Be Ready - Mark 13:28-37

1:08Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But of that day or hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. Take heed. Keep on the alert. You do not know when the appointed time will come. It is like a man away on a journey, who, upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in the house, Charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. Therefore, be on the alert, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning, in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep. What I say to you, I say to all, be on the alert. Very important that you recognize your times and that you are on the alert, prepared for them.

2:02In fact, in Matthew 16, Jesus scolds or chastises the Pharisees for not being able to recognize their times. He said to them, What is it? They came up asking him for a sign. And he had just created matter out of nothing, fed 4,000 and 5,000 before that. All these signs that were accompanying Jesus. And they said, Show us a sign. And he said, What is it with you guys? He says, When it is evening, you say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red. And in the morning, there will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening. Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? And Jesus gets down on them. You should have discerned your times. And he scolds them. They're all around. You can tell what the weather is going to do by looking at this. Why can't you look around and see the events that are unfolding and taking place and recognize your times?

3:06So he expects his people to recognize his times. He wants all people to recognize the times, but especially his people. And so in Mark 13, he gives us the information we need to be able to recognize our times. And recall the setting? It's Wednesday, the Passion Week, Wednesday night. Jesus is sitting on the Mount of Olives with His disciples as the sun is setting. They're looking back at the Eastern Gate. Looming large on the horizon would be the Herodian temple and the city of Jerusalem. And it's against this backdrop that he is speaking to His disciples.

3:41It is Wednesday. He's completed his last day of teaching. His public ministry comes to an end. On Thursday, he's going to stay for the most part or stay all day in private. He's going to prepare for the Passover meal. On Friday, he's going to be tried and crucified. On Sunday, he's going to rise from the dead. 40 days later, he's going to appear to believers. During that time, he's going to ascend into heaven afterwards. And there he sits right now, awaiting his return. But for the moment, we're at that mount, the sun's setting, and Jesus is speaking to his disciples. You can imagine what's going on in their heart. They've been following him for several years.

4:21They're all the hopes of Israel and the nations, longing and stirring in their heart for the coming of his. Physical kingdom, that righteousness would truly be established. They know the corruption. They know of the sin that is prevalent in their society and in their own hearts, and they are longing for a better day. And I think we can all relate to this, right? You know, it's not only Christians that can tell that life is not what it should be. As you look around our world today, the wars, unrighteousness, injustice, the crimes against humanity on both a large scale and a small scale. Hardly a week goes by in the pastoral ministry that I don't see here about some kind of serious injustice that has been happening on a small scale, one wrong to another, and somebody dealing with that.

5:15But then on a global scale, we certainly see the injustice, the brutality, the deceit, all of this. I think all of us who live on this earth understand that sin devastates people and that man is not getting better. There was a whole bunch of optimism 100 years ago with this new humanism that we were going to, it was going to lead us into a golden age where all of us just loved everybody on this side and everybody loved everybody on that side, and then humanity was going to get along, progress. Turned out to be the bloodiest century in human history. And now we're at the beginning of another, and the prospects of war and bloodshed and injustice are just as large as ever and it just comes.

6:00To the reality that man's not getting better. This, the Republican and the Democrat agree upon. The atheists, the humanists, the secularists, the religionists of our day, they look and they write, something's not right. Now they'll all disagree on what is the problem and how to correct it, but that there's a problem. I don't think any of us have any disagreement. I went to the doctor. I had a little pain in my leg and hadn't been for, I don't know how many years. Went through a physical checkup, and the doctor starts asking me about my routine. You know, what time do you get up in the morning? Well, I get up pretty early. I like to have a good, solid eight hours of study before lunch. And most of the time, I fail, and I get about seven. And so I get up early, and I went through my routine, and he says, and when do you exercise? You know, well, I really don't.

6:55And he gets through the end of the evaluation. He goes, you know what? Your body is just crying out for exercise. Your body is just screaming for exercise. He's right. I think we can all look around at our world and say, our world is screaming out for righteousness. It's screaming out for a solution that comes about because of the momentum of his own sin. That is what we need a solution for. The Bible is very clear that the only hope for a better day is that the one who rules this world would step on to the sin. And put an end to the wickedness that is resident in the hearts of humanity. This is the problem.

