Take Heed

Turn with me to Luke chapter 21. Luke 21. Now remember, with regards to this chapter, our salvation is not knowing when. the end shall be. That's not salvation, knowing when these things shall come to pass. Our Lord told his disciples, it's not for you to know. It's not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power. There's no profit in it for us to know when the end will come.

And this chapter, along with the other chapters that are much like it in Mark 13, Matthew 24, and this Luke 21, these are given to stir us to watch in prayer, to be looking unto the Lord and to do all that we can to know the Savior of sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's why these things are given, that we would hug up to Christ, that we would run to Him. Michelle and I took the boys to see a movie in the theater on Friday, and It hadn't come on yet, it was just silence and little Charlies walking around in the middle of the seats. And as soon as it came on, boom, like with the sound and everything, he looks at her, he looks at me to see who was closest and I was closest and he ran and just jumped in my lap and hugged up on me and stayed there for a long time before he went over to Gigi like an hour later. But if you're terrified, flee to Christ. Flee to Him. They're given to stir us up. to run to our Lord and Savior and to trust Him, to trust Him.

Because the scriptures say, he that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. And so, salvation is not in knowing when the end shall be, salvation is in knowing who. who the Father hath sent, even his darling Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Know him, that's salvation. He is salvation.

So I wanna continue our study in this chapter, looking to draw forth the spiritual lessons that our Lord brings out to us here, that we may be patient and have patience and be fruitful, even in troublesome times. That's what we're called to do. Be patient, be fruitful in difficult, troublesome times, because as we know, troublesome times and difficulties have ever been present in this age. in the church, all this time, and they've been fruitful and patient in it, which has profited us today. What they laid down before for us has been made profitable for us today in our generation. Well, we're called to do the same thing for others who come after us, to be faithful, to be patient and fruitful in what the Lord has given to us and revealed to us. Because, you know, in every generation, believers go through difficulties and trials and tribulations. As Paul said to the churches back then, we must through much tribulation enter the kingdom of God. That's what the Lord has purposed. That's what he's purposed for us. So, let's begin again now in verse seven and eight.

And they asked him, his disciples, asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? And what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? And he said, take heed that ye be not deceived. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ. And the time draweth near. Go ye not therefore after them? Now, when the disciples asked our Lord, when shall these things be?

Notice our Lord doesn't directly answer their question. Because again, that's not the important thing. It's not necessary for us to have that information. Our salvation, again, does not depend on when these things shall be, but in knowing the Savior whom the Father hath sent. The importance of who we know begins right here with what our Lord said.

Take heed that ye be not deceived. Don't be caught up in what carnal man thinks is salvation. There's no shortage of what man says is a danger and what we must flee from, what we need to watch out for. Come to me, I'll tell you what to do. There's no shortage of people like that in the world. No shortage here. but we shall not be deceived in and by the Lord Jesus Christ.

You shall not be deceived in knowing the salvation of scriptures. I'm talking about Jesus Christ of the scriptures. You must know him. You're not gonna be deceived in trusting the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, for many shall come in my name saying, I am Christ, and the time draweth near. Go ye not therefore after them. Right, so don't go after them. It's not in what we know, but in who we know. Take heed that you know Christ, that you're not led astray by deceivers, imposters, liars, and frauds, because there's many of them.

There is one Christ, there is one Savior, there is one mediator between God and men, even the Lord Jesus Christ, who came and accomplished salvation for his people on the cross, as the substitute of his people, dying under the wrath of God in their place, whose blood atones for and washed away the sins of his people, put them away, made us righteous in him, so that we stand before God faultless.

He finished the redemption work which the Father sent him to do. It is finished, was his cry from the cross. It's finished. And he bowed his head and he gave up the ghost. Because all that was necessary, all that needed to be done, the Lord Jesus Christ did it. He faithfully did what the Father sent him to do. He redeemed his people. and all His works do follow Him. Everything that was necessary for us, He accomplished it there in His redemption work on the cross, and now all His works do follow.

He's providing for his people. He's calling his people. He's delivering and saving his people whom he loved and gave himself for. He calls us by his gospel. He sanctifies us by his spirit and belief of the truth. And he testifies of these things, justifying the faith which he's given to us, right, for trusting in his son. He makes it known, this is your salvation. Believe him, trust him. live unto Him in life and faith and love. Trust Him.

