How to Prepare to Meet Jesus | Matthew 25:1-13

Fallen Condition Focus

Our nature is to procrastinate and not prepare.

Introduction

Do you know those people who always seem to be prepared for anything? I am not

one of those people. I am more of a, “will figure it out later” kind of person. It’s

funny because as I was preparing to preach this morning I was thinking about

preparation. Some things I have to force myself to prepare for.

Our family loves to go camping, and we really do 2 different kinds of camping.

First there is the main activity we do which is better called “glamping”. In fact,

Lucy, Joe, and I are doing this right now. My preparation for this kind of camping

is very casual. I know I will be by my truck. I know that I’m just a few minutes

drive to the nearest store. So when I go to pack for the things we need, I don’t

really sweat it too much. The worst thing that can happen is that I will need to

drive down the road a few miles and pick up whatever it is that we may have

forgotten.

On the flip side of this is, sometimes I will take a couple of my kids backpacking.

Now this is an entirely different thing. We have to pack everything we are going

to need for the trip on our back. Typically, we will find a trail and hike several

miles into the woods. We don’t have access to a car, or a store, electricity, or any

of the modern luxuries of life.

Now, even though I am not by nature a preparer, when I go backpacking, I

suddenly intentionally become a very prepared person. Spreadsheets are involved,

I have lists. I sit down an methodically load all the items into my packs and the

kids packs so that we have everything we might need. Why do I do this for a

backpacking trip, but not for a trip in the glamper?

The answer is, the stakes are so much higher. If we get out into the woods and

realize we don’t have anything to start a fire with, we are going to be miserable. I

can’t just jump in the truck and go get what we need.

Jesus has been teaching us this lesson on a spiritual level. And he has been

teaching it over and over again. He, gives us so many warnings on this topic,

because he knows our nature. He knows we tend to think, I will worry about it

later. I’ve got time to deal with spiritual things some other time. He knows that

some of will one day realize we never prepared ourselves to meet him.

Remember back to how Jesus closed his Sermon on the Mount. It is one of the

most troubling passages in all of Scripture. Jesus leaves his hearers in that passage

with some really troubling words about a “narrow gate” “few find it”. He really

depicts this mass of people who all think they are moving toward the kingdom of

heaven but they are deceived.

[Mat 7:22-23 ESV] 22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not

prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty

works in your name?' 23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you;

depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'

This is the exact same warning that we get as we look at this parable teaching

today.

25:1 Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took

their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.

Right of the bat Jesus informs us exactly what the parable is intended to illustrate.

We are talking about the kingdom of heaven. And we continue the same flow of

end times teaching that Jesus had been talking about in chapter 24.

[Mat 24:44 ESV] 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is

coming at an hour you do not expect.

The point of this teaching is to emphasize what we read in Matthew 24:44. You

must be ready. Jesus effectively gives us warning after warning after warning

about this topic.

To understand the parable we need to understand a little about ancient Jewish

wedding practices because that is the setting of this parable. It was customary in

those days for the bridesmaids and the bride to wait at the family home of the

bride. Unlike modern times there really was not a set schedule for when the events

of the wedding would take place.

What we have pictured in the parable is basically a wedding party. Those who will

actually be in the wedding ceremony.

At some point the groom would arrive at the family home of the bride. And when

he would arrive something kind of like a parade would take place as the wedding

party would move from the bride’s family home to the groom’s family home.

This parade if you will would be a great honor and a significant part of the overall

wedding celebration.

We see that the 10 bridesmaids are equipped with lamps. The same word can be

translated either lamp or even torches. It could be either, but the point is the same.

Seemingly when the bridegroom arrives they will be expected to light the torches

and proceed as a wedding party with the groom.

25:2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.

While the 10 bridesmaids seem to be one unit, Jesus draws our attention to

something right in the beginning. These 10 people are not the same. Even though

they all appear to be ready for the wedding procession, they all are equipped with

lamps, but there is something very different under the surface. In fact they could

not be more different. 5 of them are wise, and 5 of them are foolish.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m an engineer, but sometimes I am tempted to

probably read too much into the mathematics of the situation. Jesus is making this

story up. He could have used any number he wanted here. He could have had 8

wise and 2 fools, or 2 fools and 8 wise, but he does a 50/50 split. I don’t know if

that is significant, but perhaps it is. Is Jesus trying to tell us that about 50% of the

people who profess to be a Christian are inwardly fooling themselves? I don’t

know, but I think it bears some consideration.

