SPEAKER_00: I'm really excited.
SPEAKER_00: Make me a reservation, I'll be ready.
SPEAKER_00: I'm really excited about this series that we've been in on the Jesus life.
SPEAKER_00: And the heart behind this series is, I mean, how many of y'all grew up hearing the stories of Jesus, right?
SPEAKER_00: And you've heard of some of these things, and maybe you've been to Sunday school a time or two, or been to church a time or two, and it's one thing to know about it, and it's another to know it.
SPEAKER_00: And so the heart behind this series that I want you to know is really comes down to this that everything that Jesus says belongs to you, it belongs to you.
SPEAKER_00: That everything that Jesus wishes or desires for your life, he's not a cruel God.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't say this is possible and then just say, huh, joke's on you.
SPEAKER_00: Like the heart behind this series is that Jesus came and he lived a life and he modeled a life for us.
SPEAKER_00: And that our heart and our response is we in return can live the life that he says that we can live.
SPEAKER_00: When my wife and I first got married, we uh lived in Kansas City, Missouri.
SPEAKER_00: And how many of y'all know uh you can't take a Texas girl out of Texas?
SPEAKER_00: Because here I am.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I tried and I did all the things, but we had just gotten married, and after we got married, we looked at these duplexes on the other side of town.
SPEAKER_00: And and my wife and I, we made the decision we're gonna move into these duplexes, and the landlord came in, and the landlord was really nice, and him and his wife were elders at their church, and just a really sweet, down-to-earth couple.
SPEAKER_00: And I remember after we had signed the lease, my wife, who is full of hospitality and way more friendly than I am, and way more nice than I am, and loves hanging out with people all the time, invited the landlord over for dinner.
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, I'm like, have you ever been invited to dinner in the kitchen that you actually own?
SPEAKER_00: And they were like, no, this is the first time.
SPEAKER_00: And I so they were coming for dinner.
SPEAKER_00: Now, listen, I'm not making any statements about elderly people in the room, uh, but I just want to say, you know, you know, there's a dinner time and then there's like a liner time.
SPEAKER_00: Lunch and dinner, you know, dinner?
SPEAKER_00: And so my wife and I were expecting them to come to their house.
SPEAKER_00: What we weren't expecting was for them to show up at 4:59 p.m., knocking on the door, ready for dinner.
SPEAKER_00: And how many of y'all know when they came for dinner, we knew they were coming, but we were not ready for their coming.
SPEAKER_00: So I opened the door, my wife said, Is that really them?
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Yeah, and she said, Stall.
SPEAKER_00: I said, What?
SPEAKER_00: She goes, I still have to change.
SPEAKER_00: So I'm standing on the front porch, entertaining them on the front porch, peeking in from time to time.
SPEAKER_00: She's finally ready.
SPEAKER_00: But how many of you know it got really awkward when they came into our house and realized we had not even started cooking yet.
SPEAKER_00: Entertaining the conversation, I run to the pantry, get the mac and cheese, the chicken nuggets, like we're ready.
SPEAKER_00: Let's newly married.
SPEAKER_00: We were expecting them, but we weren't ready for them.
SPEAKER_00: Today, what I want to talk about is being ready for Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Being ready for Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: There's a difference in knowing that Jesus is coming and being ready for Jesus' coming.
SPEAKER_00: There's a difference in believing that God can move and that God can work in your life and actually being ready for Him to move and work in your life.
SPEAKER_00: And so as we jump into today's message, the heartbeat would be this: that you leave out of this room more ready than when you came in.
SPEAKER_00: But beyond just the Sunday message, because here's the deal, I can say a lot on Sunday, but we all know Monday comes pretty quick.
SPEAKER_00: The heartbeat behind this is that you wouldn't just hear it on Sunday, but you would live it on Monday, that God would continue to do this work in you that one day you would look up and say, I'm better off than where I started.
SPEAKER_00: My faith is richer.
SPEAKER_00: I have a more personal relationship with the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: I hear God, I trust God, I've learned some things in my walk with God.
SPEAKER_00: And as we do this, I want you to know we prepare for all kinds of things in our life.
SPEAKER_00: Do we not?
SPEAKER_00: Do we got any type A list people out there?
SPEAKER_00: Put your hand up.
SPEAKER_00: All right, all these people in the room always think they're better than everyone else.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, why'd you put your hands down so fast, everybody?
SPEAKER_00: You should have seen those hands.
SPEAKER_00: They were like, you know, like get down, you know?
SPEAKER_00: It's like, no, listen, there are some of you that have a personality type that is just born prepared, you know?
