First Sunday in Advent
November 29/30, 2009
Pastor Paul G. Eckert
Text: Luke 21:20-36
COMING COMING COMING
I Coming - A Reminder Of The Past
II Coming - A Pointer To The Future
III Coming - A Warning For The Present
Luke 21:20-36
20 "When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22 For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. 23 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
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. 26 Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
29 He told them this parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
32 "I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
34 "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."
+ + + + + + +
An auctioneer might say, "Going once, Going twice, Going three times - Gone." With regard to Thanksgiving Day last Thursday we can say "Gone." But now we have come into the season of the church year called Advent which means coming. So, instead of three times saying "Going, Going, Going" like an auctioneer, let us - thinking of the past, the future, and the present - say:
COMING, COMING, COMING
I COMING - A REMINDER OF THE PAST (20-24)
1. Jesus spoke of Jerusalem’s coming judgment (20-21)
"When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Th en let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city."
a) the Jewish people had been waiting for a political ruler, one
who would kick out Rome and make Jerusalem again a leading
capital city of their nation as a great power
b) instead Jesus foretold that something quite different was
coming for Jerusalem: a destruction so terrible that Jesus
warned people to get away and stay away when they saw that
armies were surrounding Jerusalem
2. The coming of the true Messiah also had been foretold
a) OT Scripture in the past said that the Savior would come to
proclaim the kingdom of God and to bring peace; but that was
not a political peace, not a restoration of Jerusalem and the
nation of Israel to be a leading and glorious nation in the world
b) instead it was a peace that was established between God and
all sinners because God was in Christ, the Messiah, to reconcile
the world to Himself; a peace because of Jesus’ innocent death
that paid for the sins of the world, because of His resurrection
victory to be the resurrection and life of all who believe in Him
3. For Jerusalem the foretold coming was fulfilled (22-24)
"For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled."
a) what Jesus here foretold was coming did come less than
40 years after Jesus spoke these terrible warning words
b) I said terrible: Roman armies besieged the city and conditions
inside became more than terrible, as also Flavius Josephus, a
historian of the time, wrote in his lengthy history book entitled
"The Great Roman-Jewish War: A.D. 66-70"; 1,100,000 Jews
were killed and 97,000 were carried away as captive slaves; the
temple was desecrated and destroyed, and after a siege of 134
days the whole city was leveled, a destruction of Jerusalem that
Jesus had foretold as coming, a destruction that did come
4. The coming of the Messiah also was fulfilled
a) all of God’s Word is truth; Jerusalem isn’t the only proof b) Christ did come, exactly as foretold; Christ did die because
God so loved the world that He wanted us forgiven; Christ
did arise so that we might live in the heavenly Jerusalem
which will never be besieged or taken away from us
c) in this Advent or coming season leading up to Christmas, let us celebrate again Christ’s first coming with grateful hearts
II COMING - A POINTER TO THE FUTURE (25-28,32-33)
1. The coming end of more than a city was foretold (25-26a) "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, ---."
a) God foretold a universal flood and gave 120 years of warning
b) here Jesus foretold not an end with a restart of this earth, as
at the flood, but a final end, when Judgment Day will arrive
2. Here there would be signs (26b-27)
a) at the time of Noah and the flood the sign was the construction
of a massive ark and animals gathering; at the time of
Jerusalem’s destruction in the year 70 A.D. the sign was seeing
the Roman armies massing to besiege the city
b) for the coming of the final day there will be signs in the
heavens just before Jesus returns, as Jesus says, " --- 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."; and
before that there will be increasing wars and rumors of wars
and famines and earthquakes and religious deception and
delusions getting worse and worse - you can read more about
that in Matthew 24 and the book of Revelation
3. Let there be no doubt about this (32-33)
"I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."
a) the flood came, the Christ came, Jerusalem was destroyed
b) in the same way everything else God foretells will take place,
including the continuation of the Jewish race, heaven and earth
passing away, judgment coming, because God’s Word is truth
4. That means also no doubt about redemption (28)
"When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
a) what fear there will be for those who have rejected Jesus
b) in Advent we believers celebrate the Jesus who removes fear
c) the future is coming; we’ll see Jesus; look forward to hearing
Him say, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take
your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the
creation of the world."
