Outline for Sermon: “The End!”
Open with video 2012 clip which fades out on sound then I go up.
Introduction:
Today we are going to start with the end in mind!
In Nov. there is another end time’s movie coming off the press in Hollywood. It is called 2012 and you just saw a clip from it. Just this week out in front of the church they put a huge billboard promoting this new movie. I find it amazing how many end time movies and shows are being produced today. We have seen some movie titles flash up on the screen beside me. All these titles tell me that this world is anticipating that the end is near. One of the most recent end time’s Christian depictions of the end has been the “Left Behind Series.” The authors have written sequential volumes painting a picture of the end and they have even made movies focusing on this final event.
Yes! There is a fascination or maybe even a fear of the world’s end. So we have secular people trying to imagine how it will all play out. We have Christians sharing their perception of how this will all happen.
In all these manmade illusions to the end and even Christian reflections of Biblical Prophecy questions stream through our minds like the following:
What will happen? Who will die? What will happen to my family? What will happen to my Church? What will happen to the United States? Is there going to be One World Order? Will destruction come from an army from outer space? What do I need to do to be ready? Will I be tough and be able to make a stand for truth? What will I do if they try to haul my family off? How will I eat? How will I survive? Will I be martyered?
We have secular people producing movies and books and they all cast the vision of fear of the end. They tell us that we need to fear the end because it will be horrible, miserable, many lives will be lost and the earth will be destroyed. A great power will overwhelm this planet and change the way things were. There will be famine, bloodshed, murder, terror, and destruction. When “The End” comes the majority of the world will die and nothing will be able to stop the collapse of this world.
But what does the Bible say about the end times? Should we as Christians be fearful? Should we be gripped with terror? Should we be depressed? Should we feel hopeless?
T.S. – Well let’s look at Romans this morning and learn how we should respond toward end time signs.
Scripture Text:
Romans 8:15: 18-39:
15 “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
Future Glory
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. More Than Conquerors 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
As I read this text in my office this week I felt the presence of the Lord come on me. I felt God’s voice telling me, “Mike you do not have to fear the end!” The Lord continued to speak directly into my heart and told me to proclaim to His people, “Mike tell my people they do not need to fear the end! Why? Because I am in control of the end – it will come when I am ready for it to come. Why? Because I am the Alpha the Omega. I am the beginning and the end. I am the one who is, who was and who is to come. Tell my people to get ready because I am coming soon!”
The reality check for us today is to remember “Jesus is Coming Again.” Yes. I know the world makes fun of Christian for believing this but it will happen.
The question could be ringing in your ear right now, “So how do I personally get ready?”
Thesis: There are three things we need to do to be ready for “The End”
1. Don’t fear! 2. Have hope! 3. See Jesus!
T.S. – Here are 3 things to do to get ready for “The End!”
I. Understand that fear has no place in the mind and the heart of the Christian. Don’t Fear!
a. 1 John 4:6-18:
i. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
1. Love is the premise that will drive fear out of our lives. When we live in love-we live in God. Then God lives in us and dwells within my heart. When this happens fear is driven from my being. Why because fear is not an attribute of God.
a. God has never been nor will be fearful.
b. He is not afraid of Satan.
c. He is not afraid of you.
d. He is not afraid of the rulers of this world.
e. God does not fear!
ii. We are to understand that love casts out all fear and we are to fear not (4:17-21).
1. When a person experiences God’s perfect love then we come to understand that we need not be afraid.
a. Why? Because greater is He that lives in us then he that lives in the world.
i. He is my Provider and supplier even in the end times.
b. Why? Because we know that God loves us and he will take care of us.
i. He promises to take care of His children.
c. Why? Because we now are sons and daughters of Almighty God.
i. He will take care of me because He is my Father.
d. Why? Because the Day of Judgment will pass us by.
i. When I became Born Again the fear of judgment left because know I know that I am saved by Grace, by the sacrifice of Jesus.
e. Why? Because through Christ we now have eternal life forever.
i. I will live forever- I will survive the end times – even if I die naturally – which by the way we all will.
f. Why? Fear cannot reside were love is supreme.
i. When love resides in me – fear has no place!
2. Fear has to do with torment and insecurity of the future.
a. I am not insecure – I know my destiny and my divine purpose.
b. Barna calculates that there have been 40 million martyrs for Christ to date.
