WEBVTT 00:00:06.959 --> 00:00:12.720 This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota. 00:00:20.719 --> 00:00:26.320 What a good morning to celebrate the Lord's faithfulness to us for 60 years. 00:00:26.800 --> 00:00:32.799 As Webb said, we're going to be having a reminder of that throughout our summer. 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:43.920 So the second Sunday of July and the second Sunday of August, we will fellowship together around food and also remember the Lord's faithfulness to us. 00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:49.039 Let's continue that by seeing his faithfulness in Matthew 24. 00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:51.359 Matthew chapter 24. 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:58.640 Last Sunday, we begin considering a difficult section in Matthew's gospel. 00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:08.000 And this morning we're going to finish that section as we seek to direct our eyes toward the King, the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:22.159 We're going to look at Matthew 24, verses 23 through 28, primarily, but let's read the entire unit to remind ourselves of some of the context that we covered last Sunday. 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:28.000 I'll read beginning in Matthew 24, verse 15. 00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:46.239 The Lord Jesus, answering the disciples' question, said, So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place, let the reader understand, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 00:01:46.799 --> 00:01:55.280 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 00:01:55.840 --> 00:02:05.599 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days, I will pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 00:02:06.400 --> 00:02:17.680 For then there will be great tribulation, a great squeezing, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no and never will be. 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:22.960 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. 00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:27.280 But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short. 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:37.599 Then, if anyone says to you, Look, here is the Christ, or there he is, do not believe it. 00:02:37.919 --> 00:02:47.039 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:49.520 See, I've told you beforehand. 00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:56.240 So if they say to you, Look, he's in the wilderness, do not go out. 00:02:57.120 --> 00:03:02.319 If they say, Look, he's in the inner rooms, do not believe it. 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:10.319 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:16.719 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:17.680 Amen. 00:03:19.759 --> 00:03:26.319 Last Sunday I took a different approach to preaching on Matthew 24. 00:03:27.759 --> 00:03:34.319 I would like to take a different approach again this morning, following up on that sermon. 00:03:35.199 --> 00:03:42.879 I'll do a little bit of preaching, but mostly I'd like to talk to you. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:49.520 Just talk to you, to share a little bit of my heart as your shepherd teacher. 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:51.039 Can I do that? 00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:52.800 I'm gonna do it anyway. 00:03:55.199 --> 00:03:58.159 Let's start with a question, a couple of questions. 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:07.039 How do you persevere and endure when your world has been turned upside down? 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:13.520 That's what's happened to the disciples in Matthew 24. 00:04:15.199 --> 00:04:17.439 Their world is being turned upside down. 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:18.959 How do they keep going? 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:22.399 By looking to Jesus. 00:04:24.079 --> 00:04:30.399 How do you persevere and endure when you don't know what is coming tomorrow? 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:40.319 Or a week from now, or a year from now, or 10 years from now, or 50 years from now, or a thousand years from now? 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:48.000 How do you persevere when you do not know what life will be like for your children and for your grandchildren? 00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:52.720 That's what's happened to the disciples in Matthew 24. 00:04:53.439 --> 00:04:54.959 How do you do that? 00:04:55.839 --> 00:04:57.600 You look to Jesus. 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:09.439 That's the lesson Jesus taught his disciples as he answered their questions about judgment on their temple, on judgment on their holy city. 00:05:10.079 --> 00:05:20.879 And as they asked questions about his kingship and his return to rule, he taught them to look to him. 00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:29.120 Now I've heard quite a bit about last Sunday's look at verses 15 through 22. 00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:41.920 Some of you commented on the style of the sermon, saying it was kind of more teaching than preaching, kind of a lesson on how to study the Bible. 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:45.759 It was instructive rather than directive. 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:51.519 It more taught us not what to live, but how to read God's word. 00:05:52.879 --> 00:05:59.680 Some of you were frustrated that I didn't state my convictions. 