Father, again, we thank you for enabling us, for giving us the freedom to gather as we still have that freedom. We're grateful for it. And Lord, this morning we are going to be again focusing on you and on the cross and on what you've given to us through the gift of your son through the cross. And so we pray this morning that you'd be here in a special way, that your spirit would guide us, that you direct us. and guide us, and that it would be of permanent value. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, this is a special day. This is the day in the month where we recognize Christ and His cross. And Jesus, on the night before He died, He met with His disciples, and there, for the very last time, He celebrated a Passover supper with them. We find that in Matthew 26, which describes it this way, it says, Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread and after blessing it, broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat, this is my body. And he took a cup and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying, Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's kingdom. So Jesus took the bread and he took the wine and he offered them up as symbols of his flesh and his blood. And then he asked the disciples to eat the bread and drink the cup so that they might symbolically eat his flesh and drink his blood. And then he asked them to repeat the remembrance of this sacrifice on a regular basis, and this is what we're doing right now. This is what we call the Lord's Table. And we celebrate it once a month, and we do that by meditating on what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us on the cross, by examining ourselves, and that means asking God's Holy Spirit to point out areas where he's convicting us of sin, by confessing our sins, and then by participating in these elements. John 6.53 says, Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. So we've been following the life of Christ in the Gospel of Mark. We've been working our way through each verse, each chapter, and we're looking now into what is known as the Olivet Discourse. The disciples were at the temple, and they were going on and on, and they're marveling at how impressive the temple was, how impressive its stonework was. When Jesus responds this way in Mark 13 too, Jesus says, Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone on another. That will not be thrown down. You see, Jesus had the ability to literally see through the corridors of time. And what appeared to be massively permanent in the eyes of the disciples was in Jesus' eyes nothing but just a transient blip on the radar. And precisely as he had predicted in AD 70, the Emperor Titus attacked the temple and totally destroyed it. The ensuing fire melted the gold within the temple. And so it caused every single stone within it to be taken apart as people pursued that gold. And so just as Jesus had predicted, quote, not one stone was found on another. Now the disciples couldn't even imagine the carnage that was going to take place years in the future, as Jesus then sits them down, and they're in full view of the temple, and he has a discourse on present and future things. And again it's known as the Olivet Discourse. We pick up at verse 3. It says, speaking of Jesus, as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished? Well, again, what we want to do right off the bat is to kind of put ourselves inside the heads of the disciples to understand how they were thinking when they were asking Jesus these particular questions. I mean, he spoke directly about the temple and they responded by asking about all of these things that were to be accomplished. And again, that means in spite of the temple being destroyed, they knew that there were many other cataclysmic events that were supposed to take place. But again, they understood it within the context of Jesus as an earthly king. In spite of all the different times that Jesus had warned them, they were still absolutely convinced that Jesus was going to successfully launch a political revolution that would establish Israel as the cornerstone of the world and of course crowning them as the new leaders of this kingdom. It didn't matter how many times Jesus explained to them in unmistakably clear language precisely what was going to be happening to him shortly. They simply refused to believe it. You know, have you ever tried to explain something to someone, and as you're explaining it, you know they're just not getting it. Each time you question them, you can see they're either taking it the wrong way, or they're just completely misunderstanding the details. Now, that was the lot that Jesus had to deal with repeatedly. I mean, over and over again, he's explaining to them that he was the sacrificial lamb who was willingly prepared to go to the slaughter. I mean, all the way back in Mark 8, this is what Jesus said. He says, He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And He said this plainly. So here we find Jesus, He's knowing full well that this is His last week on earth, knowing His disciples still have no clue. And so he addresses their questions with an eye, not just to their immediate future, but to the future that affects every one of us in this room. Verse five says, and Jesus began to say to them, see that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name saying, I am he, and they will lead many astray. And I don't know if you remember last month, two months ago when we talked about this last, we addressed this issue noting that literally for 2,000 years now people have been doing exactly what Jesus said they would be doing. There's lots of people who've claimed to be the Messiah. And you have to understand when Jesus made this statement he was just the leader of a small band of followers. He had no political power whatsoever. And yet for the last 2,000 years, just as Jesus said, many have indeed been