1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,250 2 00:00:05,333 --> 00:00:20,333 [music] 3 00:00:21,333 --> 00:00:29,333 [music] 4 00:00:31,833 --> 00:00:36,667 The big questions, "Where do we come from? 5 00:00:36,708 --> 00:00:39,000 "Why are we here? 6 00:00:39,042 --> 00:00:42,000 When we die, where are we going?" 7 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:44,833 help to interpret our lives individually, 8 00:00:44,833 --> 00:00:47,500 and human history collectively. 9 00:00:47,500 --> 00:00:51,167 It all depends on how you answer those questions. 10 00:00:51,250 --> 00:00:55,083 If you're, let's say, an atheistic evolutionist, 11 00:00:55,167 --> 00:00:58,833 you don't believe we came from God, but from chance, 12 00:00:58,917 --> 00:01:01,833 we're here then not for any particular reason 13 00:01:01,833 --> 00:01:05,875 and, when dead, we're not necessarily going anywhere. 14 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,500 Others will tell you that history is just a series of 15 00:01:09,500 --> 00:01:16,000 repeated cycles, that everything continues to move along in 16 00:01:16,042 --> 00:01:20,667 a series of repetitive mistakes and errors and learnings. 17 00:01:20,708 --> 00:01:23,375 And then you hear, well, if you don't learn from history 18 00:01:23,500 --> 00:01:27,500 you're doomed to repeat it, which is partially true. 19 00:01:27,542 --> 00:01:31,375 How are we to view human history on the earth 20 00:01:31,500 --> 00:01:33,542 and our place in it? 21 00:01:33,667 --> 00:01:35,000 What's going on? 22 00:01:35,042 --> 00:01:36,542 Why are we here? 23 00:01:36,667 --> 00:01:38,167 How do we fit? 24 00:01:38,250 --> 00:01:39,750 Again, where did we come from? 25 00:01:39,833 --> 00:01:42,167 And upon dying, where are we going? 26 00:01:42,250 --> 00:01:44,167 And that's where the Bible comes into play, 27 00:01:44,250 --> 00:01:48,500 and it gives us the big story of God. 28 00:01:48,542 --> 00:01:52,500 And the Bible is not primarily about us, but it's for us. 29 00:01:52,542 --> 00:01:56,000 The Bible is primarily about God. 30 00:01:56,042 --> 00:01:58,833 And it says that we, and human history, 31 00:01:58,917 --> 00:02:03,083 and life on the earth as we know it comes from God. 32 00:02:03,167 --> 00:02:08,583 And that we are here under the sovereignty of God, 33 00:02:08,667 --> 00:02:12,833 and that ultimately we will die and stand before God. 34 00:02:12,833 --> 00:02:16,167 That we come from God, we're here for God, 35 00:02:16,208 --> 00:02:19,167 and we will die and give an account to God. 36 00:02:19,250 --> 00:02:24,042 And so all of history, including our individual lives 37 00:02:24,167 --> 00:02:25,583 in the midst of history, 38 00:02:25,667 --> 00:02:29,875 are to be interpreted in light of these facts. 39 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:35,583 And the Bible then gives us a unique perspective on why 40 00:02:35,667 --> 00:02:39,500 we're here and what is happening next and how 41 00:02:39,542 --> 00:02:42,667 what we're experiencing today is connected to the past 42 00:02:42,708 --> 00:02:45,500 and prepares us for the future. 43 00:02:45,500 --> 00:02:48,333 So I want to give you three words in starting: 44 00:02:48,417 --> 00:02:52,375 foreknowledge, prophecy, and sovereignty. 45 00:02:52,500 --> 00:02:58,167 Foreknowledge is the fact that God foreknows the future. 46 00:02:58,208 --> 00:03:01,500 He knows what is going to happen before it happens. 47 00:03:01,500 --> 00:03:04,583 Now, this is a mind-blowing concept for us because 48 00:03:04,667 --> 00:03:06,333 we don't know the future. 49 00:03:06,417 --> 00:03:10,000 In fact, so much of life on the earth is spent trying to 50 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:12,083 predict and anticipate the future. 51 00:03:12,167 --> 00:03:13,833 When will the economy turn around? 52 00:03:13,917 --> 00:03:16,167 When will the real estate market hit the bottom 53 00:03:16,250 --> 00:03:17,583 and start to bounce back? 54 00:03:17,667 --> 00:03:20,083 When could the next terrorist strike happen 55 00:03:20,167 --> 00:03:22,250 and how will we prevent it? 56 00:03:22,333 --> 00:03:24,875 What's the next big idea that we could invest in 57 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:27,583 and see our portfolio increase? 58 00:03:27,667 --> 00:03:30,500 What's the next big marketing strategy that would help us 59 00:03:30,542 --> 00:03:32,375 get the word out? 60 00:03:32,500 --> 00:03:33,875 Where are the opportunities? 61 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:35,500 Where is culture going? 62 00:03:35,542 --> 00:03:38,083 Who has the wisdom for the future? 63 00:03:38,167 --> 00:03:43,500 And quite frankly, no one knows the future. 64 00:03:43,500 --> 00:03:45,542 Some people will have confidence, 65 00:03:45,667 --> 00:03:47,833 some have the occasional right guess, 66 00:03:47,833 --> 00:03:50,833 but none of us has full foreknowledge of the future. 67 00:03:50,917 --> 00:03:53,583 None of us knows in detail what's going to happen. 68 00:03:53,667 --> 00:03:55,083 But God does. 69 00:03:55,167 --> 00:03:56,542 God has foreknowledge. 70 00:03:56,667 --> 00:03:58,333 God foreknows what will happen. 71 00:03:58,333 --> 00:04:00,250 God is without beginning or end. 72 00:04:00,333 --> 00:04:04,083 God is over time, he works in time, 73 00:04:04,167 --> 00:04:08,750 but because he is apart from time, he sees time--inasmuch as 74 00:04:08,833 --> 00:04:12,500 we're able to consider it--as a completed whole. 75 00:04:12,542 --> 00:04:14,667 So God has foreknowledge of the future. 76 00:04:14,750 --> 00:04:17,833 That leads to number two, prophecy. 77 00:04:17,833 --> 00:04:21,333 And prophecy is where God tells us the future. 78 00:04:21,333 --> 00:04:25,167 So God, who knows the future, reveals the future. 79 00:04:25,250 --> 00:04:28,250 And roughly 25% of the Bible at the time of its writing 80 00:04:28,333 --> 00:04:29,750 was prophetic in nature. 81 00:04:29,833 --> 00:04:32,542 God telling us, "Here's what's going to happen in the future." 82 00:04:32,667 --> 00:04:35,833 Much, if not most of that, around the coming life, death, 83 00:04:35,833 --> 00:04:38,333 burial, resurrection of Jesus Christ, 84 00:04:38,417 --> 00:04:40,833 the hero of history, 85 00:04:40,917 --> 00:04:46,333 the story around which every story finds its meaning. 86 00:04:46,333 --> 00:04:48,333 So there is foreknowledge; God knows the future. 87 00:04:48,333 --> 00:04:50,667 Prophecy where God tells us the future. 88 00:04:50,750 --> 00:04:55,167 And then sovereignty where God orchestrates history 89 00:04:55,250 --> 00:05:00,583 and the future to fulfill all of his prophecy to bring to pass 90 00:05:00,667 --> 00:05:02,583 all of his foreknowledge. 91 00:05:02,667 --> 00:05:06,375 And the Bible uses this language in various ways and places. 92 00:05:06,500 --> 00:05:11,167 And what we're going to see today is Jesus Christ. 93 00:05:11,208 --> 00:05:19,875 He has all three of these functioning in Luke 21:20-28 94 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:23,375 when he speaks of the times of the Gentiles. 95 00:05:23,500 --> 00:05:26,583 And this is the fulfillment of last week's sermon. 96 00:05:26,667 --> 00:05:29,583 There's so much in Luke 21 that we couldn't deal with it 97 00:05:29,667 --> 00:05:31,083 all in one setting. 98 00:05:31,167 --> 00:05:34,667 But here we're going to conclude this unit of thought, 99 00:05:34,708 --> 00:05:38,500 but we will see Jesus here as God in human flesh on the earth, 100 00:05:38,542 --> 00:05:40,333 demonstrating foreknowledge. 101 00:05:40,333 --> 00:05:43,667 He knows in great detail exactly what's going to happen within 102 00:05:43,750 --> 00:05:48,833 the next roughly 40 years, as well as into the future. 103 00:05:48,917 --> 00:05:53,500 He prophesies it; he tells us exactly what's going to happen. 104 00:05:53,542 --> 00:05:55,375 And he is sovereign. 105 00:05:55,500 --> 00:05:58,833 And it all happens just like he says and not just the Bible 106 00:05:58,917 --> 00:06:02,875 confirms that, but history and historians who are not 107 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:06,875 Christians, they confirm this as well. 108 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:08,667 So here we go. 109 00:06:08,708 --> 00:06:11,667 Three big ideas, how to see history. 110 00:06:11,750 --> 00:06:15,875 I'll give you a bit of a precursor. 111 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,500 He's going to tell us that the temple would be destroyed 112 00:06:19,542 --> 00:06:25,333 and Jewish belief and practice, as was common in that day, 113 00:06:25,417 --> 00:06:27,083 was coming to an end. 114 00:06:27,167 --> 00:06:31,000 Number two, that God was going to do something new, 115 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:33,500 and it would be the times of the Gentiles. 116 00:06:33,542 --> 00:06:35,667 Gentiles, non-Jews, would be saved. 117 00:06:35,708 --> 00:06:39,000 And then number three, that Jesus will return. 118 00:06:39,042 --> 00:06:44,875 So these are the three seasons, epochs, of human history. 119 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:48,500 There was Judaism, and then it came to an end. 120 00:06:48,500 --> 00:06:50,542 And then there's the time of the Gentiles, 121 00:06:50,667 --> 00:06:53,333 where non-Jews start following and worshiping Jesus 122 00:06:53,417 --> 00:06:56,875 as the God of the Bible and the fulfillment of prophecy. 123 00:06:57,000 --> 00:06:59,667 And then everything ends with the Second Coming of Jesus. 124 00:06:59,708 --> 00:07:02,667 And that's how we're to see history. 125 00:07:02,708 --> 00:07:05,250 That's how we're to see history and live our lives 126 00:07:05,333 --> 00:07:06,667 in light of it. 127 00:07:06,750 --> 00:07:10,833 So number one, Jesus tells us the temple will be destroyed. 128 00:07:10,833 --> 00:07:16,583 Luke 21:20-23, "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, 129 00:07:16,667 --> 00:07:19,500 "then know that its desolation has come near. 130 00:07:19,542 --> 00:07:22,250 "Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, 131 00:07:22,333 --> 00:07:24,500 "and let those who are inside the city depart, 132 00:07:24,500 --> 00:07:27,375 "and let not those who are out in the country enter it, 133 00:07:27,500 --> 00:07:29,833 "for these are days of vengeance, 134 00:07:29,833 --> 00:07:32,500 "to fulfill all that is written. 135 00:07:32,542 --> 00:07:35,500 "Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are 136 00:07:35,500 --> 00:07:38,875 "nursing infants in those days! 137 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:42,083 "For there will be great distress upon the earth 138 00:07:42,167 --> 00:07:47,667 and wrath [or judgment] against this people." 139 00:07:47,708 --> 00:07:51,875 Now, a lot of discussion thus far in Luke 140 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:54,500 has been around the temple. 141 00:07:54,500 --> 00:07:57,167 Jesus was first brought to the temple to be dedicated 142 00:07:57,250 --> 00:08:00,833 by his parents as a young boy. 143 00:08:00,917 --> 00:08:06,375 Jesus, perhaps, ventured to the temple in his growing-up years 144 00:08:06,500 --> 00:08:09,583 with his family; that was customary, as they were 145 00:08:09,667 --> 00:08:13,542 financially and physically able, among the worshipers of God. 146 00:08:13,667 --> 00:08:17,333 The temple was created based upon God's decree 147 00:08:17,417 --> 00:08:19,667 hundreds of years prior. 