1 00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:06,680 Our sermon title this morning is Jesus Instructions for End Time 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:10,440 Living. One of the big questions that 3 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:14,880 people often get very fixated on and very involved in is what's 4 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:17,520 it going to be like when it happens? 5 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:21,920 What will be the signs when it finally all will go down? 6 00:00:23,240 --> 00:00:26,040 The apostles were given the command to spread the gospel, 7 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:29,520 but it was always with this end time in mind. 8 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:34,920 The gospel is a is that the good news of repentance, of salvation 9 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:39,720 through faith in Jesus Christ and all leads toward an end and 10 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:44,560 it's for all of humanity. And part of the gospel means and 11 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:49,000 teaches us to live in preparation and readiness and in 12 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:52,720 anticipation of it. When the church was born, that 13 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:56,160 was when the time of the end began. 14 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:01,040 The apostles, they lived and preached in this last age, or 15 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,680 end times age as we call it. And you and I, we here today, 16 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:10,200 we're still in the end time, end times teaching and end times 17 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:13,680 preaching is not like the last page in a book. 18 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:16,600 You know, sometimes you read a book, you come toward the end 19 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:19,400 and it's the one last chapter, and then the last two pages, and 20 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:21,160 then the last sentence and the last word, you close the book. 21 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:26,680 I don't think that's a good analogy or a good picture of end 22 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:28,400 times. To me, it's more like you have a 23 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:34,080 5000 piece puzzle, small pieces, and it's all spread and 24 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:37,440 scattered over a huge surface and you start picking up the 25 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:41,040 pieces, which goes where it takes a lifetime to to put it 26 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:44,120 together. A lot of things we simply don't 27 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:47,560 know, in part because we don't have the culture of their time. 28 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:50,280 The lot of things that they knew we don't know, and the way they 29 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:52,560 understood things, we don't understand things that way. 30 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:56,720 And so there's a lot of gaps. And so for a lot of people, it's 31 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:01,600 all about signs and events. My, my intention here this 32 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:06,040 morning is not to go there. It's not I'm trying to be a cop 33 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:09,080 out, but I think there's something more important and 34 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:13,000 deeper than figuring out, OK, this happened and this happened 35 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:17,760 and now it's going to go down. Early on in my walk with Christ, 36 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:22,160 I would from time to time come across end times prophecy 37 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:25,320 teachings and writings and I listened to the radio. 38 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:28,080 Back then we did not have computer actually. 39 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:30,280 In fact, my wife and I were married. 40 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:33,160 I believe it was six years or seven years before we had our 41 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:38,040 first big screen 14 inch TV and it was black and white. 42 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:41,320 And so we have very limited access to the outside world 43 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:44,360 except radio. And I did a lot of reading and 44 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:46,400 magazines. So I was quite drawn in by 45 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:49,280 listening and reading about end Times prophecy. 46 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:52,760 And I learned one of the one of the things I learned was how 47 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:56,000 different the different theologians would approach the 48 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:58,600 subject. And they were very convinced, 49 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:03,000 very emphatic, this event and that event means this and it 50 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:04,760 means that. And they would dive into 51 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:07,720 Revelation and the book of Daniel, the book of Ezekiel and 52 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:09,960 the prophets had it all figured out. 53 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:13,280 The one thing they didn't, they were just short of and a few 54 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:15,280 guys did. I never listened to them. 55 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:17,960 They would put an end time date on it, but the guys I listened 56 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:19,640 to, they would not put a date on it. 57 00:03:19,640 --> 00:03:25,160 Everything else they would do. Interestingly, I would say today 58 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:28,280 maybe almost or all of those properties that used to listen 59 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:33,680 to 35 close to 40 years ago today are nothing more then 60 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:37,560 books and stories in the dustbin of history and the and the 61 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:40,720 element of the end times story that they should have emphasized 62 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:42,840 was seldom heard. And so that's where I want to go 63 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:45,120 today. We're continuing our sermon 64 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:49,440 series out of the Gospel of Mark and today we're in chapter 13. 65 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:54,080 It's an end times chapter. In this chapter, Jesus is in his 66 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:58,520 final week on earth in his ministry, and he spent a lot of 67 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,960 time by now teaching in the temple earlier that week and 68 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:05,480 Sunday he walked into Jerusalem, looked at the temple, walked 69 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:07,160 out. The next day he comes in and he 70 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:09,400 cleans the place out. It was a big job in and of 71 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:12,840 itself and he got into a lot of trouble. 72 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:15,880 The Pharisees interrogating him and wanting to know by what 73 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:17,320 authority are you doing these things? 