PowerPoint
Presentation:
Click
here after starting sermon audio to bring up slides and visual aides which go along with the sermon. [A new
window will open and remain blank until fully loaded. It may take 1-5
minutes to open.] Once the first slide appears you can follow along
with the message and use the arrow keys to advance the slides.
Help
Please help
keep this ministry free by honoring our system:
Click here
to recommend this sermon to Pastors.
Help spread the Word by casting your
vote...it's a proven system that keeps this ministry free!
Grace Notes Sermon Ministry:
Subscribe for free
Learn More
Go
to Gospel of Jesus Series Homepage
The Beginning of Labor Pains
End of the World
Matthew 24:1-8
See also pt. 2: "Welcome to the Tribulation"
Life begins at conception.
But in order to bring a child into this present world and not rob
them of that privilege requires a delivery to take place, beginning with the
earliest labor pains. I’m no expert
at labor, but I’ve seen it happen a few times!
And Jesus says in our text that it is the same when it comes to the
end times.
In our text, it’s the week
that Jesus goes to the cross, no more than 2 or 3 days before His passion.
And He will prove that what the world thought was the end of Him was
only the beginning. The same is
true for what we call 'the end of the world'...it's only the beginning as
well!
v. 8 ‘sorrows’ =
‘birth pangs’ ... labor pains
start low and
they increase in intensity as they continue.
They also start
slow and increase in frequency.
So it is with the signs of the times, which are many!
This world is getting ready to deliver!
Jesus has finally gotten
it across to the disciples that He’s not in
Jerusalem
this time to set up His kingdom, and that He will be going away and
returning for the end of the world.
v. 1 The Temple in Jerusalem was an amazing configuration of
buildings, made largely of white polished marble.
It was still under construction at this time, not to be completed
until A.D. 64. Some of the
stones that made up the temple were up to 40’ x 20’ x 12’.
v. 2 Jesus walked out of the temple for the last time, never to
return to it again. His prophecy
about its demise was astounding to His disciples, but it came to pass in
A.D. 70 when the Roman General Titus surrounded
Jerusalem
and laid siege to it. He cut it
off from the rest of the world and eventually breached the wall and gained
access to the city. They
demolished the city completely, with not one stone left upon another.
Mark tells us that Peter,
James, John, and Andrew went to Jesus off to the side to ask Him these 3
questions found in v. 3... [Olivet
Discourse]
Good men disagree on some
of the interpretation of Jesus’ answers, from chronology to specific events.
We won’t try to settle those fights, but to see the big picture of
how the shadow of
events to come are already cast across our day today, leading us to
be warned that there is wrath soon to come to this world!
In
the end there will be:
1.
Spiritual Deception.
v. 4-5
A word of caution from the Lord that before the antichrist, the great
deceiver, there will be others who do the same.
I won’t name names because there are far too many in our lifetime who
claim to be God, and many are gaining bigger and bigger followings.
False prophets are all around, wolves in sheep's clothings, disguised
as angels of light!
Hal
Lindsey said, “When Jesus returns many churches will not have to look
for a new pastor.”
I want you to know that
even though we are committed to staying here, when the rapture occurs we’re
outta here! And I hope you are
coming with me.
[By the way, when that happens, you
have my blessing to vote in my associate!]
Here’s a couple of things
which are seeding deception today...
·
Heresy
in the church
1 Timothy 4:1
Now the Spirit speaketh
expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving
heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
George Barna does
Christian research using Gallup Polling methods, and every year his research
shows how those who call themselves Christians move further and further from
Bible truth.
-Nearly half now say the
devil is not real, just symbolic of evil
-All believe in
heaven but nearly 2/3rd’s say there is no hell or it is not
permanent.
-Many deny the virgin
birth, the inspiration of the Bible, and that Jesus could have lived
completely sinless in this world.
There is a major movement
to embrace signs and wonders, and the health and wealth gospel, and people
are being conditioned to accept anything their leader says as long as he
says God told it to him. It used
to be that everyone gasped for breath when someone like Oral Roberts said a
900 foot Jesus appeared to him, or Kenneth Hagan said Jesus came to his
bedroom and dictated a sermon to him verbatim, or Benny Hinn said there are
actually 9 gods. Do I believe
Jesus appeared to these men? I
believe Jesus is at the right hand of God just like the Bible says he is!
How about apparent
miracles these days? I don’t
deny true miracles of God, nor the existence of the spirit world...it is
real and all around us, but
all that glitters
is not God! The
Holy Spirit and angels are real, but they are not the only supernatural
beings around us. The devil is
real and his demons right along with him.
It’s a huge deception going on all around us today.
The antichrist will come
with signs, wonders, and miracles, and all he needs are people who are
conditioned to see that and say, “Well it must be of God!”
We’re there already today.
·
Blurring
of the truth.
Satan
is mixing error in with truth in the church, and he’s also mixing all churches together these days
with the notion that we all must get together, lay aside our doctrine, and
be one big happy family. [We’re
all going to heaven, just taking different roads.
We all believe in the same God even if we call Him by different
names.]
If you want to talk about
tearing down walls between churches, you’d better be talking about walls of
racism, legalism, or false doctrine, then I’m all for coming together.
We can be bad about not cooperating with likeminded believers in
effort to reach our community.
Let me say that I’m not one to major on the minors and have all kinds of
minor preferences that I consider tests of fellowship.