7:36And the only hope for a better day is the one with the authority, the one who runs the show, to come in and step on the scene and say enough. It's done. Well, Jesus is that authority. He is that authority. That's what Mark has demonstrated: His authority over life, over death, over the elements, over this spiritual realm, over matter itself. He can create matter out of nothing. This is the Creator, the One with all authority. And sitting on the mount that day, He's telling His disciples about what's going to come.

8:10He's telling them about human history and how things are going to go from that point to the end. And He gives three distinct epics. We've been through chapter 13. I hope you enjoyed the journey as much as I have, as I said earlier. Three distinct epochs. There's the present era, or what we'd call the last days, or the birth pings section. That's verses 3 through 8. That the earth is going to go through wars, trials, tribulations, persecutions, and the rebellion in humanity is going to grow steadily, steadily worse, like birth pangs, like contractions. They get worse and more intense as the date of delivery comes closer, or as delivery comes. And so all of human activity is going to be like a woman in labor.

9:00With the pains becoming more intense and closer together until that final culmination of human rebellion, which will be the Great Tribulation. And that begins in verse 14. And that's the point when the abomination of desolation takes a stand in the holy place, sets himself up as God to be worshipped, and brings in a reign of terror that the world has never seen. And this is going to be that trigger event, much like Babel was that trigger event, that expression of human rebellion that brought about the different languages which we now speak. So this event is going to quickly bring in the wrath of God once and for all. But humanity is going to grow until it matures until a final expression of rebellion.

9:47And that's going to be the second era. So there's a present era, then there's the great tribulation, and then there's the second coming, which begins in verse 24. And he speaks about that. The great tribulation is going to be associated with the final expression of human rebellion, still future. The second coming is going to be associated with God's judgment upon sinners and upon that rebellion and an establishment of righteousness all over the earth, still future. We're living in the present era, still to come, the great tribulation, still to come, the second coming. And Paul understood this, by the way. In fact, in the church at Thessalonica, there was a controversy. People had crept in and started telling him, You missed it. The day of the Lord has already happened.

10:30Of judgment has come, you've missed it all, and here you are. And Paul says, Look, look, don't listen to that. He says, I don't care if somebody, a spirit or a letter or anything that says the day of the Lord has come, it's categorically false. And he says this in chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians, verse 3: Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first. And the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called God or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. And in verse 6, he says, And you know what restrains him now? So that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will slay with the breath of his mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of his coming. That is the day of the Lord. So the abomination is not General Titus. And for reasons, we've spent a lot of time with that. This is not a fulfilled passage. Titus, the son of Vespasian, did not set himself up above every so-called object of worship, especially his daddy. Let me tell you something. If you're a general, you don't come in and set yourself up above the emperor as the one to be worshiped, you won't be a general very long. Now, 40 years was not enough time for all this to take place. Titus Vespasian, the son, the general Titus, did not set himself up. Jesus certainly did not appear and destroy Titus Vespasian with the breath of his mouth. And those preterists who see all these events fulfilled in 70 AD err. You see, Titus can't be both the abomination and then he can't also be Christ coming to destroy the abomination. Both events are still future. So what is the prophetic significance of Titus? 70 AD, he came in with the army, with the military might of the Romans and desolated the temple completely. Well, first of all, it's very important to understand that he is the final, or he is the fulfillment to the final curse of Deuteronomy 28, or one of the final ones. In Deuteronomy 28, Moses is laying out the blessing and curses upon the children of Israel. They're on the plains of Moab, about to go into the land of Israel. And basically, Deuteronomy 28 lays out the blessings and the curses, the blessings for obedience, the curses for disobedience. But the end result is that Israel is going to disobey. They're going to fail in the land. And then in verse 64, we read these words. Moreover, as the final expression of their rebellion and the final judgment that God brings, moreover, the The Lord will scatter you among the peoples from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, and there you will serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known. Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot, but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. So your life shall hang in the doubt before you, and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. This was only partially fulfilled in the Babylonian exile. This was more fully fulfilled in what Titus Vespasian did, coming in, destroying the temple. The Jews had rejected their son. They had crucified the son, thrown him out of the vineyard, and now here comes judgment, and they are dispersed throughout the earth. And here they are today, to this day. This verse speaks to this day. In fact, I just read this morning: the Hungarian Jews are now afraid for their life. Read about it today. There's a park that's named after a Hitler army. There's numerous anti-Semitic rallies going on.

