Who Will Be Left Behind?

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And look what he does here in Luke 21, starting in verse 29.

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This is his. He says this, and he told them a parable. Look at the fig tree and all the trees.

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See, and all the trees. As soon as they come out and leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near.

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So also when you see these things taking place, look what Luke says, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

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You catch that? So what does Luke add in his version of the

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Olivet Discourse here? Something that Matthew doesn't actually have, but does.

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Luke's giving now, I think, an interpretation and understanding. When you see all these things, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

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And somebody might say, hey, I thought that John and Jesus taught that it arrived with Jesus coming. The answer is yes.

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The kingdom of God had arrived with Messiah. And by the way, it had to come during the time of the

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Roman Empire, the fourth kingdom, according to Daniel chapter two. That's what the Bible teaches about the timing of the coming of the kingdom.

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However, what did you have happening during the time of Jesus? You have

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Jesus coming with the kingdom, bringing a new covenant. The veil is ripped. There's an earthquake.

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And yet the temple is still hanging around. They're still doing animal sacrifices.

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People are still going to temple. And you know what? For no good reason, because there's a once for all sacrifice completes.

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So there is, I believe, in Jesus' generation, an element of now, of the kingdom, and not yet.

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Because there were things that had to occur in that generation before the kingdom came and its full power and its glory, that old covenant needed to be taken away, taken down.

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So when Jesus says, you see all these things, referring to all the judgment on Jerusalem, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

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Now, I wanted you to see this because I think it's beautiful. Go to Galatians chapter four, and look at Paul writing before the destruction of the temple.

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This is all related to what's happening here, judgment in the first century generation.

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Look at Galatians chapter four. I think this is one of the most powerful things related to this discussion of judgment on the covenant breakers, the sweeping away of that old covenant order, and the coming of the new

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Jerusalem. Here's what it says in Galatians chapter four.

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It says this, he's trying to give a story about sons and heirs, and he talks about Hagar and Sarah.

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Tell me, verse 21, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.

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He's talking to people who were trying to bring people back under the ceremonial aspect of the law, the circumcision.

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He's saying, you do that, you put yourself back under that again. Christ is of no benefit to you. You have fallen from grace.

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You've denied the gospel. You want to put people back under that old covenant order, the sign of circumcision, you want that?

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He says, let me tell you the story. Abraham has two, and he says this, verse 23, 22.

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For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman, one by a free woman, but the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise.

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Now, this may be interpreted allegorically. These women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery.

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She is Hagar. Now, Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. She corresponds, listen,

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Paul writing before the destruction of Jerusalem, to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children, but the

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Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

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For it is written, rejoice, O barren one who does not bear. Break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor, for the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.

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Now, you brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. But just as at that time, he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the spirit, so also it is now.

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What's that saying? All those slaves of the present Jerusalem, all those slave children, persecuting you, the sons of the free, persecuting you, the heavenly

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Jerusalem. He says this, but what does the scripture say? Verse 30, cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit the son of the free woman.

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So brothers, we are not children of the slave, but of the free woman.

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Here, watch, Paul's telling a story, listen closely, of, interestingly, two

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Jerusalems. Listen, if you've been wondering how does this connect to the book of Revelation, I'm about to tell you my interpretation.

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Here in Galatians four, before the destruction of the temple, Paul is talking about two

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Jerusalems, a slave Jerusalem and a free one, one that is present then persecuting the

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Christians, but we are children of this heavenly Jerusalem, the one that is from above.

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So there's a war between two Jerusalems, an enslaved Jerusalem and a free Jerusalem.

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And Paul says we are sons of the free. We're being persecuted just like in the

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Old Testament. Same thing, slave son persecuting the free one. It's happening,

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Paul says, to us right now, but what's about to happen to the slave woman, to the present

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Jerusalem? She's about to be cast out. You hearing it?

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Are you seeing it now with the eye of faith that that old Jerusalem is about to be destroyed and cast away to make room for the new

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Jerusalem? And of course you have the story in the book of Revelation. We're not gonna unpack it all today.