148 00:08:19,750 --> 00:08:23,875 It ultimately was destroyed, and then a second temple was built 149 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:27,083 during the reign of the godless king, Herod. 150 00:08:27,167 --> 00:08:28,875 And that temple was magnificent, 151 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:30,875 one of the great wonders of the world. 152 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:33,583 And the temple was, for the people of God, 153 00:08:33,667 --> 00:08:36,500 really the holiest place on earth. 154 00:08:36,542 --> 00:08:38,750 It was the place between God and man. 155 00:08:38,833 --> 00:08:42,000 It was the connection point between heaven and earth. 156 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:45,000 It is where sacrifice would be offered for sin. 157 00:08:45,042 --> 00:08:49,042 High priests would intercede between people and God. 158 00:08:49,167 --> 00:08:52,167 It is where the nation would find its collective identity 159 00:08:52,250 --> 00:08:55,333 and community. 160 00:08:55,333 --> 00:08:59,667 And people would spend so much of their life praying 161 00:08:59,708 --> 00:09:04,833 for Jerusalem, and pilgrimaging to Jerusalem. 162 00:09:04,833 --> 00:09:10,083 And if you can imagine it, it was the city of hope, 163 00:09:10,167 --> 00:09:14,833 and the temple was the place of peace. 164 00:09:14,833 --> 00:09:17,833 And as a child, you would venture there with your parents, 165 00:09:17,917 --> 00:09:21,667 and they would tell you about their going there as a child 166 00:09:21,750 --> 00:09:23,750 and your grandparents and your great-grandparents, 167 00:09:23,833 --> 00:09:26,250 and they would take you back to the Old Testament 168 00:09:26,333 --> 00:09:30,083 and your people, your heritage, your history, your lineage, 169 00:09:30,167 --> 00:09:35,333 your family, all the way back hundreds and hundreds of years. 170 00:09:35,333 --> 00:09:37,333 "This is our God. 171 00:09:37,333 --> 00:09:40,083 "This is our place of worship. 172 00:09:40,167 --> 00:09:41,750 "This is our pilgrimage. 173 00:09:41,833 --> 00:09:45,333 "This is our love and devotion and adoration of the God 174 00:09:45,417 --> 00:09:46,833 "of the Bible. 175 00:09:46,833 --> 00:09:49,583 This is who he is and this is what he's done." 176 00:09:49,667 --> 00:09:52,875 And so your heart was for that city and for that temple. 177 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:58,000 And Jesus comes along and says it's all going to be destroyed. 178 00:09:58,042 --> 00:10:00,083 And as I've told you in previous sermons, 179 00:10:00,167 --> 00:10:02,500 this was something hard to fathom. 180 00:10:02,500 --> 00:10:05,667 I mean, Jerusalem is a big city and it's up on a hill, 181 00:10:05,750 --> 00:10:09,000 and so it's defensible. 182 00:10:09,042 --> 00:10:11,875 It's surrounded with walls and gates. 183 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,333 It's enormous. 184 00:10:14,333 --> 00:10:17,500 The foundation stones are the size of boxcars. 185 00:10:17,542 --> 00:10:20,500 I told you previously, slabs of marble that help to construct 186 00:10:20,542 --> 00:10:25,000 the foundation of the temple, weighed upwards of 100 tons. 187 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:27,250 Massive. 188 00:10:27,333 --> 00:10:29,833 The temple wasn't even done being constructed, 189 00:10:29,833 --> 00:10:31,375 the second temple at this time. 190 00:10:31,500 --> 00:10:33,833 It was still concluding construction. 191 00:10:33,833 --> 00:10:37,333 People had given generously and waited expectantly. 192 00:10:37,333 --> 00:10:40,333 And every year they would go for the high holy days 193 00:10:40,333 --> 00:10:42,667 and the feasts and the celebrations like Passover, 194 00:10:42,750 --> 00:10:45,000 which is in this season here in Luke 21. 195 00:10:45,042 --> 00:10:48,333 And they would be excited to see what other work has been done 196 00:10:48,333 --> 00:10:51,833 on the temple, and how much more glorious has it become. 197 00:10:51,917 --> 00:10:55,083 It was the biggest thing they'd seen. 198 00:10:55,167 --> 00:10:58,833 Simple, common people living in small huts and homes, 199 00:10:58,833 --> 00:11:03,083 going to this massive temple that was constructed on top, 200 00:11:03,167 --> 00:11:07,000 literally, of rock at a high point, visible for all, 201 00:11:07,042 --> 00:11:11,500 shining in glory, a city on a hill. 202 00:11:11,542 --> 00:11:15,167 And Jesus says it's all coming down. 203 00:11:15,250 --> 00:11:18,542 It's all going to be destroyed. 204 00:11:18,667 --> 00:11:21,500 This would have been shocking. 205 00:11:21,542 --> 00:11:23,667 What does that mean? 206 00:11:23,750 --> 00:11:28,000 How could that possibly happen? 207 00:11:29,833 --> 00:11:37,167 And it signaled the end of Judaism as was practiced, 208 00:11:37,250 --> 00:11:41,667 and the fulfillment of Judaism in the Jewish 209 00:11:41,750 --> 00:11:45,000 Savior-God-Messiah, Jesus Christ. 210 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:49,833 So this isn't anti-Judaism; it's fulfilled Judaism. 211 00:11:49,833 --> 00:11:55,667 It's not anti-Jew; Jesus, himself, is Jewish. 212 00:11:55,708 --> 00:12:00,500 So this is the fulfillment of Judaism by Jesus, 213 00:12:00,542 --> 00:12:08,042 who himself is God among us, as our Jewish Messiah Savior. 214 00:12:08,167 --> 00:12:10,583 And what he says is very specific, 215 00:12:10,667 --> 00:12:12,833 that the city of Jerusalem was going to be 216 00:12:12,917 --> 00:12:15,500 surrounded by enemies. 217 00:12:15,542 --> 00:12:20,000 And that they were going to lay siege to the city. 218 00:12:20,042 --> 00:12:22,542 And that for those who lived in the city, 219 00:12:22,667 --> 00:12:24,833 they should flee into the mountains and the hillside 220 00:12:24,917 --> 00:12:26,583 and the country. 221 00:12:26,667 --> 00:12:29,042 And for those who lived away from the city, 222 00:12:29,167 --> 00:12:31,375 they should not enter into the city of Jerusalem, 223 00:12:31,500 --> 00:12:34,250 or come near the temple when that day of judgment 224 00:12:34,333 --> 00:12:36,083 and vengeance and wrath occurred. 225 00:12:36,167 --> 00:12:40,000 Here's the big idea: God is a God of love, grace, and mercy. 226 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:43,333 He's also a God of holiness, justice, and wrath. 227 00:12:43,333 --> 00:12:45,000 He's both. 228 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:48,000 We can't just take the parts of the Bible that we like 229 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:49,333 and ignore the others. 230 00:12:49,417 --> 00:12:52,167 In fact, the wrath of God is spoken of more than 231 00:12:52,250 --> 00:12:55,667 the love of God, in terms of numerous appearances. 232 00:12:55,750 --> 00:12:58,583 The wrath of God appears more frequently than the love of God 233 00:12:58,667 --> 00:13:00,250 in the Bible. 234 00:13:00,333 --> 00:13:03,667 God is love, God is holy, God does love, God does judge, 235 00:13:03,750 --> 00:13:10,083 God is love, God does pour out wrath, and love requires it. 236 00:13:10,167 --> 00:13:13,667 You can't love without also hating. 237 00:13:13,750 --> 00:13:17,667 You can't love holiness without hating sin. 238 00:13:17,750 --> 00:13:20,500 You can't love life without hating death. 239 00:13:20,542 --> 00:13:26,167 You can't love God without hating all that is against God. 240 00:13:26,250 --> 00:13:29,583 And so there is wrath here. 241 00:13:29,667 --> 00:13:32,583 And the destruction of Jerusalem, the city, 242 00:13:32,667 --> 00:13:35,333 and the temple which was its centerpiece, 243 00:13:35,333 --> 00:13:38,667 was judgment or wrath from God. 244 00:13:38,750 --> 00:13:42,083 Because God had come to the city of Jerusalem in the person of 245 00:13:42,167 --> 00:13:46,500 Jesus Christ, and though not all the city had rejected him-- 246 00:13:46,500 --> 00:13:49,500 some had become Christians, had converted, 247 00:13:49,542 --> 00:13:53,875 had become worshipers of Jesus, they became the writers of 248 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:58,000 Scripture and the messengers of Jesus on the earth--there were, 249 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:00,750 however, many who rejected Jesus. 250 00:14:00,833 --> 00:14:02,667 Not only did they put him to death, 251 00:14:02,750 --> 00:14:06,375 they then started putting to death his followers. 252 00:14:06,500 --> 00:14:12,083 So that ten of the eleven disciples died a martyr's death. 253 00:14:12,167 --> 00:14:15,167 They tried to kill John, but he was boiled alive 254 00:14:15,250 --> 00:14:18,250 and exiled out to Patmos. 255 00:14:18,333 --> 00:14:21,833 Paul himself, Luke's dear friend and traveling companion, 256 00:14:21,833 --> 00:14:25,167 who penned much of the New Testament, was beheaded. 257 00:14:25,250 --> 00:14:28,667 This was a violent time for the followers of Jesus. 258 00:14:28,708 --> 00:14:32,583 That God had come to fulfill all of his prophecies and promises 259 00:14:32,667 --> 00:14:35,167 in the person and work, the life, death, burial, 260 00:14:35,250 --> 00:14:37,167 resurrection of Jesus. 261 00:14:37,250 --> 00:14:41,333 And though some received Jesus, some rejected him. 262 00:14:41,333 --> 00:14:43,333 And so there was judgment on Jerusalem, 263 00:14:43,333 --> 00:14:45,083 and there was judgment on the temple, 264 00:14:45,167 --> 00:14:48,750 just like there will be judgment on nations and cities 265 00:14:48,833 --> 00:14:53,167 and families and religions and cults and ideologies 266 00:14:53,208 --> 00:14:55,000 that reject Jesus. 267 00:14:55,042 --> 00:14:57,375 And this wasn't something that happened instantly because, 268 00:14:57,500 --> 00:15:02,083 like the Bible says, God is patient and he's slow to anger. 269 00:15:02,167 --> 00:15:04,667 And so from the death, burial, resurrection of Jesus, 270 00:15:04,750 --> 00:15:07,875 to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, was nearly, 271 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:12,500 roughly, 40 years, plenty of time for people to have 272 00:15:12,542 --> 00:15:14,833 a change of heart and mind. 273 00:15:14,833 --> 00:15:16,667 Just like God now has been patient 274 00:15:16,750 --> 00:15:18,542 for a few thousand years. 275 00:15:18,667 --> 00:15:20,750 We're still awaiting the Second Coming of Jesus, 276 00:15:20,833 --> 00:15:24,667 the resurrection of the dead, the sentencing to heaven 277 00:15:24,750 --> 00:15:28,167 or hell, and the eternal destiny of all of mankind. 278 00:15:28,250 --> 00:15:29,833 God is being very patient. 279 00:15:29,833 --> 00:15:32,667 The reason that some of you are still alive and breathing, 280 00:15:32,750 --> 00:15:34,375 even though you've rejected Jesus, 281 00:15:34,500 --> 00:15:38,083 is 'cause he loves you and he's patient with you and he's giving 282 00:15:38,167 --> 00:15:42,333 you an opportunity to avoid the wrath of God by turning from sin 283 00:15:42,333 --> 00:15:45,875 and trusting in him as your Savior and your Lord 284 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:47,667 and your God. 285 00:15:47,750 --> 00:15:50,500 And so Jesus gives a specific prophecy and he is saying 286 00:15:50,500 --> 00:15:53,500 there is a day of wrath, there is a day of judgment, 287 00:15:53,542 --> 00:15:55,083 there is a day of consequence. 288 00:15:55,167 --> 00:15:56,833 It is coming. 