parable we'll be reading in a few moments. I've always had an interest in maps. And I grew up in Connecticut, and I would often, we had this gigantic atlas that I would look through quite often. And I would always, I would look at the map of my own state, my home state, and I'd see that Long Island jutting out just to the south of Connecticut. And I wondered what was out there. What was out on Long Island? A few years ago, my wife and I took a few days and we went to New York City and we did the drive all the way out to the end of Long Island to the, you know, past the famous Hamptons. It was off season, so there was no party there at that time of the year. But we went all the way to the Montauk Lighthouse at the very end of what's called the South Fork. There's a fork at the end. The Montauk Lighthouse is on the South Fork. And then a few years later, we wanted to go back and we took the ferry from New London, Connecticut to the North Fork. And that is an area of rich farmland and particularly vineyards. There are vineyards there, a number of them. And we went to visit one of those vineyards. And again, it was off season, so it was closed. But we found it interesting as we looked at the, we stood at the edge of that vineyard and we looked at all of those perfectly pruned and maintained vines and thought about all of the labor involved to water, to plant, to water, to prune all of those vines and to harvest their fruit. It was an amazing thing to look at. Is that how maybe God sees the world? He sees the world as his vineyard. And especially the church, which he has created specifically as his own, and he's watered and prepared it to bring forth fruit for his glory. We've looked at several vineyard parables, what I call the vineyard parables. And we started a few weeks ago in the book of Isaiah, chapter 5, with what I call the principle of the vineyard, which really established the principle, the idea that the vineyard is the Lord's field. God is the owner of that vineyard. And indeed, God is Lord over all creation, and he has a right to do with his vineyard as he pleases. That's the very basic principle of the vineyard. The next week, we looked at the first vineyard parable of Jesus, which is called the laborers in the vineyard. That's in Matthew chapter 20. I called it the personnel of the vineyard, if you will. And that teaches not only that God has a sovereign right to reward his servants as he sees fit. But that teaches, it also illustrates the power of God in salvation. As we compare the different groups of laborers, the ones who came in later were brought in, there's almost a picture of salvation, the effectual calling. God saying, come to work in my vineyard, and they come without question. They come voluntarily, they don't question the wages. It seems to be a picture of what we call effectual calling. Last week, we looked at the parable of two sons, and that dealt with the question of authority. In fact, it was precipitated by a discussion, by the challenging question of the religious leaders, by what authority, Jesus, do you do these things? Do you cleanse the temple, overturning the money changers, tables in the temple? And by what authority do you ride into the city, proclaiming yourself as king? By what authority do you do these things? And so Jesus gave the parable of the two sons, and that parable has a right has to do with whether God has a right to come into his vineyard and inspect its progress. I called it the progress of the vineyard. Is the vineyard bringing forth its expected fruit or not? Like I said, that parable was preceded by this provocative question, by what authority? And we even talked about what the word authority actually means. It actually involves not only the exercise of power, but the legitimate exercise of power. Many people in many places in the world today are in positions of power and they are exercising that power, sometimes tyrannically so, but they really are not legitimate rulers. They don't have the will of the people behind them. They are in opposition to the law of God and so on. So the parable of the two sons, which followed their question about authority, as most parables are, is a gospel message of saving grace. It shows God's mercy and compassion on sinners. Remember the two sons in that parable. The first one said, I will not go into the vineyard. And he represents sinners, even the worst of them, adulterers, murderers, extortioners, tax collectors. Remember all those things that the Pharisee who stood and boasted as he prayed and said, Lord, I thank you that I'm not any of these things. Well, in the parable, that first son repented. And he went to serve in the vineyard. And that's really a representation of all sinners of every color and stripe who are called to grace. And then there was a second son in that parable. And the second son said, I go. But then he did not go. And I mentioned that that son represents those who make exalted claims about their own obedience. I go, sir, standing proudly. That's what he said, but he didn't live up to his claim. So it is with every self-righteous person who thinks they somehow have deserved a place in heaven for themselves when the fact is they have not lived up to their claim. Therefore, Jesus said to the religious leaders at the end of that parable, I'm reading verses 31 and 32 of Matthew 21, truly I say to you, the tax collectors and prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him. And that brings us this morning to the last vineyard parable of Jesus. And I'm going to call this the pretenders in the vineyard. I say another P word. I don't like alliteration, but sometimes I can't help myself. So we're going to talk about the pretenders in the vineyard, meaning those who are in the vineyard, in the midst of God's vineyard, and yet they are not worthy to be there because of their attitude, the wicked attitudes of their hearts. This is often called the parable of the wicked tenants. So please follow along as I read Matthew 21, verses 33 through 46. Here another parable. There was a master of the house who planted a vineyard and he put a fence around it and dug a wine press in it and built a tower. By the way, doesn't that sound exactly like Isaiah 5? And he leased it to tenants and went into another country. When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did the same to them. Finally, he sent his son to them, saying, they will respect my son. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, this is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance. And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants? They said to him, he will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus said to them, have you never read in the scriptures, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone? This was the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore, I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces. And when it falls on anyone, it will crush him. When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds because they held him to be a prophet. And with that introduction, let us look to the Lord in prayer once again. Heavenly Father, once again, we come to you in reverence of your holy word. This word is alive. It is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. And as we look into it this morning, I pray that we might be looking for lessons that the Holy Spirit has for us to learn. that we might be desiring to obey what your word has for us. We pray that you give us a heart and a mind of understanding. Help us to learn what you have for us today as we look into these words. We ask your blessing in Jesus' name, amen. Now as we think about the parable that we just read, it seems that it was also given in response to the question of the Pharisees By what authority do you do these things? Who gave you the authority to ride into the city proclaiming yourself king, to overthrow the tables of the money changers, to curse a fig tree? Assuming they knew about that, and they probably did. If we think about it, their challenge to Jesus really encompasses the entire question of good and evil. The kingdom, one kingdom against another. living in a world where there are two kingdoms pitted against each other. One of them will win, and as Christians we know which one will win, but certainly these are not just two groups of people that have different opinions. They are two completely different kingdoms. There are pretenders in the vineyards, even in the churches, and that's the subject of Jesus parable that I'd like us now to consider. But really, the application of this parable extends even beyond the professing church. And I think it encompasses all humanity in man's quest to dethrone God and enthrone man. It's not really the issue that we're looking at. So I see this parable as sort of an extended metaphor of God's kingdom. It's a narrative extending from the past into the future. And I'd like to consider it in that light. Those will be our points this morning, God's kingdom in its past, present, and future manifestations. And as we do so, I'd like to look at a couple of other passages as we consider the meaning of this parable. So let's look at the past first. And let's call this a kingdom established. God has established his kingdom. So we might say that the occasion of this parable which is directed primarily at the leaders of Israel, like those who persecuted and killed the prophets of old, and now they were doing the same with God's anointed one. When this parable was given, it was late in Jesus' ministry. Typically, Jesus' ministry is divided into three major periods. We call it the first year is called the year of obscurity. Jesus wasn't as known as well. And that year had come and gone. The second year is the year of popularity. That year had also passed. And now when this parable was given, we're in the final period, which is called the year of opposition. The year of opposition was reaching its climax as we approach the Passion Week, when Christ would be arrested by sinful men and ultimately crucified. evil intent of those who have come to destroy him is bold and without excuse. Notice something interesting in the verses that lead up to this passage. If you look back to verse 25, responding to Jesus' question, the baptism of John, Jesus asked them, where did it come from? from heaven or from man, and they discussed it among themselves, saying, if we say from heaven, he will say to us, why then did you not believe him? But if we say from man, we're afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet. So they answered Jesus, we do not know. And he said to them, neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. They answered Jesus' question by saying, we do not know, But Jesus says, neither will I tell you. So actually, in