Fit for a King: How to Get Ready for the End of the World

Lead Vocalist (Kelly Watkins)

Welcome & Announcements (Mike K)

Good morning family!

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3 announcements:

1) Baptism Sunday

September 3

If you haven’t been baptized but you’re interested, talk to one of the pastors ASAP

Maybe have pastors raise their hands so people know where they are

2) Discover Class

Begins September 10 at 9:15

Great way to learn more who we are and what we believe.

Also the first step towards membership at PBC.

Please sign up on the website, using the QR code on your bulletin, or by talking to a pastor

3) Church Lunch

September 24 after the morning worship gathering

Menu: Lasagna & Salad or Hot Dogs and Chips

Cost: $5/person, $3/6-12 years old, $0/0-5 years old

We would love for you to RSVP so we can plan accordingly- even if that answer is no, that helps us. Thank you!

Now please take a moment of silence to prepare your heart for worship.

Call to Worship (Psalm 2:1-6)

Prayer of Praise (Beth Klaassen)

Behold He Comes

Psalm 150 (Praise the Lord)

Prayer of Confession (Ronnie Evans), Love that's grown cold

Assurance of Pardon (Romans 5:1)

Crown Him with Many Crowns

Hallelujah! What A Savior!

Scripture Reading (Matthew 24:1-14)

Pastoral Prayer (Mike K)

SERMON

START TIMER!!!

What happens if your measurements are off, however so slightly? While you may not notice the error at first, the longer you continue the more devastating the consequences.

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There’s an old Chinese proverb that roughly translates, “deviate an inch, lose a thousand miles.”

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That might seem like an overstatement, but consider what happened on August 31, 1983. That night 269 souls boarded Korean Airlines Flight 007 from JFK to Seoul, South Korea. But the plane would never reach its planned destination. After refueling in Anchorage, the pilots set their final course for Korea. . . or so they thought.

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Somehow the autopilot didn’t engage properly, and the plane veered off course just a few degrees. In the first hour, the plane was a mere twelve miles off course. But as time progressed, it drifted further and further away from it’s planned course. And five hours later, it drifted into Soviet airspace.

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If this had occurred ten years later in 1993, the Cold War would have been over and this wouldn’t have been an issue. But in 1983, the distrust between the Soviet Union and the United States was at an all-time high. We still don’t know everything that happened that night in 1983, but we do know that a Soviet fighter jet shot down that aircraft, assuming it was an American spy plane.

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All 269 passengers and crew died as the aircraft hit the water. All because the starting point was just slightly off. [1]

Turn to Matthew 24:1-14

This is the fifth and final major teaching section in Matthew’s gospel, and it’s often called The Olivet Discourse because Jesus teaches while sitting on the Mount of Olives.

But unlike the other teaching sections in Matthew’s gospel, this one stands out for being notoriously difficult to understand.

In his commentary on Matthew, D.A. Carson writes, “Few chapters of the Bible have called forth more disagreement among interpreters than Matthew 24 and its parallels in Mark 13 and Luke 21.” [2]

Perhaps it’s confusing because Jesus is talking about something we’ve never experienced: the end of the world.

But I’m convinced the main reason the Olivet Discourse has been so difficult for so many is because it’s so easy to begin with the wrong starting point.

When the Bible talks about the end of the world, our first instinct is almost always to ask WHEN IS THIS GOING TO HAPPEN?!?

That’s the exact question the disciples ask that prompts this teaching from Jesus:

But if you read this chapter carefully, you’ll notice that’s the one question Jesus doesn’t answer!

When our starting point is answering the question, “when,” we usually end up miles away from the truth.

One famous example was a booklet entitled 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988.

SHOW Rapture Book

Followed, of course, by a revision in 1989 suggesting the calculations were one year off.

And then, a far more modest booklet listing 23 reasons why Jesus would return in 1993. [3]

Some of you are old enough to remember something called Y2K. I have vivid memories as a teenager of a guest preacher visiting my home church and telling us with certainty that the Great Tribulation was going to begin at midnight on January 1, 2000. And only the Christians who had properly prepared by purchasing the proper apocalyptic supplies would persevere until the end.

