I'll tell you what, I can't preach after all this music, my wood's wet. Wouldn't you all agree? I'm telling you. Now listen, if you can't listen to preaching after all that, your wood's wet, alright? That's a two-way street. Alright, good music today, wow. You know, anytime music honors the Lord and we can sing about the Lord, it's good stuff, amen? Well, you look around you, and I don't know about you, but sometimes things can be unsettling, can't they? I mean, you watch the news, you see the events going on in our own nation around the world, and there's times that we're filled with a sense of uncertainty. You know, what's going to happen next? Where's all this going? Where's it headed? I mean, what's on the horizon? I mean, with this today, what must be tomorrow? And times we get a sense of anxiety even, maybe even fear that comes into our hearts. And we're just unsure and uncertain of what lay on the horizon. Well, I've got good news for you. You say, Preacher, you do. The disciples felt that way too. As a matter of fact, you're going to find the Lord's disciples are going to ask the same questions that many people are asking today. And the Lord's going to give them an answer and we're going to look at it. As a matter of fact, we're going to have a little mini-series in our larger series of Duplico Marker. We're going to talk about the end times according to Jesus. Let's begin reading if we could. in Mark chapter 13 verse 1. If you don't have a Bible, the text verses will be on the screen. Notice the Bible said, And as he went out of the temple. Now, let's get the setting. I believe this is Tuesday. There's a discussion over whether this is Wednesday or Tuesday. Me personally, I believe in the chronology of Mark that this is Tuesday of Passion Week. The Lord has been in the temple all day. It's been a series of confrontation as the enemies of the Lord have have asked questions, cunning questions in order to discredit Him, to put Him in a position that they might seek occasion against Him and even destroy Him. At every turn, the Lord of glory has silenced His enemies and even exposed their own hypocrisy. He's pronounced woes against them. It's been an entire day of teaching, an entire day of confrontation. They're now leaving the temple precincts as they do. one of the disciples is going to point out the magnificence of the temple complex. Well, let's look what's happened. And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here. I mean, they're in awe. As a matter of fact, they're going out, and if you were to see the temple in that day, Josephus tells us one of the ancient wonders of that day. The architecture, the beauty of it, the magnificence, I mean, it was a massive, massive, structure there on the temple mound and the Jews were proud of their temple. And they're pointing to the massive stones and they're saying, Lord, isn't this a massive, beautiful, wonderful place? I mean, He's just awestruck. Lord, it's always good when we get to come to the temple. And so He's showing the stones and talking about... Look at verse 2, And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? He's pointing back to this temple complex. There shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. Here the Lord is giving a prophecy about the temple complex. Look at verse 3. And as He sat upon the Mount of Olives, so when you come to verse 3, some time has elapsed. They've now crossed the Kidron Valley. They've ascended the slopes of the Mount Olive. And guess what you see in the distance? In the distance is the temple mount. that you can see the walls of the temple going up, the massive buildings there, and it's against that backdrop that he gives one of the most important prophetic messages found anywhere in the Word of God. Notice what he says in verse number 3. And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately. They had some questions. You see, in their minds, if this building is going to be destroyed, the end must be near. You must be getting ready to ascend your throne. They're equating the destruction of this temple with the Lord ascending His throne and becoming the King over all the earth. And they couldn't understand it all. If all this is going to happen, Lord, how are you going to set up the kingdom? What's the sign of it? What's getting ready to happen, Lord? They're filled with anxiety. They're concerned. They're uncertain. Look at verse 4. Tell us, when shall these things be? That has to do, question number 1, with what Jesus said about the temple in verse 2. And then, here's the second part, and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled in that is what Matthew says. What shall be the sign of thy coming? Because in their minds, the temple had something to do with the coming of the Lord and His ascension as the King and the setting up of a kingdom. And they're saying, Lord, what's going to be the sign of Your coming? And all of these things taking place. Here's what happens. Luke answers question one. He records that, what Jesus says. We can go there, but you can do that on your own. The Lord Jesus and Mark, Mark, because of his readers under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the force of what he's writing about is going to answer question number two. Look at verse 5, And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed, lest any man deceive you. For there many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. And when ye shall hear of wars, and rumors of wars, be ye not troubled, for such things must needs be. But the end shall not be yet. For nations shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be earthquakes in diverse places, and there shall be famines and troubles. These, now watch this, are the beginnings of sorrows. Wow! What statements! What does this mean, preacher? What is the