14:46The leader that has a Jewish origin is now having to be forced to resign. If you'll also look in the news, Israel had to do some preemptive strikes upon Syria because of the hatred that Iran has towards them and the stop. Occupying a movement of military weapons up into Syria to use upon Israel. You've got this little nation. They're scattered. Only a small part of them are in the land right now, but the vast portion enlarged, they are scattered. And listen to this is what it says: you will find no resting place. You will have a trembling heart and despair of soul, so your life shall hang in doubt before you. Why are there so many Holocaust museums scattered around? Why has Israel has always been active in keeping the memory of what has happened to them in the different nations at the forefront of the nations? Why? Because they're afraid for their very existence. They have a trembling heart. Their life is in despair. Their very existence has always hung in the balance. And you see this fulfillment very much, which, as Titus Vespasian came in, destroyed the temple and dispersed them, there they are. And to this day, you can look and you can see. Go back to Mark 13. We'll spend some more time back in Deuteronomy in just a moment. So Titus is the instrument that brought this final dispersion upon the Jews, according to Deuteronomy 28. But he's also the instrument that God used to bring about the fulfillment of Jesus' words in chapter 13 and verse 1 and 2. You remember the disciples came out and they said, wow, look. Look at this beautiful temple, and Jesus says in verse 2, Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down. And sure enough, this is what Titus Vespatian did. But the disciples' question on the mount that day went beyond the destruction of the temple. They weren't just asking about what's going to happen to this temple. That's all we need to know. If you look at verse 4, tell us when these things will be and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled. Their question goes beyond just the immediate context of the temple being destroyed. In fact, Matthew 24 makes it even more clear. In verse 3, he says, as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us when these things will happen and what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age. So the questions, as the sun was going down over Jerusalem that night, as they were sitting there up on the Mount of Olives, looking at the temple, their questions went far beyond just the destruction of the temple, but looked to the coming age. And Jesus, this answer, goes beyond just the temple destruction. Why? Why did Jesus say these things? Why did the Holy Spirit inspire Mark to write these things so that we would have them today? Well, the answer is very clear. Jesus wants you to be able to recognize your times so that you will know what you are supposed to be doing in your times. So that you'll be ready and that you'll be active in your duties. There is a very clear exhortation in this passage that really is the thrust of the whole thing. Look at verse 37, the very last one. This is a clear exhortation, and it comes at a fitting place. What I say to you, I say to all, be on the alert. Be ready. I say this to all, not just to you, not just to those, not just to the disciples, not just to the reader generation, but to all. Be alert. So the bottom-line exhortation of this whole passage is: no matter who you are or what time period you live in, you are to remain alert and be prepared for your times and active in the duties that God gives you. That's the exhortation here. And we'd all agree on this, even no matter what your view on the end times eschatology is. But just to give you a little lay of the lamb, this exhortation that comes at the end, it comes at the end of the second of two short parables, and it's a fitting conclusion to everything that has been said in chapter 13. Be ready. Be ready. And so, two reasons why you need to be ready that are given to us in this passage. First, you need to be ready because you're soon going to meet the Lord. Be ready because you will soon meet the Lord. And this is the lesson. Of the fig tree. Look at verse 28. Now learn the parable of the fig tree. When its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that he is near right at the door. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away, or will not pass away. And this is a message, this is a direct message from Jesus to a future generation, a reader generation. And the parable is very straightforward: tender branches, leaves, summer's round the corner. In fact, Luke says all the trees.

20:14This fig tree isn't Israel. It's just a lesson that he is using. Luke uses all the trees. When you see the trees getting tender and the leaves coming out, you know that summer's around, right? In Texas, if he is telling the story here, it'd be like, when you see the blue bonnets die, get ready. Turn the air conditioner on. Summer's here. It's always a great time when I love the daffodils. They come out. They herald the spring. We know when we see those beautiful yellow flowers, we know that spring's around. And then all of a sudden, we see the blue bonnets, and then we see them starting to die. And then it's like, uh-oh, here comes that Texas heat. Well, same principle. You know, when you see these things, things are going to happen in such rapid succession that It's clear. It's coming. That's what he's saying.

