Now you have in your Bible, in
your hand again, I trust, Mark 13, Mark chapter 13. The title of the message this morning
is taken from verse 4, and it's in a form of a question. When
shall these things be? You see that in verse 4? Tell
us. Peter, James, John and Andrew asked the Lord privately, tell
us. Tell us when this destruction is coming. Tell us when shall
these things be and what shall be the sign when all these things
shall be fulfilled. Now this chapter before us is
full of prophecy. Prophecy. Prophecy of which part
already has been fulfilled, accomplished, and taken place. And part remains
yet to be fulfilled. One part concerns the imminent
destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the entire city
of Jerusalem, which took place 40 years after the Lord had spoken
these words. This is fact. The other Part
is concerning the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and
the imminent destruction of this world as we know it. When he will make a new heaven
and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness as we read a moment
ago in 2 Peter 3 verse 13. Looking unto the hasting of the
coming of the day of the Lord in which he will make all things
new. I can't wait. Oh, what a glorious
day. What a glorious day that will
be. But there's also a coming day of judgment for the unbeliever. If you find 2 Thessalonians,
2 Thessalonians chapter 1, there is coming a day of reckoning,
a day of judgment to the ungodly, the unbeliever. 2 Thessalonians
1, Verse 7, To you, and to you who are troubled, rest with us,
when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his
mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that
know not God, that obey not, submit not to the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting
destruction from the presence of the Lord, from the glory of
his power. the glory of His salvation, when
He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired
in all them that believe, because our testimony among you was believed
in that day. The Lord is coming back to receive
us unto Himself, to make a new heaven and a new earth, but also
there is a day of judgment coming. He that believeth on the Son
hath life. He that believeth not the Son
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." Now, as
certainly as history has proved that the first part of this prophecy
has come to pass in the year 70 A.D. when Rome and the Roman
armies came through and totally wiped this place clean like a
plowed field. We also must freely acknowledge
that the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ will also shortly
come to pass, just as He said that it will come to pass. First part's already done. The
second part, will it come? Where is the promise of His coming?
The mocker says, oh, He's coming. He is on His way. He is coming. He's on His way. Now I'm not
interested, I'm not interested when, when. I'm keenly interested in knowing,
loving, and believing, and be found in Him who is coming. I'm interested in Him, not when,
Him. Now I want you to find 1 Thessalonians
this time. Should be easier to find this
time. 1st Thessalonians His coming His coming at the
end of each chapter in 1st Thessalonians it talks about His coming 1st
Thessalonians chapter 1 look verse 10 to wait for His Son
from heaven whom He raised from the dead even Jesus who delivered
us from the wrath to come in chapter 2 Look at verse 19. For what is our hope, or joy,
or crown of rejoicing? Are ye not even in the presence
of our Lord Jesus at His coming? He's coming. Chapter 3 of 1 Thessalonians,
verse 13. To the end He may establish your
hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father,
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. He
keeps talking about His coming. His coming. He's coming. Chapter
4, verse 16, the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with
a shout, with the voice of an archangel. I don't believe in
any secret rapture. There's nothing secret about
the Lord descending with the voice of an archangel, with the
trump of God. The dead in Christ shall rise
first. Nothing secret about that. Then
we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall
we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another
with these words." He's coming back. Now notice carefully chapter
5 verse 1. But of the times and seasons,
brethren, you have no need that I write unto you. It's simply
enough for us to know that our Lord is soon returning. For yourselves
know perfectly that the day of the Lord will come. So cometh
as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace
and safety, our Lord said, In the hour you think not, the Son
of Man cometh. Peace and safety. Then sudden
destruction cometh upon them as surveil upon a woman. with
child, and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in
the darkness, that they should overtake you as a thief. You
are children of the light, children of the day. We're not in the
night nor the darkness. We are told to look for Him who
is coming. He is coming. But I'm interested
in being found. I'm deeply interested in not
when, but who is coming. And being found in Him, and loving
Him, and believing Him. Our Lord said, if I go away,
I will come again. Remember John 14? Let not your
heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. In my Father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go away
to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for
you, I'll come again and receive you unto myself that where I
am, there you may be also with Him. I'm interested in being
with Him. Whatever heaven is, you know
what I see it as? A person. being with Him, being
in Him. Now, turn back to the text, Mark
13. As he went out of the temple,
one of his disciples said unto him, Master, see what manner
of stones and what buildings are here. The Lord Jesus, having
finished teaching in the temple that day, left those who were
taken up with their rituals and ceremonies of the temple to themselves,
and pronounced judgment upon it and upon them. The temple
was given as a place of worship, prayer, and sacrifice unto God,
but our Lord said, you've made it a den of iniquity. You remember
back in chapter 11, turn back over there. Chapter 11, verse
17, as he taught, he's teaching in the temple. Mark 11, 17, saying
to them, is it not written, my house shall be called of all
nations a house of prayer, but you've made it the den of iniquity,
the den of thieves, and the Lord pronounced a judgment upon them.
