Grapevine Ministries
Messages from the bible to uplift and encourage those that need a word from the Lord, to strengthen their faith. Ps Phillip Barker is an itinerant pastor in Perth, Western Australia.
Grapevine Ministries
Understanding Jesus' Warnings and Preparing for God's Kingdom
Can you spot the signs of deception in today's world? Join us in this engaging episode as we dive deep into Jesus' profound teachings from Luke 21:5-36. Uncover the rich historical context surrounding Jesus' messages about the destruction of the temple and the second coming, and explore the disciples' awe and misconceptions about the temple's grandeur. We’ll take you through key scriptures like 1 Corinthians 16:13, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-4, and 1 Peter 4:7 to emphasize the broader themes of faith, preparedness, and the importance of spiritual readiness. As we reflect on Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem and his encounters with religious leaders, we urge you to focus on your relationship with God, free from the distractions of worldly concerns.
Good morning, good afternoon, wherever you are in the world - Welcome to Grapevine Ministries.
Last week we were talking about time too short and not wanting to get all doom and gloom on you, but I want to sum up the Gospel of Luke by looking at Luke 21, 5-36. Now, just to give you a little bit of an overview, Jesus has just made his triumph entry into Jerusalem. He's cleansed the temple and entered into several debates with religious leaders that he repeatedly won. Well, we know there's no real competition because he knows everything. Then he praised the poor widow and her offering and passed judgment on the religious leaders. Now Jesus left the temple, never to return. Now, when we go, start looking at the scriptures. Now, when we go and start looking at the scriptures, according to the parallel accounts of Matthew 24, 1 and Mark 13, 1, jesus along with his small band of disciples had left the temple and were in the process of walking away from the magnificent building complex that the remarks were made in Luke 21.5. This is where we're officially starting this message from right. Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, he said they admired the temple for its architectural grandeur and its expensive decorations. The temple was impressive not only for its beauty but for the size. The foundation stones were almost the size of boxcars, like huge, and the length and the width of them was incredible. The temple was indeed both great and glorious, especially to the disciples of Jesus.
Speaker 1:The disciples were not from Jerusalem, they were from Galilee. We would say that they were basically, I suppose, country bumpkins or country people. The disciples were not from Jerusalem, but they were from Galilee, so they seldom saw the beauty of Jerusalem and thus, seeing that they're basically tourists, a bit like what I am now, I'm actually doing my podcast from Melbourne, victoria, at the moment. I've come over here to see my daughter for her 30th birthday. But you know getting off track here. Let's get back to the temple. The temple was indeed oppressive, covered with one-sixth of the land area of the ancient city of Jerusalem. The building complexes were nearly 500 by 400 meters wide, or yards give or take.
Speaker 1:Either way, jesus' remarks are especially devastating since the temple was the heart and the soul of Israel. So he's talking about pulling this down or it being torn down. So what do the disciples do? They ask the question, teacher, but when will these things be, and what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?
Speaker 1:Now it's clear that the disciples' interpretation of what Jesus was saying about the destruction of the temple were viewed from a worldly perspective. And this is one of the things you've got to remember when you're reading scriptures or you're hearing what Jesus is saying throughout the gospels. He is not always talking about natural events. He is not talking about things of the time. He is speaking. You know spiritually about what things are to come. You know not necessarily in the natural, but in the supernatural. So of course they're mistaken by an understanding of what this is all about. But the thing is, this was all about Jerusalem's fall and the second coming. But there was a connection between the judgment executed upon the nation and the temple on one hand and the final judgment of the end of ages.
Speaker 1:Now I'm not going to get all doom and glooming and go into end times here because, to start with, if Pastor David Smith was to listen to any of my sermons, he would be on the phone ringing up correcting me, because he is a bit of a Rhodes Scholar and he is what you would call a bit of a biblical expert as far as end times are concerned. So I'm not getting into that. I just want to make that very, very clear. I'm basically just finishing off in the book loop and the main point that I'm trying to make here basically just finishing off in the book of Luke, and the main point that I'm trying to make here is this this is when Jesus is making us all know, and I'll give you a couple of scriptures that you can go through, just to put it in context. Right, just write these down for now and then you know later on if, given time, I can explain them. 1 Corinthians 16.13, 1 Thessalonians 5.1-4, and 1 Thessalonians 5 6. Sorry about that noise. That's my daughter getting packages sent again. 1 Peter 4 7, now Luke 12, 35 to 59 and Luke 21 36 is where I am focusing at the moment.
