting time.

And one, one is rewarded while the other is punished. Let's look at our text, our final study in Matthew 24 that closes the series, beginning in verse 45.

"Who then is a faithful and wise servant-- whom his master made him ruler over his household to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.

Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil servant says in his heart, my master is delaying his coming and begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunkards-- the master of that servant will come at a day when he is not looking for him at an hour that he is not aware of and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. And there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Now, you notice something there. You notice that the second servant said, my lord is delaying his coming as if to infer there is a long absence-- long enough for one guy to say, wait a minute. He's been gone a long time. Maybe he won't come for a long time, if at all.

Now, I want to show you something else, though, we're not going to be covering it. I want you to skip ahead to Matthew 25 and notice another parable. "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were wise and five were foolish.

Those who were foolish took their lamps but took no oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

Just keep that in mind. And then follow me a little further into the story. Verse 14-- another story, "For the kingdom of Heaven is like a man traveling to a far country who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.

And to one, he gave five talents-- to another, two-- to another, one-- to each one according to his own ability. And immediately, he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five went and traded with him and made another five talents.

And likewise, he who had received two gained two more. But he who had received one, went and dug in the ground and hid his lord's money. After a long time, the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them."

Well, it sounds to me like in one sense the Lord is preparing His own disciples for what would turn out to be a long absence-- a long absence. He's using enough imagery to say, I'm going, and I'm coming. But it's going to be a long time before that happens.

But the question for us is, what are we to be doing in the meantime-- we who are servants of the Lord, believers in God? What are we to be doing until that comes? And the answer is found in this story.

There are two lives that are lived. There are two servants-- wise and wicked. And I would say that most all of you fit in the first category. One of the things I've noticed about this fellowship is it's packed full of wise and faithful servants of God who stay the course.

But you might find some hints of the second servant, the wicked one, or tendencies thereof that perhaps need to be curbed a bit. Well, let's look at our texts and find these two who are caught in the act.

The wise servant-- he's caught in the act. And that's the act of faithful service. The wicked servant is also caught in the act. But it's an act of fickle selfishness. And it's all turned on himself.

So we begin in verse 45. And you'll notice the name that Jesus gives to him-- a servant, a slave, a bond slave, a bondservant-- implying God is the master. And we who follow God are God's servants.

Now, I just want to remind you of that. If you're a Christian, Christ owns you. When you gave your life to Christ, you gave your life to Christ. He's the boss. He's the master. He calls the shots.

You can never see your life as independent from God. In fact, that's the very essence of sin, independence from God. No, He's the master and you're the servant. 1 Corinthians 6, verse 20-- Paul says, "For you were bought at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God's."

He bought you. He owns you. I've always been a bit amused by that bumper sticker. It's been around a long time. God is my co-pilot. I read that and I know what the sentiment means. I get what's behind that. But uh-uh.

He wants the driver's seat. In fact, He wants the pink slip. You give your life over to Him, you say, you own me. You bought me. I'm yours.

Now, granted, Jesus on one occasion said to His followers, "No longer do I call you servants. For a servant doesn't know what his master is doing. I call you from now on my friends."

And we love to camp on that, don't we? I'm God's friend. I'm Jesus' friend. And you are.

But you will also notice something about all of Jesus' friends. They love to refer to themselves as His servants. So Paul writes his letters, Paul, bondservent of Jesus Christ.

Peter, your fellow servant and a bondservant of God. All of Jesus' friends like to be called His servants. I love the title servant.

Because it means not only does God have absolute authority over my life and has the power of life and death over the servant, but going back to the ancient metaphor of master and servant, it means that He is totally responsible for all that happens to me as His servant.

So that when I have a problem that comes to my life, I like to tell God, God, you got a problem. I'm yours now. And this issue has come up. So it's really your issue. Because I've given you my life.

I hope you're attached to Christ. Because there is a big difference between-- well-- attraction to Christ and attachment to Christ. There's a lot of people attracted.

Oh, yes, that Jesus. He's so wonderful. I've always been attracted by His lifestyle and His teachings. Question is, are you attached to Him?

Before you got married, you may have been attracted to a whole lot of people. But you married one. You went from attraction to attachment. I hope you're still attracted.

But there's a big difference between just an attraction and a full attachment. But notice something about the servant in verse 45. "It's a servant whom his master made ruler over his household."

So now we understand he's not just a servant, but he's a steward also. The word ruler here could be translated manager or administrator.

