The Bible's open, that passage, it'll be a text this morning, Luke 12, 35-48. The title this morning is to whom much is given, much will be required. Much is given, much will be required. Last week we looked at our Lord's instruction to seek the Kingdom of God. It's afterward they that are Christ's at his coming then come at the end when he shall have delivered up the kingdom of God even the Father We shall put down all rule and all authority and power for he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet The return of Jesus Christ will be the ultimate fulfillment of the kingdom of God, which we are to seek. Now with that background, Jesus told his disciples to watch and to be prepared for the Lord's return. Our main point of application this morning will be drawn from the words of Jesus. They're in verse 48. Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required. Now in this passage, Jesus told his disciples to watch for his return and to work diligently in preparation for his return. And that will be our two points this morning. Before we begin in this passage, let's go to the Lord in prayer. Lord, we thank you for your word. We thank you, Lord, for the clarity of the instruction that it gives. And Lord, we are without excuse before you, before your revelation. And Lord, I pray that we would be Careful servants, faithful stewards of what's been given to us, that we may honor and glorify you. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. First, watch for the Lord's return. In verse 35, Jesus told his disciples to be ready. Verse 35 begins, let your loins be girded about. That expression means to prepare for action. In Bible times, when men were preparing for action, either to run or to fight or to partake in some other sort of activity, physical activity, they would gather up the loose ends of their robes and they would tuck them into their belt. And that is what it meant to gird up your loins. It makes movement easier. You're much less likely to trip. It freed them for action. We see this expression used throughout the Old Testament. In Exodus 12, verse 11, the Israelites were commanded when they ate the first Passover feast, they were to eat it with their loins girded and shoes on their feet and your staff in your hands. They would be prepared to leave. And they were to eat that first Passover with the expectation that God would quickly deliver them from the land of Egypt. Another example is found in 1 Kings 18.46, the hand of the Lord was on Elijah and he girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. And then in Job 47, God said to Job, gird up thy loins now like a man. I will demand of thee and declare thou unto me. Well, how are we as Christians to obey this instruction? Ephesians 6, 14 tells us. Stand therefore, having your loins gird about with truth, the belt of truth. We must immerse ourselves in truth and the revelation of God. Immerse yourself in the gospel of Jesus Christ, the doing, the dying, and the rising of Jesus Christ. The revelation of God is not something for us to learn and then to move on from, as if we are somehow beyond the revelation of Jesus Christ and the gospel. No, we are to immerse ourselves in that truth. We are to gird ourselves in truth. It prepares us for action. The revelation of God equips us and prepares us for action. 1 Peter 1 verse 13 says, Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Prepare yourself, prepare your mind, and protect it by dwelling on God's revelation. Look forward and hope to the revelation of Jesus Christ at his second coming. Jesus said to his disciples, let your loins be girded about. We're to live in this state of readiness. In context, we are to live ready for the Lord's imminent return. Now verse 35 continues. Let your loins be girded about and your lights burning, your lights burning. Again, Jesus was telling his disciples to watch and to be prepared. You remember the parable of the 10 virgins that Jesus gave in Matthew 25? Jesus said in verse one, then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto 10 virgins, which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Now, if you remember that parable, you remember that five were wise and they brought oil for their lamps and five were foolish and brought no extra oil. And at midnight, when they were called to go and meet the bridegroom, the five who were wise, they still had their lamps burning, but the five who were foolish, they had to go get more oil. And so they missed the bridegroom and they were shut out. from the wedding feast. They were not watching. They were not prepared. And so they missed the bridegroom when he came. Don't be like those who were foolish and who made no preparation to meet their Lord. Again, how are we to obey our Lord's instruction here and keep our lights burning? First, I would again point you to the revelation of God in his word. Psalm 119, 105 says, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. In John 8, 12, Jesus said, I am the light of the world, and he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. We are to feed the flame of faith with the word of God, the revelation of Jesus Christ. We're to do this both in private devotions as well as in corporate worship, to feed the flame with the revelation of God. But there's another facet to this instruction. over and over and over again in the Gospels, Jesus warned, both through his direct teaching and also through his parables, that there would be many people who would profess faith in Him, faith in Christ, and yet they would ultimately prove to be false professors, those who did not actually possess a saving faith. In Matthew 7, 22-23, Jesus said, Many will say unto me in that day, the day of