Now this morning we're looking
at Luke 21. I want to consider just a few
verses. Verse 5 down through verse 9. And I'm taking the title from
verse 8. And this is a very solemn, solemn
subject to think about. The Lord is speaking to His disciples
and He's warning them, take heed Take heed, you be not deceived. Take heed that you're not deceived.
Take heed. Be careful. Take heed. Now being deceived by something
is oftentimes a deadly thing. Being deceived can be deadly.
We've seen that play out recently, haven't we? In that hurricane
that swept through North Carolina. Many people were drowned when
they drove down a flooded roadway, being deceived, thinking it was
not, that water's not that deep, I can make it through. They were
deceived as to the danger that lurked below that water. They didn't think it was dangerous,
so they proceeded. They were deceived. And they
died as a result of being deceived. Now I don't want you to be deceived
and I don't want to be deceived. But there is a greater danger
than that of being deceived by lies the lies of false preachers
who would deceive the hearts of those blinded by sin who would
cause you to trust a false Christ and rest in a refuge of lies
that Isaiah writes about. We had that in our study this
morning from Romans chapter 16. I want to turn there and read
it to you one more time. Now I beseech you, brethren,
mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the
doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them. For they that
are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly,
and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of those who
are yet believers in the gospel. Now, this chapter is full of
prophecy. Prophecy of which some part has
already taken place and some prophecy yet remains to be fulfilled. One prophecy concerns the imminent
destruction of a temple in Jerusalem which occurred in about 70 AD,
about 40 years after this was spoken by the Lord, when the
Roman army completely destroyed Jerusalem, completely destroyed
the city, killed most of the people. Killed most of the people. Now, if you look across the page
at Luke 21, 32, He says to these people, this generation shall
not pass away till you see this destruction on Jerusalem. That's what he's talking about.
History has proven that the prophecy the Lord speaks of certainly
came to pass. It came to pass by the determinate
will and counsel of Almighty God. For he says, I have spoken
it, I'll bring it to pass. I have purposed it and I will
do it. He said the temple is going to
be destroyed. Was it destroyed? Absolutely so. The other prophecy
regarding the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the
imminent destruction of this world as we know it is also given
to us here in this chapter. Notice verse 21. or excuse me,
Luke 21 verse 27. Then shall they see the Son of
Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now that is
talking about the second advent of the Lord, the second coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ. The imminent and when He comes
back we will see the imminent destruction of this world. When
the Lord will destroy this world with the great fervent heat and
make a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness."
Now, if you'll find 2 Peter with me, 2 Peter chapter 3, a lot
of people in our day are very concerned about what they call
global warming. They think some of these hurricanes
are the result of global warming and they are ignorant to the
fact that God will have his way in the whirlwind. In 2 Peter
3, talking about the coming of the day of the Lord, so we do
not believe in global warming, we do believe in global burning.
Verse 10, 2 Peter 3, 10, But the day of the Lord will come,
as the thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass
away with a great noise, the elements shall melt with a fervent
heat, the earth also, and the works therein shall be burned
up. Saying then, that all these things shall be dissolved, What
manner of person you ought to be in all holy conversation and
godliness, looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of
God, when the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved,
the elements shall melt with the fervent heat, Nevertheless,
we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new
earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Now, there is such a thing as
a total destruction of this world by the wrath of God, who will
make a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Now, most people are taken up
with when the Lord will return. I'm not really interested in
when. I am keenly interested in who
is coming back. I'm interested in being found
in Him when He does come back. Now if you'll find 1 Thessalonians,
turn there, chapter 4, the Lord is coming back. 1 Thessalonians
chapter 4. For the Lord, verse 16, shall
descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel,
with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the cloud. To meet the Lord in the air,
so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one
another with these words. But of the times, chapter five,
verse one, but of the times and seasons, brethren, you have no
need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly
that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For
when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction
cometh upon them as travail upon a woman, and they shall not escape."
So, the Lord is coming back. He's coming back to receive His
people unto Himself. He said, I'll go away, if I go
away I'll come back and receive you myself, that where I am,
there you may be also. Now, in our message today I want
us to consider two things. Two things that are relevant
to us today. The destruction that He's spoken
of here in verse 5 and 6, What can we learn from this? And as
some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones
and gifts, he said, for these things which you behold, the
days will come in which there shall not be left one stone upon
another that shall not be thrown down. Now, what can we learn
from this? What can we learn from this?
