======================================================================== ARE YOU READY by Anton Bosch ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon delves into Luke chapter 21, focusing on the Olivet Discourse where Jesus emphasizes the importance of being watchful and ready for His return. The passage highlights the need to not be weighed down by worldly distractions but to be focused on Jesus and His imminent coming. It warns against being obsessed with signs and false prophets, urging believers to prioritize their relationship with Christ and live in anticipation of His return. Topics: "Watchfulness", "Anticipation of Christ's Return" Scripture References: Luke 21:28, Luke 21:31, Luke 21:36, Matthew 24:42, 1 Thessalonians 5:6, 2 Peter 3:10, Revelation 3:3, Matthew 24:44, 1 Corinthians 16:13, Colossians 3:2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon delves into Luke chapter 21, focusing on the Olivet Discourse where Jesus emphasizes the importance of being watchful and ready for His return. The passage highlights the need to not be weighed down by worldly distractions but to be focused on Jesus and His imminent coming. It warns against being obsessed with signs and false prophets, urging believers to prioritize their relationship with Christ and live in anticipation of His return. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Luke chapter 21, Bill asked me yesterday are we still in Luke, he couldn't believe it, it's been four years, 2018 we began, obviously we did a few other things in between, 140 studies on Luke thus far and we have three I think chapters to go. So Luke chapter 21 and we'll read from verse 28 through 38, Luke chapter 21 28 through 38, this is the Olivet Discourse, we spent two weeks on the first section and hopefully we'll finish this this morning. So Luke chapter 21 verse 28, now when these things begin to happen look up and lift up your heads because your redemption draws near. Then he spoke to them a parable, look at the fig tree and all the trees and when they are already budding you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So you also when you see these things happening know that the kingdom of God is near. Assuredly I say to you this generation will by no means pass away until all things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will by no means pass away. But take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing drunkenness and the cares of this life and that the day come on you unexpectedly for it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man. And in the daytime he was teaching in the temple but at night he went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet. Then early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him. Now I want to remind you that in verse 8 right at the beginning he said take heed that you do not be deceived. For many will come and say I am he and the time is near, the time is drawing near. So two things they will say. They will say I am the Christ and they will say here's the signs he is here. And the book of Matthew in the same passage in chapter 24 says don't go when they say he's over there or he's over there. We've emphasized in the first two studies the importance for us to not get obsessed with the signs. Now I obviously need to make this clear because I received an email this week, anonymous actually, I can't stand when people can't put their names to something, saying well you know I'm a false preacher because I'm telling people not to read the signs. I've never said don't read the signs. I've said don't follow the signs, follow Jesus. Don't emphasize the signs, emphasize the coming of the Lord. You see there's a difference and it's a subtle trap and it's a subtle, we'll come back to the word trap in a moment, but there's a subtle trap to say well you know I'm obsessed with the signs, I'm reading the newspaper, I'm reading the internet, I'm trying to match all these things together and so I'm getting ready for Jesus coming. It's a dangerous place to be when that becomes your obsession and Jesus is not your obsession. The same is true of any part of scripture. You can become you know so obsessed with pure doctrine that you miss out the fruit of the spirit. And so we must emphasize what is important and what is important is not whether I am able to get all the signs right. What is important is that I am right when Jesus comes. It's not about being able to interpret the signs. It's about being able to live in the light of his coming. This is what is important. Those prophetic updates that come out every week and the guys who do these videos and stuff and get thousands and thousands and build entire ministries and books on the whole reading the signs only speak about the signs. Jesus never said get obsessed with the signs. He said be ready and there's a huge difference between being obsessed with the signs and being ready. So don't follow those who say the time is drawn near. So he's not saying we must not be ready but he's saying don't get obsessed with the signs. Now let me remind you where we ended last week. Verse 28. Now when these things begin to happen look up and lift up your heads because your redemption draws near. Again, can you see where the emphasis is? He's saying when these things begin to happen what you need to do is you need to read the blogs and you need to get the books and you need to see the timelines and figure out. No, he