S1 E29: Be On Guard

Amen.

As you're being seated, if you would take out your copy of God's word, however you brought it with you this morning, and join me in Mark chapter 13.

Mark 13 · chapter mention

Mark chapter 13.

Mark 13 · chapter mention

So some of you are celebrating because we finally got through Mark chapter 12.

Mark 12 · chapter mention

It felt like we were in chapter 12 for about six weeks.

Mark, as he goes through his gospel, uh goes very rapidly until he gets to the final week of Jesus' life, and then he really slows down and gives us details.

And so we are starting Mark chapter 13 this morning.

Mark 13 · chapter mention

If you don't have a Bible with you, there are some in the pew back in front of you.

We are going to be on page 911 in that Pew Bible.

Mark chapter 13, the first 13 verses as we get started this morning.

Mark 13 · chapter mention

Throughout human history, there has been a fascination with when human history would come to an end.

There's a fascination with the end of the world.

There is a fascination with when Christ will return.

Some have tried to calculate the date.

Many have tried to predict the date.

A few have tried to profit off of the date.

And the same thing has happened over and over again in all of these predictions and all of these ideas that somebody knows when the date of Christ's return is going to take place.

One thing happened in all of those days.

Do you know what it was?

They were all wrong.

No matter when they predicted, they were all wrong.

Christ did not return on the day that they predicted.

Make no mistake about it, however, Jesus Christ is coming back.

He is returning.

He is returning to redeem his church.

He's returning to redeem his creation to set all things right.

The Bible, however, tells us that we will not know, cannot know, the time and the day of his return.

But we should be prepared for it.

We should be ready for it.

That is the heart of the conversation that Jesus has with his disciples in Mark chapter 13.

Mark 13 · chapter mention

They are anxious about the end of days.

They are curious about when he is going to establish his kingdom and when he is going to return.

And Jesus takes that, and instead of answering questions, about their speculations, he says there's a much deeper question that you need to consider.

You need to consider how you will live until I return.

Mark chapter 13 is often referred to as the Olivet Discourse.

Mark 13 · chapter mention

It's one of the hardest passages of Scripture to interpret properly.

It's called the Olivet Discourse because of the location where Jesus had this conversation with his disciples, where they were concerned about these end-time matters and how Jesus responded to them.

But once again, I want you to hear as we go through these things, we can be fascinated about when the time is going to be.

We can try to calculate, we can lay out numbers and all those kinds of things, but Jesus does not concern his disciples with the time.

He doesn't concern his disciples with what are the signs of his return.

His concern for his disciples is, are you living a life that shows you're ready for my return?

That is the heart of the conversation.

And so the question we need to ask ourselves is, how should I live until Christ returns?

If you're willing and able, would you stand with me as we honor God's word?

Mark chapter 13, beginning in verse 1.

Mark 13 · chapter mention

As he was going out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, Teacher, behold, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings.

And Jesus said to him, Do you see these great buildings?

Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.

As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning him privately.

Tell us, when will these things be?

And what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?

And Jesus began to say to them, See to it that no one misleads you.

Many will come in my name, saying, I am he, and will mislead many.

When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened.

Those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.

For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.

There will be earthquakes in various places, there will also be famines.

These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

But be on your guard, for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake as a testimony to them.

The gospel must first be preached to all the nations.

When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given to you in that hour, for it is not you who speaks, but it is the Holy Spirit.

Brother will betray brother to death and father his children, and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.

You will be hated by all because of my name.

But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

Father, we pray that you would bless the reading of your word.

We pray that you would add understanding through your Holy Spirit's enlightenment.

Lord, help us to not get so concerned about days and dates and times and signs, but Father, instead, let us heed your instruction to be aware, to be mindful, to be faithful, to be ready, to do what you've called us to do, to live how you've called us to live until Christ returns.

Father, we look forward to that glorious day when all sin is taken care of, when all things are made new.

