This morning and, Lord willing, next Lord's Day, we are going to be embarking in a study that I think, for most of you, will light a fire in your bones. The fire will be one of excitement and curiosity. And I need to warn you ahead of time that no matter how much time I put into this study, you're going to want more. because I know you. And this can easily be a six-week study, which really means like 20 weeks. And no matter where I end or how much time I spend on this, it will not be enough. And the reason for this is because we're going to be examining eschatology. And I know you well enough that you're gonna have questions, thoughts, comments, curiosity, excitement, the list can go on and on. And this can easily break off into a very long exercise. And we can come to a point in our study, and that's my prayer, that enough has been said that is faithful to the text, no more. Over the next couple of weeks, We're going to study one element of eschatology and over the last two weeks I've been aware that in my study it's very easy to go off in rabbit trails. You know what I mean by that? It means there is a main text And there's some interesting things that are related secondarily or tertiary to the main text that it's very easy to go down that road, and then you go down another road, and then before you know it, you're all the way over here, and you're missing the actual meaning of the text. And all of us here need to be aware of that. So if we view this as a project around the house, two options. Number one, spackle and paint. Spackle, sand, and paint. Or completely demo and rebuild everything from the ground up. The text this morning and next week does not require a demo. Just the straight text. But I want to get the spiritual juices flowing, so to speak. And so I want to unpack as much as I can about the rapture, the parousia, the difference between imminence and eminence, the Antichrist, tribulation, great tribulation, signs, the temple, peace, Middle East, the nation of Israel, Promised Land. This study has the possibility to include every kind of eschatological position you can think of. Pre-Trib. Mid-Trib. Pre-Wrath. Post-Trib. Amil. Including the Second Coming, the Day of the Lord, and the timing of the Rapture. Do you see how detailed this can be. I'm not opposed to it. Some of you are picking up what I'm putting down. And so I'm going to say what will be meaningful to the text, and I'm gonna do my best, though I'm gonna be tempted to go all the way out here, and then go here. But we have to stay focused in Luke. And I wanna challenge you as well. Don't you go doing your own personal study this morning, okay? I don't want to be seeing pages flipping back and forth. I'm encouraged. But I may actually go where you're going. And if you go where you think I'm going to go before I go there, you'll miss out on the very text that we're going to. And as a side note, we're approaching three years in Luke. I made the joke that many of you will be promoted to glory before we finish, and at this rate, I will be promoted to glory by the time we finish. So we are going to do our best to be focused in Luke alone. My request for you is to stay with me during our study this morning, and we can get to any specific questions as it relates during ABF. So please turn to Luke chapter 17. Luke chapter 17. I'll be reading Luke chapter 17 verses 20 through 37. I will only be covering with the Lord's help verses 20 through 26, but I'll be reading Luke chapter 17, verses 20 through verse 37. Luke chapter 17, verse 20. Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed. Nor will they say, look, here it is, or there. For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst. And he said to the disciples, the days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, look there, or look here. Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking, marrying, being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all. just as it was in the days of Lot. They were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all, so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed." On that day, Let the one who's on the housetop with his goods in the house not come down to take them away. And likewise, let the one who's in the field not turn back. Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. I tell you, in that night, there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken, and the other left. And they said to him, where, Lord? He said to them, where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. Point number one, I want us to examine the question of the Pharisees. The question of the Pharisees. Please look at verse 20. Being asked by who? The Pharisees. Just like the previous account, we are not informed about the location or the time of the questions, though the parallel account, which I read in Matthew chapter 24, if it is the same, it would have been the Mount of Olives. And the curiosity of the Pharisees, notice what they ask in verse 20. They want to know what? When do you see that? When? When the kingdom of God would arrive. Why are they asking when? Well, let's get into the mind of the first century Jew. I provided this on your outline. What were the beliefs about the kingdom of God and the Messiah from the vantage point of a first century Jew? In particular, rabbis. Most of them believe that the Messiah would return in the manner