We're gonna be in Luke chapter 17. Luke 17, we're gonna be looking at verse 20 to the end of the chapter. And it's where our Lord teaches us concerning the kingdom of God.

Now, what our Lord tells us here this day should be a great comfort to you who love the Lord Jesus Christ and who feed upon him and are nourished by him. If your heart is set on this world, I would imagine these verses could be very difficult to hear. But in Christ, there's a great joy and a trust and a confidence in him, as our brother read from Romans 8. In him, we're more than conquerors. He provides. He preserves his people. And so this should be an encouraging message to the people of God.

So beginning in verse 20, And when he was demanded of the Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation.

The Pharisees many questions of our Lord, and as you think of them, you'll recall that they're usually asked with a very evil motive in mind. They had evil motives in what they asked the Lord. Now, asking questions is not wrong. It can be used as a way of teaching people, making them think about what they believe, what they stand for. Where is their confidence? Where is their confidence? over time is that when the wicked ask a question, it's to belittle Christ. It's to shame you that believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for all your salvation. It's to ask questions to make Christ small. in the eyes and in the esteem of men, and to take your eyes off of him to exalt the flesh.

" To join with them in glorying and exalting in the flesh, saying, isn't there something you've got to do for salvation? Isn't there something that you must add to the work of Christ? But when Christ asked questions, it was very different. When Christ asked questions, you'll notice that it's most often, and always at some point, leads us, it reveals the Lord Jesus Christ more and more to us. When he asks a question, it's to reveal Christ, right? Or it's to expose some evil, vain confidence of this flesh.

For example, when the disciples were walking behind the Lord and they were arguing about who should be greatest in the kingdom, he said, what spoke ye of in the way? What were you guys talking about in the way, right? Expose their vain confidence in the flesh. And then a lot of his questions were to exalt Christ in our heart more and more. For example, when he asked his disciples, whom do men say that I, the son of man, am? And they said, a number of things, and then he said, and whom do you say that I am? What do you think of Christ? And he added, or it adds, Simon Peter answered him to that question, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God, right? That question led us, it leads us to Christ, to exalt in him, and Jesus answered and said unto him, blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed that to you, but my Father which is in heaven.

" See, flesh is always tearing down Christ, whereas our Lord is revealing Christ to us. That's the difference in the questions being asked. To the Pharisees, he asked, what think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? They say unto him, the son of David, to which our Lord then quoted David, In Matthew 22, 44, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool. And then asked, if David then call him Lord, how is he his son? See how all his questions always lead to Christ being exalted in our hearts. Christ more and more. The flesh is put down, Christ is exalted. When the Pharisees asked questions, it was to put Christ down and to exalt their flesh, to exalt themselves. And those are just some examples of where our Lord used questions to reveal the glory of Christ to us.

Now, their question here to the Lord came in the form of a demand. When is the kingdom of God coming? When is it going to be? They were trying to catch him in his words, as they often were trying to do with their evil motive. Back in Luke 11, 53 and 54, it says, as he said these things to them, when he pronounced the woes against them, to warn them of their flesh, right, to warn them of their flesh, they were angry with him. And it says, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently. and to provoke him to speak of many things, laying weight for him and seeking to catch something out of his mouth that they might accuse him.

And so they were asking questions not to learn, not innocently, they were trying to belittle him, to make him small in the eyes of men. But regardless of their motive, our Lord would seize on the opportunity of their questions to teach us, to reveal the truth of God unto us for our good, for our learning and our instruction. And so the Pharisees were looking for an earthly kingdom, an earthly Jewish kingdom, where the Jewish nation would be exalted above all the other nations. And they would rule them. They would step on their neck. And they would rule them harshly. That's a carnal, fleshly, dead-letter religion built on the customs and traditions of men. It's all flesh, you notice. It's all very fleshly and carnal.

Our Lord tells us the kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Not with observation. It's not going to come like that. at all, not in any way. The margin even suggests that he might mean it comes not with an outward show. It won't come outwardly in pomp and circumstance like you're expecting. It's a spiritual kingdom. It's a spiritual kingdom. It's not temporal, nor external, nor earthly. It's a spiritual kingdom unlike any other kingdom in the earth. unlike any other kingdom in the earth. It's a work of God and not of man.

