Grace Lutheran Church 20th Sunday after Pentecost, October 22, 2006

The Rev. Evan Gaertner

2^nd Last Sunday in Church Year “What happens in the End Times?

November 19, 2006 Mark 13:1-13

What will and does happen during the end times has been the point of much speculation? Jesus gives to his disciples the ultimate destruction they could ever imagine, the destruction of the Temple. Imagine what in America would be destroyed that would say to you that everything has changed? Many have thought that the destruction of the World Trade Center Towers was that moment of change.

If the destruction of the Temple was the hinge point for the complete change of culture and society in first century Jerusalem, does the destruction of the World Trade Towers signal the complete change of our society?

The disciples asked Jesus for signs that these things were about to take place. I think people today continue to look for signs that our world is changing.

Jesus reminded the disciples to not be led astray. Many people will come and claim that they are the Christ. Even today there are people that place themselves into a position of trying to be your messiah. As if it were that you follow that person and your life will be perfect and you will know success and community. Jesus warns his disciples from being distracted by the false messiahs that offer false promises.

People want signs because we want to know what is going on, but it is not only curiosity that pushes us to find signs of the end times. I also suspect we also want to know when we have to get serious about our spiritual health.

The signs that Jesus warned his disciples about are not new in our generation but the truth we cannot standup to sin and the devil on our own. Until the day of the Lord we will always be between the presence of Christ and living in a world where the devil is given a little time to continue his lies.

So in this inbetween time of Christ resurrection and his return on the last day we will hear and see the struggle of sin, revealed in the signs of the close of this age. Creation groins and people ache through wars and rumors of wars. But Jesus reminds us to not be alarmed.

Why not be alarmed?

Jesus encourages us to not be alarmed because these events do not indicate the powerlessness or absence of God. God is still present in this world. God is still present in your life even in the middle of these end times.

There is no wool pulled over our eyes. Jesus does not paint a false picture of the world we live in. Jesus promises that nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes. There will be famines.

Jesus describes these events as the beginning of the birth pains. These events of the end times are only a prelude of the much severer pains that will come before the new, heavenly age comes to full birth.

Those who have faith in Jesus do not need to be alarmed in this middle of this chaos because we have confidence of the end reality that Jesus promises.

But beyond the community struggles with wars, earthquakes and famines, individually we also will each face struggles in these end times.

So do not let others deceive you about what is happening and also do not deceive yourself. Amid all the coming signs of the end we must keep watch of ourselves lest we come to lose our faith and thus perish.

Stop trying to look for the signs of the end and predicting how close we are to the end. Stop trying to figure out when it is time to get serious about your spiritual life. For some people it is as if they look around their house five minutes before guests are over and suddenly start to clean their home. Our spiritual lives are dead apart from Christ. There is no rearranging in the last minute we can do to make any difference. It is by Christ and Christ alone that we will endure to the end.

So what signs are we to look for to keep firm in our faith? If we are constantly trying to measure the timeline of the end by looking at the frequency of wars and natural disasters we will too quickly become distracted from our savior.

The only sign to stay fixed upon is the cross of Christ. Just as the wise men found the savior by looking at the star in the sky, we only find our savior from wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes and famines by trusting in Jesus death and resurrection.

Look for redemption and rescue through the cross. God’s love is always present through the suffering of the cross. It is by the cross that we are rescued from this time of ours. Do not be deceived by timelines and speculations of what is happening but look firmly to what has happened. God loved you through his son on the cross taking your sin, death, and destruction upon himself and giving you life.

Because it is in what has happened that we will find the Christian response to this world’s struggles. Jesus told his disciples from the very start and in the clearest language that they would face in this world severe persecution. This persecution of shackles and trials is not about the closing of blessings and opportunities for the Christian disciples, but actually an opening of opportunity. We will find when we are in tension with this world an opportunity to give witness to the faith that is within us.

Peter said in his second letter to the faithful, “You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away the error of the lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both no and to the day of eternity. Amen.” (2 Peter 3:17-18).

The warning is clear, either be carried away by the errors of the lawless people or grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Jesus told his disciples that when we are brought into this world’s struggles the gospel must be proclaimed.

In the middle of living under the crush of the law and finding ourselves in bondage to this world’s pain and struggles, we are told to proclaim the gospel.

The only reality that defeats sin, death, and the devil is the reality that we are free in Jesus Christ. The promise of the prophet Isaiah has come true, “The righteous one has come to make many righteous to bear the iniquities of many.”

In the face of the conflict between the world and the church do not be anxious. Jesus told his disciples, “Do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.”

The Holy Spirit is at work in this world and through you to proclaim the gospel. The Spirit of God dwells within you and will increase his gracious power in you when you find yourself with an opportunity to proclaim the gospel.

Soli Deo Gloria

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