as well. Good morning. Welcome to Pittsburgh Community Church. Great day to be together worshiping the Lord as well. Let's turn in our Bibles to Luke chapter 21. We have been over the course of these last couple of weeks and through next week looking at a section of Luke's gospel that we call the Olivet Discourse. That is to say, this is a sermon or a message or a teaching that Jesus delivered to his disciples and to some others to describe, sitting on the Mount of Olives, to describe events that would take place in the end times. And we've seen so far that some of the predictions that Jesus made would be immediately fulfilled within the lifetime of the disciples, the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman powers. But then some of these prophecies would look to the distant future, even still future to us. And one of those sections, of course, is the one we look at today as we talk about the second coming of Jesus Christ. Luke 21, verse 25. There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. On the earth nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time, they will see the son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up, lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. Father, we pray that you would guide our thoughts today in this section of your word, this teaching of your son, that we might better understand and appreciate his second coming, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Sometimes people don't keep their promises. You may be aware of that, right? Sometimes people don't keep their promises. Let me just give you an example, and I'll just go for the low-hanging fruit today, okay? So let me just go after the politicians just for a moment. Now, not all politicians, but some politicians, believe it or not, make promises to people in order to garner votes, promises that they don't keep. So that might be news to you. I'm just giving you that little heads up, okay? So for an example, here's a story I heard. It took place out in the Midwest. It's probably not a true story, but it makes the point so it's worth talking about. So there was a politician traveling through the Midwest garnering votes and going to little town after little town and promising all kinds of things and he came to one little town and Said to them, I need your votes. What would you like? What does your town need? So we really need two things. What are they? He said, first, we have a little hospital nearby, but we don't have a doctor. We need a doctor. The politician said, wait a minute. And he pulled out his cell phone. He made a couple of dials and talked into his cell phone and had a conversation. He put his cell phone away. He said, no problem. I've got it covered. You're going to have a doctor here by the end of the week. Well, that's great news. What's the second need that you have? Well, out here we don't have cell phone coverage, so we could use some help. Sometimes people don't keep their promises. Not all, but sometimes people don't keep their promises. Jesus always keeps his promises. Always. He is the Son of God. We can trust him. When he says, I am coming again, We know he's coming again because he is the son of God. And in this passage of scripture today, Luke chapter 21, 25 through 28, we see the promise of Jesus that he is going to return. The return of Christ, the second coming of Christ, is a key doctrine of our Christian faith. It's something we hold dearly. It's something that we recognize as a part of our belief. It's a part of our hope to realize that this world as it is isn't going to continue as it is forever and ever because Jesus is going to come back and put right the things that are wrong. That's the redemption story. And so we look forward to the return of Jesus Christ. It's key to our understanding. And we understand that Jesus will fulfill these promises. Now you might say to yourself, how do we know that Jesus is going to fulfill these promises or fulfill them in the way we look at them in scripture? And we can know that because we can actually go back in history. and look at the promises of the Old Testament and how they related to the first coming of Jesus Christ. And what we discover is there are multiple, multiple promises and prophecies and predictions in the Old Testament that anticipated the first coming of Jesus Christ, the virgin birth of Christ. Jesus came into the world in that unique and special and miraculous way. The sinless life that Jesus lived predicted in the Old Testament. The region of his ministry, Galilee, was predicted hundreds of years before Jesus came on the scene. His death, so many prophecies about the way in which he would die for our sins, prophesied hundreds of years before he died on the cross. His resurrection, prophesied in the Old Testament, fulfilled, literally fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. So because of that track record, we can with confidence say now we know that the second coming will be fulfilled as well. And we look forward to that day. So the physical return of Christ is a key doctrine for us. It's one we can trust. It's one we can depend on because Jesus always keeps his promises. He rose from the dead physically. He ascended into heaven physically. He will return physically to establish his rule on earth. So basic understanding for today is we want to understand this, that we can be confident about our future because Jesus assured us of his return. We can be confident that our future is with Christ if we have Christ in our life. In this passage, and it's a short passage but not necessarily a short sermon, I want to point out three realities about Jesus' second coming. So follow these along with me. The first reality is a warning, the second a promise, the third an invitation. First, a warning. Here we find that disturbing signs will immediately precede the return of Jesus Christ. Verse 25, there will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. Now, when we come to this, we think to ourselves, wait a minute, Jesus is already in this Olivet Discourse. talked about certain signs that would precede his coming. If we go back into verse 8 where he begins this discourse, he talks about these ideas that there will be wars and revolutions and signs that would be leading up. But then we noticed as we came along that In verse 9 he says, but with these signs the end will not come right away. In other words, these are anticipatory signs that should remind us throughout the history of the church as we see wars and disasters and conflicts continuing to develop, and they have all throughout history, those should be constant reminders to you and me as Christians to say, oh yes, Jesus is coming again. And every time we open the news and we see another disaster, a natural disaster, a calamity that happens, an invasion by one nation into another, we should immediately say, oh yes, Jesus is coming again. These things are tragic, they're disasters, but we know that Jesus is coming. These are the general signs leading up