Amen.
Do you be seated?
And turn, if you will, to Matthew chapter 24.
! Matthew chapter 24.
It should have been Glenn Scrivener
! preaching this morning. I was really looking forward
! to hearing him, as you were.
But he is
self-isolating in Eastbourne.
And I have said, if anyone
sees him out and about in Eastbourne,
call me.
So, I know
you were probably looking forward to a break.
And so was I. I just
want to speak a little bit about communion
for a moment. You'll see that,
as Adrian said earlier, we're going to be doing it
a little bit differently.
After the hymn,
after the sermon, there will be hand sanitizer
that's going around. Great if you could use that.
That is not baptism.
All right.
But please do that.
We're going to be using little cups
just during this period.
There will be some of you here
that just feel that you don't want to take communion
today, and that's really fine.
You shouldn't feel any pressure
towards
that at all.
And I think the servers will go
up and down the rows,
and so you will be served.
Have I got that right?
Okay.
So we don't need to talk about that later.
You know what's happening.
Let's bow our heads in prayer.
Heavenly Father,
we praise you
because your Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
is the everlasting King.
We praise you, Jesus,
that you left the glory
of heaven
to come and live on this earth,
to die on the cross,
and to bear our sin,
and to rise from the dead.
And we praise you
that by your Holy Spirit
you are with us even today.
We praise you
that one day
you are coming back again.
One day every single one of us
will face you,
and we will have to give
an account of our lives to you.
And so we pray
that you would help us
to be ready for that day,
to be active
in your service
whenever that moment comes.
And please speak to us,
help us to heed your voice,
and to respond to your love
for your namesake.
Amen.
We don't really draw the crowds,
do we?
Christianity
doesn't dominate the media.
In this week,
Christianity has not
united and motivated the nation.
Most people think that
church this morning
is irrelevant.
Some might even think
it's dangerous.
And we've seen this week,
haven't we,
in the media,
no one has really cared
for the opinion
of church leaders.
And consequently,
we live in a pretty apathetic
and a pretty cynical culture.
And so the question is,
where is God today?
Where is God
in this world of suffering?
And why bother with God?
people are indifferent,
aren't they?
However,
in the last week,
last 10 days,
people have become,
again,
once again,
aware of their fragility
and their frailty.
That we're not totally
in control.
And life is
brief,
isn't it?
Fragile.
Hence the panic.
Macbeth,
reflecting on the brevity
of life,
he once said this,
tomorrow and tomorrow
and tomorrow
creeps in this petty pace
from day to day
to the last syllable
of recorded time.
And all our yesterdays
have lighted fools
the way to dusty death.
Out,
out,
brief candle.
Tomorrow
and tomorrow
and tomorrow.
And this morning,
I want us to look
briefly and I hope simply
and I hope clearly
at the world's tomorrow,
God's tomorrow
and our tomorrow.
And I hope to finish today.
First of all,
the world's tomorrow.
What is the world's tomorrow?
What is it?
I wonder if I asked that question
what you'd shout back at me.
I think you'd probably
shout back uncertain.
Now this chapter,
24,
it's not really an exposition
this morning
but we're going to take
some thoughts here
from Matthew 24.
It begins with disciples
looking at the stones,
doesn't it,
in the glorious temple
of Jerusalem
and how wonderful
those stones are.
And Jesus says
to his disciples,
as great as this building is,
there won't be one stone
left upon another
that will not be thrown down.
It's precarious even then,
the world's tomorrow.
And they ask him,
when will this be?
What will be the sign
that it's about to happen?
That the temple in Jerusalem
will fall
and what will be the sign
of your coming
at the close of the age?
The chapter's divided
into those two halves.
The first half about
the destruction of Jerusalem
and the second half
about when Jesus
will come again.
And Jesus goes on
to stress
the danger
of the world's tomorrows.
He speaks of wars
and rumors of wars.
He speaks of nations
rising up against nations,
of kingdoms
turning against kingdoms.
He says there'll be famines
and earthquakes
in various places
and so on.
And they were signs
for that generation
that was listening to him.
And today,
we know, don't we,
that in our society
it's equally uncertain.
Isn't that one of the issues?
The uncertainty of tomorrow?
We just don't know,
do we?
We genuinely
just don't know.
It's unpredictable.
The writer of the Proverbs
says,
boast not of tomorrow
because you do not know
what a day will bring forth.
The Apostle Peter says
in 2 Peter 3,
the day of the Lord
will come
as unexpectedly
as a thief.
Then the heavens
will pass away
with a terrible noise
and heavenly bodies
will disappear in fire
and the earth
and everything in it
will be burnt up.