25:3 & 4 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with

them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.

We find in verse 3 what separates the foolish from the wise. If it is a torch or

lamp it does not matter, because they work the same way. If it is a lamp then the

wick will pull up the oil from a well and the oil will fuel the flame. If it is a torch

then the same principle holds.

If one were to light a wick or a torch without any oil the flame would consume

the fabric in mere moments. The flame would not last.

This is common knowledge and the entire wedding party is seemingly aware of

the laws of combustion. However 5 of them have made the proper preparations.

But 5 of them have not prepared because they have brought no oil.

I think we have to be careful not to allegorize the entire parable, but it seems safe

to me to say that the oil represents a reborn heart or even the Holy Spirit living

within a reborn heart. No person will see the kingdom of God without being born

again.

We (overall church not necessarily GCF) have made church pretty comfortable

for worldly folks. We have dismissed books of the Bible as outdated, we have

adjusted our theology, skipped over the difficult passages, and reinterpreted the

others so that they are no longer hard to hear.

Many times the church does this with the best of intentions. We want our

congregation to grow. We want people to understand the gospel, and if we can

skip the hard stuff, then maybe they will get connected and be ready for that later.

But later never seems to come. Or even worse we start ourselves down a slippery

slope of symbolic interpretation of scripture that allows the entire bible to be bent

into whatever shape the reader wants.

What we end up with is churches full of people who are not true Christians.

Hearts that have never been reborn. These people come to church each and every

week, and they are carrying a lamp that has no oil. Can you image 5 out of 10 of

them have no oil!

25:5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and

slept.

The bridegroom is delayed. In fact we still are in a period of waiting for the

bridegroom to return. You’ll notice that the wedding party becomes tired and

sleepy. So they sleep.

This is not a negative thing. Jesus is not suggesting that they should not have

gone to sleep. Is just illustrating the point that it takes a will. So true believer or

not we all are going to sleep. Remember the verse that Jesus is really expounding

on is

[Mat 24:44 ESV] 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is

coming at an hour you do not expect.

Jesus is highlighting the “hour you do not expect” part of this principle. The lost

don’t know when he is coming, the saved don’t know when he is coming.

Whenever he comes again, it will be when he is not expected. And what are we to

do to with that information? We are to be ready.

25:6 But at midnight there was a cry, 'Here is the bridegroom! Come

out to meet him.'

It is at midnight when he arrives. In the darkest part of the night. When he is least

expected to arrive he shows up. (Think Matthew 24:44)

There is an interesting shift at this point in the parable. The time for preparation

has come to an end. Now is time for the wedding procession. There is no time to

get right, to gather supplies, to get oil that time has passed. It’s at this point where

we start to see some panic set in.

25:7&8 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the

foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps

are going out.'

Because these 5 foolish bridesmaids did not prepare they now realize that they

have a problem. Panic begins to set in.

I think the panic that is depicted here in verse 6 is troubling. It’s that comfort I

described, when I talked about going camping. In our minds we sort of always

think we have the chance to get what we need. But the reality is, there is coming a

day when the store won’t be open any more. The time for preparation will have

passed, and the only thing left for us will be judgement.

This is why Jesus continually reminds us to prepare.

25:9 But the wise answered, saying, 'Since there will not be enough for us

and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves..

There is another lesson here. You cannot get your preparation from someone else.

You cannot get your righteousness from your parents, from your pastor, from

your family, you are responsible for yourself.

It’s like when you go to a theme park and the massive crowds of people are all

funneling down to the entrance. And when you get to the entrance they have that

little turnstile that only 1 person can fit in. They look at your ticket, and if it

checks out you enter all by yourself. Jesus says you can’t look to those in your

group to get you into the kingdom.

There is a problem here. The shop is closed. There is no hope at this point. And in

desperation they fill the streets to try to find oil, but they will find none. Such will

be the day for all of us.