When the disciples were striving with each other over who should be greatest in the kingdom, our Lord said, and it's coming up in Luke 22, verse 25 and 26, he said unto them, the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them. And they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. Oh, we have the things we have because you're so good to us. A benefactor. But ye shall not be so. That's not how the kingdom of God is at all. But he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he that is chief as he that doth serve. Quite the opposite of man's vain idea of a Jewish earthly kingdom ruling over the Gentiles.

God's kingdom cannot be observed with man's natural eye. He'll get it wrong all the time. You cannot know it's coming by reading the headlines on news sites or newspapers or magazines. You cannot discern its nearness or the movement of it by interpreting some prophecies and trying to figure things out. These methods, which the scribes and Pharisees often did, left them in darkness. They wanted to know, and they were in complete darkness. It's a spiritual kingdom. As our Lord said to Nicodemus, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. You must be born again if you would see the kingdom of God. And the practice of the religion is not how a man is born again. He doesn't get himself saved. He doesn't get saved. The Lord is merciful and gracious to him to do this work of grace in the hearts of his people to whom he will be gracious and merciful to, to reveal Christ to them. It's a spiritual work where God gives spiritual life to spiritually dead sinners. Apart from His grace, we are spiritually dead sinners. But those who are sovereignly chosen of Almighty God are chosen in Christ and redeemed by Christ, and this salvation is wrought in them in the day of His grace for His people.

Now, our Lord amplifies what He was saying there in verse 21. Neither shall they say, Lo here, or lo there, for behold, the kingdom of God is within you." Now again, the margin says that within you could also be translated among you, meaning it's already here. The Christ is here, and my disciples are here. We're present in your midst, and you don't even realize it. You don't recognize what's before you. This is what we see. We see this very truth present here in the earth.

But while that is true, I do believe within you is what our Lord meant, what he meant, what he intends there. And that's because it being within you describes our Lord's kingdom. It describes the spiritual nature of his kingdom set up in the heart of his people. It's a spiritual kingdom. not carnal. It's in heavenly kingdom, not earthly. It's an inward kingdom, not outward. Our Lord said, if my kingdom were of this world, then would my disciples fight. My people would then fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews. We wouldn't let this happen. But that's not the nature of his kingdom at all. His kingdom is not from here.

Now, we men, by nature, focus very heavily on the outward appearance of things. But our Lord is speaking of an inward work of his grace. It's an inward work of his grace. And Paul said that the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, right? It's not in outward things that we look at and we get upset and fight over with one another. The kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, Romans 14, 17. It's the work of the Spirit of God in the heart of chosen sinners. It's when the Lord comes, he overthrows the works of the devil in us. He frees us from the bondage of sin and death, from that laboring and striving under that heavy yoke that we served under, which cannot save. which kept us in darkness to the things of God.

When the Lord brings his salvation home to our heart, we're not satisfied with the outward, the mere outward form of religion, and the showiness of it. We're satisfied in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we feed upon him, and that's where we're nourished. And without him, we're not nourished. When we have him, we are nourished, and we're comforted and encouraged because Christ has done his work in you. The only time when we're not nourished with Christ is when we don't know Christ, like the Pharisees and the scribes, but the disciples hung on his words. The disciples delighted in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are content with Christ and it's a kingdom of grace founded in perfect righteousness. And he does that work. He does that work in the hearts of his people so that we are made to take our eyes off of a church building and the things of sense and feeling and the flesh, and we take our eyes off of a church denomination, we take our eyes off of customs and the traditions of men whereby we think that makes me righteous, or the things we're trusting in to lay claim to and confidently say, well, now I'm a Christian because I do things like this now and I used to do things like that now. He turns us from that to behold Christ and to find in the Lord Jesus Christ our all and everything that we need in Him perfectly. He sets that kingdom up within you.

And our Lord then brings his word closer to home now, because it says in verse 22 and 23, he said unto the disciples, he had been speaking to the Pharisees with his disciples there, but now he speaks directly to the disciples saying, the days will come when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here, or see there. Go not after them, nor follow them."

Our Lord tells us here of times, of facing certain times ahead. He's speaking to his disciples of what they would face, what they would come into ahead. He's saying that the church would come to a time where it would long for a time when successes came more easily. when things were more joyful, when things were more easy, and things went well. We'd look back on times like that wondering, why is it that things are so uneasy now? Why is it that everything is so difficult now?

For example, and this is not a one-time thing, this happens repeatedly through the days of the Son of Man, through the days of Christ, through the days of our Lord. For example, when our Lord walked the earth with his disciples, there were times when multitudes gladly heard Christ speak, and followed him, and ran ahead of him, and would bring the sick to him, and they rejoiced at his presence, and then they crucified him, and the sheep were scattered from him.