It's a terrifying,
striking phrase.
Jesus speaks here,
doesn't he,
in verse 29.
He speaks of the sun
being darkened,
of the moon
not giving its light,
stars falling from heaven,
powers of heaven
shaking.
It's picture language.
It's apocalyptic.
It's cataclysmic.
And the world's tomorrow
is uncertain
and frankly pretty bleak.
I think I need to say this,
that is as true
today
as it was
six months ago
or even
six years ago
before any of us
had heard of Brexit
or coronavirus.
That is the nature
of life.
It's just that we've become,
haven't we,
in the last week or so
more painfully aware
of the frailty
and fragility of it.
It's always been the same.
You've just woken up to it.
The uncertainty
of man's tomorrow.
Secondly,
what about God's tomorrow?
What about God's tomorrow?
The Bible says
that when it comes
to closing time,
it will emphatically
be the Lord's time,
the Lord's day,
the day of the Lord.
There's no uncertainty
about God's tomorrow.
It will be
the day of the Lord.
He is the one
who's got the whole world
in His hands,
including our very breath
and our health.
He is the one
who is sovereign,
who controls everything.
In Him,
we live
and move
and have our being.
And nothing
that has happened
last week
and nothing
that will happen
this week
is outside
of His sovereign control.
And the message
to those
first century Christians,
those persecuted Christians
in the first century,
do you remember?
When John writes to them
in the book of Revelation,
it can be summed up
in one sentence.
The Lord reigns.
The Lord is finally
and ultimately
on the throne
of the universe.
The Lord is in total
and utter control.
control.
The government
is on the shoulders
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's the message
of the final book
of the Bible.
And in Matthew 24,
Jesus spells out
two great truths
about God's tomorrow.
That certain tomorrow
that you and I
will face.
And these truths
apply equally
to Christ's return
or, well,
to your death,
whichever comes sooner.
The first is this.
It will be unexpected.
Look at verse 36 with me.
Look at verse 36.
But concerning
that day
and hour,
no one knows.
Not even the angels
in heaven,
nor the Son,
but the Father only.
No one knows.
About 175 years ago,
a Roman Catholic
priest wrote a book
predicting that the world
would end in 1847.
He asked the Roman
Catholic Church,
he asked his church's authority,
could he have permission
to print the book?
To publish this book
that predicted
that the world
would end in 1847.
And the Roman Catholic Church
said, yes,
you should feel free
to print the book
in 1848.
And that's very wise,
isn't it?
Very wise pastoral advice
and guidance
because nobody knows.
Nobody knows
the day or the hour
when Christ is going to return.
The coming of Christ,
it's described as
a thief in the night.
If you've ever been burgled,
it's a horrible thing,
isn't it?
But the thief
didn't send a postcard
the week before
and say,
dear sir or madam,
I plan to burgle you
3.45 next Wednesday
afternoon.
You're sincerely the burglar.
He didn't do that,
did he?
He didn't leave a voicemail
just to say,
just so you know,
I'm planning to burgle
the house this evening.
Of course he didn't.
They don't do that.
If you've been burgled,
what is it?
It's the sense of shock,
isn't it,
when you walk in.
That sense of utter surprise
that somebody's invaded
your house
and turned out your drawers,
it's created chaos
and it's always
a total surprise
and Jesus picks up
that analogy.
And he says,
if the householder
had known what time
of the night
the thief was coming,
well he would have watched.
He'd been waiting
at the bottom of the stairs
with a baseball bat,
wouldn't he?
He'd have not let his house
be broken into.
And he says,
therefore you,
you also must be ready
because the Son of Man
is coming at an hour
you do not expect.
And if you ever
lock your flat
or your home
so as to be ready
for a possible thief
and who doesn't,
how much more important
is it
to be ready
for the certain coming
of the Lord?
Unexpected.
The second great truth
about God's tomorrow
is that it's unwanted.
It's unexpected
and it's unwanted.
And it's unwanted
tragically
because so many
are not ready
to meet Jesus Christ.
Jesus gives two illustrations
to emphasize this.
He talks about Noah
in verses 37
and 38.
He says this,
for as were the days
of Noah
so will be the coming
of the Son of Man.
For as in those days
before the flood
they were eating
and drinking
it's a good thing.
Marrying
it's a good thing.
Giving in marriage
it's a good thing.
Until the day
when Noah
entered the ark.
And they were unaware
until the flood came
and swept them
all away
and so it will be
in the coming
of the Son of Man.
There were things
that they were
preoccupied with.