74 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:19,920 Who gives you the right to do these things and the constant 75 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:23,240 interaction with these Pharisees and these religious leaders? 76 00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:29,920 In this chapter we will find that Jesus told his disciples 77 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:34,520 what they needed to know, not necessarily what they wanted to 78 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:36,920 hear. And the same goes for us often 79 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:40,680 times too. When we read a chapter like Mark 80 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:44,640 chapter 13, I want us to start at the beginning of the chapter 81 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:48,800 and lay the foundation of what was further ahead, the teachings 82 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:51,120 of Jesus. What Jesus teaching here is 83 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:54,640 grounded or rooted in the early part of the chapter where Jesus 84 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:58,280 and his disciples have just finished their thing during for 85 00:04:58,280 --> 00:05:00,440 the day in the temple and they walk out of the temple. 86 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:03,400 And as they're walking out of the temple, something very 87 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:06,800 interesting takes place. And this is kind of the backdrop 88 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:10,320 or the basis of the foundation of what we want to look into 89 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:13,720 today. And if you have your Bibles or 90 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:18,120 devices, read with me. Mark chapter 13 the 1st 2 verses 91 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:23,440 in chapter chapter 13 verse one, it says then as he went out of 92 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:26,840 the temple, meaning Jesus, one of his disciples said to him, 93 00:05:26,840 --> 00:05:31,720 Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are 94 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:34,480 here. And Jesus answered and said to 95 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:36,880 him, do you see these great buildings? 96 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:41,680 Not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown 97 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:46,640 down. This is kind of the backdrop of 98 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:49,600 the canvas on which we want to paint the story today. 99 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:56,920 The the disciples of Jesus, their mindset when they walked 100 00:05:56,920 --> 00:06:00,160 out of the temple and Jesus mindset when he walked out of 101 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:06,240 the temple were polar opposites. And So what Jesus, what we'll 102 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:08,320 find here, what Jesus will be, will be doing here. 103 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:11,880 When you read it in a moment, Jesus shifts their focus. 104 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:16,280 Where was their focus? Their focus was, wow, what a 105 00:06:16,280 --> 00:06:20,840 glorious place. Some commentators say that the 106 00:06:20,840 --> 00:06:24,360 temple grounds on which this place was built was actually a 107 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:28,880 surface area of 30 some acres. That's a lot of land. 108 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:33,760 And on that flat, on that flat, on that piece, there was this 109 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:37,920 magnificent thing called the temple Huge. 110 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:41,240 It was wonderfully built. It took Herod many, many years 111 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:43,120 to build it. And in fact, they were not even 112 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:45,880 done when Jesus was there. They had been working on it for 113 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:48,920 40 years, but there was still building after these died and 114 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,920 rose and went to heaven. In fact, commentators say it was 115 00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:54,600 only completed about maybe 10 years before Jerusalem was 116 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:57,160 destroyed. That's how big it was and how in 117 00:06:57,160 --> 00:06:59,480 depth it was. But the disciples are seeing 118 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:01,920 this place and they're just marvelling at what they're 119 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:04,960 seeing. And Jesus, of course, sees it 120 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:07,600 too. But for the disciples, we can 121 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:10,320 imagine what they were thinking based on the comments they had 122 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:13,360 been making, and also what they would be saying to Jesus on what 123 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:16,000 they would be bickering amongst themselves on Thursday night 124 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:19,720 before Jesus would be arrested. They were thinking, OK, who's 125 00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:22,240 going to be the greatest when Jesus is king? 126 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:25,160 And when Jesus takes over this whole place, the palace in 127 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:28,680 Jerusalem, the temple and the nation for that matter, what 128 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:31,760 role will we play? What promotions will we get? 129 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:34,520 Those were the kinds of thoughts that were running through their 130 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:41,280 minds during the Passion Week. And here Jesus says, you see 131 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:45,520 these great buildings, I'm telling you, not one stone here 132 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:48,160 will be left on another that will not be thrown out. 133 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:50,080 And they were not just little tiny bricks like we have in our 134 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:51,880 building in front. They were massive stones 135 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:53,560 weighing. Some say some stones are 136 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:57,160 hundreds of tons each. It was a sight to behold. 137 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:01,480 The question I want to ask is when we think of end times, 138 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:04,120 teaching that we're going to go here to in a second is where's 139 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:06,400 our heart? Where's our focus? 140 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:08,560 Are we with the disciples? It's more of a temp 141 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:11,280 materialistic view. What's going to happen to this 142 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:15,160 earth is a political or is it eternal in terms of what has 143 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:18,920 eternal value for the disciples? All they knew Jesus is the 144 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:21,880 Messiah, King of kings in which he was. 145 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:26,360 But when Jesus said this, this was extreme. 146 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:31,760 This was a complete shift of focus. 