16.8.26 am

Good morning everyone. A warm welcome to the service this morning. It's good to see a number of visitors with us and those maybe here coming for the first time and you are very welcome.

If you're able to stay behind at the end of the service there's a cup of tea and coffee and it would be good to get the chance to spend some time together. A few notices I'll highlight. The first is say that the evening service tonight will be taken by Dr George Craig. Somebody asked me last Sunday night, when are you coming back to work full time?

And not yet. I was away in the mainland for the best part of three days this week conducting a funeral and so I'm thankful to George as I also was thankful to Richard last Sunday evening for taking services.

Also we should have said last Sunday a thank you to everybody who helped with the holiday club. We heard a little about the holiday club from Stuart and we pray on for that work for the seed that was sown.

It takes a lot of different people to run a holiday club. Many who are unseen as well as those who are seen and so the Lord knows what everyone does and thank you for all who served in whatever way.

A couple more things just to say that a date for your diary is the AGM. That's the 26th of August. Wednesday 26th of August.

And you'll see that there's some sheets in the vestibule which give a kind of update on finances. We made an appeal some months back just to help.

Try to figure out how much debt we have left and how we can try to pay it off and conscious that there was no update given after that for a while.

So there is a wee summary of where we're at and you're able to pick that up in the vestibule if you're interested in that. Road to Recovery. A ministry for those who struggle with addictions of different kinds.

We have a new time for Road to Recovery. Eight o'clock. So please note the new time for Road to Recovery. Eight o'clock. Two more things. Three more things. Four more things. Sorry.

Four of the 18 or 20 that I'm not going to be able to read them all out. But we have a mission conference here this coming Saturday and it runs from ten o'clock to half past three.

And there's also a young people's event, a big YF event, which will be from half past two to half past five. If anyone's able to help donate some food, bacon, please speak to Stuart about that.

Duncan will say a little about the mission conference in just a second. But before he does, two more things to highlight. One is that there's the communion weekend in South Harris this coming weekend.

You have the details on the email. And also the ordination and induction of Scott, the Reverend Scott McLeod, who was our minister in training to Park Free Church.

That will take place on Tuesday, 25th of August at 7pm. And there will be a kind of reception at the Caber Fé Hotel after that.

So please note that date. And if as many of us are able to go as possible, it's always an encouragement for Scott and for the family to see the congregation coming alongside him.

Duncan's going to speak for a minute about the mission conference. So I'll invite him to do so now, please. Thank you, David. So there's many of us. Annually for a number of years, which came to an end, courtesy of COVID.

But we're looking to restart it again now. And looking forward to next Saturday having a number of speakers at that. So conference starts at 10 o'clock.

It's right then. You get a cup of coffee and tea and the programme will start at 10.15. And if you've been missing David's full-time preaching, you can do some catch-up next Saturday morning, as he'll be sharing a message with us on Discipling All Nations.

Before lunch, we'll have contributions from OMF. Douglas Humphries, who's the head of OMF in Scotland, will be speaking. And also Muriel McLeod from Lewis, who's been working in Thailand for many years.

She will speak about her work there. So it'll be good to have both the national, international, and then also the local input. After lunch, sessions will be led by InterServe.

And we have Jane Frugella will be up. You remember her husband, Mike. He was with us previously a number of years ago and actually preached here one Sunday morning.

Anyway, Jane will be speaking a bit about InterServe's work in general. And our own Angus and Kirsty will be speaking about their own work and their own plans for going back out to Asia shortly.

And then we'll finish up with a time of prayer. So please do come along if you can. If you can only manage part of the day, that's fine. Because we do have distinct sessions. And so just come along for what you can manage.

And also, soup and sandwiches lunch will be provided. So we look forward to seeing as many folk next Saturday as possible. And please do pray for the success of that event.

And also just say to any visitors who are here, if you wish to come along next Saturday, you'll be more than welcome to do so. Thank you. Thank you, Duncan.

Let's begin with just a few verses from Hebrews chapter 10. And it says at verse 23, Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.

For he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

We're going to be thinking about that day of the Lord's return today in the sermon. But let's begin this time of worship as we sing to God's praise. And we sing from Psalm 51.

Psalm 51. And we will sing verses 1 to verse 7 of this psalm.

