When He Comes: Living in Expectation of Christ's Return

He is truly worthy of all of our praise.

And I asked Sharon again today to pick up in our second part of the message from last week.

And she's going to be in Luke chapter 21, verses 25 through 38.

Luke 21:25–38

And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars.

And here on earth, the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring

seas and the strange tides.

People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth,

for the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory.

So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up,

for your salvation is near.

Then he gave them this illustration. Notice the fig tree, or any other tree.

When the leaves come out, you know without being told that summer is near.

In the same way, when you see all these things taking place,

you can know that the kingdom of God is near. I tell you the truth,

this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things have taken place.

Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.

Watch out. Don't let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness and

by the worries of this life.

Don't let that day catch you unaware like a trap.

For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth.

Keep alert at all times and pray

that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors

and stand before the son of man every day

jesus went to the temple to teach and each evening he returned to spend the

night on the mount of olives the crowds gathered at the temple early each morning

to hear him amen may god bless the reading of his word amen i tell you what

are y'all ready for jesus to come again.

As Sharon read in Luke chapter 21, to start with verses 25 through 28,

Luke 21 · chapter mention

Jesus actually shifts to describe not the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70,

but his own return from heaven. Jesus will be crucified.

He will rise from the dead and ascend into heaven for an extended interval.

And that's where we're at right now. And then he will return church to finally

and completely establish his kingdom with his people as we're studying about

on Sunday night in the book of Revelation.

The signs, though, Eastwood, that will accompany his return are given without

much detail of the specifics of what to expect here.

Signs in the heavenly bodies, nations in anguish over the roaring and tossing

of the sea, heavenly bodies being shaken.

I mean, these things are noticeable, right? Whatever these signs look like,

they will be so frightening, according to this passage, that people will faint

just from the terror that accompanies them, it says in verse 26.

So what Jesus is describing here is nothing less, y'all, than God decreating the world.

We learned about this in Revelation, uncreation. He created,

he spoke everything into being, and one day he will decreate, right?

Before the new heavens and the earth are created. So.

At creation, God calmed the chaos, if you remember back in Genesis,

and divided up the waters.

He created light, the sun, and the moon, and put stars in the heavens.

And so Jesus seems to be casting his return in this passage in terms of a picture

of God rolling back his creation, undoing this world in preparation,

like I said, for a new one.

God will decreate this world because the Son of Man is coming back in glory,

it talks about in verse 27.

And by the way, if you've missed out on our Sunday night study in Revelation,

we go into extensive detail in Revelation about this event that happens.

And I encourage you, we have all that out there and we will put it in a better

format in terms of on our website to actually be able to just have a section

of the Revelation series, okay?

We're about to wind that series up, and when that happens, we'll put it all out there as well.

It's available now through the podcast, all of it, but it's just nice to have

a player that has all the messages in sequence.

But these verses have been fertile soil, y'all, in which all kinds of speculations

and controversies have grown out of.

But Jesus' intent here in this passage seems to be to prepare and encourage

his followers, that's us and those there, for that day.

And they will suffer persecutions and hardships at the hands of their fellow

men. Look what it says in verse 16.

But the day of Jesus' return will be the arrival of their final redemption, verse 28.

I'm just telling you, aren't you looking forward to that day?

The return of Christ would be terrifying to his enemies.

Jerusalem's fall to Rome was just a small foretaste of what that final day will be like.

But for Jesus's people, it will be a time of hope and promise.

Because there's been so much false teaching floating around regarding the return

of Christ. Y'all have heard it, right?

I mean, I think back to 88 reasons Christ is returning in 88,

right? and we've had all kinds of stuff happening.

Many Christians sometimes are

confused by and wary of the topic because they hear so much about this.

But if you're a follower of Jesus, you should live according to this passage

with a sense of anticipation and longing for the return of Christ, amen?

In fact, in these verses, Jesus holds out his return as the day of redemption of his people.

Wow. I mean, the return of Christ, y'all, is not an event unrelated to the cross

and the resurrection of Jesus, but one that's wrapped up in the gospel message.

This is our consummation, y'all. Wow.

You know, theologian Edwards actually writes of the equivalent passage here

in Mark's gospel, in Mark 13, 5 through 31. He has a short commentary on this.

I want to share it with you what he said. He said, the grand finale of the gospel

preached by Jesus is that there is a sure hope for the future.

It is grounded not in history or logic or intuition, but in the word of Jesus.

In the observation or in the certainty that in those days,

humanity will no longer usurp history, but relinquish it to its Lord and maker

who will return in glory and justice to condemn evil and suffering and gather his own to himself.

And so the return of Christ is then y'all look at it this way,

the grand finale of the gospel.

How many of you are grateful for the gospel? Man, when we look at the cross,

man, don't ever, look, the gospel is not something you encounter one time and

then you move on and grow in something else.

You know what you do? You grow deeper in the gospel.

It's like a swimming pool. Anybody like to swim? Got this huge swimming pool, man.

And it's like you get saved, you repent, put your faith in Christ.