the King James, there are two different words. So in a sense, Jesus is actually answering the thoughts of their hearts more than the actual words that they spoke, because Jesus knew their hearts. He's addressing their great sin of sinning against knowledge. Matthew Poole, the great, commentator of old, he characterized Jesus' answer in this way. He says, it is a solemn thing when love itself grows weary and refuses further conversation. It's a powerful, powerful statement. Let's talk about the meaning of this parable. So again, we have in verse 33, we have the master of the house or the landowner, the householder. And again, we would say that is God, or God the Father specifically. And according to verse 33, after leasing his vineyard to his servants and vinedressers, it says, and I should say his servants and the tenants, he went into a far country. Maybe a little difficult in this description to see God the Father as going into a far country. John Gill says, that's a difficult thought because God is everywhere and cannot be said properly to move from place to place. But he fills heaven and earth with his presence and cannot be contained in either. But then Gill says, but this phrase seems to design his taking up his residence in the thick darkness. Possibly, possible explanation. But let's talk about the vineyard. What is the vineyard? Again, we see that he planted this vineyard, verse 33. Master of the house planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Described, as I said, in almost identical terms to Isaiah chapter 5 and verse 2. the hedge, the wine press, the tower, all identify it as that vineyard which in Isaiah is said to represent the house of Israel, not the world as a whole, but the visible church of that day. In verse 34, we're introduced to the tenants in the story. They're sometimes called the husbandmen or the vinedressers. Notice verse 34, when the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. So the tenants are the ones that are charged with maintaining the chosen nation as a testimony to the world of the true God. And they're not doing such a great job, are they? period of time that's represented here in verse 34 seems to encompass many generations. In fact, they would encompass all of Jewish history, and especially it's referring to the failure of the leaders to properly manage the vineyard that God had leased to them, up to and including the chief priests and the elders and the scribes and Pharisees who Jesus was actually having this conversation with and to whom he is directing this parable. Now, how about the mistreated servants in verses 34 through 36? Well, we would have to say those are the godly who try to maintain godliness in that vineyard. We might say it's a special reference to the priests, the righteous priests and prophets of Jehovah, who refused to be disloyal to their Lord, whom they served. Among these, we would have to include John the Baptist, who was sent to testify that the Messiah's coming was near at hand. And he warned the people of Israel to flee from the wrath to come. Yet, even now they were continuing to reject the one whose Messiahship had been proven to them by the power of his ministry. And by John's testimony as well, John said, this is the one whose shoelaces I am not worthy to unloose. John Gill says they expected the Messiah about this time. They knew by prophecy it would not be long before it appeared. When they saw Jesus of Nazareth, they knew by various circumstances, by all the characteristics of the Messiah meeting together in him, and by his miracles, that he must be the one. But their hearts would not accept him. That shows the power of the heart over the mind. You can know something to be true in your mind, intellectually speaking, but because your heart doesn't want to believe it, you refuse to believe, and that's what we see among these religious leaders. And last but not least in this parable, we see the son himself. He's actually identified as the son. It's amazingly prophetic. Notice verse 39 in the parable, where it says, they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. They took him as he would be betrayed by Judas Iscariot, and apprehended by officers in the garden. And it says they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Think about how Jesus, in his death, was thrown out of the vineyard of Israel. He was thrown to the Romans. And the Romans, of course, being Gentiles, that's who they had to refer him to be crucified, because they were not allowed to put anyone to death without the authority of the Roman Empire. So in a sense, they were throwing him out of the vineyard, giving him, putting him into the hands of the Gentiles, of the Romans, the Gentiles, to be killed. Hebrews 11, or 13 rather. Verses 12 and 13 says that Jesus suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore, let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach that he endured. Hebrews 13. So Jesus then in the presence of the leaders of Israel applies this parable in their treatment of himself And he shows them from the Old Testament what prophecies they are fulfilling. Notice again, verse 42, Jesus said to them, have you never read in the scriptures, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing and is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore, I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces. And when it falls on