Will You Work Until Jesus Comes?
Mark 13:34-37
One of my favorite TV shows as a child was Magnum P.I. One of the main characters of the show was Jonathan Higgins. He was the "majordomo" of Robin Master's estate. A majordomo is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, takes charge and/or acts on behalf of someone else. Robin Master's was a very wealthy man who owned several estates. In his absence (which was all the time) Higgins was entrusted with the day to day operations of the estate. He was so faithful to his job that it became suspected that he was actually Robin Masters. Everything was always in tip top shape in case the estate owner were to return unannounced.
That is the picture that Jesus paints here in Mark 13. God expects us to be faithful stewards. 1 Corinthians 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. The Greek term “steward” describes a household manager in the ancient Greek world who handled the finances and the estate on behalf of the estate owner. Stewards are held accountable for how they use finances or material possessions of he owner.
We know that salvation is a free gift, but those who are saved will be held accountable for their stewardship. One day we will stand before Christ at The Judgment Seat and give an account for how we manage our time, talents and treasures in this life. 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
The Lord has entrusted us to represent Him to a lost and dying world - 2 Corinthians 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ... - He has given us everything we need in order to successfully work for Him. But are you successful in your work for the Lord? Are you a faithful steward?There is an old hymn that we sing called "We'll work till Jesus comes".. and we should! But can you honestly say the words "I will work until Jesus comes?" Do you really believe that He is coming? He promised us when He went away that HE WOULD RETURN? And here in these verses He tells us to WATCH and BE READY!! But are you really working till Jesus comes or are you just doing what you want to do and living your life for yourself?
- I would like to look at these few verses and ask the question "Will You Work Till Jesus Comes"?
Background - These verses that we will consider this morning are the closing statements in Jesus' Olivet Discourse" - Look back with me to verses 1-4 as we listen to a question posed to Jesus by one of His disciples - Mark 13:1 ¶And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here! 2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
After this question was asked, the remainder of this chapter is Jesus' response to that question.
1. Jesus prophesied the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.
2. Jesus spoke about the signs of the end times:
a) False Messiahs
b) Wars
c) Rumors of Wars
d) World Wide Turmoil
e) Earthquakes
f) Famines
g) Pestilences and many other troubles
3. Jesus then spoke about the persecution that the followers of Christ would face.
4. He then encourages His followers to endure all the suffering for His name's sake.
5. Jesus then described the power and majesty that will be seen when He returns - Mark 13:26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
When Jesus comes back, He will appear in His unveiled glory. - Zechariah 14:6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: 7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. - The time of Jesus' return will be neither daytime or nighttime. Without the sun, the moon or the stars, there will be no way to discern the time of day. In this total darkness, the Lord Jesus will appear riding the glory clouds. He will appear in the heavens and the whole world will see Him = Revelation 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him,
Out of this utter darkness following all of the death and destruction of the Tribulation. The Savior will circle the globe in power and great glory. Every inhabitant on the earth will see His glory! When Jesus comes, the saved are going to be with Him. When He rides out, we ride out with Him. - Revelation 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
When Jesus comes He will come in great strength. The scripture says He will come with “great power”. No power on earth will be able to oppose Him. His strength will be displayed in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. When His feet touch the earth, they will do so on the top of the Mount of Olives. The very place He gave the prophecy we are studying now. The very place from which He ascended. When His feet touch the top of that mountain, it will split from top to bottom, Zechariah 14:3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
When that mountain splits in two, the Mediterranean Sea will flow into the valley around the Dead Sea, Zech. 14:8. This will cause “the desert to blossom like a rose” just as Isaiah said it would, Isa. 35:1.
6. When Jesus comes He will come with salvation - Mark 13:27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. - When Jesus comes, He will send His angels throughout the world to “gather His elect”. This will include the saved remnant of Israel... The Gentiles saved during the Tribulation...no one will be left out "from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven" - Every single living saint will be brought to Jesus and they will stand before Him redeemed and rejoicing!
It is important for each person here to comprehend the fact that THE KING IS COMING! Why is this important?