And the tune that we will sing to is St. Kilda. Psalm 51. Psalm 51. A prayer of confession. And we'll sing verses 1 to 7. After thy loving kindness, Lord, have mercy upon me, for thy compassion is great, blot out all mine iniquity.

We'll stand to sing verses 1 to verse 7 of God. To God's praise. And we'll sing verses 1 to 7 of God.

For my transgressions I confess, my sin I ever see.

Get thee, the only half I stand, in thy sight on this hill.

That when thou speakst, thou mayst be just, and fear in judging still.

Before thine iniquity was fond of within, my mother also be conceived in guiltiness and sin.

Behold thou with me inward parts, with truth delighted heart.

And wisdom thou shalt make me know, within the hidden heart.

Well let's unite our hearts together in prayer, let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you that we have been able to sing your word in these moments.

And we thank you that we are given in this psalm a prayer. That we can not only sing with our lips, but we can pray from our hearts. Asking that you will forgive us of our sin.

We confess Lord, as we come before you, that we are sinners. We fail and we fall. And so often with the apostle Paul, we end up saying that the good that we want to do, we fail to do.

And the evil that we don't want to do, so often we return to. And in exasperation we cry out, who will save me from this body of sin? We thank you that the answer is Jesus.

We thank you that that psalm points us to Jesus. We thank you that he is the one that came into this world to live for us the life that none of us could live.

We hear the confession of David the psalmist too, who laments over his sin. And we echo these words as we look at our own hearts.

But we thank you that we are not left in a state of despair. But we are called, as we see our sin, to confess it and to look to the Savior.

We think of the words of Robert Murray McShane, who said, For every look that you take at self, take ten looks at Jesus. So help us, we pray, as individuals and as a congregation, to fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author, the perfecter of our faith.

Help us to hold fast to the confession of the hope that we have. And we thank you that the hope that we have is guaranteed in Christ alone.

We thank you for the cross that we look to week by week as we gather here. We thank you that on the cross Jesus made an end of our sin. He became the sacrifice to end all sacrifices, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

We thank you that as Jesus died, the curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom, showing that the way into the presence of God was now clear for all who are trusting in Jesus.

And we thank you that the cross was not the end, but that on the third day Jesus rose from the dead. And we thank you that he promises that all who believe in him shall also rise.

And we praise you, Lord, for that hope. And week by week as we gather, we are conscious of those who are grieving, those whose hearts are sad. And once again today, we are conscious of those who are mourning in our presence.

We pray for Agnes, we pray for Alistair, we pray for Katrina and all the family here as they grieve over the sudden loss of Bill.

And we ask, Lord, that they would know your comfort and that they would fix their eyes upon Jesus, that they would know the peace of God which passes all understanding, that otherworldly peace and comfort of God the Holy Spirit.

So help them, Lord, we pray. We pray for others who struggle. Sometimes our struggles are visible to those who are around us. Sometimes our struggles are seen only by you.

And as we come before you with the cares of this world so often, almost feeling like they strangle us, we thank you that we can take them to the one who cares for us.

Cast your cares upon the Lord because he cares for you. We thank you that Peter knew that and that we can do that this day. So we come with all our burdens, all our worries, all our cares.

And we ask, Lord, that you would help us and that you would give us that strength, that refuge as we seek to come to you.

We pray, Lord, for the young folks here. We thank you for them, for their voices that we hear. And we ask, Lord, that you would bless them from the earliest years.

And as they go to Sunday school again today, as they go to youth fellowship, as the big YF event comes next week, we pray for your hand upon their lives.

And we pray on for the seed that was sown at the holiday club. That many of these young ones that we may not see week by week in church, we pray that they would remember the love of Jesus for them and that they would come to Jesus in the early years.

We pray for the young. We pray for the old. We think of Harrah's house. We think of those in the care home in Leverborough. We think of those who watch online who would desire to be here.

And we ask, Lord, that you would draw near to them in their homes, wherever they are, that they would know that they are not forgotten, but that they are remembered by your people and that they are remembered by you.

Bless them, Lord, we pray. We pray for a world that is so often in turmoil. We see wars. We see famines. We see earthquakes.

We see many things that distress us. We see tribulation when it comes to your people. And Lord, we can bring all these things to you in prayer, but help us, we pray, as we see these things, not to be alarmed, but to remember as we will read shortly that all these things are reminders of the fact that Jesus will return and he will make everything new.

