Well, praise the Lord. It's good to see each one of you and we're glad that you're here today. So this morning, I'm going to ask that you take your Bibles and turn with me to Matthew chapter 24 is where we will be. Matter of fact, if you were to put a title to the message today would be entitled lessons or a lesson from a fig tree. an interesting passage of scripture. This is one of those difficult ones because Matthew 24 is a passage of scripture that is often referred to. Matter of fact, if you study prophecy at all, it's one small piece that you need to take into account when you're studying prophecy. The last days, the end times, and all of those things that are going to take place that is coming. But we're going to come to the basically toward the end of Matthew 24. Matter of fact, Matthew 24 is referred to as the Olivet Discourse. That's what it's called. It's referred to that because the disciples are going to ask Jesus some very specific questions. Jesus has been in the temple. They come out of the temple and as they make their way out, the disciples ask some interesting questions. And as we look at those questions today, one of the things, if you don't draw anything else out of this passage of scripture today, here's what I want you to take away. You need to be ready. You need to be ready today, especially if you're not saved, if you're an unbeliever. But as a believer today, we should be living in light of his return. Matter of fact, we should be living in anticipation of his return. Understanding and realizing that as the clock ticks and as each day goes by, we are moving closer and closer to his return. For those today who are not saved, what it means if Jesus Christ returns, then it closes, and it will close the book, closes the chapter. And for those, it will be too late. But what about the believers? I mean, how do believers live in light of his return? Well, Jesus uses the illustration of a fig tree. And let me tell you, if you go to the land of Israel today, there are fig trees everywhere. So it was not an uncommon thing for Jesus to speak or to refer to a fig tree because fig trees were very prevalent in the land and Jesus uses this fig tree to share a lesson. In Matthew chapter 24, It's interesting because we have to really start at the beginning of the chapter before we make our way to verse 32. After answering the disciples' question that you find in verse 1 through verse 4, In verse five through verse 31, Jesus issues a warning to be ready. But I want you to notice the first four verses with me this morning. So Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when his disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to him. And he said to them, do you not see all these things? Truly, I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another which will not be torn down. So, matter of fact, as you look around and you see all of the temple and you see everything that's here, you see all the buildings, I want you to understand one thing, that there will not be one stone left upon another here which will not be torn down. Verse three, and so as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, that's why this is referred to as the Olivet Discourse. It was not far from the temple over to the Mount of Olives, and that's where they're sitting, looking back over the temple. As a matter of fact, Jesus refers to the disciples there as he's sitting with them, and they came to him privately saying, tell us, When will these things happen? Please do not miss this. This question has two parts. It's twofold. Matter of fact, the first question that he asked or that they asked is, when will these things happen? That phrase, these things are connected back up, and don't miss this, it's connected back up to verse two. But then they ask another question right behind it. And what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age? So it's a two-fold question here. It's two parts. So when are these things gonna happen? And number two, what will be the signs of your coming or your return and the end of the age? And so Jesus, as he answers these questions, it's interesting from verse five through verse 31, Jesus is going to deal with the second part of the question. In other words, what will be the sign of your coming in the end of the age? So here's what Jesus does. Jesus likens the days of Noah to the coming of the Son of Man. And matter of fact, he makes reference back to the days of Noah. It is amazing to me today that the critics of the Bible and the critics of the flood think that the flood was nothing more than just a small localized flood and that it is not completely factual nor true. And if that's the case, then why in the world would Jesus make reference to Noah and the flood itself if it were not true and it were not relevant for what is coming? But Jesus also emphasized something else. Throughout all of this, one of the things that he emphasizes is the importance of watchfulness and being prepared as believers as well. You need to watch. You need to pay attention. As a matter of fact, as we look at things taking place in the world today, in light of the word of God, one of the things that we should be doing is watching and being careful and being prepared for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. But there's something else that's interesting here as well. This passage is going to warn against complacency. urging believers to live with a readiness of his return. Church, if I could say something to you today, it would be this. It is not the time for the church to be complacent. If we truly believe that Jesus Christ is going to return and his return