Luke 21:25-38 "People Get Ready! Jesus is Coming"

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Well, good morning. Good to see everybody. Glad you're here. We're finishing up Luke 21, and we're celebrating Palm Sunday. Thanks, kids, for the palm branches. Y'all did a great job. I think it was four laps. That was pretty impressive. Y'all stayed focused. Good job. And we're thinking about Palm Sunday as... As Jesus came in and rode in on the colt of a donkey, humble, and we're now thinking as well about him returning on a cloud in power. So I hope you'll see the two, right? Coming in in humility the first time as the lamb. But he's going to return with power and might. You could almost say on a war horse. Instead of a cult with power and glory as the lion. And so this week we're thinking about the return of Jesus and the prophecies that he made. If you go back last week, you remember in Luke 21, he makes the prophecy about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. And we know that that happened 40 years later, that the Romans attacked and destroyed the temple. And now he's making a prophecy about his return. And so the first one happened. This gives us assurance the second one is also going to happen. Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead. He will return as the great king and every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. So he's declaring here his return. And then he's also saying you need to prepare for my return. There's a declaration and there's a preparation, right? And as Brandon said, if you have people over, then you know this world, right? The jollies had us over last night for our dinners for six. It was awesome, especially the cheesecake. I keep thinking about it. Very good. But they had to declare to everybody that Here's the time. Here's when we're going to eat. Here's what we're going to eat. And then they had to prepare. So prepare the house, prepare the food, get ready. This is what Jesus is doing. He's declaring his return. It's going to happen. And then he's saying, I want to prepare you. And we'll also see him even preparing himself. There's declaration. There's preparation. And it's what we see here. So two points, declaring of Jesus' return and preparing for Jesus' return. And then we have some points with the second one to be very practical about how do we prepare for the return of Christ. So first look with me here at verse 25 as we think about the declaration of Jesus' return. Jesus said, and there will be signs and sun and moon and stars and on the earth distress of nations and perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves. Creation is groaning. We saw that last week, that there's earthquakes, there's wars, there's all kinds of things that are going to happen. that helps us to understand that these are signs of the return of Christ. You can almost think of the creation as currently groaning. It's like it's boiling or it's simmering. But it's going to get to a point where it's boiling. If you have a pot of water on the stove, you know that point where you've got to turn the heat off or it's going to completely overflow everywhere. Jesus is saying there are signs. that are being shown of this all around us. This is his declaration. He also goes on to say at the end of 26, the powers of heaven will be shaken. Now, don't get confused when he's talking about heaven. He's not talking about our Father who is in heaven, God's home. He's talking about heavens as in the stars, space, galaxies. He's saying even we're going to see chaos in the universe. I don't know what that is. Meteorites or something? But this will also be signs that the creation is groaning and even getting to a point of boiling over. One commentator was helpful here that pointed out that the reference Jesus is making is to all of creation. He's saying stars and moon, earth and heaven. But he does it backward. And if you'll notice here, he says the sun and the moon with the stars, the earth and the sea, the heavens. But do you remember what God said in the beginning? I'm going to create the heavens and the earth, the stars, the moon. It's inverted. Why? Why? Because Jesus is saying he created all of this, and then because of sin, it's all messed up, and he's coming back to redeem it. And even the creation will usher him in to his return. If you ever go to a wedding and you see all the people come up first, and then here comes the bride, Jesus is saying even the creation is going to come first. You're going to see the chaos. You're going to see the nightmare of life. Nations will be fighting against nations. Everything will be boiling over, and that's the people coming first, so to speak. And then he will come. Just when we feel like everything is over, end of the earth, Jesus will return. And notice how he will return here. He will return with power. He will return, as it says, the Son of Man in verse 27, on a cloud with power and great glory. As a king, as the one who rules all of this, as the one who has created all of this and made it, And now it's coming in it to say again, I'm going to redeem all of this. There's going to be a new heaven, a new earth, with power and might, and every knee will bow before him. He's the king. He came first on the colt of a donkey to give his life. He will come back as the king to redeem all things. Revelation 1 says, You could also say, The king is coming. Now, as Christians, there's kind of this fear and excitement. Here. The king is coming. And it should bring us some comfort at some level. But it should also make us aware. Sober us up. He's really coming. This is not a myth. This is not a fantasy. This is not something that we're just told so we'll be good boys and girls. Jesus Christ will return. And he will return with power and with might. And so hear this declaration from him. Again, he's in Jerusalem. He's about to go to the cross. He's about to give his life. These are some of his last words or teachings. He's returning. Hear this declaration. Secondly, notice the preparation that he tells us To be a part of, he's preparing his disciples and his church for his return. And I want to drop it into three different buckets