judgment, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name have done many wonderful works. And I, Jesus, will profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. In the parable of the soils, back in Luke chapter 8, Jesus talked about the seed that fell on the rock and it sprang up quickly. In Luke 8, 13, Jesus said that this represented they, which when they hear, receive the word with joy, and these have no root, which for a while, believe, and in time of temptation, fall away. At first, this seed which fell upon the rock he grounded, it appeared just like that seed which fell upon the good ground. At first, you could not tell the difference between these two. They both sprang up, and they both looked good, but in time, that seed which fell upon the rock It withered away. Those that it represents proved that they had no true root of faith. Going back to the parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25, you'll notice that both the wise virgins and the foolish, they both had lamps, but only the wise had oil to sustain their lamps. Many people have an outward profession of faith, but there is no inward work of God, no inward work of God's grace. And without that, that profession will not be sustained. This inward grace is a work of the Holy Spirit in salvation. To sustain our profession of faith, we must have the indwelling Holy Spirit. This is the spring from which all true spiritual life will flow. Anything short of this marks us as unworthy and unprepared to meet our Lord. Of course, that leads to the question, how? How are we to have the indwelling Holy Spirit? How do we know if we have the indwelling Holy Spirit? We can judge and consider our lives by the fruit that we are producing. We can know the indwelling Holy Spirit by the fruit that He will produce in our lives. Does your life produce the works of the flesh or the works of the Spirit? Are you engaged in the spiritual warfare that is sanctification? Do you struggle against the flesh and strive to grow in Christ's likeness? You will not win every battle, but are you engaged in the fight? That's a sign of spiritual life. Listen to Galatians 5, 19-25. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envies, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like. of the witch, I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Now think about this in context to what Jesus has been teaching. We are to seek the kingdom of God. And here, in Galatians 5, we're told, the works of the flesh are these, and he gives a list. It's not exhaustive, but it's a representative list. And then, those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. People whose, these are the works that their lives are producing, they will not inherit the kingdom of God. That passage in Galatians 5 goes on, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, Let us also walk in the spirit. Judge your life by the fruit that is being produced. Heed the words of Jesus. Let your loins be girded about and your lights burning. Now in verse 36, Jesus told his disciples to be like servants waiting for the return of their master. Such servants were to be watchful. And that is the simple truth taught in this verse. If a servant is waiting his master's return and he is able, as this verse says, to open the door for him immediately when he knocks, then that servant must have been watching and waiting for his return, ready for the return of his master. And so are we to be ready when our Lord comes for us. Moment by moment, we are to be watching for him. This is both our duty and our hope. Our Lord will come for us. We must watch for him. It is our joy to watch for him. He may come for us in the second coming, or he may come for us in death. We do not know with certainty when he will come for us, and therefore we must be diligent to watch, to be ready. Now, verse 37 is a surprising verse. We may even find it uncomfortable, but it is a precious promise. Look at Luke chapter 12, verse 37. Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching. Verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meet, and will come forth and serve them. We see the picture that Jesus gave here, the master. In this example, he returned home. He found his faithful servants watching for his return, prepared to receive him, serving him in his absence, ready to serve him at his return. But instead of the servants serving the master, the master instead took it upon himself to serve them. Jesus said, he will make them to sit down to eat and he will serve them. No earthly master would do this. How much less should the King of Kings and Lord of Lords gird himself and serve us, his servants? You may think, and you would be correct to think, I am unworthy for the Lord to serve me. Yes, you are. So am I. Totally unworthy. That is the nature of grace. We are unworthy. And yet God has shown grace to us. We deserve nothing good from God, and yet it is God's good pleasure to give us the kingdom. We deserve wrath, but we have received forgiveness, adoption, and Christ's own righteousness. We are unworthy, but God is gracious. Verse 37 is a beautiful illustration of God's grace shown to His servants. Jesus continued in verse 38, And if he shall come in the second watch or come in the third watch and find them so, blessed are those servants. The second watch of the night was from nine p.m. to midnight, the third watch from midnight to three a.m. These are servants who had endured and waited a long time for their master and had remained faithful. When the master returned, he found them watching for him. They were in a posture of readiness with their loins girded and their lights burning. They were waiting and watching for their master. They had waited and watched a long time. And such servants, Jesus said, are blessed. The church has waited a long time for the Lord's return. And every day that the Lord tarries, it seems that the number of scoffers increased who say, where, where is that promise of his coming? Don't be discouraged because the Lord has not yet returned. 