I suspect everyone here has played the game “Hide and Seek.” Someone who is “It,” the seeker, must cover their eyes and count to a prescribed number. The other players then try to find a hiding place while the counting is underway. If you are one of those players who is to hide, you only have so much time to find a hiding place. And when the seeker is done counting, they shout, “Ready or not, here I come!” Time is up, and the game is on.
The child’s game of hide-and-seek offers an important theological illustration. Someday, it will be as though Jesus says, “Ready or not, here I come.” Whether you or I are ready or not, Jesus will come again. If Jesus came right now, then time is up, and the game is on. Only, instead of a child’s game, Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead. Alternatively, should our bodies wear out right now, and we die, ready or not, we will face Jesus as Judge or Savior. In either scenario, our death or Jesus’ return, there is only so much time available to us, and Jesus is counting.
The thought of being judged for everything we have ever done or not done, or said or not said, can be frightening. But it does not need to be that way. We have been given the gift of God’s word, which has the power to get us ready. If Jesus were to say today, “Ready or not, here I come!” we want to be able to respond and say, “I’m ready, Lord. I am right here.”
One time, Jesus was teaching his disciples through a parable. Jesus said, “35 Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he [the master] will dress himself to serve, will have them [his servants] recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Luke 12:35-40). This parable contained a promised blessing for Jesus’ disciples, who include you and me: ”38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready” (Luke 12:38a). Therefore, “40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Luke 12:40). We must be ready and, as I said earlier, the word of God equips us to be ready. How does God’s Word equip us to be ready?
First, God’s Word explains how Jesus redeemed us from sin. Let’s look at just a few examples from the Bible.
- John the Baptist saw Jesus approaching and said to his disciples, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Jesus takes our sins from us.
- The Apostle John wrote, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:16-17). Jesus takes our sins and gives us His righteousness.
- Jesus said, “Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). We have been ransomed by Jesus’ life.
- The Apostle Paul wrote, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7). The blood of Christ cleanses us.
We could go on to other Biblical verses that speak to Jesus’ first coming as the one, the only one, who saves those who would believe in him. Jesus came first as a redeemer and forgiver of our sins. Why is a Savior needed at all? Because “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). The inevitable consequence of unforgiven sin is death, an eternal separation from God, lived out in a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. God does not want anyone to be lost, and so He revealed through His word, the Bible, that He sent Jesus so that in Him we would find forgiveness and the removal of sin. Have you accepted the forgiveness Jesus offers? Remember, it will be good for those servants who are ready, and Jesus is counting.
God’s Word powerfully encourages us to repent of our sins in coming to Jesus and, not if, but when we later sin, to confess that sin to Him and be cleansed of all unrighteousness. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said to those listening, “8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). Repenting of our sin is a purifying act, and the consequence of being purified is that we can then enter God’s presence.
But we who sin cannot also purify ourselves. We need Jesus to do that. The Apostle John, in writing to other Christians, said this, “8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). Repent, that is to turn your life away from following the world and instead follow Jesus, and confess those things that we do in life where we leave the path Jesus laid down for us. Have you repented? Are you following Jesus? Are you confessing your sins to Jesus? Remember, it will be good for those servants who are ready, and Jesus is counting.
God’s Word powerfully encourages us to be ready by expressing our commitment to Christ through baptism. After Jesus had ascended into heaven, a crowd encircled Peter and asked, “What must we do to be saved?” Peter said, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Baptism is our most visible way of identifying the starting point of our new life in Christ. The Apostle Paul said this about baptism, “1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:1-4). Baptism is a gift. Baptism allows us to experience, through the body, what our soul has experienced when we yield it to Christ. Baptism allows us to publicly say that I am a new being seeking the best things in life. The Apostle Paul put it this way, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:1-4). The most excellent hiding place in the world is to hide yourself with Christ in God. So, have you made it by being baptized, burying your old self, and setting your mind on things of heaven? Remember, it will be good for those servants who are ready, and Jesus is counting.
God’s Word powerfully encourages us live faithfully, productively, and with purpose. How is such a life possible? It is possible because Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to those who believe in Him. Jesus first revealed this gift to his disciples shortly before his arrest and execution. Jesus said, “15 If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:15-17). The fantastic thing about being hidden with Christ in God is that God’s Holy Spirit takes up residence within the believer. The Spirit, should we allow it, moves us to stay within Christ. The Spirit shows us what is true and what is false if we will only listen. The Holy Spirit continually regenerates us, moving us into the more perfect image of Jesus.
The Apostle Paul said it this way, “12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:12). Living by the Spirit requires us to allow the Holy Spirit to move us to understand God’s Word itself. This is the primary reason why we should pay no attention to a non-believer telling us what God’s Word says. Ignore such people completely because the truth is not in them, because the Holy Spirit, which makes believers ready, is not in the non-believer to guide them in the truth. But you, you who believe in Jesus, who have repented, been baptized, you have the Holy Spirit within you. And that Holy Spirit is ready to help you further understand God’s Word if you will lean on His direction and, of course, you open the Bible. Are you letting the Holy Spirit guide your life? Remember, it will be good for those servants who are ready, and Jesus is counting.
Let’s catch our breath for a moment and consider what we have experienced. God’s Word is powerful, but only if we will receive it the way God expressed it. God’s Word has the power to make us ready for Jesus’ return by:
- Showing us how Jesus redeems us from sin.
- Encouraging us to repent and confess our sins to Him and be cleansed of all unrighteousness.
- Expressing our commitment to Jesus through believers’ baptism.
- Living faithfully, productively, and with purpose through the Holy Spirit.
What then do we do with what God has provided? We must act. We must not be passive. Jesus described it to his disciples this way: “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning” (Luke 12:35a). To be dressed and ready for service means that we have taken the time to prepare ourselves for the Lord. I like the imagery from the Old Testament Book of 2 Samuel that describes King David’s behavior following the death of his son. It says, “20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions, and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate” (2 Samuel 12:20). David made himself ready. He stopped hiding himself away. Instead, he made his body ready for action. He washed, applied lotion, and put on clean clothes. He became physically ready for the Lord. Then David entered the sanctuary and worshipped God. Following Jesus’ direction and David’s example, our initial posture of readiness for Jesus’ return is to act as if it will happen and to be found in worship. Being committed to making ourselves physically ready and then participating in weekly worship opens us up to God’s Word.
As I speak about worship, some may ask, what is worship? Some of us have been in church so long that we may no longer realize what worship is, or why it is such a uniquely transformative experience. If we stay in church long enough, we might think of worship as the one hour a week we spend in the church building. For contemporary churches, some folks view worship as the time spent in the church building, but only when they sing praise songs.
Worship takes an embryo of unity created among believers and grows them into a maturing body in which all parts begin somehow to fit together. We are a body made up of many parts, in which, as we engage in elements of worship, we are accepting a different and greater identity. Worship causes us to start thinking and seeking together without embarrassment. We sing without embarrassment and share deep concerns about our lives, or we cry tears of joy or tears of pain without a second thought. No single element of worship can transform so many different individuals into one body. Instead, that transformation comes about through the person being worshipped. We come to worship God. Worship focuses our hearts, minds, strength, and souls on God, who then transforms us into a single body. When we have worshipped God and have our minds focused on Him, our spiritual ground is prepared for us to receive God’s Word and be made ready.
So, I am glad you are here for worship, to be more focused on God, and to be prepared to receive the power of God’s Word to make you ready for Christ’s return. You will not regret having spent your time today with brothers and sisters in worship and in preparation to be made ready. Remember, it will be good for those servants who are ready, and, oh yes, Jesus is counting. Amen and Amen.