or after the manner of King David. You'll remember in 2 Samuel chapter 7, the Lord promised David what kind of kingdom? An eternal kingdom, did he not? A kingdom that would last forever. And so just as David, in many parts, was a king who drove out the nations from the promised land, so in the same way there would be a future king who would drive out the very pagans, Romans and others, who were occupying the land. That's what some, many Pharisees believed. They also believed that there would be hardships, calamities for the Messiah comes. Throughout the Apocrypha, the Pseudographica, and rabbinical literature, Jewish tradition across the scope agreed that difficult times would precede the coming of the Messiah. And guess what? They were living during those times, weren't they? And third, there would be astrological signs in the heavens before the coming. The Greek word for observed here, please, in verse 20, Jesus answered them, the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be what? Observed. This word observed is actually only used here once in the New Testament. This is the only place where it's used. And this in other literature, especially for... Greek literature, it was a technical term that was used for calculating the future as it relates to observing the stars. That is, many viewed it as a concomitant. A concomitant would be two things that represent different realities. So a concomitant would be something that is observed in the heavens is a representation in some way of what would happen where? Here on earth. It's the physical, spiritual, dimension relations as a concomitant, both occurring at the same time, representing two realities but having a similar theme. So what's Jesus saying? The kingdom of God cannot be discerned through scientific methods. It is not localized as though it was associated with a particular nation. God's reign, his providence, his oversight is complete. It has always been complete. But while God's reign is complete, there will be cosmological signs that will be evident that will function as a concomitant here on earth. And Jesus is saying, we're not there yet. Other things. must happen. Y'all are looking for signs, astrology in the heavens. It's not going to happen right now. It's very important for everyone here to understand that no political party, no ruler, no culture, no government. can usher in the kingdom of God through human means. So there are two tensions that we have to hold as Christians. You know that, right? Two tensions. And all of us fall on different ends of the spectrum. Both spectrums are unhealthy. On one end is the cold Calvinist, the frozen chosen, so to speak. You know, the ones who just sit in their chair like this, and by the way, I'm not accusing anyone who's doing that, by the way, but you know, the one who sits in their chair and just grumbles and mumbles, well, God is sovereign and what's gonna happen is gonna happen. Well, whatever happens is gonna happen and oh my, no wonder you see so few conversions. On the other end, it's those who are trying to ram the kingdom of God through politics. as though some president or some congress or some governor or legislature is going to be able to usher in the kingdom of God. It cannot happen. Us as Christians, we need to be supportive and come behind laws that are righteous and just. Listen, that reflect the character of God and the very principles that are inscribed on the DNA of all image-bearers. We should be for the government, punishing unrighteousness. It's very clear in Scripture that the government's existence in many ways is the purpose of bearing the sword. And the sword is meant to carry out punishment for wickedness and unrighteousness. We need to be behind that, beloved. And you've heard it said many times, I'm sure, you can't legislate morality. Have you ever heard that before? That's the biggest lie ever. You can legislate morality. You can't legislate regeneration though. You absolutely can legislate morality. Parents, you have children at home? You legislate morality? You should if you parent well. You absolutely should legislate morality. If you're a business owner, you legislate morality? You should. You operate and you conduct your businesses in ways that are pleasing to God, period, don't you? No exceptions. So no politician, no president, no governor, no mayor, no legislatures can usher in the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is ushered through God alone, period. There needs to be righteous laws that reflect natural law. Natural law, in many ways, is the form of the substance. And as Christians, we need to be supportive of upholding every righteous law, period. You know the exciting part about it? Those who have entered God's kingdom has that law written on their heart. Isn't that amazing? But you know that's not enough, right? Even as sinners, we need New Testament imperatives, commands, precepts, and warning, even though we have the law of God written on our heart. Why? Because we are still sinners. What am I saying? I'm saying this, that the closest that we have to the kingdom of God, listen, the church. Members, willingly, those who have been born again, willingly and joyfully submit to the New Testament commands and imperatives principled under the law of Christ. The child of God, the regenerated saint, the pilgrim who loves the Lord with all of his heart and soul and mind and