3. Definition of fear: Zimmerman 2001
a. A painful emotion or passion excited by the expectation of evil, or the apprehension of impending danger; apprehension; anxiety; solicitude; alarm; dread.
4. Holman: Freedom from fear -- Freedom from fear comes as individuals trust in the God who protects (Ps. 23:4) and helps them (Isa. 54:14). The New Testament teaches that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). Christians are no longer slaves of fear, for Christ has given them not a spirit of timidity or cowardice, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-control (2 Tim. 1:7).
a. The faithful and true witness. John 14:6"I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
i. As a faithful and true witness - the Greek word here is Martyrs -- we get our English word from this word which is martyr - which means one who has died, given up his life for the truth. There have been many martyrs through history but the Amen martyr is Christ the "Yes of God!" He is the one Faithful and True Martyr. He is the one confronting a church the church with its luke-warmness.
ii. He has never misrepresented the Truth of His message and since He is always trustworthy and faithful to truth.
iii. He now must confront a church that does not represent faithfulness and truth.
b. Interesting note since Christ’s martyrdom there has been an estimate of over 40 million martyr’s to date.
i. Barna notes, "Because at least 40 million people had their faith radically challenged and they refused To back down from following Christ no matter what the cost of the relationship. To those saints, the very purpose of life was wrapped up in their understanding of the fullness of the Christian life. These martyrs viewed their relationship with Jesus Christ as one worth dying for. Their faith was more than simple series of religious truths that enabled them to gain earthly riches, to be seen in the right places at the right times or to gain new insights into human character. Their faith was the defining thread of their lives. Their refusal to renounce their faith, even at the costs of their lives, dramatically illustrates how they defined success and purpose in life" (Barna, 29).
5. Fear is not an attribute that God wants us dwelling on. When you learn to test the spirit’s and love like God then fear will actually be driven out of your life.
a. Not falling into fear comes from having a personal loving relationship with the Lord.
b. It comes by testing the spirits and understanding the attributes of God.
c. It also comes from love living in our hearts and minds. Were love dwells fear cannot exist! They are incompatible.
b. We see horror shows everywhere today because of Halloween—these shows, movies portray terror, fear, evil, and they portray evil as all powerful.
i. Halloween’s theme is fear and evil promotes the lie that evil wins -- But fear in this scenario is a destructive force. It can cause one to lose their perspective in life to lose hope. This type of fear has caused many destroyed lives. It causes physical, emotional and spiritual illness. It has at times caused one to lose faith in God. It attributes more power to the element feared than to God.
1. Halloween’s fear and horror shows have infiltrated our society and caused a deterioration of it and robbed many people of peace and hope.
ii. Phillips states, "Most of us are all cognizant of the fact that fear plays a leading role in television and theater productions. People want to be, ’scared to death’, and are usually not knowledgeable, or don’t care about the ill effects that fear, whether in reality or in "fun", has on our health and general well being."
iii. When we allow fear to dominate and control our lives it places us into bondage and twists our perceptions of life.
T.S. – We are not to fear but have hope in Jesus Christ – our Savior!
II. Understand that we have a hope that the world does not have. Have Hope!
a. Someone has wisely stated that if you could convince a man that there is no hope, he would curse the day he was born and then give up.
i. Most people who commit suicide have no hope and suicide in on the rise in America.
1. The website http://www.suicide.org/international-suicide-statistics.html from the Data Source: World Health Organization shares these statistic about suicide:
a. Over one million people die by suicide worldwide each year.
b. The global suicide rate is 16 per 100,000 population.
c. On average, one person dies by suicide every 40 seconds somewhere in the world.
d. 1.8% of worldwide deaths are suicides.
e. Global suicide rates have increased 60% in the past 45 years.
b. Hope is not something we have naturally. It’s something supernatural!
i. Scripture tells me that, “Flesh gives to birth to fleshly mindset but the Spirit gives birth to spiritual mindset.”
1. John 3:6
ii. That’s why many in the world have no hope – they are hopeless about life and about their future.
1. The following thoughts from "A Future and a Hope", by Ogilivie.
a. Hope cannot be humanly induced on demand. I cannot give myself hope.
b. To better understand what "Authentic Hope is we need to see what it is not!"
i. Hope is not wishful thinking, We try to wish our dreams into reality and we try to wish away the hurts of life but it never works.
ii. Hope is not yearning.
