2 Timothy 3:1-5-But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! (NKJV)
But Know This-Be on the look out, be watching for, have your guard up, pay attention to what is going on around you!!
In The Last Days-We are living in the last days! (I’ve heard that all my life! Yes, and your heard that your going to die all your life and guess what, one these days, your going to wake up dead!).
When Peter begin to preach at Pentecost and begin to explain why everyone could hear what they were saying in their own language, He quoted from the book of Joel:
And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God
Hebrews 1:1-2-God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son
If I can’t get you to believe that we are living in the last days, then let me put it to you this way….These are the last days for you and for me.
We are closer to morgue than we are to the maternity ward!
The reason I point that out, is because as I have thought about this list that Paul gives to Timothy, I realize something about it, everything on it, everything that is stated in these verses, I can see it all around me, I can see it in my daily life!
I see it at work, I see it at home, I see it at grocery store, I see it at Wal-mart, and I hate to admit it, but I see in my own self!!
Maybe the reason I see it more all around me, is because I am in my last days, I have more time to see it!
I am still in the rat race, but I’ve slowed way down, trying to stop and smell the roses, so that means I have more time to see the good things of life and to notice the bad things of life.
Perilous Times Shall Come-The word that Paul uses here has the same meaning that is found in Matthew 8 in the story about two demon-possessed men-exceedingly fierce
Description Of The Last Days-Violent, Brutal, Vicious!
Paul doesn’t use the description of the last days as we would picture a preacher would!
He doesn’t use words like, wars, famine, recession, disease, political unrest, global warming, instead his description is this: Characteristics Of People!
Unloving, unthankful, unforgiving, unholy and the list goes on!!
I don’t believe that Paul is pointing out the sinfulness of the non-believer, he is pointing out the carnal Christian or maybe a better description is…Carnal Church Goers!!
The ideal is not that we look around and see how wicked the world is that we live in, (We don’t need a sermon for that) the purpose of this sermon, is that we look at ourselves and see how much like the world we have become and start to make changes!
