The Coming of the Kingdom

Well, 2020 sure has been a crazy year. A year for the history books that we’ll mark certain chapters of our lives by. Much like The recession of 2008 Or 2001And 2020 has brought a sustained craziness with itCloser to the feel of a 1968 then a 2001. Do you ever wake up in the morning, read the news, and say, “When is this going to end?” And all of the trials, division and difficulties have caused some to ask, “Are we getting closer to Jesus coming back?” Because the Bible clearly teaches that at some point, Jesus will come back to earth and wrap up human history as we know itAnd I’ve heard more people talk about the end of the world in 2020, since, well probably when the Mayans missed the mark back in 2012 So, as we continue in Luke 17 today, Jesus is going to talk a bit about the End of the World. So, grab your Bibles and let’s take a look. Renovation App: Outdoor services 🡪 Weekly Verses By the way, if this is a topic that interests you, we did a whole 4 week series on it back in 2012, called “The End of the World.” You can find that whole series on our website. IT’S HERE, BUT NOT YET FULLY Let’s take a look at the first few verses of our passage(Luke 17:20 21) – NIV 20 Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”The Jewish people of that day weren’t all that unlike many people of today. They were talking often of what things would be like when God came back to reign on earth. And so they ask Jesus, “When is this whole Kingdom of God thing going to happen? When will we see God reigning on earth?” Now, if I’m Jesus, I’m saying, “Could you be any more blind? I’m standing right in front of you.” But Jesus is a little bit more gracious than me. And he says, “The coming of the Kingdom…in its beginning, is not this one big moment. It’s already IN YOUR MIDST” It doesn’t come w/ a blood red moon, or a thousand white horses riding in. So, let’s take a minute to talk about The Coming of the Kingdom of God I want you to notice 4 things about the Coming of the Kingdom today4 Things about the Coming of the Kingdom #1: It’s here, but not yet fully. Before we go any further, let’s admit that this phrase, “The Kingdom of God,” can be a bit hard to understand. I always think of it as “The Dome in which God is King” And really there are 2 phases to this special, new coming of God’s Kingdom on earth. The first phase of God reigning in a new way on earth starts when Jesus comes to earthAnd as Jesus dies and resurrects, and people are subsequently filled with the Holy Spirit as they believe, the Kingdom of God is spreading. Because Christians are the new temple of God…God is IN themBut this is a SPIRITUAL Kingdom, not necessarily a fully VISIBLE one. The Kingdom is here, but it’s not FULLY here. God is not fully reigning in this dome…this Kingdom…quite yet. That won’t happen until Jesus comes back, everyone is judged, and heaven comes down to renew earth. DON’T FALL FOR FALSE PROPHETSAnd Jesus knows us, so He knows what our next question is going to be: Which is, “So when is THAT going to happen?”When will you come back and fully reign, Jesus? When will the end times really be? So here’s what Jesus says next: (Luke 17:22 25) – NIV 22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23 People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. 24 For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.This is the 2nd thing he’s teaching about the Coming of the Kingdom4 Things about the Coming of the Kingdom #1: It’s here, but not yet fully. #2: Don’t fall for false prophetsPeople are going to claim, “I’m the Messiah. I’m back! Follow me!” And history has proven Jesus’ words to be right. SO many people over the past 2,000 years have proven to be false Messiah’sAnd it’s not just the Jim Jones and David Koresh’s of the world that we have to worry about. It’s the more dangerous false prophets…Like Muhammad who started Islam by claiming that the angel Gabriel appeared to him in a cave (of course with no witnesses) and dictated the Quran to him…And Muhammad went on to basically re write the Old Testament and moreAnd how many have followed him as a new revelation? Too many. Or Joseph Smith, the false prophet and founder of Mormonism.Smith said an angel named Moroni appeared to him and told him to dig up golden plates, and then translate those supposed golden plates to write the Book of Mormon… And again, do we have the plates anywhere? Of course not. And it’s not like this was 3,000 years ago. This was just in 1830, and no one has found those plates. And now millions have followed another false prophet. Jesus was right to warn us about false prophets. But there is something in us as humans that wants to find a new movement. But we must be patient, and WAIT for Jesus’ return IT COULD BE TODAY And yet, our patience must not turn into apathy. Let’s keep reading: (Luke 17:26 29) – NIV 26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.What is Jesus saying? He’s saying, “It could be today.” Yes, there are signs…know the signs (read Matthew 24 for a long list), but remember, Jesus COULD come back today. This is a key teaching of the Gospels4 Things about the Coming of the Kingdom #1: It’s here, but not yet fully. #2: Don’t fall for false prophets #3: It could be todayDo you remember, in January of 2018, when everyone in Hawaii saw these words flash on their television screens and cell phones: “Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is NOT a drill.” And for 38 minutes…38 minutes…Hawaiians heard nothing from the government. For 38 minutes, every living soul had to grapple with, ‘am I ready,’ if this is it? And then, 38 minutes after the warning was issued, a statement was sent out that basically said, some guy at the Emergency Management Agency selected the wrong option in the dropdown menu. Like, wait, what?!? He was looking for, “Enjoy the beach today,” but