Transcription downloaded from https://sermon-library.fbcmustang.org/sermons/103678/the-darkest-days/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] This is the First Mustang Pulpit Podcast, a podcast of the weekly preaching and teaching at First Mustang.! Thank you for joining us. It's so great to see all of you this morning. [0:16] I'll tell you, there are a lot of things about our church that make me very thankful. High, high on that list is the privilege we have every Sunday to be able to sing together. [0:30] And I do want you to understand that the songs that we sing here are first and foremost songs that we want to help teach doctrine and theology. [0:47] We want them to be generally singable. We want them to be songs that a congregation can enjoy singing together. We want them to be words and lyrics that point us to Scripture and to the Lord. [1:02] And today we have sung one song that is brand new, released this year. Another that is probably the oldest hymn that the church sings. [1:18] Be Thou My Vision goes back centuries ago. And it is no small thing to be able to be in a place where we can sing songs where we exalt the name of Christ, but also speak to the reality of life. [1:40] Not everybody who has gathered here for worship today has had a great week. Many of you have, and I'm thankful for that, but not everybody. For some, this has been a difficult week. [1:53] That's always true. When the church gathers on the Lord's Day, there's a sense of joy and there's a sense of excitement, but because we are real people, live in a real world, there are also plenty that gather here every Sunday that come to worship with heavy hearts and with minds that are burdened by the struggles of life. [2:16] And one of the things I appreciate is the privilege of singing songs that speak to that reality. Not every song needs to pretend that all of life is simple or easy or great. [2:34] And so in the new song that you heard today, verse 2 says, Christ our wisdom, be our gladness when we fail to understand. You ordain all joy and sadness to fulfill your perfect plan. [2:50] Help us know you rule with power over every raging flood. In our most uncertain hour, you are God and we are loved. [3:04] Churches need songs to put voice to the reason. Churches need songs to put voice to the Lord's Day in the Lord's Day in the Lord's Day in the Lord's Day. [3:18] We need a vocabulary that's able to handle the truth that sometimes when you come to worship, you come in here on the Lord's Day and marriage has been tough that week. [3:33] Your children have been rebellious that week. Work has been particularly stressful that week. Loved ones in your life are sick or have past. [3:45] Relationships are not everything that you wish that they were. Or maybe just the news of the week reminds you that this is a hard place to live. [3:58] It is one of God's good gifts. And it's one of the things I'm most thankful for for our church, that we're able to not only sing songs of joy and victory, but also able to give voice to the truth that even when life is hard, we are loved. [4:17] And as we walk through Mark 13, we are reminding ourselves that the days are hard and going to get harder. [4:30] But it's not because God has forsaken us. It is as we have sung because God is working His perfect plan. In some ways, our world is getting better. [4:46] In a few things. Transportation. All in all, we've all been stuck in airports. We know what that's like. But all in all, we can get around much more easily today than ever before. [5:05] Things are a bit better in medicine. Not perfect. But there are so many things that a hundred years ago, if people were diagnosed with something, it meant the end of their life. [5:17] That today, thanks to our knowledge of medicine, we're able to help alleviate pain and extend someone's life, at least humanly speaking, from what would have been expected. [5:34] Communication is better. We're able to get instant information. And sure, there's some downside to that. But you are able to communicate with loved ones. [5:45] Some of you have sons and daughters or grandchildren that live far away. But thanks to texting and a phone and FaceTime, you can see their faces and interact with them in a way that generations before us could have never even imagined would be possible. [6:01] But the truth is, in spite of some of these advances, morally, we're in a free fall. [6:17] That shouldn't surprise us. We understand that things are dark and going to be darker. And yes, at times, there are some small pockets where revival takes place, where the Lord supernaturally just pours out a special measure of His grace. [6:35] And those are sweet realities. And we can study some of these great revivals that have happened throughout history. But without the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, we know what mankind is. [6:59] And we know that you can give humanity a great gift of technology, and it won't be five minutes later until it's being used for sin and evil. [7:15] It's the way that mankind seems to be. We take good gifts, and we distort and twist and pervert them to feed our evil flesh. [7:32] But when you come to Mark 13, as we've been studying for the last month, we're looking at the signs of the age. And as I've said for the last three weeks, I'll say again, there are some differences of opinions among good, trusted Christ followers about some of the timing of these events. [7:57] What we do all understand in the firm is the reality of sin and the blessed assurance that Christ is coming again. [8:09] And we have hope in His return. I've also made mention each week that there are good, trusted pastors and theologians that have differing views on some of these timings and the categories you would put them in. [8:27] And I will tell you, even this week, I was blessed and edified and encouraged, even as I