Let's pray. Father, I pray that that will be our heart this morning. That we will hunger and thirst for You. Long for You. That that will be the preeminent, passionate purpose of our existence. We know, Lord, You know our hearts this morning. You know that there are times we don't long to worship You. You know that there are times that You alone are not our heart's desire. That we allow the junk food of this world to distract us from our supreme preeminent purpose, that, O Lord, as we've heard this wonderful psalm sung, may it be our heart's desire, as the deer panteth after the water, that our souls would pant and long and desire and be consumed with You and You alone. Thank You, Lord, for our time of thinking of You and singing to You. And thank You for our dear brothers and sisters who prompt us in worship, who sing for Your glory. Now we would ask, Lord, as we continue in our focus upon You, as we open Your perfect Word, that we might hear from You in a clear way and that, Lord, that I could be a voice for you. That Christ could increase, or that I could decrease. That Christ would be lifted up. Open our eyes, that we may behold wondrous things out of Your Word. It is our prayer in Jesus' name, Amen. It is good to have Mark here almost every Sunday now. Not having him on the road, he is truly a blessing. And all of those who prompt us in worship, we're so grateful for them. Turn your Bibles, if you would with me this morning, to Matthew 24. We looked at one verse last week, Matthew 24, 15. Today, I'd like to finish the paragraph by God's grace and look at verses 16 through 28. So we have a lot of ground to cover today. as we continue in the Olivet Discourse. Now, as I mentioned before, we would interpret this text in a futuristic way, believing that the things talked about here will happen during the Tribulation and the Great Tribulation. In fact, the Great Tribulation will be the theme of our study today. We believe that Jesus Christ is going to return in the air one day, being pre-trib and pre-mill in our belief here as a church. We believe that he'll return in the air and the saints will be caught up together with him. This is called the rapture. This will introduce and start the tribulation hour, which is a seven year period where God pours out his wrath upon this earth as never before. That tribulation hour is divided in two. The first three and a half years being a false peace, a covenant is made with Israel. And obviously during that time, or right before that time, the temple is rebuilt. During the middle of that covenant, three and a half years, the Antichrist, the man of sin, will break his covenant with Israel, and then, literally at that time, judgment is going to break forth. As the seven seal judgments, the seven trumpet judgments, and the seven bowl judgments talked about in Revelation 6 through 16 come about. It's called the time of Jacob's trouble, as God in a unique way will be dealing with Israel. At the end of that seven-year period, Christ will come back to the earth in Revelation 19 to set up his kingdom. At that time, the enemies of Christ will be taken care of. We call that the Battle of Armageddon. And Christ will set up his kingdom for a thousand years, a literal kingdom, we believe, upon this earth where he will rule and reign with a rod of iron, sitting on the throne of his father David, in that sense. Now, we believe that during the tribulation hour, the marriage supper of the Lamb will take place, and also the judgment seat of Christ, the bema, for the church at that particular time. The thousand years will again be a rule of Christ upon the earth. At the end of that time, Satan, who has been cast in the abyss at the beginning of that particular age, or the millennium, will be let out for a season. He will be judged, thrown in the lake of fire. The great white throne judgment will take place. And then we come to Revelation 21 and 22, where we have a new heaven, a new earth, a new Jerusalem, seven new things are talked about in Revelation 21 and 22. We would call that the day of God, eternity future, as the kingdom of Christ merges into an eternal kingdom at that particular time. Well, in Matthew 24, again, specifically, we're talking about the tribulation hour. It's going to be a terrible time. I don't believe that we as a church are going to be here. 1 Thessalonians 5, 9 says, For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. And we believe that the church is a type of the church talked about in Revelation 3, the true church of Philadelphia. And our Lord, speaking to a literal church in that day, said in Revelation 3.10, which we believe would typify the true church of our day, because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee out of our temptation, which will come upon all the earth, to try them which dwell upon the earth. So we believe we're going to be delivered. But for those who are living at that time, who do not know the Lord, or who are saved during their tribulation hour, it's going to be a terrible, terrible time. And we're going to talk about that today. Let's stand as we read God's Word together. We'll be looking at Matthew 24, 15-28. We looked at verse 15 last week, but specifically in our study, 16-28 today. beginning in verse 15. Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, let the reader understand, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to get the things out that are in his house. And let him who is in the field not turn back to get his cloak. to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days. Pray that your flight may not be in the winter or on a Sabbath, for then there will be a great tribulation such as not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall. And unless those days have been cut short, no life would have been saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days shall be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, Behold, here is the Christ, or there he is, do not believe him. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance. If therefore they say to you, Behold, he is in the wilderness, do not go forth, or behold, he is in the inner rooms, do not believe them. For just as a lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, So shall the coming of the Son of Man be. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. You can be seated. The term Great Tribulation is used three times in the New Testament. once in our text today and twice in the book of Revelation. It refers to a specific time in the future that is unique in all of human history. It refers to the future eschatological day of divine judgment, immediately before Jesus Christ returns to establish his earthly kingdom. Now at that time, God pours out His wrath on the world as never before. Immediately, He will turn judgment upon the earth. And this time will have no parallel in human history. Never has such worldwide devastation happened. In fact, at one point in the Great Tribulation, things will be so bad for people that have survived up to that point that they will try to commit suicide and they will not be able to. In Revelation 9, 6 it says, and in those days men shall seek death and shall not find it. They shall desire to die and death shall flee from them. Now beyond that, Daniel 12, 1 describes this period It's a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time. And then in our text today in Matthew 24, 21, it says, for then there will be a great tribulation, such as not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall. Now, in my understanding of scripture, the term great tribulation cannot describe the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, or any other historical event. This term, I believe, describes a future time of divine punishment on the whole fallen world beginning at Jerusalem. As Revelation 6.17 says, the great day of the wrath of God and the Lamb has come. Now the event that triggers the Great Tribulation time, according to Jesus, is when the abomination desolation stands in the temple. Matthew 24 15, what we studied last Sunday. So the event that activates the birth pain signs will be the abomination of desolation, which we interpret to be the Antichrist. The man of sin standing in the temple, showing himself to be God and wanting worship. What is talked about in 2 Thessalonians 2, 3-12. Now when that happens, a warning is given to people living in that day of great tribulation, which will be a time of great peril and calamity. Because of that, I titled our message today, Great Tribulation. as we study Matthew 24, 16-28. And under that theme, we'll look at three things. Number one, the calamity, verses 16-22. Number two, the confusion, verses 23-26. And number three, the coming, making reference to the coming of Christ, verses 27-28. Because we have a lot of ground to cover today, We'll get right into our first point, the calamity. Look at Matthew 24, 16 please. Then, let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Now as I said earlier, the event, the signal, the turning point that activates the birth pain signs, which we've already studied in verses 4 through 14, will be when the abomination of desolation stands in the temple. When that happens, the judgments of the last three and a half years of the tribulation, the great tribulation, starts. The calamity begins. Because of that, when that happens, it says here, then let those in the region of Judea in Palestine flee to the mountains. Now we've looked on the map before and we've looked at three particular areas specifically in Palestine. We would start at the top and we would have Galilee. We would move right here and go into Samaria. And here is the area of Judea. The capital of this area is Jerusalem. That's the specific area that's talked about here. We can go to the other map if you would please. And here it's just blown up for us. We see the Dead Sea. We see Jerusalem again, Judea, Samaria, and to the north or on the top would be Galilee. Judea is the area that specifically is talked about here. It's about 55 miles long and 25 to 30 miles wide. It's not a huge area according to Unger's Bible dictionary. Now, with that in mind, why are people to flee from Judea? Well, because the birth pains are going to start. And the coming desolation is going to be so severe. The Holocaust to come is going to be horrific. It is going to be terrible. So the people in this geographical area are to flee. And the Greek word flee here is related to our English term fugitive. A person who takes flight in order to escape danger. And their only hope for survival will be to run for safety. Communicated in the exhortation to flee Judea as quickly as possible and take refuge in the mountains. Now the question comes up at this point, it's a valid one, why is only Judea talked about at this particular juncture of Matthew 24? Well, number one, Jesus was in Judea