Transcript
In your Bibles will you open once again to the Gospel of Luke chapter 17. Luke chapter 17. The Gospel of Luke chapter 17. Beginning to read at verse 20.
Luke 17:20, “Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, ‘The kingdom of God does not come with observation, nor will they say, “See here!” or “See there!” For indeed the kingdom of God is in your midst.’”
You have a Scofield Bible. There’s a note here indicating we might translate this, “For indeed the kingdom of God is among you” or “in your midst.”
Then He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ Do not go after them or follow them. For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day. But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.”
On the last Sunday of 1992 at 5:06 a.m. in the morning, little Jeremiah Caleb Swearingen saw the light of day for the first time. There was joy at his birth, as there usually is at the birth of any healthy and normal child.
But most parents would not like to go through what the Swearingens went through to reach that very happy moment. You see, Michael and Susan Swearingen live out in Arlington. They had paid six hundred dollars up front for the service of three midwives who worked out of the Family Birthing Center in Grand Prairie.
When Susan Swearingen woke up that Sunday morning at 3:14 a.m. with her pains beginning, she thought that was a false alarm. And so she waited about an hour before she called the midwives. Finally she decided that she had better call them, and she did.
And while they were waiting for the midwives, Susan was lying on a small mattress on the floor. Her flustered and nervous husband somehow managed a nice fire in the fireplace and to set up the video camera, hoping to catch the blessed event just in case.
As they were waiting, he washed his hands four times. Later he said to the media, “I said to my wife, ‘Hold on. Don’t push. The midwives are on their way.’ When I saw the crown, I said, ‘Wait, you can’t have it right now.’ And she said, ‘Oh, but I have to. It’s coming. I’ve got to have it right now.’”
So Michael Swearingen cupped the little child’s head in his hands. He unwound the umbilical cord from around the baby’s neck and handed his son to his exhausted but smiling wife. Forty-five minutes after they had been called, the midwives showed up. And they observed Susan Swearingen sucking on some ice cubes made out of orange juice and drinking hot tea and holding her seven-and-a-half-pound, blue-eyed baby boy in her arms.
Now the Swearingens insist they still got their money’s worth out of the midwives. And Susan Swearingen said, “Oh, they gave me and the baby an herbal bath. Oh, that was wonderful.” And of course the midwives did the other things that are related to afterbirth performances, and they cut the umbilical cord and did whatever else they could.
And as if Michael Swearingen had not done enough, he dived in and made homemade pancakes for the midwives and sat around and talked with them as they ate. Susan Swearingen said, “Many husbands couldn’t do it, but Michael could. He’s a good man, and blessed to have him.”
And oh yes, folks, the Swearingens are blessed in another way as well. This was not their first experience with having a child. In fact, young Jeremiah Caleb Swearingen just happened to be número siete, number seven, for the Swearingens.
Now against the background of a story like that, with all of its thruster and stress and tension, it isn’t surprising, is it, that the final period of human history which we call the Tribulation Period is described in the Bible as a period of time to be compared with labor pain coming on a pregnant woman.
In fact the apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonian Christians, and he said to them, “You yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, ‘Peace and safety,’ sudden destruction comes upon them as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape.”
And just as surely as Susan Swearingen was experiencing her pains, one of these days this world in which we live, which is slumbering in a moral and spiritual stupor, will be awakened by the labor pains of divine judgment. And disaster after disaster after disaster will strike the world as the world goes through the process which will give birth to a new age, to the establishment of the kingdom of God.
Now it’s not going to be my job up here this morning, folks, to scare you with all of the catastrophes that are going to happen during the period that we call the Great Tribulation. You want to read about them? You can find them recorded in Revelation 6 through 18.
What I want to do this morning is to draw out another truth which is also illustrated in the story of Michael and Susan Swearingen. And the truth is this: that despite the labor pains, here comes joy. And you won’t be surprised to discover that that also happens to be the title of my message to you this morning. Despite the Labor Pains, Here Comes the Joy.