After the joy of his resurrection and the giving of the Holy Ghost being poured out upon the church, there were days with splendid miracles. Tongues of fire speaking in tongues wherein every man heard in his own tongue the praises of God. They heard God being glorified and they rejoiced in it. And there were days where there were thousands baptized and added to the church daily such as should be saved.

And then persecutions arose, and it scattered believers out from Jerusalem. Then disputes and arguments crept in, and divisions and fightings and heresies arose. My sense, too, is that even the abundance of miracles that were rapidly seen in the beginning began to space out and began to be seen less and less because they were for the unbelievers. for the unbeliever.

For example, Paul told Timothy, drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities. Why didn't he just heal Timothy? Why didn't he just heal Timothy then? Well, because faith and patience grew in the Lord. The Lord was teaching us and growing us in him so that we walked by faith, not by the sight of those things which were necessary in the beginning.

And our Lord still does marvelous works of grace and mercy for us through prayer. Not maybe in the same way that they were done then, but he still answers prayer. But there's also times and seasons where we don't see those things. The Lord doesn't do that as quickly as he once did.

But our Lord, through faith, was strengthening the faith of his people through humility and through humbling circumstances. It's humbling when we're sick. It's humbling when we fail. It's humbling when we struggle and don't see the things that we would see. But it's for our faith. It's for our good. It's for our good for the days ahead. Even so, we have a taste of these things today. There's times where there's great successes, and many people come in, and then there's times where it empties out. The Lord knows. There's faithful churches that are few and far between. There's divisions that rise up. There's breakings and separations and dividings all the time. There's scatterings, weakening, strippings, being laid low. It comes in.

Very often, things that seem contrary to the will of God, but are exactly what our Lord says here in verse 22. Ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and ye shall not see it. You'll desire to see that day when that grace is ministered to you, to your heart by the servant of God. Sometimes even, we see that in the church, and then sometimes we ourselves. I go through these times of darkness in the valley of the shadow of death, times of stripping, times of weakness, and we wait for hours, and then hours turn to days, and days turn to years. And we pray, and we seek the Lord, and we wait upon him, and still, in our certain season, no angel comes down to trouble the waters, that we may step into them and be healed, and have our sighing relieved. That doesn't come. And we long for those days when the Lord would hear us, and the Lord would visit us, and the Lord would minister sweetly to us. But sometimes those days get longer and longer.

For ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and ye shall not see him. To see one of those happy days when the Lord gave you a clear token of his favor and love and mercy for you. when you recognize and saw the victory of his triumph in your heart over sin and death. And when those trying days come, he says you may be tempted to think what's happened to our Lord's cause, what's happened to his church. Is it all lost? No, not at all. It's just not always alike, the same and visible as it always was. There's changes that we go through. And we don't always see things as we would like to see them.

And what he says is, don't be taken up with the world. When you see the world having successes and you see false churches having great success and great numbers and many things that the eyes are amazed by and wonder at, like the Whore of Babylon, right? John wondered at the things she was able to do. And the angel said, why did you wonder at that? Why'd you wonder at that? Don't wonder at these things. Don't be taken up with the fleeting fads and feel like you have to change and everything you're doing is wrong. No, this is what our Lord said would come to pass at various seasons and times. Don't say, see here or see there. Go not after them, he says, nor follow them. Don't cease preaching Christ. Don't cease preaching the word, because that's what he's given for his sheep. For his sheep. Don't start preaching the flesh. That's what he's given to the goats, not to his people.

And so the kingdom of God is designed in such a way so as to give rise to faith and grace throughout the world. There's purposes in what the Lord is doing. There's purposes in giving a little here, then a little over there, and then spreading it out over into various directions. It's all for the glory and purpose of God.

Now I say this so that you understand what our Lord is saying to you, his disciples, when he's speaking to his disciples. He's showing nations rise, nations fall, kingdoms rise, and kingdoms fall. Remember that scoffers are the ones that say all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. Not so. Things change all the time, all the time. The kingdom of God, however, does not end. Just because one nation rises and one falls, the kingdom of God is not changed, because it's not like any other kingdom in the world.

The kingdom of God is within you. The kingdom of God only moves and it trends to other parts of the world. It might be in this city, and then the next day it's in that city. This year it's in this nation, and the next year it's in another nation. It just ebbs and flows as God wills and purposes it in varying degrees, with varying successes, according as God has sovereignly purposed to reveal himself to his people scattered throughout the world.