Speaker 1:Now, the disciples, like many of us today, were concerned about the wrong things. They wanted to know about information that would be of no real value to them other than to satisfy their own curiosity. Jesus was more interested in affecting. Will you stop that? Kids, I am busy. Oh my gosh, hang on a minute. Sorry about that interruption, but the kids always complain that I mention them in my podcast, but when they're constantly in the family chat, instead of just making a phone call, they've got to keep sending messages backwards and forwards and it takes them 20 minutes to say, hey, I'm going to get a password delivered today. Can you please make sure you listen out for it and pick it up? So, getting back to where I was, so rudely interrupted by text messages. Let's get back to where we were. They have totally messed me up now.
Speaker 1:Okay, the disciples were more interested in things that related to them right here and right now and how it would affect them doing what Jesus had called them to do. Jesus, however, knew that if the disciples looked for signs, they would be susceptible to deception. They would be susceptible to deception. He's virtually avoiding their question and, instead of telling them what they wanted to know, he told them that they needed to know only certain things and how to conduct themselves in the light of the destruction of Jerusalem and the second coming, duck themselves in the light of the destruction of Jerusalem and the second coming.
Speaker 1:In the midst of all of this turmoil and everything all about end times, jesus specifically warns the believers about three real dangers. Now this is where I'm trying to get to today. First off, he's talking about not being deceived as we move into the first decade of the 21st century, even the most casual observers would have been alarmed at the spiritual direction of our nation, the nation of America, and also Europe, and especially of God's people within these nations, towards the end of ages. Jesus has warned us that there will be an increase in deception and there will be tremendous turmoil and there's the potential for people to be led astray. So in verse 8, jesus says and he said take heed that you not be deceived. See, the deception thing is not new. It's an old, old story of mankind. In Genesis 3, we're told about Satan initially deceiving mankind. It is interesting to note how very little has changed Now.
Speaker 1:Dr David Jeremiah noted the three steps used in an article that he wrote in Nashville in 1999. In an article that he wrote in Nashville in 1999. So I mean you have to look that up. But I'm just referencing that because there's been time and time again throughout the ages that people have made assumptions about the scriptures and when these things are coming to pass. I mean I've only been like in you know a born-again Christian and in the Word of God probably say 30 plus years, maybe 33. And the amount of times that I hear people talking about things that are coming to pass the end times. You know so many times they've got it wrong. But if they read the scriptures that they know that nobody knows when this is going to happen.
Speaker 1:But the main focus of this message here it's all about being aware, being always on the watch. I don't know exactly where the scripture is, but it talks about the watchman stands the wall and watches for the enemy, and when he sees the enemy coming, if he does not alert the rest of the people, then the blood of them is on his hands. So we've all got to be watchmen, we've all got to be standing watch and we've all got to be looking and preparing ourselves for what is to come First, preparing ourselves for what is to come First. We don't dispute God's word. The first thing that Satan did is in tempting Eve was to dispute God's word. Satan appeared to Eve and said in Genesis 3.1, has God indeed said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden? He suggested to Eve that somehow she had misunderstood what God meant.
Speaker 1:One of the ways that this happens today it always is the words are meant to be there to guide us. They're not meant to be misunderstood or misinterpreted. So one of the ways that this happens today goes something like this You'd have a clear, plain word of God in front of you and it tells you that you shouldn't do something you'd really like to do. Next thing you know, someone slides up alongside of you and tries to give you an alternative interpretation of the text that will allow you to do what you know God doesn't want you to do. And you end up saying I'm not sure I know what the scripture means, but and that's how it starts, that's how it all starts. You find yourself in that situation when you think that you are covering yourself and you're protecting yourself. Now, that was the first point.
Speaker 1:Secondly, deny God's word. The road from doubt to denial is a very short one. The next thing Satan does is contradict the word of God in Genesis 3.4. Satan says to Eve you will not surely die. But that is a flat contradiction of what God had revealed to them in Genesis 2.17. When it says I'm learning that every time that I try to find an interpretation in the scriptures that you will permanently be doing the wrong thing. Every time you give a little ground to the devil and lose some ground for the word of God. It isn't long until Satan drives a Mack truck through the opening and dumps a load of rubbish all over you through the opening and dumps a load of rubbish all over you.
