Mark 13: How to endure through difficult times.

Big Idea:

Christ’s expectations cultivate eternal endurance.

Intro:

Well… I’ve warned you guys before. Here at The River Church (welcome by the way!), as Fall approaches, so my football references increase...

On this Sunday, Glastonbury Youth Football teams have their first games of the season. In fact, after church today, I’ll be headed to the high school for my son’s game against Branford. I’m so excited, especially coming off a very successful last season.

I love football. For a lot of reasons. But one reason is it’s kinda old school. Now, before I go any further, I must clarify that not everything “old school” is better. But some things are!

For example, in youth sports, in the modern era, we have expectations that everyone gets equal playing time and a trophy. While I understand and appreciate our culture’s desire to encourage kids, sometimes this diminishes the concepts of hard work and endurance. Or, even worse, it doesn’t reward those who work hard.

What I like about football is it’s not a “everyone gets a trophy” sport…

If you don’t win, you don’t get a trophy.

If you don’t work hard, you won’t play.

The expectations are different, but clearly defined.

We have some superstar athletes on the 7th grade team I help coach. Not only that, they work hard! And we need them on the field if we’re going to make a run for the championship this year.

Honestly, at this time, my son is not one of those athletes. He’s a good player and I’m proud of him, but he isn’t needed on the field all the time.

To be fair, Glastonbury Youth Football does have a “minimum play rule.” If you’re on the team, you must get at least 9 plays. FYI - there can be over 100 plays in a game. Some games… my son gets 9 plays. But you know what? I’m okay with that and so is he.

Why? Because the expectations have been clearly defined. If you don’t practice hard, if you don’t perform well, you don’t play. And though that can be a challenging experience, it also builds healthy endurance. And many players work harder because they want to play! And the entire team gets better.

Expectations impacts experience - they impact your focus.

Obviously, this is connected to our passage today in the Book of Mark. And I believe it can help us today, because many of us live with wrong expectations, which negatively impacts our experience of life. Look around. A lot of people are just giving up. Even Christians are giving up their faith. But as we’ll see, if we let God change those expectations, our experience will lead to eternal life...

Let’s jump into it. Picking up where we left off last week...

Mark 13:1 ESV

And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”

Exegesis:

Some quick context:

Jesus is in Jerusalem and is about to go to the Cross to save the world.

He’s been teaching in the temple and rebuked the religious leaders who focused on themselves instead of God’s plan.

Because they missed the Messiah/Savior (Jesus) standing right in front of them!

And it was because they had wrong expectations.

But now, Jesus leaves the temple and a disciple reveals his focus is off too. Instead of on Jesus, he says, “ Look at these beautiful buildings!”

Mark 13:2 ESV

And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

In other words, “Your focusing on the wrong thing. The eternal Kingdom of God is coming and you’re focusing on something that won’t last much longer.”

As special as the temple was, ultimately, it was just a building. But in many ways, it had become an idol. Many focused on the temple more than the God who filled the temple. I mean… they all just rejected Jesus (God in the flesh) in the God’s temple. And actually… because of that, God judged the temple.

Jesus predicts an actual event that would happen in 70AD (about 40 years in the future). God would use Rome to destroy the Jerusalem. But the message for us today - DON’T FOCUS ON THE WRONG THING.

This message is supported by the next part of verse 3 that says, “And as [Jesus] sat on the Mount of Olives OPPOSITE the temple...” Notice the intentional contrast of the two locations.

On one side, you have the temple. The place many inappropriately focused on.

Opposite of the temple was the Mount of Olives, the place where Jesus was - the One who deserves all our focus!

Additionally, the Mount of Olives is the place where the resurrected Jesus both ascended to heaven and will also return to usher in His eternal Kingdom!

Check out Acts 1, right after Jesus gives the Great Commission and ascends into heaven… the disciples are looking up and two angels appear saying...

Acts 1:11–12 NLT

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile.

The prophet Zechariah also confirms the Mount of Olives as the place where Jesus will return in the future...

Zechariah 14:3–4 NLT

Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations, as he has fought in times past. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will split apart, making a wide valley running from east to west. Half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south.

… getting into some cool end-times stuff here, but that’s not our focus today… what I want us to see is...

The temple represents a wrong focus.

The Mount of Olives (where Jesus is) represents a right focus.

The religious leaders (and the disciples) often had a wrong focus. And we aren’t that different! We too focus on the wrong thing. And a wrong focus is often sourced from wrong expectations. We see this as Mark writes, “… [then] Peter and James and John and Andrew asked [Jesus] privately, ‘Tell us, when will these things be (referring to the destruction of the temple), and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”

The sense of the phrase “accomplished,” at the end of verse 4, is speaking to “the end of an age.” The disciples had a very Jewish-centric EXPECTATION. Last week, we talked about how they thought the “Messiah” was simply a future Jewish King who would free Israel and help Jews prosper. And here in Mark 13, the disciples expected that if the Jewish temple perished, it must mean “game over” for the world. Time for God to usher in the new heaven and earth.