says when these things look up, not looking at the signs but looking at Jesus and being ready for his coming. Now we come to a very controversial section and that is the fig tree. So he speaks to them a parable and he says look at the fig tree and all the trees. Now many interpret this to mean that Israel is the fig tree. Israel is symbolized by the fig tree throughout scripture, that is true. But is he now saying you need to look at Israel? Now again, for those who are hypercritical, I know and it is true that God is putting Israel in its right place as much as he is shuffling the other pieces on the board in the Middle East getting ready for the second coming. There's no question about that. 1948 we spoke about that last week and the week before when Israel became the homeland for the Jews is significant because for the first time the prophecies can now be fulfilled. We acknowledge that but at the same time we've got to be careful how we read the Now I want you to look at this verse carefully. He says look at the fig tree and all the trees. Look at the fig tree and all the trees. So if Israel is the fig tree then who's all the trees? Well then there has to be all the other nations. Now keep that in mind. When they are already budding, so that interpretation that some hold to is that when Israel became a nation in 48 that was the budding of the fig tree. So if Israel then became a nation again, and I mean a nation, they've always ethnically been a nation but in the sense of being in their own land. But if Israel, the budding of the fig tree was Israel getting their own homeland. So what about the rest of the trees? What about the rest of the nations? Did America get a homeland in 1948? Did England? Did Germany? No. You see, this is the problem. People grab one part of the verse and they build a whole doctrine on it, and they neglect the rest of the verse. You have to take the whole verse in context. And so he's saying look at the trees. Now why does he mention the fig tree? The principle, let me get to the principle and then come back why he says the fig tree. So when you see they are budding, you know for yourselves that summer is now near. That's where we're at right now at this time of the year. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, two weeks ago the pomegranate tree out in the back there began to bud. Last Sunday as I walked up in the mountains, there was a difference last Sunday to the previous Sunday. Because last Sunday suddenly I'm seeing all the little bushes having new leaves. Wasn't there the previous Sunday. A couple of houses down from where we live there is a fig tree. And a week ago the fig tree began to bud and is making leaves. So what do we know? Summer is coming. Do we know the exact date that summer will happen? No we don't. Obviously we have a day on the calendar and you know we know that that doesn't mean anything because you know it can start getting warmer before, it can still stay cold and only get warmer later. That date is just an arbitrary date. So can we by looking at the trees say well summer is going to be here in exactly four weeks? No. I mean who's, what's that rat thing that sees its shadow? The groundhog seeing its shadow. I mean we know that's ridiculous. I mean it's just, it's just, it's just crazy. And you can look at the trees and we can say yes summer is coming. It's not going to be another six months. Somewhere between now and the next few months summer is going to be here and we have to change the air conditioning from heating to cooling. And that's the, that's the principle. That's all he's trying to teach us. He is saying the signs don't tell you the day but they tell you that the coming of the Lord is near. And so why does he say the fig tree? Is he meaning Israel? No I don't. As I've said because if that applies to Israel then you must interpret what the trees mean, the other trees mean. And then how do you, where do you go from there? You can see, you can see the problem. So why does he say the fig tree? I believe he says the fig tree simply because the fig tree is the most visible of the trees to start budding. Fig trees if you know is they have white branches or light gray branches and they're very bare. There's not a lot of little twigs in between. So it's just these these sticks, these gray white sticks. And when it begins to bud it's very visible. You can clearly see it even at a distance. Whereas other trees because there's a lot of other branches and stuff and the branches are brown, the buds don't always stand out that much. I think that's the only thing he's trying to say. He's not saying anything about Israel. He's saying about reading the signs, understanding that the coming of the Lord is near. And again I'm not going to go back and say, you know, but we don't want to be obsessed with those signs. But he's clearly saying you need to understand where you're at. You need to understand that things are coming to an end. Verse 31. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. Are we seeing these things happening? I believe we are. Now remember I said last week that it's easy to get into all sorts of false declarations about the Antichrist and about what's happening in the Middle East. And I haven't seen anything because I don't watch these things, but I can probably take a bet, if I was a betting man, that somebody on their prophecy update will have something to say about what's happening in Ukraine. And you see there it's getting ready. And so Ukraine, Russia, they'll find some verse in the Bible about Russia and about Ukraine and come up with some convoluted theory that you see this is a sign. That's not what he is talking about. He is saying we look around us and we understand the time in which we're living. Right now where we are here in Southern California, we are close to summer. The winter is over for us and summer is near. So when you see these things happening—now again, here's the second mistake that people make when they interpret. And I'm sorry to spend time on this, but I know this is a big issue for some. When they say, well, it's the fig tree. So you need to understand the fig tree. And when you see the fig tree budding, you know that the kingdom of God is near. No, what is he saying? When you see these things, what things is he talking about? The wars, the rumors of wars, the pestilences, all of the other things that he has mentioned. When you see those things—now that leads us to the next verse. Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. So here's the traditional—and I'm grateful that it's not that popular anymore, but this is what I was raised with and many still hold to it. The theory was that Israel is the fig tree. Israel buds in 1948. So now he says this generation will by no means pass away. How long is a generation? Well, initially they said it's 40 years. Remember, Israel had to—that generation had to die in the wilderness, 40 years. And so it's 40 years, so 1948, 40 years, 1988. Everybody was waiting. 1988, 1988, 1988, 1988 came and went. I don't even know how long ago. Some of you weren't even born then. Jesus didn't come. Does it mean he's not coming? No. It means that the whole calculation was wrong. Oh, I'm so sorry. No, a generation's not 40 years, it's 70 years. So now it became whatever it was—2018 or 2008. So now it becomes some other date. And that came and went. Oh, but you know, there were people in the Bible who lived 100 years. Look, this is the kind of ridiculous nonsense that Christians pay good money for to follow these guys with their calculations and with massive whiteboards with numbers and stuff everywhere and pointing from here to here, from here to there. I'm sure you've seen these things, and it's just nonsense. Which generation will not pass away? The generation that sees all these things, not the budding of the fig tree, but that sees the other stuff that he has spoken about in the rest of the chapter. That's clear. So again, in order to come up with that theory, there are two major mistakes. The one is saying that Israel is the fig tree, and the second is saying that Israel is all these things. Israel is not all these things. All these things are the other things that he's speaking about in that passage. So what does he mean then by this generation of what no means passed? Well, that's a hard one. There are at least six major theories as to what that generation means, and I'll take the next six weeks to deal with those theories. No, I won't. What I understand he is simply saying is that when the end begins—remember that we ended last week when these things begin to happen. Look up. Have these things begun to happen? I believe they have begun to happen. That generation—and he's not meaning 40 years, 70 years, 100 years. He's meaning the people who are alive who see the beginning will see the end. In other words, it's not going to be another hundred years. The same way as when the trees begin to bud, it's not going to be another eight months before summer comes. It's pretty soon. It's at the door. And that's the point that he is making here. So the generation that sees the beginning of the end—and of course, this is difficult, because we've spoken about the First World War and the Second World War, and people believe that that was the end. And I can understand why they believe that was. Is today any different? I believe it is different. And I can give you many reasons, but then I would fall into the same trap that I've just spoken against—why I believe that today is different. There are things happening today that are unprecedented. The falling away of believers is unprecedented. We have never seen that in 2,000 years of history. That's just one. And so when you see the beginning, you will see the end. All right, so do we know this is the beginning? I think it is. But I may be wrong. So what do I need to do? I need to be ready. Were they ready 2,000 years ago? Yes, they were ready 2,000 years ago. We need—and this is the point that we're emphasizing over and over—we need to live in the light of the imminent return, the fact that Jesus can come at any moment, not in the light of the signs. And they lived that way 2,000 years ago, and true saints have lived that way for 2,000 years, believing that Jesus can come at any moment. Were they wrong? No, they were not wrong, because Jesus could literally have come at any moment. And I believe that is still true today. So then Jesus says, Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away. He speaks about the law in the same way, but in this context, he's simply saying that these things concerning the second coming will surely come to pass. Remember that there have always been false prophets from the very beginning. At this time of Jesus, there were others who said, I am Christ. And since then, there have been many. There were many who were saying, here's the