Matthew 24

Order of Service

• Announcements
• Hymn — All Creatures of Our God and King
• Call to Worship — Psalm 105:1-6
• Hymn — All Creatures of Our God and King
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Sin — Psalm 38
• Assurance of Pardon — 1 John 1:9
• Scripture Reading — Acts 16:16-24
• Hymn — Be Still My Soul
• Pastoral Prayer
• Offering
• Hymn — Come Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy
• Sermon
• Hymn — Marvelous Grace of Our Loving Lord
• Benediction

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Sermon Title: Be Ready for the Coming of the Son of Man

Scripture: Matthew 24:36-51

I. The Certainty and Unknowability of Christ's Return

A. Jesus answers the disciples' question — what will be the sign of his coming and the end of the age — with a striking admission: no one knows the day or the hour

• Not the angels, not even the Son, but the Father only (Matthew 24:36; cf. Mark 13:32)
• Anyone who claims to know the timing of Christ's return contradicts the plain testimony of Jesus

B. The main point of the discourse: Jesus is coming back, and his disciples must be ready

• His return is imminent; it ought to be in the forefront of the believer's mind at all times
• The proper posture of a disciple is hopeful and vigilant expectation

II. Be Ready — The Warning from the Days of Noah

A. Jesus illustrates his instruction with the history of the flood (Matthew 24:37-39; cf. Genesis 6)

1. Noah was warned by God and commissioned to build the ark as a proclamation of coming judgment
2. Noah was a herald of righteousness — preaching both by word and by action (cf. 2 Peter 2:5)
3. The people carried on life as usual — eating, drinking, marrying — heedless of the warning

B. As it was in Noah's day, so will be the coming of the Son of Man

1. Many will be caught unaware and unprepared despite clear biblical warnings
2. Christ addresses this warning primarily to those inside the church, not the world

C. The distinction of the taken and the left (Matthew 24:40-41)

1. This is not a secret rapture, but a distinction within the visible church between the truly elect and the unbelieving
2. The parables of chapter 25 (the wise and foolish virgins, the faithful and wicked servants) support this interpretation

III. Be Holy — The Call to Vigilance and Personal Holiness

A. Jesus commands his disciples to stay awake and keep watch (Matthew 24:42)

1. This is a call to vigilance over the heart, the mind, and the private thought life
2. As Paul writes, we are to take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5)
3. We are to be holy in all conduct, as he who called us is holy

B. The root sin of the wicked servant is unbelief that his master would return (Matthew 24:48-51)

1. Our susceptibility to sin is greatest when we forget that the Master may return at any moment
2. The uncertainty of the hour is a mercy — the Master may interrupt our sin at any time
3. This is a solemn warning to watch over our own souls

IV. Be Busy — The Example of the Faithful Steward

A. The faithful and wise servant is found doing precisely what his master commissioned him to do (Matthew 24:45-47)

1. Believers are called to live upright and holy lives in every sphere — work, family, suffering, and age
2. The Word of God, illumined by the Holy Spirit, makes clear what each believer has been commissioned to do

B. The calling of every Christian is to persevere in faith with hopeful expectation

1. The reward is with Christ, and he brings it with him at his return
2. Revelation 22 reminds us that he will render to everyone according to their work

C. Application for the New Year

1. Enter this year with invigorated commitment to personal holiness
2. As new creations in Christ, be conformed more and more into the image of the Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit
3. At all times look toward that day — even so, come Lord Jesus