2 Peter 3, 9 tells us that God is not slack or forgetful concerning his promise, but rather he is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The point there is that every day that the Lord suffers this wicked world to go on is a day of mercy. It is mercy that he tarries. If you are not a Christian, Don't presume upon the mercy of God, the grace of God. He is long-suffering, but He is not eternally long-suffering. He suffers this wicked world to go on for a time, but He will not suffer it to go on forever. The day of judgment will come. Today is the day of mercy. You may not have tomorrow. Don't presume that you will. And as Christians, may we adopt the attitude of our Lord. and patiently endure suffering in this wicked world as we watch for his return. Be faithful, be diligent. Have your loins girded about with truth, the truth of the gospel. Have your lamps burning with genuine faith. Watch for your Lord's return. Jesus promises that those servants who have watched long and faithfully will be blessed. Verses 39 and 40, Jesus changed the picture from servants waiting for their master's return to a homeowner whose house was broken into when it was not guarded. And in verse 39, Jesus said that if the owner of the house had known when the robber would come, then he would have watched, he would have set a guard. He would have been waiting and ready to catch the thief and to stop him from breaking into his house. If he knew when the thief would come, he would have been watching, he would have been prepared. He would have, to use the words of Jesus, he would have had his loins girded and his lights burning. And in verse 40, Jesus applied this picture to his disciples. Be ye therefore ready also, for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not. Be ye therefore ready also. We're to live in a state of readiness, watching for our Lord's return, not just out of habit. That shouldn't just be something that we say but an actual practice. Watching for our Lord's return should be a part of the grace of God lived out in our lives. A genuine watching for the Lord's return. Because we are the blood-bought servants of our Lord, we are ready for His return. We are watching for His return. We are yearning for His return. Even so, come Lord Jesus. We must maintain this readiness because the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not. We do not know when we will meet our Lord, but we will meet Him, either in death or in His second coming. All of us will meet the Lord. We do not know when this will happen. Scripture does not tell us. We're simply told to be ready. Be ready. Let your loins be girded about and your lights burning. Be diligent. Be faithful. Watch for your Lord's return. So far from our text, we've considered our responsibility to watch the Lord's return. In the second half, On this passage, we'll see our responsibility to prepare for the Lord's return. Verse 41 serves as a transition between these two sections of this passage. In this verse, Peter asked Jesus, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us or even to all? Was this parable about watchfulness only for the disciples, maybe even only for that inner 12 of disciples or was it for all people? Now we have examples earlier on in Luke's gospel of times when Jesus spoke a parable to the multitude but then separately he gave an interpretation for it and explained it further to his disciples in private. A good example of that is the parable of the soils back in Luke chapter 8. And so Peter may have been asking Jesus if he would reveal the time of his coming to the disciples. Now keep in mind At this point in Jesus' ministry, the disciples, they had no concept of a second coming. Why would Jesus need to come again? He is there now. They have no concept of a second coming. Now with the benefit of hindsight, we can look at the Old Testament prophecies. about the Messiah, and it seems clear to us that he had to come first as a suffering servant and then again later on as judge. But for the Jews of the first century, that was not clear at all. They were only looking for the Messiah to come one time and to fulfill all the Old Testament prophecies, and this actually caused them some difficulties in interpretation. In fact, some thought there must be two Messiahs, one Messiah who would suffer and one Messiah who would rule and reign. Even after his resurrection, the disciples were still confused. They asked Jesus in Acts 1, verse 6, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And so they're still looking for Jesus to fulfill those Old Testament prophecies that would be fulfilled or will be fulfilled when he returns the second time. It was not until God gave them more revelation that they finally understood that they were to wait for his second coming. There's a lot of this teaching from Jesus that is going over Peter's head at this time. And the apostles were shown no special favor at this point. Like us, they were not told when Jesus would return. Now if you look at the rest of this passage, it doesn't immediately appear that Jesus answered Peter's question, certainly not directly. In Mark's gospel, when Jesus taught the same thing that he's teaching here, he said in Mark 13, 37, what I say unto you, I say unto all, watch. But in our text, Jesus immediately went from this question from Peter into this discussion about stewards. And this suggests that while Jesus' warning was for all to watch and