These Days and The Day

Luke 17:22-37
January 2, 2022
Abraham Hong

Sermon Script

How do you measure and mark time? Most people measure and mark time with their calendars. They think about days and weeks. Months and years. A perfect example of this is us going from New Year’s Eve in 2021 to New Year’s Day in 2022. Many people measure time in terms of stages and stretches and seasons in life. There’s college life. There’s married life. There’s married with kids life. There’s work life and there’s life after retirement. And many people mark time in terms of schedules and events and appointments and deadlines. We setup hangout days and movie nights. We prepare for interviews and tests. We celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. We look forward to weddings and graduations and newborn babies. We can’t wait for big games or new products.

But for those of us who are in Christ Jesus, we measure and mark time with far greater things.

How do we measure time as Christians? We measure time with the Lord’s Day and we live our lives one week at a time. Each and every Sunday, on the first day of of the week, we set the day apart as the Lord’s Day and we officially worship God together. Our lives are centered on and anchored upon the day in which our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ rose from the dead. This is how we measure time.

And how do we mark time as Christians? We mark time in accordance with redemptive history, with covenant history, with God’s history of salvation. Right now, we are living in the last days. These days are happening right now. But these days will lead up to and stop at the Day. These days will lead up to and stop at the Day of the Lord. And right now, this day is the most important day of your life.

Today’s passage is an account of Jesus shepherding his people. Jesus taught his people the truth about these last days and the truth about the day when he will return in judgment. And Jesus did so because he loved them. He wants his people to be prepared for the day of his return, for the Day of the Lord.

As of January 2, 2022, Jesus already took on human nature. He already obeyed and fulfilled the law and lived a perfect life of righteousness that has now been credited to us for our eternal life. As of January 2, 2022, Jesus already suffered full humiliation. And he already was rejected by the generation who lived during his earthly ministry. As of January 2, 2022, Jesus already gave his body and shed his blood and died on the cross as a sacrificial atonement for our sins. He already received the hell of wrath and judgment and he already satisfied justice. And as of January 2, 2022, Jesus already rose from the dead with resurrection power and glory and he already ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. Jesus already did all of this historic work of salvation for us. And now, in these last days, we wait for the day when he will return. The war has been won. It’s not a matter now of if. It’s only a matter now of when. When Jesus, the Son of Man, is revealed.

What will happen on the day when Jesus comes back? Let us meditate upon the gospel truth of that day. Listen carefully. On that day, a day which God the Father has appointed, scheduled, marked, Jesus, the Son of God, will judge the world in righteousness. On that day, all of the fallen apostate angels shall be judged. And every human being that ha ever lived on this earth will appear before the tribunal of Christ… to give an account of their thoughts, words, and deeds, and to receive according to what they have done in the body, whether good or evil. On that day, God’s mercy will be fully revealed - God’s mercy in the eternal salvation of the elect. And on that day, God’s justice will be fully revealed - God’s justice in the damnation of the reprobate, who are wicked and disobedient. On that day, the righteous will go into everlasting life and receive that fullness of joy and refreshing which shall come from the presence of the Lord. And on that day, the wicked who know not God and obey not the gospel of Jesus Christ shall be cast into eternal torments and punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power. All of this is true. This is what is going to happen on the day when Jesus returns - which is right now the most important day of your life.

And yet you do not know when the most important day of your life is going to happen. So then, you must prepare for it and be ready. There is a countdown happening now. But we do not know where we are in that countdown. So then, we must prepare for it and be ready. I hope that you are looking forward to seeing Jesus face to face and entering the kingdom of the new heavens and new earth. But you do not know when this will happen. So then, you must prepare for it and be ready.

Thankfully, in today’s passage, Jesus tells us what to what to look for and what to do in light of his return.

First, what to look for. Dear Highland, Jesus says that his return will be clear. Instant. Unmistakable. His return will be like a flash of lightning that lights up the entire night sky.

This is important. This means that you will know when that day comes. You will know. Nobody will have to tell you that it happened. You won’t need to check the news. You will not need to text me just to make sure. When Jesus comes back, you will know. The whole world will know. So if someone comes up to you in these days and says, “Look, there’s Jesus,” don’t follow them. Jesus will not return quietly or in secret. His return will be clear, instant and unmistakable. In other words, there is actually nothing for you to “look 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.