coming in his name. But you know every one of them has disqualified themselves for one specific reason. Jesus tells the disciples that when he returns, when he returns the entire world will instantly know it. This is what Jesus said in Matthew 24. He said, see, I have told you ahead of time. So if anyone tells you there he is out in the wilderness, do not go out. Or here he is in the inner rooms. Do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. And Jesus makes it very, very clear when he arrives for the second time, everyone on planet Earth who knows what lightning is, they're going to know it instantly. And so the one thing all of these false Jesuses have in common is the failure to alert the entire world instantly of the moment of their coming. Because that's just what Jesus has promised. So when anyone suggests that he's here but he's out in the wilderness or he's somewhere in the inner rooms, they are clearly trying to deceive you. You have to understand Jesus has a near impossible task here. He's going to explain to the disciples with the same type of pinpoint accuracy the events of the next few decades while tying those same events to the events of his return thousands of years later. Now the entire conversation that Jesus is having with the disciples is called the Olivet Discourse because that's where it took place. It's also considered by many to be among the most difficult passages in all of Scripture to understand. And the reason why there's so many different understandings of what Jesus is saying is because his description is threefold. What Jesus is doing here is he's describing to the disciples what's going to happen in the immediate future, all at the same time using events of the distant past and the near future to describe the events that are going to take place thousands of years later in the distant future. Jesus goes on to say in verse 7, and when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet, for nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth banks. And again, I mentioned last time that this whole idea of wars and rumors of wars and earthquakes and famines, which I'm sure you've heard about, always pointing towards, this is it. This is the sign of the end. That's simply incorrect. Jesus was very clear when he said, do not be alarmed. This must take place. But the end is not yet. And it's been over 2,000 years since Jesus made that statement. And the not yet end will only occur when the very last sheep of Jesus' sheepfold comes into the pen. As the elders begin distributing the bread, I would like us to just take a moment to consider the compassion of God, consider the fact that he has waited literally thousands of years before judging a world that daily demonstrates its hatred of him. And he does that so that you and I and all of us who have been born some 21 centuries after Jesus made that statement, so that we can join him in his kingdom. Now as the bread is being distributed I want to repeat the warning that God gives us in 1 Corinthians 11 about partaking in the breaking of bread. God says, but let a man examine himself and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason, many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world." And again, I repeat this each time. I said communion is an extremely serious undertaking. And to enter into it in an unworthy manner is to literally court disaster. This is veiled language of sorts, but what God is saying is back then, people who participated in an unworthy manner in communion, he struck dead. That's how serious this is. And so if you're not absolutely confident that you are a child of the king, if you haven't by faith placed your trust in Christ as your savior, if you first need to be reconciled to your brother or sister before you bring the sacrifice of yourself to the altar, then just pass the elements on. If you don't feel right about participating, then err on the side of caution and get right with God first. But as always, I give this caution. You can make the mistake of thinking, okay, he's saying you have to be spotlessly perfect in order to receive communion. I'm not saying that. Being a child of the king doesn't mean that you don't sin. It doesn't mean that you don't fail. What it means is that you recognize the salvation that you have been given is a gift that no one is capable of earning simply by, quote, being good. And so we quote Dane Ortlund each month, who sums it all up in this one statement. He says, in the kingdom of God, the one thing that qualifies you is knowing that you don't qualify. And the one thing that disqualifies you is thinking that you do. And you know that also means when we do fail we are aware that we've sinned. Why? Because we have God's Holy Spirit inside us. He's inside us and he's the one convicting us. And so we grieve and we grieve as children who know we have a father who longs to forgive and cleanse us. That's what God says in 1 John 1. He says if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So again, so being a child of the King doesn't mean that we're without sin. It means that when we sin, we understand we have an advocate speaking on our behalf right now in heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, 1 John 2.1 says, My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous one. And so it's because we have Jesus's righteousness and not our own that we are now free to eat at this very table. You see, if you love your Lord, don't deny yourself the privilege that he's purchased for you. You know, he lived the life we were supposed to live. He died the death that we all deserve to die in our place. And he did it so that we could be made worthy of heaven, so that we could eat at his table. Understand that God can't love you any more tomorrow than he does right now, right here, today. And from before the foundations of the earth, God loved you to the max. And God saw back then