1. Ogilivie states, "We often incorrectly use the word, "hope" to express our yearning. "Oh, I hope so!" We say, expressing a longing for something to be true or to happen. "Here’s hoping," we say in response to a possibility." (47)
2. The sad fact here is we usually end up with disappointments because our expectations are not met.
iii. Hope is not simply cheery optimism.
1. "Hope certainly can produce and optimistic attitude, but an optimistic attitude is not a substitute for true hope." (48)
2. Optimism that is not based on God’s promises, power, and faithfulness fades under the pressure of disappointments.
iii. Hope is centered in the person of Jesus Christ. Christ’s life, message, atonement for the sins of the world and resurrection are now the basis of hope.
1. Jesus Christ is the object of Hope, but also He is the one and only who enables us to truly have lasting hope.
2. Hope comes to us by having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It comes from knowing God on a personal level.
a. Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
i. This text tells me to do the following:
1. Persevere through tough times.
2. Allow tough times to develop your character.
3. Allow character to open your eyes to where your hope comes from.
T.S. - We are to have hope in Jesus and see that He has all things in control.
III. Understand that God knows what will happen in the future just like when Jesus fulfilled prophecy in His first coming. See Jesus!
i. Prophecies fulfilled by Jesus:
ii. Jesus 1st Coming had many prophetic messages that announced his coming – the 1st time as Messiah.
1. Read from the print out 365 Messianic Prophecies by the Bible Probe at bibleprobe.com.
2. See attached form which has over 100 fulfilled prophecies.
iii. There are over 500 hundreds OT Scriptures written at different times by different authors in different countries and cultures professing the return of Jesus Christ the 2nd time. The New Testament professes the return of the Messiah repeatedly. 1 out of every 25 verses profess the return of Jesus Christ the 2nd time.
1. There are many other sources professing the end of time as we know it.
a. Buddha’s prophecy
b. The Mayan Calenda
c. Nostradamus’ predictions
2. Read from the print out “The Certainty of the Lord’s Return” by Dr. David Reagan.
Dr. David Reagan challenges us to look at the signs which predict the Coming of Jesus – the end of the world as we know it today:
Read his list and reflect on if these are happening today – See article “Recognizing the signs of the times” http://www.lamblion.com/articles/articles_signs3.php
Signs of the End Times
The re-establishment of the nation of Israel is a classic example of an end time historical sign. Over and over again the Hebrew Scriptures prophesy that in the end times, right before the return of the Messiah, the nation of Israel will be re-established (Isaiah 11:10-12; Ezekiel 37:1-12; Amos 9:13-15; and Zechariah 12:1-3). Jesus emphasized this sign in Matthew 24 when He told us to watch for the rebudding of the fig tree (a symbol of Israel). When that happens, He said, the generation that sees it "will not pass away until all these things [the return of the Lord] take place" (Matthew 24:34).
The book of Revelation is full of technological signs concerning the end times. Take, for example, the prophecy that one-half the population of the world will die in the first three and a half years of the Tribulation (1/4 in the Seal Judgments and 1/3 of those remaining in the Trumpet Judgments — Revelation 6-9). How could such unparalleled carnage occur apart from the development of nuclear weapons and their missile delivery systems?
Or consider the prophecy that when the two great witnesses of God are killed by the Antichrist in the middle of the Tribulation, the whole world "will look upon their dead bodies for three and a half days" (Revelation 11:9). How could this be possible before the development of television and satellite transmission?
Another prophecy in Revelation that has been waiting for historical developments is the one that states there will be an army of 200 million soldiers that will march across Asia toward Israel during the period of the Tribulation. At the time that prophecy was written (95 AD), there were only 200 million people on planet earth! It took 1,600 years for the population of the earth to double to 400 million. In fact, the earth’s population did not reach one billion until 1850. This century has experienced a population explosion due to the advent of modern medicine (keep in mind that the first antibiotic, penicillin, was not discovered until 1928!). Today, the earth’s population has just passed the six billion mark, and one Asian nation alone — namely, China — could easily send an army of 200 million, as prophesied in Revelation.