read men, that I would have some difference of opinion with them in terms of eschatology and specifically even with how they would interpret Mark 13. [8:44] But these are brothers in Christ and these things are not a test of our fellowship or a test of our fidelity to God's Word. The differences are not unimportant, but they are not things that should break our fellowship. [8:59] We all agree and affirm that Christ is the only way to heaven, that He died, that He rose again, that He is ascended, that He is coming back to get us, that where He is, we will be with Him for all eternity. [9:17] But I do think, as best I can understand what the Bible teaches, that there is encouragement for us in Mark 13 that I do want to share with you as we keep looking specifically in verses 14 to 23 today. [9:37] Mark 13, 1 to 13. Originally, I intended to spend one week there. We've spent the last three in those first 13 verses looking at some of the signs. [9:51] Let me just remind you what we've covered the last month, that the signs are going to be false teachers and wars and persecution and plagues. [10:01] And these are signs that are going to be true from the time of Christ up until the end times throughout all of this age. These signs will increase in intensity and in frequency leading up to the culmination of a time known as the Great Tribulation right before the return of Christ. [10:29] And so when we see these signs, it's not as if we are supposed to think, well, this is it. His coming has to be right now because as the text tells us in chapter 13, verse 7, this must take place, but the end is not yet. [10:49] And verse 8, these are but the beginning of the birth pains. So we're not going to be people that tries to figure out God's calendar in the sense of trying to look at the headlines and say that because this one event happened, we therefore know something that we're not intended to know. [11:10] We do know Christ is returning. We do know that we'll be with Him forever. We do know that in the eternal state, all things are made new. [11:21] And we long for that and rejoice in that, take comfort in that. But we're not going to be people who try to figure out which earthquake or which war or which false teacher has to be the very last one right before these events because the time and the hour we do not know, but the signs we can discern. [11:45] And so we recognize these things will increase in intensity and in frequency. And even with my brothers and sisters that we may hold a different view of some of the timing of these end-time events and with pastors and authors and theologians that I may have a different opinion than they do or vice versa. [12:06] What we do understand is that Christ is our salvation, Christ is our hope, heaven is our home. And this is the great comfort for God's people. [12:21] But I do think the Bible gives us some detail that I do want to help us to understand as we walk through our study of Mark's gospel, particularly this season here in chapter 13. [12:36] And then on the one hand, I don't want you to get lost in the details and lost in the discussion debates over timing that we forget and lose sight of the encouragement that this is supposed to give us. [12:49] At the same time, I don't want to shy away from what I think that this text teaches us in terms of the detail. And so we turn our attention to verses 14 to 23 that points to the darkest days. [13:06] The darkest days. Let me ask you first with verse 14 to write down the word desecration. But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be, let the reader understand. [13:26] Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down nor enter his house to take anything out. [13:39] And let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas, it means woe, for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days. [13:54] Pray that it may not happen. For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now and never will be. [14:09] And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect whom he chose, he shortened the days. [14:28] Jesus, remember in Mark 13, is responding to the questions from his disciples who have taken him privately aside and said, help us understand what are the signs of these things? [14:41] What are the signs that we should be looking for? What are the things that will accompany the end of days? And he walks them through a number of signs that we've already spent three weeks studying and gives them the metaphor of birth pains. [14:58] Like a lady in labor, a mother preparing to give birth to a child, these birth pains are going to hit and they're going to be painful. And the closer you get to delivery, they will become more intense and more frequent. [15:13] And so we interpret these signs as a mom interprets the pains associated with childbirth. But remember, the reason why we use this metaphor is not only because of the frequency and intensity of the pain, but because it gives birth literally to something blessed and glorious. [15:37] Just as the pregnant mother awaits the delivery of her baby, so we see these signs as birth pains and anticipate the arrival of our king. [15:52] But when you get to the, at the end of chapter 13, verse 13, and we're looking at these signs that are going to take place, something is going to happen. [16:07] I believe this to be the midway point of a seven-year time known as the tribulation where something is going to happen. You see it called in verse 14, the abomination of desolation, this desecration that will take place, that is the pivot. [16:25] It's the hinge upon which these end-time events swing. And so it says, when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be, and you've got these words here, let the reader understand. [16:41] You need to know these things. The abomination of desolation, when you think of that term, we're talking about