Don't Miss The Point - Religion to Redemption - Matthew S6E6

- Let's go. Amen and amen. Do you feel like a winner today? I hope so. Hey, if you got your Bibles, hope you do. We're gonna study a lot, a lot, a lot. We're gonna do all of Matthew chapter 24. We're gonna bleed into the first parable of Matthew chapter 25. But we gotta get a running starting Matthew chapter 23 to understand what's happening here. So Matthew chapter 23 verse 36 is where we're gonna start. I wanna welcome everybody that's here. All the regulars glad you're here. We've got a bunch of guests with us that are gonna be at our church leader summit starting tomorrow. I'm glad you're here. There's some of you and you wouldn't even, you don't even know what you think about Jesus. I'm glad you're here. I hope that changes by the time that we're finished. All of our campuses, thank you for being here. All of our outposts. And by the way, would you join me in welcoming our brand new outpost in Fort Worth, Texas that is starting right now. (audience applauding) Welcome. I love me some Fort Worth.

All right. There's also another brand new outpost. This is gonna blow your mind. Is that this weekend, another brand new outpost starts at the University of Florida right now. Can you believe that? That's right. That's right. We are a movement for all people. (audience laughing) And good Lord, people know that those people need Jesus. Amen? We've even got some Browns fans here. Look at that, all right? It's all right, y'all will be first in heaven 'cause you're gonna be last today. All right, so. (audience laughing) So here's what we're talking about. All right, it's kind of intense. By the way, I don't normally advertise this, but Pastor Brent, Pastor Vicky and myself, normally sometimes Pastor's own is there. We sit down and do a podcast called The Deepen Podcast on Thursday night after the 722 service where we just do a deeper dive into the content that we're studying. If we're gonna be talking about things like eschatology and end times and the return of Christ today. That's what we're talking about.

And there's no way I can cover it all. In fact, you're gonna listen a little bit faster than you normally do or the next service might be sitting in your lap. I normally teach for about four or five pages of notes right now I have 13, okay? So we'll get out by halftime, I swear. And you're gonna wanna listen to this one because we get into a lot more discussion about all the camps and who lands where. There's lots of godly theologians that have debated about the end times and the timing of all the things. And here's the thing I want you to see though is that we're just going to look at what Jesus says and its implications in our life. Now sometimes people will actually ask me, Pastor, you mean to tell me you think that there's a second return of Christ that Jesus is returning? And I say you better believe I believe that Jesus is returning. Do you know why? 'Cause he said he was. That's why. And why would I believe that? 'Cause he called his shot. He said he was gonna be dead buried and then on the third day be resurrected from the grave. And if you can pull that one off

you're gonna wanna believe whatever he says. Now before we get into all of the prophecies about the return of Christ, I wanna back up to chapter 23. This is right where Pastor Matt left off last week. Right after Jesus has cursed the religious leaders. When he says whoa seven times, if you remember the beginning of his teaching ministry was called the Beatitudes and where he says blessed, blessed, blessed, blessed. That means congratulations. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Now when he says whoa, that's the opposite of that. That means cursed are you. And as he's leaving that conversation, he's heading to the Mount of Olives. Here's what he says in chapter 23 verse 36. He says truly I say to you all these things will come upon this generation. A part of the reason that verse matters is because when we get to chapter 24 and a whole bunch of the things that he prophesies one of the things that you have to understand historically in order to understand Matthew chapter 24 is that there is an event in history that happens about 40 years from this moment which is the destruction of the temple that would change the entire mindset of the first century Jewish person. And then on his way out of the city

here's what happens in verse 37. Ready? He looks back at the city of Jerusalem. And he says I want you to see the heart of Jesus before we get to the scary stuff of his return and judgment. I want you to see the heart of Jesus. He looks at his people and he says, hold Jerusalem Jerusalem. The city that kills the prophets and stone those who are sent to it. How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers or brood And you weren't willing. You see how tender this is? I mean, can you think of anything more tender than like a little baby chick in the mama hand? It's like when the tough times come, won't you just come and find your refuge in me? Won't you find your protection in me? Won't you find your peace in me? This is the heart of Jesus. And so before we get to the judgment and all of that, I need you to see what he wants is you. He wants you. He wants you to not get caught up in all the details of the prophetic about what will come. He wants you to understand today, right now, today is the day of salvation. Want you to be willing to just come to Jesus

and regardless of how it all plays out, find your refuge in him. Verse 38, "See, your house is left to you desolate for I tell you. You will not see me again until you say, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." And if you'll remember from a few weeks ago, and again, I know you guys are the gifted class. You remember everything I say. Remember the triumphal entry? This is what they said. "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." A part of what he's saying is when he returns, he's gonna return to the same place in a similar way, but there's gonna be some differences because when he enters Jerusalem, the last week of his life here on earth, he came in humbly and riding on a donkey to lay down his life for the salvation of people. But when he comes back, he's coming in power, riding on a horse to judge the quick and the dead. That's what's happening. Then you get to chapter 24. And I'm making up a theological term here, but what he's going to share is what I would call near and far prophecies. Some of the things are gonna happen in the next 40 years. Some of the things are to come. The theological terminology is partial, predarism, futurist. That's what it means, but whatever.