Speaker 1:The point I'm trying to make here is that you've got to take the Scripture at face value, but also taking into consideration that when Jesus is talking about stuff Jesus is talking about stuff he has to use things that were relatively relatable in that time. I'll give you a classic example. They talk about fiery darts coming against Jerusalem and they will all be quenched out. Now he has to talk about arrows or darts or anything like this, because Jesus couldn't even know that he would know. Jesus couldn't say ballistic missiles are going to be fired at Jerusalem, but the wisdom and knowledge that Jesus had given or not Jesus, sorry God had given. I've got to get my facts right here, because 90% of the Jerusalem people, the Israelis, do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. So they're hearing from God. So God gave them the wisdom to build their defense system against attack. Right, but if Jesus was talking to his disciples and said ballistic missiles were going to be fired at Jerusalem, they would go what's a ballistic missile? So do you understand what I'm trying to say? Missile? So do you understand what I'm trying to say.
Speaker 1:It's the same when he talks about sowing and reaping and he talks about don't light a lamp and put it under a bowl, you put it in the open. All of these things are relevant to the time that it makes it easy for him to actually understand when he's speaking to his disciples. But in relation to the temple, even him explaining it from a spiritual perspective, they did not understand. The point that I'm trying to make here is that we need to be diligent. We need to be always alert, spending time in prayer, spending time with the Lord, and make sure that we are ready when he does come. We don't know the time, we don't know the time, we don't know the hour, but we just know that he has clearly told us throughout the scriptures that he is coming again and we need to be prepared. In other words, don't sleep is a terminology, meaning don't be complacent. The terminology mean don't be complacent If you displace God's word in Genesis 3.5,. This is what Satan said, for God knew that in the day that you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. May I suggest to you that telling Eve that, because she would be like God, she can decide for herself what is good and what is evil.
Speaker 1:One of the easiest places to see how deception is at work is in our world and is in our culture, and how it treats sin. In the minds of many people, an improper relationship is different from adultery. Homosexuality is just an alternative lifestyle. Now you may have noticed this over a period of time, depending on your age bracket, that there are different ways of describing things Now. So I don't get anybody upset by taking a stand on same-sex marriages or anything like that. I'm going to leave that alone. But what I'm just saying is that I'll give you a classic example, something really, really simple right Years ago, if you wanted to go for a job, you just call it as it is.
Speaker 1:If you wanted to be like a garbage man picking up the garbage okay, you just say it as it is. If you wanted to be you know, like a garbage man picking up the garbage, okay, you just say you're applying for this job as a garbage collector. Right, as time goes by, that same job still exists. But now you're a garbologist, okay, and you're a sanitary engineer. Do you see the comparison that I've made just in something as simple as that. You're still a garbage man and you're still picking up garbage, but you've got this fancy title now because it's easier for you to explain that you're a sanitary engineer. And people think, wow, I don't want to ask what that really is because I don't want to look stupid. But when reality comes into play, what it really is is he's just a garbage collector, all right. What it really is is he's just a garbage collector, all right. Now, I'm not saying that a garbage collector is not a very prestigious job. It's not important because it is, otherwise the streets would be littered with rubbish. But what I'm saying is that it is so easy for you to change the terminology but when all gets said and done, if you go back to the root word, that's what it is, all right.
Speaker 1:So these days, the new millenniums are coming up with different ways to erode our culture. Little by little, the idea of absolute truth is being watered down Because they're changing the terminology, but it still means the same thing. A spade is still a spade, but now they call it a shovel or a soil clearing receptacle. So many times the terminology is altered to make it sound different, but it means the same thing. The Lord is saying do not be deceived. The Lord's very first warning, and we must take it to heart. I believe that we are living in the very edge of the latter times. Already, the spirit of deception is rampant in our world. The only sure way to keep our balance in a deceptive world is to know the scriptures and to obey what God is telling us. If all else fails, go back to the word, because not only we are being deceived, we are starting to become afraid. One of the reasons I'm doing this podcast is because I had many, many people elderly people predominantly that were not going to church even after COVID had settled down and they said everything was all right.
Speaker 1:The amount of people that are still out there wearing masks because of the fear that something may still be around. That something may still be around. If you listen to the news, you'll never leave your house, because, the thing is, the news doesn't sell good love stories. It's always doom and gloom. How many times have you watched the 10am news, the 6pm news or the 10 o'clock news? And it's all been doom and gloom.
Speaker 1:How do we deal with the constant barrage of negative and frightening predictions concerning the future, we can head for the hills, set up survival communions, stock up on guns and groceries and prepare for Armageddon. I mean, in America alone, there are so many people that have underground bunkers that are fully stocked, ready to endure 10, 20, 30 years underground because of the possibility that something may take place. We can allow dire predictions and the future to cause us to cave into fear, because in verse 9 it tells us that we need to hold true with respect to wars and insurrections. But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified, for these things must come to pass first before the end will not come immediately. Then he said to them Nation will rise against nation and kingdom arise against kingdom. Them.