Lord sharing with us over the next several weeks? We're going to delve deep into this passage. We're going to draw out some prophetic truth that I believe will settle our hearts as it relates to our world as it races toward its final days. Let's look at the end times. according to Jesus. Let's pray together. Father, we love You. Thank You for Your Word today. Lord, thank You for this wonderful passage of Scripture. Lord, thank You that we don't have to live in uncertainty. Lord, we know You're in charge. I pray You'll give us eyes to see, ears to hear, hearts to obey You today. Lord, to learn of You and to learn of Your Word, and Lord, to trust You. I thank You, Lord, that You're in control. I thank You, Lord, that we can rest in the fact that our God knows and our God is in charge. And Lord, that brings us great peace. I pray, Father, if there's someone here today that doesn't know You as Savior, they'll come to know You. Lord, anytime we deal with prophetic and end-time events, it ought to be a catalyst in our hearts to be ready when these times come. And Lord, we're sure going to thank You for it. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Well, as you and I see the events going on in our world, in our nation, our world at large, we watch the news, you pick your news cycle that you watch, whatever, you listen to the economic and scientific and educational prognosticators, the so-called experts, and all of them have their apocalyptic message. All of them are talking about the end, whether it be through climate, whether it be man self-destructing on the planet, whether it be man blowing up, whatever it might be, all of them have some type of apocalyptic message speculating the end of the world as you and I know it. And people's hearts are filled with uncertainty and fear. Here's what the Lord said. The Lord said that men's hearts will fail them for fear of things that are coming upon the earth as we near the events. that Jesus talked about as our world nears that, people's hearts will literally break down from fear and panic. But that doesn't have to be you. Matter of fact, the question on many a person's lips today are these very things. What's going to happen to our world as it races toward its final days? What's on the horizon? What does the future hold? And these are the very same questions that were on the lips of the disciples in Mark 13. And before we get there, I've got good news. You say, Preacher, what is it? We don't have to be troubled by human speculation because it's all they're doing. They're giving you their opinion from their perspective as they see it. I am sure glad. I don't have to look at the world through man's viewpoint. I can look at our world through heaven's viewpoint. There's a major difference. Isn't that a blessing? I don't have to live and be troubled by human speculation. We can be assured by divine revelation. We don't have to live in fear, but in faith. As God's people, we're not left in the dark as to what lay on the horizon. Our God knows the end from the beginning. He's always known. Nothing catches our God by surprise. God's not watching the same news cycle you are and saying, Oh my, what am I going to do? No, He already knows. He's in charge. He's sovereign over the affairs of men. 2 Peter 1.19, Peter put it this way. He said, we have also a more sure word of prophecy. Bible prophecy is history written in advance. Because God knows what's going to happen. He's going to tell us ahead of time. And it's God's forecast for the future. And it's always 100% accurate. Matter of fact, if you look over in verse 31 of this passage, the Lord Jesus is going to tell His disciples that. He's going to assure them that God is in charge and that what He's saying, they can trust it. Look what He says in verse 31. Heaven and earth shall pass away. Let me give you one thing you can be sure of. This world as we know it isn't always going to exist. The heaven and earth will one day cease to exist as we know it. Good news is there's going to be a new one. Isn't that a blessing? This world is going to pass away, but watch what Jesus said, but my words shall not pass away. Hey, listen, our world around us is fleeting, it's temporal, it's temporary, it's uncertain. It leaves a sense of anxiety and fear if that's all we have, but thank God we have a sure word, a prophecy. Thank God we have a word from God that will not pass away, that we can bank our lives, our eternity, our future upon it. Mark 13, in answer to the disciples' questions, the Lord Jesus unveils His plans for the future. Not only of the world in general, but the nation of Israel in particular. As well as the signs, because that's what everybody's concerned with, the signs, what they see surrounding it. Now before we delve into the passage in depth, we're sort of going to introductory give you some thoughts, some things you need to understand as we approach this passage so that we can arrive at the place that the Lord wants us to arrive. Number one, I want you to jot this down. These will not be on the screen. I'm going to get to those main points in a minute. Number one, this is Jewish in context. What do you mean by that, preacher? It deals primarily with the nation of Israel. What God says about the world in general is a byproduct. He's dealing with His covenant people and He's telling them about what's happening to their nation as it relates to the broader picture of the world. And so He's answering them in relation to the future and the end times of the nation of Israel. You need to make a difference where God makes a difference, okay? When you and I approach the Bible, we need to understand that all the Bible is written for me, but it's not all written to me. That's important to understand. All of it, discourse is given primarily to God's covenant people, the nation of