And you may know that in those days the wealthy had several servants. And often he would take one, a slave-- but somebody who is trustworthy, wise, loyal, and make him the head manager, steward over all of his goods.

So that if the master left town, all of the authority fell under the purview of that servant, like giving somebody today the power of attorney. We know that Joseph in the Bible was one such servant.

In Genesis, we read that Potiphar made Joseph the overseer of his house and put all that he had under his authority. Joseph was his servant.

Here's my point. We're not just servants of God. We're stewards of God. God has given to you some area of responsibility in this life for which you will be accountable.

Whenever my parents would leave town like on their anniversary or they'd be away for a few days, they would leave the house and the authority in the lap of my brother and I. And we were not always responsible.

Several broken windows later and holes and doors in the hallway, stuff laying around because we invited people over for a party-- problems because, though, we weren't 16 yet, we took the family car out.

And one time, I took out our Honda 50. I don't know if you ever remember Honda 50, it's like it's a motorcycle that's so slow you can walk faster than it. But I managed to sneak it out. And I got it stuck once. I wasn't a faithful steward or responsible in that house.

Again, the point is this-- every believer has been given a divine stewardship. Here, God says, here's some work I want you to do for me. Here's your sphere of influence. Here are your gifts and your talents. You're responsible.

Now, you might say, well, I have such little talent. And it sounds so humble. I have such little talent and such little gifts. Yeah, maybe. But you've got a big God.

And you take the little that you have and place them in the hands of a big God, and He'll do some pretty big things. David had a little sling but a big God. And he slew Goliath.

Sampson had a little jaw bone of a donkey, but he slew the Philistines. Dorcas in the New Testament had a little sewing needle, but God used her powerfully to bless a lot of people in the early church.

So we're servants. And notice the character of this servant. He's given two adjectives in verse 45-- faithful and wise. You could translate faithful, trustworthy, worthy of confidence, one you can count on.

Did you know that the ancient cultures thought that faithfulness was more important to quality than competence or intelligence? And for that matter, any employer would agree.

You ask an employer, who's your most valuable employee, he won't say, well, the smartest guy or the guy who's most competent. But there's this gal in my company. She's always faithful. I can count on her no matter what. They're trustworthy.

If you go to Yellowstone National Park where all the geysers are, there's one called Old Faithful. It's not the biggest geyser in Yellowstone. It's not the most impressive. But it's called Old Faithful because of its punctuality and predictability.

You can count on it. Every 30 to 60 minutes, that thing will go off. The others are a little more sporadic. But every 30 to 60 minutes-- you just stay there long enough, it'll go up again, sometimes 20 feet all the way up to 75 feet. It's trustworthy. You can count on it.

Now, what are we to be faithful to? Again, look at verse 45. "Who is that faithful and wise servant whom his master made ruler over his household to give them food in due season?" This indicates a task done in God's household.

A couple of times in the New Testament, besides this, the Church of God has called the household of God. Like in Galatians 6, I believe-- If you have opportunity do good to all but especially those who are of the household of faith or the household of God.

So how are you connected with and involved in the household of God, in building up other believers? I have a series of questions for you.

What if your car started one out of three times that you put the keys in the ignition? Would you say that's a faithful car? No.

What if you didn't show up two to three days a month just cause? Would your employer say, now, that is a faithful employee?

What if your hot water heater decided to give you cold instead of hot water when you walked in the shower just a couple days a week? Would that be a faithful heater?

Or what if you decided to make your mortgage payments most of the time, but a couple times a year you just wanted to buy something else? And your bank would call and say, we haven't received your payment-- oh, but there was a great television I bought this week. Would the bank say you're faithful? No.

Finally, if you just come to church sporadically but certainly not enough to get involved, are you faithful? Faithful is the first adjective. Wise is the second.

Wise means that you're wise in a practical sense. You have enough insight that would prompt your obedience. Do you know that the wisest way for you to live is in absolute surrender to Christ?

Do you know that? It's the smartest thing you could ever do. The smartest way you can live is to be surrendered in totality to the Lord.

Romans chapter 12, verse 1-- "I beseech you therefore by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable under God, which is your reasonable service."

It's the smartest way to live. That's faithful, and that's wise. Now go down to verse 47 and we find the payoff for the compensation for this good and wise servant. "Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods."

He's been faithful with this stuff. Because of that, I'm going to make him ruler over everything, all his goods. This is called a promotion.

