"As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples *said to Him, "Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!" And Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down."
As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?" And Jesus began to say to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and will mislead many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
"But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. The gospel must first be preached to all the nations. When they
arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are
to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you
who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved."
Good Morning my beloved,
We
welcome you to worship in the name of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank God for the gift of technology, that enables us to worship together.
I believe that we all can agree that for various reasons, this world is rapidly becoming a very dangerous place to live. Everything from the threat of war in virtually every corner of the world, to the almost daily the disruption of the very fabric of a "normal life" as we once knew it. Since the onset of Covid-19, with more than 6.9 millions deaths to date worldwide, food shortages and significantly increasing costs of living, preventing people from providing even the most basic needs for their families, and rising homelessness, there has been a dramatic increase in the preoccupation in eschatology or Bible prophecy. Essentially, people want to know if we are nearing "The End." By the way, none of these things should come as a surprise to anybody who knows and understands the Bible, because Jesus lovingly tells us exactly what to expect, which is not as difficult or as complex as people tend to make it.
While we cannot be dogmatic in predicting exactly when the end will come, though many have tried and failed, trying to fit every news headline into a prophetic timeline, continually being proven wrong. One does not have to be a Bible scholar, to understand that Jesus clearly said He will come like just like a thief in the night, and of that day and hour no one knows. We do know that tomorrow isn't promised and that the end will come, therefore, we should be on the alert, living in anticipation of the imminent glorious return of our Lord Jesus, with a renewed commitment to love and obey Him; a
willingness to face a hostile world, and to boldly to acknowledge Him as
Lord and Master, no matter what the cost, just as did each of the writers of the New Testament.
As we come to
Mark chapter 13, after pronouncing judgment of the corrupt religious leaders and their false religious system, Jesus having now brought His public ministry to an end, He focuses His attention on His disciples, speaking to them privately. They already believe that He is the Son of God, that He is the Messiah, familiar with all the Old Testament prophecies about the arrival of Messiah, now they are anticipating that He will establish His kingdom, destroying all of God's enemies, all the enemies of Israel and restore the glory of Jerusalem, gathering the Jews back into the land, which is predicted many times in Scripture.
Amos 9 says, "Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, and they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them; They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, and make gardens and eat their fruit."I will also plant them on their land, and they will not again be rooted out from their land which I have given them," Says the Lord your God."
Isaiah 9 says "
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this."
In Zechariah 12, he predicts the resurgence of Israeli military strength, "In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem."
And in Zechariah 14, "And the
Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the
Lord will be
the only one, and His name
the only one." From their standpoint, everything seems to be right on schedule, until Jesus began repeatedly talking about His death and that on the third day, He will rise again, so now they are looking beyond that, to when He will immediately establish His kingdom.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, thank You for Your Word. What blessed days we're living in, being able to watch prophesy being fulfilled right before our eyes, Lord, help us to live every moment of every day in the wonderful anticipation of Your glorious return. Make us willing to lay down our lives for the sake of the Gospel that others might come to know You while there's still the opportunity. We pray that You will penetrate hardened hearts with Your Word as we speak the Truth in love. May we remain faithful as we boldly engage this battle, with the confidence that we have nothing to fear, come what may. Touch each heart, so that many souls may be saved and Your people might be encouraged. We ask and pray this in Jesus' Name to Your glory.
Amen
Today's Message:Things to Come
With that in mind, let's open our Bibles to
Mark chapter 13:1-13.
I trust you will be following along with me as I read to set the text in
our minds, as we open our hearts to hear what the Spirit of God has to say to us today. Mark 13:1-13.
"As He was going out of the temple, one
of His disciples *said to Him, "Teacher, behold what wonderful stones
and what wonderful buildings!" And Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down."
As
He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and
James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?" And Jesus began to say to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and will mislead many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
"But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. The gospel must first be preached to all the nations. When they
arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are
to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you
who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved."
We know from history, that all the things that He predicted would come to pass, have come to pass, therefore, we can conclude the things that have not yet come to pass, will come to pass, exactly the way Scripture says it will, that is a reality cannot be denied. Whenever God says something in His Word, there can be no argument, human history has proven that is exactly how it will happen. So, allow me to assure you, when Jesus says that He is coming again, it will happen, just as He promised, it will be sudden, and without warning.