God, we look forward to the day when all the world will cry.

When all the world will cry out, Jesus is Lord.

Lord, what a glorious day that will be.

Until then, let us represent you well.

We pray all this in the matchless name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Thank you.

The Olivet Discourse, which we're reading in Mark chapter 13, is rather long.

Mark 13 · chapter mention

We've just chosen the first 13 verses as we begin to get a feel for this conversation that Jesus was having with his disciples.

And the flow of the conversation in these first 13 verses is simply this: there is a simple observation.

The disciples make an observation about the temple.

And from that simple observation, Jesus then gives a shocking prediction.

And from that shocking prediction, there are curious questions.

And then from those curious questions, Jesus offers a careful explanation.

All of which today I hope leads to us to do some personal examination.

So that's where we're headed, okay?

There is a simple observation.

Jesus has been in Jerusalem.

It is now Tuesday of Passion Week.

He will be crucified on Friday.

He has spent the day, as we read in chapter 12, answering questions of these wave after wave of religious leaders who've come to try to trick him and to trap him, and he proved to be more than adequate in answering their questions.

In fact, he had some questions of his own that they were unable to answer.

And as we saw last week, Jesus concluded those conversations in the temple at the treasury in the court of women as he was observing what was going on, and he called his disciples' attention, and he says, I want you to be aware.

Beware of the hypocrites, beware of those who just play outward games with religion.

Beware of those who take advantage of others who try to draw attention to themselves.

Do not be like the Pharisees, do not be like the scribes, do not be like the Sadducees.

Be aware of that behavior.

Don't act like that.

But then he pointed to a little widow woman, a poor widow, who dropped in two small coins into the treasury, and he said, I want you to pay attention to her.

Because she's not trying to draw attention to herself.

She is just simply acting in faith, a quiet act of devotion and trust.

She is not giving out of her surplus.

She is giving out of her poverty.

She is just serving the Lord.

Act like that.

They've had these conversations and now they are making their way out the eastern gate of Jerusalem.

They're heading towards the Mount of Olives because on the other side of the Mount of Olives is a little town called Bethany.

There, Jesus had some dear friends, Mary and Martha and Lazarus.

Whenever he would come to Jerusalem for the festivals, he would often stay in Bethany with these dear friends.

And they are making their way back out of the city through the Mount of Olives over to Bethany so that they can spend the night there, and Jesus can begin to prepare himself for what was going to take place at the end of the week.

As they're walking out of the temple, one of the disciples looks around and he's in awe of what he sees in the buildings around him, and he points this out to Jesus.

He says, Jesus, look how wonderful these stones are.

Look how wonderful these buildings are.

Aren't these buildings magnificent?

Aren't these buildings wonderful?

And we can only imagine what that temple looked like.

But we have descriptions of it.

And it wasn't wrong for him to be awed by this temple, to be inspired by this temple.

The original temple was built by Solomon.

It was a much smaller version than this temple that the disciples and Jesus were in.

That temple was destroyed.

It was rebuilt after the exile by Zerubbabel.

But that was a modest temple compared to this one.

The gentleman who built this temple was known for his ambitious architecture around the Middle East.

His name was Herod the Great.

And he built upon Zerubbabel's temple and made it even more magnificent.

Following God's design, he built a temple that was 172 feet wide by 172 feet long by 172 feet tall.

It was made out of limestone, which was polished.

It was overlaid with gold.

And when the sun hit it, historians say you could not look at the building in the middle of the day because it would be blinding.

The light was so bright as it came off of that structure.

It stood 15 stories tall.

Or excuse me, it was the equivalent of 15 stories in height.

The stones themselves that were used to manufacture the temple were awe-inspiring.

They ranged in size from 4 by 8, weighing 2 to 5 tons, to 10 by 45, weighing up to 600 tons.

The stones themselves, even if they hadn't been stacked in such a magnificent way, were awe-inspiring just to see these wonderful stones.