And yet, Jesus clarifies that’s NOT the end! He says, “See that no one leads you astray.” Real quick - the language here is written in command form, meaning what Jesus is saying is extremely important. We need to pay attention. We need to focus!

He says, “See that...” or “Take Care” or “Watch out!” It’s the greek word, “Blepo.”

Hold onto that nugget of information because it’ll help us personally apply the God’s word later...

Jesus continues...

Mark 13:5–8 ESV

And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

In other words, your expectations are wrong, because we ain’t close to the end yet. Expect a whole lot more to happen between the destruction of the temple and the ACTUAL end of the age.

And 2000 years later, we can confirm Jesus was right. The end still hasn’t come!

Before the actual end comes, Jesus says...

False Messiahs (people who want your focus) come....

There will be plenty of wars and rumors of war, which will also want your attention.

There will be the rising and falling of nations, natural disasters, and famines. Again, all things we will want to focus on.

But according to Jesus, these are just the beginning, not the end...

So far, not a very encouraging sermon, but stay with me. Like always, Jesus is leading us to good news...

But first He adds, verse 9, “But be on your guard...” Again, there’s that word, “Blepo” written in command form!

Mark 13:9 ESV

“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.

Why does Jesus say all of this? Is it simply to warn people of future trouble? Yes, I believe so. But there’s more. I think Jesus is more importantly correcting the disciples (and our) EXPECTATIONS. He’s telling us, “Expect all of these things. Because if you have the right expectations, you will focus on the right things. If I tell you what to expect, you won’t be surprised and lose focus.”

Here’s the application for us: Let Jesus determine your expectations.

We live in a me-centered world. Being selfish is easy for sinful people, which includes all of us. Many youth football players have selfish expectations, which is why we have statements like, “There is no I in team.” It’s also why they selfishly counter, “Yea, but there is a ME in team.”

Many young players have fantasy football expectations. In fantasy football, it doesn’t matter if the team wins or loses. All that matters is personal stats. You get more fantasy points when players are selfish.

Some players EXPECT to play all the time. And a few kids do...

We have a kid on the team is an absolute stud.

He plays QB... but he can play any position on the team.

He’s got a rocket for an arm.

He’s smart, strong, and fast.

Needless to say, he plays all the time.

And while it would be nice if we had 30 kids just like him, that’s not reality. That being said, in football, one player can’t win by himself. This isn’t fantasy football. As the QB, he needs other players to block for him. He needs players to catch the ball. He needs other players to play defense. He needs subs to give him rest! Because as good as He is, he’s human. He gets tired. And when he does, his performance decreases.

And this is why we clarify expectations on our team. And the expectation isn’t, “This kid is better than you so don’t compare yourself to him. or expect to play.” Rather, “You are part of a team, you matter, and be ready to do your part when called upon.”

My son is a role player. He knows the expectation. He knows while he isn’t the superstar, he still has a purpose. His job is to be ready to help when called upon. He may not throw or run for a 40-yard touchdown, but if he does his job, then the superstar can rest.

Additionally, during this time, he has an OPPORTUNITY to grow and show what he can do - which might result in more playing opportunities. Instead of focusing on why he doesn’t play all the time and getting bitter, the right expectations allow him to be ready for opportunities to help his team win.

The Kingdom of God isn’t much different. God created us with different giftings and callings. Some more visible than others. This is by design. Our unique differences work together to further God’s Kingdom.

1 Corinthians 12:4–7 NLT

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.

The right expectations change everything. They help us to see God’s opportunities for our lives. Things we would’ve previously missed because our expectations had us focusing on the wrong things. [Jesus already told us this would happen. Don’t lose focus. Correct your expectations. God’s giving us an opportunity to live with purpose].

1 Peter 4:12–13 NLT

Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.

Peter goes onto write...

1 Peter 4:19 NLT

So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.

Usually, when we experience hard times, we think we failed. We think something is wrong. We think God isn’t real or doesn’t like us. And we might give up. But that’s all based on wrong expectations. When the truth is… God’s giving us an opportunity to share in His resurrection life! To experience and give Him glory!

That’s what Jesus is intentionally leading us to when He tells us to EXPECT all these crazy evil events… He says, “There’s a purpose for it- an opportunity! What’s really happening is I’m creating opportunities for...”

Mark 13:10 ESV

And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.