147 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:35,440 So the first point this morning I want us to think about is end 148 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:37,520 times living and end times living. 149 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:39,480 Focus matters. In case to those of you who are 150 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:44,120 taking notes, focus matters. For the disciples, this was 151 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:46,600 brand new. Nobody had ever said something 152 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:50,720 like this. And when historians talk about 153 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:54,720 the actual event of Jerusalem being destroyed, with Jerusalem 154 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:57,080 first of all being destroyed, then the temple being destroyed, 155 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:01,040 it's a horrific story. Now just say a few words about 156 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:03,640 that. When the Jews had an uprising 157 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:08,000 about 60 sometime AD, they rebelled against Rome. 158 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:10,880 They revolted. Rome, of course, came down hard, 159 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:14,520 sent the an emperor out with an army, besieged Jerusalem. 160 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:18,800 And inside Jerusalem there were a lot of Jews and they would 161 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:22,840 fight amongst themselves trying to gain the upper hand, who 162 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:25,600 should be the boss or the leader when it all would go down. 163 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:28,280 Because they were not doubting it for a moment that they 164 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:31,080 wouldn't win or they were going to win, just how it will unfold 165 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:33,040 when they do win. They didn't think that the 166 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:34,920 temple in Jerusalem would ever be destroyed. 167 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:36,720 To them was a matter of waiting it out. 168 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:38,920 And once they would win, then this is how it would be. 169 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:41,040 And there were several, I think there's three, maybe more 170 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:43,200 different factions fighting amongst themselves. 171 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:45,680 Those are the things Jesus prophesying. 172 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:48,560 So focus matters in the disciples. 173 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:51,160 They're focusing on the temporal, the material, and 174 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:53,240 Jesus is saying, Nope, that's not where it's at. 175 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:56,080 So in the end times, Jesus has a different focus. 176 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:59,080 Let's read chapter Mark 13, verse 3. 177 00:09:59,880 --> 00:10:02,520 And it says now as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the 178 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:07,560 temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew Aston privately tell us, 179 00:10:07,560 --> 00:10:09,760 they say, when will these things be? 180 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:13,280 And what will be the sign when all these things will be 181 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:16,000 fulfilled? Just imagine the scene. 182 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:18,960 They've left the temple. They've walked out of the 183 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:22,280 temple, down out of Jerusalem, through the Kidron Valley, up 184 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:25,200 the Mount of Olives, and on the Mount of Olives. 185 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:28,160 It was higher than the temple. So they're looking down across 186 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:30,560 the valley toward Jerusalem, toward the Temple Mount. 187 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:34,400 Say, Lord, when will this be? This is news to us. 188 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:38,760 When will these things be? And then verse 5, Jesus says, 189 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:43,480 answering them, He said, take heed that no one deceives you. 190 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:47,320 For many will come in my name, saying, I am He and will deceive 191 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:50,360 many. But when you hear of wars and 192 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:53,920 rumors of wars, do not be troubled, for such things must 193 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:56,240 happen. But the end is not yet. 194 00:10:56,480 --> 00:10:59,840 For nation will rise against nation and Kingdom against 195 00:10:59,840 --> 00:11:03,080 Kingdom, and there will be earthquakes in various places, 196 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:04,680 and there'll be famines and troubles. 197 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:06,760 These things are the beginnings of sorrows. 198 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:11,640 So the point #2 is in end times, beware of deception. 199 00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:15,240 Beware of deception. The question is not, will 200 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:16,960 deceivers come? The question is, who's going to 201 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:18,560 fall for them? That's the question. 202 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:23,320 And if it was not a risk for God's people to become deceived 203 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:26,320 and go after deceivers, then it wouldn't have been mentioned. 204 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:29,200 But because it's mentioned, we have to accept the fact that 205 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:32,680 it's a reality. These wars and rumors of wars, 206 00:11:32,680 --> 00:11:36,440 Jesus says that will be mortal conflict, natural disasters, 207 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:38,720 nature. Will there be natural upheavals? 208 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:42,960 But so far Jesus has not said a single word yet. 209 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:46,480 But when the end will be. So what is he talking about? 210 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:50,480 Is Jesus talking about the end of the Jewish city, Jerusalem in 211 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:53,080 the temple, or the future end of the world? 212 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:59,240 Mark, the gospel writer does not say, but it seems he's talking 213 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:02,560 about both, both the end of Jerusalem and the end of the 214 00:12:02,560 --> 00:12:06,000 world as we know it. If anything, in verse 8, he says 215 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:08,680 these are the beginnings of sorrows. 216 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:12,320 It's always tempting to want to know what's around the corner, 217 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:14,800 what's over the hill, what's around that corner. 218 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:18,160 Jesus does not tell his disciples. 219 00:12:18,560 --> 00:12:20,360 He's just saying this is the journey. 220 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:22,800 This is what the journey toward the end will be like. 221 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:25,760 They're on the Mount of Olives, perhaps sitting there and 222 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:28,040 listening to Jesus talk. They may have been just sitting 223 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:30,160 there looking at Jerusalem, looking at the temple. 