The temple proper sat on a temple platform that was 36 acres in size.

It had multiple buildings on it, it had porticos on it.

It had the portico of Solomon along one side of it that ran almost three-quarters, a third of a mile long.

It had 172 Corinthian columns that were three feet wide, standing 72, 27 feet tall and 18 feet in between.

They were so large that the historians say it took three men standing around the column, wrapping their arms around, in order to expand the whole column.

That'll just give you an idea of just how massive this structure was.

And they stood in awe of it.

The disciple walked out and said, Jesus, look at how beautiful this place is.

Look at how magnificent this place is.

Now the disciples were fully aware that what was happening inside of the temple was an apostate religion.

Jesus had taught them, they are not doing my father's business anymore.

But the exterior of this building, even the interior of that temple, was so magnificent.

And one of the disciples just couldn't help himself.

Probably one of the Galilean country boys who didn't come to the city very often looked at that building and said, Wow.

The first thing Mark writes in verse 1 is, as Jesus was going out of the temple.

Now, that isn't just, I don't believe, that isn't just a transition phrase from what he had been talking about before to what he's about to talk about next.

I think Mark is making a point with what he says.

As Jesus was going out of the temple, recognized this is the last time Jesus would ever set foot in the temple.

When he walked out of that temple that day, God walked out of that temple with him.

The presence of the Lord would never be in that temple again until he returned in his glory.

The presence of God walked out.

God in the flesh was no longer there.

He was not going to be present until he returned.

In fact, in Matthew's gospel, Matthew chapter 23, Jesus seeing the city of Jerusalem, wept over the city.

Matthew 23 · chapter mention

Do you remember this conversation Jesus had?

Weeping over the city, saying, Oh, I've come to draw you, but I I wish you would be like chickens who uh would come underneath the wing, but you have rejected me.

And your house is left desolate.

He's referring to the temple.

It is his indictment against the leaders of the temple.

It's his indictment against those who would follow the leaders of the temple.

He is saying, This temple is desolate.

God is no longer here.

The word in the Old Testament is Ichabod.

God's glory has departed.

And Jesus is helping us to see that there is a judgment that is taking place and his presence is no longer there.

They were right to be awed by the building.

Jesus made a shocking prediction.

He said, Do you see these buildings?

Do you see these stones?

Not a single one of these stones will be left on top of another.

There's coming a time when this whole temple will be completely destroyed, when it will be shattered, when it will be broken, will it no longer exist?

Jesus is simply responding to their awe.

Man, look at these magnificent buildings.

Oh, you think that's awesome?

There's coming a day when all of these will be in rubble on the ground.

That had to be a shocking statement to the disciples.

Maybe the only the most shocking statement that Jesus ever made to disciples, and that's saying something because Jesus told them many things.

But imagine being one of those disciples, seeing that magnificent structure, seeing a building that had taken at that point 40 years to build.

They weren't done building it yet.

It would take almost 70 years to build it before it was actually destroyed.

And they stood there thinking, what in the world could happen that would bring these buildings to the ground?

I remember a particular Tuesday morning in September of 2001.

Many of us sat watching television as two buildings that we had seen on the landscape of New York City for decades, two buildings that we thought were perhaps indestructible, came crashing to the ground.

We asked ourselves, what in the world is happening?

That would be the expression, that would be the feeling that these disciples perhaps felt when Jesus said, You see all this?

Their question had to be, what in the world is going to happen for that to take place?

But none of them asked him.

None of them said, Hey, Jesus, can you explain that?

Until as they were going out, they paused, going out of the city.

They paused on the Mount of Olives, looking back over the city, perfect view of the Temple Mount, perfect view of the city.

There they stopped to take a break on their journey to Bethany.

And two sets of brothers, James and John, Simon, Peter, and Andrew, pulled Jesus aside privately and said, Hey, Jesus, when is this going to happen?

And can you tell us what the signs are so that we can be aware, so that we can maybe prepare ourselves for when it's going to happen?

