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I want to start by reminding you that life is precious. It is a gift and it is temporary. A man I became familiar with last year slipped into eternity this week at the age of 54. He is with Christ now. But this reminds us all to come out of our foolishness, to make the most of every day, and to be thankful for all we have been given—above all, life and breath and opportunities like these holy gatherings.
We are in the final moments of one of the most important series in our journey through Matthew. We are walking through the final actions and final words of our Lord Jesus Christ. And final words are very important—especially the final words of the one you call Lord and Savior. These are the words we are studying this morning from Matthew 24:36–51, and these are not just final words, but prophetic words.
As I laid on the floor in my prayer closet this morning, crying out to God, I was reminded by the Holy Spirit that there is nothing you're hearing right now anywhere that is more important than the words and teachings of Christ in this hour. There is no labor, no activity, nothing you're doing with your life that is more important than the things directly connected to the will of God and the words of Christ for your life.
There is nothing more tragic than people who will sit in gatherings like this or watch for years with folded arms and closed hearts, thinking this is only a show, a box to check off to ease your conscience. And there is nothing worse than to watch self-deceived Christians who have ignored the teachings of God's word, ignored the warnings—who will sit in churches for years and then wake up on the other side of eternity hearing, "You sat in gatherings, but I never knew you. You played church, but I never knew you."
Our text begins with Christ saying in Matthew 24:36:
"Concerning that day and hour, no one knows—not even the angels of heaven, nor the son, but the father only."
The Lord says that concerning the exact day and hour of His return, no one knows. The angels do not know. Not even the Son knows what He said.
Here is what is critical: Prior to this verse, the Lord gave us signs of the end of the age and His coming so that we will know the season in which He would return. We will know the time frame. We will know the atmosphere of the earth. We know these things. But we do not know the exact day and hour.
The rapture of the church will happen next. It can happen next week, next year, next month. After the rapture, the antichrist comes to power. He will rule a ten-nation European confederacy and dominate the whole world. He will sign a seven-year peace treaty with Israel. Halfway through, he will break it, desecrate the temple, and set up an idol for all people to worship him as God.
The Lord then will execute His wrath on the world, pouring out all the bowls, vials, judgments, and trumpets we see in the book of Revelation. And then immediately after that time of seven years, the Lord will return.
Although we know these things will happen according to the scriptures, what we don't know is the exact day and what we don't know is the exact hour. But we know that He will come. He will return. As soon as the tribulation is over, as soon as the seven years are over, it could be a day after, a week after, thirty days after—but right after those seven years, on a day we don't know and an hour we don't know, the Lord will return.
This verse debunks everybody who has made prophecies about the day He would return. Any man that rises up and says Jesus will return on this day, in this year, at this hour is a false prophet. It does not matter their title, platform, or age. Christ said from His own mouth: "Of that day and of that hour, no man knows. No angelic being knows. Angels cannot whisper to anyone in a dream and say an angel came to me in a vision and told me that on this day, in this year, in this month, Christ will return. You have lied. You have been visited by a demon, but not by an angel—because the angels don't know."
But the next part is profound: He says not even the Son knows. How could this be? Christ, who was God in the flesh, did not know the day He would return. How could this be if He is God? If He is God, He is all-knowing. So how could He not know?
I believe the kenosis of Philippians 2 solves this question. Paul wrote to the church in Philippi and said, "When Christ came from glory, He emptied Himself"—in Greek, the kenosis—"of some of His divine nature so that He could fully step into humanity to understand what it's like to be a human like you and me."
The evidence that He emptied Himself is that He needed to pray just like you. He fasted to get near God just like you. He did not perform a miracle until He returned from prayer and fasting in the power of the Spirit, just like you can. And so I believe in His humanity—like Luke saw—when he was young, Luke said He grew in wisdom and in stature with the Father and with men. If He's growing, that means there are things He's learning as He's growing.
Because He was fully human, just like you, He had to pray just like you, had to fast just like you, so He could understand all the trials and temptations just like you. For this reason, the Scripture says you should not be afraid to pray.
The unknown writer of Hebrews says: "We have a high priest who understands everything that you go through." For this reason, you should stop being phony and just come to Him boldly.
When should you come boldly? In times of need, mercy, and grace. When your heart is hurting, come boldly. When your mind is heavy, come boldly. When you're battling insecurities, come boldly. When your marriage is in trouble, come boldly. When you have financial needs, come boldly. When you're battling lust, come boldly. When you're bound by addiction, come boldly. When you feel ashamed, come boldly. When you feel unworthy, come boldly.