strength and who truly loves his or her neighbor as himself. On this side of glory, the kingdom of God, please listen to me, the kingdom of God cannot be expedited. Do you understand that? It cannot be expedited through threatening, through violence or punishment. Parents, business owners, teachers, you have every right to legislate morality in your sphere of influence, you know that. Doctors, physicians, you have every right as a believer in Christ. There are certain things you're gonna do, and there are certain things you're not going to do, period. And part of you committing your cause to Christ, it means that the answer is, I appreciate that, but no. And this is the reason why. We, friend, cannot save anyone. You know that. But we are called to make disciples. A disciple is someone who has already been birthed into the kingdom. God alone saves, God alone regenerates, and He uses us to take those people whom He has regenerated, works through us to make disciples. That's what we are to do. And you know, I need to ask you a question. Where you're at, are you a lamp? Are you a lamp? Many of us placing it under the table. What is so shameful about Christ? What is it? He is lovely, is he not? He saves. And often, how often do we become embarrassed? What is so embarrassing about Christ? Did you know that he has more of a reason to be ashamed of you than you will ever have of him? He doesn't cast you out. He doesn't give you up. He's patient with you and me. And we need men and women here of Crossway Church who has counted the cost of following Christ and who places their lamp on top of the table, period. And God will honor you. Oh my, he will honor you. And some of you don't see it, because you don't let your light shine. This is why it is very hard to enter the kingdom of heaven. And this is why very few actually come in. May we be a people who shine brightly for Christ, so that those who see our good works We praise him. And may you be someone moving forward who not only casts the net, but draws in. And may God bless you where you're at. He honor you as you are not ashamed of him. Point number two, not only the question of the Pharisees, but second, the inauguration of the kingdom. Not just the question, but the inauguration. Jesus says in the second part of verse 20, the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed. Nor will they say, look, here it is, or there. For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. So what does Jesus mean when he said the kingdom of God is in the midst of you? Do you see that? Some of your translations may say a little bit different. But many of the church fathers, they were wrong, but many of the church fathers believed that the kingdom, listen, was inside of the believer. It's not correct. But many of the church fathers believed that the kingdom of God is inside the believer, which would be analogous to the breath of life that Yahweh breathed in Adam as he was kind of just walking around. But notice here in verse 21, Jesus is not saying behold the kingdom of God is inside of you. Why who is he talking to? Who's who's he talking to in verse 20 Is he really telling the pharisees the kingdom of God is inside of them? No. Oh no The kingdom of God is in the midst of you it's in front of you do you see Disciple of Jesus Christ enters listen enters the kingdom by faith alone faith alone in Christ alone Now, technically, the Spirit of Christ does enter the believer, but you will find nowhere in the New Testament where the kingdom of God is spoken of being inside of someone. The Holy Spirit enters the man or woman in conversion, in regeneration, fills and dwells and animates, but the Holy Spirit is not equivalent with the kingdom. Man or woman enters the kingdom. He walks through the narrow gate by faith alone in Christ alone, period. And the kingdom is a community of blessed residents sealed and empowered by the Holy Spirit. So what's the sign of his coming? He says, guess what, in verse 21, Kingdom of God is in the midst of you. It's right in front of you. It's in your grasp. But it's not localized. It's in your grasp. See, the king, Yahweh incarnate, did you know the king had been in the nation of Israel for 30 years without public manifestation of it? Isn't that fascinating? Have you actually ever thought about it? If not, let me help you. Two-year-old Yahweh incarnate is placed in his room for a nap. No temper tantrums. Rooted in sin and defiance. Sure, he cried. The cry may have been, it was of something other than sin. The two-year-old king No public manifestation of that kingdom yet is taking a nap. Mary and Joseph give five-year-old Yahweh incarnate chores, which he obeys. Now, let's try a different way. Every time Mary and Joseph disciplined Jesus, they were sinning. They were in the wrong. Parent, you can't say that. Joseph, Jesus' father, taught him how to do carpentry. It's humanity. Yahweh incarnate, or his divinity, made the thing, made the brain, made all that. And there he is learning. As a middle schooler, oh my, what was the middle schooler, sixth grade, middle school Jesus like at Nazareth Public Middle School? What was he like in classroom? Maybe perhaps a little squirmy, but I don't know. There he is in high school, treating every woman as a sister and no more. Appropriate. Treating her as a sister. Never betrothed. And any woman ever interested in him, he remained single. Isn't