Today's date's December 6th, but on December 8th, do we know what happened? It's only a few years ago, as in 46. Lamoine Baptist Church started their very first meeting on December 10th, their very first Sunday meeting. Think about it, it was February of 74, three families, the Jones, the Motters, the Radaballs, wanted to hear God's word, but the church they were in, just down the road, was not preaching God's word. In fact, the minister did not even believe in the inspiration of the scriptures, didn't even believe in the virgin birth of Christ, and we could go on and on. But Ted Motter, our brother Ted, met with minister of that church, and when he found out he wasn't about to change his ways, he said, by the grace of God, we're going to start a Bible-believing church in this area. Indeed, God has blessed us since. They started to meet right down the Bredner Road here, and every Wednesday night took up a small offering there. And for six months or so, that was February, and finally when December 1st came, They were going to have their first Sunday meeting. They rented the town hall. Town hall, remember how much they rented it for? $1 for the whole year. And that was quite a town hall, by the way. There used to be raccoons running up and down the rafters. You could hear it as the sermon was going on. Everybody in the wintertime, this is great. In fact, maybe we should go to this here, have a little potbelly stove up here and shut off all the heat. Because everybody wanted to meet up front where the heat was during the wintertime. And it was great days, but that's when the word went forth. They loved the Lord, but it was December 1st and something happened that day. Who knows what happened? Gigantic snowstorm. So Satan has his ways, but we know the Lord's over it all. And finally, December 8th, which is this Tuesday, the church had its first meeting by the grace of God. So Jesus said it like this in Matthew 16, 18, I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. the beauty of God's Word, the beauty of us, this body right here. Yes, we're going through trying times, but we assemble together the body of Christ to lift up the head, our glorious Savior, who would not only be born through a virgin so many 2,000 years ago, but go to that old rugged cross for the likes of us. So, we thank our great God for his great grace upon us. Let us now reflect upon what our brother Luke is saying here. Luke was probably a doctor. We know about that. But he was probably a Gentile as well. Amazing. Of all the ones who wrote the New Testament, Luke wrote more than any. And it's typical because more Gentiles are saved today than there are Jews. So God has a way of doing these things, doesn't he? So here's the Lord God himself. And he's talking about the kingdom of God, the kingdom now. That term is found 70 times, 70 times in the New Testament. In fact, in this parable here, Jesus spoke of the kingdom many, many times. When you hear the term kingdom of God, what goes through your mind? How do we think about that? Well, one of the key things about the kingdom of God, think about this, it's the nearness of God, drawing unto Him, having a relationship, having a vibrant, dynamic, loving relationship with the King of the universe. That's intimate, that's integral in this kingdom phrase. In Matthew 13, he said, the kingdom's like a farmer. when he talked about that. In fact, in Matthew 13.24 it says it's like a seed. In 13.31 it's like a yeast. In 13.33 it's like a treasure of Matthew. In Matthew 13.44 it's a pearl. In Matthew 13.45 it's a fishnet. In 13.47 of Matthew it's an employee. In fact, in Matthew 20 They're the kings inviting the people to a marriage feast. It's kingdoms like that. Many different aspects of understanding what this kingdom of God is all about. And our Lord has many different ways to employ syllogisms to bring it together to give us a good understanding. So think of the kingdom of God as God's kingly rule. The king is here, we're in a relationship with him, he's sovereign over all things. Everything. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 12 says it like this, that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. Indeed, the mighty grace of our great God. Hebrews says it like this in 9.27, it's appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment. It's coming. Satan would have you believe life is here, life is now. You're supposed to focus on this life, grab for all the gusto you can get, and you'll be content and happy. But what does our Lord say? Our Lord says we have an eternal soul. Our eternal soul's in jeopardy. We've all sinned, everyone in this room. We've turned our back on God. And by God's grace, he sent a savior. He sent his son to die for our sins. And by faith alone, in Christ alone, we have life, eternal life forever. As we know, the greatest eschatological event that has ever taken place on planet Earth is in the past. It's already happened, hasn't it? It's the cross of Christ, right? He has come, he has conquered death, he's conquered sin, he's conquered Satan. In this crowning historical event, the God-man died for sinners, the eternal one, our creator. The one who gives life to all on planet Earth is the one who died at Calvary. As the sky turned dark there at 12 noon as he was upon that cross and there he gave up his spirit at three and died on our behalf. Remember Paul, how he said it in 2 Corinthians 9, 15? He said, thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. How can we describe this? For the likes of us who've turned our back on him and he comes and does what he did for us? How can we describe it? We marvel over it. All events either flow to this event, or all events flow from this event. This is the juggernaut, this is the key of everything, the cross. Everything pointed towards it, now everything flows from it, and finally we'll see the ultimate victory of that cross being worked out in the kingdom glory. It's still to come. History is redemptive history. It's all about God saving grace. He's redeeming. He's redeeming the people for his kingdom. In fact, he says it like this in Luke 1.32, Indeed, God has that kind of power and that kind of victory in Christ. So, there's much prophecy in the Bible. Just for a few seconds, just sit back and I want you to listen to this. There's much prophecy it talks about here. In fact, the amount of it is 8,352 verses out of a total of 31,000 verses that speak of prophecy. That's a good percentage. 