Israel. You're not in view here. Church saints, believers in this particular day, those who belong to Jesus Christ in this day of grace. The Lord's going to skip over about 2,000 years of human history. He's going to go from His death, His resurrection, He's going to go from the destruction of a temple all the way fast forwarding because we know Israel's going to be scattered at this point. They're going to be out of their homeland. They're back now. Boy, that ought to get anybody's attention. Can I tell you this? They're there to stay. But God's dealing with them. He's got a different plan for those that are a part of His church. And that talk is spoken of in the epistles when you get into the book of Romans on back. And it's really important to understand that church saints are not mentioned in what we understand here as the Olivet Discourse because this particular message was given on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. And so it's called the Olivet Discourse. Both the church and the rapture, I'm going to talk about that event in a minute, are mysteries at this point. The Lord is hinted at it in John 14, but He doesn't give full explanation. That's going to come later, after He's in heaven. He's going to reveal that through the Apostle Paul. 1 Corinthians 15, 51 and 52. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 13 through 18. And so when you put the church, what we're talking about churches, in this passage, you will not arrive at where God wants you to arrive. You're going to miss the point of the passage. The signs in this passage do not relate to the rapture, to the coming of the Lord Jesus in the air for His saints. They relate to His second coming to the earth. He will come for us. He will come to the nation of Israel. Can you make that distinction? He will come for us, those who are saved. He will come to the nation of Israel. He's going to come to the Mount of Olives, by the way. Jesus speaking of His return in glory to set up a kingdom. The rapture. That's the next happening on God's prophetic calendar. The catching away of the saints of God. Those who have been saved in this age of grace. Those who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. Can I help you understand today? It's imminent. That means it can happen at any moment. I Corinthians 15.51, In a moment and a twinkling of an eye, Paul said. It can happen at any moment. It can happen before I'm done preaching. It can happen in a split second, in a moment. All the saved will be translated from earth to heaven. Millions of people will suddenly vanish from planet earth that know the Lord, by the way. If you don't know the Lord, you'll be left. So he's talking about this thing we know as the rapture of the saints of God. And it's a signless event. There are no signs. Anything that you may think you see today that is pointing to the coming of the Lord is merely a foreshadowing and not a sign. It's important to understand that. Because God says that for His coming for us there are no signs. There's nothing that has to take place. The very next thing that will take place is the catching away of the people of God. And as God's people in our day, we don't need to be looking for signs in the skies. We need to be looking for the Savior to come for us. We need to be looking for Jesus today. Looking unto Jesus. That's what we need to be doing. Looking for Him. That's what we need to be doing. If you're not careful, you get headlined into hysteria. What's happening over here? What's happening over there? What's happening in the other place? Friend, just know nothing of significance prophetically is happening as long as you're here if you're saved. As long as I'm here, nothing's happening. But the moment we're not here, something's going to start happening. Now the start of this event, we're not going to go into major detail the exact beginning of the tribulation period. I believe it begins with a peace treaty with the Antichrist, with the nation of Israel and the Antichrist. Not necessarily the rapture. There may be some build up after we're gone. But here's what I do want to help you understand. The rapture itself, it does act like a door. It closes an age of grace and it's going to open a day of wrath. We're going to go from grace to wrath. That's what's going to happen in the world. Right now is grace. Come unto me, all you that labor in heaven and earth. I will give you rest. For by grace are you saved. God is a message of peace and grace and salvation. Can I tell you, He came the first time to save. When He comes the second time to this earth again, it's going to be to judge. There's a difference. And we need to recognize that difference. We need to live each day as God's people with the thought that this may be the day that our Lord breaks in and takes us home to glory. We ought to be longing and loving His appearing, looking for that day for Jesus to come. Every day is a good day for the Lord to come. Amen? When you come to Mark 13, Jesus answers disciples' questions. He's going to share what lay on the horizon for them, the nation of Israel, as it relates to them as a nation, the Olivet Discourse. This is the most important prophetic passage in the New Testament, you say, Preacher, why? Because it's the blueprint of end times. Do you know the book of the Revelation is not chronological? It's not. You move around in it, the Olivet Discourse, even the book of Daniel is not chronological. The Olivet Discourse is. It's the blueprint. Once you understand the Lord's teaching of the end times, then everything else begins to fall into place. This is the one that needs to be mastered before you go to the others. The Olivet Discourse is going to consist of 160 verses. It's going to consist of four chapters in three different Gospels. Matthew 24 and 25 is the largest aspect. It's