LUKE 17 PREPARE FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD2020 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 17 Prepare For The Kingdom Of God

As we begin to look at Luke chapter 17, we're talking about...

the kingdom of God. And it begins with a question by the Pharisees. And in response to this, Jesus gives us some insight into and some direction for looking towards the kingdom of God. And so I've titled the message this morning, Prepare for the Kingdom of God. Here, Jesus gives us some exhortation and information to help us to be prepared for his kingdom and the kingdom that is to come.

Now, as we talk about the kingdom of God, we are really looking at some prophetic things that the Lord is referring to throughout this passage. And we'll be looking here at verses 20 all the way through the end of the chapter and some of the prophecies that Jesus gives and the things that he says are going to take place. And so I wanted to take a moment and recap some of those things.

This is looking at some of the things that we went through as we worked through the book of Revelation. Now, as many years ago, but these are the things that the Lord said throughout the book of Revelation. These are the things which must shortly take place. And the first on the agenda, the first on the list that we look forward to, of course, is the rapture of the church.

that time where the Lord will come back and not to set foot on the earth, but he will make it to the clouds and then we will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. And that rapture of the church is something exciting to look forward to.

But then after that will come this seven-year tribulation period. And Revelation 6-19 record that. And it's tribulation like the world has never seen before. Trouble and affliction that is so far unknown as far as the severity and level that it will be as the wrath of God is poured out upon the earth.

But that will conclude in Revelation chapter 19 with the return of Jesus Christ. And this time he does come back to set foot on the earth. And he will be accomplishing that in...

at the end of the tribulation at the battle of Armageddon and accomplishing the victory there at that battle. And that will bring upon the world the 1,000-year reign of Christ found in Revelation chapter 20. That's called the millennium often. And so it's this 1,000-year reign where Christ is seated on the throne there in Jerusalem and rules and reigns upon the earth with his saints.

After that thousand years comes a final rebellion of Satan and then the great white throne judgment. And then beyond that is the new Jerusalem and eternity recorded there in Revelation chapter 21. Now, as we talk about the kingdom of God this morning, there's a lot of these different things that we could be focused on. But the question of the fairly centers around this thousand year reign of Christ.

this thousand year reign of the Messiah, or again, also known as the millennium. And so this is what they're referring to. When they asked Jesus when this is going to happen, they're looking for this kingdom and they were looking for the Messiah. Jesus proclaimed that he was the Messiah and claimed to be the Messiah and

And so they're saying, so when are you going to set up the kingdom then? When are you going to overthrow Rome and, you know, set us up as the rulers of the world? And when is all of that going to happen?

And so Jesus is going to be addressing that and talking about this thousand year reign of Christ and the things leading up to it. And as we work our way through this passage, there's a lot of things that can apply to various parts of these different events, but I'm going to be primarily focusing on some considerations for us. And so you can dig into these things and prophecy can be quite interesting to work your way through and understand and work out your timelines for. And so you

I encourage you to do that. But at the same time, I want to just really encourage you to challenge your hearts and allow the Lord to minister to you about what these things would speak to us and what they would mean for us. And so we're going to work our way through four points here in Luke chapter 17. As we prepare for the kingdom of God, the first thing to consider is that we need to look to Jesus immediately. Look to Jesus immediately. Verse 20 and 21 again says this.

Now, when he was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them and said, the kingdom of God does not come with observation, nor will they say, see here or see there. For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you. Jesus here in making his way towards Jerusalem has been having some conversations and interactions with the Pharisees, with his disciples, with the multitudes, with

And now there's an opportunity for the Pharisees to ask this question. And the question they ask is, when will the kingdom of God be established? When are we going to see this happen? Now, as they ask this question, again, it's really about the timing, which is something important to note. He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come. The Pharisees believed in the Messiah.

The Pharisees believed that the Messiah would come and establish a kingdom. They weren't questioning those promises. Those promises are all the way through the Old Testament. They weren't questioning those promises. Their only question was, when is this going to happen? When is this going to take place? And so Jesus responds and said, the kingdom of God does not come with observation.