I could go on and on with examples like these, but I think you get the point.

When it comes to the End Times, we better make sure we begin with the right starting point.

Our starting point is not “when is this going to happen?” but “what should we expect?” and “how can we be ready?”

The Big Idea I want to show you from today’s text is that Jesus doesn’t tell us when the world ends, but what to expect and how to be ready.

Because there’s so much going on in the Olivet Discourse, we’re going to be studying this teaching section until the end of September.

We’re even going to devote some time to questions and answers about the end times during our Sunday Night Theology on September 10.

SHOW SNT SLIDE

So if we’re going to begin with the right starting point, we need to learn a few principles that will help us understand Jesus’ teaching in this chapter.

So with God’s help, I want to show you Three Principles for Understanding Matthew 24:

These will help us understand today’s text, and they’ll be helpful to remember in the passages we’ll study in the weeks ahead.

1) Don’t OVERLOOK the Disciples’ Questions.

Remember, it’s Tuesday night, just a few days before Jesus will be crucified.

Jesus just had His mic-drop moment with the Pharisees.

He and His disciples are now walking back to Bethany, where they are staying with friends during the Passover festival.

As they’re climbing up the Mount of Olives, there’s a glorious view of the temple complex.

SHOW MOUNT OF OLIVES PICTURE

Now of course the golden-domed building you see in the middle of the screen is not the temple. That’s an Islamic mosque called the dome of the rock. But that’s where the temple would have been.

And the temple was a sight to behold. It’s polished limestone walls were covered in gold that would glisten in the sun.

A ancient Jewish historian named Josephus wrote this about the temple, “To approaching strangers it appeared from a distance like a snow-clad mountain; for all that was not overlaid with gold was of the purest white.” [4]

Now remember, the disciples weren’t from Jerusalem. They’re visiting from Galilee in Northern Israel.

Much like a visitor to New York is mesmerized by the sight of the Statue of Liberty, the disciples are absolutely mesmerized by the sight of the temple.

Matthew 24:1—Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.

Mark 13:1 tells us what they actually said: “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”

Jesus, of course, doesn’t miss a beat. He uses this comment as an opportunity to teach His disciples not to put their hope in what doesn’t last. Before their generation passes away, that glorious temple is going to be absolutely destroyed.

Matthew 24:2—But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

In less than 40 years after Jesus spoke these words, during Passover week in AD 70, a Roman general named Titus surrounded the city of Jerusalem with Roman armies.

He held the city under siege for nearly five brutal months. During that time millions of Jews were killed, thousands were enslaved, and countless men and women resorted to cannibalism to survive.

Until August 30, when Roman forces broke into the city and burned the temple and the entire city to the ground.

And just as Jesus predicted, every stone in the temple was torn down and it has never been rebuilt.

You can still see evidence of that destruction today.

SHOW TEMPLE STONES PICTURE

The disciples are probably stunned by Jesus’ comments, so they approach Him privately for more information.

Matthew 24:3—As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Now it’s absolutely crucial to notice carefully what the disciples are asking.

They ask Jesus two questions:

#1—When will these things be?

In other words, “when is the temple going to be destroyed?”

#2—What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

In other words, “when is the world going to end?”

Now the disciples are probably thinking there’s only one answer to their two questions.

“Surely if the temple is destroyed that must mean it’s the end of the world!”

But the reality is there’s a massive gap between those two events.

As we’ve already said, the temple was destroyed in A.D. 70.

And despite what Chicken Little, R.E.M., and the climate activists tell us, it’s not the end of the world.

So why is it important we don’t overlook the disciples’ questions?

Imagine you’re trying to decorate your Christmas tree and someone hands you a box of Christmas lights. There’s two strands of lights in the box and they’re so tangled up that it’s hard to tell which is which.

That’s kind of like what’s happening in Matthew 24. There are two strands of prophesy in this chapter.

Most of Jesus’ words in verses 1-35 prophesy about the destruction of the temple.

And most of Jesus’ words in 24:36-the end of chapter 25 prophesy about the end of the world.

