Be On Guard
Notes
Transcript
Good Morning
Do you know why scuba divers fall backwards when entering the water?
If they fell forwards, they would still be in the boat.
Please continue to pray for all the flood victims. There was flooding in OKC yesterday. Pray for all the first responders as they are helping those in need.
Next week is our lake day. We are going to Waurika lake at Chisholm Trail picnic area. We will meet at the church at 9:30 for those who want a ride or don’t know where it is at. It will be a fun day at the lake swimming and relaxing.
Today we are going to be in Mark 13:9-13.
Last week we looked at Jesus’ warning to see that no one leads us astray. He also warned us of the wars, rumors of wars, and earthquakes. He didn’t say that these will be the signs of the end, He said that these are the beginning of the end. These are the beginning of the birth pains of the new heavens and earth. He tells us to not be alarmed. We are told that these things will happen, we should expect them, they have been around for as long as we have recorded history. We are not to worry about them, our hope is in the Lord, not anything of this world.
Today we are going to look at more of Jesus’ teaching on the signs. He again tells us to be on guard, to take heed. The world government is not our friend. He tells us something even worse, that our family will turn against us if they are not believers! He tells us that the gospel must be proclaimed to the world. We have a job! That job is not to be comfortable and sit and watch the show as it unfolds! We are to be on the front lines proclaiming Jesus and the Gospel of the Good News to the world. Jesus tells us that we will be hated, just like He was hated by the world. He ends with a promise that will strengthen us and give us the resolve to finish strong. The one who endures to the end will be saved! Praise God!
Please stand as we read God’s Word.
9 “But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. 10 And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. 11 And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12 And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. 13 And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
We are still at the Mt. of Olives and Jesus is answering the disciples question on when these things will happen and what will be the signs. Peter, Andrew, John and James are the ones who asked the question in private to Jesus. This is a long answer and it is an important answer. Jesus wants us to know what is going to happen so that we will not be surprised and that we can be prepared. He just warned about false teachers, wars and rumors of wars, and natural disasters. He tells us that these things must happen, this is just the beginning.
Now He is telling us to be on guard. Again we have to be aware and ready for what is going on. We can’t be prepared sitting at home not being involved. We have to be in God’s Word, we have to surround ourselves with like minded brothers and sisters who will encourage us and lift us up. We have to be going and telling about Jesus. Doing those thing will prepare us for the things that come in our path. If we don’t do those things, we will not respond correctly. We have to be putting our faith in action so that we can be ready for action. Sports teams aren’t good because they just have good athletes. They are good because they spend countless hours practicing and preparing for games. Ray Allen of the Boston Celtics had not eaten a hamburger since before he was in high school. He took his eating seriously because he knew what he put into his body would effect how his body would preform during games and practices. What we put into our minds, prepares us. We must be filling our minds with God’s word. To much time is spent filling our heads with things that may seems good, but it is not the best, it is not God’s word. Our choices today will shape what we do tomorrow. If we are not prepared for the persecution that is to come, we will not respond in a way that glorifies our God. We must prepare today! Tomorrow is to late.
I don’t care who you political party is, democrat, republican, independant. Jesus tells us that the government of the world is not our friend. I think to many Christians are putting hope in who is in power at the White House! We let who is in office decide what our attitudes are. Our hope is in Christ alone! Jesus tells us that the government will persecute us. We can see this happening today, even here in our great country. We see people being called hero’s for standing for many things that the Bible calls sin! As soon as someone stands on the Bible and Jesus Christ, they are called to be canceled. Persecution is coming to America. It is going to get worse. We have to be prepared to handle it, to stand for Jesus no matter what it costs us.
