Signs of the Times
1. I want us to read a series of shockingly relevant passages this morning. (TEXTS)
2. The church has sought to be contemporary and relevant (GOOD) but it has failed to be prophetic.
3. Have we lost a sense of urgency? Time IS running out!!!
4. Message of the church for our day is “God is in control, He has a plan, serve Him before it is too late”.
The General Description of the Last Days (Prophetically)
2 Tim 3:1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. (NIV) (“love*” is used negatively 6 times)
1 Tim. 4:1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. (NIV)
2 Tim 4: 3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. (NIV)
Mt 24:10 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 he who stands firm to the end will be saved. (NIV)
2 Thess. 2:9 The coming of the lawless one (the Anti-Christ) will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. (NIV)
Seven prophetic revelations (foretelling) concerning the times in which we live for us to think about
1. Man’s Search for TRUTH Would Actually Lead Him Away From THE TRUTH
2. In the Last Days Wickedness (Lawlessness) Will Harden Men’s HEARTS
3. As a Result People Will Refuse to Accept TRUTH
4. Instead They Will Gather a “Great number” of Teachers to TELL them what They Want to HEAR (“seducing spirits and doctrines of devils”)
5. There Will Be an ABANDONING of the Faith. (“Great falling away – Don’t be one!”)
6. God will send Strong Delusion so that they can COMMIT to a LIE. (Scary thought)
7. If Not For God’s GRACE No One on the Planet Would SURVIVE!
Mt 24:22 If those days had not been cut short, no-one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. (NIV)
The answer is a full-scale return to God with deep repentance and a resolve to be a prepared people reaching out to our dying world before it is too late.
THEME: Are you living in the “last days”? Your very survival is dependant on truth, not theories, and only God’s Word has the “whole truth and nothing but the truth”.
