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[0:00] Take out your Bibles with me, please, and turn to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 17. We'll be focusing on the second half of the chapter, where Jesus talks about the days of the Son of Man.

[0:23] When He comes, when He returns, what it will be like. I'm a little loud. Am I loud? No? Well, I haven't gotten loud yet. I'm afraid I'll be too loud when I get...

[0:45] Okay. Luke chapter 17. We're going to be looking at verses 20 through 37. As we do, we want to read the text, then we'll pray, and then we'll dig in to what Jesus has to say about His return.

[1:05] So if you're able, please stand as I read from Luke 17, beginning of verse 20. Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them, The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed.

[1:28] Nor will they say, Look, there it is, or there. For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.

[1:40] And He said to His disciples, The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.

[1:54] And they will say to you, Look there, or look here. Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in His day.

[2:15] But first, He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

[2:26] Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man. They will be eating and drinking and marrying and given in marriage until the day when Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all.

[2:46] Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot, they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.

[2:58] But on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all. So, it will be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

[3:16] On that day, let the one who is on the housetop with his goods in the house not go down to take them away. And likewise, let the one who is in the field not turn back.

[3:34] Remember, Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his soul will lose it, but whoever loses his soul will keep it.

[3:48] I tell you, in that night, there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left.

[3:59] There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left. And they said to him, Where, Lord?

[4:13] And he said to them, Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. So it reads.

[4:24] Let us pray. Father, Father, we approach a very, very serious, crucial text. One which has been preserved for us and written down very accurately by Luke.

[4:43] One which warns us about the day to come. That it will not come with lots of warning. The warning's now.

[4:58] The birth pangs of the end, Lord, are the wars and rumors of wars and all those kind of things, the tribulations, those things which have been happening throughout all time.

[5:10] But when Jesus returns, there will be no warning. And so, Father, may we heed these words and be those who do not look back, but who follow you by faith.

[5:32] We pray in Christ's name. Amen. Please be seated. Amen. Amen. Do you remember Lot's wife?

[5:47] Remember Lot? Where did Lot live? He lived in Sodom of the famous Sodom and Gomorrah, which God destroyed with fire and sulfur.

[6:03] And if you go to the place where Sodom once existed, there is nothing. Nothing. It is where the Dead Sea is.

[6:15] Everything is dead. So Jesus says, remember Lot's wife. So God was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, remember, and he first talked to Abraham and said, this is what I'm gonna do.

[6:33] Remember Abraham was very, very horrified by the idea and thought, Lord, you can't destroy the just with the unjust. What if there are 50 righteous people in those cities?

[6:46] Would you still destroy it? And God said, the Lord said, no, of course not. What about 40? No. What about 30? No. What about 20? No. What about 10? No. Are there 10?

[6:56] It was a, they were a notoriously wicked pair of cities. And no, not even if there were 10.

[7:07] So there weren't even 10. There were four. Lot, his wife, and the two daughters. So God sent an angel to warn Lot and get them out before the destruction happened.

[7:24] Remember? They went and they told him, come and go. And when they, when you go, escape quickly. Do not look back. Do not look back.

[7:36] And as the story goes, they're fleeing and Lot's wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt.

[7:47] If you go to the Dead Sea area, there are lots of pillars of salt. You go out there and wonder, oh, I wonder which one is. That was 4,000 years ago, so it's unlikely that her pillar still stands.

[7:59] But that was the thing. So the question is, though, why did she look back? She looked back. Yeah, why?

[8:11] She is fleeing destruction. Why look back? There's something there she still is concerned about, loves, cherishes, has affections for.

[8:28] Perhaps in Sodom, as wicked as it was, there were things there that she treasured. Things there she was not ready to really give up.

[8:43] Things that as she's fleeing, she thinks about and wonders. We don't know for sure. We can only wonder. But given Jesus' warning, he's saying that just like then, that's what it will be like when he returns.

[9:03] Don't look back. So here in Luke 17, Jesus warns us about his future return.

[9:16] Who will be ready? This is prompted by the Pharisees asking in verse 20, when will the kingdom of God come?

[9:29] They want to know when the kingdom of God would come. They're interested in the when. Jesus' answer is, it's not about the when, it's about the where.

[9:42] It's about where the kingdom is. So remember, in the first century, the view of the Pharisees and the prominent view of everyone, Jewish at that time, virtually, including the disciples of Jesus, the view of the coming of the kingdom would be a political kingdom, a political king, a David warrior kingdom that would smash Rome like David smashed the Philistines.