21:04The big question is: who is this instruction for? Who is this generation? Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away. And that's the big interpretive issue of this, but it's really the reader generation. It's very simply stated. He's already in verse 14, he has identified the reader generation. But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be, let the reader understand. Something was said that both Matthew and Mark picked up on. Jesus, there is a message being proclaimed to a future generation there. Though he was speaking to those present, yet there is a message for a future generation. And both Matthew and Mark picked up on it. And there have been a number of views. There are a number of views on this. Number one, that he's speaking to the disciples' generation. So that he's saying to the disciples, you are not going to pass away until all these things are complete or fulfilled.

22:01A number of problems with that. 40 years isn't enough time to pack in all this thing. The second coming has not come. All this stuff. No matter how you slice it, you cannot put this in that generation. 40 years is clearly not enough time. Second view, or another view that's worth mentioning, is that Jesus was wrong. He flat out says he does not know the time, therefore he was wrong. He took a guess, and he was wrong. Hope that doesn't appeal to you very much. Much because it shouldn't. Another view on this generation is that it is referring to the Jewish race, that the Jewish race is not going to pass away, that God is not going to let them pass away. It has a little better merits of an interpretation. The problem with it is really not a sign. He's already made an everlasting covenant with them, so the fact that they're going to be in existence really isn't a sign that says anything other than they're going to be here. Another one is that the human race, it's a reference to the human race, this generation, these sinners are not going to pass away until all this stuff is fulfilled. Well, again, that doesn't really cut it either. I mean, that's not really a sign. Yeah, it's just saying, yeah, it's all going to end. And sinners aren't going to go away until it does end. So that view. Then there was the view that Howell Lindsay popularized, and that was that in 1948 you had the birth of Israel and you had the regathering of Israel to the homeland there, and then 40 years is a generation. So in 1988, he's going to come back. And I remember I was at Baylor, and there was a lot of people who were looking forward to this. And I had a friend, a very close friend, student of the word, had really believed that. And I went over to his house, and he was all despondent. I said, what's wrong? He said, well, I thought we'd be home about two hours ago. He said, I thought we'd already be home. That was the idea. No, I think it's very simply put here. He is talking to the reader generation. And it is this generation when these things start to happen.