And we pray that we would be ready for that day, that we would be able to meet him as our saviour and not as our judge. Bless us, Lord, we pray.

Cleanse us from sin. Fill us with the Holy Spirit. Empty us of all that is of self. And enable us, we pray, to be in the spirit of worship on this, the Lord's day.

And we ask all this in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen. Boys and girls, would you like to come forward, please? How are all you guys today?

Some of you going to school for the first time this week? Yeah? You've gone very quiet. We've got a quiet generation with this group here.

Michael used to lead all the young ones in answers and debate and discussion at the front, but you're very quiet at this stage. I've got a couple of pictures to show you.

And the first picture is from Thursday when the weather... No, that's the third picture. Go back one hour or two. That was Thursday.

Usually I look across the road and I see the most splendid house, shiny cars, amazing landscaping and the beauty of the harbour and then the big boat there out in the bay.

What could we see on Thursday? Look, what could we see? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It was super foggy. I think there's another picture as well.

That was all you could see. It was the big boat down there. I think it was the Glensannex that was out there and we couldn't see anything. And then...

There was a big noise. Did you hear the noise on Thursday? What was the noise?

What did it go like? It went about like this. Ah! About like the way I came.

That's what the noise went like. What do you think it was? That noise? It came from the ferry. What do you think that noise was? What's it called?

Benjamin, do you know? Friendly? It was a foggy day and it sounded about like a horn. So what do you think the noise could have been?

Olivia. A siren, yes. There's a special name for it. It's called a foghorn. And sometimes, if I was too loud, my mother would say, you sound like a foghorn, quiet and down.

Now, one day, a few years ago, shot us our dog. He came on the ferry and it was the first time we'd ever been in the ferry.

So we took him out of the car, up the stairs, into the ferry and he was making a bit of a pest of himself inside. He wanted to sniff all the other dogs and he was making embarrassing whining noises.

So I said, Rickshaw is out of here. And we went upstairs, out onto the open deck and we sat down on a chair. And then the fog started to come in and it got very misty.

And all of a sudden, oh! And it was right beside us and Shawrus just jumped out of his skin.

And his heart was beating and he was absolutely terrified. And he's hated going in the ferry ever since. So we leave him in the car. But on Friday, or Thursday, sorry, I didn't hear the first foghorn.

But all of a sudden, I heard the dog and he ran upstairs and he ran past my legs and I'm like, can we see the picture again? He was hiding under the table because he was terrified because he'd heard this foghorn.

Now, what do you think I should have done? Do you think I should have gone down to the Cal Mac office and said, my dog is very scared of that foghorn. I don't want to hear any more foghorns.

Put that switch off and make sure there's no more foghorn noise here ever again. Would that have been a sensible thing to do? No.

Why not, Finley? That's right. If they didn't make the noise, there'd be no warning.

And then, a little boat could smash into the big boat. There could be a disaster. And so, even though it was a bit scary for Shoros, the Cal Mac folks weren't doing it to be nasty.

They were doing it because they wanted to be careful and they wanted us to be safe. And boys and girls, sometimes in the Bible, when we listen to the words of Jesus, sometimes he says things to us and they make us feel a wee bit scared.

When we read about ourselves in the Bible, Jesus, he tells us about the fact that we have sin in our hearts. and in the Bible, Jesus tells us about a devil who wants to attack us.

And when we read some of these bits of the Bible, we think, that's a bit scary. But why do you think Jesus tells us sometimes even things that are a bit scary?

Do you think he's doing it because he wants to scare us and be cruel? No. No. Why does he tell us these things? Because he wants us, Finley, to be safe.

He wants us in our hearts to be safe. And Jesus tells us about our sin because he can take away our sin if we ask him.

And he tells us about the devil because we've got to stay away from the devil, but we don't need to be frightened of him because Jesus beat him on the cross.

How, boys and girls, can we be safe today and forever? Who do we have to go to and trust if we want to be safe forever?

Yeah. We want, we must go to God, don't we? Jesus came into this world to be the saviour because he loves us and he wants us, whether we're young like you guys or a bit older like me.

He wants us to come to him and trust him as our saviour. We pray. Lord God, we thank you that you love us and we thank you that you love us to tell us the truth about ourselves, about our hearts.

