Matthew 24

Amen.

Do you be seated?

And turn, if you will, to Matthew chapter 24.

Matthew 24 · chapter mention

! Matthew chapter 24.

Matthew 24 · chapter mention

It should have been Glenn Scrivener

! preaching this morning. I was really looking forward

! to hearing him, as you were.

But he is

self-isolating in Eastbourne.

And I have said, if anyone

sees him out and about in Eastbourne,

call me.

So, I know

you were probably looking forward to a break.

And so was I. I just

want to speak a little bit about communion

for a moment. You'll see that,

as Adrian said earlier, we're going to be doing it

a little bit differently.

After the hymn,

after the sermon, there will be hand sanitizer

that's going around. Great if you could use that.

That is not baptism.

All right.

But please do that.

We're going to be using little cups

just during this period.

There will be some of you here

that just feel that you don't want to take communion

today, and that's really fine.

You shouldn't feel any pressure

towards

that at all.

And I think the servers will go

up and down the rows,

and so you will be served.

Have I got that right?

Okay.

So we don't need to talk about that later.

You know what's happening.

Let's bow our heads in prayer.

Heavenly Father,

we praise you

because your Son,

the Lord Jesus Christ,

is the everlasting King.

We praise you, Jesus,

that you left the glory

of heaven

to come and live on this earth,

to die on the cross,

and to bear our sin,

and to rise from the dead.

And we praise you

that by your Holy Spirit

you are with us even today.

We praise you

that one day

you are coming back again.

One day every single one of us

will face you,

and we will have to give

an account of our lives to you.

And so we pray

that you would help us

to be ready for that day,

to be active

in your service

whenever that moment comes.

And please speak to us,

help us to heed your voice,

and to respond to your love

for your namesake.

Amen.

We don't really draw the crowds,

do we?

Christianity

doesn't dominate the media.

In this week,

Christianity has not

united and motivated the nation.

Most people think that

church this morning

is irrelevant.

Some might even think

it's dangerous.

And we've seen this week,

haven't we,

in the media,

no one has really cared

for the opinion

of church leaders.

And consequently,

we live in a pretty apathetic

and a pretty cynical culture.

And so the question is,

where is God today?

Where is God

in this world of suffering?

And why bother with God?

people are indifferent,

aren't they?

However,

in the last week,

last 10 days,

people have become,

again,

once again,

aware of their fragility

and their frailty.

That we're not totally

in control.

And life is

brief,

isn't it?

Fragile.

Hence the panic.

Macbeth,

reflecting on the brevity

of life,

he once said this,

tomorrow and tomorrow

and tomorrow

creeps in this petty pace

from day to day

to the last syllable

of recorded time.

And all our yesterdays

have lighted fools

the way to dusty death.

Out,

out,

brief candle.

Tomorrow

and tomorrow

and tomorrow.

And this morning,

I want us to look

briefly and I hope simply

and I hope clearly

at the world's tomorrow,

God's tomorrow

and our tomorrow.

And I hope to finish today.

First of all,

the world's tomorrow.

What is the world's tomorrow?

What is it?

I wonder if I asked that question

what you'd shout back at me.

I think you'd probably

shout back uncertain.

Now this chapter,

24,

it's not really an exposition

this morning

but we're going to take

some thoughts here

from Matthew 24.

It begins with disciples

looking at the stones,

doesn't it,

in the glorious temple

of Jerusalem

and how wonderful

those stones are.

And Jesus says

to his disciples,

as great as this building is,

there won't be one stone

left upon another

that will not be thrown down.

It's precarious even then,

the world's tomorrow.

And they ask him,

when will this be?

What will be the sign

that it's about to happen?

That the temple in Jerusalem

will fall

and what will be the sign

of your coming

at the close of the age?

The chapter's divided

into those two halves.

The first half about

the destruction of Jerusalem

and the second half

about when Jesus

will come again.

And Jesus goes on

to stress

the danger

of the world's tomorrows.

He speaks of wars

and rumors of wars.

He speaks of nations

rising up against nations,

of kingdoms

turning against kingdoms.

He says there'll be famines

and earthquakes

in various places

and so on.

And they were signs

for that generation

that was listening to him.

And today,

we know, don't we,

that in our society

it's equally uncertain.

Isn't that one of the issues?

The uncertainty of tomorrow?

We just don't know,

do we?

We genuinely

just don't know.

It's unpredictable.

The writer of the Proverbs

says,

boast not of tomorrow

because you do not know

what a day will bring forth.

The Apostle Peter says

in 2 Peter 3,

the day of the Lord

will come

as unexpectedly

as a thief.