sign. In fact, one of the great blessings we have today is the Qumran, the Dead Sea Scrolls. They were, remember, found hidden in caves near the Dead Sea and contained some of the oldest manuscripts of the Old Testament, almost complete set of Isaiah. Now, these were written and copied by a community of Jewish believers, not Christian believers, but Jewish believers in the Messiah, and they went to live out there in the desert, because they believed Jesus is coming, or the Messiah is coming. And of course, they were right, but they were looking for the wrong Messiah, unfortunately. So even at that time, there was this idea that the Messiah is coming, and actually the first coming happened, they missed it, the second coming. And so there were many false prophets. Jesus says, I'm not a false prophet. What I'm telling you will happen. And so we need to distinguish again today the difference between the word of God and the word of false prophets. We have a proliferation of false prophets, and everybody follows them without asking any questions. Now, the next statement I'm making is not a political statement, but 95 percent of these prophets prophesied that Trump would be back in the White House after the 6th of January. Now, I know how they're spinning it. They're saying, well, no, it wasn't that 6th of January. It's the 6th of January in four years time, three years, whatever it is. But that's not what they said. They said his presidency will see a second term. Now, this has got nothing to do with politics. This has to do with the prophets. Did he serve a second term? No, he did not. And yet people continue to support those false prophets. The Old Testament is clear that if a prophet says this is going to happen and it doesn't happen, he's a false prophet, you need to stone him. Now, we don't stone people anymore, but people keep stoning them with money, throwing money all over them. Jesus is not one of those prophets. When Jesus says it's going to happen, it's going to happen. And remember the book of Revelation. Who gives John the Revelation? The Lord Jesus. Most of the book of Revelation should be in... In fact, I don't have a red letter edition. I haven't checked, but most of the book of Revelation should be in red letters, because this is Jesus himself speaking and saying this is what's going to happen. And so, my words will not pass away. Now, verse 34. Here is the big word, but take heed to yourselves. Take heed to yourselves. Can you see the point? Right through these three weeks that we've been in this chapter, he speaks about the signs, but he comes back to the application. Remember we've seen this in Hebrews as well. Some doctrine, application. Some doctrine, application. Here's the application. Here's how it applies to us. Take heed to yourselves. Watch yourselves. Again, he's not saying watch the signs, he says watch yourself. So, where must I have my eyes in these days? First of all, look up. Secondly, look at yourself to make sure that you're ready. Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life. And that day come on you unexpectedly. Basically, you're not ready. So, how do we need to live in the light of the fact that he is coming soon? The same way as saints have lived for 2,000 years in the light of his imminent return. And he mentions three things. I'm sure that there could have been many, many things added to the list, but they're three things. And I'm going to very, very quickly look at those three. Carousing, I guess the best modern translation for that would be parting. Now, there's nothing wrong with parting, but when that is what my life consists of, I'm in a bad place. Drunkenness, remember that drunkenness is not necessarily alcohol or drugs. It can be any form of living that is not sober. When my mind has been so affected by what I read on the internet that I'm not thinking straight, I'm drunk in a sense. And so, the emphasis in Paul's letters, he uses the word be sober. And remember, again, being sober doesn't mean not being drunk with alcohol. Of course, it means that. But it's more than that. It's being clear-minded. Clear-minded. What's the problem with drunkenness, whether it's alcohol or drugs or whatever it is? You're not thinking clearly. And so, you do stupid things. And he's saying Christians need to be sober. We need to think clearly. And, folk, I'm seeing less and less Christians think clearly. Their minds are being warped by what they see on Facebook and what they see on the internet, by what they hear from their friends. They're not thinking straight. And, folk, preachers mess with people's minds. No, it's the word of God that will keep me on the straight and narrow. So, not partying, not drunkenness, and then the cares of this life. Now, what's that? Just life. You've heard the saying, life gets in the way. What does it mean? Just getting up and shaving and showering and going to work and paying the bills and fixing the flat on the car and fixing things and keeping things and doing your life. Gets in the way. What does it get in the way of? Gets in the way of my relationship with the Lord. Now, again, I'm not saying, please, I'm not saying that you must neglect your duties to your boss or to your family or to your home or to your whatever it is. But when that becomes my whole life, and in the process, I'm not keeping my eyes on the coming of Jesus, I have a problem. Now, I'm going to go back to Luke chapter 17. We've dealt with