Second, what to do. Dear Highland, since Jesus is returning, be ready… and don’t turn back.

Jesus says that his return will be like the stories of Noah and Lot. Judgment came for the neighbors of Noah and for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. But they were not ready. According to 2 Peter 2:4-10, Noah and Lot were heralds of righteousness who called people to repent. But the people in Noah’s time and Lot’s time didn’t listen to God. They didn’t repent and believe. Instead, they were eating and drinking and getting married. They were buying and selling and planting and building things. They were basically doing their own thing. But not Noah and Lot. Noah built the ark. And Lot ran away from his city. On the most important day of their lives, on the day of God’s judgment, they were ready.

When Jesus Christ returns in judgment, you also must be ready. Start today. Be in an alert posture now. Stary today and do not delay. Be a person who is waiting and looking forward to Christ’s return. Practice this. And do not do your own thing. Do not be like Noah’s neighbors or like Lot’s city. Be ready. Start today and do not delay. Read the bible, grow in faith, and invite others to repent and believe in Jesus. Be ready!

Jesus also tells us to not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. She also ran away, but she turned around and looked back. Her heart and her treasure was in the things of this world. She wanted to gain the world. But she forfeited and lost herself. She came under God’s judgment and died with the rest of her city. She died because she turned back.

Brothers and sisters, do not overthink what I am about to say. If you turn back, you are not going to make it. You will die. Jesus says, “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.” So when you are tempted or tried in life, do not turn around and look back. Do not become worldly. Do not compromise your faith. Do not love anything or anyone more than God. Do not be influenced by your non-Christian friends. Do not be distracted. Do not revel in your own universe. Do not get lost in your own multiverse. Do not suffocate in your own metaverse. Do not amuse yourself to death. No turning back.

And do not do your own thing. Many people around you right now are doing their own thing. Like the Old Testament stories, they too are eating and drinking and marrying and buying and selling and planting and building. I’m not saying that such things are bad in and of themselves. What I am saying is that such people are badly unprepared for what’s coming. Either they do not know what is going to happen, or they just don’t care. But you are different. Do not do your own thing. Do God’s thing. Prepare and get ready for the Day of the Lord. Wake up and get your affairs in order. Get your house in order. Get your life in order. Dear your Bibles like there is no tomorrow. Pray like there is no tomorrow. Have treasures in heaven, not on earth. Do not do your own thing.

Jesus says, “I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.” When Jesus comes back, he will gather his people into his kingdom. And those who did not repent and believe in him will be left behind. They will not enter. They will face judgment. And they will suffer a second and eternal death in hell forever. “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” There will be much death when Jesus comes back.

But praise God for his grace and mercy on us! Thanks be to God for saving us in Jesus Christ! In him we are forgiven of our sins. In him we have resurrection life. In him we have a guaranteed place in heaven. All glory and honor and power to Jesus!

Let us desire for Christ’s return. A Christian looks at the world and is not impressed. There are a lot of nice things about it, for sure. We have many responsibilities to it, no doubt. But the bible tells us that the world will be destroyed and replaced with a new one. This old and fading world is not our home. So Christians look forward to a new heavens and a new earth. We desire for Christ’s return. We believe in his promises about the future kingdom. We countdown to this.

The world likes to countdown to the new year. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Happy new year! Dear Highland, let us mark and measure our time on this earth with the countdown of heaven. What are you counting down to in your life? In the spirit of Psalm 90:12, let us “number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” In the spirit of Hebrews 10:24-25, let us “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” In the spirit of 2 Peter 3, let us live holy and godly lives, casting off sinfulness and worldliness. In the spirit of Revelation 22, let us cry out, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

The King will soon return. In the blink of an eye, the ball will drop to zero, and then the present form of this world will completely pass away and make way for a final kingdom, an exaltation that Adam never experienced, and a new heavens and a new earth that will be beyond our greatest imagination. And when we get there, no one will think much about 2021 or 2022 or any year of the past. Rather, when you see the Lord face to face, I can only imagine what your first words will be to him. And I can only imagine what his first words will be to you.

Get ready for this day. The Day of the Lord. And may you be ever prepared to say, “Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!” Amen.

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.

Soli Deo Gloria