To bring that gospel near. for various, through various ways and means, all under his control according to his purpose. He's able to come into a city and gather out the few sheep there, go to another city, gather out the many sheep that are over there, and he does it all throughout time and history, revealing himself.

And this is what he means when he says in verse 24, Luke 17, 24, for as the lightning that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven shineth unto the other part under heaven, so shall also the Son of Man be in his day. And I believe that, because he calls them even days. Speaking of his first coming, of his second coming and the days of grace in between. It's all speaking of the time of our Lord. First it lighteth this part of the sky, and then it lighteth and shoots over there and lights that part of the sky. All as the Lord purposes and wills it to be done.

Consider how the Lord used persecution to scatter believers out of Jerusalem after they stoned Stephen. And they went forth carrying that word to other parts of the world. And then again, in 70 AD, when he destroyed the city of Jerusalem, it was in order to give light to the Gentiles that sat in darkness, to push that word further out, further out, further out, to keep sending it into different parts of the world. And having gone over those areas, It just kept pushing further west, right, into Greece, and then further out into Europe, further out into the Americas.

It's just how the Lord does it, right? We see it, we rejoice, we're benefactors, or we've benefited from that. We're the benefiters, I should say, right? We're the ones who benefit from how our Lord has moved and steered and turned that gospel so that we know that's how he does it. That's how he does it. He does it as it pleases him. It pleases him. And so God will never let his gospel stagnate in one local area. It's not to make one nation great above another. It's to spread that word out through all the nations, to save some from every kindred and tongue and people and nation in and as it pleases the Lord.

That's how he does it, whether he's bringing them in or he's pushing us out. He does it in that way, a sovereign way that only he knows and understands. Then our Lord says in verse 25, but first must he suffer many things and be rejected of this generation. Well, this is why our Lord came into this fallen world. It's to redeem his people, to satisfy their debt, that God may be just to forgive, right? And just to call them, and to bless them, and to reveal himself to them, and to use them as it pleases him in his kingdom.

All right, to turn us from death and to turn us to life, give us life in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord suffered and we are his disciples. And he tells us the disciple is not greater than his master. All right, if they hated me, they'll hate you. If they persecuted me, they'll persecute you. If they hear me, they'll hear you. All right, and he does it. So that we're taught and conform to our Lord Jesus Christ through various trials, and tribulations, all these things that were patience, and patience, experience, and experience, hope. And hope, Paul writes, maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. And so our Lord strengthens you, his disciples, reminding you of the patience.

He gives examples of Noah and of Lot, right? And their days in which they ministered, right? These are examples unto you, not to discourage you, to encourage your hearts. Look at what it says there in verse 26 through 30.

And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given a marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built, but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed."

So this world here, these are examples, this world, in all its darkness, all its ignorance, all its willful sin and rebellion, they may not hear the warning that God gives of His coming judgment. They may not care to hear of the good news of what Christ has accomplished by His glorious redemption for sinners, for his people whom he's calling out and saving and blessing them. Instead, they eat, they drink, they get married, they go on doing business, selling and buying and doing the things that man does, and they continue on in their perceived security and their carnal comforts and joys, right? They continue on in these things, taken up with this world, assured everything's gonna be the way it's always been. Never going to change. Everything's going to be the same. No man considering.

It's never been that way. Throughout the history of the world, it's never been that way. Sure, there are generations that know peace and tranquility. But by and large, things change. There's always trouble in the world. There's always destruction. Sometimes there's worldwide cataclysms, like in Noah's day, when the flood came and destroyed all the earth. Other times, it's just local. like when Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD, or when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. Sometimes it's just local. And throughout history, there's numerous wars, and famines, and persecutions, and troubles here, and troubles there, and local things, and broader things.

One day, there will be another world-ending event, we're told, by Peter, when the Lord will come and burn everything up. All will be destroyed and burned up. They don't hear it, but you know who does heed the word? Do you know who does hear and heed the word? God's people. Noah, he believed the things he preached, and Noah entered that ark, and he and his family were preserved through that destruction, wasn't he? He was kept and preserved. Lot, went out of Sodom, didn't he? He went out of Sodom and into Zoar, just that little place, that little city prepared for he and his family. and he was delivered from the destruction. And you might notice and say, well, yeah, it was a miracle of grace that they were saved. They barely got out alive, right? No sooner did Noah finish making the ark, gets all the provisions in, and the Lord brings the animals that would be saved into the ark, and he steps into the ark, and what happens? Boom, the door closes. And then the flood came and destroyed everyone outside the ark. Lot himself barely gets out of the city. No sooner does he step into Zoar, but the Lord destroys Sodom and Gomorrah, just as he said. It is a miracle that they were saved. It is a miracle of grace.

