The Countdown Begins

These are some of my old favorites right here.

Are you ready to leave this world? I don't even

know if some of you would go this morning if

the Lord showed up. You'd say, can we go tomorrow?

Have you got Luke? Let me get this off of me

and we'll go eat barbecue. Amen. Y 'all pray

for your pastor. He needs prayer this morning.

The rain sets lethargy on humanity. It's called

the dropsies. And you got a bad case of it this

morning. Okay. I'm going to try to get to number

12. Y 'all believe me? Let's go. Luke 18, verse

Luke 18:31

31. Then he took unto him the 12, and he said

unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and

all things that are written by the prophets concerning

the Son of Man shall be accomplished. For he

shall be delivered unto the Gentiles and shall

be mocked and spitefully entreated and spitted

on. And they shall scourge him and put him to

death. And the third day he shall rise again.

And they understood none of these things. And

this saying was hid from them. Neither knew they

the things which were spoken. Just a simple thought

this morning. The countdown begins. The countdown

begins. Father, I love you. Now, thank you, Lord.

I need your help. Lord, only you know how much

of your help I need this morning. So move and

touch today, Father God. Use us. Lord, help me

stay out of the way. Help my flesh remain at

bay. And you be glorified today. And the body

be edified this morning. For you are great and

greatly to be praised. In Jesus' name, the church

says, amen. Tell your neighbor the countdown

has begun. The terms... Used in the church world

and Christianity to describe and illustrate the

life of Christians. We saw last week those terms

are ministry and mission. These two help us define

what I see ultimately is going to be the purpose

of Christ. The phrase we used was to reach up

as we extend our limits in worship. We reach

inwardly as we extend our limits in service.

We reach outwardly as we extend our limits in

witness. We put ourselves out. We stretch. We

go beyond the current barriers that we have placed

upon ourselves. We remove barriers that the enemy

places before us in order to serve, worship,

and to witness. And for the body of Christ, that

falls to us. These are not necessarily spirit

-inspired, but they are self -disciplined. We

should not have to be spiritually inspired by

the Holy Ghost to worship a God who has redeemed

our soul. It should be automatic in our life.

Amen? It should be automatic. We should not have

to feel the goose bump of the Spirit, those cold

chills to rise up in order for us to lift our

voices and to put our hands together. But we

should extend our limits in worship as we reach

up and we stretch to reach higher heights and

deeper depths in God's grace and God's glory.

Same goes with our service. We should not have

to be spirit -inspired to serve others, but we

should be self -motivated to see and to identify

and to witness needs that are around us. And

in the scope and the parameter of our capabilities,

we serve others. We shouldn't have to be spirit

-inspired to serve because we have been redeemed

by love divine. Service should be automatic.

It should be... Just a correspondence of our

everyday life. We should serve one another and

serve others. So we go beyond the limits that

we put upon ourselves and put ourselves, sometimes

you have to put yourself into a vulnerable place

in order to serve. Because everyone's not always

grateful for your service. But we must put ourselves

out there. We should not have to be spirit inspired.

As much as spirit empowered to witness. Help

is starting to show up now. We are spirit empowered,

not necessarily spirit inspired. But we have

been empowered according to Acts 1 and 8. Jesus

said, and after that the Holy Ghost has come

upon you. You shall, not probably, not maybe,

but after the spirit comes on you, you shall

be witnesses of me. And then we take that four

-part regional witness and we take it from next

door to around the world and around the globe.

And that's what we're doing. Jerusalem, Judea,

Samaria, and the uttermost parts. It's Cleveland,

Bradley County, Tennessee, the United States

of America, and then globally. We take it around

the world. But until we begin next door, we'll

never go around the world. So we don't have to

be spirit -inspired. as much as we need be Spirit

-empowered. Because if we are Spirit -empowered,

then witness is what automatically comes from

our life. We are automatically going to witness.

