Following Jesus to the End

Good morning

It is great to be back

It is great to see everyone.

I hope everyone had fun at Octoberfest

Hope everyone has enjoyed the last couple of weeks

And so for those that don’t know

I was TDY for the last week

And apart of this was to back brief PFC Chagolla’s mom

I’ll tell you what a good time

It was healing

It was productive

And it was needed.

But I got to be honest

In all my days

I never thought I would travel with the BDE commander

If you came up as an enlisted member

That is the very last thing you’d ever think you’d do.

But it was a good trip

Got to have Texas road house

Chick fila

The hole works

So it was a good and needed trip

But you know I noticed while I was there

Something that was kind of shocking to me

And I’ve got to be careful with this

because I could get very political.

And I’m just curious

But how many in here

like to people watch

from time to time.

Well I got to do a lot of this

In both the US and in Europe.

But it was the US that really intrigued me

Partly because I’ve been here so long

The United States feels like a foreign country to me

But also because it took me nearly 48 hours to get back

Between missing flights and flights getting cancelled

I had a lot of time to just watch

And so one area of focus

that I was really able to notice while I was in the United States

was the way in how the people are following the current political environment

Especially, when it comes down to the church

More specifically

I saw how this new and immediate type culture

This instant gratification type culture was influencing the church

More predominately

how we teach and preach the word of God

And I was very fortunate

I got to go to two different services this past Sunday

one taught verse by verse

while the other taught topically

Basically picked a topic and through a bunch of verses at it

And I realized something that sort of was very convicting for me personally

and that was that in an effort to keep people coming to church

we have lost the art of teaching the word of God

we’ve gone to topical type preaching

where the teaching coming from the pulpit

is an inch deep so to speak

and so I got to be honest with you

I learned absolutely nothing from the topical sermon.

As a matter fact,

I don’t even remember what passage of scripture the man went over.

But then, when it came down to the other sermon,

where it was expository type preaching

where it went against the grain of culture

where it followed the Bible rather than modern thinking.

I learned a great deal, and it was a blessing,

But it was deep and it contained some hard theology within it

and I remember a bulk of the service

because he taught me something.

And so as we get into it today

I want you to ask yourself

What are you following?

What are you truly focused on

Are you more concerned with the modern day rhetoric?

Or are you concerned with the things of God?

And that’s what I really wanna focus on today.

I want us to understand

what it would take for you to follow Jesus

what it would take for you to push against the grain of society

Begin to ask yourself are you going to seek after Jesus,

simply because of what he can provide

And what our culture says that he should be able to provide for us

or

are we going to dive head deep

into the teaching of Jesus Christ,

and begin to understand the deeper things

are we going to follow the word of God

or are we going to follow man

so without further ado

please open up your Bibles please

to Mark chapter 3 verse 7

Mark 3:7–12 NLT

Jesus went out to the lake with his disciples, and a large crowd followed him. They came from all over Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, from east of the Jordan River, and even from as far north as Tyre and Sidon. The news about his miracles had spread far and wide, and vast numbers of people came to see him. Jesus instructed his disciples to have a boat ready so the crowd would not crush him. He had healed many people that day, so all the sick people eagerly pushed forward to touch him. And whenever those possessed by evil spirits caught sight of him, the spirits would throw them to the ground in front of him shrieking, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus sternly commanded the spirits not to reveal who he was.

Prayer

You know we talked about it last week

what does it mean to be a Christian?

What does it mean to follow Christ

and this is where things get difficult

Because the real Gospel is not a fun gospel

it’s not an easy gospel

Contrary to what our culture tell us

It was never meant to be a cake walk

It’s a gospel that says love others more than yourself.

Because your savior loved you first

And I think this is what I really love about the Gospels

because you see throughout the entire 16 chapters of Mark

Throughout the entire 28 chapters of Matthew and so on.

You see the disciples struggling to get this point

to understand the purpose of the gospel

And as a matter of fact you see the infighting

you see the Struggle to understand what Jesus is teaching

amongst the 12

and you see Jesus constantly

rebuking

constantly

instructing

On the proper mentality that is the Gospel

The proper way to be when it comes to being a child of God

And so when you look at this example of the people following Christ,

you have to ask yourself

What is motivating them to leave everything and follow Jesus

What is causing these people to come from all over the Ancient world

To a man who they don’t even know

And follow Him

And I want you to take just a moment and lets read a few verses.

Because if you look at verse 8 here

You begin to see what the people are thinking

And I’m gonna switch to the NKJV here

Because I feel this translation helps with the motivation here

Mark 3:7–8 NKJV

But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.

