Text:
Mark 13:29-33:
29: So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.
30: Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.
31: Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
32: But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
33: Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
Theme:
Lord, When?
Introduction:
- The Gospel According to St. Mark was written by Mark, the disciple and translator of Peter, from whom Mark gets much of his information during the times of Peter’s conversations in Mark’s mother’s house.
- The main theme of the Gospel was that “Jesus came…preaching the gospel of the kingdom”. However, the Gospel records more of the miracles of Jesus than his words.
- Mark was different from the other Gospels in both his being of fewer words and at the same time his being of more words in his descriptions.
- Mark only contained 16 chapters and did not give the genealogy of Jesus.
- Mark was more descriptive of the appearance, actions, and emotions of Jesus than any other.
- You don’t need a lot of words to be effective in getting your point across.
- Our text comes within a discourse of Jesus where the Master has been prophesying of the coming days: suffering, salvation, destruction of Jerusalem, Christ’s return, etc. Jesus closes the discourse with His words in verse 33 of our text:
“Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.”
Body:
- Jesus begins this verse with the RESOLVE before he gives the PROBLEM.
- “Take ye heed, watch and pray:” is the resolve
- “for ye know not when the time is.” is the problem
- God knows our problem…wondering “Lord, when?” (our theme)
- Lord, when – will you return to take me home
- Lord, when – will my troubles be over
- Lord, when – will I be finished with my journey
- Lord, when – will my enemies leave me alone
- Lord, when – will I reap my reward
- Jesus gave the answer before we could even experience the problem.
- “Take ye heed”
- Be warned.
- Make it your business to understand.
- What comes next should be high on your priority list.
- “watch”
- Know where you are
- Witness what is happening
- Look out
- “pray”
- Seek God’s presence – gives Power, Peace, Protection, Provision
- Thank God for who, what, and how He is
- Stay connected to God…maintain relationship
- “Take ye heed”
- God knows our problem…wondering “Lord, when?” (our theme)
- Jesus gave the problem as statement of fact.
- “for ye know not when the time is”
- We aren’t supposed to know.
- Acts 1:7 says, “And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.”
- We don’t have to know.
- Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
- We aren’t supposed to know.
- “for ye know not when the time is”
Conclusion:
- Then there is consolation when we read that Galatians 6:9 says,
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
- If we faint not (as the verse says)
- If we don’t give up
- Job says in chapter 3 and verse 11, “Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?”
- If we endure
- Paul told Timothy in 2Timothy 2:3, “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
- In DUE season
- According to God’s Will …not our will!
- In God’s time…not our time!
- We Shall Reap! – we must live like the farmer
- The farmer turns the ground … expecting a harvest
- The farmer plows the ground … expecting a harvest
- The farmer plants the seeds … expecting a harvest
- The farmer plows and picks out weeds …expecting a harvest
- The farmer guards against animals and insects … expecting a harvest
- The farmer watches the garden … expecting a harvest
- The farmer prays for a good harvest … expecting a harvest
- In due time, in due season…the farmer reaps his harvest.
- With all the work, people quit. That’s why Luke says in 10:2, “The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few”
- So, don’t give up!
- Take heed!
- Watch!
- Pray!
- Keep doing God’s Will!
- Faint not!
- If we don’t give up
- Lord, when
- It is all over
- WE SHALL REAP!
- It is all over
#76