Good morning. Welcome to Blacksburg Christian Fellowship. What a joy to be together. If you're new with us, a special welcome to you. Just thankful that you can be here with us and just hope that this time the Lord uses to encourage you. If anyone has any questions or would like to chat more about BCF, I'll be here after the service. Please come on up and we'll catch up. I was chatting the other day with a friend and she is working from her makeshift home office in the kitchen. Three boys are all studying online and dad's work is a little unstable since the pandemic begins. Needless to say, things are a little crazy. They have no idea when things will get back to normal, but they're fairly sure when they do get back to normal, it will not be any normal that they are accustomed to. They're struggling financially, emotionally, spiritually, and things just seem out of control. Last week, Jeff gave us a powerful reminder of how we can rest in Christ because of his infinite, perfect love for us. And it's helpful to be able to rest when things just seem like they're spinning out of control. But that might lead us to ask, is there anything that we can control? Is there anything that we can do that really makes a difference? What is within our ability to influence, to really impact? And today, Jesus gives us answers to these questions. In today's passage in Luke chapter 12, we're gonna see insight into what we can determine. He calls us to look ahead and gaze into eternity. Jared, thank you so much for the scripture that you shared, just reminding us of the hope the coming of the Lord. And so this morning, I want us to understand, if you walk away with anything, walk away with this, that you determine your destiny. The scripture teaches us that you determine your destiny. So let's open our Bibles to Luke chapter 12. We're gonna be reading Luke 12, verse 35 through 56. Luke chapter 12, beginning in 35. Hear the word of God. Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline a table and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch or in the third and finds them awake, blessed are those servants. But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready for the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Peter said, Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all? And the Lord said, who then is the faithful and wise manager whom his master will set over his household to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that servant says to himself, my master is delayed in coming, begins to beat the male and female servants and to eat and drink and get drunk, The master of that servant will come in a day when he does not expect him, at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. And that servant who knew their master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required. And from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more. I came to cast fire on earth, and would that it were already kindled. I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it's accomplished. Do you think that I've come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house, there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. He also said to the crowds, when you see a cloud rising in the West, you say at once, a shower is coming. And so it is. And when you see the South wind blowing, you say there will be a scorching heat and it happens. You hypocrites, you know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but you do not know how to interpret this present time. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we're so thankful for this word from your son and our Lord. And we pray that you would open our hearts this morning, that we would allow your Holy Spirit to write this truth on our hearts, that our decisions and our behavior would be changed. by the truth of this word, by the responsibility and the privilege you've entrusted to us as your disciples. Teach us, Lord, for your glory and our good. We ask it with thanksgiving, in Jesus' name, amen. Jesus reminds us this morning that you determine your destiny by first living expectantly of his return. Second, living responsibly with what he has entrusted to you. And third, living peaceably in the face of opposition. Let's begin by considering how you determine your destiny by living expectantly of Christ's return. Jesus gives us two examples of people who benefited from being ready. One were servants who were awaiting the arrival of their master. The other was a master of a house when a thief was coming. And both of these were tremendously advantaged because of being prepared. Now, Being ready made all the difference. In those days, a wedding feast could go anywhere from days to weeks. So the servant in that household had absolutely no idea when their master was coming. And so they had to choose to be ready whenever he might show up. Now, The second or third watch refers to time as kept by the Roman soldiers. Second watch was that time from 9 p.m. to midnight. Third watch, midnight to three in the morning. Talk about inconvenient. But those servants were committed to a higher priority. They were committed to keep the command of their master and be