When Jesus determines our expectations, we realize life isn’t over this world begins to circumstantially fall apart around us. Why? Because Jesus already told us to expect that! Instead, we see these times as God-given opportunities to participate in the greatest mission in history. God’s mission to save the world He loves.

That our suffering, in a mysteriously beautiful way, has purpose. It’s a personal invitation from God to be His ambassador of hope to a broken world that needs good news.

Jesus said...

Mark 13:11 ESV

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.

That’s crazy! Think about it. When our expectations are right, we can focus on the opportunities God gives us to be filled with His own Spirit and proclaim the message of that radically changes lives - that message that moves people from death to eternal life!

The apostle Paul had a heart for Rome. He want to tell them the good news about Jesus. He believed God was calling him to Rome and he was excited. But as he also let Jesus determine his expectations...

Acts 20:22–24 ESV

And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

He expected sufferings because He believed God’s word. But He also knew God had a purpose for them. That somehow they would help him procalim the gospel to all nations.

And years later, as Paul sat in a Roman prison (suffering), listen to his report...

Philippians 1:12–14 ESV

I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Thru God-ordained suffering, Paul infiltrated the most secure and pagan place in the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And it radically changed everything for the glory of God!

We have a man here at The River Church who was diagnosed with a condition that causes him to suffer. Before, he was a big, loud, strong man ready to conquer the world on his own. Then, his condition literally crippled him and he was ready to give up. Until Jesus corrected his expectations. And he began to see that his life wasn’t over, it had just began.

This Sunday morning, he’s a man passionate about telling people about Jesus, even though he’s still suffering. He’s not in the church building this morning because he’s out on the football field, coaching his team to victory… but more than that, building relationships so he can lead others to Jesus. His suffering lead to incredible eternal purpose!

God tells us to expect hard times…

Mark 13:12–13 ESV

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. And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

I don’t know about you, but being hated by the people I love sounds incredibly difficult. But then again… the devil ain’t playing two-hand touch. We playing tackle football in this game of life - what do you expect? We’re in a spiritual war for people’s souls and the enemy is out here trying to light us up.

In 7th grade, we got to coach awareness. In previous years, the kids were smaller. But in 7th grade, kids are physically maturing. If you’re on the field and not ready (if you got the wrong expectation) - you will get lit up!

But here’s our gospel hope: We win. That’s ultimately what Jesus promises us when He says, “the one who endures to the end will be saved.” If you belong to Jesus - you will make it to heaven. No matter what circumstances you face, in the end… you WIN!

Response:

As we close, ask yourself, “Are you living according to God’s expectations?” Because that will change your experience of this world.

If you’re ready to let Jesus determine your expectations, so you can live a purpose-filled life, consider the following three things...

Focus God’s Kingdom.

Jesus said...

Matthew 6:33 ESV

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Sounds simple. It is, but we got to “Take care!” We must “blepo,” not “Blippi.” Although, if that helps you remember to “Take care,” then that works too! I was babysitting my little friend Conrad once and as soon as Blippi came on the TV he was locked in. Do that too… lock into God’s Kingdom.

2. Don’t miss God-given opportunities.

When we focus on the right things, based on the right expectations, God gives us opportunities to participate in the miraculous! God’s created you for an incredible purpose. Don’t miss out on that life.

3. Live with the hope of heaven.

The right expectations help you endure. Jesus told us we would experience trials. Don’t be surprised when they come. But also remember suffering isn’t our focus, Jesus is. And He guarantess (that’s what biblical hope is…) you’re going to make it to heaven!

When you put your faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, it’s like a running back following a solid blocker… only the blocker is Jesus. And if Jesus is blocking, it’s a guaranteed touchdown. YOU WILL WIN.

Therefore, live with that hope!

You WILL be able to endure every trial.

You WILL make it to heaven.

And it WILL be better than you can imagine.

And you’ll realize it was all worth it...

Romans 8:18 NLT

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.

And what will be even sweeter is… getting to heaven and being welcomed by all the people God saved because we played our role on God’s team, whether it was a superstar, coach, or sub. Every position matters to God.

Are you ready to play? Because God has a purpose for you on His team. Today, don’t give up. Because you’re life isn’t over, it’s just beginning!

And, some of you may not be on God’s team. You’re on the other team and didn’t even know it. But I got good news… we got roster spots open. And the way you make God’s team is turning from your sin and putting your faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. If you’re willing to do that today… you’re on the team!

Let’s pray...

Father, forgive us for our wrong expectations. They’ve caused us to seek other things over You and Your Kingdom. But we hear the voice of Jesus today call us into greater things. And we’re ready to join the team. Please help us to turn from our sin and put our faith in You. Help us to seek You first. Help us to live according to our purpose. And give us victory in Your name. In Jesus name, amen.

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