this, but I want to remind you again. Because in Luke 17, verse 26, it says, as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man. They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all. Now, I've heard people preach and say, well, this speaks about immorality. I don't see any immorality in this verse. When it says they drank, it doesn't mean they were getting drunk. They were just living their lives. They were eating and drinking like they normally do. They were married. Marriage is legitimate. They were giving their daughters in marriage. That's legitimate. So they were just getting on with life until the door was closed. Likewise, it was also in the days of Lot. They ate. Now, I know there was Sodom and immorality and all of that, but that's not the point he's making here. This is not about the immorality. It's about the way people were living. And remember, Lot's wife was one of those. She was eating and drinking. She was bought and sold. They planted, they built. But on the day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so, it will be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. And so, folk, here's the problem. We can either be those who are spending our lives on sensual pleasures, carousing, partying. We can be those who are living not soberly and thinking clearly. But the bigger danger is just living our lives and becoming so invested in living your life that Jesus is no longer in view. He is no longer the priority, and his return becomes far off. God's going to destroy this earth with a flood. Ah, we haven't seen rain. You've been preaching for a hundred years, Noah, and for a hundred years it hasn't rained. Remember what Peter says, God is not slack concerning his promises, as some count slackness. He is delaying his coming because he's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The fact that he hasn't come for 2,000 years does not mean he's not going to come tomorrow. And statistically, it means that he is more likely to come tomorrow because we're so much closer to the end. So take heed to yourselves. Folks, that's where the focus needs to be. It doesn't matter how many signs you miss or don't understand. What matters is, are you taking heed to yourself? Are you living in a way that you are ready for his return? I need to move a little faster. Verse 35, for it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Remember, I spoke about the trap. It will come as a snare. What does he mean, a snare or a trap? Well, I know most of you grew up in town, so maybe you don't. When I was a kid, we used to catch birds and things with traps. And in its simplest form, you have a box and you have a stick holding up the box, and there's a little tripstick. And when the bird touches the stick, what happens? Wham! The thing slams shut. There's no siren and light going off saying, Hey, birdie, trouble's coming. You better start running. No, when the bird knows the next thing, it's dark. The box has fallen. And that's the word that he's using. That's the intention here. It's going to come at a time when you're not ready. It says in Matthew's version of Noah and Lot, they knew not. They knew not. They were unaware until Noah went into the ark, until Lot left the city. And so, it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the earth. Now, I spent some time thinking about this verse, as I did with the others. But I was trying to figure out what is the point that he's making? Because first of all, he's saying to the Christian, you need to be ready, and you need to know that summer is near. So, if you are reading the signs correctly, is it going to come as a snare on you? No, because you've been waiting. If you get up tomorrow morning, and I know it's not going to be, but if you get up tomorrow morning and it's 100 degrees, is that a surprise? Well, it shouldn't be, because we know summer is coming, and any day now it's going to be 100. So, why does he say it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the earth? Clearly, it's not going to be a snare to Christians. Christians ought not to be caught. They may be, but they should not be caught unawares. They should not be caught by surprise when the Lord comes. And I think that what he's really saying here is a little bit deeper than that. Well, a little deeper than just saying everybody on the face of the earth. Notice, he says, those who dwell on the face of the whole earth, those who are worldly-minded. Folks, where should we be dwelling? Well, remember where we began, where we ended last week. Look up. We should be having our minds on heavenly things. Yeah, we're living down here, but we're living up there. But if we're going to be drunken, carousing, and weighed down with the cares of this life, we are earthly-minded, and we are dwelling here. Our hope is here. Our hope is on the next election. Our hope is on the stock market changing. Our hope is on no war in the Ukraine, and the list goes on. But our hope and our living is here. Those are the ones who dwell on the face of the earth. No, let us be as those who are awake and who are living as though we're already there, that we're heavenly-minded. Watch, therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man. Now, this verse is difficult because he doesn't give us much explanation. Personally, I believe that this is talking about the rapture, and that he is saying that there are those who will escape the worst of the