He's given us the new birth, regenerating us by the giving of His Holy Spirit who makes us to know these things and confess these things and walk by His Spirit in love. And so, our Lord, the Scriptures say, was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification. On the third day, he died, was buried, and on the third day he rose from the dead, according to the Scriptures, having triumphed gloriously over all his enemies and ours, sin, Satan, and the grave. He defeated all those things which stood opposed to us, preventing us from standing before God in life, in light, and in love. And so, having done that, he ascended to the right hand of the throne of the Father in heaven, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.

All things are being done, all things are being worked. Now, If there be many Christs, as our Lord said, then who is the Christ that we must follow? Who should we be following? Well, the Christ we must follow is the Christ of the scriptures. that he is declared in the scriptures. He's made known in the scriptures.

There's various Christs, there's various saviors, as it were, in so-called religion. That's what religion claims to do, to give you peace with God and to give you salvation and to give you a hope, but it's all false. The majority of everything out there is all false, it's all lies, it's all strong delusion. When our Lord said, For many shall come in my name saying I am Christ. That word Christ actually isn't even in the original. He's saying for many shall come in my name saying I am.

I am. I'm the savior. I'll get you saved, right? The sense is that they're drawing, they come to draw men's hearts away with them into confusion, into darkness, into chaos, into things that cannot save. And they speak as though listening to them, that's how you're gonna be saved and delivered from the trouble that's coming upon the earth. There's many, you can hear them. They're saying, well, there's troubles in politics, but if we band together and we show a force, then we can be saved and come through this okay. There's all kinds of ideas out there.

Don't listen to them. Don't go out and follow them. They're not salvation. That's not salvation, that's just drawing your heart away to worldly things, to worldly things. Additionally, there's many false religions that deny even that Jesus is the son of God, right? There's many false religions out there that deny what the scriptures say plainly and blatantly. And those typically are very easy for us to know, I ain't going there, I'm not gonna hear them. And so we're not talking about those things, although, I mean, that's false too. Religion doesn't save.

All roads don't lead to heaven. There's many lies out there, many things that are dead ends and come to nothing but death. But what we're talking about here is those that call themselves Christians. that very much look and appearance as us, but that declare and trust in another Christ, that don't preach the Christ of these scriptures. For example, there are those who claim to be Christians, but say that Jesus Christ died for all men, that when he died, he redeemed everybody. And what they're saying is, but he saved nobody. Nobody was saved. He didn't save anybody. All he did was make it possible for men to be saved.

They'll say the reason is because he can only save a sinner if the sinner lets him save him. I've heard it before where men say, oh, but the Holy Spirit, he's a gentleman. He'll just knock, but he won't come in. He won't come in. Well, no, the true and living God does come in, and he does pluck his people out of death and deliver us from death and ruin. Otherwise, we wouldn't hear him. We wouldn't believe him. We wouldn't follow him. We would be deceived with the world. And the other point to that is, too, that it's not our faith that saves us.

Who gives us that faith? Where does this faith, that saving faith, come from that trusts Christ, the Christ of the Scriptures? Where does that faith come from? It comes from, it's the gift of God. It's given to us. Our faith is a faith that's given to us by God.

You see, because this flesh is corrupt, it's dead in trespasses and sins, it doesn't bring forth the fruit of the Spirit. It can't bring forth fruitful works unto the praise, glory, and honor of God. Our Savior said, that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit, and it never crosses over. The flesh doesn't become spiritual, and the spirit doesn't become flesh.

Those things remain opposed to one another. The scriptures teach that faith is the gift of God. Faith is a gift given to us by God. Add to this what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4, 7. For who maketh thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it? Believers receive their faith. It's given to us.

Man is not saved by a faith that he produces of his own flesh, but that's how it's taught. Well, if you believe, if you just believe, then God can save you, but that's not how the scriptures teach. The scriptures declare the truth, and men believe it or they don't believe it. And those that believe it, that's the testimony of God, that God hath laid this to your heart, that God hath washed you in the blood of Christ, that God hath plucked you out of darkness and death and given you the knowledge of your hope and salvation in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. And so faith isn't the means of how we are saved. Faith is the evidence that we have been saved.

Faith is the evidence of what God has done for you, sinner. Rejoice in Him, believe in Him, praise His name because of what He has done. As the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom He will. He gives life to whom He will. As it pleases our God, He saves them. He saves whom it pleases Him to save.