SPEAKER_00: How many of you type beers out there and you're proud of it, somebody?
SPEAKER_00: You're like, I'll just show up, and when I show up, the party shows up, you know?
SPEAKER_00: It's like the thing about it is I want you to understand something today.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not talking about a to-do list.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not talking about a personality type.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not talking about some people got this and some people don't.
SPEAKER_00: Today's message is for everyone.
SPEAKER_00: Today's message is for the person who is new to their faith and the person who's been walking in their faith for a really long time.
SPEAKER_00: There's always more to get ready.
SPEAKER_00: We get ready for everything in our life.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, y'all, how many of y'all have schedules and calendars, and now we have apps for that, and they notify you every five seconds that you're missing something in your life.
SPEAKER_00: And and we we prepare our schedules, we prepare our calendars.
SPEAKER_00: How many of y'all prepare for your week?
SPEAKER_00: Moms and dads, you you're buying groceries all the time, and you bought groceries yesterday and you're buying them today, and you're like, is our pantry really?
SPEAKER_00: You're always planning and preparing for something.
SPEAKER_00: In the work industry, you're preparing for what's coming up, and you're preparing for a meeting, or you're preparing for something that is happening at work, and so you're doing all of these things to prepare.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe for you, you have times that you're preparing for a vacation.
SPEAKER_00: That's my favorite thing to prepare for.
SPEAKER_00: Anyone?
SPEAKER_00: It's like one vacation's ending and you're already preparing for the next one.
SPEAKER_00: You plan the excursions, you plan the budget, that doesn't even matter because when you get on vacation, something tells you budgets don't matter.
SPEAKER_00: It's like you're making all these plans and preparation.
SPEAKER_00: My question for you this morning is are you preparing more for Jesus than you're preparing for everything else?
SPEAKER_00: And you're like, wow.
SPEAKER_00: I'm in the same boat.
SPEAKER_00: I I want to give you confessions of a pastor this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Last Sunday morning, last Sunday morning, I came to worship.
SPEAKER_00: I was not preaching.
SPEAKER_00: Now here's the thing.
SPEAKER_00: I get up on Sunday mornings, about 4:50, if I'm lucky, 5 a.m.
SPEAKER_00: And I will get up and I will pray and I will listen to worship music.
SPEAKER_00: What am I doing?
SPEAKER_00: I'm preparing for what's about to happen.
SPEAKER_00: I don't just walk in cold on a Sunday morning and say, hey, let's see what's going on right here.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you guys.
SPEAKER_00: We good?
unknown: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: Um, so you know what?
SPEAKER_00: Let's just pray for just a moment.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, Father, we just pray right now for just health in the room and everything that is necessary.
SPEAKER_00: And so, Father, we just ask that you would assist every situation and that you would help me as we continue to deliver your word that is being delivered this morning.
SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name, everybody agree?
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: As we talk about this, I want to encourage you with this, that Jesus modeled what it meant to be ready and to be prepared.
SPEAKER_00: Everything you look at in Jesus' life, every situation in Jesus' life, he was always ready for what was going on.
SPEAKER_00: How many of you guys know that when Jesus withdrew, he withdrew to pray?
SPEAKER_00: So in the midst of his schedule, in the midst of all the things that are going on, people will be like, Well, where's Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: And there he was.
SPEAKER_00: He was out by himself and he was praying and he was devoted.
SPEAKER_00: How many of y'all think if Jesus had time away, we need time away?
SPEAKER_00: Some of y'all are like, I got kids.
SPEAKER_00: Bless God, it's biblical, I can just leave them and go pray.
SPEAKER_00: Like Jesus prepared.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I think we look at Jesus and we think he's just Jesus, he had it all, and he didn't have to.
SPEAKER_00: No, no, no.
SPEAKER_00: Like Jesus did things that prepared himself for what was to come.
SPEAKER_00: How many of you know?
SPEAKER_00: I love how many times Jesus would show up, and when Jesus showed up, there were people who needed something.
SPEAKER_00: And as he needed, they needed something, Jesus would assist them with whatever it was.
SPEAKER_00: He would bring healing to them, he would teach them, he would instruct them, he would do all the things that they needed in their life.
SPEAKER_00: I love that he did this for the disciples.
SPEAKER_00: Alright, y'all, all eyes up here, if you just help me out, okay?
SPEAKER_00: Hey, listen, so here's the thing.
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus, when the disciples all were gathered together, he knew that he would be leaving them one day.
SPEAKER_00: And in the process of knowing that he would be leaving one day, you know what he did?
SPEAKER_00: He prepared the disciples to do what it was that he was doing.