anyone, it will crush him. Talk about a final warning. It's exactly what Jesus is giving them here. This verse, of course, verse 42, looks back to Psalm 118, which says, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. And then verse 44, where it says, the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces. And when it falls on anyone, it will crush him. Well, that really looks back to Daniel chapter 2. And that was a prophecy of Christ's victory over the nations where it says, you watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck, and this is by the way, Nebuchadnezzar's dream that Daniel is telling him what he dreamed and interpreting it. You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together. and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Ground the kingdoms of the earth to powder. Ancient kingdom of Israel once again was about to be left desolate because they did not know the time of their Messiah's visitation. So that's the past. The past was irreversible. They had no way of reliving the past and making things right, things that they had already done wrong. Now let's look at our second point, which is the present. The present is, we might say, it's a kingdom usurped. Christ has established his kingdom. He's been proclaimed king, but yet we're not seeing the full consummation of that kingdom in this world. We have the opposition of the God of this world. And so let's, to consider the present time, and I'll call this a kingdom usurped, let's look at Revelation chapter 11, verses 15 through 19. Revelation chapter 11. Verses 15 through 19. I think one of the most powerful passages in the entire book of Revelation. Revelation 11 and verse 15. Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. And the 24 elders who sat on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, we give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and the saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth. Then God's temple in heaven was opened. The ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and earthquake, and heavy hail. Think about the kingdoms of this world. They are built on false promises, really without exception. Used to be that only third world countries, as we have referred to them, they would often, they would change their governments every few years. A new government would come in, people would proclaim, they would hail the new government. Everything's going to be good now. And of course, it never changed things very much. And then within a short period of time, a few years maybe, there'd be another one. Well, that used to only happen in third world countries. It's beginning to happen more and more in the civilized quote unquote countries of the West, England, France, Italy. They're all on the edge. Those governments are all on the edge and they're changing prime ministers every few years and governments in a sense are collapsing. It's happened in France multiple times. It's happened in England. It's happened in Italy as well. Whenever there's a change, a new ruling party comes in, it promises better days ahead with them in power. And when things fail to improve, of course, the people become discontent. In some cases, they succeed in rising up and putting another party in power. And then the cycle, the whole cycle begins all over again. Challenges, challengers may be violently put down and the oppression and misery continue as it was. Now in our own country, we hear so much these days about a coming revolution. To a lot of people, that's a cool thing. To people who don't know their history, the idea of revolution is kind of cool. Supposedly enlightened people are wearing t-shirts with the likes of revolutionaries like Mao Zedong or Che or Karl Marx and so on. And they're advocating for the violent overthrow of their own governments. Workers of the world unite, they say. You have nothing to lose but your chains. But that's a lie, of course. You have a lot more to lose. So false promise. Most revolutions, which begin with a shift in power, do not end up where their advocates said they would end up. French Revolution, perfect example. It promised liberty, equality, and fraternity. One of the songs of that era said, and I'm quoting a song called It'll Be OK. It was in French. It'll be okay, be okay, be okay. Hang the aristocrats from on high. Despotism will breathe its last. Liberty will take the day. We don't have any more nobles or priests. Oh, it'll be okay, be okay, be okay. Equality will reign everywhere. Well, my knowledge of history tells me that's not what happened with the French Revolution. Actually, the exact opposite happened. French Revolution became a reign of terror. And the guillotine was being used to fill the streets with blood. That's where that song led the French people in the late 1700s. The Russian Communist Revolution of 1917 promised a worker's paradise. The tyranny of the czar would end. The oppressed Russian people would be free. Well, again, that didn't happen. The Nazis came along in the 30s and 40s, and they promised national pride and prosperity. The trains will run on time, they said. The Third Reich will be in power for a thousand years. Well, it didn't end that way. The trains ran on time, but in many cases, they were carrying innocent people to their deaths. That was the end of that revolution. The Communist Revolution of 1949 was also very similar. It promised