the most expansive of the message. I believe it's the message complete. Mark 13 and Luke 21, the Holy Spirit takes out of that message what is important to the people that they're writing to. Mark writing primarily to Romans as well as to us. Luke writing to the Greek, Grecian peoples, and it deals with some things there. And Matthew writing to the nation of Israel gives the fullest account of the message. But all of them are going to have some peculiarities that are different. Not contradictions, but they're going to have little additions of some things there that the Lord said that are peculiar to that particular gospel. We'll see one today. It's given privately, not to the multitudes. Actually, it's just given to four disciples. Only Mark names them. Peter, James, John, and Andrew. That inner circle. There's both a short-range and a long-range prophecy. Let's look at verse 1. And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, Master, we see what manner of stones and what buildings are here. So he's pointing out the temple complex. Now, Josephus gives a description of this massive building project under the Herod's. Now, understand the temple was actually rebuilt by a governor by the name of Zerubbabel when Israel comes back from a Babylonian captivity. They're back in the land. Nehemiah, Ezra in the Old Testament, Ezra, Zerubbabel, they're laying the foundation of the temple. They're going to build that temple. It has nowhere near the magnificence of Solomon's temple destroyed by the Babylonians. But then Herod the Great comes along sometime in the early part of the B.C. era, excuse me, the late part of the B.C. era. He comes to the throne as a Roman, under the Romans, as the king of the Jews. Alright? And so he's there, and he's ruling over this land, and he wants to gain favor of the people, but he also wants to build a lasting monument to himself. What greater thing to do than expand and glorify and adorn the temple complex? So there on the mount, he undertakes this massive architectural wonder. And these massive marble stones weighing tons are brought down out of the mountains. They're continually building and constructing. I mean, the outside of this parlous marble has pure gold on it. It's amazing. It shimmers. You look at it and you go, wow! From a distance. They're in awe. I mean, it's the pride of the Jewish nation. It's the center of their worship. Now wait a minute. Wait a minute. Remember what Jesus said of it? He said, this is a house of prayer and you made it a den of thieves. Remember? Now it's a center of rebellion and apostasy and rejection. He called it His house. It's my house. But look what you've turned it into. And he said, I'm going to tell you what's going to happen to this house that you've got all this love into. It's going to be destroyed. He's going to stun them. Alright, so look at verse 2. And Jesus answering said unto them, Seest thou... That word see means to look, not just look at it, but He said, I want you to take it in. I want you to take in these great buildings. There shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. Short range prophecy has nothing to do with the end times. It has something to do with God's judgment upon the nation, the scattering of them and the rejection of their Messiah. their continued apostasy and rebellion against God. It's a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. And for almost 1,900 years, really 1,900 years, give or take, Israel has been scattered to the nations. Now God's regathered them partially, preparing them for the end times. So Titus, because of a Jewish rebellion in 70 A.D., brings his soldiers and surrounds Jerusalem and they besiege the city. They crucify Jews until there's no more wood to crucify them. They lay waste to the city, but this magnificent structure built by Herod, Titus says, I don't want you to mess with it. He gave orders, distinct orders, not to destroy it. His soldiers, with their contempt for the Jewish people, disobeyed their general's orders and they burn it. They set it on fire. The heat, as it began to do that, melts the gold. To get at that gold, the soldiers, stone by stone, tear that building apart. to get to that goal that had been on the sides of that building and enrich themselves. Thus, against a human ruler's orders, God's Word is fulfilled. And the city of Jerusalem is laid waste. Happened 70 A.D. Jesus is going to go past all of that in Mark 13. And He's going to go to the end. That's what brings up the question, what shall be the sign of thy coming? And the Lord's going to help them to understand that here's what you're going to see before I come. When shall these things be? What's going to happen? What shall be the sign of all these things? When's the end going to come? What is the sign that you're coming as king and Messiah and set up the kingdom that Israel so desperately needs? And there's the Olivet Discourse. Look if you would, verse 5, And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed, lest any man deceive you. You know there's a lot of deceivers in our day. You're going to pick up a whole lot of books. You're going to listen to a whole lot of evening news if you're not careful. Excuse me, a whole lot of religious programming if you're not careful, and they're going to deceive you. We need to know what Jesus said. They're going to talk about knowing when He's coming. Don't waste your money. If Jesus said they don't know when He's coming, they don't know when He's coming. You say, well, I know this independent Baptist pastor that's figured it all out. He doesn't know. He hasn't figured anything out. He's just showing his ignorance. Because if Jesus said you don't know, nobody knows. Quit trying to figure it out. He's going to give us some things and we're going to look at them in another message, but I want