here of preparation. To look around, to look in, meaning inward in ourselves, and then to look up to heaven, to him. To first look around at the earth, look around at these signs, that he is giving to us, that he will return soon. Look at verse 28. Now, when these things began to take place, straighten up. Now, let me be clear here. This is not your mom saying, straighten up. You need to be nice. This is saying, be aware. Jesus would often use the term, be awake. Be awake. This in some ways is just awareness. He says, and raise your heads. This is not for you to slump over. I remember my football coach would say after we lost a game, don't hang your heads. Walk out with pride. Straighten up. Raise your heads. Because your redemption is drawing near. Look Look at what Jesus is doing. We see the signs already of redemption, of salvation, of the work of God building his church, of missionaries going to the ends of the earth, of disciples being made, of the gospel being preached. Look around. See what he's up to you. Look at these signs, even though they're scary at times, right? Of bad things happening in creation. I don't know about you, but this week was a little frightening for me because of what was going on with tariffs. Does tariffs bring anybody anxiety this week? Of the up and down. He's saying, look around. See what's happening here. But he also says redemption is coming. This is almost a picture of the end of the game. You've been in a double overtime. I don't know where Coach West is, but I wanted to say him. This is his life. But you're ahead. There's 10 seconds left, but maybe you're up by 10 points. No, we're about to win this game. Look up. Enjoy the end. Because we're going to rush the floor and we're all going to celebrate. This is going to be great. You are winning. You're going to win. Redemption is coming. And in many ways, redemption is already here. This is the already but not yet kingdom. Look around and see it. Lick Duncan said it this way, because of Christ, because of his grace, because of the gospel, what should terrify the world and does should actually bring comfort to us as believers. We see these signs. We see the hard things going on in the world. Yeah, in some ways they are fearful and scary. It's just a reminder. Jesus is on the way. And he's going to make all things right and new. Let's enjoy the wait because we look to him and remember him. And we remember that the day is coming as Revelation 21 says, I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them and they will be his people forever. And God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from your eyes, and death will be no more. Neither shall there be mourning or crying or pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And Jesus, who is seated on the throne, will say, Behold, I have come to make all things new. We win. I can't wait. No more crying. No more death. No more pain. No more sadness. No more hurt. It's close. Jesus is coming to redeem all of this. This is the amazing good gospel message of glorification for us. It's coming. It's real. And Jesus says, look around. I'm showing you signs, so pay attention. Also, to illustrate this point, Jesus gives a parable to his disciples about a fig tree. He says, okay, you're walking around. Hey, look at this fig tree over here. And notice a leaf has popped up. That's what's coming. That's what's coming. The fruit. But when you see the leaf, and I was looking out my back the other day, there's leaves all around now. There's good coming. The fruit is coming. It's on the way. It's just the same thing. See the signs. See the redemption that's already here. And know that we will be with you. Jesus will be with us soon. He also is saying that this is the not yet kingdom that we live for. We live in an already kingdom. Jesus is the king. We live in his kingdom now. But that not yet kingdom is soon. And we live in both. We live in the reality of the already kingdom. that we need to do the right thing. We need to love our family and do our jobs and come to church and do this stuff, right? This is for him as the king. But we also live as citizens in the not yet kingdom. If you're a Christian here this morning, your name is already written in heaven. Legally, you are a citizen. That's your forever real home. That's where we're going. It's who you are. And Jesus is saying, even when you see these signs, know this is where you're going and this is who you are. And this is where your joy comes from. The home before you, he's telling us to live And to prepare our hearts for this. He also says here in verse 32 that there's something important that we need to look to and realize that his justice will come on this earth. Look at verse 32 with me. Now there has been a lot of ink spilled on this verse. We could spend a long time on it. I'm not going to. There are scholars who would say that this is about 70 AD, that people were going to live until the destruction of the temple. There are others that even say this disproves Jesus' earlier prophecies. Verse 32. The way I think you should take this is to understand the word generation. That usually when we hear generation, we think about Generation X or Generation Y or whatever. That it's a time period for people. But here in the context, it was used by scholars to reflect a cycle of human history. Jesus talked about this in Luke 11 when he said that there's a perverse and wicked generation. He wasn't talking about just this perversion. of these people that will live for 70 years. He's talking about all of the people. Jonah uses this also when God says that Nineveh was a wicked generation. It's a wicked people. You can even say a nation, generation, cycle of nations or peoples. I would warn you in this verse that to take this to the extreme and go to a place where it says that Jesus' prophecies are just not true, or that there's a certain generation or certain peoples that when they are made a country again, Jesus will return. So be careful with this verse. Understand it within the context. Scripture always interprets Scripture. Go to more Scripture to understand what generation this word is. and how it's used properly. Generation