And we thank you that, Lord Jesus, you came into this world to be the saviour, the only saviour, the one who could keep us safe in this world and forever.

So help us, we pray, to trust you. And we ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen. We're going to sing now and we're going to sing the words on the screen a hymn about God, the Ancient of Days.

And we'll stand to sing in just a moment. may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may So I will not fear, for his truth remains, that my God is the ancient of days.

And I'll come with them before him, all the time in his hands, for his throne is surely green and never stand.

All the power, all the glory, I will trust in his name, for my God is the ancient of days.

Oh, the dread of night overwhelms my soul, he is here with me, I am not alone.

For his love is true, and he knows my name, for my God is the ancient of days.

And I'll come with them before him, all the time in his hands, for his throne is surely green and never stand.

All the power, all the glory, I will trust in his name, for my God is the ancient of days.

I may not see what the future brings. I will watch and wait for the saviour being, when my joy will be standing face to face in the presence of the ancient of days.

I will watch and wait for the saviour being, for my God is the ancient of days.

For my God is the ancient of days. may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may those who are visiting, in case you're wondering where we've got to, we've been in Matthew's Gospel for a while. We've come to this chapter. It's fairly long. It's quite complicated, but we're going to move through at high speed this morning. And I'll read this passage, Matthew chapter 24 and from verse 1. Jesus foretells the destruction of the temple.

Jesus left the temple and was going away when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, you see all these, do you not? Truly I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying, tell us when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming at the end of the age? And Jesus answered them, see that no one leads you astray, for many will come in my name saying, I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death.

And you will be hated by all nations for my namesake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold, but the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come. So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place, let the reader understand. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the house stop not go down to take what is in the house. And let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days. Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath, for then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now. No, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, look, here is the Christ, or there he is, do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand, so if they say to you, look, he's in the wilderness, do not go out. If they say, look, he is in the upper, in the inner rooms, do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Whatever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with great, with power and great glory.

And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. From the fig tree learn its lesson. As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also when you see all these things, you know that he is near at the very gates. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

But concerning that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, entered the ark, entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field, one will be taken, and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill, one will be taken, and one left. Therefore stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom the master finds will find so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.

But if that wicked servant says to himself, My master is delayed, and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour he does not know, and will cut them in pieces and put him with the hypocrites.

In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Amen, and may God give us understanding as we come back to this passage in just a few moments. We're going to sing again now to God's praise.

Again, Psalm 51, and we'll sing two stanzas from verse 8 to verse 10. I'll read the verses in English. We'll remain seated to sing in Gaelic.

Of gladness and of joyfulness, make me to hear the voice, that so these very bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. All mine iniquities blot out, thy face hide from my sin. Create a clean heart, Lord renew a right spirit me within.

All mine iniquities blot out, thy face hide from my sin. All mine iniquities blot out, thy face hide from my sin. The voice of the Lord is filled and made me.

All mine iniquities blot out, thy face hide from me. All mine iniquities blot out, thy face hide from me.

may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may

Oh Oh Oh

Oh Oh If you turn back Chapter 24 There's an awful lot in this chapter That I will hardly touch So if you have questions Feel free to ask them over coffee But I'm not guaranteeing I'll have answers But you can ask questions But we're really just skimming over the surface Of a lot of this chapter Today But before we come to it Let's pray again Lord God we thank you for your word We confess that we are those Who cannot see We cannot hear We cannot understand Unless you help us And we thank you That we have the promise That God the Holy Spirit He is our teacher He is our helper So we pray for that help Even now as we take some time

To look at this passage Help us we pray As we think about the return Of the Lord Jesus To be To be ready To be anticipating That day We pray for the children Again Lord we thank you for them We ask that as they hear The message of the gospel Simply in their Sunday school class That you would bless them And that you would open Their minds and hearts That they may hear Understand And believe We pray for other congregations Around us For every denomination In this place In Tarbert In Scalpe In Leverborough We thank you That in each building The name of Jesus Is lifted up And we pray That many Would be drawn to Christ Even in salvation For the first time today We pray for the churches That we are Connected with Here today We thank you For visitors with us And as they think Of their home churches We pray For these congregations And we ask Lord That they would know Your help