Let's look at verse 1, "
As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples *said to Him, "Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!" Can you imagine, that after everything that has just gone down between Jesus and the corrupt religious teachers, His pronouncing judgment on a religious system that misrepresents God and abuses widow, and here this guy is impressed with the
wonderful stones and buildings? The original temple constructed by Solomon cost millions of dollars and
took seven years to build and was eventually decimated by the
Babylonians. When the Jews returned to their land 70 years later, a
second temple was built. The temple complex built by king Herod, or Herod the Great, who apparently really liked impressive things, was much like a fortress.
The stones were massive, each were 40 feet long by 12 feet high, and 15 feet wide, standing some 20 stories high, it could easily be seen from anywhere in the city. Inside, the entire temple
was filled with valuable treasures, which adorned the place, given by very wealthy people from all over the
place. It was considered to be one of the most impressive
structures in the ancient world, virtually indestructible. Quite frankly, it's hard to even imagine how they were ever even able to build such a magnificent complex, or how they transported and lifted these hand cut stones, with some stones weighing over 600 tons, is beyond comprehension!
John 2:20 tells us that the temple took 46 years to build.
Verse 2,
"And Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down." Jesus was not only unimpressed, He says the whole thing is coming down! I imagine the disciples looking at the magnificent massive temple complex, scratching their heads, wondering, how in the world this busy the center of Jewish life would ever be torn down and become desolate. But, in 70 A.D., that's exactly what happened! Titus came into Jerusalem and destroyed the whole place, even melting the gold that had adorned the walls of the building. Ironically, Herod never lived long enough to see the entire structure
completed. Shortly after the final embellishments were just being
completed, it was completely destroyed,
not one stone left upon another, exactly as Jesus predicted 40 years before. This is a warning contemporary pastors neglect to mention, there will
always be judgment for unrepentant sin, even if it takes awhile.
In Romans 1, Paul tells us "And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper." Today, we are seeing our society descending deeper and deeper into every unimaginable form of sexual immorality. The signs are literally everywhere. The problem is, no one seems to be paying attention to them, not even the church! In
Matthew 12:6, Jesus says "
But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here." Today, there is no longer a need for temple sacrifices, because Jesus offered Himself as a single sacrifice for sin for all time, before He sat down at the right hand of God.
Verses 3-4, "
As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, "Te
ll us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?" Sitting on the Mount of Olives, they would have had a perfect view the temple rising just above the eastern wall, with the gold glistening on the top of it, as the sun is setting in the west. It must have been an absolutely stunning. I imagine they are completely after devastated, having just heard the whole thing is going to come down. Matthew tells us in his parallel account,
chapter 24, they said "
Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" It was Peter who did the asking on behalf of all of them, because Peter
always spoke whenever there was anything to be said. I don't believe the
apostle with the foot shaped mouth would have been able to help himself. The bigger question than the destruction of the temple, not that the destruction of the temple was insignificant, is that they lost the presence of God.
They obviously saw the temple being torn down, the city becoming desolate,
and the Messiah coming in His glory
all as one event, so what they asking is, "How soon are all these things that we anticipate going to happen? What is the sign we are to look for?" That's the ultimate question.
It wasn't until the New Testament we see the distinction between the two.
That's why Paul writes in Romans 16, "Now
to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the
preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery
which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested
,
and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of
the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen." Unlike like many Christians today, they always lived in anticipation, believing the kingdom of God would appear soon, it was never an issue of "if" but "when." The word "coming," is the Greek word "parousia," used four times in this chapter, is from the word "parōn," meaning to "be present," it conveys a permanent presence. Prophecy is not intended to satisfy our curiosity but to to instruct us
as how we should live in light of His glorious return. We can’t know for sure when Jesus is coming back but we’re certain that He is! It was this great hope, that filled the hearts of His disciples and it should do the same for all of us today!