at that time. In fact, he was in Jerusalem. It was two or three days before his death. Jerusalem is the holy city, the capital of Judea at that time, where the temple was at. Jerusalem, in a sense, will be the center of the world at that time. We start from there and we work our way out, the epicenter of tribulation. Number two, This geographical reference is only typical of the fleeing to be done in every region. And it's but natural that the familiar region would be used to emphasize the reality of the danger. It wouldn't have made any sense at that time to say, let those that are in Canton flee to Ripley, West Virginia, right? I mean, that wouldn't make any sense because there was no Ripley, West Virginia, and there was no Canton, Ohio. And certainly our students at camp this week can testify that with no Ripley, West Virginia, that that was a huge loss to the world at that particular junction. But the reality is Jesus was in Judea. He was in Jerusalem. That is the point of reference. And again, that is the epicenter. Number three, in all seriousness, the people in Judea, because of their proximity to the profaned temple headquarters of the Antichrist in Jerusalem, will be in the most immediate danger from that extremely powerful man of sin, that agent of Satan. And although everyone on earth will be subject to his tyranny, the Antichrist's supreme fury will be vented against who? Jews. As God will deal with them in a unique way in the tribulation. For remember, this is the time of Jacob's trouble. For Jeremiah 30 verse 7 says, Alas, for that day is great. There is none like it. It's the time of Jacob's distress, but he will be saved from it. Looking to Romans 11, where Israel will be saved nationally. Those who are alive at that particular time when Jesus returns, when the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, when they are grafted back in. And so as we believe the tribulation will be worldwide, it will deal with the Jews in a unique, special way. In fact, from Zechariah 13, 8 and 9, we learn that two-thirds of the Jews will die during this time. For it says, and you can follow along with me, and it will come about in all the land, declares the Lord, that two parts of it will be cut off and perish, die. But the third will be left in it. And I will bring the third part through the fire. What's the fire? The great tribulation. Refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name. and I will answer them. I will say they are my people and they will say the Lord is my God. See what's going to happen is they're going to look on him whom they pierced and see Jesus as their Messiah. They're going to be saved through the fire of the tribulation hour as a nation. And then when you move into Zechariah 14, you see it all come together. Reading through that this week just really jumped out at me. As Armageddon takes place, the Lord comes back and the Lord will be king over all the earth in Zechariah 14, 1 through 9. But it begins in Zechariah 14, 1 and 2, that the armies of the world, not of just Rome, but the armies of the world will gather around Jerusalem. And of course, we're talking about this time in Matthew chapter 24. It's going to come. And with all that in mind, when the man of sin stands in the temple in Jerusalem, let those in Judea flee to the mountains. Now look at verse 17 as I really need to get moving through the next few verses. Verse 17 please. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to get the things out that are in his house. For many Palestinian homes, we have an illustration here. Our Lord continues the call for urgency to flee at this time. And we have reference to the housetop of a Palestinian home. For many Palestinian homes of Jesus' day had outside stairways leading to the housetops with flat roofs, where the family often went in the evening to relax and cool off from the work and heat of the day. And you'll see a picture on the screen of a house like that that still today is in Israel. This is a flat-roofed house with an outside staircase in Cana of Galilee today. And so the issue at hand, no picture, okay, it's not coming through. We had one for you. I love computers, they're just wonderful to live by, but boy, when they go haywire, I guess there are problems there. But the issue at hand is, they had these kinds of houses in that day, these flat-roofed houses. And again, still today, stairways on the outside. And you would actually, to go down in the house, you would go on the outside, down the stairway, into the house that way. Now, for the person who happens to be on his roof, when he hears of the abomination of desolation, That person should not waste time, even a few minutes required to go back into the house to retrieve a few precious things to take with them into the mountains. For no material possession will be worth the risk of the slightest delay. To escape is the highest priority, not the comfort or the provisions within the house. And this urgency continues in verse 18. Look at verse 18, please. let him who is in the field not turn back to get his cloak. Now workers in that day would wear an outer cloak to the fields when they began the day around 6 a.m. Then as the day grew warmer, they left their cloaks on the edge of the field. And the point again is the calamity that obviously comes swiftly is a reason to run and get out of town. The danger is to be viewed as so perilous that a worker should flee without even