May 17, 2026 | Pastor Eddie Bumpers | Ready... or Not?

Devotional

Day 1: Lamps Lit, Loins Girt

The disciples leaned forward as Jesus described servants waiting through the night. Their oil lamps flickered as they cinched robes tight around their waists, ready to sprint when their master knocked. Wedding feasts lasted days - he could return at midnight or dawn. Blessed servants kept working, their light piercing darkness while hands stayed busy. Jesus smiled as He flipped the script: the Master would become the server, rewarding vigilance with intimacy. [38:59]

This story burns with two flames - service and testimony. The girded waist meant active labor: feeding hungry, teaching children, repairing broken lives. The burning lamp meant visible faith: words spoken, kindness shown, hope shared. Together they form readiness - not passive waiting, but engaged obedience.

Your "second watch" might be changing diapers at 2 AM or grinding through spreadsheets. Your "lamp" could be a coffee shared with a coworker or patience with a cranky neighbor. What mundane task becomes holy when done for Christ? Where will you shine light today?

"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."
(Luke 12:35-36, ESV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to reveal one practical act of service and one intentional witness opportunity today.
Challenge: Text three people this phrase: "How can I pray for you right now?"

Day 2: Thief in the Night’s Hour

Burglars don’t schedule appointments. Jesus startles listeners by comparing His return to a midnight break-in. Homeowners bolt doors when warned, but the Son of Man gives no advance notice. Peter’s question hangs in the air - is this warning for leaders or everyone? Jesus answers with a steward beating servants and gorging himself, severed in two at the Master’s unexpected return. [52:29]

Eternal readiness begins with salvation but continues through daily vigilance. Unconfessed sin becomes boarded-up windows inviting destruction. Postponed reconciliations pile like unopened bills. The alert homeowner doesn’t just watch - they repair cracks in walls and reset disarmed alarms.

What secret habit would embarrass you if Christ returned during it? What fractured relationship have you avoided mending? His knock could come as you scroll social media or drive to work. Are your hands clean and heart light when doing ordinary things?

"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. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."
(Luke 12:39-40, ESV)

Prayer: Confess one hidden attitude or action that would shame you if Jesus came today.
Challenge: Delete one app/file/contact that tempts you to compromise, then call someone to hold you accountable.

Day 3: Steward of the Meat Portion

Joseph’s hands blistered in Potiphar’s house before ruling Egypt. Jesus highlights another servant-turned-ruler - the steward faithfully distributing food rations. While others grew drunk on power, this manager chopped vegetables and memorized dietary laws. His reward? Overseeing entire estates. But the abusive steward gorged on privilege, earning severed bonds. [54:05]

Faithfulness in crumbs precedes feasts. God measures success by consistency, not crowds. Changing diapers in the nursery prepares you to lead Bible studies. Tithing from minimum wage trains you to fund ministries. Neglected small things become gaping holes when tested.

What "meal portion" has God entrusted you? Maybe teaching toddlers “Jesus loves me” or faithfully clocking in at a draining job. Where have you resentfully said, “This is beneath me”? How would serving this assignment with joy position you for greater work?

"And the Lord said, ‘Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.’"
(Luke 12:42-43, ESV)

Prayer: Thank God for three "small" responsibilities He’s given you this week.
Challenge: Inventory your time/talents/treasures. Write one way to better steward each category.

Day 4: Servants Cut, Drunkards Split

The whip cracked as the drunken steward pummeled kitchen staff. Wine dripped down his chin as he mocked, “Master delays!” But swords flashed when the owner returned. Jesus uses graphic language - the Greek “dichotomeō” means to cut in two. The hypocrite’s fate mirrors unbelievers’, severed from God’s presence. [58:57]

Eternal security isn’t a license for complacency. True salvation transforms desires - we serve not to earn love, but because we’re loved. The fake servant’s cruelty exposed his unrenewed heart. Comfort in sin signals false conversion.