you to look at the end of verse 8. These are the beginnings of sorrows. Now what's these? It's going to be these signs and we're going to talk about these signs here in just a moment. Not in detail, we're just going to look at some things. As a matter of fact, why don't we just go ahead and look at a few things. And look in verse 6, you're going to have false Christ, a profusion. He said, for saying, I am Christ shall deceive many. Verse 7, you've got wars and rumors of wars. Look at verse 8, nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom, earthquakes, famines. Sounds like today, wait a minute, you're getting ahead of yourself. We're not there today. The world's going to be there, but we're not there today. Because I want to show you something, what Jesus says to help us understand something. He's talking about a distinct period of time. Notice what He says. These are the beginnings of sorrows. Okay? Birth pains. He's describing the labor pains that a woman endures as she gives birth to her baby. And when the birth pains start, you know that an arrival is imminent, right? I mean, something's going to happen. I learned something early on, first child. We got two. First child. Okay, I learned something. Lori's pregnant. You ever heard this thing called false labor? Anybody know what I'm talking about? You go to the hospital and it's not the real thing? I learned early on not to tell my wife that was fake. Are they real? Yes, it's real! I'm not having them. How many men... You don't have to raise your hand. You know what I'm talking about. You know when it's good to keep your mouth shut. We're not going through this. They are. What you may see today as signs are actually what we would call false labor pains. We're not there yet. Now that doesn't mean that God may not have build up. That doesn't mean that there may not be some foreshadowings. But there are no harbingers happening today. None. Because if there are, then the rapture cannot be imminent, happen at any moment. Something's got to happen. And God clearly states in the Scriptures that when it relates to the catching away of God's people, that it's imminent, it could happen at any moment. We're not looking for anything else but Jesus. That's what He's saying. You following me? And that's important to understand. That doesn't mean that God can't be doing things today because we see a move toward globalism. How many see that? We see that. We see a weakening of America. Preacher, where does America fit in all this? I don't know for sure, but I do know that we are a western nation and I believe we will be weakened and we will be absorbed into the kingdom of the Antichrist as a nation. Thank the Lord I won't be here. But you already see these moves. Okay? You see that Spirit in our world. Okay? That doesn't mean we're there, but it does mean that things are falling into place that one day these will become signs. But right now these are all just foreshadowings. You following me? And we're going to see what these signs actually are when we get into the next message. But here's what I want to talk about these labor pains. They're dealing with the first three and a half years of a period of time of wrath on this earth known as the tribulation period. It's seven years in length. Daniel already set that before us in Daniel chapter 9. The prophecy of the 70 weeks. There's one week left and God's dealing with the nation of Israel. Who is Jesus talking to? He's talking here to some disciples who are Israelites and they've got questions about their nation and the end times, and the Lord's answering them. And they know there's a way. They'll understand all of it. They know the Daniel's prophecy. They'll understand all of it. And so the Lord's beginning to help them to understand. And these are the beginning of sorrows. When you couple this with the book of the Revelation, you're going to find that He's talking about the first three and a half years of the tribulation period. Do you realize you can take the beginning of sorrows we're going to preach on next week, and you can overlay them in Revelation chapter 6, and they fit like hand and glove. Here's what you need to know about birth pains. Are you ready? Now, you say, Preacher, I had a baby. I know all about them. You're right, you do. You know that once they start, the pain grows, the intensity grows, the frequency. We're going, how close are they? Bags packed, ready to go. That's the way I was. How close are they? Well, we didn't have to worry. We knew. Boom, we had to go. But there was some pains there and frequency. And as the pain grows, the intensity grows, the frequency grows, suddenly life changes. Anybody know what I'm talking about? You get one, it changes a little bit. Two, it changes a little more. Brother Lane, a mischristian there, a youth guy, and his wife just found out number three. At three, life really changes. And then on and on and on. Okay, so anyway. So there's changes. Exactly what the Lord describes in all of the discourse is this. That when these pains, these birth pains in the world begins, these signs, they're going to pick up in speed, intensity, severity until something imminent happens. He will arrive and you will see that laid out in this chronological passage. But here's where I want to stop today and I want to make some application. You say, preacher, oh, you're leaving. It's cliffhanger. You're right. You've got to come back next week. I didn't have enough time to deal with all of them because there's something else God wants us to deal with in the passage. Are you ready? Preacher, if this stuff is not happening in my day, why do I need to be worried about it? How should I live in light of it? How should I live my life? Because here's what the Lord's going to do. He's going to make a statement here to these men, but He's talking