00:00
00:00
00:01
Trascrizione
1/0
And we are excited as well to welcome Holland Gray Nally to the world. Eight pounds, eight ounces. To Cam and Abby, they are going to be amazing parents. God's promises made new. So we have a meal train set up for the new parents, so please see Nicole for that for details. New life, praise the Lord. Well, many of you have heard of well-known pastor, famous pastor John Newton. He was well known, of course, for penning the timeless anthem, Amazing Grace. Having been a slave ship captain for many years, he repented of his sin and Christ saved him mightily, which inspired the writing of that most famous of hymns. He's known for many great quotes, one of which stuck with me this week, not only as I prepare with our very own Brady to go to the Shepherds Conference in just a few days, but as I reflect upon the incredible God who lavishes unmerited favor upon the least likely, especially when we have weeks that didn't feel like our best. John Newton, reflecting upon who he used to be, where and what he was saved from and where he found himself now as a pastor, he proclaimed, I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be. But by the grace of God, I am not what I once was. Close quote. How many of us can resonate with that gospel truth this morning? It's the beauty of that gospel truth this morning that keeps us pressing forward. That he who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it, Paul tells us. That God leaves no projects undone. And thus our past, our pains, our hurts, our failures, they are such a gift. Imagine always being able to look back and see the personal faithfulness of God in our lives anytime we wish. We can see and remember what he saved us out of, who we were then and who we are now. Certainly not in perfection, but constant in direction. Let us be reminded this morning of our first love, the one who captured you, who drew you and saved you of his own will and volition. That while we were yet dead in our sins, Christ died for you, the righteous for the unrighteous. What good news? That's the euangelion. That's the gospel. David, when considering his sin in Psalm 51, so is a grievous sin in this case. He perceived the loss of joy that came when sin gave him amnesia, when his sin caused him to forget the Lord his God, when it brought a great cloud to his mind and it stole from him something precious. And as he responded and he repented to that sin, he cried out to the Lord to restore unto him the joy of your salvation. When we awoke this morning, perhaps when we arrived today, as we were reminded that we are not what we ought to be, nor what we wish to be, nor what we hope to be. But by the grace of God, we are not what we once were. And that breeds joy. Joy is the response of a heart remembering and reflecting upon their salvation. So beloved, if that joy has grown foggy, Or if it's grown misty of late, if that joy has not been radiating in high definition for you, press in. Cry out to God with the psalmist. He will restore that joy unto you. And so he will, as he is ever faithful, amen? Amen. Last week we, unusually, we went topical. And that was unique for us. Speaking about God's plan to revive his children through the reformation of the church. Sounding a clarion call for discernment to return to the bride of Christ. That we might grow, Philippians 1-9, in all knowledge and discernment. So we pray that that message blessed you and challenged you. Having taken pause in Mark 13, we return now this morning to our season of eschatology, eschatos, our study of last things. And we enter into this topic not because we have an inordinate fascination or a position to wildly advocate, but because this is where we providentially find ourselves in the text. One of the beauties of expository preaching, if you stick after it long enough, you will get to every topic. We don't get to miss anything. We don't skip anything. In all of its sufficiency, all that God desires us to know, every topic required for us to grow in godliness is contained in the scriptures. And last, things do matter. Now, many people are interested in this topic because, well, the natural desire for humans is to know what comes next. Humans despise the unknown. We take comfort in just knowing, even if it's bad. Yet we must approach such topics with the right heart. So many labor in scripture to fit together what they think are end time Lego pieces, right? Or to try to figure out the Rubik's cube of the future so we can know what happens next. But that's not why we study end times. We encouraged ourselves at the beginning of this series in the purpose and the takeaway of Mark 13, that the God who initiated time, who has broken into time in the person of Jesus, is the one who controls the end of time, the transformation of all that is now into all that will be. And that colors everything. Because the Christian worldview is not simply a means of Jesus giving us a new heart or making us a new creation. It's not merely a how-to guide on individual