8 out of 32? Good percentage. 27% of Scripture is deliberately predictive when written. 27%. Over a quarter of it. In fact, the total number of predictive predictions, counting subjects repeated in different books, comes to 1,817. Lots of prophecy we're dealing with here. Books with no prophecy? Guess how many there are? Only four. Only four books with no prophecy. Ruth is one, Song of Solomon, Philemon, and Third John. But books with much prophecy, who talk about it, who focus on it, there are a number of those, such as Ezekiel, Jeremiah. They both have over 800 verses of them speaking of prophecy. Isaiah has over 700. Then there's Matthew, Revelation. They have over 200 verses speaking of prophecy. And finally, Luke has over 250 himself. So books, that are most highly predictive percentage-wise? Zephaniah, 89%. Predictive prophecy. That's a lot of prophecy, right? Read Zephaniah sometime, right? Obadiah, 81%. Nahum, 74%. Revelation and Hebrews, both over 40%. In fact, Peter, 2 Peter, 41%. In fact, some have said they've actually counted up all the predicted prophecies for our Lord Jesus Christ, and there are 333 prophecies of our Lord himself. Jesus has to be to whom he is said to be because he's fulfilled so many of these prophecies already. But every verse in Scripture which speaks of Jesus' first coming, there are, get a load of this, there are eight verses that speak of his second coming. We look back to the cross, yes, but oh, we look forward to what God's going to do, what he's actually claimed for us. Today we're in Luke chapter 17, and that is precisely the point, isn't it? Luke 17 is rich with prophecy, as our brother Jim has already read to us. Let's take a look here. If you've got the handout there, I encourage you to follow along with me in the outline. The first point here, the kingdom that is invisible. The kingdom's invisible. I'll just pick up on a few things here. We've talked about this one before. So let's pick up where we left off a few weeks back here. Luke 17, verse 20. Now when he was asked by the Pharisees where the kingdom of God would come, he answered them and said, the kingdom of God does not come with observation. In other words, you what? You can't see it. Not the kingdom right here he's talking about. There's a kingdom to come. You will obviously see it, right? Two aspects of this kingdom. Verse 21. Luke 17, 21. Did you know that the kingdom of God is right here, right now? It's within us? When you're born again, who's ruling on the throne of your heart? You've deposed self, or should I say Christ has deposed self, yourself, and put himself on the throne of your heart. Remember how Jesus put it in 11.25 of Matthew? God has hidden these things from the wise and revealed them to babes. They can't see it, they can't get it. They're so much wrapped up in this material world, what I get out of this world, It's clueless to them. Kingdom of God is right there in Jesus' day, but they would not see it. They closed their eyes, willfully closed their eyes, these leaders of the faith. They thought they were in the kingdom. But the world can't see it. They have no clue. As he says in 1720 here, in Luke 1720, the kingdom of God does not come with observation. So when you hear the kingdom of God, when you hear that term, again, what do we think of? The nearness of God. His rulership. He's now over us. We now look to him for direction. The rulership of Christ in the heart. In Matthew 13, he said the kingdom's like a farmer. Like a farmer. In Matthew 13.21, no that was, this is 13.24, he says it's like a seed. In 13.31, it's like a yeast. In 13.33, it's like a treasure. You ever find a treasure, dig it up and know what's valuable? This is on that order, but far more so. It's like a pearl, a merchant, a pearl. Matthew 13, 45. It's like a fishnet in 13, 42 of Matthew. And like an employer in 20, verse 1. A king inviting his people to a marriage feast in Matthew 22, verse 2. But unless you're born again, Unless you're on the same wavelength that most of us are in this room, it's a mystery. You can't see it. It's almost like they're making this stuff up. It's Alice in Wonderland type thinking until you come into the kingdom, until God opens your eyes, until he takes that heart of stone, makes it a heart of flesh. Now, now I see it. My old, it's like my old Episcopalian priest said to my parents one day, they could see we'd change, we'd like to talk about the Lord, we'd like to talk about the gospel, and he said, oh don't worry about them, in a few years they'll get over it. Listen, once you're in the kingdom, you never get over it. It just grows and gets larger and deeper, and your love for Him grows, and you understand all these things, and it's all the more glorious. And we're not even there yet. But we are there. But we're in the invisible part. There's still this visible that's to come, right? So, you can't see it with the visible eye. It takes the spiritual eye. So, here's the King of the universe. He's right there in their very presence. They're actually looking right at him, the king of all kings. The kingdom is going to come through him. And they think it's impossible. They think they've got a charlatan in front of them. They don't see it. The king of the universe. He's the one that gives them their very breath. Can you imagine that? Why can you take that next breath? There's only one reason after it's all said and done, right? It's not what the doctor did for you. It's not the good diet you've been on. It's because Jesus ordained that next breath. The king is over all his kingdom, every aspect of it. Romans 8, 28, this we know that what? All things, not some, not most, all things. He's got all things in his hand. They all work out for his glory. So we can't see it. It's invisible. The kingdom of God is within us. That's true. The kingdom of God is in men's hearts to produce what? Not new things. You know, we Americans, we're excited about things, aren't we? Look at the average credit card debt in America. No, don't look at it. It discourages us. No, it's not about things. It's about what? It's about new spiritual. It's