landed on “missile threat inbound…this is not a drill”?!?!What if you would have been in Hawaii that morning? What would you have been thinking for those 38 minutes? Would you have felt ready? Ready to meet the Lord? The reality is Jesus wants us to be ready today. Because He could come back this afternoon. I mean, surely this Virus has taught us that we don’t know what the future holds. I think of the many people who had amazing wedding ceremonies planned for April or May. How could they have known? Or those who spent 5 years preparing to launch a business, and launched it in February, only to close in March. We don’t know what the future holds. We really don’t. And I hope you know that better now than ever. It’s a Biblical truth God is revealing to our culture. Just like we didn’t know the future as it pertained to the virus, nor do we know the date in which Jesus will come back. That’s why Jesus refers to the days of Noah and the flood as an example He says, people were having weddings in the days of Noah too. Seriously, a bride & groom were probably at the altar, saying their “I do’s,” imagining their whole life in front of them, as the first drops of rain began to fall. You don’t know when Jesus is coming back, or even when your own life will end (if that comes first)…So you’ve got to be ready. Friend, do you know Jesus Christ? Many people just haven’t given much consideration to the end of the world or the coming of the Kingdom of God…or of eternal life. They’re trapped in the rat race of trying to look better than their neighbor or family member. Most people are more prepared for retirement than they are for where they will be for eternity. Honestly, more Americans prepare more thoroughly for a 10 day trip to Disney World than they prepare for where they will spend the next 3 billion years of their life. If Jesus were to come back this afternoon, and we were all assigned to heaven or hell…this afternoon. Have you for sure placed your faith in Jesus by believing He died for you and surrendering your life to Him? If not, do so today. Don’t delay! DON’T LOVE THIS LIFE MORE THAN THE NEXT ONE There’s one more section of our passage, let’s take a look (Luke 17:30 37) – NIV 30 “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. 32 Remember Lot’s wife! 33 Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 35 Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.” [36] [c] 37 “Where, Lord?” they asked. He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”Here’s the fourth principle of Jesus’ coming that I want you to see from this passage: 4 Things about the Coming of the Kingdom #1: It’s here, but not yet fully. #2: Don’t fall for false prophets #3: It could be today#4: Don’t love this life more than the next oneLook at verse 33 again: Jesus says, “Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it” If your life here is more important to you than being with Jesus in heaven, than perhaps you’re not saved. If you were to see Jesus coming back on the clouds, and your very first thought was: “But I never got married!” “But I’ll miss my house” “I never accomplished what I wanted with my business, my career!” If that’s where your heart would go, than Jesus is not truly first in your life. That’s why Jesus uses the example of Lot’s wife. You can read the whole story in Genesis 19, but basically the city Lot’s family lived in (Sodom) was immensely sinful. And God decides to destroy it by raining down burning sulfur (it’s intense) But before the city is destroyed, God sends an angel to rescue Lot, his wife, and their two daughters from the city. And as the angel is leading them out of the city, the angel says, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain!” But yet, as they’re running away, Lot’s wife’s heart aches for her old life. She can’t seem to focus her heart on her salvation…the fact that God is rescuing her from the burning fire. And she turns back, with longing towards her old house, her status, her material comforts…And as she turns back, breaking the very command of God, she turns to salt. And so Jesus is pleading with you, in one of the shortest verses of the Bible (verse 33), “Remember Lot’s wife!” If Jesus is coming back to earth, ready to save you, and your VERY first thought is to look back on all the things you’re going to miss out on…Realize, as Jesus teaches, those who love their life, will lose it. Don’t love this life more than the next one, or you may miss out the next life. One of the key things that Jesus is teaching us in these last few chapters of Luke is that more people miss the Kingdom of God not because they reject it, but because they neglect it. Do you remember in Luke 14, when the Master was holding a great banquet (symbolizing the feast we’ll all have together in heaven), but no one was coming even though they had already said that they would)? They didn’t outright reject the invitation, but they said, “Uh, well, see, I just got married. I just bought some oxen.” Some of you believe that the only way you’ll miss out on the Kingdom of God is if you succumb to atheism or something. But I would be more worried that you’ll miss out on heaven because love this material world over the eternal world. Are you truly following Jesus or did you just say you’d accept his invitation, but when he really comes, your heart will be with this world, not the next? This is a tough Word from Jesus this week. But it’s only because He knows how liable we are to get distracted by earthly pursuits. He wants to lift your eyes heavenward. He wants you to remember His love for you…that He died for youKeep your eyes focused on Him…so that when He comes. You’re ready. Let me pray. Copyright: David Sorn Renovation Church in Blaine, MN You may use this material all you like! We only ask that you do not charge a fee and that you quote the source and not say it is your own.