Then the heavens

will pass away

with a terrible noise

and heavenly bodies

will disappear in fire

and the earth

and everything in it

will be burnt up.

It's a terrifying,

striking phrase.

Jesus speaks here,

doesn't he,

in verse 29.

He speaks of the sun

being darkened,

of the moon

not giving its light,

stars falling from heaven,

powers of heaven

shaking.

It's picture language.

It's apocalyptic.

It's cataclysmic.

And the world's tomorrow

is uncertain

and frankly pretty bleak.

I think I need to say this,

that is as true

today

as it was

six months ago

or even

six years ago

before any of us

had heard of Brexit

or coronavirus.

That is the nature

of life.

It's just that we've become,

haven't we,

in the last week or so

more painfully aware

of the frailty

and fragility of it.

It's always been the same.

You've just woken up to it.

The uncertainty

of man's tomorrow.

Secondly,

what about God's tomorrow?

What about God's tomorrow?

The Bible says

that when it comes

to closing time,

it will emphatically

be the Lord's time,

the Lord's day,

the day of the Lord.

There's no uncertainty

about God's tomorrow.

It will be

the day of the Lord.

He is the one

who's got the whole world

in His hands,

including our very breath

and our health.

He is the one

who is sovereign,

who controls everything.

In Him,

we live

and move

and have our being.

And nothing

that has happened

last week

and nothing

that will happen

this week

is outside

of His sovereign control.

And the message

to those

first century Christians,

those persecuted Christians

in the first century,

do you remember?

When John writes to them

in the book of Revelation,

it can be summed up

in one sentence.

The Lord reigns.

The Lord reigns.

The Lord is finally

and ultimately

on the throne

of the universe.

The Lord is in total

and utter control.

control.

The government

is on the shoulders

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's the message

of the final book

of the Bible.

And in Matthew 24,

Jesus spells out

two great truths

about God's tomorrow.

That certain tomorrow

that you and I

will face.

And these truths

apply equally

to Christ's return

or, well,

to your death,

whichever comes sooner.

The first is this.

It will be unexpected.

Look at verse 36 with me.

Look at verse 36.

But concerning

that day

and hour,

no one knows.

Not even the angels

in heaven,

nor the Son,

but the Father only.

No one knows.

About 175 years ago,

a Roman Catholic

priest wrote a book

predicting that the world

would end in 1847.

He asked the Roman

Catholic Church,

he asked his church's authority,

could he have permission

to print the book?

To publish this book

that predicted

that the world

would end in 1847.

And the Roman Catholic Church

said, yes,

you should feel free

to print the book

in 1848.

And that's very wise,

isn't it?

Very wise pastoral advice

and guidance

because nobody knows.

Nobody knows

the day or the hour

when Christ is going to return.

The coming of Christ,

it's described as

a thief in the night.

If you've ever been burgled,

it's a horrible thing,

isn't it?

But the thief

didn't send a postcard

the week before

and say,

dear sir or madam,

I plan to burgle you

3.45 next Wednesday

afternoon.

You're sincerely the burglar.

He didn't do that,

did he?

He didn't leave a voicemail

just to say,

just so you know,

I'm planning to burgle

the house this evening.

Of course he didn't.

They don't do that.

If you've been burgled,

what is it?

It's the sense of shock,

isn't it,

when you walk in.

That sense of utter surprise

that somebody's invaded

your house

and turned out your drawers,

it's created chaos

and it's always

a total surprise

and Jesus picks up

that analogy.

And he says,

if the householder

had known what time

of the night

the thief was coming,

well he would have watched.

He'd been waiting

at the bottom of the stairs

with a baseball bat,

wouldn't he?

He'd have not let his house

be broken into.

And he says,

therefore you,

you also must be ready

because the Son of Man

is coming at an hour

you do not expect.

And if you ever

lock your flat

or your home

so as to be ready

for a possible thief

and who doesn't,

how much more important

is it

to be ready

for the certain coming

of the Lord?

Unexpected.

The second great truth

about God's tomorrow

is that it's unwanted.

It's unexpected

and it's unwanted.

And it's unwanted

tragically

because so many

are not ready

to meet Jesus Christ.

Jesus gives two illustrations

to emphasize this.

He talks about Noah

in verses 37

and 38.

He says this,

for as were the days

of Noah

so will be the coming

of the Son of Man.

For as in those days

before the flood

they were eating

and drinking

it's a good thing.

Marrying

it's a good thing.

Giving in marriage

it's a good thing.

Until the day

when Noah

entered the ark.