289 00:15:56,833 --> 00:15:59,000 This is foreknowledge, prophecy, sovereignty. 290 00:15:59,042 --> 00:16:01,167 He knows the future, he's telling the future, 291 00:16:01,250 --> 00:16:03,875 and he is going to guarantee that the future will come 292 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:05,875 to pass just as he has promised. 293 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:07,875 And this is true for all of Scripture, 294 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:09,875 and this is one example. 295 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:12,667 And Jesus says, "When you see the city sieged--" 296 00:16:12,750 --> 00:16:16,667 That means that Roman soldiers would come and surround it. 297 00:16:16,708 --> 00:16:20,333 And it happened around 70 AD. 298 00:16:20,333 --> 00:16:25,500 For some months the Romans sieged the city of Jerusalem 299 00:16:25,542 --> 00:16:28,042 and surrounded the temple. 300 00:16:28,167 --> 00:16:31,875 As a result, food, water, supplies could not come 301 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:33,833 into the city. 302 00:16:33,833 --> 00:16:37,000 This was a military tactic to literally starve people 303 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:39,333 to death. 304 00:16:39,417 --> 00:16:43,333 Josephus, who is an ancient historian outside of the Bible, 305 00:16:43,333 --> 00:16:46,333 and Tacitus, who is another historian outside of 306 00:16:46,333 --> 00:16:49,375 the Bible--not necessarily Christians-- 307 00:16:49,500 --> 00:16:51,333 they just tell history. 308 00:16:51,417 --> 00:16:53,250 They confirm that all of this happened 309 00:16:53,333 --> 00:16:55,333 just like Jesus promised. 310 00:16:55,417 --> 00:16:58,167 The people in the city literally starting starving to death 311 00:16:58,250 --> 00:16:59,917 and dehydrating. 312 00:17:00,042 --> 00:17:03,333 Just like Jesus said, it was a horrible day for nursing mothers 313 00:17:03,333 --> 00:17:05,833 because they themselves were so malnourished 314 00:17:05,833 --> 00:17:08,875 that they could not feed their newborn children. 315 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:12,333 Josephus indicates that people became cannibals; 316 00:17:12,417 --> 00:17:15,583 that it became anarchy; that there were those who were just 317 00:17:15,667 --> 00:17:19,042 literally eating the dust of the ground to curb the hunger 318 00:17:19,167 --> 00:17:21,000 in their stomach. 319 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:23,167 This went on for months. 320 00:17:23,250 --> 00:17:25,583 As I told you previously in another sermon, 321 00:17:25,667 --> 00:17:29,333 Josephus records that upwards of a million people died. 322 00:17:29,333 --> 00:17:33,000 Tacitus says that perhaps that number was 500,000. 323 00:17:33,042 --> 00:17:35,500 Whatever it is, it was a holocaust in that day 324 00:17:35,500 --> 00:17:38,000 and people died. 325 00:17:38,042 --> 00:17:40,667 And by the time the Romans decided that they would actually 326 00:17:40,750 --> 00:17:44,042 take the city and the temple, there was no resistance. 327 00:17:44,167 --> 00:17:46,167 People were dead, they were malnourished, 328 00:17:46,250 --> 00:17:49,875 they were starving, they were dying, they were grieving, 329 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:51,833 they were hopeless. 330 00:17:51,833 --> 00:17:55,167 And the city was besieged. 331 00:17:55,208 --> 00:18:01,000 And the command was given to not destroy the temple, 332 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:05,000 but there was, according to history, 333 00:18:05,042 --> 00:18:07,750 an "accidental"--again the sovereignty of God-- 334 00:18:07,833 --> 00:18:11,000 an accidental fire was started by a soldier 335 00:18:11,042 --> 00:18:15,333 that destroyed a certain portion of the city and temple. 336 00:18:15,333 --> 00:18:18,333 And so then the order was given to literally raze the city, 337 00:18:18,417 --> 00:18:21,375 to take it all to the ground. 338 00:18:21,500 --> 00:18:26,167 And the city of Jerusalem was laid waste. 339 00:18:26,208 --> 00:18:32,875 And the temple was literally torn apart stone by stone. 340 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:36,333 And I could tell you that's the way that it is. 341 00:18:36,333 --> 00:18:37,667 I've been there. 342 00:18:37,750 --> 00:18:39,167 We've seen it. 343 00:18:39,250 --> 00:18:41,167 There is no temple. 344 00:18:41,250 --> 00:18:48,167 It has been destroyed since 70 AD. 345 00:18:48,208 --> 00:18:49,667 People don't go to the temple. 346 00:18:49,708 --> 00:18:51,250 They don't have a priest. 347 00:18:51,333 --> 00:18:53,083 They don't have a sacrifice. 348 00:18:53,167 --> 00:18:55,833 They don't go there for the holy days. 349 00:18:55,833 --> 00:18:58,167 It's over. 350 00:18:58,250 --> 00:19:00,750 I say this with all love and respect. 351 00:19:00,833 --> 00:19:04,542 Some Jews love Jesus, some don't. 352 00:19:04,667 --> 00:19:07,667 But Judaism is over. 353 00:19:07,708 --> 00:19:09,833 Judaism is over. 354 00:19:09,917 --> 00:19:12,500 Judaism was about the temple, the priests, 355 00:19:12,542 --> 00:19:14,500 the sacrifices for sin. 356 00:19:14,500 --> 00:19:18,167 That has not existed since 70 AD. 357 00:19:18,208 --> 00:19:20,000 It's over. 358 00:19:20,042 --> 00:19:24,375 And when I was there talking to some devout Jews, very sweet, 359 00:19:24,500 --> 00:19:26,833 very nice, nothing personal, 360 00:19:26,833 --> 00:19:29,375 just a very important disagreement. 361 00:19:29,500 --> 00:19:32,542 They would say, "Oh, but one day Messiah will come and he will 362 00:19:32,667 --> 00:19:34,875 rebuild the temple and we'll have sacrifices." 363 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,833 It's been 2,000 years. 364 00:19:37,917 --> 00:19:44,833 Furthermore, that area of the temple is now controlled 365 00:19:44,833 --> 00:19:46,833 by the Muslims. 366 00:19:46,833 --> 00:19:50,083 And the vast majority of people who live in the old city of 367 00:19:50,167 --> 00:19:54,500 Jerusalem in the walls are Muslims. 368 00:19:54,542 --> 00:20:00,500 This is not going to be the revival of Judaism. 369 00:20:00,500 --> 00:20:02,083 It's over. 370 00:20:02,167 --> 00:20:03,500 Why? 371 00:20:03,542 --> 00:20:05,375 Because we don't need it. 372 00:20:05,500 --> 00:20:07,875 We don't need the temple, we don't need the priests, 373 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:09,333 we don't need the sacrifices. 374 00:20:09,333 --> 00:20:10,667 We have Jesus. 375 00:20:10,750 --> 00:20:12,375 He is our Holy of Holies. 376 00:20:12,500 --> 00:20:14,500 He our Great High Priest. 377 00:20:14,500 --> 00:20:18,083 He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 378 00:20:18,167 --> 00:20:21,333 And so the center of our faith today is not a place, 379 00:20:21,417 --> 00:20:23,083 it's a person. 380 00:20:23,167 --> 00:20:24,750 We don't go to Jerusalem. 381 00:20:24,833 --> 00:20:26,333 We don't go to Mecca. 382 00:20:26,417 --> 00:20:28,167 We don't go anywhere. 383 00:20:28,208 --> 00:20:30,167 We go to Jesus. 384 00:20:30,250 --> 00:20:33,000 That he says he would never leave us, nor forsake us. 385 00:20:33,042 --> 00:20:36,250 That he would be with us always to the end of the age. 386 00:20:36,333 --> 00:20:40,250 That we don't go to be with God, but God has come to be with us 387 00:20:40,333 --> 00:20:44,000 in Jesus Christ Immanuel, which means "God is with us." 388 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:49,167 And so sure, as friends, we can go to Jerusalem and we can look 389 00:20:49,250 --> 00:20:52,333 at the places that the Bible records, 390 00:20:52,417 --> 00:20:54,833 but that doesn't get us any closer to God; 391 00:20:54,833 --> 00:20:58,167 you can't be any closer to God than Jesus. 392 00:20:58,250 --> 00:21:02,542 It even broke my heart when I went there, seeing people, 393 00:21:02,667 --> 00:21:04,875 some even Christians, taking prayers and putting them 394 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:07,250 in the Wailing Wall. 395 00:21:07,333 --> 00:21:08,667 Why? 396 00:21:08,708 --> 00:21:10,667 "Because now my prayer is closer to God." 397 00:21:10,708 --> 00:21:12,042 No it's not. 398 00:21:12,167 --> 00:21:15,542 We pray by the power of the Holy Spirit, through the Son of God, 399 00:21:15,667 --> 00:21:17,667 to the God the Father. 400 00:21:17,708 --> 00:21:20,667 There's one mediator between us and God, the man Christ Jesus. 401 00:21:20,750 --> 00:21:24,042 You cannot get any closer to God than Jesus. 402 00:21:24,167 --> 00:21:27,667 He is the one who reconciles us to the Father. 403 00:21:27,750 --> 00:21:31,000 It's not about a place; it's about a person. 404 00:21:31,042 --> 00:21:33,875 And the whole purpose of the place was to prepare people 405 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,333 for the coming of the person. 406 00:21:36,333 --> 00:21:41,000 And once the person is come, the place is no longer necessary. 407 00:21:41,042 --> 00:21:43,833 And so yes, we love Jerusalem, and yes, we love Israel, 408 00:21:43,833 --> 00:21:46,167 and yes, we want the gospel to spread there, 409 00:21:46,250 --> 00:21:48,500 and yes, we want people to meet Jesus; 410 00:21:48,542 --> 00:21:52,083 but no, we do not believe-- we do not believe that the 411 00:21:52,167 --> 00:21:55,083 non-Christians who live there worship the same God that we do. 412 00:21:55,167 --> 00:21:58,167 We worship Jesus as God, they don't. 413 00:21:58,208 --> 00:22:00,333 The center of their faith is a place. 414 00:22:00,333 --> 00:22:03,167 The center of our faith is a person. 415 00:22:03,250 --> 00:22:09,083 They are worshiping a shadow; we worship the risen Christ. 416 00:22:09,167 --> 00:22:12,083 And this was a judgment on Judaism. 417 00:22:12,167 --> 00:22:14,375 This was a judgment on their way of religion. 418 00:22:14,500 --> 00:22:17,667 And this was God forcing their way of life, 419 00:22:17,708 --> 00:22:21,333 though for some it was faithful and obedient to the teaching of 420 00:22:21,333 --> 00:22:23,583 the Bible up until that point, 421 00:22:23,667 --> 00:22:27,083 and then it was time for it to end--this was God's way of 422 00:22:27,167 --> 00:22:32,542 ensuring that everything would change with the death, burial, 423 00:22:32,667 --> 00:22:36,000 resurrection of Jesus, and that our faith would move 424 00:22:36,042 --> 00:22:37,833 from a place to a person. 425 00:22:37,833 --> 00:22:42,500 And it would be all about Jesus forever. 426 00:22:42,542 --> 00:22:47,083 And Jesus says when that day comes, when judgment comes, 427 00:22:47,167 --> 00:22:52,500 when life as you know it comes to an end, flee from the cities. 428 00:22:52,500 --> 00:22:55,667 And that was counsel that was counterintuitive because 429 00:22:55,750 --> 00:22:59,833 in that day you would flee to a city for refuge. 430 00:22:59,833 --> 00:23:02,000 But Jesus tells them, "When that day comes, 431 00:23:02,042 --> 00:23:05,583 flee to the mountains and the countryside and the hills." 432 00:23:05,667 --> 00:23:10,542 And so just like Jesus promised, it all happened. 433 00:23:10,667 --> 00:23:14,083 The Romans came, they laid siege, the Christians, 434 00:23:14,167 --> 00:23:18,083 the followers of Jesus fled, they left. 435 00:23:18,167 --> 00:23:22,083 They did exactly what Jesus said and they lived. 