And blessing There as we pray For your help And your blessing here We pray for those Who go through As it says In Matthew's gospel Their tribulation We pray for those Who are hated For the name Of Jesus' sake We think of people In countries Where it is not even Possible to mention The name of Jesus Without the threat Of arrest Or even worse We pray for Many believers That we have never met And may never meet In this world For the persecuted church And we ask Lord For your blessing And your protection Upon them today Help them we pray To keep on keeping on And help us we pray In less acute struggles To keep on keeping on As we fix our eyes Upon Jesus And we pray all these things In his name And for his sake Amen Matthew chapter 24

And at verse 1 It says Jesus left the temple And that's actually The last time That Jesus left the temple He'll never go back Into the temple Jesus left the temple And was going away When his disciples Came to point out to him The buildings Of the temple And the temple itself It was an impressive building It had taken 46 years to build We told that in John chapter 2 And the disciples As they're heading out They turn to Jesus And they say to Jesus Look how amazing This building is Look how impressive This structure is This work of architecture But Jesus answered In verse 2 You see all These Do you not

Truly I say to you There will not be left Here one stone Upon another That will not be Thrown down Whenever I read this text I remember a sermon That was preached When we were in Loch Cairn Probably 20 years ago now And as a congregation In Loch Cairn We'd spent a lot of months We'd spent a fair bit of money Renovating the church building It was a much needed renovation And the damp patches Had been dealt with There was a new kitchen area The old pews had gone There was new Comfortable chairs To be able to sit in There was fresh paint There was clean carpets The building looked impressive And a minister called Craig Dyer Who's been here In the hall When we met in the hall He was preaching

The first sermon In Loch Cairn Church After the church reopening And this was his text Truly I say to you There will not Be left here One stone Upon another That will not be thrown down And that takes us To our first point The first thing That Jesus warns His disciples about Is the structure In the first few verses Jesus gives a very clear Warning About incoming Destruction Now when Craig Preached the sermon I mentioned in Loch Cairn He was He was reminding us That the building As much as we were Thankful for it It was just a building In the same way That this building That we are thankful for It's just a building At some point

In the future The stones That make up The building Will be thrown down And that's true Of every building In this world It's actually true Of every material thing In this world I was thinking about And I was remembering Happier motoring days This week Those who know me Know that I lament Week by week About driving A horrible little beige 55 brake horsepower Volkswagen up In days gone by I used to drive A black Volkswagen Golf GT TDI 170 brake horsepower And I loved the car And I looked after The car And as I was thinking About it this week I thought I think I'm just Going to check Just to make sure This car is still On the road

And it's still Healthy And to my dismay When I did the MOT checker It told me That it's been Off the road Since December 2025 It's destroyed And that kind of Makes me sad But it's good for us To keep that in mind It's good for us To have that perspective So many Of the material things That we are so Attached to In this world Whether it's Buildings or cars They have such A short lifespan They will pass away And that can be A hard lesson For us to Learn But if we go back To the first day That Jesus spoke Here He was speaking About the temple He was As it says

In the heading Of the chapter In the ESV He was Foretelling The destruction Of the temple In verses 1 and 2 And for the Jews At that time The temple Was more than A building The temple Was the place Where God Met with his people So if you Wanted to connect With God You had to Go to the temple So when Jesus Left the temple And said In verse 1 This temple Will soon be Destroyed The disciples And the people Who were listening They were horrified How could they Meet with God They said How could they Meet with God If there's no temple And the answer To that question Was They could meet With God In and through Jesus God the Son The temple

And everything In it Pointed to Jesus And all the Sacrifices That went on In the temple That too Was pointing to Jesus All the blood That was shed And the sacrifices That were offered Was pointing to Jesus The Lamb of God Who came To be That sacrifice That would end All sacrifice The one who would Take away The sin of the world Now In about 40 years Time From the date That Jesus First spoke These words The temple The physical Structural Building Of the temple And the whole City of Jerusalem It would be Destroyed

By the Romans But later That week On the week That Jesus Spoke The temple Of Jesus Body Would be Destroyed On the cross As he took Our sin Into his body On the tree On the Friday Of the week That Jesus Was speaking Jesus Would die To pay the wages Of our sin He would die As the sacrifice For our sin But on the Sunday He would rise From the dead Remember that was His prophecy In John chapter 2 He said Knock this temple Down I'll rebuild it In three days And they said Three days It took 46 years To build this thing And John tells us

