Are You Ready If Jesus Returned Today? | Paul Drader

In this message, Pastor Paul Drader explores Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 24 and the lesson of the fig tree. While many people focus on predicting when Jesus will return, Jesus calls us to something different: living ready today.

As we look at His words, we’re reminded that faith isn’t about fear or speculation. It’s about staying awake spiritually, trusting Jesus, and making the most of the time we’ve been given.

🙌 Connect with Us:

• New? - hopecity.ca/new
• Stay Connected - hopecity.ca/weekly
• Following Jesus - hopecity.ca/life
• Giving - hopecity.ca/give
• Follow us on Instagram: @HopeCityYEG
• Visit our Website: hopecity.ca
• Follow us on TikTok: @HopeCityYEG
• Find other ways to listen to the podcast: hopecity.ca/podcast

🙏 Need Prayer?
Please leave a comment or reach out to us directly—we’re here for you!

Transcript

0:16

- Hey, this is Phil Kal, lead pastor at Hope City Church. Thanks for tuning into our podcast. My prayer is that this helps and encourages you, gives you some practical ways to live out your faith and ultimately fills you with hope. Enjoy the message.- Well, good morning. It's great to be here with you today. Hope you're all doing well. Let me take you back to your childhood for just a moment. You and maybe a sibling or two are finally old enough to stay home alone and your parents decide that they're gonna go out for dinner without kids. Now, before they leave, they give you a list of instructions. Nothing complicated, just some expectations of things that you can get done while they're away and before they're returned. So things like, make sure the dishes are done. Clean your room, don't eat all the snacks, don't fight with your sibling. Be ready for bed. When we get home, you're like, yeah, of course. No problem. Right? Very doable in a timeframe that you've been given. And of course as a kid you respond with complete confidence, almost offended that you even have to say it right? But then something happens after they leave. Time changes, responsibility just disappears and the house becomes yours. And you think, I've got hours. TV gets turned on. You find yourself a nice snack. You find yourself another snack, right? The video games get turned on. You and your sibling get into an argument which somehow turns into a full on wrestling match. Pretty soon the house looks like a tornado went through the place, but you're not worried though because you still got time. That's until you hear it, the sound that sends fear into every child's soul. The sound that sends your heart rate through the roof, the garage door opening, they're home. Revival breaks out in the house, right? People are moving, dishes are flying into the dishwasher. Crumbs are being swept under rugs. Someone's yelling, turn off the tv. Uh, someone else is brushing their teeth out, even toothpaste on it. You're putting on your pajamas over top of your clothes, right? And then just as your parents walk in, you're kind of standing there like outta breath, like, oh, oh, hey guys, , how was dinner? But your parents can see right through it. You weren't ready for their return. You had instructions and you had time. But apathy crept in and in an instant that apathy turned into fear. We're currently in this series right now called Ready for His Return. And we've been working our way through what Jesus is teaching in Matthew chapter 24. And this chapter focuses on end times what to expect when Jesus returns and what and sorry, what to expect before he returns and what it'll look like when he does return. And there's this fancy word eschatology, which is the study of end times. And when you start doing some deep dives into uh, Theo, this end times theology, you quickly discover that there's an ocean of opinions, of timelines, of charts and theories and debates about how and when all of this is gonna happen. And I'll just say upfront, I am not an expert on any of those theories, but my goal today is simple. I wanna unpack Matthew chapter 24, verses 32 to 44, and draw four truths that we can apply to our lives today so that we are ready for his return. See, the return of Jesus is not meant to, meant for us to speculate about dates. It's meant to shape how we live today. So to provide a bit of context here, the teaching that Jesus gives in this chapter would've happened right after leaving the temple for what would be his final time. And this would've happened just days before his crucifixion. Jesus and his disciples, they had just east of Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives. And this is where the disciples questions spark the teaching that Jesus gives. Now, this wouldn't have been to a large group like a lot of his other teachings were. Uh, verse three, he tells us that his disciples came to him privately. So he sits down with him and he reveals some details about what's to come. And Jesus speaks about his return four times in this chapter. And