the same thing. They lied and murdered millions of their own people. And the problem, I would say, really goes back to authority. Who's really in charge of this world? Well, we know that mere created beings as we are, none of us are owners of this world. We're merely servants in what God claims is his vineyard. His vineyard. For those of us who are believers, we're told in Hebrews that we follow in the footsteps of a cloud of faithful witnesses who have served their master in the vineyard before us. They've served their master faithfully, and now they're encouraging us to continue steadfast in the work of the Lord. There's a song, there's an ancient Latin text called the Te Deum. It was an ancient Latin praise song, and it describes the faithful as they continually sing praises to God. This is how it goes in English. The glorious company of the apostles praise thee. The godly fellowship of the prophets praise thee. The noble army of martyrs praise thee. The holy church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee. That's what the song says. And there is truth, of course, in that. But sadly, multitudes have rejected Christ's authority and his gospel. They're like the wicked tenants of the parable. They have sought to move and shape this world to conform to their designs rather than to God's designs. In fact, they hate the God who formed this world. They remain under the control of Satan, their leader, and they will continue to resist God and murder his servants until he comes by force and takes his vineyard that he has planted and he gives it to those who will be faithful to him as the parable says. Verse 43, wherefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. Now if I were to name the greatest, perhaps the greatest poem ever written in the English language, many would agree that this one would be at least on the very top of the list or very near the top. It was a poem called Paradise Lost by John Milton. In that poem, and of course he was helped by the fact that he had a great subject matter to deal with, dealing with the rebellion of Satan against God. And in that poem, Milton describes how Satan became obsessed with taking for himself the paradise that man had lost. In Milton's introduction to that poem, I put it on your handout sheet, a number of lines from it. Each of the lines has a number. And he's speaking of the sin of Adam and Eve. And as he speaks of Adam and Eve's sin and fall, the narrator asks this question in verse 33, if you would look on your handout sheet. Verse 33 says, who first seduced them to that foul revolt? The infernal serpent, he it was, whose guile stirred up with envy and revenge, deceived the mother of mankind. What time his pride had cast him out from heaven, with all his host of rebel angels, by whose aid aspiring to set himself in glory above his peers, he trusted to have equaled the most high if he opposed. And with ambitious aim against the throne and monarchy of God, he raised impious war in heaven and battle proud. Now, isn't that really what we're seeing in our parable for today? Satan's followers are attempting to set up a kingdom on earth, even within the vineyard of God. They're hoping to keep Jesus, the rightful king, from his rightful throne. Notice again in the parable, verse 38, Matthew 21 and verse 38, when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, this is the heir, come, let us kill him and have his inheritance. And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. When man fell from paradise, Satan came along with his false promises and he offered a counterfeit paradise. In our parable in verse 40, Jesus asks a question that's actually a rhetorical question, meaning we know the answer. Notice verse 40. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do with those tenants? You see, it was so well known that even the religious leaders, even they knew the answer to that question, and they actually answered it honestly. They said to him, verse 41, he will put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons? Good answer. Would God allow Satan and his lawless band, those who think they can take the world and remake it into man's image and cast God out of it, will God allow that? Well, don't be silly. Of course not. Revelation 11, 18, which I read earlier, says, the nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth. You see, only God can restore paradise. And he will, in fact, in his time for his righteous glory and for his people. Well, Milton's Paradise Lost continues. He describes, in advance of the good news, what is Satan's downfall. So here, beginning in verse 40, he's going to talk about, and reading down through verse 49, he's going to describe Satan's downfall. Let's read that together, beginning in verse 40. He trusted to have equaled the Most High if he opposed, and with ambitious aim against the throne and monarchy of God, He raised impious war in heaven and battle proud with vain attempt. Him the almighty power, that is God of course, hurled headlong flaming from the ethereal sky with hideous ruin and combustion down to bottomless perdition, there to dwell in adamantine or unbreakable chains and penal fire who dared defy the omnipotent to arms. It's really a great poem. He actually wrote a sequel to that poem called Paradise Regained. So we've looked at the past. God has established his kingdom. Christ actually has been crowned king. We looked at the present. Call this a kingdom usurped by wicked tenants who think they have more power than they actually have. But their attempt by Satan's forces can never succeed. That brings us to the future consummation of God's kingdom, and I'd like to call this a kingdom delivered. So this is our third point, the future, a kingdom delivered. Did you know that only one kingdom can deliver what it promises? That's not news to you folks, I know. Only one kingdom has the power to deliver what it promises. And let's take a look at 1 Corinthians chapter 15, That is also on your handout sheet. 