Mat 24:36–42 | THE CHURCH PREPARED: Part I | Pastor Tanks | 10-11-2026 | Reach City Church

Matthew 24 and 25 open with Christ’s call: be ready. Christ’s return is not a reason to become obsessed with timelines, signs, and end-times curiosity while life stays the same. The text pushes the church toward a life that is faithful right now because the future is coming. Jesus answers the disciples’ questions about the end, but the weight of His words falls on preparation, not prediction.

Jesus says that no one knows the day or hour, not even the angels or the Son, but the Father alone. The claim does not mean Christ lacks divine knowledge or stops being fully God. Christ knows all things, even in His humanity, as John’s Gospel makes clear. The distinction is between knowing something and having the assignment to reveal it. The Father had not given the Son the prerogative to announce the date, just as the father in Jewish wedding customs announced the day of the wedding.

The faithful servant in Matthew 24 does not know when the master will return, but he keeps doing what the master told him to do. The evil servant assumes there is plenty of time, then uses that assumed delay to beat fellow servants and live however he wants. Christ calls that heart evil because it treats grace like permission to play around and repent later. The hidden day protects disciples from living like somebody who saw the flyer on the counter and only gets the house together right before the parents come home.

Faithfulness does not mean perfection. Christ does not abandon His children every time they stumble, and God remains faithful even when believers fall short. Yet grace does not make habitual, intentional rebellion safe. A person cannot keep choosing sin, ignoring conviction, and then claim confidence before Christ’s appearing. John calls believers to remain in Christ so that His return produces confidence rather than shame.

The Holy Spirit supplies the power for that faithful life. God guards His people, keeps them, and gives them power to resist the flesh, but believers must not grieve, quench, or resist that work. Surrender is not complicated: when the Spirit says no, obedience says, “Fine, I’m not gonna do it.” Christ is coming back for a faithful bride, not a people who waited until the last minute to clean things up. The question is not when He is coming. The question is whether He would find His people faithful if He pulled up tonight.

##

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Christ’s return demands present faithfulness. Christ does not give end-times signs so people can enjoy speculation while staying unchanged. The future return of Jesus is meant to shape the present life of His people. Faithfulness is not saving obedience for later, but doing the Master’s will in the in-between. [09:54]
• 2. The hidden hour exposes the heart. The unknown day removes the option of scheduling repentance at the last minute. A known return date would tempt people to live wild until it was time to straighten up. Christ keeps the day hidden because He wants hearts that are ready whenever He comes. [27:38]
• 3. Grace never excuses intentional rebellion. Imperfection and willful sin are not the same thing. God remains faithful to His children when they stumble, repent, and keep moving toward Him. Yet a heart that plans to abuse grace reveals a desire to serve itself rather than Christ. [39:41]
• 4. Surrender means obeying the Spirit’s conviction. Surrender is not a complicated spiritual system that requires ten steps and perfect feelings. The Holy Spirit convicts, and faith responds by choosing His command over fleshly desire. Wisdom also protects that surrender by avoiding the situations that keep feeding the desire. [53:43]
• 5. God’s power keeps faithful people faithful. Faithfulness is not self-sufficient striving or trying harder in human strength. God guards His children through the Spirit, and His power is stronger than every temptation that presses against the flesh. Believers overcome by leaning into that power instead of resisting it.
  
  ## [56:26]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [03:14] - The Problem With Being Late
• [06:26] - Christ Says, Be Ready
• [07:58] - Matthew’s End-Times Discourse
• [09:06] - Signs Are Meant to Change Life Now
• [10:41] - No One Knows the Day or Hour
• [12:24] - Does Jesus Know His Return Date?
• [16:26] - Knowledge Versus What Christ Reveals
• [18:22] - The Faithful and Evil Servants
• [23:59] - Why God Keeps the Day Hidden
• [29:12] - Faithfulness in the In-Between
• [34:07] - Grace Is Not Permission to Sin
• [38:23] - God Remains Faithful in Failure
• [45:29] - Faithfulness Requires God’s Power
• [49:07] - Surrender Means Surrender
• [57:05] - If Christ Pulled Up Tonight

Bible Reading

Matthew 24:36
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” [10:41]

Matthew 24:45-51
“Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” [18:35]

1 John 2:28
“Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.” [29:57]

Observation questions

1. In Matthew 24:36, who is identified as knowing the day and hour of Christ’s return, and who is not given that information?
2. What responsibilities does the master give the faithful servant in Matthew 24:45–47, and what is the servant doing when the master returns? [29:18]
3. What belief does the evil servant hold about the master’s return, and what actions flow from that belief? [30:06]
4. According to 1 John 2:28, what is the difference between remaining in Christ with confidence and drawing back in shame at His appearing? [36:23]

Interpretation questions

1. Why does Jesus place so much weight on readiness and faithfulness instead of giving His followers a date to predict? What does the hidden hour reveal about the kind of heart He desires? [23:54]
2. How does the contrast between the faithful servant and the evil servant show that waiting for Christ is not passive? What might “doing what the master instructed” look like in ordinary life? [29:25]
3. How should believers distinguish between stumbling in sin, repenting, and continuing to follow Christ versus planning to sin because grace will be available later? [39:20]
4. What does it mean that Christ’s return should bring confidence rather than shame? How can ongoing obedience and remaining in Christ shape that confidence without making a believer trust in personal perfection? [43:03]

Application questions

1. If Christ returned tonight, what areas of life would make a person feel ready to meet Him, and what areas might bring shame or make that person want more time to “get things together”? [35:08]
2. Is there any sin, habit, relationship, entertainment choice, or pattern of speech that has been treated like there will always be time to repent later? What would honest repentance and a changed direction look like this week? [45:04]
3. When the Holy Spirit brings conviction, what usually makes it hardest to obey right away—desire, fear, convenience, habits, or something else? [48:48]
4. What is one practical way to protect obedience after making a right decision—for example, changing a routine, removing access, asking for accountability, or avoiding a situation that feeds temptation? [53:43]
5. Where has someone in the group confused faithfulness with trying harder in personal strength? How does depending on God’s power change the way believers fight temptation and keep walking with Christ? [56:47]
6. When someone has genuinely stumbled, what helps them move from shame and hiding to repentance, receiving God’s faithfulness, and continuing to remain in Christ? #!!57:33!!