Near and far works better. And one of the things, if you are a student of eschatology, if you don't know what the word eschatology is, no problem, it just means the study of end times. If you do know what the word eschatology is, you probably already fall in a camp. You probably already know what camp you are, and you may ask me, Pastor Joby, so where do you land? Are you a pre-mill, post-mill, aw-mill? Where's the rapture and all this? Are you pre-chair of post-trib, mid-trib? Where are you on this? And I'm gonna tell you, my feet are firmly planted in the air. It kinda depends on who I'm listening to. Kinda depends on what part of the Bible I'm in. In fact, if you're in the gifted class, jot this down, okay, jot this down. Bikers, right this down, boys, ready? Go to YouTube tonight after all the games are over, and watch this discussion called a night of eschatology. It's for theologians talking about their point of view on the millennial reign of Christ. It is the feel-good hit of the century, all right? Now here's why I want you to watch this, 'cause here's what's gonna happen. There are four men that are gathered together, and here's the thing about these four men. All four of them are conservative, Bible-believing, evangelicals.

And they all come to the scriptures the same way. They all sit under the authority of the word of God. They believe in the inspiration of the word of God. They believe in the infallibility of the word every single one of them, and they can't agree on the details of the return of Christ. Couple of these guys, I know one is a guy named Sam Storm. He's what we call a millennial. There's another guy named Doug Wilson. He's post-millennial. There's a professor from Southern Seminary named Jim Hamilton. He has his PhD in eschatology. And then in my opinion, there's a granddaddy of them all, Dr. John Piper, and he's historic pre-mill. And even though they all believe the same thing about the Bible for two hours, they disagree about what it means in regards to return of Christ. And these dudes are smart. They've got more degrees than Fahrenheit, and they can't figure it out. And here we are at an all Walmart trying to figure it out. You understand what I'm saying? Now here's why I bring this up. Wherever you land on this, if you're pre-mill, if you're post-mill, if you're on-mill, if you're whatever, okay. Wherever you land, here's what's even more important. This is not something that the church should divide over. Because there are some things that we all agree on.

We all agree, Jesus will return. We all agree that the devil will be cast in the hell. We all agree that there will be a judgment, and for anybody that puts their faith in Jesus Christ, you will be with him forever, So in fact, to prove my point, on Wednesday, one of my dear friends, Pastor out of Nashville, Tennessee, his name's Robbie Gallody. He's like the real live Goliath. Wait till you see him on Wednesday. He's nine feet tall, and he's a monster. And he's going to preach, he's going to open up saturated, and he is what is called a partial predatorist post-millennial. That's what he is, okay? And he's going to preach the pain of the wall, and it's going to be awesome. And then next year, another friend of mine, named Philip Anthony Mitchell, is going to be preaching here in 1122. And he is a pre-tread, pre-millennial. I'm not sure if he's a historic or a dispensationalist, I'll ask him, okay? And here's the thing, they're both going to preach the gospel because we are all on Team Jesus. So the church should not ever, ever, ever divide over secondary issues. Primary issues are things like the Trinity, chrysology, salvation about the atoning work of Christ, the authority and the infallibility of Scripture.

Secondary issues are like this, eschatology, modabaptism, role of women in the church, liturgy, what kind of music you share, that kind of thing. It's kind of like in your marriage, in your marriage, there are primary issues. Like when you get married, you go, we're just sleeping with each other, that's primary. And if you're like, well, not us, you don't, that pineapple thing you're doing, that's not a marriage. (congregation laughs) Secondary issues are things like, what do you set the temperature at and do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas day, which is Christmas day, by the way, I'll solve that one for you. All right. So here's what we're gonna do, and we gotta go fast. We're just gonna read what the text says, and we're gonna look at its implications for us today. 'Cause here's the thing, I don't normally tell you the title of the sermon, I'm not that guy, but, I titled this sermon, don't miss the point. 'Cause you can miss the forest for the trees on this one. And the point is this, there is a return, and are you ready? Dude, I fly all the time, I think I travel 180 days this year. So I am on planes, planes, planes, planes, and every couple of weeks or so, I'm walking to my gate and my posture,

when it comes to hunting and airports, is there is no early. There's only late, 'cause I don't wanna miss it. And I will see people chucking it through the airport, and they get to the door, and the door's closed. And guess what? They ain't getting in. I don't care what the excuse is, the Chick-fil-A line was longer, I prayed about it, or God told me, that's adorable, you ain't getting in. The message, the point of what Jesus is sharing is, right now, the door is wide open, and you were invited to get in, but there is coming a time when the door will shut, and I want you to be ready. All right, now buckle up, here we go. Chapter 24, beginning in verse one. And Jesus left the temple, and was going away, and his disciples came to point to him, the buildings of the temple. This is the second Herodian temple, it's super bougie, okay? And all of Jewish life revolved around the temple in Jerusalem. And Jesus answered him, then. You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here, one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down. This was devastating to them, they're like, what? How could this possibly be? Our whole life centers around the temple.