Now, this is how I interpret it. If you're faithful in serving the Lord here and you're wise in serving the Lord here, come to the Kingdom age, and you'll get promoted.

God will give you a bigger sphere in serving Him. It's important to think about. I don't know how you picture Heaven. But if you're thinking you're going to sit on a cloud and play a harp, no way-- an electric guitar, maybe. But a harp? No, no.

No, you're going to be very busy in serving the Lord in that Kingdom age. And this seems to indicate a promotion. Faithful here, I'll make him ruler there.

Now, go back down to that parable we started in on Matthew 25. But pick it up in verse 20. "So he who had received the five talents came and brought five other talents saying, Lord, you delivered to me five talents. Look, I've gained five more talents besides them.

And his lord said to him, well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord."

Now, listen. Anytime you serve God in any capacity, any time you volunteer for something or you say, Lord, I'm going to do this just for your glory, you will always be rewarded.

But you'll discover that most of your rewards are not here. You'll be rewarded, but not necessarily here. And that's important to understand. Because if you're thinking, well, I'm not going to give that money unless I get my name on a plaque.

Really? That's all you want? I want a Heavenly reward. I don't want some dumb plaque. In fact, the Bible would seem to indicate that the more rewards you get and notice you get here on Earth, the less you would get in Heaven.

I don't want to lose my reward. Jesus said, "When you do a charitable deed, don't sound the trumpet before you as the hypocrites that they may have glory from men. For assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward."

Samuel Morrison was a missionary for 25 years in Africa. He gave his life and his strength, his best years to serve the Lord in the African continent. It was time for Samuel Morrison to retire. And he did. He got on a ship and was coming back to New York Harbor.

And aboard that same boat was President Theodore Roosevelt. He also had been in Africa for three weeks shooting animals. When they arrived home in New York, there were throngs of people welcoming the president home.

The press was there for the president. The band played for the president. The balloons went up for the president. And Samuel Morrison walked off that boat alone. Nobody was there to meet him. Nobody noticed he had come back home.

He hung his head and he prayed sort of angrily, Lord, I've given 25 best years of my life to serve you. And nobody notices. The president comes home and he gets all the hoopla.

He said, I never heard the Lord speak more clarity to my heart than that moment. He said, my child, you're not home yet. You'll get rewarded, oh yes, when you get home. And that home will be later on. And those rewards will be much later on.

Well, let's turn from the wise servant to the wicked servant. The segue is in verse 48. "But if that evil servant--" I've been struck by the language here, the way it's written out-- "But if that evil servant."

I remember when I was a boy, I was Skip or my son. But when I did something wrong, I'd hear my mom say to my dad, that son of yours. When did I become that son? Well, the moment I disobeyed.

Now, I'm that son of yours. I just find it an interesting construction. "For if that evil servant--" who is the evil servant? I'm going to give you four guesses. And the first three don't count. There's four different interpretations.

Interpretation number one-- Jesus is referring to an unbeliever, just your run-of-the-mill person who has a responsibility for his or her life but has no concern of spiritual things, no care about the coming of Jesus Christ. Just lives in complete indulgence. That's the wicked servant as some say. I don't really jive with that interpretation.

Possibility number two-- this is referring to a saved but slothful Christian-- a saved but slothful-- a lazy servant. And the interpretation is that when you get to the other side and stand before Christ, you will lose your reward even though the language is very severe. You get cut in two and tossed out with the hypocrites.

They try to minimize that and say, well, really what that means is it's colorful language to say, when you stand before the judgment seat of Christ, you're going to have a glorified body. So that can happen to you. So you'll just lose the opportunity of service in the Kingdom age.

The third interpretation is this refers to the backslider who was once saved but indulged in sin and lost his or her salvation. I don't buy that one either. So I said you got four guesses and the first three don't count.

The fourth interpretation-- this is where I land-- is it's speaking of a professing Christian. Or let me say that better-- a person who says they're a Christian but they're not. Now that makes most sense because of the severity of the judgment that Jesus speaks about will be that person's.

In other words, it's a servant in name only-- what we would call a nominal Christian, a churchgoer. They've come to church. But they haven't come to Christ. They haven't come to Christ.

And such a person reveals that he's not ready for the Kingdom. He didn't care about the Kingdom. And he won't enter the Kingdom.