[10:14] This is what they looked for. They looked for an earthly kingdom. They took the promises of Scripture literally, and then some.

[10:33] They believed that the kingdom of God would arrive with obvious signs in the sky, which is why Jesus says, it will not come. It's not coming in ways that can be observed. It's not coming with those signs in the sky, those big beyond doubt, host of angels singing, a star that's moving around.

[10:54] Wait a minute, that was the birth of Jesus. Or the sun going dark, the moon turning to blood, and the stars falling from the sky, as Joel says, what happened in the day of the Lord?

[11:07] And Peter said, happened on the day of Pentecost. So somebody's interpreting things over literally.

[11:19] So Jesus corrects their view. That's their view. Jesus has all along said, the kingdom of God is among you when demons are cast out.

[11:33] It's here. Because the king is here. And the king faces the other king, who is no king at all compared to Jesus.

[11:44] And when demons are cast out, he is conquering and setting free captives. Which is what he said back in chapter four was his mission.

[11:59] The Isaiah 61 mission. I have come, the spirit of the Lord is upon me to preach the good news and to set captives free. And what he meant by that was not free from Rome, but free from Satan, free from death, free from fear, an eternal kingdom, a kingdom of God, not a kingdom of man, a kingdom of heaven, not a kingdom of earth.

[12:28] That's what Jesus brought. So that's what he corrects. It's not about when it comes. It's about where. He said it's not coming in observable signs. Verse 21, where they could say, look, here it is, or there it is.

[12:44] But behold, the kingdom of God is what? It is in your midst. It's where. It's not when. It's already here. It's in your midst.

[12:54] In other words, he's saying to the Pharisees, here I am, and here it is. The kingdom is here in your midst because the king is here.

[13:07] And where the king is, that's where the kingdom is. Later, at Pentecost, when Jesus would send the Holy Spirit, where will the kingdom be?

[13:18] Wherever the Holy Spirit is. So therefore, later, after Pentecost, what Paul says in Romans 14 is the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking. It's not physical stuff.

[13:29] It's righteousness, peace, and joy. Where? In the Holy Spirit. The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit because after Pentecost, after Jesus went to heaven, the Holy Spirit was sent.

[13:47] And now the kingdom is not just where Jesus is. Now the kingdom is where his spirit is. Okay? But that's so far away from what the Pharisees can, their mindset's not even there.

[14:01] And beloved, his closest disciples' mindset wasn't there yet either. Because remember, right before he ascended, remember they asked him in Acts chapter one, now?

[14:13] Now are you gonna set up the kingdom? He's like, dudes. Just wait till the spirit comes. You'll get it. Okay. So, so that sets it off.

[14:25] That, that quick question. It's almost like Jesus just kind of, just kind of gives him that quick answer and now he wants to get to the real point. Verse 22, now he says to his disciples.

[14:37] Okay? This whole time from chapter, the end of chapter nine of Luke until, until he, he enters Jerusalem in chapter 19, he's been on the road.

[14:47] Remember? And it's, and it's back and forth. He's dealing with the Pharisees. Then he turns to his disciples. Then the Pharisees again. Then the disciples. So it's kind of in this dual thing. But he always returns to his disciples.

[15:00] That's his priority. Let me teach them. Let me prepare them. Okay? So he's gonna prepare them. Because a lot's gonna be happening in the days ahead. So, whereas with the Pharisees he gave a clarification, now with the disciples he's going to teach them about the consummation.

[15:22] In other words, the days of the son of man. He talked about the kingdom. The kingdom's already here. Now he's gonna talk about the consummation, the days of the son which are yet future.

[15:36] The days when judgment will happen. The days when there will be two, one will be taken and one will be left. The days that will be just like the time of Noah and the time of Lot when sudden destruction came.

[15:54] That's the days he's talking about. So, in my mind, I think we're talking about his final return. Where he separates, right? He's separating sheep and goat.

[16:05] He's separating the wheat and the chaff. Okay, so let's look at it. So, as always, I need to break it in half, right? Two points. I used to have three points all the time when I first started preaching because, you know, Trinity, you gotta have three points in a poem, right?

[16:22] So, over time, I have to make it more simple for me so now, so two, I can only go two, I can't go three. So, we're just gonna break it in half and I don't do that artificially.