25:10 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those

who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was

shut.

Notice the wedding party is not effected. It continues as scheduled. For those who

were prepared a feast is set and the celebration begins. The door is sealed and no

more will be allowed in.

Indeed they return in verse 11, but are not permitted to enter.

25:11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.'

12 But he answered, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.' 13

Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

We here again here echos back to the sermon on the mount. Jesus says, I do not

know you.

Jesus underscores the entire point yet another time at the end of the parable in

verse 13, “Watch”. We are to be watching. We are to be prepared. The day is

coming when we will be expected to go.

How then can we prepare?

1) Step 1 - You must be born again. John 3

[Jhn 3:5-6 ESV] 5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is

born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which

is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

There is something supernatural that must occur in our lives. We must be born

spiritually in the same way we were born physically. In this Spiritual birth the

Holy Spirit will convict you of sin, and you must confess the sin, and repent. In

faith trusting that you are saved.

2) Step 2 – Develop Spiritual Discipline

[1Ti 4:7-8 ESV] 7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train

yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is

of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the

life to come.

3) Persevere In Trials to the End

[1Pe 1:6-7 ESV] 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if

necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested

genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is

tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the

revelation of Jesus Christ.

4) Live the Great Commission

Lord’s Supper:

Invite musicians and server’s to go ahead and come.

Explain, this is the response part of the service. The covering or wedding garment

that Jesus provided, was not free. His blood was spilled, his body was broken. So

today as we partake in the Lord’s supper we remember that.

You don’t have to be a member here to participate, but you do have to be a

believer in good standing with the Lord. Meaning you have no unconfessed sin or

broken fellowship with others in the congregation.

Perhaps you want to come up here and pray, or pray where you are, that’s all

okay. I’ll be standing right over here if you want to come pray with me.

Guest UserJuly 9, 2023Grace Christian FellowshipMikey Brannon, Grace Christian Fellowship, Ladson, Matthew, ALL, prepare to meet Jesus

How Do You Prepare for the Return of Jesus Christ? | Part 2 | Matthew 24:36-51

Series: All!

Jesus has all authority,
So that all nations
Might pledge all allegiance to him.

Title: “How do you prepare for the return of Jesus Christ?” Part 2

Scripture: Matthew 24:36-51

Bottom line: As we watch and wait for his sudden return, we prepare by loving people in word and action.

David Platt’s main idea: “Although Christ’s delay may be long, His return in judgment will be sudden and irreversible, so we must be prepared by trusting Him now with a persevering faith that bears fruit.”

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
SERMON OUTLINE & NOTES
MAIN REFERENCES USED

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Discussion questions for group and personal study. Reflect and Discuss:

1. What differentiates unhelpful speculation from a sincere desire to understand our future hope?

2. Summarize the overarching point of Matthew 24:1-36 in one or two sentences.

3. What factors make it difficult to determine the timing and the relationship between the destruction of Jerusalem and Jesus' second coming?

4. How should we respond to those who take a different view of prophecies such as those we read in Matthew 24?

5. Explain how this passage points us away from sinful, short-term pleasures.

6. How does this text speak to the authority and divinity of Jesus Christ?

7. What kind of treatment should believers expect as they await Christ's return?

8. What does it look like for followers of Christ to be eagerly watching for Jesus and urgently working for His kingdom purposes?

9. As it concerns Jesus' return, which truths in this passage should discourage us from date-setting or from making rash judgments based on current events?

10. How should the second coming of Christ inform our witness in the world?

Final Questions (optional or in place of above)

What is God saying to you right now?
What are you going to do about it?

Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast

Q. What do I want them to know?

A. Jesus is coming back any day and he will reward or judge.

Q. Why do I want them to know it?

A. Because their eternity will be based on what they do with this knowledge.

Q. What do I want them to do about it?

A. Prepare for his sudden return by serving loving people in word and deed.

Q. Why do I want them to do it?

A. Because that will be the fruit of true repentance and faith in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation.

Q. How can they begin to do this?

A. Repent of your sins, turn to Christ for your eternal salvation, and love people as you await his sudden return.

SERMON OUTLINE & NOTES

Introduction

Today we will answer the question: how do we prepare for the return of Jesus Christ?