It's like you go deeper in the gospel.

It's like diving off that board, going down, growing, feeding on God's word,

being discipled, because the return of Christ is just the grand finale of the gospel.

It's part of the good news, y'all. That's the consummation. And on the cross,

Jesus purchased our redemption.

And when he returns, like I said, he will consummate it.

And that ought to give us great hope and great joy.

And if you don't know the Lord today, man, don't you want to have that kind

of joy and hope and forgiveness and peace in your life?

There's another parable that was read, taught in this passage, another fig tree.

There's a debate among scholars about whether Luke 29 verses 21,

excuse me, verses 29 through 32 should be understood to refer to the destruction

of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. We talked about some last week.

Or the ultimate return of the Son of Man to consummate his kingdom,

as it talks about in verses 25 through 28.

But that option, that latter option, has the advantage of immediately preceding

the verses in question there.

But I think the former about the destruction of the temple is probably the proper interpretation,

both because in verse 32, Jesus seems to be looking for a specific reaction

from the people immediately that's right there in front of him.

None of whom, by the way, would live to see his return in glory.

And also, here's the second reason, because the Greek phrase there for these

things in both Luke's account and Mark's account of these particular matters

normally refers to the fall of Jerusalem.

So it's likely that in Luke chapter 21 here, verse 31, these things is also pointing us to AD 70.

Luke 21 · chapter mention

He wants them to look at that. And then he does talk about his return.

But in Luke 21, verse 29, Jesus points to a fig tree, doesn't he?

Luke 21:29

And he draws a spiritual lesson from it. And really, you could look at any tree, as was noted there.

But Luke labels the teaching a parable, even though it lacks really the plot

that we normally expect from that particular genre, if you will.

But the lesson, y'all, is not bound up in the fig tree in particular, like I said.

Because he said in verse 29, look at it, the fig tree and all the trees, right?

So you can learn this lesson from any tree.

And like most trees, though, the fig tree actually sheds its leaves in winter,

and then it regrows them once the cold weather's passed and warm weather is

going to happen, imminent, right?

And in that sense, y'all, its leaves actually serve a sign of what is about

to happen. When you see the fig tree sprouting leaves, look at what he says in verse 30.

You can see for yourselves and know that summer is near.

In the same way, when the disciples saw the events described in verses 20 through

24 coming to pass, they would know, church,

that the destruction of Jerusalem, a key precursor to the return of Christ, was about to happen.

And in that sense, the kingdom of God is near, as it says in verse 31.

Don't you love it? How God just lays it out in his word. I mean,

this passage represents some interpretive challenges, yes.

But the end of the matter is that we should have great confidence,

Eastwood, in the fact that the return of Christ, don't miss this,

the return of Christ is a future certainty.

We need not worry about the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70,

except to the extent that it serves as a reminder of God's commitment,

y'all, to carry out the judgment that he threatens.

But we do need to live at a point in history where our eyes should be set forward

to the day when the Son of Man comes with power and glory, as it says here.

Are you expecting of that, y'all? We were talking about this last Sunday night.

Are we living in expectation of the return of Christ?

It reminds me of a song. I keep saying that everywhere. If you believe he's

coming back tomorrow, you need to live like he's coming back today, right?

Every day, expect it. Isn't that what it says in this passage?

Expecting every day, looking forward to that hope. Man, y'all,

we're gonna get a little deeper in this, but think about how our lives would

change, the choices we make, our calendars even, if we believe Jesus could come back today.

If you really believed it, what kind of radical transformation would that make in our lives?

Jesus' declaration that his words will never pass away in verse 33 reminds us

that his authority, church, is beyond our comprehension.

And the truth that he speaks will last far beyond the circumstances of our daily lives, right?

Y'all, we got to be honest with each other. Don't they consume us sometimes, our circumstances?

But we got to have confidence in the words of Jesus, or else we're going to

lack the faith to live now in light of his stated intention to return.

Look, we need not obsess over signs of Jesus coming, y'all, hidden in the news reports of the day.

You know, none of the signs that Jesus mentioned in this passage,

by the way, seem very subtle, do they, or easily missed. The key will be in

understanding the remarkable signs that everyone else sees as well.

Jesus wants us to be prepared, church, and to have understanding.

So we got to ask the question today, how then shall we live?

How are we supposed to live?

We should understand that Jesus's intent in this teaching, in this passage in

Luke 21, as preparing his disciples for the destruction of Jerusalem.

They needed to be on watch. They need to be praying for strength and wisdom.

And to endure, he says, all that's about to happen, both the coming persecution

he talks about, verses 12 through 19, and the destruction of the city, verses 20 through 24.

And if they stood firm, as we see in verse 19, they would be able to stand before

the Son of Man on the last day. Do you see it in the passage?

They will be able to stand before him. In other words, they're not going to

fall in the sense of their righteousness because guess what?

All our righteousness is filthy rags. That never changes, by the way.

The only thing that changes when we put our faith and trust in Christ is we

get his righteousness that's perfect and holy.