could come at any time, then let me say something to you today, then everyone who is a believer ought to be busy about what God's left us to do. The danger comes in complacency. Now, understand and realize, well, you know, y'all been talking about that for thousands of years and it still hasn't happened. If we're not careful, church, please listen to me as believers. We hear this over and over and over again. If you die without Jesus Christ, you're going to die and go to hell. We don't know the day or the hour. We don't know when we're going to die, when we're going to leave this earth. Listen, we have heard that so long and so much that I honestly believe in my own heart that we've reached a place today where we've become numb to it. If we truly understood that if a person dies without Jesus Christ, that's what Jesus is going to deal with here as he answers the questions of his disciples. If we truly live in anticipation of his return, understanding and realizing that his return could be at any time, and that if someone dies without Jesus Christ, they will spend all of eternity in hell, then let me tell you something today. It ought to drive us, it ought to motivate us, not to a place of complacency, but to a place of busyness, because the clock's ticking. And I'm watching the clock up there, and it's 1115. One of the things I want you to understand, this is just the introduction. So just as that clock is ticking, and I understand and realize that I'm running out of time, here's what I think we lose sight of. Let me say something to you this morning, you're running out of time. We had an incident this week, and bless her heart, Her and I talked often. Often we talked about going home to be with the Lord, looking forward to the return one day of Jesus Christ. And just to show you, and to kind of put a something real to what we're talking about here, Wednesday night, her and I had a conversation. with absolutely no anticipation that that Wednesday night was going to be her last time in this building. Not sick, not in pain or anything. But she's in eternity now. So what does that say to us? I mean, what does it say to us? Just exactly what Jesus is getting ready to share with his disciples. We've come to the place today, church, where we think, hey, you know what? I'm only such and such age. I got plenty of time. Let me make this statement as we look at this passage and take it apart. Because here's often where we find ourselves today. And I want you to understand something. Hey, we can know that this is the Olivet Discourse, and we can know that Jesus makes a comparison to Noah, and we can, listen, we can know all of that. But let me paint another side of the picture for you. What does it mean to us today? How do we live in light of what Jesus is getting ready to say? Well, let me make another statement here. True active faith leads to preparation for Christ's return. A true and active faith leads to preparation for Jesus Christ's return. Are you looking forward to it? You know, I hear people say this all the time. I can't wait till he returns. I can't wait till Jesus Christ brings all of this to a close. Do you understand that as soon as he does, do you understand how many people will find themselves in an eternity, in a place of total separation and isolation from God, in total darkness, in a place called hell? Do you understand that? So what does it do for us? Jesus also does something else here with his disciples in verse 32 through verse 41. He points to the urgency of living out God's word, and that a disciple's hardship, even the difficulties we experience as a disciple of Christ, for his sake, would be worth it. It would be worth it. Don't ever get to the point that you think that your labor for the Lord is in vain because it's not. Matter of fact, the most important thing that we will have as we come to the end of our journey as a believer is what we have done for the Lord Jesus Christ. And listen to me, it does not nor will it go unnoticed. God knows. You know, as we consider the thought of Jesus Christ's return, let me say something to you this morning. It's a source of hope for believers, a reminder that we've been called to live in anticipation of His return, just as Noah waited for the rain to fall. I can only imagine what it must have been like the day that the door closed and Noah and his family were inside of the ark. As a matter of fact, Jesus talks about it here. So I want to share three things with you from the passage this morning, verse 32 through verse 41. We must live every day with the awareness that Christ's return is imminent. What do you mean by imminent? It could happen at any time. So to be ready, to be watchful, to be faithful. till the day he comes. So, lesson from a fig tree, verse 32 through verse 36. Jesus just finished going over with the disciples, verse 5 through verse 31, of those things that would come in the last days, would be the signs of his coming. Then we come to verse 32, and notice what he says. He says, now learn the parable from the fig tree. When its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer's near. Listen, you don't have to be a scientist. You don't have to be brilliant. But when you see the trees, especially the fig tree, as they start to put forth, matter of fact, I have a couple of them out at the house, and I know as we're nearing spring and summer, as you watch those new shoots as they begin to sprout and get buds on the end of them, you know that summer's near. Matter of fact, Jesus, on another occasion with the Pharisees, he said, you know, it's amazing to me that you can look at the sky. And based upon the direction of