III COMING - A WARNING FOR THE PRESENT (29-31,34-36)
1. What is coming brings also a warning for now (29-31)
He told them this parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near."
a) seasonal changes warn you that right now winter is coming
b) so be warned by world conditions that the end is coming; will
you prepare for winter but not be prepared for that?
2. Remember that you can stand before Jesus (36)
"Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."
a) while you can be prepared for winter with a winter jacket, you
can’t be prepared and stand before Jesus with your own feeble
efforts to cover you, with your own ideas of how to be saved
b) the only way is what Jesus did, clothing us with His blood and
righteousness to cover our sinfulness and to give us peace
3. Don’t lose out on this (34-35)
"Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth."
a) what is the trap, like a spider web, that is waiting for us,
hoping to catch us so that we will have terror in our hearts
instead of joy on Judgment Day?
b) is it dissipation - not being temperate or self-controlled, but
wrongfully indulging in sinful things; is it drunkenness - again
not making proper use of God’s gifts but abusing them, putting
what we want ahead of what God wants; is it the anxieties of
life - so many things to worry about instead of seeking first the
kingdom of God and trusting that He will keep His promises to
His people? - any and all of these can be our spider webs to
trap us, to keep us from eternal joy
4. Instead be able to give thanks (36)
"Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."
a) watch - don’t be lazy, stay away from hearing God’s Word,
neglect the Lord’s invitation to His Supper, have time for
everything except for your Savior God who wants you in
heaven one day; pray - stay in contact with God with the
wonderful privilege of prayer, asking for His guidance and help
b) He has given us the way to escape; it is deliverance from devil,
sin, and death, so that we can stand not fall, on Judgment Day
c) for that let our thanks not be one day, like Thanksgiving Day
last week, but daily thanks to the God of our salvation
Now let’s sum up our three "Comings." Some coming we talked about is a part of the past already, namely the first coming of Jesus and the destruction of Jerusalem. Another coming will be in the future, and that will be Judgment Day. And for the present God’s warnings are still coming to us so that we do not turn away from our Savior.
May we never hear "Going, going, going - gone" when it comes to God’s gift of salvation. Instead remember: Coming, Coming, Coming is our Savior’s promised glory.
I COMING - A REMINDER OF THE PAST (20-24)
1. Jesus spoke of Jerusalem’s coming judgment (20-21)
"When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Th en let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city."
a) the Jewish people had been waiting for a political ruler, one
who would kick out Rome and make Jerusalem again a leading
capital city of their nation as a great power
b) instead Jesus foretold that something quite different was
coming for Jerusalem: a destruction so terrible that Jesus
warned people to get away and stay away when they saw that
armies were surrounding Jerusalem
2. The coming of the true Messiah also had been foretold
a) OT Scripture in the past said that the Savior would come to
proclaim the kingdom of God and to bring peace; but that was
not a political peace, not a restoration of Jerusalem and the
nation of Israel to be a leading and glorious nation in the world
b) instead it was a peace that was established between God and
all sinners because God was in Christ, the Messiah, to reconcile
the world to Himself; a peace because of Jesus’ innocent death
that paid for the sins of the world, because of His resurrection
victory to be the resurrection and life of all who believe in Him
3. For Jerusalem the foretold coming was fulfilled (22-24)
"For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled."