224 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:36,160 Wow, what's he talking about? Then the point #3 he says watch 225 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:37,880 out for yourselves. End time living. 226 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:39,920 He said basically, prepare to endure. 227 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:42,040 So let's look at that, Prepare to endure. 228 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:43,600 He says watch out for yourselves. 229 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:48,240 For they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten 230 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:51,640 in the synagogues. You'll be brought before rulers 231 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:54,800 and kings for my sake, for the testimony to them. 232 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:58,680 And the gospel must be first preached to all nations. 233 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:02,800 But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry 234 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:06,520 beforehand or premeditate what you will speak. 235 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:09,280 But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that. 236 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:12,040 For it's not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 237 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:16,160 Now brother will betray brother to death, and the Father, his 238 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:19,440 child and children will rise up against parents and cause them 239 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:23,360 to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for 240 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:26,880 my name's sake. But he who endures to the end 241 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:32,280 shall be saved. Jesus is completely dismantling, 242 00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:36,840 deconstructing their whole end times view and he's giving in 243 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:41,480 the complete different view. The matter before the disciples 244 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:44,080 here was not will you suffer all you will suffer. 245 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:48,280 That was going to happen, but be ready for what he's saying to 246 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:50,760 them. He says watch for yourselves. 247 00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:55,080 Life would be hard, it would be difficult, the ministry would 248 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:57,240 not be easy, and the cost would be great. 249 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:01,000 This is a reminder of the cross. And he doesn't mention the cross 250 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:03,400 here per SE in that aspect, but it's a reminder of it. 251 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:09,120 And he reminds them also to not to not worry, to not think ahead 252 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:12,800 how I'm going to defend myself. What am I going to say to the 253 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:16,200 authorities who arrest me, who arrest us and who beat us and 254 00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:20,120 who torture us and persecute us? He says you'll be given what you 255 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:24,760 need in that time. The severity of it would be very 256 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:26,960 extreme. And this applies to us today. 257 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:31,200 We must be on guard and not allow ourselves to be brought to 258 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:34,200 think that somehow we can be friends with God, with God and 259 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:35,680 friends of the world at the same time. 260 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:40,520 We have to be careful with that. We do know the early disciples, 261 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:43,600 they suffered severe persecution at extreme levels and many were 262 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:46,320 killed. And over the centuries this has 263 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:48,280 been the life of the church persecution. 264 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:50,920 And today still in many countries, there is severe 265 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:53,800 persecution. Here in the West, we do not see 266 00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:56,440 it as much. There's some some mild 267 00:14:56,440 --> 00:15:00,600 persecution, we could call it, and it may welcome that religion 268 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:03,120 or faith in Christ will be illegal one day. 269 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:05,440 We don't know that. And it may be for years, maybe 270 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:07,280 never in our world, in our culture here. 271 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:10,000 But in different ways, the distractions are just as real. 272 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:14,520 Jesus reminds his disciples that those who do endure, those who 273 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:19,120 endure to the end will be saved. Then he talks about these 274 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:22,440 strange events in verse 14. He's speaking to his disciples 275 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:23,880 about these events on the horizon. 276 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:26,720 When these events come, he says people should take evasive 277 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:31,080 action. There's much that's been written 278 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:34,720 about all of this, but running about the moving, going, fleeing 279 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:37,200 to Jerusalem and and running away and so on. 280 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:40,120 And that's the next point here in the end times living. 281 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:42,680 We have to be ready and he talks to the disciples about that. 282 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:46,280 Let's continue verse 14. He says in verse 14, so when the 283 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:51,760 abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel the prophet standing 284 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:54,840 where it ought not then that those who are in Judea flee to 285 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:58,560 the mountains that him was on the housetop not go down into 286 00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:00,720 the house. They're entered to take anything 287 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:03,440 out of his house. So is he talking about end end 288 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:06,120 times or talking about the destruction of Jerusalem? 289 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:08,200 The destruction of Jerusalem would make sense here. 290 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:12,400 Let him was in the field, not go back to take his clothes. 291 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:15,640 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are 292 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:20,000 nursing babies in those days. And pray that your flight may 293 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:22,880 not be in winter. For in those days there will be 294 00:16:22,880 --> 00:16:27,720 tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the 295 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:32,000 creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. 