Good morning. Good to see everybody here this morning. I tell you, I am so thankful to be here and this weekend has already been a lot better than last weekend. Take your Bible and turn with me. Turn with me now to Mark chapter 13. Mark chapter 13. We're going to continue where we left off. I didn't get far last week. because there was a lot packed into that one statement, if you remember, on the abomination of desolation. I even had someone tell me this week, they let me know, said, Pastor, I'm so thankful, as we looked at the abomination, the sin that desolates, it just leaves you empty. And the abomination of desolation is actually an act that's gonna take place in the temple in the future when the Antichrist sets up this image of himself to be worshiped. It's called the Abomination of Desolation because it shows how desolate the people are. The Gentiles and the Jews. Gentiles and the Jews. Because they built that temple. They're going to build that temple to offer what? Sacrifices. And Hebrews says, do we need sacrifice today? No. Once for all, he's been sacrificed. So God has a work to do when Jews and Gentiles alike, and that's what they call the church. According to Romans 1, 16 and 17, that's why the power of God, the power of the gospel is for the Jew and the Gentile. And as we looked a few weeks ago, we said, wait, what, Lord? The Lord just shared, you know, hey, look around us, and everything you see is gonna be destroyed. And they said, wait a minute. This is not what we expected. And then Jesus went in and preached a message called Watch Out. Because he said, take heed. These are things to look for. And then, of course, they asked the question, when are these things going to take place? And then last week, I started the first part of this message. When you see this, then flee. And now we're going to get into the details of the fleeing. When you see this, the abomination of desolation, then you run for the hills, literally. Literally, and we're gonna see this. These are some tough words this morning, and we're gonna see why. And so if you have your copy of God's word there in Mark 13, again, we're gonna start there where we left off in verse 14. And I'm gonna jump right to a reminder of last week with the indignation, or even you can put the word insult there. So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel the prophet, and that's where we went, we went back to actually look at that term in the book of Daniel, three different instances. And then he says, standing where it ought not or where he ought not, then let the reader understand. So we looked, there's the seeing, there's the sign. And then we also went back to the scriptures in Daniel. But now we come this morning to the next part of that. It says, when you see all this, Realize you're in imminent danger. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Now I'm gonna share some tough things, but I wanna ask you a question. And I don't know, I think I have a slide in the next, I have a slide somewhere, I don't know where I put it, but here's, I made up a slide, and the slide was just talking about the 1980s. Okay, you ever heard of a song, you know, 1980-something? The world that I grew up in. Now, I was born in the 60s, grew up in the 70s and 80s. Well, that song really resonates with me, because it takes my mind back to the decades, and it goes through the different decades, and I can actually go back in time and remember those decades. Now, I really don't remember the 60s, because I was born in the 60s, but some of you do. And again, what do you think about the 60s? Was that a great time to live in the 60s? A lot of people have a lot of regrets from the 60s, right? And of course, every decade. And then you had the 70s. Along came the 80s. It was a good time to live, I think. the things I experienced anyway. But I can go back and think of these things like a cassette tape and the Walkmans and even the walking through, back then the malls were a big deal on Friday nights, going to the mall, right? And the way we looked, the way we dressed, my hair was longer and parted in the middle back then. I just looked different, but I liked the 80s. I remember following things like Evel Knievel was popular on, you know, as far as in the sports world, jumping all, everything that he would do, and of course I loved the Baltimore Orioles back there in the 80s and the 70s especially. But think about that, because when you think through the different decades, the reason I say this, because we're looking ahead. We're looking ahead in this passage to the tribulation. And as you go back even in your mind, think of what's indicative of every decade you lived in, and can't you actually kind of boil it all down and look at the general, give it a general description of that decade? It was different, wasn't it? The nannies was different. Then came Y2K. Right? We've been moving at a fast pace, but every decade has been different. And this is actually, God is gracious enough to pull back the curtains and say, I am gonna show you what the future's gonna look like for you, for those who follow me. And by the way, before we get to Revelation 22, there's a period of time that's very ugly. And it can be very scary. But you see, God loved us enough to tell us the truth. Say, when you see these things happen, I'm going to tell you exactly what to do. So those who are living in the time of what's called the Great Tribulation, because this is what just happened in Mark 13. We moved from the first half of the tribulation, where there's going to be three and a half years of peace, and then the abomination of desolation as we sit up in the temple, and now here kicks