an event that takes place, a kind of desecration that happens that causes people to flee, to run away. [17:00] It's an abomination that leads to the place being desolate. It's a kind of desecration that drives people away. [17:12] This is the big sign. This is the big event at the end of the age that becomes the pivot. Just that word abomination means something that is foul, something that is disgusting, something that is extremely shameful. [17:35] This phrase, the abomination of desolation, takes us back to the Old Testament, particularly to the book of Daniel. [17:48] Three times in the book of Daniel, chapter 9, chapter 11, and chapter 12, we see this reference to the abomination of desolation. In Daniel 9 and Daniel 12, it speaks of something that is still in the future. [18:08] Daniel 11, 31, describes an event future from Daniel's day, but that has already taken place by Christ's day. [18:23] For sake of time, we're not going to turn back to Daniel and look through all the details of that, but do let me take a moment to summarize it because it's very important to understand Daniel 9, 11, and 12 for us to understand Mark 13. [18:35] So, in one of the times that Daniel mentions the abomination of desolation, he speaks of something yet to take place from Daniel's time period, but that has already been fulfilled by Jesus' day. [18:53] It's the events that took place by a man that we know as Antiochus Epiphanes. He was the Seleucid ruler. He was there from 175 BC to 165. [19:09] He believed himself to be the incarnation of Zeus, took on this name of manifest God, and he profaned the temple. [19:25] He went in and he slaughtered a pig on the temple altar. He put an end to the sacrifices. He destroyed much of the city of Jerusalem and killed many of the inhabitants. [19:41] And Daniel 11 prophesies of that event, 80,000 Jews he killed, some 40,000 he took as slaves, and the Jews knew this event as the abomination of desolation. [19:59] In Mark 13, verse 14, we see this term again, the abomination of desolation. At that point, the events of Antiochus Epiphanes had already taken place, but Daniel speaks of a yet-to-be-fulfilled time of an abomination of desolation. [20:20] Now, it's true that the temple in 70 AD is going to be destroyed. As Jesus speaks, we're about 40 years from that event. [20:33] And that, of course, is a very significant thing that took place. But I don't think that the events of 70 AD fully explain the prophecies of Daniel 9 or Mark 13 or Matthew 24 or the book of Revelation for that matter. [20:52] In fact, in Matthew 24's account, verse 29 and following says, immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, and then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man. [21:11] And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Then He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call and will gather His elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. [21:32] So we're talking about an event, I believe, that is yet to take place. The events we see in Mark 13, 14 to 23, this abomination of desolation is something that will be like what has already happened, but what has already happened, just a foreshadowing of the ultimate fulfillment of this, when a man known as the Antichrist breaks his covenant with the people of Israel, seats himself in the temple, then is the final abomination of desolation. [22:07] He does this act of desecration that's going to drive people away. And the text says, let the reader understand, in verse 14, these who are living in the end times when this event of the abomination of desolation takes place need to read and understand. [22:32] Even in those days of the tribulation, when it's very dark, people will still be saved. People will still be converted. And during that time, by God's grace, they can read the book of Daniel, and they can read Mark 13, and have a sense of an understanding of what is happening. [22:54] And so when you have this treaty that will be signed by the Antichrist promising peace for Israel, then he will seem to be protecting them. [23:05] And at the midway point of the tribulation, three and a half years in, breaks the treaty, seats himself in the temple, demands worship of himself, and this is the final and the full abomination there in the temple. [23:21] It will create desolation because people will have to flee to the wilderness to save their lives. And so it says, let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. [23:37] Zechariah 13 adds that he will slaughter two-thirds of them. Those who trust in Christ will feel the fury of the Antichrist in a harsh way. [23:52] That's the desecration that will happen at the end of days. Secondly, write down the word danger. Verses 14 to 19. [24:04] When this event happens, when the abomination of desolation happens, when the Antichrist breaks his treaty, seats himself in the temple, and begins to drive people away, verse 15, let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house to take anything out. [24:26] This is unprecedented urgency of the hour. If your house were on fire, you don't run back into the house to get things. [24:41] You flee. That's the picture here. When this cataclysmic event happens at the time of the tribulation, at the end of the age, then let the one who is on the housetop not go down. [24:58] If you're up on the, the roofs in that part of the world are different than ours. They're, they're, they're, they're an extended porch. [25:09] They're, they're a place for gathering, a place where people would have meals and, and conversation. Then when you see this event happen, you don't go back in your house to get anything. [25:20] If you are in your backyard and your house is going up in flames, if the people of your family are with you, you just let everything else burn. [25:30] You don't risk your life to go get something. You