Come on, Jesus, you can tell us.

Maybe you don't want to tell everybody, but we're your inner circle, we're your guys, you're we're your buds, man.

Tell us when is this gonna happen?

And what are gonna be the signs?

Their question was, when what's gonna happen?

In Matthew's account, Matthew chapter 24, a parallel account to this, they say, Can you tell us when you are going to return, when the kingdom will be set up, and when the end of the age will come.

Matthew 24 · chapter mention

They understood that anything that was going to destroy that temple had to be tied with a world-ending kind of conflict.

And they said, Can you tell us when?

Can you maybe tell us when that's gonna happen?

I think they made a right connection between the destruction of the temple and the end of the age.

I don't think their connection was wrong.

I think they were right to ask this.

They were wrong in this.

They thought that it was going to be immediate.

They didn't recognize that there was going to be an interval between the destruction of the temple and the end of the age.

They assumed, they knew that Jesus was the Messiah.

They knew that he had come to set up a kingdom.

Their expectation was that it was gonna happen right then.

And they wanted to know what in the world's gonna happen that's gonna tear these buildings down.

Now they asked when it was gonna happen.

And they asked for signs of when it was gonna happen, but they failed to ask one very important question.

They didn't ask why it was going to happen.

Jesus, this temple.

This is the temple where God said he would meet with his people.

You know, Jesus in the in the center of the temple is the is the Holy of Holies.

There the Ark of the Covenant is, there the mercy seat is, that is where the high priest goes in and he goes through the veil once a year and he offers a sacrifice for the for the sins of the nation.

That's where God resides.

What in the world is going to happen that the place where God resides is no longer here?

Why do why didn't they ask?

Why won't it be here?

I can answer the question because you recognize that that temple that they were awed by is no longer there.

If you were to go to Jerusalem today, there's still a temple mount in that location, but on the exact location where this temple is is the Dome of the Rock.

A Muslim mosque.

This temple hasn't been there since 70 AD.

This temple hasn't been there since about 25 years after Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection.

25 years later, it is utterly destroyed.

It is gone.

It is not there.

You can find a wailing wall, a wall that was part of the structure that held up the temple.

That's still there, but the temple itself is not there.

Why?

Why isn't it there?

I'll give you two reasons.

One, because it was apostate.

And two, because it was obsolete.

It was apostate.

It was obsolete.

It was designed to be a place that answered the question: how does sinful man come into the presence of a holy God?

It was designed to show us the price of our sin.

That was a sacrifice that was made.

It was designed to show us how to get into the presence of holy God through a mediator, through one who would sacrifice himself for us.

But it had been turned into a lucrative religious show.

Instead of a place where the nations came to meet the one true holy God who loved them, who would sacrifice his own son for them, it became a show.

It was an apostate religion.

Jesus said this time and time again.

But beyond that, it was an obsolete location.

It was obsolete because all of the Old Testament sacrifices, all of the bulls, all of the rams, all of the turtle doves, every sacrifice that was ever made, every time the high priest went into the Holy of Holies and poured the blood out, every one of them were designed to point us to one particular sacrifice.

The perfect Lamb of God, who gave himself up, who laid his life down, who sacrificed himself so that you and I might be made right with God.

The one who knew no sin became sin so that you and I might be the righteousness of God.

When Jesus hung on a cross, he cried out, It is finished.

He drank the wrath of God in the cup so that you and I would not have to.

He paid the price.

He offered the one all-sufficient sacrifice for all mankind.

There are no more sacrifices that need to be made.

It is finished.

And when he cried out, it is finished, that veil between the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place was torn in two.

Man now has access to God, not through the sacrifice of a bull, but because Jesus Christ himself was the perfect sacrifice.

He fulfilled the law and he fulfilled the sacrificial system.

We don't need a temple any longer.

Jesus, in talking about the destruction of the temple, is pointing them to the end of the age.