00:06:01.439 --> 00:06:09.040 Some of you were left confused by the options for interpretation. 00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:14.319 Some of you were confused about what does all this mean for the future? 00:06:14.399 --> 00:06:16.240 What about future things? 00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:22.800 Some of you were frustrated by how things were left kind of open-ended. 00:06:26.079 --> 00:06:34.079 As lovingly as possible, I say to all who felt those feelings, good. 00:06:41.120 --> 00:06:47.920 Others expressed appreciation for the things that some of you were frustrated by. 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:55.040 Some appreciated what they felt was clarity that others saw as unclear. 00:06:56.879 --> 00:07:01.759 As lovingly as I can, I say, praise God for his faithfulness. 00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:08.079 But I do want to speak to those reactions for a few moments. 00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:21.439 Last Sunday, I tried to help us see several elements that anyone must consider when they come to a difficult passage of Scripture like Matthew 24. 00:07:22.319 --> 00:07:35.920 Especially this particular passage that speaks of things that are confusing and uncertain, and maybe history and maybe future, and things that are beyond all of our understanding. 00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:47.279 And I wanted to lay out multiple possibilities that impact our understanding without purposefully clarifying what is best. 00:07:48.720 --> 00:07:50.800 Now that was intentional. 00:07:50.879 --> 00:07:53.279 There was a method to my madness. 00:07:55.519 --> 00:07:59.920 I anticipated the kinds of reactions you had. 00:08:01.759 --> 00:08:07.759 So then why would I take that approach if I anticipated some of that? 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:09.839 I had several reasons. 00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:16.959 First of all, a single passage of Scripture is not a one-stop shop. 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:35.200 We can't come to even a chapter like Matthew 24 and think that we're going to get all that we can get about future things, about end times, from a single chapter, much less a single set of verses within that chapter. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:44.799 There is a better way to understand Scripture than getting a sermon here or a sermon there or a Bible study here and a Bible study there. 00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:47.039 It's understood best in context. 00:08:47.200 --> 00:08:50.879 In fact, it's best that you understand eschatology over a lifetime. 00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:54.399 Eschatology is that study of last things, of end things. 00:08:55.440 --> 00:09:00.240 If you stick with me through Matthew 24 and Matthew 25, thank you for coming back. 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:09.679 If you stick with me through both chapters, I think several things will come together for you over the whole. 00:09:10.960 --> 00:09:16.320 But additionally, part of discipleship is helping you read Scripture well. 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:22.159 To observe what's written, how it's written. 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:26.080 Maybe ask why it's written that way. 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:39.679 And what is significant in a text so that you on your own will begin to understand it as you take it home and you say, Well, I'm noticing things that maybe I didn't notice before. 00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:52.399 But most importantly, my goal last Sunday was to promote humility and meekness within us as we look to Jesus. 00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:56.480 I want you to think about that with me the rest of this morning. 00:09:57.120 --> 00:10:09.840 As we looked at a passage of Scripture that was difficult, that Jesus is talking about things that may be yet future, things that are these great squeezing, this tribulation that's going to, in essence, squeeze the life out of human beings. 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:19.919 My goal was to cause us to grow in humility and meekness as we look together to Jesus. 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:29.279 Matthew 5, Jesus said, Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:33.039 Meekness is best understood, I think, as strength under control. 00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:38.000 Think of a bridled horse that is responding to its rider. 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:46.320 Or your car that is responding to your direction as you put your foot on the gas pedal or the brake and have your hands on the steering wheel. 00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:49.600 There is a strength, a power there, but it is under control. 00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:54.240 Humility is a companion of meekness. 00:10:55.039 --> 00:11:06.720 It's not necessarily thinking less of oneself, but it is thinking more highly of others than of oneself. 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:15.360 It rests in our understanding and our convictions, and it does so without pride and arrogance. 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:17.679 Now, why is that significant? 00:11:17.840 --> 00:11:27.279 I think it's significant because we evangelical Christians sometimes struggle with meekness and humility regarding our Bible knowledge. 00:11:27.519 --> 00:11:30.799 Oh, I go to this church because we preach the Bible. 