Is This The End?

Is This The End?

Pastor Ryan Akers

April 27, 2008

Video- End of World? Sermon Spice

Every time I turn on the TV I continue to get depressed by what I see on the news. There is no question we are in or very quickly heading to an economic crisis. Probably one that many of us have never seen.

1. For Sale Signs, 2. gas, 3. war, 4. Environment, 5. Weakness of dollar

Many of you in our own church are hurting greatly right now struggling to pay your mortgages and feeding your families because there is no work. I have listened to your stories. Good people who are just looking for help. We have tried to help many families financially or with food but it just never seems to be enough. We are in a crisis.

Now more than anytime in probably the last 100 years we have a responsibility as a church to understand what it means to stand firm, and support one another so that no one gets left behind and that together we can garuntee that this economic and world crisis will be overcome because we relied on the power of Christ to get us through it.

This constant bombardment of problems has to have many people wondering, “is this the end?” Are we close to the second coming of Christ? Is armageddon coming? The short answer is, “who cares.” Is there really a reason to worry about it? Because I don’t have to even open the Bible to tell you that it says one day this world will end. We don’t know the time or the hour it will happen but rest assure this world will end.

The real question we need to be asking in this difficult time is, “what does God say about being ready for it?”

Because as you and I have learned very quickly in the last few years, the government doesn’t have the answer, money does not have the answer, your job does not have the answer, fighting with your wife or your husband again about money is not the answer. I am going to show you the answer. I want to show you what it will take to be ready to get through this crisis or to get through the end of the world. Do you want me to show you the answer? (get down on knees and hold up arms with Bible in hand.) Total and utter and unhesitant and complete SURRENDER to God.

The answer is so simple and is right in front of us but it is always the last resort. We have this hope that maybe, just maybe my job will work out or money will come in or because gas goes down 20 cents we might be okay. “I know! maybe if everyone gets a tax rebate that will boost the economy and get us out of the slump. YEAH THAT’S IT.” We continue to put our hope in man and man’s laws and man’s attempt’s to fix our problems that we forget the answer to our crisis has been with us since the beginning of time. What we are going through is not the first crisis to ever hit this earth. Since the beginning of sin there has been wars, famines, disease, death, pain, suffering, job loss. There have been natural disasters and strikes and riots.

Ecclesiastes 1:9-10

What is now has already been and what is now will come again. The constant that we can hope in is that God never changes. And because I am not God I cannot confidently predict if what we are seeing today is another sign that the time of Christ second return is near or not. But I can confidently say I believe we are closer than ever in our time.

Let’s look at some of the prophecy given by Christ about the last days…

End Time Prophecies

Information from Evangelical Jewish Christian and author Joel Rosenberg

Luke 21:7-11, “Teacher,” they asked, “when will all this happen? What sign will show us that these things are about to take place?” 8 He replied, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’and saying, ‘The time has come!’ But don’t believe them. 9 And when you hear of wars and insurrections, don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place first, but the end won’t follow immediately.” 10 Then he added, “Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and plagues in many lands, and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven.

What Jesus is speaking on will simply be birth pangs. The worst is still yet to come. When the end gets closer you are going to see these in greater intensity and closer together.