This life and this earth as we know it today will one day be
melted down and cast away. This body that we dwell in, that
we clean up and paint up and dress up is flesh. All flesh is grass. All flesh is going back to its
original place, dust. All we are is dust in the wind,
talking about this flesh. Therefore we should value nothing
more in this day than we will in that day, for we shall let
loose of this tabernacle of clay and meet the Lord in judgment. How would you value your bank
account in the day when the Lord comes back? It just wouldn't
even matter, would it? Surely the fashion of this world
is passing away. Hold to the things of this life
loosely. Be willing and ready to turn
them loose. Let them go. We should trust
nothing more in this day than we shall when we meet the Lord
face to face. Everything in this life is passing
away. But our hope in Christ, our refuge
in Christ is eternal. He is our eternal temple. He
is our eternal dwelling place that cannot be destroyed, that
cannot melt away. We have in Him an everlasting
salvation. Everlasting. We have a good hope
and everlasting consolation through grace. Y'all thinking about the
infirmities of my flesh that I have right now this morning.
And I was thinking earlier today, there's an old preacher by the
name of David Brainerd. You ever heard of him? David
Brainerd. He was a missionary back years,
early years ago in this country, late 1700s or about. But he had
what we call tuberculosis. His lungs were eaten up with
the disease. And they said that you could
follow his tracks as he made his way to those Indian villages
by following the blood that he spit out along the road, as he
coughed up blood as he was going out to preach to those natives
the gospel of the everlasting God, the everlasting Lord Jesus
Christ. I want to be committed like that,
serving the Lord. The second thing I want us to
know, the disciples in that day marveled at the grandeur and
glory of the temple in Jerusalem. Now, this temple that the Lord was
in that day, that physical building, was not the original temple that
we studied about in First and Second Kings. It was not the
original building that Solomon had built. That was a grand building. But you remember what happened
to it? The Babylonians came in, destroyed the temple, carried
all the people away. Eventually, 70 years later, Ezra
and Nehemiah, we studied these things, remember, they came back
and rebuilt the temple. That's the temple here that the
Lord is in. Disciples in that day marveled
at the grandeur and glory of the temple in Jerusalem. They
said, it's got these goodly stones and these gifts. The Lord plainly
and boldly said, the day will come when the temple walls and
the stones of that building will be thrown down. Now religious
people today are no different. Those Jews gloried in the grandeur
of that building, of that temple, of that temple square. And religious
people are no different today. They glory in great church buildings,
especially old ones, old church buildings. They glory in old
tabernacles, temples that men have constructed. You go out
to Salt Lake City, Utah. And there's a whole square in
that city dedicated to a temple to a god that they worship. It's one of the biggest buildings.
It was the biggest building when it was first built. But people
are inclined to judge things by outward appearance. How big
is the building? I don't know how many times I've
been asked this question. How big is your church? I always want
to know how big the church is. Well, about 40 by 80, I guess.
They always want to know how large, how big. How big is the
crowd? How big is the yearly budget?
I remember when I preached a funeral for our dear brother Earl Blackburn.
And there was another preacher who was a false preacher. who
was asked by the family to participate. And as we sat up on the stand
waiting for the service to begin, he started bragging about everything
that he had done, how much money was in their budget every year,
how much money they spent, and how big their building was, and
this program, and that program. And he turned to me and said,
well, how big is your church? I said, well, we're just a handful,
but we have the gospel of God's grace. After I preached the sermon
for Brother Earl, that preacher would not even look at me in
the face. He wanted to get out of there
as fast as he could. You see, the true glory of the
Lord's church is not in the size of the building. not in the size
of the building we meet in or how many people we preach to
each Sunday, but rather in the gospel message that is preached
in that building, whether it be small, whether it be large.
When we were flooded out of this building, not once but twice,
we met over there in the schoolhouse over in town. It was just as
sweet worship there in that building than it was in this building.
You see, it's not the building, it's the gospel. It's the gospel
that we glory in. That which is essential to true
worship is not physical, but spiritual, is it not? The Father
seeketh such to worship Him in spirit and in truth. You cannot
worship in the spirit without the truth of the gospel being
preached. It's impossible. Did you hear what I said? You
cannot worship God truly in the spirit where the gospel of the
grace of God, His sovereign mercy is not declared. You're just
going through the motions. There's no gospel being preached.