to everybody. How do you know that? Would you look all the way back to the end of the chapter, the last verse, and I want you to look at it. Why should I even study this if I'm not going to be here and I'm a Christian? I want you to look what he says. And what I say unto you, talking about those four men, I say unto all, that's everybody, and then He's going to give them a command. So these truths should affect my life today. Anytime you study a prophetic passage, it should not just be to stimulate my mind, it ought to be to change my life. You follow me? So let's see what the Lord says of how we ought to relate to the end times that He's going to talk about. Number one, He says, I want you to be mindful. Go back to verse number five. And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed. You know what I believe at that moment He was saying to them? He's saying, Fellas, listen up. I want you to pay close attention to what I'm getting ready to tell you. He's going to say this four times. He's going to say it in v. 5, v. 9, v. 23, and v. 33. I underlined them in my Bible. He said, take heed. Take heed. Take heed. Pay close attention. Be mindful of where you are. Do you realize the people living in this day when the beginning of sorrows takes place, the church and the saints are in heaven, the clock for Israel, this tribulation period begins to tick, the Lord Jesus is on the horizon of coming, those people alive during that time reading this will be able to go right down the line and know exactly where they are in God's prophetic calendar. They will. And he's saying, I want you to pay close attention. I want you to be mindful. It was a call to be ready, and you and I ought to be mindful of where we are in God's prophetic program. Can I tell you, if the Lord's coming for His own was imminent, when Paul talked about that mystery in the New Testament when he wrote it, and he was living in the last days then, where must we be in 2021? How much closer must we be to the Lord's coming? Hey, if Paul was listening for the trumpet, we ought to be listening for the trumpet. If Paul was looking for the Savior, you and I ought to be looking for the Savior. If Paul needed to be ready in his day, how much more do you and I need to be ready today? Mine. Be mindful. Friend, if you're not ready, you should get ready. Well, you say, preacher, what if that's a hundred years away? You're going to die in that hundred years. And you need to know where you're going to spend eternity. You need to know your sins are gone. Amen? Be mindful of where you are. Have an understanding of the times. Jesus says these things will come on the world as a thief in the night, going to catch them by surprise. You know what a thief doesn't do? A thief doesn't give a call and say, hey, just want you to know, or shoot you a text, hey, I'll be at your house tonight at 9 o'clock, I'm going to rob you. It doesn't happen that way. No. He comes unexpectedly. And this world is going to be caught completely by surprise. He said, fellows, I'm going to let you in on something that the world don't understand and they don't grasp. And can I tell you, God is letting you in on something today that the rest of the world is oblivious to. Be mindful. Number two, jot this down. Be peaceful. You see, if you're not careful, you'll watch the evening news or it's not even evening news. It's now 24-7 news cycle. It's probably one of the worst things that's ever happened in our lives because all we do is set their pin to the TV and they're just regurgitating the same thing they said four hours ago just in a different way with a new prognosticator expert that really doesn't know what he's talking about or she. They're just talking. And they're making you mad. And they're getting you all tore up. And you're about ready to rip the TV off the wall or the computer screen and throw it out the window. Bust it up. Throw a shoe at it. Tell them to shut up. You're yelling at them. And you're all torn up inside. The greatest day in my life is when I severed 24-7 news out of my life. It was a blessing. I just get what I need to get. That doesn't mean I don't understand the times. I stay close up on that. But I'm not going to stay glued to a television 24-7 just to see what the next so-called expert has to say. Because I want to live in peace. And they're not wanting you to live in peace because they've got to sell ratings. And so they've got to sensationalize everything. And build it up and keep it going. What they do is wicked. Because they keep things going that don't have to keep going. They may not even know what their agenda is, but the devil does. I want you to look at verse 7. He's talking to them in that day, but He's saying something to you and me. He said, I say to all, and when you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars... Do we hear of wars and rumors of wars? Haven't we all? Now these are specific, but that's been true of society, of human civilization because of sin. Notice what He said, troubled, agitated, torn up inside, ripped apart. Literally, this word means to cry out in fear. It speaks of an inner turmoil that causes people to literally scream out in fear. Torn up. Ripped apart. There's a danger of headline hysteria. The next event that somebody talked about or the next book written, everybody's torn out of frame. The next blood moon. Oh, sorry, John Hagee forgot when The Sun's Made Black. He left that one out to sell that book. Now he's got a sequel to it because he's got to keep his TV program on. Sorry if you watch him, he's a liar. He's a liar. He's got to sell stuff and sensationalize to keep his ratings up because he's got a huge program. And, never mind, I'm going to leave it there. Something's better left unsaid. Don't get headline hysteria. These events... Paul put it this way. Don't be so