I invite you to turn in the scriptures this morning to the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Mark chapter 13, Mark chapter 13, as we began after some time, our study again in this gospel, we're nearing the end, but tonight, I mean this morning, we come to chapter 13 verses 14 through 23 it's found on page 1081 1081 in your pew bible remember last time uh we had what are considered signs of the close of the age uh certain things that will be characteristic of the present time in which we live as he's answering their questions um that they particularly asked him when they showed him the the buildings of the temple and they said tell us when these things will be and what will be the sign singular when all these things are about to be accomplished and this morning we're looking at verses 14 through 23 this is the word of the lord but when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be let the reader understand, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house to take anything to eat. 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 it may not happen in winter, for in those days there will be such tribulation as had not been from the beginning of creation that God created until now and never will be and if the Lord had not cut short the days no human being would be saved but for the sake of the elect whom he chose he shortened the days and then if anyone says to you look here is the Christ or look there he is do not believe it for false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders to lead astray if possible the elect but be on your guard i have told you all these things beforehand there is the reading this morning of god's word we have always lived with some amount of fear of what's going to happen before the lord jesus christ comes again to judge the living and the dead there have been all kinds of books written that have really inspired fear in people with regard to the second coming, so that it is a subject that we approach with a little bit of fear and intrepidation because we're not quite sure how to apply all the things that are said in Scripture about this coming day and what that day will be like. What will it be like? Should we expect the worst? Any optimism? should we have in this? All pessimism? The scriptures actually paint a very glorious end for what we are to keep our eyes on and look for. I mean, think of how all over the scriptures it's motivating us to this, that since therefore Christ is seated, set your minds on things above where Christ is. That's where you're going. That's where you're going to be. John, in fact, wants us to have in his little epistle of first john uh under the inspiration of the spirit wrote and saying i want you to have boldness for the day of judgment i don't want you to live in fear of that thessalonians second thessalonians chapter two says that when he appears on the clouds of heaven in all of his glory that every eye will see him guess what's going to happen in the hearts and lives of his people they're going to admire him they're going to love him they're going to say there's my champion i've believed in all my life and he will come to deliver he will come to save he will come to take you home the lord is not presented in his coming as our enemy that's hard for us to get it's hard for us to uh to accept at times he's coming for his people as a friend as a deliverer as a savior but satan and the world will most certainly ravage us the world in our own flesh and satan will most certainly assault us in ways that we need to be aware of before he comes that we have to listen to that we have to understand and that's what this is about. We can't be ignorant to deception as we've been challenged. We can't be ignorant to the things that must come to pass that Lord Jesus Christ is using and preparing us for what is to come to pass and helping us to think through it so that we're not caught off guard. That's the end of the verse that I read today, but be on your guard. I've told you all these things beforehand. Why is he telling us this beforehand? So that you're not caught off guard. You're not standing back and saying, oh, I just can't believe how things have become, which is what we do all the time. We watch the news and we shake our heads and, oh, look at what the United States has become. And Jesus said, I told you it would be like this. Listen, listen. What is described this morning here is known in the Bible as a period of great tribulation. In most of your subheadings there, You'll notice even they put that there, the great tribulation. Jesus answers, what he's doing here is answering the disciples' question about when certain things would occur and what they should be looking for. You'll notice in their questions there was a when and there's a what. That was very important. Last time we kind of interjected the why, which I believe is really important to understand this and they should have asked. But we're really dealing with the win this morning for their particular scenario, for their particular moment in history. And what he does here in this particular passage this morning, if you're taking notes, is provide them an historical observation. And then a caring word of preservation. And finally, a shepherding word of caution to them as they see these events unfold. Let's start here with this historical observation, which I believe is very important to understand what particularly Mark 13 is dealing with. Last week, we started this section known as the Olivet Discourse, and if you remember, there were a few important interpretive points that we need to keep in front of us as we look at this that