every sin you would ever commit, the sin you'll commit on your 90th birthday, should you live that long. And yet he still chose to pour his love down on you. So bear that in mind. as you consider the love and the compassion and the patience of God, who has waited thus far 21 centuries to gather us into his fold. Consider that for a moment. First Corinthians 11, 23 says, For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body. which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. So take and eat. Elders, if you would begin distributing the cup as well. Okay, so Jesus, he now tells the disciples specifically how to prepare for the immediate future. This is what Jesus says in verse 9. He says, But be on your guard, for they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake to bear witness before them. I think we can see this warning is clearly aimed at the disciples present day situation because we know that's precisely what happened in the early church. But then Jesus makes another statement that describes why there's been over 2,000 years since these early predictions become end-time predictions. Jesus says in the next verse, in verse 10, Well, Jesus has just jumped immediately to the distant future, and the disciples don't even realize it. And we say, you know, why hasn't Jesus come yet? That's a simple one to answer because the task hasn't been finished. The gospel has not been proclaimed to all nations. But this points to two completely different time periods that Jesus is addressing in this very address. There's a short-term explanation that he's giving to the disciples of what's going to take place in the very near future. And there's a long-term prophecy of Jesus' return. And we saw that's exactly what took place. I mean the disciples themselves, they were handed over to the councils, they were beaten in the synagogues, they stood before governors and kings for the sake of Jesus, and there they did bear witness. But we also know that what Jesus was telling the disciples applied not just to their future, but to our future, right here, right now, today. So how does this apply to us? Well, during the last 2,000 years, there's been countless times that believers faced the very same fate that the disciples did. They've been hauled before councils. They've been beaten. They've given testimony to governors and kings. And again, Jesus' prophecy has an immediate fulfillment and a long-term fulfillment going all the way up to today. Verse 11, it says, and when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given to you in that hour. for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit." Well, I think we can see how this text applies perfectly to the immediate future of the disciples. I mean, perhaps Peter is the best example of what it means to just trust that God's going to give you the words to speak at the precise moment that you need them. You know, it's easy to forget when you read Peter's epistles, or John's for that matter, that these men, they were uneducated tradesmen. These were people who fished for a living. And yet when they were called before government authorities or church authorities, they suddenly found themselves waxing eloquent, not because of any skill that they had, but because of the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, Christ's warning to his disciples once again contains advice for their present day circumstances and clearly an understanding of what's going to be taking place just prior to Christ's return during the tribulation, when those birth pangs that he talks about start happening in earnest. Jesus says that in verse 12. He says, brother will deliver brother over to death and the father is child and children will rise against parents and have them put to death and you'll be hated by all for my name's sake but the one who endures to the end will be saved. What Jesus is talking about is the end and to put it mildly things are going to get much much worse than they've ever been. And having said that, Jesus now goes back to addressing a situation that was not only a present danger, but one that has also been addressed in the past and is going to be addressed in the future. This is where things get a little bit different, a little bit odd. Jesus says in verse 14, he says, but when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be, let the reader understand, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Okay, with this statement, what we have here is Jesus is reaching back to the ancient past. He's actually reaching back to the prophet Daniel to describe a circumstance that's going to be happening in the near future to the disciples with an attack on the temple in Rome. It's not actually to the disciples, but to that generation. This term that Jesus uses, the abomination of desolation, it's a unique phrase, and it refers back to something that Daniel spoke of hundreds of years previously. There was a wicked king by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes who lived about 175 years before Christ. And he hated the Jews with all of his heart and he was absolutely determined to wipe them out. And one of the many abominations that he undertook was to take the temple and turn it into an altar to Zeus. In fact, he covered the actual altar in the temple with another altar on which he sacrificed a pig. And in doing so he committed an abomination of desolation. And so Jesus in all likelihood is referring to the desecration that took place in the temple way back then at that time. And then he uses it to refer to the desolation that was to come some 38 years after his discourse as the Roman army would march into that same temple as they were in the process of destroying it. As Antiochus Epiphanes abominated the temple and made it desolate, so too the invading Roman army, with their images of Caesar as God, would repeat the process. So Jesus uses an incident from the distant