This would be like, I don't know, Washington, DC, without the White House, you know, it'd be a big deal. This would be like the South without Chick-fil-A, you'd be like, ah, say it ain't so. How will we survive? This happens in 70 AD, Rome surrounds Jerusalem, they come in, and they wipe out the temple. But ultimately what Jesus is saying is, what I'm done with this weekend, and the weekend he's talking about, is that he is going to be crucified, dead buried, and when the third day be resurrected from the grave. He is saying, we don't even need the temple anymore, because that's where the sacrificial system happens, and let me remind you of what my cousin, John the baptizer, said about me, behold, the Lamb of God, who comes to take away the sin of the entire world. So we don't need the blood of Lamb and goats anymore, because the Lamb will be slain for all who believe or welcome. Verse three, and as they sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, and they asked him either one question or three questions, depending on what camp you live in, says, tell us, boss, when will these things be, what will be the sign of your coming, and what's the sign of the end of the age? Have you ever thought about that? Have you ever thought about what the end of the world

is going to be like? This is what the disciples are asking. And when they say to him, what will be the sign of your coming, they're obviously talking about it So when are you coming back, boss? What's the end of the world gonna be like? Verse four, here's the first thing that comes out of Jesus' mouth. This is so important. And Jesus' answer to them, see that no one leads you astray. This is the first thing he says. He's like, "Be careful, boys, "because people are gonna use in-time stuff, "and many people will be led astray, "and Jesus does not want us to be led astray." So let me give you a little warning, okay? If you're kind of a college age kid. So like our U.S. outpost, and all our 18-25s. Let me just tell you it's gonna happen in your walk with Jesus, okay? Is that when you're newer in your faith, and especially when you're a college kid and you know everything, you have a tendency to go down these rabbit holes of theology, and they can be good things, but you can take them to the point where you think it's the most important thing, and you can miss the whole point. And so if you're like 20 years old,

you're gonna bump into a guy named John Calvin, not like at the mall, he's been dead a minute, and you're gonna get ahold of the doctrines of grace, and you're gonna learn about Reformed theology, and then if you're, and I believe it, I'm into it, but then what's gonna happen is, you're gonna think you're smarter than everybody else, and you're gonna find yourself arguing in your dorm room and screaming at people about how much God loves 'em. Check yourself. Or the other rabbit hole you'll tend to go down is this, is you're gonna bump into one of your charismatic friends, and they're gonna be speaking in tongues, you know, like it should've been a Honda kind of thing, and you're like, "Ooh, what's that?" And you're gonna get obsessed with the gifts to the spirit and spiritual warfare, and be careful 'cause you might go down a rabbit hole and miss the whole point. And then the third one that a lot of people get caught up in is this, is that in times, that's pathology, and you're gonna have, you're gonna have like Google News up and the Bible up, and you're gonna try to link everything together, and what Jesus is saying is this, be careful that you don't get led astray and miss the point. Verse five, for many will come in my name, saying, "I am the Christ." They don't say, "I am Jesus, I am the Christ." The Christ offers life. This happens to you every single day.

Every time you see an ad for something, it's promising to give life. That's what it's promising. That you can find life in this stuff, in this experience, in this feeling, and Jesus says, "For many will come in my name, saying, "'I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray.'" We have seen this for over 2,000 years in cults, demonic religions all the time we see this, 'cause here's what happens. Somebody, it's always a man. Some man, occasionally it's a woman right now. Sometimes a man will show up and be like, "Okay, I have a unique connection with God, "and I have a special place, "and I'm the new conduit to God." And then the next thing they do is they redefine Jesus. Everybody's pro-Jesus, as long as you get to define who he is. So he's not exactly who the Bible said he is. This is who he is. He's a prophet, he's a good moral teacher. And then what begins to happen is they establish themselves, have some kind of unique place. This is what Jesus warned about. By the way, this is why I try to say this as much as possible. Please, read your Bible for yourself, man. Ain't nothing special about me. I'm just a nobody willing to tell anybody

about somebody wants to save everybody. I'm just a mailman to tell you what it says, okay? And then here's how you know it's demonic. Because the way that cult plays itself out is it always plays itself out in sexual immorality, status, and stuff. Way back 2000 years ago, that's what happened. There'd be sexual immorality, temple prostitution, and child sacrifice every time. You fast forward to today, you see the exact same thing. It's always the prophet, he's got some kind of special dispensation and he gets to have 50 wives, but nobody else does. And it always comes at the expense of little kids. It's happening today. I mean, look at child trafficking today. It's a demonic force. Help me understand this. This is the way I see it, okay? Is it even in our country, right now, there's all this child trafficking stuff and there seems to be cover up at the highest levels of authority. Listen, normal people possessed by Jesus, we protect children, demonic people hurt children, and it shows up that way every single time. May it not be so on our watch. So Jesus says, watch out. Now he's gonna continue, and what he's gonna do is he's gonna give signs, okay?