They're not necessarily
bad things at all
but just with things
eating
and drinking
marrying
giving in marriage
but do you notice
who they're not
preoccupied with?
Do you notice
who doesn't occupy
their thoughts?
They're not
preoccupied with God.
And when Jesus
said they didn't
know until the flood
came and swept
them away
there was a sense
in which they did
know.
Because do you
remember what is
Noah?
Noah was a preacher
of righteousness.
And that ark
was like a great
visual aid
a great sermon
and Noah was
consistently preaching
for 120 years
about the coming
of the Lord.
But no one
listened
and no one
bothered.
And they couldn't
be bothered
with God.
And they couldn't
be bothered
with God's
word.
And so they
didn't know
until it
happened.
Isn't that
equally true
of our society
today?
So people
say we
can't possibly
know about
tomorrow.
So let's
enjoy ourselves
today.
we entertain
ourselves to
death.
We entertain
ourselves to
death because
people are not
bothered about
God or his
word.
Eat, drink,
and be merry.
Or eat, drink,
and watch
telly.
For tomorrow
we die.
Perhaps we do
die.
But tomorrow
never comes.
And so your
friends and my
friends are
occupied with
everything, aren't
they, at the
moment except
God.
And
indifference to
God and
his word.
What's the
first and
greatest commandment?
You know it,
don't you?
What should be the
greatest priority in
our lives?
Jesus says it's to
love the Lord your
God with all your
heart and mind and
soul and strength,
everything that you
are.
In other words,
to put God at the
center of our
lives where he
ought to be and
where he demands
to be.
God.
The trouble is, if
we believe in
God at all, we
so often tend to
assume, don't we,
that we are the
center of our
world.
And if God
exists, well he's
somewhere out there,
up in space, and
occasionally I call
him in from time to
time to clear up the
mess that I've got
myself into.
I'm the center of my
world, God is there
up there, and if I
need him I call and
the servant comes
rushing in and
helps me out.
And without
realizing I treat
almighty God like a
servant who comes
in and clears out
the mess and then
we let him go
again.
Because it's not
convenient to have
God around any
longer.
But you see, the
truth this morning is
God is not a
servant.
He is Lord.
He is the Lord.
And we are not at
the center of the
universe because God
is.
And the question this
morning is not why
should you bother with
God, but why should
God bother with you?
Why should God bother
with me when I've
turned my back on him
and I've rebelled
against him and I've
done my own thing?
Why should God bother
with me?
And there is no
answer except that
wonderfully he does.
He does in his
infinite love and his
mercy.
But if then I don't
bother with him or
his word, the Bible
warns me very clearly
that judgment will
come on those who do
not know God.
And who do not obey
the gospel of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
We saw earlier on in
Matthew's gospel that
Jesus will have to say
to many people,
depart from me because
I don't know who you
are.
And Jesus takes the
example of Noah, but
he also takes the
example of daily work.
So look at verse 40.
Again, it's dramatic.
It's picture language.
Then two men will be in
the field and one will
be taken and one will
be left.
And two women will be
grinding at the mill and
one will be taken and one
will be left.
And therefore stay awake
for you do not know on
what day your Lord is
coming.
Amen.
One is taken to be with
Jesus, to be with him
forever in heaven.
The other is left for
judgment.
Two men grinding at the
mill, one taken to be
with Jesus, one left.
Two men in the same
business, one taken, one
left.
Two people working in the
same office, one taken,
one left.
Two people in the same
house.
Now I'm going to speak
again about why I don't
believe this kind of
people kind of zoomed up
and rapture.
Rapture, I don't believe
that.
I don't think that's what
Jesus is teaching here.
Jesus is making a point
and he's making a point
about separation.
That's his big point.
Jesus says, watch
therefore because you do
not know on what day
your Lord is coming.
There is nothing,
nothing uncertain about
the Lord's coming.
There's nothing uncertain
about God's tomorrow.
And although from our
point it will be
unexpected and tragically
it may be unwanted by
many.
But what about our
tomorrow?
That's my third point.
What about our tomorrow?
What about your tomorrow?
John Betjeman was a poet,
writer and a broadcaster.
He died in 1984.
And he wrote this really
interesting poem,
Before the Anesthetic,
it's called, or a real
fright.
And in this poem,
John Betjeman imagines
that he's lying in a
hospital bed in Oxford
before an operation.
And he's listening to the
tolling of St.
Giles' bells.
And this is what he writes.
Intolerably sad,
profound.
St.
Giles' bells are ringing
round.
Swing up and give me the
hope of life.