1 Corinthians 15. And please follow along with me as I read about a truly glorious kingdom promise beginning in verse 19. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 19. Paul says, if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by man came death, by a man has also come the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ, then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father, after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. " I think we know that Satan doesn't give up easily. He has a one-world fixation. He wants the entire world united against God. That's his fixation. He can't stop thinking about it, with himself as the unrivaled king and Jesus Christ under his feet. Well, I believe the book of Revelation teaches that before Christ returns, Satan will be released from his bonds to try again. And this time, at least for a brief period, he will seem to succeed. I believe that Revelation 13 and the chapters following it describe a worldwide empire where Satan is believed to do great signs and wonders, though he speaks great blasphemies and profanes the holy name of God and holy things, but yet he is believed to be the one who will bring paradise on earth, and so he is, for a time, he is worshipped. He declares war on the saints, and by all appearances, he overcomes them. In fact, I think the book of Daniel prophesies the same sequence of events. authority would be given to him for a time over every tribe, tongue, and nation, Revelation 13 and verse 7, but only for a brief time, only for a brief time. All of us are tenants in God's vineyard, but I think it all comes down to this, what kind of tenants are we? In John chapter 8, when the Pharisees told Jesus that they were children of Abraham, and that they fully intended to share in all the blessings of Abraham and the kingdom of God, Jesus said this to them. He said, if you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God. And then Jesus said, Abraham did not do this. In another place, he told the leaders, and I'm quoting Luke 13 and verse 28, In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves cast out. For God's people, there's a great day coming. When the kingdoms of this world shall end, Christ shall reign forever and ever. Blessed be God. We look forward to that wonderful day. But how does that affect the way we live in the present day, the day in which we live? How does it affect the way we do business, the way we think, the way we speak to one another? Well, I'd like to close with this statement from Peter. This actually begins with a question. And if you want to follow along, it's 2 Peter chapter 3. And I'd like to close with these verses, verses 11 through 15. 2 Peter 3, verses 11 through 15. He says, since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn, But according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found in him without spot or blemish and at peace, and count the patience of our Lord as salvation. Closing words. as we consider really the full meaning of that parable that Jesus gives, the parable of the wicked tenants. Let us pray as we close. Heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord, that you have told us not only the past and the present, but you've also told us the future. You've told us how the story ends. And Lord, we don't take for granted that we are just put in this world just to enjoy the blessings that you've given. You've also put us in this world to be laborers in your vineyard. You've put us in this world to show our faithfulness. You put us in this world to be a testimony to the world, to the dark world around us. And so Lord, I pray that you might help us as we labor for you. We desire to be faithful. We are coming now to a time of year when many of us will make contacts with people that we would not ordinarily see. I pray, Lord, that you would bless our testimony, the testimony of the kingdom, as it goes forth in maybe in a special way during this season. We ask that you would bless as we go about, have our activities at this time of the year. We think even of this concert coming up next week. And Lord, we ask your blessing that many would come and that they would discover that there is a church here where the gospel is preached. Thank you, Father, for other churches that are preaching the gospel in various places, and we ask your blessing on all of them. Help us, Lord, to be sober-minded in our evaluation of the situation in the world around us. Help us not to focus our attention so much on earthly things as much as on heavenly things because these are the things that will last, the only things that will remain after this world is destroyed. So we ask your blessing now as we take to heart the things that your word has taught us today. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen.