Embark on an enlightening journey through Matthew 24 with us, where we unravel the mysteries of Jesus' prophecy about the end times, including the gripping prediction of the temple's destruction. With the aid of Pastor Ben's insights, we'll guide you through the complexities of the Olivet Discourse, deciphering the signs that have pointed to the 'church age' for over two millennia. The discussion promises a deeper understanding of the trials and tribulations that echo from the early church to modern times, alongside the unshakeable hope for Christ's return.
The narrative intensifies as Pastor Chris May joins the discourse, shedding light on the enduring struggles of faith and the significance of apostasy in today's spiritual landscape. He shares compelling perspectives on the birth pains metaphor, painting a vivid image of the escalating trials leading up to the ultimate promise of a new world. The conversation weaves through the fabric of prophecy and perseverance, offering solace and strength for the journey ahead.
Concluding the session, the call to remain vigilant in our spiritual preparation is paramount. We draw parallels to the days of Noah and the wise and wicked servants, emphasizing the necessity of readiness. But it's not just about self-reflection; it's also our mission to share the gospel. At Real Life Community Church, we're actively engaged in this mission, inviting you to join us in living out our faith with intention and urgency, as we await the day when Christ graces the world once again.
Embark on an enlightening journey through Matthew 24 with us, where we unravel the mysteries of Jesus' prophecy about the end times, including the gripping prediction of the temple's destruction. With the aid of Pastor Ben's insights, we'll guide you through the complexities of the Olivet Discourse, deciphering the signs that have pointed to the 'church age' for over two millennia. The discussion promises a deeper understanding of the trials and tribulations that echo from the early church to modern times, alongside the unshakeable hope for Christ's return.
The narrative intensifies as Pastor Chris May joins the discourse, shedding light on the enduring struggles of faith and the significance of apostasy in today's spiritual landscape. He shares compelling perspectives on the birth pains metaphor, painting a vivid image of the escalating trials leading up to the ultimate promise of a new world. The conversation weaves through the fabric of prophecy and perseverance, offering solace and strength for the journey ahead.
Concluding the session, the call to remain vigilant in our spiritual preparation is paramount. We draw parallels to the days of Noah and the wise and wicked servants, emphasizing the necessity of readiness. But it's not just about self-reflection; it's also our mission to share the gospel. At Real Life Community Church, we're actively engaged in this mission, inviting you to join us in living out our faith with intention and urgency, as we await the day when Christ graces the world once again.
The following resource is brought to you by Real Life Community Church in Richmond, Kentucky. We hope you're both challenged and encouraged by this message from Pastor Chris May.
Speaker 2:And take your Bibles and go to Matthew 24. Matthew is going to read Matthew for us today. It's a long chapter, and so I thought it would be good if Matthew just took us through that in the beginning.
Speaker 3:That's right. It's going to take about five minutes. You probably don't want to blow black in case anybody's cold creaking knees today, so you're invited to remain standing for the word. We are doing the entire chapter and so, if you do feel the need, oh, hey, ben. Oh, that's fine. Before we get into that, pastor Ben is going to be teaching the 4th through 6th graders, so go ahead. You're dismissed. Given that this is going to be somewhat of a long reading, I think that the Lord will be understanding if you do need to sit for this, but you're invited to remain standing for the reading of the word Matthew 24.
Speaker 3:Jesus foretells destruction of the temple. Jesus left the temple and was going away when his disciples came to the point, came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them. You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying Tell us when will these things be? What will be the sign of your coming at the end of the age? And Jesus answered them. See that no one leads you astray, for many will come in my name, saying I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet, for nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another, and many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved, and this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come.
Speaker 3: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, let the one who is on the house top not go down to take what is in his house and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And, alas, for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days, pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath, for there will be great tribulation such as it's not been seen from the beginning of the world until now. No, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.
Speaker 3:Then, if anyone says to you, look, here is the Christ, or there he is, but if you believe it, for false Christ's and false prophet's will arise and perform great signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So if they say to you, look he is in the wilderness, do not go out. If they say, look he is in the inner rooms, do not believe it. 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. Wherever the corpse is there, the vultures will gather Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other, from the fig tree learn its lesson. As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves. You know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. And truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Speaker 3:But concerning that day and hour, no one knows. Not even the angels have heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. For as in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away. So will be the coming of the Son of man. Then two men will be in the field, one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill, one will be taken and one left.