Do you ever wonder when in the world we are going to stop getting new information which tells us how corrupt and how sinful American society is? Just when we thought we had heard everything, this past week the electronic and print media told us about the problem of sexual abuse in our schools. And a survey of 1,600 students in grades eight to another turned up the fact that 81 percent of them had some experience which might be described as sexual abuse.
And it wasn’t just simply the girls, although 85 percent of them reported in the affirmative. But 76 percent of the boys also reported that in one form or another, verbal or physical, they had experienced sexual abuse. And when we hear information like that, we are tempted to ask the question, “How long is this going to go on? When is this going to stop? When is God going to step in and put an end to this type of thing?”
Or to put it in another way, when will the kingdom of God appear? And you know that that is precisely the question that Jesus was asked in the passage of Scripture that we read just a few minutes ago. Of course it was a question that came from the Pharisees.
And knowing the Pharisees, who were not notorious for their faith in Jesus, and knowing that the Pharisees understood that many people believed that Jesus was the promised King, their question about the coming of the kingdom of God might have been scornful. It might have been sarcastic. But they asked, “When will the kingdom of God appear?”
Maybe they had something in mind. “If you’re the King, give us some information. When will the kingdom of God appear?” And I want to assure you, folks, that the answer that they got from Jesus was totally unexpected. It was something that did not compute for the mind of the Pharisees.
In fact, if this exchange had been a football game, we might say that the Pharisees didn’t get beyond the line of scrimmage. And when Jesus answered them, He threw them for at least a 20-yard loss. For in response to their question Jesus says this:
“The kingdom of God does not come with observation, nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
Say what? Say what? That wasn’t what the Pharisees understood about the kingdom of God. They knew that the kingdom of God was coming in the future in power and great glory. They knew it was going to be established in the city of Jerusalem and that from Israel the whole world would be ruled.
They thought above all things that the kingdom of God would come with observation. And Jesus says, “No, it doesn’t. The kingdom of God is among you.” What did He mean? Do you know what He meant? Do you understand what He meant?
Do you realize that whenever an unsaved sinner believes on the Lord Jesus Christ for the free gift of everlasting life, that in that very moment of faith in Christ he is not only born into the family of God forever, but he becomes a citizen of the kingdom of God?
How do I know that? Because Paul told us, writing to the Colossians. He said to the Colossian Christians, “God has delivered us from the power of darkness and has conveyed us, has transferred us, into the kingdom of the Son of His love.”
Did you know that in the midst of mankind right now there are literally millions of citizens of the kingdom of God? And you can’t see when a person becomes a citizen of that kingdom, because nobody can see what God does in our heart. And this particular kingdom has no particular location. Wherever Christians happen to be at the time, that’s where the kingdom is.
Did you know that this morning a part of God’s kingdom is in this auditorium, consisting of everyone who has believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life? But when this auditorium empties this morning, folks, the kingdom of God will still be here, because the kingdom of God is not looked at just yet. It is composed of people who have been transferred into God’s kingdom.
Kurt Wagner was a bodyguard for Adolf Hitler. He adored Hitler. He reverenced this man as if he was almost a god. But after the war, as Hitler lay dead in his Berlin bunker, Kurt Wagner’s faith and his fury collapsed. And he decided to take his own life.
He went for a cup of coffee, a final bubble bath on his way. He noticed a gospel tract and picked it up. And first he read it carelessly and then he read it with more seriousness. And motivated by the gospel tract, he visited a Christian pastor who led him to faith in Christ.
Striking story. Here is a man about to be ruined in the collapse of Hitler’s empire. And God snatches him through his faith in Christ out of the ruins of the Third Reich. And He transfers him into the kingdom of His dear Son.
And the question this morning is, has that happened to you? Do you know for sure that you are a member of the family of God and that you are a permanent citizen of the kingdom of God? Do you know that for sure? If you don’t, you can know it this morning. You can know it right now.
Jesus said, “Most assuredly I say to you, he that believes in Me has everlasting life.” And he also said, “He that hears My word and believes on Him who sent Me has everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, but has passed out of death into life.”
