Mark 13:9-13 - God's Sovereign Success

In this episode, we’re diving into Mark 13:9-13, where Jesus warns of the cost of following Him yet fills us with hope through God’s sovereign success. Despite persecution and trials, the Gospel will be proclaimed among all nations, empowered by the Holy Spirit who gives us words to speak. We’ll explore how our salvation is secure in Christ’s hands, resting not on our strength but on God’s unyielding plan. Join me as we unpack this promise of hope, finding joy in God’s unstoppable mission. Let’s dig in and look to Jesus, our true hope!

Transcript

92 - Mark 13:9-13 - God's Sovereign Success

Intro

• If you have your Bibles please turn with me to Mark 13 and find verse 9.
  • Today we have the privilege of picking up where we left off last week as we will again turn our attention to five verses and what they have to offer us.  
• As you turn there today I would ask you to consider a Bible story that we are most likely familiar with…
  • In the book of Exodus we find the nation of Israel in bondage to the Egyptians, they are slaves and they are mistreated to say the least.
    • They suffered in some very real and painful ways during this time.
    • One such story relates their suffering well…
      • We are told they were forced to throw their baby boys into the Nile, exposing them and killing them.
    • This act commanded by the king of Egypt sought to eliminate the nation within a generation.  
      • It was essentially genocide of the Jewish people.  
  • We know that God prevented this…
    • Even in the midst of this time, though some boys were indeed killed, Moses was born and preserved and even raised by the royal family who originally sought his life.
    • Through this Moses God raised up a leader to bring His people out of this foreign land and to set them free.
    • It was not a painless process to be sure, we can even read about some of the plagues and know that Israel was also impacted by them.
    • However, God brought them through the Red Sea and whipped out the Egyptian army that pursued them.
  • As you consider this story, at the start of our time together today, I want to ask a question that will help to springboard us into our verses in Mark.
• Was the success of Moses and the freedom of the people guaranteed?
  • This is not a trick question…
    • Though Pharaoh's hand was strong against the people, he brought pain and suffering upon them.
      • Though the plagues impacted the people of Israel…
    • I assure you that Moses’ success and the freedom of the nation was guaranteed because it was not about them.
  • Their success was firmly rooted in the God who called Moses and caused him to stand before Pharaoh.
    • Their success was established in the One who brought the plagues and hardened the heart of the most powerful man in the land.
• Their success was founded upon God and it was never in danger of failure.
  • IThey might not have known it at the time but we can certainly look back upon it and observe that God was going to see it through because He had ordained it.
  • Considering this story and how it was God who has granted the success, let us turn our attention to our text today and see…
• God’s Sovereign Success…
  • With that please read with me beginning in verse 9.

Mark 13:9-13

• If you were with us last week you may recall that our time together was spent examining these verses and examining the cost of following Jesus.
  • Though this chapter and this passage is directed toward the last days…
    • We were reminded that throughout Church history suffering has been a mark of Christians.
    • Furthermore, this has been the case since the church was born in Acts 2.  
      • We could find countless stories of our Christian brothers and sisters that were brought before human authorities to be oppressed and persecuted because of their faith.
    • They have been betrayed and hated by the world because of their commitment to Christ.  
  • We would be fools to think that we would, for some reason, be immune to this suffering.
    • Jesus said in John 15:20…
      • John 15:20 - “Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours”
    • History has shown this to be true as many faithful followers of Christ were hated without cause.  
  • This is the part of the passage we focused on last week as we counted the cost of following Jesus.  
• However, as we just read, we can also see that scattered throughout this warning from the Lord are His encouraging Words that speak to the success of the Gospel and the success of our Salvation.
  • So even as we may desire to be free of the suffering that He has warned us about, we cannot help but see that despite suffering, hatred, opposition, and persecution…
• We have been granted…