So if you wanna get your eschatological bingo card out, let's check and see what's going on here. Verse six, and you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Check, you hear about wars, all day, every day. And then here's what he says next, pay attention to this, early on he goes, but see that you are not alarmed. Here's what you have to understand. If you're a believer in Jesus, The point of it is not to make you scared. The point of it is to bring you peace and hope. Do you know why? Because I'm a professional. Like I get paid to do this. You guys are good for nothing. I don't know if you know that. I've read to the end of the book and the whole point is we win. We win. I've told you this before. This time of year, one of my favorite things to do is to watch reruns of my favorite teams, the Bulldogs and the Jaguars. So after I go watch us stomp a mud hole in the Browns today live, when I get home, I'm going to watch the rerun. And here's the reed. I love it so much guys. Like why you do it?

It's so stress free. I don't need stress in my life. I have you. I want to just be entertained. And so even if we fumble, even if it gets close, whatever. When I know that we won, I don't have to be afraid. And this is what Jesus is saying. So don't be alarmed for this must take place. But the end is not yet. For seven for nation will rise against nation, check. Kingdom against kingdom, check. There will be famines. Did you know right now in our world, a child dies every six seconds. From famine, from malnutrition, check. Earth quakes in various places, check. And then he says, "All these are but the beginning of birth pains." This isn't the end. This is the beginning of the beginning. And it's going to lead to a birth. Now listen, here's the thing, okay? I've never had a baby. I've seen it twice. And this is triggering the half of my country. Are you ready for this? Not only have I not had a baby, I can't have a baby.

'Cause boys don't have babies. That's just how it goes. All right, so anyway. Who would have thought that would be radical thing to say? (audience applauding) But I've seen it twice. And here's the thing, it's terrible. It's absolutely terrible. I mean, it is. People are like, it's beautiful. It's a NASCAR wreck, okay? But here's the thing. There's pain, but then there's the payoff. And here's basically what happens. The pain is terrible, but the payoff so overshadows the pain. This is why you mamas, you get like baby annesia and they're like, let's have 11 of them. 'Cause you forget about how terrible, 'cause the payoff is so big. This is what Jesus is saying. Pain is coming, but the payoff is so much better that you look back at the pain and you'll go worth it. That's what he said. Verse nine, and then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death. And you will be hated by all nations for my namesake. Is there persecution of the church today? You better believe it.

Now listen, where we live right here, especially like in Jacksonville, there's a very mild form. I mean, somebody might make a mean YouTube video about you or something. Do you realize in Europe right now, the birthplace of common law, 17 pastors in London have been arrested this year for what they call hate speech, which is actually just preaching the Bible. 17,000 people in Europe have been detained. They won't call it arrested, detained. It looks like arrest when they put cuffs on you and put you in the cop car, but whatever. 17,000 people in Europe have been detained this year for social media posts and 99.9% of them. It's just conservative, crystal Bible language. Listen to me, votes have consequences. You should pay attention to that. But then there's also persecution persecution. You don't ever hear about this in the media since 2015. 50,000 Christians have been martyred for their faith in Nigeria. It's 13 per day. Yeah, this is happening right now, check. He says, "And then many will fall away." Literally in Greek, that means stumble and betray one another and hate one another, check. You hear about the number of people

that are deconstructing from their faith? By the way, let me tell you, who doesn't deconstruct? The person that's been run over by the grace train. They didn't put their faith in some kind of church system to put their faith in Jesus and have met Jesus. And do you see all the division online and where the people that all claim to Jesus seem to hate each other, check. Verse 11, "And many false prophets will arise "and lead many astray." Check false religions, cults, bad actors in the pulpit. Verse 12, this is gonna make you uncomfortable so everybody listen up. And because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold. Does it look, do you like lawlessness is increasing? I mean, you see riots and looting and teen tag overs and all of this? And we have all, many of us have been consumed lately with a news story hanging here of a mom that killed her three kids. And the reaction from some is to cheer for her and raise money for her, lawless. But the opposite reaction seems to be and the love of many has grown cold. Listen, let me give you a very complex idea for the mature believer. Do you know that you can walk and chew gum at the same time? Do you know that if you're a follower of Jesus, you could simultaneous, the opposite of lawlessness

would be justice, that you could cry out for justice for those three precious little babies and simultaneously have empathy in your heart for anybody that struggles with a mental health issue or is postpartum or is sad and simultaneously want to hold accountable big pharma who's pumping poison into our people. You understand, you know you can hold those in tension. And so part of the reason I need to say this is because listen man, if you're on the struggle bus right now, like if you're struggling with mental health issue and you're thinking of harming yourself or harming somebody else, please let us help. We love you, we want to walk with you. We want to get you the help that you need and what you need is the peace that comes through the person of Jesus and you need a band of brothers or sisters around you to help speak truth into your life and to love you through this. And the worst thing you can do as a church is to other, other people slap a label on those people 'cause then you don't have to deal with the image barriers of God. You just deal with groups and categories that you've come up with. So what the church ought to be is justice and love. But our society is traded in love for lust and comfort. First our team, but the one who endures to the end will be saved.