But it’s not always easy to tell whether a prophesy is referring to what happened in A.D. 70, or the end of the world. It’s a knotty mess that’s a bit hard to untangle.

Because of the somewhat tangled nature of these prophesies, there’s a lot of tension in this chapter.

Is Jesus talking about the temple? Is He talking about the end of the world? Or is He talking about both?

The tension in this chapter is kind of like a rubber band that’s stretched out as far as it can go.

Even seeing this makes some of you uncomfortable!

When we’re uncomfortable with tension, we try to ease the tension.

There’s two ways people try to ease the tension in Matthew 24

Some try to push everything into the past.

They focus on the disciples first question about the destruction of the temple.

So everything in Matthew 24 is talking about what happened in A.D. 70.

Including verses 29-31 and others that appear to be talking clearly about the return of Christ.

This position is called Preterism and a version of it has been taught by faithful Bible teachers like R.C. Sproul and Jay Adams.

Others try to push everything into the future.

They focus on the disciples second question about the end of the world.

So everything in Matthew 24 is talking about the end of the world.

Including the prophecies about the destruction of the temple that were literally fulfilled in A.D. 70.

Many of these Bible teachers believe the reference to a temple being destroyed is actually referring to a future temple that will be built by the Antichrist.

This position is called Futurism and it is taught by faithful Bible teachers like John MacArthur and David Jeremiah.

My position is that we shouldn’t try to resolve the tension!

Why can’t Matthew 24 be both/and instead of either/or?

Instead of trying to push everything into the past or everything into the future, why don’t we just recognize that Jesus is talking about both?

Instead of trying to figure out when all of this is going to happen, why don’t we focus on...

what to expect and how to be ready?

One practical application we can take away from this section is that God doesn’t answer “when” questions.

When am I going to get married?

When will I get a better job?

When will I have kids?

When will my suffering be over?

Stop asking God when! Learn to ask “what do you want me to do while I wait?” and “how do you want me to live?”

It’ll help us to stop asking “when will the end come” if we don’t overlook the disciples’ questions.

But there’s a second principle we need to understand this chapter rightly...

2) Don’t MISUNDERSTAND the Signs.

Remember in verse 3, the disciples ask Jesus for signs to figure out when all this stuff is going to happen.

In verses 4-12, Jesus lists a number of dangers the disciples will face.

We’ll unpack those dangers in a moment, but before we do it’s very important we don’t misunderstand these signs.

We’ll misunderstand the signs unless we note two truths:

A) These are NOT signs of the end.

After listing some of these signs Jesus says in verse 6, “the end is not yet.”

I can’t tell you how many Bible teachers I’ve heard point to some of these things happening in our world and say, “See! Look! We’re near the end of the world because this stuff is happening!”

But Jesus explicitly says these are NOT signs of the end!

In Luke 21:20, Jesus says the sign of the temple’s destruction is when Jerusalem is surrounded by armies. Again, that’s exactly what happened in A.D. 70.

In Matthew 24:30, Jesus says the sign of the end of the world is when the Son of Man appears in the clouds.

But nothing in verses 4-12 is a sign of the end.

These are not signs of when Jesus is coming but that Jesus is coming.

Instead of viewing these as signs of the end, recognize that...

B) These are the beginning of birth pains.

Matthew 24:8—All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

Think about what that means.

Now I can’t say any of this from experience, but from what I’ve heard...

Birth pains aren’t a one and done sort of thing. They’re stretched out over a period of time.

In the same way, these signs aren’t one and done sort of thing either.

They happen over a large period of time.

I believe they’re stretched out over the entire church age, between the ascension of Jesus at the end of Matthew and the return of Jesus at the end of the world.

The things Jesus describes in these verses are characteristic of every generation of Christians until Jesus returns.

Birth pains are recurring waves of pain that ebb and flow.

In the same way, these signs will sometimes seem really intense then at other times will seem less intense.

Sometimes there will be periods of intense war or natural disaster, then those pains will subside for a season.

Birth pains intensify as labor progresses

In the same way, we should expect a greater intensity of these signs as we get nearer to the end.

Birth pains lead to beautiful new life immediately after the labor is over!

