MY LORD DELAYETH HIS COMING
Matthew 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. 45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
All men are God’s servants, but all men are not God’s sons! John 17:1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 2 Corinthians 5:15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
Therefore one’s personal attitude regarding the second coming of the Lord will determine if they are a faithful and wise servant, or an evil servant. For what kind of friend is it that does not anticipate the return of their dearest acquaintance? 2 Thessalonians 1:10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe … in that day. Hebrews 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Anticipating a loved one’s return affects the conduct! Luke 15:20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the awareness of the coming of the sovereign Lord, to whom we must all give account of our words and actions, with the heavens and earth being destroyed, should make everyone conscious of this to conduct themselves in an obedient and submissive way. 2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
Yet there are those who put this far from their minds to their own destruction as being evil servants! Genesis 19:12 And the men (angels) said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: 13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it. 14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
Even righteous Abraham, the friend of God, could not avail for this kind in his prayers of intercession to God. Abraham’s intercession for the souls in Sodom was successful in getting the Lord God down from finding fifty righteous souls there, so as not to destroy it for their sakes, to just finding ten. But there could not be found ten souls who believed in God’s interruption of their normal routine! Genesis 18:32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake. 33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
And sadly our Lord informs us that thus it shall be at his return! Luke 17:28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. 32 Remember Lot’s wife.
But what is the given preventative for this destruction of our souls? Matthew 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. And that Greek word, here translated “Watch” is interpreted as “give attention, be cautious” in the Amplified Bible. And does this not encourage us to maintain a God-consciousness? For one cannot be said to love someone and not have them in their inward thoughts!
This is what is meant concerning Cain after his sin was identified and his punishment was exacted upon him. Genesis 4:16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. For one cannot literally go out from the actual presence of the Lord! Therefore we understand that this was Cain shutting God out of his thoughts and actions. Psalm 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
God-consciousness is a great blessing of great benefit to the soul! It is the greatest deterrent to sin! For Joseph, unlike Cain, maintained a consciousness of God in his heart and mind, which was the only thing that kept him free from the sin his master’s wife tempted him to commit! Genesis 39:7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. 9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
This is the very thing concerning which the Apostle Paul was instructing the believers at Ephesus. He warns them against a darkened understanding and a vain mind! That is, a lack of God-consciousness! Ephesians 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20 But ye have not so learned Christ;
And here is also his writing of this to the believers at Rome: Romans 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
And let us take careful note of that which is written concerning each individual servant in our text. Of the faithful and wise we read that he devoted himself to his God-given responsibilities. Therefore when the Lord did return he is still found, “so doing!” (V.46) He is not recorded as making any statement concerning the Lord, nor of his own servitude. His inner consciousness of God causes him to maintain his dutiful devotion even unto the return of his master! 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
But there is a very noticeable difference in the heart of the evil servant! For there, in his heart is the source of the problem. He did not begin to manifest his cruelty to the fellowservants, nor to be gluttonous until first it is recorded that in his heart he lay all the blame on his master. For he did not truthfully state, “I have run out of patience with all this.” He justified his abandonment of servitude due to his Master’s “delay,” in returning before his own faithfulness ran out! Luke 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.
And it is in the faulty, inner relating to the Lord that is the root of the problem. For how could he come to despise his fellowservants unless he came to resent his master first? 1 John 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? 21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
For anyone who has a problem in loving and respecting the believers is manifesting an inner heart problem of failing to love the Lord! 1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
Peter was three times instructed that in order to love the Lord one must love and serve the Lord’s sheep and lambs! For one cannot serve the Lord without serving His people! John 21:15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
And the plea for Peter to return Dorcas to the believers was based upon her benefit to them! Acts 9:36 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. 37 And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. 38 And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them. 39 Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.
Religion has it exactly backwards to true spiritual Christianity! Matthew 23:8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. 11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
And just who is that one who is “greatest among us?” Is he not our Lord Himself? Matthew 20:26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; 27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: 28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
We serve the Servant King! Isaiah 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. And according to Matthew 12:16-20 this was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.
Yet be aware of this: 2 Corinthians 12:15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.
Pastor Gene Breed
January 19, 2022
