The scripture reading for tonight comes from the Gospel of Luke chapter 12. The Gospel of Luke chapter 12. If you would turn there in your Bibles with me, we can read that together on this old year's night. This very, very cold old year's night. Luke 12 verse 35. Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning. And be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch or in the third and finds them awake, blessed are those servants. but know this that if the master of the house had known and what hour the thief was coming he would not have left his house to be broken into you must also be ready for the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect shall we pray our great god and heavenly father may the words of my mouth and the meditation of all of our hearts here tonight be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. For we are very, very much aware that we are human, that we are frail, that we are dust, and that without your spirit we have no power to comprehend, to understand. And so we ask that your spirit would be here to help us comprehend, to help us understand. And it is in your son's name that we pray amen well brothers and sisters it's that time of year again the time of year when one year comes to a close and another year begins at 12 a.m. this morning we will celebrate the ushering in of the year 2015 did we ever think it would get to this people all over the globe are celebrating tonight i read online that nearly one million people are actually going to gather in sydney australia to see a dazzling firework show in the background of the sydney opera house in new york city the celebrated ball will drop from a flagpole in the midst of times square to shouts and cries from the excited assembly And in my home state of Washington, a grand fireworks show will occur at the Space Needle in Seattle. The whole world is celebrating tonight. But in all the hubbub and in all the excitement of the new year, I think it's appropriate to ask a pointed question. And that question is, why is everyone celebrating? Why is everyone celebrating? The years creep on. The godly ones vanish from the earth, it seems. Immorality is exalted among the children of men. Sinful men rise up against the weak and the oppressed. Everything seems to have gone on as it has since the fall of Adam. The Apostle Peter, in his second epistle, wrote that scoffers would come in the last days. He writes, they will say, where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation. You hear it. I see no evidence that God continues to work. Ever since the fathers died, all the promises of God have seemed to fade off into the years, into time. God's not coming back. As Christians, can we sometimes begin to think this way? At night when we lay down on our beds and we look up at our ceilings, Do we ever think, are God's promises really, really going to come true? We just came out of a season where we celebrated Christ's first advent. When he first came upon the scene of human history as a little child who was laid in a manger. But do you ever think to yourself, that was a long, long time ago. Will there ever be a second advent of Christ? Oh, brothers and sisters, the Lord knows the weaknesses of our flesh. The Lord knows the thoughts that can sometimes cross our minds. And that is why so often in the Gospels and throughout the Bible, there are reminders for us to stay alert. There are reminders to be watchful, to keep ready for the second advent of our Savior. And the reason why there are so many reminders is because we need so much reminding, don't we? Because we easily forget. We quickly forget to live as those who are not simply forgiven and made righteous, but as those who still await the final ending of God's great story. We forget to live as those who look toward the future. And this is what prompts the first verse in our passage. Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning. Here are two commands from the Lord. Stay dressed for action is the first one. Do not be unclothed for battle, but as a Roman soldier ready for battle, keep clothed and be ready. Literally, as you'll see in your footnote in your Bibles, it says, let your loins stay girded. this verse hearkens us back to the first Passover meal that the Israelites ate when they were in Egypt the Lord told the Israelites that they should eat the Passover in this way as those sitting in Egypt waiting for the salvation of the Lord with your belts fastened your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. They were to eat this meal of the Passover, standing ready for the salvation of their God. They're sitting in Egypt waiting. And what did God do for these Israelites who ate that Passover meal as those ready to go? Well, in the single greatest act, redemptive act in the Old Testament, the Lord parted the waters of the Red Sea for his people and they were saved from their bondage and they were saved from their slavery. In our passage, the Lord is saying, be ready to run. Be ready to run towards the salvation that surely awaits you. Just as the Israelites crossed the Red Sea on their way to the Promised Land. That's the first command, stay dressed for action. And the second command is, keep your lamps burning and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast so that they open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. The second command reminds us of the parable of the ten virgins. Remember, there were five wise virgins and there were five foolish virgins. And the five foolish virgins took no extra oil for themselves. And when the master was about to come, their oil was running low. And they run off into the city, but as they're out there in the city getting more oil, The bridegroom comes and he closes the door and the foolish versions were not allowed to enter the wedding feast. They weren't ready for the master to knock on the door. This passage is not saying that you can lose your salvation. It's not saying that the Lord's coming will not be known by everyone. But the Christian sees these words here in our passage, be ready to open the door for your master at the wedding feast. And they say, if this is what my Lord commands, if this is what my Lord who purchased me desires, then I'll be ready. I'll be ready. The Christian man and the Christian woman see the next verse and their hearts are filled with excitement. Verse 37, blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. We know that Jesus could come at any time. That's why he says in verse 38, if he comes in the second watch or in the third and finds them awake, blessed are those servants. The Bible declares that no one knows the day nor the hour when the Son of Man will appear on the clouds. It doesn't tell us. And if anyone thinks they know the day or the hour, make sure that you run away from that person. What is to characterize us as pilgrims? Until that day, until that hour when Christ comes, The Lord who has saved us desires something of us. What is that thing? It's an active anticipation, an eager awaiting of what is to come. To not become sleepy, to not become dazed and confused about the future. To not live as if the Son of Man who purchased us is