off. And that's why he even gave you a specific amount of days that this is going to take place. Now look at this. Look at the imminent danger. Now, here's what I'm going to warn you about. Don't you think this has nothing to do with us? Now, I believe the church is going to be raptured. But how far into the future could this be taking place? Hey, we believe in the imminent return of Christ. We could be gone today. And if that happens, that means in three and a half years, we're describing what's going to happen to those loved ones that we've been witnessing to, and those co-workers that we love, all those folks, they could be dealing with this. It says, but this is specifically written to those who are in Israel, mainly, and then anyone else. But look at this, because this is where, it's in Israel when the Antichrist sets up his, the worship of him. It says, but when you see this, then let those who are in Judea do what? Flee to the mountains. I take that literally, folks. And you let him who is on the housetop, Now, what do they use the housetop for in Israel, do you know? In the midday, even in the Bible, they would go up on their housetop and do what? That's where they pray. When you're up on your housetop and you hear and you see this happening, don't even go into the house. Don't you even enter to take anything out of the house. And let him who is in the field, don't even go back to get your stuff. And woe to those, those women who are expecting, who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies. And pray. And this one of those verses that really, you have to compare scripture with scripture, because even Jesus is the one saying this. He says, and pray that your flight might not be in the winter. Wait a minute, here's the man who's sharing these details who knows everything. Well, is it gonna be in the winter or is it not gonna be in the winter? And here's why this is important. First of all, he says, God's the one in charge of all prophecy, you know that. Even when Jesus was here, he says, you ask me these questions, only God the Father knows some of these things, which I can't understand that, to be honest with you, because he's part of the Trinity. But no matter when he comes back, this is not just to the Jews, this is to whom? The world. And pray for you, that it's not wintertime. because it's going to be bad. He's giving the message, this is going to be bad. And that's just going to add to your suffering. And so just get that in your mind for a second as we consider this, this imminent danger. You see, God reveals details of the great tribulation. And if you want more detail on this, Just go to Revelation chapter six and read all the way, actually just read chapter 19, and you will see all kind of things happening. But many Christians, I'm not just saying Jews, Christians will be slaughtered, not as an act of God's judgment. Not as an act of God's judgment, the Christians aren't. Guess who's slaughtering the Christians? When the abomination of desolation is set up, who's in charge of that? Who's gonna do that? The Antichrist. So when he reveals that all Christians and anyone who follows Christ, he's gonna reveal they're his enemies. They're gonna be hunted down. So when they start dying and having their heads literally cut off, that is not God's judgment. That's man's intolerance. That's persecution. And in Revelation, 9 through 11, when the fifth seal of judgment will be broken, John tells us that he saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the Word of God and because of the testimony which they maintained. And they cried out with a loud voice, saying, how long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt thou refrain from judging? See? and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth because we learned back in the beginning of Revelation that guess what's going to happen? God's going to seal 144,000 missionaries out of Israel to go around the globe and preach the gospel. But you know what? They're going to be killed for it. They're going to die for their faith. And here they are at the throne, how much, when are you gonna bring judgment on the earth? But listen to what he says at the end in verse, listen to this, and this is what God says, that they were told that they should rest for a little while longer. These are those around, now those of you, you're wondering, where do you go when you die? These people have died and where are they at? To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord and here they are. And he says, listen, you just rest a little while longer. until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed." That's tough. I mean, when you hear those words, you're thinking, what did he just say? Guys, there's gonna be more of you. There's gonna be more coming into our presence that's yet to be persecuted. Even as they had been should be completed also. And according to Revelation 13, six through seven, the Antichrist and his agents will make an all-out war on the saints. Revelation 13 is the chapter of the Antichrist. And he's gonna open his mouth with blasphemy against God, Revelation 13, six and seven. He's gonna blaspheme God's name. He's gonna blaspheme the tabernacle and those who dwell in heaven. Now you see, he's not denying, he's not an atheist. Because he's blaspheming, he's actually literally cursing God in heaven. So he believes in God. It was also granted to him to make war with the saints. And he's gonna overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. The whole world's gonna be under this. That's why those of us who pay attention to politics, can we see the global economy and the global political powers