296 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:35,640 And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh 297 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:38,760 would be saved. But for the elect's sake whom He 298 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:42,440 chose, He shortened the days. Then if anyone says to you, 299 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:45,040 look, here's the Christ, or look, he is there, do not 300 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:47,960 believe it. For false Christs and false 301 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:51,240 prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if 302 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:55,240 possible, even the elect. But take heed. 303 00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:57,160 See, I've told you all things beforehand. 304 00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:00,120 But in those days after that tribulation, the sun will be 305 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:02,440 darkened, and the moon will not give its light. 306 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:06,200 The stars will fall, for the stars of heaven will fall, and 307 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:08,319 the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 308 00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:11,319 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with 309 00:17:11,319 --> 00:17:15,000 great power and glory, that He will send his angels and gather 310 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,640 his elect from the four winds from the farthest part of the 311 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:25,160 earth to of of heaven. He's basically telling him be 312 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:27,200 ready. He's telling him what to do when 313 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:30,080 certain things go down. But primarily it's about be 314 00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:34,120 ready when it happens. Reading just the first part 315 00:17:34,120 --> 00:17:36,720 there, it sounds Jesus is describing what happened during 316 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:39,720 the destruction of Jerusalem. It's very local, it's very 317 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:42,040 geographical. And this happened some 30 years 318 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:45,840 after Jesus prophesied this. It was a horrific time and the 319 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:49,160 abomination of desolation that Jesus talks about, that Daniel 320 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:51,960 talks about, different theologians have expanded on 321 00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:54,160 that and they've they've gone deep into it. 322 00:17:54,520 --> 00:17:58,760 I will simply say I'm not sure to what all this pertains. 323 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:01,960 Has it already passed? Maybe. 324 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:03,520 It's possible. Yeah. 325 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:06,280 Will some of this happen again, repeat itself or it's going to 326 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:07,680 happen? Maybe, possibly. 327 00:18:08,360 --> 00:18:10,080 But the point is clear. Be ready. 328 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:12,920 This was the call for the disciples for the time. 329 00:18:13,120 --> 00:18:17,320 That call has not changed. There's never a time when we can 330 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:22,080 put our Christian life on cruise or just kick back and relax and 331 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:25,840 let down our guard, so to speak. There's never a time when a 332 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:27,920 Christian can lay down their armor. 333 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:31,880 Jesus again talks about false Christs and false prophets 334 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:34,280 performing signs and wonders to deceive. 335 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:37,920 Jesus says if it were possible, even the elect. 336 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:41,840 And Jesus again alludes to natural disasters he's talked 337 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:45,480 about before. And we must be careful not to 338 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:48,600 start putting events into chronological slots. 339 00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:53,320 This has been done in the past, but we know it doesn't work. 340 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:56,000 All we know Jesus hasn't come yet. 341 00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:00,800 He's going to come, but what all will go down is not clear. 342 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:04,360 It's not going to be pretty. 11 commentator's name is Timothy 343 00:19:04,360 --> 00:19:06,920 Getter and I've alluded to numerous times in the sermon 344 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:11,240 series in this book here he mentions in this passage, it was 345 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:15,720 the disciples who introduced the word sign, quote UN quote sign 346 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:19,480 into the conversation when they asked Jesus what the sign would 347 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:22,320 be for the destruction of Jerusalem in the temple when it 348 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:24,400 was going to happen. They were the ones who 349 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:28,640 introduced the word sign when Jesus began his response to his 350 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:31,160 disciples. In his talk, Jesus uses the word 351 00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:36,200 signs only in as an informative from an informative standpoint. 352 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:40,760 In fact, He used the word sign to warn against the teachers of 353 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:44,160 the law and Pharisees. Jesus was not really much sign 354 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:45,880 focused. He did talk about it, but that 355 00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:47,720 was not the thrust of His emphasis. 356 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:54,160 We can be so sign focused, we can forget to be ready focused. 357 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:58,400 Let me say that again. We can be so sign focused we 358 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:02,720 forget to be ready focused. Some people find it a lot easier 359 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:05,080 to focus on signs than not being ready. 360 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:10,160 Many years ago I met a man and we were. 361 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:14,440 We became friends. And we spent time together here 362 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:17,120 and there and he was a Christian, at least I believe he 363 00:20:17,120 --> 00:20:19,200 was a Christian and he's, he claimed he was. 364 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:22,840 But one of the things that happened in my relationship with 365 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:27,920 this guy was without exception, when we were together, he would 366 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:31,720 go to end times teaching what does revelation this and that 367 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:33,600 and what and on and on he would go. 368 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:36,400 And that was without fail. We would get together and he 369 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:39,040 would dive into end times theology, end times doctrine, 370 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:42,400 end times teaching. And that was his thing, pretty I 371 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:44,880 would say every single time. And I kind of was puzzled. 