WEBVTT 00:00:01.960 --> 00:00:05.400 This is your daily reminder. God has not run 00:00:05.400 --> 00:00:09.179 out of mercy, not for you, not today. Welcome 00:00:09.179 --> 00:00:12.400 to the New Mercies Podcast. Welcome back to the 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:16.980 New Mercies podcast. My voice is failing me a 00:00:16.980 --> 00:00:19.940 bit today, so I do covet your prayers. Hopefully 00:00:19.940 --> 00:00:22.079 there will still be an episode that comes out 00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:25.899 tomorrow, depending on how my voice handles the 00:00:25.899 --> 00:00:29.460 rest of this episode and the coming days. So 00:00:29.460 --> 00:00:31.940 do be in prayer as I try my best to get through 00:00:31.940 --> 00:00:34.060 this today. A little bit less energy too, you 00:00:34.060 --> 00:00:37.479 might see, but still yet, our reading today takes 00:00:37.479 --> 00:00:41.229 us to Matthew chapter 24. This is towards the 00:00:41.229 --> 00:00:44.130 end of the book of Matthew. Again, this mirrors 00:00:44.130 --> 00:00:47.189 what happened in Luke 21 the other day, and I 00:00:47.189 --> 00:00:49.850 want us to note a couple of things. Okay, so 00:00:49.850 --> 00:00:52.670 this is a lot about prophecy, a lot about end 00:00:52.670 --> 00:00:55.030 times prophecy. I'm going to share with you some 00:00:55.030 --> 00:00:56.229 thoughts, and I'm going to give you a little 00:00:56.229 --> 00:00:59.469 bit of a, maybe a grander vision of what we are 00:00:59.469 --> 00:01:01.789 reading today. To kind of zoom out just a little 00:01:01.789 --> 00:01:04.909 bit, picture what the Lord wants us to know from 00:01:04.909 --> 00:01:07.069 his text and from his word. Now, again, if you're 00:01:07.069 --> 00:01:08.769 following along on a reading plan, I hope and 00:01:08.769 --> 00:01:11.629 pray you Read it, soak it in, pray, let the Lord 00:01:11.629 --> 00:01:14.170 speak to you today. But I want to give you just 00:01:14.170 --> 00:01:17.150 a little insight. So the book of Matthew has... 00:01:17.819 --> 00:01:20.959 two sermons that are full sermons in it from 00:01:20.959 --> 00:01:23.120 Jesus. The first one's in Matthew chapter 5, 00:01:23.239 --> 00:01:26.819 6, and 7, and then this one at the end. This 00:01:26.819 --> 00:01:29.799 is kind of Jesus's bookend ministry teachings. 00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:35.099 So, Matthew has Jesus's first long, full sermon 00:01:35.099 --> 00:01:37.480 in there. It's the Sermon on the Mount, as we 00:01:37.480 --> 00:01:41.099 know. That's when Jesus teaches how to live faithfully 00:01:41.099 --> 00:01:45.909 under a king. Now, in this sermon that Jesus 00:01:45.909 --> 00:01:49.590 teaches. He is teaching prophetically about basically 00:01:49.590 --> 00:01:52.109 how to live faithfully until the king returns. 00:01:52.469 --> 00:01:56.769 And so these two sermons will give a lot of back 00:01:56.769 --> 00:02:00.290 and forth to each other. Maybe you've seen this 00:02:00.290 --> 00:02:03.170 discourse and mirrored it to the book of Daniel 00:02:03.170 --> 00:02:05.989 or to the book of Revelation or whatever. But 00:02:05.989 --> 00:02:08.430 there's also this beautiful picture in the book 00:02:08.430 --> 00:02:10.389 of Matthew with Jesus' teaching. Because I also 00:02:10.389 --> 00:02:13.330 think it's interesting in Matthew, the first 00:02:13.330 --> 00:02:15.849 thing we see is Jesus tempted in the wilderness 00:02:15.849 --> 00:02:20.360 by Satan. overcomes and wins that temptation. 