coming together? Why does that disturb us? Because we see this coming together. At a rate like never before in the history of the world. There will be so much bloodshed and butchering that the enemies of Christ will be drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. He says in Revelation 17, six, I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement. And that's John, the beloved having this vision. He's I saw it. Even he was just amazed by it for the saved Jews. For the saved Jews, there will be a divine help in fleeing and hiding those who run. Listen to this. In Revelation 12, John saw Israel, the woman who gave birth to a son, a male child, who was to rule the nations with a rod of iron, flee into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God so that there she might be nourished for 1,260 days. It even gives you a specific amount of time. And that's recorded in Revelation 12, five through 14. But right there it says, A place prepared by God. There is going to be a place in the wilderness that the people are going to run off to prepared by God. I don't know what that is. Now some people believe it's Petra. You ever studied the city carved in stone? You go down, and there's a crevice that opens up in the earth, and there's a city. It's in one of the movies with the Ark with Harrison Ford. They actually filmed that movie in Petra with the grail, the one they had the cup. That's what was filmed in Petra. And some people believe that's going to be a place because there's only one little tiny opening to get into it. But I don't know. I do know of some pastors that went there to Petra and took Bibles and wrapped them in plastic. and hid Bibles all over Petra, and put in the front cover of those Bibles passages to read if you ever run here, and you're running for your life, here's some passages to read to know you're going through the Great Tribulation. They went there and hid Bibles all through Petra, if that's the place. But this is a place prepared by God, that they should feed there for 1,260 days, and they're receiving God's protection even amidst the persecution. But then I also want you to notice the immense this immense tribulation. First of all, it's going to come on quickly, for in those days there will be tribulation. Just notice the description here, what God's Word says about that time in history. You think you've had a bad life, and some of you have. I do not negate that at all. But as far as looking at history from the beginning to the end, God himself describes this time as this. He says, for there will be tribulations such as has not been since the beginning of creation, which God created until this time, and I love that next part, nor shall, what? Nor ever shall be. So that is encouraging to believers. Yes, there's a hard time, there's a tough time coming, but there's a beginning of it and there's an end of it because after that, it's never gonna happen again. Just like the flood, flooding the earth. There was a rainbow put in the sky to say this is never gonna happen. God's word says no. This is never, because no flesh would be saved. Look at this. Unless the Lord has shortened these days, no flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, Whom he chose, he shortened the days. Now who's the elect, and who did he chose? Who did he choose? What's Revelation all about? From chapter four, you have the church in the first few chapters, and all of a sudden, you get to the Revelation. Matter of fact, look with me real quick. I'm gonna show you something that's very interesting when you read Revelation. Matter of fact, Revelation, if you ever just need a blessing, Just start reading out loud Revelation. Now make sure, listen, read it out loud. It's the only book in the Bible that promises a blessing when you read it and when you hear it. So if you read it and you hear it at the same time, it's a double blessing. So just start reading Revelation out loud. Right? And then when you get, look at all the red letters, if you have a red letter Bible in chapter 2 and 3, and then all of a sudden you get to chapter 4 and it says, And I believe that as a picture, that's when the rapture takes place. You know, the first three chapters is a picture of the church, there's seven letters, there's seven literal churches, then all of a sudden the rapture's gonna take place, and after these things, I looked and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the voice, and the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet, speaking with me, saying, come up here, or come up hither, the old King James says. And I will show you these things which must take place after this, and that's a picture of the rapture, come up here. Right, I can imagine the trumpet blowing. Quint, come on. And so you can read that. Now you know the focus went from the church back to Israel, and that's why that's so important. And so you see God's mercy towards his chosen elect people. In the Old Testament, who was God's chosen people? Israel. What did they do to earn his favor? What did Abraham do? Nothing. What did David do to be anointed king of nothing? He chose them. But don't ever forget this, he chose them to do what? They had a mission to be the light to the rest of the world, to be a kingdom of priests, to be a witness for the rest of the world. So they were the chosen people in the Old Testament, the church is the chosen people in the New Testament. What are we called to do? To be a light and be the saltware in the world? And he said that God says, I love the elect enough that you know what? It's because of them that I'm even going to shorten the days of the great tribulation. Otherwise, he said, no