salvation. But the Christian worldview transforms, it changes, and it informs the entire relationship in the way we view the totality of human existence, beginning to end. And thankfully, scripture informs us of both the beginning and the end. And because of that, we live in light of both. We live in light of having a creator God. We live in light of being fallen through Adam. We live in light of redemption through Christ. And we live in expectation of how he will come again, how he will judge and reward, how he will destroy and rebuild, making a new heavens and a new earth, making all things new. But now in the year 2023, with all these events behind us and before us, therefore, how then shall we live? What sort of Christian ought we to be? The answer is a biblical one. And that is our aim as we dive deeply into God's word every Sunday. And thus we broke for our topical message last Sunday before we began our exciting series titled Last Things. Last things, this is largely comprised of what is known as the Olivet Discourse. It's named, of course, by the location by which it's given, the Mount of Olives. Now, either directly or indirectly, Jesus' teaching here reaches and touches so many topics. The destruction of the temple, the rapture, the tribulation, the Antichrist, the false prophets, the second coming of Christ, the new heavens, the new earth, the millennial kingdom, all terms that most people have heard but maybe have a harder time putting together. Now, sadly, a deep, deep dive into all those topics is not our specific aim in Mark 13, as we would be here another two years if we were to give you a thorough treatment of all those amazing events. But we will attempt to give you building blocks going forward that we pray will be an instigator for more study and to whet your appetite to know more. that the study of last things will build up your faith, that it will spur us on to a greater obedience, that living in light of both His ascension and His return causes us to live differently. By way of reminder, we can find this discourse of our Lord also recorded in Matthew 24 and 25, as well as Luke 21, which is amazing because that allows us to see this incredible teaching contained in all three of the Synoptic Gospels. And that gives us a rich, full view of the longest response ever given by our Lord to a question posed to Him. We left off having completed verses 1 and 2 of chapter 13, By way of reminder, that read thus, and he was going out of the temple. One of his disciples, and 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. And indeed it was so. And we went into great detail, didn't we, about the magnificence of the temple built by Herod the Great. It really being a monument to himself, housing the worship of a now apostate Judaism. And still it was a sight of the ancient world. There was nothing else like it. Angle stones, corner stones weighing over 100 tons each, polished white limestone that glimmered like marble, the entire eastern wall covered in gold that was so bright that when the sun would rise over the Mount of Olives, you couldn't even look at it. Truly amazing. Jesus and his disciples have now departed out of the east gate, and we discuss the implications and the imagery of that. They've crossed the Kidron Valley, and they've now gone up the Mount of Olives. And looking back in the dusk of the setting sun, one of the disciples looks back and he comments on the incredible buildings. And Jesus says, yes, and not one stone will be left upon another. And this was an audacious statement, unthinkable. This would be like telling someone in Egypt that the Great Pyramids would disappear. Yet only 37 years after Christ ascended back into heaven, we went over great detail of a Jewish revolt that occurred. The end result in 70 AD was the utter destruction of the temple. The temple was burned, and in order to get that immense amount of gold that had melted into all the cracks and crevices of the burned rocks, what happened? They were torn down, and not one stone was left upon another. fulfilling in part Jesus' prophecy. And now we say in part because the type-antitype depiction we have with the temple. And a type, you will recall, is a prophetic symbol. It's a representation of something that is yet to come. And the antitype, of course, is the later fulfillment of that prophecy. As we said in our first message, what you have in the destruction of the temple can be known as a type. And what you have in the end of the age is the anti-type. In other words, like we see in so many places in scripture with types and anti-types, the destruction of the temple is a foreshadowing. It is a type of the destruction that is to come, being fulfilled at the end of the age. And thus we saw the fulfillment of verses 1 and 2 in the year 70 AD. But yet the construction continues to point forward. While the destruction of the temple would be a matter of eschatology for the disciples, of future events for the disciples, it's partially history for us in that it already occurred. And