“When He Comes (Part 1/2)” - Luke 3:1-20
Sermon series: Right-side up Kingdom
Sermon Title: When He Comes Pt. 1
Scripture: Luke 3:1-20
Introduction:
Job interview results, college acceptance letters, promotion results, the waiting game is hard for many of us. Even in the Bible, Israel had to wait 2000 years since God’s promise to Abraham to enter the promised land. They had to wait 1000 years since God made a promise to King David that his descendent would secure the throne and His kingdom would reign forever.
We as Christians are also in a waiting period: Is God really going to come again? When is it going to happen? When is he going to work in my life? Today we go over what happens when God comes and how do we prepare for it.
Overview:
Luke lists political leaders to be historically accurate and authentic with his writing. However, he also lists them to show us the state of Israel’s leadership:
In the beginning, God created humanity so they could love Him and enjoy Him.
However, after the fall of Adam, God decides to redeem his people using the nation of Israel and promises that He would save his people.
While waiting for God’s promises, the Israelites fail, and God allows others to rule over them with hardship.
At the time of writing, there hasn’t been a prophet in 400 years and no Word from God. But then Word came to John the Baptist, he preached that God’s promise in Isaiah from 700 years ago is happening. Prepare the way of the Lord.
What happens when God comes?
God is going to come and save his people from the past, present, and future sins. He’s going to save us from the eternal consequences from the mess we made. The Bible recounts moments when people see God, and their reactions are of misery because they recognize His holiness and their sinfulness.
How do we get ready for God to come?
John preached a baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins. We should prepare ourselves with repentance!
Repentance is turning away from false idols and turning to something better. God!
He tells the Jews to turn away from their reliance on religion and heritage to save them.
Applications:
Repent of how we view ourselves. Do you live life thinking you’re a good person? Or do you recognize the monster inside of yourself and ask the Spirit to continually heal and grow you?
Repent of how we live our lives. Does your life produce fruit that reveals the marks of a Christian?
Repentance is not easy – it’s a lifelong practice. When repentance leads to a different understand of yourself considering God and eternity and you start working on bearing good fruits, you will face difficulty.
Sermon reflection questions:
Do you think about the second coming of Jesus? If so, how does that affect your view of life? If not, what about it is hard to believe?
How much is repentance a part of your life? Has there been moments of repentance that has changed your life?
