“Surviving the Coming Days”
Matthew 24:6-13, 24 October 13, 2015
6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”
“24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”
The year was 1999 and this nation witnessed what was the fourth deadliest school massacre in U.S. history up to that time. We refer to this horrific incident simply as Columbine.
Rachel Joy Scott, a devout Christian, was the first to be shot. Reportedly she was eating lunch on the lawn outside the school when she was approached by the killers and asked if she believed in God. Knowing full well that the end result would be death, she said yes. Refusing to deny her faith in God, Rachel was shot in the head at point blank range. As part of the investigation, video tapes were found in which Eric and Dylan mocked Rachel for her faith. I cannot help but be proud of this young lady who in an instant went home to be with the Lord Whom she would not deny. At 17 years of age, she showed more courage and conviction than many adults ever have.
Chris Harper Mercer, the alleged Oregon community college gunman, asked students to stand and state their religion before shooting them. The killer asked "'Are you a Christian?’ " He then asked Christians to stand and said, " ‘Good, because you’re a Christian, you are going to see God in just about one second,’ " before opening fire. Others have reported Mercer “hated religion” in his online writings.
Kim Davis, County Clerk in Kentucky said,
"I am here before you this morning with a seemingly impossible choice, which I do not wish on any of my fellow Americans," she said. "My conscience or my freedom."
"My conscience or my ability to serve the people that I love," Davis continued, choking back tears. "Obey God or a directive that forces me to disobey God."
U.S. Sen. Cruz, R-Texas, released the following statement regarding the arrest of Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis:
“Today, judicial lawlessness crossed into judicial tyranny. Today, for the first time ever, the government arrested a Christian woman for living according to her faith. This is wrong. This is not America.” He went on to say, “Kim Davis should not be in jail. We are a country founded on Judeo-Christian values, founded by those fleeing religious oppression and seeking a land where we could worship God and live according to our faith, without being imprisoned for doing so.
Meanwhile on the other side of the world,
“Christianity is now the world's most oppressed religious group, with persecution against them reported in 110 countries."
At least 100,000 Christians are killed every year because of their faith in Jesus Christ, McAreavey said, adding that an even greater number of believers are "being tortured, imprisoned, exiled, threatened, excluded, attacked and discriminated against on a widespread scale."
Iraqi Christian children who were told by ISIS militants to convert to Islam or be killed. Their response? “No, We Love Yeshua (Jesus).”
Twenty one Christians are marched down a beach by ISIS terrorists clad-in-black with their victims donning orange jumpsuits. The Christians are forced to their knees. One is clearly praying. None recant their faith. All are beheaded.
I could go on and one with story after story. There are not dozens being killed; not hundreds; not even thousands being killed, many beheaded. There are hundreds of thousands each year being killed for their faith.
Here in America we have been spared the brunt of the persecution, but it is being to touch us. The school killings of Christians and government leaders who live their faith are paying the price for their faith. Folks, it’s gonna get worse. The Bible says,
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.” Matthew 24:9
“5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.
9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.
10 “If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed.”
This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.”
Revelation 13:5-10
I want you to notice the seventh verse. It says, “It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them.”
Do you understand that what we are seeing in our world shouldn’t surprise us? We were warned. But in America we have heard too much of the prosperity Gospel and the cheap grace Gospel and not enough of the prophetic words of the Bible. We have been so blessed by our fore-fathers faith. The Bible says,
“I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” Exodus 20:5-6
We, in America, are the recipients of blessings earned by our fore-fathers faith. They came here in search of religious freedom. They set up our government and our laws according to the precepts, commands, principles and standards of the Bible and the God of the Bible. Today there is a calculated plot to dumb down Americans and rewrite history. And it is working. Few Americans have read the constitution or the writings of our Founders. Few Americans know even know what our freedoms are so they aren’t aware as they slip away.
When I was a young pastor and I would read the Book of Revelation and read about Christians being beheaded for their faith in the end times – it was inconceivable to me. Nobody beheaded anyone. The guillotine was long gone. The chopping block was long gone. I could see being shot or hanged for your faith but being beheaded? No Way! And yet every day in some place in the world Christians are being beheaded.
And guess what, America? It is coming to a city near you. Illegal Aliens, undocumented workers, even the government is bringing in Muslims.
Every minute of every day, 2.1 Muslims legally enter our borders and are given legal immigrant status by the Obama administration. That’s 3,024 Muslims every 24 hours. An estimated 40% of all these “migrants” have terror ties with ISIS and Al Qaeda. This is a form of Islamic jihad known as Hijrah, where Muslims travel to non-Muslim nations and take it over by swelling their ranks. Once it reaches a critical mass it cannot be stopped. They don’t need terror weapons, they just breed until there are more of them then there are of us. Muslims never, ever assimilate into the nations in which they live. They take it over and conquer their host country for Allah. And guess what. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (also know as Isil or Isis) and Boko Haram from Nigeria, have infiltrated these immigrants. They are more than willing to fulfill the Biblical prophecy of beheading.
WOW! It’s kind of scary isn’t it? Well, after scaring you half to death I want to try to answer the question. “How can the Christians survive the coming Days”
The obvious first answer to that question is 1. Believe. Jesus said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
“Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.” John 6:47
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Acts 16:31
The world can behead us, burn us, and kill these bodies – but they can’t take eternal life from us; they can’t take the Love of God from us. The Bible says,
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? It is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 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.” Romans 8:35-39
When you truly believe the Gospel you have unbelievable power. That is how you can face death in all the horrible ways the Enemy has dreamed up. That is how you can face jail time or ridicule or persecution from society or even family and friends. We have to truly believe the Gospel. We have to truly believe Jesus when He says we have eternal life. We have to believe – truly believe – the Bible. If we truly believe – we can stand to the end.
Secondly, we have to trust God. Abraham was the example of faith in the Bible. Who do you think was the example of trust? I think it was Job. Job lost everything; his wealth, his health, his children, his friends, his prestige and honor. His wife scornfully said,
“Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” Job 2:9
Job did not curse God. And he didn’t die. He told his friends,
“Even though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” Job 13:15
The Bible is full of men and women who put their trust in God. Paul endured beatings and imprisonment. He was left for dead a couple of times. Still, he did not deny his Lord and Savior. The Bible says,
“Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith…” Hebrew 11:36-39
It has never been easy or safe to be a Christian – until this century in America. It seems that time has come to an end. When the persecution comes – trust God.
Lastly, hope in the Lord. The Biblical definition of hope is “The trusting expectation that God will keep His word.”
What that means is that we truly need to expect that God will do what He says. We EXPECT that we will be saved – no matter what; We EXPECT that we will live eternally. That is what it means to hope in the Lord. Hope is a result of Belief and trusting. If you truly believe and trust then you will hope – you will expect to live forever.
When you truly believe, trust and hope in the Lord you can face the future with no fear. We expect God will see us through no matter what. The Bible instructs us,
“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” 1 Peter 3:15
We need to share with people why we aren’t afraid; the reason for our hope. We are blessed to live life without fear. We can keep the love and joy and peace in our heart when our hope is in Jesus.
The Scripture says that
“…you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.” Matthew 24:9
“(the Beast) was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them.” Revelation 13:7
There is no guarantee that you will not suffer for your faith. You will be persecuted and you may be put to death. The Beast is going to be given power to conquer God’s holy people for a time. We may experience that in our lifetime. If someone holds a gun to your head and asks if you are a Christian – what will you says?
If someone holds a knife to your throat and threatens to start cutting unless you deny Christ – will you?
You can stand firm if you, 1. Believe, 2. Trust, and 3. Hope.