the Greek word used there is perusia. And that word means coming or arrival. And in this context, Jesus is specifically referring to his second coming. And Pastor Ken unpack this brilliantly last week. And if you miss it, you can go find that message online. And this is a significant part of the Christian faith'cause we believe that Jesus is the son of God. He came as a baby, he lived a perfect life. He died as the sacrifice for our sin. And then he rose from the dead. And one day will come again in Theia. The second coming of Jesus is the moment when everyone will see that Christ is Lord. God's plan will be completed and final judgment will be set into motion. And what we believe about his return shapes our beliefs about hope, the future, and in turn how we are to live today. It says believers, we live between these two realities because we have hope because of the incarnation. God became human in Jesus died for us and offers us forgiveness through faith in him. But we also live with the promise that Jesus is coming again. And so how should that future reality shape the way that we live today? Well, let's dive into the text and see if we can find some answers. Matthew chapter 24, verse 32 says this, now learn a lesson from the fig tree when its branches, bud and its leaves begin to sprout. You know that summer is near. I love what ge practical Jesus' teachings often were. He used things around them, real life examples to drive home and illustrate important kingdom truths. And you can see that throughout the gospel books of Matthew, mark, Luke, and John. And if Jesus came, now you could just imagine him maybe with his disciples at the mall, kinda looking around and saying something like, you see this generation, you know, staring at their cell phones while they're working, while they're walking, while they're driving, just completely oblivious to the world and the needs around them. No cell phones then. So Jesus uses a fig tree to make his point. So what does the fig tree have to do with end times? Jesus goes on, he says this in verse 33. In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know that his return is very near right at the door. The branches of the fig tree beginning to bud reveal a changing of the seasons. Winter is over, spring is here, and summer is near. And we understand that. We get that living in Edmonton, right? Long, cold, dark winters make spring such a refreshing site. The snow starts melting, right? The days get longer, the grass starts turning green. People start wearing shorts way too early because six degrees suddenly feels balmy, right? But all of this tells us something. A new season is coming and Jesus is saying in the same way, there'll be signs prior to my return. So watch for them. And when I read that, I think about the wise men in the Christmas story when Jesus was born.'cause there were these prophecies and there were these signs that they watched for in the stars. And they lived with a posture of expectation. They paid attention to the signs. So they were ready for the arrival of the king. And Jesus is telling his disciples here to do the same, to be aware, to look for the signs, to pay attention. Don't be ignorant of what's going on around you. Now at the same time, don't try and decode every news story, but live aware. Live with expectation. Let the signs be a reminder to live faithfully. Jesus says when these things start to happen, his return is very near. So what are these things? Well, earlier in the chapter it says, there'll be false prophets, there'll be wars, there'll be famines and earthquakes. Believers will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. Sin will be rampant. And it's like check, check, check, check. Like all these things are happening and have been happening since Jesus was fir since he first came. So why hasn't he come back yet? And it's easy to look around the state of the world and just wonder like how much worse is this gonna get before he comes back? Jesus continues in verse 34, I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place. So there this generation has both the near term fulfillment in Jerusalem's destruction in 70 AD and ultimate fulfillment in Christ's return. But Jesus's main point is clear. His words are trustworthy. This is what it says in verse 35. Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear. In other words, you can trust what I'm saying. I am coming back. Creation itself is less permanent than this promise I will return. Then there's this really important word that comes next. However, in verse 36, however, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen. Not even the angels in heaven or the son himself. Only the father knows. No one knows the day or the hour. Yet many people make claims all the time that they know when Jesus is coming back, they predict the day, then that day comes and goes and they were wrong. And that's because Jesus himself said that no one knows. Now, I did some research just to help figure this out and to help you guys. And I looked up the Greek word there for no one. Here's what it means. No one, okay, no one knows. And Jesus goes on further to say not even the angels in heaven or the son himself. But that raises an important question because if Jesus is God, how can he say he doesn't know the day or the hour? And that answer takes us into the mystery of the incarnation. The Bible teaches that Jesus is fully God and fully human. He did not stop being God when he came to earth, but he did willingly take on limitations of true humanity. Philippians two says this, that although Jesus was in the very nature of God, he emptied himself, he gave up his divine privileges. Now that does not mean that he emptied himself of his deity. It means that he laid aside the privileges of divine glory and chose to live in humble dependence on the Father. So in his earthly ministry, he got hungry, he got tired, he experienced pain. And here he says, the timing of his return was known only to the Father. That does not make Jesus less than God. It shows how he fully entered into our humanity. Now, if even the son in his earthly humility did not concern himself with the date, then we certainly should not waste our time trying to figure it out either. Instead, be ready, be faithful. And here's why. Verse 37, when the son of man returns, it will be like it was in Noah's day. Now if you're not familiar with the story of Noah, you can read it in the first book of the Bible. Genesis chapter six to nine. Noah lived at a time when the world had become incredibly wicked and people had turned away from God. And God warned that judgment was coming through a flood and he instructed Noah to build an arc. Noah obeyed even though it likely seemed foolish to everyone around him when the flood came, no. And his family were saved while those who ignored God's warning were swept away. Verse 38, 39, in those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn't realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. This is the way it will be when the son of man comes. So does Jesus saying here He's saying life was normal. People were eating and drinking and celebrating, getting married, making plans, living life. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until everything changed in an instant. And they were either unaware, too busy or in denial of why this guy was building this giant boat. And that led to a harsh reality for those outside the boat when the flood waters came because they were all swept away. Jesus is giving a pretty clear warning here. Look, it's gonna be just like that when I come back. Life is gonna be going on as usual. People are gonna be taking their kids to soccer practice. There'll be birthday celebrations going on, people will be working, planning, shopping, scrolling, making dinner, booking vacations, thinking about tomorrow. Life will seem completely normal until in an instant everything's gonna change. Jesus explains it this way. In verses 40 and 41, 2 men will be working together in the field. One will be taken and the other left, two women will be grinding flour at the mill, one will be taken and the other left. This is a pretty wild scene that Jesus is unpacking here laying out for his disciples. Two men are at work, all of a sudden one's gone, two ladies are preparing a meal and all of a sudden one just disappears. And this is something to note here, because both, both these situations, they're both doing the same task. So it doesn't seem to be about what we're doing when he returns, which tells me it must be about our heart and maybe our spiritual condition. So let me ask you this. How's your heart? How's your spiritual condition? Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Are you ready for his return? One is taken and the other is left behind. And Jesus is saying that upon his return there'll be a separation between those who believe and those who do not. And that's a theme that you can find throughout scripture. And Jesus is warning us that everything will seem normal just another day. So be faithful and prepared so his return will not catch you off guard. Live with a posture of readiness and also a posture of eminence because it's going to happen. And Jesus drives the home home this point even further by illustrating it this way in verses 42 to 44. So you too must keep watch for you don't know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this, if a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time for the son of man will come when least expected. Keep watch, live, ready, be prepared. And again, he drives home the point you don't know when it will happen. And then he lays out this great illustration, which I think is where they get the idea for the plot for one of the greatest films of a gen of our generation. Home alone. Anybody? Yeah, it's an important film. Really important film. Kevin McAllister, right? He hears that the burglars are planning