If you love the Lord enough, you won't be around

anyone long until you're telling how good God

really is. Amen? You can't get around a stranger

long without something beginning to bubble up.

Why? Because you're Spirit -empowered, not inspired.

You're empowered. You're empowered because the

Holy Spirit Holy Ghost has set it upon you. And

when he sets it upon you, you are empowered to

declare the good news of Jesus Christ. And it

empowers you to go the next step and to serve

others. It empowers you to want to worship in

greater levels, in greater detail, to know who

God is. So our text this morning marks the beginning

of what some would call the end. This is the

last three, four weeks of Christ's life here

on earth. It begins to share, and I believe it

actually just... just brings to a nice, sweet

conclusion of the entire three and a half years

of his ministry. It all comes down in this last

month of his life. And as it marks what I said,

as some would call the end, because of what he

declares, it is finished. And some say, well,

it was over and that was the end. No, I declare

this to you today, that this only marks the end

of the beginning. Hallelujah. It marks the end

of the beginning of eternity. It marks the end

of the purpose of Christ's coming to begin with.

It marks the end and gives a declaration of who

Jesus Christ ultimately is. When we begin to

think about the earthly life of Christ, it is

the expression of the love of the heavenly Father

and what he has and what he desires toward all

of his creation, but especially humanity. Why?

Because we are made in his likeness. We are created

in his image. Hallelujah. The reason that Christ

has come is that that be the fulfillment of his

destiny for you and I. That Christ come and that

humanity be redeemed. You must remember that

in the garden God created us that we would live

forever. You understand that's the reason it's

so tough for the body to die because it wasn't

created to die. It was created to live. The curse

of sin brings death. Oh, but the gift of God

is eternal life. We were created. to live. Hallelujah.

And how many times have you heard one say, well,

I don't know why they're hanging on, but they

take a breath and the heart continues to beat.

Why? Because the original design of the body

was to live and to not die. It was sin, the curse

of sin that brought death upon humanity. It was

no wonder that Methuselah lived to be over 900

and something years old. It took a long time

for sin's diseases to begin to run rampant and

life was a whole lot longer then. even in death.

Think about that. They lived for centuries in

the age of humanity. Why? Because a body was

created to live, and the love of the Father is

expressed in the giving of his Son, Jesus Christ,

through his death and through his life and through

him living again. Hallelujah. It brings hope

for humanity. It brings help for humanity and

for our current life crisis, and it gives us

a great expectation for eternity. Hallelujah.

I've got a great expectation toward eternity.

I don't know how you look. I don't know how you

think about it. But my mind is starting to look

toward heaven more and more and more and more

every day. I want to see him. I want to look

upon his face. I want to be there to sing forever

of his wonderful, amazing grace. I'm longing

for heaven and the hope that I have in eternity.

I know of his good grace on earth, but the hope

that I have. For eternity. And the father sent

his son. The direct expression of his love for

us. That we may know. In free pardon of sin.

Relationship with our heavenly father. And when

we think about these things. It causes my heart

to go. Understand that no other life and no other

death has impacted humanity in a greater level

than that of Jesus Christ. You do understand

that time is separated by his living and dying?

But can I tell you that time will be culminated

one more time with his return. Hallelujah, hallelujah,

hallelujah. And we'll get to know him in his

eternal being of who he is. We'll get to behold

him in his eternal glory as divine God. Hallelujah.