Why are you hiding from Him when He knows everything you're going through? When you've fallen and missed it, come boldly. When you've sinned and made mistakes, come boldly. When you've drifted from Him, come boldly. When you stop reading, come boldly. When you stop praying, come boldly. When you stop going to church, come back boldly.
It's the lies of the devil that keep you out of His presence. I don't care how bad I messed it up. I'm going to keep running back to the One who told me I should come to Him boldly. "Therefore, there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ." It does not matter how bad you mess up. You can return to Him. How? Boldly.
I believe that while He was on the earth, He was a man like you and me. And for that reason, He did not know at the time He said this—in this context—the day or the hour. But I do believe now that He's seated at the right hand of the Father, He probably knows the day and the hour, His hand on the doorknob of eternity, just waiting for the Father to say, "Go now."
Considering all of that, what should be the posture of man? We are not looking for Him. We are not expecting Him. But He tells us what will be the posture of man. Verse 37:
"For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage."
I want to draw your attention to three massive truths in that verse. First, the Lord Jesus from His own mouth confirms the historicity of Noah and a global flood. He did not talk about Noah like he was a myth. He did not talk about the flood like it was a myth. Jesus confirmed the existence of Noah and the existence of a global flood as read in Genesis 6 through 9.
When we hear people mock that historical account, we have to decide: Is that fool credible, or is Christ credible? One of them is a liar, and it sure ain't Christ. Atheists tell us all the time, "That was just mythological. There was no global flood." But Jesus confirms the historicity of Noah as a human being and the historicity of a global flood. That means they happened.
Do you know the world right now is scarred with evidence of a global flood? The scripture says "the fountains of the deep broke open," leaving all around the planet massive cracks in the floor for water to come up and rise. Scientists have found plankton at the top of mountains—an organism that only grows underwater. The Scripture says the waters rose above the highest mountain. The ship came to rest on the mountains of Ararat in the Middle East. The bottom of that ship has been found. They have found petrified wood, petrified iron, and an anchor stone with the names of eight people on it.
The Lord said there was a firmament, a ground between the waters above and the waters beneath. That means at one point in history, there was a layer of water that wrapped the whole world that is no longer there. That's where all that rain came from to fill the earth above the highest mountain. That water probably protected people from aging too fast. That's why they lived for 400, 500, 600, 800 years. After the flood, the lifespan of man went all the way down, dealing with that hot sun with no water.
The second thing I want you to know from this text is that Noah was 500 years old when the Lord told him to build that ship. If you read the narrative, he was 600 when they entered the ark, which means he spent a hundred years of his life building a ship. He died at 950. This is equivalent to you spending a decade of your life obeying God to do one thing while people don't understand.
He's building a ship on dry ground for 100 years when they never saw rain. They're probably mocking him, scoffing at him, laughing at him. What are you doing? He had to listen to people not understand his obedience, but he had a word from the Lord.
This is why you need to just obey God even when people don't understand. They don't know why you moved to a new city to be part of a church. They don't know why you walked away from that job. They don't know why you started that business, that ministry, that podcast. They don't understand why you stopped doing what you used to do. They don't know why you don't mess with crystals anymore. They don't know why you don't mess with horoscopes anymore. They don't know why you go to church faithfully or why you serve on a team or why you give your money to the church.
The Lord didn't call you to be understood. He called you to be obedient. I know this personally. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry tries to mock me, spend all their time making videos about me, wasting all their breath while I'm out here preparing the way for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Go ahead, keep making your videos. When it's all said and done, we will see what legacy you left and what legacy I left. I'm too busy about my Father's business.
The third thing I want you to know about this text is that the Scripture says in Second Peter 2:5 that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. That means those hundred years he was building, he was preaching. Building, preaching. Building, preaching. Building, preaching. Being ignored. Preaching. Being ignored. Until the day the first drop of rain fell, the water started rising, and then people are everywhere banging on the door of the ark like, "Let us in. Let us in. The water's rising. Let us in."
No. You should have heard the warning before it began to rain. Why weren't you listening when you were in church? Why were you ignoring the proclamation of God's word?
He said in the days of Noah, men were marrying, drinking, giving in marriage—they were doing life preoccupied with everything outside of God, outside of His word, outside of warning. They were busy doing everything we do now. Just doing life. No Christ. Doing life. No God. "I'm doing my own thing. Building my own thing. Getting ambitions for my own thing. This is my life."