I got a letter this week from a wonderful family in our fellowship who admitted we grew up in the church. But we went to church mechanically. And then they said, there was no live wire between us and God, no real personal connection.

I think that's who it's speaking to-- a person who professors to be a servant, professes to serve the Lord, but they don't. How do we know? Well, look at how he thinks. Look at his reasoning.

"If that evil servant says in his heart, my master is delaying is coming--" You know where sin begins? Always inwardly. It always starts inside our reasoning, our thinking before it ever gets outward.

Jesus put it this way-- "An evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks."

You know what that tells me? That tells me that I, you, we are accountable for the way we think-- how we process our thoughts.

So often, it says in the New Testament, and Jesus knowing their thoughts said, He responded to what they were thinking, not saying or doing. So that's why the Bible says keep your heart, with all diligence. For out of it proceed the very issues of life.

This servant was reasoning in his heart, my lord delays his coming. You've heard the old saying sow a thought, reap action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a lifestyle. Sow a lifestyle, and reap a destiny.

So here's this servant thinking, reasoning. And notice his language. He says, my master is delaying his coming. Obviously, this evil servant has the Christian vocab down pat.

He's learned Christian-ese quite well. He knows how to say, hallelujah, glory to God, praise Jesus, and all of the right buzzwords. But his actions speak louder than his words. Because he's caught in the act of what his true heart really is.

Now, I hear that on the French Riviera-- never been there-- but I hear that dotting the landscape of the French Riviera are apartments. And in that part of the world, a mark-- well, a status symbol on an apartment is a balcony.

And it's considered such a status symbol to have a nice balcony overlooking, especially the ocean, that some people will paint balconies on their apartments. They're fake. It's not a balcony.

It's a thin coating of paint. And some get very realistic. They'll even paint laundry-- wet laundry hanging, drying in the sun. And I think that's a good definition of a hypocrite-- a thin veneer over a life to give it a touch of reality. That is this evil servant.

Now what happens once he thinks this way after his reasoning? Look at verse 49. "And he begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and to drink with the drunkards."

In other words, his false profession will eventually be noticed by his carnality, by his brutality. It will eventually come out that person might come to a place and think, I've wasted my time enough in church. I've gone to church all my life.

I've heard Jesus is coming. And He hasn't come. I'm leaving. I'm getting out of here. And I'm going to indulge in what my heart really wants to do anyway.

That's what John meant when he said in I John, chapter 2:19, "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

Doesn't mean they left the church and went to another church. They left God. They left the church. They left any outward semblance of their profession and followed the indulgence of who they really were.

Now, allow me to press this just a little bit. I'm going to broaden this application out. Yeah, I know the context. I just gave it to you about a professed unbeliever who says he's a Christian but he's not.

But I think any of us can fall into the evil servant syndrome. And you know how you can tell? When you start looking at others of God's servants and hammering them and mistreating them and putting them down, I've discovered something.

When Christians fight each other, one of them or both of them has forgotten Jesus is coming back. If you and I live with that thought of the imminent return of Jesus Christ, He could come at any moment, that ought to change the way we treat everybody-- wife, husband, child, friend, neighbor, co-worker. My master delays his coming.

And so in verse 50, let's see what happens. What's the reckoning? What's the final result? "The master of that servant will come on a day when he's not looking for him, at an hour that he is not aware of. And he will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. And there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

You've heard that phrase, right? It's a Matthew phrase. He likes it a lot-- weeping and gnashing of teeth is gritting, grinding your teeth in pain, in agony and misery. Well, that's the fate of all unbelievers and hypocrites.

Now, I made a distinction between them-- an unbeliever is honest. I don't like God. I don't care about God. I don't believe in God. A hypocrite is a dishonest unbeliever-- never been changed in the heart. It's evident by looking at the lifestyle.

It's simply a profession without a possession and attraction without an attachment. And so it's simple. Jesus is saying, since he thinks like an unbeliever and acts like an unbeliever, I'm going to treat him as the unbeliever that he is.

Weeping and gnashing of teeth-- he doesn't say and there will be partying and smiling of teeth. This sounds like a very unpleasant situation. I'll tell you why I said that.

Because I've met enough people who have had this smart remark, well, I'm going to go to hell because all my friends are going to be there. And they'll be weeping and gnashing their teeth too.

A few years ago, Ted Turner, the media mogul who said Christianity is a religion for losers, went on record by saying, and I quote, "I'm looking forward to dying and going to Hell. Because Heaven is perfect. How boring."