He is pointing them to something that would happen in the near future, some 25 years later, when Titus and the Roman army would come in and squash a Jewish rebellion and destroy and burn that temple to the ground.

But that should be the lens by which we look at the future fulfillment of what he's going to tell us about later in the chapter of a future end of the age.

And so Jesus gives careful explanation.

We had a just a simple observation.

Man, these buildings are awesome.

We had this prophecy.

These buildings are going to come tumbling down.

And we had some questions.

When is that going to happen?

Are there any signs that you can point to us?

And Jesus says, don't worry yourself about when.

Here's my careful explanation, he says.

In verses 1 and 2 of chapter 13, Jesus is describing the destruction of the actual temple.

He's letting them know this temple is going to come down, and in 25 years it did.

Has never been rebuilt.

Came to the end.

In verses 5 through 13, he's about to warn his disciples, his apostles, about the opposition that they're going to face, about the threats that they're going to face in the interim between when that temple is destroyed and when Jesus Christ returns.

He says, life is not going to be easy.

It's going to be difficult.

There are going to be many things that take place.

Let me warn you about those things.

Verses 5 through 13.

And then when we get to verses 14 through 23, he's going to talk to us about a very specific time of tribulation.

We'll discuss that specific time of tribulation next Sunday when we come together.

But Jesus is trying to help them to see.

He is trying to prepare them, not for a time, but for how they should live until He returns, preparing them so that they might know how to live.

His tone is pastoral.

His instruction is practical.

This is how those who call themselves my children should live, should prepare themselves.

He gives them three things.

He tells them, first of all, you need to be mindful.

You need to be mindful.

Look at verse four.

Tell us when these things will happen.

What will it be?

And Jesus said, see to it that no one, verse five, misleads you.

See to it that no one leads you astray.

There's going to come a time when I am not here to give you instruction.

There's going to come a time when I am not here to lead you and to teach you all things.

And when I go, there are going to be some others who are going to try to step in and lead you astray, lead you away from truth.

Lest you think it can't happen.

Sitting in this crowd listening to Jesus that day was a disciple who had been with him for three years, who had seen him perform miracles, who had seen, heard him teach.

There were twelve of them.

But one of them was named Judas.

Who betrayed him.

Jesus said, There are going to be some who are going to try to deceive you.

There is going to be deception that is going to take place.

There are going to be some that rise up and call themselves I am He.

That sounds like strange wording.

When somebody says I am he, literally it says, I am.

Which, if you remember that phrase, if you go back to the book of Genesis, excuse me, the book of Exodus, where God appears to Moses and he tells him to go deliver his people from slavery in Egypt.

And Moses says, Who shall I say sent me?

And what does God say?

Tell him, I am has sent you.

Ego, I me.

It's the same, it's the same phrase.

There are going to be people who are going to show up in the interim between the time when the temple is destroyed and Jesus is gone and when he returns.

There are going to be people who show up and say, I am the Messiah.

I am God in the flesh.

I am the one.

Listen to me.

And throughout human history, there have been many, many, many people, either by deception or they themselves were deceived, or they were deceiving.

They came and said, I am the Messiah.

And many people have followed them.

Three names that you might actually recognize Jim Jones, Charles Manson, David Caresh.

That's just three.

I could go on and on.

And what Jesus is saying is, hey guys, don't worry about when.

Here's what you need to worry about.

While I'm gone, there are going to be people who come and try to deceive you and lead you astray.

Not only is there going to be deception, he warns them that there's going to be destruction.

Guys, the world is not going to get better.

The world is not good and evolving to better.

The world is fallen and devolving into chaos.

The world, man has fallen and the world has fallen with it.

Creation is fallen.

You are going to see all types of things.

You're going to see nations fighting against nations.

You are going to hear about wars and rumors of wars.

The earth is going to quake.

There are going to be earthquakes.

There are going to be many famines.