436 00:23:22,167 --> 00:23:23,500 Why? 437 00:23:23,542 --> 00:23:25,542 Because Jesus has foreknowledge, he knows the future; 438 00:23:25,667 --> 00:23:28,750 he prophesies, he tells the future; he's sovereign, 439 00:23:28,833 --> 00:23:31,583 he brings the future to pass. 440 00:23:31,667 --> 00:23:34,000 See, this is where Jesus is different than everyone 441 00:23:34,042 --> 00:23:35,375 and everything. 442 00:23:35,500 --> 00:23:37,167 He knows the future in great detail. 443 00:23:37,208 --> 00:23:40,333 So within roughly 40 years of him saying this, 444 00:23:40,333 --> 00:23:43,583 it all happened and the followers of Jesus did exactly 445 00:23:43,667 --> 00:23:48,167 what he told them to do, and they lived while others died. 446 00:23:48,250 --> 00:23:51,667 So number one, the temple will be destroyed. 447 00:23:51,750 --> 00:23:55,875 The way of worship, the way of life that had been practiced, 448 00:23:56,000 --> 00:24:01,333 was brought to an end by God himself as a judgment on those 449 00:24:01,333 --> 00:24:05,375 who had rejected Jesus, the Son of God. 450 00:24:05,500 --> 00:24:10,083 Number two, the Gentiles will be saved. 451 00:24:10,167 --> 00:24:14,333 Alright, these are the three big epochs in human history 452 00:24:14,333 --> 00:24:16,333 that Jesus is talking about. 453 00:24:16,333 --> 00:24:20,167 This Jewish way of life is now fulfilled, come to an end. 454 00:24:20,208 --> 00:24:24,667 Now God is moving from Jerusalem to the nations. 455 00:24:24,750 --> 00:24:27,000 We read it this way in Luke 21:24, 456 00:24:27,042 --> 00:24:30,167 "They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive 457 00:24:30,250 --> 00:24:31,583 "among all nations, 458 00:24:31,667 --> 00:24:33,333 "and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot 459 00:24:33,333 --> 00:24:35,333 by the Gentiles--" that was ultimately the Romans, 460 00:24:35,333 --> 00:24:38,667 "until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." 461 00:24:38,708 --> 00:24:42,042 Jesus says, "The way it was is over, 462 00:24:42,167 --> 00:24:45,500 and now we're going to go global." 463 00:24:45,500 --> 00:24:48,333 Now, truth be told, there are people, 464 00:24:48,417 --> 00:24:51,375 Gentiles--that means non-Jews, you and I who are not 465 00:24:51,500 --> 00:24:55,500 physical descendants of Abraham--that we would become 466 00:24:55,500 --> 00:25:00,583 spiritual descendants of Abraham by faith. 467 00:25:00,667 --> 00:25:02,667 When the Bible talks about Gentiles, 468 00:25:02,750 --> 00:25:05,333 it's talking about non-Jews. 469 00:25:05,417 --> 00:25:08,167 Now, the truth is, and this might shock some of you, 470 00:25:08,250 --> 00:25:10,833 Abraham himself was not Jewish. 471 00:25:10,917 --> 00:25:12,583 He was Gentile. 472 00:25:12,667 --> 00:25:16,000 He was part of a pagan family; he was from a pagan area. 473 00:25:16,042 --> 00:25:18,500 And the Bible says in Genesis, and then it echoes 474 00:25:18,542 --> 00:25:20,833 through the whole Bible, it's said repeatedly, 475 00:25:20,833 --> 00:25:25,000 Abraham--or Abram was his original name--believed the Lord 476 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,875 and it was credited to him as righteousness. 477 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:33,500 So Abraham started as a Gentile who trusted in the God 478 00:25:33,500 --> 00:25:36,833 of the Bible and the coming of Jesus Christ, 479 00:25:36,917 --> 00:25:41,833 and he was saved by faith through grace in the God 480 00:25:41,917 --> 00:25:43,500 of the Bible. 481 00:25:43,542 --> 00:25:45,583 That's the story of Abraham. 482 00:25:45,667 --> 00:25:49,875 He then circumcised himself, he became the father of the nation 483 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:52,500 of Israel, and he has both 484 00:25:52,542 --> 00:25:55,333 physical and spiritual descendants. 485 00:25:55,333 --> 00:25:58,042 Those who are physical descendants are, 486 00:25:58,167 --> 00:26:00,667 by birth, Jewish. 487 00:26:00,750 --> 00:26:04,375 Those are who are his spiritual descendants are, by new birth, 488 00:26:04,500 --> 00:26:09,542 born again, faith in Jesus, Christians, 489 00:26:09,667 --> 00:26:13,167 worshipers of the God of Abraham. 490 00:26:13,250 --> 00:26:16,583 And so for you and I, that's how Gentiles come into 491 00:26:16,667 --> 00:26:18,500 the family of God. 492 00:26:18,542 --> 00:26:20,875 It's not by birth, but by new birth. 493 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:23,000 It's not by who our father is, 494 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:26,333 but it is by where our faith resides. 495 00:26:26,333 --> 00:26:29,875 If it's in Jesus, he was trusting in the coming of Jesus. 496 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:33,167 We're trusting in the Second Coming of Jesus. 497 00:26:33,250 --> 00:26:35,375 It's all the same. 498 00:26:35,500 --> 00:26:37,833 And so when he is here talking, Jesus is, 499 00:26:37,833 --> 00:26:41,500 about the time of the Gentiles, he is saying what began with 500 00:26:41,500 --> 00:26:45,500 Abraham, a Gentile coming to faith, 501 00:26:45,542 --> 00:26:48,167 is something as well that happened in other places 502 00:26:48,250 --> 00:26:49,667 in the Bible. 503 00:26:49,708 --> 00:26:51,875 So I'll give you some examples. 504 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:54,250 There's a gal named Ruth in the Old Testament. 505 00:26:54,333 --> 00:26:57,875 She was from a Moabite line, Gentile. 506 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:02,583 By faith she worshiped the God of the Bible, she was converted. 507 00:27:02,667 --> 00:27:08,167 Also, Rahab, a prostitute, was a Gentile. 508 00:27:08,208 --> 00:27:12,083 She became a worshiper of the God of the Bible; 509 00:27:12,167 --> 00:27:15,500 by faith she was saved. 510 00:27:15,542 --> 00:27:19,833 There are examples of people who were Gentile and they worship 511 00:27:19,917 --> 00:27:22,167 the Jewish God. 512 00:27:22,208 --> 00:27:25,875 As, for example, in the days of the Exodus in the Old Testament, 513 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:28,667 God's people as they were leaving Egypt, 514 00:27:28,750 --> 00:27:31,583 it says that some of the Egyptians went with them, 515 00:27:31,667 --> 00:27:34,583 that they had joined the people of God and they were worshiping 516 00:27:34,667 --> 00:27:37,500 the God of the Jews. 517 00:27:37,542 --> 00:27:40,833 It's said early on in Luke's Gospel that Jesus had come 518 00:27:40,833 --> 00:27:45,000 for the nations; that he had come, not just for one nation, 519 00:27:45,042 --> 00:27:48,375 but all nations; not just one race, but all races; 520 00:27:48,500 --> 00:27:52,000 not just one tribe, but all tribes; not just one language, 521 00:27:52,042 --> 00:27:55,375 but all languages; not just one culture, but all cultures; 522 00:27:55,500 --> 00:27:58,667 not just one people, but all people. 523 00:27:58,750 --> 00:28:02,875 That he went to the Jews first, and then the Gentiles; 524 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:06,875 that he went to the physical descendants of Abraham first 525 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:10,000 to invite them to become the spiritual descendants of Abraham 526 00:28:10,042 --> 00:28:12,833 by faith, and then from there the news about Jesus 527 00:28:12,833 --> 00:28:14,750 was supposed to go global. 528 00:28:14,833 --> 00:28:18,833 This is what Jesus said after he died, after he rose, 529 00:28:18,917 --> 00:28:22,167 he gathered his disciples in Acts and he says, 530 00:28:22,250 --> 00:28:25,333 "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, you'll receive power, 531 00:28:25,333 --> 00:28:28,875 "you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, 532 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:31,083 ends of the earth." 533 00:28:31,167 --> 00:28:35,667 So that's exactly what happened. 534 00:28:35,750 --> 00:28:40,333 That's exactly what happened in part because of the destruction 535 00:28:40,333 --> 00:28:42,333 of the temple. 536 00:28:42,417 --> 00:28:46,000 God's people were forced to flee and scatter. 537 00:28:46,042 --> 00:28:49,750 And so they did, they scattered among the nations of the earth. 538 00:28:49,833 --> 00:28:54,250 And today we find ourselves in a period of human history 539 00:28:54,333 --> 00:28:58,167 that Jesus calls the times of the Gentiles. 540 00:28:58,208 --> 00:29:01,833 This is where this story from Jerusalem, 541 00:29:01,833 --> 00:29:06,167 about this Jewish God, Savior become man, 542 00:29:06,208 --> 00:29:10,333 named Jesus, where his death, burial, resurrection occurred, 543 00:29:10,417 --> 00:29:13,542 where all of that truth and salvation and fulfillment 544 00:29:13,667 --> 00:29:17,500 of prophecy and Scripture and history, it is finished, 545 00:29:17,542 --> 00:29:20,500 like he said on the cross, and now is the season where 546 00:29:20,542 --> 00:29:23,083 the news of Jesus' death for sin 547 00:29:23,167 --> 00:29:26,000 and resurrection as Savior is to go out to the Gentiles, 548 00:29:26,042 --> 00:29:27,833 all the nations of the earth. 549 00:29:27,833 --> 00:29:29,333 That's the time of the Gentiles. 550 00:29:29,333 --> 00:29:31,333 This is the time that we live in. 551 00:29:31,333 --> 00:29:33,500 That's why we're here, quite frankly. 552 00:29:33,542 --> 00:29:36,333 Jesus said the temple will be destroyed. 553 00:29:36,333 --> 00:29:39,167 Was that true or false? 554 00:29:39,208 --> 00:29:41,042 It was true. 555 00:29:41,167 --> 00:29:44,500 Jesus said then there would be the time of the Gentiles, 556 00:29:44,542 --> 00:29:47,000 time when non-Jewish people would worship the God 557 00:29:47,042 --> 00:29:49,875 of the Bible, Jesus Christ. 558 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:51,833 Is that true or false? 559 00:29:51,833 --> 00:29:54,542 It's true. 560 00:29:54,667 --> 00:29:58,875 Right now on the earth, a few billion people worship 561 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:02,500 the God of Abraham, Jesus Christ. 562 00:30:02,542 --> 00:30:05,833 There are Christians scattered among the nations of 563 00:30:05,833 --> 00:30:12,583 the earth, all kinds of nations, languages, tribes, and peoples. 564 00:30:12,667 --> 00:30:14,583 That's why there are Bible translations, 565 00:30:14,667 --> 00:30:16,833 bringing the Scriptures and the story of Jesus 566 00:30:16,833 --> 00:30:18,833 to a few thousand languages. 567 00:30:18,833 --> 00:30:22,333 That's why the Bible is the most translated of all documents 568 00:30:22,333 --> 00:30:23,833 in the history of the world. 569 00:30:23,833 --> 00:30:27,333 There's no book been translated as much as the Bible. 570 00:30:27,333 --> 00:30:28,667 Why? 571 00:30:28,750 --> 00:30:30,542 'Cause it's the times of the Gentiles. 572 00:30:30,667 --> 00:30:33,042 It's why missionaries are sent around the world to unreached 573 00:30:33,167 --> 00:30:34,583 people groups and tribes. 574 00:30:34,667 --> 00:30:36,000 Why? 575 00:30:36,042 --> 00:30:37,833 Because it's the times of the Gentiles; 576 00:30:37,917 --> 00:30:39,875 that's why we started Mars Hill Church because 577 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:41,500 it's the times of the Gentiles. 578 00:30:41,500 --> 00:30:46,042 Until Jesus comes back, yes, he is to be made much of 579 00:30:46,167 --> 00:30:50,083 in Jerusalem, hopeful that people will meet him, 580 00:30:50,167 --> 00:30:52,333 even those who are Jewish. 