See Jesus didn't want you to be scared. My friend Matt Chandler says it this way. If we don't quit, we win. Paul says it this way in Philippians chapter one verse six. I am confident of this that he who began a good work in me will bring it to completion on the day of Christ Jesus, verse 14. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world. That's every neighbor in nation. That's the next series we're doing. As a testimony to all nations and then the end will come. And the way I see this is this is a key prerequisite to his coming. So by the way, what we are leveraging our church for over the next two and a half years. You'll hear all about it beginning in the next series. Is this right here? We're gonna take the good news of the gospel from every neighborhood to every nation. And now he's gonna shift into overdrive. It's gonna get more intense. It's gonna get kind of, it's just gonna be intense. Ready verse 15. So, when you see the abomination of desolation, and you're like, what's that? We'll read about it for yourself. Daniel 8, 13, 9, 27, 11, 31 and 12, 11. This is when somebody stands in the holy place and declares they are God.

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 the mountains, let the one who is on the house top not go down to take what is in the house. 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 the winter or on the Sabbath. In my opinion, I think what he's doing is both near and for prophecy right here. Many people think, will that happen at the fall of the temple in 70 AD? Absolutely. But could it also mean a future event? Absolutely. For then, verse 21, for then after the abomination of desolation in the holy place. For then there will be great tribulation. This means persecution of the believers and the whole world. And so one of the questions that people ask is this. So will believers be a part of this persecution? Well, we either will or we won't be, but your answer to that depends on which camp you live in. So if you're a pre tribulation person, you go, nope, we're gonna be out of here. If you're a partial preterist,

I know you don't know what this means. You'd be like, no, I already happened in 70 AD. If you're mid tribulationist, you'd be like half, three and a half years and then we're out. If you're a post tribulation, you're like, yep, we're here for the old thing. Here's the thing, man. I'm not trying to be funny here, but I'm happy to change my opinion mid-air. That's my position towards this. I'm what you would call a pan tribulationist. What does that mean? Man, I don't know, it's all gonna pan out in the end, but here's what I know. I love Jesus, Jesus is coming to get me, whether I'm here or not for the tribulation. We win for the end there will be a great tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now no and never will be and in those days if those days have not been cut short no human being would be saved but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short I'm gonna tell you who the elect are in just a second then if anyone says to you look here is the Christ or there he is don't believe it for false Christ this is this is things are people that promise life outside of Jesus for false Christ and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders and as to lead astray comma if possible comma the elect this is math this is Jesus's way of saying it ain't possible sometimes people ask me this question can a Christian lose their salvation my that's the wrong question the right question is can God lose one of his children and Romans chapter 8 the whole back half of it says absolutely not there is nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing present nothing things to come there's nothing in heaven nothing on hell there's nothing in your past nothing in your future there's nothing that separates us from the love of God so who are the elect here's who the elect are the elect is anybody that puts their faith in Jesus Christ here's

what the elect is that means this that you are wanted and that you are chosen you ever watch the chosen if you love Jesus that's you how comforting of is it that God wants you I think it's mark 313 and Jesus called unto himself all those who he wanted in anybody who would believe would receive the right to become a child of God first twenty five see I have told you beforehand so that if they say to you look he's in the wilderness don't go and if they say look he's in the inner rooms don't 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 now in the first century when you heard this you're like how's the whole world gonna see one thing that happens in the Middle East today we're like man one GoPro camera the whole world can see everything but here's what he's saying he's saying that there will be no doubt about it when the trumpet blast when Christ returns that as far as the east is from the west there will be no doubt that Jesus is back and then a one line parable wherever the corpse is there the vultures will be that just means signs point to something and then now he's gonna turn it up even more verse 29 and immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened well has that happened well maybe allegorically if that's how you take it and the moon will not give us a light well see the moon seems to give us a light now as a reflection of the sun the stars will fall from heaven well it's just it was talking about falling angels and yes it was talking about the actual stars doesn't seem to happen yet and the powers of heaven will be shaken have the powers of heaven been shaken I don't know I haven't been yet verse 30 and then will appear in heaven the sign of the son of man he's referencing back to Daniel chapter 7 when the son of man will come in on the clouds and the sign of the son of man and then all of the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the son of man coming in clouds this means judgment of heaven with power and glory once again I want to remind you this should not stir fear this should stir hope and he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call and they will gather his elect the people that put their faith in him from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other this is really good news man that if you have put your faith in Jesus Christ that Jesus the resurrected ascended Savior sitting at the right hand of God the Father just waiting for the moment where his dad taps him on his shoulder and says go get my kids and bring them home verse 32 Jesus has really been in the fig trees

the past couple weeks he says this 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 in other words you should pay attention to the seasons I'm just gonna put my cards on the table the way I see this thing is that the season here's what I promise you we're one hour closer to his return right now than when we started this service I can guarantee you that truly I say to you this generation will not pass away until all these things take place well the destruction of the temple did take place so that part was at least fulfilled then verse 35 heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away this is such good news by people This is why we preach from this book. This is why we preach from the-- This is not an old book, this is a timeless book. This book doesn't just tell you what happened, it tells you what always happens. This book is not only true, it's trustworthy, and you can lean your life against all of the promises. Now, I think the next verse, I think the reason that Jesus does this is 'cause you like me, I don't know if you're like me, you ought to be, then what we can do, oh you thought that was funny, and so do Gretchen, anyway. If you begin to see these prophecies and what you're gonna begin to do, it's like we were talking about, get your bingo card out, but ooh, I think that's it. I think that's the antichrist, you begin to check the boxes, right? And so for those folks trying to figure out exactly when he's coming, he's got this word, verse 36, ready,