He was talking About the temple Of his body And on that Friday Jesus Body Would be given He would die For our sin But on the Sunday He would rise From the dead And the promise Of Jesus Was and is That all Who believe in him They We Also Will rise From the dead You know All that is In this world All that we Place So much Value in Ultimately It is headed For destruction We're told In verse 35 Heaven and earth As we know it It will pass away But Jesus And all

Who are trusting In him Are secure Eternally We are We are saved We are protected From destruction So like the Disciples If we Take a moment To apply this Before we move On Like the Disciples We are not To be consumed With wonder And worship When it comes To buildings Or whatever It is in this World that Captivates us From money In our bank Accounts To Golf GTIs In our Garages To cattle And sheep In our Fields To trophies In our Display Cabins These things Should not Consume us Our focus Our wonder Our praise Should rather Be directed To and Reserved For the Eternal God Jesus

Our Saviour Destruction That's the First thing Jesus warns The disciples Of The second Thing he warns His disciples About is The danger Of deception Verse 3 As he sat On the Mount of Olives The disciples Came to him Privately Saying Tell us When will These things Be And what Will be The sign Of your Coming And the Close Of the Age So in Verse 3 The disciples They ask A question That continues To be Asked Every Generation They ask The question When will The end Of the World Come That's Their Question And the Disciples They Assume That the Destruction Of the Temple Will be The end Of the World But that Assumption Was wrong The Destruction Of the Temple The Destruction Of Jerusalem

By the Romans That would Happen In about 40 years Time But the Second Coming Of Jesus And the Close Of the Age When will That happen Maybe there's Someone who's Asking that Question Even now When Will This World End When will This age Close When Will The Lord Jesus Return We should Be asking That question Well Jesus Makes clear To the Disciples And to us That that Date Is not Known You can Look at Verse 36 And Jesus Makes clear

That not The angels Not even Jesus himself That day Has not been Disclosed to Them Only the Father knows The day Of Jesus Returns But Jesus Warns The disciples Many people Will try and Deceive you And they Will claim That they Know that Day Some will Even claim To be the Christ But Jesus Says Don't Listen To them Don't Be deceived By the Conspiracy Theorists Don't Be deceived By those With their Charts And their News articles And all Their wild Theories About the Exact date That Jesus Is coming Back Jesus Makes clear Here That date Is not Known So Jesus Answers Them In verse 4 See that No one Leads You Astray For Many

Will Come In my Name Saying I Am The Christ And They Will Lead Many Astray So what Can we Expect to Hear about As we Await The return Of Jesus What signs What Indications Can we Expect To be Given As we Think about The return Of Jesus Well Jesus Says in Verse 6 And you Will hear Of wars And rumours Of wars See that You are Not Alarmed For this Must take Place But the End is Not Yet For Nation Will Rise Against Nation And Kingdom Against Kingdom And There Will Be Famines And Earthquakes In Various Places All These Are But The Beginning Of

The Birth Pains You Know Some People Love To Fixate On Every Bad Thing That Happens In This World And They Become Alarmed And Hyper Alarmed And Then They Start To Cause Alarm To Everybody Who's Around Them And Jesus Says Don't Do That These Things Must Take Place Don't Get Stressed Out Of Your Head About Every News Article That You Read So All That We See On BBC News 24 Or Sky News Or Whatever It Is You Watch All These Conflicts And Wars And Famines And Earthquakes These Things Sadden Us And These Things Are Things That We Are Legitimately Concerned About And We Pray Into

But None Of That Should Surprise Us Christians Should Be The Least Surprised People On This Planet! Because Jesus Said These Things Will Take Place In A Decaying World As You Wait For His Return What Else Can Take Place What Else Must Take Place What Else Can We Expect To Happen As We Wait For Jesus Return Well We Can Expect Tribulation Verse Nine Jesus Says Then They Will Deliver You He's Talking To Believers Christians And He Says Then They Will Deliver You Up To Tribulation And Put You To Death And You Will Be Hated By All Nations For My Name's Sake And Then Many Will Fall Away And Betray One Another And Hate One Another And Many False Prophets Will Arise And Lead Many Astray And Because Lawlessness Will Be Increased The Love Of