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:32.159 Thank you. 00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:33.360 Wonderful. 00:11:34.799 --> 00:11:40.320 But we sometimes can have an easily develop an attitude of arrogance about it. 00:11:42.399 --> 00:11:50.559 We can hold our doctrinal convictions and hold them harshly and condemningly even over others. 00:11:50.720 --> 00:12:01.039 We can sometimes wield our understanding and our convictions as bully clubs or act as bouncers to keep other beliefs at bay or out of our group. 00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:35.759 So I prayed last Sunday that the Lord would motivate us to hold our convictions and our conclusions about this subject, about the doctrine of future things and of prophetic things, to hold those things gently by laying out multiple concerns to wrestle with, and by explaining the multi-layered options for understanding this section of Scripture. 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:50.480 You see, evangelical churches have often presented a very hard and firm line about eschatology, end times things in the last hundred, hundred and fifty years. 00:12:51.840 --> 00:13:05.039 Often teaching a theological perspective or a kind of systematized theology rather than dealing with individual passages within their contexts. 00:13:05.519 --> 00:13:22.399 So for some, not all, but for some, the result is that the doctrine of end times and theological truths about end times develops into a very hard-lined topic. 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:27.679 There's a definitive right and a definitive wrong. 00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:32.639 Now that's true about some areas of scripture. 00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:37.679 There's a definitive right and a definitive wrong about the person of Jesus Christ. 00:13:38.639 --> 00:13:42.559 And about how one comes to saving faith in Christ. 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:58.159 But when we get to things like the doctrine of end times, we treat it with as much or more intensity, even, than things like the doctrine of God, the doctrine of the Trinity, or salvation. 00:13:59.840 --> 00:14:21.039 But the passages about last things, prophetic things, can be so complicated and often have elements that lead righteous people, brothers and sisters in Christ that we will live with for eternity, to different conclusions. 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:46.720 So I would rather have us walk through the text showing possibilities and have us come out on the other side of that with humility than to have us even more firmly entrenched with our bully clubs, entrenched in a firm, particular view that beats up on others. 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:55.200 Now, if you listen closely, you can probably discern where my convictions lie. 00:14:56.720 --> 00:15:05.759 For those of you that were frustrated by that, I seek your forgiveness, but that was on purpose. 00:15:06.320 --> 00:15:14.080 I believe the evidence leads to definitive conclusions about the end times. 00:15:14.960 --> 00:15:24.879 If you need confirmation, I believe that the Lord is going to catch up his church, rapture his church prior to a time period known as the Great Tribulation. 00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:31.919 I believe that that period of time is going to be followed by the Lord's return and power and great glory to judge all. 00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:39.279 And that will be followed by his personal reign as king over all of his creation. 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:51.600 But I don't want my personal convictions to be at the forefront. 00:15:53.360 --> 00:16:00.159 I don't want to lead you to say, Pastor Jason said this, so it's what I believe. 00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:08.240 I want you to say, I believe this because this is what the Bible says. 00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:09.200 Right? 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:12.720 That's the conclusion I want us to come to. 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:28.399 I want us to see what Matthew writes, to understand the complexities from his standpoint, and through it to see and to follow Jesus with humility and meekness. 00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:31.279 Now, our approach to that matters. 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:42.559 We want to understand what the speaker or the author, in this case, the Lord Jesus is the speaker, the author is Matthew, the divine author is the Holy Spirit. 00:16:42.799 --> 00:16:47.679 We want to understand what they meant in their historical and linguistic settings. 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:50.159 We should be assertive about that. 00:16:50.320 --> 00:16:55.120 We want to have that in place so that it leads us to a proper conclusion. 00:16:55.919 --> 00:17:01.360 But even then, we can reach different conclusions. 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:06.000 That's where we want to be gracious. 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:13.039 Now there's much in these chapters that we can't claim certainty about. 00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:18.880 Even the Lord Jesus, he's our highest example, right? 00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:23.920 Even the Lord Jesus exercised meekness and humility in his humanity. 