won't survive it. In the same way, let the one on the housetop not go down nor enter his house nor take anything out. [25:43] Verse 16, and the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. In the, in the climate in Israel, it's often cool in the mornings, gets extremely warm in the afternoons and then cool again often in the evenings. [25:59] And so, even we take our visits and tours to Israel, it's not uncommon to want a jacket in the morning when you go out to see the site. It's quite cool. [26:10] And then by about one or two o'clock, you're, you're shedding layers because it's extremely hot. And then by the evenings again, if you go outside, you grab the jacket back on because it's quite cool. [26:22] And Jesus says, when this event takes place, you don't go back in your house to get anything, you won't survive. You gotta run. In the same way, if you are out working and you've taken off your coat because it's hot, you don't go back and get your coat. [26:38] It's too urgent. You flee. Verse 17, and alas, or woe for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days. Why? [26:49] Because it makes it very difficult to run and flee if you're holding an infant. If you're holding a baby, it makes it extremely difficult to run away. Verse 18, pray that it may not happen in winter. [27:03] Why? Because that's the rainy season. And if you're trying to run away and trying to flee, when threats of persecution and people are trying to take your life, it's extremely difficult to run away as it is, much less if it happens in the winter during the rainy season. [27:23] Matthew adds, when he records these words, pray that it's not on the Sabbath. Not because it would be wrong to flee on the Sabbath, but because even to this day, there are obstacles in place on the Sabbath. [27:37] It's difficult to get around and move around on the Sabbath. And so, if you're fleeing persecution, you pray this event doesn't happen on the Sabbath. What's the point? [27:48] The point is, this event that's going to take place is so massive, this is so big, this is such a turning point of all things this world has ever known, that when the abomination of desolation happens, you don't wait one second. [28:06] You don't go back in your house to get something, you don't get your coat that you laid aside, you hope it doesn't happen when it's raining, you hope that you're not nursing a baby or carrying an infant because it's very difficult to move around, you hope it's not happening on the Sabbath where travel is even more difficult, you are to flee. [28:27] Zechariah 13, two-thirds of the Jewish people will be killed, one-third are spared, and the ones who are spared will flee. Revelation 12, God will protect Israel in the wilderness for three and a half years. [28:46] Verse 19, for in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now and never will be. [29:04] This is the apex. this is the time that brings about the most gruesome, graphic suffering that the world has ever known. [29:21] It's unparalleled with any other time in history. The word for tribulation, it's a word that means to be squeezed together. Tribulation being a period of seven years, at the midpoint, the abomination of desolation takes place, the second three and a half years, the time of the great tribulation, all of these events that set up for the return of Christ. [29:51] Now, while good people that love Jesus and love the Bible every bit as much as I do can have some disagreements over some of the details and the timing, I want to give you a third word and it's a word that is a word of great importance for all of us regardless of the distinctions among people's eschatological views and it's the word declaration. [30:19] There's desecration in the temple, there is danger for those who are fleeing and there is a declaration in verse 20 and I want you to see two specific things that are declared that are of the utmost importance for us. [30:36] Verse 20, the first declaration is of severity. If the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. [30:49] Looking forward in time to this period of time of the abomination of desolation, the Lord says to us that during that time the declaration is this, it's going to be a time so severe that if the days weren't cut short nobody would survive it. [31:12] If God didn't place a time limit on these days nobody would come through alive. That's how severe it is. [31:22] But there's a second declaration and it's a declaration of sovereignty and it says in verse 20 but for the sake of the elect whom he chose he shortened the days. [31:52] I want you to let your mind wrestle for a minute with this reality. That as hard and severe as these days are going to be even then God is sovereign. [32:20] And even though there will be suffering poured out from the hands of Antichrist and those who are doing his work even they can't act beyond the realm of God's sovereignty. [32:37] And for the sake of the elect whom he chose he shortened the days. There will be believers people converted during the time of the tribulation and for their sake those days are cut short. [33:05] Now as I've mentioned for the last month 1 Thessalonians 4 and 5 make clear that eschatology in the Bible is presented to us not for arguments and debates but for encouragement. [33:15] we are to encourage each other by these things. In the same way the doctrine of salvation and just to use the biblical wording here the sake of the elect whom he chose people get so tripped up on wanting to debate and argue over those kinds of things that they totally miss the encouragement there I'm a Christian because God loved me and saved me I have no other reason to think I'm a believer it's not for anything that's good in me I'm not smarter I'm not stronger I'm not wiser you want to ask me why I'm converted I'll give you one answer Jesus that's it I have no other