We'll get to see him and acknowledge him and

realize him. And as this countdown begins. The

humbleness of his beginning. John would put it

this way. In the beginning was the Word. The

Word was God. The Word was with God. The same

was in the beginning with God. And all these

things were made by him. and without him was

not anything made that was made. In him was life,

and the life was the light of men, and the light

shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended

it not. In verse 14, and the word became flesh

and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory,

the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,

full of grace and truth. Paul, the apostle born

out of time in another season, declares to the

church at Colossae, chapter 1 and verse 16, for

by him were all things created that are in heaven

and that are in earth, visible and invisible,

whether they be thrones or dominions, principalities,

powers, all things were created by him and for

him, and he is before all things, and by him

all things consist. The countdown begins. The

countdown for eternity and eternity's hope for

humanity has begun. Four weeks out of Calvary's

sight. Four weeks away. We understand as Jesus

prayed in John 17, 24, Father, I will that they

also whom thou hast given me be with me where

I am, that they may behold my glory which thou

hast given me. For thou lovest me before the

foundation. Of the world. The countdown begun

before time began. So how can it be the end when

we're simply in the middle? How could it be the

end, his crucifixion be the end of all when it's

yet but the time that it breaks? Hallelujah.

It breaks from glory to earth, the short hyphen

of 33 1⁄2 years to build and span the gap between

eternity's existence from before the world began

to after the earth is again renewed and remade

and consumed with fire and a heavenly throne

set up and a city come down. Hallelujah. And

God again sits upon the throne of the earth.

It's just simply 33 and a half years of the hyphen

of time in the span of eternity when the Son

of God, the incarnate one, who walked upon the

face of his creation. Walked upon the face of

his creation. It's merely the hyphen of eternity's

time span. Well. The church at Galatia, Paul

wrote, when the fullness of time was come, God

sent forth his son, made of a woman, under the

law to redeem them that were under the law that

we might receive the adoption of sons. Such an

humble beginning. Bethlehem's declaration, the

angel would declare. Fear not for behold I bring

you good tidings of great joy which shall be

to all people for unto you is born this day in

the city of David a Savior which is Christ the

Lord. Humble beginning. Luke 2, 41 and 52. The

only enlightenment of Christ's childhood. We

see that wonderful encounter after they have

come to the city for sacrifice and worship. And

Mary and Joseph are leaving and Jesus is not

with them. And they are gone and they come back

three days later. Hallelujah. And they find him

teaching in the temple. We don't have time to

get on three days, do we? We're going to get

on that here in two weeks. We'll talk about some

three days. Amen. But it was there they found

him teaching in the temple. We see the inside

that he knew that he must be about his heavenly

father's business. Amen. Mama, you know I've

got to get about the business. At 12 years old.

Hallelujah. You've got to remember at 12 earth

years he was still millennia old. Hallelujah.

Amen. Eons of time. He had already been before.

Abraham was. Jesus was. Amen. Are you hearing

me? from the foundation before even all things

existed. Christ was, and yet now in the span

of his incarnation and his fleshly walk upon

the face of this earth, he knew he must be about

the Father's business. Can I tell you, he came

on a mission, and his mission was to fulfill

his ministry, and his mission and his ministry

was his purpose. My God, he was born to die,

but yet to live. He was born to die, but yet

to live. His ministry, his mission was all about

his purpose. His mission and ministry statements

found in Luke's gospel in the fourth chapter.

I mentioned it to you last week. The Spirit of

the Lord is upon me. He's anointed me to preach

the gospel to the poor. Right? And then how all

that transpires on through the poor, the sick,

the halt, the lame, the brokenhearted, the bruised,

the imprisoned. That's his mission. Amen. And

his purpose, his purpose was found. His purpose

is found in that he came not to heal the well,

but the sick. His purpose is found in this statement.

It said that the sick are those who are in need

of a position, not the well. He said, I've come

to seek and to save that which is lost, for the

righteous has no need of repentance. And I've

come to declare myself to the lost and undone,

for they need repentance. My purpose is to fulfill

in our text today. That's what he told his disciples

as he pulled them aside again. He said, listen,

it's time now. We're just a few weeks away. The

final countdown has begun. The countdown of my

earthly life that will escort us into the hope

of eternity. This is coming to an end. And I'm

telling you what's going to happen. They're going

to take me. They're going to spit on me. They're

going to abuse me. They're going to rail on me.

