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24 "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
28 "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
32 "But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake."
It's hard to stay awake when you're really tired isn't it? Even when you're driving, and you know that you have to stay away to stay on the road, you can feel yourself dozing off. It's pretty dangerous isn't it? It is almost inevitable that we will all fall asleep.
That's what makes this message from Jesus so hard to hear today. We all fall prey to sin and our own human nature. We fall asleep from time to time. We get weak in faith, and sometimes, unfortunately, people fall from faith.
This is what keeps most pastors up at night. We are called to be in charge of people's souls. If you've ever wondered why I keep bugging people about worship attendance and being active in the fellowship of the church, it is this. I don't want people to lose their faith.
The less a person is in worship and the less he or she is around other Christians, the more space there is left for the devil to slip in and change ways of thinking. The more a person is away from the Lord, the better chance there is that they fall too far away and never come back. I've seen it happen way too much, and there's nothing that gives me more heartburn and heartache than that.
I pray that all of you reading this today take it to heart, and know exactly how important worship, Bible Study, Christian fellowship, prayer, and the Sacraments are for you. It is, quite literally, a matter of eternal life or death.
As you read this passage, you should also be so very thankful that, by faith, you are part of the elect that will be gathered from the four winds. You are a chosen one! You are a child of God by virtue off the faith that was given you in your baptism and strengthened daily through the Word, the Lord's Supper, and the mutual encouragement of the brothers and sisters in Christ! You are saved if you remain in faith!
Don't take it for granted! Don't take your faith for granted. Nurture it! Grow in it! Live in it! Love Him! Follow Him!
Prayer: Lord, keep me awake until you return that my faith may not fall asleep and that I may be prepared for your arrival. Amen.
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DEVOTION: Isaiah 51:4-6
4 "Give attention to me, my people,
and give ear to me, my nation;
for a law will go out from me,
and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.
5 My righteousness draws near,
my salvation has gone out,
and my arms will judge the peoples;
the coastlands hope for me,
and for my arm they wait.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;
but my salvation will be forever,
and my righteousness will never be dismayed.
I'm just a little worn out today. It was a long day in the waiting room waiting for Karin to get done with her surgery. What the doctor said would take an hour and a half ended up taking three and a half hours. We got there at 9am and she didn't get into her room until 6:30pm. You can only imagine how worn out she must be.
That's what happens to our bodies. Our bodies just wear out. They aren't meant to last forever. They were..... back before the Fall. They were meant to be eternal bodies, but since sin entered the world, and death through sin, we all wear out and die.
The good news is that even though our bodies wear out our souls don't. Our souls will live forever! What makes us who we are, what is truly in the image of God since our baptisms, will be with Jesus forever. And on that last day, our bodies will be restored, and we will be made new! It won't be like our earthly body. It will be a heavenly, perfect, sinless body!
Rejoice! Know that the Lord will reign forever! His righteousness will never be dismayed. His Son, Jesus, the Lord Our Righteousness, will reign forever and we, who live in Him, will be at His right hand!
At the end of the day, when you're worn out and your dog tired, remember that there will come a day when all of that will go away and you will be completely new!
Until then, rejoice that you are already being made new! Rejoice that salvation has already been won for you! Rejoice in your certain eternal life that you are already living!
Let us pray: Lord, as we long for our complete and total resurrection, help us to rejoice today in the salvation already won!
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