1) For the lost man it is a warning that you must be saved!
2) For the saved man it is a warning that you must be serving!
We are almost 2,000 years removed from this discourse and we are closer to the Return of the Lord today than we were yesterday!
As Jesus concludes the Olivet Discourse and closes His response to His disciples He gives them a very clear illustration concerning living in the end times. He tells of a man (presumably wealthy) who owns a large estate and is going to take a journey to a far country. He gives certain tasks and responsibility to his servants and the porter. He makes it clear what he expects to take place in his absence. He also warns that he could return at any moment and they will not know the hour of his arrival.
The application for us in these verses is very clear: Jesus ascended to the Heavens. Before He left He promised that He would one day return. He also left us with instructions concerning what we should do until He returns - Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
We are not privy to the time and date of His arrival but we know that He will return - Acts 1:10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. -- With that being said I ask you... "Will You Work Until Jesus Comes?"
I. As Servants We Must Work - v34 For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
A. The Call Involved
The Master of the household in this story calls all of his servants together and gives them specific responsibilities. Perhaps one was over the garden. Maybe one took care of the livestock. There was possibly one who took care of the grounds. There may have been one designated to care for the house. Each one had a job, maybe they were different jobs but they were all working for the same man. They were all working together to achieve the main goal which was to please their master.
That is the way it is with the church... We are all different! We have different talents and callings but we should all be working together to please our MASTER!! 1 Corinthians 12:14 For the body is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? 18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. 19 And if they were all one member, where were the body?20 But now are they many members, yet but one body.
You weren't called by a mortal man... You weren't called by this church... You were called by The Master! And you are accountable to THE MASTER! He has given you a task to accomplish and you are sitting idle! And the Master has warned you that He may return at any moment... and you can rest assured that there will be consequences!
Some of you who have been called to serve and you are doing so with faithfulness and devotion. There is a great peace that comes in knowing that you are being obedient to the direction of the Lord.
- When I worked at the Rock Quarry I was in charge of safety. I did all of the MSHA training for the company that I worked for. This job carried a great deal of responsibility and if things weren't in order then there were potential fines for my employer. Simply stated if my job wasn't done and done correctly I risked losing my job. Early on I would fall behind on my paperwork (because I hated doing it) then when the inspector would come in I would frantically attempt to set things in order before he came to my office. After a few times I grasped the concept that the inspector could show up on any day at any time. As a result I made sure that all things were ready for his inspection. I learned to "stay ready to keep from getting ready". After I set things in order there was a great sense of peace and fulfillment!
The same is true concerning our service to the Lord. When you are in the center of His will serving and obeying Him there will be GREAT peace and fulfillment! Maybe you have been called to accomplish a specific task for the Lord and you have failed to obey because you don't think you are able to be successful. Fear of failure and rejection are 2 main reasons that people fail to serve the Master. I would like to consider:
B. The Capability Involved
It is not covered in these verses but it is a safe assumption that these servants had all everything needed to accomplish everything the Master expected. If there were certain tools they had them. If there were specific materials needed they were available. The Lord DOES NOT expect you to be successful on your own. In fact YOU WILL NEVER BE SUCCESSFUL ON YOUR OWN! But when you come to that place of obedience and full surrender the things that HE can accomplish through you are UNLIMITED! Your first step is to simply become a willing vessel that He can use! Remember the Lord doesn't call the equipped... He equips the called! On several occasions Jesus said "with God all things are possible" We must remember that when He calls us to serve!
Let me share some biblical proof for those of you who still think that God can't use you:
~ Noah was a drunk
~ Abraham was too old
~ Isaac was a daydreamer
~ Jacob was a liar
~ Joseph was abused
~ Moses had a stuttering problem (Moses stuttered)
~ Gideon was afraid
~ Samson was a womanizer
~ Rahab was a prostitute
~ Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
~ David was an adulterer and a murderer
~ Elijah was suicidal
~ Jonah ran from God
~ Naomi was a widow
~ Job went bankrupt
~ John the Baptist ate bugs
~ Peter denied Christ
~ The disciples fell asleep while praying
~ Martha worried about everything
~ The Samaritan woman was divorced (more than once)
~ Zacchaeus was too short
~ Paul was too religious
~ Timothy had an ulcer
~ Lazarus was dead! So... what is your excuse? You may say I can't... but in through Christ, YOU CAN!!