be ready for his return, there is specific application here for the apostles, and for all succeeding ministers of the gospel. And don't let that make you think that this does not apply to you because you do not occupy an office in the church. If you are a Christian, you have a responsibility as a steward of the gospel that has been revealed to you. We are all under responsibility or have a responsibility to heed the instruction and the warnings that Jesus gives in these verses. And so in verses 42 through 44, Jesus described a faithful steward and the reward that that faithful steward would receive when his master returned. Now in the ancient world, a steward was a servant in a household who was given authority and responsibility to rule over all the affairs of that household. A good biblical example of a steward is Joseph. You remember the story of Joseph, he was sold as a slave down into Egypt, he was bought by Potiphar, and he quickly rose to the ranks in Potiphar's household, and within just a short amount of time, he was made the steward over Potiphar's house. Genesis 39 verse 6 describes the broad authority that Joseph had as a steward. Potiphar left all he had in Joseph's hand, and he knew not aught that he had save the bread which he did eat. Potiphar had such complete trust in Joseph that all he knew was what was on his table at mealtimes. Everything else was in the hands of Joseph. All the business of the household was handled by Joseph. Now in our text, The focus of Jesus' instruction about stewardship is on how the steward treated the other servants in the household. The steward would have authority over the other servants in the household. He would have been responsible for them and also responsible to his master for the care and well-being of all the other servants in the household. And so verse 42 begins, who then is that faithful and wise steward whom his Lord shall make ruler over his household? Now note in particular this word household. This refers specifically to the household, not to everything that the master owned, but just to the household. We can contrast this with the word that's used at the end of verse 44, which refers to the totality of the master's possessions. And we'll talk more about that when we get to it, but these are different words. And notice also how the steward received his position of authority. It is given to him by his Lord. His Lord makes him steward over his household. Our Lord's household is the church, and the stewards God has appointed over the church are elders and pastors. And this is a spiritual stewardship. This stewardship gives no authority to pastors and to elders beyond the authority of Scripture, by which they are also bound and held to a higher standard. James 3.1 warns, my brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. This stewardship gives no power to the individual elder or pastor beyond a responsibility to care for the souls that are under his charge. Elders or pastors, they don't run the church, or at least they shouldn't. Their responsibility is to spiritually shepherd the church. And this is where the biblical authority for this office begins and ends. Now Jesus continued in verse 42. to give them their portion of meat in due season." Now, the word that's translated here as portion of meat, it's only used this one time in the New Testament, and it refers to a portion of food that was given to servants at regular intervals. This is the food that the household would provide for the sustenance of those servants. And in this context, it may refer to or allude to the responsibility of elders or pastors to deliver and to apply the Word of God to the local church body at regular intervals, both on the Lord's Day and as opportunities arise. Now, verse 43 echoes what Jesus said about the faithful servant in the previous passages. Blessed is the faithful servant. When his Lord returns and finds him faithful, faithfully executing his duties as a steward, that steward will be blessed. Verse 44 expands upon this, and it is a wonderful promise. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler, the master will make him ruler over all that he hath, over all that he hath. Remember back in verse 42, the steward was made ruler over his master's household. When the master returns and finds his steward faithful over his household, he will make him ruler over all, over everything that he possesses. And such are our riches in Christ. When our Lord returns, we will enter into his kingdom as joint heirs with Jesus Christ. All that belongs to him, we are partakers of in salvation. This is the reward for all of the Lord's servants who are found faithful at his return. Strive then, strive to be found faithful. In verses 45 to 48, Jesus went on to describe an unfaithful steward and the punishment that he would receive when his master returned. Notice though that this passage does not describe an open enemy of the master. This was a steward. This was someone who appeared alongside all the other faithful servants. He was, at least for a time, numbered among them. He appeared to be one of them. There are many such wicked servants in the church who call Christ Lord, but with a false and worthless confession. As we noted earlier, many will say in the day of judgment, Lord, Lord, and Jesus will say to them, I never knew you. We must actually do the revealed will of God, believe on Jesus Christ, obey his commands. Now look at how the wicked servant is described in these verses. Verse 46 tells us that he believed his master would return. He was aware that his master would return, or at least the promise of his return. but he does not seem to look forward to that return. As his Lord tarried, he began to hope and even believe that