one would survive. No one. And do you know, according to in the book of Thessalonians, that you and I are the restraining force because we have the Holy Spirit in us. And until the rapture happens, we are holding things back. the dialect, the church, we are a restraining force. Look how bad it is, and we're the restraining force. What's gonna happen when we're taken out of the way? All hell is gonna break loose, and that's what we're reading about. It's hell on earth. And by the way, let me show you this. There's gonna be a lot of imposters. If anyone says to you, look, here is the Christ, or look there, or do not believe it, And here's why this is important because going through all these tough times, there's going to be a lot of people claiming to have the answers. Hey, come follow me. You're going through all, you come. No, they're wicked. There's a lot of people will promise you the sun, the moon and everything in between. He says, no, they're liars or deceivers. They're part of the system. Don't follow them. Do not be deceived. When they say, here's a Christ, look over here, no, he's over here, do not believe them. For false Christs and false prophets, they will rise. Now, they're already here, they're in existence today, but these are the ones that are gonna rise to the top with their power and the authority, and they're gonna be all over the media, and they're gonna be all over your social media during those times, and they're gonna be leading people astray the best they can with signs and wonders. They're gonna do things like, whoa, maybe this, This guy's telling the truth, no. It says, even if possible, the elect. Look at that. Which tells you what? When it says, if possible, what's the other side of that? It's not possible. But you watch out, these are the things that you're gonna see. And folks, we can already see an element of that today, can't we? Man, they're everywhere, especially during an election year. And that's why you need to pray for what? Discernment. And I highly recommend this. If you can get involved in politics locally, it's one thing to fund the federal level. That's a joke. That's such a joke. I don't trust anyone in Washington. I don't care where they come from. But I do know this. I'm friends of people right here in Carroll County who are in politics. I know their heart. I prayed with them. We've got some good people in this area that need our prayers. Brian Simonaire, he's in Anne Arundel County. I grew up with Brian Simonaire. He was the majority leader in Annapolis in the Republican Party. And do you know Brian needs a lot of prayer? Because he's a devout believer in Christ. Justin Reedy, do you know Justin Reedy? You know he's the worship leader right up here at Liberty Church? Devout believer. involved in politics locally. When Dan Fox was running, we had him here sharing his testimony. You remember that? We prayed for him. Be involved, but just don't think down D.C., also, because that's just where it starts. And maybe God's calling you to be the next one to put your name on a ballot. You never know, do you? You know Huckabee? You ever studied, read the story of Huckabee? He was a pastor, right? And he was a governor. Ran for president. I'm mentioning names, maybe I shouldn't be mentioning them, but I like Huckabee. And look at the instruction and the informant here. I use the word informant on purpose. That could be used in a negative way, but I like the word when I consider it in this context. Because when you wrap up this sermon today, He says, but you take heed and see, where's this information coming from that I just gave you this morning? Who's the informant? Who knows the secret? Who knows the mind and heart of God and then just let it out of the bag? Jesus is the informant, right? He's the one revealing it. Can we trust him? 100%. He gives the instructions, you take heed. Look, I've told you. How many times you hear that growing up from your parents? Didn't I tell you? How many times did you hold your tongue back when your kids made a mistake after you told, you wanted to say so bad. I told you that was gonna happen, right? I'm not gonna say it, I'm not gonna say it. They already know it, right? But I love that next three letter word there, I have told you what. He didn't say I told you most of it. I told you all things beforehand. And that's where someone came to me last week and said, Pastor, I'm so glad that you did not sing the song at the end of last week's service, I surrender all. Because I couldn't have sung that song. Because you made me realize I've only been surrendering some. Where I've been surrendering most, I have not been surrendering all. And I'm so thankful we have a Savior that did not hold back anything. He gave it all. I told you all things beforehand. You know, yesterday I was, it's my favorite thing to go to over at the Farm Museum in West, every year, once a year in the fall, and it usually rains that day. And my favorite thing to do is go there with Earl Hawkins. Earl and I had a table set up years ago over at the Steam Show, which is the, they also have a flea market, and they have all kinds of stuff. We go there and have breakfast, 7 o'clock in the morning. My friend is part of fixing it, Harvey Mann, actually, is the one working in the kitchen there, and he texted me even the night before, saying, see you in the morning. I go over, and I actually got a really nice breakfast. And I didn't even know this was on the menu. Earl, I go over there yesterday morning, and Joe, who's married to Penny here, and Joe's been praying for his back. Joe is the blacksmith that runs the blacksmith shop. And so I had breakfast. Joe was sitting to my left