And if you hear those words this morning and if you believe that they are true, they guarantee to you that you have eternal life, that you will never come into condemnation, that you have already passed out of death into life. Yes, the kingdom of God is in the midst of the world for every single individual who has believed in Jesus for the free gift of everlasting life.
But that’s only the beginning. That’s only the beginning, isn’t it? For you see, once we know that we are members of the invisible kingdom that is here right here and now, we can begin to look forward to the kingdom that will indeed come with observation.
We are already translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. And that is not by observation. God alone sees it. But someday the kingdom that is now invisible will be manifested. And we can look forward to that.
And did you notice that in our passage of Scripture, after replying to the Pharisees, Jesus turns to His own disciples. He turns to the men who believed in Him and who loved Him. Basically this is what He said.
He said, “The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. Then they will say to you, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ Do not go after them. Do not follow them. For as the lightning that flashes from one end of heaven shines to the other end of heaven, so shall the Son of Man be in His day.”
I need to tell you something. In the prophetic parts of the Bible the word “day” is often used as if it almost meant manifestation, revelation. And when Jesus says to His disciples, “You will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man,” I think He is saying, “You will desire to see one of the manifestations, one of the revelations of the Son of Man.”
Do we all understand that there are two of them? Those of us who are sitting here right here and now are looking forward to one of those days. We are looking forward to the day when the Lord Jesus Christ will appear to us to take every true Christian out from this world in which we live.
That will come the period of time for the Tribulation, the tribulation pains of God’s judgment. But at the end of that period the Lord Jesus Christ will appear again, at this time to the entire world. And He will do so in order to establish His kingdom.
And don’t you see that all the disciples of Jesus who are dedicated to Him are looking forward to one of those days? We are looking forward to the first of those days, which will come just as the judgments of the Tribulation begin. The disciples who will live during the final seven years of world history will look forward to another of those days.
But all of us are drawn by the hope, the desire to experience the Savior’s return. Now some of you may be a little surprised to hear that when I was a little boy I loved horror movies. I mean I’d love to see horror movies. And my number one favorite monster was the Frankenstein. And my number two favorite, who ran us very closely to number one, was the Wolf Man.
And I loved to go see movies either featuring Frankenstein or featuring Wolf Man. And when I was still in fourth grade, my family moved to a little city called Clinton, Maryland. And I understand that we only lived there for about a month. But shortly after we got there, I saw the greatest movie advertisement I have ever seen.
Coming soon to the converted theater was a horror movie entitled Frankenstein Meets Wolf Man. Two for the price of one. And in my country’s mind that was the best deal in the history of movies. But I had to wait for it, folks. And I was dying to see that movie.
A day passed after day passed after day passed. And it seemed a long time. But since we only lived there a month, it wouldn’t have been more than a couple of weeks. And finally there I sat in the movie theater. What kid in the fourth grade could not fail to be impressed by that dramatic fight between Frankenstein monster and the Wolf Man right at the end of the movie, right in Dr. Frankenstein’s castle?
And the castle was crumbling on top of that. And eventually they were buried under the rubble. And everybody on the screen, both of the monsters, was dead. We’re dead. But I’m better. I knew they would come back when they made another movie picture.
Now I have to admit that that was boyish enthusiasm. That was childhood impatience. I just couldn’t wait to see that marvelous new thing. But may I suggest that in the heart of every dedicated disciple of Christ there is something in that same childhood vein? That voice of impatience and anxiousness to see the day when the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed from heaven.
And we have to go through a lot of days without seeing it. Jesus says, “The days will come when you want to see one of those days, and you won’t be able to see it.” But don’t give up, says Jesus. And don’t listen to anybody who says to you, “Well, He came secretly. He’s over there. See there. Or He’s over there. See there.”
Or to put it into modern terms, “He’s in a farm compound down outside.” Jesus says, “Don’t believe any of that stuff. Don’t believe that sort of thing. When I come, everybody will see it. You will all see it. For as the lightning that shines from one end of heaven shines to the other end of heaven, even so shall the Son of Man be in His day.”