a) what Jesus here foretold was coming did come less than
40 years after Jesus spoke these terrible warning words
b) I said terrible: Roman armies besieged the city and conditions
inside became more than terrible, as also Flavius Josephus, a
historian of the time, wrote in his lengthy history book entitled
"The Great Roman-Jewish War: A.D. 66-70"; 1,100,000 Jews
were killed and 97,000 were carried away as captive slaves; the
temple was desecrated and destroyed, and after a siege of 134
days the whole city was leveled, a destruction of Jerusalem that
Jesus had foretold as coming, a destruction that did come
4. The coming of the Messiah also was fulfilled
a) all of God’s Word is truth; Jerusalem isn’t the only proof b) Christ did come, exactly as foretold; Christ did die because
God so loved the world that He wanted us forgiven; Christ
did arise so that we might live in the heavenly Jerusalem
which will never be besieged or taken away from us
c) in this Advent or coming season leading up to Christmas, let us celebrate again Christ’s first coming with grateful hearts
II COMING - A POINTER TO THE FUTURE (25-28,32-33)
1. The coming end of more than a city was foretold (25-26a) "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, ---."
a) God foretold a universal flood and gave 120 years of warning
b) here Jesus foretold not an end with a restart of this earth, as
at the flood, but a final end, when Judgment Day will arrive
2. Here there would be signs (26b-27)
a) at the time of Noah and the flood the sign was the construction
of a massive ark and animals gathering; at the time of
Jerusalem’s destruction in the year 70 A.D. the sign was seeing
the Roman armies massing to besiege the city
b) for the coming of the final day there will be signs in the
heavens just before Jesus returns, as Jesus says, " --- 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."; and
before that there will be increasing wars and rumors of wars
and famines and earthquakes and religious deception and
delusions getting worse and worse - you can read more about
that in Matthew 24 and the book of Revelation
3. Let there be no doubt about this (32-33)
"I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."
a) the flood came, the Christ came, Jerusalem was destroyed
b) in the same way everything else God foretells will take place,
including the continuation of the Jewish race, heaven and earth
passing away, judgment coming, because God’s Word is truth
4. That means also no doubt about redemption (28)
"When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
a) what fear there will be for those who have rejected Jesus
b) in Advent we believers celebrate the Jesus who removes fear
c) the future is coming; we’ll see Jesus; look forward to hearing
Him say, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take
your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the
creation of the world."
III COMING - A WARNING FOR THE PRESENT (29-31,34-36)
1. What is coming brings also a warning for now (29-31)
He told them this parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near."
a) seasonal changes warn you that right now winter is coming
b) so be warned by world conditions that the end is coming; will
you prepare for winter but not be prepared for that?
2. Remember that you can stand before Jesus (36)
"Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."
a) while you can be prepared for winter with a winter jacket, you
can’t be prepared and stand before Jesus with your own feeble
efforts to cover you, with your own ideas of how to be saved
b) the only way is what Jesus did, clothing us with His blood and
righteousness to cover our sinfulness and to give us peace
3. Don’t lose out on this (34-35)
"Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth."
a) what is the trap, like a spider web, that is waiting for us,
hoping to catch us so that we will have terror in our hearts
instead of joy on Judgment Day?
b) is it dissipation - not being temperate or self-controlled, but
wrongfully indulging in sinful things; is it drunkenness - again
not making proper use of God’s gifts but abusing them, putting
what we want ahead of what God wants; is it the anxieties of
life - so many things to worry about instead of seeking first the
kingdom of God and trusting that He will keep His promises to
His people? - any and all of these can be our spider webs to
trap us, to keep us from eternal joy
4. Instead be able to give thanks (36)
"Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."
a) watch - don’t be lazy, stay away from hearing God’s Word,
neglect the Lord’s invitation to His Supper, have time for
everything except for your Savior God who wants you in
heaven one day; pray - stay in contact with God with the
wonderful privilege of prayer, asking for His guidance and help
b) He has given us the way to escape; it is deliverance from devil,
sin, and death, so that we can stand not fall, on Judgment Day
c) for that let our thanks not be one day, like Thanksgiving Day
last week, but daily thanks to the God of our salvation
Now let’s sum up our three "Comings." Some coming we talked about is a part of the past already, namely the first coming of Jesus and the destruction of Jerusalem. Another coming will be in the future, and that will be Judgment Day. And for the present God’s warnings are still coming to us so that we do not turn away from our Savior.
May we never hear "Going, going, going - gone" when it comes to God’s gift of salvation. Instead remember: Coming, Coming, Coming is our Savior’s promised glory.
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