In Matthew 23, He said, Behold, your house, your religion, your
way of ceremony is left unto you desolate. Desolate. Now I want to point out two things
to you this morning. Very simply, very clearly, boldly
I trust, and with wisdom. Two things. Two things I want
to point out to you from the first eight verses of Mark 13.
The first one is this. The destruction of the temple
in Jerusalem that day, what can we learn from that in our day
today? What can we look at that and
what can we glean and what can we learn from that fact of what
the Lord said came to pass? Now notice verses 1 and 2. When
the Lord went out of that huge temple complex that day, the
disciples marveled at the grand structure, the architect. It
was appealing to the flesh. They said, what buildings are
here? What massive stone walls are constructed here? What an
impressive sight. They called it to the Lord's
attention. Master, behold these stones. Huge foundational stones. Huge walls. Massive buildings. Ornate buildings. Impressive to the natural man.
Impressive to the flesh. You know why our Lord said? Look
at verse 2. You see all these great buildings?
I'm going to destroy everything you see. The Lord declares all
these splendid buildings and great walls will be nothing soon. Not one wall will be standing,
not one stone upon another. He takes no notice of the grand
architect. He's not impressed with the mere
buildings. Don't you think that they must have been a little
bit shocked, Lord? This temple? Now here's the thought. The true
glory and greatness of the Lord's church does not consist in the
size and grandeur of religious buildings, but rather in the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. It's not the size of
the building, it's not the size of the congregation. I don't
know how many times I've been asked, well how big is your church?
When they find out I'm a preacher they say, the next thing out
of them, well how big is your church? Either way I answer that,
it's about 50 by 70. That's this building. The grandeur and glory of the
Lord's church is not the size of the crowd, nor the size of
the building, nor the program, nor the ceremony. It is the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ, it's the power of God unto salvation. We are inclined to judge things
by outward appearance, because we're fleshly creatures. not
by the true measure and true standard of true greatness. That
which is essential to true worship is not physical, but spiritual. You with me? Our Lord said this
in John 4, 24. The hour cometh and now is when
true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth.
For the Father seeketh such to worship Him in spirit and in
truth. God is spirit and they that worship
Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. And know this,
where there is no truth preached, there is no spiritual worship.
I don't care how exercise you get in the flesh. What kind of
ceremonies or traditions of men you have, if the true gospel
is not set forth, there's no true spiritual worship. It doesn't
matter what type building we meet in for public worship. Now
I'm thankful, I'm thankful the Lord has provided us a building
to meet in. But what, this building is not
essential to worship. What is essential, the essential
thing to worship that is needed is the gospel preached there.
That's what's essential. It doesn't matter even who preaches
there. Whether it's Pastor Mahan, or
Pastor Nyberg, or Pastor Harding. It doesn't matter who preaches
there. It's all together of utmost importance who is preached there. That's the essential thing. The
Lord Jesus Christ. Is Christ exalted? Is the flesh
abased? The glory of salvation preached,
found in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Do you see what I'm saying?
