Matthew 2024

It is 36 to 51, and you can find that on page 994 of the church bibles.

But about that day or hour, no 1 knows. Not even the angels in heaven nor the son, but only the father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the son of man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day, Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the son of man.

2 men will be in the field. 1 will be taken and the other left. 2 women will be grinding with a hand mill, 1 will be taken and the other left. Therefore, keep watch because you do not know on what day your lord will come. But understand this.

If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, He would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready because the son of man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Who then is the faithful and wise servant? Whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time. It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.

Truly, I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, my master is staying away a long time, and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the Hippocrits where they'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Well, good evening.

My name is Pete Woodcock. I'm 1 of the pastors of the church. If this is your first time here or first time online. Great great to have you. We're going through Matthews's gospel.

We're looking at the words of Jesus. This is 1 of his well, this is his last sermon to his disciples before he goes to the cross. And It's amazing stuff. So we're slowing down. We're looking at these passages, and there's lots of parables, that we're gonna go through in the coming weeks as well.

So an an amazing passage. Can I just say if you just have a look on your tables, I just put a couple of these on your tables just to have a look at? Because this is coming up in November. It's something called lost in a lost world. And, we've hired a church building in the center of Kingston.

To do this for after school kids? Is it year 10? Year 10 and up, and even university students, could come to this. We we're we're really looking forward to this because we're gonna open up the parable of the lost son, if you if you know that story. But we're really sort of focusing in on who is god, who am I, what is life about, what's the future about based on that, on that, wonderful, parable story that Jesus tells, outstanding story.

And we'll have some testimonies in there and and stuff like that. So it's it's the Fridays in November, and it's that's coming up soon. And I'm really excited by this. So the schools have taken lots of schools have taken these leaflets it'll be terrific, to get young people in there to hear the word of god. We are so lost.

People are so lost and, you know, they are lost in a lost world. And, I mean, that fray I based that phrase on an old song, called lost in a lost world, and the bloke who wrote it, it died last week. So it's quite it's it's quite interesting. And, it's it's it's just a very, very powerful song, but it's very powerful theme as well. People are lost, and, we should be moved by that.

So let's be take 1 home, pray, pray about it, and see if you, you know, god will give you an opportunity to give 1 out to a young person as well. That will be great. Let me pray. Father help us now as we look into your word, there are some straight words here from the lord Jesus Christ himself. Help us to accept them and listen to them and heed them.

We pray in Jesus' name. Now today is a a pretty ordinary Sunday. It's a very ordinary Sunday in October. It's drizzly weather out there. It's getting dark, isn't it in the mornings now, you know, and, with the clock are gonna go back.

It's just an ordinary Sunday in the UK, really. And today, people will eat or have eaten. Some have done a nice roast dinner if their traditionalists fired up the oven, put the chicken in, or the lump of meat, or whatever it is. Some have chucked something in a microwave and heated some horrible thing up and eaten that. It's a it's an average day in the UK.

And an average day in the UK means that we consume 6052 tons of meat. And that includes, 2200000.0 chickens, that we've eaten today. We we eat 1260 tons of fish a day in this country and 35000 tons of vegetables. So they're gonna we're very healthy people. Today, people will drink.

What they do. They boil the kettle. And if you're 1 of those who drinks tea, we're among, the tea drinkers that have used 350 tons of tea today. If you, amongst the ones that drink coffee, then you're amongst the ones that have drunk, 940 tons of coffee. That's today.

This extraordinary, isn't it? And this week has been made up of ordinary days like that. You know, Monday, 2200000.0 chickens, Tuesday, 2200000.0 chickens, Wednesday, maybe 2300000.0 chickens, get a bit hungry, and and off it goes. Every single day. Yesterday was an ordinary Saturday.

And although it's October, people were marrying and being given in marriage and giving in marriage. In last week's sermon, if you were here, we were seeing the characteristics of the last days before Jesus Christ comes back to judge the world. And they were wars. These are the characteristics. And rumors of wars, and persecutions, as we've just seen, of god's people.