retrieving his cloak at the edge of the field. You see, material things don't matter when your life is at stake, correct? And they didn't have that many clothes. I mean, that's a precious item to leave their cloak, but they were to flee at that time. They were to get out of there quickly. Urgency is the issue. Look at verse 19, please. where the urgency continues to be communicated. In fact, in verses 19 and 20, beginning in verse 19. But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days. Now again, the point is get out of the way and run and flee. And being pregnant or nursing a child will make travel more difficult. For women in such conditions will not be able to move fast. and will therefore be at greater risk of being captured and killed. And even a greater woe to what might happen to their baby or unborn child by the heinous practices of the man of sin, the son of perdition. This will be a time of woe for them. Now look at verse 20 please. Pray that your flight may not be in the winter or on a Sabbath. Now, obviously, Palestinian winters are nothing like ours. But in the winter in that area, otherwise dry creek beds were flooded with water and became difficult to cross. Beyond that, traveling on the Sabbath brought some restrictions. For according to the InterVarsity Press Bible background commentary, Jewish law prohibited riding horses, mules, and other means of transportation on the Sabbath. And even one's walking distance was regulated. So transportation and passage would be difficult on the Sabbath, especially with legalistic Jews trying to stop you from breaking their Sabbath rules in that time. And again, the point of verses 16 to 20 is to flee without hesitation. Delay will be costly. Every second counts. Why? Because this time will be the worst time ever in history, past and future. Look at verse 21, please. For then there will be a great tribulation. Such has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now. nor ever shall." Now, verse 21 offers an explanation for the illustrations of urgency just presented, and uses a temporal adverb, then, to connect the previous statements with a prediction of the worst tribulation ever, which will also be worse than anything to follow. Christ thus paints the picture in the darkest terms possible. And all the world's holocausts and disasters combined could never compare with this. And this horrifying time is further described in Revelation 6 through 16, where the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments exhibit the escalating intensity of God's wrath upon sinful, rebellious mankind. You know, sometimes, in our view, we think that wicked people are getting away with their wickedness. But be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6, 7. And my point is, someday payday. God, in His great patience and mercy, is restraining His holy character at this particular point. But one day, His full wrath will be poured out upon this world and then eternally in the lake of fire. Payday is coming. Now it's interesting that both the books of Revelation and of Daniel communicate that the Antichrist will tyrannize the world for three and a half years. And three and a half years is a time period used at least five times in these two books. It's used in Daniel 7.25 and in Daniel 12.7 as a time, times, and a half a time, meaning a year, two years, and a half a year, which equals three and a half years. Then in Revelation 11.2 as 42 months, three and a half years. In Revelation 12.14 a time, and times, and a half a time, three-and-a-half years like Daniel then in Revelation 13 5 as 42 months or again three-and-a-half years use five times in scripture and We believe these times correspond to the Great Tribulation a time of three-and-a-half years where a one-time only kind of judgment takes place on planet Earth as We move on to verse 22 These days are so severe. If the Lord didn't limit the time, everyone would perish. Everyone would die. It's going to be that bad. Look at verse 22, please. And unless those days have been cut short, no life would have been saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days shall be cut short. Now, no one would survive if the Lord did not cut this time short. In other words, there will be a termination of this time period. It will end. If it were to go on indefinitely, no one would survive. And beloved, I believe this statement relates to the sovereignty of God's plan. For in His decreed will, He has set the limit of the days of the great tribulation so that all human flesh would not be destroyed. And specifically, in his sovereign plan, this was done for the sake of who? For the sake of the elect. And the Greek word for elect is elektos, which you can see, hopefully, on the screen. You can. And it basically means picked out, chosen, chosen by God. That's what the word means. And in God's sovereign plan, His chosen ones will be saved or rescued during this time. God will preserve His elect, His chosen ones, as a redeemed remnant during this time, both Jews and Gentiles. John MacArthur in his commentary on Matthew 24-28 says this at this point, and I quote, It should be noted that this is the first use of the term elect in the New Testament. And through it, Jesus introduced a new concept concerning those who belong to him. They have been divinely chosen and called out as his own people and indeed his very own children. And when God chooses people for himself, he will restructure