1 Corinthians 9 declares, For though I preach the gospel, I
have nothing to glory of, for necessity is laid upon me, yea,
woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel. Woe is unto you if
I preach it and you don't hear it. Woe. Woe is unto me if I do not preach
the gospel. Four things. What is it to preach
the gospel? Number one is to tell the truth
about God. The God of the Bible is not a
peanut, impotent God. The God of Scripture is absolute,
almighty, sovereign, who rules and reigns over all things. who
does what he will, with whom he will, when he will, for his
own purpose and glory. He works all things after the
counsel of his own will. Whatsoever the Lord please, that's
what he does, to tell the truth about God. Sinners will only
worship before the throne of a sovereign king. Secondly, to
tell the truth about us. to tell the truth about us. I
recently read an article, you remember the man out in California
that had the Crystal Theater, Crystal Cathedral rather, Shuler
I believe his name was? He recently said, or in the past
had said, that one of the greatest travesties that has ever been
promoted by Christianity is to tell men and women that they're
sinners, that they're guilty before God. What? How will you ever seek the true
remedy if you don't know the problem? The greatest tragedy? To tell people the truth? My
friend, we're sinners through and through, and it's my responsibility
to tell you what God says about us. There's none righteous, no,
not one. Does that include you? There's none that seek God, there's
none that understand it left to themselves. So to tell the
truth about God, to tell the truth about us. Thirdly, to tell the truth about
the Lord Jesus Christ. Who is this man? He is the God-man
mediator. He is God incarnate. He is God
manifest in the flesh. How many times did the scriptures
tell us that He is God, our Savior? To tell the truth about the Lord
Jesus Christ, who He is, His person. And then lastly, to tell
the truth about His salvation, His work. Did He try to save
and fail? Or did He accomplish salvation
by His sacrifice, by His obedience? You can have the nicest, biggest
building in town. The tallest people in the county. Have all the religious programs
for the children, for the elderly, for the young people, for the
young married people. Have all the choir programs,
the Christmas programs, the other programs. But all is vain and
empty if the true gospel of God's grace is not preached. It's just
an empty, dead shell. If the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is not declared from the pulpit. You can have the biggest
building, the nicest building, all those programs. If the gospel's
not preached, Christ is not there. I'd rather meet, now listen to
me, I'd rather meet in a barn with you of the Lord's people,
if the gospel is preached there, if Christ is exalted, if the
truth is declared, then the most beautiful building and temple
in this world, and hear somebody lie on God. How about you? If the gospel is ceased to be
preached right here, let's burn this building to the ground.
And let's go out here in the woods and build us a cabin. And let's declare the gospel
of God's grace. Now you're going to be shocked
here. I had recently, recently someone said to me that the preaching
of the gospel is not enough. Someone who had been attending
here for a number of years. Said the gospel is not enough.
And he followed it up by this statement that he had to have
more. More? More than the Lord Jesus Christ?
Is he not enough? More? Are you looking for more? Well, he's everything. The scriptures
declare Christ is all and in all. This Christ is declared
in Him, for all the fullness of a Godhead bodily, and in Christ
we are complete. You looking for more? More than
gospel preaching? More than the truth of the Word
of God? You need more? Christ is enough. You say, is He enough? If He's all you've
got. You've got everything God provided. Almighty God is not
impressed with all of our outward religious show. He's not impressed
at all. Our Lord said to those Pharisees,
you are they which justify yourselves before men. But that which is
highly esteemed before men is an abomination in the sight of
God. God does delight in His word
of truth being declared. That's why He says go into all
the world and preach the gospel to every creature. That's why
he said, I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ
who's going to judge the living and the dead to go preach the
word. Preach Christ and Him crucified. That's why Paul said, I'm determined.
I'm determined not to preach anything but Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. And I trust you're determined
not to hear anything, not to look for anything, but Christ
and Him crucified. The Lord does delight in His
Son, does He not? This is my beloved Son in whom
I am well pleased. He does delight, God Almighty
does delight in sinners finding salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. For this is a faithful saying
and worthy of all acceptation, that the Lord Jesus Christ came
to save sinners. You with me? You got the first
point. Is the gospel preached there?