to arrive at his home at 9: 15:02

00 PM And so he sets up a series of booby traps to foil their plans, right? Comedy ensues and then the wet bandits are taken off to jail again, haven't seen it. You need to watch it, it's great. Really important. But Jesus is saying here, if you knew the hour, you wouldn't have to be ready all the time. You just get things in order just before he comes back. But you don't know and you won't know the hours. So you must live ready because it's going to happen when it's least expected. And now this isn't meant to invoke fear, but rather to create urgency, diligence, preparedness, and faithful stewardship. Also, when I read this illustration, uh, about the homeowner and the burglary, I don't just think about myself that causes me to start thinking about my family as a husband and as a father. Am I helping my family live ready? Have I done my part as the spiritual leader in my home, to point my wife and my kids toward Jesus? Because readiness isn't just personal. It's something we should desire for the people that we love most as well. Not only do I want to be ready, I want my family to be ready. I want my friends to be ready. I want the people that God has put in my life to know Jesus and be prepared for his return as well.'cause there's a future reality that needs to shape our present. So what have we learned? Let's summarize what Jesus is teaching here. He's coming back. He said it, it will happen. Number two, there's gonna be signs. Things have happened and are happening that remind us that we're living in the last days. Number three, no one knows when it's gonna happen, not even Jesus or the angels. And the signs are to awaken us, not a riddle to solve. And number four, his quick, his return will be quick and it'll be unexpected. Some will be taken and others will be left behind. So in light of that, how do we apply that to our lives today? Well, I don't wanna give us four ways that we can live ready for Jesus' return. And the first one is this. You gotta make a personal decision about Jesus. When you think about end times and being ready, the most important question is this. Am I right with Jesus? Have I received his forgiveness? Have I surrendered my life to him? Have I trusted him as Lord and Savior? His readiness begins with relationship. And you cannot be ready for the return of Jesus if you have not responded to the invitation of Jesus. Here's the amazing thing. Jesus isn't waiting for you to get your life all figured out, all sorted, all together before you come to him. The entire message of the gospel is that none of us could make ourselves right with God. The Bible says that all of us have sin, we've all fallen short. We've all chosen our own way instead of God's way. And the result of that sin causes separation between us and God. But God loved us too much to leave us there. And this is why Jesus came. The son of God stepped into human history. He lived a perfect life that we could never live. And he willingly went to the cross. He took upon himself the punishment that we deserve for our sin. But then three days later, he rose from the defeating sin, death and the grave proving that he was the son of God because of what Jesus has done. Forgiveness is available. Reconciliation with God is possible and eternal life is offered as a gift. The gospel is not be good enough and maybe God will accept you. The gospel is that Jesus has already done what is necessary. Will you trust him? And if you've never made that decision, today is the day. Don't wait. Don't assume you'll deal with it later. Don't put off the most important decision that you'll ever make. Jesus is extending an invitation to you right now to receive his forgiveness, to receive his grace, to become a child of God, to be in relationship with him, and yes, also to be ready for when he returns. The goal of Christianity is not simply to be prepared for an event. The goal is to know a person and that person is Jesus. And when you know Jesus, you don't have to fear his return. You can actually look forward to it.'cause the reality is this, he could come back today and if he did, would you be ready for it? If not, I wanna give you an opportunity right now to pray a prayer and just inviting Jesus into your life. Would you pray with me? Would Jesus today I recognize my need for you. I recognize that I've been doing things my own way and I wanna do things your way. Thank you for going to the cross for me so that I can be forgiven and I can be in relationship with you. I choose today to receive that forgiveness that you offer and I invite you to come and be the center of my life. And from this moment forward, I wanna do my best to live my life that brings glory and honor to you. And I wanna be ready for your return. And I wanna live in anticipation of you coming back. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for your grace and your forgiveness. I receive it in your name. Jesus. Amen. Okay, so the second thing that we can do to be prepared for his return is prepare by living awake. Jesus says, keep watch in one Thessalonians five, six, you read, be on guard. Stay alert and clearheaded. That doesn't mean live paranoid panic. Every time you read the news or try to decode every headline, it just means live spiritually awake. Pay attention to your heart, pay attention to your priorities, pay attention to your obedience. Pay attention to the people that God has placed around you.'cause one of the greatest dangers is spiritual apathy And normal life can lull us into sleep. Spiritually, work is normal, school is normal, birthdays are normal. Planning for the future, future is normal. And none of these things are wrong. We just can't be so consumed by them with ordinary life that we become unaware of our spiritual reality. And that doesn't mean we just quit everything and just stare up at the sky all day, just waiting for Jesus to come back. It means we go to work awake and ready to be used by God. It means we parent our kids awake, showing our kids what matters most. It means that we spend our money awake and remembering that we are stewards of what God has given us. And it reminds us to make decisions awake, honoring God with our time and our priorities. The signs are not