the entire universe if that becomes necessary to protect them, and to fulfill His promises concerning them." Beloved, God's purposes will surely be accomplished, both in judging people and saving His elect, even physically during this time. He will do that, and He will do what He needs to do to protect His elect. But it will be so bad, if God didn't limit this time, everyone would die. And that is the calamity of the Great Tribulation. Which leads us to our second point today, the confusion of the Tribulation. Look at verse 23 if you would with me please. Then if anyone says to you, behold here is the Christ, or there he is, do not believe him. Now at this point in his discourse, Jesus returned to the warning concerning imitation Christ. Going back to verses 4 and 5 that we've already studied earlier in Matthew 24. For you see, a lot of deception will be going on at this time. For people will be desperate, and when people are desperate they are vulnerable to fall for anything. And the elect that are fleeing on the run are told not to fall for a false Christ in their time of distress. And Satan is the master of deceit and lies, a liar and the father of it, according to John 8.44, one who confuses and always clouds the issues. And no doubt some of his false teachers will claim Christ has come back and is in their midst. And others will perhaps claim He is back in Jerusalem or elsewhere in Judea. And these false Christs and false prophets will be able to do some supernatural things. This is so interesting. Look at verse 24, please. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs. Megas is the word here where we get our English word mega. These are mega signs and wonders. huge signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Now, these false Christs and false prophets who will appear at this time will be able to perform great signs and wonders, which again points to a future time that has not taken place. And these future signs and wonders will be so dramatic and powerful that even the elect, God's chosen ones, would be misled if, if possible. But that's not possible. The reassurance is that apparently such deception is not achievable. And beloved, it is not possible because God preserves His elect. But if it were possible, these false Christs and false teachers are so slick and powerful that the elect would be deceived. And so it's no surprise that the unsaved will fall for the lies and deception of Satan during this time through the Antichrist and through the false prophet. Seeing signs and wonders makes believers out of the non-elect. In other words, in their eyes, seeing is believing as they see these great signs and wonders. Now look at verse 25, please. Behold, I have told you in advance." Now the point of verse 25 is that when these things take place, these future disciples are not to be shaken. These happenings prove that Jesus is in control, a part of his future plan. Jesus declared these things in advance of them happening as prophecy. So there can be no excuse for the godly remnant to be deceived. For the Lord has given warning, I told you in advance, prophetically. So God's elect at this time can be prepared beforehand. Then one last warning of Satan's confusion at this time. Look at verse 26, please. If therefore they say to you, behold, he is in the wilderness, do not go forth. Or behold, he is in your rooms, do not believe them. Now, a final warning is given here. In fact, this warning is a repetition of verses 23 and verse 24. And that is, as you are out in remote places, fleeing for the mountains, and hear that the Messiah is in the wilderness, in the desert, like maybe John the Baptist, or in secret rooms, inner rooms, in secret chambers, where no one else knows about, Jesus said, don't believe them. Don't believe them. They're lying. And don't fall for this deception, especially when you are very vulnerable and tired and on the run. Which is obviously a reminder to us when we're weak, we need to be strong in God's grace and supernatural power because at those times, what? We are. We're vulnerable. I mean, when we're tired and when we're weak physically, we have to put our guard up even that much more against temptation. And we need at that time to be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. Ephesians 6, 10. We need to yield to His grace. That through His grace, when we're weak, we can be strong. 2 Corinthians 12, 7-10. Well, He says, be on guard. And of course, Christ is telling disciples at the end of the age to be on guard here. Don't be confused about my coming. Which leads us to our last point today, the coming. Because his coming will be clear. Every eye will see it. Look at verse 27 please. For just as the lightning, just as the lightning, that's the illustration he uses, comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. Now how then Will God's elect know when the true Lord, the true Christ, really does appear to establish His kingdom? How will they distinguish His true coming from the many counterfeits in that day, a coming day? There will be no secrecy with His coming, no hidden meetings in inner rooms. He's not going to appear in the wilderness. For you see, His coming will be visible from coast to coast. as lightning that flashes from the east to the west. It will be visible for all to see. And beloved Christ's coming will be quick, sudden, public, visible, universal, and glorious. Jesus will come again in His revelation