Speaker 3:Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming, but know this that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.
Speaker 3:Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of man is coming in an hour you do not expect. Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has set over his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find doing so when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, my master is delayed and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 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 hypocrites In that place. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. That's the word of the Lord and you may be seated.
Speaker 2:Father, we thank you that we can trust your word. Your promises are yes and amen, in Christ Lord. This is a long and difficult passage but with the help of your spirit, lord, let us get the main thoughts that are there. Lord, mainly this morning. May we see that, yes, we live in a time of tribulation but, lord, may we be reminded that Jesus is coming again. May our hearts just be pierced. May we, may we have again some sense of urgency today to spread the gospel, because today could be the day that Jesus returns. Help me, preach God. I need the anointing of the Holy Spirit. I pray these things in Christ's good name, amen. Well, I hope you brought a snack. Obviously, I'm not going to be able to preach every single and explain every single verse today, but I think I can give you an overview of what's happening.
Speaker 2:In the text, matthew 24 and 25 make up what we call the Olivet Discourse. This is just a few days before Jesus' crucifixion and he's talking to his disciples on the Mount of Olives. So yeah, there you get all of it discourse. The text begins with the disciples looking back at the temple. They're leaving the temple. Jesus has been just giving it to the Pharisees and religious leaders, and they're walking away. And the disciples are looking back at this magnificent structure and they're going wow, wow, jesus, look at this. It's the center of Jewish life and religion. And Jesus says something astonishing. He says, truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. Think about that.
Speaker 2:The prophecy was shocking to the disciples for at least two reasons. Number one the temple was built with these massive stones. There's different accounts of how much the heavier stone weighs, but a conservative number would be 80 tons. What's a semi-truck weighs Like 5 or 6 tons. Is that right? Anybody know? Yeah, sounds good. 80 tons, one rock. And Jesus says these, there's not one stone going to be left. Crazy. Secondly, though, the temple, as I said, it was the center of Jewish life, I mean, that's, the center of their religion, and the policies, the political parties, all of that, everything happened. It was like their White House, so to speak, and Jesus says all this is going to be done away with.
Speaker 2:It was astonishing to the disciples, and so they asked two questions, as Pastor Ben said last week. Number one the disciples asked Jesus when will this temple be destroyed, like we want to know when's this going to happen? And number two, like we don't want to be standing in the temple right when these stones fall. That would not be good. So when is this going to happen? And then they ask what will be the sign of your coming in the end of the age? So when is the temple going to be destroyed? And then, lord, beyond that, when is the temple or, excuse me, when are you going to return? What's going to be the sign of the end of the age in your coming? Now, the disciples, they believe, they have in their minds that these two events, that the destruction of the temple and the return of Christ, will just be one right after another. But Jesus is going to teach them in the passage this passage and us that there's actually a gap between those two events. They appear to the disciples really close, but Jesus says no, there's going to be some distance in between the two. And I'll illustrate that like this.
Speaker 2:I lived in Greeley, colorado, as many of you know, and when you pull out of my neighborhood, like I miss this view you could see the majestic Rocky Mountains from a distance. I was about an hour away straight. It was straight west from me to Rocky Mountain National Park. Unbelievable. But what's so interesting is you would see these different peaks of these mountains, and one would be in front of the other and it looked, it appeared from a distance, like they were, like you could reach out from one peak and touch the other. Have you ever been to mountains and kind of noticed that? But then you start going up the mountain and you realize, man, this other peak is actually many, many miles away. It's deceiving. And so the disciples. They see this first mountain, you know, at the fall of the temple. But then they know that Jesus is returning and in their minds those two peaks are really close together. And Jesus says, no, no, that's not the case. There's going to be some amount of time in between the two.
Speaker 2:And so in this discourse we find Jesus speaking of two main eras, if you will Number one, let's call it the church age, and number two, jesus return. Now are both of those relevant to us today. We're going to see how we, you and I, are to live in the church age and then how we prepare for the Lord's return. Would that be helpful? All right? Good, don't fall asleep on me, you know I'll turn the air on. So let's start with the church age. The church age. You've got to understand this. The church age is synonymous with the last days. So people ask me do you think we're in the last days? Absolutely, and we have been for 2000 years Now. Let me just prove that to you.