What secret indulgence have you rationalized? Where do you act spiritual publicly but indulge privately? Grace covers stumbles but never excuses rebellion. Would your private browser history align with your church attendance?

"But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 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 will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful."
(Luke 12:45-46, ESV)

Prayer: Ask God to expose any area where you’re serving self instead of Christ.
Challenge: Write one hidden struggle on a slip of paper, then burn/shred it as you claim Galatians 2:20.

Day 5: Much Given, Much Required

Crossway’s parking lot buzzes with vans for foster kids and semi-trucks hauling disaster relief supplies. Jesus ends with stewardship math: kingdom ROI multiplies when we invest everything. The 90-year-old greeter and teenage lifeguard both hear “Well done” for using their measure. But unused gifts get recalled. [01:03:25]

Your “much” might be a spare bedroom, bilingual tongue, or green-thumb garden. Eternal rewards hinge on present obedience. Hoarded bread molds; shared loaves feed multitudes. The Master audits accounts daily through divine appointments.

What resource gathers dust that could bless others? Which excused “I can’t” actually masks “I won’t”? Your last dollar given in faith shouts louder than millions withheld. When did you last risk comfort for kingdom gain?

"Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more."
(Luke 12:48, ESV)

Prayer: Name one underused gift/time/money asset, then ask God for courage to deploy it.
Challenge: Donate a possession you’ve clung to, then share the story with someone tonight.

Sermon Summary

Jesus sets the tone in Luke 12:35-48 with a clear command: be ready. The text ties readiness to his sure return, promised in John 14, affirmed by the angels in Acts 1:11, and spelled out in 1 Thessalonians 4 as the blessed hope that steadies a grieving heart and a shaky world. The line that drives it home is simple and personal: “Therefore, you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Ready or not is not a kid’s game here. The Son of Man is coming.

The first picture lays out an eager servant. “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning.” The image points to sleeves rolled up and light turned on. Girded waists speak of work. Burning lamps speak of witness. Readiness looks like serving and shining, not coasting. Then the surprise: the returning master flips the script, girds himself, seats his servants, and serves them. That unthinkable reversal sounds like Philippians 2 and looks like Jesus on his knees with a towel, and it leans forward to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Until that day, the eager servant stays steady in every season, especially in the “second and third watch” when the feelings fade and the grind sets in. That middle part of the journey tests loyalty, whether in church life, marriage, or parenting.

The second picture calls for an alert homeowner. A thief does not text his arrival time. Jesus is not a thief, but he will come like one. No one knows the hour, and date-setters will be wrong. Readiness means salvation settled, sins confessed, relationships made right, obedience current. The point is simple: do not suffer loss at his appearing because the house was unguarded.

The third picture commends a faithful manager. The steward who feeds the household and tends to others shows what Jesus is really after: faithfulness, not flash. Faithful in little leads to more to steward, because everything in hand belongs to the Master anyway. Joseph’s arc confirms it. But the unfaithful manager tells on his heart. He says in himself, “My master delays,” indulges his flesh, neglects the flock, and proves he never knew the Master at all. When oversight is gone and the door is shut, what comes out then reveals the truth. The text finishes with weight: “To whom much is given, much will be required.” With Scripture, the Spirit, opportunity, and resources in hand, the church is called to be ready now.

