Sermon Cloud

“Turn on the Lights, the Party's Just Begun”
Luke 12:35-48

Key Verses:

Luke 12:35,  “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning.”

Luke 12:37a,  “It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes.”

Luke 12:38, “It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready.”

Luke 12:40, “You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."

Luke 12:43 “It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns.”  (NIV)

Chapter Outline

12:1-12 – 6 keys to missional living

12:13-34 – Greed: how it blocks mission; God’s care: means you can be

missional

12:35-48 – Three parables about complacency

The Fight against Complacency

1. Think slavery. 

2. Be disciplined and diligent.  

Cross centered life

Jesus centered ministry

Serving for the right reasons

Forget programs and focus on people

Be flexible, forgiving, forbearing

Think about heaven 

3. Take heart, there is hope. Jesus has an incredible future planned for you.

“Christianity at its core is an eschatological [future oriented] religion. We live between the times.  The kingdom is here but not the whole thing. It means being faithful not just believing.  Wise servant understands the significance of the end and lives accordingly.  And understanding of the gospel that does not include the future is not the Christian gospel and is insufficient for dealing with the problem of evil.  …The nature of the documents does not encourage or allow drawing of charts on the NT evidence itself, and that was not the purpose of the eschatological teaching.  Its purpose was to give warning, to give hope, and to teach people how to live in the present.”  Klyne Snodgrass

4. Think about the consequences of being unfaithful: judgment. 

1 Corinthians 3:10-15; 4:1-5

“Grace does not end accountability.  Rather, the goal of grace is to create a people who are faithful and zealous in their service for God, Titus 2:11-14.” Darrell Bock

“The Lord wants faithfulness, especially at the level of our interrelationships.  Note the issues Jesus discussed with his disciples just before he went to the cross: the call to love one another (John 13:34-35; 15:9-17), the importance of service over position (Luke 22:24-30). His last prayer before the cross was for the body’s unity (John 17).”  Darrell Bock

5.  Use the church.  

Follow your leaders – 1 Thess. 5:10-12; Hebrews 13:17

Lead with diligence – 1 Peter 5; 1 Timothy; 2 Timothy; Titus

“live in such a way as to honor the Lord and be ready for his return…When that happens, our Lord will assess how we have walked with him, especially in the community of faith…. Do we build up or destroy the saints?  Jesus places a paramount value on how the members of the community relate to each other because in the pressure of ministering in the world, it is crucial to maintain unity.  That is why he parried for unity before going to the cross…. So Jesus calls for faithfulness, especially in how we care for one another while the master is away.”  Darrell Bock