24:00They will happen in such rapid succession that they will not pass away until all these things are complete. This is the reader generation. And by the way, it is not uncommon at all for a writer to be speaking to a future generation. If you went back to Deuteronomy chapter 28, after saying all these curses, then in chapter 29, Moses, who's speaking to the generation that's alive, then also speaks to a future generation. And he says this in verse 14, Now, not with you alone am I making this covenant and this oath, but both with those who stand here with us today in the presence of our God and with those who are not with us today. So he's speaking to another generation. In verse 22, he says, Now the generation to come, your sons who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a distant land, when they see all the plagues of the land and the diseases which the Lord has basically brought against Jerusalem, then that generation is going to say this. In verse 24, all the nations will say, Why has the Lord done thus to this land? Speaking of Jerusalem, why did he lay waste to it? Why this great outburst of anger? Then the men will say, Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord their God, which he made with them and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went and served other gods and worshipped them, gods whom they had not known and whom they had not allotted to them. Therefore, the anger of the Lord burned against them. That land to bring upon it every curse which is written in this book. And the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger and in fury and in great wrath, and cast them into another land as it is this day. He's speaking to a future generation. One will look at the desolation of Jerusalem, look at the scattered Jews all over the world, and they'd say, Why did God do this? Because they broke the covenant as it is this day. So as you look around and you see the Jews scattered all over, fulfillment of this. And he goes on to speak, and he says, But look, he speaks to this generation not to bring, he doesn't just leave it upon their judgment, but he says, So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, speaking to this future generation, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you, and you return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and soul according to all that I commanded you today. Then the Lord will, God will restore you from captivity and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. And he goes on, moreover, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants to love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul, so that you may live. See, the work he speaks to a future generation, a hope. The final message from Deuteronomy to the Jewish people is one of hope. And go to Jeff. Daniel chapter 12, you see this same thing. Daniel, he's all perplexed about everything that had been taking place and all the visions he saw. And in Daniel chapter 12, verse 9, the words spoken to Daniel said, Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time. In other words, it is not uncommon at all in Scripture to find a message being spoken to a generation that actually speaks to a future generation, and that's exactly what you have here in Mark 13 as Jesus is talking to his disciples, yet he is speaking to a future generation, a reader generation, and all these events are going to take place right in rapid succession as the abomination of desolation is revealed and takes his stand upon the mount. That generation will not pass away until all has been fulfilled. I just can't look at verse 31. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. You talk about a claim to deity. There he is. There's Jesus saying, my words are going to outlive everything. Heaven and earth are going to pass away. There's going to be a new heavens and a new earth before my words pass away. He is particular on the details. Not a single one is going to pass away. So this is a direct message from Jesus to a future generation. But the principle, don't go to sleep and say, well, I'm glad I don't have to pay any attention to that. Wrong. The principle has a direct application to all of God's people, including us. You see, we may not be the final. Generation, but none of us know when we're going to meet him. Right? None of us. In fact, I was watching the Boston Marathon. You see a little boy jump up to run out, to throw his arms around his dad who is completing the race, and all of a sudden a bomb goes off and he's down. He's gone. Like that. You just never know when your day is. I mean, sickness. I have a little sick girl right now. That itself is a brush with death. Every cough, every sneeze, everything you have is just a reminder that death is coming. We're growing older. You don't believe me? Go look in the mirror. But each day, our appointment gets closer, does it not? So no matter who you are, be ready because you will soon meet the Lord. So the first reason to be ready is because you're soon going to meet the Lord. The second reason you need to be ready is because God takes no pleasure in those who neglect their duty. God takes no pleasure in those who neglect their duty. And this is the lesson of the parable of the man on a journey. Look at verse 32. For of that day or hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. Basically, this is the answer to these things. In verse 4, tell us when these things are going to happen and when all these things are going to be fulfilled. And here's the direct answer. Jesus says, but of that day or hour, no one knows. Isn't that interesting? He just made this great claim to deity and now he's saying, I don't know. I don't know. Jesus, in his state. Of humiliation, he didn't know. He emptied himself. As the Son of God, he emptied himself. He set aside the divine prerogatives. Philippians 2, 6 speaks about this, though he existed in the form of God, certainly omniscient as God, he did not regard equality with God as a thing to be grasped, but he emptied himself and took upon himself the form of a bond servant. So this is what he did. He's laid aside. He completely trusted himself to the Father's will. So basically, Jesus' answer to their question is, I don't know the exact time. Neither does anyone else, but that doesn't matter. The Father can be trusted. The Father can be trusted. I moved out of my company and had to sign over the bank accounts to where I give total access to the control of the bank accounts to my partner. And there's still some money that is owed me in the company. And I can tell you, I completely trust my partner for sure, a former partner who took over the reins. But at that moment, when I had to sign over the bank accounts, that was the test of real trust. And there was a little bit of a, is this the right thing to do at this point? Of course, I trust him completely. But just think about Jesus. He left, think about his trust of the Father's will. He left heaven, given up many of his divine prerogatives, and emptied himself and took upon himself the bondservant. And this is an incredible example for us. You see, Jesus didn't have to know all the details. Of God's plan in order to be obedient to his task. Jesus Himself, our example, our Lord, He didn't have to know all the details of the plan in order to be obedient. And guess what? Neither do you or I. Neither do His disciples. Jesus didn't know all the details, and He completely trusted the Father, went right up to the cross, completely trusting the Father. Sometimes we get all wrapped around the axle about the timing of things. God, why aren't you doing this? Why not now? What is it, God? Where are you? And all this stuff. And look, you don't need to know all the details to be obedient to the task that He has called you to do. You see, does a military officer or the commanding officer give all the details to the private in the field? No. But he does give him everything he needs so that he will know how to perform his task. And the good news is that we have a commanding officer that is completely competent and completely trustworthy. And we have his promises. Romans 8:28, all things work together for good for those who love God and to those who are called according to his purpose. Hebrews 13, 5, he promises, I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you, so that we can confidently say, the Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. You see, our relationship with God assumes trust on our part. We don't have to know the win of the events. He didn't have to know the win of the events. No, his timing is right. I was at a bike race some years ago, and there was this. DJ out there, and he said, Okay, I've got this contest. I'm going to give a free shirt to the next person who can win this context.