(Source - http://www.jollynotes.com/biblical-examples-of-imperfect-people-god-used-in-the-bible/)
Not only is there the call and the capability, but I would like to consider:
C. The Command Involved
Look back to verse 34 For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. - The word here is "servant" but in the original Greek this word refers to a "slave". This tells us that these men had no choice... they were slaves of the Master and his command was to be obeyed! Jesus is our Master and we MUST OBEY HIS COMMAND!
Where our Captain bids us go,
'Tis not ours to murmur no;
He that gives the sword and shield
Chooses too the battlefield
Where we are to fight the foe.
You have been commanded by your Master, know serve Him with all you have!
Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is; delayed obedience is disobedience. _ Thomas A Kampis
D. The Consistency Involved -v35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: 36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
The Master expected his servants to be consistent in their work. They couldn't wait and let the work fall behind and then rush to complete everything before the master returned because they never knew when he was coming.
- Several years ago my wife and kids went to the beach with my in laws. I wasn't able to get off of work. So for a week I lived as a bachelor. I didn't pick up anything, I didn't make up the bed, I didn't wash any dishes. I didn't wash any clothes, I didn't take out the trash.....Until Friday night! All of the sudden it hit me that she was coming home the next day and she would kill me if she saw what a mess I had made. I stayed up most of the night trying to gets things in order before she arrived.
We cannot successfully serve the Lord that way! Just as Jesus reveals in these verses no man knows the hour when He will return. If you knew that Jesus was going to return next Friday at noon what would you do differently? Would you reach out to that loved one and FINALLY tell them about Jesus? Would you spend more time in His Word preparing for His arrival? Would you refrain from doing certain things that you did this past week? Would you spend more time in prayer? Would your forgive that person that you have been holding a grudge against? Would you actually attend the Sunday and Wednesday evening services? Would you start doing those things you have failed to do for Him? Would you tell people that Jesus is coming and that they better be ready? Would you tell them about the consequences of stepping out into eternity without Jesus? If that is what you would do with the knowledge of the exact moment of Christ's return then that is what you need to be doing each and every day! For Jesus said NO MAN KNOWS THE HOUR!
- Martin Luther said we should "Live as if Christ died yesterday, rose this morning and is coming back tomorrow"
Let us come to a place in our lives where we can say if we knew Jesus was coming back at midnight we wouldn't have to change a single thing that we had planned for today!
- Friends, As Servants We Must Work. But we also see in these verses that:
II. As Stewards We Must Watch
- Three times in these 4 verses Jesus says WATCH - v34 For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. 35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: 36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
This word "watch" literally means to stay awake. We are not to work for a while and watch for a while. We are to watch while we work! We are to be vigilant in our service to the Lord. Everything we have belongs to the Lord. He has entrusted us with the task of "managing" or being good "stewards" of all that is at our disposal.
Let's look at 3 things that we must give to the Lord:
A. We Must Give Our Time To The Lord
• Listen to what Paul says in - Ephesians 5:14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. 15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
You only have a certain number of days left on this earth. Will you use them or abuse them?
- Years ago our Superintendent called a meeting. He gave each of the Foremen a book on "Time Management". We were instructed to take a certain amount of time each day and read the book. 2 weeks later we met again. As the meeting began the Superintendent said "Billy, what did you learn from the book I gave you about time management? Billy paused for what seemed like forever and the he said "well the book on time management taught me how to mange my time better", After further discussion it became apparent that Billy hadn't managed his time well enough to read the book about time management.