ready whenever he returned. And by being ready, They were greatly honored when he came. One of my heroes, Corrie Ten Boom, grew up in a family in Holland that loved God. They owned a humble Dutch watchmaking business and operated out of the first floor of a quaint Dutch town. In 1940, the Nazis invaded, and as was their custom, they began to capture the Jews and to gather them together to stuff them into railway cattle cars and to ship them to concentration camps. Because Corey's family loved Jesus, they had to help their Jewish neighbors. With the assistance of the Dutch underground, they had a secret room built into the back of Corey's bedroom, and they were able to smuggle dozens of Jews to freedom, a few at a time, having them in, hiding them, feeding them, keeping them, and sneaking them out. so they could escape to safety. That operation could have potentially continued throughout the war, except for the fact that a man came up to Corrie and begged that she would help his Jewish wife. And so with a little hesitation, the Ten Boom family decided they needed to help this woman. Little did they know that that man was a spy. And because of that revelation, Nazi soldiers stormed the Ten Boom House, took the whole family and dragged them off to political prisons and ultimately to concentration camps. Fortunately, even at that moment, there were Jews hiding in their hiding place and all of them were able to escape to safety. The fact is the Ten Boom family was able to help dozens of Jews and to save their lives because they lived in constant preparation. God used them. in tremendous ways because they stayed ready. A police officer friend actually trained Corey on how to respond if she were to be, and when she was interrogated by Nazi officers, how to respond coolly, how to just kind of let things slide. And so they were, day and night, they were ready for the Nazis to come in. And their vigilance made a huge difference. Cory's sister, Betsy, was even more prepared. Betsy was not as physically strong as Cory, and toward the end of the war, Cory and Betsy were sent to one of the Nazis' worst concentration camps. It was there, a famous place known for its cruelty and its harsh, back-breaking labor. Cory tells of a moment. when they observed a woman guard brutally beating one of the prisoners. And Corey replied, oh, the poor woman. Sister Betsy said, oh, yes, and may God forgive her. After a moment, Corey realized that Betsy was actually praying for the cruel guard that was beating that prisoner. Because of those conditions, Betsy didn't last much longer. She died there in that concentration camp. And yet her departure was filled with such a peace and such a joy because she was looking forward to the Lord, looking forward to the coming of Christ or her going to be with Him. The question I ask thinking of Corey and Betsy is where do we find that kind of love, that kind of strength, that kind of peace and preparation It comes by a moment-by-moment communion with our Lord Jesus, and it comes by looking and longing for his return. As we await, looking and longing, that changes our hearts and fills us with peace, knowing that even now he is preparing for us a place in glory. Now don't think that this sort of preparation is easy. It's not easy to be constantly looking and longing, looking and longing for the coming of Christ. It requires hard work, training, diligence, concentration. It means we don't ease up, we don't lay back. We focus on the fact that Jesus has promised to return. Now we stay engaged in kingdom life and kingdom work so that whenever he comes, we're ready. The question is, what keeps us from that kind of preparation? What impedes us from moment by moment being ready for his return? Jesus cites two causes. First is the appeal of creature comfort. Second is the temptation to use and abuse others around us rather than living to serve them. First, creature comforts. Simply put, Being prepared and ready with our clothes ready and our lamp lit requires energy and effort. It's easy just to fall to the temptation of easing back and going comfortable, especially in our culture where comfort is king. Now, I'm not knocking the COVID-19 wardrobe, and Julie can tell you there are times when I've got my Jimmy shorts and my flip-flops, and I'll put on a nice shirt for my Zoom meeting. But he's not talking about this kind of preparation. He's talking about a hard attitude that is ready and expected, knowing that Jesus coming will be a surprise. So the point of this is that in this scripture and in all of prophecy, the purpose of prophecy is preparation, not prediction. You can write that down. The purpose of prophecy is preparation, not prediction. Let's all say that together. The purpose of prophecy is preparation, not prediction. One more time. The purpose of prophecy is preparation, not prediction. Do you see, the Lord, He could have given us all the details, but intentionally, He left the details of His return vague, because He wanted His people in all time, in all generation, to be ready for His return. He wants the same for you and me. He wants us expectant and prepared for his return. So where do we need to fight? Where do you need to fight against that