How to Be a Christian in the Middle of a Plague!
(A Message to the Members)
(Preached Wednesday Evening, April 29, 2020)
“And he said unto the disciples, ‘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.”
(Luke 17:22)
Intro:
Explain briefly how we, and yes even Christians, all together want success in this world.
Explain the following verse, and then lead into the sermon.
“And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.” ( jeremiah 45:5)
Explain briefly who Matthew Henry was.
We are continuing a look into of what the real Kingdom of God is, as given by our Lord, Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Savior of the World; as given by him in that oh-so-often-neglected passage in Luke 17:20-37; and as preached here in this sermon by Brother Henry from his six volume set of commentaries, which were written between the years 1708 to 1710, and which are so filled with biblical light as so unanimously agreed upon by Christian men and women for the last 300 years.
I. The Destruction of Your Religious Success in This World
“And he said unto the disciples, ‘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.” (Luke 17:22)
Matthew Henry begins his commentative sermon on verse 22 of the 17th chapter of the Gospel of John by saying that, even in the days of Christ
“The setting up of [the] kingdom [of God] was a work that [was destined to] meet with a great deal of opposition and interruption.
A. You may start out as a great religious success in this world!
“The disciples thought they should carry all before them, and expected a constant series of success in their work; but Christ tells them it would be otherwise [and Matthew Henry goes on to paraphrase what our Lord said in verse 22 by saying]:
“The days will come, before you have finished your testimony and done your work, when you shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man’ (one such a day as we now have), ‘of the prosperity and progress of the gospel, and shall not see it.”
B. You may then become one of the most successful religious people in this world!
Brother Henry goes on to say,
“At first, indeed, you will have wonderful success’ (so they had, when thousands were added to the church in a day); ‘but do not think it will be always so; no, you will be persecuted and scattered, silenced and imprisoned, so that you will not have opportunities of preaching the gospel without fear, as you now have;”
C. You may then find that your religious popularity is ruined in this world!
- “People will grow cool to [your Christianity], when they have enjoyed it awhile,
- “So that [eventually] you will not see such harvests of souls gathered in to Christ afterwards as at first,
- “Nor such multitudes flocking to him [because of your witness for Christ].”
II. The Deceitfulness of Your Religious Success in This World
“And he said unto the disciples, ‘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.” (Luke 17:22)
Matthew Henry continues by saying that
“This looks forward to his disciples in after-ages; they must expect much disappointment;
A. You thought this was the new normal but no, Matthew Henry says,
“The gospel will not be always preached with equal liberty and success.”
B. You thought this was the new normal but no, Matthew Henry says,
“Ministers and churches will sometimes be under outward restraints.”
- Are not you, is not your minister, is not your church now outlawed both judicially and through spread of a new death-causing disease, are you all not, even at this very moment in history, in the midst of this pandemic “under [such] outward restraints?”
C. You thought this was the new normal but no, Matthew Henry says,
“Teachers will be removed into corners, and solemn assemblies scattered.
- Where are your ministers? Where are your congregations; your choirs; your trips to camp; your bake sales; your picnics; your everything that you had before?
III. The Desires of Your Religious Success in This World
“And he said unto the disciples, ‘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.” (Luke 17:22)
Matthew Henry now goes on to conclude by saying that
“Then they will wish to see such days of opportunity as they have formerly enjoyed, sabbath days, sacrament days, preaching days, praying days; these are days of the Son of man, in which we hear from him, and converse with him.
“The time may come when we may in vain wish for such days.
A. It is about God’s desire, not yours!
“God teaches us to know the worth of such mercies by the want of them.
“It concerns us, while they are continued, to improve them, and in the years of plenty to lay up in store for the years of famine.
B. It is about the power that God has, not the power that you feel!
“Sometimes they will be under inward restraints, will not have such tokens of the presence of the Son of man with them as they have had.
“The Spirit is withdrawn from them; they see not their signs; the angel comes not down to stir the waters; there is a great stupidity among the children of men, and a great lukewarmness among the children of God;
C. It is about God’s success, and not yours!
then they shall wish to see such victorious triumphant days of the Son of man as they have sometimes seen, when he has ridden forth with his bow and his crown, conquering and to conquer, but they will not see them.
“Note, We must not think that Christ’s church and cause are lost because not always alike visible and prevailing.”
Conclusion:
- Beginning of the Parable of the Pounds:
“And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.” (Luke 19:13)
- Conclusion of the Parable of the Pounds:
“Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?
“And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.
“(And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.)“ (Luke 19:223-24)
- Beginning of the Parable of the Talents:
“And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.” (Matthew 25:15)
- Conclusion of the Parable of the Talents:
“His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
“Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.” And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 25: 26-30)
Take away:
“And he said unto them, ‘How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49)
OUTLINE:
How to Be a Christian in the Middle of a Plague!
- Pursuit of success in this world has destroyed you!
- Pursuit of success in this world has deceived you!
- Pursuit of success in this world has disappointed you!
- Pursuit of God’s success and not yours is success!
“Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord.” (Luke 17:22)