"In The Last Days: A Glance Of Reality”

Just for a few minutes or two, I wish to speak from the text that was in your hearing from the subject “IN THE LAST DAYS: A GLANCE OF REALITY”

From the time I was born in 1961 up to now, there were events I wasn’t aware of, but I read about it and there were some things that has happened was aware of and witness it in my lifetime.

For example, I was too young to learn about when we elected its first Irish Catholic President John F. Kennedy or the early marches of the Civil Rights Movement or the Bus Boycotts or when the Russians went into space or when President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas back in 1963 but, I learned about it later from reading about it but did not witness it right then. I was too young to hear about Malcolm X’s death in 1965 in New York.

But I did witness the first man on the moon on television in color; I witnessed Vietnam and the reports every day at around 6:00 pm with Walter Cronkite on the CBS Evening News; from Watergate to the Spirit of ‘76 to the Iranian War and even 9-11 and America’s first African American First Family in the White House, I witnessed and remembered and will not forget.

Paul in our text, was letting us know as he penned this to his young protégé Timothy in these last days, there will be violent periods of time. There will be days we see things as spoken of by Paul.

There are at least four kinds of people that we will encounter in these the last days.

THE REALITY OF THOSE FOLKS WHO JUST DON’T CARE. Paul told us that these folks, will be selfish and love money. They will brag, be arrogant and use abusive language. Philippians 2:3–4 (NASB95) tells us about selfishness, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” Not only they will be selfish but be lovers of money. The O’Jays really told the truth about people who loves money:

For the love of money

People will steal from their mother

For the love of money

People will rob their own brother

For the love of money

People can't even walk the street

Because they never know

Who in the world they're gonna beat

For that lean, mean, mean green

Almighty dollar, money Writer(s): Leon Huff, Kenny Gamble, Anthony Jackson

Paul even talked about people will be bragging and being arrogant as well as using abusive language. Proverbs 16:5 (ESV) tells us “Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord;

be assured, he will not go unpunished”. Also, the Bible tells us that, The Bible is abundantly clear that arrogance is something that God hates. It is abominable to the Lord and in direct opposition to how He instructs us to live. In the book of Proverbs, arrogance is included first on the list of things God hates (Proverbs 6:16–19). We see this even more and more in today’s society where people are getting more and more arrogant not just some things but a lot of things. The use of abusive language is heard all around us no matter who you are. I remembered when the Staple Singers in one of their songs:

Oh, you cuss around women folk

And you don't even know their names

And you're dumb enough to think

That'll make you a big ol' man

Respect yourself, respect yourself

If you don't respect yourself

Ain't nobody gonna give a good cahoot, na, na, na, na

Respect yourself, respect yourself.

Hear what the Word of God tells us in, Ephesians 4:29 ESV “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear”.

II.THE REALITY OF LOVELESS PEOPLE. Paul is talking about those folks who refuse peace with anyone, someone who slanderous, lacking self-control, brutal and not having love what is good. I found an article online called “50 Misery Love Company Quotes to Help You Move Forward” and it is here the author ask an interesting question,” When’s the last time you were in someone else’s support system? That support system the author talks about is that you’re supporting the system of misery and lovelessness they fell into. Famous Advice Columnist Ann Landers once quoted I think is so very true even today,” Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to known when to let go and then do it”.