what we grow in Christ, this word that we understand. We understand the truth. We understand how one can get to heaven. All this. It's not a revolution in material things. It's a spiritual revolution. It's a revolution in the hearts of his people. Now what do we experience? We have a love you never had before. You have a peace. You have a joy. There's a kindness. There's a goodness that wasn't there before. I certainly wasn't like this. Yes, I know. Some of you can point out, well, pastor's got a long ways to go. I agree. You compare ourselves to Christ, but oh, the difference, where we used to be and where we are now, this kingdom, kingdom of glory. We've talked about that one before. Let's go to point two here. Point two on our outline. I want to talk about the kingdom that many will not see. See, the kingdom's here, you can see it. Well, the kingdom's not here, you can't see it. There's two aspects of this, right? Right here in Luke chapter 17, verse 22. Look at this, 17, 22. Then he said to his disciples, the days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. Now there's a warning here from Jesus, right? What's he say about his followers here? His followers will desire his return because the times will be so horrific. You thought it was bad now, right? Some of us who watch the news, I have to admit I have to watch a little bit less these days to keep from being insane. But we thought, no, it's going to get much, much worse, isn't it? We know that about the tribulation to come. They will yearn for an immediate return to save them from the evils that abound. But what does he say here? Look at here, right at the end of verse 22, what's he say? He says, you will see it, his people. They'll long for the messianic kingdom. There's a day coming when they will see it. There it is. See, his first coming, his first coming was just a prelude to his second coming. You could argue this, that all the doctrines, all the doctrines of God's word, all the truths that we see in God's word, that the second coming is the most important. Now, we know the cross is key, but why would I say it like that? Why? Why is that the case? Because this is the culmination of all that Christ did. It's not here yet. It's only in vague form. It's a kingdom to come where finally everything's going to be set in order. Can you imagine a day coming when you have perfect weather? Can you imagine that kind of day? When your ball team wins every time? Can you imagine that? I mean, this is going to be spectacular when we walk hand in hand with the Lord of the universe. communion, nearness, fellowship, a love relationship. Something that we're not quite there yet, even though we experience to some degree even now. So the Second Coming is so critical that over and over in the Bible we see it. It's talked about in many different ways, many occasions. We've already reflected on a few of those at the beginning of this message. In one form or another, all the truth points to this ultimate truth. Think of it. The life of Jesus Christ is the embodiment of this kingdom to come. When you look at Christ, you're looking at his king. But he also has ushered in a kingdom with him that will be set up on planet earth. Look at verse 23 here. Look at this in verse 23. And they will say to you, look here or look there. Do not go after them or follow them. Boy, they're all over. Somebody told me a few years ago there's 2,500 people out there claiming to be the Messiah. The Jim Jones, the David Koresh's. We don't have to travel down to some foreign state or some foreign country to find Christ. No, no, no. That's what the charlatans would do. That's the enemy doing this. He says, don't go after them. Look at verse 24. For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also is the Son of Man who will be in that day. When you see lightning, what happens? Everybody sees it in the area, right? Flashes from one end of the sky to the other. All see it. There's a coming day when this will be no mistake. You don't have to scratch it. No, no. It's going to be quite obvious when the king of kings finally comes back to set up his kingdom. The coming of Jesus Christ is certain, but the time is not. It's just like that thief. You know that thief that's coming to your house? He's going to come. He's going to rob your house. But when's he coming? Is it tonight? Next week? Next year? We don't know when. So, if we're certain, and we are, of Christ coming back, what do we do? We watch, we look, we know he's about to come, and therefore we live for his glory. Speculation is vain. People will come with all kinds of false predictions, that's true, but it's pointless and useless. How many books have been written? Actually, setting the time and the date. Just a few years ago, another book was reissued, he missed the first one, coming back, didn't happen, didn't happen, didn't happen. Listen, it's going to be like lightning. When it happens, you're going to know it. Nobody knows it. Nobody's going to be sure about it beforehand. No man knows the time or the hour. The best way that Christ can return is when a person is faithfully and humbly and observantly serving their Lord. Each one of you has gifts. Each one of you has gifts to be used in a local New Testament church. How are you doing with those gifts? Are we being faithful? Are we working for our Lord? Are we serving Him? within the body of Christ. The best way to picture Christ's return is to be working for Him. As a writer said it like this, no man will foresee it, but all will see it. How true. You won't foresee it, But when it does happen, nobody's going to be blind to it. Can you imagine this? Christ returns and he returns and you're actually serving him faithfully. You're doing something, maybe leading someone to the Lord. Maybe in the scriptures and weeping over what your Lord's done. And he returns and he finds you faithful to that. What a day that's going to be. Reverse that. What if he comes back and I'm in some kind of sin? Something I should not be doing. Something I'm occupying my mind with that's really more of the devil than of Christ. What's that day going to be like when, there he is, the knock on the door, Christ is here! Help us God, help us all to be faithful. For you don't know that day, nor do I, and therefore we need