But the carnal man, he stumbles over a Christ who must save entirely by grace. For reasons that can only be linked to wickedness and evil, man doesn't love a Savior who must save them entirely. He only loves the Savior that saves in part, that allows him to have some glory in some part in it. That's what man does, and so he stumbles over a Christ that doesn't need us to save ourselves or to do something to get ourselves saved. They stumble, they reject the Christ like that. That's why he's called the stumbling stone, because carnal man hates the Christ of the scriptures who saves his people from beginning to end.

Turn over to 1 Peter 2. Let's go to 1 Peter 2 and drop down to verse 6 in that chapter. Peter, writing to the church, says, wherefore also, verse six, it is contained in the scripture, behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded, which means you won't be confused and you won't be ashamed for trusting the stone which the father laid in Zion. Unto you, therefore, which believe, he is precious.

He's made precious unto the sinner who cannot save themselves, but unto them which be disobedient, and that's why I use that word disobedient to the faith, they don't believe they're rejected, those that are disobedient and even preach a false Christ or a false salvation or trusting your works of the flesh, the stone which the builders disallowed, which they set aside and said, we don't want that one, the same as made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence even to them which stumble at the word being disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed." They were appointed unto that. You see, all men by nature fell in Adam. All men by nature are dead in trespasses and sins. That's how we're born. Therefore, we must be given spiritual life. We must be given a new birth, as our Lord calls it.

Without that new birth, no man can see the kingdom of God. How is he going to believe in a Savior that he's never heard? How is he gonna hear the call and behold what God has done in his son, except God give him life. Then he'll be obedient to the call and call upon the Lord and believe the Lord. But it's all that fruit of the spirit in the new birth, which he accomplishes in his people. And so if God doesn't give a man life, that man's gonna be disobedient.

He's gonna refuse the Christ of the scriptures. He might follow a Christ, but it won't be the Christ of the scriptures. He'll follow a Christ that needs him and begs him and is crying because if he don't let him save him, he's going off to hell. And he wants to have some glory in his salvation. Man wants to have some glory in his salvation. And he can be religious, as religious as the Jews, but those Jews crucified Christ.

So religion, our works, what we think is good enough, doesn't save us. We need the salvation of God. Peter goes on and 1 Peter 2, verse 9, but ye, ye who believe, are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood. It's not because you chose God that God chose you. No, we chose him because he first chose us. We're a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. so that in the salvation of God, God is the one who receives all the glory, all the praise, all the honor for our life and light and liberty and love and hope in him. He receives all the praise and honor for that.

Which in time past you were not a people, but now are the people of God, which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. And so You that believe are testifying, you're showing what God has wrought in you. You're coming into light, confessing Christ, and it's a testimony that God hath done this. God hath done this. He's given me this light, life, and salvation.

And so the natural man left to himself what he talks about. Instead, he doesn't talk about Christ, he talks about his free will. You hear people like that a lot. They talk about most of their free will. Oh, but we have a free will. But we have a free will. We have to do this and that. No, you don't have a free will. We don't have free will. Our will is in bondage to sin and death. Our will is in bondage to the dominion of sin.

We're described in scripture as being in the prison of the strong man's house. You're not getting yourself out of the strong man's house. We don't even know enough to know that we're in the strong man's house and in bondage. We're in prison to death and to Satan and to unrighteousness. And so, we're not gonna save ourselves.

We need the salvation of God. Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our salvation. And so, again, God must give light and life to a dead sinner before that sinner will hear and believe. and trust Christ and follow Christ. We need God to do a work for us. Man's will isn't free at all. Man cannot choose to believe on Christ and follow him until God delivers him from that bondage and takes him out of it. Turn over to Isaiah 49. Let's go to Isaiah 49 and see this. Isaiah 49, and let's drop down to verse seven. We'll pick it up here in verse seven.

Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and His Holy One, to Him whom man despiseth, to Him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, kings shall see and arise. Princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and He shall choose thee. Thus saith the Lord, in an acceptable time have I heard thee. Now here he's speaking to Christ. who the son of God who has come in the office of the Christ and is serving as the high priest of his people to make satisfaction for us, to intercede for his people that God would be gracious and merciful to us. So he's speaking to Christ here and you'll see that as we go. And in the day of salvation, have I helped thee, this is the father speaking to his son, I've helped thee and will preserve thee and give thee for a covenant of the people. That's not you and me, that's Christ.

To establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages. We're the desolate heritages. We're the deserts with no water. We have no spring in us, no life in us. And yet, it pleased the Father to give to us some, the desolate heritages, which are made alive, made fruitful, made a living spring, whereby we then hear and rejoice and follow Christ. It glorifies his name for what he's done for us. We didn't save ourselves, he did it.