SPEAKER_00: Think about this.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus sent the disciples out two by two.
SPEAKER_00: That's not Noah's ark story.
SPEAKER_00: I got this right.
SPEAKER_00: He sent the disciples out in two, too.
SPEAKER_00: And the disciples would go out and they would do ministry and they would come back, and Jesus would instruct upon what is Jesus doing?
SPEAKER_00: He's preparing them for the day when he wouldn't be there.
SPEAKER_00: Are you noticing the pattern of preparation that Jesus had?
SPEAKER_00: That there is a preparation to our faith.
SPEAKER_00: And then as you step into the next piece, think about this.
SPEAKER_00: Before Jesus ever even began his ministry, here's what he did: He went away into the wilderness to pray and fast.
SPEAKER_00: Y'all think like going without Whataburger for, you know, 20 hours is fasting.
SPEAKER_00: That's not fasting.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus went for 40 days.
SPEAKER_00: For 40 days.
SPEAKER_00: And he fasted and he prayed before he ever went into ministry.
SPEAKER_00: What is he doing?
SPEAKER_00: He's preparing to do and be the person and do the things that God has called him to be and do.
SPEAKER_00: And I look at Jesus and I think, Jesus is the model.
SPEAKER_00: And if if that's what he did, and if he was the Son of God and he needed it, how much more do I need to be ready?
SPEAKER_00: How much more do I need to prepare?
SPEAKER_00: So then Jesus, in the final moments of his life, he goes to the Garden of Gethsemane and he begins to pray.
SPEAKER_00: And he brings the disciples with him.
SPEAKER_00: This time he didn't go alone like he did at the start of his ministry.
SPEAKER_00: This time he took people with him.
SPEAKER_00: And what does he do?
SPEAKER_00: He looks at the disciples and he says, Y'all, wake up.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Y'all can't even stay awake for one hour and pray?
SPEAKER_00: And here's what he tells the disciples, listen to this word.
SPEAKER_00: He says, keep watch.
SPEAKER_00: He tells the disciples, keep watch.
SPEAKER_00: And why is he doing this?
SPEAKER_00: He's telling the disciples, he's saying, Hey Peter, by the way, remember that whole part about you denying me?
SPEAKER_00: That's about to come up.
SPEAKER_00: And Peter, if you be praying right now, it would help you not enter into temptation.
SPEAKER_00: And when I think about this, I think, what a gift that Jesus was giving his disciples.
SPEAKER_00: You see, they thought it was another task, they thought it was another burden, they thought it was another late-night prayer set instead of going to bed that Jesus said, Jesus, I just can't keep up with all your religious activities.
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't about that at all.
SPEAKER_00: You know what it was?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus was trying to deposit a gift inside of them that they were going to need for the hour in which they knew nothing about.
SPEAKER_00: And he did.
SPEAKER_00: And so Jesus is constantly, it's like this guy on the other end of the rope that's saying, Come a little bit closer, come a little bit farther, come a little bit deeper, come a little bit closer.
SPEAKER_00: And this is what Jesus is doing.
SPEAKER_00: And I want to encourage you this morning because I want to set you free from any religious burdens you have.
SPEAKER_00: Listen, we're not the kind of church that says, Oh, you weren't here last week.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, oh, where were you?
SPEAKER_00: You know, we're not the kind of church that's saying, our heart is this that we would be on the other end of the rope saying, Come a little deeper, come a little closer, prepare.
SPEAKER_00: It's not about having a Bible reading plan and not failing.
SPEAKER_00: You know what it is?
SPEAKER_00: It's about getting God's word in your life.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because it's going to prepare you.
SPEAKER_00: This isn't about me.
SPEAKER_00: This isn't about the person on the platform.
SPEAKER_00: This is about being a gift to you that God would say, you're going to need these things in the days ahead, and He wants you to prepare for that.
SPEAKER_00: So I've selected the morning's passage from Matthew chapter 24 because Jesus made the decision to prepare the disciples for the very thing that they were going to need.
SPEAKER_00: And this scripture is actually about the end times.
SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, one of the questions I got early on in the church, I would meet with people for coffee, and as I met with them for coffee, here's what they would often ask me: What do you think about the end times?
SPEAKER_00: I said, I don't know.
SPEAKER_00: All I know is I'm gonna be the guy that my clothes get folded nice and neat on the airplane seat next to me.
SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_00: When the rapture happens, like I got some horror stories from movies, you know, back in the day.
SPEAKER_00: The question people always ask is like, how do we know what's going to happen and what about the end times?