to be found faithful to our glorious King. Remember the parable, the parable of the ten virgins? They are awaiting the groom. Those days of the tradition, the groom would come at midnight after about a year of the betrothal period. And the groom finally showed up, didn't he? In that parable. Suddenly! There he was! And what do we know? Five were ready and five were not. Are you ready? Are you ready for him to come? So the five unprepared had to go and buy oil for the lamp, Matthew 25, 10. Remember what he said there? Listen to those verses there. It goes like this in Matthew 25, 10. While they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding, and the door was shut. There's something about the finality, those last few words there. The door was shut. You ever hear the door shut on you? Maybe you're a little kid and mom and dad would go in the house and thought everybody was ahead of them and there you are outside the door. Can you imagine this door being shut? God help us. God help us to be faithful, to know Him, to repent of our sin and to follow faithfully, hard after Him. The door was shut. Nothing like this one. The focus on those last four words, the finality of it. Remember when you were younger, in my day we had to catch a bus. I think they still run buses. Oh, I just missed, there it was, it was pulling away and I'm running out for it, just missed the bus. Or how about this one, you're at the airport, you're running late, bad traffic jam, and you just get into the gate and there goes your airplane. How about this one? The Lord returns and you miss out. You don't know him. You're not ready. Imagine what's at stake in all of this here. A few minutes, we have in the flesh, that's all. Some people, look at what they're doing now out there. I'll never forget, when we didn't have the Bible fellowship hour, we'd come later to church, I'm on my way, and I'd see all these people in the yard doing all these different things, you know, on a Sunday morning. Well, we have this great privilege of gathering before the king, practice work, practice session, when the king of king actually does show up. And we find all these other things to do. Ooh. We need to be practicing now the right way. It's a shame, isn't it? The flesh, what it buys into. The kiss of eternity comes from our Lord Jesus Christ. Otherwise, in its eternity, you and I will not want to be in, but everybody will be in. We could say it like this, right? We could call it, it's awfully stupid. Not the bed and needs of the Lord Jesus Christ, isn't it? A flame of fire? You ever burn yourself? A flame of fire forever and ever? Awfully stupid. Luke 17, 24, what's he say here? For as the lightning that flashes out of the part under the heaven shines to the other part under the heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in his day. We all know about lightning. When it strikes close, do we ever know about it? We hear it, we feel it, we can even smell it as it burns on some occasions. Most of us jump if it gets that close. It gets our attention. But there'd be no mistaking the fact of our Christ's return. You don't have to wonder. You have to call, hey, did the Lord return yesterday? No one's gonna ask that kind of question. It's a universal visible. So there's no mistake of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. All on planet Earth will know of his return. Amazing concept, isn't it? Notice how Jesus states it there in verse 24. It flashes, talk about it flashing. It flashes, from one point of heaven shines, what, to the other part. it's interesting the greek word there that shining is uh... in the greek it's lampo where we get our english word Lamp. Interesting. Lamps do what? They shine lights. What's this lampo going to do? When Christ returns, we all are going to see it clear as a bell. It's going to be lighted right up here. It means to shine. In Acts chapter 12, verse 7, there's Peter in prison. Remember, the angel of the Lord comes and he stood by him. And what did it say? Remember how the text goes there in Acts 17? The light shone all around him. What kind of light are we talking about? What's this manifestation? We know in John 1, 3, along with Colossians and other passages, Christ is the creator of all things, so he lit the lamps of heaven. He lit our sun. But this light is like no other light. It comes from Christ. The light of, lights up the prism there. In fact, that's not the only time we see that in scripture, is it? Remember Matthew 17, 21? There's the Lord Jesus Christ, and what happened? He was transfigured before them. What did that look like? It's a shining light, bright light. Was it ever. 2 Corinthians talks about that concept in 4, 6. Listen to what it says. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness as it's shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God and the love of Jesus Christ. That's what knowledge is, right? True knowledge, true wisdom, it's light. You don't have to walk in darkness. You walk across a dark room, you go down that deep cave, you go through that warehouse without a light, without a flashlight, you're gonna stumble and fall and mess yourself up. But the beauty is when you have the light of life, you can see where to place your next foot. You know what door not to open. You know not where to go, because he's the light of life. He's got knowledge, he's got truth, and I follow in Christ's footsteps. I follow hard after him. Hebrews 7.19, for the law made nothing perfect, right? Only Jesus. can make us perfect. The law was a guide, but nobody was perfected by it. We are all now, right now, in the new covenant that delivers us from darkness into his marvelous light. The beauty of the new covenant. Jeremiah spoke it, right? Actually, the whole Old Testament speaks of it. In Jeremiah 31, 31, he talks about that covenant there. Remember how he says it? Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. That's altogether no. This deals with the cross work. This deals with the payment of sin. This deals with God adopting his children into his family. Did you know you're a citizen of heaven right now? I won't take a toll here, but a number of us have passports. How would you like to have a passport stamped with heaven on it? You do, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. We're actually considered, Corinthians said, what? We're citizens of heaven, right? There's a radical newness now. This old covenant, now we have the Shekinah. The Shekinah was in the tabernacle, dwelt there, then it left them, remember? Their sin got so bad, departed from them. But the Shekinah now is back in the Lord Jesus Christ, and he dwells within our hearts. In the new covenant, the Holy Spirit burns in the hearts of believers. 1 John 4, 19, we love him because he First loved us. When he went to that cross, your name was written across his brow, right? He's dying for your sin there. He pays the price for us. What was written on your hearts before? You know what was written on your hearts before the Lord brought you alive? Romans 8 and 9 is very clear. You were at enmity with the Lord. Oh, you might have been religious. You might have gone to your false religion. You might have gone to a gospel-believing church. But you didn't have a love, a compassion for the Lord. You didn't want to serve him and please him. Not really. Many claim to see, but their lives somehow show something quite different. The way they spend their time, the way they spend their energy, the way they spend their money, the way they spend their life shows something quite different. The heart, it reveals everything, right? How did Calvin put it? The heart is a factory of idols, all kinds of idols. We thought, you know, I was at Mars Hill, And a guide was pointing out all the idols there that Paul saw. You know, he finally found the one written to the unknowing God. And there are all kinds of idols. Guess what? America has far more idols than that. Every kind in shape and size. From education to religion to government to collecting whatever one collects out there. And they about collect anything today. All kinds of idols. Nothing wrong with some of those things in and of itself. As long as you put it in proper order. Christ comes first, and you're taking direction from Him. As the blind man said, I was blind, but now I see. Remember when Christ healed him? Do you see now? Do you see? Do you see the kingdom? From your mind's eye, from your spiritual eye, do you see what Christ has for you? Many claim to see, but their lives show something quite different. When they spend their time, energy, their money, it all points to the world. Where's your heart at? Where's your heart really at? We got some orphans, can you imagine being a young age and mom and dad are gone? Perhaps some of you have been there. We have this great opportunity, right? Bethesda Project, South Africa, and there we have these little orphans wiped out, mom and dad are gone. And now we have an opportunity to raise matching funds. So every dollar you give is another dollar matching. And instead of maybe splurging as much as I want to, maybe I should consider God's project here. Maybe a little more healthy than I would normally do. Great opportunity for five classrooms to help these young ones equip them with exactly what you're being equipped with right now, the truth of God's word, to live it out for his glory. What an opportunity. What a time we live in where we can help a, how many miles away is, Larry, you've been to South, how many miles are we talking? $14,000, something like that, huh? That's a hike. And here we are sitting right here at Lemoyne Baptist Church, and we have this privilege funneling all the way over there and actually seeing our money double. Nothing like it, right? I was blind, but now I see. It's interesting to note that lightning is an apocalyptic context so often. It's often associated with theophanies in the Old Testament. In fact, every time God shows up, let me back that up. Often when God shows up, we see light there, a presence of light. God appears as a light. Here is the point to the brightness and the visibility of all this, right? We're all gonna see his light. What's he say here in Luke 17, 24? We're gonna see it. Note that again, Luke chapter 17. No one's going to miss it. They're all going to know it. They're all going to see it. The law could do what? The law could condemn us. That's all the law can do. But grace does what? Grace justifies us, declares us righteous. I haven't done any righteous, not for Christ's sake, not when my motives are analyzed, not in my lifestyle, but it's imputed to us by Christ's word. The law demands holiness. Christ Grace gives us holiness. The law says the soul that sins shall die, but grace says the believer shall never die. Radical difference from the old to the new. One's a shadow of the other, granted, but we have the full fruition of Christ now. As a man was dying, Let me back that up. As a man was driving through a mining region one Sunday, he noted a large number of mules being out in the field there, anchored in the field just grazing on their own. He was told that the work animals had been brought up from the dark mines belonging to and longing to preserve their eyesight, they brought them into the light. For exposed darkness, continued exposed darkness makes them blind over time. So they're regularly exposed to the light that they would eventually not go blind. You see what he was saying here? How we need to focus on the one who is the light of life. The world's going to get awful dark without focusing on Christ. We need to spend time with him, with the Son of God. We need to focus on him. Christ said what? I am the light of the world in John 8. I'm the light of the world. Do we? Do we stay in the light? You just might, if you stay in the darkness, you just might get used to the darkness. Be careful. Come to the light. Spend time in the light. Draw yourself into the light. Well, the temple did what? That's the beauty of the new covenant we have. The old was good. It was a shadow of the good things to come. But it was, oh, insufficient in so many ways. The temple's replaced. We have a new temple. Who is it? It's really us. It's our Lord Jesus Christ, but we are the temple of Christ. Now the Spirit dwells within us. The animal sacrifice is replaced. We have a far greater sacrifice. God, man, dies for sinners, our Lord. The priesthood is now universal. You are a priest. You are a living priest. You represent God before men and men before God. We have the privilege of telling others. How to escape hell. How