explanation Charles Spurgeon said that he understands this doctrine because if left to himself he knows what he would do and it can't be anything good that [34:22] God saw in him because he said that if the Lord waited to decide to save me after he saw who I was there would be no reason to choose him then either I can just tell you this that Jesus speaks of eschatology and the doctrine of his salvation for his people without apology and as a means of encouragement that as severe as the tribulation will be yet he is still sovereign and he will cut those days short for the sake of the elect whom he chose Christian however you wrestle with these things don't take that for less than Jesus himself meant it he chose you and it's not because of how great you are and it's not because left to yourself you would have chose him there are none who seek [35:29] God no not one none who do righteous even in the days of the tribulation God's grace and his mercy will be poured out upon his own let me give you a fourth word it's the word discernment you see that in verses 21 22 and 23 and then if anyone says to you look here is the Christ or look there he is do not believe it now what's going on here the abomination of desolation has happened it's it's driven the people away they're going to have to seek shelter here in the mountains for three and a half years where God himself will sustain them and Jesus now says when someone says hey [36:29] Christ is here come out of the mountains come out come see Christ is here why is that happening he's already told us we've looked at it the last three weeks one of the signs will be false messiahs and the point here is when that day comes you're not going to have to wonder did we miss Jesus return because everybody's going to see it don't be wooed out of your refuge and your shelter in those days they're just trying to lure you out to kill you verse 22 for false Christ and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders to lead astray if possible the elect here's the good news they can't if not for God's sovereign grace over his own they would in the same way that if I could lose my salvation I feel pretty sure about this [37:29] I would if I could I would I love Jesus I love his word I'm in the Bible every day I want to live for his glory I do my best to honor him and I still struggle with sin I wish that weren't true but if the security of my salvation depended on me if I could lose my salvation I would how do I know I won't lose my salvation look at this last week because God has promised to not lose his own my hope of salvation is that he saved me my hope of security is that he keeps me my hope of glorification is that he will welcome me and if you say well that sounds like God's doing all the work yes yes it sure does but if it were possible then the work of the false prophets and the false [38:38] Christ in this time after the abomination of desolation if it were possible they would deceive even the elect they can't and they won't but if it were possible they would that's how strong it would be which reminds us the devil never stops attempting to dethrone Christ you get to the end it's late in the fourth quarter here in Mark 13 when you get to verse 14 we're in the last three and a half years before the return of Christ it's late in the game and the devil never stops trying to defeat Christ but believers don't have to wonder if they've missed the second coming Matthew 24 says this as lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west so will the coming of the son of man be you won't have to wonder if he's come or not you will know Jesus says verse 23 be on guard [39:41] I have told you all things beforehand be alert be on guard be ready and when the events of Matthew 13 14 to 23 happen what should believers alive at that time do Mark tells you verse 14 let the reader understand in other words you need a Bible to discern what's happening my brothers and my sisters this is why we study here with open Bibles because we need scripture to understand I'm not closer to [40:42] God than you are he doesn't speak to me in a way different than he speaks to you I have the same Holy Spirit not different than you and the way I know what God is saying is by living in this book let the reader understand you must have a Bible to know what God says it's always been true so what do we do with this give you just a few thoughts as we close this morning number one this is on repeat from the last month but I want to purposely say it again be prepared to meet the Lord be prepared to meet the Lord the way I understand the Bible and trying to understand [41:44] Zechariah 13 and Daniel 9 11 and Daniel 12 and Mark 13 and Matthew 24 and 25 in the book of Revelation 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Thessalonians 5 as I try to put all that together and understand all of these different things what it says I believe that these are talking about events yet to happen that take place at the very end of the age here's what I know I may or may not be alive when that happens when these final signs happen I don't believe that we will be here during the time of the tribulation but here's what I do know that one of these days I'm taking my last breath either way and I need to be ready to meet the Lord let the reader understand let the one who reads the scripture understand that we are sinners deserving of hell and judgment but salvation is available in Christ and in the end no matter how dark this world is because Christ is victorious we reign with him let the reader understand so the church is not a bunch of people with! [42:51] with pessimism we are people with hope we are people that believe that in the end we triumph with Christ and so we are not gloomy we are not forlorn we are not forsaken or abandoned we hope because we are with Christ I don't remember I heard someone say it this week