Welcome to An Orderly Account with Pastor John Stoos as he continues a journey through Luke's orderly account of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Church of the King strives for biblical worship, which views the Lord's Day as the time when God meets His people to renew His covenant with them. Covenant renewal is characterized by God's calling us to worship, a time for the confession of our sins, the hearing of God's forgiveness based on the finished work of Christ on the cross, the new life and His resurrection, presenting our offerings, approaching the throne of grace and prayer, and His teaching us from the Word of God. Now, here's Pastor Stews. Well, this morning we come to one of those passages that has several verses that usually cause nothing but confusion and arguments over the last days. And I hope that we learn this morning that to properly understand these verses, it is important that we see them in their proper context. Both the broader context of Luke's orderly account and the specific context of the Pharisees bringing yet another question. Luke is presenting a very simple but profound message for his friend Theophilus. Jesus has come to save his people from their sins. These people will become his church, the New Jerusalem, the Bride of Christ. And this church will carry the kingdom of God to the four corners of the earth. These are Luke's overriding themes, from the angels proclaiming the good news in the first chapter of Luke's gospel, until we find Paul teaching about the kingdom in the final verses of Acts. Now, we need to understand, especially for this morning's verses, a little bit about the word kingdom. It's a word that is used over 300 times in the Scriptures. It talks about God's kingdom. It talks about worldly kingdoms. And we need to be sure that we're dealing with the word in its proper context. Now, we're talking about the kingdom of Christ. We have often turned to Daniel chapter two for the proper understanding of how these references to kingdoms fit together in God's plan. In chapter 2 at verse 34, we're in the middle of Daniel describing King Nebuchadnezzar's dream. And he says this, you watched while a stone was cut without hand. That would be Jesus. You watched while a stone was cut without hands, which struck the image of its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces. That would be the kingdoms of the world. And then the iron and the clay and the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed together and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. That would be the kingdom of Christ. And Daniel leaves no doubt as he gives the interpretation of that dream and plainly says in verse 44, And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it, the kingdom of Christ, shall stand forever." And Daniel underlines all of it by saying, the dream is certain and the interpretation is sure. The Apostle Paul also assures us that the kingdom of Christ will fill the whole earth in 1 Corinthians 15. when he says in verse 23, For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive, but each in his own order. Christ the firstfruits, then it is coming those who belong to Christ. Now notice here we're talking about the great second coming of Christ at the end of history. Then comes the end, says Paul, when He, Jesus, delivers the kingdom of God to the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. Please note that the Son's Kingdom is presented to the Father after the Great Commission has been carried out and the fullness of the Gentiles has been brought in. For Jesus, Paul says, must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet The last enemy to be destroyed is death. And again, we need to take notice that the last enemy to be destroyed is death, which occurs at the second coming of Christ in the white throne judgment, where we're told in Revelation 20, verse 13, that the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades delivered up the dead that were in them, and they were judged each one according to his works, then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, and anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Death is finally defeated. These are Luke's broad themes, including the kingdom going to the four corners of the earth. And it is important as well to notice the immediate context this morning. Jesus has been teaching lessons on His final journey to Jerusalem. The Pharisees now come with a question, which Jesus quickly answers, but then He turns to His disciples and He gives them three very important lessons. As we'll see this morning, He tells them to remember the Kingdom of God. Next week we'll see that He tells them to remember to be persistent in prayer, And then he tells the story of the Pharisee and the publican to remind them that they must be humble. These will be our lessons for the next three weeks. And we must remember, as we study them, that all three relate to the simple question that was asked by the Pharisees. When will the kingdom of God come? It says now, when he was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God does not come with observation, nor will they say, See here and see there, for indeed the kingdom of God is within you." This is a straightforward answer for the Pharisee, because they were the ones that were looking for the military type Messiah who was going to conquer Rome and of course make them some sort of special lieutenants in His army. These false shepherds of Israel should have been reflecting on the lessons that Jesus has been teaching. They should have seen how Jesus was saying that the Messiah would come to save His people from their sins. How He would talk about the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son. The lessons that showed how God's