It's not going to be perceptible the way that you think about it. The way that you're thinking about it is not really accurate, and your perspective is wrong. They were looking for that external political kingdom, and Jesus here is redirecting their attention and saying, essentially, you need to be looking for a spiritual kingdom. I find this fascinating. I think it's really important for us to consider because

well, here are the Pharisees, and you could kind of wonder, how could they get this so wrong? I mean, of course, we have some preconceived ideas about the Pharisees because we've read through the scriptures, we've heard, you know, the encounters and the interactions and really the clashes that have taken place between Jesus and the Pharisees. And so we kind of have a bias against the Pharisees to begin with many times.

But to step back for a moment and think about the Pharisees and try to maybe think about it from a fresh view, you know, without all of the built-up ideas that are in our heads, here's a group of people that believed in God. Here's a group of people that were deeply religious. Here's a group of people that were diligently righteous. They believed the scriptures.

And they looked forward to the fulfillment of the things that the scriptures foretold and that God had promised. And yet all of that being said, they believed in God, but they did not know God. They believed in God, but they were not connected to God. They were deeply religious. And yet at the same time, they were far from God. And Jesus really tells them that several times throughout his ministry that their hearts were far from God.

They were diligently righteous on the outside, and yet their hearts were wicked. And there was great sin that was being hidden and covered up. And they believed the Bible, and yet they completely missed the message. And I think this is really important for us to consider because, well, none of us are above any of these same mistakes. And there are many today who believe in God, just like the Pharisees, but do not know God.

There are many today who are deeply religious, and yet at the same time, they're far from God. They're diligently righteous on the outside, but internally, there is still the issue of sin and wickedness. There are those who believe the Bible and read the Bible and study the Bible and yet miss the message. This is important for us to recognize because it can happen today and it can happen to us.

And so Jesus here calls to our attention to pay attention. Hey, sometimes in looking at these things, you need to have your heart redirected because you're missing the points altogether. And so he tells the Pharisees, it's not going to happen with observation. It's not going to be you, you know, calculating figures and calculating dates. And that's not how the kingdom of God is going to happen. And they're not going to say, see here or see there, he says in verse 21.

For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you. The kingdom of God is within you. It's not going to happen the way that you think it's going to happen. Again, the Jews were looking for a kingdom on earth right then, hoping that the Messiah would come and overthrow Rome and set up his kingdom. They thought that the Messiah would set Israel free politically right then and there.

And again, this is the kind of thing that can happen to us. It happens today. People are looking to Jesus to get themselves free from debt or free from a tough situation, looking to Jesus to make their life better. And the Lord does want to work in our lives, and perhaps he has some great blessings in store, but the primary concern of the Lord is our eternity.

salvation is promised to everyone who calls upon the Lord. Nothing else is promised. The Lord may do many other things, but salvation is our greatest need. And that's the need that he met. And so Jesus says, look, the kingdom of God is here. Now he says within you, but that word within you, or that idea within you could also be translated among you or in your midst.

J. Bernard McGee has this to say about it. He says, he's not saying that the kingdom of God is inside the hearts of these godless and hostile Pharisees. Rather, the kingdom of God was in their midst in the person of the King, the Lord Jesus Christ. He was right then standing among them.

Here's what Jesus is saying. The kingdom of God is right here. You're looking for this kingdom, but you've got it all wrong and you've misunderstood. You've missed the message. And the reality is the kingdom of God is at hand. And that was the message from John the Baptist. Remember when he began to preach and then Jesus, as he first came on the scene and began his public ministry, that was the consistent message. The kingdom of God is at hand.

Because the kingdom of God is there in the presence of Jesus. Here Jesus is explaining that the kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom because he is the king and he is the Messiah. Those who believe in him, those who are his followers, those who hold fast to him are participating in the kingdom of God.

Now, not in all of the exact literal fulfillment of all of the things that are still yet to come. Those things are still to come and they will take place. But at the same time, we can participate in the kingdom of God

By coming to Jesus as king, receiving him as king, serving him as king. He came this first time to deal with the issue of sin. He came to establish a spiritual kingdom for those who believe in him. And then he promised to come again to set up that earthly kingdom. And again, that is still yet to take place.

Pastor Warren Wiersbe puts it this way, the Greek preposition can mean within, among, or in the midst of. Jesus was saying, don't look for the kingdom out there unless it is first in your own heart.