How well do you manage your time? Is you time spent pleasing you or pleasing your Master? Do you spend your time on things that will endure for eternity? Are you laying up treasures in Heaven? Are you storing up gold, silver and precious stones? Are the things that consume your time profitable for Christ's Kingdom or are you building your own kingdom? If you are building your own it will surely fall. To use biblical terminology you are building a kingdom of wood, hay and stubble on a foundation of sand!
If you are here and still breathing, then the Lord has given you:
One more day to serve Him!
One more day to honor Him
One more day to bring glory to His name
One more day to accomplish the tasks He has called you to accomplish
One more day to pray
One more day to study
One more day to worship
For many of you your spiritual time management problems are evident by your church attendance. These problems are also evident by your lack of service. You have the time to volunteer for overtime to buy more Christmas presents. You have the time to go to the woods or the river. You have the time to drive 3 states away to go to a ballgame. You have the time to lay up in the recliner watching TV. You have the time to devote to your hobby. You have the time to hang out with friends. But you just don't have enough time to be faithful in your service to the Lord.
- Listen close... JESUS SAID HE IS COMING BACK! JESUS SAID FOR YOU TO WORK AND TO WATCH!! You will be held accountable for your stewardship of the time God has given you! There are some who are doing more for the Devil than they are the Lord Who gave them the time in the first place! GIVE YOUR TIME TO THE LORD! Not only that, we also see that:
B. We Must Give Our Talents To The Lord
Earlier we mentioned that the Lord calls and equips us for service. He has given each of us a special ability to use for Him.
You may be a good singer
You may be a good teacher
You may be a prayer warrior
You may be an encourager
You may be gifted with a trade (electricians, carpenters, plumbers, etc.)
There are many talents and abilities that God has given His children... WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOURS? In fact it really isn't yours it belongs to the Lord... HE HAS JUST LOANED IT TO YOU.WILL YOU USE IT TO HONOR HIM?
- We must be faithful stewards of our time, our talents and finally we see that:
C. We Must Give Our Treasures To The Lord
I won't dig too deep in this subject because it really deserves a sermon of its own. But it is vitally important for us to give our TREASURES to the Lord. All that you have belongs to the Lord. He has blessed you with a job. He has blessed you with means of transportation. He has blessed you with the health to get up and go to work. And He has blessed you with a paycheck at the end of the week.
There is often a debate as to what portion of your money belongs to the Lord, some say 10% some say more, some say less. The fact of the matter is that ALL OF IT BELONGS TO HIM! And even if you tithe 30% of your income you are still required to be a faithful steward with you have left! If you give 10% to the Lord you should still honor Him with how you spend the remaining 90%.
- A couple of years ago I went and bought a new truck. I convinced myself that I "needed it'. But looking back I realize that I just wanted it and I felt like I deserved it! I borrowed the money and brought it home. And then at the end of each month the bank kept wanting me to give them money for it! (strange concept) sarcasm intended. I had become a slave to the lender. And one day I realized that I had become so strapped financially that of the Lord told me to pick up an move and serve Him elsewhere that I would be hindered by debt. So I sold the truck and God has blessed us with the peace of mind that comes when you are free from any hindrance to serve the Lord.
Are you a faithful steward of your Time, Talents & Treasures?
1) As a Servant Are You Working?
2) As A Steward Are You Watching?
The Master could return at any moment... make sure that you are ready for His arrival! Will you work until Jesus comes?
While touring, Europe a tourist visited a lovely estate in Italy. He admired the beautiful garden encountering the gardener he said, "You've done a beautiful job. How long have you worked here?" "Twenty-five years," came the answer. "How often has the owner been to this estate? "Four times" When was he here last?" Twelve years ago. "You keep the garden so lovely, one would assume you were expecting the owner tomorrow. "Today, sir, today!"
Source: From Gaither Bailey’s Ser
mon: Where is Your Treasure?
One day, whether as a result of the Rapture of you leaving this walk of life by way of the grave you will stand before Jesus. At that Judgment Seat of Christ He will be Master and you will be Steward. You will give an account of your stewardship. Would you like to hear your Master say these words to you... "Well done thou good and faithful servant" If you long to hear those words, then you must "Work Until Jesus Comes"