00:02:20.699 --> 00:02:23.879 Then he teaches how to live practically under 00:02:23.879 --> 00:02:27.439 the king. Now he's at this other sermon. He's 00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:29.439 teaching how to live faithfully until the king 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:32.060 returns. And then right after this, he conquers 00:02:32.060 --> 00:02:35.750 death. So Jesus is the conqueror of temptation, 00:02:36.330 --> 00:02:39.229 of time, of death, of everything. He conquers 00:02:39.229 --> 00:02:41.909 it all. So I want to make sure that we understand 00:02:41.909 --> 00:02:43.469 some of the day. Whenever we read a couple of 00:02:43.469 --> 00:02:46.710 verses, this is a long chapter. There's a lot 00:02:46.710 --> 00:02:49.150 to it. I really wanted to teach the majority 00:02:49.150 --> 00:02:51.370 of this today on the podcast, but I would be 00:02:51.370 --> 00:02:54.289 teaching for over an hour and really just scratching 00:02:54.289 --> 00:02:57.069 the surface. There's a lot in Matthew 24. So 00:02:57.069 --> 00:02:59.729 what am I taking from this as a daily reading 00:02:59.729 --> 00:03:04.250 today? is found towards the end of the chapter. 00:03:04.449 --> 00:03:07.169 But I want you to know that this is not an end 00:03:07.169 --> 00:03:09.550 times talk. There's been a lot going on in our 00:03:09.550 --> 00:03:12.750 nation and in the world. Geopolitical issues 00:03:12.750 --> 00:03:17.189 and war and famine and all kinds of problems 00:03:17.189 --> 00:03:18.830 are happening right now in the world. So many 00:03:18.830 --> 00:03:21.409 things simultaneously going on. And I look at 00:03:21.409 --> 00:03:23.310 the text and I think, looks like it's lighting 00:03:23.310 --> 00:03:26.169 up. Looks like we are here. But I don't want 00:03:26.169 --> 00:03:29.289 this to be an end times talk today. This is the 00:03:29.289 --> 00:03:33.400 king. preparing us to live faithfully until he 00:03:33.400 --> 00:03:35.599 returns. That's what this is. That's what the 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:37.419 word gives us. That's the instruction that we 00:03:37.419 --> 00:03:40.699 have, live faithfully until Jesus returns. And 00:03:40.699 --> 00:03:44.680 so the setting, here we are, he has just disputed 00:03:44.680 --> 00:03:48.080 all of the religious leaders and the hypocrisy 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:51.280 and the nastiness, the corruption that is within 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:55.979 them. And in Matthew 23, now he's judged the 00:03:55.979 --> 00:03:59.520 religious establishment, the religious establishment 00:03:59.520 --> 00:04:02.819 of the day, he's now turned privately to his 00:04:02.819 --> 00:04:06.020 disciples and begins to teach really the fabric 00:04:06.020 --> 00:04:09.400 of prophecy. He takes the Old Testament and the 00:04:09.400 --> 00:04:11.699 New Testament and weaves them together and gives 00:04:11.699 --> 00:04:14.139 us this glorious truth. Jesus is brilliant at 00:04:14.139 --> 00:04:15.800 doing that. He does that in the Sermon on the 00:04:15.800 --> 00:04:18.040 Mount as well. He takes the Old Testament law, 00:04:18.279 --> 00:04:21.079 weaves it in with the New Testament lens, Jesus's 00:04:21.079 --> 00:04:23.860 lens, and it's a beautiful, incredible piece 00:04:23.860 --> 00:04:28.069 of... work of art, really, as he teaches that 00:04:28.069 --> 00:04:30.430 sermon. Now he's into this sermon. This is what's 00:04:30.430 --> 00:04:33.949 known as the Olivet Discourse. If you ever read 00:04:33.949 --> 00:04:35.550 a lot or study a lot of scripture, this is the 00:04:35.550 --> 00:04:37.730 Olivet Discourse. This is when Jesus is on the 00:04:37.730 --> 00:04:39.389 Mount of Olives. He's there with his disciples. 00:04:39.529 --> 00:04:41.470 He's now teaching, weaves this fabric together, 00:04:41.569 --> 00:04:44.740 and it's absolutely beautiful. I want us to remember 00:04:44.740 --> 00:04:47.720 and to know that he's not satisfying curiosity 00:04:47.720 --> 00:04:51.000 here. Yes, there are questions. Yes, there are 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:54.339 concerns. He's not doing this to satisfy the 00:04:54.339 --> 00:04:56.519 curiosity of everybody. So I want you to know, 00:04:56.540 --> 00:04:58.000 I had a conversation with a guy earlier today 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:00.620 who said, you know, I used to be so obsessed 00:05:00.620 --> 00:05:03.060 with the end time stuff and like figuring out 00:05:03.060 --> 00:05:05.459 the timelines. You know, Jesus doesn't give us 00:05:05.459 --> 00:05:08.379 a chart. He doesn't teach with a chart. He doesn't 