yet the destruction of the temple is eschatological for us as well, as it points to the ultimate and final destruction. Just as the temple was burned and toppled, so the earth will be burned. Peter tells us that the earth and its elements will melt, be burned up, making a way for a new Jerusalem. So this is something of a two-rail system, a near focus and a far focus, something like focusing a telescope that I want us to keep in mind as we explore matters of eschatology. Today, as we approach verses 3-5, we've titled it, A Question for the Ages. Part 1, verses 1 and 2 dealt with the temple. It dealt with the destruction that was fulfilled in 70 AD. And today we're going to look at the question that truly kicks off the Olivet Discourse. The forerunner to describing the days in which we live. The days between Jesus' first coming and Jesus' second coming. But before we launch in here, maybe a good spot to give you a very, very quick overview of the timeline of Mark 13. For those who want a structure in front of them, that can be helpful. Now, verses 1 and 2, as we said, dealt with 70 AD and the destruction of the temple. Verses 3 through 13 deal with our present age, that time between Jesus' first and second coming. And verses 14 through 23 deal with the time of the tribulation, And finally, verses 24 and on deal with the second coming of Christ. So there's your outline. Go back and write those down later. That can be helpful for some. Now, some who know your eschatology well will see that I have some presuppositions baked into that, and your pastor's personal convictions on end-time events are somewhat spelled out, maybe tipping my hand, so to speak. But as we said, we will present those matters with the utmost of humility and conviction. knowing that we have dear brothers and sisters in the Lord who hold differing timelines and views. That's okay. So with that, let us look to our text, beloved, as we explore last things, a question for the ages. Mark 13, three through five. Mark 13, three through five. And 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 deceives you. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we are so filled with joy to be coming to this portion of your word, to be entering into this season of eschatology of last things. Lord, these are difficult verses. Lord, while Scripture is infallible and perfect, Lord, we're reminded that there is no infallible or perfect interpreter. And so, Lord, we ask that you would use this time to your glory. Lord, that truth would go forth, that seeds would take hold and bring forth fruit. In Jesus' mighty name, amen. We have mountains to cross here, so we're just going to dive right in, beginning with verse 3, if you'll look with me, beloved. Verse 3, and as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning him privately. Now, our geography as far as the Mount of Olives and the big picture should be pretty well settled at this point. If you want a deeper dive into that, refer back to our first message. We hit that in great detail. But now Jesus with his disciples have sat down here, and as was somewhat custom, Jesus' inner circle comes questioning. But let's not be too quick to dismiss what looks like a common scene. To begin with, there's something quite unique here that we don't see anywhere else. This is the first and only place in scripture we see Andrew included in the inner circle, so to speak, of Peter, James, and John. Now, why do we care about that? Why do you care? Well, we'll recall that these four were the first called at the outset of Jesus' ministry. So there's something of a full circle that's coming to bear here with Andrew being included. And secondly, it shows us very intimately that this was in no way a public teaching. This teaching was for the ears and the hearts of those who loved and followed Christ closely. Notice he doesn't say that he gathered the 12 unto himself to answer this. This was inner sanctum stuff. This was marked classified, as it were, right? Need to know only. Our text says they questioned Jesus privately. Not just any question, but truly a question for the ages. And what does that question, verse four, verse four, tell us? When will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled? Now, these really seem like simple questions, right? Great, you've told us this, the temple's gonna get torn down, when's all this gonna happen? But that's not the case. Not only is their question much bigger than Mark records, but it's also chocked full of, and it's baked through with some false and some incomplete assumptions. If we look at Matthew's account first, we see their full question in chapter 24, verse 3. And listen to the difference. Listen to the expansion here. As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? There we go. There's the crux of the matter. There's the heart of it. There's the point of the question. It's not merely about when the temple would be destroyed or when one stone would not be left upon another. What is it? And what is the