tribulation, that will escape the great tribulation, because they will be raptured. And I know that, again, this is something that old guys like me believe, and the modern generation don't accept the idea of pre-tribulation rapture. I do, and as you remember, I have 50 biblical reasons why I believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, that the church will be taken before the tribulation begins. And I believe that's what this verse is saying. So he says, watch and pray that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and that you may stand before the Son of Man. The only way I can understand that is that the Christian is taken away, he escapes, he sees the beginning. Remember, when you see these things beginning to happen, we see the beginning, but we don't see the fulfillment. Those who dwell on the earth, that generation will see the fulfillment, because we are taken to be with Jesus, and we will escape, and we will stand before the Son of Man. I know that there are many who mock my view, and those who hold this kind of view, by referring to this verse and saying, well, you're escapists, you just want to escape. Well, look, I'm not a masochist. I don't enjoy suffering, and I have no desire to go through the tribulation. Now, if I have to, and I know that there always was tribulation, there still is tribulation, but not the tribulation, the great, not the great tribulation. I have no desire to be in it, and I don't see any problem with saying, I don't want to go through that, I want to be with Jesus. I don't see the problem with that. But anyway, let's move on, we're almost done. So, in the daytime, remember this is the last week, Passion Week, just before the crucifixion. Next week, we're going to come, and I say, next week, in our timing, in the next chapter, we're going to come to the Last Supper, and then the next day, he will be crucified. So, this is near the end of that first week, the last week before his crucifixion. In the daytime, he was teaching in the temple, and we've seen that in these last few chapters, but at night, he went out and stayed in a mount called Olivet, or the Mount of Olives. Remember, just across the valley, just outside of Jerusalem, is the Mount of Olives. It seems that the disciples went in other directions. He went to the Mount of Olives. Whether he stayed with someone there, because there were houses in that area, whether he slept in the garden, or whether he spent the night praying, I don't know. I tend to think he was praying, but I have no scripture for that. Verse 38, then early in the morning, all the people came to him in the temple to hear him. Now, this is important, because this is three days before, yeah, two or three days before the crucifixion. And remember that at the crucifixion, the people would say, crucify him. But at this point, literally three days before, two days before, they're getting up early to come and hear Jesus. And notice that it says, all the people. Now, he had come to Jerusalem with several thousand people who had come down from Galilee and followed him all the way, and others had joined with the crowd that were following him, but also they were going to Jerusalem for the feast. So they were going in the same direction, and they had Jesus to entertain them. Many of them were there just for the entertainment. They enjoyed his preaching. They enjoyed the miracles and all of those sorts of things. And so this whole crowd had come with Jesus, and they were sticking with him right through this week, right up to the end. And then, of course, things change. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you that Jesus gave us the promise that heaven and earth will pass away, but his words will endure forever, will never pass away. Lord, these are things that seem to be theoretical. Lord, they seem to be unreal, and yet they are real. And your words are real, and the return of our Savior is imminent. It's at the door. And I pray, Lord, that we may not be those who would be caught in a snare or in a trap, but Lord, that we would be those who are watching and waiting, as you told us. Lord, that we'd have our eyes fixed on Jesus, at the same time watching ourselves, lest we be weighed down, lest we be bogged down into the things of this world and just living our lives and missing that relationship with the Lord Jesus. And so, Lord, I pray that you would help us to be those who have the right attitude towards you. Lord, that we live lives that are pleasing to you, and Lord, that we may be those who will escape. And so we pray for your help, Lord. The time in which we're living, Lord, is hard. There are many pressures on us, and COVID has not helped. Lord, the inflation is getting worse, and the job market is changing, and everything around us is changing. Politics has become more and more ugly. And Lord, as we find ourselves in this world, we pray that you'd help us to not be bogged down and not to be discouraged and not to have our eyes on these things, but to have our eyes fixed on Jesus, looking and waiting for him and for his return. I pray that you'd help us in Jesus' name. I pray that you'd go with us now, Lord, keep us and protect us. Bring us together again safely on Thursday, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/Y6SeorDVQ8s.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/anton-bosch/are-you-ready/ ========================================================================