270 likes | 783 Vues
Watching for Jesus. Luke 21:34-36. Sleep is horrible for the soul. “Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Rom 13:11). “Let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thess 5:6).
E N D
Watching for Jesus Luke 21:34-36
Sleep is horrible for the soul. • “Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Rom 13:11). • “Let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thess 5:6).
Watch, for Jesus is coming!
Luke 21 is difficult. • The disciples were discussing how beautiful the temple was & Jesus says there’s coming a day when not a single stone of the temple would be left standing (vv 5-6). • “Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?” (v 7). • In Luke’s account, the disciples do notask about the end of the world.
At verse 8, Jesus begins to discuss the destruction of Jerusalem & he uses apocalyptic language. • Unfortunately, some have interpreted his words to refer to the end of the world. • But, Jesus isn’t speaking about the end of the world. • Jerusalem would be surrounded with armies (v 20). • Those in Judea are to flee to the mountains (v 21).
But, after Jesus predicts the destruction of Jerusalem, He speaks about His Second Coming (vv 25-28). • He then tells the Parable of the Fig Tree about the destruction of Jerusalem (vv29-33). • Then, Jesus switches back to the Second Coming & speaks this morning’s text.
We’ll never know when that day is coming. • “Ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matt 25:13). • “Yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night” (1 Thess 5:2).
You know the universal nature of that judgment that day. • “Every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom 14:12). • “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Cor 5:10).
Watch, for Jesus is coming!
We need to be an anticipating people. • It seems that—as a general rule—people forget the fact that Jesus is coming again. • What if we trained ourselves to say, “If the Lord wills”? • “Ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that” (Js 4:15). • Saying “If the Lord wills” reminds us of the temporary nature of this life.
We need to be ready when Jesus comes again. • In this text, Jesus urges his disciples to get rid of the alcohol & the other cares of this life that prevent watching for Jesus. • What in your life prevents you from watching for Jesus?
Self-examination is warranted. • “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2 Cor 13:5).
What do you need to do to get rid of the sin in your life? • Do your sins need the light of confession? • “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (Js 5:15). • Do you need help getting rid of that sin? • “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Gal 6:1-2).
In our text, Jesus urges prayer as a way of preparing for his coming. • Prayer focuses our attention on things that really matter. • Is it any wonder that Paul wrote, “Pray without ceasing”? (1 Thess 5:17).
If we understood that we need to “Watch, for Jesus is coming,” how would our lives be different?