his Lord would never return. He said there in verse 46, my Lord delayeth his coming. And he began to act as if he would never have to answer to his master for his stewardship. He stopped watching for his return. He gave himself over to wickedness. He began to abuse the servants under his authority. He lived a life of self-indulgence and sinful excess. In verse 46, Jesus described what would happen to such a servant on the day of his Lord's return. Verse 46 begins, the Lord of that servant will come. Now stop there for now. This servant, you remember, had given up, or at least in action had given up on his Lord's return. He believed that his Lord had delayed his return. Maybe he would never return. But of course, eventually, the Lord did return. And as we make application to ourselves, remember that the day of the Lord will come. God has tarried long from our perspective, but he will not tarry forever. One day our Lord will return. And verse 46 continues, the Lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him and in an hour when he is not aware. Because the servant was not expecting his Lord's return, he was not watching for him and he was surprised by his Lord's return. And what did the master do upon his return? He sat this wicked servant down and he gave him a stern talking to. Shame, shame. No. There was no firm reprimand here. It says he cut him in sunder. He cut him in half. This is a harsh picture and purposefully so. In prophecies, Christ's return his words are pictured as a sword going out from his mouth which will cut his enemies down and destroy them revelation 1915 out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword and with it he shall smite the nations and he shall rule them with a rod of iron and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God there will be no negotiation on Judgment Day there will be no correction, no parole, no mercy, no quarter, no second chances. There will only be judgment, swift and terrible. If you want to know the gentle, corrective hand of God the Father, then you must bend the knee to Him now. You must receive the mercy that is offered through His Son, Jesus Christ. You must repent and believe the gospel. If you wait to deal with God until you meet him on the day of judgment, it'll be too late. You will only know him in his wrath, and it will be terrible. He will cut his foes asunder. Hebrews 10.31 warns it's a fearful thing, a fearful thing, to fall into the hands of the living God. Now verse 46 concludes, And we'll appoint him that wicked servant, his portion with the unbelievers, In the day of judgment, unfaithful stewards in the household of God will be revealed for what they truly are, unbelievers. Hypocrisy will be brought to an end. There will be no hiding from God, no fooling God. Unbelievers will be cast into the lake of fire and these unfaithful servants will be among them. Verses 47 and 48 are a sober warning for us and for all people. That servant which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required. And to whom men have committed much, of him will they ask the more. That servant which knew his Lord's will, As a servant can know the will of his earthly master, so we can know the will of God. Not God's secret will, his will of decree, but his revealed will, his will of precept. God has revealed his will to us in his word, in the gospel, in the person and work of Jesus Christ. God has revealed himself to us. We can know the will of God, and we should know the will of God as he has revealed it. If you spent any length of time studying the scriptures, then you do know to some degree the will of God. And verse 47 continues, that servant prepared not himself. The servant in this example, he took no thought to his master's will. He knew his master's will, but he did not prepare for it. He took no thought to it. He made no effort to do his master's will. And as we make application to ourselves, let us be reminded that a person can know a great deal about God. They can profess even more, and yet never do the will of God. In Titus 1.16, they profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. Woe unto you if you profess to be a Christian, yet in your works you deny Jesus Christ. Christ will have no unfaithful servants. If by your works you deny Christ, you do not know him, and he does not know you. Now, please understand what I'm saying. If you think you are a Christian, but you have no thought, no concern, you expend no effort to do the will of God, then you must go back to the gospel and examine your salvation. If you are alive in Christ, then you will resist the corruption of sin. That's the nature of life. A human body, which is dead, does not resist corruption. It rots. But a human body, which is alive, will fight that corruption, as long as it is alive. It may not be successful in fighting that corruption, but it will resist corruption. Where there is life, the body resists corruption. And so it is for spiritual life. Where there is no spiritual life, there will be no resistance to sin's corruption. But where there is spiritual life, there will be resistance to sin's corruption. I am not saying that if you struggle with sin this past week, well, then you must not be a Christian. Not at all. This was something that I had great difficulty with early on in my Christian life. I had besetting sins, which I fell into over and over again. And often, I had this thought, how can I be a Christian if I struggle with sin like this? If I were truly born again, wouldn't I be able to overcome these temptations? If I'm a new creature in Christ, shouldn't I be able to consistently win the victory over these sins that I know, that I'm aware of, that I'm on guard against? And yet, I find myself