They were busy doing everything except the will of God. And He says it will be the same way in the end—until men are swept away in judgment.
Why? You spent your whole life doing what you wanted to do. You never did what God called you to do, which is just be faithful to His word until you take your last breath and are swept away in judgment. Busy but not fruitful.
Like I can't get a hold of you. "Hey, I'm busy." Busy doing what? Building your own kingdom, but not His.
Verse 40:
"Then two men will be in the field. One will be taken and one will be left. Then two women will be grinding at the mill. One will be taken and one will be left."
Many of you have read this and commentators read this and they think they're talking about the rapture. But the Lord can't be talking about the rapture because He's talking about when He comes back. The rapture happens at the beginning of the tribulation period.
The Scripture says in Revelation 3:10, "We shall not see that day of wrath." The church is raptured before the tribulation period.
Look at the book of Revelation. Revelation 1, 2, and 3, the Lord is talking to the church. Revelation 4, He tells John, "Come up hither." Then you see no mention of the Christian church from chapter 5 until chapter 19. The only thing you see is God dealing with Israel and the outpouring of His wrath during the tribulation period. Then in chapter 19, you see Jesus at the marriage supper of the lamb with the church—who was there for seven years—returning with them behind Him on horses.
That means the church was raptured before the tribulation period, an event that can happen at any day now. He's not going to take us up to bring us right back down at the end. That doesn't make any sense.
So this is not about the rapture. The verb here, "taken," means taken in judgment. Which means when the Lord comes, one man will be taken in judgment. Another man will be left. One woman will be taken in judgment. Another woman will be left.
When He comes, He will remove people who were against Him, remove people who are not saved. And those who remain will enter into the millennial kingdom He's coming to establish. The verb for taken is taken in judgment—not taken to the sky, but taken towards hell.
Which means when He comes, He will settle everyone's account.
Because people will be caught off guard, look what He says next. Because people are going to go to church their whole life and be sleeping. Look what He says next. Verse 42:
"Therefore, stay awake. For you do not know on what day your Lord is coming."
Therefore, stay awake. Live every day with expectation of the coming of the Lord.
How do you stay awake?
Is it just church, or is it a relationship? I'm tired of American Christians just in and out of church. Christmas and Resurrection Sunday. Check off the box two times a month. No relationship. I'm trying to help you. Stay awake.
Now, He strengthens His admonition to stay awake with a simple story. Verse 43:
"But know this, that if the master of that house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore, you also must be ready when the Lord comes, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."
He said, "Man, if a person had a house and knew that at 3:00 in the morning a thief was going to break in, man, he would be ready for that thief." I know we're in Georgia, so I know we're licensed to carry. We got guns everywhere. If you knew at exactly 3:00 a.m. somebody was coming to break into your house, you'd be sitting on the steps with the shotgun. You got the pistol right next to you. Got the AK next to you. Waiting right there. You're going to be ready.
I'm from New York. I live in Georgia now. I got guns everywhere—on all the floors. First floor, second floor, basement. You better not come at my house at 2:00 in the morning. I'm going to be ready for you. If you knew somebody was coming at 4:34, you would be ready.
The point He's trying to make is: I already told you I'm coming. Get ready when? Now. While you're waiting to get right. While you're waiting to be obedient, why are you waiting to be faithful? Why are you waiting to serve? Why are you waiting to give? Why are you waiting to pray? Be ready when? Now.
And because people are not ready now, the rapture will happen and people will enter into the tribulation because they're not ready. That might happen in our lifetime. I could be talking right now and five years from now, some of you sitting in this room end up in the tribulation because you were not ready for the rapture. And then seven years later, you still won't get right and will not be ready for the return of Christ. It could all happen in our lifetime.
And He closes with a contrast. Verse 45:
"Who then is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has set over all his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is the servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions."
The Lord says, "Who then is the faithful and wise servant? A person who is ready is faithful and wise." And then look at the words carefully so you don't miss this. He said, "Who is over his household?" That word "his" is very important, meaning He prototypes every servant as a steward—which means no one owns anything.
And He says, "Who will be a faithful steward when I come?" That is: Who will be a faithful steward over your time? Over your money? Don't want to pay your bills. Don't want to come out of debt. Don't want to do right with your money. Your time. Who will be faithful with their time, their money, their relationships, their opportunities, their assignments?
Do you know everything under your possession you are a steward for? That means your whole life is a test of stewardship. You get your little seventy years here, your little eighty years here—that's nothing compared to eternity. And what we have right now is a moment to show the Father that everything you've put in my hand, I can faithfully steward this.