All the glory is his that thou mayest say to the prisoners, right? This is the Lord Jesus Christ that you may come and say to the prisoners, go forth and to them that are in darkness, show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways and their pastors shall be in all high places. They shall not hunger nor thirst, Neither shall the heat nor sun smite them, For he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, Even by the springs of water shall he guide them.

You see, in that, there's no dependence on man's will. God isn't looking to man to save himself. Our salvation doesn't depend on us. It depends wholly resting upon the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the mighty God and the mighty Savior of his people. To suggest that the Christ of the Scriptures died for all men who eventually go to hell is to conclude, well, then he failed. He failed as a savior, right? He didn't actually save anybody. All he did at best was make it possible for them to be saved.

We don't need a possibility. We need a complete salvation. We need an entire salvation to deliver us from death because by nature, I don't even know I'm dead. I don't even know what an offense I am to God until he awakens me, until he gives life and makes me to hear what the scripture says. that I'm under sin, that I can't save myself, but that he's the savior, and he did it. He came and did it. He did everything that I needed. And so that's what we need.

We'd be in hell if God didn't save us, if he left it up to us. As our Lord said to the Jews, and ye will not come unto me that ye might have life. There's the will of man. You will not come to me that you might have life. That's the best man can do, is to reject God, to be disobedient to the word, to say, I can do it.

I'll do it myself, my own way, because we love the lusts of our flesh and wanna fulfill the lusts of our flesh. That's all that we wanna do until God breaks our heart, takes us out of that bondage, delivers us from the strong man's house and gives us light and life, takes us out of that and translates us into the kingdom of his son. Then we're new creatures. Then we're made alive. Then the warfare starts.

Then we know when we cry out to the Lord, save me, have mercy on me, Lord. And he has, and he grows us in that grace and that knowledge of what he's done for us by the Lord Jesus Christ. And so none for whom our Lord died is in hell, all for whom Christ shed his blood are effectually called in grace by the Spirit of God under the preaching of the gospel. He makes it known to us. He makes it effectual unto us.

The testimony of scripture is that as many as were ordained to eternal life, believed. And so we dare not, our Lord says, dare not follow a false Christ who cannot save a sinner unless a sinner lets him and allows him to do it. That makes the sinner to have the power that God alone has. Our God is sovereign, not you and me. He's sovereign.

Through the faithful preaching of the gospel, man is put in the dust and our Lord Jesus Christ is exalted, making the sinner to be saved entirely by his grace and power and authority, which is all given to him. It's all his, his spirit effectually calling his elect children to life and life and liberty and faith in Christ through the operation of the new birth, through his operation and declaring these things to us.

Now, men whose hope is in themselves, they refuse that Christ. They reject that, but men for whom Christ died, they willingly bow. Men run from a God who is great and does everything, and I don't know why, but the believer is drawn to that God who is all-powerful and does as he pleases.

All right? In false religion, under false Christianity, Jesus is a little figure that you just put in your pocket and just take with you. But in the truth, God is God. He's immaculate. He's wonderful. He's glorious. He's immense. He's all-powerful, all-wonderful, all-gracious. He's wonderful and we rejoice to know him.

And so, The Apostle Paul, rather the Apostle John, warns us also in 1 John 4, 1-3, Beloved, believe not every spirit. Just because it sounds spiritual and it sounds mystical and it sounds different, don't follow every spirit. But try the spirits, whether they are of God. Look at the Word. Read the Word. When you hear these things, that Christ is the Savior, believe Him, because we show it right in the scriptures. It's right there, made plain unto us. We declare Him.

Try the spirits to the Word, take it to the Lord in prayer, ask Him for grace that they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God, every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come and the flesh is of God, And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. And this is that spirit of Antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come, and even now already is it in the world." And what he's saying there that Jesus Christ is the Son of God come in the flesh is to declare who he is, that he is God, come in the flesh. Why he came, why did he come?

Because we can't save ourselves, that's the whole problem. We're dead in trespasses and sins and in bondage to the strong man's house, and to declare what he accomplished. Not a possible salvation if you just make it happen. No, he accomplished the redemption of his people.

To declare anything less is to declare another Christ, a Christ who is not according to the scriptures. But to declare him who saves to the uttermost is to declare the Christ of the scriptures, that he has come in the flesh. Everything else is the spirit of antichrist. And so the gospel declares that God saves whom he will. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. The gospel we preach knows nothing of a Christ, of a Savior that fails.