help us to have a good, right, and proper understanding of what is clearly a challenging text. It's not the easiest text at all, and I did struggle with this one this week. Remember what we've looked at, and it will help in Mark's Gospel. Jesus has made a fast and clean break with Judaism. Curse the fig tree, remember? Let no fruit grow on you ever again. It was a symbolic act of judgment. he said uh in this context see your house is left to you desolate he had gone in and cleansed it but you remember all the problems of this house this temple i mean this was always the problem throughout israel's history they put their trust in the temple the temple the temple the temple jeremiah even inspired it that way now this was a cataclysmic this was a terrifying moment for the at least the disciples looking at this they believe their lord they believe him they've seen they've seen his power they know he's lord they've confessed that by now this is terrifying and so they they want to know and they want to understand when this would occur and that's essentially this particular section of of mark chapter 13 this morning What makes this difficult to answer is whether Jesus is only talking about A.D. 70 here or whether he's also thinking of the end of the world. That's the discussion. That's the debate. And I hope this will help you for a minute when thinking about how to interpret this, that Christ is mingling or combining elements of both of these questions that they ask him. they want to know the sign that's next week the sign is his coming that's the sign that's what you look for but he in turn will answer them but he's going to demonstrate that the sign of his coming and when these things are going to take place are not necessarily going to happen together there will be a long period of time between the destruction of jerusalem in ad 70 and christ's final return some have said it and i thought this was a really helpful way to think about it that jesus is approaching this as a traveler who's looking at a distant mountain range from where he stands he describes the future exactly as he sees it the closer he gets to the first peak the greater the distance is seen between peak number one and peak number two so he describes all the events of history this way all of which anticipate a pattern of the final peak and the end of the world this helps us to look at the events together and helps us to see that the new testament authors were using this to describe the end there is a period between the first peak and the second peak which is the end of a great time of gospel proclamation that would happen to the ends of the earth a time that revelation symbolically describes satan is bound for a thousand years so that he should deceive the nations no more what that means is he can't stop the gospel and you've seen it it's made it to of all places escondido that's a that's a mighty mighty feat we've looked at in verses 1 through 14 they were a series of signs plural not the sign that they're asking signs plural that aren't really signs in and of themselves but they're signs of the sign signs of the sign of his coming they simply were characteristic of the present evil age in which we live there will be remember last time deception mass deception in the church this will happen i mean you have second thessalonians 11 that are corinthians 11 that describes this uh greatly so you can read that there will be great um uh tumults and turbulence among the peoples. There will be rising up. There will be revolutions. You'll see all this stuff. You'll see stuff like Berkeley this week. There'll be natural disasters. There's going to be a widespread restlessness among the masses. Turbulences that will lead to wars. You're going see that you could see number three in your lifetime you could remember in verse 8 jesus says these are the beginning of um he goes on to say they're of birth pains dan and amanda reacted to that last week and said pastor we're expecting those birth pains this week and um i said to them well, I'm sure it'll be hard for a while for you, Amanda, and then all of a sudden there will be this joy that comes, right? You can ask them about that. Wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, Christ reminds us, those are all going to happen. At times, they're going to intensify, and you're going to see this. Don't be caught off guard by this. We could face some horrible things here in the United States, we have and maybe we haven't seen anything yet none of that of these things are the sign the sign begins next week you'll notice in chapter 13 the sign begins uh when he says in verse 24 but after those days uh in those days after the tribulation the sun will be dark and the moon will not give its light and then you'll see him that that that is uh they will see this the son of man that's where matthew adds they will see the sign singular of the son of man that's the sign that that's when you know when you see him on the clouds of heaven just like an axe when they watched him go up they said he's going to come back in the same way that's the sign well here we are in this particular section now and we ended last week with this great major task that jesus has given to the church in this interim period that's why we're here that that's why we stay focused on our mission the great commission to preach the gospel that's what we're doing and and to to advance it we're making we're making um witnesses aren't we disciples of all the nation and this preaching of the gospel he says will continue all the way to the end and then the end will come that mission will not be stopped that mission will go on that's