Therefore, there's no worship. Now listen, I would rather meet
in a barn where the gospel is preached than to meet in the
finest building in town where the gospel is denied. How about
you? I'd much rather, I'd much rather
meet in a barn, drafty and cold and dark, or in a cave than to
meet with God's people where the gospel is preached. Let us
learn from this, not the glory in buildings, programs, creeds,
rituals, or ceremony. Let us only glory in the Lord
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And what He has done for us,
not what we're doing for the Lord. A lot of people like to
brag about what they're doing for the Lord. What they're doing
for the Lord. Lord, we preached in your name,
and Lord, we've cast out demons in your name, and Lord, we've
done these many wonderful works. What did he say about those people? All you're doing is graveling,
groveling in iniquity. Depart from me, I do not know
you. Paul said, God forbid we should
glory, save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, in verse
7, 8, and 9, They asked him, saying, Master,
when shall these things be and what sign will there be when
these things shall come to pass? Immediately, he didn't even answer
the question. He said, you need to be concerned
about this, not when. You need to be taken up with
who? Take heed that you be not deceived, for many shall come
in my name and say, I am the way. Or they would say, I have
salvation. They would say, I'm the Christ.
And the time draweth near When it does, don't you go after them. Don't you go after them. But
when you shall hear of wars and commotion, be not terrified.
For these things must first come to pass, but the end is not yet. But it's coming by and by. By
and by it will come. Now, the disciples asked a question
they thought was an important question. When shall these things
be? What shall the sign be? Well, the rest of this chapter
is taken up with what the Lord says by way of His righteous
and exact answer. What must take place? And we'll
look at this in the days to come. But I want to focus the rest
of the time this morning on the subject of not being deceived. not being deceived by trusting
a false Christ or believing a false gospel. Now by nature we're born
being deceived and we will live being deceived unless God teaches
us and reveals the gospel unto us. We're born deceived, we'll
walk in the deceit of lies, and we'll die in our sin unless God
does something in us by his grace. Trusting a false Christ, believing
a false gospel equals condemnation. Now, I cut my teeth as a young
boy on a false gospel. on a false Christ, being deceived. If you trust a false Christ,
you will have a false hope, right? If you believe the lies of false
prophets, you will have a false salvation. If you have a false
refuge and a false redemption, you will certainly perish in
your sins. Do not be deceived. If you trust
yourself to put away your sin, what will happen? Well, I've
not been the best boy, but I'll tell you what, I'm not like that
fella down the road there. I'm just a little bit better
than he is. If anybody's going to make it,
it's going to be me. What vain reasoning. If you trust
yourself to put away your sin, you'll die in your sin. If you trust yourself to establish
righteousness before God, now how much righteousness can you
produce? Have you ever produced any righteousness? The only thing
cows produce, more cows. And the only thing that sin produces
is more sin, and that's all this flesh is. S-I-N. All it can do is sin. If you
trust yourself to establish righteousness before God, you'll die in your
sin. You see, it's not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy, He
saved us. If you die in your sins, you'll
be raised in your sins, you'll face God in judgment in your
sin, and you'll forever perish in the everlasting torments of
the damned in your sin. Salvation, therefore, we know
is found in the true Christ of God as he's revealed in Scripture. The Lord Jesus Christ, the one
who is both totally and eternally God and the one who is a God-man
mediator appointed and said of God. Now there is no salvation
in a false Christ or in a false gospel. There is salvation only
in Christ. He said, I am the way, I am the
truth, I am the life, no man come to the Father but by and
through me. Neither is there salvation in
any other but the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you trusting the
one who is God our Savior? Are you trusting the Lord Jesus
Christ who is the Sovereign Christ? The Sovereign Christ. God had
made that same Jesus whom you crucified, God had made Him both
Lord and Christ. The Sovereign Christ who saved
sinners by His purpose, His Sovereign grace in the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself. The Sovereign Christ. He's hid
these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them unto
babes. You remember the Lord prayed
in John 17, Father, I glorified Thee on the earth, I finished
the work You gave Me to do, and the Lord declared, You've given
Me power over all flesh, that I should give eternal life to
as many as Thou hast given to Me. You see, we trust the Sovereign
Christ, lest do not be deceived. This message that others preach
that God loves everybody, Christ died for everybody, God's trying
to save everybody, is not of God. Those who believe that false
message are deceived and they're in their sin, dead in their sin.