And then they're going to kill me. But it's okay,

brethren. I'm going to rise again. Hallelujah.

Oh, don't you just love it how he gave them hope?

It's not the first time he declared. that to

them. If you remember the day they were strolling

by the temple and he stopped and he looked at

the great temple in Jerusalem. He said, hey,

they're going to tear this down, but in three

days I'm going to build it right back up again.

Why? Because he's telling them something that

they couldn't get a hold of. He is the all circumference

of what the temple was meant to be. It was in

him. Hallelujah. He said, they're going to tear

it down. But in three days, I'm going to put

her back together again. As Jonah was in the

belly of the whale, three days and three nights.

So must the Son of Man be in the heart of the

earth. They didn't get it then. They're not getting

it now. They had no clue. The reality. that they

were walking the earth with the Son of God. They

couldn't really grasp a hold of it until after

that third day. Hallelujah. Actually, they were

still, well, I'm getting ahead of myself. Two

weeks, we'll get to three days. Trying to lay

a little groundwork. I get excited. You'll have

to pardon me when I get to talking about Jesus.

I don't know about you, but I actually know what

he's done for me. I have no clue what he redeemed

you from, but I know what he redeemed me out

of. I know what he washed out of my life. I know

the sin that he cleansed me from, and I get excited.

And when I begin to declare that the countdown

has begun because, see, my mind's going, I'm

so far past Calvary, it ain't even funny. We

just have to stop and pause at Calvary for a

little bit here in a couple weeks. We'll have

to make a pause at Calvary. Lord, it's not a

cross that I worship. Hallelujah. Oh, come on

now. I'm going to get on a little pet peeve.

Everybody wants a cross, but if you look, it's

empty. And if you've got one with a crucifix

and Jesus still on it, then you need to get you

another one because the cross is empty. And if

you wear around a tomb with a stone rolled away

from it, you might as well get something else

because he's not there either. He's risen from

the grave. Hallelujah. And the best glimpse I

get of a throne is what? Oh, Ezekiel sees his

calling when he begins to see a will inside of

a will. My Lord, and the color and the splendor

and the glory of the throne of God that moves

at the very whim of his thought process. Ezekiel

sees the glory. My God, there's no way to put

that in a pendant. There's no way to hang it

on a chain. I love Jesus. How about you? I love

him. The earthly countdown began. The last month

of his life began with a clear declaration to

his disciples. It's time for us to go to Jerusalem

now. And here's what's going to happen when we

get there. As the scripture declares, in the

fullness of time, God sent his son to be born

of a woman. It's also foretold of Calvary's conclusion.

Isaiah 53 paints the picture of the suffering

servant. But Isaiah 61 declares the mission,

ministry, and the purpose. Isaiah says he's going

to be beaten beyond recognition. Isaiah would

declare that he will bear in himself the iniquities

of the sin of humanity. He would be bruised.

He will be beaten. He will be punished for the

sins of humanity. And Christ declares, I've come

for them folk. Not the well, the sick. Not the

righteous, but the sinner. The sinner. Not those

outside of relationship with our Father. Not

within, but those without. Not those who are

serving to the fullest of their ability, living

out the law of Moses. If they're doing that and

they're under the blood covering, that was all

they were required to do. Hello? To live out

the law of Moses and to remain under the blood

covering year after year. To offer said sacrifice

that was required for said condition. Go read

the Levitical. The Levitical law, read the book

of Leviticus, read Numbers and others, and you'll

see the ramifications for sin's action. But Jesus

said, I've come. Not to abolish, but to fulfill

all of that. His declaration, I am the grain

offering. Right? I am the fat offering. Right?

I am the drink. I pour myself out. My blood will

be poured out for you. I am all of the totality

of the law. That is me. I am the Passover lamb.