I don't remember! [43:14] who it was I'm not claiming this to be original I don't know who to as believers we are living in hope not optimism optimism is we're not dealing just simply with a viewpoint of what we are longing to see happen we are dealing with a Christian biblical hope because it is a settled assurance on the promises of Christ if I remember who said that I would be happy to give them their due I don't know who it was but I believe with that this isn't just about an outlook in life this isn't just about you see the world with the cup half full this isn't just about you choose to live on the sunny side of town this is about saying we've read the Bible as readers we understand and here's what we know that because of Christ we have nothing to fear won't there be false teachers yes you have nothing to fear won't there be persecution yes but there is no condemnation for those who are in [44:19] Christ Jesus won't there be events in the tribulation that will be unparalleled in human history yes but even for those who are saved in those days those days will be cut short for the sake of his elect those whom he has chose why because even at the end of the age when it's the darkest it will ever be our God still reigns and so we encourage each other with these words we're not hopeful because at least I'll tell you for me the way I read the Bible I'm not hopeful because I think this world is getting better and better and better I'm hopeful because the return of our Savior is certain and because heaven is our home and because he lives we live I'm not hopeful because of humanity I'm hopeful because of my Christology that our Savior will return and he reigns secondly here's what we do with this we trust the one who holds the whole world in his hands we trust the one who holds the whole world in his hands again while good people may disagree on some of the events of timing and may find themselves in different eschatological camps and different than what [45:47] I've even presented here today here's what we can agree on together our God reigns and he is bringing all things to its appointed end and then finally I just want to say to those who may not know Christ that today can be your day of salvation this can be your day you see my dear friends if you were to take your last breath today and you're not covered by God's grace for you the details of the end won't matter that much because you're going to stand before the Lord as your judge and if you stand before the Lord as your judge without your sin covered by his grace there is no hope [46:49] I am hopeful for the end because I know what the Bible says but that's for those who are in Christ to be just as honest if I were to tell you how hopeful I am for the believer I've got to also tell you there is no hope for the unbeliever but this can be your day of forgiveness this can be your day of salvation here's what the Bible says it says that you're a sinner you've done wrong I don't even think you would argue with me on that you know your life better than I do it's like I know my life better than you know me I don't need any convincing that I'm a sinner I suspect you don't either the question just becomes when you take your last breath and you stand before the [47:50] Lord what are you going to hope in you say well I'm hoping in the fact that I'm better than my neighbor here's the problem your neighbor is not the standard you say well I've I've never killed anybody that's good I'm grateful you have them but the Bible says in James 2 if you've broken one part of all you're guilty of all of it because you haven't just simply dishonored a man you've dishonored and trampled on the glory of God and you say well maybe when I get to that point I'm a survivor maybe I'll work something out with God there's nothing left to work out you are convicted as guilty and the one who is guilty has no other hope or plea the judge determines your fate and it's not a matter of ambiguity! [48:40] He has told us the wages of sin is death! My friends I'm extremely hopeful for the future because I know how this thing ends we reign and rule with Christ but just as sure as I am of that according to God's word I'm also just as sure that those who die in their sin apart from God's grace face eternal judgment and I'm telling you on this day if you would turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and believe that he is the son of God that he has died for us and was raised from the dead if you would by grace through faith trust in him even this day you will be saved you will be saved for those who are in Christ you have nothing to fear and you say well it sounds to me like this is going be pretty fearful oh sure there's things man can do to you but the [49:44] Bible speaks to that too what can man do to me we sing about it all that an early death would do for you is shorten your journey and hasten your trip home you have nothing to fear this is why we're hopeful not because I think people are going to all of a sudden get around and say you know what let's not hurt each other anymore no that part is not getting any better here's what's going to change the Lord's going to return and he's going to deal with sin once and for all and as we've read already today in Isaiah there will be a new heavens and new earth where righteousness dwells this is why we encourage each other with these words amen [50:47] Lord we love your word I pray that today it would be a help for us I pray that today it would encourage us I pray Lord today for those who do not know you as their savior that even this day they would turn to you confessing their sin and repentance clinging to the hope and the life that can only be found through the cross of your son it's in his name that we pray amen love you church family God bless you you're dismissed no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no Thank you.