581 00:30:52,333 --> 00:30:54,833 We want Jewish people to love Jesus, too. 582 00:30:54,833 --> 00:30:56,833 Jesus, himself, was Jewish. 583 00:30:56,917 --> 00:31:00,375 It shouldn't be that hard to show that that is a good idea 584 00:31:00,500 --> 00:31:04,167 for those who are Jewish, and beyond, 585 00:31:04,208 --> 00:31:06,833 to the nations of the earth. 586 00:31:06,833 --> 00:31:09,375 We want every nation to know about Jesus. 587 00:31:09,500 --> 00:31:12,500 We want every language, every people, every tongue, 588 00:31:12,542 --> 00:31:15,875 every tribe to know about Jesus. 589 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:19,833 That's exactly what Jesus told us to do: be his witnesses 590 00:31:19,833 --> 00:31:21,667 to the ends of the earth. 591 00:31:21,750 --> 00:31:24,667 This is why money is spent on missions. 592 00:31:24,750 --> 00:31:27,500 This is why organizations are started: to take the news 593 00:31:27,542 --> 00:31:29,875 of Jesus around the world. 594 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:32,500 You see, as soon as you become a Christian, 595 00:31:32,500 --> 00:31:35,750 you are part of a global movement, 596 00:31:35,833 --> 00:31:40,375 led by the Holy Spirit, to bring the news of Jesus to everyone 597 00:31:40,500 --> 00:31:43,167 and anyone, everywhere and anywhere. 598 00:31:43,250 --> 00:31:45,667 That's the heart of God. 599 00:31:45,750 --> 00:31:50,167 And so salvation is for us, and it is a message through us, 600 00:31:50,250 --> 00:31:52,583 so that others would be worshipers of him. 601 00:31:52,667 --> 00:31:54,750 And it all culminates in Revelation, 602 00:31:54,833 --> 00:31:58,000 where it talks about at the end of the age around Jesus 603 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:01,083 and the kingdom of God will be every language and tribe 604 00:32:01,167 --> 00:32:04,500 and tongue and nation of people. 605 00:32:04,542 --> 00:32:06,583 That's amazing. 606 00:32:06,667 --> 00:32:09,375 See, there's something in us that wants global harmony and 607 00:32:09,500 --> 00:32:13,875 unity and racial reconciliation and cultural reconciliation 608 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:18,667 and gender reconciliation and economic reconciliation. 609 00:32:18,750 --> 00:32:21,500 Well, his name is Jesus. 610 00:32:21,542 --> 00:32:25,833 And the only reconciliation that is really possible is when 611 00:32:25,917 --> 00:32:28,500 we live for something bigger than our nation, 612 00:32:28,542 --> 00:32:31,542 bigger than our race, bigger than our gender. 613 00:32:31,667 --> 00:32:34,083 We live for the glory of God. 614 00:32:34,167 --> 00:32:36,042 We live as the people of God. 615 00:32:36,167 --> 00:32:38,167 We live as the church of God. 616 00:32:38,250 --> 00:32:43,000 And as Jesus is central among us, and exalted by us, 617 00:32:43,042 --> 00:32:47,500 then we become a people that don't have anything in common 618 00:32:47,542 --> 00:32:50,167 other than the God we worship 619 00:32:50,250 --> 00:32:52,500 and the one who brings us together. 620 00:32:52,542 --> 00:32:56,333 So even at Mars Hill, what a weird tribe we are. 621 00:32:56,417 --> 00:32:59,875 Young and old and black and white and brown and rich 622 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:06,000 and poor and educated and simple--this crazy diversity. 623 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:09,333 Different generations and life stages. 624 00:33:09,417 --> 00:33:11,000 So what brings you all together? 625 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:12,667 How did you become a people? 626 00:33:12,708 --> 00:33:15,333 How did you become a community? 627 00:33:15,333 --> 00:33:18,083 Ah, Jesus. 628 00:33:18,167 --> 00:33:21,833 He loved us all, he pursued us all, he served us all, 629 00:33:21,833 --> 00:33:24,333 he saved us all. 630 00:33:24,417 --> 00:33:28,333 As a result, he is the center that brings us together, 631 00:33:28,417 --> 00:33:31,750 and we gather not around a place, but a person, 632 00:33:31,833 --> 00:33:36,542 and as a result we become a people finding our identity 633 00:33:36,667 --> 00:33:39,333 in the love of our Savior. 634 00:33:39,417 --> 00:33:43,583 That's all that is meant by the times of the Gentiles. 635 00:33:43,667 --> 00:33:45,667 That's exactly what God is doing. 636 00:33:45,750 --> 00:33:47,333 And so it's been amazing. 637 00:33:47,333 --> 00:33:50,000 I've had the privilege of traveling and just seeing what 638 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:53,000 God is doing, what God the Holy Spirit is doing through people. 639 00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:57,333 I've been in Greece, Israel, Turkey, Haiti, South Africa, 640 00:33:57,417 --> 00:34:03,333 Scotland, London, Ireland--I've been all over the world. 641 00:34:03,333 --> 00:34:04,667 India. 642 00:34:04,750 --> 00:34:07,167 I can't even remember all the places that I've been. 643 00:34:07,250 --> 00:34:11,000 As well as all over the U.S. and all over Canada. 644 00:34:11,042 --> 00:34:13,167 What I see is people coming to Jesus. 645 00:34:13,208 --> 00:34:14,667 Yeah, things could be better, 646 00:34:14,708 --> 00:34:16,583 but it's amazing what is happening. 647 00:34:16,667 --> 00:34:19,333 Churches are being planted and new people groups are being 648 00:34:19,333 --> 00:34:23,000 reached, and it's wonderful 'cause the whole world 649 00:34:23,042 --> 00:34:26,000 needs Jesus. 650 00:34:26,042 --> 00:34:28,500 And so that you know our participation in this, 651 00:34:28,542 --> 00:34:31,167 we believe that this leads to church planting. 652 00:34:31,208 --> 00:34:32,875 You don't just tell people about Jesus, 653 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:36,250 but when they meet him you bring them together as the church and 654 00:34:36,333 --> 00:34:39,250 you give them pastors who love them and leaders who serve them 655 00:34:39,333 --> 00:34:42,083 and you guard them from false teaching and help instruct them 656 00:34:42,167 --> 00:34:45,583 in the ways of Jesus and help them to develop whatever gifts 657 00:34:45,667 --> 00:34:48,583 they have so that their life might be part of God's kingdom 658 00:34:48,667 --> 00:34:51,000 purposes for the earth. 659 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:54,000 And so some of you may not be familiar with this, 660 00:34:54,042 --> 00:34:56,250 but we have a few ways of doing that. 661 00:34:56,333 --> 00:35:00,042 We have The Resurgence, which is a ministry of Mars Hill to equip 662 00:35:00,167 --> 00:35:04,000 and serve missional leaders all around the world. 663 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:08,583 We give away ebooks and we give away blogs and training and put 664 00:35:08,667 --> 00:35:11,333 all of our conferences up there and we're publishing books 665 00:35:11,333 --> 00:35:14,667 and it's now the most trafficked Christian leadership blog 666 00:35:14,750 --> 00:35:16,583 on the whole Internet. 667 00:35:16,667 --> 00:35:18,875 Most trafficked Christian leadership website 668 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:21,500 on the whole Internet is theresurgence.com, 669 00:35:21,542 --> 00:35:23,667 and it's our way of saying, for anyone 670 00:35:23,750 --> 00:35:25,833 who's helping get the news about Jesus out, 671 00:35:25,833 --> 00:35:29,000 if there's any way we could serve and help and provide some 672 00:35:29,042 --> 00:35:31,875 instruction and encouragement, we want to do that. 673 00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:33,583 And God has really blessed that. 674 00:35:33,667 --> 00:35:35,583 And we get reports from literally the nations 675 00:35:35,667 --> 00:35:37,083 of the earth. 676 00:35:37,167 --> 00:35:39,375 I mean, the list of nations that download us-- 677 00:35:39,500 --> 00:35:40,833 I recently got the report-- 678 00:35:40,833 --> 00:35:44,333 it is page after page after page after page after page 679 00:35:44,333 --> 00:35:47,167 of very small font, all the nations of the earth 680 00:35:47,250 --> 00:35:50,000 where Christian leaders who are serving the times of 681 00:35:50,042 --> 00:35:53,500 the Gentiles are downloading information and we're helping 682 00:35:53,500 --> 00:35:56,750 to serve them in the field, which is a great honor. 683 00:35:56,833 --> 00:35:58,583 So thank you for giving to that. 684 00:35:58,667 --> 00:36:02,500 Also, we have Acts 29, there are 28 chapters in Acts, 685 00:36:02,542 --> 00:36:06,000 and Acts 29 is our way of saying we're just going to keep doing 686 00:36:06,042 --> 00:36:07,833 what they're doing until Jesus comes back. 687 00:36:07,833 --> 00:36:10,333 It's the times of the Gentiles, which means go out, 688 00:36:10,333 --> 00:36:13,042 tell everybody about Jesus, focus a lot of your efforts on 689 00:36:13,167 --> 00:36:14,875 Gentiles, non-Jews, without neglecting those who are 690 00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:17,042 Jewish in heritage. 691 00:36:17,167 --> 00:36:18,667 And the result has been staggering. 692 00:36:18,708 --> 00:36:21,875 We don't take credit for it; it's a work of God. 693 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:25,333 Furthermore, other churches are giving and serving and making it 694 00:36:25,333 --> 00:36:28,167 happen, so it's not just us, 695 00:36:28,250 --> 00:36:30,667 but we give 10% of our dollars to Acts 29. 696 00:36:30,750 --> 00:36:33,500 Acts 29 now, we recently had our annual retreat in Vail, 697 00:36:33,542 --> 00:36:36,167 where we get the pastors and their wives together. 698 00:36:36,208 --> 00:36:40,667 There are now, just in the U.S., about 400 Acts 29 churches, 699 00:36:40,750 --> 00:36:44,875 with about 175,000 people altogether on Easter, 700 00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:46,833 which is amazing. 701 00:36:46,833 --> 00:36:50,833 There are now about 500 potential church planters in the queue 702 00:36:50,917 --> 00:36:54,500 being assessed, and it just keeps going. 703 00:36:54,542 --> 00:36:55,875 Why? 704 00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:58,333 Because it's the times of the Gentiles. 705 00:36:58,333 --> 00:37:01,500 In addition, we're working in 13 different nations, 706 00:37:01,542 --> 00:37:04,500 just helping to find nationals who love Jesus, 707 00:37:04,500 --> 00:37:07,333 and to get behind them and support them and fund them 708 00:37:07,417 --> 00:37:09,083 and encourage them. So that what? 709 00:37:09,167 --> 00:37:11,167 They can tell people about Jesus, 710 00:37:11,208 --> 00:37:14,375 many of whom have never heard; so that they can start churches 711 00:37:14,500 --> 00:37:15,833 that serve Jesus. 712 00:37:15,917 --> 00:37:17,250 Why? 713 00:37:17,333 --> 00:37:19,083 Because it's the times of the Gentiles. 714 00:37:19,167 --> 00:37:20,833 And that includes friends like-- 715 00:37:20,833 --> 00:37:23,333 I've got a dear friend named Arjuna Chiguluri 716 00:37:23,333 --> 00:37:25,000 from East India, 717 00:37:25,042 --> 00:37:26,542 they've planted hundreds of churches, 718 00:37:26,667 --> 00:37:29,250 and they have an orphanage, and he's spread into Nepal, 719 00:37:29,333 --> 00:37:31,000 and he's spread up into Pakistan, 720 00:37:31,042 --> 00:37:33,583 and the work is extending and expanding and they've got 721 00:37:33,667 --> 00:37:37,333 a Bible college that's now matured into a seminary. 722 00:37:37,417 --> 00:37:40,000 And Vision Nationals is a great ministry. 