As well as I am the scapegoat. Hey! Escape goat

sins were transferred onto the head of the goat

and he was driven out of the city, driven out

into the wayfarer and driven off a cliff. He

became that for you and I. Thus the reason John

the Baptist would declare in Jordan's chilly

waters. Behold the Lamb of God which takes away

the sins of the world. These last closing moments

in our text between now, Luke 18 and the close.

Until we see his blessing of Bethany and they

go out and they go back to Jerusalem and make

their way to the upper room. In the meantime,

Bartimaeus is healed. So we see his mission,

his ministry, and his purpose all in these last

few closing weeks. He displays his power over

the physical. He heals a blind man. Amen? He

displays his authority over that which cannot

be seen because as he heals Bartimaeus and he's

making his way. Down the road there's a man by

the name of Zacchaeus, chief among the publicans

and the tax collectors and a very wealthy man.

Heard Jesus was coming but was short of stature

and that he might see him climbed up in a sycamore

tree. For the Lord he wanted to see. We see the

fulfillment. Of his purpose as he stops beneath

the limb that Zacchaeus is on. And he says, Zacchaeus,

come down from there, son. I'm going to your

house today. Lord, do you know who I am? He knew

from eternity's beginning that he would be stopping

beneath a sycamore tree during the final countdown.

And he would call a sinner down. He said, I'm

going to your house. Why? Because salvation is

coming home with you today. We see his purpose

in these closing countdown moments. He gives

the parable of the ten pounds. Talks about how

much we are aware. Of how zealous he is for everyone.

The man given the one pound that hid it in a

napkin. Because he knew how strict the master

was. Instead of taking it and making a deposit

and earning interest. He just simply hid it.

To which the master said. Well if you know how

strict. I am, then you of all knew better than

to just hold it. Take it from him and give it

to the one who had the ten. There's the triumphal

entry that we'll celebrate next week on Palm

Sunday. All of these things coming in the final

countdown moments. Being in fulfillment. The

words of the prophets. That's what Jesus told

them. He said, all the words of the prophets

are about to be tied up with a bow. I'm going

to ride in, as Zacharias said. I will have the

colt on which no man had ever sat. The countdown.

Has begun. We're beginning to make our way toward.

The saddest but yet most joy filled day. For

humanity. There's no sadder day than the day

of Christ's death. But yet no day filled with

more joy. Than the day he died. He despised the

shame of a Roman cross. But for the joy that

was set before him, he endured it. Why? So that

you and I on a rainy Sunday in April in 2025

could one more time rehearse the final countdown.

So that we understand. His mission statement

and ministry statement of Luke 4, 18. To fully

get a grasp on Luke 5 and his purpose statement

as he come to heal the sick and to save the lost.

All these things in the final countdown. The

fullness of his ministry. Brought into the clothes

of his earthly life. His ministry, his mission

and purpose all lived out right to the very end.

We see ministry on the cross. As he looks at

a mother. And tells the disciple, take care of

my mama, son. That's the water's parallel. Take

care of my mama. Ministry. Compassion. Father,

forgive them. They have no clue what they're

really doing. Right? As he hangs his head. Stand

with me this morning. Terry, you have our closing

prayer today. Just begin to make your way on.

Come on up there. I don't know how this morning

to close. But Terry's going to lead us out with

our corporate prayer. And there'll be a copy

of it in the foyer for you to take home and pray

this week. Other than to know this today. His

ministry, his mission, and his purpose is you

and I. All of it. You and I. Your being here.

My being here. Was why he went to Calvary. Was

why he came. And bore in a body. So that you

and I may be redeemed. You. Me. And all the crazy

stuff that we've done. Right? All the stupid

things that I've committed. He didn't just have

pity on me. He had compassion for me. And when

I knelt and finally got it right, look. I love

to tell you I got it right the first time. As

you probably surmise, I didn't. I didn't get

it right the second time. I didn't get it right

the third time. I worked around that number of

perfection, like seven. Probably actually the

number of new beginnings, eight, before I actually

got it. I've been baptized seven times. I take

literally the word of God when he says, do your

first works over. If you fail from your first

love and you come back, do them first works over.