that fascinating? even all throughout his 20s. There he is as a carpenter. There he is going out with his friends. No sin. There he is talking with everyone. Maybe jokes, maybe a bit whimsical, but never sin. There he is posting on social media. But everything is appropriate. Every post, appropriate. Every interaction with another post is appropriate. His cousin, John the Baptist, I wonder what their relationship was like growing up. You ever thought about that one too? There John the Baptist is, probably around the age of 30, begins to baptize others in the wilderness. He preaches repentance, and his cousin Jesus is baptized, associating himself with sinners, and the Holy Spirit lands on him, empowering for ministry. Let me try this a different way. For 30 years, Yahweh incarnate, the king, had no exercising of his kingdom. Then, When his public ministry began following the official inauguration, when he is baptized, he, as well as John the Baptist, preached the same message. Listen, one of the main messages of the kingdom of God is this, repent. Turn from your sins. There is no kingdom advancing without that. Nobody enters the kingdom of God. naturally through man. You must be born again. And you are born again by preaching the gospel of repentance. You know what that means? That means sometimes having some difficult conversations with people. You know that. People who are alienated from Christ, pleading with them to be reconciled, to repent, and to come to Christ. Let me make it very simple. You will never participate, you will never witness anyone entering the kingdom of God if your message is not one of repentance, period. You will see no conversions. You will see none. One other note as well. Those who receive Jesus, as Paul says in Romans 14, 7, displays a pattern of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit. So what is the kingdom? I've given you this in your outline. The kingdom is God's rule and reign in the hearts of men. Though the kingdom is not in people, people enter the kingdom by the work of the Holy Spirit. But the kingdom, those who populate the kingdom are those who are born from above. Those who are regenerated, those who are converted, and those who are being sanctified, bound for glory. The kingdom currency, beloved, is the church. Technically, it is the invisible church. Because there may be some here this morning who are unconverted, who have not actually entered the kingdom of God. They stand outside. Oh, oh, Jesus wants you to enter. You enter by faith alone, repentance. John Bunyan, And this pilgrim's progress uses allegory. I saw a bunch of the kids' heads pop out. Now you're listening to me. Yes. Theologians oftentimes refer to this kingdom and another kingdom as two kingdoms. That is, there is the kingdom of Ephesians 2, the ruler and the prince and ruler of the year who is now at work in the sons of disobedience, those who belong in and through the first Adam, who is in the world and of the world, this kingdom. And then there is another kingdom, a spiritual kingdom by which men and women enter through by faith alone. And so there are these two kingdoms. If you're in Christ, you belong to two kingdoms. You belong to one, but you live technically in two. But if you're without Christ, you're just in one kingdom. And this is detention. And John Bunyan actually wrote about it in his Pilgrim's Progress. As a matter of fact, Pilgrim's Progress has sold more books, been translated in more languages, second only to what? The Bible. And in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, he pictures the city of destruction and the what? Celestial city, right? Christian, faithful, evangelist, hopeful, They all leave one city and they're bound for another. And so if you're in Christ, you've entered one kingdom, but you're presently living here. And how we relate to one another in love, deference, preference, patience, kindness, truth, repentance, confession, Christ-likeness, evangelism, these are marks of those who belong to the kingdom. You know what's amazing too? Those who belong to the kingdom, listen, have sight. They see, don't they? You see. You see. You see sight. If you are unconverted, you have light, but not sight. If you're in Christ, you've been endowed with 20-20 Lasik and light. May God open up our eyes, all of our eyes, to see the difference between two kingdoms. So Jesus is saying here in verse 21, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. God's people, God's rule. Point number three, the caution to Jesus' disciples. This is in verse 22 and verse 23. And he said to his, who? Disciples. The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, look there, look here. Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will be the Son of Man in His day. First, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. If you notice now, the Pharisees question, what do they want to know? When? When? And notice Jesus doesn't answer that, but their question becomes a springboard now to Jesus talking to his disciples. And as a side note, Really, since chapter 9, I won't walk you through it, but oftentimes you'll notice the Pharisees ask a question, Jesus speaks to his disciples. Pharisee question, disciples. Pharisee, disciples. And that's exactly here what Jesus does here. The Pharisees ask a question in verse 20, and Jesus now uses that to speak to his disciple, and he's warning them. He's giving them a heads up about the days. Now, just as a side note of a side note, I told you I'm not doing this, but I'll just cheat for a second. When you read in scripture and over this week and next week, you're gonna mention two different things. Well, many, but two of them pertaining to this. You'll mention day and days. See that? Look at it again in verse 22. He said to the disciples, the what? The days are coming. And you will desire to see what? One of the days. Do you see that? So there are days, one of the days, the day, and days of the day. And we're not gonna be examining that. Well, maybe a little bit. But Jesus does not here establish a strict theological eschatological timetable, and He does not specify the where and the when of His coming or comings in this text. I've given you the definition of the Son of Man. As a matter of fact, the Son of Man is mentioned multiple times in the text. Please look at verse 22. Days are coming when you'll desire to see one of the days of who? Look at the end of verse 24. Lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the what? Son of man. Look at the end of verse 26. Just as was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the who? Son of man. Look at verse 30. So it will be on the day when the who? So we kind of want to know who the son of man is, right? I've given this to you on your outline. The Son of Man is Jesus' primary reference to Himself, but yet it encompasses much more than a mere messianic title. The Son of Man stresses His manhood, but a manhood that is unique, that doesn't share with the same humanity, so to speak, as man, though He is truly God and truly man. The title, The Son of Man, summarizes two main points. First, His humanity, His earthly work, His suffering and death, and second, His glory, resurrection, and His return, His future advent. He is the one to whom the Old Testament prophets spoke to, and the title refers to the eternal, self-existing Son's economic activity. Whenever you see in my outline or you hear me say economic activity, I'm talking about God's activity through His incarnation. That's what I mean. It means what He does, how He operates in light of His relationship with the Father and the Son. And so it's his economic activity in a redemptive, historical, and eschatological manner through his incarnation and then moving beyond. There is a spiritual kingdom and there is a physical kingdom related to the sovereignty and providence of the Son of Man. And Jesus here warns his disciples, please look at verse 22. He's telling his disciples, listen, days are coming, this is the future. You're going to want to see one of the days of the Son of Man, one of my days, but you won't see it. What is he saying? There's gonna be a time of persecution in the future where you're gonna cry, oh Lord, come back now. And it won't happen. But there's gonna be false teachers and false prophets who are gonna say, hey, come over here. Hey, check this out. Look at this. Ooh, ooh, isn't this interesting? Let's have an exercise here of history. And I just want you to be honest with yourself. You remember when the barcode was first introduced? I don't want to say anything, but Christians sounded the alarm, didn't they? This is the mark of the beast! No, it's not. It's just a way to buy and sell things. It's not. Poor eschatology. The government wants to get rid of cash. It's a new one. We're going to be on Bitcoin. Well, first, they're not going to get rid of cash, and we got gold and silver, or we'll just barter. Vaccines. It was right after COVID. Remember that? There's going to be a world system that's going to demand everyone to be vaccinated. Where is it? How many false teachers have tried to use math? Oh, my. How many have jumped the bandwagon of this red heifer in Israel and wasted all kinds of time in speculation? I remember a little over a year ago when the nation of Israel was attacked by Hamas, you remember that. I warned you, do you remember that? I warned you when I said, Many pastors and churches are gonna hop on this eschatological bandwagon. They're gonna come behind the nation of Israel, and they're gonna say the coming of Christ is very soon. And so the sermon series started. One week, two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, and then eventually just kept saying the same thing over and over and over again. Look over here. Look over there. Bad eschatology. As a matter of fact, over 60% of the nation of Israel is secular. And how many Christians here say we support Israel? Is Israel God's people today? This is eschatology, friend. The war is expanding. Will God really come and supernaturally support Israel? Is that what you believe? You need to answer this question, friend. You need to know that answer. Said it once and I said it again, my heart burns with pastoral care for you because I don't want you to be led astray by men and women and false prophets, false eschatology, false theology that says, hey, come over here, look at this, look at this article. Wow, isn't this really cool? Isn't this interesting? You remember the solar eclipse? Do you remember that? The path of totality will pass over the town of Nineveh seven times. And then it's gonna pass over Salem. And you know what Salem means. That means that the United States has 40 days to repent. It's a sign of Jonah. And 40 years, or 40 days came by. And nothing