723 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:43,375 And his church planters can be very inexpensively funded. 724 00:37:43,500 --> 00:37:46,000 They're all Hindu converts that have met Jesus. 725 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:48,083 It's the times of the Gentiles. 726 00:37:48,167 --> 00:37:52,833 Indian Hindus meeting Jesus as Lord, God, Savior, and Christ, 727 00:37:52,833 --> 00:37:55,500 and they get a bicycle or they get a scooter, 728 00:37:55,542 --> 00:37:58,667 depending upon how much funding they receive, and it's like $30, 729 00:37:58,750 --> 00:38:02,833 $40, $50 a month, depending upon what area you're funding in. 730 00:38:02,833 --> 00:38:05,167 He's got a vision to plant 10,000 churches, 731 00:38:05,250 --> 00:38:07,542 and we pray that that would come to pass. 732 00:38:07,667 --> 00:38:10,333 In Acts 29 we have a vision that thousands of churches 733 00:38:10,333 --> 00:38:12,375 would be planted in the U.S. and beyond, 734 00:38:12,500 --> 00:38:14,500 and we pray that would come to pass. 735 00:38:14,500 --> 00:38:17,000 And for him, he's sending--Arjuna is--his 736 00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:19,000 church planters, and we've been working with him 737 00:38:19,042 --> 00:38:20,667 for over a decade. 738 00:38:20,750 --> 00:38:24,375 Many years ago you gave the money to buy the orphanage land 739 00:38:24,500 --> 00:38:27,583 where now there are hundreds of orphans being cared for. 740 00:38:27,667 --> 00:38:32,583 And what's amazing is as he sends his pastors out for the 741 00:38:32,667 --> 00:38:35,583 times of the Gentiles, many of them are going to small rural 742 00:38:35,667 --> 00:38:38,167 villages that have never heard the name of Jesus 743 00:38:38,250 --> 00:38:40,333 in their whole life. 744 00:38:40,333 --> 00:38:43,583 And so a guy will roll in on his bicycle or his scooter, 745 00:38:43,667 --> 00:38:45,542 and he'll pull that village together. 746 00:38:45,667 --> 00:38:50,333 And we're talking ox carts and thatched huts and old-school way 747 00:38:50,333 --> 00:38:53,583 of life, pre-electricity with dirt floors. 748 00:38:53,667 --> 00:38:55,833 I've been there, it's amazing. 749 00:38:55,917 --> 00:38:58,083 And people meet Jesus and a church gets planted 750 00:38:58,167 --> 00:39:00,375 and each of these church planters ends up planting 751 00:39:00,500 --> 00:39:02,333 three churches in three villages, 752 00:39:02,417 --> 00:39:05,333 and the bike or scooter is used so that they can travel 753 00:39:05,417 --> 00:39:06,750 between the three. 754 00:39:06,833 --> 00:39:08,750 Some of you ask, "Why do that?" 755 00:39:08,833 --> 00:39:11,333 It's the times of the Gentiles. 756 00:39:11,333 --> 00:39:13,875 What happened in Jerusalem was for the whole world 757 00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:15,667 and all people. 758 00:39:15,750 --> 00:39:19,667 The death, burial, resurrection of Jesus is real. 759 00:39:19,708 --> 00:39:22,375 That he is God, Lord, Savior, King, and Christ. 760 00:39:22,500 --> 00:39:24,667 And that now in the times of the Gentiles, 761 00:39:24,750 --> 00:39:27,667 we get to be part of telling the good news about Jesus, 762 00:39:27,750 --> 00:39:30,833 starting in our city and our region, out to our nation, 763 00:39:30,917 --> 00:39:34,333 out to the nations of the earth, helping also to take our dollars 764 00:39:34,417 --> 00:39:37,583 and our opportunities, and to give it to those who love and 765 00:39:37,667 --> 00:39:41,583 serve Jesus so that as long as this window of opportunity's 766 00:39:41,667 --> 00:39:44,500 open--and the times of the Gentiles, friends, 767 00:39:44,542 --> 00:39:46,333 it doesn't last forever. 768 00:39:46,417 --> 00:39:48,583 Right now it's been a few thousand years. 769 00:39:48,667 --> 00:39:51,583 It could be a few more minutes, a few more hours, 770 00:39:51,667 --> 00:39:53,833 a few more days, weeks, months, years, decades, 771 00:39:53,917 --> 00:39:56,333 or millennia--we do not know. 772 00:39:56,417 --> 00:39:58,750 We don't know when Jesus is coming back. 773 00:39:58,833 --> 00:40:02,167 But until he does, it's the times of the Gentiles. 774 00:40:02,208 --> 00:40:04,750 It's this open window of opportunity, 775 00:40:04,833 --> 00:40:07,833 and so we want to have a sense of urgency. 776 00:40:07,833 --> 00:40:10,333 We want to have a sense of urgency that includes 777 00:40:10,417 --> 00:40:11,875 Mars Hill campuses. 778 00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:14,333 It's why we're relocating some of our campuses to 779 00:40:14,333 --> 00:40:16,667 bigger spaces; more people can meet Jesus. 780 00:40:16,708 --> 00:40:19,500 It's why we're opening campuses in Everett and we 781 00:40:19,500 --> 00:40:22,500 prayerfully hope, eventually next year, in Rainier Valley. 782 00:40:22,542 --> 00:40:25,583 And we're pushing, as well, for January, 783 00:40:25,667 --> 00:40:27,667 in addition to Everett and North Seattle, 784 00:40:27,708 --> 00:40:29,750 Orange County and Portland. 785 00:40:29,833 --> 00:40:32,500 Be in prayer; we're looking at real estate and mobilizing 786 00:40:32,500 --> 00:40:34,375 leaders and raising dollars. 787 00:40:34,500 --> 00:40:37,500 And it feels like at Mars Hill, the treadmill's always going 788 00:40:37,542 --> 00:40:38,875 100 miles an hour. 789 00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:41,875 You know why? It's the times of the Gentiles. 790 00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:44,083 There's an opportunity. 791 00:40:44,167 --> 00:40:46,000 And if there's an opportunity, 792 00:40:46,042 --> 00:40:48,083 we want to avail ourselves to it. 793 00:40:48,167 --> 00:40:51,083 Jesus is alive, the Holy Spirit has been poured out, 794 00:40:51,167 --> 00:40:53,542 and the whole world needs Jesus. 795 00:40:53,667 --> 00:40:57,042 And that means we want to send people to the end of the earth 796 00:40:57,167 --> 00:40:58,500 and across the globe. 797 00:40:58,500 --> 00:41:02,000 We also want to send people to the end of the block and across 798 00:41:02,042 --> 00:41:04,667 the street, because people need Jesus there too. 799 00:41:04,708 --> 00:41:07,500 And one of the reasons we focus many of our efforts 800 00:41:07,542 --> 00:41:09,083 in and around cities 801 00:41:09,167 --> 00:41:12,333 is because the nations pass through cities. 802 00:41:12,333 --> 00:41:14,583 And so as we're able to reach cities, 803 00:41:14,667 --> 00:41:18,167 we're also able to reach people who will then relocate, travel, 804 00:41:18,250 --> 00:41:21,333 and move back to other nations. 805 00:41:21,417 --> 00:41:25,500 This is why campuses in and near city centers are so important. 806 00:41:25,542 --> 00:41:29,667 This is why Mars Hill churches in and near university campuses 807 00:41:29,750 --> 00:41:31,750 are so important. 808 00:41:31,833 --> 00:41:34,375 Students come in, workers come in, tourists come in, 809 00:41:34,500 --> 00:41:37,000 travelers come in. 810 00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:40,375 If they meet Jesus and then they take the news of Jesus back 811 00:41:40,500 --> 00:41:43,875 with them, then all of a sudden the times of the Gentiles 812 00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:47,583 multiplies, increases, and the good news about Jesus 813 00:41:47,667 --> 00:41:49,667 goes viral and global. 814 00:41:49,750 --> 00:41:53,083 All of this, for us, is very strategic. 815 00:41:53,167 --> 00:41:55,042 It's why we do church planting. 816 00:41:55,167 --> 00:41:57,167 It's why we use the Internet. 817 00:41:57,250 --> 00:42:02,083 It's why we give a lot of things away online and digitally. 818 00:42:02,167 --> 00:42:05,833 It's why we position ourselves, not exclusively, but firstly, 819 00:42:05,917 --> 00:42:08,375 in and around urban centers. 820 00:42:08,500 --> 00:42:11,000 It's why we also have a heart for young people 821 00:42:11,042 --> 00:42:13,875 and college students and those who have an opportunity 822 00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:16,833 to relocate or travel to other nations. 823 00:42:16,833 --> 00:42:18,167 You say, "Why is this?" 824 00:42:18,250 --> 00:42:20,167 I need you to know this, Mars Hill. 825 00:42:20,250 --> 00:42:21,583 It's all very missional. 826 00:42:21,667 --> 00:42:23,000 We are missionary people. 827 00:42:23,042 --> 00:42:25,167 We are part of a missionary movement. 828 00:42:25,250 --> 00:42:28,375 And this is missiological thinking because the window 829 00:42:28,500 --> 00:42:31,750 of opportunity is open, Jesus is alive, 830 00:42:31,833 --> 00:42:35,000 he's not come back yet to judge the living and the dead, 831 00:42:35,042 --> 00:42:37,167 it's the times of the Gentiles. 832 00:42:37,250 --> 00:42:39,375 It's the times of the Gentiles. 833 00:42:39,500 --> 00:42:42,333 And for those of you who are interested in church planting 834 00:42:42,333 --> 00:42:45,083 or becoming someone who starts a Mars Hill church, 835 00:42:45,167 --> 00:42:47,833 coming up this fall, I believe the tentative date is 836 00:42:47,833 --> 00:42:51,500 in November, we're looking at a boot camp here in Seattle. 837 00:42:51,542 --> 00:42:54,333 This is where we talk about church planting and evangelism 838 00:42:54,333 --> 00:42:56,167 and missional work. 839 00:42:56,250 --> 00:42:59,167 And we assess people to see whether or not they meet the 840 00:42:59,250 --> 00:43:03,833 biblical criteria to go ahead and be someone who is sent out 841 00:43:03,917 --> 00:43:05,833 for the times of the Gentiles. 842 00:43:05,833 --> 00:43:08,583 And we want you to be thinking and praying about that. 843 00:43:08,667 --> 00:43:11,500 You men to be thinking and praying about that. 844 00:43:11,500 --> 00:43:14,875 Number one, the temple will be destroyed; 845 00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:16,583 things are going to change. 846 00:43:16,667 --> 00:43:19,167 Number two, the times of the Gentiles. 847 00:43:19,208 --> 00:43:25,583 Number three, history ends because Jesus will return. 848 00:43:25,667 --> 00:43:30,000 Luke 21:25-28, "And there will be signs in sun and moon 849 00:43:30,042 --> 00:43:32,667 "and stars, and on the earth distress of nations 850 00:43:32,750 --> 00:43:35,167 "in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea 851 00:43:35,250 --> 00:43:37,375 "and the waves, people fainting with fear 852 00:43:37,500 --> 00:43:41,083 "and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. 853 00:43:41,167 --> 00:43:44,167 "For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 854 00:43:44,250 --> 00:43:46,500 And then they will see the Son of Man," 855 00:43:46,500 --> 00:43:48,500 the great title of Jesus from Daniel, 856 00:43:48,542 --> 00:43:51,333 "coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 857 00:43:51,333 --> 00:43:54,333 "Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up 858 00:43:54,333 --> 00:43:56,667 "and raise your heads, because your redemption 859 00:43:56,708 --> 00:43:59,375 is drawing near." 860 00:43:59,500 --> 00:44:05,000 There will be a day when history as we know it ends. 861 00:44:05,042 --> 00:44:09,000 That will be when Jesus returns. 862 00:44:09,042 --> 00:44:13,000 Jesus promised the temple would be destroyed, it happened. 863 00:44:13,000 --> 00:44:15,875 Jesus promised there would be the times of the Gentiles, 864 00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:17,500 it's happening. 865 00:44:17,542 --> 00:44:21,667 Jesus promised he will return, it will happen. 