00:05:08.379 --> 00:05:11.480 give visuals. He says, here's what this means, 00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:13.800 and here's how you can live faithfully. This 00:05:13.800 --> 00:05:16.620 is Jesus shepherding his flock. He's not trying 00:05:16.620 --> 00:05:19.519 to answer questions. He's trying to shepherd 00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:22.540 his people and knowing that the times that are 00:05:22.540 --> 00:05:23.800 coming are going to be difficult. They're going 00:05:23.800 --> 00:05:27.420 to be turbulent times. So how can I best teach 00:05:27.420 --> 00:05:31.139 and train up these that will need my word to 00:05:31.139 --> 00:05:35.060 continue and endure? So here's the moment. He's 00:05:35.060 --> 00:05:37.420 in the temple, right? It's Herod's temple still 00:05:37.420 --> 00:05:40.459 under construction. Beautiful, gorgeous, amazing. 00:05:40.579 --> 00:05:42.620 People are talking about it. People are saying 00:05:42.620 --> 00:05:44.540 how beautiful it is, and Jesus is warning them, 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:50.459 don't anchor your faith into visible structures. 00:05:50.699 --> 00:05:53.500 Don't anchor your faith into what you see, right? 00:05:53.560 --> 00:05:56.339 Faith is the believing without seeing. That's 00:05:56.339 --> 00:05:58.600 what faith is. Don't just anchor your faith and 00:05:58.600 --> 00:06:00.540 your trust and all of your hopes and dreams in 00:06:00.540 --> 00:06:02.720 what you can see. The temple can fall. It's going 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:05.439 to, in fact. We've got some things that are happening. 00:06:05.980 --> 00:06:09.480 He wants to make sure and clear us up and say, 00:06:09.639 --> 00:06:13.240 it's about my presence. It's not about your monuments. 00:06:13.579 --> 00:06:15.740 It's not about what you can build for me. It's 00:06:15.740 --> 00:06:18.100 about my presence being with you. That's what 00:06:18.100 --> 00:06:20.420 Jesus says over and over and over again. Now, 00:06:20.439 --> 00:06:23.899 as we read Matthew 24, let me give you my interpretation 00:06:23.899 --> 00:06:26.959 of sort of the pockets that you're going to see. 00:06:27.019 --> 00:06:30.870 There's a bit of a flow that happens. From verses 00:06:30.870 --> 00:06:34.829 4 to verse about 14, we'll see him talking about 00:06:34.829 --> 00:06:37.509 the nations, the ongoing conflicts, the deception, 00:06:37.870 --> 00:06:40.490 the witness, all the things that are going on 00:06:40.490 --> 00:06:43.550 in the nations. Then he changes and heads to 00:06:43.550 --> 00:06:45.670 the Jewish nation specifically, the nation of 00:06:45.670 --> 00:06:50.100 Israel, the Jews. specifically mentioning Jacob's 00:06:50.100 --> 00:06:54.040 trouble and the tribulation, the deliverance 00:06:54.040 --> 00:06:56.459 that will happen, all that with that nation of 00:06:56.459 --> 00:06:59.639 the Jewish nation. Then he goes into the church 00:06:59.639 --> 00:07:04.060 age, or the church understanding is implied there 00:07:04.060 --> 00:07:06.920 from verses probably about 32 to the end of the 00:07:06.920 --> 00:07:10.379 chapter, a lot towards the end there. And so 00:07:10.379 --> 00:07:13.959 a lot about being ready, being watchful, being 00:07:13.959 --> 00:07:17.860 alert and not being asleep, not being lazy, but 00:07:17.860 --> 00:07:20.899 being ready. And so I want to share something 00:07:20.899 --> 00:07:24.569 here that is. is kind of, in my opinion, is very 00:07:24.569 --> 00:07:28.910 valuable. But it's down in verses 36 and following. 