In the same way, immediately after these birth paints are over there is a beautiful new life that awaits the people of God!

Now let’s look at what these signs are...

First, there’s false messiahs.

Matthew 24:4-5—And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.

Jesus says, “watch out! Some people will say they’re the Messiah, and they’ll deceive many!”

This was happening in the years leading up to A.D. 70, and it’s been happening ever since.

You could argue that it happens every four years in American politics. No, most presidential candidates don’t call themselves a messiah. But many of them act and speak as if they’re the savior. And sadly it’s tempting even as Christians to put our faith in those rescuers who can’t really save.

Who or what are you looking to for rescue? Watch out so you aren’t led astray!

Second, there’s great evil.

Theologians often distinguish between two types of evil in our world.

There’s moral evil which is directly linked to the evil actions of human beings.

This would include things like murder, rape, and robbery.

And there’s natural evil which are the bad things in the world that happen apart from any known human moral agent.

This would include things like diseases and natural disasters.

Jesus says in the years between His first and second comings the world will be characterized by both types of evil.

Matthew 24:6-7—And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars [that’s moral evil]. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes [that’s natural evil] in various places.

Sometimes I’ll hear Christians see all the chaos in our world and say “Look! We must be near the end of the world now! There’s war in Ukraine, rumors of war in Taiwan, hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, and more. Jesus must be coming back soon!”

But Jesus explicitly says in verse 6, “don’t be alarmed by this stuff! This is not the end!”

Are you panicking or anxious about the great evil you see in our world today? Don’t be! It’s exactly what Jesus said we should expect!

Third, there’s intense persecution.

Matthew 24:9—Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.

Great persecution of Christians preceded the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70.

And great persecution has plagued Christians throughout the world in every age since the beginning of the church.

When Christians in America see the threat of rising persecution, they begin to think that it’s the end of the world! But Christians have been persecuted in different places throughout the world our entire lives!

2 Timothy 3:12—Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Fourth, there’s apostasy.

The word “apostasy” refers to the willful decision to abandon or reject your faith. Today some people use the term “de-conversion,” but it basically means the same thing.

As persecution increases, more and more people who once identified as Christians will renounce their faith and fall away.

Matthew 24:10—And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.

In 2010 a well-known evangelical pastor named Josh Harris wrote a book encouraging young people to dig down deep into the pages of Scripture to understand the deep truths of God. At the end of the book Harris said the gospel is “the truth that every follower of Jesus Christ is called to cherish and preserve. Even die for. It is the only truth on which we can build our lives and rest our eternal hope.” [5]

Nine years later, Josh Harris was no longer a pastor. In fact, he said he no longer considered himself a Christian. A few years later he was operating a website to help Christians walk away from their faith.

What do you think when you hear stories that? Can I challenge you to let them serve as a warning for you? But for the grace of God, there go you and me. Spirit, please keep us so we don’t fall away!

Fifth, there’s false teaching.

Matthew 24:11a—And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray....

False teaching was a problem leading up to A.D. 70. You can read about some of the false teaching that plagued the early church in the pages of the New Testament!

And false teaching is still a problem almost two thousand years later.

It will be a continual problem until Jesus returns!

PBC Member: your job is to fight to make sure that we faithfully cling to the truth!

Finally, there’s lawlessness and lovelessness

Matthew 24:11b—… And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.

Every generation of Christians until Jesus returns will deal with lawlessness. Sure, the types of lawlessness change through the decades and the centuries. But the reality of sin and wickedness is not new.

Just consider the past 100 years in our country. It’s easy to look and say, “man things have gotten terrible in America!” and in some ways that’s certainly true. But not everything has gotten worse. Few Americans today believe some of the racist ideas that were popular 100 years ago. Far fewer women are willing to suffer abuse in silence like they did 100 years ago.

Lawlessness is not new. It just changes it’s strategy from one generation to another.

Our challenge as Christians is not to stop loving a lawless world. That too is a temptation for every generation of Christians. As we see the evil around us we are tempted to treat lawbreakers around us as captives instead of combatants.

Where has your love grown cold?

Instead of trying to figure out when all of this is going to happen, why don’t we focus on...

what to expect and how to be ready?

