Please grab a Bible. Instructions for living is in here!
Open your Bibles for a moment to Exodus 20…
God spoke to His chosen people with His Ten Commandments. We read in Exodus 20:3-6, the first 2 commandments…..
From these first 2 commandments we can note why the God of the Bible is a good God!
The God of the Bible is Relational!
The God of the Bible is Perfect and Holy!
The God of the bible is Just!
The God of the bible is Loving!
Yes, God is a loving God, but because He is Holy and Just, God has to punish sinful people unless cleansed through Jesus Christ!
As we continue to study the Gospel of Luke, we will note how God will put into completion His judgment of sinful people on earth. Open your Bibles to Luke 21…
Let us read verse 20-38 to get the whole context. But in preparation for Communion we will only highlight a few verses today; we will try and finish the entire passage next week. Read along with me Luke 21:20-38….
v22 tells us that there will a time of punishment to fulfill all what God has said about judgment of sin.
Jesus tells us when it will happen:
v20a: Jerusalem being surrounded by armies
v24b: Jerusalem trampled on by Gentiles (Non-Jews)
v27: Jesus will come down from heaven
Jesus tells us what will happen:
v20b: desolation
v23: dread, distress, and wrath
v24a: many will be killed and imprisoned
v25a & 26b: signs in the universe
v25b: weird things will happen in the oceans
v26a: people will have fears about the world
Jesus tells us what people should do:
v21: flee away from Jerusalem
v28: stand up and be confident about redemption
Let us pause here and reflect on these truths for this morning.
How do we know the end has not come yet??
It is obvious that the end has not come yet because ….. we are still here and according to Luke 21:27, Jesus will appear in the clouds.
The question is: How soon will the end and God’s judgment come? Let’s revisit the timing and what will happen.
We noted Jerusalem will be surrounded by armies and will be trampled! Is Jerusalem and the country of Israel in peace right now? Here were some of the news headlines last Thursday:
April 4, 2013 News:
Mideast Conflict: Gaza Militants Fire Rockets At Israel Following Airstrikes)!
Israel ’On Alert’ as Tensions Soar in West Bank, Gaza!
The tension in the Middle East can explode at any time now and Jerusalem can easily be obliterated!
What about things that are to happen, how close in time can we see them happen?
If you look at the Bible Prophecies in the Bible, there is nothing holding up Jesus from showing up on earth. Jesus can show up fro us at anytime; He can show up today!!!
Jesus is just waiting for God the Father to give the green light to return to earth!
Now look again at the list of things to happen in v20-26…… (see bulletin)
Any of those not happening already?
All of the things which Jesus said over 2000 years ago are happening in our world right now!
Let me highlight a couple of things. Jesus tells us that in the end there will be unique signs in the universe and odd things in the seas. What scientists are finding today is there is this “dark matter” which actually makes up 80% of the universe; they say dark matter (80% of universe) emits no light and can’t be detected with telescopes, and it seems to dwarf the ordinary matter in the universe. In other words, scientific experts today are telling us that they don’t really know much about the universe!
Scientists today also tell us that our oceans are becoming acidic, and sooner or later, many ocean creatures will die. And actually, there are over 400 dead zones in our oceans right now where no life exists!
I spoke to a fisherman yesterday who makes a living from our Lake Michigan. He said with a sad face, “many of our fish in the Great Lakes are disappearing!”
How soon will Jesus come to earth to punish sinful men? The signs are all around us that the time of Jesus’ return to earth to judge its sin can happen at anytime now!
How are we to respond to this truth?
If a doctor tells you that you will only have a month to live, your attitude about life will change wouldn’t it?
Jesus tells us when the end comes, which is very soon now, flee Jerusalem and stand up and be confident about your redemption.
If we think about it, any believer of God lives in Jerusalem when the end comes, if they want to live they would have to flee Jerusalem.
The main point of the message today is what Jesus said in v28…….
As we prepare for Communion today, and for our remaining lives here on earth, how confident are you and me to stand up and have confidence in our redemption, salvation from God’s punishment?
The answer of course is in Romans 3:23-24 (our Scripture verses for the week)……
Here are the questions you and I need to ask ourselves:
1. Do I acknowledge that I am a sinner in need of God’s grace?
2. Have I opened up my heart to God’s Grace?
3. Do I truly believe Jesus paid for all of my sins through His death and resurrection?
If you say yes to all of these questions, then the stand up and be confident of your redemption, and partake of communion!
