Are You Ready For The Coming Of The Lord?

Matt24:3 Mount of Olives

Tell us ,they said, when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

What would be the signs?

Signs of birth pains

Deception / false claim of being Messiah
Wars and rumours of wars Nations against nations ; kingdoms against kingdoms Famines Earthquakes Persecution False prophets Increased wickedness Love grow cold

2 Timothy 3:2-5
There will

be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

 The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.Matt 24:29 At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the peoples of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming

on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. matt 24:30

Who can be saved?

Promise of salvation
But whoever stands firm to the end will be

saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matt 24:13

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Rom 10:13

When is the Second Coming of the Lord?

 No-one

knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Matthew 24:36

So, what should we do?

What does Jesus tell us?

Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. Matt 24:42
So you must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Matt 24:44

Parable of the 10 Virgins

Matthew 25:1-13
Sir! Sir! They said. Open the door for us! But he replied, I tell you the truth, I dont know you. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. ( Do you have a personal relationship with the Lord?)

Learning points:
Every person is responsible for his or her own spiritual condition.
When Jesus returns to take his people to heaven, we must be ready. Spiritual preparation cannot be bought or borrowed at the last minute. We must have our own relationship and walk with the Lord

Parable of the Bags of Gold

Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your masters happiness! Matt 25:21,25

 You wicked, lazy servant! Matt 25:26

Take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. mat 25:28-30

Lords teaching:
For everyone who has will be given more,

and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. Matt 25:29

Learning points
Talents represent any kind of resources we

are given time / gifts / special abilities / We are expected to invest them wisely until Lord returns We are responsible to use well what God has given us Issue is not how much we have, but how well we use what we have.

 What gifts, talents, resources has the

Lord given you?

 How well have you used Gods

resources given to you?

 Does this mean we have to leave our

jobs / studies to serve God?

Parable of the Sheep and Goats

Sheep=?

Goats=?

To the sheep Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed in, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.

To the goats:
Depart from me , you who are cursed,

into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.

Sheep= righteous / eternal life

Goats = rebellious / eternal

punishment

What is a sheep? What is a goat? Who is a sheep? Who is a goat? When are we a sheep? When are we a goat?

Lords teaching:
The king will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. Matt 25:40

Consequences for disobedience / selfishness:

Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. Matt 25:46

Teaching point
The need to serve others / dont be self-centred