It doesn't matter all the ornate. You can have all the ornate everything.
The gospel is not there. Let's pronounce Ichabod upon
it and let's turn from it. What does Ichabod mean? To the
glory of the Lord has departed. Let us learn that the true greatness
and true glory of the Lord's church is not buildings, great
buildings, programs, creeds, rituals, ceremonies, the traditions
of men, but the knowledge of and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
His gospel. God forbid we should glory save
in the cross of Christ. Number two, you ready for number
two? okay and verses 3 down to verse 8 we have strong warnings
about the last days are we living in the last days absolutely strong
warnings about the last day in which we live these four disciples
privately ask the Lord about when these things shall take
place and what will be the indication the signs when these things will
be fulfilled well In verses 5 down to verse 8, we have the beginning
of what he is telling about the coming of the Lord. He is telling
us what we are to expect between His first coming and His second.
It's not universal peace. He said, in this world you shall
have tribulation. It mentions here in the text,
it mentions wars. famines, earthquakes, false Christs,
false prophets, mass deceptions, defectors. These are the beginning
of many sorrows. But we are told in verse 7, Be
not troubled, for such things must need be. You see verse 7? For when you shall hear of wars
and rumors of wars, don't be troubled, for such things must
need be. But the end is not yet. Our merciful and gracious Almighty
God is ruling and reigning over all things for His glory and
for the eternal good of His elect. Of Him and through Him and to
Him are all things. To Him be glory. both now and
forever. Let us seriously listen to the
warnings of our Lord, and let us take heed, as he says in verse
5, take heed lest any man deceive you. The heart is deceitful above
all things, and desperately wicked. Let us be careful that we are
not deceived. Let us seriously listen to the
warnings of our Lord. Now it's my responsibility to
warn you about the dangers around us, about the false Christs that
are preached around us and the false prophets that abound in
our land. They'll never come to you as
a ravening wolf. They'll come to you in sheep's
clothing. They'll never come to you pronouncing,
I'm a false prophet. They all claim to have the truth,
don't they? They all say we're the right
church. Let us not be deceived, my friend. Now listen to me. If you trust a false Christ,
you'll have a false hope. If you believe a false prophet,
you'll have false salvation. If you have a false hope and
a false salvation, you will certainly die in your sin and face God
in judgment. Our Lord said in John 8, if you
believe not that I am, you'll die in your sins. Salvation is
found in the Christ of God. Not a phony. Not a counterfeit. Salvation is found in the Christ
of God as He's revealed in Holy Scripture. Paul warned us about
those who preach another Jesus, another Christ, another gospel. You remember? Find 2 Corinthians
chapter 11. You see, everyone that says or
uses the name of Jesus It's not talking about the Christ of God,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you have the Christ of God
as He's revealed in Holy Scripture? 2 Corinthians 11, 2 Corinthians
11. He said in verse 2, I'm jealous
over you with a godly jealousy. For I have espoused you to one
husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
But I fear, lest by any means, as a serpent beguiled Eve through
his subtlety, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity,
the oneness, the singleness that is in Christ Jesus. Now look
at verse 4. For if he that cometh preaches another Jesus, whom
we have not preached, or you have received another spirit,
which you have not received, or another gospel, which you have not accepted,
You better stick with me, is what he's saying there. You might
well bear with me, is a marginal reference. Stick with Christ. Don't go after a false Christ,
a false prophet, another gospel. Now let me see if I can give
you four things that define the gospel and the Christ of God
found in scripture. What does the Scripture say about
the true Christ of God and salvation in Him? The Scripture declares,
neither is there salvation in any other. There is no other
name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.
I present no new doctrine, but what has been declared from eternity
for the gospel of Christ is as old as God Himself. Do you realize
before Adam ever sinned, before Adam ever fell, that the Lord
Jesus Christ stood as a mediator of the covenant people given
to him in the covenant of grace? The gospel we preach is no new
message. It's as old as God. It's the
ancient gospel of God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Four things.