never going to come back to fulfill what he promised. He says, blessed are those who stay awake, who stay dressed for action. Blessed are those who are not satisfied with what this world has to offer. Blessed are those who are satisfied with nothing less than the promise that the Lord Jesus Christ himself will come back on the clouds just as he left. And he will save us. And he will bring us to himself. That is what is to characterize us now as we wait. But perhaps a question still lingers in our minds. You say, I understand that the Lord has not returned. But why? Why hasn't he returned? Does he not see the evils of this world? Does he not understand the depths of sorrow his people are going through now? Brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus knows every single sorrow. Jesus understands. He puts our tears, the Bible says, in a bottle. He counts every single one. This past week on Sunday, I exhorted on Acts chapter 9 when the Lord says, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? He says, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Jesus counts every sorrow of his people. as his own sorrow, as his own tribulation, as his own distress. The Lord knows, the Lord doesn't forget. But look at verse 39. But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. This past year, my parents actually had their house broken into by thieves. They broke in while they were up in Linden on a Sunday afternoon, and they took a TV, they took a laptop, they took jewelry. And I can assure you of this, if my parents had known that their house was going to be robbed, if they had known that thieves were going to come in and steal, they would have installed a better lock on the mudroom door, which they afterward did. The point is this, if people knew the time of Christ's arrival, no one would be unprepared. No one would fall asleep. The implication here is that the Lord wants some to fall asleep. He wants some to be unprepared. That's the point of coming at a time when no one expects. But the Lord Jesus has counted us here tonight as his friends. He wants us to realize that although we do not know the day or the hour, we ought to be ready. As he says in verse 40, You must also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Everyone else is going to be unprepared. No one is going to be looking in expectation of Christ's second coming, except for the elect. I used to think as a child that if I was thinking about Christ's return at that moment, well, he couldn't come back because it would be a time when I was expecting. But that's not what he means. All Christians desire to set their mind on the time of Christ's coming. He's simply saying we don't know when, we don't know the time, we don't know the hour. I've said here before that Pastor Gordon has a small sign-up in his office that says, perhaps today, perhaps today. That is the fundamental point of the verses before us. Perhaps today, be ready. Is there anything more appropriate on this day before the new year strikes? The world is in a celebration of its own, not expecting the promises of Christ to come true. They are running about not knowing their right hand from their left hand, and suddenly they will perish, the end will come, they'll be unprepared. Make no mistake about it, there is still more redemptive history to come. So you all tonight, be ready, beloved. The one who came as a small baby and died on a cross is coming again. Be ready, beloved. All the tears and all the sorrows that you have cried over the past year and over your lives, over your sins, will come to a swift end. Be ready, beloved. What an exciting day, that second Advent. Day of wonders. be ready, beloved. You'll notice that I skipped a part of a verse in our passage. It was the second part of verse 37. Look there now. Truly I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table and he will come and serve them. To all those who are awake and ready for his coming, who eagerly await the second advent of the Lord Jesus Christ, did you hear what God just said to you? God will dress himself for your service. He's going to ask you as his child to recline at a table with him. And then he, as the Lord of the universe, is going to serve you. Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to sit with Christ and his disciples at the Passover when he broke bread for them? Have you ever thought, what if Christ took my feet in his hands? And what if he wanted to wash my feet in water as he did with the disciples? we would say like Peter, Lord, don't touch my feet. I should be the one washing your feet. But you understand this, that you will get to experience what that will be like. The Lord of the universe will dine with the likes of us and serve us the marriage feast of the Lamb. We who have eagerly awaited his return will sit and be served by the living God. Isn't that good news? Revelation 19 picks up this theme of the marriage supper of the Lamb. Listen to these verses. And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thundering, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory. For the marriage of the lamb has come and his wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright. For the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Brothers and sisters, I bid you in this coming year and through the rest of our lives that the Lord decides to tarry, be ready. Keep your lamps burning with the grace of God that he has given to you. Be dressed for armor that the Lord himself has provided for you. Do you see that he's given you everything that you need? Do you remember that passage where Paul talks about the armor of God? In fact, I'm going to turn there now to Ephesians chapter 6, verses 13 to 15. Ephesians 6. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand firm. Stand, therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. the readiness given by the gospel of peace. Ultimately, what makes us ready, what makes us eagerly anticipate his return is the gospel. And what this means is that as we think on the gospel and we think on what happened so long ago when Christ died on the cross, when Christ rose and when Christ ascended, that merely should pull our eyes up and help us to look forward to the horizon, to eagerly anticipate the second advent of Jesus Christ when he will come again. All human history will come to an end under the fall of Adam. Always be watching, for the Lord Jesus Christ himself will come again. Will you pray with me? Lord, at times in our busy lives, And around this holiday season, with all the excitement, we can get pulled into ourselves. We can be turned in upon ourselves. And we can begin to forget those promises that you have told us about a heavenly city and a heavenly dwelling. And the new Jerusalem, Lord, that is going to come on Judgment Day, that day of wonders. That day of hope that Christians long for. Would you help the people here, Lord, to be ready for that day, to keep their lamps trimmed and burning, and to be dressed for action as those waiting for their master to come to the door and knock. Strengthen these saints here. Strengthen all of us in this coming year. It's in your son's name that we pray. Amen.