SPEAKER_00: Well, this scripture is actually one of the scriptures that a lot of people get some of their actually crazy ideas.
SPEAKER_00: How many of y'all know there's some crazy ideas out there?
SPEAKER_00: Listen, can I just be a pastor for a minute?
SPEAKER_00: Stop believing everything you watch on YouTube.
SPEAKER_00: If they said that Jesus was going to come back on May 20th and he didn't come back on May 20th, it means something.
SPEAKER_00: Not that Jesus failed, but that they were wrong.
SPEAKER_00: So so here, so we're asking, what is it that we're preparing for?
SPEAKER_00: Well, listen, Jesus doesn't give them a date.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, he says nobody knows the time or the hour.
SPEAKER_00: You know what's so funny though?
SPEAKER_00: Then why are we so fixed on figuring out what the time and the hour is?
SPEAKER_00: You know what, Jesus, you know, people are like, well, how's it gonna happen?
SPEAKER_00: Is this gonna happen first?
SPEAKER_00: The rapture's gonna happen first, or is this gonna happen first, or you know, what's the order?
SPEAKER_00: And you know, you can read more books about it than there is scripture written on it.
SPEAKER_00: There's something off balance about that.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not at it and I'm not being intense.
SPEAKER_00: I'm just saying, here's the point.
SPEAKER_00: The point is Jesus has a message to give us, and it has nothing to do with the time or the hour, has nothing to do with the manner in which it happens, it has nothing to do with the left-behind series being blessed or cursed.
SPEAKER_00: It has everything to do with this.
SPEAKER_00: Matthew chapter 24, verse 4.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna skip through some verses in here.
SPEAKER_00: See that no one leads you astray.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is preparing them for the end, and the first thing he says, be prepared, lest anyone lead you astray.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 9 they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you'll be hated by all nations for my name's sake.
SPEAKER_00: Well, that's encouraging on child dedication Sunday.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_00: I did not think about this message before I saw those cute babies.
SPEAKER_00: And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another, and many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.
SPEAKER_00: And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.
SPEAKER_00: But the one who endures, listen to this, who endures to the end will be saved.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 36 But concerning that day and hour, no one knows.
SPEAKER_00: Is there a theological explanation for that?
SPEAKER_00: It means no one, it means probably no one.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: Not even the angels, nor the son, but only the father.
SPEAKER_00: For as were the days of Noah, so will become the Son of Man.
SPEAKER_00: For as in those days before the flood, everybody's eating, drinking, living their life, giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away.
SPEAKER_00: So will be the coming of the Son of Man.
SPEAKER_00: Then the two men will be in the field, one will be taken and one will be left, two women will be grinding at the mill, one will be taken and one will be left.
SPEAKER_00: Many people, off many uh theological viewpoints, would say that's about a rapture, that one person would be taken away.
SPEAKER_00: Another side that I think is equally uh strong of an argument is the idea that he's been talking about tribulation, and what he's talking and warning the disciples is that some people are gonna be martyred for their faith.
SPEAKER_00: And so the person that you've been working side by side in the field with is actually gonna not be there with you because guess what?
SPEAKER_00: They died for their faith.
SPEAKER_00: They went through great tribulation.
SPEAKER_00: So here's my point.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
SPEAKER_00: Are you okay with going to a church where the pastor doesn't know?
SPEAKER_00: Because guess what?
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
SPEAKER_00: All I know is what it says, and what I'm seeing it say is it says in verse 42, therefore stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming, but know this that if the master of the house had known what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, you also must be ready.
SPEAKER_00: For the Son of Man is coming at an hour in which you do not expect.
SPEAKER_00: And he goes on and he says, Who then is wise?
SPEAKER_00: Who then is faithful?
SPEAKER_00: So interesting to me, Jesus gives probably one of the most clear passages on preparing for the end.
SPEAKER_00: And it doesn't come with a lot of answers, but it comes with a lot of encouragement.
SPEAKER_00: That's how God speaks.
SPEAKER_00: You know, sometimes I think sometimes people we get all caught up, and you're like, every bad thing I hear, I think that's God just correct.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I think God oftentimes is encouraging you.
SPEAKER_00: I think oftentimes when you read scripture, you gotta know something.
SPEAKER_00: He wants the best for you, he's trying to help you, he wants to put his word in you so that you have a way to walk it out.
SPEAKER_00: It's his pulling of the rope.
SPEAKER_00: He's trying to pull you closer.
SPEAKER_00: And listen to the words that he uses in one of the most profound passages of scripture.
SPEAKER_00: Stay awake, don't fall away.
SPEAKER_00: See to it that no one leads you astray.