Don't look out there for the kingdom. You're like looking everywhere. You're, you know, searching everywhere. When's it going to happen? How's it going to happen? And Jesus is saying, if it's not in your heart first, if I'm not your king first, then you don't have to bother looking for the kingdom. First things first, it's a spiritual kingdom. It's a kingdom where Jesus is king.

And so this morning, as we consider the position and the condition of these Pharisees, I would encourage you to look to Jesus immediately. Don't be waiting for some kingdom or some big event to take place or some calamity to take place. But right now, just as Jesus was right there in their midst and they missed it, Jesus is right there with you wherever you are. Look to Jesus immediately.

immediately. There's no, you know, milestone that has to take place. There's no specific event that has to happen in your life or happen in the world around you in order for you to experience the kingdom of God. You can look to Jesus immediately. That's what he came to accomplish. Our access to him and our access to the Father. He came to reconcile us to the Father. Jesus did not come to make everyone's life perfect and comfortable.

He came to deal with the issue of sin and give us access to the Father, access to the kingdom of God. He came to abolish sin and offer salvation in him. He will come again and rule and reign in glory. But for right now, for this moment, we don't have to wait for that.

No, instead we look to Jesus immediately and he can rule and reign in glory in our hearts. He can rule and reign in glory in our lives as we believe in him and receive him as our savior. Well, moving on to verses 22 through 25, we get the second point this morning, and that is to long for eternity alone.

And here Jesus is going to change the audience. He's going to change the question or the conversation a bit. In verse 22, it says, You see the change?

The passage began with the Pharisees asking a question. And Jesus answered that question briefly. But then he turns his attention to the disciples. And it says in verse 22, then he said to the disciples. He's addressing now the disciples specifically. He's instructing them and informing them. And the answer that he gives and the information that he gives is in much more detail than

than what he provided for the Pharisees. And again, it goes back to looking to Jesus immediately. The disciples who were looking to Jesus immediately, although they had some misunderstandings about the kingdom of God as well, but they were looking to Jesus. They were believing in Jesus. And so Jesus is giving them much more insight, much more information and instruction about the things of God.

And so you have those who are on the outside who are looking for the wrong things, who are not drawing near to the Lord, not believing in Jesus. And there is some insight given. There's some direction given, and it's really a direction to focus on Jesus. But to those who already believe in Jesus, he says, all right, I want to give you much more detail. And this is the way that the Lord works. Those who believe in the Lord believe.

have access to the Lord and will have further insight, further revelation from the Lord regarding the things of God. And so in addressing the disciples for the rest of the chapter, he's giving them a lot of insights about the things that are to take place. First of all, he says here in verse 22, the days will come when you desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man and you will not see it.

There's a couple of things to consider and think about here in this verse. First of all, Jesus uses the phrase, the son of man. And this was a phrase he often used of himself.

And it's a phrase that has a lot of meaning. In John, as we get to the Gospel of John, we'll see Jesus use the Son of God a lot. And there's a lot of meaning and depth to that, understanding Jesus as the Son of God and the deity of Christ. But we also need to recognize that Jesus is the Son of Man. And there's some references to his nature in that, in his humanity.

But really, it's a callback to a prophecy that was given by the prophet Daniel in Daniel chapter 7. In Daniel chapter 7, verse 13 and 14, it says,

Daniel says, I was watching in the night visions and behold, one like the son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He came to the ancient of days and they brought him near before him. Then to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away in his kingdom, the one which shall not be destroyed.

Daniel describes this one coming like the son of man. And he comes in the clouds. He comes to the ancient of days, the father. He's given dominion. He's given glory. He's given a kingdom. We're looking at the description here of the thousand year reign of Christ. That promised millennium, that promised reign of the Messiah. And it's referred to in that way as the son of man.

And so Jesus adopts this title for himself. And he refers to himself as the son of man many times throughout his ministry. And here in this case, it's a direct correlation between that thousand year reign of Christ that the Pharisees were asking for. And Jesus here looking at his disciples says, you're going to long for those days.

The kingdom of God is among you. For those of you who believe, you have the kingdom, you're part of the kingdom, but you are going to long for, you're going to desire the days when all of these things will be fulfilled. You're going to desire it, he says, and you will not see it. You're going to long for those days of the future. You're going to long for eternity, but you're not going to see it unfold right now.