but concerning that day and hour, no one knows. Not even the angels of heaven, nor the son, but the Father only. So don't believe anybody that predicts a day and hour when Jesus is returning, and this has been happening for a long time. I'll give you some examples. In the late 1800s, there was a guy named Charles Russell, he started an organization that's really a cult called the Jehovah's Witness, and he predicted in 1874, Jesus is returning, Jehovah's coming back. And then 1874 came and went and he was like, oops, I meant 1914. So he shipped gears, he went to 1914, he was old for two. Got it? In the 1980s, there was a man named Hal Lindsey, and he taught everybody that Jesus was coming back in the early '80s, which would have been a sweet time, but he didn't do it. In 1988, a guy named Edgar Wissner wrote a book called 88 Reasons Why the Rapture is in 1988. He was old for 88. That book sold five million copies. Anybody remember Y2K? Explain to Gen Z what Y2K was. They're like, you thought your alarm clock was gonna end the world, yeah, shut up. 2011, a guy named Harold Camping, he was a popular radio personality.

He believed May 21st, 2011, it's happening. He passed out brochures, he put bumper stickers everywhere. He was wrong, and so when May 21st came, he was like, nah, nah, I meant October 21st. Y'all heard me wrong, he was wrong again. 2015, remember the blood moons? People thought it was endless, man. Here's the thing, Jesus warns us. Nobody knows. It reminds me when I was in college and I was going down this rabbit hole, I went to the best Christian I knew, which was my grandma, we call her Mert, her name's Myrtle. And I said, Mert, when do you think Jesus is coming back? And in the sweetest, most southern, sticky way, she says, sugar? I've just always found it to be more beneficial to be on the welcome committee than the planning committee. That's a fact, Jack, okay? 'Cause what you do when you're on the welcome committee is that you prepare for 37. So as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Here's what he's saying, in the days of Noah, there was a promise, there was an obedient rescuer, there was an invitation, and then one day the doors were shut. He says, "For as in those days, "before the flood they were eating and drinking and marrying "and giving in marriage until the day

"when Noah entered the art "and they were unaware until the flood came "and swept them all away. "So will be the coming of the Son of Man." Listen, they were consumed with their comfort and they were not paying attention to impending judgment. That's what he's saying. And so with Jesus, he made a promise, he made a way, it's called the gospel, that we are in the season of the invitation, but there will come an end. And the invitation will be over and the judgment will happen, will you be ready? Verse 40, "And then two men will be found in the field, "and one will be taken, and one will be left, "and two women will be grinding at the mill, "and one will be taken, and one left." And here's the thing, man, here's the thing, as I study all the passages from Daniel and Ezekiel and Matthew 24 in the book of Revelation, here's the primary consistent thing I see when it comes to the end of the time. It's this one word, be ready. Just be ready. Be ready for his coming. Verse 42, this is what he's talking about here. He says, "So therefore, stay awake." Church, have you been lulled to sleep by the comforts of this world? And all of your efforts and all of your energy

and all of your money and all of your affections are just caught up in the temporary things of this world that are gonna be gone quickly, or are you ready for his imminent return? He says, "Therefore, stay awake." So if you don't know Jesus, get saved. And if you do know Jesus, share the gospel with your one more. Offer forgiveness, leverage the talents, the treasures, the time that you have for the advancement of the kingdom of God. Just don't waste your life. Wake up church to the realities of eternity, that's what he said. But know this. This is another quick prayer will. 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 he would not let his house be broken into. Therefore you must also be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect. So you wanna be ready for the end of the world? Then know Jesus and make him known, be ready. Verse 45, who then is the faithful and wise servant whom the master has set over the household to give them their food at the proper time. Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.

This is not supposed to be a verse to scare you. This is supposed to be a verse to spur the saved on to what's most important. I'm not trying to scare you. Listen, when I was in high school, the guy was listening to preach who would use this verse to scare you. What you gonna be doing when he comes back. Ooh, and I remember in 1991, a group of us got together and we made a gamble and we bought tickets to Terminator 2. And I can remember standing outside of Terminator 2 going man, if he comes back during when Arnie's on screen we're going to hell, you know, that's what we thought. That's not what he's saying, he's saying live with the urgency of eternity. And here's why there's a big warning here. But truly I say to you, he, the master, will set him, that's the faithful servant, over all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, my master's delayed and you begin to beat your fellow servants and eat and drink with drunkards. In other words, I don't care how much you go to church and how many times you raise your hand and how many prayers you pray. But if your life puts on display that Jesus is not your Lord but you are the Lord of your own life, then you ain't ready. If you are greedy like the world