866 00:44:21,750 --> 00:44:24,667 It will happen. 867 00:44:24,708 --> 00:44:28,083 This world does not endure forever. 868 00:44:28,167 --> 00:44:31,250 Sin, injustice, tyranny, evil, oppression, 869 00:44:31,333 --> 00:44:34,667 and death do not continue forever. 870 00:44:34,708 --> 00:44:36,875 Jesus returns. 871 00:44:37,000 --> 00:44:41,833 He--he will bring human history to an end. 872 00:44:41,833 --> 00:44:47,000 History is beginning, middle, end, new beginning, new heaven, 873 00:44:47,042 --> 00:44:50,375 new earth, New Jerusalem, resurrection of the dead, 874 00:44:50,500 --> 00:44:54,167 new glorified body, that is God's pattern and plan 875 00:44:54,250 --> 00:44:56,583 for human history. 876 00:44:56,667 --> 00:45:02,000 Here's the truth, friends: We don't know when Jesus is coming. 877 00:45:02,042 --> 00:45:08,667 But we want to live faithfully, humbly, by the power of God, 878 00:45:08,708 --> 00:45:12,500 until we see him face-to-face. 879 00:45:12,500 --> 00:45:16,167 Here's what the Bible says, a few things. 880 00:45:16,208 --> 00:45:19,833 That the world as we know it will end. 881 00:45:19,833 --> 00:45:22,750 That Jesus will return. 882 00:45:22,833 --> 00:45:27,500 That the dead will rise, just as Jesus rose from death. 883 00:45:27,500 --> 00:45:31,083 That there will be a final judgment, 884 00:45:31,167 --> 00:45:34,833 that no one is getting away with anything. 885 00:45:34,833 --> 00:45:41,583 That heaven and hell will be occupied by people forever. 886 00:45:41,667 --> 00:45:47,833 And that the kingdom of God, ruled over by Jesus Christ, 887 00:45:47,917 --> 00:45:54,542 the King of kings, will cover all of the earth, all people, 888 00:45:54,667 --> 00:45:58,375 for all eternity. 889 00:45:58,500 --> 00:46:01,333 That's what the Bible says. 890 00:46:01,333 --> 00:46:05,333 And so as Christians, we now understand where we come from: 891 00:46:05,333 --> 00:46:06,750 God. 892 00:46:06,833 --> 00:46:09,042 Why we're here: God. 893 00:46:09,167 --> 00:46:11,583 Where we're going: God. 894 00:46:11,667 --> 00:46:16,000 We understand why the world is not as we would want it to be, 895 00:46:16,000 --> 00:46:19,833 because of human sin and folly and rebellion. 896 00:46:19,917 --> 00:46:24,333 We know that, though we want to labor for justice and for love and 897 00:46:24,333 --> 00:46:28,375 mercy and grace on the earth, that ultimately those longings 898 00:46:28,500 --> 00:46:31,875 will not be completely fulfilled until the Prince of Peace 899 00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:37,250 returns, and he brings peace on the earth and prosperity and 900 00:46:37,333 --> 00:46:40,833 provision and protection as God is present with us 901 00:46:40,833 --> 00:46:45,167 in the living Jesus forever. 902 00:46:45,208 --> 00:46:49,333 In closing, I really want you to live your life 903 00:46:49,333 --> 00:46:52,042 in light of eternity. 904 00:46:52,167 --> 00:46:55,875 I want you to know that this is the times of the Gentiles. 905 00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:59,833 And until Jesus returns, we have kingdom work to be about, 906 00:46:59,917 --> 00:47:01,667 by the grace of God. 907 00:47:01,750 --> 00:47:04,542 And for those of you who are not Christians, 908 00:47:04,667 --> 00:47:07,333 I want you to know that your life will end, 909 00:47:07,417 --> 00:47:10,333 that you will stand before Jesus and that there is an eternal 910 00:47:10,417 --> 00:47:15,250 destiny of heaven or hell, of blessing or punishment. 911 00:47:15,333 --> 00:47:19,833 And everything hinges on whether or not you believe in Jesus 912 00:47:19,833 --> 00:47:22,333 or don't. 913 00:47:22,417 --> 00:47:24,375 And so it's not too late for you. 914 00:47:24,500 --> 00:47:26,167 The window of opportunity's still open. 915 00:47:26,250 --> 00:47:29,583 The times of the Gentiles is still around us, 916 00:47:29,667 --> 00:47:32,833 and it is available to us. 917 00:47:32,833 --> 00:47:37,083 Now, in closing, I want to give you six thoughts--or 918 00:47:37,167 --> 00:47:41,667 five thoughts, rather, regarding readying for Jesus' return. 919 00:47:41,750 --> 00:47:44,083 I want you to think about these things personally. 920 00:47:44,167 --> 00:47:46,583 I want you to talk about them with your family. 921 00:47:46,667 --> 00:47:49,167 We have Community Groups that meet at various times and places 922 00:47:49,250 --> 00:47:52,375 to discuss the big ideas of the Bible that we cover on Sunday 923 00:47:52,500 --> 00:47:54,042 in the ensuing week. 924 00:47:54,167 --> 00:47:56,833 And these are the things I want you to talk about 925 00:47:56,833 --> 00:47:58,333 in your Community Group this week. 926 00:47:58,333 --> 00:48:00,875 And if you're not in one, please get in one. 927 00:48:01,000 --> 00:48:02,333 Please get in one. 928 00:48:02,333 --> 00:48:04,875 Jesus saves individuals; he connects them to communities so 929 00:48:05,000 --> 00:48:09,333 that we are the people of God, not the individuals of God. 930 00:48:09,333 --> 00:48:12,500 Number one: Do you really believe that Jesus will return? 931 00:48:12,542 --> 00:48:15,042 Do you really believe that? 932 00:48:15,167 --> 00:48:17,875 Is this something you hear and you say, "I don't know." 933 00:48:18,000 --> 00:48:20,000 Do you really believe the words of Jesus? 934 00:48:20,042 --> 00:48:23,167 Everything else he said has come to pass, just like he said. 935 00:48:23,250 --> 00:48:25,833 We want you to trust him on this as well. 936 00:48:25,833 --> 00:48:31,375 Faith is believing God until you're seeing what he has done. 937 00:48:31,500 --> 00:48:34,542 Faith is believing in what Jesus is saying, 938 00:48:34,667 --> 00:48:38,167 until you're seeing what Jesus is doing. 939 00:48:38,250 --> 00:48:41,167 Number two: Are you overly concerned with the details 940 00:48:41,250 --> 00:48:44,042 of his return? 941 00:48:44,167 --> 00:48:45,833 Some of you are. 942 00:48:45,833 --> 00:48:49,542 And I tell you this because Mars Hill, Acts 29, 943 00:48:49,667 --> 00:48:52,875 what we're a part of, tends to be, not exclusively, 944 00:48:53,000 --> 00:48:57,333 but in large part, a young movement of God. 945 00:48:57,333 --> 00:48:59,750 In the last 12 months, I'm told we baptized 946 00:48:59,833 --> 00:49:04,667 1,246 people--lots of new Christians, praise God. 947 00:49:04,708 --> 00:49:07,375 There are still a lot of you who are not Christians, 948 00:49:07,500 --> 00:49:09,583 but we love you and God's working on you, 949 00:49:09,667 --> 00:49:11,833 and maybe this is the day of your salvation. 950 00:49:11,833 --> 00:49:14,333 But what I've seen happen in other movements before us-- 951 00:49:14,333 --> 00:49:16,083 I'll go back and use an example. 952 00:49:16,167 --> 00:49:19,083 There was a great outpouring and movement of the Holy Spirit in, 953 00:49:19,167 --> 00:49:22,000 let's say the '60s and '70s, called the Jesus Movement. 954 00:49:22,000 --> 00:49:23,333 And it was amazing. 955 00:49:23,417 --> 00:49:25,333 And I'm not critical of it at all. 956 00:49:25,417 --> 00:49:26,875 It was a miracle of God. 957 00:49:27,000 --> 00:49:29,083 A whole generation just seemed to get captured with 958 00:49:29,167 --> 00:49:30,500 the love of Jesus. 959 00:49:30,542 --> 00:49:33,167 And en masse, hippies and drug addicts and people who were 960 00:49:33,250 --> 00:49:37,500 sexually wayward and completely spiritual but not in 961 00:49:37,542 --> 00:49:40,333 the Holy Spirit but more in the demon way, 962 00:49:40,333 --> 00:49:44,667 they met Jesus and there was a radical number of salvations. 963 00:49:44,750 --> 00:49:48,500 And a huge number of young people became Christians. 964 00:49:48,500 --> 00:49:51,000 We're not seeing that yet today. 965 00:49:51,042 --> 00:49:53,083 I hope we're seeing the beginning of that, 966 00:49:53,167 --> 00:49:54,500 but we're not seeing that. 967 00:49:54,542 --> 00:49:57,833 I hope and pray that we would see that kind of mass outpouring 968 00:49:57,833 --> 00:49:59,833 and revival in the times of the Gentiles. 969 00:49:59,833 --> 00:50:02,500 I pray for that all the time. We labor for that. 970 00:50:02,542 --> 00:50:05,083 We're seeing so much to be encouraged about, 971 00:50:05,167 --> 00:50:07,083 but there could be so much more, 972 00:50:07,167 --> 00:50:10,000 and we want that, in the grace of God. 973 00:50:10,042 --> 00:50:12,875 Nonetheless, what happened with the Jesus Movement, 974 00:50:13,000 --> 00:50:16,500 is I believe it got off track and off course. 975 00:50:16,542 --> 00:50:19,500 People started to get really fascinated with the rapture 976 00:50:19,500 --> 00:50:25,250 and the end times and the Second Coming and all of these things. 977 00:50:25,333 --> 00:50:28,250 All of a sudden, yeah, there was a love for Jesus, 978 00:50:28,333 --> 00:50:33,042 but there was more of a fascination around dates 979 00:50:33,167 --> 00:50:36,750 and times and events and circumstances. 980 00:50:36,833 --> 00:50:40,042 And all of a sudden, leaders rise up and conferences are held 981 00:50:40,167 --> 00:50:42,750 and people are making predictions about when Jesus 982 00:50:42,833 --> 00:50:46,000 will return and the signs accompanying his coming. 983 00:50:46,000 --> 00:50:48,875 And they're taking the Bible and they're taking the nightly news 984 00:50:49,000 --> 00:50:50,375 and they're combining them together. 985 00:50:50,500 --> 00:50:52,875 And a whole bunch of new Christians and young people, 986 00:50:53,000 --> 00:50:55,250 they go, "The end of the world is near. 987 00:50:55,333 --> 00:50:57,000 Jesus is coming back at any time." 988 00:50:57,042 --> 00:51:00,542 And it led to a short-sightedness. 989 00:51:00,667 --> 00:51:02,833 Some people didn't get married, and they should have. 990 00:51:02,833 --> 00:51:05,333 Or some people didn't have children, and they should have. 991 00:51:05,333 --> 00:51:08,833 Or some people didn't buy a home, because why buy a home if you're 992 00:51:08,833 --> 00:51:11,500 going to be gone any time--you're going to just go up 993 00:51:11,542 --> 00:51:13,500 to be with Jesus, and they should have. 994 00:51:13,542 --> 00:51:15,000 Some churches didn't buy a building, 995 00:51:15,042 --> 00:51:16,500 or they didn't make long-range plans, 996 00:51:16,542 --> 00:51:18,875 or they weren't thinking generationally about a legacy. 997 00:51:19,000 --> 00:51:23,000 Everything was sort of a crisis sense of immediate urgency. 998 00:51:23,042 --> 00:51:26,500 Some key leaders, even some who love Jesus and are brothers and 999 00:51:26,542 --> 00:51:29,500 sisters in Christ, they started predicting the end of the world 1000 00:51:29,500 --> 00:51:31,750 and sending their followers, their young followers, 1001 00:51:31,833 --> 00:51:35,333 into a frenzy. 1002 00:51:35,333 --> 00:51:38,500 None of that's helpful. 1003 00:51:38,500 --> 00:51:41,083 Are you overly interested, concerned, 1004 00:51:41,167 --> 00:51:44,375 consumed with the details of his return? 1005 00:51:44,500 --> 00:51:47,833 Are you reading too many books about the end of the world 1006 00:51:47,833 --> 00:51:50,833 and neglecting the needs of the world? 1007 00:51:50,833 --> 00:51:55,042 Are you trying to predict things when Jesus says elsewhere, 1008 00:51:55,167 --> 00:51:57,875 "No one knows the hour nor the day"? 1009 00:51:58,000 --> 00:52:00,667 Are you overly concerned? 1010 00:52:00,708 --> 00:52:03,583 Some of you don't believe in the Second Coming of Jesus; 1011 00:52:03,667 --> 00:52:05,750 that's not far enough. 