You're going to desire it, but not see it. And the idea here is that, well, they're going to be experiencing great difficulty. And they're going to be wishing as the Lord ascends into heaven and they go throughout the world to proclaim the gospel. And there's some glorious things that take place in that. As you read through the book of Acts, you can see that. But there's also some difficulties and tragedies and hard things that they experienced. And they would be longing for God.

The days of the Son of Man. Seeing the fulfillment of all of these prophecies. Pastor Thomas Constable puts it this way. The disciples would desire to see the kingdom come because they would experience persecution before Jesus returned. There would be many false alarms about his return, but the disciples should not allow others to mislead them. In verse 23, Jesus says, they will say to you, look here or look there. Do not go after them or follow them.

Here, Jesus warns his disciples. He gives them a heads up about their own conditions and own situations. Look, you guys are going to be going through some hard things and you're going to be longing for, you're going to be craving the kingdom. You're going to be wanting to see all of those things unfold, but don't let those strong desires that you have to see those things fulfilled, put you in a place where you're vulnerable to deception is what the Lord say. You know, sometimes we can be so desperate

For resolution to some of our issues and problems and resolution to some of the things that we see happening around us. We can crave and long for the fulfillment of scriptures and the fulfillment of things that we can leave ourselves vulnerable to believe things that are not actually of the Lord or actually true.

And there are going to be those who claim that Jesus has come. There's going to be those who make these proclamations about the kingdom. And Jesus is saying, as much as you want those things to be true, be careful that you don't believe the lies and deceptions that will be there. Listen, we can think about this in regards to the coming kingdom.

But we can also think about this in regards to many of the other promises and ideas that are popular and around us today.

Listen, there is not some secret answer out there somewhere that resolves all of your problems or even one of your problems. There's not some secret thing. If you just learn this thing or pray this exact prayer or walk in this exact way and then everything just is taken care of, it's the secret silver bullet that we've been missing all of this time.

Listen, you might be longing for that solution. You might be longing for resolution to that thing. But here the Lord says, look, let eternity be the solution. Let eternity be the resolution. Don't allow yourself to be deceived because you want that to be true so desperately. Instead, let the discomfort of this life direct your attention to the next.

He goes on in verse 24 to say, for as lightning that flashes out of the part, out of one part of heaven shines to the other part under heaven. So also the son of man will be in his day. Jesus says, look, when I come back, it's not going to be some secret thing in a hiding place. And so someone is going to have to come and tell you, look over here, here's the Messiah. Jesus says, it's not going to happen that way.

When I come back the next time, it's not going to be meek and mild, you know, and this inconspicuous appearance of the Son of God like the first coming was. It's going to be like lightning that flashes out of one part of heaven and shines to the other part. And you're familiar with lightning. You know what that's like.

When there's lightning around, everybody knows it. Even if you're inside, right? Even if you're driving down the road, I mean, wherever you are, when lightning strikes, it flashes light through the whole sky. And even if you miss the light, then comes the thunder and the rumble. And it's well known to everyone around that lightning has struck.

In a similar way, Jesus says, when I come back, everybody is going to know. It's not going to be some, you know, in the back alley kind of thing or some secret thing, exclusive club, you know, members only that you have to be invited to. No, when I come back, it's going to be a worldwide event that everybody knows. It will not be a secret to anybody. But then he goes on in verse 25. But first, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

The glory is coming, but first. But first comes the suffering. And this is the part that they had a hard time understanding. The kingdom that they looked for would come, but it was not first. It still hasn't happened, even as we study these things today. We still look for that glory. It still will be fulfilled. But first comes the suffering of the Savior. And you might add on the suffering of his followers.

It's part of the life that we live and the life that God has called us to. First, the Messiah must suffer. Why? Well, because it was the only way to pay the price for sin. All through the scriptures, we have the promises of the coming Messiah and we have those promises of glory, but we also have the promises of suffering. And the Jewish people essentially ignored the promises of suffering and just really focused on and emphasized the promise of glory that would come.

But both are true. And the glory of God is revealed after the suffering or through the suffering. Remember the apostle Paul, as he was suffering, he had the thorn in the flesh he described and he prayed for the Lord to take it away. And the Lord said, no, no, my grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness. Paul, you're going to be okay. You're going to get through this by relying on me. And so Paul had to find himself in a place where he would long for eternity patiently.