in Revelation 19. And according to Revelation 1-7, when He comes back, every eye will see Him. It's alive at that time. So what do we have? We have a contrast. The false Christ, the false messiahs, they're out in the wilderness. They're in the secret rooms. Go out to see them. Listen, when the true messiah comes back, when he comes back to earth, every eye will see him. That's the illustration that's used right here. And just as he ascended to heaven, so will be phase two of his coming at the end of the tribulation. And again, we're talking here about the revelation of Christ to the earth, what we would call phase two of his coming, not phase one, where we meet the Lord in the air, a la 1 Thessalonians 4, 13-18, and 1 Corinthians 15, 51-57. At that time, the saints will meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. In our understanding of scripture, when Christ comes back to the earth in Revelation 19, we come back as the armies of the Lord with him, to rule and reign with him for a thousand years at that time. So he's coming back, literally, he is coming back visibly, he comes back as the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, to set up his kingdom. Acts 111 says, as he ascended before the disciples, which also said, You men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing into heaven? This same Jesus, which was taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven. Now, he ascended from earth bodily, and he will return to earth bodily, not spiritually or secretly. And what a wonderful deliverance that will be for his elect tribulation saints. And what judgment it will be for the lost. So in verse 27, we have a contrast between the false Christ appearance and the true Christ appearance. It will be unmistakable like lightning. Now look at verse 28. We'll quickly look at our last verse today. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. Now there are several interpretations to this verse. I'll give you two quick ones. Number one, with the spectacular appearance of Christ, there will be the carnage of the battle of Armageddon as a multitude of people die and the vultures, the birds, will gather to eat the flesh of those who die. This would correspond with Revelation 19.21. where it says, and the rest were killed, and this is in the context of Christ's coming as King of Kings and Lord of Lords in Revelation 19, and the rest were killed with a sword which came from the mouth of him who sat upon the horse, Christ. And all the birds were filled with their flesh from the war, the carnage of that time. That's one interpretation. Now, the second interpretation that fits the context of Matthew 24 is this. When an animal lies dead or rotting in the desert, its location can be pinpointed with accuracy for miles because of the buzzards or the vultures circling overhead. In fact, I saw something like that at camp this week. Three birds circling over something on a hillside. I don't know what it was, but you just saw them circling. Circling, circling, circling. Seriously, here though, the meaning is Christ saying that in a similar way, His return, like birds circling over some dead flesh, will be obvious to everyone near and far, which to me fits the context of verse 27 in the illustration of the use of lightning. But regardless, whatever the meaning is, this is going to be a time of glory and a time of judgment. Now as I wrap up things today, I want to make two quick applications. On one hand, one of joy. On the other hand, one of sorrow. Number one of joy. What a wonderful truth to know that God preserves his elect, his chosen ones at all times. Not just during the tribulation. I mean, what a joy to see that during this time of deception, this time of God's wrath upon the earth, that the tribulation saints, those who come to know Christ, will be preserved bodily and obviously eternally through Christ's grace and His power. His elect will not perish. Contextually, physically die at that time. But what a joy for me to know that as we work to the New Testament for God's elect, His chosen ones, that He preserves them. That we persevere through His grace. That none of us can be separated from Him. And you know, that brings me great joy. Because the issue at hand is it all starts with Him. And it continues with Him. It starts with grace. It continues with grace. And grace will take us home. And that brought me to a text in Romans 8. Now you know in Romans 8 we have that great security chapter. There's therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. If you're in Christ, you're the elect, chosen one by him, you will never ever be condemned if you truly are in Christ. And as you move through that text, it's just absolutely wonderful. Because if you go down to verse 28, which we quote many times in times of distress, and rightfully so, it talks about that God causes all things to work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to our purpose, His purposes. Now when He calls us to Himself, According to his divine plan, his purpose, speaking of his elect, what does he do? Well, it says in verses 29 and 30, for those he foreknew, foreordained, foreloved is the biblical definition. When he foreloved you in eternity past and set his love upon you in eternity past, he predestined you to be his. And that in time he would call you to himself, And that's what enables us to believe when we're dead in trespasses and sins and blind and deaf because you