where our heart has to be as a church that's where our concern has to be as a church we can't become so closed that we forget that we're not here for us we're not here for our group we're here to love one another to be witnesses so that so that the gospel goes out now jesus begins to answer their question um i want you to keep his goal in in mind here that he's now about to give a historical observation with the goal of divine preservation okay an historical observation with the goal of divine preservation uh he's now focused on the first peak that's in front of us remember what god said about the temple uh when it was originally dedicated to him and solomon had the grand ceremony and they prayed and it was just a glorious section when the temple was was dedicated you remember what happened in light of all of that that the lord he reminded the nation of Israel that the curses of the covenant could fall if they rejected him. Listen to 1 Kings 9. But if you or your sons at all turn from following me and do not keep my commandments and my statutes, which I have set before you, but go to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them. And this house which I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And as for this house which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss and say, why has the Lord done this to this land and to this house? Then they will answer and say, because they forsook the Lord their God. Okay. It was all mapped out. Last week, one of our Christian school teachers came up to me and said, Pastor, I've seen those stones of the temple. When you go over there, you can see it. It looked like the Romans just shoved the thing right off the hill. And you can see those stones of this day piled up on each other. The very stones that the disciples are looking at, you can go see, were pummeled, knocked over, just as Jesus said. You have a visual of that over there. Well, that's what happened. The curses of the Sinai Covenant fell, and that's what they rehearsed in the book of the Kings, of all the statutes of Moses. And they lost those privileges, the temple went into ruins, and they were cut off from the land. Now, verses 15 through 28 are addressing that here. Actually, it's verses, I'm sorry, 14 through 23. And I want you to keep in mind here exactly that whole emphasis that Jesus has now, particularly on the temple. Look at verse 14 and the thing that he says here. But when you see the abomination of desolation, standing where he ought not to be, let the reader understand. Then he goes on and gives them some instruction on how to handle that. What is the abomination of desolation? A very important question in light of understanding the events of A.D. 70. The word here, abomination, has the meaning of something that is absolutely detestable to the Lord. Something that completely defiles the temple. Something that is so utterly unclean that it leads to the utter destruction that is soon to follow. So something unclean, abomination, that leads to destruction. Well, you're given some hints here from Jesus about what it means when He says this was already referenced in history. There's a historical observation here. It was spoken of by Daniel the prophet many years ago. And you'll notice specifically what he says. Mark interjects something interesting that particularly he is standing where he ought not. Where he shouldn't be. Matthew says he's standing in the holy place. Now all this study in the book of Exodus, that should mean something. The holy place. The place sealed off. The place where the cherubim were and remember the Ark of the Covenant. Jesus says you can have some understanding of this by going back to the book of Daniel. And in the book of Daniel, you have certain things that were said. We don't have time to go through all of this, but I want you just to listen to what Jesus is thinking about. This is Daniel 9.27. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week, he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate even until the consummation which is determined is poured out on the desolate. So what in the world is that? Keep the big picture in front of us and it will help. One day we'll go through the book of Daniel. Jesus is saying to understand this, listen to what Daniel spoke of. Let the reader understand. Interesting interjection. It happened in his day and it was a great foreshadowing of something that's going to happen in your day. So what was it? The abomination of desolation that is set up in the holy place is something that is exalted and worshipped over the true God of heaven and earth in a place where it should never be. Something has got in there. Something terrible, something offensive, and it's taken worship. It's taken worship. It will lead to God bringing a swift destruction that follows. And I spent a lot of time reading and thinking about this this week, and I can't help but to think that all of history has taught us about this. That you particularly have referenced here in a very known way throughout history, Satan's antichrist activity. We don't realize how much is going on behind the scenes. We don't think about it enough. But the very first abomination of desolation, you could say, occurred where? In the Garden of Eden. Where Satan comes into the holy place. Satan exalts himself over God's Word. Satan seduces away the servants. And you remember what happened. The whole thing then plunged us into a judgment that we have faced right after. You have this repeated throughout history. You can see it at the Tower of Babel. You can see it in something like Isaiah 13 where he says, how you have fallen from heaven, speaking to the king of Babylon, O star of the morning, son of the dawn, how you have been cut down to the earth. you have weakened the nations. But you said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend on the heights of the clouds. I will make myself like the Most High. All throughout history, this figure that will come and exalt himself over God in the holy place is described over and over and over and over for us. In Daniel 11, it says, His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress, will abolish the daily sacrifice, worship. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. Then the king shall do according to his own will. He shall magnify and shall exalt himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished. There it is again. Daniel here talked about a pagan king who would come defile the sanctuary, speak blasphemies against God, exalt himself over God. Well, in 168 BC, this happened. Epiphanes desecrated the temple. He built an idol altar upon God's altar. Right on in there, he killed pigs unclean, offered a sacrifice upon the holy altar in the holy place. I believe that's what Jesus is having them think about. They saw this in history. They've seen this in history. Jesus tells us that what Daniel prophesied is going to find fulfillment throughout history. Now think about the particular situation they're faced with. The destruction of Jerusalem. Inscriptions have been found in Ephesus and Salamis and Cyprus attributing worship to Nero as almighty God and Savior. The Romans entered the temple under the warrior Titus and actually took away all the vessels, the lampstand, and they utterly burned down the temple. When the Roman legions destroyed Judea and Jerusalem in AD 70, you know what Josephus says happened? 1,100,000 Jews died. That's his record. It says more than 100,000 were taken captive. Not only the temple was utterly destroyed, the land was ravished. Listen to Luke 21.20. When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you know that its desolation is near. You can look. You can see. Now, why? Why all this? Well, we've looked at the why. Why is Jesus and how is Jesus helping them? And that's why it's important to hear his word of preservation that he's giving through this and how that is so important for us. As I was thinking about all these things and thinking, how do you preach this? I kept coming to the question about what do we feel about the future as we go forward right now? And the reality is, as I think about my children, I think about the future, it is really easy to fall into fear, isn't it? Our whole society is governed by it. The news plays on it. We're gripped by it. We live in it. We're worried. We're stressed. We're all concerned about the what-ifs. I mean, I just heard a news commentator saying, what could happen if this nuclear button goes off and these problems with the U.S. and Iran. You have fears about the future? Of course you do. We think about it. How's this going to go? We look at the house of cards that we live in right now. We've seen all this stuff in history. We've seen Antichrist throughout history. We've seen destruction. We're reminded at times to think about even things like the Holocaust. Did that really occur? Yes, it occurred. And I want to pause now and see, what is Jesus doing in the midst of this? What is His goal in the midst of this? Why is He telling us this stuff? Well, notice that in the heart of what we call devastating times, when great things happen that we can't explain, times of upheaval, times of persecution, and I went back and researched that number of how many in 2016 Christians were martyred. It is at least the going number. 90,000. That Jesus desires to shepherd. That's what I couldn't get out of my head in this. Caring word of preservation now follows. Look at verse 15. This is His concern. Let no one who is on the housetop, Let the one who is on the housetop not go down nor enter his house to take anything out. And let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. Listen to his concern. In the midst of what would have been absolutely distressing for the disciples, when you face things that you can't understand, that make no sense in this world, and the madness of it all, the destruction that comes, the craziness and the things that we know are working behind the scenes of Satan's utter goal to wipe out the human race and destroy, destroy, destroy, and then his working to destroy inside the church. Dear disciples, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know judgment's happening. First piece of advice? First shepherding care? don't go get your stuff. In other words, don't hold on. Don't hold on to this. Don't hold on to this. This is how Luke puts it. On that day, about Jerusalem, let no one who is on the housetop with his goods in the house not come down to take them away and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. And here's how you know how to interpret that. The next verse. Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it. And whoever loses his life will keep it. Remember Lot's wife? Lot is being pulled out of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot himself had to have his hand grabbed by the angels and pulled out. And God delivered him and said he's righteous. But his wife looked back. Became a pillar of salt. And what was the message in that? What was Jesus saying in this? He was saying very clearly a reminder. You're not a part of this judgment. You're not a part of this. Don't hold on to it. That's not your home. This is not your home. That's what he's saying. You think we need that? How much confusion about the times in which we live? Haven't Christians struggled with where they belong and if their home is here in this place in the United States and how we relate to all this? You see this when disasters happen. The hardest thing for people when a tornado is coming or a hurricane is to leave, isn't it? They don't do it. You can have governors stand up and say, get out, get out, get out. They don't go. They just don't do it. Don't be confused by all the stuff that's happening. Your home's not of this world. You don't belong here. Don't look back to these things. If it's all ravished and taken, it's not yours anyway. This is not your home. I've got something way better for you. If you understand that, What this is then is a promise of deliverance. That's what this is. And look at what follows. Look at the compassion of what he says next in his concern about, notice here, women. But alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days, pray that it might not happen in winter for in those days there will be such tribulation. Don't hold on, pray. well that's very very practical isn't it very what a shepherd isn't it don't hold on pray to me and i'll change the weather for you oh come on yep in my providence i'll protect you i'll deliver you i'll help you when god's people cry to him he'll providentially order things haven't you seen this in your life i mean think about it you know how much we pray and and and and then we doubt and we pray any answers well i think i was just reading to the memoirs this week uh they're going into surgery and there was a lot of concern with this surgery and so i read to him hezekiah and it was prophesied you're you're going to die hezekiah and hezekiah prays and the lord comes back and says no you're not you get 15 more years pray pray to him flight's going to be hard for for the week when times like this there's going to be the weak among us the elderly think of the elderly who can barely move think of the um think think of the weak among us that the the women who are nursing he's concerned about these people that that's the point of this this is what his heart is set on that's what you should see his compassion for the weak in times of of of great upheaval and in times of of awful things happening to say i am going to care for you that's the message here pray to me the vulnerable the weak his people he gives a shepherding caution doesn't he and please don't take the passive approach with regard to truth please don't be passive and ignorant when it comes to deception you can't afford to be this is why i pray for discernment our christianity can no longer afford to be skin deep. It just can't. Open your minds to the Scriptures. Because there are at moments like this when times are bad and things are going on, the devil works overtime to deceive people. Oh, he works overtime. There's going to be people rising up saying they're the deliverer. They're going to rise up and they're going to be the ones to solve all these problems. Don't listen to that. No. Don't believe it. I'm your deliverer, and you won't miss me. I'm going to come and get you. You know, I was thinking of Donald Gray Barnhouse's application to this message, and I've used it here once before, but I think it's so helpful that he was asked to preach at one of the largest churches in Ireland who were full of soldiers who were going to war since Hitler had invaded Danzig, And everyone knew that he's sitting in front of a full house, packed house of people, of men who are going off to war who are going to die. Many of them who he's preached to, last sermon they would hear, are going to die. What do you say? Someone said to Barnhouse, I hope you have a really good sermon today. Maybe the last some of these men will ever hear. This guy said, I'm so glad I don't have to preach. the church will be full of lads who will never come back from the war. So Barnhouse grabbed the Olivet Discourse. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Do not be alarmed. And explaining the devastation and the horrors of the war, he said millions of homes will be broken up. Don't be alarmed. Children will be torn from their mothers and represent all the whales that have ever gone up from all the world. Don't be alarmed. Jesus said, don't be alarmed. He says, well, about this time, the tension had grown in the church so much that monstrous grief had been piled on, agonizing horror, and Barnhouse stopped. And he said, these are the words of either a madman or they're the words of God. He shook his fist toward heaven and cried, God, unless Jesus Christ is God, These are the most horrible words that could ever be spoken to men who have hearts. Men are dying. Don't be alarmed. Children are crying in misery with no beloved face in sight. Do not be alarmed. How can Jesus say such a thing? And Barnhouse goes on to preach, Jesus is God. He's the Lord of history. And there is nothing that has ever happened or will happen that is not under His sovereign control. Men kill and hate one another. That's the reality under the sun. Yet in the midst of history is Jesus, the Christ. And all those who believe in him will know the resurrection and the life. That nothing can separate us from his love. Watch. How did it go for them in the days of Jerusalem? Well, Eusebius records it. If it's true, here's what he records. The whole body, however, of the church at Jerusalem, having been commanded by a divine revelation, Mark 13, given to men of approved piety there before the war, removed from the city, they left, and dwelt at a certain town beyond the Jordan called Pella. Some of you will know about that. It's very remarkable, said another, that