[16:32] I believe the text really breaks in half here. There's two parts to it. The first part, verses 22 through 30, are Jesus' revelation about the day.

[16:46] And then, from verse 31 to the end, to 37, is his application. What do we do about it? How do we apply that? Jesus always gives us application. He always tells us what to do.

[16:59] Sometimes he tells us simply to believe. Sometimes he tells us we have to endure. Sometimes he tells us we have to think. Right?

[17:09] So, he always gives us something that we ponder. So, so here we go. So, what is his revelation in the first verses? Here's the revelation. Let me try to summarize it in a sentence.

[17:21] Jesus' future return will be unmistakable and unexpected. It will be unmistakable.

[17:32] No one's gonna doubt. No one's gonna wonder. It'll be unmistakable. Like lightning across the sky, everybody sees it.

[17:45] Unmistakable. But also unexpected because people will be caught just doing normal daily life. They will have no clue. And boom, it comes.

[18:00] Just like Noah. Just like Lot. So, let's break that down. So, first of all, it's an unmistakable day. Verse 22, he says to the disciples, you, days are coming when you will desire, you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man and you will not see it.

[18:21] So, I think he's talking about, remember, he's getting toward the end before he dies and he raises and then he ascends. Remember, in John, the Gospel of John, in the upper room, he told them, I am going away and you won't be able to come with me.

[18:38] You won't be able to see me and they're all worried. Where are you going? Where are you going? Right? I'm going to go. I go to prepare a place for you. I'll come back and take you to where I am but I'll be going away.

[18:48] So, you'll desire to see my day because I'll be gone. You'll be desiring for me to return but it won't, you won't see it.

[18:59] So, in other words, what he's hinting at is there will be a delay. See, I go away but I won't be right back. Okay? And I think that's what he's saying.

[19:11] They long to see his day, don't we? I mean, the older I get, the more I long to see his day but it'll be delayed. And by the way, ignore all the hype and the speculation.

[19:23] Right? And they will, verse 23, they will say to you, look, here. Here it is. There it is. Here's the chart. Here's the things that happen. This is how you'll know.

[19:35] No. There's no chart on this. There's no program on this. There are other charts, yes. There are other charts, yes. We'll get to that in chapter 21.

[19:46] There are charts of the coming destruction of Jerusalem but as far as when he returns, no. Blink of an eye.

[19:58] Nobody knows. Nobody can figure it out. Well, first the rapture and then the seven year tribulation and then, then, you know. Well, if that were true, then you could figure it within seven years at the very least.

[20:13] And what would you care if you raptured it? I'm all for the rapture, by the way. I just believe it will be right before he comes back. This, like this text talks about, one taken, one left.

[20:26] this day will come as a surprise. So, when it comes, verse 24, it'll come like lightning. Just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other.

[20:43] And literally, what Jesus said was when the lightning comes, it's lightning that is flashing and shining from this sky to this sky.

[20:57] Not lightning coming down like we might see or even vertical, but lightning going horizontal from one, from east to west. All the way across.

[21:09] Not just a geographical, but a, all the way across the sky. Okay? Have anybody seen that? I mean, you see lightning, it's kind of like, whoa.

[21:22] You hear the thunder and then, is it, is that what it is? You hear the thunder first and then the lightning? The lightning and then the, yeah, it's the echo, right? Okay. I don't know. When we lived in Illinois, whoo, there's thunder out there.

[21:38] I grew up in California, we would be like, go to Illinois, it would be like, you're popping out of your bed. It's going, a bomb went out outside the window. Anyway, it could be like that, but all the way across.

[21:53] Nobody will miss it. It'll be visible to all, not just a few. It'll be a clear sign of the end. So, it'll be an unmistakable day, but here's another thing about the return of Christ is, why does he return?

[22:08] Well, he returns because he's an unwanted savior. That's why he will return in judgment. He came the first time to give grace, to give forgiveness, to give mercy.

[22:24] And that, that, the other day when he returns is, God is extending that because he's so gracious. He's so kind. But it will come because he's an unwanted savior.

[22:38] God has been unwanted from the beginning. Remember, we, our candles went darker and darker. We have seen that all throughout history. Men don't want God. They know all about God, but they don't want him.

[22:51] They can see he's the obvious creator. They know him, but they, they don't want him. They take all the obvious facts and they suppress it and then they twist it and they come up with all these genius explanations for how the world exists apart from God.

