Jump Start # 3489

Matthew 25:13 “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”

It happened 180 years ago. It was proclaimed as the Second Advent. The nation was caught up in a religious fever about the teachings of a rural New York farmer, a lay Baptist preacher, by the name of William Miller. Building a doctrine upon Daniel 8:14, where the prophet stated, “…two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed,” Miller claimed that the prophecy pointed to the return of Jesus. Miller was so specific in his timetable that he said October 22, 1844 would be the very day in which Jesus would appear.

Followers of Miller’s teachings were called, Millerites. Many believed Miller’s prophecy. Some sold or gave away their property believing that they wouldn’t need it because the Lord was coming.

One such follower, Henry Emmons, wrote: “I waited all Tuesday (October 22, 1844) and dear Jesus did not come– I waited all the forenoon of Wednesday and was well in body as I ever was, but after 12 o’clock I began to feel faint, and before dark I needed someone to help me up to my chamber, as my natural strength was leaving me very fast, and I lay prostrate for two days without any pain—sick with disappointment.”

The Second Advent become known as the “Great Disappointment.” Discredited and disillusioned most of the followers of Millers scattered to other religious movements, such as the Shakers and the early forms of the Seventh-day Adventists. Miller and other leaders in his movement readjusted their time table to 1845, which became yet another year of disappointment.

Restoration leader Alexander Campbell wrote a series of articles in his Millennial Harbinger about Millerism.

Now, a hundred and eighty year later, this major event will pass with very few knowing anything about it, and worse, most not caring at all about it. There are some important lessons for us in this:

First, it is easy to be swayed when one doesn’t stand solid upon the word of God. The naïve can believe about anything. Miller’s theory can seem logical, but it’s beginning point is an assumption and his idea is based upon a literalness of prophecies that are figurative. This is yet another reason why we must continue to teach, study and preach the word of God. All of us need to know what God has said.

Second, underlining Miller’s plans is the idea that God has placed secret codes, dates and timetables that only a few can discover. Any discussion of the book of Revelation brings all kinds of speculations, current wars and political figures that some see straight from those pages. Wild man Charles Manson believed Revelation 9 was a description of the British rock group, the Beatles. Long hair, iron breasts plates that represent guitars, tails that were the guitar plugs—it’s all there if one wants to see it. And, as one develops such ideas, staring us right in the face is the fact that Revelation was written to seven churches in the first century. Electric guitars, amps, rock’n roll, meant absolutely nothing to them. Ignoring the immediate context allows a person to find whatever they are looking for. It’s like looking at clouds. One person sees a dog and another person, looking at the same cloud sees a tree. Without a foundation in Scriptures and a baseline to begin with, anything and everything is possible.

The Bible is not written that way. It’s not a mystery that we need some outside decoder ring to figure out.

Third, the Lord’s concluding words at end of the parable of the wise and foolish virgins are “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.” In that parable, the groom, Jesus is gone. He returns with a shout. The wedding takes place. The plea is to be ready because “no one knows,” when that day will be. If God said we don’t know the day, how is it that William Miller told the world that Jesus was coming on October 22, 1844? Was the Lord wrong? Did someone, like Miller,  actually know the day?

Whenever moderns say things that fly in the face of what God has said, we must stand with God. When some say, “You don’t have to be baptized.” That’s not what God said. Who are you going to believe? When someone says, “The Holy Spirit speaks to me directly,” that’s not what God says. Who are you going to believe? When someone says “All you have to do is love God and all this other stuff really doesn’t matter,” that’s not what God says. Who are you going to believe? When someone says, “Global warming is going to destroy the planet, and kill every person,” that’s not what God says. Who are you going to believe? When someone says, “It’s obvious that evolution is true,” that’s not what God says. Who are you going to believe?

One hundred and eighty years ago a whole bunch of people believed someone who said the Lord was coming that year. The year came and went. Their hopes were shattered. It was shattered because it wasn’t founded upon the Scriptures.

What’s your faith resting on? Your family? Your congregation? Your thinking? Or, the word of God?

A lot has changed in one hundred and eighty years and yet, somethings have never changed.