SPEAKER_00: Don't let your love for God grow cold.
SPEAKER_00: Endure to the end.
SPEAKER_00: Stay awake, be ready.
SPEAKER_00: He told the disciples, keep watch.
SPEAKER_00: You know what he's saying?
SPEAKER_00: Prepare.
SPEAKER_00: He's saying this.
SPEAKER_00: He's saying, it's not just about your expectation that God will come in return, it's about you preparing for his return.
SPEAKER_00: Because we already know one of those things is gonna happen no matter what.
SPEAKER_00: We we already know that God is faithful to his word, he always does what he says he will do.
SPEAKER_00: You can put your life on it.
SPEAKER_00: The question is not whether he's gonna do what he says he will do.
SPEAKER_00: The question on the table when you come to church today is this Are you preparing for what he wants to do in you?
SPEAKER_00: Are you preparing for your part to play in this bigger story?
SPEAKER_00: Are you preparing your spirit?
SPEAKER_00: So I came up with three images this week that are the points this week, three pictures that I think help unpack this difficult passage and make it simple.
SPEAKER_00: How many of y'all just like the pictures in the book?
SPEAKER_00: You know, bless God.
SPEAKER_00: Every night I give my four-year-old the book and I say, Can we just do the pictures tonight?
SPEAKER_00: He's like, No, you read.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, I just want to do the pictures, man.
SPEAKER_00: A bat.
SPEAKER_00: When I was in the third grade, um, I was the youngest kid on my block, and every kid on my block was older than me, which meant something.
SPEAKER_00: I was the worst at every sport I ever played.
SPEAKER_00: And I'll never forget one day the biggest kid on the block walking up in the middle of the driveway where we were playing our game, and he walked up and he said, move.
SPEAKER_00: And I said, No.
SPEAKER_00: He said, if you don't move, I'm gonna hit you with this bat.
SPEAKER_00: And he did.
SPEAKER_00: Everything in me said, I'm not moving.
SPEAKER_00: And he took that metal bat and he clocked it right in my forehead.
SPEAKER_00: Fell to the ground, goose egg on my forehead.
SPEAKER_00: How many of y'all know I felt that for a while?
SPEAKER_00: Do you ever feel like the bat hits hard in life?
SPEAKER_00: When I read this passage in Matthew chapter 24, this is what Jesus is saying: the bat will hit, and when it hits, it hits hard.
SPEAKER_00: What did he say?
SPEAKER_00: He was warning the disciples, there will be tribulation.
SPEAKER_00: There's gonna be days, disciples, who walked with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Listen, these are the guys who are his closest companions, and Jesus is telling them there's gonna be days where the bat hits you hard.
SPEAKER_00: There's gonna be time, there's gonna be a tribulation for your faith that you are going to have to do what?
SPEAKER_00: To endure.
SPEAKER_00: And I share this image with you because I know that in this room are a bunch of people who say sometimes it feels like life is a bat.
SPEAKER_00: And and this happened this week, and that happened last week, and 20 years ago, this happened, and I'm just encouraging you this morning.
SPEAKER_00: You're like, where's the encouragement?
SPEAKER_00: Bless God, it's right here.
SPEAKER_00: You're not alone.
SPEAKER_00: That Jesus actually said, in this world you're gonna have trouble, but take heart, I've already overcome the world.
SPEAKER_00: The issue is not whether or not a bat is going to swing in your life.
SPEAKER_00: The question is, are you going to prepare yourself to endure through the challenges that you face?
SPEAKER_00: Because what Jesus is warning them, Jesus is saying, listen, listen, you you things may go this way and they may go this way.
SPEAKER_00: But the question is not what things happen to you around you.
SPEAKER_00: The question is, what are you gonna do in the middle of it?
SPEAKER_00: And so here's his warning, here's his admonition.
SPEAKER_00: Don't let your love grow cold.
SPEAKER_00: You know the hard part about getting hit by a hard bat is it becomes really easy to get calloused.
SPEAKER_00: It becomes really easy to sit out the next time.
SPEAKER_00: It gets really easy to live in fear.
SPEAKER_00: And what Jesus warns them, he says is there are gonna be people in the end and they didn't endure.
SPEAKER_00: And the reason they didn't endure is this one thing they let their love grow cold.
SPEAKER_00: Listen, how many know your pastor goes on a date with his wife so that he can have a nice day?
SPEAKER_00: Bless God.
SPEAKER_00: No.
SPEAKER_00: Why would I go on a date with my wife?
SPEAKER_00: You think, Pastor, you're already married.
SPEAKER_00: You don't need to go on a date, do you?