372 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:48,520 Why is he doing this? And I never contradicted him or 373 00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:52,280 never really challenged him. I didn't agree on everything, 374 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:54,520 but I thought, you know what's not my place here? 375 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:58,240 I'm a friend. I don't want to just maybe cause 376 00:20:58,240 --> 00:20:59,880 tension in a relationship, but just let him talk. 377 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,560 Our friendship drifted, he moved away, our friendship drifted and 378 00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:06,280 we basically never connected again. 379 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:08,960 But I learned one day he had gotten sick and he became I'll 380 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:11,480 he passed away. And then I learned some other 381 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:15,000 things. This man was he did go to church 382 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:19,880 here and there. He believed in God very heavily, 383 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:22,680 end times focused. And I learned a few things. 384 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:27,560 He had a very broken family, his wife and kids, no good 385 00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:29,040 relationship with his children if at all. 386 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:32,360 Then I learned on top of that he lived more failure. 387 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:35,320 I don't know if at the time was my friend, but had a history of 388 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:38,920 moral failure. He was very end times focused, 389 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:44,880 not so much ready focused. And as I pondered all this, it 390 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:49,320 seemed to me the dots connected. He had some sort of faith, but 391 00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:52,560 more focused on what's going to go down than if he was ready for 392 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:54,960 it. And it's easy to become science 393 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:57,040 focused instead of ready focused. 394 00:21:57,400 --> 00:21:58,800 So first, we have the right focus. 395 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:01,160 Second, we have to be aware of deception. 396 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:03,800 We have to be prepared to endure. 397 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:07,720 We have to live ready, then we have to live watchfully. 398 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:09,520 Let's read verse 28 to the end of the chapter. 399 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:13,360 Now learn this parable. Jesus says, learn this parable 400 00:22:13,360 --> 00:22:17,120 from the fake tree, verse 28. When its branch has already 401 00:22:17,120 --> 00:22:20,480 become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is 402 00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:23,720 near. So you also, when you see these 403 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:26,720 things happening, know that it is near at the doors. 404 00:22:27,120 --> 00:22:30,920 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass 405 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:33,520 away till all these things take place. 406 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:37,480 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means 407 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:41,000 pass away. But of that day and hour no one 408 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:44,680 knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only 409 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:48,000 the Father. Take heed, watch, and pray, for 410 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:50,600 you do not know when the time is. 411 00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:55,240 It is like a man going to a far country who left his house and 412 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:58,320 gave authority to his servants and to each his work, and 413 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:00,120 commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 414 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:03,840 Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the 415 00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:07,600 house is coming in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of 416 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:10,960 the rooster, early in the morning or early in the morning, 417 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:14,520 lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 418 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:18,120 And what I say to you I say to all, watch. 419 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:21,800 Let's think about this word. Watch. 420 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:25,240 Jesus didn't give them a very clear warning. 421 00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:31,800 He says don't, don't be over concerned about the signs. 422 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:34,120 Yes, they're there and we need to pay attention to them, but 423 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:38,240 watch that begins now. That's every day. 424 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:42,160 And again, as I said, this is a difficult passage and it's not 425 00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:44,440 like the book, the last sentence in the chapter, the last words 426 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:48,120 in a in a sentence. It is like a puzzle and the 427 00:23:48,120 --> 00:23:53,200 pieces are not all together yet. When Jesus says in verse 30 that 428 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:57,040 this generation will by no means pass away till all these things 429 00:23:57,040 --> 00:23:59,080 take place, what's he talking about? 430 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:02,760 Is he talking about events described in a time frame that 431 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:05,440 at that time meant his disciples, and that was the time 432 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:09,600 frame that generation? Some say yes, some theologians 433 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:11,360 would. Yeah, that's what he was packing 434 00:24:11,360 --> 00:24:14,000 it into. Or is he talking about a 435 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:16,840 comprehensive view from the time when Jerusalem would be 436 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:19,280 destroyed, when he would leave earth and the church would begin 437 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:23,000 to the destruction, and further to the very end when he would 438 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:24,680 return in glory? Is he talking about that? 439 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:29,160 Is that all one linear? Well, it doesn't tell us this. 440 00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:32,960 If this phrase means the church generation, then I can see it. 441 00:24:33,360 --> 00:24:38,240 What I want to focus on is, am I ready, am I watching, am I 442 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:43,160 alert, am I sleeping? Jesus tells us, disciples, keep 443 00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:45,200 watch. Make sure you don't become 444 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:48,240 complacent. What's so interesting in this 445 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:51,120 passage is this. There is a total and complete 446 00:24:51,120 --> 00:24:56,280 absence of any time date, Not even the places really, except 447 00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:58,320 Jerusalem would be destroyed. But other than that, there's not 448 00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:00,880 a lot about places either. So what does this teach us? 449 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:06,280 Again, it's not about when, it's about how we're to live in 450 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:09,720 anticipation of the things that are happening. 