When they heard how many things He was doing, Came to him.

Are you starting to see whats going on

Are you starting to see why people wanted to come to Him

And here is where, I want you to really begin to focus on your own motivation

And look at how one commentator puts it

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 9: Matthew–Mark (Revised Edition) (Commentary)

Mark notes that the crowds came because they heard “all that he was doing.” While Jesus himself places importance or primacy on the proclamation of the kingdom (1:38), the crowds come primarily for the healings and miracles.

Why are you motivated to follow Christ?

Why am I motivated to follow?

Why do I want to be a part of this group call Christians?

Am I here for the fringe benefits

or

am I here because I’m a sinner

that needs a savior

You know, You’re gonna see this throughout the Gospels

And in fact you’re gonna see Jesus get extremely frustrated

Because of this

He came to save you from sin

And yet we treat Him like a circus act

We treat Him like He is a side show

Like He is a lottery to be won

And I want you to keep this at the forefront of your mind

As we continue in this book

Because this arguments becomes the foundational misinterpretation of who Jesus is

Of why He came

And its repeated throughout His ministry

And its even repeated in churches and pulpits today

Ask yourself

Am I here because of what he can provide me in this life

or what I feel he should be able to provide me in this life

or do I follow Christ because

I realize that I have violated everything that he stands for

And without the cross

Without His sacrifice

I am nothing.

Without Him I have no hope

It’s a servant type mindset.

It’s a different way to think

Start to begin and really dive into what’s going on here

I mean I find it truly amazing

How Jesus goes from being baptized

By a hippy in chapter 1

To running a small ministry with a small following

To not only being followed by hundreds of people

Thousands of people

But to becoming public enemy number one

Simply because of the miracles he’s doing

And the religious traditions he’s challenging.

And you truly have to begin to ask yourself

What is he doing that is bringing in so much attention

And then I want you to sort of put yourself

in the shoes of the average person

A person that is poor

Doesn’t have a dime to their name

Is maybe sick

Or has a family member sick

And you have to start to think

What would you do

Why would you follow?

Seriously why would you follow?

You know I got to be honest

I’d be right in there with the crowd

I’m not gonna stand up here and lie to you

You know my hope is

That I would be able to see past the material

But If i was honest

I don’t know if could

I mean you kind of have to be crazy to not jump on board here

Because following Jesus at this moment in time

Following this guy,

Who is doing amazing and unbelievable things

Maybe your one and only chance to help yourself out

Because here’s your chance to get a head

Here’s your chance to maybe even help out your own situation

or even your family members situation

In a massive way

To say that your own motivation to follow Christ

Isn’t selfish

May just be a lie

Make sense.

Do you see what I’m doing here

Do you see what I am asking today?

I want you to really evaluate your relationship with Christ today

I want you to really dig deep and begin to develop

That personal one on one relationship

With our Lord and Savior

But that’s never gonna happen

Unless you realize why He came

Unless you realize that the signs He came performing

The miracles He was performing

Were of course a blessing to many

But the primary reason why

Is His identification

And His promise of whats to come in eternity

Which leads me to my last point

Look with me at the final four verses

Mark 3:9–12 NKJV

So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, “You are the Son of God.” But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.

You know despite the fact that I’m sure Jesus knew their motivation

His obvious compassion for those that are hurting

For those that need him is obvious

But I want to spend some time today

On a topic thats a bit less popular

But needed nonetheless

and that is the

Acknowledgment of his messiahship

Through the demons He was casting out

And I know we have gone over this before

I know we have explained the end times theme that this ultimately screams

But as I was reading this passage

Do you know what I see?

And I find this absolutely amazing that more people don’t see this

But do me a favor and focus on verse 12 here

And look at what one commentator said on this

And in fact all commentator agreed here

But I wanted to take this quote here to show you whats going on

St. Mark (Vol. I) (Chapter 3)

the afflicted people fell upon him; but the unclean spirits fell down before him, and this not out of love or devotion, but out of abject fear, dreading lest he should drive them out of the “possessed,” and send them before their time to their destined torment.

Destined torment.

You know what I find amazing

Only Christians refuse to study what they believe

The demons know whats coming

They know beyond a shadow of a doubt

And theyre terrified

Guys I’m not sure that many of you understand the uniqueness of this passage

Or the Uniqueness of the times at which you are living.