Eventually that thorn in the flesh would be removed. But in the meantime, he had to be patient. He's longing for that time when it's over, when it's done. At the same time, he's resting in the strength of God, in the grace of God, and in the plan of God. As we encounter and wrestle with the struggles and difficulties of our day, there is not some secret answer out there somewhere that's just gonna overnight resolve things and take care of all the issues. Let the discomfort of this life

Direct your attention to the next. Long for eternity. And don't be so desperate to just try any solution. Obviously, if the Lord gives you direction about addressing a problem or a situation or a difficulty, we'll follow the direction of the Lord. But don't be so desperate that you allow people to deceive you and lead you astray and lead you into thinking that there is going to be a full resolution of these things in this life.

Double check your heart. Make sure that eternity is the solution that you're looking for. Everything that we do until then, it's just a band-aid. It's a little patch. We can't fully resolve the things of this life. Let eternity be the solution. Let eternity be the resolution for the things that you face. Well, moving on to verses 26 through 33, we get the third point this morning, and that is live normally but lightly.

And I want to encourage you to consider that this morning. Live normally, but lightly. Let's read verses 26 through 30. It says,

But on the day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so, it will be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. Here, Jesus gives us two examples to consider. Think back, he says, to the book of Genesis. Genesis chapter 6, we find the beginning of the record of Noah. And you all know what happened with Noah, the flood that consumed the earth.

Then in Genesis chapter 19, you have the example of Lot. And he was pulled out of Sodom and Gomorrah before God brought judgment there upon those cities. And Jesus refers back to these two guys and not just the men in particular, but the days that they were living in and the things that were happening around them. And he says, look, there's some real similarities between the days of these men and the days of the son of man.

Again, verse 26, he says, as it was in the days of Noah. So it will be also in the days of the son of man, as it was in the days of Noah. Now, often our minds go to the wicked practices of the day when we think about the days of Noah. And that might be part of what is being said here. But it's not really the main point of what Jesus is saying. What Jesus is pointing out here is

It's not so much the wickedness that would be happening, but the normal life that would be continuing. The point that he's seeking to make is that normal life continued until the very day of destruction. And normal life is represented there in verse 27. He says, they ate, they drank, they married wives, and they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark. Have you ever thought about it that way?

There's the wedding that is about to take place. The bride is, you know, standing up, or sorry, the groom is standing up at the front and the bride is, you know, coming to meet and then they start to feel some sprinkles of water. The flood came on somebody's wedding day. Somebody was about to get married, about to begin a new life together, about to be joined together and fulfill, you know, all of the things that they imagined married life would be, but then the flood came. Someone

was about to eat dinner. They had a great meal in store. It was just like right there. They could smell it. Oh man, so good. About to take their first bite. Yesterday I was eating lunch and I was really enjoying it. And Kim was like, oh, I can't even watch it. You just like, you like it too much. And there's someone there. He's like, oh my goodness, this is gonna be so good. I'm like so excited. He's like, oh, here we go. Here we go. This is gonna be a good bite. And then they ate, they drank,

They married, they were given in marriage, right up until the point of the flood that took place. And then Jesus goes on to talk about the days of Lot. In verse 28, he says, Likewise, as it was also in the days of Lot, they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, and they built. Right up until the day that fire and brimstone was rained down upon Sodom and Gomorrah, people were living a normal life.

And that fire and brimstone interrupted someone's business deal. They were about to sign on the dotted line. You know, they got half their signature done and they had this deal of the century that was going to get them, you know, some great success and victories. And then here comes the fire and the brimstone and the great destruction. Someone just finished planting a vineyard. They were about to reap the harvest of their crop. And, and, and,

Here comes the fire and the brimstone. They're working the fields. They're making deals. They're negotiating. They're eating. They're drinking. They're buying. They're selling. Life is continuing as normal. And then suddenly this destruction comes. Normal life continued. And Jesus here is saying, that's how it's going to be when I return. Verse 30, even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

Life is going to continue as normal. There's going to be eating and drinking, buying and selling, business deals, negotiations, planting and building. All of these things are going to continue normal life. Now, you and I are living in a time that we would maybe not consider normal, right? In our times of quarantine and all of the isolation and separation that is going on. And