and sexually immoral like the world and self-medicate like the world and if your life is indistinguishable from the world it's because Jesus is not your Lord and you are. 'Cause if you're going to run over by the grace train it changes everything about everything about everything. This is serious man, I don't know if you're new here. You're probably looking at the guy that brought you and you're like, man, you said he was funny, that's ain't funny, you say funny, this ain't funny. This is your eternity, so put your faith in Jesus. He says the master of that servant will come on that day when he does not expect him and at the hour he does not know and will cut him into pieces and put him with the hypocrites and in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. This is hell, I think it's ridiculous right now. I hear all these podcasters and they're like, I really like the teachings of Jesus. I don't know if he's the Lord but I really like the teachings of Jesus. It's obvious you haven't read the teachings of Jesus. You just read the part about the kids and the sheep. They're fun but the flowers and the birds, that's neat. But how about the part if you don't trust them as your savior, you get cut up into pieces and thrown into hell or they'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth. R.C. Sproul, God rest his soul, says this. He says the weepers in hell are the people that wake up and they're like, oh no, I missed it.

Oh no, I mean at the depth of losing a child or something you realize that you lost the opportunity to love God forever and ever and they will weep and they will weep and then there's another group that will wake up and they'll gnash their teeth and they'll curse God for giving him what they chose in this life. Don't be that. Please don't be that. So I didn't want to end with that verse (congregation laughing) 'Cause Jesus doesn't end there. 'Cause some of you are scared. And I think Jesus looks at the crowd of disciples who just said, what's the end of the world gonna be like? And they're like, and he goes, all right, sit down boys. Let me tell you three stories. And in these three stories he's gonna tell us next two parables a few weeks from now. The first story or parable is how to ultimately be ready. It's called the parable of the 10 virgins. And let me just tell you the point in case you fall asleep or something. The whole point is this. Just be ready. Don't miss the party. Right now the invitation is out. One day the invitation is going to end. The party is going to start and you're either going to be in or out. I want you to be in. That's what he's saying. Ready? It goes this way. Then the kingdom of heaven, self-familiar. I hope so. Some of you get the hat on. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. This is what he's been preaching from the beginning. Then the kingdom of heaven will be like 10 virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. In the first century they didn't get married like we get today. Like they would have a betrovel which is kind of like an engagement. Legally it was way more intense. Like you had to get a legal divorce to get out of it. And they didn't send out like a save a date. Like February 26th 2.30 p.m. Be at the church because we're going to have a wedding. That's not how it would

work. What would happen is is that a man would go to a woman's family, ask for her hand basically, and then they would be betrothed. And then he would say to her, hey, I've got to go away for a little while. But don't let your hearts be troubled because I'm going to prepare a place for you. And in my father's house there's plenty of room. And I wouldn't have told you this if I wasn't going to come back and get you and take you home and where I'm going you're going to be with me also. Now if you gifted class, that's John 14. And a part of the reason is to the primary illustration of Christ's love for the church is that of a groom's love and union with his bride. So if you want some extra homework, read Revelation 19, 2021 about the married supper of the land. And so then what would happen is the people knew about a year from the betrovel that's when the wedding would be consummated and these 10 young women or virgins would show up and they would have lamps. And the groom would come into the household of that girl's father and family and say, you're coming with me and they would possess down the road with these lamps. And then they would get, they all lived together like in their dad's house. It was super communal. And they would go to this new house and he would be transferring her from that kingdom to his kingdom and say, come with me. So this is what they're waiting on. And so there were 10 virgins and they took their lamps and they went to meet the bridegroom and five of them were foolish and fiber wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them. But the wives took flask of oil in their lamps. In the New Testament, oil is almost always a picture of the Holy Spirit of God. So let me just put it on the bottom level. Fiber foolish because they didn't have the spirit of God because they did not trust in Jesus. They trusted in themselves. And five of them were wise because they trusted in Jesus. Therefore, they had the Holy Spirit. They're like, where do you get this? Listen, when you get Jesus, you get the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1, 13 says this, in him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation and believed in him, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory. Now, here's the thing. There were only two categories. There's no third category. You either got the oil or you ain't got the oil. There's no people there like, well, we ain't got the oil, but look how clean our lamps are. Done work. And as the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. This is why he keeps saying, be ready and wake up. But at midnight, there was a cry. Here's the bridegroom. Come out to meet him. This is the return of Christ. Then all those virgins rose and they trimmed their lamps,

but the foolish ones said to the wise, give us some of your oil for our lamps are going out. And the wise answered, since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourself, bottom shelf, somebody else's fate can't save you. Sometimes how many people in there would be like, I've been a Christian my whole life. Unless your last name is Christian, that ain't true. And your last name ain't Christian ain't going to save you. The question is, have you put your faith in Jesus Christ? The line to give into heaven is a single file line. And these fools said, we got this, we got plenty of time and they didn't have time. And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went in with him, And after the other virgins came also saying, Lord, Lord, open to us, but he answered truly, I say to you, I don't know you. Watch therefore, you know neither the time nor the hour. Here's the point. Don't miss the point. Please don't get caught up in all the abomination of despolat--all that stuff's important, it's in the Bible, but just it's not the main point. The main point is he's coming back. Do you know him? You have the oil. Have you put your faith in Jesus Christ? Can I tell you something? Here's one thing that's better in reality about the gospel than the story Jesus tells is you don't have to go buy oil. It is offered to you as a free gift from him right now. For all who believe, receive the right to become a child of God. Here's something--I mean, I deal with a lot being your pastor. Here's the one that freaks me out. I don't think he's talking to atheists right here, because they come to him and they go, "Lord, Lord, atheists don't call him Lord." Secular progressives don't call him Lord, you know who calls him Lord, church people. And so if you think your good works are going to be enough that oillessly you can let the