Many! Will Grow! Cold And Why does Jesus Tell Them Why does Jesus Tell Us All This Depressing Stuff And The Answer Is Because It's True And Because It Safeguards Us From Being Deceived By False Teachers And We've All Heard About The Prosperity Gospel If You Switch On God Channels Late On In The Evening You'll Get All Kinds Of People With Messages Along These Lines Of Follow Jesus And You'll Be Healthy And You'll Be Happy And Life Will Be Much Better Than It Currently Is Everything Will Be Well If You Just Follow Jesus And Make A Donation Please To My Charity And

Jesus Says Don't Be Deceived By That Stuff Following Me Is Difficult Says Jesus But Verse 13 The One Who Endures To The End Will Be Saved Keep On Keeping On Says Jesus Though The Nations Rage And Kingdoms Rise And Fall Remember Says Jesus There Is Still One King Who's Reigning Over All So Do Not Fear Keep On Trusting Me Says Jesus And Keep On Telling People About Me Says!

Jesus Verse 14 And The Gospel Of The Kingdom Will Be Proclaimed Throughout The Whole World As A Testimony To All Nations And Then The End Will Come The Gospel Gospel Of The Kingdom Will Be Proclaimed Throughout The Whole World As A Testimony To The Nations And Then Says Jesus The End Will Come Do You Ever Wonder Why The End Has Not Yet Come Do You Ever Wonder When You And I See Some

Of The Things That Are Going On In This World Do You Ever Wonder Why Jesus Has Not Yet Return Well The Answer To That Question Is It's Because God Is Patient More So Than We Are The Reason That Jesus Has Not Yet Return Is Because God Is Merciful And There Are Still People In The World Who Need To Hear The Gospel Of Jesus There Are Still People In Tarbird Who Need To Hear The Gospel Of Jesus So If We Are Christians Every Day

We Wake Up We Are To Say This Is Another Day That God Has Given Me To Tell People About Jesus That's Our Main Task If We're Christians Not Making More Money In Business Not Getting More Qualifications In School Or University Not Winning More Medals In Sport If We Are Christians We Have Been Given This Day So That We Will Be Witnesses For Jesus Wherever He's Put Us Wherever He Sends Us Might Be Far Away Might Be Just Over The Road To The School Down The Road To The Hospital Might Be In Your Home Might Be In The Shop God Whatever!

He Sets Us Down If We Are Christians Our Task Through The Way That We Live And The Words That We Say Is To Tell People And Show People Christ That That That's Why We're Here And If We're Not Yet Christians Today Is Another Day That God Has Given Us In His Patience And His Mercy Where We Have The Opportunity To Turn From Our Sin And Turn To Christ And Ask Him To Be Our Savior Destruction Deception The Third Warning That Jesus Gives Is The Warning Of Delay We're Going To Move At Break Next Speed Through The Next Section If You Scan

Verses 15 To 28 Jesus Speaks A Bit More In Detail In Terms Of Warning About Something That's Called The Abomination Of Desolation You Can Get A PhD In That If You Want To What Is The Abomination Of Desolation Well If We Simplify It To The Most Basic Level It Refers To The Death To The Death To The Death Jesus Warned It Was Going To Happen As The Chapter Begins And In AD 70 40 Years From That Date The Historians Tell Us That What Jesus Predicted It Came True Point Of Application Well One Simple Point Of Application Is You Can Believe What's Written In This Book You Can You Can Look Back Through History And See So Many Of The Things That Were Predicted In The Old Testament They Are So Clearly Fulfilled In The New Testament There's Evidence Galore For Anybody Who Has A

Mind Open Enough To Listen History Teaches Us That We Can Believe The Words That Jesus Says And If We Scan Verses 15 To 28 Jesus Warns His People About What Will Happen With This Incoming Destruction And He Urges Them When They Begin To See This Attack From The Romans That Came He Says To Them Verse 16 Flee To The Mountains Don't Be Turning Back To Get Your Stuff He Says In Verse 17 Don't Be Don't Be Looking For Your Jack Leave Your Cloak Where It Is He Says!