How many of you have watched in fascination of the number of earthquakes that we've seen in just the recent weeks?

And we have to think to ourselves, man, there's more of them now.

Jesus is telling them, guys, there are going to be alarming events that take place in human history.

There are going to be persuasive people who try to pull you away, but remain strong and clear in the commands of Jesus Christ.

He then uses a metaphor.

He says, don't worry about these things.

Don't worry about those who come and try to deceive.

Don't worry about the world, the famines and the destruction and the wars.

Don't let your heart be angst about it.

Don't stress over it.

Doesn't say don't be aware of it.

Doesn't say don't know that it's going on.

He's saying, don't let this drive you.

Why?

Because these are just birth pangs, he says.

It's like a woman who is giving birth to a child.

And by the way, only women can give birth to children.

Just setting that out there, making sure we all understand that.

He says it's like a woman who is pregnant.

I have never been pregnant.

I can't be pregnant.

My wife has been pregnant twice.

I've been around other ladies who have been pregnant.

And when birth gets closer, they begin to have pains.

And those pains intensify and get closer together the closer that the new birth happens.

Jesus is saying, all that you are experiencing, all that you're going to see in life, as the world gets worse and as people try to deceive you, it just means that there is a new birth coming.

And the more intense it gets, and the closer it gets, perhaps closer the new birth is coming.

But there is new life at the end of all of the birth pains.

And there is a Messiah who is returning.

Be mindful, he says.

Then he tells them to be aware.

In verse 9.

Be on your guard.

He says, here's what's going to happen.

They're going to deliver you to the courts, they'll flog you in the synagogues, they'll make you stand before governors and kings for my sake as a testimony to them.

He says, guys, you don't need to worry about the time.

Here's what you need to worry about.

There's going to be chaos on a global level, and then there's going to be persecution on a personal level.

If you stand for thy name, if you claim my name, if you claim to be a Christ follower, if you tell other people about the joy and hope and peace that comes in Jesus Christ, you will be persecuted.

And we can read Acts and find out exactly what happened to these disciples that Jesus was giving this prediction to.

Guys, the temple's going to fall down.

That fell down.

And guys, you're going to face persecution.

And everything he just laid out, read the book of Acts.

Every last one of them happened to the disciples.

This is what's going to take place.

Guys, don't worry about when.

Here's what you need to worry about: be mindful.

And be aware.

But then he gives them hope in the midst of it.

I love verses 10 and 11, right in the middle of this list.

Here is persecution taking place.

They're going to flog you.

They're going to take you to kings and to courts, and you're going to have to stand before all these people.

But then he says, here's some hope.

Verse 10 the gospel must be preached to all the nations.

And when they arrest you and hand you over, don't worry beforehand about what you're going to say, but say whatever is given to you in that hour, for it is not you who speaks, but it is the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is saying, look, here's what you need to know.

You don't need to know when it's going to happen, but Christ is going to return.

But before he returns, the gospel will not fail.

The gospel will go to all the world.

There will be people from every tribe, tongue, and nation around the throne in the heaven of God, worshiping him.

He says, no matter what the persecution, no matter what the destruction, no matter what the deception, it cannot stop the gospel from accomplishing its purpose.

So no matter what you guys go through, know that God's will will be done.

And know this that the Holy Spirit is with you.

The Holy Spirit is with you in the destruction.

The Holy Spirit is with you in the deception.

The Holy Spirit is with you in the persecution.

He is always with you.

He says, you're going to face persecution from the government.

You're also going to face it from your own families.

Fathers will turn against their children.

Children will turn against their parents.

Be mindful, Jesus said.

Be aware, Jesus said.

Verse 13.

Finally, at the end of verse 13, Jesus said, Oh, and be faithful.

Be faithful.

The last part of verse 13 says, But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

Jesus is concerned about his disciples because he knows what they're about to face.

He knows that after the temple is destroyed and before he returns, there are going to be millennia of time where the earth does not get better, where it doesn't get easier to represent Christ, where it actually gets harder and harder and harder.