sign of your coming and the end of the age? We need to understand this if we're to grasp the actual question that they're asking. We must first be reminded that the disciples, or the Jews in general, were not looking for a second coming like you and I are, right? That's not the sequence of events in their mind. Jesus is here, the Messiah is here, he will reign. And okay, if you need to die and you need to resurrect, like you keep telling us, even though that's still strange in our understanding, but then you're going to rule and reign, right? To grasp the depth of this question, we need to understand the eschatology of these men. How did they see it happening? Would you like to know the eschatology of Peter, James, John, and Andrew? Ah, good. Here it is in a quick nutshell. Here's what the disciples and most Jews of Jesus' day believed about the coming of Messiah. They believed that before the Messiah came, there would be a time of terrible tribulation. And into this chaos, there would come Elijah as the forerunner and herald of the Messiah. And that makes sense, right? Who were they always wondering if John the Baptist and Jesus were? Elijah, right? Are you Elijah? Some say Elijah. And then there would enter the Messiah and the nations would ally themselves and they would gather themselves together against the champion of God. And the result would be the total destruction of these hostile powers. Then there would follow the complete renovation of Jerusalem, and the Jews who were dispersed all over the world would be gathered into the city of the new Jerusalem. And now Palestine would be the center of the world, and the rest of the world would be subject to it, and all the nations would be subdued under Messiah's rule. There you go. That's these men's frame of reference when they asked these three questions. It's quite funny to read the eschatology of the Jews, and even of the Mishnah, because it sounds an awful lot like premillennialism. Now for those who know what that is, they foresaw a time of great tribulation before Messiah's return, and the temple being rebuilt, on and on. You may hear in some circles that premillennialism is a new view, concocted only recently. However, if we read Jewish eschatology, you would have thought that they were reciting a left-behind novel. Some may not catch that reference. Thus, in their mind, the destruction of the temple is part and parcel to what is going to happen. It is merely part of the sequence of events that must happen to inaugurate in Messiah's kingdom. Right? Meaning, temple going down equals Messiah taking his throne equals the kingdom is here. And thus, because of prophecy, certainly contained in Zechariah 14, for those taking notes, means the destruction of the temple, the coming of Messiah, and the consummation of the age are all three linked at the hip. That's what they think. And even after Jesus' resurrection, their eschatology hasn't changed at all. We see in Luke's recording in Acts 1. No need to turn there. I'll read it for you. Verses 6 and 7. Acts 1, 6 and 7. And when they had come together, they were asking him, saying, Lord, is it at this time you are restoring the kingdom of Israel? He said to them, It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed. by his own authority. They have a bit of a one-track mind, don't they? They were anxious to know this. However, there's one key point here that we would be remissed if we glossed over in Jesus' response here in Acts 1 to how the disciples read and understood their scripture. We see a building block here for understanding our Bibles and thus last things. Jesus has risen from the dead at this point, yes? The dawn of the church age is upon us, and the disciples are asking if you're going to now restore Israel. That's the question. Now here, right now, is where Jesus would have said, no, I'm done with Israel. The church is now Israel. The church are now my covenant people. I'm done with these hard hearts in the nation of Israel. But he doesn't do that, does he? He merely exhorts them about not knowing the time in which he would do it, the time in which he would restore Israel. Is it fair to think that Jesus would mention somewhere if he was finished with the very nation and people of Israel? Might that be an important item? That Israel and her people are dead to me, it's only the church now. I'm not going to do a deep dive into this, but we cannot teach eschatology or build a system of thought without settling an important matter one way or the other. As we said, Jesus has already risen in Acts 1, the dawning of the church age is upon us, and the disciples are inquiring when he will restore who? Israel, our nation, our people. Now does Jesus correct his disciples when they say false things or they have a misunderstanding? Of course. We have four full Gospels and a bit of Acts showing him doing thus. Yet Jesus does not correct them here saying, welcome to the church age, Israel's gone. that you now as believers, as the church, are now Israel. The nation, those