Watch how I handle my spouse. Watch how I handle my children. Watch how I handle my check and my job. Watch how I handle my bills and my debt. Watch how I handle my opportunities. Watch how I handle my staff position at the job. Watch how I handle my time. Watch how I handle everything. Watch how I steward my relationships. This is all a test. Your whole life is only a test of stewardship.
Some of you are going to be in the shock of your life when you die. The Lord says, "Because I'm coming, will I find faithful men and women when I come? Will I find you being a good steward over everything I entrusted to you—temporarily? It is not yours.
And then He says, "Watch, if I come and find you being a good steward—watch your little money now, your little check you're fighting over that you don't give your little portion to the church, your little job now, your little 401k, your little few million dollars you have in the bank, your little opportunities, your temporary assignment to just be a good usher, be a good preacher, be a good [whatever]—all of that, your little temporary—if you be faithful, I will set you over all of my possessions in the afterlife.
You're fighting for titles now instead of serving humbly and being a good steward humbly so that you can be reigning with Christ for eternity, and you will never understand that.
I know in America you don't understand that because you're clamoring for all this stuff. Your heart is too tethered to these temporary things. It's why you fight over your little check. It's why you don't support the church. It's why you don't stay out. You don't care for your opportunities. It's why you're not faithful with your assignments. It's why you're not faithful with your life. Your heart is too tethered to right now.
It's why you can't see it's only a test. Don't say when you arrive that you were not told. I told you today—all of this is only a test. It's maturity that begins to release your heart from being so attached to the things of this life.
There are a lot of things I can do and I don't do because I'm being a good steward. There are a lot of things I could buy and I don't buy because I'm being a good steward. It's only a test. Your heart is too attached to now—that's why you can't see the greater blessing of the future.
I, Philip Anthony Mitchell, would not be caught slipping. I want to be a good steward over everything He has entrusted to me.
You don't like that. You don't want to be told you're a steward. You don't want to be told that you're not an owner of anything. Your little check, your little bank account, your little 401k, your little few million dollars, your little couple thousand dollars, your little house, your little car, your little girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, wife, children. You don't want to be told your story. You want to say, "It's mine. I'm going to do what I want." You don't want the blessings. You don't want that part.
All right. So you want the last part. That's what you want. Verses 48 to 51.
"But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed. The Lord ain't coming no time soon. I got all this time to get right.' And begins to beat his fellow servants—taking advantage of other people—and eats and drinks with the drunkards, 'I'm just going to live a cool life and put my foot up.' The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. And he will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites because that's what you are."
When you call yourself a Christian and don't live as a steward, you die and end up a hypocrite. In that place, He confirms the existence of hell. There will be on that day the shock of people's lives, weeping and gnashing of teeth.
There are going to be many people who have gone to church, gone to conferences, read books—who are going to die because you were a poor steward. You were not ready. You were not watching. You were not awake. You're going to die and wake up in eternity thinking you were okay, only to hear, "Depart from me."
So, well, how could that happen to a real Christian? Well, it can't—because every real believer will take His words. You can't be filled with the Spirit, hear the teachings of Christ, and not care. My question for you is: Are you really saved? Because if you feel no conviction through proclamation, then maybe the Spirit of God is not in there.
On Thursday and Friday of this week, my wife and I celebrated 21 years of marriage, and our staff gave us a gift to Chateau Elon. So we went out and we ate food and had a little glass of wine and walked the grounds. We saw how they made their juices and their wines and took tours and walked. We went to the spa together. But on the last day we were walking back to the hotel and saw a woman in the parking lot. When she saw me, her eyes lit up bright and tears fell from her eyes. She ran up to me and said, "Pastor, is that really you? Is that really you, pastor?"
She said, "My name is Emily. I'm a digital disciple. I live in so and so state." And she began to weep and cry. She said, "Thank you for your ministry and thank you for 2819 and thank you for the spread of the gospel."
With tears in her eyes, she looked up at the sky and she said, "Pastor, I'm waiting for the day when my Savior cracks the sky." And she cried and I cried and Lena cried.
This is what God wants for all of His children. He wants you to live with an expectation of His coming. He wants you to long for Him. And there are too many of you who will never feel what Emily felt because you're doing everything other than intimacy with Christ.
You cannot tell me you're intimate with Him and you don't want to see Him. God, our hope is not wrath. Our hope is not the tribulation. My hope is that one day I will see the One who saved me. How do you not desire that?