SPEAKER_00: Really?
SPEAKER_00: Like, there's something wrong with your marriage.
SPEAKER_00: Is that why you have to go on a date?
SPEAKER_00: Like, no, no, why?
SPEAKER_00: Because great relationships take work.
SPEAKER_00: And it may be work, but guess what?
SPEAKER_00: In the end, it's worth it.
SPEAKER_00: And what Jesus is warning them and giving them an admonition and encouragement is He's saying this when the bat hits hard, you don't get cold.
SPEAKER_00: When the bat hits hard, you invest in your relationship with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: When life brings its challenges, and it will, you keep your faith.
SPEAKER_00: You keep your love.
SPEAKER_00: Saying, Lord, I don't know why this is happening.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know why I'm going through it.
SPEAKER_00: And I may never know, but I'm gonna know this, Jesus, that I'm gonna let you keep pulling me closer.
SPEAKER_00: And in the midst of this hard swing, I'm not going down.
SPEAKER_00: There is an exhortation in this passage for you to have a faith that stands in the midst of tribulation.
SPEAKER_00: The second image is the image of a roller coaster.
SPEAKER_00: I got this message in pictures this week.
SPEAKER_00: It's so weird.
SPEAKER_00: My daughter, uh, my family, we went to Silver Dollar City last year.
SPEAKER_00: Come on.
SPEAKER_00: They called the Christian Las Vegas, somebody.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, in Branson, Missouri.
SPEAKER_00: It's in Branson, Missouri.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, if you've been there, you know.
SPEAKER_00: And uh my daughter is now the height that she can ride these roller coasters.
SPEAKER_00: And she asked me to get on the roller coaster with her, and I did.
SPEAKER_00: And she got off and said, I want to do it again, and I said, Go talk to your mom.
SPEAKER_00: It's that simple.
SPEAKER_00: See, when I was young and I was a kid, I was macho and manly, and something happened inside my stomach, and I can't handle it the way I could handle it back then.
SPEAKER_00: How many of you know what worked for me then doesn't work for me now?
SPEAKER_00: Oftentimes our faith, Jesus in this passage, I believe, a great picture to illustrate this passage is a roller coaster.
SPEAKER_00: There are times in your life when your faith is high.
SPEAKER_00: Aren't you so don't you love those seasons?
SPEAKER_00: Don't you love the seasons where it's not hard?
SPEAKER_00: And it don't you love the seasons where you're like, man, I can just sense God's presence and man, things are smooth.
SPEAKER_00: There's not as many rough patches in my.
SPEAKER_00: There are times when it's high, but guess what?
SPEAKER_00: On every roller coaster, there are times when it comes low.
SPEAKER_00: And I think the encouragement or the admonition of Jesus in this season is when will you graduate from riding the roller coaster?
SPEAKER_00: Because here's the reality of the roller coaster.
SPEAKER_00: When it's high, it's high, and when it's low, it's low.
SPEAKER_00: And what would Jesus say?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said in this passage, the thief will come in the night.
SPEAKER_00: And what's he saying?
SPEAKER_00: Be prepared when you're not prepared.
SPEAKER_00: That's a sermon point right there.
SPEAKER_00: You ready for it?
SPEAKER_00: Be prepared when you're not prepared.
SPEAKER_00: Well, that sounds like the most ridiculous thing I ever heard.
SPEAKER_00: If I'm not prepared, then I'm not prepared.
SPEAKER_00: No, this is what Jesus is telling you to do.
SPEAKER_00: He's saying you to be prepared for the moments when you're not prepared.
SPEAKER_00: When are the moments when you're not prepared?
SPEAKER_00: Well, a thief coming in the night, you're sleeping and you're not awake.
SPEAKER_00: When are the moments in our life when we're not prepared?
SPEAKER_00: It's when the roller coaster of life takes us to the lows.
SPEAKER_00: When we're more vulnerable, more susceptible.
SPEAKER_00: Something hard happened.
SPEAKER_00: We lost someone that we love.
SPEAKER_00: We're going through challenges.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is saying, in those moments, what are you doing to prepare for the one truth that Jesus is coming?
SPEAKER_00: He didn't give you, listen, how many of you in the low of lows, it doesn't really matter how the end times are going to happen, it just matters that Jesus is coming back.
SPEAKER_00: The answer that we need is right in front of us.
SPEAKER_00: You don't need any more revelation on the subject than the simple truth that Jesus is coming back.
SPEAKER_00: So so how do you how do you process this?
SPEAKER_00: Here's how he says it.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Don't forget to protect your house.