00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:37.519 If you look down at verse 36, you will see that Jesus says, concerning that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:42.000 I believe in divine omniscience, and God the Son is God. 00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:43.119 He knows all things. 00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:51.200 But in his humanity, the Lord Jesus determined that he would say, I don't know this in my humanity. 00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:53.839 I don't know how that all works out. 00:17:54.079 --> 00:17:55.599 You can ask him someday. 00:17:55.839 --> 00:17:57.519 That's just what he says. 00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:06.880 In his humanity, in his walking in this dust of this earth, he said, It's okay that I don't know. 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:16.480 There's a humility and a meekness, a strength under control there that's okay with him, and therefore it should be okay with us. 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:21.839 That doesn't mean we ought to be ignorant. 00:18:22.640 --> 00:18:31.920 That doesn't mean we study, that we don't study, that we don't seek to learn, that we don't evaluate, that we don't reach conclusions. 00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:36.000 We even develop convictions about scripture and about theology. 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:42.400 We come to what we believe, and I pray that the Lord will bring us there with meekness and humility. 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:52.079 Whether we feel sure about our beliefs, solid and convinced, or maybe you're a new believer and you're uncertain, you don't know what you think yet. 00:18:53.920 --> 00:19:04.160 Wherever we are, we often experience a strange feeling of, I'm not sure I fit in. 00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:10.319 For example, we can go back to last Sunday again. 00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:18.240 You may survey all of the evidence in Matthew 24, verses 15 through 28. 00:19:19.599 --> 00:19:29.680 You may survey all of that and feel convinced that all of these details, especially those that we looked at last week in verses 15 to 22, were fulfilled in the first century. 00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:32.400 They are part of completed history. 00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:40.000 The term often applied to that view is the term preterism or preterist. 00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:49.440 If you reach that conclusion, you may not feel as though you fit in perfectly with what is taught here at faith. 00:19:50.400 --> 00:20:10.160 On the other hand, you would be called a futurist if you surveyed all of the evidence and felt convinced that the details were not fulfilled in the first century, but they await some end of days climactic period called the tribulation, the great tribulation, no less. 00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:19.200 If you reach that conclusion, you might feel like you do fit in, but some might still look at you a little oddly. 00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:39.519 Suppose you surveyed all of the evidence and felt convinced that the details describe historical events in the first century, but they are only fulfilled in future climactic events. 00:20:40.559 --> 00:20:47.039 In that case, some might call you a partial preterist because we want to put people in groups. 00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:49.200 We want to label people. 00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:58.160 That is, that the passage was partially fulfilled in the first century and awaits yet a future fulfillment. 00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:08.880 But that would only be an accurate accusation if you believed that end time events were fulfilled 2,000 years ago. 00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:12.400 Being very particular here. 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:13.920 Let me explain. 00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:28.640 If you think that end time events were fulfilled, prophecy was fulfilled, prophecy about end time events was fulfilled 2,000 years ago, you could be called a partial preterist. 00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:45.440 But if you think that the first century events were pictures, were images, were foreshadowings, mere preludes of a great future squeezing, tribulation, you would be a futurist, not a partial preterist. 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:48.319 You see the problem with labels? 00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:51.039 It's really hard to make them fit. 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:59.759 And if that's you, that futurist who says, Yeah, I think that was a picture, a prelude, a premonition, a foreshadowing, whatever term you want. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:07.440 To use of a fulfillment that has yet to take place, you might look around and wonder, do I fit anywhere? 00:22:09.039 --> 00:22:15.119 And then, as if that's not enough, some of you might be sitting here silently screaming, so what? 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:18.640 Just tell me what to believe and move on. 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.559 You probably think the rest of us are crazy and wish we would just move on from this already. 00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:26.720 Have I covered everybody? 00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:28.720 I hope so. 00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:32.079 Now, what's all of this about? 