Speaker 2:I could go to many different texts, but let me read you one Hebrews one, one through four, if you want to flip there. The writer of Hebrews says this long ago, at many times and in many ways, god spoke to our fathers by the prophets. Somebody finished reading that for me. I'm missing a line here. I could turn to it. I guess Anybody want to read that out. But in the last day he had spoken to us by his son. He was trying to be the heir of all things, who also was creating the world. Okay, so one more time, read that first line in. I want you to hear last day so real loud. But in the last days he had spoken to us by his son, who he appointed as heir of all things, who he also was creating the world.
Speaker 2:Okay, did you get what the writer of Hebrews said? He said listen, christ has been revealed. This is a new era, and he calls this era the what, the last days, and that is over and over again in scripture. So you've got to get this in your mind when you think of the last days, don't just think of a final time at the very end of the age. We've been in the last, the last days, for 2000 years. It's very important.
Speaker 2:Okay, so we're going to begin looking at verses four through 14. But for time's sake, I'm not going to actually read that part of the text, I'm only going to briefly impact them, because Pastor Ben really did a great job preaching on those last week. But I do to give us context today, context today. I just want to mention those verses. So in this part of the text, four through 14, jesus, in no uncertain terms, he describes to his disciples and to us what will characterize the age of the church the last days. So this is, this is a description of what the disciples would go through and what we will go through in what we call the church age. So what characterizes the church age? Really simple. Number one the church age will be marked by spiritual deceivers. Spiritual deception, you could say so.
Speaker 2:In verses four and five Jesus speaks of many false Christs, messiahs, and then in verse 11, he says that many false prophets will come and that they're going to lead many people astray. Now this, actually we think of some future thing, but this actually happened. Jewish historians tell us this happened in the first century. According to Craig Keener, by the way, a Pentecostal theologian, very, very intelligent, he says that many false messianic figures arose in the first century and many fell away. Now there aren't too many people in our culture that are going around saying, hey, I'm the Christ, I'm the Messiah or I'm Jesus. Right, I mean, that's happened, but in our culture here in the West that doesn't happen too often. But what we do have is a lot of false prophets and they're slick-haired and they're great speakers and they will lead you astray and they're leading people by the droves astray. We've got to watch out church, you know, with the availability of all the messages and quote-unquote prophecies apostle so-and-so, prophet so-and-so and we've got YouTube and podcasts, and you know, you name it, television, they're all over. Be careful who you listen to.
Speaker 2:The church age will be marked by a spiritual deceiver. Number two the church age will be marked by wars and famines and natural disasters. So in verses six and seven, jesus says that, that there's going to be wars and rumors of wars. Nation's going to rise against nation In all of these events. They happen in the first century, but do they still happen now? I mean, I was telling my wife the other day I said you almost cannot turn on the news without seeing some other, some new natural disaster, a fire, a hurricane, a tornado, an earthquake, I mean you name it. It's every day, every day. So the church age will be marked by wars and famines and natural disasters. Thirdly, the church age will be marked by persecution. In verse nine he tells the disciples listen, you're going to be persecuted, some of you are going to be put to death. Did that happen? Yeah, it happened to all the disciples except John, who was exiled and again has martyred them. And persecution, has it continued through the ages? Absolutely, so the church age is going to be marked by persecution.
Speaker 2:Number four the church age will be marked by what the Bible calls apostasy. Apostasy, now, an apostate is one who turns from the faith. Now, there's some disagreement here. I won't get deep into this, but some believe that someone you know an apostate would be someone who was never truly a Christian. You could say it like this they're a professing Christian. They profess but they don't possess. Let's say that they don't possess Christ, and so they abandon the faith. But other people believe that these are true Christians who, for whatever reason, they turn from the faith. And why would they do that?