shaken in mind and troubles when he told the Thessalonians. He said these events are not going to unfold until you're gone. That means as long as you're here, it's not happening. That doesn't mean things may not get difficult. That doesn't mean that we're not going to face hardship or financial difficulty or America turning into something we don't know. That doesn't mean that at all. These things may really happen. But that doesn't mean that you're here. Thank God I'm not here. Because whatever we might deal with in our day before Jesus comes is a walk in the park compared to what the world will experience after we're in heaven. But He's saying to them in that day, don't be troubled. You can live in peace. Christian, you can live in peace today knowing that your God is in control. Give it to Him. It's not going to catch Him by surprise. It's not anything that He can't handle. And guess what? Everything's alright in the Father's house. Amen? Number three. Jot this down. Preacher, how should I live in light of future events? Be mindful, be peaceful, be faithful. Look at verse 9, what some people are going to go through in the tribulation period. Jesus said, But take heed to yourselves, for they shall deliver you up to councils and to synagogues. You shall be beaten, and you shall be brought before rulers and kings for My sake. What's this next phrase? For a testimony against them. He's calling upon a generation of believers in that day to be faithful, and that their lives, when they're a hold before people of great prominence, when that time comes, and I'm going to talk to you about if we face persecution, because we will in our day what we should do, but here it's a call to be faithful. I want you to be faithful, and your faithful witness will be a testimony against them. That's what he's saying. Can I tell you that God desires wherever we find ourselves for us to be faithful? Here's the difference. We're in an age of grace. We're in a day of grace. God's calling people in grace. It's a message of peace. It's a message of forgiveness. It's a message of salvation. And we don't ever want to lose sight of that. And it's important to understand that you and me, we're to live faithful not as a testimony against them, but as a testimony to them. And there is a difference. There is. We may be asked to one day stand and be a testimony against them as we face persecution, but what God's asking you to do when you go to work tomorrow, when you go to school, aren't you glad school's out? Summer's going by quick. Sorry to discourage everybody. But anyway, when you live your life, here's what God's saying, I want you to be Christian. I want you to live in such a way I do. I want you to live in such a way that you're a testimony to people. I want you to be faithful. Christian, God's calling you to be faithful. Faithful to Him in your life. Him being preeminent. Him being first place. I'm to be faithful. Preacher, as I see my world unraveling around me, what am I to do? I'm to be faithful. That's what God says. Alright, let's look for another one here. Be watchful. Let's go all the way to verse 33. Are you all following me? Take ye heed. Pay attention. Be mindful. Watch. There it is. That's to be alert. You know what he's saying? Don't let the world lull you to sleep spiritually. Here's what the devil wants to do. He wants to get you so caught up into living life and sort of be oblivious to everything. and truth and all of that and living for Him and just sort of the routine of life and going through life and all of these things. And He wants to get you to that point to where, now watch this, are you with me? That you're just asleep spiritually to what God wants from your life. You're sleepwalking through life. Except, you know what? I've noticed because I had a child that did that, and they walk around with their eyes open. You think they're awake, but they're really asleep. It's the weirdest thing. It is. And that's how a lot of Christians are. Can I tell you, most Christians today are sleepwalking. They are. They're walking through life without any thought of what God's doing and what God wants to do in their lives. And they're missing it. And God said don't let the world lure you to sleep because that's what Satan wants to do. He wants to throw sand in your eyes. He wants you to sleepwalk and he don't want you to have any spiritual alertness whatsoever. He don't want you to have a sense of urgency of seeing your loved ones saved, of reaching people around you. We're going to have friend day here in just a few weeks. We don't want to lose the sense of urgency of reaching people with the gospel. We don't know when the Lord's going to come. And if I've got loved ones that are not saved when I go, they're going to be left. They're going to face all of this. Don't lose sight of how God wants to use you today. Here's the last one. Are you ready? Be prayerful. Here's one of those unique things. I told you the Holy Spirit... Jesus said all of this at one time. Okay? But you're going to find that Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the Holy Spirit gives them some unique things to say of what the Lord said that they'll record that the Lord said. That's a better way of putting it. And it's in verse 33. Notice what He said. Take ye heed, watch... And what's these next two words? Do you see it? And pray. Here it is. Preacher, what am I to do? How should I respond to the Lord's teaching in Matthew 13, the Olivet Discourse, the end times according to Jesus? Be mindful. Be aware of where you are. Be ready. Anytime, every time. Jesus can come at any moment. Be peaceful. Let God. Just realize God's in charge. I don't have to let this stuff tear me up. My God's in charge. Hey, everything's alright. God's going to take care of me. Be faithful. Hey, let's be a testimony for Him in