Roger

Jump Start # 2697

Matthew 25:13 “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”

Our verse today is how the Lord ends the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. The wise virgins were prepared. They had extra oil. They didn’t have any more insight than the foolish ones. They weren’t given a tip, a signal or some special notification that things were going to be delayed. There were not told that they just might want to take along some extra oil. They didn’t know. What they did know was that things happen at weddings. Even the best plans are often upset, delayed and changed. Weather does that. An outdoor wedding suddenly becomes an inside wedding. There isn’t enough food. The cake didn’t make it. All kinds of disasters can happen at a wedding. And, here in the Lord’s parable about a wedding, the groom was delayed.  He was delayed so long, that the ten bride’s maids became sleepy. The yawns started. The conversations died down. One falls asleep. Then the next. Pretty soon, they are all sleep. With dreams of weddings dancing in their minds time passes. Suddenly, there is a shout. The groom is coming. Up, up all the girls get up. They straighten out their dresses. They fix their hair. The lamps are turned up and now, it is discovered that some of them do not have enough oil. It’s midnight. It’s dark. They will have to travel through the streets with the groom to his parents home. Lamps are needed. The five foolish beg for oil from the other girls. They don’t have enough to share. What to do? Ideas and thoughts race around the room. Off to the market, at that hour, to find more oil. They leave in a whirlwind. They are going as fast as they can. But while they are gone, the groom comes. The five with the oil are off with the groom to the wedding. When the other five finally show up, it’s too late. The door is shut and they are not allowed in. They missed it. What a great disappointment. They had been looking forward to this for a long, long time. And, now, they are left outside. Blame the groom for the delay. Blame the others for not sharing their oil. But, as it is, they simply did not anticipate, prepare nor plan for such a long delay.

Our verse sums up this parable. Be alert. You do not know the day, you do not know the hour. The Lord is not talking about the starting of a wedding, but His return. He is coming. You don’t know when. Be ready, by living ready.

Not knowing the day nor the hour is revealing to us.

First, there are some projects that simply will not be completed. There are some books that will not be finished. There are some sermons that will not be preached. There are some houses that will still be under construction. Some students will not have graduated. Some babies will not be born. Some prizes will not be awarded. Life will come to a sudden halt when Jesus comes. It’s not going to be a very slow process in which everyone sees it coming. No. Instead, no one knows the day nor the hour. Not knowing, means plans will be made. People will not be expecting it, not at least on that day.

Second, some good intentions will never be realized. There will be some who were planning on coming home to the Lord. One day they would do that, is what they’ve told themselves over and over. This and that got in the way and they never fully got back to the Lord. Oh, they intended to and they had great thoughts, but they never got around to putting their feet to those plans. And, now, a day has come when they weren’t expecting and it’s too late. They never got their priorities in the right order. The Lord never was first for them.  There are others who planned to apologize. There were some who planned to forgive. They were waiting for the right moment. They knew they had to do this. But the right moment never came and now the Lord has and it’s too late. There were cards that were going to be sent, but they never were. There were words of encouragement that was planned to be shared, but they never were. A day came and the Lord came. All those good intentions were left undone.

Third, there will be some who are so glad to see the Lord. They have expected this day for a long time. They have loved the Lord, followed the Lord and knew one day He would come. Their faith is strong. Their hope was real. And, now that the Lord came, they are so delighted to be in His presence. What a grand day this is for those who are ready. The parable of the wise and foolish virgins follows the five foolish ones. But think about the five wise ones. They followed the groom to the wedding. The door was shut and there they experienced the greatest joy, fun and love that they have ever seen in their lives. They couldn’t believe how wonderful it was. The food was fantastic. The music touched their hearts. The laughter, smiles and celebration was so wonderful. And, there the groom, the Lord, made them feel so at home. The atmosphere was magical. The people were the greatest. It was a night to remember. It was a celebration that one wanted to last forever. And, in the symbolism of Scriptures, it would. It would be Heaven. It would be with the Lord. Didn’t the wise leave things unfinished when the groom came? Certainly, but those things do not matter. Not now. Didn’t they have things still to do? Yes. But none of those things mattered. Nothing was more important than being at the wedding. It wasn’t just any wedding, it was the wedding of a lifetime. There is no other place they would rather be. They didn’t feel pulled to leave and go home and finish some other tasks. They were with the groom and that’s the only place that they wanted to be.

He’s coming. He’s promised that. We don’t know when. But, you don’t want to miss it. Be ready. Be alert.

Roger

Jump Start # 1542

Matthew 25:13 “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”

This week we have been looking at the final judgment. We shall all stand before God and give an account of ourselves. That thought is scary. It’s one thing to give an account of someone else. It’s one thing to give an account for our schools or church. But before God we must give an account of ourselves. The Lord has given us talents and opportunities and reasons to believe. He knows what we have done. But at the judgment we must face God.

