Things to keep in mind
sermon by Manfred Schreyer

read more sermons >>

 

(Luke 17:20-37 NIV) Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, {21} nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you." {22} Then he said to his disciples, "The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. {23} Men will tell you, 'There he is!' or 'Here he is!' Do not go running off after them. {24} For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. {25} But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. {26} "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. {27} People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. {28} "It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. {29} But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. {30} "It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. {31} On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. {32} Remember Lot's wife! {33} Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. {34} I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. {35} Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left." {36} {37} "Where, Lord?" they asked. He replied, "Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather."

      When I was a little child and I lived in Germany, my mom told me the story where an individual told a very wealthy mill owner in the 19th century that the end of time would come very soon and that he might as well sell all of his possessions. The mill owner did . . . he gave his possessions away . . . and guess what? The end of time never came . . .

      Many people today ask: A When is the end time coming? When will the kingdom of God come? When will everything fall apart? How can I prepare myself for the coming of God?

      Endless prophecies have come out of the woodwork, countless books have been written, numerous television shows have been produced, and many evangelists are preaching as if they have the knowledge when the end time is going to be here and they point to the signs of the current time.

      There are two issues the biblical passages are dealing with: (1) When and where does the Kingdom of God come? (2) When will the son of man (Jesus) return?

      Jesus tells the Pharisees that they are indeed looking at everything wrong . . . they are looking at everything external, where they should look at things internal.

      In fact if we look at the Gospel of Matthew and we take a look at the sermon of the mount Jesus explains that many of our sins are internal . . . lust, greed, anger,

      Therefore, most of the part of the Kingdom of God can only be created within us.

      Allow me to make this clear and it substantiates what I have been preaching as long as I have been here: We are the children of God. And we have within us the gift given by God of free will. We can do whatever we want to do. We can sin, or we can do good.

      But whatever we do, be assured that God knows our heart.

      To be transformed and to have God in our life does not mean to act like a Christian (I know many people who do the obvious . . . donate money toward good causes, go on mission trips, to speak like a Christian (they speak in phrases only Christians understand . . . "I have been touched" ; "The Holy Ghost overcame me" . . . they raise their hands at a specific time in a song), but it means that we live inside the life God wants us to live.

      Jesus says: "Don't be one person at church and be another person outside of the church! Don't treat your friends nicely at church, but you treat your neighbors terribly."

      I want you to know God knows our flaws we have in this life. Be honest! Be honest to yourself, to God, and to others. Don't play games . . . people will find you us. God already knows us and all we do is create misery for ourselves in this life.

      The Kingdom of God is within us. The Gospel tells us that our body is a holy temple. This literally means that God and His Kingdom dwells within us.

      The Kingdom comes to us when we allow the Kingdom to enter our heart.

      Jesus warns his disciples that many will say there it is or here it is.

      If the Kingdom of God is inside us [Greek: entos] what is Jesus really telling us? Jesus is telling us that there will be people in the world who will ask us to follow certain things because they believe that is the Kingdom of God. Maybe they are fresh theological ideas which seem proper for today= s time, maybe an interpretation of scripture which seems more refreshing then the old, dry interpretation.

      You see now things come in a different perspective.

      The Kingdom of God is within us if we allow the Kingdom of God to live within us. This Kingdom is the purest part of God. It is the part which comes to us when we seek His will and not our own. It is the part of God that He wants for us and is in constant tension with our own desires.

      And then Jesus talks about His return.

      I want you to make no mistake Jesus= return will be here. There are numerous references of Jesus return in the bible:

"Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him." (Revelation 1:7)

      The coming of the Son of Man at the end of time will be self-evident, and reporting His presence will be unnecessary. Jesus will be here and you and I will know Him by His coming. No one will have to explain to us He is here.

      Jesus makes several references to terrible events which will take place at His return. I believe that Jesus tells us these things to make us aware He will return and . . . to be prepared.

      In no text does He tell us the hour or the day, but He tells us repeatedly that he will return.

      And he pleads with us not to lose our life in this world, but give our life to God. 33} Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

      When we have the Kingdom of God within us, we don't need the riches of this world. All we ever need is that which God gave us and the things we as humans cannot buy: Hope, love, compassion, trust, etc.

      These are the ingredients of the Kingdom of God.

      Many people worry about the coming of God and learn everything there is to know about Revelation and the prophecies. I must tell you as your pastor; I know that Jesus will return, but I am not scared. Come on down . . . if I leave this earth now or in 30 years it makes no difference to me, because I know where my home is.

      I know that God prepared a home for me. He prepared it long before I ever knew Christ as my Savior.

      I know that God loves me unendingly and with great passion and I hope I can tell everyone about a wonderful God.

      Finally there is the vulture story who gathered up the corpses. Remember I always told you that we are spiritual and physical beings. Our body will long be gone, but our spiritual being will live forever. It will live with God or it will live in damnation.

      Jesus is telling his disciples and us, that judgment will come upon His return. Those who have lived out the Kingdom of God will see eternal life and those who have played games, who offered nothing to the Kingdom of God but empty promises or denied the existence of God will be judged.

      Now I have heard many people say when I explain that part:  "But that is not fair!"

      I want you to know why people say that. Because they compare themselves to evil people like Charles Manson, Adolf Hitler, etc., and they honestly believe, that they are not that bad. But God tells us that we are all sinners and that we all need forgiveness in our life, because none of us is able to follow the commandments of God.

      I have to tell you: I did not make the rules. But it seems to me that the rules are quite straightforward. You recognize that life is not the way it should be. You recognize that humans and your self are sinful and that you can hardly escape your sinfulness. - And there you have the choice: You can ask God for forgiveness and seek after Him and fill your self with the Kingdom of God . . . or you can deny it and you will pay later.

I know that this is not taught often and in fact avoided . . . but you know that does not change the rules.

      I know that the word of God is true and becomes truth and that is all we need to know.

      I know that Jesus will return and I know Jesus loves you. And if you have never given your life to Christ, please keep that in mind.


 

read more sermons >>

share this page with a friend