That's exactly what our Lord is saying here. to take heed to what he says. Look at verse 31 through 36. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away. And he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot's wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it. And whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

Should such a time be seen by me, where will my heart be? That's the question for us. If I come to a time like that, in great distress, where is my heart? Is it with the world or is it with the Lord? That's what he's saying here.

I tell you, verse 34, in that night there shall be two in one bed. The one shall be taken and the other shall be left. Two shall be grinding together, the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two shall be in the field, the one shall be taken, and the other left.

Now we know that the truth of these words were first landed as far as I know, in 70 A.D. with Jerusalem, right? And any who had withdrawn their hope of Christ and under the persecution went back to the Jews and joined with them, they perished, they were destroyed in the taking of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. They were destroyed utterly and suddenly. So that it's a warning and a reminder to us all in whatever day, we live. Whatever generation the Lord has been pleased to bring us forth here, not to set your heart upon this passing world and this passing generation, you look to Christ, as Noah, as Lot did. You look to the Lord Jesus Christ, for he saves his people to the uttermost.

As we read through history in 70 AD, who were brought out, the people of God, right? The Christians, those whose trust and confidence was the Lord Jesus Christ. They didn't die. They didn't perish in it. And so that's just a small type of the last day, right? What happened there in Jerusalem is really a picture of the final day. We'll take nothing out. We don't need it. We don't need anything out of this world because we have Christ. And you that have Christ have all. And he's able to provide.

you know, in small events we may lose things and lose riches, but big deal, the Lord is able to restore them all as it pleases Him. And so it's just, it's a picture here. He's telling us what things have always been in this world, that hates Christ, that hates His seed and persecutes His seed.

Now, remember, Our Lord always does what is right, always does what is right, always does what is good and right according to his perfect will and purpose, that we may trust him, not fear these things, but trust him, pray to him without ceasing, and grow in him, asking him, keep my heart set upon you. For such a day as that, if it ever comes, I would be looking to you always and only, Lord. Our Lord tells us these things not for us to set our heart upon destruction and fear that and be taken up and consumed with that and worry about that, but to set our hearts upon Him who saves our soul. because just as he preserved Noah and Lot, that's what he does for all his people, all his people. And so our Lord tells us these things for that purpose.

Now, verse 37 here, and they answered and said unto him, where, Lord, where is this gonna happen? And he said unto them, wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together. And so they're asking, where are those who are going to perish? Where are they going to be left? And where shall those that be saved, where will they be taken to? We always want to know as if that's going to help us. And it is. And the Lord doesn't tell us these things because we don't need to know these things. We wouldn't stress and worry about them, right? It's not for that purpose. It's to trust Him. It's to look to Him for all these things, to know that just as He's provided for His people every time, Lord, I trust You'll provide for me in that day.

And so our Lord actually answers both of those questions. Where will the wicked perish? Where will the righteous be saved? And he says it in this one saying here, wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together. Wheresoever the wicked are, who are marked for destruction, they shall be found out. They will not escape. That which comes to hunt them will find them and destroy them, just as God purposed it to be so. And wheresoever the righteous are who are marked for preservation, they will be directed out, they will be shown the way to their ark, or to their Zoar. God will provide for them and save them. And his kingdom shall not fail, for wheresoever the body is, the gospel shall be preached and ministered to you. To you who delight in Christ and are nourished and fed by Christ, he promises, I'll give you Christ. I'll provide for you. I will preserve you in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. I will deliver you. Just keep looking at Him and believe Him, because He says, I do all these things. All right? It's not to destroy you. It's to bless you. It's to destroy the wicked. And so He'll gather you together with like-minded believers, feeding upon Christ until that last day.

And when He comes again, And we'll be gathered together with all the saints of God, worshiping our Lord Jesus Christ in the center, front and center, all the saints. are gathered around him, praising him and worshiping him. So it's good news. It's good news. Don't look at the destruction. Look at Christ. Look at Christ, who is faithful and promises to provide for his people all that we need. And you shall not come short of that which you seek in him. Amen.