to his second coming, but he says that's not the end yet. And he talks about persecution that would take place throughout the era of the church. So when we come to verse 25, he says there will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. I think what he's doing here is saying, now, in addition to these general signs that will take place throughout the history of the church that will remind you that I'm coming again, those signs are going to intensify just prior to my return. And so these intensified signs that we find here in verse 25-26 remind us that as Jesus' return draws closer that the frequency, the intensity of those signs will increase just as Jesus says in Matthew's version of the Olivet Discourse like birth pains increasing in intensity and frequency. And so Jesus talks about these signs that are just immediate to his second coming. He talks about celestial signs. There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And I just want to bring the parallels from other passages of the New Testament to help us to realize that there's harmony in the way that we understand these passages. The book of Revelation is full of some of these kinds of signs. It describes in more detail than Jesus does in this brief verse or set of verses. But they are very much parallel. For example, Revelation chapter 6 verses 12-13 says, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind." So John in the Apocalypse is looking ahead to the future and saying, here are some of those signs. There's going to be celestial changes, something just prior to Christ's return, there could be such noticeable celestial changes that people on earth at that time will say, oh, Something's going on here that's unusual. Something is going on that should get our attention. Celestial signs. We find that there will be national confusion that will precede Christ's second coming. Verse 20, back in Luke chapter 21, he says, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea and on the earth. So there'll be terrestrial and Ocean-based kind of things, we don't know what those are exactly, that will unsettle people and unsettle the nations. But again, Revelation gives us some hints. Revelation 6.4 says, "...another horse came out of the fire, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth, to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword." There's going to be this national confusion that's going to take place. Nations in confusion, nations banding together and fighting each other. and the intensification of those kinds of events. Jesus says in Luke 21.26, men will faint from terror apprehensive of what is coming on the world. people will faint with terror. There's going to be a terrifying effect that's going to go around the world because of the intensity of the signs that are developing and the closeness or the nearness of Christ's return. And again back in Revelation chapter 6 verses 15 and 16 it says, "...the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves among the rocks of the mountains. And they called on the mountains and the rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb." So there's going to be personal apprehension, a realization that things are unraveling on earth and things are coming to an end. As Jesus Christ, in a way, in those last moments, those last years leading up to the return of Christ, it's as if God is sending the salvos in to soften the enemy before he comes in and takes over. Then again in Luke Jesus says, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. Now it seems like he's already talked about celestial changes. I think here this is what we could call heavenly disturbances and I want to be more specific than that. I think what Jesus is hinting at here is not just simply the heavenly bodies, he's already mentioned them, but the word is really the powers of the heavens. I think here he's talking about the demonic powers that control so much that's taking place in this world. He says, at that point when my return is coming close, even the demonic powers are going to be shaken. because they know their end is near. This we find again in Revelation chapter 9 verses 1 through 3 where it talks about a star that fell from the sky and it says, when he opened the abyss, smoke rose from the smoke and the sun and moon were darkened and out of the smoke locusts came, demonic locusts we could call them, and they came on the earth and there's this uproar of demonic power. So these are the kind of things we see paralleled in Revelation. We see them in Jesus' statements. These are some of the signs that are going to lead up, those immediate intensified signs that will lead up to his second coming. Now, as we see those signs unfolding, the general signs, we were reminded, oh yes, Jesus is coming again, but when these more intense signs come, the world will recognize that Jesus' return is at hand. So the current catastrophes, they should remind us that Jesus is coming. The intensified catastrophes remind us that at this moment you and I should surrender ourselves fully to Jesus Christ because we know he is coming back. We don't know when. We don't know when those signs will become so intensified as that, but we know that it's time for us to surrender ourselves fully to Jesus Christ. to recognize him as our Savior, to become obedient to him, to bring ourselves into a walk of holiness for him, to share our faith in him because he is coming again. We see this warning. Then we see a promise in Luke chapter 21. The visible glory of God will accompany the return of Jesus Christ. Verse 27, Jesus says, at that time, when these signs have intensified to this point, described here, described in the book of Revelation, at that time, they will see the Son of Man coming in the cloud with power and great glory. Son of Man, of course, a reference to Jesus Christ. It's a messianic title. The one who has been promised to be the deliverer of humankind. And it says that at that time, when the intensified signs become apparent, they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. We find here that Jesus' return will be visible. And this, again, we see paralleled in the book of Revelation and other passages of scripture. We see it in Zechariah chapter 12. We see it in Acts chapter 1 when Jesus ascends into heaven. The angels who meet with the disciples say, why are you gazing to heaven? The same Jesus who ascended into heaven will in like manner come back. and he ascended gloriously. He's going to return gloriously. We find that description in Revelation chapter 19 verse 11. I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. And his return is going to be glorious as this passage goes on. It says, "...he is dressed in a robe, dipped in blood, and his name is the word of God. And the armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses, and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. And on his robe and on his thigh has this name written, King of kings and Lord of lords." This is the hope and the anticipation of