Swing down and plunge
the surgeon's knife.
I, breathing for a
moment, see death wing
himself away from me.
And think as on this
bed I lie.
Is it extinction when I
die?
St.
Giles' bells are asking
now.
And hast thou known the
Lord?
Hast thou?
St.
Giles' bells, they
richly ring.
And was that Lord our
Christ and King?
St.
Giles' bell, they hear me
call.
I never knew the Lord at
all.
Now lest this I should cease
to be.
Come, real Lord.
Come quick to me.
There are two
appointments that the
Bible teaches that you
and I must keep.
And you can't put either
of them in your diary or
your Google calendar.
The first is death and the
second is judgment.
The first is death and the
second is judgment after
death.
Two future
certainties.
The Bible teaches it's
appointed for man once to
die and after death
comes the judgment.
Are you ready for that
day?
I can think of
illustrations.
I can tell you of people
who have been taken so
suddenly.
But you don't need those
illustrations this week, do
you?
Not one of us can boast
about tomorrow.
Have you faced this
fact?
It shouldn't be such a
surprise, should it?
But we all know that in
one sense we are dying.
We know that.
Nobody knows whether it
will be a matter of days
or weeks or months or
years or decades.
Whatever it is.
But I want to say to you
this morning that the
Bible holds out to you
this absolute certainty
of knowing the Lord.
God.
And so whatever the future
holds, none of us
here today know what the
future is going to hold.
But we can know
that with the Lord the
best is yet to be.
You cannot lose
once you've lost your life
to Jesus.
But unless you've done
that, you stand to lose
absolutely everything.
And so I'd like to ask
you, where do you stand
in your relationship with
God?
What about your
tomorrow?
Do you know the Lord?
Is he real in your life?
Have you got that absolute
peace deep within your heart
that come what may, the
best is yet to be.
The world's tomorrow is
totally uncertain.
God's tomorrow is totally
clear.
But one day you and I are
going to meet with him.
But what about our
tomorrow?
What about your
tomorrow?
And of course, in one
sense, what happens about
your tomorrow depends
entirely on your response
to Jesus Christ today.
What do I mean about
this response?
It can be a cliche,
can't it, that
preachers use.
But let me summarize it
in two words.
The first word is
repent.
The second word is
receive.
And if I want to be
sure that I know
Jesus Christ, there are
two things that I must
do.
And the first is to
repent.
It's an about turn.
It's a U-turn.
That instead of going
through life my way
and doing my own
thing, I've got to be
willing to let go of
whatever is wrong in my
life.
And with God's help,
and only with God's help,
to turn right around
and to give my life to the
Lord Jesus as my Savior
who has died for me on the
cross and is my Lord and
my King over all.
And then receive.
That we're ready to turn
from what is wrong and put
our lives lock, stock and
barrel into the hands of
Jesus.
And we can receive Jesus or
the Spirit of the Lord
Jesus to come into our
lives and he will be with
us day and night.
He is there when the sun
is shining.
He is there when it's as
dark as can be.
He is there in our
tomorrow, whatever our
tomorrow holds.
And one day when we walk
through the shadow of the
valley of death, he will be
with us.
And so we won't fear evil.
Have you got that assurance
today?
And for those of you who
would say no or I'm just
not sure, you need to be
willing to turn around and
to let go of what you know
is wrong and rebelling
against him and ask the
Lord Jesus Christ into your
life.
And I know that at the
moment some of you will be
experiencing tug of war.
There's a part of us that
wants to do that, isn't
there?
And there's a part of us
that really doesn't want to
do that because we want to be
in charge and we don't want
the Lord Jesus to be in
charge.
And I know that struggle.
I felt that struggle.
But how is it working out?
How is it working out with
you as Lord of your life,
running it as you want and
calling God in just very
occasionally?
How is that working out for
you?
You've got no answer, have
you?
But if you will give in to
God this morning, if you
will repent, if you will
turn from your wickedness
and receive wonderful life
in Christ, you can have
hope, you can have
certainty, you can have
confidence.
Let's pray.
Father, we know that we have
sinned.
And we know that we need
your forgiveness.
We thank you for your son,
the Lord Jesus, dying on the
cross for sinners such as
us.
We pray that by your Holy
Spirit, you would give us the
help to turn away from all
that is wrong in our lives
and to go with you.
We ask that you would come
into our lives, that you
would be our saviour, that you
would be our Lord.
Come in by your spirit to be
with us always.
We thank you for these
wonderful promises.
Keep us from a wrong fear, we
ask.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
We're going to sing before we
come.