2019-07-10 Mark 13
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3 While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives across from the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately,
4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”
5 Jesus told them, “Watch out that no one deceives you.
6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and they will deceive many.
7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don’t be alarmed; these things must take place, but it is not yet the end.
8 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.
I. We allow the events of today to affect our trust in God.
I. We allow the events of today to affect our trust in God.
4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”
5 Jesus told them, “Watch out that no one deceives you.
6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and they will deceive many.
7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don’t be alarmed; these things must take place, but it is not yet the end.
A. We live from temporal emergency to temporal emergency.
A. We live from temporal emergency to temporal emergency.
4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”
Illus: I don’t know if you heard, but a teenage girl in Texas licked the top of a blue bell ice cream this week causing a viral outrage where citizens across america to demand vengeance!
Hear me friends, I am not saying what she did was right, nor that the law does not have a right to prosecute her.
The point I am making today is that there is always a viral crisis that we are constantly reacting to.
I admit this past week I grabbed the bluebell at the back of the freezer (as i did with most of my foods).
This past year we have been angry at Nike, Starbucks, bluebell licking, kids eating tide pods, and I haven't even touched politics.
I could say the name of any number of politicians and get you angry in a moment.
When your heart is consumed by the next viral story, it is not consumed by God.
Be very careful that you have not been fooled by the devil into focusing on what is simply is a distraction from God.
7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it.
22 Now the one sown among the thorns—this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
B. Our constant panic shows we struggle to trust God.
B. Our constant panic shows we struggle to trust God.
5 Jesus told them, “Watch out that no one deceives you.
6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and they will deceive many.
7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don’t be alarmed; these things must take place, but it is not yet the end.
Illus: The question I come to as I watch our fascination with the regular news cycle is “why does it cause so much panic in our hearts?”
It is the same question I ask every election cycle, “why do elections leave us so desperate?”
Part of the answer is that we are looking for circumstances and people (yes politicians) to fill the void of God in our lives.
I think our panic, anger, and reaction to every turn of the news shows that won’t truly trust God.
Truthfully, we look
This is what I mean. God has worked through both good and wicked rulers to accomplish his eternal plan. God has worked through plagues, revolutions, natural disasters and the rise and fall of many empires.
To quote the old song “Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, but there’s something about that name.”
Our hope today is in a kingdom, or a politician, or a comfort of life.
When we place our hope in God— our focus is on His plan, and we graciously endure whatever comes our way because we know that God does not falter.
31 So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’
32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
34 Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
II. In the midst of our doubts, God is in control.
II. In the midst of our doubts, God is in control.
6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and they will deceive many.
7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don’t be alarmed; these things must take place, but it is not yet the end.
A. God is not surprised by the next news-cycle.
A. God is not surprised by the next news-cycle.
6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and they will deceive many.
7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don’t be alarmed; these things must take place, but it is not yet the end.
Illus: The way we think is very different than the way God thinks.
Our thoughts tend to be centered around temporal moments.
We worry about events that are beyond our control… where nothing happens on this earth which God does not see and know.
Trusting God has to be more than trusting him with salvation. It means we live by faith. We have faith that God raises rulers and brings them down.
It also means that we trust that His plan (of leading people to salvation by grace through faith) will transform our world.
Trusting God means that we embrace the grace and mercy of Jesus forgiving others and not seeking vengeance against them.
How often have we desired forgiveness for those who would benefit us, but quickly sought vengeance for those who we see as a threat.
God’s plan of salvation needs to be bigger than our news-cycle reactions.
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?”
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
B. Don’t be alarmed.
B. Don’t be alarmed.
6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and they will deceive many.
7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don’t be alarmed; these things must take place, but it is not yet the end.
Illus: If God is not alarmed by the foolishness of the world around us, why are we?
The bible teaches the people will get worse deceiving and being deceived… yet we as believers act surprised when what the bible says comes true.
That is why scripture says “don’t be alarmed”.
Don’t be alarmed when sinful people act like sinful people.
Don’t be alarmed when sinful politicians act like sinful politicians.
Don’t be alarmed when a sinful nation acts like a sinful nation.
Don’t be alarmed, but trust. Trust that God is in control.
And by the way… when we trust that God is in control, and his plan is good, it changes the way we view our fellow man.
Just as Jesus looked at sinful men around him and said “Father forgive them”, so we look at our fellow man with the same compassion.
So we look at people who eat tide pods, lick ice cream, gripe about flags, promote a political agenda which celebrates sin, and whatever foolishness we see tomorrow through the eyes of Jesus… We don’t immediately scream for their head, but instead we pray for their hearts. We pray that they might experience the same life altering forgiveness that we know and live in every day.
5 Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.
6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
III. What consumes your thoughts: current events or the God of eternity?
III. What consumes your thoughts: current events or the God of eternity?
8 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.
A. We must trust that through the pain that God is in control
A. We must trust that through the pain that God is in control
8 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.
Illus: Take a moment and look at the picture Jesus gives of living in the world. He says it is like birth pains.
I have never been pregnant, nor have I ever experienced child birth.
All I know is the story my wife tells me. Jenn gave birth to both of our girls without pain medication.
She describes her story with both of our girls where their came a moment of immense pain… pain where you almost felt hopeless.
She describes how she looked at the doctor and almost irrationally asking him to make it stop.
But then you give birth, and all the pain is worth it.
That is how Jesus describes life moving towards the final day. The pain will be bad, but we must keep faith knowing our ultimate rebirth is coming.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
34 Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.