And they were unaware

until the flood came

and swept them

all away

and so it will be

in the coming

of the Son of Man.

There were things

that they were

preoccupied with.

They're not necessarily

bad things at all

but just with things

eating

and drinking

marrying

giving in marriage

but do you notice

who they're not

preoccupied with?

Do you notice

who doesn't occupy

their thoughts?

They're not

preoccupied with God.

And when Jesus

said they didn't

know until the flood

came and swept

them away

there was a sense

in which they did

know.

Because do you

remember what is

Noah?

Noah was a preacher

of righteousness.

And that ark

was like a great

visual aid

a great sermon

and Noah was

consistently preaching

for 120 years

about the coming

of the Lord.

But no one

listened

and no one

bothered.

And they couldn't

be bothered

with God.

And they couldn't

be bothered

with God's

word.

And so they

didn't know

until it

happened.

Isn't that

equally true

of our society

today?

So people

say we

can't possibly

know about

tomorrow.

So let's

enjoy ourselves

today.

we entertain

ourselves to

death.

We entertain

ourselves to

death because

people are not

bothered about

God or his

word.

Eat, drink,

and be merry.

Or eat, drink,

and watch

telly.

For tomorrow

we die.

Perhaps we do

die.

But tomorrow

never comes.

And so your

friends and my

friends are

occupied with

everything, aren't

they, at the

moment except

God.

And

indifference to

God and

his word.

What's the

first and

greatest commandment?

You know it,

don't you?

What should be the

greatest priority in

our lives?

Jesus says it's to

love the Lord your

God with all your

heart and mind and

soul and strength,

everything that you

are.

In other words,

to put God at the

center of our

lives where he

ought to be and

where he demands

to be.

God.

The trouble is, if

we believe in

God at all, we

so often tend to

assume, don't we,

that we are the

center of our

world.

And if God

exists, well he's

somewhere out there,

up in space, and

occasionally I call

him in from time to

time to clear up the

mess that I've got

myself into.

I'm the center of my

world, God is there

up there, and if I

need him I call and

the servant comes

rushing in and

helps me out.

And without

realizing I treat

almighty God like a

servant who comes

in and clears out

the mess and then

we let him go

again.

Because it's not

convenient to have

God around any

longer.

But you see, the

truth this morning is

God is not a

servant.

He is Lord.

He is the Lord.

And we are not at

the center of the

universe because God

is.

And the question this

morning is not why

should you bother with

God, but why should

God bother with you?

Why should God bother

with me when I've

turned my back on him

and I've rebelled

against him and I've

done my own thing?

Why should God bother

with me?

And there is no

answer except that

wonderfully he does.

He does in his

infinite love and his

mercy.

But if then I don't

bother with him or

his word, the Bible

warns me very clearly

that judgment will

come on those who do

not know God.

And who do not obey

the gospel of our

Lord Jesus Christ.

We saw earlier on in

Matthew's gospel that

Jesus will have to say

to many people,

depart from me because

I don't know who you

are.

And Jesus takes the

example of Noah, but

he also takes the

example of daily work.

So look at verse 40.

Again, it's dramatic.

It's picture language.

Then two men will be 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

will be left.

And therefore stay awake

for you do not know on

what day your Lord is

coming.

Amen.

One is taken to be with

Jesus, to be with him

forever in heaven.

The other is left for

judgment.

Two men grinding at the

mill, one taken to be

with Jesus, one left.

Two men in the same

business, one taken, one

left.

Two people working in the

same office, one taken,

one left.

Two people in the same

house.

Now I'm going to speak

again about why I don't

believe this kind of

people kind of zoomed up

and rapture.

Rapture, I don't believe

that.

I don't think that's what

Jesus is teaching here.

Jesus is making a point

and he's making a point

about separation.

That's his big point.

Jesus says, watch

therefore because you do

not know on what day

your Lord is coming.

There is nothing,

nothing uncertain about

the Lord's coming.

There's nothing uncertain

about God's tomorrow.

And although from our

point it will be

unexpected and tragically

it may be unwanted by

many.

But what about our

tomorrow?

That's my third point.

What about our tomorrow?

What about your tomorrow?

John Betjeman was a poet,

writer and a broadcaster.

He died in 1984.

And he wrote this really

interesting poem,

Before the Anesthetic,

it's called, or a real

fright.

And in this poem,

John Betjeman imagines

that he's lying in a

hospital bed in Oxford

before an operation.

And he's listening to the

tolling of St.

Giles' bells.

And this is what he writes.

Intolerably sad,

profound.

St.

Giles' bells are ringing

round.