to go straight to heaven. And there's nothing you can do for it. It's called repent and believe. Amazing. Priesthood. I trust you're working out your priesthood on a daily basis. Jerusalem is no longer the center. You used to have to go to Jerusalem three times a year. If you're a male over the age of 12. It's universal, we come here to meet with Christ. Jerusalem is no longer the center. The middle wall petition, remember, no Gentile go past it, guess what? What do we get to say? Peter, step aside, I'm coming in. Christ sups with us now. We can come right into it, as a Gentile, right into his very presence. And there's freedom now, freedom in the forms of worship. No strictness in precise areas. as the Old Testament had. Well, we've seen the kingdom that's invisible, the kingdom many will not see, the kingdom where first things are first. A few verses to finish here. Again, this is just part two. It's going to be at least three parts, if not four. We've got a Christmas break coming up, but we will come back to this subject here. Critical. In the time that we live with COVID and everything else going on, this is an important subject. We need to get a hold of this. Eschatology, these last things to come, and what Christ is going to do with this earth someday. So the third point, the kingdom. Let's look at Luke 17, 25. Luke 17, 25. But first, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Yes, he must suffer. And so you and I, what? Will not suffer. He had to go to the cross, pay the price. Six hours he hung on the cross. Those last three hours, the father rained his wrath down on his son. He was judged in our place. God is righteous and must punish all sin. Either the Lord Jesus Christ dies for your sin or you will go to the eternal abyss, hell, and there begin to pay for it for an eternity. And by the way, all those who go to hell, does their sin stop? What happens in hell? Each day they do what? They sin more. We're living sinners. That's all we are. We're living sinners. And in hell, all the greater judgment. When does hell ever stop? When do they get to escape hell? It never does. The eternality. The righteous judgment of God. And we all have an opportunity now to turn from our sin and to trust in our Lord Jesus. God is righteous and must punish all sin. The psalmist said it like this in 16... 25, there's a way that seems right unto a man, but the ends thereof is death. Boy, it seems right. I just live a good life. I'm a nice person. I'm sincere. I'll do good to others. No, no, no. We're all sinners. We all got a black record, and we need a complete, 100% perfect, righteous record. You don't have that. I don't have it. There's one that has it. You better come to Him, for without Him, you don't get it. You're not going to make it. The Lord Jesus has that record. He's not only fully God, he's the creator of this universe, but according to John 1, 3, he made all things. This Son, this Messiah, this Son of God. He is truly man, that's true. He is also the God-man. Since Adam was created in God's image, now we have one who comes in the image of God, God himself, who is man, 100% human, as well as 100% deity. Jesus can and will suffer for sins, a man on the cross. The one who says he knew no sin is the same one who goes as the perfect sacrifice. But will also come to rule and reign over all. His coming, it's so obvious, it's gonna be so obvious like the lightning. Lightning that shoots right through the sky. It's gonna come one day and we will all know it. You don't have to go looking for it. You're gonna all know it. Don't have to run down to Jamestown. No, no, no, don't have to go down to Texas to David Koresh. No, no, you don't have to go there. Luke 17, 26, And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man. Days of Noah. What's that like? That's just carnal enjoyment, right? Having a good time. It's criminal activity as well. They certainly did that in the days of Noah, right? Contemptuous unbelief to the living God. Not much different than today, is it? Now we live in a day where to defund the police, legalize marijuana, Legalize heroin. You know, if you don't have the real God, you got to have all these other false gods to get you through the day. There's all kinds of them out there. Now we can sue a baker if he won't make a cake for my particular style lifestyle. Isn't that amazing? The kind of things that go on out there. Little sisters of the poor. These are all women in their religious activities. And now the federal government, of yesteryear tried to sue them for not supplying abortion insurance. They're in celibacy. There's no chance. I mean, it's ludicrous. And it's possibly on the slippery slope again where these kind of things are going. Are you praying? Do you know God's on the throne? He's got a purpose for this? Maybe as the darker it gets, the brighter the light's gonna shine. You as a gospel bearer, you as a lover of Christ, you get to shine that light when it gets dark out there. A wicked, wanton people doing their own thing is what it was all about back then. Listen to Luke 17, 27. Look at it right here. They ate, they drank, they married wives. They were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. You see their problem? They thought life was all about self. It's all about me. To enjoy self. That's what they thought. They were all caught up in themselves, right? They didn't get it. That's their problem. They thought the more toys they had, he who has the most toys wins when he dies. They thought that. As he says in 1 Corinthians 10 31, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the Glory of God. Why do I live? One reason. One reason you live. We live for His glory. To put Him on display. So, as our brother's been teaching, very good class. If you're not there, you need to be at the Adult Bible Fellowship, but when you send that text out, When you react to something that was said, make sure it's bathed in the grace of Christ. You are the light in a dark world. We have the opportunity to be that light. The men of Noah's day failed to come to their senses, to realize their days were numbered. By the way, your days are numbered. You're not going to get one more than he's allotted to you. I would say it in Job 14, the day you're born, the day you die, they're fixed and