He saves to the uttermost. He's a successful Savior. And the good news about that is we may be confident in that Christ. for what's being declared here in this chapter, we may be confident in that Christ who saves to the uttermost. Whenever troubles rise, and they will, you may flee to the arms of Christ and know, He's gonna save me, He's gonna provide for me, He tells me not to be shaken by these things, but to continue in patience, to watch in prayer, to believe Him to the end. because he saved me from eternal death. And he has a purpose in all that he does. It's okay. Trust him. Don't be fearful and afraid. Serve him in the midst of these things. And I'll show you that in these verses here. Verse nine, go back to Luke 21, verse nine. through 11 there.

He says, but when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, don't be terrified, for these things must first come to pass. But the end is not by and by. Then said he unto them, nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and great earthquakes shall be in diverse places, and famines, and pestilences, and fearful sites, and great signs shall there be from heaven. And so our Lord says, though, these signs shall rise up and be, don't be terrified, right?

They're gonna happen. They're gonna come to pass because all these things are given to us by the hand of almighty sovereign God, according to purpose, the King of kings. And he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him, right? That's one thing. And he tells us when you see these things, the end is not by and by, which means the end is not immediately following on the heels of these things. So don't be afraid. That's what by and by means immediately. It's not immediately following these things.

These signs, if we're honest, occur in every generation. There's been, in the time of the Romans, were nations not rising against nations and fighting against one another? You had earthquakes, you had Vesuvius blowing off and volcanoes going and hurricanes hitting and big waves hitting shores and all kinds of tornadoes ripping through places. Yeah, all these things have been going on. And they've continued.

Since I was a little kid, I can look back and see these things going on through history. Well, then what do they all mean then? Watch in prayer, to be watching in prayer, to be looking to your Lord and trusting Him. Serve Him, loving your brethren when all these things are going, that you remain fruitful in Him. Believe Him. He's the sovereign Savior who saved you to the uttermost.

Politics ain't gonna save us. Running into the woods isn't gonna save us. You know, fleeing to a mountain, going in a cave, it's not gonna save us. Christ, he'll provide, he'll put his hands around you and protect you from all harm. He's able and willing, as it pleases him, to keep you alive, that you have a purpose here, just serving him and serving his people. You can rest in that, rest in him, because at various times, these signs might come, they might affect us. They do at times, but that's okay. It's okay. It's just keep looking to the Lord and trusting him who is able.

And so while these signs continue in every generation, because they have, there's been wars and terrifying things that sometimes come real close to home and sometimes are pushed out further that you just hear of, but in every generation, the church is being given a season to minister this gospel, this good news to the world because the Lord has his people scattered throughout the world in every generation.

And we're given, during these times, we're given this time and opportunity to minister these things. Look at verse 12 through 15. But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. And it shall turn to you for a testimony.

Settle it therefore in your hearts not to meditate before what you shall answer, For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. And so the hour in which we serve our God in his kingdom, our Lord says, I'll give you my word. I'll fill your mouth. I'll give you a mouth and wisdom, right?

And that mouth and wisdom is the gospel. It's the same gospel. Right? And we may find various applications to help and minister to those in our generation, but it's the same gospel. It's what sinners need, the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's why it's not listed out for us exactly what we should say, because we're gonna preach the gospel according to the scriptures. And it's gonna be useful and minister to the needs of people in that generation. But it's the same, same gospel.

A man may hate what you say, but they cannot gainsay or resist it. And what that just means is they can't deny it. They're gonna deny it. They're gonna be disobedient to it. But if it was easy to just resist or refute, they wouldn't persecute you. But because it's made effectual in the hearts of God's people, that's why they hate it. Because it's the truth, that's why they come against it. and persecuted. You can look out and see the world accepts many religions, but the one religion they hate and go after are Christians, because they cannot gainsay it nor resist it.

And so the truth is, the only salvation of God is the Lord Jesus Christ according to the scriptures. Him that is declared in these scriptures, and all the false gospels declare what man should be doing and stir you up with threatenings and guilt and trouble you to make you afraid so that you'll labor in their kingdom, what they want you to do. But in Christ, we declare what Christ has done. And that settles the heart, and that comforts the sinner, and you that are tried, and you that are going through various tribulations. Christ settles the heart of his people in himself.

