Sermon Text: Luke 21:25
Dear fellow redeemed: Advent is about faith, faith in God’s promises and prophesies about what
is coming. That’s why the people of Jerusalem welcomed Jesus, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes
in the name of the Lord.”
Here Christ calls us to faith so that we do not miss out on the joy that is in store for us, for Christ
is coming. He is coming soon. You will be surprised how soon. So, the message is simple:
BE READY FOR CHRIST’S COMING
I. See the Signs
II. Apply Your Faith
III. Prepare for the Joy of the Resurrection
I. See the Signs
“Be ready for Christ’s coming.” What does “Christ’s coming” mean? The most direct answer is
that it is the end of the world as we know it, and everything will be changed. Peter teaches, “…. On
that day the heavens will pass away with a roar, the elements will be dissolved as they burn
with great heat, and the earth and what was done on it will be burned up. … That day will cause
the heavens to be set on fire and destroyed, and the elements to melt as they burn with great
heat. But according to his promise we look forward to new heavens and a new earth, in which
righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:10–13, EHV)
There are signs that this is coming, and these signs are amplified in each generation.
Paul wrote to Timothy, “But know this: In the last days there will be terrible times. For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemous, disobedient
to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, not able to reconcile with others, slanderous,
without self-control, savage, haters of what is good, treacherous, reckless, puffed up with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to an outward form of godliness but
denying its power. Turn away from such people.” (2 Timothy 3:1–5, EHV) Such is the world now.
And in our text Jesus predicts …
– Anguish, perplexity, and fear at what is coming
– Powers of the heavens will be shaken
– Signs in the heavens.Let me show you just one example. See this picture, it is of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 striking
Jupiter. The BBC did a short documentary on it that could be summed up, “This could be you.” The ball
of fire in the top left quadrant of the picture is about the size of this whole planet. It is hard to miss the
fact that this whole earth could be turned into a flaming wreck.
I’m not saying that the world will end in a comet-strike, because it will come suddenly, and then
Christ will call all before him. There will be no time to prepare.
II. Apply Your Faith
So Jesus goes on to tell us to apply our faith and to be ready. He uses an agricultural example,
the fig tree. Just seeing the leaves start tells you that summer is near with all that means. The tilling,
the harvesting, the preserving of fruit, and on down the line. We have the same here when the orchards
bloom and the whole predictable cycle starts again.
In the Midwest, farmers go into the field planting 140-day corn with the expectation that 4 ½
months later they will be harvesting. If we see the signs and know where they lead in everyday life,
then our faith will lead us to do the same. 31So also, when you see these things happening, know
that the kingdom of God is near. 32Amen I tell you: This generation will not pass away until all
these things happen. 33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
But the devil has a strategy: Don’t repent, double down on this broken world: The rich man in
one of Jesus parables takes that tack, “And I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods stored
up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool, this
night your soul will be demanded from you. Now who will get what you have prepared?’” (Luke
12:19–20, EHV)
Here’s another part of the devil’s deceit: It may seem that except for that instant when He comes,
that we have plenty of warning. After all, we get old and we know what’s coming. We get sick, and we
know what’s coming, we are in the hospital and we know what’s coming.
But readiness is repentance and faith; it is a spiritual condition, not just an exercise of prudence.
We don’t just suddenly DECIDE in the nick of time to find our Savior. So, Jesus warns, 34“Watch
yourselves or else your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the worries of this life, and that day may come on you suddenly. 35For it will come like a trap on all those
who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36Stay alert all the time, praying that you may be able
to escape all these things that are going to happen and that you may be able to stand before
the Son of Man.”
Really, people, watch out. As we go through life nothing seems to change. It is easy to become
indifferent. But He is coming in an instant, regardless of the seeming delay. It seems that He allows evil
to prosper and the signs to be repeated and amplified generation after generation. But here is why, as
Peter says, “The Lord is not slow to do what he promised, as some consider slowness. Instead,
he is patient for your sakes, not wanting anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance.” (2
Peter 3:9, EHV) There are people now who are unbelieving and unfaithful and ripe for judgment who
will instead come to know Christ and welcome His coming because God delayed. If the Lord had come
some years ago, how many would have been lost who now look forward to His coming.
Remember, that day may come on you suddenly. 35For it will come like a trap on all those
who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36Stay alert all the time, praying that you may be able
to escape all these things that are going to happen and that you may be able to stand before
the Son of Man.
III. Prepare for the Joy of the Resurrection
Be ready. Be in the word. Live out your faith in repentance for yourself and forgiveness toward
others. Attend to the Scriptures and apply them in your life, so that when He comes you will be ready.
31 … when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.
Be ready for the coming of Christ and of judgment. Remember judgment day isn’t when God
“makes up His mind,” so to speak, for He knows who are His, even now. Judgment day is when He
carries out His judgment. For those who believe in him it will be to bring us into eternal fellowship with
Him. So look forward to what comes after the end. For the calamities are but a moment, but the rescue
is forever. The kingdom of this world is but a moment, and then comes the eternal spring, the eternal
summer, the eternal wedding feast, the great reunion, the resurrection when the old order of things will
pass away and all will become new.
So prepare for the end of days and be ready for that instant when our Lord comes in glory, but
don’t forget what you are preparing for. You are preparing to be sons and daughters of the kingdom
that we also call heaven, or paradise or the wedding banquet or the mansions prepared for us for
eternal life. It is where there are “pleasures forevermore.”
Until then we navigate the anguish and trouble of this world as Paul described: “My goal is to
know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being con-
formed to his death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.”
(Philippians 3:10–11, CSB)
We await the glories of the resurrection, life and immortality, the death of death and the fullness
of life.
Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly!
AMEN