our day. Be watchful. Don't let the devil let you sleepwalk through life. No. Wake up, God said, to the urgency of the hour. But then you need to be prayerful. That's unique here. Preacher, what is it about prayer? Let me tell you what prayer does. Prayer puts me in touch with God. Isn't that my prayer? Isn't that my communication line with God? Sure it is. Let me tell you about language. Can I help us with language for just a moment? God didn't give me language. This is the bra product, okay? I had an opportunity this morning to tell my wife she was beautiful and she looked really nice. And I have an opportunity to tell her I love her. Okay? Language. Aren't you glad you can say things like that? I didn't even get any amens. Now, I don't want you to say it to her. That's my job. You say that to your wife, okay? But language is a special thing. God didn't create language just so we could talk to each other and have fun. God created language so we could talk to Him and He could talk to us. Everything else is a byproduct. Through His Word, Jesus is talking to us. On our knees, we're talking to Him. You following me? So what do I do when I read His Word, I'm hearing from Him, and I'm speaking, I'm talking to Him, I'm drawing close to Him. So whenever turmoil is in our lives, now we need that when we're on the mountaintop and there is no turmoil. But as we look around us in the world, I tell you, it ought to drive us to be more prayerful. Instead of sitting in our chair on the edge of the seat, seeing what the next pronosticator is going to say about what's going to happen next, and this and that, maybe we ought to get on our knees and say, Father, You know what's going on in my world, and I just need You to take care of some things. And God, would You take care of my family? And Lord, help us to be used of You. Maybe we just need to get on our knees more. Let me give you two reasons why I'm going to quit. Are you ready? Number one, because of the danger of temptation. Do you know only Mark is going to record two times this phrase, watch and pray? There's another time that he does it. Do you know when? It's just a day or so later, two days later, in a garden of Gethsemane, and he's going to be praying until his sweat becomes as drops of blood, and he's going to say to his friends, the disciples, would you watch with me? Would you pray with me? And He's going to tell them to stay awake and to pray because He needs them. And He comes back and are they praying? What are they doing? And so He says to them, watch and pray that you enter not into what? Temptation. Do you realize that when our world's turned upside down, whether it's in our individual lives, whether it's in our world in general, and we get all in a state of turmoil and we're all broken up inside and all of that, let me tell you what happens. We become real vulnerable to the attack of Satan and temptation in our lives to fail. And whenever... Listen, we need the Lord all the time, but in those times of turmoil we need Him then more than ever. Isn't that true? And He's going to say to them during this time, you're going to need to stay in touch with me. You're going to need to stay close to me because the temptation is to fall away from me because that's what everybody else is doing. We're going to see that. Okay? Preacher, what can I do as it relates to the end times? You can be a person of prayer. You can pray. You can be prayerful. Matter of fact, you don't just shouldn't pray. Listen, how do I want to say this? It's not that I just should pray. I must pray. Jesus said, watch and pray. Stay alert. Pray. Draw close to Me. You're going to need Me. The danger of Satan and temptation to cause you to fail. You need Me. And there's another reason. because of a lack of strength. Remember what Jesus says in Luke. Luke's going to bring something out. He's going to say that men's hearts will fail them for fear of the things coming on the earth. The word idea of fail has the idea of fainting, has the idea of falling, has the idea of weakening. And here's what He's saying. Do you watch the evening news? Here again, evening news, that's just a semantic by the way. Remember, do you ever watch the news and say, oh boy, I tell you, I feel good. When's the last time you got that feeling? You get that at church. That's why you need to come to church. No, you're not ready to go. You're not ready to face the world. No, what you want to do is go hide in the closet. That's what you want to do. It unstrengthens you. It depresses you. It discourages you. It takes the life out of you. That's what it does. Can I tell you, if it does that to me today, imagine what life's going to be like during that time. I need His strength. I need His help. Because there's a danger of being weak. And I'm going to need Him. My wife just had a heart attack. So stay with me. Folks, can I tell you right now, it's later in the history of our world, biblically speaking and prophetically speaking, than it's ever been before. It is. We're living in the end times of the end times, the last hours of the last days. God says you need me. Be mindful. Have an understanding of the times. Be mindful. Be peaceful. Rest in Me. Don't let this tear you. You're My children. I've got this. Rest in My power. Rest in My wisdom. Rest in My ability. Rest in My sovereignty. I'm in charge. Look to Me. Be faithful. Be faithful. Be faithful and watchful. Don't you go to sleep. You stay awake. And I want you to stay close to Me in prayer. Here's what God wants you today. God's not here in this series just to stimulate your mind and puff up your knowledge of end time events. God's saying, I want to work mightily in your life and I need you to let me. I want you to be ready. I want to ask you a question and I'm done. Are you ready? Are you ready? Boy, if not, you sure need to be.