Twenty-sixth
Sunday after Pentecost
November
17, 2013
Luke
21
The
Times of the Signs
In
the name of Jesus.
I.
Everybody
believes that the world going to end. The only difference is a
question of when. The religion of “Science” claims that life on
this world will end when our sun dies out in six billion years. For
others the world ends every Monday morning.
But
the truth is much more personal and much less distant. The truth is
the world is going to end soon and when it does, every
person will begin or continue their never-ending existence in heaven
or in hell.
II.
The
end of the world is coming soon. Jesus told us to watch for the signs
before He died. Just like you know winter is around the corner when
the leaves fall (or when it snows), the times of these signs will be
all around us.
“Nation
will be raised up against nation . . . There will be violent
earthquakes, and famines . . . They will kill some of you. You will
be hated by everyone because of My name. (Luke 21:10-11, 16-17)
Unlike
many who are looking for events that will trigger the end of the
world or will tell us that the End is only hours away, Jesus makes it
clear that His Church will always exist in the final days. All the
things He predicts have been happening since He ascended into heaven.
Wars
and spying and politics. Yes, we have that. Earthquakes and famines
and disease. Yes, we have that. Some Christians being murdered. Yes,
we have that, even though most of us aren't aware of the details. In
Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Indonesia, churches are burned and Christians
are murdered. And even here, “parents, brothers, relatives, and
friends” betray us. Not just by their greed and lust and apathy,
but their denial of the Gospel itself.
The
end is surely near when pastors and fathers fail to rebuke their
grown children, the souls under their care, for their regular
refusal to go to their nearest congregation and receive Christ's
preaching and His body and blood.
III.
Pray
for the end to come so that we might escape this evil world and go
home. Pray that those who stay away from Christ's church will repent
and turn to trust that the kingdom of God is near.
Be
on your guard, so that your minds are not dulled from carousing,
drunkenness, and worries of life, or that day will come on you
unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come on all who live on the
face of the whole earth. But be alert at all times, praying that you
may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take
place and to stand before the Son of Man. (Luke 21:34-36)
Guard
yourself with prayer. Pray with your hands, both folded and active,
knowing that one day those hands will be made new by the hands of our
Creator and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
The
signs are clear. Time is running out and eternity will begin soon
because the Man who was nailed by hand to a cross at the fullness of
Time is coming back.
In
the name of the Father
and
of the † Son
and
of the Holy Spirit. Amen.