He spoke of Hell saying, we'll have a chance to make things better. Because Hell's supposed to be a mess. Let me say for the record-- that's like the lamest thing I've ever heard, Because Hell has no tenant improvement plan.

It's not like, well, this is a bad place. You guys fix it. I couldn't do anything with it.

No, Hell is a place created by God, specifically for the punishment of the devil and his angels. That's what it was made for, not for humans.

But if humans choose to go there by rejecting the only solution for their sins, God will respect their freedom of choice. And there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. So to compare the two, it's pretty easy this way.

Let's see. Would you rather have a blessed, ruler, faithful, wise, or weeping and gnashing of teeth? I'll take the first guy.

Now, Jesus said, these two servants will be caught in the act, some act. You ever think that way? Do you ever think, OK, I think I'm going to get involved in this right now. But what would happen-- how would I feel if Jesus walked in on me while I'm doing it?

It's a good way to think, because actually He's already there. He sees it all. But that is one of those purifying ways to live. Did you know that?

John said, "When He appears, we'll be like Him for we'll see Him as He is--" I John, chapter 2-- "and whoever has this hope in himself purifies himself even as he is pure."

John goes on to say-- I John chapter 2, verse 28, "Now, little children, abide in Him so that when He appears we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming."

I have a dog named Winston. And Winston is an airhead-- I mean an Airedale. He's an Airedale terrier. He's a brilliant animal, brilliant dog. And I mean that. He's the smartest dog I ever owned.

And he also has an iron will. And he loves to dig up the backyard-- I mean, dig it up. Dig up plants, dig up pipes. He's a dog.

Well, we have a conflict. Because I don't want him to dig the backyard. But he wants to dig the backyard. So we go through this ritual. I have walked in the backyard and caught him in the act before.

And you know what he does? He looks at me like this-- out of the corner of his eye. Doesn't look at me straight. And he hangs his head really low. Because he knows he's caught.

There have been other times when he's not doing bad and I come in the backyard, and you know what he does? [PANTING] He's confident at my coming, not ashamed.

So Jesus is coming back and will catch you in some act. Do you want to be like hanging your head and looking like this? Or do you want to be-- [PANTING] Confident, not ashamed.

So that's how he closes this chapter. And that's how we ought to live. Let's pray.

Gracious Father, thank you for your word, for these last three and 1/2 months, where we've been able to probe deeply the truths that are spoken by the Lord Jesus comparing scripture with scripture and prophecy with prophecy and get sufficiently excited about your soon return for your Church.

Lord, I pray that you'd find among us faithful ones, wise ones, ones who anticipate with great confidence your return. Because you've forgiven us-- not because we're good and perfect and noble-- but you forgiven us by washing us with your blood.

And though our lives aren't perfect, more and more, we find them conformed to your will and walking in obedience. So we cannot be ashamed, but confident at your coming.

Father, I would pray for anyone gathered here this morning with a friend or a loved one, a visitor who hasn't personally committed themselves to Christ, they haven't come to that crisis moment of decision where they've invited you in as their master, Savior. They haven't internalized it. It's been all mechanical.

There's been no wire from Heaven and Earth that infuses your life in them. Lord, I have a hunch that there's some here today like that that want to change that. Because they want to change the eternal score. And that's a good thing.

And, Father, our prayers for those here in our auditorium who don't quite know you yet or listening by radio around different parts of the state, and we pray, Father, that lives would be committed to you because you've committed all that you have and are to us.

And so as we're praying right now, if you're sitting here and you are to realize, I haven't done that-- I haven't made Jesus Christ the Master of my life-- I haven't turned over my life to Him, I haven't given Him the pink slip of my life, but I'm ready to do that. I want to do that. I don't want to wait a moment longer.

If that describes you, I want you to raise your hand up in the air right now. Raise it up so I can see your hand. Hold it up just for a moment.

God bless you and you and you toward the back. Anybody else? Raise those hands up. You're saying yes to Him. Yes, God bless you, young lady. Who else? Right back there, right in the middle.

The hand is like a hand of a drowning person. You realize you need God's help, God bless you. You're saying, God, help me. Lord, I give you my heart. I want to do that. You back there.

Well, Father, we thank you. And we pray not only for these who have raised their hands, but maybe others who remember at some distant meeting in the past saying something or feeling something. But their life has not been conformed.