[23:12] And your smartest guys like Hawking say, maybe it's aliens. Like, what a genius. God says, guys like that are fools. Absolute fools because they dismiss what's in front of their eyes.

[23:27] Everyone knows. God says, everyone knows. No one's without excuse. I didn't know. I didn't get enough. No, you did. You did. You know. There is, there is a force deep down in you that knows because God put it there.

[23:43] According to Romans 1, he put it there. He's an unwanted Savior. So before he returns in glory, he must first, look at the language of verse 25, but first he must.

[23:57] He must. It's a divine must. The Son must suffer. You wonder about who the Son of Man is in verse 24?

[24:11] It's he who must suffer many things. Not just a little, a few things, but many, many things. He will suffer many things. He will suffer in humiliation.

[24:24] He will be ridiculed. He will be despised. He will be rejected. He will be spit upon. He will be mocked. He will be dismissed. He will be minimized by our culture.

[24:39] He is minimized. He who is the highest of all high is minimized by foolish men.

[24:52] And I mean women too when I say men, right? And then notice he says he'll be rejected. When he told the disciples before that he would go to Jerusalem and be rejected, he said he'd be rejected by the leaders of Israel.

[25:10] Here he says what? He'll be rejected by who? By the whole generation. The whole generation. All the people. He came to his own and his own received him.

[25:23] Not. Didn't want him. He'll be rejected by the whole generation. In other words, he will be, he was and will and continues to be rejected by the vast majority.

[25:41] Even though God has made it clear. He's not rejected because there's not evidence.

[25:52] He's rejected because of the heart of men that is hard. That is hardened. That is, that it wants its own way. Just like, I mean, Adam.

[26:03] He's living in Eden. And he still wants the apple that he's not supposed to have. Well, it was pomegranate, I think. I don't know. I don't know what kind of fruit.

[26:15] Yeah, it doesn't matter. Oh, no, that's right. No, it wasn't his fault. It was Eve, huh? That's right. Just, I know, I know. She was deceived. He went in with his eyes wide open, didn't he?

[26:30] He let the dragon in. How'd the dragon get in the garden? He let the dragon in. He's in charge of the garden. It was a dragon, not a snake, remember?

[26:42] It was a dragon that lost its legs. It was a dragon. It's a serpent. Same one that we see in Revelation. Okay. So, so even when everything else is great and there is no baggage, man still chooses against God.

[27:02] If I get, okay. So, then we get to, here's the scary part, right? The unexpected end. His future return is unmistakable, but it's also unexpected.

[27:13] It'll be just like as the days of Noah and the days of Lot. Look at verse 26. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man. It'll be just like that.

[27:26] So, what was it like in the days of Noah? Well, verse 27, they were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage. In other words, life was not interrupted. Life was not wondering, oh, these are the end days.

[27:39] Life was normal. There was a regular flow of events. They were eating and drinking. They were marrying, giving in marriage. They weren't holding off weddings because wait, wait till this storm passes.

[27:50] They were doing normal life. That's what I'm saying. When Christ returns, there's no warning. It will come when everything seems fine.

[28:01] just like in the days of Lot.

[28:13] Well, notice, verse 27, they're eating and drinking, marrying, giving in marriage until the day when Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all. I want you to notice something.

[28:25] Before the flood came, Noah was rescued. Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives, the eight people, went into the ark and until they went into the ark and God closed the door over the top, not one drop of water came.

[28:45] Okay? But once they were safe in the box and when you, when the ark is just a box, just a big, big barge box, nothing fancy, wasn't a yacht, it was just, you know, had to have a lot of animals in it.

[29:00] Once they were in, that's when the flood came. And they didn't come out of that ark until the dry land once again appeared. And notice, same thing with Lot.

[29:16] Verse 28, just as it was in the days of Lot, they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. So he goes a little further here. You know, normal life, they're planting and building.

[29:27] They're not worrying about destruction, they're planting and building. Buying and selling. But, verse 29, on the day when Lot went out of Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all.

[29:42] But once again, notice, the righteous are rescued before the destruction. Lot is warned, Lot gets out before any fire and sulfur came down upon the earth.

[29:53] Lot is safe. his daughters are safe. His wife looked back. That's the tragedy.

[30:06] So, so it's unexpected. At least they were living as, it was a big surprise. But I thought I read in Scripture that Noah preached for 100 years warning of this destruction.

[30:22] It wasn't that they were not warned. the days of Lot. Lot warned his neighbors. It wasn't that they were unwarned, it's that they dismissed the warnings.