yesterday. And I'm waiting in line to order my breakfast. I'm about to get a sandwich. And Joe goes, get the farm show special. I'm looking at the menu like there is nothing that says farm show special. He goes, just get the farm show special. I didn't know what I was getting. I got the farm show special. It was everything piled up. And it was good. But sitting there having that farm show special. What made it special wasn't the food, but I got to spend time with some guys. I had a few guys from here, a guy, Joe's to my left. Down around here is another friend of his. And then over here, there's a contractor. Over here is Harvey. And he introduced me to another gentleman. And so just the fellowship was amazing yesterday morning. But here's what Joe taught me yesterday. I go down to his place. And you go there today. It goes till 5 o'clock today. You can go meet Joe. And he's the blacksmith. And he's got a table full of stuff that he makes. And he teaches people how to do blacksmithing. He actually told me yesterday that he would actually, I can go to a shop and he's gonna train me how to make things out of metal. But here's what, I actually have some in my pocket. See that picture right there? He had this thing, and I bought two of them. You ever seen these things called Pioneer, they're prairie diamonds? Picture them on the screen. That's a prairie diamond. And I went home and I had to read about him. I'm like, what is really, he told me just real quickly the story. And I went home and looked it up and read the whole story. And sure enough, back when the pioneers were traveling out west, guess what they didn't have at their disposal? They didn't have any jewelry stores. And let's say a young man falls in love with a young woman. And he wants to let the world know that she's mine. and I'm taken. They didn't have any rings to give each other so there was a blacksmith who had the idea he took the old nails off the horseshoe nails and bent them and would stamp the top of them and grind them and call them prairie diamonds. So I've got two prairie diamonds this morning. I got one for me and I got one for Kathy. I better not say anything. I don't know if she was very impressed or not with it, to be honest with you. But it did fit her. I was trying to say, I got to find one for Kathy. And the guy goes, put it on your little finger. It fits your little finger. It'll fit hers. You ever heard that before? I never heard that before. And it worked. But here's the thing. I got to thinking about this last night. You know, right now, you and I are the bride of Christ. And knowing what I know, what we have to look forward to, because this was only temporary. Look, I'm going to give you this until later, I'm going to get you something better. Do you understand right now we're living in the Prairie Diamond stage? Right? It's okay. But one day, man, we're getting it. Ephesians chapter one tells us what we have in Christ is so amazing and so much better. But before we get there, we've got to go through some hard times. And so we need to pray for one another and be there for one another. Spend time with one another. Look on my Facebook when you get a chance. I did that on purpose yesterday because I wanted to teach you a lesson about something. Because here's just my makeup. Everyone's not like me. But I can go to a place full of strangers and make friends very easy. And just what I learned yesterday about a Speed X tractor fascinated me just like the ring. And Garson with a G. All we did was walk up and ask, is this your tractor? And that man lit up and told the story of his granddad and the farm, the 80 acre farm. He walked us around that tractor. He was so passionate. And I'm sitting there listening to this man intently. And here Garson is, I consider him a friend now. Because I took time to go meet him and listen, let him do the talking. You look for someone this week, look for a Garson this week in your life. Let them do the talking. Find out what they're passionate about. Some man told me yesterday he's been going to making a living off going to these shows since 1967. No, no, no, no, it wasn't 67. I think it was 63. Because I said, well, I was born in 65. And he goes, you know what keeps me going? I said, what keeps you going? I don't take any poison. I don't take any poison. He called medication poison. I don't take any poison. I said, well, you know what gets me going, keeps me going? What keeps you going? Well, besides two cups of coffee in the morning, right? It's the grace of God is what keeps me going. So folks, let's obey the Great Commission and do this together. It's all about the body. We've been chose for this. Dear Grace Assembly Father, I love you. as we look into your word next week and get into your coming back, Lord, and what that's gonna look like. I'm excited about it, Lord. And Lord, before you come back here and accept your kingdom, you're gonna come and, you're coming for your bride, and you're gonna present us perfectly, without blemish, before our Heavenly Father. I am so looking forward to that, Lord. Even this week, Lord, just a few moments of even grief, just thinking about my dad. I miss him so much. I miss so many people. But Lord, I know that I'm here for now. Supper time will come later as we all gather around that table with you and with all the saints. Lord, I'm so looking forward to it. But Lord, even pray now, thank you for your grace. Amen, I thank you for the grief that we have, Lord, to remind us that this is not it. So Lord, we ask for your help as we go, as we keep going, as we work while we're waiting, and may you receive all the praise, the honor, and the glory, in Jesus' name, amen.