Yet in this regard, it's normal life. Still today, even amongst all that's going on, there's buying, there's selling, there's eating, there's drinking. And this is going to continue, Jesus says, until I come back. Now, this made me think. And I began to pray to the Lord this week as I was thinking about this and reading through this. And here's what I told the Lord. I said, Lord, if you come back right now,

before we get to finish and enjoy our new kitchen, you're going to have some explaining to do. Because the last three months we've been working really hard on this kitchen and to have you come back and then not get to see the fruits of it, oh, that would be disappointing. And I'm, of course, being silly. I'd rather the Lord come back than have to finish the kitchen any day for sure. But that's the idea there is that like, you know, working hard towards something and almost getting there

Life is going to continue on as normal. And there are going to be those who are working hard and life is continuing on and dreams are about to be fulfilled. And then the Lord will return. It'll be unexpected because life is just continuing as normal. I like the way the New Living Translation puts verse 30. It says, yes, it will be business as usual right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed. Right up to the day.

It's going to be business as usual. Things are going to be happening as they always have and what we expect in a normal daily life. And so Jesus here is making the point, normal life will continue. And the point for us today is not that we should not have normal lives. And sometimes people kind of go that direction. The point is not that we should all move into monasteries, you know, or quit life together, go move in and just seclude ourselves and be by ourselves.

I mean, you think about Noah, he heard from the Lord about the flood. He had to build the ark, but he also, you know, raised a family. His sons got married. Normal life continued. They ate, they drank, but they did so with an understanding, with a mindset that this normal life is going to come to an end. The point is really this. Don't let normal life become so important that you are weighed down by it.

Don't let normal life become blown out of proportion that all you're living for and all you're working towards and everything would be ruined if the Lord came back today because you would never get to accomplish what it was that you were working so hard for. Don't let normal life weigh you down and keep you from the things that God has for you. Even in the middle of the tribulation period where devastation is going to be happening,

Jesus here is explaining there's going to be people who are still trying to live their dream life. Check out verse 31. He says, Here, Jesus says,

It says in that day, okay, when all these things begin to unfold, there's going to be a temptation for someone who's on the housetop and realizes that's the end. Let me go get my goods. Let me go get my stuff out of the house. Or there's the one in the field and Jesus is saying, no, don't go back. Now you can find an interesting parallel to this verse in Matthew chapter 24.

where Jesus is talking about the abomination of desolation. They're in the middle of the tribulation period where the Antichrist will proclaim himself to be God and demand that all the world worship him. There's going to be an awakening and an awareness. All of a sudden, people realizing, oh man, we were in the tribulation period. And at that time in Matthew 24 is when Jesus says, let not him who is on the housetop go down to take anything out of his house.

Don't try to go grab your stuff. Don't let those things hold you back. No, no. If you find yourself in the middle of the tribulation period and you see these things unfold, you need to let go of this life. You've already held on too long to find yourself in the middle of the tribulation. You need to let go of this life. And to help illustrate that, he goes on in verse 32. He says, remember Lot's wife. So we looked at the example of Noah. We looked at the example of Lot. But Lot's wife was a different example to consider.

as they were being rushed out of Sodom and Gomorrah. You can read through it in Genesis chapter 19. Lot, his wife, and his two daughters are being taken out of the area before the judgment comes. But it tells us that Lot's wife looked back. And it's not so much referring to, you know, her eyes were focused in that direction, but that she was longing for. She was weighed down. She was tied to. She didn't want to leave behind the life that was there.

Remember Lot's wife. She was turned into a pillar of salt as a result of looking back, of longing for, of being weighed down by this life. Pastor Thomas Constable says, Lot's wife is an instructive example of someone who perished because she was slow to seek refuge. She sought to preserve her former way of life and in doing so perished. She was slow to seek refuge.

She was slow to respond to the call of the Lord. She was slow to respond when the Lord called her out. And as a result, trying to preserve her life, reluctant to just surrender to the Lord and his plan, she participated in the judgment that was coming upon those cities as a result of sin. And this is where I get the idea here. We need to live normally, but lightly.