Beginning in verse 5, Jesus gives them His response. This is the longest answer to any question asked of Jesus, ever recorded in Scripture. "And Jesus began to say to them,
"See to it that no one misleads you." That is very important for us to understand because Jesus is warning us to be on guard against spiritual imposters. It is quite common today, for people to believe something is true simply because
they "feel" it is true or because they have some experience that leads
them to conclude that it is true. For example, many people believe the world is going to get better and better, if we just get the right political leaders in place. Even the best political leaders are not going to produce a better world while we wait for Christ's return, a truth that is repeated again and again throughout Scripture. In
2 Timothy 3, Paul clearly tells us "
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power." We are
seeing the clear signs of the apostasy of the professing church,
Christian values are now openly mocked, and the increased persecution of
faithful Christians, as lawlessness is running rampant. Look around, things are not getting better, they're are getting worse and worse! The worst is yet to come, the last three and a half years of Great Tribulation being the worst of all. God continues to warn us in the events that are occurring today. Scripture is absolutely accurate.
Verse 6, " Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and will mislead many." Charles Manson and Jim Jones are merely two examples of people who claimed to be Jesus. These false Christs will continue to mislead those who are undiscerning believers to follow them. The signs of the times are upon us, there is no way to escape the fact, we're living on borrowed time. The question
is not whether or not the end will happen, but when it does, are you going to be ready? There's only one way to avoid being misled, by knowing and understanding the Scripture, which tells us the sequence of birth pains, that will increase in frequency and intensity, there will be an explosion of concurrent events as we get closer to the end of human history, until finally, the kingdom comes which will happen suddenly, and unexpectedly. Jesus is pointing out people will try to deceive us in the time before He comes. Satan wants to counterfeit, getting as close to the truth as he can, but far enough to deceive people. Has anyone noticed we are seeing more and more of these celebrity preachers? The problem with celebrity preachers and their celebrity lifestyles, is it is easy for people to make it more about the messenger rather than the message.
Many Christians think that as long as a religion claims they believe in Jesus, they are ok. Wrong! Muslims believe in Jesus, but regard Him as a prophet, one of many, with Muhammad being the greatest. Islam denies that Jesus died on the cross, He did not rise from the dead, He went to heaven like Elijah. They deny the deity of Jesus, Islam teaches He is merely a man, not God incarnate. Muslim Jesus plays an important role in Islamic eschatology, when Allah sends him back so He can correct all the Christians, who have misunderstood who He is. He will gather the army of the Mahdi with black flags, and acknowledge the Mahdi as his lord. Christians everywhere will affirm that Jesus isn’t the Son of God.
The Roman Catholic church believes in Jesus, and as the head of the Church, usurping the headship of Christ, the pope is often called the "Holy Father" and the "Vicar of Christ," names and roles that only apply
to God, and they also believe that the priest has the power to forgive sins as well as preach a false gospel of works. Paul said in
1 Timothy 2, "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." The Catholic Church has also elevated Mary to the same level as God, if not higher, even worshipping Mary. Neither of these are an exhaustive list of differences by any means.
Verse 7, "When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end." I believe we can see this beginning to unfold on a global scale unknown in any other time in history. I want you to understand the false religion of Islam will play a major part in it, today we seeing Christian persecution increasing worldwide as Islam is rapidly spreading. Scripture is very, very clear, if you worship any god other than the One True Living God, you will be cursed! It's not a coincidence this is happening as governments move to exercise more and more control over people. Jesus is preparing us to proclaim the Gospel in the midst of persecution, focusing on being faithful and letting God handle the events of end of the world! Scripture foretells of a one world government and a universal worldwide one religion is coming, lead by the Anti-Christ.
Let me try to summarize it for you, without belaboring the point. According to the Quran, when the Mahdi first arrives, the Islamic messianic figure, a descendant of Mohammed, he will a make peace agreement with the Jews for seven years, then, he will conquer Israel and massacre the Jews, and set up the Islamic world headquarters in Jerusalem, where he will rule for seven years. And he will come riding on a white horse carrying a sword, to kill the infidels and to establish Islam on the earth. Then the Dajjal will show up, an infidel, who is the great deceiver, a false miracle worker and claims to be the son of God. If all of that sounds familiar, it's because it's Satan’s counterfeit version of the Bible. I love that Jesus says "do not be frightened; those things must take place." He does not want His people to live in fear, that's why He has told us exactly what to expect beforehand. Preparation is essential to our mental and physical well-being. There is absolutely no reason to fear the future and what’s going to happen in the world for those of us who belongs to Jesus Christ. When the Bible predicts something, we shouldn't be surprised because it obviously will happen. Again, history proves that to be true. Just as God parted the Red Sea, He will dry up the Euphrates River,
enabling the kings of the east to cross and proceed to the Valley of
Armageddon. Have you noticed how often the tiny nation of Israel has been in the news recently?