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I'll just challenge you to go look at it. Revelation chapter 17, you've got a harlot, you've got a whore with Babylon on her head, drinking the blood of the saints and the martyrs of Jesus, persecuting the

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Christians, wearing purple and scarlet, the priest colors, riding the

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Roman beast. And John says that beast is about to turn on the woman, make her desolate and burn her with fire.

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I would argue that that's the adulterous, covenant -breaking wife of Yahweh who's about to be judged and taken away.

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Rome is gonna do it, Revelation 17, to make way for, go ahead and go, because I know you're itching for it, to Revelation 21.

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Now this book is filled with symbolism and imagery that John is borrowing from the Old Testament. We need to keep that in mind.

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Look what it says in verse one of 21. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more.

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And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, here it is, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

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I would argue that the book of Revelation is a tale of two cities. It's a tale of two cities, the harlot wife, the adulterous wife that God talked about in the

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Old Testament who was put away to make room for the bride of Christ, the

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New Jerusalem, the heavenly city that comes out of heaven from God and hits the earth and invites the earth, come and drink.

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But I wanted to point us all to how Jesus talks about our mission.

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This is a place, you can go to the text if you want. If not, just hang with me, go there later. I want you to think about when

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Matthew, who wrote this in the Olivet Discourse, starts his gospel, he starts it talking about Jesus coming out of the temptation in the wilderness where he's offered all the kingdoms of the world and he defeats

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Satan. And in Matthew 4, I'll read it to you, verse 17, it says this, as he comes out of the wilderness, from that time

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Jesus began to preach saying, "'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"

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And in verse 23, it says this, and he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom.

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Jesus comes out of the temptation and he's preaching the good news about God's kingdom.

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Do we know what that means today? Can we articulate what it means that the kingdom is good news for the world?

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Because that's what Jesus was preaching, the kingdom and its goodness, its goodness for the world.

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In Matthew chapter five, just right after this, Jesus gives the most famous sermon in the history of mankind, the

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Sermon on the Mount. And as he tells us about the blessings, he says, verse three, "'Blessed are the poor in spirit, "'for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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"'Blessed are those who mourn, "'for they should be comforted.'" And here's Jesus, "'Blessed are the meek, "'for they shall inherit the earth.'"

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Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Think about just one chapter later in Matthew chapter six, how

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Matthew tells us about the story of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. We are then moving into the prayer that I hope you all know, because it's

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Jesus' prayer, how he teaches us to pray. We've done a whole sermon series on this, but I just wanna remind you of it.

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When Jesus is talking about the kingdom and the gospel of the kingdom and the meek inheriting the earth, when he tells the church to pray, this is how he tells us to pray.

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He says, verse nine of chapter six, "'Pray then like this, "'Our Father in heaven, "'hallowed be your name.'"

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That is saying, God, holied be your name. May it be holied.

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May people holy your name. Where? Everywhere.

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Father, let them holy your name. Let people holy it. See it as set apart, distinct.

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They see you as holy, treat you as holy. We're supposed to pray that way.

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God, your name be holied in our governments, in our families, in our communities.

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God, be holied today in the world. And he says this, your kingdom come, your will be done.

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Here it is. This is where Christians today detach. What are you praying for? God, may your name be holied and may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

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Is that even our perspective today as the church of the living God? Is that our perspective today as the church

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Christ helped meet in the world? That we're supposed to pray, God, your will be done here, here where I'm at, on this earth as it is in heaven.

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That's the prayer Jesus commands us to pray. People ask, you know, as Apology of Church is involved in all kinds of ministry and missions here in the world, trying to actually change things like legislation to say you shouldn't kill babies anymore, you shouldn't murder children anymore.

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That whole mission, there's a reason for that. Biblically, there's lots of reasons, but I'll tell you the heart behind it, the driving force is this prayer.

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Lord, let your will be done here. What's God's will concerning marriage? We know.

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What's God's will concerning families? We know. What's God's will concerning babies?

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We know. And so our prayer daily on our knees is supposed to be, God, your will be done here and now.

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And what does Jesus talk about when he talks about his authority? He says, Matthew 28, 18 through 20, all authority in heaven and on earth, past tense, has been given to me.

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He says, go therefore, because of this, because I have it all. He says, go therefore and do what?

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Make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey.