33:10There's a number of people in the crowd, some very large and some very small, saying, What size is the church? I mean, what size is the shirt going to be? And the DJ was quick on his feet, and he looked at him and he said, The right size, okay? You win the contest, you'll get the right size. And the idea, I think that's the bottom line of what God's perfect plan. It's like what says something about God's plan. When are you coming? At the right time, at the perfect time. His plan is perfect, and his timing is perfect. And that's his answer. He says, But you. And he switches the attention to the disciples. In verse 33, he says, take heed, keep on the alert. They're identical command. Verse 37, what I say to you, I say to all. Be on the alert. Imperative command. And notice that the audience shift is to all people now. He's not just talking to those or that generation. He is speaking to all. What I say to you, I say to all. You be on the alert. And the command is to watch out, to pay attention, to keep your head engaged, be perceiving what is going on around you. And it carries the idea of a life state of being prepared for whatever may happen. In fact, maybe more to the point would be get your affairs in order. Be prepared. Get your affairs in order. I mean, You heard these, I know in California they always said to people, make sure you have a good earthquake preparedness kit. You know, when an earthquake hits, make sure you're prepared. Lights, flashlights, all this stuff. So, well, I had a friend who was prepared. He had a generator. He had all the stuff that you needed. And then a couple of years ago, the lights went out in Southern California. Major, major outage, and it created a panic all across Southern California. And my friend had all his stuff, went out there, cranked up his generator. They had a nice barbecue, overwatched the sunset. He was prepared. And that's the idea here. Things are coming upon the earth. You be prepared. Get your affairs in order. That's what he's saying. And it's an imperative command throughout. And this is the same command that is issued throughout this whole passage. In Mark 13, 5, Jesus said to them, See to it that no one misleads you, that there's going to be false teachers that are going to come with false messages. See to it that no one misleads you. 13, 9, be on your guard. They're going to deliver you to the courts. And you will be flogged in the synagogues. And you will stand before governors and kings as my sake, as a testimony to them. In other words, be ready. This is coming. And the goal, don't just be paying attention so you can hightail it and run out of here, but be ready because your persecution is going to give the opportunity for the gospel to go forth. So be ready. Be ready. I had a youth pastor. A guy, just when I first came to Christ, he was very much, he had just taken the job and he went out and racked up a full amount of debt on his house, went out and racked up a full amount of debt on his car. And he's a great guy. And then there was some trouble in the church.

36:19Some of the kids teamed up against him. It just happened to be one of them. Her father was the judge in the town, and all these. And basically, they launched a bunch of false accusations against the youth pastor. And the youth pastor was in a crossroads. Do I agree with him and say I'm sorry to the church, or do I stand the ground and stand up for truth? And I went over to him, Look, you've got to stand up. What they're saying is wrong. It's out of there. It's wrong. What does he do in the end? I saw this teary-eyed confession. I'm so sorry. I did what was wrong. You know, he had a little kid.