00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:41.839 Well, I suggest that there is a thread running through this section of Scripture, and not just through this section, but through all of Matthew. 00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:49.359 A thread of humility and meekness from not belonging. 00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:52.079 Say that again. 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:56.880 A thread of humility and meekness from not belonging. 00:23:00.319 --> 00:23:08.079 Feeling and wondering whether or not we fit anywhere is the wrong approach. 00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:14.079 If we travel down that path, we have missed what Jesus does for the disciples. 00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:18.799 So don't wonder if you fit into any particular eschatological camp. 00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:23.680 Don't wonder if you fit in here at faith because that's not where Matthew leads us. 00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:25.839 That's not where Jesus leads us. 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:31.440 You see, questioning where our convictions fit is the wrong approach. 00:23:33.279 --> 00:23:45.519 Because disciples, followers of Jesus, Christians do not fit in this world. 00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:49.759 We don't belong here. 00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:58.160 When we come to Christ, we are automatically transferred to the kingdom of his son, a kingdom that does not belong to this world. 00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:04.400 That's why Peter calls us again and again strangers and exiles. 00:24:04.880 --> 00:24:11.359 So instead of questioning where we fit, we must rest in the truth that we do not fit. 00:24:11.599 --> 00:24:24.880 And then in that rest, we learn to trust what Jesus is doing with us, in us, through us, and around us. 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:30.000 But that's uncomfortable. 00:24:31.839 --> 00:24:36.799 Living in a world where we do not fit in is awkward and complex. 00:24:37.599 --> 00:24:52.480 Just think back to that job that was so hard to endure because of the duties that you had to fulfill, or that coworker that you just had to put up with so often, or maybe a boss that was just hard to deal with. 00:24:53.759 --> 00:24:58.640 If that wasn't you, just think back to junior high and high school, where everybody was strange. 00:25:00.079 --> 00:25:01.759 None of us fit in. 00:25:03.920 --> 00:25:08.880 A few days ago, I read a letter written by a mother to her teenage daughter. 00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:14.000 The daughter had had a rough day at school. 00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:19.839 A day that made her feel definitively on the outside, not fitting in. 00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:21.359 She was different. 00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:25.119 She didn't have the same things that the other girls had. 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:27.839 She didn't do the same things. 00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:31.200 She didn't speak the same way that other girls spoke. 00:25:31.359 --> 00:25:37.519 And that particular day was a very painful reality for her that she did not fit in. 00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:40.960 So here's what her mom wrote to her. 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:46.880 She said, Sweet child, study the way you're feeling today. 00:25:48.400 --> 00:25:52.079 Because I love you, I ask this of you. 00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:55.680 Lean into your otherness. 00:25:57.519 --> 00:26:00.319 Learn the contours of its face. 00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:05.039 Feel the steady grip of its hand. 00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:12.480 Because I intend for it to be your lifelong companion. 00:26:13.839 --> 00:26:18.079 It is a truer friend than those who surround you now. 00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:25.519 More than I want your comfort, I want you to be an alien and a stranger. 00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:40.880 You're beginning to understand what that means, that not fitting, that dissonant chord, that unease in the midst of ease that has been the faithful travel companion of God's children for millennia. 00:26:41.599 --> 00:26:47.440 And I rejoice in the faithfulness of the God who is showing you that truth. 00:26:47.599 --> 00:26:50.480 How many of us parents would say that to our child? 00:26:52.880 --> 00:26:53.920 She continues. 00:26:54.559 --> 00:26:55.680 She continues. 00:26:56.559 --> 00:26:58.480 We are sojourners. 00:26:58.799 --> 00:27:05.279 We are travelers on our way to the only true comfort the human heart can know. 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:14.079 I will not help you populate your life with the things that lessen your grip on this reality. 00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:17.920 We say that again. 00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:32.960 Because I love you, yes. 00:27:34.559 --> 00:27:47.759 But because I love your heavenly Father above all else, and I will give an account to him for whether I have raised citizens of earth or citizens of heaven. 00:27:51.759 --> 00:28:01.519 I want to bring us there, friends, to that place of trusting non-belonging. 00:28:02.319 --> 00:28:11.200 I want to bring us to the place that Jesus brought the disciples, to that place of trusting Him in the midst of not belonging. 