Illustration:

NEAR THE END OF World War II downtown Warsaw was almost completely leveled. According to one witness, the only skeletal structure remaining on the main street was the Polish headquarters of the British and Foreign Bible Society. The words engraved upon the only wall standing, which were clearly legible from the street, were the words, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." —O’Donnell

In Matthew 24:35, the passage states, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” In this context, “heaven” refers to the physical realm, the sky, or the universe. It emphasizes the enduring nature of God’s words compared to the transient nature of the material world. It signifies that God’s words and promises are steadfast and reliable, transcending the temporary nature of earthly things.

Jesus said this in the midst of talking about his return. He says what he means and he means what he says. We should take his words seriously.

SERMON OUTLINE

What do we learn about God?

God is omniscient.
God is sovereign.
God is moving providentially.
God is moving purposefully.
God will send his son again suddenly, unexpectedly, and very publicly.
God is holy and will judge wickedness thoroughly.
God is holy and judges sin for eternity while rewarding with righteousness by grace through faith.
God will rescue by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
God commands with all authority calling for all obedience.
God expects all allegiance from all nations for he is worthy.

What do we learn about people?

We doubt/don’t trust God/Christ.
We disobey his commands regularly.
We live for the moment instead of in light of eternity.
We are largely unprepared for his return.
We cannot know when he will return.
We are unfaithful servants, at best.
We are unwise apart from God’s grace.
We don’t do good very often.
We don’t take responsibility.
We are not omniscient.
We do not fear God or the consequences of our sins.

S.P.E.C.

Sins to avoid

Not keeping watch for Christ’s sudden return.
Not preparing for Christ’s sudden return.
Trying to predict when his return will be.
Living only for today.
Faithfully and wisely serving the Lord as we await his return.

Promises to remember

He’s coming back and you can’t miss it.
He’ll judge in holiness for our faithfulness and wisdom and how we prepared.
He will gather his elect.

Examples to follow

The one who keeps watch for his return.
The one who prepares for his return.
The one who is faithful and wise in serving the Lord as they await his return.

Commands to keep

Keep watch for his return.
Prepare for his return.
Believe his words about the future by watching and preparing.

Illustrations in the text

Cosmic display and like lightning (that even the blind can see) and trumpet blast (that even the deaf can hear) will announce his obvious and public return.

Days of Noah

It is business as usual for most people just as it was in the days of Noah. Few are watching and preparing for God’s righteous return.

Noah watched and prepared by building the ark and preaching why for 120 years.

Christians today watch and prepare by building our salvation by grace through faith (Sanctification) so that when he returns we will not be alarmed by ready to continue love people through our words and actions.

2 men in the field; 2 women grinding grain

We are with others who know/didn’t know the Lord
No matter what else you think can save you (family, church, good works), ultimately, only faith in Christ.
Could be the rapture too.

What do we do while we wait?

We serve God and people

Faithfully
Wisely
Well
By grace through faith

“We live with our eyes on the clouds and on the crowds.” -Greg Stier, Dare2Share.org

Are you watching and preparing for Jesus’ return?

Conclusion

Bottom line: As we watch and wait for his sudden return, we love people with our words and actions.

The Folly of What Noah Preached

by Jon Bloom, desiringgod.org, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-folly-of-what-noah-preached

March 28, 2014

Paul wrote, “the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). In Noah, we have an Old Testament illustration of this. Ponder how Noah’s warnings about fantastic “events as yet unseen” (Hebrews 11:7) must have sounded to his hearers (I’ve imagined two, Talmai and Bakbukiah).

“This is madness!” Talmai was alarmed by the huge piles of logs around the vast clearing and all the hired men cutting and hauling them. “How long will this boat be?”

Noah braced for a deluge of ridicule. “Three hundred cubits.”

“Unbelievable!” Bakbukiah laughed incredulously. “Three hundred? You were right!” he said slapping Talmai’s back. “I said, ‘No one’s that stupid.’ But I stand corrected!”

Talmai shook his head in disbelief. “Noah, you’ve lost your mind! No one can build a boat that big!”