It's just been an outward thing not an inward, real, authentic one. Change that today. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Would you stand with me? We're going to sing a final song. And I'm going ask everyone just to remain for a few moments.

If you raised your hand, or even if you didn't, but you were thinking about it, you came close to it, this is your moment-- this is your opportunity to give your life to Christ.

Or if one time, you made some commitment, but you haven't been walking with Him. This hasn't been real, and you want to make sure beyond any doubt, that you belong to Him, that your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, you have a place in Heaven for you, I want you to do something about it.

I want you to get up from where you are standing now. Find the nearest aisle. And stand right up here where publicly I'm going to lead you in a prayer to receive Christ. Come on now. Be confident. Don't be ashamed. Come and make this commitment. We'll wait for you.

Get up from where you're standing in the back, on the sides, and come stand here.

[APPLAUSE]

God bless you.

[APPLAUSE]

Now, some of you are watching this. And you might be thinking, I don't know if that works or not. Well, have you tried it? Have you tried Him? Have you given Him your life?

You have no voice unless you come to Christ and give Him your life and see how He can change it. But you got to give Him the opportunity. God's given you that choice.

So you give Him that opportunity. You get up from where you're standing and you follow the example of all these folks. And stand up here and make your commitment for Christ. Come on, do it now.

[APPLAUSE]

Yes, sir. That's right. Yes, sir.

[APPLAUSE]

I love it. I love it.

[APPLAUSE]

Boy, do I love new birth. And I'm so glad that you've come.

[APPLAUSE]

You've all heard that saying, today is the first day of the rest of your life. It's been overused a million times. Today truly is the first day of brand new life. Because you're going to invite Jesus Christ to come in.

I'm going to lead you in a prayer. And I'm going to ask you to say something out loud after me from your heart to the Lord. It's a prayer to receive Christ. And you mean it. And you ask Him in, and He will come in.

He will change you. And you'll never be the same. Let's pray.

Lord, I give you my life.

Lord, I give you my life.

I admit I'm a sinner.

I admit I'm a sinner.

Please forgive me.

Please forgive me.

I trust Jesus.

I trust Jesus.

Who died on the cross--

Who died on the cross--

--and rose from the dead--

--and rose from the dead--

--for me.

--for me.

I turn from my sins.

I turn from my sins.

I turn from my past.

I turn from my past.

I turn to you--

I turn to you--

--as Savior--

--as Savior--

--as Master.

--as Master.

Fill me with your Spirit.

Fill me with your Spirit.

Help me to live for you--

Help me to live for you--

--today--

--today--

--and every day.

--and every day.

In Jesus' name--

In Jesus' name--

Amen.

Amen.

[APPLAUSE]

All right. Yeah, yeah.

Can you all turn? You see this guy, Pastor Neil. He's a nice guy. And Neil's going to take you to a prayer room with some other counselors. And we want to give each of you a few things and explain what to do next, how can you be involved so as to follow Christ on a daily basis.

We just want to give you a few pointers and tips and get you started on the right foot. So if you just follow Pastor Neil right over here. God bless you guys.