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:22.319 I do not intend to convince you of a theological approach, even though I believe there is a proper approach. 00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:31.440 My goal is not to prove to you what our church holds to be accurate and correct in the doctrine of future things, even though we hold those convictions. 00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:42.559 My goal is not to help you feel comfortable fitting in here, for we are merely a jumble of misfits molded into a family by the Lord's wisdom. 00:28:44.799 --> 00:28:49.759 Because that's what Jesus does for his disciples. 00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:55.279 And that's what Matthew's doing for his first readers in the early church. 00:28:55.920 --> 00:29:06.880 No, I aim to unwrap the Bible's mystery, pulling apart the ribbons, unwrapping the gift so that we can see it as clearly as possible in all of its mystery. 00:29:07.119 --> 00:29:15.359 For in that unwrapping, we see more and more and more of Jesus, and we see him more clearly, and we follow him more closely. 00:29:15.440 --> 00:29:29.440 And in seeing more of Jesus, we identify with him in meekness and in humility, holding firmly to what we believe to be true, but humbly accepting that we may not know all things with certainty. 00:29:31.440 --> 00:29:43.680 To be clear, there are some things, some biblical truths and some convictions and some doctrines about which we can and should be absolutely dogmatic, unyielding like a bulldog. 00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:50.640 The doctrine of future things may not be one of those. 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:54.160 Righteous people disagree. 00:29:57.039 --> 00:29:58.480 Let's do that well. 00:30:00.720 --> 00:30:11.759 And as we see Jesus, we we come together, realizing that because of Jesus, none of us fit in outside of these walls. 00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:16.720 If you do, come talk to me. 00:30:17.200 --> 00:30:19.119 We gotta talk through some things. 00:30:21.279 --> 00:30:30.559 As Jesus promised the disciples that their glorious temple would be undone, stone by stone, the gold all melted off because of the heat of the flames. 00:30:30.799 --> 00:30:44.240 As Jesus promised that their homeland would become desolate and their people would flee for their lives, he lovingly set them apart from the world and at the same time drew them closer to himself. 00:30:45.839 --> 00:30:47.599 Why would he do that? 00:30:50.880 --> 00:30:53.519 Because it's happening to him. 00:30:56.960 --> 00:31:06.160 Don't forget that when Jesus said these words, he was just at most a few days away from the cross. 00:31:09.039 --> 00:31:18.880 He's very presently identifying with the fact that he does not belong here. 00:31:19.839 --> 00:31:22.880 His kingdom is not of this world. 00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:33.599 And so as he's spending his last moments with his disciples, he's drawing them into that very same reality closer to him. 00:31:33.920 --> 00:31:35.279 It was his world. 00:31:35.519 --> 00:31:43.759 Brothers and sisters in Christ, we don't fit in this world anymore, for in Jesus we are being made for a better world. 00:31:44.400 --> 00:31:59.680 In Jesus, we misfits who are all made into one family can come together with humility, with meekness, and trust and follow the king together, all looking together, united for his return to gather us together with him. 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:00.640 Amen. 00:32:01.359 --> 00:32:02.319 Thank you. 00:32:05.039 --> 00:32:07.200 But we do have a responsibility. 00:32:07.519 --> 00:32:09.200 That's in verse 14. 00:32:11.279 --> 00:32:16.799 To proclaim this message of the kingdom to the end of the world. 00:32:17.839 --> 00:32:21.680 Till every ear has heard. 00:32:22.960 --> 00:32:28.799 To take the message of this gospel of another kingdom to the world. 00:32:28.880 --> 00:32:31.839 And so we go, he's preparing us for Matthew 28. 00:32:31.920 --> 00:32:44.400 We go throughout life, day by day, moment by moment, week by week, year by year, we go individually, as families, we go, and on our way, we make disciples, teaching them to obey Christ. 00:32:52.319 --> 00:32:57.839 We do this, fulfilling the word of the kingdom. 00:32:58.079 --> 00:33:03.200 And we do so knowing that one day, one day the king will return. 00:33:04.400 --> 00:33:06.640 The disciples asked about that in verse 3. 00:33:06.880 --> 00:33:08.799 When will the judgment of the temple come? 00:33:08.960 --> 00:33:09.839 You've told us about that. 00:33:09.920 --> 00:33:11.279 Um, Jesus, when? 00:33:12.480 --> 00:33:16.079 And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? 00:33:16.240 --> 00:33:19.680 Jesus began to answer that second question in verse 21. 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:25.920 The world will get closer to the end of the age and the return of the king when a time of great tribulation. 00:33:26.079 --> 00:33:30.559 If you were not with us last week, that word tribulation has its roots in this concept of squeezing. 00:33:30.720 --> 00:33:37.519 Like a, I'm sorry, Nick, squeezing of a snake, an anaconda or a python. 00:33:37.680 --> 00:33:39.200 Nick doesn't like snakes. 00:33:40.720 --> 00:33:43.200 It grabs its prey, great squeezing. 00:33:45.279 --> 00:33:51.759 The world will get closer to the end of the age and the return of the king when this great tribulation occurs. 00:33:55.599 --> 00:33:57.599 Then, verse 23. 00:33:58.640 --> 00:33:59.200 Then. 00:33:59.519 --> 00:34:00.160 When? 00:34:01.839 --> 00:34:04.319 In the time of significant squeezing. 