There's an increase in immorality. These devastating things are happening in the world, and they're signs. God has given them as signs. When these happen, you should see the sign, and the sign is saying that we're living in the end days. And Jesus could come back at any time.

But strangely, even with all of these devastating things that are so clearly around us that you cannot deny, and all those horrible things that are going on, people just get on with ordinary life as an ordinary day, as if it's just an ordinary day going on, eating, drinking, going to weddings, scrolling, whatever it is they do. And this is the point that Jesus is making in this section. This is his big point in this section. Judge comes, the end comes on an ordinary day. When you're eating and drinking and marrying and scrolling.

Look at verse 37 of of our of our text in Matthew 24. As it was in the days of Noah, so he takes us back to that story of Noah and the flood. So it will be at the coming of the son of man. That's Jesus. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage.

Up to the day, noah entered the ark. And they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the son of man. 2 men will be in a field. 1 will be taken, the other left.

2 women will be grinding with a hand mill. 1 will be taken on the other left. You see what he's saying? People go into Tesco. People have, you know, got their Uber deliveries.

People are carrying on shopping. People are working, doing their ordinary work in the field. Brides are having their hair's the hair done. Brides are trying out their wedding dress. For, their wedding on Saturday, people are endlessly scrolling through their social media platforms, and that is exactly what the people were doing in Noah's Day.

A world that was then destroyed by the flood, and only 8 people survived because only 8 people listened, and only 8 people were ready. And only 8 people acted on the warnings. Only 8 were ready. Everybody else was doing what? Just living an ordinary day.

Eating drinking, marrying, scrolling, then suddenly they're taken away. And on that ordinary day says, Jesus, I will return. On an ordinary day, And when I return, it'll be too late for you to repent. It'll too be too late for you to get right with god. It's done.

You've had your time. It'll be too late. On an ordinary day, like today, just like today. All those people back in noah's day ignored the massive arc. 1 of the, you know, biggest illustrations that any preacher has ever made.

It took him a hundred and 20 years to make the thing. This is a hundred and 20 year illustration, plus 7 more days after the hundred and 20 years, leave the door open. And people got on, eating, drinking, marrying, being given in marriage, So don't be fooled. Don't be fooled. You've had the signs.

The signs are there. So don't be fooled. This is that it could be it could be now. It's an ordinary day. And it will affect ordinary people.

Look at verse 42 men will be in a field. 1 will be taken the other left. 2 women will be grinding with a hand mill, 1 will be taken the other left. 2 men just doing their ordinary day's work, 2 women doing their ordinary day's work, going about their ordinary day's business, 1 will be taken the other left. I noticed that by the way, the word taken is the same as, took them all on the flood.

You know, we we all we all we we often think, and I think a lot of Christians think that that the 1 taken is taken up to to heaven, but actually no. The 1 taken is taken to judgment. That's what Jesus is saying, like they were at the flood. Suddenly overtook them the flood. And suddenly they're taken.

And the difference between the 2 women and the 2 men, the difference between them is how have they responded to Jesus. Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you? Are you ready for the judgment day?

Are you ready to meet Jesus? Are you where you wanna be? Will he know you when he sees you or he say depart from me? Are you ready? That's what Jesus is asking.

Look at verse 42. Just to rub it in, therefore, keep watch. Because do you know, you do not know what day your lord will come. He's the lord. And he's your lord, whether whether you like it or not, he's your lord, he's your master.

You don't know when he's gonna come, but understand this. If the owner of the house had known at what time of night, the thief was coming, he would have kept watch. And would not have let his house be broken into. It's a very illustration simple illustration, isn't it? A burglar that's coming to your house right now.

Why? Because you're not there. Yeah? If you knew the burglar was just smashing the window, and opening it up and coming into your house. If you knew he was going to do that now, you wouldn't be here.

You would might send a little note saying, hey, listen. There's a burglar coming. You'd certainly go down to the police and say, I know a burglar is coming. They probably wouldn't come, of course. But, you know, it's such a simple illustration.

