Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

All roads lead to the end... (v.35)

…so be on guard... (v.34)

…and pray for strength.

(v.36)

> to endure through the end.

>to stand before Christ.

Let’s thank Austin for being with us tonight and sharing with us a bit about youth hope.

Well we are back at it tonight in the gospel of Luke…and we’re reaching the end of our series.

You know, it’s sorta cool to go through a gospel so slowly, week by week, because it really helps you understand the anticipation that is being built.

Namely, us going through the Gospel of Luke is letting us take a slower look at the tension that is growing in Jesus’ ministry.

Since chapter 12, we’ve been seeing Luke frame Jesus’ story as always heading towards Jerusalem…always heading towards the crucifixion, the death on the cross, and eventually his resurrection.

While he has been building this tension of Jesus heading towards Jerusalem, Jesus’ ministry has been becoming more and more urgent.

You know, when we were starting in the earlier chapters of Luke, Jesus’ teachings revolved around healing, sin, repentance, and the character of God and himself.

When we picked back up in Luke this semester, we began to see him speaking very directly towards the pharisees…as well as preach the urgency and need of salvation…and how it would belong to all peoples, not just the jews.

That was in many of the parables that we looked at.

And it’s crazy to believe, but now, here in chapter 21…we are actually at the end of Jesus’s teachings.

This is the last instance of public teaching in Luke before the Last supper…which if you’re just learning scripture or unfamiliar with this part…the last supper is what kicks off all the events of Jesus death.

So, this is the last time we see Jesus speaking to his disciples in view of the public.

And I think the natural question should be…if Jesus is reaching the end of his teaching ministry…what is it tha the’s going to teach?

Like, what is important enough for it to be one of the last things you say?

What’s important enough to be your final message?

It gets me thinking right?

Like, if this was my last time with you…after the two years that we’ve been doing this…what would I want to say?

So that’s where we are.

Some of Jesus’ last teachings…so let’s answer the question…what does he teach about?

Open your bibles to Luke 21 and we will see together.

Luke 21, we are going to be at the end of the chapter and as you’re turning there…let me set up what Jesus is teaching on.

Jesus is actually teaching on the end times.

That is…the final days of earth.

The final days of sorrow, pain, sin, deceit, lies…all of it.

He’s actually teaching on much of what Pastor Rob is teaching about in this series on Revelation.

The things to anticipate and expect when it comes to the final days of this earth...

And at the end of these teachings…Jesus tells us what his desired response to his message is.

What he would like us to do in view of understanding a little more about the end of the world...

And I think this is great because it’s super relevant for us right now…because we as a church are learning about the end times…and now we can see one of the things Jesus desired to tell us in regards to understanding it better…and what he says is...

Watch out.

Watch Out Title Slide

So let’s see it in his words.

So I actually want to take this passage out of order a bit…and that’s just so we can lay a good foundation for what our application is.

So we’ve established that the main theme of this passage as that we should “watch out” as disciples.

But i’d love for us to just reflect for a moment on why we should watch out.

Look back at verse 35 there.

Every so often when I think about the end times…this is what strikes me.

You know, we’ve all been born at different times…we been born in different places…with different parents, and siblings, and friends, and schools, and experiences.

Some of us will be married, some won’t.

Some will work their entire lives, some will have one career…or multiple careers..

There are so many things that are different about our lives.

Even how we look, and think, and act…it’s all so unique.

And it’s beautiful.

But for as different as we all are, and unique as we all are…every single one of us…and I don’t just mean in this room, or in this church, or even Christians…but I mean literally every single person who has ever existed in history…from Adam and Eve, to King David, to Napolean, Hitler, Einstein, George Washington and so on ..

Every single human that has ever existed through time and space, will all in one moment experience the same thing.

Every single human will experience the end of days…the judgement…the end of the world.

And that’s our first point tonight.

All roads lead to the end…(v.35)

So the first point is really, for us tonight, just a launching point.

It’s the foundation we are laying to see what we should do about it.

So first, we need to understand that all roads, all lives, every journey, is actually heading to the exact same place.

But don’t just sit there and impersonalize it.

Don’t just sit there and think about it corporately…think about it personally as well.

Think about yourself…your life…where you’ve been and where you’re heading…and realize, that no matter what you feel called to do with your life…you’re heading the same place as everyone else…and that is a front row seat to the end of days, and standing before Christ at the end of days.

So that’s our first point and like I said…our foundation.

The natural question now is…what are you gonna do about that information?

What are you going to do now that you’ve been reminded of where you’re heading?

And that’s where the “watch out” title comes in.

Here’s our second point for the night.

All roads lead to the end

…so be on guard…(v.34)

This is pretty much just another way to say “watch out”.

But I wanted to change it so you can be viewing this from different angles.

Let’s look at what Jesus is saying back in verse 34.

So Jesus get’s down to brass tacks here.

I mean look at it…he doesn’t use any parables here, doesn’t give an illustration, doesn’t use poetic words…like we’ve seen him do in the past.

No, this time…it’s direct and concise.

He says to watch yourself..meaning take care of yourself, be alert, be looking out for certain things…be.

on guard.

And what are we to be on guard from?

He lists it right there.

Dissipation, drunkeness, and cares of this life.

Let’s break down each one so that we can see what he’s really getting at here.

Dissipation means “the squandering of money, energy, or resources”.

So Jesus is saying, the end is coming for all…so be on guard by watching out for these things in your life..firstly, wasting what you’ve been given.

Be on guard that you don’t waste what you’ve been given.

Something we say all the time…Don’t.

Waste.

Your.

Life.

Use what you’ve been given for gospel good rather than selfish gain.

Work for Christ’s kingdom not your own kingdom.

Make your life count for Christ..not yourself.

When you get the career you want, what are you going to do with it?

When you have the paycheck you’ve been seeking…what are you going to do with it?

When you finally enter into the relationship you’ve been longing for…who are you going to be in that relationship for?

All questions worth asking when it comes to checking ourselves, being on guard against dissipation.

That’s the first one.

The second one is drunkeness.

Now note the context here…Jesus is talking about lifestyles and habits and motivations.

The type of drunkeness here is not in and of itself just drinking too much.

Just like when Paul in 1 Thessalonians says

So first thing to watch out for is the squandering of what you’ve been given…and the second one here is to watch out for over-indulgence leading to lack of sobriety.