no one's going to change that. Now again, God ordains the means to it. Then I still go to my doctor once a year, right? I don't walk out in front of that Mack truck going by thinking I'm invisible. That might be how God ordained me to go. So no, I still live prudently, but we understand what the Lord meant by that, right? The men of Noah's day failed to come to their senses. They lived with all the gusto they could have. And where are they now? Where are those men of Noah's day? Thought they had life by the tail and joy in it all and their limos and all the rest? Do you know your soul will not die? Will not die in the sense of going out of existence? It will not die. You and I will go on forever and ever. If we're in the Lord or not, we will all go on forever and ever. We live forever in that sense. Remember how Jesus said it in Mark chapter 9, where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched? Remember how many times he said it there in Mark 9, where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched? How many times? Three times. Three times. He said it once. Well, that's the Lord saying that's truth. He doesn't need to say any more, does he? There's a reason, isn't there? We don't get it. We don't understand. We think we can throw ourselves into this or that without Him first. Where the worm does not die, the fire... You have two executioners for eternity. An external one that's going to burn you on the outside, and you've got an internal one that eats you from the inside. You don't even want to think about going there. Stop playing games with life. Put Him first, bow the knee to Him, turn from your sin, trust in Him, and then you have life that will take you straight up. The moment you die, after the body, what? I'm present with the Lord. I'm there in his presence. They lived with all the gusto for themselves. But our soul, your soul, will never die. Remember how Jesus said it? They thought life was kick back and enjoy. But listen to how Matthew puts it. This is Matthew chapter 16. He says, for what profit is a man if he gains the whole world? Can you imagine? By the way, you know how many billionaires? Not million, I'd say billion with a B. The billionaire. How many billionaires are in America? 540. Billion. I thought million was a lot of money. These are billionaires. They think they got the world by the tail. I could say that another way, but I won't here in front of you. For what profit is a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? What will a man give in exchange for his soul? What's your soul worth, your eternal soul? How much is it up for sale? It's priceless, isn't it? It's not for sale. That's why we run to Christ. That's why we turn from our sin and trust in Him. And look at here, Luke 17, 28, what's he say here? Luke 17, 28, likewise as it was also in the days of Lot, they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built. Good old days, just slap on the back, I'm enjoying life, cruising through it, verse 29. But on the day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained, not rain, what did it rain? Fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Note the sharp contrast here. Radical difference, night and day, in verse 28. They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built, and in verse 29, they went out and it rained on them. It rained fire on them. They were destroyed. Even Lot's wife, she couldn't help it. She just had to do what? Look back? She was told not to. Don't look back. Don't go dabbling in that again. Keep going ahead. Keep following our Lord Jesus. True love does what is best for the other. We don't pretend certain things exist where the only place they exist is in our head. We have to take the truth for what it says and take it to our minds. Listen to how 1 Corinthians puts it in 6.9. It says it like this. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites will inherit the kingdom of God. I sure don't hear our society saying that today. But if we love people, we're gonna do what? We're gonna live according to that truth. We're gonna try to help others, right? There's nobody we should hate, right? God loves us in spite of us. We need to love all people, right? What's the new commandment Christ gives us? So the loved one and others, he's loved us. That's a quantum love there. But we have to be truthful where we are today. We have to react with society where we are. Eighty percent of homosexuals have a sexually transmitted disease. Eighty percent of homosexuals. We need to love them. The news isn't going to do it. Our culture's not going to do it. You and I need to get involved, right? The average American dies at age 75. The average homosexual dies at age 39. Two percent of homosexuals live to 65. Two percent. It's sexual lust gone mad, and it destroys a person. It is a dead-end lifestyle. It's suicidal. It's not normal. And we are to love those who are caught in sin. to speak the truth in love as we develop relationships, especially the opportunity with the gospel. We have it. We have the gospel. You see, the true hate speech is not what I'm saying right here. True hate speech is what? What the press says. What they go with. Oh, well, okay. That's where we need to go. No, no, no. God has harsh warnings for all of us that turn their back on Him. The point of this is what? The judgment came suddenly. is what Luke's referencing here, came in a moment. People in the midst of their everyday activities, they had no clue there was actually a righteous, holy God, and he will hold them accountable. To live for self is exceedingly, inherently sinful type of life practice. It's really, if you live for self, it's a guaranteed road to destruction. You can't get there. Can't go up. Can only go down. The people of the day were so self-absorbed in things of this life that they were utterly unprepared for that judgment to come when the fire fell. Peter says it like this in 2 Peter 2, 4. For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cut them down to hell, and deliver them in the chains of darkness to be reserved for judgment, and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing on the flood of the world of the ungodly, and turning cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly. Isn't that amazing? God records