pall of creature comforts? A couple of places I need to up my game is with wasted time on internet. In this pandemic, I'm doing so much on my computer. It is so easy to just click on that article or look at those things that are right there. There are way better places I could spend my time, but it's comfortable. And so we need to fight the battle. Another comfort is with online church. And now our AV team does such a great job and the online service is fantastic. This morning I was, I got up and think, man, I can just have my cup of coffee, sit in the couch and enjoy the online service. And then wait, I'm preaching. I better get going. No, no, seriously. I'm so thankful that for our sick, for elderly, for those with compromised health, we want you to stay engaged with our service, with our community. Please stay connected. And you'll be faithful to connect in that way until the Lord provides a solution for this pandemic. But I want to say to you who are here, thank you. Thank you for fighting the battle with comfort, getting off the couch and coming to gather, to gather and worship. The Lord commands us we need to assemble together and encourage one another and all the more as we see that day drawing near. See what day drawing near? The day of Jesus' return. It's drawing near. And so what an encouragement to be together. And it's awkward, you know, social distancing. I miss seeing your smiling faces, but I much rather see your eyes than not see anything at all. So thank you. Thank you for being here. God is blessing his work and he blesses us as we live expectantly of his return. The second thing we see is that you determine your destiny by living expectantly of His return and living responsibly with what God has entrusted to you. So God's entrusted seven days a week, so I do want to encourage you, if it's reasonable, and healthy. Let's get back into the good habit of getting up. First, let's get to bed at least an hour Saturday night. That sure helps get up Sunday morning so we can spend time with the Lord and be here. Nine o'clock, we break bread together. 945, the service of worship. Let's encourage one another. And let's be responsible with what God has entrusted to us. The Lord Almighty knows every detail of our lives and judges with perfect justice and holiness. Those who are caught unprepared will be very sorry for their poor decision. We see the unfaithful servant will go with those who have no faith. What is Jesus saying? He's saying that the person, it's not the person who says he loves God that receives the reward. It's a person who loves God, who loves Christ, and whose life is being conformed to His will for us. We are His sheep. We need to follow the Good Shepherd. Salvation is for those who live by faith, the fact of Jesus' death and resurrection. Eternal life is for those who have a living faith, who've truly received the gift of the Father's kingdom. Furthermore, Jesus says, those who know more shall receive a harsher judgment. Plenty people are ignorant of God's truth. The scripture teaches that they will receive lighter strokes But for those of us who know God's word, we will be held to a higher standard. Greater responsibility means stricter judgment. One inference we can take from God's word here is there will be degrees of suffering in judgment. Be assured that those who knowingly do evil will not escape the righteous judgment of God. And to him who knows the right thing and does not do it, to him it is sin. Notice the example that Jesus gives right here, verse 45. But if that servant says to himself, my master's delayed in coming, begins to beat the male and female servants and to eat and drink and get drunk. Our culture doesn't have masters and servants, but people in places of power still abuse and oppress others. Work harassment and marital abuse continue and are spawned by the same root of evil. From verbal and emotional abuse to business corruption or greed, be assured no sinner will escape the judgment of God. Those who show no mercy will receive no mercy. Those who deceive, who use and abuse others, will pay the consequences of their evil. Authority is not inherently bad. The greatest authority in the universe is the Lord himself, and he is holy and righteous and good. But sadly, there are policies and practices that are from the pit of hell, which is why I hope that you, if you have the power, if you're an adult, a citizen, please, vote in these elections. We need to voice our commitment to Christian principles, to stand up for those who have no voice, for the unborn, for the Christian family. Let us demonstrate our love by our action. Notice, though, Jesus emphasizes the human heart. His point is that it is the evil inclination from within that move people to abuse and to evil. Sad fact is such abuse happens even within Christian communities. I've known believers who have a hard time calling God father because their earthly father was cruel and harsh and abusive. And it just, it's hard to put that term on someone so loving. I've known of Christian wives who dread the coming of the weekend because that's when husband hits the bottle and things get violent and they're just afraid. If those kinds of things are happening