not a single Christian perished in the destruction of Jerusalem. Esposian, as was approaching with his army, all who believed in Christ left Jerusalem and fled to Pella and other places beyond the River Jordan. And so they marvelously escaped the general shipwreck of their country. Not one of them perished. Point is, they listened to His shepherding word to them. that's a model for us that's the word for us why does it matter everything that happened from the garden of eden to the tower of babel to the king of babylon to to to the time of daniel to ad 70 to the end now we hit the final mountain and one pastor wrote the divine judgments in history are successive incarnations of antichrist and our foreshadowings of the last supreme concentration of rebelliousness of the devil before the end well what's going to happen i think john said it so clearly that little children it's the last hour and you've heard that the antichrist is coming even now many antichrists have come by which we know it is the last hour john is saying look the time's at hand and through the destruction of jerusalem you can look at the end and what is the single passage we'll close with this morning that helps us to understand the end it's second thessalonians 2 think of all the language they use here of everything that we've just considered this morning now concerning brothers the coming of the lord jesus christ and our gathering together to him concerning the end of the world in other words we ask you don't be soon shaken in mind or troubled either by word or by spirit or by letter as though the day of Christ had come let no one deceive you by any means for that day will not come unless the falling away comes first and the man of sin is revealed the son of perdition who opposes and exalts himself above all that's called God or that's worshiped so that he sits as God in the temple of God showing himself to be God see how they're using it same thing it's the fullness of all antichrist activity throughout history what will that be who will that be i have no idea i don't even know what it's finally going to look like no idea but i think the message is clear the church the people of god before the lord comes will be ravished with all kinds of false ideas. Will be ravished with false figures and false prophets. There will be ideas of Antichrist and a system of the world. Think of the system of the world. Think of what everyone unites in the world and it's viewed as noble and good and right causes. The system of the world will overtake into the church. Jesus is saying, Don't believe every spirit. Test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. Discernment is so important. But Jesus is ultimately telling us, be ready. Be ready. Whatever the case, the same words of comfort all throughout history spoken to His sheep are for you too. Don't look back. Don't hold on to the United States. Don't hold on to this system that's perishing. I've got an entire kingdom prepared for you. For you weak. For you mothers nursing. For you mothers who are pregnant. For you elderly. For you down and out. I'm not going to forget you. I'm going to deliver you. I promise. i'll protect you i'll help you think of our little children i put my sign on them i love them not abandoning them galatians 1 he gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age according to the will of our god and father and then love this i promise to cut those days short if I didn't cut him short no flesh would be saved but I promise I'll cut him short so don't be given to fear and worry don't look for other deliverers no president can save us as lightning comes from the east of the west so also will be the coming of the son of man you won't miss it these are the words i want you to take with you we ought always to thank god for you brothers and sisters loved by the lord because god chose you as first fruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the spirit and through belief in the truth he called you to this through our gospel that you might share in the glory of our lord jesus christ so then brothers and sisters stand firm hold fast to the teachings we passed to you whether by word of mouth or by letter may our lord jesus christ himself and god our father who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word and then when he comes we enter a kingdom that there will no more be any crying no more sorrow no more suffering none of this misery it will be a place where righteousness shall dwell forever and so until then pray to him trust him keep your eyes on Jesus he's coming back to get you let's pray to him Heavenly Father thank you for these words that in the midst of all the terrible things that we've seen in history and the destructions that have happened that we don't even fully understand and what could happen. You prepare us for these things. And You give us words of encouragement and consolation and help. And You don't leave us in this. So when we face things, Lord, in our time, may we remember that You cared and shepherded the weakest among us promising help and deliverance. ultimately for all the weak with the resurrection of the body. And thank You that You will not leave us nor forsake us. That You've promised that You're with us and that greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. The Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts. So may Your people be greatly uplifted today and not lose heart. Praying and not lose heart. Men ought always to pray and to not lose heart. For You will answer us. And answer us speedily. Thank You for Your love in Christ. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.