“You are an idiot!” shouted Bakbukiah. “You’re building a three hundred cubit boat six-day’s journey from the sea?”

“It won’t need to be near the sea,” Noah replied.

“Oh, come on, Noah!” said Talmai exasperated. “You’ve been preaching about this flood of divine judgment. But look around! You seriously believe all this is going to be under water?”

“Talmai, I don’t base my faith merely on what seems plausible to me,” said Noah.

“Well, that’s obvious!” Bakbukiah scoffed.

Noah held up his hand and continued, “I base my faith on what God says he will do.”

“Whose god, Noah?” said Talmai flatly.

“The only God there is, Talmai: Elohim, the Almighty, the Creator,” said Noah.

“So Elohim is a mass murderer then?” said Bakbukiah mockingly.

“Bakbukiah, you’re speaking foolishness,” said Noah firmly.

“I’m speaking foolishness!” snapped Bakbukiah. “You’re building a colossal boat in the middle of nowhere because some bloodthirsty god told you to and you’re calling me foolish?”

“Yes, I am! because you’re assuming that what looks foolish to you is foolish,” replied Noah unwaveringly.

“Building this ark doesn’t just look foolish, Noah,” said Talmai curtly.

“Tell me what foolishness is, Talmai,” countered Noah intensely.

“Foolishness is that, my friend,” said Bakbukiah, gesturing toward the site.

“No, I want you to answer the question. What is foolishness?” said Noah.

“It’s believing something that isn’t real!” exclaimed Talmai. “Basing your life on a delusion!”

“Exactly!” said Noah. “Foolishness is basing your life on a delusion.”

Both men looked at Noah for a moment perplexed.

Talmai snorted. “You’re saying that we’re the deluded ones?”

“Yes. What makes you certain that you’re not deluded?” asked Noah.

“Common sense, Noah!” Try it! Comes in handy in boat building,” chortled Bakbukiah.

“Common sense? Whose common sense, Bakbukiah?” responded Noah. “Yours? The common sense you exercise when beating your wives when you’re angry? Or when you try to take advantage of every customer you can? Or perhaps it’s the common sense of your friend, Jobab, who extorted sex from the wife of a man indebted to him? Or the common sense of that man to cut Jobab’s throat? Or, Talmai, was it your common sense in working your slave into the ground and beating him mercilessly for petty infractions? Or your slave’s common sense in raping your daughter before he escaped? Or, Bakbukiah, was it the chief’s common sense to run your father through with a spear for laughing at him?”

“Watch your tongue, old man, if you want to keep it,” threatened Bakbukiah.

“Point made then,” replied Noah. “Depravity is rampant everywhere. We always carry our weapons because we can’t trust anyone. And when we’re honest, we know we aren’t trustworthy. The most common sense we share is our evil selfishness.”

“Listen, that’s beside the point!” asserted Talmai. “The point is there isn’t going to be any flood and this huge ark is a waste of time, money, and trees!”

“It’s not beside the point,” said Noah. “Elohim has been warning us for generations to forsake our evil, self-absorbed sin and return to him. No one has listened! We have only gotten worse. We’re consuming each other! The point is that your perception of reality is distorted by self-centeredness, Talmai. Elohim created the predictable world you know. And it’s foolish to presume that he can’t turn this plain into a sea.”

“Well, if he does, this Elohim of yours is as wicked as the rest of us. He’s just going to drown us all like dogs,” replied Bakbukiah. “Except you, of course, being so righteous.”

“Not true, Bakbukiah! It is not Elohim’s blood thirst and selfishness that is bringing the flood. It’s his justice. It’s what our sin deserves! Don’t you see? In his mercy he has been warning us over and over. But the ark is a sign that he will not wait forever. And God isn’t sparing me because my nature is any better than yours. He’s sparing me because I trust him. I believe what he says. And this ark will shelter anyone who will trust him. Join me, brothers! You don’t have to perish in Elohim’s judgment! Believe him and escape!”

Talmai looked blankly at Noah. “Build your boat, crazy man. But keep away from me and my family.”