a riddle to solve. They're meant to wake us up. Are you prepared for Christ's return? The third thing we can do to live ready is don't procrastinate. One of the big, most dangerous lies we can believe is that I still have time and we end up with this later list. I'll get serious about faith later. I'll forgive them later. I'll start under that area later. I'll start following Jesus later. I'll have that conversation later. But Jesus says his return is gonna come when it's least expected. So don't wait until it's too late to become the person that God is calling you to be today. If there's a step of obedience that God is asking you to take, take it. If there's a relationship that needs forgiveness, pursue it. If there's a sin that needs to be re surrendered, bring it to God. And if there's a decision you need to make about Christ, don't put it off.'cause when the proverbial garage door opens for Christ's return, there won't be time. He gave us instructions and he told us he'd return. Let us not squander our time but rather make the most of it. And diligence brings peace, but procrastination that just breeds fear. Okay, the fourth thing we can do to live ready is to tell others about Jesus.'cause if Jesus is coming back, then this message is not just personal, it needs to be public. We don't just wanna prepare ourselves, we wanna prepare other people as well. And that means we share our faith. We pray for people, we invite people to come to church. We live in a way that points other people to Jesus. And as believers, it can be easy to get into the mindset of looking at the state of the world and just wanting Jesus to come back and put an end to all this nonsense. However, every day that Jesus has not returned isn't proof that he has forgotten about his promise. It's evidence of his mercy. And how do we know this? Well, this is what it says in two Peter three verses eight and nine a day is like a thousand years to the Lord. And a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise as some of you think. No, he's being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone destroyed, but wants everyone to repent every day that Jesus hasn't returned is another day for someone else to say yes to Jesus another day for a prodigal son to return another day for one of your friends, one of your neighbors, one of your coworkers or one of your family members to encounter God's grace. And so as we live ready, let's help others do the same. And let me ask you this really important question. Who in your life is God being patient? For? Who in your life is God being patient for? You know, the sound of the garage door opening as a kid wasn't always terrifying. Sometimes it was exciting because those were the days when the chores were done, the dishes were clean, your room was cleaned up and you had done what was asked of you. And maybe if you were ambitious, maybe even went a little bit above and beyond hoping that your parents would notice. And so when you heard the garage door open, there wasn't panic, there was actually peace, an expectation, maybe even a little bit of excitement because you were ready. And maybe you're hoping to hear something like, Hey, well done. Thank you for taking care of what we entrusted to you while we were away. And church, this is the posture that Jesus is inviting us to live with. End times teaching is not meant to scare us. It is meant to prepare us. So we live with, we live awake, we live faithful, and we live ready. And my prayer is that when Christ returns, we'll not be people whose apathy quickly turns into fear. We'll be people who live with peace and expectation and readiness.'cause our king is coming back. Let's be ready for his return. I wanna invite you to stand If you're able, I'd love to pray with you. Jesus, we thank you that you came for us. You lived a sinless life. You went to the cross on our behalf and you took, you paid the price for our sin. We thank you for that. And Jesus, we also look forward to your return. We thank you that you're coming again and we hold onto that promise and we look forward to that day. And God, as we do, as we look forward, God will we be, be, be people who don't procrastinate. We would live in the moment. We would live in the present and we would just be so aware of that your return is imminent. And that would wake us up. We would be people who live awake. We would live awake at our jobs. We would live awake as we parent, as we, as we steward what you've given us. We would be found faithful with those things. And God, we wouldn't just prepare ourself for your return, but we would tell others about who you are and your grace and your mercy. And we would help other people be ready for your return as well. So God, would you give us a boldness to share our faith with others? Would you give us a boldness to, to have a conversation with a coworker, a neighbor, a friend, family member, and God we would help others be ready for your return as well. So God, even this week, would we just be so aware that you could come back today, tomorrow, on Thursday it's possible. And that would just create in us an urgency and a diligence and a faithfulness for your coming return. And we would be found faithful, we'd found as good stewards. And we long to hear you say, well done, my good and faithful servant. And we long to spend eternity with you in heaven. So thank you Jesus for coming and that you're coming again and we put our faith and our trust in you. And with that guide everything we do and say this week we pray in your name. Amen. I wanna thank you for being in church today. It's great to see you. A couple things before you go. First of all, if you invited Jesus into your life today for the first time, we are so proud of you for that. If you're looking for some next steps or some resources, you can take out your phone, tap the disc in front of you and click on the follow Jesus button. We have a digital download there for you. Also, if you're here today and you would like someone to pray with you, our prayer team's gonna be up here at the front and they would love to do that. So please come and see them if you'd like some prayer. Otherwise, have a great Sunday and an amazing week ahead everybody. God bless. Take care.