YOUR DEPARTURE IS AT HAND
You are going to pack your suitcase:
What should I pack?
What will the weather be like?
How long will I be gone?
Text: Luke 17:26-35
1. PACK YOUR BAGS NOW, TODAY.
Your departure will be sudden and a surprise (Luke 17:24) - “For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.”
The only people who think they know when it will be are those who want to make money on a book (Matthew 24:36) - "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
2. WHAT SHOULD YOU PACK?
Good deeds and generosity (1 Timothy 6:18-19) - Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
Don’t worry – God is keeping track of what you pack (1 Timothy 5:24-25) - The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden.
3. THE DEPARTURE DAY WILL LOOK FAMILIAR.
It will look like the days of Noah. The days of Noah were days of violence (Genesis 6:11) - Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence.
It will look like the days of Lot. The days of Lot were days of sexual perversion (Genesis 19:4-5) - Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom — both young and old — surrounded the house. They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."
4. DO YOU HAVE YOUR TICKET?
It was purchased with the blood of Jesus (Romans 5:9) - Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!
If you don’t have Jesus, you will depart on a trip you don’t want to take (2 Thessalonians 1:8) - He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.