What do you have now in this life that is more precious than being with Christ? Not my ministry. Not this platform. Not a million people following me on Instagram. Not the money I have in the bank. There is nothing I possess that's more valuable than the day I will be united with my Savior.
The more time I spend in prayer and the more time I spend in His word and the closer I get to Him, the more I want to be with Him. How do you not desire that? You don't desire that because your heart is full of everything other than Christ.
Emily is what the Lord wants for us. He wants us to long to see Him, desire to see Him. He wants you driving to work and staring at the clouds and saying, "One day I'm going to be with you beyond those clouds. One day I will sit at the marriage supper of the lamb. One day I will cast my crown at your feet. One day you will redeem me from my suffering, my labor, my tears, my issues, my problems, my sin."
That is the reward. You think the reward is a platform? Come on, man. You think this is glory? You think this is the reward? You think getting to some place financially is the reward. You think buying your dream house is the reward. You think getting married is the reward. What is this? It's a temporary service.
I'm only a servant. My reward is that I will be able to say with Paul, "I fought the good fight. I kept the faith. I finished my race"—not yours. Stop all that jealousy and covetousness. Finish your race.
And now there is a crown laid up for me, and He's going to put it on me because I was faithful. Now, while you all are playing church, I'm going to take that crown and I'm going to lay it at His feet. I'm going to look at my robe that's been stained in His blood and be thankful for the endless ages of eternity for what Christ has done for me.
Saved me from my sins. Allowed me to be in His kingdom. Gave me access to His presence. Gave me His word. Gave me His Spirit. Gave me community. Gave me opportunities. Signed my name in the Book of Heaven. The Book of Life.
What is going to be greater than that? You have nothing in this life that is greater than that. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. You have nothing in this life that is greater than that. Nothing you're going after is going to be greater than that. Not your dream. Not your visions. Not your ambitions. You have nothing you're pursuing that's going to be greater than that.
So I long for Him. I do. These fools don't know me. I long for Him. I think about the day I will see Him. I'll be in my prayer closet imagining the day I will see His face. I will look into His eyes and He will melt my soul because His eyes are like a blazing fire.
Now, with every head bowed and every eye closed, there are people in this room right now, people watching across this camera—and I don't care. Listen carefully.
You are far away from God. You've been playing church, playing conference, playing all these things—far away. You're going to get swept away and be banging on the door of the ark, and it's going to be shut.
But the Lord, not wanting you to perish, sent His Son, nailed Him to a cross. He died for your sin, dead in mine. He says if anyone would turn from their sin, put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, shall be saved. He knew this day was coming for you.
I don't even know what else you need but a full surrender. If I'm talking to you, this is the moment. Start praying right there in your heart, right there in your seat. "Lord, forgive me for my sins. I surrender my life to you. No more playing around. All of me for all of You. Surrender. Surrender."
You may not get this chance next week. Surrender. You are among His elect. He already knew this day was coming. Surrender.
Christians, you're not watching. We're not playing around. People are headed to hell.
Nobody can see but me. And if that's you and you just surrendered and you're saying, "Preacher, I want you to pray for me now," on the count of three, I just want you to throw your hands up. I just want to see who I'm praying for. One. The Lord was calling you. Two. Today is the day of salvation. Three. Lift your hands in the air.
Oh my God. Oh my God. Hundreds of hands everywhere. Probably across this camera. Leave them up. Oh my God. Put your hands down.
Father, I pray for everybody now. I thank you that by the power of Your Holy Spirit, you are saving them, bringing them into the kingdom. You are writing their name in the Lamb's Book of Life. You are washing them from their sins. You are making them sons and daughters. They belong to you. Fill them with Your Spirit. Lead them down the paths of righteousness. Let them run after you with their whole heart and not look back. I thank you that they are being saved and will persevere until the end.
And then, Father, I pray for everyone else who are my brothers and sisters—that you would pour out in our souls a longing for you. We would live with an expectation of Your coming. We would desire you more than anything else in this life. Deliver our hearts from being overly tethered to these temporary things.
I say you pour out on us, Lord, a spirit of stewardship. And from this day forward, let us be found faithful stewards when you come—over our time, our relationships, our opportunities, our assignments, our money, our resources, everything. Let us be faithful stewards, living with an expectation, praying, serving, giving, pushing the gospel forward in these last days because time is running out. I pray that over us in the mighty and the majestic and the matchless name of our Lord and Savior.