salvation is all of grace and that our works would earn nothing. Salvation is the exchange of a heart of stone for a heart of flesh. And that is not something that can be observed, which is the point that Jesus makes. Jesus then turns to His disciples. and begins to teach the three important lessons that I've outlined. Lessons that they need to understand about the kingdom, the kingdom that they will serve in. They're lessons that we need to understand as well. In verse 22 we read, Then He said to the 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. Jesus explains this in more detail at the Last Supper. He will no longer be with His disciples physically after His ascension. But by then, He will have explained to them in more detail the coming destruction of Jerusalem. But as the years pass between the time of His ascension and the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, there will come many days where they long to be with Jesus. They want the good old days of when they were walking in Galilee. In verse 23 we read, "...and they will say to you, Look here and look there. Do not go after them or follow them. Jesus here warns them not to be distracted, but to wait for the sure signs that He has given them." Stay focused on Jesus. In verse 24 we read, "...For as the lightning that flashes out of one part of heaven shines to the other part of heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day." Now, we're going to discuss this in much more detail when we come to the final discourses of Jesus that He gives in Jerusalem itself. But for today, we need to remember that the image of lightning demonstrates God's presence. That's what was at Mount Sinai, and demonstrates a coming in judgment. And of course, this time, it's the judgment of Jerusalem itself. But this is not the final discourse that Jesus is going to give His disciples. So He doesn't give them all the details here. He quickly reminds them, because they're on the final journey to Jerusalem, of what must take place first. Jesus must save His people from their sins. So in verse 25 we read, But He must first suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Jesus then goes on to explain some of the things that they will see after Pentecost and before the judgment of Israel. In verse 26 it says, As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man. They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage until that day that Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all. He's telling the disciples that the people of Jerusalem are not going to sit around for those 40 years wringing their hands, wondering when Jesus is going to come. They didn't get it. They were going to continue life just as they had. Now, of course, many put this day of the Lord far into the future. but those who want to put the days of the Son of Man, or the day of the Lord in the future, have to completely ignore not only what Jesus is saying here, but how Peter quoted the prophet Joel on the day of Pentecost and further explained what was going on. In Acts 2.16 we read this, but this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. These are the words of Peter, again, explaining the people are seeing as the Spirit is poured out. And it shall come to pass, in the last days says God, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams, and on My manservants and on My maidservants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days. Now, if Peter is explaining what the coming of the Holy Spirit means and is citing the prophet Joel, then I think we're safe to assume that this is what Joel is talking about. And in verse 19 it continues, I will show you wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath, blood and fire, vapor and smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood. before the coming great and awesome day of the Lord." Peter is explaining to that generation what is going to happen in that generation. The prophet Joel actually mentions the day of the Lord five times in his short little prophecy. As many times as any other book in the Scriptures. So I'll leave that for your homework to take a little time this week to read that prophet. Here, the day of the Lord is not a day far in the future, but a day that would come in that generation. Jesus reminds the disciples who were to be commissioned to preach the good news what their job was in verse 21. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." And we would see thousands saved in Jerusalem as the disciples obeyed these verses. Now, the point that Jesus is making by using the example of Noah again is that folks just kept on living, even though they had been given all of the warnings by Jesus. They continued to live their lives just like the people in the days of Noah. though He was preaching of the coming judgment to them, and they could not miss the image of that massive boat that was being filled. What was intended to be a warning to them, they simply used as a point to ridicule Noah. And Jesus also reminds them of one more example from the Old Testament. He says, likewise, as it is also in the days of Lot, they ate, they drank, They bought, they sold, they planted, they built. But on the day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so, it will be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed." Jesus is beginning to show the disciples that the judgment was going to come swiftly. And He instructs them on what they should do when they see the signs of His coming. He's going to give them a whole lot of particulars, a whole lot of things to look for. And it says in verse 31, In that day he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise, the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. Remember lots. Life. Whoever seeks his life