is a warning. Jesus is going to come, and he's going to judge peoples and wickedness. He says, look around, see the signs, and notice redemption is coming. Also, he says, look in. Look at verse 34. Verse 34. And he turns the picture from the philosophical and all the people around, and he says, what about you, disciples? Where are you with this? 34 says, but watch yourselves. He's saying, look up, notice, but look in. What's going on? Because the temptation here is that your hearts would be weighed down with dissipation. Dissipation simply means indulgent, of doing it too much, going overboard with something, with drunkenness and cares of this life. When we are waiting on something, there is a temptation to want to overdo it with other things. There's a temptation that the disciples had here to just say, you know what, we're just going to hang on until you return. Jesus is saying no. And don't overdo life. Don't overdo food, drink. And he even says, don't overdo worry. When you start to see these signs, when you start to see the mess around us, it's easy to be drunk on worry. And Jesus says, watch yourselves. Watch your heart. He goes on here to say that the anxiety and fear that people have felt can be abused, can go to extreme. Again, dissipation, cares, burdens, feeling the intensity of this and going overboard. One translation says it this way, constantly be on your guard. so that your hearts will not be loaded down with self-indulgence, drunkenness, and the worries of this life. This is taking in too much, overdoing it, and going overboard with the wrong stuff. Now, to be clear, are these things bad things? Is being concerned with your family or with the world a bad thing? No. But overdoing it is. Is having food and drink and good things a bad thing? No. But overdoing it is. Jesus says, watch out. Look in. Now, he also says there is a thing to go overboard with. There is a thing to go in and say, I'm all in with this. And it's not food, drink, cares of this world. It's something else. Look at verse 36. But stay awake or aware at all times, praying, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things. Jesus is saying if you want to go overboard and all in, go all in with prayer. Go all in with prayer. Go all in with prayer. Instead of looking in and being so about you, look up to me. Look to me and notice what will happen. You'll escape. You'll escape, as he says, the trap that's set before you by the world. Instead of worrying, instead of going all in with these indulgences, Go all in with prayer and find escape. And he also says you'll find strength. The way that we find strength in this world with chaos that feels like things are falling apart is through communing with Jesus. Lifting our eyes again to heaven. Our Father who is in heaven. This is where we go. This is where we look. To have strength to escape. And he even says at the end of 36, to be able to stand before the Son of Man. That through prayer, through going up, we're able to prepare our hearts for the judgment day of Christ. And when these things are going on around us, and when we see Jesus come in on the cloud, we know him. Because we've been praying. Because we've been communing with him. And we say, yes! This is the day I've been waiting on. Not all these things I'm wrapped up in here in this world. But being wrapped up, going all in with him. This is the way we prepare our hearts. Through looking around, seeing the signs. Through looking in, honestly, and seeing our own hearts. And then looking up, not getting trapped, having strength, escaping this world. And then listen to what Jesus was doing as he gives us an example of preparation in verses 37 and 38. And every day, Jesus was teaching in the temple. But at night, he went out and lodged on a mount called Olivet. Jesus was in the temple preaching the scripture. It was in the word. It was helping other people in the word. And then he would go away at night to Olivet, which is where he would pray, and go be with his father alone. He was also preparing. He was escaping the people after him, his own anxieties that he was feeling. And he knew he was about to go to the cross. He was about to go to the garden and pray. And pray so hard he was going to sweat blood. And then people were going to leave him. And even his own father turned his back on him. How did he prepare? How did the Son of God prepare? Prayer. The Word. This is a beautiful example for us. When you're feeling the cares of this life, when you're feeling the temptation to addiction, where do you go? The same place Jesus went. Prayer. Prayer. The word. To be with our Father. To find strength. And to know that our life is not here. Yes, it's the already kingdom. But our life is in the not yet kingdom. And we will be with Jesus. And we will see him face to face. The good news for us today is that Jesus Christ knew how to prepare himself. He lived the perfect life. He was about to go die the death that we should have died. And then he was going to rise from the dead and ascend into heaven. And our Savior is currently preparing a place for us. And we will go be with him. And he will return to judge the living and the dead and take us into this new heaven and new earth. So heed the words of Jesus this morning. Prepare your heart, especially as we enter into Holy Week. I encourage you, take extra time of prayer this week. Cancel some stuff. Cancel a meeting or two. And spend time with Jesus. Get up a little earlier. Go to bed a little later. Spend some extended time. Find strength in what Jesus Christ has done for us. Let's pray together. Lord, we do turn to you in prayer and trust you. And thank you for the gift that you've given us to commune with you. I do pray this morning, Father, for all of us in our hearts that we would look to you, that we would enjoy prayer, that we would know better how to pray. Teach us to pray, Lord. Thank you for your word. We pray, Father, that you would come, that you would send your son, Jesus, to come and to rescue us. We look forward to the day of redemption. Thank you for this word. I pray that it would sink deep into our hearts. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.