past to describe an incident that's going to take place in the very near future as Rome will invade and destroy the temple. And the warning that he gives next makes perfect sense going out to those unfortunate enough to be actually in Jerusalem at that time. This is what Jesus says in verse 15. He says, Let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house to take anything out. And let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant, and for those who are nursing infant in those days, pray that it may not happen in winter. Well, just as Jesus predicted, Rome invaded Jerusalem and desecrated the temple. And there were thousands, tens of thousands, butchered by the Roman soldiers. But there were also thousands who did exactly what Jesus said to do. They fled out into the surrounding countryside. Now, Jesus adds another part to his prediction that instantly takes us thousands of years into the future. when another desolation is going to take place. This is verse 19. He says, For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now and never will be. And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect whom he chose, he shortened the days. Well, clearly Jesus is not speaking about Antiochus Epiphany's year. He's not even speaking about the Roman army. Here he's speaking about the role that the Antichrist is going to have at the very end of time. And you can see how difficult this becomes to try and understand. But this time we have the author of Thessalonians to give us some additional information about who this third abominator of desolation actually is. In 2 Thessalonians 2, there's a statement about the end of time. This is now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together with him. We ask you brothers not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed either by a spirit or spoken word or a letter seeming to be from us to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first. and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called God or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God." Now you need to notice what this third abominator, if I can call him that, what this third one is going to do. Scripture says he's going to exalt himself. He's going to proclaim that he is God. But where is he going to do this? Well it says he takes his seat in the temple of God. Well that's a problem. You see right now there is no temple in Jerusalem. I mean right now all there is is the Wailing Well. That's that small section of the foundation of Herod's temple that remains. So again, we say, well, how can this be? There's no temple at present. That's a genuine problem. But bear in mind, for almost 2,000 years after Jesus made this prediction, there was no such thing as Israel as well. I mean, that happened in 1947. And we know that even now there's active plans being made to rebuild that temple. And Jesus is clearly talking about sometime in the distant future. And what's so confusing about this Olivet discourse is that Jesus just mixes up time frames from past to near future to distant future and he does it all in one paragraph. I mean the past abomination was the sacrificing of a pig on the altar. The near future abomination was the upcoming attack of Rome on the very same temple. And the far future abomination will be the abomination of the Antichrist proclaiming himself as God just prior to Christ's return. And it says he too will enter the temple and profane it mightily. Well now Jesus adds yet another part to his prediction that again takes us thousands of years into the future. This is when this third desolation is going to take place. Again we pick up on verse 21. Jesus says, and then if anyone says to you look here is the Christ or look there he is do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be on guard. I have told you all things beforehand. But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light. And the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. Well clearly Jesus is telling the disciple what's going to happen at the end of time when he returns and judges the earth. And it all occurs in these few paragraphs as Jesus is sitting outside the temple speaking to his disciples. So then he follows up by giving him an analogy that points to the near future events that he knows is coming. This is what Jesus says in verse 28. He says, from the fig tree learn its lesson. As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also when you see these things taking place, you know that He is near at the very gates. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." You know, much of what Jesus is alluding to that would take place, it took place within the generation of the disciples. I mean, he's speaking in A.D. 32 or 33, depending on how you count the time. And it was only decades later, in A.D. 67 or 68, that Rome began advancing on Jerusalem. And so what Jesus is doing here, he's using a farming analogy that everybody knew. You know, when a fig tree starts putting out leaves, you know exactly what's coming next. And so he says, he says, when you start getting hauled into court, when you start experiencing active persecution, when you start seeing family betrayals, understand that summer is coming. And when you hear that Rome is on the march toward Jerusalem near, and then he says at the very gates, well you know that the leaves of the fig tree are swelling and it's about to happen. And so once again we have Jesus referring to a near future event, and that is the attack of Rome on the temple. It's no wonder that people have spent centuries trying to figure out the Olivet Discourse. Because what we have here is Jesus taking three different time frames of distant past, of near future, and of distant future, and he's weaving them all together, leaving it to us to unwind them as circumstances make them more and more obvious. But he's also giving the disciples a refresher