falling into them over and over and over again. I spent a long time questioning my salvation because of my struggles with some of these sins. Now, if you're here this morning and that's your struggle, let me encourage you, every single person here, a struggle with sin this week. We're all engaged in this fight. None of us have attained sinless perfection, and as long as we live in the flesh, none of us ever will. This is a fight that we will have as long as we live in this world. We will always have the struggle against sin. Now, as you mature in Christ, the longer you walk with Him, as you mature in Him, that battle will also mature. That struggle against sin will also mature. It changes, but it is still a struggle. I heard one pastor say that as we mature in Christ, we will sin less, but our sin will bother us more and more. The struggle against sin continues throughout the Christian life. So if you're here this morning, you are burdened by sins committed this past week, sins you've struggled with. You've fallen and you've repented, but you feel like, oh, how can I keep on doing this? Will the Lord continue to show mercy to me? If you're struggling against sin, I encourage you, that's a good sign. If it is your desire to be free from sin, that is a sign that God is at work in your heart. That's a sign of spiritual life resisting corruption. The Christian does not win every battle, but the Christian is engaged in the fight. Press on. Be faithful. When you fall, repent. Turn back to Christ. Strive to serve Him. Study to know your Lord's will. And then watch. be prepared for his return. Strive to do his will. Don't be like that unfaithful servant who heard the will of God but then made no effort to do the will of his master. Rather, let us hear the will of God and then strive to obey. The end of verse 47 talks about the punishment of the unfaithful servant. You will be beaten with many stripes. To apply this illustration to ourselves, those who have the light of God's revelation in the gospel but do not act upon that means of grace, they will receive the most severe judgment. Verse 48 says, He that knew not and did commit things worthy of stripes, he shall be beaten with few stripes. If you have heard the gospel, but you have never responded in faith to the gospel, then you are under greater condemnation than those who have never heard. Both groups are under condemnation, but those who sin against direct revelation will face greater punishment. Jesus talked about this. Back in Luke 10 verse 12, in that passage, Jesus was instructing his disciples before he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God. And Jesus warned about the terrible judgment that would come upon those who rejected them as messengers of God's kingdom. In Luke 10 verse 12, Jesus said, but I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city. A remarkable statement. Sodom, this monumental city of wickedness in history, this city that stands out as a monument of God's judgment against sin. And God says that those cities which rejected the message of the Messiah, the kingdom of God, it would be worse off for those cities than for the wicked city Sodom. Why? Because those cities that rejected the gospel, they had sinned against the direct revelation of God. Strive. Strive to know Christ, and strive to serve him, lest you be found an unfaithful servant. This morning we've looked at Jesus' instruction to his disciples to watch for his return and to work diligently in preparation for his return. I want us to close with the application that Jesus made there at the end of verse 48. The revelation we have received gives us greater responsibility before God. We cannot escape this responsibility. It is a function of revelation. You have heard the gospel this morning. Repent and believe. Repent of your sin. Turn in faith to Jesus Christ. He is the only way to the Father. It is now your responsibility, and your responsibility now is greater than it was a few hours ago. Your punishment will now be greater if you reject the gospel. You have received revelation. Do not sin against the revelation of God. And you, Christian, have heard our Lord's instruction to be watching and working in preparation for the Lord's return. Your responsibility has likewise increased. The Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him, either in His second coming or in death when He calls for you. We must obey our Lord's instruction from verse 35. Let your loins be girded about and your lights burning. All of us will meet the Lord either in death or at his second coming. Be faithful. Be diligent. Watch for your Lord. Let's close in prayer. Lord, we thank you. We thank you, Lord, for this precious promise that you are coming back, that you will return. Bring this culmination of the kingdom of God in time and we rejoice in that Lord and as your blood pot servants We look forward to your return. We yearn for it. We long for it and Lord we pray That as we wait that we will be faithful or that we will be watching for your return or that we will be working With the work you've appointed for us and tell your return that we would be found faithful servants upon your return But Lord, this message of your second coming, it's also a dreadful message to those who are outside of Christ, to those who do not yet know you. It's a fearful warning of future judgment. And Lord, I pray that there's any here today who are outside of your kingdom, who are not in Christ, Lord, that you would convict them, Lord, that you would make clear their need for Jesus Christ, that you would turn them from sin and turn them to your Son for salvation. or impress us upon our hearts and minds this morning. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.