who were God's chosen people, who I told you that I came first to, they're done. They rejected me, so you are now Israel. This is called replacement theology. The teaching that Israel is now the church, and the church is now Israel. Now, there are many prominent teachers who hold such views, like our very dearly departed R.C. Sproul, who we all love, Though they would not call it replacement theology, they would subhead it under their covenant theology. They would nuance that teaching, saying that Jesus didn't replace Israel, but he expanded Israel. But of course, this brings great challenges. Under this way of putting together and of reading our Bible, of the church now being Israel, this means that the prophecies in scripture concerning the blessing and the restoration of Israel to the promised land, the curses upon Israel that are spoken, they're now spiritualized and allegorized into promises and God's blessings and cursings upon the church. A whole different topic for a different day. But this point can be a tremendous stumbling block in building one's eschatology. Because it affects how you read your Bible. How you apply promises in scripture. If replacement theology is correct, then all the promises made to the nation of Israel in the Old Testament are forfeit to them because they rejected Messiah and are only applicable now to you as the church. You now get all the promises given to Israel because they rejected him. It's a very simplistic view, however, that's as simple as I can give it. Oh, there are dear brothers in the Lord who hold differing views on that. And many theologians who I love and study hold varying views on Israel. It is my humble conviction that God is not done with the nation of Israel. Never in all of human existence has a people group been scattered only to reform their nation. Never. God is a covenant God. And because of that, he will keep his promises to Israel. He will restore her. You know, an excellent point was made by my dear wife, and I must credit her. She said, you have to cite your sources. I cite my source. As we were discussing these wonderful truths, she contemplated and she wondered if some of the theologians of old, some of the reformers who we love and read and quote, who often sought to replace Israel with the church, would they feel the same way? Would they read their Bible the same way if they saw what we saw today? Israel supernaturally restored as a nation. And it was supernatural. If you ever get a chance to read about the reestablishing of Israel and the impossible war that defended her, it is truly a walk down the miraculous. Michael Houdman writes, quote, If Israel has been condemned by God and there is no future for the Jewish nation, how do we explain the supernatural survival of the Jewish people over the past 2000 years, despite every attempt to destroy them? How do we explain why and how Israel reappeared as a nation in the 20th century after not existing for 1900 years? God's not done with Israel. And thus the church is not Israel, and Israel is not the church. The church was born on Pentecost, and it will remain until raptured home on that day. Now these are topics that I know some listening have never even considered. but we cannot begin to understand last things without drawing some basic lines on the chalkboard, right? And besides that, it helps us to understand better how to read our Bible better, how to not take Old Testament verses out of context. When you read something and you're asking yourself, does this apply to me? Can I take that promise and run? Wouldn't it be nice to know those things? Understanding the relationship between Israel and the church will go a long ways in aiding our understanding. Understanding God's special covenant with his people, Israel. Probably the most prominent example that comes to mind was right after 9-11. We all remember exactly where we were that day. We all remember everyone flooding into the churches. And what verse was plastered everywhere? on the radio waves, on t-shirts, from the pulpits. If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and heal their land. That was everywhere. And it's a great verse, but what do we do with it? Did it apply to our situation as a nation? Not at all. Yes, pray for healing. Yes, repent of wicked ways. Do all of those things. But that's not the context of this verse at all. While we love hearing scripture, and there are deep principles that we could draw from verses like that, This verse's usage everywhere was always grading on those who knew how to read their Bibles, because it was completely out of context. This was written as a conditional promise to ancient Israel, full stop. So unless you were a Jew facing down Babylonian captivity, dealing with the temple and judgments from God because of national disobedience, that is not a verse for us. Great verse, lots to learn and glean from it, but not that. Just one example in how to read our Bibles. So can we understand the relationship of Israel and the church, how it applies to