00:34:04.559 --> 00:34:16.480 Then, if anyone says to you, see, the time of great squeezing, the time of great tribulation will be a time of significant deception. 00:34:17.039 --> 00:34:24.639 The deception will be so realistic that the possibility exists that God's children may be deceived. 00:34:24.960 --> 00:34:28.800 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 11 speaks of this concept as well. 00:34:29.039 --> 00:34:33.840 But thankfully, God will sovereignly cause that period to be short. 00:34:34.079 --> 00:34:45.360 That divine shortening is vital because there will be people performing miracles of all kinds to convince people to believe that they are the Messiah. 00:34:46.079 --> 00:34:48.400 Pay attention, Jesus said. 00:34:49.039 --> 00:34:52.159 He said in verse 4, see that no one leads you astray. 00:34:52.320 --> 00:34:56.960 He says in verse 24, don't be led astray. 00:34:57.199 --> 00:34:59.599 Pay attention, Jesus said. 00:35:00.239 --> 00:35:05.360 You see, people look for relief in times of pressure and pain. 00:35:06.719 --> 00:35:15.039 But it's a time of uncomfortableness, a time of insecurity, they look for a rescuer, they look for a messiah. 00:35:15.119 --> 00:35:19.519 So he says, when you hear rumors of a miracle worker, it's not Jesus. 00:35:20.960 --> 00:35:26.559 If you hear of someone restoring sight, healing the deaf, maybe even raising the dead, we don't know. 00:35:26.719 --> 00:35:28.320 It's not your king. 00:35:29.679 --> 00:35:33.280 If the person claims messiahship, he is a deceiver. 00:35:33.440 --> 00:35:36.239 Don't believe him or anyone who says it's him. 00:35:37.199 --> 00:35:43.360 And those deceiving kinds of lies will only increase as the day draws nearer. 00:35:44.800 --> 00:35:59.039 God's people must never believe that their Savior has returned because of what they hear or because of what they see being done, even if it's miraculous. 00:35:59.840 --> 00:36:06.239 Remember, Jesus is answering the disciples' questions about his return at the end of the age. 00:36:07.199 --> 00:36:13.679 He doesn't say when, he doesn't say anything about when he will return until the next section beginning in verse 29. 00:36:16.559 --> 00:36:19.119 But he clarifies when it is not. 00:36:20.719 --> 00:36:24.559 He does not give a date, but he tells you how you will know. 00:36:26.239 --> 00:36:30.559 God's people do not need to worry about his return. 00:36:31.199 --> 00:36:34.480 No one will miss the return of Christ. 00:36:37.440 --> 00:36:40.480 Jesus says the return of the king will be obvious. 00:36:40.559 --> 00:36:43.920 He says it will be like lightning that's seen all across the sky. 00:36:45.760 --> 00:36:50.159 He's not speaking here about what we call the rapture, that catching up of the saints. 00:36:50.400 --> 00:36:53.119 Jesus is answering the disciples' question. 00:36:53.280 --> 00:36:57.679 When is the end of the age when you will come as our ruling king? 00:36:58.239 --> 00:37:00.000 He's answering their question. 00:37:00.239 --> 00:37:02.000 So what is the answer? 00:37:02.239 --> 00:37:05.280 When will you come as our ruling king? 00:37:05.440 --> 00:37:07.360 Here is the answer so far. 00:37:08.880 --> 00:37:15.360 First, Jesus will return after Jerusalem and the temple have been judged for rejecting him. 00:37:16.559 --> 00:37:20.320 Goes all the way back to verse 1, where Jesus turns his back on the temple and leaves. 00:37:20.480 --> 00:37:21.599 He walks out. 00:37:22.320 --> 00:37:24.159 God leaves his people. 00:37:25.119 --> 00:37:37.760 We've also seen so far that Jesus will return after an undefined period of initial pains filled with wars of all kinds, trials of all kinds, suffering, godlessness, lawlessness. 00:37:38.400 --> 00:37:39.840 That's what he says. 00:37:40.159 --> 00:37:42.480 Just repeating what the text says. 00:37:43.440 --> 00:37:49.440 We've seen that Jesus will return when he determines the kingdom mission is complete. 00:38:03.599 --> 00:38:09.119 Jesus will return, he says, after a time of intense squeezing. 00:38:10.400 --> 00:38:17.119 So terrible that the world has never seen anything like it, nor will it ever see anything like it again. 00:38:19.760 --> 00:38:27.760 The last thing that we've seen is that Jesus will return after a period of increased deception, accompanied by miracles of all kinds. 00:38:30.639 --> 00:38:36.639 There should be no question if he has returned. 00:38:37.840 --> 00:38:42.000 For that reality will be evident to everyone. 00:38:42.880 --> 00:38:48.239 If you wonder if Jesus has come back and you missed it, he hasn't. 00:38:49.199 --> 00:38:52.239 If you have a question about it, he hasn't. 00:38:54.000 --> 00:38:58.320 Because everybody will know, everybody will see. 00:38:58.639 --> 00:39:00.320 It will be apparent. 00:39:00.480 --> 00:39:03.920 There is no way to miss the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:39:04.079 --> 00:39:05.760 Then we get to verse 28. 00:39:08.079 --> 00:39:10.480 Received a text from one of our staff members this week. 00:39:10.559 --> 00:39:12.320 So what's your conclusion on verse 28? 00:39:12.480 --> 00:39:14.079 I said, I don't know yet. 00:39:16.079 --> 00:39:17.599 I think I know now. 00:39:18.400 --> 00:39:23.199 Whenever, wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. 00:39:24.000 --> 00:39:26.159 Let me just tell you how hard this is. 00:39:26.800 --> 00:39:32.639 One of the commentaries in my library says there are eight options for what that means. 00:39:33.280 --> 00:39:34.800 What do I do with that? 00:39:35.039 --> 00:39:36.719 What kind of help is that? 00:39:37.360 --> 00:39:40.719 Best case scenario was they they narrowed it to three. 