If you knew someone was going to take everything you own, was going to plunder your property and all that your own own. You wouldn't just let it happen. But when it comes to judgment day, you're careless. When it comes to the day when everything you own and this earth will be taken away, you're careless. You don't care why because you don't believe it.

You really don't believe it. Why don't you believe it? Well, because you're so taken up with today, eating, drinking, getting the next portion of chicken. So of course, you're not ready. Of course, they weren't ready for the flood.

Because they didn't really believe it was going to happen. That's a bit like death, isn't it? You don't really believe it's gonna happen, but it is. A hundred percent statistic. There's a hundred percent chance you're going to die.

Yeah. A hundred percent. And when is it gonna happen? On an ordinary day. Like today when you've just eaten your 2200000.0 chickens.

So that's 1 reason. Why people aren't ready because they simply just don't believe. But Jesus now goes on to deal with those who would claim to be believers or claim to be followers of god. And there are millions and millions of people, of course, that claim to be some kind of Christian or some kind of follower of god. But the question he's asking them is, are they ready or are we ready?

Are we ready for the sudden appearing of Jesus? So Jesus gives a whole series of parables that we're gonna look at some of them today and and and then in the subsequent weeks, a series of parables where he's really speaking to people that are obviously not believers in the real sense but think they are followers of Jesus. So they think they're okay. That's what he's giving to now. And he gives these these parables, these stories to make us examine ourselves to see whether we really are ready.

To meet the lord of glory, the lord Jesus Christ when he comes with his judgment throne. And it's interesting, of course, 1 of 1 of the original heroes of this sermon was a man called Judith. So remember that. This is now for those who think their followers like he did. And he's making them say, are you really ready?

Let me show you whether you're ready or not. So we come to the first parable in that section, verse 45. Who then is the faithful and wise servant whom the master is put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time. It will be good for the servant whose master finds him doing doing so when he returns. Truly, I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

So there's 1 that 1 servant, he's a good servant, he's doing what he's told, and god says, well, he's gonna be re rewarded. Verse 48. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, my master is staying away a long time. And he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him.

And in an hour, he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. Where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. I think he's talking to the faithful here because they're hypocrites. The the the the people that think they're faithful.

But they're hypocrites. They're not. So let's deal with this parable. Let's just just look at these 2 different servants. First of all, the faithful and the wise servant, and the parable begins with that that servant who does his job, does his job properly.

The master's gone away. He doesn't know when the master's coming back. But he gets on with doing his duty. He gets on It's very clear he he's to give food to the other servants. So he's like a sort of ruling servant of a household, and he is himself to serve the servants.

That's his job. The food's not his. It's the master's food. The house isn't his. It's the master's house.

In fact, nothing the servant owes his. Even the servant is the master's. So Is he going to serve the master when you can't see the master? When he's not in sight, when he's been away for a long time. You're not sure when he's returning.

Is he doing his job out of sight of the master, or at least he doesn't think the master can see him. But he carries on with his job. That's it. And in this first case, he's faithful and he's wise and he goes about his ordinary daily duty doing it as if the master was there, but the master isn't there. He's a faithful man.

He's doing his ordinary day's work. Faithfully. And then verse 48, it will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. So it's not hard to understand this, is it? Those who love the master, those who are ready for the return of the master, are those who serve their fellow servants.

That's what he's saying. Does that make sense? Those who serve their fellow servants, and in this case Christians, those who are about building Christians up, caring for the household of the master, caring for the household of god, Those who are doing that job, even when they cannot see the master around, and it feels like he's far away, those who just carry on doing the very ordinary event of caring and loving and feeding his fellow servants, those are the ones who are ready at any time for the master to return. Verse 48 again, it will be good for the servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. Truly, I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

This faithful 1 who's been who's been faithfully responsible for his ordinary everyday life as if the master was there, even though he isn't, who's been faithful in doing his job, caring for for There's other servants of the master, other Christians. He's just ordinarily doing that. That 1 is ready always for the master is return. Just look at the end of this big sermon. It's called the it's called the sermon on the Mount of Olives.

But just go to Matthew 20 25. I'm not taking away from the broker who's gonna be preaching this, which may well be me. I don't know. Matthew 25, 34 to 40. Just look at this.