We are living in some of the most prophetically significant moments in history

Right now,

Currently

2022

And I know that some people think I’m crazy

some people think I’m jumping the gun

you know I’ve heard all sorts of statements,

you know we thought that Jesus was coming in every generation

we thought that prophecies are being fulfilled in every generation,

and so why are you so hyped up

on this particular topic

why are you so dead set on the reality that Jesus might be coming?

And don’t get me wrong here

I’m not a date setter

I’m not

I’m not gonna say that Jesus is gonna come to back on April 20th 2023

and so go ahead and sell all your things and give me your money.

I’m not that type of a guy,

but at the same token,

I can at least acknowledge

when certain things

That are prophetically significant

Are happening

And if we are good steward at the Bible,

if we at least understand what significance prophecy holds,

Then we have to understand what current events are actually going to happen,

What we should actually see in the news

and I want to take just five minutes and just show you a few signs that most theologian

or most prophecy buffs

Will actually mention

or acknowledge that has come true.

Because I really feel

That once you get this

Once you understand how God is working

In the moment

It changes how you view everything

Like I said just five minutes

I know talking prophecy can be painful for some.

First off you have the nation of Israel coming back to life in 1948

This is a fulfillment of Ezekiel chapter 37

Second You have a fulfillment of the people of Israel

coming back to Israel from all over the world

Believe it or not this is not only a fulfillment of Ezekiel chapter 36 and 37

But multiple other chapters throughout the Bible

But then you have the wars and rumors of wars

pestilences

Famines

Increasingly bad weather or changes in the weather

Earthquakes

Stronger hurricanes

And on and on

Pretty much everything you see being warned about

By Jesus in Matthew chapter 24 mark chapter 13, Luke chapter 21

But then you have what is highly significant

something that I see as a sign from heaven

that is exploding right in front of our faces

but many of us don’t see it

and that is the third temple

And I’ve mentioned this before

I know some of you guys have heard me speak on this before

But one of the key aspects of understanding when the end times will be here

Is seeing the third temple coming true

According to Daniel 9 and 27 as well as Matthew 24,

The antichrist will walk into the temple

And claim to be God

A temptle that currently doesn’t exist

And so through logical reasoning

You have to understand that if you see the temple

Becoming a reality

Then we are getting close

Very close

The reality is guys

WE are getting close

if if I was to a bettin man

if I was to place a bet on my wages or whatever you wanna call it,

That we are in red zone here

Let me explain for a sec

The temple institute in Israel

Is an organization

Dedicated to the rebuilding of the temple

And right now in Israel,

They have the blue prints

The decorations

Literally everything they need to build this temple

In fact the Jews believe we are getting so close

That I have heard from various rabbis that they are in conversations

With who they believe to be the Messiah

As a matter the only people that think we are not getting close are Americans

that are focused on social issues

Focused on the their own selfish desire

towards materialism

And how they feel that their country ought to be the heart of prophecy

because they can’t possibly believe

that the prophecies of God wouldn’t focus on the United States

which reality is just Ludacris, because they never do.

But one of the primary reasons I bring this up

Is that one of the last keys to building the temple came true this past week

You see in order to consecrate the temple

The Priests have to sacrifice a pure red Heifer

And I mean absolutely pure

To the point they have been trying to raise these cows for years now

But they have to sacrifice it and mix its ashes with water

The practice is found in Number 19

This past week, they had five fly in from a farm in Texas

Literally all we are waiting on now,

Is for God to say its time.

And I understand a topic like this might be terrifying

I understand a topic like this might lead to some sleepless nights

But guys what you are watching in real time

Is the fulfillment

Of every end time prophecy found in the Bible

Leading up to the tribulation

And I encourage you

Do your own research on this

Look up why the two state solution that is being proposed

Is prophetically significant

Look up the temple institute

Look up the Abraham accords

Look up the ten nations of Psalm 83 and revelation 17

But then come back to the question at hand

Who or what are you following?

I am one that truly believes we are getting close

and not just because of my own studies scripture

but because of the signs that are happening in modern-day times

things that people have been looking for for thousands of years

are happening right before our very eyes

And like I said, I’m not the only one

Some men much smarter than myself

Are raising every red flag they can find

To alert the world of whats going on

So I want you to ask yourself the day.

What are you following?

And what are you seeking.

Are you looking for God because of Jesus

or are you looking for God because of the things that he can provide in this life.

Are you looking for God

because you realize that you are a sinner

because you realize that you need forgiveness

and you realize that the only way to the father is through the cross

or are you looking for a miracle?

one final passage and we will release?

Luke 21:25–28 NLT

“And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides. People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory. So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!”

Prayer

Numbers 6:24–26 NLT

‘May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.’