the wind or what's taking place, you can look at that and determine. You can determine what the weather's going to be. But you have no idea of what day it really is. So he comes to the next verse and he says, so you too, when you see all of these things, recognize that he is near right at the door. Verse 34, truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all of these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will not pass away. But of that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven nor the sun, but the Father alone. Jesus used the lesson from the fig tree to foreshadow the latter portion of the discourse. In other words, as he's drawing it to a conclusion, as he's bringing it to a close, he used this lesson from a fig tree to try to get them to see and to understand. You see, you can watch that fig tree as it begins to produce leaves. and green fruit in late spring and there's a sign that summer is near, waiting for that green fruit to turn brown depending on the type of variety of fig tree that you have. But you know when the fruit is there that summer is near. You see, in the same way, You can watch the world around you and determine that Jesus' return is near. In other words, it's right at the door. I want you to think about something with me this morning. I want you to think about all of eternity. So for everyone in this auditorium, and I'm looking across the auditorium, let's say, depending on the age of those that are in the auditorium with us this morning, let's say that some still have 50, 60, maybe even 70 years in anticipation of the Lord's return. I want to ask you a simple question. What's 70 years compared to all of eternity? One of the other things that you need to understand is God's not bound by space nor time, because one day is with the Lord a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day. See, we think we got this thing all figured out. But there's an interesting portion to this passage of scripture this morning that I can tell you this, it's amazing to me the number of people that use this passage of scripture to try and attempt to disprove the integrity or the truthfulness of the word of God. And you say, Brother Robert, what are you talking about? Well, apparently, and here's what they use this passage of scripture to say, that Jesus Christ was not God at this point in his earthly ministry. And I'm like, huh? What do you mean? Because as Jesus looks at his disciples, there's something that he says to them in verse 34. He says, truly I say to you that this generation will not pass away until all of these things take place. Well, I can tell you right now, they ain't all taking place. So was Jesus a liar? Was he incorrect? Is there an error in the scripture here? See, it's these portions of scripture that we like to just kind of gloss over. We just kind of like to go past. Matter of fact, you can go read several commentaries and let me tell you what they do. They go from verse 33 to verse 35. So why skip 34? So what was it that Jesus was saying when you see all of these things? Matter of fact, he said this generation, speaking to them of those of his disciples that were there, this generation is not gonna pass away until you see all of these things take place. Was he talking about all of those things from verse five through verse 31? No. What was he talking about? Well, it's linked back to verse number two. And he said to them, Do you not see all of these things? So looking at the disciples, here's what he tells them. He said, this generation is not going to pass away until all of these things take place. What's that going to be? The temple is going to be destroyed. The walls of Jerusalem is going to be torn down. You're going to see that. Because when you come to verse 35, heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will not pass away. And also verse 36, you have to put it into the context because here's what Jesus says next, but of that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven nor the son of man, but the father alone. In other words, all of these other things from verse five to verse 31, we don't know when that's going to happen or when Jesus Christ is going to return. Jesus knew what he was talking about. Jesus isn't confused here. There's not an error here, not an error in the scripture at all. So this lesson from a fig tree, what is Jesus trying to get across? In the same way that you can watch the world around you and determine that Jesus' return is near right at the door, we need to be faithful to what he's called us to do, understanding and realizing that his return is near. It's what time? Y'all will get that in a minute. I'm not worried about the clock. But let me tell you something. That clock moved very quickly from 1119 to 1130. The clock's ticking, folks. Number two, he parallels to the past. Look at verse 37 through verse 39. He said, because the coming of the Son of Man is gonna be just like it was in the days of Noah. Just like it was in the days of Noah. Verse 38, for as in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark. And they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away. So will the coming of the son of man be." Judgment? Rain falling. Judgment for what? Approximately 120 years, Noah preached righteousness. Matter of fact, Hebrews chapter 11 makes that very plain and clear for us that Noah preached righteousness. But the flood came. The rains began to fall. And here's something else that I want you to notice. They were doing life, running here and running there, taking care of all of the affairs of life. Even in spite of the warning, or in spite of the warning, that's