happened. We miss judgment. How many of these have been false? Or better yet, how many have you been sucked in to this garbage? Think of all the time that you've wasted. Look, look, here it is. Come here, look. Look, look, here it is. Beloved, we need to be discerning. You must be discerning. So which means you actually have to know what you're looking for. So when you hear someone say, hey, come over here, you say, no, thank you. No, thank you. God has just your nation. He is judging our nation right now. He has been doing it over the last 75 years, culminating with sexual reprobation. It's worse now because the government supports ruining children. Who would have ever thought 50 years ago that the government would be supportive and even using taxpayer money and allow biological boys to be in the same dressing room as biological girls? This is absolute insanity. Government-funded, Activities that support mutilation of children who who would have ever thought about this? God is judging this kingdom And you know where Satan and his hosts are listen where they want to destroy the image of God That's how you can discern where the demonic and the satanic principalities are starts in the womb The child makes it out of the womb it starts at an early age confusion If that doesn't work, get them when they go to college. And you know what's worse? Parents shell out 40, 60, 80, $100,000. Parents go into debt sending their child to a college which ruins them. And now you're paying an institution to indoctrinate and say the complete opposite of what you brought them believing. And now you owe them. These things, beloved, we need to be on guard about. And count the cost. So whether it's barcodes, cash system, vaccines, eclipses, crafty names, additions, stop following them, period. I'm gonna tell you what I'm looking for. I can support this. I'm looking for peace. I'm looking for a literal temple to be constructed. Then I will start paying attention. Not rumors, not any of this. As a side note, there is an ultra-Orthodox population within Israel that's called the Haredi, and they constitute about 15% of the nation. They are ultra-Orthodox, and you can usually spot them because they wear all black. And they follow the Torah to the T. But what they're known by is they're known by having many children, lots of children. Right now, they're 15% of the population. By 2050, they'll be 25% of the population. I'm not giving any kind of date. We're not given that kind of knowledge in Scripture, but I definitely see some kind of ultra-Orthodox movement definitely establishing a temple. Why? Because the secular doesn't care about a temple. Keep your eyes open. But don't be sucked along. Or let me put it a different way. We need to be alert, but not red alert. I want us as Crossway Church to be discerning. Amen? Be discerning. Point number four, I want us to look at the presentation and future revelation of the Son of Man. This is in verse 24. For as a lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation." Notice that there are the days that the disciples want to see that they won't see in verse 22 and 23, but there will be a day of the Son of Man in verse 24. Do you see that? There will be a day of the Son of Man that is His day, and on that day, look at verse 24, it will come as what? Lightning. Lightning. Lightning is a common symbol for a theophany. an appearance of God. When Moses went up to receive the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, the mountain was full of lightning and thunder and smoke. And so this lightning here, in many ways, is a picture of the rapture and of the day of the Lord. Lightning is instantaneous. Instant. Flash. Flash. And this generation here, at the end of verse 25, is a metonym for dullness, wickedness, and rejection. It's a metonym for God's people who are stiff-necked, very slow to understand, and rebellious. And so Jesus here in verse 25, he is saying, but first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Jesus is pointing forward to the cross. So this is what he's saying. He's saying, look, Pharisees want to see a day of cosmological proportion. They will not see it in this day, in my day. There will be a day for me at the cross. There will be future days, disciples, that you're gonna wanna see, the days of me coming back and returning that you will not see. And you'll be persecuted, you'll be hated, and you're gonna be looking for a way out. And you'll be martyred. But there will be a future day, His day. Look at this in verse 24. As the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will be the Son of Man in what? His day. That day. I wanna give you three marks of entering the kingdom and our time this morning will be concluded. The first mark of entering the kingdom is that you love God. Though it is incomplete, though it is a love that often goes cold, it is a love that you want to love Him. It is a love that is directed to Him and from Him that spills over horizontally. It is a horizontal love for the brethren and for the sisters. It is also a love and a concern, listen, for the souls of men. It is not just us being kind and generous to one another, though that is part of entering the kingdom. Those people in your life who are outside of the kingdom, will only be coming in through repentance. It is a gospel of repentance. It is a gospel of turning. Men and women who belong to the kingdom