RECALIBRATING REALITY (8): YOUR LAST DAY

(Luke 21:34-38)
June 4, 2017

Read Luke 21: 34-38 So Jesus closes His sermon doing what any good
preacher does, answering, so what? What must I do? Hes been imparting
truth, correcting disciples who supposed that the kingdom of God was to
appear immediately (Lu 19:11), telling them of an intervening age of
indefinite length all leading up to His Coming again in power and glory.
Eternal, overwhelming truths, encompassing all of humanity. Wonderful facts;
but utterly useless unless I know, so what? Whats it mean to me?

Most people hearing about Jesus coming again, want to know when. When is
He coming? When is that last day? Jesus doesnt allow the disciples to go
there. Thats for God to know and everyone else to find out. The question
isnt when is the last day? The question is, when is MY last day? We will all
have one. It could be when Jesus comes, but could be sooner. Are you ready
for your last day? The question is so critical even as Jesus faces the horrors of
the cross, in vv. 37-38, He spends His last days teaching and caring for others.

So Jesus narrows down from the general to the specific from the crowd to
the individual from everyone to someone somebody Peter, somebody John,
somebody me, somebody you. Now, its personal: Your last day is coming
are you ready? Are you ready? Here is what you must do.

I. You Must Be Warned

V. 34c: that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon
all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. This is a warning which people
no longer believe. But the Bibles clear: a day of accountability IS coming.
Deep down we know it; but we are in denial, and our culture is in denial.
Doesnt change the facts. Just like we hold criminals responsible for their
actions; God will hold every one of us accountable for every violation of His
character. If youre not prepared, it will snare you like a trap.

How to get this truth across? As sure as there is a God in heaven and as sure as
there is a you on earth the two will soon meet. And it wont be you accusing
Him of however you think Hes wronged you. It will you giving account to
Him for your constant violations against His character. This will be as real as
you are sitting here today. All of us are on a collision course with destiny

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our meeting with God. It is appointed unto man once to die and after that the
judgment (Heb 9:27). All who dwell on the face of the whole earth are
speeding rapidly toward their day in court including me including you.

The tragedy would be to end up in court without a case. Thats the fate that
awaits unless we see we have a problem! Philadelphia used to have a mayor
a rough guy a mob sort Frank Rizzo, not a PC guy! Hes at a press conf 1
afternoon. A reporter asks, Mr. Mayor, what are you going to do about the
street crime in Philly? Without pause Rizzo said, "The streets in
Philadelphia do not commit crimes. It's all done by people. Next question.
Thats the trap most of the world is walking into as they hurtle toward
Judgment Day. They think its all someone elses fault. Its the street; its
Mom; its Dad; 4th grade teacher! But theyll find out, Its you. You are the
problem. You are the sinner. Good enough? You werent even close.

Theres no hope until we realize that along with Adam weve fallen off the
Empire State Building. Everythings great on the way down, but a reckoning
waits on the pavement below. Outside of Christ, thats our fate. And those who
have removed sin, suffering, judgment, self-denial and hell from their
vocabulary are on a path to destruction. Theologian Richard Niebuhr once
characterized such Bible-trashing, cross-denying theology as "a God without
wrath bringing men without sin into the Kingdom without judgment
through the ministrations of a Christ without a Cross." That wasnt a
compliment. He was echoing Jesus warning. Before things can get fixed we
must realize theres a problem. Well, there is a problem. We are the problem!

II. You Must be Watching

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But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation
and drunkenness and cares of this life. Watch yourselves. Watch what? Watch
that your heart not be weighed down. Why heart? Prov 4:23: Keep your heart
with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. So, look inside, where
you really live. Look there and see what distractions keep you from God.
There are anchors out there that will pull you under.

What are these anchors? He tells us dissipation, drunkenness and

distractions (cares of this life). Dissipation = waste, things that dont matter. If
you are not careful you will spend your life on things that dont matter.
Games, sports, TV, entertainment, shopping. Anything wrong with those? No

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 not if they arent idols. God gave them to enjoy. But if they have replaced
God in our affections, theyve become a waste that will consume us.