“Me too,” added Bakbukiah. “If Elohim’s going to wipe out everyone I know and love, then I want to go where they’re going. I’m not going on a boat ride with a murderous god, religious fanatics and a bunch of wild animals!”

The clever and contemptuous mockery of those who find the gospel simply ridiculous stings us. And it can stir up fears and doubts that we might really be foolish after all and tempt us to keep our mouths closed.

God knows this and prepares us by explaining that the gospel will sound foolish to the world because he’s “[making] foolish the wisdom of the world” (1 Corinthians 1:20). Then he repeatedly tells us not to be ashamed of it (Luke 9:26; Romans 1:16; 2 Timothy 1:8).

Like Noah, who was a “herald of righteousness” in his age (2 Peter 2:5), we also are heralds of “events as yet unseen” (Hebrews 11:7). Jesus tells us that Noah’s flood was a foreshadow:

For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24:37–39)

But in this greater judgment a greater, more perfect Ark has been provided: the crucified and risen Son of Man. All who are in him when the flood of God’s wrath comes will be saved. But only those who believe his word can enter this Ark.

If Noah’s warning and gospel sounded foolish to his hearers, how much more does our warning and gospel sound to our hearers? We must not be surprised when others ridicule it, for “the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing” (1 Corinthians 1:18). But “it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21).

Our call is not to be respected by the unbelieving world. Our call is to trust our Lord’s word over the confident contempt of those who are blinded (2 Corinthians 4:4), endure the reproach Jesus endured (Hebrews 13:13), and preach the gospel for the sake of those “who are being saved” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

Original Page: http://t.co/gdR40sj9s5

Repent and believe. The first way to prepare is to trust Jesus’ words, ways and works. That is the good news of the kingdom that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. To rest in that for our eternal security.
Serve & love. The second way is to love and serve people through your words and actions bearing the fruit of the Spirit until he returns.

Pray

Notes

Outline Bible

IV. THE CHALLENGE FROM CHRIST'S SERMON (24:36-39, 42-51): Be watchful.

A. The reason for this watchfulness (24:36, 42): No one knows when Christ will come!

B. The reminder of this watchfulness (24:37-39)

C. The reaction to this watchfulness (24:43-51)

1. The wise servant (24:43-47): He watches and is rewarded.

2. The wicked servant (24:48-51): He ignores the warning and is condemned.

D. The slaughter (24:28, 40-41): Armageddon!

1. The assembling of the victims (24:40-41): One will be taken, another left.

2. The appearing of the vultures (24:28): To eat the bodies of the slain warriors!

We've all been hopeful for some thing or some anticipated event, waiting eagerly to experience it, only to be deeply disappointed when it didn't meet our expectations. It will not be so with the second coming of Christ. Our words are inadequate to describe the glory of what that scene will be like, as well as all that will unfold in the days to come after that. In The Chronicles of Narnia, C. S. Lewis gives us a rich, imaginative picture of what that eternal state will be like. He ends the last book in the series like this:

‘As Aslan spoke, he no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.’

For believers, the return of Christ and the end of this world will be the beginning of a new heaven and a new earth (Rev 21-22). While waiting and watching confidently, Christians urgently work. We fight deception and temptation, we persevere through tribulation, and we…”

David Platt, Matthew, P. 323

MAIN REFERENCES USED

“Preaching the Word” Commentary, Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Edited by Kent Hughes

“Matthew” by RC Sproul

“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)

“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)

“Exalting Jesus in Matthew” by David Platt (CCE)

Outline Bible, D Willmington

NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/

ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.org

ChatGPT https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt

AnswerThePublic.com

Wikipedia.com

Darien GabrielJuly 2, 2023Grace Christian Fellowshipnon-denominational church, bible believing church, Grace Christian Fellowship, Darien Gabriel, return of Christ, Matthew 24, ALL, Ladson, SC

How Do You Prepare for the Return of Jesus Christ? | Part 1 | Matthew 24:1-36

Series: All!

Jesus has all authority,
So that all nations
Might pledge all allegiance to him.

Title: “How do you prepare for the return of Jesus Christ?”

Scripture: Matthew 24:1-36

Bottom line: In light of Jesus’ 2 prophecies, Jesus calls us to prepare for his imminent return.

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