SPEAKER_00: He says, the master, you're gonna if you knew when the thieves come, you're gonna protect your house.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what I'm telling you.
SPEAKER_00: In the times when your emotions are low, what are you doing to protect your house?
SPEAKER_00: In the times when you're going through the thick of it, what are you doing to protect your house?
SPEAKER_00: In the times when things aren't looking up and to the right, what are you doing to protect your house?
SPEAKER_00: Why does this matter?
SPEAKER_00: This matters because your eternity matters.
SPEAKER_00: It matters because your eternity matters, but can I tell you something equally as true?
SPEAKER_00: It matters because your today matters just as much.
SPEAKER_00: And the Lord is saying, I want you to endure.
SPEAKER_00: And so here's his word stay awake, don't fall asleep.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, but Clayton, I've been doing this for 20 years.
SPEAKER_00: I've been following Jesus for a long time.
SPEAKER_00: I used to read my Bible every day, but you know what?
SPEAKER_00: I know a lot of it now.
SPEAKER_00: No, no, no.
SPEAKER_00: Stay awake.
SPEAKER_00: Because we're all on the roller coaster.
SPEAKER_00: And what you could do when you're young, you might not be able to do when you're old.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, but preacher, I made it this fall and I haven't fallen, and things are good.
SPEAKER_00: And no, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_00: Listen, we're frail, all of us, but none so frail as I.
SPEAKER_00: So here's what I'm gonna do.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna stay awake.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna keep my eyes open.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna keep my perspective in alignment with his word.
SPEAKER_00: What am I doing?
SPEAKER_00: I'm preparing.
SPEAKER_00: It's not a to-do list, it's not a 10-point list.
SPEAKER_00: Like I don't have a 10-point list for you today.
SPEAKER_00: Say you go do these two things, it's gonna change your life.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what I'm simply saying to you.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus' exhortation and encouragement to you is to be ready.
SPEAKER_00: To be ready.
SPEAKER_00: Well, what does that mean exactly, Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: Well, I think it gives you a lot of room to figure that out.
SPEAKER_00: It means when you're praying, you're drawing your heart closer to Him.
SPEAKER_00: It means when you worship, you're realigning your perspective and putting your eyes back on Him.
SPEAKER_00: It means when you come to church, you're surrounding yourself with a community who can be with you through the hard times.
SPEAKER_00: It means that when you bring your kids to church and you put them right down front here, you put them in kids' church right there, you're preparing them for the day.
SPEAKER_00: They're on the bottom of the roller coaster.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, the list goes on and on and on.
SPEAKER_00: The goal tonight today is not the practical application.
SPEAKER_00: The goal today is this: that you have an encouragement in your heart to stay awake and to be ready because we don't know when Jesus is coming back.
SPEAKER_00: And the last one is this.
SPEAKER_00: I know it's kind of a little bit more of a coffin or a grave.
SPEAKER_00: And the reason I think of this is because I think that in this passage, Jesus is warning them be ready for the end.
SPEAKER_00: Be ready for the end.
SPEAKER_00: Listen, I did a funeral, uh, I do lots of funerals as a pastor, and um one of the things that I often do is uh for the funerals, especially that I don't uh know people too well, is I will sit down with them and the family and I'll ask them and I'll just take notes about the person's life.
SPEAKER_00: Because my thing is this, they just lived a whole life.
SPEAKER_00: Their life deserves to be honored.
SPEAKER_00: And it's impossible to honor a person's life in a short one-hour funeral, the whole thing.
SPEAKER_00: So my heart is this I want to do the best I can.
SPEAKER_00: And so I'll sit down and I'll take notes, and I'll just ask them, tell me something funny about them.
SPEAKER_00: Tell me something that they love to do, tell me about their faith, tell me about their family, what were they most proud of?
SPEAKER_00: And I'll just take notes and take notes and take notes.
SPEAKER_00: And several years ago I went and I sat down with a family and asked a few questions, and they didn't have much to say, and I wrote a few notes, and I got up the next morning and I opened up my iPad and got ready to write the funeral.
SPEAKER_00: And the only note I had was she's really good at making Italian meatballs.
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Oh.
SPEAKER_00: A whole life, and that's all anybody had to say.
SPEAKER_00: And it just put this, like, not as a pastor, just in me, this realization of the end matters.
SPEAKER_00: And how we live until we get to the end matters so much.
SPEAKER_00: The thing about it is, at that point in history, there was nothing we could do to change the notes that were written on the page for that person's life.
SPEAKER_00: The notes can't be changed then, they can be changed now.
SPEAKER_00: What are you doing to prepare in your life for the end?
