Jesus Christ is Lord: What Jesus expects us to do while we wait for His return

Chapter 12 – What Jesus expects us to do while we wait for His return

In Matthew chapters 24 and 25, Jesus Himself gives us some very clear examples of what He expects of us as we anticipate His return. Please read the following words of Jesus carefully, and I will sum-up with some thoughts at the conclusion of this post. I will show these passages in red indicating they are the actual words of Jesus:
 

Jesus Speaks about the Future

Matthew 24:32-51 (NLT)

³²“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. ³³In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door. ³⁴I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place. ³⁵Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear. ³⁶However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. ³⁷When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. ³⁸In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. ³⁹People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes. ⁴⁰Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. ⁴²So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected. ⁴⁵A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. ⁴⁶If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. ⁴⁷I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. ⁴⁸But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ ⁴⁹and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? ⁵⁰The master will return unannounced and unexpected, ⁵¹and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Matthew 25:1-30 (NLT)

¹“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. ²Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, ⁴but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. ⁵When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. ⁶At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’ ⁷All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. ⁸Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’ ⁹But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. ¹¹Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’ ¹²But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’ ¹³So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return. ¹⁴Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. ¹⁵He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip. ¹⁶The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. ¹⁷The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. ¹⁸But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money. ¹⁹After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. ²⁰The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’ ²¹The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ ²²The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’ ²³The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ ²⁴Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. ²⁵I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’ ²⁶But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, ²⁷why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’ ²⁸Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. ²⁹To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. ³⁰Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

There is a lot of Scripture reading in today’s blog post. That is a good thing, right? I hope and pray that you were blessed as you read it. I sure was! Here is a list of expectations, that Jesus has for each and every one of us, compiled from Matthew chapters 24 and 25:

• Keep watch! Stay sober and alert. For we don’t know what day your Lord is coming back.
• Manage and protect what we have responsibility for.
• Care for the needs of others.
• Always be prepared with the presence/oil of the Holy Spirit.
• We have been entrusted with valuable gifts, talents, finances, etc. We must use them wisely as if they are entrusted to us by God. BECAUSE THEY ARE FROM GOD!!!
• Jesus will not accept alibis regarding our lack of action due to fear or laziness!

James 1:19–25 (NLT)
¹⁹Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.²⁰Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. ²¹So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. ²²But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. ²³For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. ²⁴You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.²⁵But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

Dear Heavenly Father, help us to remain true to the teaching of Christ Jesus. Help us to not only be hearers of the Word, but to be doers of the Word through the power of the Holy Spirit! Amen