Verse 8, " For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs."
In Luke's parallel account in chapter 21, he adds there will also be "various places plagues," it's the Greek word "
loimos,
" literally, meaning disease
. I've often been asked if Covid-19 is part of this. I tend to believe this is God's way of awakening people to what is to come rather what Jesus is talking about here. It will be much worse than anything human history has ever seen before or will again! Luke also adds "And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven." These will be indescribable. The word signs or "
sēismos," a sign which exalts the one giving it. As sin runs rampant, the whole world begins to self-destruct.
These catastrophic disasters will be of staggering proportions, increasing in frequency and intensity, over all the world, almost simultaneously. The key to understanding this passage is "merely the beginning of birth pangs," the metaphor of a woman in labor
is very important, birth pains do not start to happen at conception, contractions
are mild and occur infrequently during
the beginning of the pregnancy, until
just before the birth, they happen more and more frequently, greatly intensifying
until at the end, the baby is born. Jesus tells us these things must take place, but the end is not yet, it's only the beginning of the end.
We certainly are hearing rumors of wars and nations are rising against
nations and earthquakes are increasing in number and in intensity. All
of this should cause us to walk closely with Him today as we gather as many as we can while we anticipate His arrival.
So, let's not become diverted from our task of proclaiming the Gospel and
teaching them to observe the commands in Scripture.
Verse 9, "But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them." Jesus is telling us things will not become better and better, as we mentioned earlier, He emphatically
says "be on your guard" hardship is coming, destruction, deception, disaster and distress! Matthew adds "
Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name." Like many today, this certainly isn’t what they expected. Jesus is telling us if we live our lives for Him, we will be persecuted. I know this comes as a shock to those who have been deceived by the prosperity teachers. In his "name it and claim it" self-help psychology book,
"Your Best Life Now," Joel Osteen says Christians should expect preferential treatment from God who has crowned you with favor and from others, if they will only develop a healthy self-image and envisioning and expecting only good things for yourself, including "a parking spot in a crowded lot." I guess Joel Osteen has forgotten about
John 15:18, where Jesus says "
If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. Or verse 20, "Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you..." The bottomline is, true disciples o, f Christ are going to suffer persecution just like He suffered. According to
Open Doors International, 5,621 Christians were murdered for their faith last year. With Islamic countries being the most hostile toward Christians for their faith, thinking they are offering service to Allah. Islam is not what you think! According to the Quran, anyone who believes in the Trinity or says, "Jesus is God," is an infidel, and must succumbed to the power of Islam, either by converting to Islam or death. Muslims die without ever knowing where they’re going, because Islam has no savior. This is so heartbreaking, if you ever acknowledge Jesus as God, you’re going to hell forever, that's why it’s hard for a Muslim to come to Christ.
Notice in the middle of the verses Jesus says "you will stand before governors and kings for My sake." We are already seeing signs of widespread
persecution of God's redeemed, for "hate speech" leading to
imprisonment, even banishment from preaching unprecedented to any other
time in my lifetime, as True Christianity becomes less socially
acceptable. Matthew writes, "At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another." We are already seeing evidence of even those claiming to
represent God who are beginning to persecute the true believers. As the cost of being a Christian becomes greater, many will not be willing to pay that price. In 1 John 2, John says "They went out from us,
but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would
have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that
they all are not of us." I submit to you those who fall away, were never really saved to begin
with. Anyone who is a true Christian, persecution will not break their faith! Superficial faith will collapse under pressure.
In verse 10, He says in spite of the hatred and persecution, "The gospel must first be preached to all the nations." The word must is the Greek verb "deí," means what is absolutely necessary, it is a duty.