36:58He wasn't prepared. He wasn't prepared to stand the line. And that's what he's talking about. Be ready. All this stuff is going to come. And he just threw out, take heed. I've told you everything in advance. 33, take heed, keep on the alert, for you do not know when the appointed time will come. Mark 35, verse 35, be on the alert. 37, be on the alert. And in between verses 35, or 33 and 37, he gives this parable of a man on a journey. I want to look at it real quick. Verse 34, it is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. Therefore, be on the alert, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening at midnight or when the roaster crows or in the morning in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep. Parable, very simple. The man going on a journey is Christ. The slaves are his disciples. Each one is given his own task, and he or she is to be doing what they are supposed to be doing while the master is away. But there is a special emphasis in this, and it's upon the doorkeeper. It is the doorkeeper. All of the people are compared, or all of his followers are compared to be the doorkeeper. This is what you are to be like. If you can understand the custom, a doorkeeper's job was to watch the door. And if you can think about more of a rural setting that may have a gate and a whole house and a gate, a courtyard, and all that, that the job of the doorkeeper was to watch and to wait for the master. And the master could come back in a journey at any time. It wasn't like they had planes that flew in at a certain time, and you had cars. No, you came, it took time. And it was very unpredictable when a person would show up. And so what he's saying is, be ready. When you look out over the horizon and you see the owner coming, you go open the gate. I can tell you, it's possible they could come in evening, like 9 or at midnight, or about 4. 3 a.m. when the rooster crows, or he could be coming in the morning, but you keep watch. You know when he's coming. And what do you think would happen to a doorkeeper if the owner of the house has been traveling all night and the doorkeeper isn't there to go down and open up the gate and let him in? Unemployed. Exactly, because he takes no pleasure in somebody who is sleeping or neglects his duties. Well, that is what we are to be. We are to be like the doorkeeper who is active at his post, closely watching the horizon for the first sign of his coming. And the opposite of being alert is not paying attention. It's asleep, being asleep, moral laxity, a life oriented around self, a life oriented around the pleasures of this world, the sins, the leisures of this world, building up a kingdom of your own. This is all what being asleep is about. Making a name for yourself, whether it's in your job, your school, or whatever. That, what being asleep, and saying, that's exactly what we are not to be. Notice that the sudden surprise of the master comes not because the master is just trying to find a place to trick you, but because of the negligence of the doorkeeper. See, see, it's only an unbelieving people that are going to be caught off guard. But look at the last word of the Olivet message. It's an imperative command. Be ready. Be ready. So, how do you get ready? Well, first of all, you need to recognize a true king. It is Jesus Christ. He is the Son, He is the Messiah, the One with. All authority. His yoke is easy, his burden is light, the one bringing salvation. There is salvation in no other. So, first of all, you need to recognize the true king. Second, you need to settle your loyalty to him. 2 Samuel 15 through 18, there's this whole narrative about Absalom's rebellion. Absalom, the son of David, usurped the throne and raised up a military. David had to leave, fled. But there were some, like Hushai, that stayed back as the usurper of power took over, but he stayed back and remained loyal to David, the true king. And so set your loyalty to him. Be people like Hushai. They staked their whole life upon the one hope that the true king would come back upon the stage and reign. And in fact, he did, and you can be sure it was very good for those who were there waiting. So recognize a true king. Set your loyalty to him. Third, be satisfied with simply being a citizen of his kingdom. I was really blessed this week by Nancy's Bible study as she was leading our kids. She basically was saying, Look, the goal of heaven is so much greater than any name you could ever possibly make for yourself. Don't underestimate the value and the goal of heaven. It is everything. Nothing else on earth is possibly going to even be able to compare. And this doesn't mean, by the way, that you're slack in your duties. On the contrary, you're. To strive to be a better people, be better moms, better dads, better employers, better employees, etc., simply not for your name's sake, but for his name's sake. If you're a child of the king, so you go out and you be the best cook, whether you're an engineer, a doctor, or whatever you do. But fourth and finally, you need to prioritize the gospel. Prioritize the gospel. That's what you do to be ready for him. The gospel should be so central to who we are that it validates our every activity. Our occupation, our education, and our associations are all to be centered upon the gospel. My marriage is a picture of Christ and His church. And so my very marriage itself finds its validity in the gospel. We are people of the good news. We are saved by the good news. We are defined by the good news, and we are to proclaim the good news. And brothers and sisters, this is because the world needs those who speak and model the gospel. Look, deception, compromise, and persecution are right around the corner. They're going to happen. And that's what he's saying. Get your affairs in order so that when, not if you encounter them, when you encounter them, you are ready. And see, being ready is living a sanctified life, fully mindful of the coming judgment. So be ready, because you'll soon meet the Lord. Be ready, because he takes no pleasure in those who neglect their duties. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, so much in this passage. Lord, but we so much that you tell us about the future events. Lord, let us not get caught up in all the minutiae of detail, though they are important. Father, we help us not to miss the major theme running through it all, that you are calling your people to be ready, to be ready to suffer persecution, to be ready for the purposes of making your name known in all of our associations. Lord, we recognize that we're not all called to serve in various capacities, but we all have been given our duties that you have wisely selected and handed out. God, help us to all be active and diligent in the duties that you've given us. And, Father, I just thank you. I thank you for this word, Lord, that we can truly see our times and know how we are to live in response to them. Father, again, I thank you for your people. And I just pray right now that by your Spirit you would quicken hearts, open eyes, and just convict hearts of what needs to take place. Things I ask in Jesus' name.