00:07:29.009 --> 00:07:30.449 I want to read just a couple of verses here. 00:07:31.110 --> 00:07:32.889 Towards the end of the chapter, I know you're 00:07:32.889 --> 00:07:34.290 saying, well, I really wanted to hear what your 00:07:34.290 --> 00:07:36.389 thoughts are on all these other pieces and these 00:07:36.389 --> 00:07:38.089 other elements and the timelines and all that. 00:07:38.189 --> 00:07:40.569 If Jesus would have said, here's your chart, 00:07:40.649 --> 00:07:42.870 and I'm going to map it out, I would have said 00:07:42.870 --> 00:07:44.649 that. But instead, he says, here's the signs 00:07:44.649 --> 00:07:47.370 of what's ahead. I was telling our students a 00:07:47.370 --> 00:07:49.850 couple of months ago in one of our small group 00:07:49.850 --> 00:07:53.199 sessions that there's a difference. in a sign 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:56.040 and the actual event, right? So for instance, 00:07:56.139 --> 00:07:58.079 if you're driving down the road and you see a 00:07:58.079 --> 00:08:00.620 sign that says curvy roads ahead, you know, it's 00:08:00.620 --> 00:08:03.680 got the squiggly line on it. That means that 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:06.800 is signaling you that the road ahead is curvy. 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:10.639 If I were to take that sign down, is the road 00:08:10.639 --> 00:08:14.500 still curvy? Yes. I'm just not prepared for it, 00:08:14.519 --> 00:08:17.920 right? That is as simple as I can make this. 00:08:18.300 --> 00:08:21.839 this understanding of Matthew 24. These are signs 00:08:21.839 --> 00:08:26.060 of what is to come, meaning prepare yourselves. 00:08:26.339 --> 00:08:29.300 It's not about the sign. It's about your preparation, 00:08:29.639 --> 00:08:32.440 right? So I want to read just a couple of verses 00:08:32.440 --> 00:08:34.480 here, beginning down at verse number 36. The 00:08:34.480 --> 00:08:36.840 Bible says this, But concerning that day and 00:08:36.840 --> 00:08:39.259 hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven 00:08:39.259 --> 00:08:42.059 nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were 00:08:42.059 --> 00:08:44.820 the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the 00:08:44.820 --> 00:08:48.100 Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood 00:08:48.100 --> 00:08:50.179 they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving 00:08:50.179 --> 00:08:52.679 in marriage until the day when Noah entered the 00:08:52.679 --> 00:08:55.299 ark. And they were unaware until the flood came 00:08:55.299 --> 00:08:58.000 and swept them all away. So will be the coming 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:01.179 of the Son of Man. You know, there's some more 00:09:01.179 --> 00:09:04.039 pieces in that that I would love to share and 00:09:04.039 --> 00:09:06.279 love to get into. Symbolism, a lot of signs, 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:09.580 symbols, and contrast, comparisons. And it's 00:09:09.580 --> 00:09:11.360 wonderful and gorgeous and beautiful. And I hope 00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:13.419 and pray that as you read it today, you're taking 00:09:13.419 --> 00:09:16.220 some notes. But that's kind of where I wanted 00:09:16.220 --> 00:09:18.950 to focus in, though. Nobody knows the day, the 00:09:18.950 --> 00:09:21.710 hour, the time. The Father is the only one that 00:09:21.710 --> 00:09:23.649 knows. Jesus is saying not even the Son knows. 00:09:23.850 --> 00:09:26.350 Now Jesus is talking in this moment. Not even 00:09:26.350 --> 00:09:28.970 I know what day. I don't want you to get caught 00:09:28.970 --> 00:09:32.850 up in the sign. I want you to be prepared for 00:09:32.850 --> 00:09:36.210 what's ahead. That's what I want you to do. His 00:09:36.210 --> 00:09:39.669 first warning in all of this discourse is deception. 00:09:39.789 --> 00:09:43.490 As we read also in Luke 21, we also read about 00:09:43.490 --> 00:09:45.750 the deception. We read about the deception that 00:09:45.750 --> 00:09:48.190 would come in there, and we talked about it a 00:09:48.190 --> 00:09:50.009 little bit, but there's first deception. Why? 00:09:50.090 --> 00:09:52.009 Because Satan always wants to deceive before 00:09:52.009 --> 00:09:55.370 he destroys. We also see don't be deceived and 00:09:55.370 --> 00:09:57.850 don't be alarmed. Don't be worried. It's okay. 00:09:57.929 --> 00:10:00.470 This is Jesus teaching, saying there's signs 00:10:00.470 --> 00:10:04.710 of the end, but don't be deceived. Don't be worried. 