[30:36] Ha! Especially with Noah. Rain, what's rain? It had never rained. What's, what's a flood? God. So, it, in the end when Christ comes it will come as a surprise and it will seem sudden and unexpected but it won't be as if the world had not been warned.

[31:06] It will be because the world has ignored the warning, has suppressed the warning, has said, no, I don't think so. I don't buy that.

[31:18] Why don't you buy that? I just don't agree with it. Why don't you agree with it? Dig a little deeper. Why are you resisting it?

[31:32] Why do you want another explanation? Those are the questions to be asked. because when you stand before Christ and you have dismissed it all, how will you explain it to him?

[31:51] What excuse will you give? Because you won't have one. There is absolutely nothing, you will be, what, you'll be on your face anyway, but, so that's why I'm pressing it, decide now.

[32:12] Dig now. Think that through now. And I think that's why Jesus gives these warnings with such graphic words to press the issue.

[32:27] okay? So it will be, verse 30, so it will be on the day of the Son of Man, just like the days of Noah, just like the days of Lot, there will be those who will escape and then the rest will all be destroyed, ruined.

[32:47] I don't like that language, but that's the language of Scripture. So Paul reminds us that the day when Christ returns will not, will be a surprise to others, but not to believers.

[33:00] But it will be sudden. So Paul describes it this way in Thessalonians 5. He says, now concerning times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you, for you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

[33:16] You all know that. That's the regular teaching of the apostles in the first century, just like Jesus taught. It'll come like a thief in the night. Nobody can count the day. Nobody knows. It'll come sudden.

[33:30] While people are saying, now here it is, it'll come while people are saying, there is peace and security. The false prophets will say, we're all good.

[33:41] Just live your life to be happy. God wants you to be happy. God wants you to feed your soul. God wants you to give your soul everything that it wants.

[33:52] God wants you to be rich and wealthy and healthy. God wants you to have your best life now.

[34:08] Who wrote that? That's Joel Osteen's best-selling book. Your best life now is now. Now. You wonder why his stadium is full?

[34:29] Does he have his own plane yet? Probably years ago. I don't know. Just like Frederick Casey Price. So they will say peace and security.

[34:41] Then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman and they will not escape. They will not escape. But you Paul says but you Christians you believers are not in darkness brothers for that day to surprise you like a thief for you are children of light children of the day.

[35:00] We are not of the night nor of the darkness so then let us not sleep as others do. Let's not drowse let's not be casual let's not be passive as others do.

[35:11] Let us keep awake and be sober for those who sleep sleep at night and those who get drunk are drunk at night but since we belong to the day let us be sober having put on here's things we do having put on the breastplate of faith and love and for a helmet the hope of salvation because we are in a battle for God for God has not destined us for wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.

[35:55] He died for us that we might live with him. So Jesus' future return this is his revelation his future return will be unmistakable and unexpected.

[36:12] Secondly we get to an application verse 31 Jesus is going to tell us what we do with this now verse 31 and I'll put it this way because I want to think of it in terms of our application for big picture finishing well means letting go of all earthly treasures now.

[36:41] Finishing well do you want to finish well? Do you want to finish the race? Do you want to keep the faith? Do you want to be one who by faith endures?

[36:56] Finishing well means letting go of all earthly treasures. Letting go. Don't hold the grasp on them.

[37:10] Letting go now. And I say now because if it's not a habit and it's not a mindset now when the day comes you're not going to be able to just let it go.

[37:26] You'll be like Lot's wife who still turns back. Are you with me? I believe this is a mindset. So it comes with three warnings this application.

[37:41] Don't turn back like Lot's wife. Don't save your soul. That sounds weird, doesn't it? And finally don't be left. Don't be the ones left after the others are rescued.

[37:57] So don't turn back. Verse 31 Jesus says on that day. So now he's saying what we do with this information. On that day when the Son of Man is revealed, on that day let the one who is on the housetop, who has his goods in the house, not take the time to come down and get the stuff so then he can go.

[38:21] Don't even take the time to go back into your house and get your stuff so that you can escape the city. Don't just go. Don't return for the precious memories.

[38:33] Don't return for the glock. Don't return for, did I say glock? Don't return for, you know, just go. Give away how I think.

[38:49] Go. The one in the field, don't turn back. Go. On the day, go. And then he says remember Lot's wife who turned back.