Drunkenness. Drinking to excess, to the point of impaired judgment when

foolishness takes over sooner than most think. Were talking a life that cant
wait for the next glass. Why do people drink to excess? Two reasons to have
fun or to forget. They are looking for joy that only God can provide. Or they
are looking for healing that only God can give. They are looking for God in a
bottle, and they will not find Him there. All thats there is an anchor.

Distraction. Living an existence dedicated to getting ahead in this life. Dont

we have to make a living? Dont we want to give our kids every opportunity?
Is there something wrong with preparing for retirement? These all demand
legitimate attention. But when they drive our existence, consume all our time,
demand our full attention then they become an anchor on our heart.

Heres Jesus point: I am coming again. Live like it was today! Even if I
dont come in your lifetime, living in anticipation gives you perspective.
Nothing you see will last, so look deeper. Otherwise, youre tying anchors to
your soul. Living like Jesus didnt matter, thats an anchor on the heart.
Example: In Lu 12:42ff Jesus gives a parable of a master who appoints a
manager to feed his household. 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master
will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over
all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says to himself, My master is
delayed in coming, and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to
eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on a day
when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut
him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. Did you think being a
Xn was simply accepting Christ then living however you
want? Its a lot more serious than that. Followers of Christ --
follow Christ, not self. They enjoy His gifts without making
idols of them -- forgetting Him in the process. They watch that
their hearts are not tied to the anchors of this life.

Ed Lorenz loved bowling. Dedicated his life to it starting in

1957. Improved after his retirement, bowling two perfect
games in 2004. Inducted in the Kalamazoo Bowling HOF in
2005. In January, 2006 he bowled his 3rd perfect game and
died of a heart attack. His partner, Johnny D. Masters said, If
he could have written a way to go out, this would have
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been it. Heartbreaking. No mention of God; no mention of
Jesus; no thought of eternity. Just bowling.

But what drives your existence? What will they write on your
tombstone? Anything wrong with bowling? No unless thats
all you live for. Ask this, How would your life be different
if God did not exist? What would change? Are you expecting
Him any second? If you could write your last day, how would it
read? Does He matter? Is your heart anchored to here and
now, or do you have one foot in time but the other in
eternity? Thats what Jesus means.

III. You Must Be Worthy

Heres the end game. Why is Jesus so urgently pushing our personal response
to the message of His coming? V. 36d: to stand before the Son of Man. That
is a terrifying phrase. It is meant to sober His audience. Who is the Son of
Man? Jesus. And arent they standing in front of Him right then? Absolutely.
But not like they will later. Not like I will. Not like you will. Not like that.

What will it be like to stand before Him on that day? It will be to stand
before Him in judgment. Jesus explains it all in John 5: 22 The Father judges
no one, but has given all judgment to the Son. And what is judgment about?
To determine whether or not one is worthy. Are you worthy of God?! We
would all declare ourselves worthy. After all, were not all that bad. Were
actually pretty good. But I promise you we wont feel worthy on that day.

Well be like Joseph Parker a great old pastor at City Temple in London. He
was an accomplished musician as well as pastor, so when the great pianist
Paderewski came to town, Parker went to hear him. He was very moved, but
when they arrived home he said to his wife, Bring me an ax! But why?
Because today I heard great music for the first time. By comparison, what
I do amounts to nothing. I feel like chopping my piano to pieces.

Thats how all unbelievers will feel standing before Jesus. Thats why Hes
judge. Jn 5:27, And he has given him authority to execute judgment,
because he is the Son of Man. No one will stand before Jesus and
say, But you dont know what it was like. He knows
exactly what it was like. He knows what its like to be
tempted by shortcuts and pleasure and distractions. He
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knows exactly what it feels like to be tempted not to obey.
Its His obedience that qualifies Him to be either Savior or
Judge for everyone, one or the other. That choice is yours.
But its one or the other. Theres no escape; nothing behind
door number 3; no further opportunity. On that day Hes
either Savior or Hes Judge. We must be worthy, but how can
we do that?