course on how to share the gospel regardless the circumstances they find themselves in. So how do we respond when we find ourselves having to defend our faith or the gospel or simply trying to share the good news with someone who may be less physically threatening than the folks that the disciples faced, but threatening nonetheless? And as I mentioned last time, it's highly unlikely that we in the United States are going to be finding ourselves in the same situation as the disciples. But you know, folks in Asia and South America and Africa, China, they certainly may. Now, you might be thinking, well, you know, I just don't have those opportunities to share the gospel. But that's just not so. God is giving us all kinds of opportunities that we may never have had in the past. I mean, they don't come wrapped in pretty silver bows, but there are opportunities right here for the taking. I mean, I've never in my lifetime seen more angst, anxiety, bitterness, and division than I have seen recently. And both sides of the political divide feel it towards each other. I mean, there's enough stress right outside that door to affect every single person in an extremely negative way. And guess what? We have the answer to that stress. We worship the God-man who left heaven itself and came to earth so that he could live out his perfect life and then give that life up as a sacrifice to pay for your sins and my sins. We have an account of him sitting down with the disciples who are just like we are today, stressed out about what's going on around them, only to realize that they're talking to someone who sees all things, the past, the present, and the future as one cohesive whole that ends with him having ultimate victory over all things. And the bottom line is profoundly simple. In the end, we win. Part of the victory that has been won already for us is that God is in charge of everything. From nations to spirits down to the next door neighbor that you've been meaning to talk to. And what we need to realize, it's incredibly important that we understand it is not our job to convince anyone of the gospel. That's the Holy Spirit's job. Peter defines our responsibility in 1 Peter 3.15. This is what he says. He says, But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. Yet do it with gentleness and respect. It is our job to give an account of the hope that's within us to anyone and everyone, including those who want to shake their fist at the very God who created us. I mean, understand, that's the feeling that was within every single one of us before we came to Christ. The Apostle Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 2. He said, The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him. And he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. I mean, it's not easy to share the hope of the world when the world looks at that hope as pure folly. And what your friends and neighbors who don't know Christ don't understand is the profound implications of Adam's fall. of how his one act of rebellion turned the entire race against its creator and created a chasm that only God himself could fill and that the very Jesus who was delivering that Olivet Discourse was God himself who had come to earth to pay the price of our rebellion, to live a perfect life and then offer that life up on a cross so that we could have our sin record wiped out by placing our faith in him. So we could then stand before God now because of his righteousness, not our own, worthy of heaven. Now, when we get involved in these kind of discussions, here's the question. Can we rely on the same miraculous intervention of God that Jesus promised to his disciples? Well, the answer to that is, that depends. Let me repeat to you what Jesus told his disciples about their present day situation. This is verse 11. He says, And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour for it is not you who speak but the Holy Spirit." Well we know that that very thing happened to Peter and he instantly was given all the wisdom that he needed. I mean Peter who had no training or education when it comes to things theological winds up lecturing theologians about theology. It's astounding how eloquent Peter sounds knowing what his background was. And the fact that others knew his background wasn't lost on the religious leaders and authorities as well. This is what they said in Acts 4.13. This is when they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men. They were astonished. And they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Well, Peter clearly gives evidence that God has miraculously given him the very words he needed as he needed them. And so the question that we have is, can we expect the same kind of miraculous intervention? I mean, if we get into difficult discussions, can we expect a miraculous transfer of wisdom and information from the Holy Spirit to us as we're speaking? Well, I would say wisdom, yes. Information, I don't think so. It seems to be a very narrow set of circumstances that God is describing here. He says, if you get arrested and brought before a council, a court, or a governor, and you're called on to defend the faith publicly, I think you can certainly trust God is going to give you the very words for that moment. But ever since the church began, it's been involved in the task of sharing the gospel, and that has always been for better or for worse. Scripture takes great pains to point out that sometimes sharing the gospel is a gloriously simple task, but at other times it is an ingloriously complicated task. And I pointed out last time, sometimes sharing the gospel makes you smell like the sweet fragrance of life itself, and sometimes sharing the gospel makes you stink of death itself. Again, those are not my words, those are Paul's words. In 2 Corinthians 2.15 he said, For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? We should appreciate what is being