Key Takeaways

1. Live like an eager servant Readiness looks like sleeves rolled up and lamps lit. Work and witness go together, and neither clocks out when desire dips. Jesus delights to find his people serving, and he will one day seat them and serve them. That promise fuels present zeal without burnout. [42:15]
2. Endure the second and third watch The middle stretch tests what the heart really believes. When the romance wears off and the grind shows up, faith chooses steady obedience over chase-the-next-thing restlessness. Endurance in the dark watches is not flashy, but it is faithful, and it is seen by God. [45:46]
3. Stay alert for the thief Jesus will come at an unexpected hour, so readiness cannot wait for a calendar cue. Salvation settled, sin confessed, and assignments obeyed keep the house from quiet loss. Living alert keeps shame and squandered reward from sneaking in the back door. [52:02]
4. Steward much with faithful hands God is not measuring splash but trustworthiness. Care for the household, handle small tasks with integrity, and treat every resource as the Master’s, not personal property. Faithfulness draws his favor now and expands responsibility then. Much given means much required. [62:53]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[14:39] - Prayer for nation and leaders
[30:33] - Tonight’s worship and passage intro
[31:15] - Scripture reading Luke 12:35-48
[34:47] - Ready or not theme
[35:16] - Promises of Christ’s return
[36:31] - The blessed hope
[38:21] - Picture 1: Eager servant
[41:28] - Work and witness together
[45:46] - Enduring the second and third watch
[50:33] - Picture 2: Alert homeowner
[52:02] - No one knows the hour
[54:05] - Picture 3: Faithful manager
[62:53] - To whom much is given
[65:28] - Invitation to get ready

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
Luke 12:35-48 (ESV)
35 “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 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. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes... 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

Observation questions

What two actions does Jesus command in Luke 12:35 to illustrate readiness, and what do these symbolize in daily life?
How does the parable of the thief (Luke 12:39-40) challenge assumptions about timing and preparedness?
What specific behaviors mark the “faithful and wise steward” in Luke 12:42-43, and how do they contrast with the unfaithful servant?

Interpretation questions

Why does Jesus compare His return to a thief’s unexpected arrival (Luke 12:39-40), and how does this shape our understanding of urgency?
The master serves his faithful servants when he returns (Luke 12:37). What does this reversal reveal about God’s character and His rewards for obedience?
In the parable of the steward (Luke 12:45-46), the servant says, “My master is delayed.” What does this self-deception reveal about the connection between belief and behavior?

Application questions

“Readiness looks like sleeves rolled up and lamps lit” [41:28]. What practical step could you take this week to “roll up your sleeves” in serving others or “keep your lamp burning” in sharing hope?
The “second and third watch” seasons test endurance when excitement fades [45:46]. Where in your life (marriage, work, faith) are you feeling the “grind,” and how can you choose steady faithfulness over restlessness?
If Jesus’ return were to interrupt your daily routine today, what unfinished spiritual “business” (unconfessed sin, unreconciled relationships, neglected obedience) would leave you unprepared?
“To whom much is given, much is required” [01:02:53]. What resources, gifts, or opportunities has God entrusted to you? How could you steward one of these more intentionally for His kingdom?
The unfaithful servant indulged himself when oversight was gone [58:57]. What habits or choices do you make when no one is watching that reveal your true priorities? How can you invite accountability?

Sermon Clips

30s

“What master would do that? I know a master who would do that. His name is Jesus Christ. He was a master who what? He he robed himself in human flesh. This is the way the book of Philippians says it. Philippians says it this way in chapter two verse seven and eight that Jesus took the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. Being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross.”

34s

“The master shows up and the servants are doing their job and he's so over overjoyed, he's so happy, he comes in and says to the servants, now you sit down here at the table. Let me gird my waist. Let me serve you. Here, let me give you something to drink. And they're laughing and they're celebrating. He's so overjoyed because he found his servant serving when he returned. Now to us it's a beautiful picture. But in Bible days it was unthinkable for a master to become the servant and serve the other servants.”

38s

“The test of loyalty to Jesus Christ is not just when you get started or just when you get ready to go to heaven. The test is what are you gonna do in the second and third watch? I'm letting this sink in for a moment. When things aren't romantic anymore, I just don't feel the juice anymore, I just used to you've heard all my jokes, my stories, all my sermons like this dude, I've heard it already, heard it all.”

28s

“He says this, but know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed the house to be broken into. And application, therefore, you need to be ready. You don't want the Lord to come and catch you unprepared and not ready. Now think about that. I've had my house broken into before. Some of you had your house broken into before. I guarantee if I knew he was coming to break into my house, I will be sitting there with a shotgun on my lap.”

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May 17, 2026 | Pastor Eddie Bumpers | Ready... or Not? | 9:30 AM