Speaker 2:Well, jesus tells us do you remember the parables in Matthew 13, the parable of the sower? And Jesus says in Matthew 13 that some are going to fall away because of persecution. And we see that again in verses nine and 10. Here they're persecuted and some people man, they want Jesus until it cost them something Right. And secondly, many will fall away. They're going to be led astray by false prophets. That's clear in the text. And number three many will be led astray because of sin. In verse 12 of our text, jesus says that in this church age that lawlessness will increase and for many people their love will grow cold. So many will fall away, as Jesus said in Matthew 13, because of a love for this world Beloved, do not play with sin.
Speaker 2:In Hebrews 3, 12 and 13, the writer says take care, brothers, lester be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart leading you to fall away from the living God. And it's like oh, how does that happen? He says exhort one another every day, as long as it's called today, that none of you may be hardened. Here's how you become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Do not entertain sin in your life. In the throughout the church ages, people, even denominations, now have become apostate. It's all over. Why? Because they are celebrating things that God calls abominations. So all of these things are going to mark, they continue to mark, the church age.
Speaker 2:Let's go back to verse 8. Jesus says this here's what he calls all of these things. He says these are the beginning of birth pains. The beginning of birth pains. Jesus here uses a vivid illustration of what these days are going to be like.
Speaker 2:One of the greatest joys in life, it's giving birth to a child. Right, it's having children. They're great blessings, and so when a couple finds out that the wife is pregnant, they greatly anticipate this little bundle of joy that's going to come into being. Right, like my son and his wife, right now I'm going to have a grandbaby. I cannot wait and that sounds all good and I'm excited, and Naughty is excited. But Naughty is a little bittersweet for her because, ladies, I'm not even going to pretend like I understand this, but I know, you know, I've got two children and I remember when my wife was pregnant and there's morning sickness and there's discomfort and there's weird cravings. That part actually seems kind of cool, like pickles and ice cream, I don't know.
Speaker 2:But there's all of these things and then the soon to be mother goes into labor and it's Again. I'm not going to try to even say that I understand what you go through, but all I know is this it's so bad that many husbands pass out just watching it Like it's intense, let's just say that. And so the mother begins labor and the birth pains really, really become intense, right, and there are contractions and pushing and screaming and yelling at your husband why did you do this to me? And sometimes this labor can last for hours. I have a friend whose daughter-in-law just was in labor for 54 hours, goodness. But eventually here's what happens the pain dissipates and a beautiful baby is born. And this is so unbelievable to me. I remember in the delivery room I mean, my wife was in a bit of agony and then, as soon as that baby is born, it's like she forgets everything she just went through.
Speaker 2:And here's what Jesus says. He says oh, listen, christians. He says what the disciples are going through. They're only the beginning of birth pains and those pains are going to continue and continue throughout the church age. But he's reminding us oh yes, these are labor pains and they're going to grow more and more intense as we approach the coming of the Lord. But he says don't worry, because Jesus is going to return and a new world is going to be born. Hallelujah. New heavens, new earth, eternal life. We shall forever be with the Lord and you and I will not fret for a moment about what we went through in this world. So Jesus is saying hey, you be persecuted. Who cares? You might even take your life. Oh, it's labor pains. You're going to have to be part of wars and rumors of wars, and there's going to be spiritual deceivers in all of these things are going to happen. But these are just labor pains. They're preparing you because something amazing, wonderful, beyond our comprehension, is coming. Something's about to be born. Hallelujah. What a glorious hope. So you and I now this is the point you and I now live in a season of birth pains.
Speaker 2:And then Jesus does something. He switches topics a little bit and he points outward, let's say he focuses a little bit about, you know, in these birth pains. On these birth pains and he goes to one particularly sharp birth pain, and here it is, in verses 15 and 16, you can go there with me. 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. Now there are many different views of this passage and I'm going to share with you my take. I'm pretty confident in where I stand on this, but I could be wrong.
Speaker 2:Jesus, I believe, here, is telling his disciples that one event would have to happen before his return, one event. That's what he's talking about here, and here's what it is. It's the destruction of the temple. In 70 AD, the Roman general Titus invaded Jerusalem to stop a Jewish revolt. He entered the temple, he had the building destroyed with fire and he carried off the lampstand and other temple artifacts to Rome and the Romans erected their own standards on the site. This was a great abomination to the holy temple of God.
