Mark 13:1-13

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@Shield> welcome to the Christian Chat Network weekly server meeting and Bible study.
@Shield> I am glad you made it, keep inviting your friends and acquaintances
@Shield> let’s keep filling up the channel
@Shield> Lots of stuff happening so we will get right to it
@Shield> First a special announcement.
GentleDove> lol
GentleDove> lol
@Shield> On Thursday, 17 July 2008 at 9 pm cst here in #thechapel....
@Shield> we will be having our Marriage and Family Forum
@Shield> I have asked a few people from a variety of backgrounds to join us for that chat, specifically to share about their experience and wisdom regarding marriage and family
@Shield> Some of you have started emailing me your questions already.
@Shield> Keep them coming
@Shield> If you have a question you would like to ask the panel to address, send it to shield@christian-chat.net
@Shield> Your name will not be used when we answer the question.
@Shield> We will only use the text of the question, that’s all.
@Shield> So bring em on!
@Shield> It could be a question about how to know if you are ready to get married.
@Shield> Or a question about how to get along with your spouse.
@Shield> Or a question about child rearing.
@Shield> It's pretty wide open, within reason.
@Shield> So check it out!
@Shield> and now I would like to announce our speaker, Bethel, take it away Bethel!
@Shield> just kidding
@Shield> :D
@Shield> I just did that to give her a bad time:)
carol> :)
@Shield> *this is why they don’t let me speak in my church
@seekHm1st> lol
@Shield> so anyway,
Undying chuckles
Clark> lol
@Shield> be sure to send in your questions and keep in mind...
@Shield> we are also planning a special Bible and Apologetics chat as well
@Shield> that is not yet scheduled but I am starting to receive questions for it
@Shield> so feel free to email me your questions about the Bible and our panel will do their best to address them
@Shield> God is on the move in our midst.
@Shield> Despite any temporary challenges we may be facing as users of this network, I keep reading reports of powerful things happening.
@Shield> Decisions to follow Jesus
@Shield> Decisions to make better choices in life.
@Shield> Decisions to be reconciled to others.
@Shield> Life stuff, real stuff of the heart.
@Shield> So be encouraged, God surely is at work.
BJaway> Amen :)
@Shield> Let's go ahead and open in prayer.
@Shield> Father we thank you for another great week.
@Shield> I ask that in these final moments of this evening, we once again would calm our hearts and minds to focus on what the Spirit of the Lord would speak to us through your Word.
@Shield> There is something about reading and studying the Scripture verse by verse which brings to light the rich depths of the text.
@Shield> Lord, may we be attentive to the text so that we may make application in our own lives.
@Shield> We thank you for your presence.
@Shield> We thank you for your love
@Shield> In Jesus name amen
@seekHm1st> Amen
martha> amen
GentleDove> amen
Deacon> Amen
@Shield> seekHm1st hail all the way from his chair over on the other side of the channel. So super smart dude that he is, I am going to let him take it away.
@seekHm1st> Super smart?
Bethel> not me??
@Shield> Bethel, that was a joke earlier LOL
Bethel> I was all ready... hehehe
@Shield> I bet!
Bethel> grin
@seekHm1st> Okay folks, let's get into the text :)
@seekHm1st> Last week, we watched the things that transpired in the temple.
@seekHm1st> The last thing we learned were Jesus' thoughts about the gift to the temple treasury, from a poor old woman.
@seekHm1st> She most likely had put her two mites into a box in or near "the court of the women".
@seekHm1st> Even though her gift had been smaller in monetary size, Jesus said that she gave more than all the others had that day.
@seekHm1st> Her gift was one of "free will", and its value came from the way in which she had given it.
@seekHm1st> She had not given it grudgingly, but instead willingly gave all the money she had.
@seekHm1st> Jesus emphasized this to His disciples by pointing out this woman to them, and her gift and the way that she gave it.
@seekHm1st> Let's pick up the text in chapter 13, starting in verse 1.