these things, God judges like this, and they're for what? Warnings to us. Not only are we not to live like that, but if we love others, we're going to help them out of the pit of despair they're headed for. We love them. Remember Matthew 6.33, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto him. What do we seek first? The kingdom of God, kingdom, Christ ruling in my heart, kingdom, kingdom to come and his what? Righteousness, not sinfulness, not a sinful lifestyle, no, a righteous lifestyle. Listen, none of us measure up. We're all sinners, I get that. But that's our goal, that's our attempt. That's by God's grace we can do. We can begin to walk as Christ walked. If we don't bend the knee to the Lord, oh the consequences, the mutiny. Can you imagine somebody on a cruise ship today? Cruise ships aren't running anymore, are they? Let's say there's one running. And then they're on the cruise ship and one goes and takes the captain and throws him overboard. Can you imagine that, mutiny? That's exactly what you and I've done with the Lord of this universe. That's exactly what every person does in sin. They throw the captain overboard. They're going to live on their terms. But oh, the consequences. Oh, what we're going to face in the end. God help us. God help us. Seek first the kingdom. Luke 17 30. Even so, will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. See, God tells us the reality of the future. He knows what's coming. It's all mapped out. All we gotta do is read the Word. Even though God warns us, people will still live for themselves. The Lord says, don't go that way. They thumb their nose at God, I will go that way. How's it say in Psalm 711? God is angry with the wicked every day. We better get a hold of this. People will still live for themselves. The Lord says, don't go that way. They go that way. They gleefully run over the cliff, right, and leap right into the pit of fire. But there you are, there I am, on the edge of that cliff, warning, leading a handout, helping people. Don't jump. Come to Christ. Turn from your sin. Such is the nature of man, though. They love their sin and want to take you with it. Yet the Lord goes to build a home For those who have fallen in love with his son. You love the son? Can you imagine somebody murdering your son and your family, and you build a home for them? We put Christ, yeah, that's right, we, you, I, put Christ on the cross. We cry out, crucify him, crucify him, and he goes and builds a home for us. John 14, 1. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself. There where I am, there you may be also. And where I go, you know. And the way, you know. You ready? Are you ready? The way you know, we know the way. The second coming is designed to change our lives. We have to get this right because we know the consequences. We have to get this right with our neighbor. We have to warn them, lovingly warn them, gently warn them. Morally, ethically expectant joy we have in Christ. 1 John 3, 3, everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure. I'm looking at Pure people here today. Not only are you washed in the robes of Christ, have His righteous robe on, we've been reforming our lives. Less and less sin as we seek the Lord. When anyone turns from their sin, they stop following idols. I commend you now, repent, believe, turn, trust Christ. He's the only one. Philippians 3.20, for our citizenship is in heaven. See, I told you I had a passport in heaven. Listen to this, 3.20 of Philippians. Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. What are you waiting for, Christmas? Got a nice gift for someone you can't wait to give it to him? We got the best gift coming. Our Lord Jesus Christ died for us and He waits, waits to bring us home. That's what we long for. That's whom we love. That's why we're here. It's all about that. 1 John 5a, you also be patient, establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord is at hand. The New Testament looks for the second coming of our Lord. He says it's at hand here. It's at hand. Are you looking for it? The apostles look for it. His disciples look for the second coming, right? They want to know if it was then. Are the saints looking for it? The saints of the day? Are we caught up in looking, longing, communing with our Lord Jesus? Do you know what time it is? Do you? All you got to do is look at your last seven days. Your last 30 days. Your last 365 days. That'll tell you if you really know what time it is. Where do you invest that money? Where are you putting those thoughts? Where are you putting that love? Is it love for the world or love for the Lord and following His commands? All the energy, all the money, all the thoughts. The very next thing on the calendar. What is it? The very next thing. The second coming. He's about to come. You ready? Ready or not, He's going to be here. The old fable of Satan. Instructing three of his demons goes like this, and I'll end with this. He said, which one of you would discourage the people from following God? Three of them volunteered. They knew how to stop people from following God. The first one said, tell them there is no God. Satan said, no, most believe there is a God. Telling them that won't do any good. The second one said, tell them there's no hell. Satan said, no, that won't work either. There are some who don't believe in hell, but once they see life, they know, most know there is a hell. The third one finally said, I will tell them not to hurry. Take their time. Enjoy life. Satan said, go. You will be successful. Welcome to America. God help us. May we flee to Christ. May we declare the good news. Let us pray. Father, you are awesome, there is no other. This is an important text, Father, important passage. I thank you for the attendance of each one here. Now, Father, help us to live this out. We've heard the truth, Father. We're all the more accountable to do the truth. We pray, Father, for your great grace. We thank you for each one here, for those who can't be here, for those who are dealing with cancer, serious sickness, serious illness. We pray for them, Father. But in all this, Father, we all have our days numbered. And the one thing we do need is our Lord Jesus. Help us to live it. Help us to speak it. For the glory of the Lamb we ask it. Amen.