Be Prepared | Matthew 25:1-13

Scripture

• Matthew 25:1–13

About this sermon

Our Lord has been exhorting His disciples about the need to remain alert, awake, ready for His second coming. This is something that they did not fully understand at the time. But it was something they would come to grasp in the future. This age that we now live in between the first and second advent of Christ is something that the disciples never envisioned. This is a mystery, now made known when before it was veiled. These exhortations will obviously apply directly to the people alive at the time when He returns. But these exhortations have been recorded and preserved for every generation of believer who has lived since Jesus ascended into heaven. We have all been charged to live our lives with our hope fixed on Jesus. WE ARE ALL CALLED TO REMAIN AWAKE TO THE RETURN OF JESUS. Over the last two weeks we have seen the exhortation to stay awake, and we have seen the descriptions of a life that truly embraces that exhortation. The alert life is a life of faithfulness. The alert life is a life of wisdom — a wisdom that numbers our days and looks the end of all things as they Bible has revealed it. It is a life of love and loyalty until the Master returns. It is a life produced by regeneration. THE CONSEQUENCES THAT JESUS HAS DESCRIBED — CONSEQUENCES ASSOCIATED WITH THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING AWAKE AND BEING ASLEEP — MARK THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SALVATION AND DAMNATION. Those who are awake desire to be found faithful when the Master returns. Those who are asleep, are those who lack faith that the Master will ever truly return. That absence of faith is then manifested in a selfish life that abuses others and indulges the flesh. THIS IS WHAT WE SAW LAST WEEK. THIS WEEK WE SEE THAT AN AWAKE LIFE IS A LIFE THAT HAS MADE PREPARATION FOR THAT GREAT MEETING DAY. For the last two weeks we have been challenged with the thought — are we awake? Today we are challenged with the thought — are we prepared? And one of the striking things about ALL this instruction is HOW JESUS MAKES THE IMPORTANCE OF ALL THIS CRYSTAL CLEAR. He does not allow us to treat this lightly — if we listen to Him. We can’t just nod our head and acknowledge this in a brief and passing manner. HE FORCES US TO SORT OF “STOP” AND REALLY TUNE IN. HOW? BY REPETITION The importance of alertness and preparedness is emphasized by repetition — by the volume of instruction devoted to the topic. As we already noted, this is the longest answer to a question that Jesus ever gave, in terms of the biblical record. He is repeating, over and over again, the need to remain alert, awake, vigilant, ready.