I took that literally. Because in my heart of

hearts, I knew if I'd have died in the condition

that I was in, hell would have been my eternal

abode. Didn't nobody have to try to tell me that?

I knew. So I kept on, kept on, and he didn't

give up on me. He knew a whole lot more than

I did. Think about that. He saw in the expanse

of time us here. He's a good God. So in that,

he knows everything that has transpired up to

this moment and all that will. He's sovereign.

He's omniscient. omnipresent, omnipotent, all

-seeing, knowing, and being all -powerful. If

you have a special need this morning, just lift

your hand up today. It doesn't matter if it's

physical, financial, spiritual, emotional. Doesn't

matter if it's family. Doesn't matter if it's

a neighbor. Doesn't matter what it is. God knows.

He knows. Father, Over this room filled with

humanity this morning. It is my prayer. I pray.

For each hand lifted, you know what they need.

And your purpose was to come to fulfill that

need. For the sick, you come to heal. We see

this in the final countdown. You heal the blind

man. You save a sinner. You fulfill Scripture.

We'll continue the countdown next week as to

see your life unfold and how powerful it is for

us. Father, I thank you for hearing our prayer.

And over every person in this room, heal, deliver,

provide, set liberty, speak peace beyond their

understanding. We will praise you for it. Now

hear this prayer. I don't need to tell you another

great sermon. The countdown begins. The focus

of my prayer is holiness. Let us pray. Precious

Heavenly Father, we bow humbly in your presence,

giving you praise and honor and all glory. for

bringing us out of darkness and into your marvelous

light. We acknowledge there is none like you,

and that not only are you omniscient, omnipotent,

omnipresent, but you are holy, altogether holy,

and that you are coming back for a holy church

without spot or blemish, that throughout your

holy word you have commanded us, your blood -bought

church, to be holy, Nothing could be more clear

to us in your word than be you holy for I am

holy. And again, without holiness, no man shall

see God. But now, oh God of heaven, we are troubled

even as you're called to be holy church. The

possibility that we might be grieving the Holy

Spirit and failing to live up as we should to

this high calling. Loving Lord, as your church,

we repent and humbly pray that you would forgive

us if in any way we have gravitated from this

command, compromised your convictions, and allowed

the spirit of this age to creep into our hearts.

Our sincere prayer and cry of our hearts this

morning is that you would search us as it were

and examine our hearts. and that the Holy Spirit

would reveal to us anything that might be lurking

in us that's not holy and that's displeasing

to our Lord. We pray that not only would you

reveal those things to us, but that you would

forgive us and deliver us and you would cleanse

us. Lord, we invite you to examine every facet

of our being, every area of our lives. That you

purify our minds that in all things we might

have the mind of Christ. Our wills that we'll

seek to do your will. In all of our endeavors,

our desires that it not be for the things of

this world. Or anything that would pull us away

from you. Our attitudes that they be godly and

good attitudes that glorify you. That you sanctify

our mouths. So that no corrupt communication

would come out of our mouth. but words that edify

and give grace to the hearer, that all bitterness

and wrath and anger and evil speaking would be

put away from us, and that unlike the world,

we would be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one

another, even as you have forgiven us, that in

a high -tech world where filth, vulgarity, immorality

seeks to infiltrate our hearts, our homes, and

even our church, that we would guard what we

hear, shun the appearance of evil, and hold uncompromisingly

to your command to be holy, for I am holy. Wonderful,

precious, and holy God, we thank you for hearing

our cry and answering our prayer. And that you

not only command us to be holy, you have provided

a way to be holy, that we are sanctified and

made holy. by prayer, by the reading of your

word, by the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells

in us and enables us in an unholy world to live

a godly, sanctified, and a holy life. This we

pray. This prayer we pray in the name of your

Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.