Speaker 1:Beginning in verse 9, jesus corrects the mistake and the disciples. Everything that seems to be a sign of the end times is in reality such a sign. It is a mistake to take these separate happenings as inflammable indications that the end of ages is immediately upon us. The thing is, what we need to be aware of is that the Bible is and basically it is, a roadmap to everything we need, everything we give to the Lord, everything in prayer and supplication. I want to try and put you all at ease. Simply putting it this way according to Matthew's account of the Lord's message, he summarised all of the above as merely the beginning of sorrow. Literally Matthew 24, 8,.
Speaker 1:The destruction of labour pains is that the time of the birth gets closer, the pain increases, the intensity grows and the frequency grows. The point being that, although the characteristics that Jesus points out can seem to be happening right now, to be happening right now the increase in the intensity as the time of Jesus comes to draw near Instead of looking at all of this as doom and gloom, look at this as preparation for the second coming. And if you are a born-again believer and you have Jesus dwelling within you, you know that he will never leave you nor forsake you. And before these things happen, the rapture will take place and all of us believers will be caught up into the heavens with the Lord, and we don't need to worry about anything. So why worry about it now?
Speaker 1:Yes, be diligent, this is what I'm saying. You need to be alert and aware of what is going on around you, but in all things prayer and supplication make your requests known to God, stay in the word of God, focus on his word and if anything comes against you any doubt, any worry, any concern. The Lord talks about making the yoke easy and the burden light. And how do we do that? It's spending time in his word. So if ever you're having a bad day, if ever someone's talking to you about things that may come to pass and things that will not come to pass, just remember what Jesus said.
Speaker 1:Jesus promised that his disciples would never meet their tribulation alone. It is the sheer evidence of history that the great Christians have written over and over again, when their bodies were in torture and when they were awaiting death, of the sweet times with Christ. A prison can be like a palace, a scaffold like a throne, a storm like a summer weather. When Christ is with us, then nothing can come against us. The Gospel of Luke clearly shows this and tells us that we need to worry about nothing, because if we are in his word, you know the vine is in the branch and the branch is in the vine. He will never leave you nor forsake you. He will make the yoke easy and the burden light. Yes, we will go through trials and tribulations. Everybody will do that, irrespective of where they are with a relationship with Jesus Christ, their Lord and Saviour or whether they are not. But given the opportunity, you can make sure that others are having that same relationship with you. So don't shun the conversations when someone brings it up to you. When someone brings it up to you, take that as an opportunity for where you can actually then talk to them about our Lord and Saviour. Let them know.
Speaker 1:I mean, I recently had to go to Adelaide for my wife's mother had passed away. Now, although we knew this was going to happen, we did mourn and we were sorrowful and sad at what had happened. But, as my wife has said to me time and time again, she knows that all the suffering and the pain is now gone and she is now with the Lord. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So she's now reunited with her husband and we can get on with our life. Yes, of course we miss her, we mourn her for a time and a season, but then we can rejoice knowing where she is, and it's like everything else throughout the scriptures.
Speaker 1:This is why I think it's important for you to go through those scriptures, read them and see how they're relevant to now. And these are all I know. I was talking about Genesis and the deception and all that sort of stuff, because it's easy. Everybody seems to know about that. But 1 Corinthians 16 13, 1 Thessalonians 5 1-4, 1 Thessalonians 5, 1-4, 1 Thessalonians 5, 6, 1 Peter 4, 7, and Luke 12, 35, which you've already gone through and Luke 21, 36. Read these scriptures and get a clear understanding of all it is doing is letting you know.
Speaker 1:Like I said last week, time is short. You need to find times for the important things in your life, and part of that importance has to be spending time with the Lord. Having a relationship with him is vitally important, and having the opportunity to share God's love with others. I've said it time and time again throughout my sermons don't tell people you're a Christian. Show them Be more Christ-like each and every day. Spend time in the Word and worry about nothing, because we know where we're going and we know what the Lord has prepared for us, just like Rosina going to spend time with him, and we rejoice at that, knowing that she's in a better place. And this is what I want you people to be. I want you all to be in a better place and at the moment, while we are alive and in this world, we just need to make sure that we spend time with him, god bless, and we'll talk to you next week and I'll be back in sunny Perth, west Australia. God bless, bye for now.