You see, we worship the sovereign Christ. Secondly, we worship
the effectual Christ. The effectual Christ. who has
an effectual atonement to put away our sin. The Lord Jesus
Christ, when he died, he died for his people. When he appeared
once in the end of the age, he put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself. The effectual Christ, the Christ
of God, will accomplish all the will of God in the salvation
of his people who actually fully, completely put away sin by the
sacrifice of himself and honored the law of God for us. That's
the Christ of God that I desire to worship. I don't want to be
deceived. The sovereign Christ, the effectual
Christ of God, who will accomplish all of God's salvation. The victorious Christ. Our Lord
Jesus Christ is not a defeated, frustrated reformer. He's the
sovereign Christ. He's the effectual priest of
God who put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, and he's the enthroned
Christ. When he by himself purged our
sin, he sat down on the right hand of the throne of God. He's
the victorious Christ. We are more than conquerors through
him that loved us. He conquered sin for us, Satan
crushed his dominion, he conquered death, defeated the grave, and
hell. He said, I'm he that liveth and
was dead. Behold, I'm alive forevermore. I have the keys of hell and death.
So the Christ of God is the sovereign Christ, the effectual Christ
of God, the enthroned Christ, the victorious Christ. This is
the Christ of God that we trust. Let us not be deceived. To trust
another Christ, another Jesus, another gospel is to be deceived. Now, make sure you trust the
Christ that sent of God. In the fullness of the time,
God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
to redeem them that were under the law. Make sure that you've
not been deceived and duped in trusting a false Christ, a false
Savior, a false Redeemer, or a false gospel. Now, I don't
want you to be deceived. I don't want to be deceived.
I want to trust the Christ of God. The Christ of God. The Christ of God, the Lord Jesus
Christ, He is the anointed Messiah. That's what the Christ of God
is. He's the anointed Messiah. The anointed Messiah. Now, take
your Bible there and let's find John chapter 4. Remember the woman at the well? John chapter 4, look at verse
25. The woman saith unto him, I know
that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ. Christ, the Messiah,
the anointed of God, when He is come, He will tell us all
things. And the Lord said to her, I that
speak Unto thee I am the Messiah." He is the Christ of God. The
one Son of God. Turn to John chapter 6. John
chapter 6, verse 66. From that time many of the disciples
went back and walked no more with Him. When He declared the
sovereignty of God in salvation. John 6, 66. From that time many
of the disciples went back and walked no more with Him. Then
said Jesus to the twelve, Will you also go away? Then Simon
Peter answered and said unto him, To whom shall we go? Thou
hast the word of eternal life. We believe and are sure thou
art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Make sure you trust
that Christ. Now, He is the Messiah. He is
the Christ of God, the anointed Messiah in all of his office. I've given this to you many times.
Do you remember the threefold office of the Lord Jesus Christ?
He's a prophet, priest, and king. This is the Christ of God. He's
the prophet who represents God to us, telling us the way of
salvation. He says, I am the door. I am
the way, the truth, the life. I am the resurrection. I am the
light. The Lord Jesus Christ is that
prophet sent from God to tell us the way of salvation. And
he says, I am the way. He is that prophet sent of God.
Secondly, he is a priest of God. How does a prophet differ from
a priest? A priest represents the people
unto God. Aaron and his sons, when they
ministered in the tabernacle in the holy place, they represented
the people to God and they did so with the blood atonement.
The Lord Jesus Christ is our anointed high priest to represent
us unto God. Seeing we have such a great high
priest that has entered into the heavens, Let us therefore
come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy
and find grace to help in our time of need. We have a great
high priest. Wherefore in all things it behoove
him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a
merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God,
to make Atonement for the sin of the people. We have a great
high priest who actually made atonement for all the sin of
God's people. He laid down his life for the
sheep. So we have the Christ of God. We trust the Christ of
God. He is our prophet. He is our
priest. He is our king. He's king of
kings. and Lord of Lords. He's King
of righteousness. He's King of peace. He's King
to rule and reign over us with perfect wisdom and all power. He has perfect wisdom and He
has all power to execute His will, to execute His purpose. Take heed that you be not deceived,
for many shall come in My name saying, I am. Let us, by His grace, look to
the Lord Jesus Christ alone. May God give us grace and faith
to trust the Christ of God and rest in Him for all our salvation. For there is salvation in no
other but the Lord Jesus Christ.