451 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:15,520 What is important for us to realize we do Live Today in an 452 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:18,920 end time cycle of the world and it's drawing closer. 453 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:23,280 What is important for us to pay attention to is how do we live 454 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:26,640 in this end time? The truth is that when the 455 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:29,000 master comes, then it's too late to quickly. 456 00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:31,120 Oops, sorry, I'm a bit late. You know, can you hold off 5 457 00:25:31,120 --> 00:25:33,560 minutes? There will be nothing like that. 458 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:35,960 Yeah, we can start the service this morning a few minutes late 459 00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:38,840 because it was important to us. We get things done in in order 460 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:41,720 and that's fine. But on judgement Day, there will 461 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:45,600 be no, oh, half a second too late, either ready or not ready, 462 00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:48,800 not coming, kind of in between, almost ready or, or quickly get 463 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:53,200 ready yet that won't be there. I want to say something here 464 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:56,320 this morning that may not sit well with some of you here. 465 00:25:56,800 --> 00:25:58,760 And I'm not sure where everybody's AT. 466 00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:01,200 And that's not my point to judge or condemn anybody if they're 467 00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:04,000 disagreeing with me or not. On the page where I'm at with 468 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:06,640 this, I want to be gentle but honest. 469 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:10,680 Some Christians teach 2 comings of Jesus at the end of time. 470 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:15,080 They teach that first toward the end they would say the Bible 471 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:16,600 teaches it. That's very different. 472 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:19,400 They say that toward the end Jesus will come and rapture the 473 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:20,760 church. He's going to blink of an eye 474 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:24,680 and all the believers will be gone, just silent rapture. 475 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:27,640 And then things on earth are going to fall apart. 476 00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:30,680 There's going to be a seven-year tribulation and things will be 477 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:32,920 get from bad to worse. It's going to be very evil. 478 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:36,080 And then there will be some of those left behind who will 479 00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:39,080 become Christians and walk with God, repent and turn to Christ, 480 00:26:39,360 --> 00:26:43,080 and they will then have to persevere or be killed during 481 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:46,200 the seven-year tribulation. But then after the seven years, 482 00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:49,520 Jesus will come back, establish his reign on earth, reign for 483 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:53,320 1000 years, and evil will be done away with these two comings 484 00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:56,640 of Christ in the end times, the one rapture in the second after 485 00:26:56,640 --> 00:26:58,680 that is the way that some people understand it. 486 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:02,720 I will say this, I've done some research and I've listened to 487 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:06,040 different speakers on both sides of this camp and the early 488 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:09,280 church fathers up to the Reformation and beyond. 489 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:13,160 I don't find it. I do know there's a lot of 490 00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:14,720 theologians that he interpreted that way. 491 00:27:15,120 --> 00:27:20,400 My response to this is, as far as I've been able to tell, this 492 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:24,840 began in the 1820s to 1830s, that this rapture theology kind 493 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:28,760 of took off, that there will be two comings from the early days 494 00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:32,160 of the church till 1820s that really wasn't there. 495 00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:35,480 At least I've not found it. But what is emphasized 496 00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:37,920 throughout Scripture, don't bank on that. 497 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:39,120 Don't bank. I know. 498 00:27:39,120 --> 00:27:41,720 OK, you know what, If I don't make it the first round, I'll 499 00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:44,400 get ready for the second round. That is not biblical. 500 00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:48,840 And I'm not saying these people are not Christians. 501 00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:50,600 All I'm saying is that I disagree with it. 502 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:55,160 What I do say is that no matter who they are, who anyone is, all 503 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:58,040 who repent of their sins, who ask for forgiveness and receive 504 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:00,200 Jesus and walk with Jesus, they'll be saved. 505 00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:02,880 Guess what, Even the disciples didn't have their theology 506 00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:05,160 correct. Even when Jesus rose from the 507 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:08,400 dead, Acts chapter one, verse 8, even then they had to get some 508 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:10,840 training and we need to be trained our whole lives. 509 00:28:12,120 --> 00:28:15,320 One thing I will say also is that there are people in this 510 00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:18,240 world, they really look forward to the coming of Christ, 511 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:21,400 especially when you talk, when you listen to people talk and 512 00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:24,080 persecuted countries, to them it couldn't come soon enough. 513 00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:27,400 But here in the West, for many of us, I want to enjoy life 514 00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:28,480 first. You know what, maybe I want to 515 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:30,240 get married first. I want to enjoy family first. 