Just to see the sort of things that he's doing in an ordinary day. Then the king will say to those on his right, come. You who are blessed by my father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink.

I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes, and you clothed me. I was tick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you and thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and and invite you in or needing clothes and clothes you?

When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? The king replied, truly, I tell you, whatever you did for 1 of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it for me. This is ordinary stuff. Ordinary caring for brothers and sisters. When a bro when those brothers are in prison or they've been smashed on the head by their wife and are unconscious, when you care for the the little ones, when you care for the brothers and sisters, a cup of water, a chicken leg, or some food.

When you're doing ordinary things caring for the brothers and sisters in the household of god, you're doing it for god. That's a beautiful thing, isn't it? It's worth getting that in our minds. So how do you know you're ready for the return of the lord Jesus Christ? When in your ordinary daily life, you're serving brothers and sisters.

You're doing not not necessarily spectacular things. You're doing the ordinary things. You're caring. You're feeding. You're teaching at Sunday school.

You're teaching little children about the lord Jesus Christ. You're feeding them the bread of life. That's your ordinary day's life. In an ordinary day, you're about the business of caring for brothers and sisters and little ones. That takes up your mind.

That takes up your thinking. That's your ordinary day's life. It's not extraordinary. And if you're doing that stuff, if you're thinking like that, in your ordinary day's life. If that's your ordinary day, you're ready for the return of Christ because you're about the kingdom.

So that's the faithful servant. Well, let's look at the wicked 1 and the bulk of the parable is a bit of warning against the faithful a faithless servant. And the cause of his wick wickedness is is practical disbelief that the master's gonna come back. Cause where is he? I mean, where is Jesus?

It's taking a long time, isn't it? It's 2000 years, isn't it? Since he said this stuff? Where is he? They've got confidence that he's not around and he's not seeing anything.

I I don't know what your school is like, but when I was at school, as soon as the headmaster went out of the out of the classroom, chaos. Yeah? And the longer the mar the the the the headmaster or the teacher was away, the more chaos there was. We were so thick. We never thought, well, he's been away, you know, 15 minutes.

He's bound to be coming back now. Oh, no. He's been away 15 minutes. Let's do more stuff. Yeah.

Let's go more crazy. You know, just chuck another table. I mean, that's when I in our school, that's the sort of thing we're doing. That's I remember when mister Sefton, who was our, I don't know why I'm telling you this story, really. I shouldn't be.

Mister Sefton, who was our history teacher. It was 1 of the most boring men I've ever met in my life. Sorry, bloke. Sorry, mate. If you're listening, but I doubt it because you must be ancient.

But, you know, we we we we fixed it because he went out the room so that the the the the cupboard with all the history books in when he opened it would fall on him and all the books would fall on him because he'd been away for so long. And then when he came back, he opened the thing, the whole thing fell on him. But, anyway, that's the sort of thing you do, isn't it? Because you're you're convinced you'll get away with it. You think that he's not here.

They're not they're not not around, so we can do what we like. And no one's watching me so I can do what I like. Look at verse, 48. But supposed a servant is wicked, and he says to himself, my master is staying away a long time. He's that's his inner thinking that Jesus has put us into.

He's wicked He hasn't become wicked. He wasn't a faithful servant that became wicked. He he's all about pleasing himself. He's convincing himself, speaking to himself, reminding himself that he has all the time in the world. And not only is he, you know, forgotten to feed the other servants, he's deliberately not feeding them.

He lacks faithfulness to the master, because he's not committed to the master's care or business or household or servants. He's about himself. He's been away a long time, the master I can do as I please. And I have a power here over people. So I will abuse people.

2 Peter chapter 3 is a book in the Bible. Just listen to this. First 3. Above all, you must understand that in the last days, we're in them. In the last days, scoffers will come.

Scoffing. I don't think that means eating chicken legs. It they're they're mocking. Scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires, and they will say, where is this coming he promised? You know, they don't believe in it.

Where where is it? Where is Jesus? Where's this lord you're on about? Where is he? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.

