That first sentence...
Illustration
Object:
That first sentence should make fools of the ones who claim to know more than our Lord, who, this passage says, didn't know the day or hour. It is not wrong for us to warn people about sins that may bring about our end, but let's not be too specific as to the day or hour or even the year that it will happen!
Our pulpit is one of the best places for us to warn our people to keep watch so we are prepared for the end (ours or the world's). At my age of 86, I don't care whether the Lord comes next year or I go to be with him next year! In either case I have to prepare myself for that meeting. When I was young, it was hard to imagine that one day I would be this age with children and grandchildren! It seemed so far off that it was not worth thinking about. It creeps up on you slowly, day by day, year by year!
Of course I care about the future of my children! There may be some things I can do now to prepare them, or our world, for the end, but the most important thing may be for me to warn them about the inevitable end so that they will prepare themselves and their children. We had a grandson who was killed at the age of 17, partly due to a drug problem. We dare not forget that the end (for us or our family) may come when we least expect it.
Noah got his warning in time to build the ark, but others in that day thought he was a fool! They didn't know how soon they would pay the price for their doubts. They just wanted to eat, drink, and be merry and not be concerned about the possibility that tomorrow they might be gone -- to whatever end they had prepared for themselves.
How annoyed our children were when they were in their teens and we kept preaching to them. They wanted us to just shut up so they could enjoy their youth without concern for the future. Only much later did they realize that we bothered them with rules because we cared for them! How many of us parents find ourselves echoing our own parent's warnings to us! It is like we were waking up!
The pastor's job is to help our people build their ark before it is too late. He should wake us up and guide us to prepare for the thief in the night. He can give us the word of God so we don't spend our time eating and drinking but are preparing ourselves for his coming and have the welcome mat out! We should look forward to that day and not dread it!
Our pulpit is one of the best places for us to warn our people to keep watch so we are prepared for the end (ours or the world's). At my age of 86, I don't care whether the Lord comes next year or I go to be with him next year! In either case I have to prepare myself for that meeting. When I was young, it was hard to imagine that one day I would be this age with children and grandchildren! It seemed so far off that it was not worth thinking about. It creeps up on you slowly, day by day, year by year!
Of course I care about the future of my children! There may be some things I can do now to prepare them, or our world, for the end, but the most important thing may be for me to warn them about the inevitable end so that they will prepare themselves and their children. We had a grandson who was killed at the age of 17, partly due to a drug problem. We dare not forget that the end (for us or our family) may come when we least expect it.
Noah got his warning in time to build the ark, but others in that day thought he was a fool! They didn't know how soon they would pay the price for their doubts. They just wanted to eat, drink, and be merry and not be concerned about the possibility that tomorrow they might be gone -- to whatever end they had prepared for themselves.
How annoyed our children were when they were in their teens and we kept preaching to them. They wanted us to just shut up so they could enjoy their youth without concern for the future. Only much later did they realize that we bothered them with rules because we cared for them! How many of us parents find ourselves echoing our own parent's warnings to us! It is like we were waking up!
The pastor's job is to help our people build their ark before it is too late. He should wake us up and guide us to prepare for the thief in the night. He can give us the word of God so we don't spend our time eating and drinking but are preparing ourselves for his coming and have the welcome mat out! We should look forward to that day and not dread it!