light shine, it just doesn't work that way. What you have to do is what Ephesians says in him, "You also, when you heard the word of truth that's happening right now, the gospel of your salvation," that is that Christ came to do for you what you could not do for yourself. You have a sin debt against God that you cannot pay, and God made him who was without sin to be sinned for us, that we would be made the righteousness of God. This is the greatest exchange ever, that if you'll admit it, I'm a sinner, God. I've got nothing. And I trust that somehow when Jesus died on the cross that counted for me, then the Bible says that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. And when you do that and believe in him, you're sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. Listen, when Paul talks about the end of the world in Matthew chapter 2, he says, "Listen, there is coming a day when Christ returns and every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord." So guess what? You've got two options. You can bow or you can bow. That's it? The timing is everything. If you refuse to bow right now and humble yourself before Jesus and say, "I surrender my life to you," then when he returns, and I know people are black, when Jesus comes, I'm going to ask him, "You ain't asking Jack, dude. You're going to fall on your face. You're going to pee your pants." And you're going, "Oh God, don't kill me." And then he's going to. That's how that goes. But you ain't going to die. It's terrible. And the crazy thing is, but now during the age of invitation before the party starts,

if we bow in humility that when he returns, he opens up the door to the party, he goes, "Well done, my good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the master, all that I have is yours." And he says, "Every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to be forever to figure out what that meant, that all of us will say, 'You're the Lord.'" The question is, "Lord of what?" You'll either be Lord of your salvation or Lord of your damnation, but every one of us will bring glory to the Almighty God, either as a trophy of His grace or a demonstration of His justice. And here's what I need you to hear though. So are you ready? Have you put your faith in Jesus? Because you know what His heart is? He ain't mad at you. He wants you. If we go all the way back to the very beginning of when I started talking, His heart is, "Oh, that you would come to me like a little baby chick and find refuge under my provision, under my protection, under my gospel, and I will shield you from all of the justice that you deserve, because I will take it upon myself, and I will be afflicted, and I will be beaten, and I will be crucified." So that you can live if you will just come to me. That's what He wants. That's how to be ready. So I want to give you that opportunity right now. Would you bow your heads, would you close your eyes? And if you say, "I'm ready, I'm ready." I thought I could do this on my own, or maybe you believed the lie of the enemy that you That is a lie from the pit of hell. God loves you, and Jesus is the proof, and there's more grace in Jesus than sin in you.

And so whether you're a religious person or a rebellious person, that today could be the day that you get ready for eternity. And if you were ready today, for the very first time, to admit it, I'm a sinner and native of savior. I believe that when Jesus died on the cross, somehow that counted for me. And today, you were ready to confess Him as Lord. I want you to lift your hand as high as you can and say, "Lord, Jesus saved me." And that's a promise that He keeps 100% of the time. Amen, amen, lifted high. Our good and gracious, heavenly Father God, we love you more than anything, 'cause you loved us first. And Lord, I thank you that you came on a rescue mission. Lord, I thank you that right now, there's salvation in your name amongst your children who you have called to yourself. And Lord, for those of us that have known you, Lord, I pray that we would wake up and be ready and say, "Marinatha, come, Lord Jesus." And Lord, I pray that you would help us to be ready by taking as many people to the party as we possibly can. And God, we ain't scared 'cause you're in control and you still got the whole world all eternity, including the end of times in your hands. And we pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Church, would you please stand to your feet? The gospel demands a response and we're gonna respond.

We're gonna bring our first and best as an act of worship. A part of what we do when we bring our first and best is we tell the world you don't give life, Christ gives life. And I'm not gonna worship two masters. I'm only gonna worship the Lord. So I'm bringing my first and best to you. And then what we do with every dime of it here at this church is that we leverage it to take as many people to heaven as we possibly can. And you'll get to play a significant part of that. And we're gonna pray. And a bunch of us need to wake up. And a part of the way we're gonna wake up is we're gonna sprint down here and get on our face and say, "Lord, help me to be ready. "I don't wanna waste my life." And then we're gonna sing. We're gonna sing the gospel. And it starts with turning our eyes towards Golgotha, towards Calvary. And then the way this song ends, I'm just telling you, man, it's gonna talk about the return of Christ. And if you're saved, you oughta tell your face and you oughta tell your voice. And we oughta sing this thing so loud that heaven shakes because God sees on this Sunday morning. There's some people in everywhere from Orlando up to Jessup. And we were just making much of our returning king.

So let's sing, let's bring, let's pray. Let's respond. (gentle music) ♪ I guess my ♪