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That's the mission of the church. That was Jesus' perspective of the kingdom. But here's a really important end to this whole thing.

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I just have a couple more words here to say to you. I'm gonna read a passage and then send you off. I think we've truncated the gospel.

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I think we've truncated it to one thing, justification through faith.

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The heart of the gospel, die for it. We are justified through faith alone and Christ alone because of his work alone.

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You have to be willing as a Christian to die for that truth. If you deny that truth, you're outside of the faith.

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But we've truncated the gospel to this single thing, justification through faith, that's it.

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Personal relationship with Jesus, justification through faith, that's it. But Jesus came proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom.

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It was bigger than justification through faith. We're talking about the kingdom of heaven in the ministry of Jesus.

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You see, the Old and New Testaments do not have everything moved down to the simple thing of my private relationship with Jesus.

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Listen, this is summary today and it's the end thing. I wanna argue that the

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Old and New Testaments aren't talking all the time and only, merely about going to heaven one day.

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Is it true that you do as a Christian go to heaven? Yes. Is it true you have eternal life in Jesus alone?

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Yes. Is it true for you today in Christ? Yes. But is the message of the scripture simply about going to heaven one day?

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I would argue that the Old and New Testament perspective is that the real story is that heaven is coming into the earth.

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That the story of the kingdom of heaven is about God bringing heaven and earth together again.

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Heaven into earth. You see, here's what I would argue. Our role is to bring the music, the glory, the worship, and the culture of heaven into the earth.

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That's our mission. Through the proclamation of the good news and salvation in Jesus alone, we are bringing heaven into earth.

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And if you want, I think one of the most spectacular and beautiful portraits of it,

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I'm gonna point you to Revelation 22 and then we're done. I'm just gonna read it and maybe make one side comment

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I want you to look at. 22, six. Again, I argued and I would argue, biblically and historically, the book of Revelation was written before the destruction of Jerusalem, but that's another subject.

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But look what this says. Verse six of 22. And he said to me, these words are trustworthy and true.

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And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.

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And behold, I'm coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.

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I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them,

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I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. But he said to me, you must not do that.

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I'm a fellow servant with you and your brothers, the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book.

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Worship God. And he said to me, do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.

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Let the evildoer still be evil, and let the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.

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Behold, I'm coming soon, bringing my recompense with me to repay each one for what he has done. I'm the

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Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are those who wash their robes so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and that they may enter the city by the gates.

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Outside are the dogs and sorcerers, and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

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Isn't it interesting that in this vision of the new Jerusalem, the city, isn't it interesting that outside the city are sinners?

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Brothers and sisters, if this is heaven one day, are we gonna be in heaven in a cube with sinners hanging outside the gates for all eternity?

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This is clearly a vision of the new Jerusalem and the waters of life coming out of the city.

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Here's what it says, I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.

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The spirit and the bride say, come! And let the one who hears say, come!

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And let the one who is thirsty, come! Let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

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The call coming out of the new Jerusalem, God's bride, God's city that's hit the earth, the call is this to the world.

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You wanna live? You want life? Come and drink from the waters of life.

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Come and drink from the waters of life. Jesus will give life and it will bubble up to eternal life.

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That's how the scriptures talk about it. So I believe that the mission of the church, seeing as we've been left behind, is to inherit the earth and to expand the kingdom and rule of the

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Messiah to the end of 1 Corinthians 15, all enemies subdued under his feet.

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And then Paul says, when the last enemy is subdued, death will then finally be done.

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And that's where Jesus doesn't come, Paul says, to bring the kingdom. It says he delivers the kingdom over to the father.

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Done, finished. So you've been left behind. Go win the world.

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Let's pray. Father, I pray you bless the messages that have gone out, that you continue to use them for the glory of Jesus, his kingdom.

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I pray that you would allow us as a church to be used by you to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom and your excellency to the world.

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I pray that you would use us in mighty ways that bring you praise. I pray that you'd protect us from the enemy, protect us from slander, protect us from lies, protect us from our own sin, protect us from gossip, protect us from pride so that we can be used by you,

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God, to advance your kingdom. Lord, let win our families to you.

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Lord, win this community to you, win this state to you, win this nation to you and use us, please, as the means to do it.