God’s Sovereign Success

• That is what we are going to be talking about today…
• Just as these verses should cause us to consider the cost of following Christ, these verses remind us that God will see this mission through.
  • To say it differently, the success of this mission is secure in His Sovereign Hands…
    • As we consider this I have to tell you from the start that this is an exciting and joyous thing to consider.
      • It is exciting because…
        • Failure is not possible when it comes to the Gospel being proclaimed among the nations.
        • We learn from these verses, and others like them, that it does not rest in our hands but instead is founded upon God’s Sovereignty.
        • It is a joyful thing because we are reminded that even with all of our faults God will see our salvation through to the end.
      • This is why I opened by reminding you about how God brought Israel out of Egypt, failure was not an option.  
        • He Sovereignly brought them out from under the bondage of the Egyptians.  
      • We must remember that His Sovereignty did not stop in that story.
    • At this point I have already used the word Sovereign several times so it is important we define it so we are all on the same page.
      • When I say that God is Sovereign or that He has Sovereignty what I mean is that…
        • He is in complete and total control of Past, Present, and Future.
        • It rests in His Glorious Hands and He will see it through according to His Predetermined Plan.  
        • I like what R.C. Sproul has to say on this point…
          • “If there is even one maverick molecule in the universe—one molecule running loose outside the scope of God’s sovereign ordination—we cannot have the slightest confidence that any promise God has ever made about the future will come to pass."
          • Did you see what he did there?
            • He connected the sovereignty of God with God’s ability to uphold His Promises. 
            • It is the understanding that God is indeed able to uphold His Word because He is in complete control.
        • In all that we see, all that we know, and all that will be is in His Hands.
      • Which means, and this is important to consider…
        • The flip side of this truth is that we could no more derail, divert, or distract from that plan than an ant could lift this building.
    • This becomes extremely relevant when we consider the last days.
      • We have chapters like Mark 13, Matthew 24, Luke 24, and we have the whole book of Revelation.
        • As well as other passages across the scriptures that make it clear…
      • God has already predetermined the end from the beginning.
        • He not only knows how all things will play out but He is overseeing how they play out.
      • Within that Glorious Truth is great comfort for the One who is found in Christ.
    • This morning we are reminded of that comfort and that hope that we have because God will see these things through.
  • Let us look back at our verses now and see how God’s Sovereignty gives us hope in three different ways.
  • First, Jesus tells us…
• We will have Gospel Success
  • Look again with me at verse 10.
    • Vs. 10
  • This verse is a great standalone verse but it is even greater when we consider the surrounding verses.
    • Verse 10 is sandwiched between being brought before human authorities in verse 9 and being forced to testify before them in verse 11.
      • The beauty of verse 10 is that in the midst of the world doing its best to restrain the Gospel and stop the Gospel…
        • Is the fact that it cannot be restrained and it will not be stopped.
      • Jesus tells us with certainty that this Gospel will be proclaimed among the nations.
    • Now, nearly 2000 years after the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ we can see God’s Sovereign hand in this process.
      • Most of the apostles were killed at the hand of men trying to silence them…
      • Countless brothers and sisters lost their lives for the sake of the Gospel, yet it cannot be stopped.
    • This is true even in our present time…
  • Consider with me the story of a modern martyr named Jim Elliot a tale that I am sure many of us are familiar with…
    • Jim was originally from Oregon and was called to be a missionary to a hostile tribe in Ecuador.
    • He, along with four other men literally gave their lives for the sake of the Gospel as they were killed by the tribe they sought to share Christ with.
    • Jim left this world at just 28 years old and left behind a wife of two years and a 10 month old little girl.
    • His most famous quote is found written by him and made famous after his death…
      • “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
    • The most remarkable part of this story is founded not in his death but in what transpired after.
      • Just two years after his death his widow and their 3 year old little girl made their way back to Ecuador to live among the tribe that had killed her husband.
      • Though just two years before they were so opposed to the Gospel that they spilled the blood of five men…
        • This young widow saw success in her efforts to share the Gospel. 
      • Even seeing the conversion of some of the men who killed her husband.  
    • What we find in this story is a reality that we find across the history of the church…
      • God often uses the blood of the saints to cause the seed of the Gospel to sprout. 
      • Did he not do the same with Stephen and who would become the Apostle Paul?
    • In all of it God shows that He will see His plan through.  
  • I say it again, this Gospel will be proclaimed among the nations and it does not rest in our hands…
    • Though we have been commanded to play a part, it rests in the hand of the God who has commissioned us.
      • It is because of that, that failure is not a possibility but the church will one day see the Gospel proclaimed among all the nations.
    • Just so you do not think I am overstretching this verse…
      • Please turn with me to Revelation 7 as we see this reality playing out before the throne of God.
        • Revelation 7:9-12
      • Mark it down, there will be a day in which people from all tribes and languages, nations and tongues stand before the throne of God redeemed.
    • What we see in this passage is the success of the Gospel.
  • In knowing that we are guaranteed success in this mission we have great hope.
    • For it does not rest in our elegance, our resources, our talents, but it rests in the God who has sent us.
    • J.C. Ryle writes in his commentary on this verse…
      • “For one thing, He tells us that “the Gospel must first be preached among all nations.” It must be, and it shall be. In spite of men and devils, the story of the cross of Christ shall be told in every part of the world. The gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Notwithstanding persecution, imprisonment, and death, there never shall be wanting a succession of faithful men, who shall proclaim the glad tidings of salvation by grace. Few may believe them. Many of their hearers may continue hardened in sin. But nothing shall prevent the Gospel being preached. The word shall never be bound, though those who preach it may be imprisoned and slain.”