It’ll help if we don’t misunderstand the signs.

But there’s a final principle we need to understand this chapter rightly...

3) Don’t IGNORE the Big Picture.

Whenever we talk about the end of the world, it’s so easy to get all caught up in the details and miss the big picture.

In verses 13-14, Jesus teaches three truths we dare not ignore:

A) We must and will persevere

Matthew 24:13—But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Our most important job is not to figure out all the details about the end of the world. Our most important job is to prepare our hearts for the end!

How are you persevering? Are you faithfully gathering with God’s people? Are you faithfully reading God’s Word? Are you faithful in prayer? Are you faithfully fighting sin? Are you faithfully pursuing holiness?

Christian, if you’re going to avoid being another de-conversion story, you must persevere!

Shortly after Josh Harris renounced his faith in 2019, I was with one of our missionaries, Carlos Llambes, in Mexico City. I asked him what he thought of the whole situation. And I’ll never forget what he said. He told me, “Hopson, if that was you I wouldn’t give up on you. I would pray for you. I would talk to you. I would fight for you.”

Christian: who would fight for you?

One reason why the local church is so important is because you have an army of brothers and sisters who are committing to fight for you and help you persevere!

But as encouraging as the local church is, can I encourage you, even more? JESUS will fight for you!

Philippians 1:6—And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

If you belong to Jesus you WILL persevere:

Instead of fighting about the details of eschatology, we need to remember the big picture. That we’ve got a job to do! We must persevere until the end!

The second big picture truth we must not ignore is...

B) The Gospel must and will advance

Matthew 24:14a—And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations,…

What is the Gospel? It’s the good news that God sent His Son to rescue sinners. Because of our sin we deserve eternal punishment from a holy God. But the Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to live a sinless life and die a sinner’s death in our place. And Jesus rose from the dead so that whoever believes in Him can have eternal life.

That message, that good news, IS going to spread all over the world!

This ought to give us incredible courage. The Gospel is going to advance!

John 10:16—“And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”

Jesus will not return until every one of His sheep has repented of their sins and trusted in Him. That will include believers from every tribe, tongue, and nation!

Christian, how are you working towards the advance of the Gospel? Are you faithfully giving to this local church to support our gospel ministries both across the street and across the world? Are you faithfully encouraging and supporting our missionaries through prayer and sacrificial giving? Are you teaching your children and grandchildren the gospel? Are you telling the unbelievers in your life about Jesus? Are you willing to devote your time to studying evangelism so you can grow in your ability to help the gospel advance?

Instead of fighting about the details of eschatology, we need to remember the big picture. That we’ve got a job to do! We must help the gospel advance!

The final big picture truth we must not ignore is that...

C) Jesus must and will return

Matthew 24:14b—… and then the end will come.

Jesus is coming back. The question is will we be ready?

Matthew 24:44—Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

When you see Him, will it be a thrilling joy because your Savior and Treasure is here? Or will you be filled with fear thinking of all the times you could have trusted Him but didn’t?

It’s not too late to turn from your sins and trust in Jesus today!

If you’ve already done that, have you made it public through baptism?

If you’ve already done that, are you living in light of the return of Christ? Are you persevering? Are you striving to advance the gospel?

Instead of trying to figure out when all of this is going to happen let’s focus on what to expect and how to be ready.

Sometimes when your starting point is slightly off, the effects can be disastrous.

Other times, it’s frustrating… but not a huge deal.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve entered the wrong address in my maps app and ended up at the wrong location. But I’ve never accidentally flown over Soviet airspace.

Over the next few weeks we’re going to talk a lot about the end of the world and the return of Christ.

You will probably hear me teach some things that confuse you or that you don’t agree with. That’s absolutely fine!

Much of the particular details of end times theology are third-level issues, meaning we can agree to disagree and still worship Jesus in the same church.

It will only be devastating if you fail to examine your heart. If you’re so concerned about the finer points of eschatology that you fail to consider how to prepare your heart for the return of Jesus.

With God’s help, let’s commit to do that together.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

He Will Hold Me Fast

Benediction (1 Thess 3:12-13)