Have you ever stopped to think about this? One of these days you’re going to be going about your ordinary business at work. You’re going to be slouching in your easy chair at home. And suddenly you’re going to see the grandest flash of lightning that you have ever seen. And you’re going to look up into that blazing light. You’re going to see the King coming down from heaven. You’re going to feel yourself being lifted up to meet Him in the air.
And forward. Now I’m going to confess to you. Last month I looked for that day. I did not see it. Last week I looked for that day and did not see it. Yesterday I looked for that day and did not see it. Today I am looking for that day. Hey, the day is over. We might see it today.
Pastor Earl Kelly was the preacher one Sunday morning at the First Baptist Church in Holly Springs, Mississippi. He was preaching on the coming of the Lord. And he was quoting a verse in Matthew which is very similar to the verse we have here about the lightning shining from one end of heaven to the other. So shall the Son of Man be in His coming.
And as he spoke, suddenly a light bulb fell from its socket in the ceiling of the church. And it smashed in front of the pulpit. And the congregation was shocked. And they woke up if they were asleep. And Pastor Kelly had the presence of mind to say this. He said, “The coming of Christ will be just as sudden, just as unexpected, just as shattering to every dream that is not Christ-centered as that.”
Yeah. When the lightning flashes, folks, all of our selfish dreams and ambitions will smash like that light bulb. But it is the disciples of Jesus Christ who love His appearing, who long for His appearing, and who can sing from their hearts, “The Lord I love is coming soon. It may be morning, night, or noon. My lamps are trimmed. I’ll watch and pray. It may be soon. It may be today.”
But first. But first. These are the words with which the last statement in our passage begins. Jesus says, “But first the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.”
You see, the kingdom of God could not have come at the time that Jesus was speaking. You know why? If it had come there would have been nothing but judgment. It would have been a kingdom for angels only. For we as people were utterly sinful and therefore would have been cast aside forever in the lake of fire.
So first, before his kingdom could come, He must die. He must pay the price for our sins. He must buy our citizenship in heaven. And that’s what He did. And as we said earlier, we receive our citizenship in the kingdom of God when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for the free gift of everlasting life.
So now the work of the cross is over with. What Jesus said had to become first has already been done. What is left? Nothing. Nothing as far as the testimony of the prophetic word is concerned. Jesus is not only coming. He could come back.
In the days when newspaper articles were sent by teletype machines, there was an editor in the city of Pittsburgh who assigned a young cub reporter to cover a mining disaster that had taken place in Coatesville, which was not very far from Pittsburgh.
The young reporter went to Coatesville. And for some reason he dawdled around. And finally it was made at night before he began to file his report. And so in order to add some flair and drama to his report, this is what he began to file as his story from Coatesville. “Coatesville, PA. Number 300. God sits on the hills around Coatesville.”
Now the editor was looking at the teletype machine as the message came in. As soon as he read that much, he teletyped the message back to the reporter. I don’t know whether the editor was serious or kidding. But here was the message the editor sent back to the reporter. He says, “Never mind about the mining disaster. Interview God. Get pictures.”
Okay. So there’s going to be disaster when the Lord Jesus Christ comes. The labor pains of the Tribulation Period, they are tragic. But they are necessary. But never mind about the disaster of those. We are going to get to interview the Lord Jesus Christ. We’re going to get to speak to Him in person. And we’ll do a whole lot better than pictures, won’t we? Because we’ll see Him face to face.
Standing before Him at last, trials and troubles all past, crowns at His feet we will cast. Jesus is coming again. Coming again. Coming again. Maybe morning. Maybe noon. Maybe evening. Maybe soon. Coming again. Coming again. Oh, what a wonderful day that will be. Jesus is coming again.
Shall we pray? Father, what a glorious message You have given to us. Salvation by faith and by faith alone and the Savior who is coming again. Father, as we go into the baptismal service, may our hearts be alive with these truths. May we rejoice with each person who is baptized that they have become citizens in Your kingdom forever. And we pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.