@seekHm1st> 13:1 Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!"
@seekHm1st> 2 And Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down."
@seekHm1st> Okay, let's stop right there.
@seekHm1st> lol
@seekHm1st> Sorry, I really will try to get through this.
martha> :) ur doing fine
@seekHm1st> Again, just as in the case with the old woman and her giving within the temple walls, Jesus is using the truth to contrast the appearance of things ----outside of the temple walls.
@seekHm1st> His disciple was pretty excited about the impressive appearance of the temple and its surroundings.
@seekHm1st> It probably was a very beautiful building for its day.
@seekHm1st> Shield I may need to be corrected on this, but I think it had been built or remodeled I guess, starting about 15 years before Jesus was born, by Herod the Great.
@seekHm1st> Remember him? He was the guy who ordered the deaths of every male child in Bethlehem, two years old and under, just because he didn't want some prophesied messiah to come along and take his leadership role away from him.
@seekHm1st> Herod had been given gifts from God, including the gift to be able to build such amazing architectural structures
@seekHm1st> but instead, he chose to be a murderous butcher and squander what he had been given.
@seekHm1st> This temple was one of his most famous legacies, but even at that, he had not built it to honor God.
@seekHm1st> Herod's temple, as it had come to be called had been built in about a year-and-a-half, being finished in about 19 or 20 years B.C..
@seekHm1st> All of the other buildings around it were under construction and were finished much later, in about 64 A.D..
@seekHm1st> That was nothing less than an amazing accomplishment for that day.
@seekHm1st> Jesus was not impressed.
@seekHm1st> He and His disciples now moved to the Mount of Olives, west some two hundred yards or so from the temple mount.
@seekHm1st> While they were walking there, the disciples had to be wondering about what He had just said, and two of them came to Him.
@seekHm1st> 3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, 4 "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?"
@seekHm1st> Jesus had just given the disciples a fairly clear picture of what would come to pass, regarding the temple.
@seekHm1st> not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down
@seekHm1st> They understandably wanted to know when this would be happening, and what the events leading up to it would be.
@seekHm1st> Every discussion the disciples had with Jesus was meaningful, but this one must have been profoundly moving.
@seekHm1st> Last week, Shield reminded us that the plans to kill Jesus were ongoing at this very time
@seekHm1st> , and for that to be happening, though they didn't understand what was going on, His disciples were certainly feeling the pressure of staying with a man, a teacher against whom the political tides were turning
@seekHm1st> There, from their position on the Mount of Olives, Andrew, James, John and Peter could look down upon the very temple Jesus was describing.
@seekHm1st> 5 And Jesus, answering them, began to say: "Take heed that no one deceives you.
@seekHm1st> . 6 For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and will deceive many.
@seekHm1st> 7 But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.
@seekHm1st> Do not be troubled? Was Jesus kidding here? Not at all.
@seekHm1st> Jesus didn't tell his disciples about these future events so that their heads would get messed up about everything that was coming.
@seekHm1st> He answered their questions about the future so that they could live meaningfully in the present.
@seekHm1st> Jesus is coming back.
@seekHm1st> He is coming, but along with probably every generation since He rose from the dead, there have been folks who have claimed to know precisely when He would arrive.
@seekHm1st> They have all been dead wrong.
@seekHm1st> Jesus will return in God's perfect timing
@seekHm1st> According to the Word of God, the next time that Jesus sets foot on this planet, He will be seen coming on the clouds of heaven, and then His feet will meet soil on the Mount of Olives.
@seekHm1st> His coming will be seen by all people.
@seekHm1st> Yet, as He said here, many would come around claiming to be Him and they would deceive a lot of folks.
@seekHm1st> We are not to be deceived by such people.
@seekHm1st> We don't have to speculate at all about whether or not this person who claims to be Jesus is or is not the returned Messiah.
@seekHm1st> That may sound silly to us.
@seekHm1st> But He warned us of it.
