This admonishment caused me to consider my own religious affections concerning eternity future.
The heart of a Christ-centered, heaven-focused shepherd comes through in this sermon clip.
"I was thinking to myself today, I'm sure our attendance will be low tonight for our evening service, but it's so difficult for me to understand how anybody could be indifferent to the greatest event in all of redemptive history. The very reason why God chose you before the world began in the first place was to bring this event to pass. What kind of a spiritual commentary is it on us that we're indifferent to this? It's highly unlikely that if we were living in dire circumstances, if we were living in oppression, if we were living under some kind of tyranny, if we were grasping for every morsel of food and every hope for another breath that we wouldn't be ecstatic to hear of this kind of joy in the future, really. We have become satiated, glutted and satisfied with the world's fare and those things which are far beyond that, believe it or not, have little interest to us. That's sad. Can we say with the Apostle Paul, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I've kept the faith. In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will award to me on that day and not only to me but also to all those who have...what?...loved His appearing."
Do we love His appearing? Is that where our affection is? Or have we affection for many other passing things? And what about Philippians chapter 3 verse 20, "Our citizenship is in heaven from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory." What would we say about a bride who had waited years and years and years and years for the coming of the bridegroom and was indifferent to it? Rather than having a heart ecstatic with hope.
This is the consummation of God's plan. This is the pinnacle. This is it. This is what we live for. This is what we die for. The day we wait for when we are joined with our beloved bridegroom."