what they were doing. They were doing life every day. You see, Jesus compares the days of Noah to the coming of the Son of Man, emphasizing the unexpected nature of the event. Because I can tell you right now, when Jesus Christ returns, it's going to, listen, it will catch us. It will catch us. For many, I should say, it will catch us off guard. And I know some of y'all are looking at me, said, wait a minute, it's gonna catch us off guard? Let me ask, do you know when he's coming back? So what's he trying to say? This is a warning to guard against the danger of spiritual complacency. We know it's gonna happen. We know he's coming. We don't know when. So what should we be doing? We should live in constant readiness and faith. We're to be ready for his return. Oh, hold on just a minute. There was a group in Peter's day. Turn with me to 2 Peter chapter number three. Matter of fact, Peter's letter speaks to this. Matter of fact, Peter writes concerning the coming day of the Lord. Second Peter chapter three in verse number three. And notice what Peter writes. He says, know this, first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts and saying, so where's the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning. In other words, life goes on. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Day after day after day after day, life just continues on. Verse five, for when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God, the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. Huh? Interesting that even Peter writes to that. Verse seven, but. But by his word, the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. In other words, let me tell you what Peter's writing. Please listen to me, judgment is coming. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the coming of the Son of Man. Listen to me, judgment is coming. Yeah, you sound just like all the rest of them. Judgment's coming. Judgment's coming. Please listen to me, it is. Verse 8, but do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow, or slack concerning His promise, as some count slowness or slackness, but as patient or longsuffering toward us, not wishing or not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to what? To repentance. And let me say something to you today. Today, today is the day of salvation. Not next week, not next month, not next year. Why is that? Let me tell you why. Because you don't know when you lay your head down on your pillow tonight, if you make it to tonight, if you lay your head down on your pillow tonight that you'll wake up tomorrow morning. So I have a simple question. So why would you want to play Russian roulette with your life? Because let me tell you what, every day you reject Jesus Christ, that clock's continuing to tick and you're moving one day closer to the life end of a physical life. Let's go back to Matthew 24 verse 40 and verse 41. Number three. So what do we need to do? Make the right preparation. Here's what Jesus goes on to say. Here's something that you need to pay attention to. He said, then, then there will be two 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. I hear a lot of people say this. What's it going to be like? Well, we see two people going about daily life when one is taken and the other one's left. Let me make this statement to you this morning. Being ready is not about external appearances, but it's about the heart's condition before a holy God. Just as Noah was safe in the ark, being in Christ, being in Christ, being in Christ, you're not only ready, but should be actively living out your faith until he returns with the peace and assurance that this preparedness brings to us. We should all be wrestling with what to do with the time we have left. I've often wondered about that. I've often wondered, I wonder how long I have left. do not live on borrowed time. You need to make sure you live for today. And then in closing this morning I want you to turn with me to 1st Peter chapter 4. So how should we live? 1st Peter chapter 4 and I'll finish with this. So how should we live? So how should we live in light of all of this? Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70 and that generation saw that destruction. For us, judgments come and Jesus Christ is going to return. So how should we live? How should we live in light of all of it? First Peter chapter four, verse seven through verse 11, the end of all things is near. Therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received the spiritual gift employed in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Let me tell you what all you see here. Love, hospitality, serving, using the gifts that God has given to us to use for his honor and for his glory while we await what? His return. Verse 11, and whoever speaks is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God. Whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. It should not be for our honor and for our glory, not for the praise of men, but all for the glory of God. He is coming back. He's going to return. Judgment's coming. The question is, are you ready? Are you ready? Do you know? Everyone here is this morning. I want to ask you a simple question. Are you ready? What if tomorrow does not come to you? What if you don't make it to tomorrow? Do you know where you're going to spend eternity? Please listen to me. They mocked. Peter wrote about it. So where is he? You've been talking about it for all these years. Where is he? All I can say to you is he's coming back. And only the Father knows when it's going to happen. Lesson from a fig tree. Look at them. We know it's near, and He's right at the door. Amen.