For all intents and purposes, the Gospel has already reached the whole world, has it not? Yet, the disturbing truth is there is still an estimated 24-27% of the world’s population have not had the Good News presented to them in a way they could understand and respond to. I'm not suggesting that everyone become a missionary in the literal sense, but if our only concern is to witness to those where we are, how will people in unevangelized areas ever hear about our Savior? I encourage all of us to pray about how God might want to use us in this way. Matthew 9:38, "Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest." As Christians, understanding that the Lord could literally return at any moment, we must learn to rearrange our priorities. If the Lord should appear today, what would He find you doing?
The days of acceptable
Christianity are over, it's the blood sacrifice of the martyrs that is
the seed that grows the church. Do you realize that nearly all of the
Apostles were martyred and that didn’t stop the spread of the Gospel? They can kill the messenger, but they cannot kill the message, that’s
why your testimony is so important, so powerful. Those of us who refuse to
call what is good, evil, and what is evil, good, will face
criminalization of biblical Christianity.
Verse 11, "When they
arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are
to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you
who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit." I love that Jesus reminds us that we’re never alone, even in the moment of death, when we’re persecuted for proclaiming the Gospel, we'll have something to say and someone to help us say it. I am reminded of Peter in Acts 4, "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."
And Stephen right before they stoned him to death in Acts 6:9-10, "But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen. But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking."
Verse 12, "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death." True believers will not only be persecuted by false Christians and the unbelieving world, it will become very personal, we’ll face hatred and persecution in our own families. The world will hate us because we stand against everything they stand for, staying true to our profession of faith, we stand for everything they are against. Only true believers will demonstrate the reality of their salvation by standing strong. Persecution is horrible but unfaithfulness to God is far worse. In Matthew 10:27-28, Jesus said "What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." How will we be able handle all of this hatred, even from those close to us? Romans 14:4 says "..for the Lord is able to make him stand." I’m glad we don’t have to stand alone! Psalm 46 says "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear." God's people will display strength, not fear.
In James 1:2-4, he writes, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." True faith produces endurance to withstand these kinds of pressures and has a purifying effect. We don't rejoice for the trial, no one enjoys suffering, but we can rejoice for what God is accomplishing in the midst of it. Romans 8:28, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." That's why we count it all joy.
That brings us to verse 13, "You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved." Jesus is not saying that we earn our salvation by enduring, salvation is a gift of grace, He is saying that we demonstrate the authenticity, the reality of our salvation by standing strong and enduring. Those whose salvation isn't genuine won’t fare so well, that's the problem with easy believism and cheap grace, it produces false converts, hypocrites with superficial faith, that won't stand. It’s the broad way, man's way is easily traveled, you can take your sin. Jesus said it's the narrow way that leads to life, you go through agonizing with great difficulty. If you really recognized your own sinfulness, believing that you’re not good enough to enter heaven, you would be willing to abandon your sin and come to Christ in desperation, begging for mercy. Everyone is forced to make a choice, God’s way or man’s way. That's the only two alternatives there are. Don't ever think God wants you to choose sin because He gives you the freedom to choose. God sent His Son in order that sin may be destroyed. God never allows you into sin as an expression of His will, if that's your logic is really in trouble, buying into Satan's damning deception. Don't be deceived, sin is never God's will for man, it is nothing less than rebellion against God. He only tolerates it for a time not willing that any should perish, allowing the cup of iniquity to become full, allowing evil to run its full course once and for all. I am confident that God’s perfect holiness, righteousness and justice demands that all unforgiven sin must be punished, and I know some of you are struggling with that reality in your mind.
I assure you to those who choose man's way, He will say "‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’" To those who choose God’s way, He will say "Welcome Home!" A truly regenerated heart mourns over sin, hungers for righteousness and delights in pleasing God through obedience. As we continue move toward the end of human history, persecution and hatred will increase, even from those in our own families, but we can look forward with hope and encouragement, and the promise that the return of our Lord Jesus Christ is nearer than it's ever been. The only reason Christ has not returned yet, is because God is giving you time to repent now…before it’s too late. But rest assured, the day of the Lord will come, without notice, like a thief in the night. And there is no escaping judgment unless you put your faith in Jesus Christ.
Come, Lord Jesus, come, even today!
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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