IV. You Must Be Weak

At the heart of v. 36 is Jesus desire that you may have strength to escape.
The word escape has caused some to suggest that this refers to the Rapture.
But it is not. We dont have to pray for the rapture; it just happens. This is a
prayer to escape the temptation to compromise. Jesus knew delay in His
coming would cause hearts to be weighed down with doubt and fear. As
people see others mocked, persecuted and even killed for their faith it will be
easy for doubt to move in. If the Lord doesnt move quickly, who would not
be tempted to go along to get along? That is the thing they must escape not
the persecution itself, but the temptation to cave in to deny Christ out of
doubt and fear. That pressure is always immense when adversity strikes.

How do we escape? By declaring our own weakness. 36 But stay awake at all
times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are
going to take place. You say, Wait a minute. That doesnt say to be weak; it
says to be strong. We must be strong to escape. But read it again: 36 But stay
awake at all times, praying that you may have strength. It doesnt say, Be
strong! It doesnt say that. Jesus knows us far too well to say that. It says
pray that you may have strength. Prayer itself is an admission I dont have
strength. Its a confession of dependence. Jesus isnt encouraging us to find
strength in ourselves; He is imploring us to find His strength by admitting
our weakness. Its a kingdom paradox. I get strength by admitting I am weak.

Isnt this a biblical principle? Eph 6:10: Finally, be strong (if that verse
stopped there, Im done. But it doesnt.) be strong in the Lord and in the
strength of his might. Theres the principle. When Paul found that his work
was hindered by a thorn in the flesh, God refused to take it away. Instead,
He told Paul in II Cor 12:9 But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore [Paul says] I will boast
all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest

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upon me. When we try to be strong on our own, we are doomed to failure.
But when we declare our own weakness, we unleash His power in our lives.

The disciples learned this lesson the hard way two days later. The night before
He was killed, Jesus warned them Satan had asked to have them to tempt
them to deny Him. Peter was insulted. Lu 22:33 Peter said to him, Lord, I
am ready to go with you both to prison and to death. Hes confident in His
own will-power, His own strength. So Jesus takes them to Gethsemane to
follow His own example of prayer. He warned Lu 22:46: Why are you
sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation. But they
could not stay awake. And while Jesus passed the final test that paved the way
for our redemption, Peter denied that he even knew the Lord three times
before that ugly night was over. Fortunately, that was not the end of the story,
but it could happen to any of us. It will happen to us if we do not 36 But stay
awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these
things that are going to take place. It is prayer that unleashes Gods power in
our life to escape the pull of the things that otherwise weigh us down.

Conc So we all have a last day coming either when Jesus comes again or
when we die. We all have one. In light of that Jesus warning is, dont be
anchored to the cares of this life as though they were all there is. Dont be
weighed down by the escape route of drunkenness. You must find your escape
in praying for His strength, not yours.

If you are not a believer, you must acknowledge you can do nothing to save
yourself, confess that He has done all that needs done by taking your place on
the cross and accepting His free gift. If you are a believer, the gospel is
equally applicable. You cannot live a worthy life, but Hes already lived it for
you. So we must pray for His strength to produce the fruit the Father desires.

There are two commands in this passage: Watch yourselves (34) and Stay
awake (36). Both are pointing us away from the temptation to deny Christ
under the hardship of life prior to Him coming again. How do we watch and
stay awake by praying, which confesses our own weakness and need of His
strength. Do that, and He will answer. Go it alone and you will fail. He was
strong because we are not; we must rest in Him. Be ready for your last day.

Were in b-ball finals now. In 1962 Celtics beat Lakers in 7 games 7th at
Boston Garden. Frank Selvy missed his favorite corner shot that would have
won the game and series. Team trudged to hot, oppressive dressing room far

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from home. Mood was tragic. Everybody miserable. No one, even coach Fred
Schaus, knew what to say. But Jerry West says, Suddenly, out of nowhere
Baby Ray Felix pipes up, Thats okay, boys, well get em on Tuesday! He
didnt realize the series was over. The last day had arrived. There was no
tomorrow. So I ask, when there is no tomorrow, where is your soul anchored?
Dont be surprised. Be ready. Jesus is waiting for somebody somebody you
to receive Him. Lets pray.