us today? Affecting how we read our Bible, affecting how we interpret last things. Now it's only a brief overview of that, but critical to begin thinking about. It is a building block of eschatology. Now shifting gears back to our text, getting back into the heads of our disciples and their eschatology, so far everything lined up for them, yes? They were being oppressed. They lived in what they thought were tumultuous and turbulent times of tribulation. And this wasn't a new thing, right? This was the history of their peoples. From the Assyrians to the Babylonians to the Egyptians, the cry to deliver us is very strong. And the prophets were positively packed with prophecies of one who would come and who would rule and reign on the throne of David, setting all things that were wrong to right. So far, all this makes sense. We've had all the tribulation. Shucks, we're living in it right now. Messiah is here. Sounds like Jerusalem's about to get a serious makeover for your rule and reign. Even that apostate temple you said's coming down. Ezekiel said there would be a new temple. It all lines up in the eschatology grid for the disciples. But hold on. Here's where our problem arises. There's no allowance for a gap of time in the eschatology of the disciples. When it kicked off, it kicked off. There was no coming of the Messiah, then leaving, then coming back again, right? There's no such thing. So Jesus has to inform that gap. He's got to make space in their minds and their hearts for a whole lot to go bad before it goes good. That's what the remainder of this chapter is really about. You think the time has come, but it hasn't come. You're not in the season you think you're in, but I'm going to give you some things to watch out for that will tell you when you are in the season that will inaugurate the end of the age. And truly, had the disciples been paying close mind to the prophecies they knew, they would have already seen Jesus making this space, making this time, building this gap. Consider Luke 4. Turn with me in your Bibles this morning, beloved. Luke 4. Here, Jesus, he's returning home to Nazareth, Luke 4. He's returning home to Nazareth, and he's going to speak in his hometown synagogue. And where does he open to? Look, beginning with verse 17, Luke 4, verse 17. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. And he opened the scroll and he found the place where it was written, the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. And what did he do? Verse 20. He rolled it up and he sat down. But hang on. What did Jesus just read? This is Isaiah 61. Isaiah 61, the first two verses. I'll read it for you, no need to turn there. Listen to this. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. That's where Jesus stopped, wasn't it? Wasn't it? But that's right in the middle of Isaiah's sentence. That's not a complete thought. He literally stopped midstream where Isaiah has a comma, Jesus put a period. Why? Why? Because the answer comes after Isaiah's comma. Second half of verse two in Isaiah. And the day of vengeance of our God. Jesus didn't read that. He stopped at proclaiming the year of the Lord's favor, midstream, and not the day of vengeance of our God. Why not? Because the vengeance was not now. That was future. I came now to do this. This is why I'm here. That comes later. The Jesus now is a preacher and an evangelist. That's my role. I've come to proclaim to you. But when I come back on the day of vengeance of our God, I'll be king and judge. If they listened to Jesus, he was telling them their eschatology was off, or they didn't catch it. And that's not a slam on the disciples. If you read Isaiah as one, you would see it as they saw it. But Jesus stopped mid-sentence, he closed the scroll, and he sat down. Isaiah says, I see one. And Jesus says, nope, it's actually two. Was Isaiah wrong? No, not at all. But in the Old Testament, we see things only dimly. We see types and figures like a candle throwing shadows upon the wall. There were mysteries. The prophets wrote perfectly for the light that they had been given. What we can now see with hindsight as the church age, the entire concept of the body of Christ was an unknown then. It was a mystery of the age. If there was to be this space of time, then what is it? And what will happen in this time? And if we look closer at these questions posed by the disciples, we see some vast assumptions, don't we? When will we see these things? When will we see these things? And what will be the sign when all these things are gonna be fulfilled? These are questions that are asked with anticipation. These are questions asked by people who expect to be there when they take place. Tell us what to look for. And of course, that fits perfectly with their eschatology, right? Some of the disciples were already picking out drapes. They were already arguing about who's gonna sit enthroned with Jesus in his kingdom, right hand, left hand. Let us know so we can be ready. Now to be fair, some of what Jesus had said had gotten