@seekHm1st> Our job is to have our hearts and minds set on Him.
@seekHm1st> On Him.
@seekHm1st> 8 nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.
@seekHm1st> 9 "But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. And the gospel must 10 first be preached to all the nations.
@seekHm1st> Jesus was speaking to the men in front of Him, and He was speaking to us.
@seekHm1st> Since He lived, died and rose from the grave, Jesus' followers have been persecuted.
@seekHm1st> some where they live, and some where they have served as missionaries to others for God.
@seekHm1st> All too often, I am guilty of limiting my view of persecution to myself, to my own experience.
@seekHm1st> I have been called names, insulted and cursed at because I believe in Jesus.
@seekHm1st> So what?
@seekHm1st> This does me no harm.
@seekHm1st> I have never been seriously persecuted for Christ.
@seekHm1st> But our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world have though, and in violent, horrific, scary ways.
@seekHm1st> We need to remember to avoid placing ourselves into a safe little unthinking box.
@seekHm1st> At least that is what I tell myself.
@seekHm1st> We have to be mindful of those who we support, even those who we do not even know about, and pray for God's direction in their efforts.
@seekHm1st> Persecutions are horrible, but they are often an inroad to the ability to witness, to plant seeds and to grow the church by adding souls to the kingdom of God.
@seekHm1st> It may be hard for some of us to hear, but persecutions serve the cause for Christ, to God's glory.
@seekHm1st> Did they hear Jesus' reassurance to them at this point? The Bible does not tell us.
@seekHm1st> But when they arrest you and 11deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. Now brother will betray brother to death, and
@seekHm1st> 12 a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But 13 he who endures to the end shall be saved.
@seekHm1st> Again, Jesus was speaking to the men listening to Him, and to us today.
@seekHm1st> Will I be arrested and taken before authorities because of my faith? I doubt it. I could be wrong.
@seekHm1st> Have others? Most certainly. Will others yet be brought before authorities and questioned about their beliefs?
@seekHm1st> Of this I have no doubt.
@seekHm1st> Like the prophets of the Old Testament, Jesus telescoped through future history.
@seekHm1st> I use that example because when one looks through a telescope, near and far objects look as though they are quite close to one another.
@seekHm1st> In other words, He didn't necessarily bother to put distant and near future events in any sort of strict chronological order.
@seekHm1st> He didn't need to, because they are what they are going to be.
@seekHm1st> The question on my mind is, are --we-- going to be what we are supposed to be?
@seekHm1st> Here we have a Savior, who could tell us what the future holds.
@seekHm1st> Here we have a Savior, whose life is being plotted against.
@seekHm1st> Here we have a Savior, whose Kingship is being denied.
@seekHm1st> Here we have a Savior, whose love is being ignored.
@seekHm1st> Here we have a Savior, who loved us anyway.
@seekHm1st> We need to stay our hearts on Him.
@seekHm1st> Let's pray.
@seekHm1st> Father in heaven, we thank You for who You are.
@seekHm1st> For loving us so much, that You sent Your perfect Son to live as a man, and to die for us, for our sins.
@seekHm1st> We thank You for the beauty of Your Word.
@seekHm1st> For that fact that all of the warts and blemishes of mankind are contained in it,
@seekHm1st> and contrasted by Your steadfast purity, goodness, love and grace.
@seekHm1st> We praise You, and we want to fully appreciate this gift.
@seekHm1st> We want to glorify Your name in the midst of the very trials of this sojourn we call life on earth.
@seekHm1st> We want to know You more, and to share You more with others.
@seekHm1st> Give us the faith, the wisdom and the strength not only to endure, but help us to take joy in all that we do,
@seekHm1st> seeking always to do everything in Your precious name,
@seekHm1st> Amen
@seekHm1st> Shield?
Jody> Amen
angelbaby> amen
nova> amen
carol> Amen
GentleDove> amen
Guest52435> amen