When we have to stand for our faith, Jesus tells us not to worry about what we are going to say. Again Jesus tells us not to worry. He tells us that the Holy Spirit is going to put the words in out mouths. It won’t be us speaking, it will be the Holy Spirit speaking through us. We can see this in Peter and John in Acts, Peter before King Agrippa. Also in Stephen when he spoke to the council. When we do are part and prepare ourselves, we make our bodies and minds conditioned to respond correct way. When we spend time in prayer and use some of that prayer time to be quite and listen to the Spirit, we become familiar with His voice and we condition are minds to recognize Him. We don’t have to worry about memorizing the whole Bible so that we can quote it when we need to. We just have to be studying it and applying it to our lives. When we are doing that, we are preparing our minds. We are conditioning our minds to think on the things above. We are learning about God, His Son and the Holy Spirit. When we are praying, we are preparing our minds to listen to the Holy Spirit. We are deepening our relationship with God. He will give us what to say when the time comes.
Jesus tells us that the gospel must go to all the nations. Part of how God’s gets us to do that is through persecution. We can see in Act that when the persecution was heavy, the believers went to other nation and began to tell about Jesus there. In times of persecution, the Gospel is always spread and the message of hope is strengthened. Every time that persecution has been high in a certain area, the church grows stronger in that area. It is through the persecution that the people can see the love of Jesus and the church. They can see the strength of those who are in Christ as they are persecuted and never renounce their faith in Jesus. To us persecution is bad and unwanted, but through it the message of Jesus’ love and forgiveness of sins is spread throughout the world. Jesus tells us that it is going to happen, what will you do to prepare for it coming?
Jesus tells us of an even worse persecution, from within our own families. He tells us that our own families will deliver us over to death if they are not believers. The radical commitment that the gospel demands can disrupt even the most natural and sacred human relationships. We can especially see this in Muslim countries or hard line communist countries. In these countries, Jesus’ words take on a harsh reality. Matthew 10:34-36
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.
Jesus tells us that we will be hated by all! Just as He was hated. John 15:18-19
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
True believers that conform to the image of Christ will suffer persecution. Through the study of the Word and prayer and fellowship with believers, we learn to share in our sufferings. Philippians 3:10
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
When we have to endure persecution for the name of Christ, we will be blessed. The testing of our faith only strengthens our faith and our resolve. James 1:2-3
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
Without the testing and persecution, we would all have immature and weak faith. The strengthening and maturing of our faith is painful but neccessary. When we profess Christ, we will be hated. Jesus tells us that. How are you going to prepare for that coming persecution?
Jesus ends with a promise to us. A promise that we cling to. The one who endures to the end will be saved. Endurance to the end is the ultimate sign of salvation. When we persevere to the end, we will receive our glorification. There are several verses that speak to this endurance.
19 By your endurance you will gain your lives.
10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.
We can have hope in the fact that our faith is started and finished by God. We have to work out our faith here on earth, but God is the author and finisher of our faith.
6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
We are called to have endurance to finish well and make it to the end. But God will also not loose any that He has given to His Son. All that are given to Christ will make it to the end. Those who do not endure to the end were never truly saved. 1 John 2:19
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
Part of true salvation is an endurance to finish well and glorify God all the way to the end. We are seeing a trend of popular Christian pastors and artist renounce their faith in Jesus. I say that they never had faith to begin with. If we are truly saved and are called children of God, we will never walk away from that. True salvation is eternal. To say that you had true salvation and then walked away from it, is to say that Jesus is not good enough and that He is not strong enough to keep you. True salvation has endurance and will see the end.
Again Jesus tells us to be prepared and to take heed. We will be hated by all who are not fellow believers.
Persecution is coming. Are you getting yourself prepared?
Are you not just reading, but studying God’s Word?
Are you trying to apply it to your life?
Are you gleaning the truths in it and soaking in them?
Are you talking to God?
Are you listening for Him?
Are you surrounding yourself with like minded brother and sisters?
Are you telling others about our King, our Savour? Are you telling the Good News?
We must be doing all these things so that we are ready for that which is coming!
We must be like the professional athletes who practice for countless hours for the games that they are going to play.
We have to put in the time doing these things so that we can be prepared.
We want to glorify our God in all that we do!
We all want to hear those words spoken at the end, Well done my good and faithful servant!
If we want to hear those words, we have to put in the work to ready ourselves for the times that are coming.
Let’s get to work Liberty and Glorify our King!
Let’s Pray