[39:02] That's why I say, he's saying it's time for escape. It's time to get out. Go. Don't turn back. Remember Lot's wife.

[39:13] Why does she look back? Why would we look back? So if we had to go right now, if we had to go right now, if we had to leave everything right now, could you do it?

[39:32] Without looking back? Could you do it? Where do you go? Well, so here's the thing.

[39:45] This is probably just imagery. But later, when we get to chapter 21, when Jesus starts talking about when the temple gets destroyed, okay?

[39:56] He talks about those days, and he says the same kind of thing. Don't get in the house, just flee to the mountains. Get out of Jerusalem. When you see the army surrounding the holy city, get out.

[40:12] Now, it took Rome. They besieged Jerusalem from 66 to 70 AD. 70 AD, they burned the temple and the city down. But they besieged the city.

[40:23] surrounded the city in those days. And they cut off all supplies. They didn't have to do much battle. They just cut off supplies and let people die. And then they come in with their standards of eagles and their flags of eagles and come in and put it in the holy place.

[40:43] Which I believe that was the abomination of desolation. I believe. When Titus went into the holy place and set up the flag with the Roman eagle on it.

[41:00] So in other words the imagery might be when you see the Roman armies coming you have time to flee but you don't have much time. You need to get out before they cut off all the escape routes.

[41:13] That's the imagery. It's like that. I think in this passage Jesus is not talking about when Rome comes in 66 67!

[41:31] Are we ready to go or are we still looking back? Are you ready to go when he comes or are you still looking back? That I think is the question. That's why I say finishing well means leaving everything now in your heart in your mind and particularly in your soul.

[41:50] See I think his wife looked back Mrs. Lott looked back because she still treasured those things because that was still her security that was her hope that she had a dream house maybe and maybe she finally finished off the you know I don't know we thought about refining anyway you kind of have dreams about your house make your house a refuge and make it nicer and you have those dreams and you think can I leave that because that's my security that's my home that's my refuge is it and I'm preaching to me as much as to you see she was still captivated by life in Sodom the question is are we captivated by the world or are we captivated by Jesus if you go away from if anything just that okay are you captivated by the world or are you captivated by

[42:52] Jesus who holds you what holds you and then Jesus kind of gets more pragmatic in verse 33 here's where the rubber meets the road verse 33 whoever seeks to preserve his life better translation soul because that's the word Jesus used whoever seeks!

[43:10] to preserve his soul will lose it whoever loses his soul will keep it what's that? I thought we want our soul saved yeah the way to save the soul is to hate your soul to not try to listen to your soul to not coddle your soul if you seek to save your soul on earth that means you will seek to avoid suffering you will seek to gain the world you will seek to have all the easy way you will seek the broad road not the narrow road what do I mean by soul what's the soul right the Bible makes a distinction between heart and soul right the heart in Hebrew in the Bible both Old Testament New Testament the heart is the intention and thoughts in Hebrew they didn't talk about mind they talked about heart heart heart is where you think and your mindset and your will is your soul is what your affections your deep affections they can be good or bad

[44:22] David whoever who is it David talks about his soul all the time in fact he sings to his soul why oh my soul are you in despair see the soul can be the low of low but then the soul could also sing in heights to God it's affection and David's soul was like this that's mine too I'm deeply affected by my soul and so the more in tune with your soul you know your soul wants the ice cream at night your soul wants you know stuff maybe that aren't good for you your soul wants the easy road okay that's it also wants God okay so your soul is really conflicted so you can't you cannot trust your soul when Paul talks about how do I get my how do I get my act together right how do I follow Christ he says

[45:35] I must first renew my mind it's not my it's it's not my feelings it's my mind my mind will guide my heart and my soul especially my soul if I listen to my soul I'm in trouble if I coddle my soul I'm in trouble Jesus said hate your soul in this world so that you can save it for eternity that tells you something you're not hating your soul ultimately you're hating it in this world I don't I distrust it our world is all about following the soul our culture is all about that hey however you feel however you think yeah hey go for it so so so that means

[46:45] I ask those kind of questions where's my treasure what's my security what is my hope where are my affections ultimately you know Jesus said where your treasure is that's where your heart is that's where your thinking and intentions is when Jesus said heart he didn't mean feelings when he meant feelings he said soul when he said heart he's talking about your thoughts and intentions so where are your thoughts and intentions in regard to treasure and security what makes you secure what are you banking on we're all either retired or hope to retire or wish we could retire or not all but a lot of us huh we say someday maybe someday maybe I've always said if I have to lately it's been more okay the body part's kind of going yeah