He knows what they're about to go through.

And he does not want them to be disqualified.

He wants them to be saved.

He wants them to be right with him.

And so he says there are some things that you need to do in order to make sure that you're right with me.

Be aware, be mindful, and be faithful.

Endure to the end.

Now here's what he's not saying.

He's not saying that you're saved if you endure.

He's not saying that the key to being saved is your perseverance.

What he's saying is your perseverance and your endurance is a sign that you genuinely are saved.

Fake Christianity collapses under pressure.

The real deal stands strong in the face of opposition, in the face of persecution.

We do not earn our salvation in any way.

We do not earn our salvation through endurance.

He's saying your endurance through all of this should prove to you your genuine salvation.

Be faithful in the midst of this.

Vance Havner put it this way: he says that faith that fizzles was fake from the first.

Faith that fizzles was fake from the first.

Jesus is not telling them, in order to be right with me, you have to endure all these things.

He's saying that as you go through these things, as you endure these things, as the Holy Spirit gives you the power to endure these things, it will prove to you your own salvation.

Therefore, endure to the end.

Jesus, man, these buildings are pretty awesome.

Jesus doesn't deny the buildings are pretty awesome.

He thinks they're pretty awesome too, but what does he say?

Let me make a prediction for you.

None of these buildings are gonna last.

Which causes some question.

What in the world's gonna happen that's gonna tear down these marvelous buildings?

When is that gonna happen?

What are gonna be the signs that it's taking place?

Then there's careful explanation.

Don't worry about when it's gonna happen.

Don't worry about the end of times when the Messiah returns.

Here's what you need to be worried about.

How are you living in the middle of it?

Don't try to calculate the day and the time.

There's something bigger you need to be aware of.

It's gonna be hard.

Anybody who genuinely is a Christ follower, there will be persecution.

For those who are genuinely seeking righteousness, you will face persecution.

And in our context, it's not gonna get easier.

Do any of you think that being a Christ follower is gonna be easier in our culture 10 years from now than it is now?

Anyone sitting here thinking, hey, when my kids get my age, man, they're gonna have it made.

It's gonna be easy for them to be Christ followers in the United States.

I have no delusion that that's gonna be the case.

Jesus says, here, be mindful.

Be mindful as you're living.

There are gonna be people that are gonna deceive you.

There's gonna be destruction taking place in the world.

It's birth pains.

We're getting close.

But be faithful.

Stand true.

Stand true.

Be mindful of deception.

Be aware of persecution.

Be faithful and genuine to the end.

The world is going to shake.

God has told us that.

Jesus clearly said the world is going to shake.

The question is, will our faith remain anchored in the midst of all the shaking?

So what do we do with this?

The final point is just simply personal examination.

What do we do with it?

We ought to examine our own lives.

We need to examine our own faith to say, is my faith just a curiosity?

Will my faith stand up to deception?

Will my faith stand up to destruction?

Will my faith stand up to persecution?

Is my faith genuine?

Or am I just playing a game?

Am I just pretending?

Is it real?

But take heart.

If you know it's real, the gospel wins.

And the Holy Spirit will give you everything you need to endure.

Because the God who called you to endure is the same God who is faithful to see it to its conclusion.

You do not have to hold on to it.

He holds on to it.

He holds on to you.

A lot of people try to figure out when Christ is coming back.

That'd be nice to know, wouldn't it?

Jesus, when are you coming back?

You know why Jesus doesn't tell us when he's coming back?

Because we'd act like the teenager whose parents told us to clean the house, clean our room, do the dishes.

Mom and dad, what time are you coming home?

We'll be home at five o'clock.

Then they lived and did whatever they wanted until 4 59 and threw all the dishes in the dishwasher and all their clothes under the bed.

That's why Jesus doesn't tell us when he's coming back.

But what he does tell us is until I do come back, this is how you should live.