said here. Because that last statement sums up exactly how we should view the opportunities that we have to share the gospel. Paul says, who is sufficient for these things? And what he means is nobody. Nobody is. Sharing the gospel is an impossible task, and frankly, that's just the way God wants it. At least the result's not up to us, but up to His Holy Spirit. I mean, we may stumble, we may stutter, we may fall, we may make complete fools of ourselves. But understand, we may be mocked, but God is never mocked. There's no time whatsoever when you honestly share from the Word of God that God is not honored in some way and glorified in another. And sometimes it's the glory of salvation, and sometimes it's the glory of judgment. But God wastes nothing. And sometimes when your gospel reeks of the stench of death and people respond accordingly, it's easy to think, well, this wasn't worth the risk. But God is saying literally that every time you honestly share the gospel, you bring glory and honor to God, regardless, regardless of how your testimonies are received. And the disciples learned very quickly what the sweet savor of life or the stench of death felt like. And we too should be willing to experience both knowing in the end it is God we are after and his glory that we're seeking. And again I'm speaking in a very parochial sense. I mean in many parts of the world where Christianity is actively persecuted those words already describe a present day experience. I mean here in the United States we haven't experienced anything like our brothers and sisters throughout the world have experienced. And no doubt there are some who have had their own brothers deliver them over to death, and some have had their own children betray them. And one thing that we can certainly know and understand as a universal truth is that the gospel and the God that it represents is clearly hated in this world. I mean, Jesus even acknowledged that in John 15. Jesus said, if the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. And I'm sure lots of people scratched their head at that. They said, why would the world hate you simply for identifying with Jesus? I mean, doesn't everybody love the kindness and compassion of Christ? I mean, why does the world hate Jesus? Isn't Jesus the light of the world? Ah, but John 3.19 says, and this is the judgment, the light has come into the world and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light lest his work should be exposed. See the reason why the gospel isn't welcomed with open arms is because it exposes us. It reveals to us who we really are. And outside the miracle of the Holy Spirit's intervention folks want no part of that. And that's why God tells us in 1 John 3.13, Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. You see, the bottom line is this. We are the past haters who are pleading with present day haters to become future lovers of Christ. And as you take the cup, ask God for the grace and for the courage to, just like the disciples, use whatever present-day circumstances we have to share the most important truth there is, and that is the gospel. 1 Corinthians 11.25 says, In the same way also he took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. So take and drink. This is the part that we call heads, hands, and feet, where we try to come up with a practical way of what it means to remember Christ and His cross. And I just noted just the other day, a survey of evangelicals just came out. It suggested the reason why they don't often share the gospel is because they're afraid they don't know enough. I want to go back to a statement that we just looked at, the statement that Peter made in 1 Peter 3.15. Listen very carefully to what Peter says. He says, Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. Yet do it with gentleness and respect. Understand there's good news and bad news in that statement. The bad news is that none of us is ever going to be fully prepared to answer every question that anybody could ever pose at any time about every aspect of the gospel. The good news is that God has asked us not to be prepared but to be being prepared. Always being prepared to make a defense. What God is saying is He wants us always growing in our ability to defend the hope that is in us. Just think about this statement. I mean, He's not asking for a PhD dissertation in theology. It's asking you to explain why Christ gives you hope. I mean, our collapsing culture has no idea where to find hope. And we have been blessed to know. And that's a hope that anyone can share. And so what I'd like us to do this morning, I want you to take a moment right now to think of a friend or a neighbor or a colleague, someone that you know does not know Christ. And I'd like you right now in this moment to ask God to give you an opportunity to share your hope. I also want us to ask for the courage to be able to share that hope no matter what form it takes. And so let's do that. Father, we come before you this morning. I just I thank you for the words that Eric shared. You are doing something. You are moving in Orange County, Lord, and I thank you for that. I just think of each of us and the fear that every single one of us has of getting stuck in a conversation that's awkward and awful and being made to look foolish. And how that can oftentimes cripple our efforts to share the gospel. And so Lord, I want us each to be praying for that particular individual. And anticipating that at some point in the future, you will give them an opportunity. And the opportunity could be simply something as not a description of every single aspect of sanctification and justification, but simply the fact that my hope is in Christ. And allow God to give you that opportunity. Allow God to give you the courage to take that opportunity. I pray you would give us that grace, that strength, that insight, and that wisdom. And I pray this in Jesus' name.