Next, our Lord tells us that no matter what form our persecution takes, it shall not spoil your everlasting inheritance. Whatever man does to you, they cannot deliver your soul into hell, and they cannot pluck you out of the hand of your God. He says, verse 16, ye shall be betrayed both by parents and brethren and kinsfolks and friends, and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, but there shall not a hair of your head perish.

That is not without the will of God, right? Because sometimes there are people that are not willing to be delivered. Some people are willing to give their lives in an hour when God gives them grace, right? And he provides for his people in that hour.

But whatever temporal things a man may suffer for preaching or supporting the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, it's all working together for good. for your good and the good of those who follow, and the good of the kingdom. It's all working for the good of the church. For example, when Stephen was stoned and a great persecution arose against the church after Stephen's stoning, all it did was cause the gospel to go out further into the world. And in the very next chapter, it said that they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. All it did was just promote the gospel.

It didn't stop it. It couldn't be stopped or resisted by the wicked. And Stephen, for his part, he was ushered into his eternal inheritance. He had the face of an angel when he was being stoned. and died in sleep, right? He slept in the Lord and went to his eternal inheritance. And though he had his part in the stoning of Stephen, Paul would eventually labor more abundantly than all the other apostles, because the Lord used that to prick his heart and cause him to labor more abundantly, right? So the Lord uses those persecutions and hardships to further promote the gospel, to save his people. to save his people wherever they are. Now, in closing, he gives us a word of encouragement for the troublesome times that we face in our generation, whatever that is, whatever generation it is. Our Lord says, verse 19, in your patience possess ye your souls. Be patient. Be patient.

And then he goes on to reference in this generation, in which he was talking here, of what would occur in 70 AD with the destruction of the temple. He says, and when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

The desolation of that day. The trouble that came upon the church in Jerusalem. Not in the rest of Greece and other areas, but in Jerusalem, they were impacted in this day. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let them which are in the midst of it depart out, and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. Like, don't go back into Jerusalem if you're in the countryside.

For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days. For there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. Right, against the unbelieving Jews. And so that was a great time of distress for those people in that hour, but there was a good purpose in it.

What was the good purpose? Salvation went out to the Gentiles in a massive way. It flowed out of being contained there out to the Gentiles, right? And so all Israel shall be saved, right? It flowed out in the time of the Gentiles. Verse 24, and they shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Until salvation go and reach everyone whom the Lord is calling into his kingdom, both Jew and Gentile.

That's what's speaking of there. So the fact is that the church, we're made for warfare. We are likened unto soldiers. And soldiers go through hard and difficult times. I've never been a soldier in the armed services, but from what I can empathize with, it must be very difficult and very hard to be in that situation.

But we're called to hardships and we are called to endure hardships and difficulties that try our faith, right? But in trying it, it's exercising our faith. As Peter describes it, that our faith might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. And so remember, brethren, we are given tribulations because the Lord teaches his people and grows his people through the trials and tribulations that he gives. As Paul wrote in Romans 5, verse three through five, and not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience. So the times of these tribulations, it works patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. And so the patient endurance of these sufferings, brethren, it results in the salvation of God's people. And those that are born both in the midst of the trials and tribulations in every generation. It works to the salvation of God's people.

If you turn over to 2 Peter 3, let's go to 2 Peter 3. This will be our last portion of scripture here. Peter reminds us down in 2 Peter 3, picking up in verse 9, he tells us, The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, and he's not forgotten his word of promise unto us. He's not slack, he's not forgotten, he's not lazy about it, as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Every Jew, every Gentile chosen of God unto salvation through Jesus Christ shall be called into his kingdom. And after that's done, when the last one comes in, then come at the end. All right, verse 10, but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which, right, the church is gonna be laboring, right, patiently laboring, bearing, seeking to bear fruit in these troublesome times. And that day will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness?"

In other words, have patience. Don't be fearful and fret in your patience, possess ye your souls, just be patient and seek to be fruitful in ministering the gospel, supporting the gospel in the world and the day in which you live until these things, or as these things unfold according to God's purpose, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, Nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. And so we have a sure and eternal inheritance, brethren. Trust your God and whatever sufferings He calls you to go through, to walk through, believe Him, serve Him faithfully, because it's for your salvation and the salvation in the generations that follow. And all we're doing is just continuing to pave the road as it were, just trusting him, holding up the Lord Jesus Christ is holding up that flag of the gospel, our Lord, the light of the gospel, and he'll draw all men unto himself. And then the next generation will come along and the Lord will bless his people then. So trust and believe he's able to save to the uttermost. Amen.

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