It doesn't mean we don't eat and drink and don't make wedding plans and don't have business deals and don't accomplish things in this life. Jesus told us to occupy until he comes. But we also need to have some balance and be careful that we don't grasp hold of this life so firmly that we lose sight of and that we let go of

eternity in the instruction of the Lord. In verse 33, he says, whoever seeks to save his life will lose it. And whoever loses his life will preserve it. If you're trying to hold on to this life, there's going to be some problems. You're going to lose it. But if you're willing to let go, and again, that doesn't mean you don't live life, that you don't have a life. At the same time, your focus is the life that the Lord wants, the direction that the Lord gives.

Don't let normal life become so important that you are weighed down by it. We're going to read this week in Luke chapter 21, this exhortation from the Lord, but I'll give you a sneak preview of it. Luke chapter 21, verse 34 and 35, Jesus says, take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you unexpectedly.

for it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Jesus says, take heed to yourselves. Watch out. This is a real danger that your heart could be weighed down with the cares of this life. Your heart could be weighed down with drunkenness. Your heart could be weighed down with business. Your heart could be weighed down with the things of this life. And you would find yourself unprepared when the day of the Lord comes, when the days of the Son of Man unfold.

And you'll find yourself in the snare along with those who are on the earth. Watch out, Jesus says. Take heed. Pay attention. Don't let your heart get so tied down to the things of this life. Live a normal life, but keep a light touch on it. Well, finally, verses 32 through 37, here's point number four this morning, and that is love Jesus personally. We need to love Jesus personally. And we're going to

Hit again, verse 32 and 33. It says,

And they answered and said to him, Where, Lord? So he said to them, Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together. This is an interesting passage. Verse 37 is somewhat interesting.

controversial. There's a lot of different ideas about what exactly is meant here, where the body is, the eagles will be gathered together, and some interpret it as vultures instead of eagles. And there's discussion about that, whether essentially Jesus is talking about the one being taken, is that person being taken to judgment, which is something that happens at the end of the thousand-year reign of Christ, or is that one going to be taken to blessing?

which would be a reference then to the rapture of the church. And so you can kind of wrestle with those things. You know, for me, as I look at these things, I say, why not both? The Lord is allowing this to have both sides or both interpretations. And we see prophecies throughout the scripture often have dual fulfillments. So I'm not going to be focused on the taking away to judgment so much, but considering the rapture of the church and allowing this to spark our minds to consider the

the unexpected event that will take place where the Lord will come back for his church. And so he calls to our attention, first of all, in verse 32, again, Lot's wife. And the thing to pay attention to here is Lot escaped, but his wife did not. And so here's the angel leading them out of the town. And Lot's there, his wife's there, the two daughters are there. They're all going out together, but Lot,

At the same time, although they're a family and they're grouped together, Lot's wife didn't make it out. Lot's obedience in leaving could not spare his wife. Lot's obedience in following the angels and going out with them could not spare his wife. She had to obey herself personally. The obedience of the daughters and then the combined obedience of Lot and the two daughters could not spare the wife. Preparing for the kingdom of God,

is something that we can do together, but we cannot do it for each other. Preparing for the kingdom of God is something we can do together, but we can't do it for each other. It's an individual thing. It's a personal thing. And so you need to make sure that you love Jesus personally. You need to make sure that, well, as we talked about at the beginning of looking to Jesus immediately, that that's you, that you personally are looking to Jesus.

As we talked about longing for eternity patiently, you need to make sure that's you, that you personally, not just your family or someone's really close to you, your spouse is really longing for eternity and they're patient and they're trusting and their faith is kind of carrying you. No, no, you need to make sure that you personally are longing for eternity, that you personally are looking to eternity for resolution.

that you personally are caring for your heart so that you can live normally but lightly, not weighed down, not bound up by this life, at the same time not shut down to life altogether, but that you're living the life that God has called you to live with your sights on, with your expectations on eternity. Jesus says, to further illustrate in verse 34, there's going to be two people in one bed, and one will be taken and the other left. This event, it's going to deal with people individually.

And even two people so close, they're in the same bed together. One might be taken and the other might be left. One person cannot believe, cannot walk, cannot love, cannot worship on behalf of somebody else. You personally, you individually need to be seeking the Lord and preparing for the kingdom of God. Jesus goes on in verse 35. There's going to be two ladies who are working together, grinding the wheat.