  • We have hope in this…
    • The mission we have been entrusted with is guaranteed to see success by the God who has redeemed us.
    • Turn back with me to Mark 13 as we find that we not only have hope in the success of the Gospel but…
• We also find hope in the Spirit
  • Look again with me at Mark 13 verse 11…
    • Vs. 11
  • Though our Lord does not directly promise that the Spirit is given in this verse, He does reference the Holy Spirit and the role that He is to play in the life of the believer.
    • In this instance it is to provide words supernaturally to the believer when questioned before men.
      • We see this playing out in the book of Acts as Peter and John are brought before the Sanhedrin and questioned.
        • Acts 4:7-8a - “And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them…”
        • We won’t at this time read his reply but know this…
          • They marveled that he spoke in the way that he did and they could not stand against it.
      • It was because it was not Peter’s wisdom but rather it was the power of the Spirit of God within him.
  • Let us be reminded at this point…
    • That at the moment of salvation we are sealed with the Promised Holy Spirit.
      • Ephesians 1:13-14 - “In [Christ] you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
    • Every genuine believer is sealed by the Holy Spirit and is made alive by His indwelling.
    • Furthermore we are told in Romans 8…
      • Romans 8:9b - “...Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”
  • This is great news for us, for we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit, He dwells within us and it means we belong to Christ.
    • As the Spirit within us we realize that He works by…
      •  Illuminating truth, He convicts us of sin, He sanctifies us, and He will give us the words to speak when brought before human authorities.
    • There is great hope in this, because we are reminded that we do not stand on our own merit…
      • It is not by our own wisdom or our own works but it is by the Spirit of the Living God dwelling within us.
        • He has sealed us for the day of Redemption.
      • We do not have to rely upon our own gifts or even our own resources but we are reminded that God will see us through.
    • 2 Peter 1:3a - “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness…”
  • The hope in this reminder is that it does not rely upon you.
    • That is great news as we all fall short of His Glory, but our hope is not in us but rather in Him and He has given us all things by His Spirit.
  • This builds to our final point today…
• We find hope in our Security
  • Look with me again at our final verse, verse 13…
    • Vs. 13
  • That last part of this passage makes it clear that the “one who endures… will be saved.”
    • Some might take this verse and argue that this is evidence that a person can lose their salvation or evidence that they are not secure in Christ.
      • I would take this verse and this passage and argue just the opposite.
    • This verse stands as a reminder that the God who redeems us is the God who sees us through to the end.  
      • He will not begin a work in us that He will not see to completion. 
  • This is the promise, that no matter what we may face, if we are found in Him, He will see us through it.
    • We could again turn our attention to Romans 8 and see how Paul expresses this truth. 
    • At the end of that chapter, Paul begins that final section with a question…
      • Romans 8:35 - “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?”
    • Much of the things we find in these verses are things we would expect to divide us from our Lord…
      • Things that we would expect to not be able to stand against…
      • I know my own weakness in my flesh, so how will I be able to endure these things?
    • Can these things and others like them divide me from my Lord?
      • Paul continues and answers this question…
        • Romans 8:37 - “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
      • In other words, if we are in Him, if we are sealed by the Spirit, then He will see us through.
      • He ends that section by writing…
        • Romans 8:38-39 - “38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
    • Believer, there is hope in the security of your salvation, nothing can divide you from your Lord.
  • This again goes back to the Sovereignty of God and how He is the One who holds us in His grip.
    • I want you to see this and understand what we are talking about…
      • Please turn with me to the Gospel of John and find chapter 10 and find verse 27.
      • In this passage Jesus is found teaching in the Temple and in this Temple lesson He makes it clear that those who are in Him are secure in Him.
    • Let’s read a few verses together as we reflect on the security of our salvation.
      • John 10:27-28
        • There is much here but let us grab on to the reality of our salvation as explained by Christ.
          • He is speaking of His sheep that hear His voice and follow Him.
        • Of these He says that He will give them eternal life…
          • Not temporary life, but eternal life, everlasting life…
            • At that point alone we are reminded that He will see us through.
          • Yet, He goes on and says…
        • That we are found in His hand.
          • In the hand of the One that died for us…
          • In the hand of the One that stood in our place and took upon Himself the wrath of the Father…
        • Is Jesus going to let us slip through His fingers when He joyfully went to the cross for our sake?
          • Of course not!
        • This is enough to stand firmly upon the security of our salvation, but this passage does offer more in the next verse…
      • John 10:29
        • Even if for some reason you doubted that Christ could hold you, we are reminded that He does not hold us alone.
          • We who are His sheep are also found in the hand of the Father who is greater than all.
        • We will endure to the end not because of ourselves, not because of anything we bring to the table but because we are in the hand of the Son and in the hand of the Father.
  • In this salvation that we have been given, what we find is that it is not about us…
    • Instead, it is about the One who Created us, the One who Sustained us, the One who called us, it is about the One who has Securly Redeemed us.
    • The more we learn of God, Christ, Salvation, and eternity, the more we learn that it is not really about us at all and in that understanding we find true hope.
    • It does not rely upon me but relies upon the One who holds eternity in His hands.  
  • This is where we will close as we consider that…