In Verse 18 Don't Delay Says Jesus Flee From Destruction Flee To A Place Of Safety Don't Delay Says Jesus And That Was True In Terms Of The Attack That Was Coming Through The Romans And The Judgment That Would Fall On Jerusalem At That Point Through That Event But It's Even More True And This Comes With Even Greater Force When We Think About The Final Judgment When Jesus Returns To This World Remember He Returns As Judge The First Coming Of Jesus Became As Savior He Calls Everyone To Come To To Be Saved But If We Refuse To Come To Him When

He Returns He Returns As Judge And All Who Have Remained In Their Sin All Who Have Rejected Jesus Like Jerusalem Did They Will Face The Righteous Anger The Just Judgement Of God So The The Crucial Question Is How Can We Escape This Judgement And The Answer Is By Fleeing Not To The Mountains But To The One Who Made The Mountains We Flee To The Savior Whilst There Is Still Time How Can We Escape The Judgment Of God We Escape By Coming To Jesus Without delay Hebrews

Chapter 2 And Verse 3 Says! how shall we escape if we neglect such great salvation? Are you neglecting the offer of salvation today because you're so busy with other things?

We will not escape if we neglect the salvation, if we neglect the Savior who came for us. 2 Corinthians 6, 2, for he says, In a favorable time I listened to you, and in that day of salvation I have helped you.

Behold, now is the favorable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Don't be delayed, says Jesus.

Come now. Jesus warns about the destruction that was coming in. He warns them about the danger of deception.

He warns them about the danger of delay. And finally, in just a word, Jesus warns his disciples and all those who are listening about the danger of distraction, which I think is probably the thing that will hit hardest here for us.

because we are so distracted with lives that are so busy.

Verse 29 to 31, scan it. You can read it later. Jesus gives an account of how things will be on the day he returns. On that day, there will be no distractions.

Every eye will see Jesus. Every year, we'll hear his coming, but that day will be too late to make our peace with Jesus.

That day will be too late to escape judgment. And for many, Jesus says, it will be a day of mourning. And so Jesus says, be prepared for that day.

Verse 32 to verse 35, Jesus says, just like the farmer is prepared for a harvest of figs as he sees the plant change, Jesus says, be prepared for the judgment that is coming to Jerusalem when the temple will be destroyed and be prepared for the final judgment at the end of the age.

And the thing that is most likely to cause us to be unprepared is distractions. And they're not bad things.

That's the tragedy of this. The busyness of life, the relentless routines and demands of life cause us to be so distracted that we neglect the important and we only attend to the trivial urgent.

The next shift at work, the TV program we want to watch, the football match we have to get to, the next job, the next job, the next job, the next job.

It's got to be done, it's got to be done, it's got to be done. And the important things of our soul, we don't even think about them.

Because we have a to-do list of trivia that consumes us. And so in this final section, Jesus, he reminds the people of how it was in the days of Noah.

Verse 38, he says, everyone was getting on with life, eating and drinking and marrying, and God was using Noah to say, judgment is coming, but there's an ark, so come into the ark and you'll be saved.

And all the people were so distracted they wouldn't listen. We've got stuff to do, they said to Noah. We haven't got time for your ark. Don't even see a cloud in the sky.

We're busy, busy, busy. And we know what happened. The clouds came, the rain fell, and for the vast majority of people in Noah's day, they were lost.

And Jesus says, learn from that story. The Son of Man, verse 44, is coming at an hour.

you do not expect. Therefore, you must be ready. Are you and I ready for that day?

It's so easy to be distracted. And that's the way the devil wants it to be. John 10, 10, Jesus said, the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

The devil's end game is our destruction. Jesus came to save us from destruction and bring us salvation.

Life. I came, says Jesus in John 10, 10, that they may have life and have it abundantly.

And if we trust in Jesus, we have the promise that when he returns, we will escape that place that he speaks of in verse 51, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth and we will be taken to a place where there will be abundant and eternal life.

or as the hymn puts it, we'll sing it in a moment, when the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more and the morning breaks eternal bright and fair, when the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore and the row is called up yonder.

I'll be there. will you be there on that day? Are you trusting in Christ?

Let's sing as we conclude Mission Praise. Mission Praise number 759, when the trumpet of the Lord shall sound.

and time shall be no more and the morning breaks eternal bright and fair, and the saved when the world shall gather over on the other shore and the row is called up yonder I'll be there.

When the row is called up yonder, when the row is called up yonder, when the row is called up yonder, when the row is called up may may may may may!

When the road is gone and beyond When the road is gone and beyond

When the road is gone and beyond When the road is gone and beyond I'll be there Now in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father And the fellowship, the comfort of God the Holy Spirit be with us all Now and forevermore Amen Amen