We're eating and drinking and marrying and scrolling. So they follow their own desires. They don't rate the return of the master in their home and thinking whatsoever. And as long as the masters away, well, if the cat's away, the mice play. That's what they're doing.

Instead of serving, masters, they end up beating up at the the servants. They end up beating up the servants. Very interesting, isn't it? They end up beating up the servants. Look at verse 49.

And he then begins, this is the wicked man, He then begins to beat his fellow servants and look and eat and drink with drunkards. He serves himself. He neglects The brothers and sisters, the little 1, he doesn't take any water for the little ones. He's not serving the master. He's serving himself.

And in the end, his friends are the outsiders? You hear this a lot with people, and it's an appalling appalling thing when people say, do you know, I I I enjoy my friendships with my non Christian friends better than the Christian ones. Well, there's something wrong with you if that's right. Now I'm not saying we Christians are perfect, but if it's like, no, I, yeah, enjoy my time out there with the world, with the drunkards. That's I love those parties better than actually inside the house serving the servants.

I have I have more in common with the non Christians than I do with the Christians. That is a shocker, isn't it? That reveals your heart, doesn't it? And that's what he's doing. Where does he relax with the outsiders?

Drinking, getting drunk? On an ordinary day, an ordinary day. Last Saturday, he got drunk off his mind, puking up, didn't feed the servants. Where was Jesus? He got away with it.

It was alright. Even the police let him off with the scuff that he had. Where was Jesus? It was alright. So the same this week.

Ordinary life of the wicked servant doesn't care about the people of god. Verse 50. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him an ordinary day, and in an hour he's not aware of. There was all the signs around. He could have got it, but he didn't.

And just when he's beating up another servant, and just when he's puking over another bowl because he's drunk. The master comes. That's a great that's a great revealer, isn't it? Jesus is there, the king of all the universe. The lover of souls, the 1 who gave himself on a cross for others, the 1 that sacrificially gave himself, he turns up.

And he's punished verse 51. He, that's the master, will cut into pieces, and a sign in a place with the Hippocrits. Remember he had a whole sermon on Hippocrits. Where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. It's extremely expressive that thing, weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Everything I've lived for. It's gone. There's lashing, crying, weeping. No reward. I've had my reward.

I live for myself. Look at Matthew chapter 25 again. Verse 41, Matthew 25 41. Then he will say to those on his left depart from me. You who cursed into eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.

Gosh. And how do you preach that? This is the loving lord Jesus Christ speaking. He he he doesn't say words lightly. Depart from me, you who curse into eternal fire.

Preferred for the devil and his angels. You're a wicked person, and that's where you're going. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsting you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not invite me in.

I needed clothes and you did not clothe me. I was sick and imprisoned and you did not look after me. They also will answer, lord, When did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison and did not help you? And he replied, I tell you the truth. Whatever you did to 1 of the least of these, or you did not do for the 1 of the least of these you did not do for me.

Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life, gosh. Eternal punishment. First 51. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the Hippocrits we're back in chapter 24. Where they'll be weeping a nation of teeth.

He's thrown out with the hypocrites. And that's why I think this passage is about those who think they believe because they're Hippocrits. They are saying they follow the lord Jesus, but actually their actions are not for the little ones. And churches are full of this sort of thing, aren't they? People that say they follow Jesus, say they love Jesus, but which Jesus?

This Jesus? Jesus says things like this. So can I say to you if you're convicted here, will you not repent? Will you not will you be so stubborn? On an ordinary day he return.

Could be today. It's ordinary. Let me just take you on to my third point then, which which are you? On an ordinary day, the lord returns. What will he find you doing on an ordinary day?

Now what that really means is not, you know, it's not saying you can't go on a holiday. It's not saying things like it. It's saying what is your normal makeup? The things that makes you tick, the things that you're really about. It's not saying, oh, I missed the prayer meeting last week.

It's not it's not saying that sort of stuff. It's saying, what is ordinary makeup? What are you about? Are you about the church? Are you about Christians?