1012 00:52:05,833 --> 00:52:08,583 Some of you are overly concerned and obsessed with the details 1013 00:52:08,667 --> 00:52:11,375 and have very strong opinions about things that have not yet 1014 00:52:11,500 --> 00:52:17,167 happened; that's going too far. 1015 00:52:17,250 --> 00:52:20,375 Number three: If Jesus returned today, 1016 00:52:20,500 --> 00:52:23,583 what might you regret not having done? 1017 00:52:23,667 --> 00:52:26,333 Are there things that you need to be obedient to? 1018 00:52:26,333 --> 00:52:30,167 Are there issues in your life that you need to deal with? 1019 00:52:30,250 --> 00:52:32,167 Are there sins that you need to confess? 1020 00:52:32,250 --> 00:52:34,250 Are there dollars you need to give? 1021 00:52:34,333 --> 00:52:36,875 Or volunteer hours you need to make available? 1022 00:52:37,000 --> 00:52:38,542 Or whatever it is. 1023 00:52:38,667 --> 00:52:41,042 I don't know what it is for you--the Holy Spirit 1024 00:52:41,167 --> 00:52:43,042 will highlight that and he'll let you know. 1025 00:52:43,167 --> 00:52:45,500 But you may be laboring under this false sense of 1026 00:52:45,542 --> 00:52:47,333 "there's plenty of time." 1027 00:52:47,333 --> 00:52:49,333 We don't know when we're going to die, 1028 00:52:49,333 --> 00:52:51,500 and/or Jesus will return. 1029 00:52:51,542 --> 00:52:54,500 That shouldn't cause us to be panicked and have a sense of 1030 00:52:54,542 --> 00:52:58,000 crisis, but it should encourage in us a sense of urgency. 1031 00:52:58,042 --> 00:53:00,042 I know Christians, churches, denominations, 1032 00:53:00,167 --> 00:53:02,667 it's like they think we have forever, and we may, 1033 00:53:02,750 --> 00:53:04,167 and we may not. 1034 00:53:04,250 --> 00:53:06,167 But if Jesus returned, if there's something that 1035 00:53:06,250 --> 00:53:08,667 the Holy Spirit is already convicted us to do, 1036 00:53:08,750 --> 00:53:13,500 we should be doing that because we don't know how long we have. 1037 00:53:13,500 --> 00:53:15,667 Number four: If Jesus returned today, 1038 00:53:15,750 --> 00:53:20,167 who might you regret not having spoken to about him? 1039 00:53:20,208 --> 00:53:23,083 Family, friends, co-workers, neighbors. 1040 00:53:23,167 --> 00:53:25,000 Right, it's the times of the Gentiles. 1041 00:53:25,042 --> 00:53:28,667 It's the time to tell the whole world and everybody about Jesus. 1042 00:53:28,708 --> 00:53:30,875 Who have you not talked to? 1043 00:53:31,000 --> 00:53:34,083 Who, this week, do you need to send a letter, send an e-mail, 1044 00:53:34,167 --> 00:53:37,500 send a text, make a call, schedule a time with, 1045 00:53:37,542 --> 00:53:43,167 go knock on the door and sit down and talk to? 1046 00:53:43,208 --> 00:53:46,167 "I'm sorry, I've sinned against you, please forgive me." 1047 00:53:46,250 --> 00:53:48,000 Reconciliation. 1048 00:53:48,042 --> 00:53:50,042 "I've not really talked to you about Jesus; 1049 00:53:50,167 --> 00:53:52,000 "I really need to do that. 1050 00:53:52,000 --> 00:53:54,667 "I've been meaning to give you this copy of the Bible 1051 00:53:54,750 --> 00:53:56,083 "for a long time. 1052 00:53:56,167 --> 00:53:57,833 "Maybe start in Luke and go forward; 1053 00:53:57,917 --> 00:53:59,500 "that's a good place to start. 1054 00:53:59,542 --> 00:54:02,583 "I've been meaning to invite you to church or Community Group 1055 00:54:02,667 --> 00:54:06,542 and I haven't done that, so let me do that now." 1056 00:54:06,667 --> 00:54:09,500 And number five: How can you plan for future generations 1057 00:54:09,542 --> 00:54:12,000 while being ready to meet Jesus every day? 1058 00:54:12,000 --> 00:54:14,542 And this is the tension, okay? 1059 00:54:14,667 --> 00:54:19,083 I'm a dad, I have five kids, I need to be making plans 1060 00:54:19,167 --> 00:54:22,083 for my kids, my grandkids, my great-grandkids. 1061 00:54:22,167 --> 00:54:25,000 I need to be thinking about legacy and lineage. 1062 00:54:25,000 --> 00:54:27,167 What if it's another thousand years, two thousand years, 1063 00:54:27,208 --> 00:54:29,833 ten thousand years until Jesus returns? 1064 00:54:29,833 --> 00:54:32,667 I need to be thinking about our family and our history 1065 00:54:32,750 --> 00:54:34,833 and our lineage and our legacy. 1066 00:54:34,917 --> 00:54:38,333 This means, you know, investment and college fund and medical 1067 00:54:38,333 --> 00:54:42,500 and helping our kids love Jesus and be ready to serve him as 1068 00:54:42,542 --> 00:54:45,583 faithful adults and raise our grandkids to be part of 1069 00:54:45,667 --> 00:54:47,583 the times of the Gentiles, right? 1070 00:54:47,667 --> 00:54:50,375 Big legacy, generation- to-generation plan. 1071 00:54:50,500 --> 00:54:53,167 And also, prepared today. 1072 00:54:53,208 --> 00:54:56,875 If he comes back today, that I wouldn't ashamed or embarrassed, 1073 00:54:57,000 --> 00:55:02,000 that I wouldn't be negligent, that I wouldn't be distracted 1074 00:55:02,042 --> 00:55:05,375 with the things of the world to such a degree that I could not 1075 00:55:05,500 --> 00:55:07,333 be faithful to the things of God. 1076 00:55:07,417 --> 00:55:10,500 And most theologies and most churches and most denominations 1077 00:55:10,542 --> 00:55:14,083 and most traditions, they go one direction or the other. 1078 00:55:14,167 --> 00:55:17,167 It's all about the future and the legacy and the lineage 1079 00:55:17,208 --> 00:55:21,750 and long planning and long strategizing and long thinking, 1080 00:55:21,833 --> 00:55:24,500 but they miss the present. 1081 00:55:24,542 --> 00:55:26,833 These are families that are thinking about their kids 1082 00:55:26,917 --> 00:55:29,000 and grandkids, but they're not reaching their neighbors. 1083 00:55:29,042 --> 00:55:31,333 These are denominations that have a 40-year plan, 1084 00:55:31,417 --> 00:55:34,333 but not converts and evangelism is ceasing and dying, 1085 00:55:34,417 --> 00:55:37,375 and church planting is stalled. 1086 00:55:37,500 --> 00:55:41,875 Or, consumed with the present: short-sightedness, 1087 00:55:42,000 --> 00:55:45,333 short-term thinking, short-term planning, sense of urgency, 1088 00:55:45,417 --> 00:55:48,667 the end of the world is coming, no need to write anything down, 1089 00:55:48,750 --> 00:55:50,375 no need to make any long-term plans, 1090 00:55:50,500 --> 00:55:55,500 no need to get real estate and plant new churches and make 1091 00:55:55,542 --> 00:55:59,333 curriculum and doctrine and theology and preparation 1092 00:55:59,333 --> 00:56:00,833 because, you know what? 1093 00:56:00,833 --> 00:56:02,750 It's all going to end really, really fast. 1094 00:56:02,833 --> 00:56:04,667 It's like shopping on Christmas Eve. 1095 00:56:04,750 --> 00:56:08,833 There are just a few minutes, hustle, do the best you can. 1096 00:56:08,833 --> 00:56:12,333 And people and denominations and churches and communities 1097 00:56:12,417 --> 00:56:15,833 that live that way, they don't have a good legacy; 1098 00:56:15,833 --> 00:56:18,167 they tend to have a short-sightedness and they tend 1099 00:56:18,250 --> 00:56:22,333 to get off track and they tend to waste, sometimes, their energy. 1100 00:56:22,333 --> 00:56:26,083 Though they're well meaning, they're not well positioned. 1101 00:56:26,167 --> 00:56:27,667 How can you? 1102 00:56:27,708 --> 00:56:31,833 How can we, your family, your Community Group, 1103 00:56:31,833 --> 00:56:35,375 Mars Hill Church, you personally? 1104 00:56:35,500 --> 00:56:38,167 How can you live in that tension? 1105 00:56:38,250 --> 00:56:42,500 Planning for a long future of serving Jesus for generations, 1106 00:56:42,542 --> 00:56:48,167 and being prepared for the coming of Jesus at any moment? 1107 00:56:48,250 --> 00:56:50,833 Father God, thank you for an opportunity to study 1108 00:56:50,833 --> 00:56:54,333 the Scriptures, and we want to live in that tension. 1109 00:56:54,417 --> 00:56:57,542 The Bible says to prepare for a thousand generations, 1110 00:56:57,667 --> 00:57:00,542 to think about a thousand generations. 1111 00:57:00,667 --> 00:57:03,833 So we say yes, Lord, we want to be faithful to that. 1112 00:57:03,833 --> 00:57:08,667 The Bible also says that Jesus could return at any moment, 1113 00:57:08,750 --> 00:57:12,542 and that we need to always be prepared. 1114 00:57:12,667 --> 00:57:15,583 So we want to be ready for that. 1115 00:57:15,667 --> 00:57:20,667 God, we thank you that through Jesus we see that the temple was 1116 00:57:20,750 --> 00:57:26,500 destroyed and all of Scripture was fulfilled 1117 00:57:26,500 --> 00:57:29,167 and that it is the time of the Gentiles. 1118 00:57:29,250 --> 00:57:34,583 And as Gentiles, Lord God, we say thank you, that our people, 1119 00:57:34,667 --> 00:57:39,375 non-physical descendants of Abraham, 1120 00:57:39,500 --> 00:57:43,375 could by faith become spiritual descendants of Abraham, 1121 00:57:43,500 --> 00:57:47,750 worshiping Jesus, the same God that he was waiting for 1122 00:57:47,833 --> 00:57:51,667 and the same God that we're waiting for again. 1123 00:57:51,750 --> 00:57:56,333 And God, we thank you that we're born at this time in history, 1124 00:57:56,417 --> 00:57:59,542 after the cross and empty tomb, where we get to tell the world 1125 00:57:59,667 --> 00:58:01,375 about Jesus. 1126 00:58:01,500 --> 00:58:06,083 We get to do so with technology that allows us to do so in more 1127 00:58:06,167 --> 00:58:10,167 rapid speed and greater numbers than ever. 1128 00:58:10,250 --> 00:58:14,083 And I thank you that you started Mars Hill Church in a very 1129 00:58:14,167 --> 00:58:17,333 technologically savvy place, at the same time that the Internet 1130 00:58:17,333 --> 00:58:22,000 came into existence so that we might use technology to get 1131 00:58:22,000 --> 00:58:27,375 the word about Jesus out and to see that expand to Albuquerque 1132 00:58:27,500 --> 00:58:29,875 and Portland and Orange County and wherever else 1133 00:58:30,000 --> 00:58:31,333 you would take it next. 1134 00:58:31,417 --> 00:58:33,375 What a great opportunity that is. 1135 00:58:33,500 --> 00:58:35,833 So thank you God for the times of the Gentiles, 1136 00:58:35,917 --> 00:58:39,833 and thank you for the technology to reach the Gentiles. 1137 00:58:39,917 --> 00:58:44,042 And we thank you, as Gentiles, that it's reached us as well. 1138 00:58:44,167 --> 00:58:46,500 And God, we confess, in Jesus' name, 1139 00:58:46,500 --> 00:58:49,000 we believe in the words of Jesus, 1140 00:58:49,042 --> 00:58:53,333 that he is going to return, that there will be a judgment, 1141 00:58:53,333 --> 00:58:55,167 that heaven and hell will be occupied, 1142 00:58:55,250 --> 00:59:00,750 that the dead will rise, and we'll all live somewhere forever, 1143 00:59:00,833 --> 00:59:05,167 in weeping or rejoicing, depending upon what we've done 1144 00:59:05,250 --> 00:59:08,333 with the message of your Son. 1145 00:59:08,333 --> 00:59:11,375 And so God, for those of us who are not Christians, 1146 00:59:11,500 --> 00:59:14,500 I pray, God, that we would come to Jesus right now, 1147 00:59:14,542 --> 00:59:16,500 by the power of the Holy Spirit. 1148 00:59:16,542 --> 00:59:18,750 And for those of us who are Christians, 1149 00:59:18,833 --> 00:59:21,875 that right now we would be filled with power through 1150 00:59:22,000 --> 00:59:26,083 the Holy Spirit, to talk about Jesus to everyone and anyone, 1151 00:59:26,167 --> 00:59:28,833 and to make our lives count for the kingdom of God. 1152 00:59:28,917 --> 00:59:31,000 In Jesus' good name, amen.