Speaker 2:Now I know people see this as a future thing, but the way that prophecies work, it could be both right. But mainly, jesus is preparing the disciples. He says, when you see these things, this. What Jesus was talking about here is to his disciples. He's not talking about some future event, well, some distant future event. He's saying listen, this is going to happen in your lifetime. Now I'm not going to spend any more time unpacking that particular event because it's coming gone. It suffices to say Jesus said remember what he told his disciples one stone won't be left unturned. And people are thinking come on, who's going to take out this massive structure? But it happened, and you can go to Israel today and you can see these massive stones that have been excavated, and it's an unbelievable sight. What Jesus said did come to pass Amen.
Speaker 2:So, to review very quickly, the times in which we live will be marked by spiritual deceivers, wars, famines and natural disasters, persecution and martyrdom and apostasy, many who claim to be Christians who fall away. Does that not describe the world in which we live? Okay, we're in birth pains, beloved, but there's hope, there's a blessedness coming that far outweighs the birth of a child, as glorious as that is. So let's move to the second era that Jesus discusses, and that is the end of the age, the return of Jesus. How many long for that day? Oh, I long for it.
Speaker 2:Look at verse 30,. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of man, and then all tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. So Jesus has warned the disciples about false Christ, that they would come, and he says listen, don't believe it, it's not me. Here's what he says when I come, you're going to know it. You may not be here on the Mount of Olives, but when I come, the whole world will know it. There's going to be no mistake, it's going to be glorious. What he tells them in us is that when he returns, listen, it's going to be wonderful for believers. But he goes on to say at the end of this text that it's going to be a horrendous time for unbelievers. It's going to be their worst nightmare. So let me address two questions surrounding Jesus return from this text. Number one when will it happen? Number two how do we prepare? So when will it happen? I don't know. Neither did Jesus at this point.
Speaker 2:Look at the text 32 to 34 from the fig tree. Learn its lesson. As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things I heard that and I thought it might be Jesus coming. How cool would that be. Like I'm reading the text and he shows up. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Now wait, he's talking to disciples. This generation will not pass away, to all these things.
Speaker 2:Well, he's giving a parable here and he said something's going to happen in this generation. What is it? It's what he just talked about Peace and destruction of the temple. A good number for a generation in the Bible is what? How many years? 40 years. You remember the wilderness? You know the Israel was in the wilderness. So, yeah, a generation is essentially 40 years and it happened within 40 years.
Speaker 2:And so, after these things take place, jesus says he says my return is near. He says there's one thing that needs to happen before I return and that is this temple must be destroyed. Now again, remember that in an analogy with the mountains. So they hear oh, he's near. So here it is, this mountain, the, you know the front mountain, the destruction of the temple, and then right behind it. You see this other peak, the return of Christ. And they assume near means boom, boom. But there's miles in between those two peaks, and that's what Jesus is saying here. So why in the world, if it's near, why has Jesus not come? Well, I glad, I'm glad.
Speaker 2:You asked Second Peter, three, eight through 10. Do not overlook this fact beloved, that with the Lord one day is of a thousand years, as a thousand years, in the thousand years, as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promises, as some count slowness, but he's patient towards you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come. It will come like a thief in the night and then the heavens will pass away with a roar and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved in the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. He's talking here about the day of the Lord. Why has the Lord not returned? Because he wants more people to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. And you say well, how then could he say it's near? I'll tell you how. Because in the scope of eternity, 2000 years is nothing. So his return is near the point is this, I think, to his disciples and to us, that after the temple is destroyed, we know that his return is imminent. That means you and I, every single day, every day, must believe and must meditate on the fact that this could be the day Jesus shows up.
Speaker 2:There are some people waiting on the third temple to be built. Beloved Jesus is the third temple. The temple was a meeting place between God and man, and that presence was veiled. You know, you had the Holy of Holies. That presence was veiled. But now, now, jesus is the third temple. He's the meeting place between us and God. And great news is this. Paul talks about this, peter talks about this. We are stones in that temple. Christ is the cornerstone when you and I walk out.