Secondary separation is a lot like Pharisee-ism
to me. But on the other hand
there are some essentials to true Biblical Christianity and when you tear
THOSE walls down you are in violation of Scripture which commands us not
only to maintain such standards, but to separate from those who do not.
In short, the
ecumenical movement does more harm than good in this world and
is a greased slide
toward the one world church coming during the
Great Tribulation.
Spiritual deception is
everywhere...not only in the church.
It’s open season on Christians today, from the media to politics, to
the pop culture of Hollyweird!
And the general population already has bought into the lies of Secular
Humanism, postmodernism, situational ethics, evolution, and New Age
Philosophies. Our senses are
dulled and deception is already at epidemic levels.
Spiritual deception...
2.
National Disruption.
v. 6-7a
War has always existed in this world.
There will be no peace until the Prince of Peace returns and
establishes it. The
International Red Cross estimates hundreds of millions have been killed in
wars since the beginning of the 20th C.
But notice the phrase
‘rumors of wars’.
What could this be? I
believe it to be the cowardly militia known as
global
terrorism, which wears no uniform, has no flag, and strikes
out at innocent civilians to inflict terror and fear.
Imagine what it is like in many parts of the world when you cannot
get on a bus or a subway without thinking about it possibly being blown up.
Imagine eyeballing everyone around you in an overcoat, or carrying a
briefcase or backpack, wondering if they are about to blow themselves up
along with all of you standing near them!
That’s rumors of war, where you cannot see it, but you know it’s out
there...and don’t be surprised if it’s coming to a country you love or a
city you now live in!
I can't count the number
of TV shows and websites devoted to 'prepping' for the end.
Apocalyptic fever is all around us, and a growing sense that doomsday
may not be far off. God's
patience has run long, but it ends abruptly when suddenly the sky begins to
fall!
Spiritual deception, national disruption...
3.
Physical Destruction.
v. 7b-8
Famines:
The World Health Organization maintains today that 1/3rd
of the world is well fed, 1/3rd is underfed, and 1/3rd
is starving! 400 people die of
starvation every...[hold on!]...every minute!
Just do a Google search for famine in the news and read multiple
reports of new famines being reported for the first time that week!
West Africa is already preparing for
major famine as a result of Ebola.
The UN cannot keep up, charities cannot gain access to many stricken
areas, and beauty pageant contestants never quite seem to end world
hunger...it grows worse and worse by the day!
Pestilences:
This is an incurable
disease. Name some diseases for
which there is no cure. In the
1960s medical science was optimistic, stating that “we have solved forever
the problem of infectious disease.”
But because of the misuse and overuse of antibiotics there are now a
record number of strains resistant to them.
Viruses like Ebola change and mutate.
It's been like pulling teeth to try to get our government to admit
that Ebola can spread thru a sneeze.
They are afraid of the panic if we believed it could be aerosol or
'airborne.' Well, many
scientists are warning that it could make that leap with just a mutation.
We hear of ‘bird flu’ and
‘mad cow’ disease and think it’s about animals but humans are dying in
increasing numbers as these things leap thru biological kingdoms.
The SARS scare a while back demonstrated how despite medical
technology and advancement, man is in God’s hands, not the doctor’s hands,
and it’s the Great Physician we should be looking to!
Earthquakes:
These stats will knock you off your feet!
Could these be right?
Surely the increase are the result of better detection, right?
Think again. Let’s just
talk about killer earthquakes – 6.0 or greater
[most stats from US Geological Survey
website.]
1890-1899
1 worldwide
1900-1910
3
1910-1020
2
1920-1930
2
1930-1940
5
1940-1950
4
1950-1960
9
1960-1970
13
Then in 1967 the Jews
regained control of Jerusalem
and watch this...
1970-1979
51 killer quakes.
1980-1989
86
1990-1999
152
2000-2005
960
Next, go to the website
above and prepare to have your mind blown for recent years!
The 2011 Honshu, Japan
quake was 9.0, and the 28,000+ killed is the most direct deaths from
earthquake alone [no tsunami] since accurate records have been kept.
Now consider the
devastating earthquake like the 2004 one that triggered the Asian Tsunami,
killing more as a result of earthquake than any in human history.
‘...in divers places’ =
strange, rare, unusual locations, conditions. [not part of
Pacific Rim [ring of fire]
Last 7 days:
Click
Live look at today's
quakes:
http://quakes.globalincidentmap.com/
The point is that the
birth pangs are growing closer and closer together, and greater and greater
in intensity! The whole earth is
crying out, “Jesus is coming!”
Spiritual deception, national disruption,
physical destruction...
How should we respond to
all of this? Well, Jesus didn’t
give these prophecies to excite the curious, but to exhort the consecrated.
I know people who will drive hundreds of miles to prophecy
conferences, and they love to study it and hear about it, but won’t let it
change their habits, won’t come to church any more often because of it, and
won’t live much differently in light of it!
When Jesus comes there
won’t be time to get saved or to get right!
And He could return at any moment.
“What shall be the signs of thy coming?”
The signs of the times are all around us.
The labor pains are a minute apart, the world is dilated to 10, but
many so-called Christians seem to
have opted for a spiritual epidural!
We must wake up and get to work while there is time!
The time is NOW, the world is on FIRE, and Jesus is calling YOUR
name! Christians, He’s calling
our names today to live differently while there is time.
If you are not saved, He’s calling your name while there is hope!
Next sermon: Welcome to
the Tribulation
Please help
keep this ministry free by honoring our system:
Click here
to recommend this sermon to Pastors.
Help keep this service free by
recommending it using the voting links above the
sermon |