in the circle that you're aware of, don't be silent. Please speak with your community group leader or with one of our side-by-side team, with one of the elders. We want to support and be able to help. We're a body together, and so let's share our struggles and trust that God will intervene as we lean on one another. Don't face your pain alone. But thinking about Jesus' return will help guard us from the temptation of using others or pandering to our pleasures. Do you realize you determine your destiny by living responsibly with what God has entrusted to you? And so work hard, discover your gifts, use your time effectively to bless your family, to be engaged in our Christian community and to bless our community beyond to serve to the advance of the knowledge of his love. God wants us to use our resources well, to use our time, our finances, our energies, our abilities for the sake of his kingdom. Now, do you think Jesus is teaching here that we can lose our salvation? Not at all. His point is not that, but his point is rather there are people who name the name of Christ whose lives are a charade. Those who propose to be Christians, they traffic Jesus' name. but they've never allowed the Holy Spirit to work and change their internal world. Their finances, their anger, their priorities are out of line with kingdom principles. Those people. will not inherit the kingdom of God. It's not that a person loses their salvation. It's that many have not truly passed from death to life. They need the work of Christ in their life to be saved so that they might live in the power of the indwelling Christ. So if we say we love God, let's love our neighbors too. If we say we believe in Jesus' return, let's act like he could come today. It makes a difference. Thirdly, we see that Jesus calls us to live peaceably with opposition. Again, in verse 49 through 51, Jesus says, I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that they were already kindled. I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished. Do you think that I've come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house, there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided. Does it seem contradictory that the Prince of Peace comes to cast fire and divide? Does that sound like the bestseller Jesus Calling to you? Here, Jesus comes to cast fire, to bring division. But it helps to see that his fire comes not because of a lack of his love, but because of his love. The fire that Jesus is talking about is a picture of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit that comes with fire to consume the dross of evil and to purify our lives. The fire that ignites our hearts with God's love and commits us to change, to love others because he has loved us first. The fire of light that shines into our darkness and gives us clarity to see in dark times and light in the midst of the deepest emotional, physical struggles. The Holy Spirit comes to change, and that change creates division. And so we need more of the Holy Spirit's fire. We need more of his purification, more of his love, more of his light. Oh, Holy Spirit, fill us with your fire. But the fact is, The Holy Spirit's fire brings division because there are people who want to live in darkness. They're content to live with cold, dark hearts. They prefer to live in sexual sin, in gluttony, in bitterness, in anger. They don't wanna spend time in worship or listen to God's word. They would rather be shopping online. Lying becomes a way of life because they prefer not for others to know the truth, and they don't want the truth to shine into their darkness. That's why Jesus' fire causes division. Ultimately, there are only two directions in life. We can turn from our selfish ways, come to Christ, receive the fire of the Holy Spirit, and be changed. That Holy Spirit fire works in us a new life, a life of joy and peace and power. It is the Holy Spirit's fire that inclines us to suffer hardship as soldiers of the cross, to go the second mile, to turn the cheek, to return good for evil. The Holy Spirit's fire teaches us to deny ungodliness and to live expectantly of Christ's return. But God's word tells us don't be surprised if people in your family just want you to shut up. God's light in you makes them uncomfortable. That fragrance of the Holy Spirit for some people is the fragrance of death and they hate that smell. Don't be shocked as the world's opposition to Christ gets worse and worse as the days of his arrival draw near. Your decision to follow Christ may mean division in your own family. Some of you have lost close friends because you have chosen to follow Christ and the fire of the Holy Spirit has driven them away. I had a friend, a buddy in college, met Christ, he was Jewish, and what he believed that Jesus is the Messiah, his family literally disowned him, disinherited him, wrote him out of their future. Fortunately, that was a pretty exciting story because it was just a few months, he led his brother to Christ. And now they thought, this is gonna get expensive, rewinding the wheel all the time. And so then parents began to ask questions. The whole family came to Christ and they're going to heaven because they know now