through to them. If we look at Matthew's record that we read, they say, as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying, tell us when these things happen and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age. Well, in order to come, you have to first do what? You have to leave, you have to go. And Jesus told them a thousand times what was going to happen to him. Okay, okay, we get it. You're gonna leave, but what then will be the sign of your coming? Meaning when you show back up again, having been killed by your enemies, it's time to kick this off. And our verse in Acts 1 before confirmed that this was still their thought process. They wanted the kingdom now. And I use that phraseology specifically because we have just such a theology rampant in evangelicalism today, known as Kingdom Now Theology or Kingdom Now Teaching. You might also hear it referred to as Dominion Theology. Proponents of this theology would state that when Adam and Eve sinned and fell, that God lost control of the world to Satan. And ever since then, he's been fighting to regain control. And God's doing going to do this by finding a special group of people that he's going to use to bring back all the government and social institutions back under the rule of God that will live under this theocratic rule of righteousness again. Does any of that sound familiar? Instead of looking to Messiah to usher in the kingdom now, today, they say, because you are indwelt with Christ, therefore you are a little Christ. You possess the authority of Christ and you can take over and you can establish the kingdom of God here on earth. It didn't work so well for the Jews and their eschatology, and it won't work well today. Still, there's nothing new under the sun. Now, I know we've given you a fire hose on this from replacement theology to kingdom now theology, and it can all seem a little bit overwhelming, but it is most necessary, beloved. The preacher isn't the only one working hard on a Sunday morning. Church is not a spectator sport. It requires us to engage ourselves fully, lean in that you might gain understanding, especially as it relates to last things. It's not easy. It's not for the slothful. If you'll recall last week, beloved, in our message, Revival Through Reformation, it was a call for discernment to be restored to the churches, that deception was rampant in the church, and a second reformation was needed to revive her people in the context and the vehicle he has made, mainly that of the local church. And Jesus' heartbeat was the same. As we look to our final verse, verse 5, And Jesus began to say to them, see to it that no one deceives you. Now in technical terms, this is the very beginning of the Olivet Discourse. And it may seem like somewhat of a strange place to stop, more like a place to begin, right? But I want this to marinate in your soul this week. as you rehash and you reponder all that you have heard and learned. While the meat of what is coming is eschatological, Jesus does not begin his discourse there. He begins, and you'll notice, he ends with the moral, doesn't he? If you're gonna ask a question for the ages, expect some work. Here's a moral imperative. Look at your bookends of the eschatology Jesus is about to give. He begins in verse five, do not be deceived. He ends, verse 37, be on the alert. Those are the bookends of our eschatology that's coming. Do not be deceived, be on the alert. Meaning, beloved, there is a practical call to diligent obedience in the times that are here and in the times that are coming. There is a practical call to a diligent obedience that tests and examines, that searches the scriptures as the Bereans to see if it was so. Now these are not events and concepts that as a Christian we can either choose to engage with or not. These are imperative commands from Christ. Do not be deceived, be on alert. And that takes work. Jesus is going to move a lot of people out of their comfort zone through this journey of last things, I can tell. And that is a grace. That is a grace, beloved. Because many will be asleep when the master comes. Many will run out of oil in their lamps. Let us be ready, church. Sober, watchful, diligent, joyful, expectant as a bride that's ready for her groom. Be ready. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for preserving this text for us. Lord, that we might grow thereby, that we might know you, and by knowing you, we might love you deeper and fuller. Lord, as we enter into this sacrament time, Lord, as we enter into this time of fellowship and communion, we ask, Lord, that you would abide with us. Lord, that you would fill and convict our hearts anew, that you would fill us with joy afresh. In Jesus' mighty name, amen.
Last Things: A Question for the Ages
Serie The Gospel of Mark
ID del sermone | 35231744273170 |
Durata | 44:16 |
Data | |
Categoria | Domenica - AM |
Testo della Bibbia | Punti d'Interesse 13:3-5 |
Lingua | inglese |
Aggiungi un commento
Commenti
Non ci sono commenti
© Copyright
2025 SermonAudio.