And God sees it as we're clothed in the robe of his righteousness when he looks at us.

That's the only reason why God should let any of us into heaven.

It's because of the righteousness of Christ and his sacrifice on our behalf.

He is our mediator, right?

He is actually our advocate, kind of like our attorney before the Father.

He pleads your case and my case every day.

But I want you all to know today, Jesus is also preparing us for his returning

glory in this passage, as well as his disciples.

It's even an event that will affect every person on earth. Look at verse 35.

And it will come suddenly like a trap. Do you see it there? Verse 34.

So it's just incumbent upon followers of Christ to live, y'all,

each day in light of the approach of those days.

We also, listen, need to be watchful and devoted to prayer so that we can endure

whatever persecution and hardships the Lord might see fit for us to endure as his followers.

We've been studying Joseph in Sunday school. We were talking about this this

morning, that the two gifts of grace that God gives us, you know what they are?

Salvation and suffering.

And we talked about this morning that that word that is used in the Greek is

literally telling us that it is graciously granted to us the suffering.

You know why? So that we can be conformed to the image of His Son, be more like Jesus.

Maybe the greatest threat, perhaps, to our spiritual well-being is not the threat

of widespread anti-Christian violence or personal persecution,

but the daily temptations and distractions,

y'all, that can easily take root once we stop living in light of Christ's imminent

return and glory. Just think about it.

The temptation as we wait for that final day is to begin to live as if Jesus

is not actually coming back,

to settle in here, to make this life our ultimate home, and to begin to live

for it alone. Have you seen it? Have you done it?

If you do settle in that way, then the anxieties of life, as it talks about

in verse 34, will begin to take on supreme importance, y'all, to you and me.

You'll begin, I'll begin to invest all of your energy, your love,

and your passion in the things of this life, and forget about what lasts for all eternity.

You will give everything that you have to looking attractive,

to having a great job, making enough money, finding the perfect spouse,

and raising exceptional children.

All of those things, church, can feel much more real and certain than the return of Christ.

After all, think about it. Our

calendars and bank balances and daily issues

that we can see and we must deal with but we

have never once experienced as of yet the

return of the son of man and glory have we but if

we're not careful listen up eastwood if we're not careful and we allow other

things in our lives to occupy and distract our hearts even if those are are

are good things quote unquote they will become spiritually malignant like cancer

eating away in our spiritual lives.

This applies even more to sinful pleasures that the world offers.

Jesus actually warns, look at it, against drunkenness and carousing.

The Greek word here has the sense of that throbbing headache that arrives in

the wake of a night of heavy drinking.

You see, these are characteristic sins of somebody who's embraced the world's

pleasures wholeheartedly.

These are the kinds of things, in other words, that somebody engages in when

they're trying to find all of their meaning and joy here and now on this earth.

No one, y'all, no one ever looked at pornography, flirted with somebody who

was not their spouse, or ran up credit card debts on things they can't afford

when their hearts were set expectantly on the reality of Jesus would return.

Just doesn't happen. It would be wise for every Christian to examine his or

her life for those things that will seem foolish and regrettable on that last day.

Do you believe he could come back today, church?

Are you living that way? Are you living that way? And if he doesn't come back

today, are you living like it tomorrow?

Followers of Jesus should be different from the people of the world who care

not one whit for the reality of Christ's return, to be honest with you.

But he says here in this passage, what? But we should watch and pray that we

would be able to withstand the corroding influence of living in a world that's

constantly, by the way, you see it every day,

developing new and more compelling ways to seek all our joy and pleasure in the here and now, right?

We're to be watchful, it says, like stewards expecting their master to return any day,

knowing that we will give an account to him and that he comes bearing blessing

and reward for those who are faithful, just like Joseph.

And we must pray because there's not, y'all, an easy task that we can accomplish in our own strength.

This is not one of those. the very fact that

Jesus commands his followers to be watchful you know what it indicates it indicates

that this is not the direction in which the current of life's river will just

naturally take us right but before we leave this passage I think it's worth

noting how many commands it,

contains for us so quickly as we wrap up here we may feel somewhat hopeless

or helpless in light of the events that will lead up to the end times,

but there's plenty for us to do, y'all.

Look at what he says. Believers must watch out, verse 8.

Make up your mind, verse 14. Stand firm, verse 19. And be careful, verse 34.

We are to be always on the watch and pray so that we will be able to stand,

it says, before the Son of Man, verse 36.

Living in light of Christ's return is a way of life, y'all, that requires diligence,

effort, God's help, obviously.

No one's going to be, don't forget this, no one will be found accidentally faithful on that last day.

Did you hear me? No one will be found accidentally faithful on that last day.

And I got to be honest, this is a complex chapter with a very simple application.

Be careful and watchful and deliberate and prayerful about standing firm and

looking forward today so that you'll be able to stand on the last day.

How many of you want to be able to stand on the last day?

I remind you all this quite frequently but my brother in christ simply told

me he said live every day as if it were your last because one day you'll be

right live in our lives in light of the return of jesus.