[47:52] I don't think so okay the point verse 34 don't be left out don't be left verse 34 for I tell you in that night now he's talking about on that day now he talks about at night because if Jesus comes to think about this Jesus comes back to the whole world in one in one moment one half of the world will be in light one half of the world will be in dark right I mean I don't know know because it says every eye will see him so I don't know how that works but he he's the master of the universe so he can do what he wants so in that night so here's a night image in that night there will be two in one bed one will be taken away and the other left there will be two women grinding together one will be taken away and the other left what's clear about the one taken and one left is that there's a separation once again there's a separation well which one which one's the good one do I want to be taken or left do I want to be taken to judgment or taken to heaven he doesn't

[49:20] I think the word taken is very positive word it's a word Luke uses a lot where he talks about it's a travel word where Jesus takes along his disciples and he takes along his disciples he takes or he takes along Peter James and John and he goes up to the mountain or whatever it's a fellowship so I think the taken means like John 14 I go away to prepare for you a place I will come back and take you to be with me where I am I think that's the picture I think the taken one is like like Noah's taken into the ark to be safe and Lot is taken out of Sodom to be safe before the others are left and abandoned and forsaken to the judgment that's the picture and they will be left because they have dismissed the warning and some may say what warning

[50:25] I was I've never been in church I've never listened to any of the Bible I've never you know not any of that okay fine Romans 1 says God put something in you so that you know there is something deep in you you may have suppressed it you may have suppressed it you may have covered you know but it's there he said he's given two evidences of his existence and of your accountability to him one is the world that he's made that's obvious and second is he put something in you he put something it's called conscience it's called a light I don't know probably deeper than conscience I think if God put it in there that everyone is aware and then the disciples asked the obvious question right verse 37 where Lord I'm teasing the obvious question of what what are they asking where what where are they taken where are they left is that what he's asking where where are you when they

[51:42] I don't know what they're asking and then his response is odd it's a bit proverbial!

[51:57] Where the corpse is or literally where the body is there the eagles will gather or the vultures depend it's the same word for both is he saying there the eagles gather as in the eagles that are on the standards and flags of the Roman army is he talking about 70 AD because there the body will be when they come or is he talking about I don't know I know and that's all I'm going to say about that because I haven't got a clue I think he's already made his point the constant call of the new testament of Jesus the apostles John Peter Paul Jude the constant call of the new testament is that we are called to endure to keep the faith to keep trusting keep relying we don't just have a belief and we stow it on a shelf we have a faith that is working as

[53:05] James says a faith that's working not just a faith and then I have no works it's a faith that is working that is acting so Hebrews sums this up Hebrews 10 sums this up therefore the writer of Hebrews is who I think is Barnabas by the way it doesn't matter therefore do not throw away your confidence which has a great reward for you have need of endurance there it is so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised there it is endure for the reward keep the faith for the reward for yet a little while and the coming one will come and will not delay but my righteous one shall live by faith the one who is righteous is righteous by faith he lives by faith and if he shrinks back if he turns back like Lot's wife my soul is not has no pleasure in him in other words that's probably a false believer but we are not those who shrink back and are destroyed but are those who have faith and preserve their souls look how he puts those two things together faith and the soul who have faith finishing well means letting go of all earthly treasures now developing that mindset now not shrinking back not turning back but to live by faith to abide and rely on

[54:41] Jesus Christ to be led by the spirit and not live by our soul Lot's wife looked back because she was captivated by earthly!

[54:52] treasures in Sodom captivated by something so where's your treasure a Christian's hope is in a future reward a promise by Jesus himself that we might live with him let us pray our father as we try to accumulate this assimilate this try to think through this land somewhere we need your help help us to see where we need to focus because there's a lot here we just need to hear your voice right now so we pray that you would fill us with the knowledge of your will in all spiritual wisdom and insight so that we might walk in a manner worthy of you in every pleasing way that we might bear fruit in every good work that we might increase in the intimate and deeper knowledge of you our

[56:19] Lord that we might know you more and that we might be strengthened with all power according to your glorious might for the attaining of all steadfastness and long suffering and that we joyously give thanks to the father who has qualified us for the inheritance of the saints in light through the redemption which is in his son Jesus Christ this we pray in Christ's name amen amen amen amen!