will lose it. Whoever loses his life will preserve it. Jesus brings many of the lessons He has been teaching to bear here, at this point, because it is important that the disciples understand. In the end, they did. Because history records that no Christians were lost in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. You see, Jesus had reminded His followers that they must count the cost, that they must serve God rather than manna, that they must be willing to hate mother and father, son and daughter, and even husband and wife. Jesus had said that He did not come to bring peace, but a sword, a judgment that would divide And that is what is in the picture that Jesus gives next. It's going to come suddenly, they need to flee, and it's going to bring division. In verse 34, Jesus says, I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed, and the one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding together, the one will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field, the one will be taken, the other will be left. But at this point, the disciples just kind of wow, and they say with a question, where, Lord? Where, Lord? And Jesus says to them, wherever the body is, there the eagles, or the vultures, will be gathered together. They ask where all of this is going to take place, because they haven't yet grasped that it was the nation of Israel itself that was about to be judged. What are the lessons that we can learn here? The Pharisees brought up the Kingdom, and Jesus takes the opportunity to teach some important lessons, not only for the disciples, but for all of us. Jesus says that we must remember that the Kingdom of Christ has come. So this morning, we've taken in the first lesson of three to consider the Kingdom. how we see the Kingdom, how we view the Kingdom of Christ, will greatly impact our view of where history is going. We believe here at Church of the King, with the historic church, that Jesus came and judged Jerusalem. He judged Jerusalem and the old creation in A.D. 70. Forty years after He delivered His people through His death, burial, and resurrection. This great event was foreshadowed in the Old Testament when God delivered His people from the slavery in Egypt. And it's no coincidence that in both cases, at the end of forty more years of God's patience, Those who rejected God's promise were dead, and His faithful covenant people were brought into a new land, a land flowing with milk and honey. In Exodus, it was the land of Canaan. In the book of Acts, we're going to learn that it is the entire world. We believe that Christ now reigns and that He will put all of His enemies under His feet, as was promised in 1 Corinthians. We have a forward view of history and believe in the advancement and progress of Christ's Kingdom. I mentioned that this should greatly impact our lives. You know, as we look around this hall, we can think of little Sam, Chase, Elijah, Jeremiah, little Mark, even little Mitchell. We can think of all the covenant children that God has richly blessed us with. And as we do that, we must not just think of their future, as important as that is and as much a priority as we make that. We think not just of their future. but the future of their children, and that of their grandchildren, and yes, even their great-grandchildren. You see, as we step back and do that, suddenly what we plan takes on a whole new perspective. You know, we have a pretty modest building fund here at Church of the King, and it's something that may not even be used. in our lifetimes. But if God wills, it might someday build a place, a grand place, for God's people to worship for a thousand years. Now that sounds a little outrageous for Americans to say something like that, doesn't it? And yet I just visited my sister in Norway and saw churches where they are still worshiping. after 1,000 years. It is this type of attitude and hope that gives true meaning to the everyday mundane things that we do. But sadly, and this is something that we have to be so careful in instructing our children, this stands in stark contrast with where much of the church in America is today. They have exchanged the truth of Scripture for a series of fiction novels. Fiction novels that present a failing church and who put all of God's judgments and victories far into the future. In other words, the kingdom of Christ has not yet come. Its entrance is still a future event. This is not what Jesus, the prophets, the apostles, or anyone else in the entire Bible teaches. But what I want us to understand this morning, more than anything else, is that this is not just an academic question. It's not just a theological point that we can discuss on the porch ad nauseam. It is an important question. Because what you believe, will have a profound impact on how you live your Christian life. Let us choose to live as those who are serving the living and reigning Savior. A Savior who is advancing His kingdom and putting His enemies under His feet. Let us boldly Obey and follow the great command of Jesus to go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. and all of God's people said, Amen. Let's pray. Thank you for listening to Pastor John Stewes of Church of the King. Join us next week at the same time as the journey through Luke's orderly account of the gospel of Jesus Christ continues. You're invited to join us for Sunday worship at 11 o'clock where biblical worship is characterized by the active and vigorous participation of the entire congregation. Church of the King is a pro-life, pro-family church where all baptized children participate in worship, including the Lord's Table, on a weekly basis. To learn more or to hear this message in its entirety, visit orderlyaccount.com or call 916-451-5660. Conquer, still life and sing on.