516 00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:32,120 I want to enjoy this first. I want to enjoy that first. 517 00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:36,720 That is not readiness. I watched the video on time of a 518 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:40,400 speaker who made the comment that North America, we're so 519 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:45,520 entrenched to comfort focused living, security based living 520 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:49,160 that when anything about persecution is mentioned or it 521 00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:52,200 happens to anyone, we we're allergic to it. 522 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:54,240 We don't want it and we brace against it. 523 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:55,680 We bristle. We don't want to hear it. 524 00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:59,240 On the other hand, in certain countries in the world where 525 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:01,800 they're ruled by brutal dictatorships, when people are 526 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:04,000 persecuted there, they. Yeah, we expected this. 527 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:05,080 Yeah. This is what What? 528 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:07,440 What's our lot in life? This is part of the tribulation. 529 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:09,200 And guess what? It's going to end, and we're 530 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:12,960 going to go to heaven. They smile when you talk of end 531 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:14,840 times here in the West. Oh, wow. 532 00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:16,600 What's going to go down? Why are we? 533 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:20,600 What's going to happen? Jesus warned his disciples they 534 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:22,160 would be arrested. They would be tortured. 535 00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:24,200 They would be killed. And He's calling you and I today 536 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:27,480 to watch. He's calling us to be alert. 537 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:31,560 He's calling us to not be deceived and not to go for dates 538 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:35,880 and times. The topic of end times theology 539 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:39,400 is hot button issue. I get that, but it shouldn't be. 540 00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:45,000 You and I will all die, 100% guarantee. 541 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:46,720 Unless Christ comes in the meantime. 542 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:50,800 But the way it is now, we will all die. 543 00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:56,320 Some of us, sooner than later, we will die, and there's no 544 00:29:56,400 --> 00:29:59,680 second chance. After that, there's nothing. 545 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:02,920 That's the final end. The the point we're trying to 546 00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:07,360 get here is, are we ready? The day that we breathe our last 547 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:10,880 is when we meet Jesus. The most important part of End 548 00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:14,680 Times teaching is not to fix events and places and politics 549 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:18,200 around the world. It's the focus to be ready and 550 00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:23,040 to live ready when it happens. And when we do that, then we can 551 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:28,120 joyfully, with freedom and abandoned, enjoy the life that 552 00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:30,080 we have. Whether persecution or not is 553 00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:32,840 not the issue. Then we can live with full joy 554 00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:35,360 and peace in the space and time God has allotted for each one of 555 00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:36,800 us. Whether it's a short life, 556 00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:39,640 whether it's a long life, that doesn't matter. 557 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:43,440 The disciples on the Mount of Olives on that day got a wake up 558 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:45,760 call. They believe their beloved 559 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:48,240 temple is permanent. They believe Jesus would in a 560 00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:51,000 matter of days, be king and rule forever. 561 00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:54,120 They believed that they would have parts and positions in this 562 00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:55,560 glorious king that he would set up. 563 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:58,240 And what does Jesus do? He deconstructs. 564 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:00,480 He dismantles their whole theology. 565 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:04,760 We have to be careful we don't allow ourselves to be deceived 566 00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:07,320 into thinking and believing something that's not scriptural 567 00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:10,520 for us today. So let's not look at stones and 568 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:13,320 bricks and mortar and bank accounts and property and 569 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:16,960 business and all of that stuff. As good as that is, let's not 570 00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:21,320 focus on those things. Let's focus on the eternal, on 571 00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:25,400 relationships, relationship with Christ, relationships with one 572 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:27,920 another, blessing one another, being with one another. 573 00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:32,000 Let's look to the future of what Christ has for us, for the 574 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:35,000 disciples. Jesus lifted their focus from 575 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:38,480 the here and now to the eternal. So let's live in the here and 576 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:43,200 now in a way we can look forward with joy and we're ready when 577 00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:45,520 the time comes for us to leave this planet. 578 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:48,680 We're ready to meet the Master when he calls. 579 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:54,480 That's pause for prayer. Lord, thank you for your word. 580 00:31:55,640 --> 00:31:58,800 Thank you for giving us a glimpse of what it will be like 581 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:02,000 when you return. We admit we understand very 582 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:04,840 little. There's so much we don't know, 583 00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:09,000 but what we do know is enough. You've told us to be watchful, 584 00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:13,240 to be in guard, not to be deceived, to not have a wrong 585 00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:16,360 focus. Help us not to fear or to worry. 586 00:32:16,360 --> 00:32:20,480 Help us to live in confidence. Enjoy that when our time comes 587 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:23,760 to meet you, we'll not just be ready, we'll be looking forward 588 00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:27,280 to it with joy and anticipation. What you've prepared for us, we 589 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:29,360 thank you in Jesus name, Amen.