There they are at work. They're working together. They're close. They're having a good time. They're talking. And one will be taken and the other left. They might be really good friends. They might be really close. They might love each other greatly. And yet at the same time, they will be dealt with individually when this event takes place. When the rapture of the church takes place, when the taking away to judgment later on that happens takes place, it's going to be per person, per individual. Two men will be in the field, he says.

One will be taken and one will be left. Through this, we can see a few important things to consider. First of all, it's a worldwide event. Some people are going to be sleeping. Some are going to be working. It happens in the daytime and the nighttime at the same time, which means we're talking about this is a worldwide event that will take place. It's also a universal event that's going to impact all people, all men, all women involved in various activities. And yet at the same time, it's an individual event. These pairs are split up.

Nobody is included because somebody else was included. Nobody gets to participate in the taking away or the staying behind because somebody else that they're close to, that they know, that they love, that loves them, that prayed for them, whatever. There's not a joining together that way. It's instead entirely based upon each individual. And that's why this morning I would encourage you to make sure that you love Jesus personally. You need to love him personally.

And now is a really great time for you to have an opportunity to take stock of your life, of your heart, to maybe do a bit of a review in your mind and consider where are you at? Are you ready for the kingdom of God? Are you looking to Jesus immediately? Are you waiting for some event later on? Once this happens in your life, then you'll really start to look to Jesus. Or are you waiting for Jesus to do something radical and then you'll begin to look at him later?

No, don't wait. Look to Jesus right now. Stop asking when. Just look to him and trust in him. Believe in him and receive from him. Long for eternity patiently. When you go through difficulties and afflictions, and maybe right now this season is one of them for you. Listen, the resolution to this whole situation is not the reopening of things or the end of COVID-19. The resolution is eternity.

The solution is eternity. Long for eternity. Be patient. It's maybe not going to happen right now. We long for it and we hope it does. At the same time, we need to endure trusting in the Lord, longing for those days, but living out these days a normal life, but live your life. Live a full life. Live the life that God has enabled you and called you to live. Enjoy life to the best of your ability.

Eat and drink and get married and go to work and have business deals and do what you can to live the life that is there for you. But don't let it distract you from the things that really matter and from the things of eternity. Have a light grip on the things of this world that you wouldn't look back longing if the Lord were to come back right now, that you would continue to look ahead with great anticipation at the things to come.

And finally, most important of all, make sure you love Jesus personally. You need to know him. You need to have a real relationship with the Lord. Again, going back to consider the Pharisees, they were deeply religious. They read the scriptures. They knew the word of God. They believed in God, but they did not know the Lord personally. They didn't really have a connection to God. They were far from God.

Don't let that be you. Don't have an exposure to the things of God, a familiarity with the things of God, an understanding of the scriptures, and not know God. You need to make sure you know him personally. Have a real relationship with him. Interact with him. Believe in him. Receive from him. Trust in him with your own life. Let's pray. God, I pray for each of us as we consider these things. I pray, God, that you would help us to be ready

for your kingdom. And Lord, whether that happens right now in this moment, okay, not yet, but if it happens soon, Lord, if it happens 30 years from now, 100 years from now, 1,000 years from now, Lord, there's nothing better for us than to be ready for your kingdom right now. And so, Lord, help us to prepare, to look to you, to receive from you, to trust in you. I pray that you would help us, Lord, to have a real accurate and clear picture and understanding of our hearts.

Lord, are we tied to this life to an inappropriate degree? Are we trusting too much? Are we so desperate for answers that we're allowing people to deceive us and lead us astray and not looking to you for our solution and resolution and looking for eternity for the fulfillment of all the things that you've promised? Lord, help us to keep balance, to keep a good perspective as we look to you and prepare for your kingdom. I pray, Lord, that you would draw us near to you.

And anyone who does not know you personally, I pray, God, that you would help them to hear your voice, help them to call out to you, help them, Lord, to respond as you speak and prompt. And I pray that you would develop in each of us a real relationship with you, Lord, that we would love you, that it wouldn't be somebody else's relationship that we're just kind of tagging along for, but that we personally, individually, would be able to say, I love you, Jesus. I'm following you. I'm walking with you.

You're my God. You're my Lord. Help us, Lord, to be prepared. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.