the believer in Jesus Christ. Because we saw in the first coming, Jesus coming into this world in humility, born as a baby in Bethlehem's manger, born vulnerable, humble, sacrificed for our sins. But in the second coming, coming as he is indeed the powerful Son of God. He will return in power. He will return in glory. It says power and great glory. It's the glory. It's the radiance of God's essence. Often seen in the cloud or in the fire that we see in the Old Testament expressions of God, or we find in the New Testament as well, Jesus ascending into heaven in a cloud of glory and returning in a cloud of glory and coming to redeem his people. Jesus is going to return in glory. Whatever image we have of Jesus Christ is going to be so shattered by his appearance that we will be amazed and we will do what? We will fall before him in worship. We haven't come to a place of fully, I haven't come to a place of fully comprehending, even nearly comprehending the glory of Jesus Christ. We see these descriptions, but until we see him, we'll never really grasp it. But what it does say to me now is that worshiping Jesus Christ today is an essential part of our spiritual life. Because we are even in our most simple and little ways saying, Lord Jesus, I believe that you are greater than I can comprehend and I'm putting my trust in you and I want you to know that I love you and I worship you and I adore you. This is why it's so important for us to gather on Sunday mornings to worship Christ together. to share the love of Christ with one another, and to worship in our own throughout the week as we bring songs and prayers of praise to Jesus Christ, to keep telling him over and over again, you are my Lord. So the visible glory of God will accompany the return of Jesus Christ, and he is our hope. Finally, there's an invitation. True believers will look forward with anticipation to the return of Jesus Christ. We should look forward to the return of Christ. Verse 28, Jesus says to his disciples, when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads because your redemption is drawing near. The time has come. Now I want to just give a little bit of theological nuance. Let's go ahead into the theological weeds for a little bit about the end times. There are different scenarios of course, but if we understand certain passages of scripture like John chapter 14, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and so forth, there are hints that this return of Jesus Christ is actually going to be preceded by a gathering up of the church believers before that time occurs. So that while we're in this time of general signs, the intensification of those signs could easily take place within the compressed time period between which we are caught up to be with Jesus Christ and he comes back to be with us, catching up that rapture of the church. And I think that if we put those pieces together, what it reminds us is that while these signs will talk about Christ's coming, it will be evident that he's coming, we don't know when he's coming for us. And so there is the doctrine of imminence, that is to say Jesus could return at any moment to bring us to be with himself at any moment. And then those intensified signs could be unleashed in a heartbeat. So we believe in the return of Christ and we believe in the imminent return of Christ for us, that Jesus could come at any moment. And so because of that, Jesus says to us here, when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads because your redemption is drawing nigh. Be ready. Be ready. Don't wait for the decisions that you've decided to make. Don't wait to give up that habitual sin in your life. Why wait? Because Jesus could come at any time. Don't wait to mend that broken relationship. Jesus could come at any time. Don't wait to share Christ with a friend. because Jesus could come at any time. How are we to respond to the second coming of Jesus Christ? Well, 1 John 3, verse three says, those who have this hope in them purify themselves, even as he is pure. Because we have the hope of the return of Jesus Christ, we want to purify our lives, we want to become more and more like Jesus Christ in every way and every step. want to be growing to be like him. Or in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and this was in my morning quiet time this morning and if you're following the quiet time journals you have read this one this morning as well. 1 Corinthians chapter 3 where it says if anyone builds on the foundation using gold, silver, or costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, His work will be shown for what it is because the day, the day of the Lord, will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire and the fire will test the quality of each one's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." A wonderful passage that reminds us that when Jesus comes to take us to be with him, he's going to test our lives. He's going to look at our minds. What have we been thinking? He's going to look at our motives. Why have we served? He's going to look at our methods. He's going to look at our works and they're all going to be put before him in his judgment and the things that have been done for him and with the right motives and the right the right actions, they're going to survive. They're going to be brought into eternal glory as celebrations of Christ. But there's a lot of stuff in our lives that just is chaff, and we know it. We do things for the wrong reason, or we just have the wrong thoughts and all these, and they're going to be burned away. Not much left there. He says, but you'll be saved, don't worry. You still belong to Christ, but don't you want to take something into heaven to give to Jesus to praise him? So we want to be changing our lives, we want to be purifying our lives, we want to be ready for Jesus Christ at any moment. How do we start? How do we begin to be ready for the imminent return of Jesus Christ? It starts with a faith relationship. Have you accepted Christ as your Savior? Have you received him? Have you acknowledged in your heart, Jesus, you are Lord, you are God, you died for me, you rose again for me, I surrender to you and I receive you as my Savior and I look forward to your return. Have you made that step? And I hope that you have, but it's possible that you haven't. And so I want to invite you, along with this invitation of Jesus, to come to Christ, to receive Christ as your Savior. And then what? Well then, stand up and lift up your head. Stand up is to stand firm, to grow, to purify our lives, to become more like Christ along the way, and look up, keep looking for the return of Christ for us as we look forward to His fulfillment of His promise to come again. We are a people that stand up, that is to live for Christ, and to look up, anticipating His return at any moment. Are you ready for Christ to return? He can come at any moment. Let's be ready. Let's be assured that we have confidence in our future because Jesus has assured us of his return.