that Jesus is the Messiah. And yet Jesus, warns us of this because it's not uncommon that families are divided because of our love for Christ. It's heartbreaking, but Jesus wants us to be ready. The Lord is working and preparing a place for us. So he wants us to be prepared for his arrival. So the question is, What happens, what destiny awaits us if we live expectant of his return, living responsibly with what he's entrusted to us, living peacefully with opposition? Right here, Jesus gives us a few little glimpses. In verse 37, here's what he says. Blessed are those servants whom his master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service, have them recline a table, and he will come and serve them. Does that remind you of anything? Perhaps your mind went to the last supper. Last time the Lord Jesus dined with his disciples, he laid aside his garment and he washed their smelly feet. The next time there at the wedding feast of the lamb, he wants to seat you and to serve you at his banquet table. This is one of those Bible passes that just leaves me without words. What Lord is like our Lord? What master is like our master? What lover is like the lover of our souls? He is looking forward to serving us. How can we not love him in thankfulness and an expectation? Again, he tells us in verse 43 and 44, blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. The Lord wants you to realize there's one person that determines your destiny and that person is you. The reason he wants you to be faithfully serving here is he's preparing you for service in the kingdom to come. He's preparing you to be a co-regent with him in his kingdom. And so as you serve faithfully, as you serve expectantly, as you serve responsibly, he is preparing you for your place in the kingdom. the kingdom of glory that will last forever. And so he just wants you to be ready. That's because of his love for you. In a culture that tells us, oh, we're victims and we don't control anything, do you see the freedom and the power that Jesus calls us to? We are free in Christ. No one can stop us from loving and serving God. No one can keep us from being ready for his return at any moment. No one can impede us from taking up our cross daily, denying ourselves and living for his glory. This is the freedom of the cross. It is our freedom. But I want us to know there's only one reason why we have any freedom and future hope at all. And that is because what Christ has done. Listen again to what he says in verse 50. I have a baptism to be baptized with and how great is my distress until it's accomplished. Jesus is speaking about his death and resurrection. He uses baptism as a metaphor. In baptism we pass beneath the water, a picture of death, and we rise up again, a picture of newness of life. And so Jesus is using this metaphor to talk about what he was to experience on the cross of Calvary. And yet, did you hear how he felt looking ahead to that experience? Our Lord was in great distress, great distress. Why would the Son of God be in great distress? It's because he knew what was coming. He was to be abandoned by his closest friends, to endure a brutal death hanging between earth and sky until his human life was extinguished. The tragedy of being separated from his heavenly father. He'd been in intimate communion for eternity and to have in some way that communion ripped apart. to suffer the cup of the wrath of God for all our sin, to endure the pangs of hell. Great distress. And yet, you see, it was because he was willing to endure that great distress, the suffering of the cross, that he can grant us the freedom to determine our destiny. Jesus tells us that If a person doesn't know the Lord, he's condemned already for not believing in the only begotten Son of God. So the only person that can determine their destiny is the person who trusts Jesus as Lord. And if you today haven't yet come to that place, this is the best time for that to happen. He wants you to determine your destiny, but that only happens as you by faith believe in the fact that Jesus died and rose again in your place. He bore the consequences, the penalty of all your sin so that he could offer you this gift of eternal life. And so he invites us to believe. to believe and receive that gift, to say thank you. Thank you, Lord, for bearing God's wrath for my sin, for giving yourself in my place to grant me the gift of eternal life. So to clarify, if Jesus is your Lord, then and only then do you determine your destiny. by living expectantly of Christ's return, living responsibly with what he's entrusted to you, and living peaceably in the midst of opposition. Let's pray. Father, we are so grateful for the power of the cross. We're so grateful for the freedom that is ours as your children. We're so grateful that you have given us the power to live humbly and longingly for the return of your son. Lord, help us, help us to discipline ourselves in such a way that we live ready or we just look forward to that day of his coming. And whether he comes first or we go to be with him, Lord, might you find us ready, dressed, lamps lit, expecting your return for your glory. and for our good, we pray with thanksgiving, in Jesus' name, amen.