00:39:42.079 --> 00:39:52.719 So that just goes to show you that the smartest people, the smartest biblical people who know the most about history and linguistics, sometimes they just throw up their arms and say, ah. 00:39:54.000 --> 00:39:55.760 I don't know. 00:39:58.719 --> 00:40:01.840 Well, I think this is a visual illustration, right? 00:40:12.559 --> 00:40:14.639 And guess what I saw? 00:40:15.039 --> 00:40:18.000 Vultures circling around. 00:40:18.719 --> 00:40:22.079 Come around the corner, and guess what I saw on the road? 00:40:22.559 --> 00:40:23.920 A dead animal. 00:40:24.320 --> 00:40:24.639 Right? 00:40:24.719 --> 00:40:26.719 It's a visual illustration. 00:40:26.960 --> 00:40:30.400 The hard part is, what does that visual illustration represent? 00:40:30.960 --> 00:40:31.440 What does it mean? 00:40:31.599 --> 00:40:33.039 What's it pointing to? 00:40:33.920 --> 00:40:38.639 Well, we know in the illustration something has died and the birds gather to feast. 00:40:39.840 --> 00:40:41.599 What does that mean? 00:40:42.559 --> 00:40:47.599 Well, in the end, my best conclusion is to let Scripture interpret Scripture. 00:40:47.760 --> 00:40:55.599 And I think that it seems best to pair this with a similar description in Ezekiel chapter 39. 00:40:56.159 --> 00:41:03.840 In Ezekiel chapter 39, there's a very similar description about when God comes back to judge his world. 00:41:04.719 --> 00:41:12.800 Ezekiel 39, verse 17, as for you, Son of Man, thus says the Lord Yahweh, speak to the birds of every sort and to all beasts of the field. 00:41:13.039 --> 00:41:24.320 Assemble and come, gather from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood. 00:41:24.639 --> 00:41:32.239 You shall eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams and lambs, and he goats and bulls, all of them fat beasts of Bashan. 00:41:32.960 --> 00:41:47.920 And you shall eat, and you shall eat fat till you are filled, and drink blood till you are drunk in the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, and you shall be filled at my table with horses and charioteers, mighty men and all kinds of warriors, declares the Lord Yahweh. 00:41:48.079 --> 00:41:56.639 And I will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed and my hand that I have laid on them. 00:41:57.519 --> 00:42:01.760 The house of Israel shall know that I am Yahweh their God from that day forward. 00:42:02.880 --> 00:42:20.239 Seems to me that Jesus is saying to his disciples, You know, Ezekiel, you know that the day that all people will see that I am Yahweh your God is the day that judgment comes and the birds feast. 00:42:20.960 --> 00:42:23.039 You know this, he says. 00:42:26.320 --> 00:42:32.559 Jesus described how God would judge Israel for rejecting God's Son. 00:42:32.719 --> 00:42:34.559 That's how the chapter begins. 00:42:35.199 --> 00:42:47.039 Then he prepared the disciples for times of rampant expression of sin in all forms and manners, building to a period of unparalleled tribulation, he says. 00:42:47.199 --> 00:42:50.320 And along the way, he says, Many will claim to be me. 00:42:50.880 --> 00:42:54.000 Many will claim to be your rescuer, your messiah. 00:42:54.159 --> 00:42:55.840 Don't be led astray. 00:42:56.000 --> 00:42:57.039 Pay attention. 00:42:57.199 --> 00:43:00.079 Look to me, don't be led astray. 00:43:00.400 --> 00:43:06.960 Now, put yourselves in those disciples' sandals for a moment. 00:43:07.360 --> 00:43:09.360 Don't worry, I'm gonna finish here. 00:43:12.159 --> 00:43:14.559 Your world's just been turned upside down. 00:43:17.920 --> 00:43:24.880 Your Lord has just said everything that you know to be normal is gonna be gone. 00:43:28.719 --> 00:43:31.920 What does all of this say to those disciples? 00:43:34.159 --> 00:43:40.960 I think it says, Jesus says, this is the way that the world will go. 00:43:43.360 --> 00:43:45.760 But you don't belong to this world. 00:43:47.119 --> 00:43:48.960 So watch and pray. 00:43:50.079 --> 00:43:56.719 Make disciples as you go about your life, bringing them into my eternal kingdom, and be watchful to the end. 00:43:56.880 --> 00:44:00.239 Don't buy into whatever the world attempts to sell you. 00:44:00.480 --> 00:44:01.679 Endure to the end. 00:44:01.840 --> 00:44:02.159 Why? 00:44:02.320 --> 00:44:04.719 Because your redemption is near. 00:44:05.039 --> 00:44:14.880 This is very, very similar to what Jesus said to the church of Philadelphia in Revelation chapter 3, beginning in verse 10. 00:44:16.079 --> 00:44:28.159 He says, Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming upon the whole world to try those who dwell on the earth. 00:44:28.800 --> 00:44:30.480 I'm coming soon. 00:44:31.280 --> 00:44:36.639 Hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 00:44:37.199 --> 00:44:43.360 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, an eternal temple. 00:44:43.599 --> 00:44:54.960 Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. 00:44:55.440 --> 00:45:00.880 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 00:45:01.199 --> 00:45:02.079 Would you pray with me? 00:45:02.239 --> 00:45:03.440 Lord Jesus. 00:45:03.920 --> 00:45:06.639 Oh, may we see you more clearly. 00:45:07.920 --> 00:45:20.079 Help us see you so that we might follow you, being made like you, being made after your own image and your own likeness, becoming like you, even in your sufferings. 00:45:21.119 --> 00:45:25.280 For we know we don't belong here. 00:45:26.000 --> 00:45:38.239 And just as you promised your disciples in that in that upper room, that night before you you went to the cross, you said, I'm going away to prepare a place for you. 00:45:38.880 --> 00:45:41.280 And I will come again and gather you to myself. 00:45:41.360 --> 00:45:45.519 And so we say, as your people, Lord Jesus, even so come. 00:45:46.239 --> 00:45:46.880