Are you about the gospel going around the world? Are you caring? Are you are you moved when you hear about Abdula? What sorry. What's his name?

Abdula. Abdula? I've been flipping heck. That doesn't that I know we can't do it. And I know we're different personalities, but doesn't that make you wanna go to some Samalia and give your life?

It sort of makes you wanna go, doesn't it? And so I'll I'll stand up for him. You know, surely, isn't there something in us about the kingdom of god and caring for servants? How do we use our money? The ordinary the ordinary do we give?

Is it order is it is it in our nature to be generous towards Christians and towards those who are persecuted in the church and around. Am I faithful? Am I Why servant or am I Hippocratic? And to the ministers in the church, that's me. And the elders of this church, you're given the task to feed and to care for the household of god.

It's amazing. In my short life and my experience. How often ministers and leaders of churches turn that round instead of them being the servants, they want the church to serve them and give them loads of money. It's amazing, isn't it? So you you can look like you're in the house of god, ministering, but actually you're manipulating the people of god to serve you.

So elders in this church, don't let that happen. Don't don't treat the church and people with the church as your servants. You serve them. You feed them and care for them and love them with the gospel and with good food, which is the word of god. And all of us who are Christians that take the name of Christians, do we do we really have faith?

Are we living life on Tiptoe, really? That's what the old puritans used to call, that we're on Tiptoe. We should all be taught walking around on Tiptoe. What'd you call out when ballerinas do that thing? What's that on their toes?

Tiptoe. Anyway, that would do. There are up on Tiptoe, we're we're looking we're looking for Jesus because we know he's gonna come. Yeah? That's what I mean.

Tiptoe. We're looking. Jesus. We're looking. And I'm serving you, Jesus.

I'm serving you in my ordinary daily life, in my normal life, in my normal existence, and the thing that keeps me going, I'm looking for you to return. When are you coming? Well, I'll serve you anyway. We're always looking out looking out. And so when you teach in something, it's called the little children.

When you take a cup of water, when we gather some money together to help persecuted Christians, when we've done that. It's a beautiful thing because we're serving the lord. Yeah? It's if the lord was there. If the lord Jesus Christ came here now and said, Well, we're gonna raise some money for, the persecuted church.

You know, I'm gonna come around with a bag and look you in the eye. I think we would all be giving, wouldn't we? You know? But he is here. And when I give, I give to him.

So let's get this in our heads. Are you numbered? Are you placed amongst the hypocrites? Or are you placed? Amongst the faithful servants.

So examine yourself. Jonathan Edwards, who is an American preacher, he had this resolved. I mean, they're massive. This is sort of like a whole book of them. Of of what he would do, at the end of the day, but his whole point was really to ask himself questions.

Have I done something I really shouldn't have done today? Yeah? Because he didn't know he was gonna wake up, did he when he went to sleep? Is there a sin that I've committed? I ought to really say sorry for.

Have I loved my brothers and sisters like I should have done? And was was was I harsh on someone or was I not harsh enough because they were going in error? Good questions, aren't they? Examine yourself? Today, at ordinary day, Jesus will return.

So let's keep that happy hub. And if you're not a follower of Jesus and you say you're not a follower of Jesus, then you're in the unbelievers, then you better buck up It doesn't matter that you don't believe in him. What matters, you know, from your point of view, if you were thinking I'm a big knob and I don't believe in him, it it's whether he knows you. And if the lord Jesus Christ says those words, I never knew you depart from me. Then according to him, there's eternal punishment.

And what is that? Internal punishment for you. We use the word hell, and it will be hell. It won't be heaven. But the for those faithful servants, did you notice that he will give more?

And that's the beauty of the of the of the returning of Christ. Your faithful in little things, he'll give you more in eternity. It's amazing. What does that mean? It gives us more and more responsibilities.

And joy of serving him. Pretty powerful stuff, isn't it? Let's just take a moment to think through where we're at. Are you ready? Are you ready to meet Jesus?

Are you where you wanna be? Will he know you when he sees you or will he say depart from me? Are you ready? Just have a moment of quiet, think through things, and then I'll hand back to Tom.