Swing up and give me the

hope of life.

Swing down and plunge

the surgeon's knife.

I, breathing for a

moment, see death wing

himself away from me.

And think as on this

bed I lie.

Is it extinction when I

die?

St.

Giles' bells are asking

now.

And hast thou known the

Lord?

Hast thou?

St.

Giles' bells, they

richly ring.

And was that Lord our

Christ and King?

St.

Giles' bell, they hear me

call.

I never knew the Lord at

all.

Now lest this I should cease

to be.

Come, real Lord.

Come quick to me.

There are two

appointments that the

Bible teaches that you

and I must keep.

And you can't put either

of them in your diary or

your Google calendar.

The first is death and the

second is judgment.

The first is death and the

second is judgment after

death.

Two future

certainties.

The Bible teaches it's

appointed for man once to

die and after death

comes the judgment.

Are you ready for that

day?

I can think of

illustrations.

I can tell you of people

who have been taken so

suddenly.

But you don't need those

illustrations this week, do

you?

Not one of us can boast

about tomorrow.

Have you faced this

fact?

It shouldn't be such a

surprise, should it?

But we all know that in

one sense we are dying.

We know that.

Nobody knows whether it

will be a matter of days

or weeks or months or

years or decades.

Whatever it is.

But I want to say to you

this morning that the

Bible holds out to you

this absolute certainty

of knowing the Lord.

God.

And so whatever the future

holds, none of us

here today know what the

future is going to hold.

But we can know

that with the Lord the

best is yet to be.

You cannot lose

once you've lost your life

to Jesus.

But unless you've done

that, you stand to lose

absolutely everything.

And so I'd like to ask

you, where do you stand

in your relationship with

God?

What about your

tomorrow?

Do you know the Lord?

Is he real in your life?

Have you got that absolute

peace deep within your heart

that come what may, the

best is yet to be.

The world's tomorrow is

totally uncertain.

God's tomorrow is totally

clear.

But one day you and I are

going to meet with him.

But what about our

tomorrow?

What about your

tomorrow?

And of course, in one

sense, what happens about

your tomorrow depends

entirely on your response

to Jesus Christ today.

What do I mean about

this response?

It can be a cliche,

can't it, that

preachers use.

But let me summarize it

in two words.

The first word is

repent.

The second word is

receive.

And if I want to be

sure that I know

Jesus Christ, there are

two things that I must

do.

And the first is to

repent.

It's an about turn.

It's a U-turn.

That instead of going

through life my way

and doing my own

thing, I've got to be

willing to let go of

whatever is wrong in my

life.

And with God's help,

and only with God's help,

to turn right around

and to give my life to the

Lord Jesus as my Savior

who has died for me on the

cross and is my Lord and

my King over all.

And then receive.

That we're ready to turn

from what is wrong and put

our lives lock, stock and

barrel into the hands of

Jesus.

And we can receive Jesus or

the Spirit of the Lord

Jesus to come into our

lives and he will be with

us day and night.

He is there when the sun

is shining.

He is there when it's as

dark as can be.

He is there in our

tomorrow, whatever our

tomorrow holds.

And one day when we walk

through the shadow of the

valley of death, he will be

with us.

And so we won't fear evil.

Have you got that assurance

today?

And for those of you who

would say no or I'm just

not sure, you need to be

willing to turn around and

to let go of what you know

is wrong and rebelling

against him and ask the

Lord Jesus Christ into your

life.

And I know that at the

moment some of you will be

experiencing tug of war.

There's a part of us that

wants to do that, isn't

there?

And there's a part of us

that really doesn't want to

do that because we want to be

in charge and we don't want

the Lord Jesus to be in

charge.

And I know that struggle.

I felt that struggle.

But how is it working out?

How is it working out with

you as Lord of your life,

running it as you want and

calling God in just very

occasionally?

How is that working out for

you?

You've got no answer, have

you?

But if you will give in to

God this morning, if you

will repent, if you will

turn from your wickedness

and receive wonderful life

in Christ, you can have

hope, you can have

certainty, you can have

confidence.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Father, we know that we have

sinned.

And we know that we need

your forgiveness.

We thank you for your son,

the Lord Jesus, dying on the

cross for sinners such as

us.

We pray that by your Holy

Spirit, you would give us the

help to turn away from all

that is wrong in our lives

and to go with you.

We ask that you would come

into our lives, that you

would be our saviour, that you

would be our Lord.

Come in by your spirit to be

with us always.

We thank you for these

wonderful promises.

Keep us from a wrong fear, we

ask.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

We're going to sing before we

come.