Our verse today comes from the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. The Lord used a series of three parables to describe His return and our responsibilities toward Him. In the first parable, where our verse comes from, five of the virgins were called foolish because while they slept their lambs used up all the oil that they had. They had not anticipated having to wait as long as they did. With the shout that the groom was coming, they hurried off to purchase more oil. They came to the place of the wedding and the door was shut and they were not admitted. They missed it. They were not ready. Our verse sums up the principle taught here, “be on the alert.”

Be on the alert or be ready, carries over to the judgment. Can a person ever be ready to be judged by God? How can a person feel good about the coming judgment, knowing that our thoughts, our words, our actions, even the way we have treated others, will have an impact upon how we are judged. How can we make it? We know what we have done. We know that we shouldn’t have said those things under our breath, but we did. We know that we could have done better in worship, but we didn’t. We know that we’ve complained. We know that we let a bit of gossip fly. There have been thoughts that have been anything but holy. There have been times when we have not prayed. We’ve let anger take hold of us. We know that we have not been the sweet darlings that others may think we are. And not only do we know these things, but God does. That’s what really bothers us. He knows. There is no excuse that we can hide behind. There are no fingers that we can point to blame others. We know and He knows.

How can we be ready for the coming judgment? How can we face God knowing that we’ve broken His heart so many times? How can we feel good about walking into the church building when we have disappointed Him and disobeyed Him? Will He throw the book at us? Will He declare, “I never knew you”? Will He explode, “Depart from Me”? We are in trouble.

Some, just put it out of their minds and hope for the best, whatever that might be. Others, get busy engaging in good things hoping that will tip the scales in their favor. So many have a concept of “balance theology.” They see the judgment as the good and the bad placed in the balance. They know that there are wrong and bad things there, but as long as there are more good things than bad things, then the balance leans in their favor. So, come Sunday, we got to get to church. Why? It’s the balance thing. We must put some things in the good column. It’s amazing how many think this way. It’s the only way that they know how to deal with the wrongs in their lives. Make sure the good outweighs the bad.

The problem with balance theology is that it makes salvation based upon works and not faith. Doing more good than bad leads to the thought that God has to give us Heaven because of all the things we have done. Balance theology also winks at wrong. It’s ok to have wrong in your life as long as there is more good. That’s not Biblical. God doesn’t look at things that way. Wrongs are never to be tolerated. They are to be repented of.

Balance theology isn’t it. You won’t find that taught in Scriptures. That being true, we still have this great dilemma of how can we face God when we have not done what we should have? How can we be ready to face God? How can we have any hope and any confidence of Heaven?

The answer to all of this is the grace of God. We are saved by the grace of God. It is not our perfection, our works, our goodness or more good than wrong that opens Heaven’s door to us. It’s the grace of God. Salvation is a gift. Paul thanked God for this indescribable gift. Our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus is what catches the eye of God. He saves us because of His choice. It is His gift. So we will stand before the throne of God, a bit battered and banged, forgiven and believing and having confidence because of the promises of God. Are there conditions to God’s grace? Certainly. If not, then everyone would be saved, including those who didn’t want to be saved and those who did not believe. The conditions include faith. That faith is active and leads to doing whatever God says. God wants us to walk with Him. That implies effort on our part. But the hope remains in the grace of God. It is because of God’s grace that you and I, not always good, can have Heaven. God was patient and forgiving to bumbling Peter. Peter who lacked faith. Peter who said things he shouldn’t have said. Peter who got scared and denied the Lord. Peter who looked the Jewish leaders in the eye and declared that we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard. Peter, who was called on the carpet by the apostle Paul for being a hypocrite. That Peter. That Peter was saved by the grace of God. It wasn’t having more good than bad. It wasn’t having the perfect alibi for his mistakes. It was Peter who believed. It was Peter who always came back to the Lord. It was Peter, who, by the grace of God, was forgiven and saved. Peter is a lot like us. We have some great moments spiritually. We have had some not so great moments spiritually. Our hope is not in ourselves, but in God.

Paul could say that his future included a crown of righteousness. Why? Perfect Christian? Hall of fame material? No. He kept the faith. He finished the course. He fought the good fight. He stayed with it and God’s grace is what saved him.

Paul wrote to Titus: “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”

We are saved by grace through faith. This is how we can be ready to face God. It is the only way. Keep holding to God’s unchanging hand.

Roger