00:10:05.090 --> 00:10:08.269 And I want you to keep from growing cold, as 00:10:08.269 --> 00:10:11.070 it says in verse 12 of Matthew 24. Go back and 00:10:11.070 --> 00:10:14.090 read it. He says, don't get cold. Don't, listen, 00:10:14.210 --> 00:10:17.750 stay red hot with me. Stay in this communication, 00:10:18.009 --> 00:10:20.629 in this relationship. Make sure that we are still 00:10:20.629 --> 00:10:22.629 moving. But he talks about towards the end, like 00:10:22.629 --> 00:10:26.830 to endure, bear witness, be a person that's active 00:10:26.830 --> 00:10:30.090 in the faith. As he says down in verses 36 and 00:10:30.090 --> 00:10:34.190 following, he says, listen. And you know this 00:10:34.190 --> 00:10:36.669 was happening at this point. People wondering, 00:10:36.769 --> 00:10:38.350 I wonder when, I wonder when, I wonder when. 00:10:38.789 --> 00:10:41.090 We get so caught up in, I wonder when, I wonder 00:10:41.090 --> 00:10:43.710 when. And Jesus just says, here's what you need 00:10:43.710 --> 00:10:45.350 to do. Just like the days of Noah, people are 00:10:45.350 --> 00:10:48.149 going to be unaware. There are going to be people 00:10:48.149 --> 00:10:50.409 unaware, but not you. Because I've told you, 00:10:50.470 --> 00:10:54.429 look for the signs. The great Vance Havner once 00:10:54.429 --> 00:10:57.350 was quoted by saying that he is no longer looking 00:10:57.350 --> 00:10:59.909 for signs, he's listening for a trumpet. is what 00:10:59.909 --> 00:11:02.450 he's doing. The signs are all around. The signs 00:11:02.450 --> 00:11:04.909 are everywhere. We're preparing for what is to 00:11:04.909 --> 00:11:07.250 come, but now I'm just to the point where I'm 00:11:07.250 --> 00:11:09.830 listening for the moment that Jesus returns. 00:11:10.149 --> 00:11:12.470 He shows back up, and I meet him in the air. 00:11:12.549 --> 00:11:14.850 That's what I'm looking for and leaning into. 00:11:15.210 --> 00:11:20.309 I want to say that prophecy is not for fear, 00:11:20.490 --> 00:11:24.480 but for purity. The prophecy that Jesus gives 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:28.779 us is to purify us. We get lost sometimes in 00:11:28.779 --> 00:11:30.659 trying to think we need to be afraid or we need 00:11:30.659 --> 00:11:32.259 to learn or we need information, we need more, 00:11:32.320 --> 00:11:33.419 we need to know, we need to know, we need to 00:11:33.419 --> 00:11:35.500 know. And God's saying, I need you to be pure. 00:11:35.580 --> 00:11:37.480 I need you to be holy. And then you're ready 00:11:37.480 --> 00:11:39.659 no matter what happens. Here's what's going to 00:11:39.659 --> 00:11:43.279 take place, but I need you to be ready. Matthew 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:47.419 did not bracket Jesus' ministry with two sermons 00:11:47.419 --> 00:11:50.659 by accident, right? One taught us how to live 00:11:50.659 --> 00:11:54.799 under the king. The other taught us how to live 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:57.500 until the king returns and warns us the king 00:11:57.500 --> 00:12:01.460 is coming back. He is coming back to reign. There 00:12:01.460 --> 00:12:05.000 is a first warning is not war. It's deception, 00:12:05.259 --> 00:12:07.600 right? He says, don't be deceived. He didn't 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:09.679 say. Better protect yourself. He said, don't 00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:12.740 be deceived. It's because the enemy doesn't just 00:12:12.740 --> 00:12:15.980 want your fear. He wants your worship. That's 00:12:15.980 --> 00:12:20.440 what the enemy wants. The scariest judgment is 00:12:20.440 --> 00:12:25.700 not persecution. It's cold love. It's not loving 00:12:25.700 --> 00:12:28.340 the one that loved you. I want to encourage you 00:12:28.340 --> 00:12:32.840 today when you read Matthew chapter 24. The return 00:12:32.840 --> 00:12:36.100 of the king demands the readiness of your heart. 00:12:36.679 --> 00:12:40.600 So today, take some time, align your heart, align 00:12:40.600 --> 00:12:42.940 your values, align everything in your life with 00:12:42.940 --> 00:12:45.639 this great king because he is returning.