Number one is this. Give me a few minutes here and
I'll be through. The Lord Jesus Christ is the surety of the everlasting
covenant. All these start with an S. He's
the surety of the everlasting covenant. Let me give them to
you, then we'll go back. He is the substitute, He is the Savior,
and He is the Sovereign. The Christ of God, as He's revealed
in Holy Scripture, is the surety of the everlasting covenant of
grace. The Lord Jesus Christ is that
surety. It says in Hebrews 7, "...by
so much was Jesus made a surety of a better covenant." You see,
that Old Testament covenant that was ratified, that had that old
typical animal sacrifice of blood of bulls and goats could not
take away sin. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
surety of the everlasting covenant of grace. He didn't bring a typical
animal sacrifice. He brought His own blood. Guaranteed
our salvation by His sacrifice, by His coming. Listen to this
scripture, Hebrews 13, 20. Make sure you trust this Christ,
the Christ of God, that's the surety of that everlasting, eternal
covenant of grace. Now the God of peace. yet brought
again from the dead, our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of
the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. We are redeemed with the precious
blood of Christ. He alone is the surety for his
covenant people. He alone is the surety of the
elect. He said, all that the Father
has given to me, I'll lose nothing but raise it up again at the
last day. Make sure you trust The Christ
of God, that's the surety that cannot fail. That's the successful
surety who knows nothing of failure. As a matter of fact, the Word
of God says He cannot fail. Secondly, the Lord Jesus Christ,
as revealed in Scripture, is the substitute who satisfied
divine justice for His covenant people at Calvary. He did this for us. justified
freely by His grace through the redemption that is in the Lord
Jesus Christ. He died as the real substitute
in the stead and place and room of His people. And He paid their
sin debt in full. He substituted Himself for us. God the just for the unjust. He suffered once for sin, the
just for the unjust, that He might bring us unto God. God
made Him sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made
the righteousness of God in Him. He is a surety. He is a substitute. Make sure that you trust the
Christ of God. Thirdly, the Lord Jesus Christ
is a Savior. What does a Savior do? Does He
try to save His people from their sin? He is what He's called. He is the Savior of His covenant
people. Matthew 1.21, Call His name Jesus. He shall save His people from
their sin. He saved them by His blood. He justified them by His death. He is the Savior of His people.
The Lord Jesus Christ did not make an attempt to put away sin.
He atoned for sin with His own blood. He is the Savior. He is the substitute. He is the
surety. This is the Christ of God. Make
sure you trust this Christ. Fourthly, the Lord Jesus Christ,
the Christ of God, is the sovereign. who sits enthroned in glory with
universal dominion and power, giving salvation to whom he will."
He prayed that in John 17. Father, you give me power over
all flesh that I should give eternal life to as many as you
have given to me. Our Lord declared, He said, I
will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. So then, it's not
of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but it's God that
showeth mercy. You see, this is the sovereign
Christ of God. Not this weak, peanut, peanut
God. Not this weak, pitiful Jesus
who's trying to and can't because you won't let him. That's another
Christ. You see what I'm saying? The Christ of God is the Almighty
King. King of Kings and Lord of Lords
and He has mercy on whom He will. If you're His, He'll conquer
you. He'll conquer you. He's on the trail of His sheep
and He'll run you down. He'll conquer your heart and
He'll cause you to love Him supremely above all. Now make sure I send
you home with this. Make sure do not be deceived.
Trust the Christ of God. No one else. Nothing else. Anything else and
anyone else will be the eternal ruin of your soul. Don't trust
yourself. Don't trust the church. Don't
trust your experience. Don't trust your feelings. Trust
the Lord Jesus Christ and rest in Him. Salvation's in Him. Our Lord said, come unto Me,
all you that are laboring and heavy laden, I'll give you rest.
Come to Me. Come to Christ and rest. Is He enough? He's all
that God provided. Is He enough? He's all that God
has provided. And He's all that God will accept.
Accepted. We are accepted in the Beloved.
In the Lord Jesus.