Additional Messages in this Series

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7/23/2006
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Rumblings of War and the Prince of Peace
Matthew 24:1-3
Skip Heitzig
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Message Summary
When you hear of wars and rumors of war what do you think of? When you see TV news of images of the horrors of evil what do you think? Most of us turn to others for comfort and others turn to the bible for answers but the real question is do you believe in your heart that God is your Father? Matthew tells us of the concerns of the disciples as they heard of Jesus speaking of the end times. The disciples are much like you and I for they asked Jesus and He told them plainly but did they really believe? So are you hearing and believing or are you believing what you think you want to hear? Think about it.
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7/30/2006
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Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign
Matthew 24:3-5
Skip Heitzig
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Do you believe signs when you see them? Do you know how to read signs when they are given to you? Jesus, in Matthew 24 tells of His return and the signs we are to look for. If we have a different understanding other than what the bible says then we may miss the greatest happening of all time and be left behind.., the return of Jesus. So, will you read the signs and seek to understand, or will you simply dismiss them and interpret your own signs.
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8/6/2006
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Why We Can't All Just Get Along
Matthew 24:6-8
Skip Heitzig
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War has always been a part of the regular life of humanity since our beginning. So what makes war a sign that Jesus' return is near? And more importantly, why can't people around the world get along? Why is it that strife, conflict, rivalry, and fighting have so marred God's highest creation? Where will it lead and how can we cope?
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8/13/2006
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When Faith Turns Fatal
Matthew 24:9-11
Skip Heitzig
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The Bible extols the benefits of faith. Faith justifies the sinner, appropriates God's promises for the believer and will bring us into eternal joy. But faith can also be fatal - there are consequences to believing! Faith in God brings us into direct opposition with Satan's worldly system and incurs the wrath and opposition of unbelievers and false believers. What will it be like for those who trust Christ just before His Second Coming?
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8/20/2006
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Big Mess; Bigger Message
Matthew 24:12-14
Skip Heitzig
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Whenever there's a mess, a messenger with a message is needed. God has always worked that way. In ancient Israel he sent prophets to herald truth to a recalcitrant nation. In church history God raised up evangelists to proclaim the gospel to sin-hardened and cynical generations. The future Tribulation will be the biggest mess ever, yet God will still have his message heard! Lets notice four human conditions that will prevail in the future of earth's most severe time.
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8/27/2006
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God's House Vandalized!
Matthew 24:15
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This single verse is pivotal in understanding prophecy. It highlights something that is both historic as well as prophetic. This verse, when tied to its historical roots in the prophet Daniel, will help you understand what John wrote in the book Revelation. But it offers more than just biblical information it provides practical inspiration when properly understood.
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9/3/2006
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Holy Land Tour: CANCELED!
Matthew 24:16-20
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For many Christians, a trip to the Holy Land is a once-in-a-lifetime dream. To see where Jesus walked, taught and spoke prophetically of is thrilling. But trouble is in store for Israel's future, in fact Scripture refers to it as "Jacob's Trouble" (Jer. 30:7). What will be Israel's future and what can we learn about the nature of God in adversity? Moreover, what should a believer's response to catastrophic events be?
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9/10/2006
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When God Declares War
Matthew 24:21-22
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War is ugly but sometimes necessary. It's meant to defend the weak and punish deadly aggressors. Jesus' words here depict a time when God wages war on the human race and throws every conceivable judgment to the earth in the Tribulation. These two verses also highlight three prevailing conditions that exist between God and mankind. The first condition has existed since the Fall of Mankind, the second will be a temporary result of the first, and the third condition is rooted in the character of God and takes the edge off of the first two.
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9/17/2006
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The New Dark Ages
Matthew 24:23-28
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Jesus said, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."(John 9:5) and that His followers were to take up the same occupation: "You are the light of the world" (Matt 5:14). But what happens when the light has been extinguished? What happens when spiritual darkness overshadows everything, everywhere? There's an old saying, "It's always darkest just before the dawn." Jesus tells His followers here that just when the world plummets to its darkest moment, He will be returning!
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9/24/2006
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Ready or Not, Here He Comes!
Matthew 24:29-31
Skip Heitzig
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Children love to play games. One of those games is Hide and Seek where a child, after counting to ten, will call out to his friends, "Ready or not, here I come!" One day, after a time of intense distress, Jesus will return to the earth for the second time and many will not be ready for it. Those who survive and are ready will be gathered together with the rest of God's people to be ushered into God's eternal Kingdom. Are you ready or not?
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10/1/2006
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The End Times Farmer's Almanac
Matthew 24:32-35
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For years agrarians have consulted the venerable Farmer's Almanac for predictive signs on what this next season would bring, in terms of weather forecasts, threatening bugs and water table levels. It helps them know how to navigate through the growing year. Jesus gave a story to His disciples on how the future generation can tell when the season of judgment is upon them and how they should live during the last days on earth.
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10/8/2006
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What Angels Want to Know
Matthew 24:36
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Man's knowledge is impressive but it pales next to God's knowledge. The only things we know for certain are the things that God has revealed to us. Some things must be stored in our hearts in the imaginary file marked, "Wait for further information." As we wait for Jesus to come for us, let's consider what we know and what we don't know; in fact let's see what angels don't even know!
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10/15/2006
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Eat, Drink and Be Judged!
Matthew 24:37-44
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When Noah built his ark, most people thought he was nuts. Only seven others listened to his warning and went with him. Jesus spoke about the fool who thought he was prepared for the future because of his wise investments. This man said to himself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." (Luke 12:19). Jesus also tells us that the world will largely adopt this attitude in the final days of history unaware of what's ahead.
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There are 13 additional messages in this series.
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