Speaker 2:John 16 says that rivers of living water ought to be gushing forth from us. We ought to take the very presence of God everywhere we go. So if you believe now there could be a third temple built, but I don't believe that the Lord is waiting on that, if you believe that, then you could say oh, the Lord's not going to return today, I'm okay. Now, what Jesus says here is hey, the temple is going to be destroyed. And then the return. My return is near the end of the ages, near, and you better live like it every single day. Which brings me to this question. Then, how do we prepare for Christ's return? Number one this is really important. Don't you want to be ready when he comes? Number one stay watchful, stay alert. He talks here about Noah, in verses 37 through 42. He compares the days leading up to his second coming, during the church days. He says they're going to be then like they were in the days of Noah. How many know that when Noah was building the ark, people in the masses, everybody, they just ignored the warnings of impending judgment and then they were swept away by the waters.
Speaker 2:Now I'm going to mess some of y'all up, some of your theology up. I'm going to challenge it. I could be wrong here, but I want to point something out. We've been taught that this passage is about a secret rapture. Right, that's the whole premise of the Bible. That's the whole premise of the movie left behind. Matter of fact, I even have a song on a recording I did along. It's an old Larry Norman song. I wish we'd all been ready.
Speaker 2:And the point is you don't want to be left behind. Now don't leave the church if you disagree with me here. But I want to just challenge you on something. I think actually we do want to be left behind. Gasp, let me show you why. Can we just let the Bible speak for itself? Here's what we do we take one little part of a verse and we don't read the context. This is so clear to me, undeniably clear in my mind. But here it is. Look at verses 37. I want you to see this. Get your Bible and go to Matthew 24, 37 through 42.
Speaker 2:You got it, for, as were in the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. You good so far, for as in the days of before the flood, they, plural, you got that. They, that would be who, the unrighteous, the wicked. So they were eating and drinking and marrying and given to marriage until the day when Noah singular entered the ark. And they, who's? They, the unrighteous, were unaware until the flood came and did what? Sweep them away, took them away. Noah was left in the ark, they were swept away by the waters. And then he says so two men will be in a field, one will be taken, swept away, and one left. Two women will be grinding at the male. One will be taken and one will be left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day our Lord is coming.
Speaker 2:So, in Noah's day, who was taken away? Who was swept away? The unrighteous, is it not so clear? I'm like when you were making the movie left behind, did you not just, like, read the whole paragraph? Or what? Come on, kurt Cameron, right? I love Kurt Cameron, I give him a hard time, but Jesus says that's how it's going to be when he returns.
Speaker 2:And if you have any doubt, you just go. You know, within the same discord you discourse. You go to the end of chapter 25, and it's about the day of the Lord, where you know the sheep will be separated from the goats. This is the day of the Lord, this is judgment, and so we have something wrong in our minds that we've got to flip if we're going to understand the Bible.
Speaker 2:We think we've been taught that the goal of Christianity is to get where, to heaven. Heaven is a beautiful and a glorious place, but it is a temporary place. Go, just go to the end of the Bible, the beginning of the Bible. Where does it start? It starts here, in a perfect world and the end of the Bible. You don't find us going to heaven. What do you find? You find heaven coming to earth. So we think the whole you know point is to get out of here. No, the point is for heaven to be here. Heaven in earth and earth will overlap. We will be in heaven and paradise, but that paradise will be on this earth. And so, when the day of the Lord comes, we don't want to be swept away in the world. We don't want to be swept away in judgment, to face the wrath of God. We want to be part of his new world.
Speaker 2:All right, now here's my point. Here's the main point. So that was a rabbit trail, that was extra. But here's, here's what I want us to see. Even if you disagree with me there, that's okay. You've been wrong before. Jesus says. He says listen, these last days, the church era here's what he says. He said they're going to be like it was in the days of Noah. You're going to hear about them.
Speaker 2:People read their Bibles and you hear preachers talk about it and Christians talk about it. The Lord's coming. They're just going about their lives Marrying, giving a marriage party and doing all these things, not giving heed to the warnings that Jesus is coming as the judge and the victor. And I would just ask you, and I would reflect on my own life today and say, hey, are we not just living life? Oh yeah, jesus is coming back, but do we not live our lives as if Jesus wasn't coming back? I mean, I think that as we're waiting, we should work. I mean, paul makes that clear to the Thessalonians, but we are chasing sometimes the same thing here in America. We're chasing the same things that the world's chasing. We're burning the candle at both ends and we rarely give thought to this.
