[Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon Resources for November 6 - Part 2

[Joe Parrish]

Wisdom 

Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences. 

Norman Cousins 

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Preparedness 

John Wesley was asked what he would do if he knew his Lord would return at that time the next day. He said in effect, "I would go to bed and go to sleep; wake up in the morning, and go on with my work, for I would want Him to find me doing what he had appointed." 

Traditional 

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Second Coming 

The first perversion of the doctrine of the second coming of Christ is perpetrated by those I'm going to call "prophecy mongers." You know these people. They come with their charts and graphs, with their predictions and projections, claiming to have special insight into the workings of God in the world, so that they're able to cue us in on just where we are in the divine timetable. And somehow, every political event of the past fifty years fits neatly into their scheme of things. But Jesus said that no one--not even himself--knew the day or the hour of his coming, but only the Father. 

But there is another distortion of this doctrine that is equally vitiating although in comes from a completely different direction. Here I refer to those who, far from exaggerating the eschatology of Jesus, want to minimize it because they are embarrassed. They rationalize it or demythologize it or spiritualize it, so that they can embrace Jesus and his teachings without getting all the supernatural trimmings that go with it. The fundamentalist and the rationalist share a common assumption about the second coming. They both assume that this is teaching we can easily understand and exploit and have at our disposal, so that it no longer threatens us, no longer hangs over our heads like Damocles' sword, ready to fall upon us and shatter our pretty pretensions into a thousand smithereens. The fundamentalist over explains the second coming, and so takes away its mystery, while the rationalist explains it away, robbing it of its meaning. 

Jesus said, "Keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour." It is here at the point of waiting that most of us have our greatest difficulty. 

The Minister's Manual: 1985, San Francisco: Harper & Row, p.25 

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There Is a Deadline 

Did you hear about the Christmas parade in central North Carolina? Many elaborate floats passed by when suddenly a simple hay wagon pulled by a tractor starts by. On the wagon are several fraternity boys from the university. They are madly sawing boards and nailing things together. The puzzled expressions of the onlooker's faces changed to laughter when they read the sign on the back of the wagon. It read: "We thought the parade was next week!" Isn't that just how it is? There is a time to prepare, and there is a deadline after which nothing will do. Either you're ready or you're not!

Stephen M. Crotts, Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost: Music from Another Room, CSS Publishing Company, 2003, 0-7880-1968-6e 

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The best way to prepare for the coming of Christ is never to forget the presence of Christ. 

William Barclay in You Can Say That Again, Christianity Today, Vol. 39, no. 8. 

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Late, Late, so Late! 

Don't be caught unprepared. That's the message in the parable of the ten maidens. Nineteenth century English poet Alfred Tennyson in his Idylls of the King adapted that parable to write this for Queen Guinevere, who learned too late the cost of sin: 

Late, late, so late! and dark the night and chill!
Late, late so late! but we can enter still. 

Too late, too late! ye cannot enter now. 

No light had we: for that we do repent;
And learning this, the bridegroom will relent. 

Too late, too late! ye cannot enter now. 

No light: so late! and dark and chill the night!
O let us in, that we may find the light! 

Too late, too late: ye cannot enter now. 

Have we not heard the bridegroom is so sweet?
O let us in, tho' late, to kiss his feet! 

No, no, too late! ye cannot enter now. 

John MacArthur, The Fate of the Unprepared 

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I'd Hurry If I Were You 

The late Lewis Grizzard, a humorist and author of many columns and books, was by his minister in the hospital. Grizzard was scheduled to have open-heart surgery the next morning. He confessed to his minister that he had not exactly been a paragon of virtue and asked if there were still time to repent. The minister looked at his watch and replied, "Yes, but I’d hurry if I were you." 

Johnny Dean, The Scariest Sound in the World 
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Commentary: Historical Background 

In order to catch the impact of this story, we need to know some historical background of a first-century Jewish wedding. Eastern and Western cultures are very different. In an Eastern culture the bridegroom is often a more important figure than the bride and frequently paid for all the expenses of the wedding. A Jewish wedding had three parts or stages to it. First, there was the formal engagement/betrothal which was almost always arranged by the parents of the future bride and groom. Later (up to a year or more) came the formal religious ceremony in the bride’s home. This was a religious service similar to our wedding service. Thirdly, there was the wedding banquet (feast), generally at night, at the house of the groom and it generally lasted about seven days and could take place right after the ceremony or weeks later. The bridegroom would come to get his bride and they would walk together to the wedding. It was an elaborate affair that cost a lot of money. It was,therefore, a social event to which their friends were anxious to attend. The bride and the groom walked down the street and their bridesmaids would take part in the ‘welcoming ceremony’ by lighting the way with lamps held by the wedding party. It would be a major faux pas for anyone in the wedding party not to be by the road ready to welcome the bridegroom and bride. 

That is the background of the picture our Lord draws here. Here are ten young women waiting to join the wedding party. They are expecting and waiting for the bridegroom and the bride. 

Richard A. Todd, Ten Sleepy Women 

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Advice on How to Wait 

In the Old Testament, the prophet, Amos, tells us what not to do as we wait. Amos brings a complaint from God against the people concerning their worship. God complains against those who think they are ready, who say they desire the day of the Lord. He complains that they go about worshipping as they always have, not thinking about what their worship means. They don't notice that their worship should turn them in the direction of doing justice, of showing God's love to their neighbors. God is unhappy with those who are indifferent toward their faith. Amos quotes the Lord: "I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies .... Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps" (Amos 5:21, 23).

Most of the book of Amos tells us what God hates about our hypocrisy and religious practices. Amos makes it clear what not to do as we wait for the day of the Lord. But Amos also goes on in this passage to give us some positive guidance about what we should be doing as we wait for the return of our Lord. Amos continues to speak God's word: "But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream" (Amos 5:24). 

Phyllis Faaborg Wolk, Invitations to the Light, CSS Publishing Company 

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What's Your Purpose in Life? 

Josh McDowell tells about an executive "headhunter" who recruits corporate executives for large firms. This headhunter once told McDowell that when he interviews an executive, he likes to disarm him. "I offer him a drink," said the headhunter, "take off my coat, undo my tie, throw up my feet and talk about baseball, football, family, whatever, until he’s all relaxed. Then, when I think I’ve got him relaxed, I lean over, look him square in the eye and say, ‘What’s your purpose in life?’ It’s amazing how top executives fall apart at that question." 

Then he told about interviewing one fellow recently. He had him all disarmed, had his feet up on his desk, talking about football. Then the headhunter leaned over and said, "What’s your purpose in life, Bob?" And the executive said, without blinking an eye, "To go to heaven and take as many people with me as I can." 

"For the first time in my career," said the headhunter, "I was speechless." No wonder. He had encountered someone who was prepared. He was ready. His purpose, "To go to heaven and take as many people with me as I can." You and I might not express it that way, but do you doubt that this is one man who has extra oil for his lamp? 

Gary Nicolosi, Preparing for the End Time

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