SPEAKER_00: And so you're saying, maybe I'm not on the roller coaster today, and maybe life doesn't feel like a bat.
SPEAKER_00: The reality is, here's the one that hits us all.
SPEAKER_00: And that is this there is an eternity in store for all of us.
SPEAKER_00: And what Jesus is telling them is this how are you preparing for it?
SPEAKER_00: You know, as I think about that, I am so encouraged by this scripture right here.
SPEAKER_00: John chapter 14, verse 3.
SPEAKER_00: And if I go and prepare a place for you, Jesus says, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
SPEAKER_00: We already know the end.
SPEAKER_00: He's coming.
unknown: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: First Thessalonians 4 16.
SPEAKER_00: For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and the sound of the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
SPEAKER_00: Then we who are alive and left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
SPEAKER_00: So we will always be with the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, encourage one another with these words.
SPEAKER_00: How many of you are encouraged to know that the person that you loved that you've lost in your life, that because they knew Jesus and you know Jesus, there will be a time you're together again.
SPEAKER_00: That helps you on the roller coaster.
SPEAKER_00: That helps you when the bat hits you in the head.
SPEAKER_00: No, it doesn't give you all the answers.
SPEAKER_00: No, it doesn't make you a theologian that you can write thousands of pages, but I don't need to write thousands of pages because I only got one sentence, and the one sentence is Jesus is coming again.
SPEAKER_00: It's like I just it reminds me in my life of all the times I get discouraged by all the things that are going on.
SPEAKER_00: And if Jesus would say this to the disciples, I want you to know something.
SPEAKER_00: Put your name in there.
SPEAKER_00: It's okay to put your name in the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: If he said it to them, it was true for them.
SPEAKER_00: And if he said it to them and it was true for them, then he says it to you and it's true for you.
SPEAKER_00: And that is this forget the loud noises.
SPEAKER_00: Forget all the news media and all the things that you think about.
SPEAKER_00: Listen, we're gonna come right here to this point in time, and that Jesus is saying, Are you prepared for my coming?
SPEAKER_00: Do you know that I'm gonna return?
SPEAKER_00: When I was uh a kid, I played baseball and I played till about 14 or 15 years old.
SPEAKER_00: But the thing was, for many, many years I was put in the outfield.
SPEAKER_00: I didn't know why I was in the outfield all the time until I discovered it's because none of the kids on the team could hit to the outfield.
SPEAKER_00: They weren't strong enough.
SPEAKER_00: For many years I was in the outfield, and listen, I'm gonna be honest with you.
SPEAKER_00: I cared about one thing when I was in the outfield.
SPEAKER_00: The snow cone stand on the other side of the gate.
SPEAKER_00: And wondering if it was still gonna be open when I got off the field.
SPEAKER_00: And I can hear it as clear in my head today as then.
SPEAKER_00: Y'all, y'all know that coach?
SPEAKER_00: You can hear the coach's voice, right?
SPEAKER_00: Look alive, you know, like be ready.
SPEAKER_00: But I have a great last name for this.
SPEAKER_00: It's like, come on, smalls, be ready, you know, like playing baseball.
SPEAKER_00: Like, and I can still hear his voice telling me to be ready.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm thinking, what's the point?
SPEAKER_00: What's the point?
SPEAKER_00: None of these kids can hit out here until one day some eight-year-old boy who took steroids walked up and crushed that thing, you know?
SPEAKER_00: But I still remember that fly ball coming to me, and I still remember, sorry, I'm your pastor, you got me, you stuck with me, but I missed it.
SPEAKER_00: I dropped it.
SPEAKER_00: I did not get it.
SPEAKER_00: I remember that moment of not missing it, and all those times the coach said, Be prepared and be ready.
SPEAKER_00: And I just wonder, you know, that's baseball, who cares?
SPEAKER_00: What about your life?
SPEAKER_00: If Jesus is the coach on the sideline saying, Be ready, stay awake, stay in the game.
SPEAKER_00: I know it's hard, I know it's a roller coaster, I know the end is inside, but listen, stay in the game.
SPEAKER_00: But how many of you know, like I've I had a flashback to that last year when I was at the Astros game, and Jose Altuve popped one up, and I'm sitting right there, and that ball is coming right at me.
SPEAKER_00: And I look up and I say, Dear God, don't let me miss it again.
SPEAKER_00: But how many of you know when I reach my hand up and I caught that ball one-handed from Jose Altuve, it's like yes! My point is this maybe the thing you weren't ready be for before, the Lord says, You can be ready for now.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what that is for you.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna ask you to bow your heads and close your eyes and