Speaker 2:Let me ask you this what do you want Jesus to find you doing when he shows up? What do you want him to find you doing? You know we all say, oh, jesus first, god first. I am all for sports. I love sports. I anybody watched the game last night. That was cool, right. I love sports. I love music. I love to play guitar and piano and all these different things. I love to work, I love my job. But how many know that we say that Jesus is first, but how much time do we spend with the Lord in thinking about these things and working, doing Kingdom work compared to how much time we're chasing money and fame, or you know, really, these things, really these good things like sports and music and all these things, they become little gods. Little gods. And just because you, you know, if you play sports, just because you wear a cross necklace or put a verse on your shoe, it doesn't mean that God's first.
Speaker 2:When Jesus returns. I shouldn't ask what we find you doing. I should ask what will he find you worshiping? That's worth thinking about, because it's going to be like in the days of Noah, where people are just going on with life. How often do you think about this could be the J of his appearing In other countries, particularly in third world countries. This is all they think about because they have nothing else. But we are so comfortable and we love, in some ways, this life so much that we're going oh, it's all right if he doesn't come back. Today, beloved, we ought to all be saying, and this ought to be our mantra come quickly, lord Jesus, are we longing for his appearing? So we're to be alert. And he tells us how to do this. Let me just read. I'm almost done here. I promise 45 through 51.
Speaker 2:Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant this is a parable Whom his master has set over his household to give them their food at the proper time. Blessed is that servant, whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to him my master is delayed and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 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 Wow, that's vivid, and put him with the hypocrites, and that place will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. So in the first century it was common for rich landowners who had maybe in a state, to travel and they would leave some kind of servant manager over their house and they would be, you know, oversee this person's resources. And so in the parable you have this first servant who manages the household well, like if you've ever gone out of town and you've had somebody house it for you. Like when you show up, you'd like the house to look like it did before you left. Right Now, this is a good thing. And so when the master unexpectedly returns and he finds this servant being faithful with the owner's resources and consequently he blesses him. But then you have the second servant and he has the same position and the same resources but instead of working faithfully, what's he do? He squanders the master's resources and he's judged, he's cut up. Like I don't want to be this servant.
Speaker 2:My brother and I, when we got old enough, growing up, to stay home alone, my parents would leave, and my mom and my mom and my stepdad are here today, but so this is partly confession. But when my parents would leave, man, we, you know, before they left we'd be sitting all proper and like clean, doing chores and stuff, and they would leave and, man, it was party time. We would make prank phone calls and do all kinds of crazy stuff I think we got on the roof and all kinds of things, but but we never knew when they were going to return. And so here's what we would do we would be on the lookout, we would every few minutes, we would, you know, we thought we knew about when they would return and we kind of peek out the window. I remember a couple of times where you know my brother, stephen, he'd be like they're here, they're here, they're here, and we're like scrambling, trying to pick things up and put it back. And you know they walk in and we're like smiling like we just were sitting there reading the whole time. But the worst feeling was when we thought we had another hour. But they showed up, unexpectedly and beloved.
Speaker 2:When Jesus pulls in the driveway, it's too late. It's too late, we think, oh, we know, we're waiting on this to happen and this to happen and this to happen. The temple has fallen and his return is imminent. That's worth thinking about. We prepare for Jesus' return by being alert, being watchful.
Speaker 2:Secondly, we prepare for Jesus' return by perseverance Verse 13,. The one who endures to the end will be saved. And here's the context Don't be led astray by false teachers. Don't be led astray by the things of this world. Don't love the things of this world. Don't give into temptation to sin, because lawlessness is going to increase. Beloved, endure to the end. And the great news is this we're not alone in this. We help one another. But beyond that, jude says God is the one who's able to keep us from falling. Jesus said abide in me. Abide in me, and when we do, the Father's love will abide in us. So we need to persevere, and one of the ways we do that by the way, it's worth mentioning is through prayer. If we want to persevere, we've got to pray, and he tells the disciples to do such in verse 20.