An Overview of the Signs
Let me present you with an outline overview of the signs of the times:
I. Signs of Nature
(Matthew 24:7; Mark 13: 8; and Luke 21:11)
1. Famine
2. Earthquakes
3. Plagues
4. Signs in the Heavens (Unusual weather, new discoveries in space, UFO’s, etc.)
II. Signs of Society
(Matthew 24:12,37-39 & 2 Timothy 3:1-4)
1. Lawlessness
2. Violence
3. Immorality
4. Greed
5. Selfishness
6. Hedonism
7. Rebellion
8. Despair
III. Spiritual Signs
1. Negative
a. False Christs & Prophets and their cultic groups (Matthew 24:5,11,2-4; Mark 13:6,21-22; and Luke 21:8)
b. Apostasy in the professing church (2 Thessalonians 2:3; and 2 Timothy 3:5, 4:3-4)
c. Widespread heresy in the church (2 Timothy 4:1-4)
d. Movement toward a one world religion (Revelation 17)
e. Persecution of true believers (Matthew 24:9-10; Mark 13:9,11-13; and Luke 21:12-19)
f. Outbreak of demonic and occultic activity (1 Timothy 4:1)
2. Positive
a. Outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28-29)
b. Revival of Davidic worship (1 Chronicles 16:1-39; Psalm 150; and Amos 9:11)
c. Worldwide evangelism (Matthew 24:14 and Mark 13:10)
d. Understanding of Bible prophecy (Daniel 12:4,8-9)
IV. World Political Signs
1. Re-establishment of Israel. (Ezekiel 36:22-37:1-2; Zechariah 12:1-6; Matthew 24:32-34; Mark 13:28- 30; and Luke 21:29-31)
2. Arab hostility toward Israel (Ezekiel 35:1-36:7)
3. Russia as a menacing power to Israel (Ezekiel 38:1-39:16)
4. Asian nations capable of fielding an army of 200 million (Revelation 9:15-16 and 16:12)
5. Wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24:6-7; Mark 13:7-8; and Luke 21:10)
6. Kingdom against kingdom — that is, civil wars and ethnic wars (Matthew 24:7; Mark 13:8; and Luke 21:10)
7. Reunification of Europe (Daniel 2:41-44, 7:8, 24-25, and 9:26)
8. Movement toward a one world economy (Revelation 18)
Technological Signs
1. Nuclear weapons. (Matthew 24:22; Luke 21: 25-26; and Revelation 6:8, 8:7 and 16:2)
2. Television and satellite transmission (Revelation 11:3-12)
3. Robotics (Revelation 13:14-15)
4. Computer and laser technology (Revelation 13:16-18)
5. High speed transportation (Daniel 12:4)
VI. The Accelerator Sign
1. Population explosion (Revelation 9: 15-16 and 16:12)
2. Increase in knowledge (Dan-iel 12:4)
3. Increase in violence (Matthew 24:12)
4. Increase in transportation (Daniel 12:4)
5. Rapid disintegration of society (1 Timothy 3:1-4)
6. Signs in general to be like birth pangs, that is, increasing in frequency and intensity (Matthew 24:8)
VII. Signs of Israel
1. Regathering of the people (Isaiah 11:10-12 and Ezekiel 37:1-12)
2. Re-establishment of the state (Isaiah 66:7-8; Zechariah 12:1-6; and Matthew 24:32-35)
3. Reclamation of the land (Isaiah 35:1-2,7 and Ezekiel 36:34-35)
4. Revival of the language (Zephaniah 3:9)
5. Resurgence of the military (Zechariah 12:6)
6. Refocusing of world politics (Zechariah 12:2-3)
7. Reoccupation of Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:2-6)
God never pours out His wrath without warning because "He does not wish that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). Jesus said that when we see all these signs come together, He will be "right at the door," ready to return (Matthew 24:33). God is warning, and Jesus is at the gates of Heaven waiting for His Father’s command.
Look at the current news – are there signs of the end?
Are you ready?
Conclusion:
The question arises are you ready for the end? I mean are you ready spiritually to die today if the end comes?
Let’s look again at what we learned today:
1. Do you know that you do not have to fear the end because God promises to provide and supply for us?
2. Do you know that we have a hope that the world does not have? His name is Jesus!
3. Do you know that Jesus fulfilled 365 Messianic prophecies when he came the first time and that there are over 500 prophecies professing His 2nd Coming? Do you realize that all the signs are in place for Christ to come again?
But the most important lesson we can learn today is to get ready! It’s coming!