want to see conversions. They want to see men and women repent, children come to a saving knowledge of Christ, period. Those who enter care about the souls of men. I understand you don't save. I know you don't save. I don't save. I don't regenerate anyone. I can't. I don't have those accoutrements. But he does. He does. He honors the one who honors him, period. Evidence of entering having already gone in, is a life of repentance and confession, in particular of dullness of heart. The second mark of entering, and we'll get to this next week more, but you need to be ready to give up whatever you need and whatever God calls you to when it is time. Nobody here knows what this looks like, including myself, because we live in a time of affluence, don't we? When in reality, our faith, for most of us, has really cost us nothing. Very little. Maybe a couple family members and friends just not being happy with us, refusing to come see us for Thanksgiving. But for the most part, we know nothing about being persecuted for Christ. Now, I'm not complaining about it. But I'm just saying, it's almost like trying to, it's almost like a father discipling his four-year-old son how to be an excellent husband. He's not there yet. Before I moved here, I was asked to teach during prayer gathering at a Ukrainian church in South Jersey. I won't walk you through how it came about. It's an interesting story of God's providence, but the Ukrainian church had asked me to teach there because the older saints there, they wanted to learn better English. But I had noticed something about the Ukrainian church, and many of the Eastern churches are like this, is that during their prayer gatherings and even Sunday mornings, they would have three teachers, three preachers. Their service actually was about five to six hours. And some of you can't wait to run out of here once we're done. And it's every week. Where are you in a rush to go? So the Ukrainian church would have three preachers in a row, ranging anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half. One would go, next would go, next would go. And I'm an American, so I have no clue what's going on. Why are three men preaching one after another? Well, after speaking to the elders, they had told me that during Soviet Russia, as Russia had occupied Ukraine, the police would actually come in and would arrest the preaching pastor. Be in handcuffs, he'd leave. And then an elder would get up and start preaching. That elder would either finish the text, I've given you guys the outline so work your way through it, or that elder would be preaching something else. And the congregation would stay. And the police would come in, would arrest that pastor, fine him, bring him out. It would happen two, three, four times in one service. Oftentimes it was just it was just a fee Sometimes they'd be placed at a the station or sometimes it'd be an overnight thing but the whole point is that everyone sitting down in that congregation had counted the cost of following Christ and And when it when it comes down to it Which it will eventually? We will find out How many people here have counted the cost? And how many just Zoom church? How many here have counted the cost of following Christ? And how many will make excuses for not being here? This culture knows what it is to count the cost. And there will be a time in your life where you have to count the cost. You may have to count the cost at your employment. It may cost you. We were warned about that, haven't we? You have to be willing to hate and loathe everything else secondary to Christ. And third, be on guard against false teachers. We say, look here and look there. Test everything. May God give all of us a spirit of wisdom, discernment. May we all count the cost. May you count the cost. And I can't wait for next week, but I'm out of time. Father, thank you for your word. And as we sing about your reigning, let that be true in our life, in our heart. May we be men and women who were marked by not only entering the kingdom, but living in the kingdom. One in which that man or woman walks in the power of your spirit. of the love and the joy and peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control, one in which you empower us to lay aside the deeds of the flesh and to put on the garments of righteousness that Christ has imputed to us. Help us to be men and women who love the souls of men and other women who do not know you. Help us to be ready to have already counted the cost, and to count the cost now moving forward. Give us a discerning mind as a congregation. Help us to be Bereans, not only on paper but in principle. Help us to be a congregation that not only loves the Word but does it, a congregation that is being formed and sanctified into the image of your son. We long for his return. We long for the day when we can lay aside all this sin and this weight and this baggage and the old man always rearing his ugly head. Look forward to the day when we will be unable to sin. That day we receive our new bodies when we're ushered into your presence. Until that day, give us everything we need for to steward well, to put our hands to the kingdom, press forward in the kingdom. And may you be so gracious, oh God, to allow us to see and to participate in your harvest. We want to see souls one to Christ. Oh God, may you open up hearts and draw men unto yourself. In Jesus' name, amen.