Closing

• Mark 13 is really a chapter of hope because no matter how things play out, no matter what we may face or what may come…
  • We know that God will Sovereignly see the success of His mission through, according to His Glorious Purpose.
  • Whether we are talking about the security of your salvation or the success of the Gospel among the nations.
• We know it rests not in ourselves, not in our church or any other mission sending organization, but we hope in the God who will grant success in His time for His Glory.
  • As we close today there are many practical ways to respond to these verses…
    • One clear response is joy and excitement as we realize that God is the One who will see His mission through.
    • One other response is confidence in what God wants to do through us…
      • Meaning that we realize that whatever comes our way, whatever we face is by the hand a Sovereign God who loves us and did not spare His own son for our sake. 
      • So that even when we are faced with suffering and setbacks we can know that God will work things out for our Good and for His Glory.
  • Earlier I shared with you the story of Jim Elliot but failed to share with you the name of his wife, her name was Elisabeth Elliot.
    • She was widowed at a young age and existed as a single mother among the natives that killed her husband.
    • She also wrote several books and I would like to share a couple of her quotes.  
      • As I do, please keep in mind the tragedy and suffering she faced simply because of her faith in Christ.
    • She wrote…
      • “I'm convinced that there is nothing that can happen to me in this life that is not precisely designed by a sovereign Lord to give me the opportunity to learn to know Him.”
    • She rested in the Sovereignty of God, she understood that He has directed the flow of human history and He will bring about things in His time and in His way.
      • She said…
        • “God will not protect you from anything that will make you more like Jesus.”
        • What a perspective from a woman who lost her husband at the hands of those who hated her Lord. 
    • I urge you believers to consider whatever it is that you are faced with in this moment and to recognize that even with your discomfort, your discontentment, your discouragement, that God is upon His throne.
      • Look not to your circumstance but instead look to the One who holds your eternity in His hands.
      • Then, rejoice, and rest in His Sovereign Success.  
  • Let us pray.