Dressed for His Return

24 Oct 2013 by Adeline Lum CM-

 

Rev Stewart Law of the Abundant Life Church in Cheras preached on preparing the second coming of Jesus Christ (Luke 12:35-48) on 20 Oct. Starting their worship at 8:45 AM, the congregation awoke to an hour long of gospel hymns, such as Jesus Lamb of God, Great is thy Faithfulness, and Change my Heart O’ God.

 

 

Luke 12:35-38

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 will dress himself to serve, will have them 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.”

⁴¹ Peter asked, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?”

⁴² The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? ⁴³ It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. ⁴⁴ Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁵ But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. ⁴⁶ The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

⁴⁷ “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. ⁴⁸ But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

 

In this parable, Rev Stewart shared that the Master will be returning from a wedding banquet in an hour we will not expect (Lk 12:40). During those days, wedding banquets were held in the village square without rental and thus, no fixed time to end. Also, the Master would not be obligated to wake up early the next day, having assigned his duties to his servants. Hence, no servants could predict when their Master will return.

And like the ten virgins who required sufficient oil to keep their lamps burning (Matt 25:1-13), we need to be prepared for the longer way, if the Master decides to return later, whether in the 'middle of the night' or 'towards daybreak' (Lk 12:38).

 

 

During those days, Rev Stewart also shared how the sunset is the sign to sleep especially in an agriculture community. Yet, the Lord asked us to be like the servant who is ‘dressed ready for service’ (Lk 12:35). How should we be dressed? We must always be clothed in the amour of God, holding our shields and swords at all times (Eph 6:10-18). A soldier only removes his armour when he is resting but a faithful soldier is always dressed to do the Master’s service. Being ‘naked’ would be accepting Christ five years ago but never praying or going to church, shared Rev Stewart. At the same time, Jesus asked us not to worry in following Him because the Holy Spirit would guide and help us (John 14:26).

 

John 14:26

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

 

So, what is the preparation and how much preparation do we need? Rev Stewart shared that the only way we can be ready is to be filled with the Holy Spirit, which is tied to keeping our lamps burning as in the parable of the virgins. And the oil that keeps our lamp burning is related to the anointing of the Holy Spirit. God is spirit and those who worship Him must serve Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24) with passion (Mark 12:30).

 

 

But what is surprising in this parable is that instead of the servant waiting for the Master, the Master is actually waiting on the servant (Lk 12:37)! And those who wait on the Master will recline at their seats and have the Master serve them instead, akin to the wedding banquet that God has prepared for us (Matt 22).

All we need to do is to be prepared to for His coming. When He comes, we have to bring the clothing that befit the child of God. Rev Stewart shared a story of a Singaporean diplomat who wore proper shirts and trousers even during his personal leisure time out of home because he represented his country wherever and whenever he was. What about us?

 

 

In a nutshell, Rev Stewart shared that we reap what we sow; the servant who physically abused his servants will be cut into pieces and thrown into Hell (Lk 12:45-46) while the servant who is prepared for the Lord’s coming will be welcomed into Heaven. Jesus will return in a time we will not expect him, a time when we are so engrossed into the world. Our spiritual light will only burn with the Lord’s presence. Are we then dressed for his return?

Note: Rev Stewart Law has been serving as a pastor in the Abundant Life Church since 1992. What started as a student fellowship blossomed into a tight-knitted family church, where authentic relationship is apparent amongst the church members.

 

ABUNDANT LIFE CHURCH

Address: 45-M, Jalan Manis 3, Taman Segar, Cheras 56100, Kuala Lumpur (Near Leisure Mall, same row with the Guitar Store)

Tel: 03-9130 4329 / 03-9134 3814 / 016-2901212

Schedule of Service:

• English Worship- 8:45 AM (Last Sunday of month has combined service at 10:30 AM with lunch)
• Chinese Worship- 11:00 AM

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References for pictures:

http://endtimepilgrim.org/lamplight2.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z76D28heESE/UTld-ACnAcI/AAAAAAAAAIs/gGdNCL2BPDA/s1600/10virgins.JPG