Speaker 2:And finally, how do we prepare for Jesus? Dina, you can go ahead and come up, please. How do we prepare for the coming of Jesus? This is very important. We prepare by proclaiming the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Please don't miss this, please don't miss this. Look at verse 14. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Speaker 2:The imminent return of Jesus ought to put within us an urgency to share the gospel with everybody who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ. I've got people right now that I've been witnessing to, and they're right on the edge, right on the edge of receiving Christ. But if Jesus shows up today, being on the edge is not good enough. It's not good enough. It's been said, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. You're not going to be able to say, when Christ shows up, oh, I was going to make a decision. So, throughout the past, as Jesus telling the disciples listen, don't get caught up with wars and famines and wars and think this is the end. Here's what you need to be busy doing Proclaim the gospel. Isn't that the great commission? And let me tell you why this is important.
Speaker 2:We've talked a lot here. I just preached through Revelation on Wednesday nights. We've talked a lot here about eschatology, the end times and end things, and I've had a lot of conversations with a lot of people in this church and other churches throughout my ministry about the Lord's coming. But you know what they talk about the most Headlines. We're watching for this and we're watching for this and we're watching for this. Oh, the Lord's going to come now. If I had to add up all the time I've talked to Christians about you know these kind of codes in the newspaper. If I had to add up all the hours that I've listened to that, I could feel weeks upon weeks, probably years upon years. It's a lot, but I could count on about. Probably, if I took both hands, I could count the number of times where people said, hey, christ's return is imminent. And here's who I led to Christ this week.
Speaker 2:Here's what the disciples were concerned with. What will be the sign of your coming. Jesus says one thing a temple's going to fall. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don't watch the papers. This is going to be throughout the church age. Here's what he says get busy and proclaim the gospel. I'm not suggesting we stick our heads in the sand. We need to know what's going on in our world. But listen, yes, there's wars, yes, there's rumors of wars, and he may come back today and instead of searching the headlines to see what Jesus says is true we know it's true we ought to live every day like this is it who in your life this week needs to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ?
Speaker 2:So here's the final thoughts. One you're here today, I know you're in church, but that doesn't really mean much. I mean it's great that you're here, but it doesn't mean that you know the Lord and that you're ready. So let me just ask you if the Lord were to come right now, would you be ready? Would he find you as faithful? Would you hear well done, good and faithful servant, or would you hear depart from me you doer of iniquity? I never knew you Well. I pray to prayer Good for you. That's not the way. That prayer, that sinner's prayer is nowhere in the Bible. We're yes, we're to confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord.
Speaker 2:What did Peter say after he preached? They said what do we do with this? He said repent, turn from your sin and believe the gospel, repent. And then he said repent and be baptized. Right, so that's the first act of obedience you believe good. This word is pierced to the heart. Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. That's what he says. I think it's Acts 238. But that repentance is necessary. That's what I want you to see.
Speaker 2:It's not just praying a prayer to ask quote, unquote Jesus to come in your heart. It's to repent, say Lord, I'm done ruling my own life. I turn from myself and I turn to you. You are not just my savior, but you are my Lord, and you will at that moment move from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. So I would ask you, if you're not search your heart, if you are not ready for his return, why not get ready today, repent. And if you are ready, I would just ask you again who do you need to share the gospel with this week? Who do you need to share the gospel with this week. May God put an urgency within us like never before. Let's pray, stand to your feet, father. It's a lot to take in. It's a lot to take in.
Speaker 2:We are living in the midst of labor pains, birth pains, and those are only going to intensify as the end of the age draws near. Lord, my heart hurts for those. Perhaps, even in this room, we're not ready, because today could be the day. Today could be the day. May each of us, no matter how long we've been in church, may we search our hearts. May we search our hearts and make sure that we're ready, and may we have an urgency like never before. Those of us who are ready to spread the gospel. Don't let us be guilty, even Christians, of going about living life as if you would not return today. Marrying and giving the marriage, those are good things, but let those things not be what our life is about. Let us not be consumed with those things, but let us be consumed with a love and a treasure of the Lord. Jesus Christ. Help us today. We long for your appearing and pray. Even so, come quickly, lord Jesus. We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening. If you'd like to know more about how you can have a relationship with Jesus Christ, or if you have questions about our church, you can email us at info at myrealchurchorg. Real Life Community Church is located at 335 Glendon Avenue in Richmond, Kentucky. We invite you to join us for worship Sunday at 10.45 am or Wednesday at 7 pm. Visit us online at myrealchurchorg.