can't respond when you're dead. He calls us. We call that the effectual call. And whom he calls, what does he do? We call it effectual or effective because they're justified. He declares that individual righteous. And whom he justifies, he also has glorified. Past tense. It's already taken place in the mind of God, because it all started back in His purpose in eternity past. It continues in time with a call and justification, and it will continue in the future with glorification. Now, why does that happen? Because we are God's elect. You say, well, I don't know about that. We'll move on to the text. Romans 8 31. What shall we then say to these things of God before us who can be against us? Verse 33, who shall lay a charge against God's elect? It is God that justifies it. Who is he that condemns? It's Christ that died, yea rather is risen again and is seated at the right hand of God. And then, and I'm communicating that the security of our salvation rests in the sovereign purposes of God's electing purposes. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Is it tribulation? or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created being shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. No condemnation, no separation, because of God's eternal purposes. They cannot be frustrated. He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. We will persevere by his grace if we're truly in Christ. That brings me great joy, security, peace, and hopefully that it goes beyond your mind and it humbles you to apply Romans 12.1, which is what? Be a living sacrifice. Understand it's through the grace of God that we've come to faith, verse 3, and that we have gifts that we need to use in the body of Christ. Those are the biblical motivations. A God that's that powerful, who would set his love upon us, and work his grace in our lives, and continue to keep us in his grace, and glorify us one day, deserves our all. All! That's the practical application there. I mean, what a wonderful joy to read about the tribulation saints that he preserves his elect. What a joy to read the New Testament that God preserves his elect, his chosen ones. We love him because he first loved us. Number two in application today. And this is a point of sorrow and sadness. If you're here today without Christ, truly I have sorrow for you. For judgment is coming. for this wicked world physically, and judgment is coming eternally. And death in hell one day will be cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, and whoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. You will be judged before the great king one day, before the great white throne, and cast into the lake of fire, called up from Hades, the temporary place of torment, hell, until the day of judgment, and then you'll be cast in the lake of fire. But not beyond that. There's tribulation if you live up to that time. If that time comes in your lifetime, you live to that time. Tribulation, then eternal judgment. I would call you to repent and turn to the only one who can rescue you from your sins and God's wrath. It's Christ. He's the way, the truth, and the life. No man can come unto the Father but by Him. God the Father, has provided the sacrifice to purchase the salvation of His people. If you're here today and you see your sin and your need of Christ, then call upon Him. See, in eternity, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me. In our time, what we see, everybody who comes to Christ will not be refused. God has put that desire in your heart. Come today. Come in repentance and faith to the Savior. I'm not talking about physically coming. I'm talking about right now, crying out from your pew for mercy, crying out to Christ for salvation, because judgment is coming, both temporally on the earth in a physical way and eternally for those who are without Christ. Let's pray. Father, we are grateful that in Your great mercy and love, in Your sovereign grace, You preserve Your elect. Father, we know in the text today, taking care of Your elect in the tribulation. But Father, we know there's even a greater truth, that You always take care of Your elect. We praise You for that. that we are preserved, protected in Christ, that there's no condemnation. May we rejoice in that today, and may we be motivated to be living sacrifices in a greater way to you, for we owe you our all. And Father, I would also pray for anyone here today who is without the Savior, that Lord, as they see things that are going to happen, It's a fearful thing to fall into the hand of a living God. That our God is a consuming fire. You are holy. Father, we thank you that in your great mercy and love, you would send the Savior. Father, I pray for people without Christ today that they would see their need of Christ, see their sin, their rebellion against you, a holy, holy God, and see that Christ is the only Savior that can rescue them from your wrath that they might believe on the Son today from their heart, that they might call upon Christ, that they might repent and turn to Christ to follow him as Savior and Lord. Father, I pray that you would deal with their hearts. You might draw them to yourself, that they might cry out to you for mercy. So, Father, we come with thanksgiving at the very thought of your grace, at the very thought of your mercy. And Lord, we would pray you would have mercy upon people today that do not know Christ. is our prayer. In Jesus' name, Amen.