The Times We Live In
1st Timothy 3:16
2nd Timothy 3:1-5
I found it very joyous yet difficult to prepare for this message. As I read these verses my eyes were filled with tears of happiness and tears of sorrow. My heart was filled with joy yet deeply in a state of sadness. The passages that we read today….one joyous the other ones horrible.
It is extremely joyful when we remember what Jesus did for all of us through His death and His resurrection. It is extremely joyful when someone accepts Jesus Christ as his or her personnel savior! It is a joyous occasion when one walks down a church isle and gives the Preacher his or her hand and unites with that particular church.
The church is the body of Christ is it not? Is not Christ the head of the church? Is it not He who has given us the Holy Spirit, that same Holy Spirit that guides and comforts us? Do we not confess that God came in human flesh called Jesus Christ (the anointed one), proved by the Spirit that he pleased God, was seen by angels, preached to the nations, faithfully trusted by all, and was taken up to glory. We put our faith in that correct?
The Holy Spirit expresses those truths in all that believe and accept the Lord Jesus as their savior. If God’s Word does not or has not convicted someone here today, then you may want to check yourself or examine your relationship with the Lord. The “two-edged” sword as it (God’s Word) is called should convict us.
As the scriptures were being read, I wonder did these questions arise in anyone’s mind: Are these scriptures describing me? Or have I ever been like that? What answer comes to mind?
Or, do we read this portion of scripture with the thought…”that’s not me”…. I’m not like that, or I’ve never been like that, etc.
During the time of this writing (which is around 67 A.D.), Paul himself was locked in chains, while Timothy was left to Pastor the Church at Ephesus. This letter, maybe one of Paul’s last, and these books (1st and 2nd Timothy) are most popularly known as the Pastoral Letters. Paul was writing Young Pastor Timothy to warn him of false teachers, false Christians and false doctrine during the time of this writing. Paul was warning Timothy that people were losing their faith in Jesus. He was warning him (Timothy) to avoid these types of people all together.
Look at what Paul writes, BUT UNDERSTAND THIS! That IN the last days WILL come, not might come, not maybe it’ll come, BUT WILL come perilous times of great stress and trouble (or hard to deal with and hard to bear).
My brothers and sister are not the times we live in today perilous and FULL OF STRESS?? I read in 1STTimothy 4th chapter 1st verse where Paul stated that the HOLY SPIRIT DISTINCTLY AND EXPRESSLY DECLARES THAT IN LATTER TIMES SOME WILL FALL AWAY FROM THE FAITH AND GIVE ATTENTION TO DEMONIC DOCTRINES!! However, here in 2nd Timothy, Paul goes more in to detail. He describes the type of people Timothy would not only encounter outside his church, but also within the church he was pastoring at that time, and at a time to come. Paul is getting Pastor Timothy’s attention here. How? Well, he says THE HOLY SPIRIT DISTINCTLY AND EXPRESSLY DECLARES what times lie ahead not only for Timothy during that time period, but also for us Living In These Times!!
What time are we living in? I will answer that question. The times we live in now can be summed in up in one word. It is a dangerous word to any believer! A word that I don’t even want to utter! The word is APOSTASY. The definition of apostasy is simply this: (and I looked this one up) It (apostasy) is taken from the Greek words APOSTASIA. The word apostasia derives from two Greek words: APO, which means from and histemi, which means to stand. In light of learning what the true meaning of this word means, one can come to this conclusion. The conclusion that many people, are standing away from the truth of the WORD of God! Many have abandoned or are on their way to abandoning their relationship with God.
Both passages of scripture 1st timothy 4th chapter and 2nd timothy 3rd chapter speak about the times we live in, however, I again must state that the passage we read today is more detailed than the other.
I would like each one of you to know that as our society becomes more technologically advanced, and while every thing seems to be moving in fast motion, and while mankind seems to be every increasing in knowledge, there is another thing within the Spiritual realm that is moving a lot faster, well there are several things going on, but we will view two specific ones. God’s Word is Spreading throughout the world, and people are being saved across the Globe. However, there are many people falling away or loosing faith in Good Sound Doctrine.
The Holy Spirit tells us that the times in which we live will be more stressful. We are now living in a time period where we don’t have time to get over one tragic event before the next one happens. No, I’m not just talking about the price of gas, even though the cost of it is stressing my wallet!! War abroad, war at home on our streets, hurricanes, tsunamis, problems in our homes, drugs, the list goes on and on. It is stressful when you cannot get past one bad event before another bad event happens.
Let us now examine some characteristics of the people in the times we live in that are in danger of apostasy or are apostates. Now remember, it is the Holy Spirit that DISTINCTLY SAYS what people WILL be during the “last days”. With help from the Holy Spirit, we will examine 16 different types of people or 16 different characteristic traits of Apostasy. Are you all still with me? Good let’s briefly look at the people Paul warned Timothy about. Oh, and believe me…these people were in Pastor Timothy’s church and some just may be here today!!
The Selfish - These kind of people are only concerned with what goes on in their little world…these type do what is right in their own eyes, but Jesus says if anyone wishes to follow me let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow ME!
The Lovers of Money - GET GOD, GET MONEY!! OR GIVE MONEY GET GOD!! Prosperity preaching is at an all time high these days. People will kill their own family over money! Nothing wrong with having money….it becomes a sin when we love our money more than we love the Lord our God!!
The Boastful and Arrogant - a boastful person does not need anyone to tell them of their own accomplishments, these kinds do it themselves. They exaggerate their own abilities, accomplishments, and their use to society and to the church (give examples). Arrogance is something within…God knows arrogant people, because arrogance is found in the heart.
The Blasphemers- These are individuals that verbally insult God the Father, God The Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They scoff at the fact that God can change them.
The Disobedient to Parents Group- Look at some of the youth today......
The Ungrateful -people that refuse to show gratitude for ALL that God has done for them. So naturally, if these cannot show God gratitude, they will not show any to their fellow man.
The Unholy and Profane -people that are wicked or show a total disregard of what is Holy.
The Unaffectionate -heartless people…cold-hearted…Jesus called this type of people vipers.
The Relentless -or people not slacking up on their sinning!! Habitual Sinners!
The Slanderers/False Accusers and Trouble Makers-Plenty of these types to be found in many churches today! Some people drag another’s sister or brother’s name through the gutter so bad, just to get a name for him or her self or to get where they want to be…inside and outside the church walls!
The Intemperate and Morally Loose in Conduct -I could stay on this one for a while, but if given another opportunity....People in the times we live in are just plain old MEAN!
The world we live in today no longer calls evil living sin anymore. Fornication, adultery, and homosexuality are a REALITY within the church not just the world!
The Uncontrolled and Fierce -People are like animals now. Instinct ruled, instead of Holy Spirit Ruled.
The Haters of Good - People today find it EASY to be wicked. To be good in today’s time is to be hated by many. We may as well say to be Godly…truly godly today is to be hated by many.
The Treacherous, rash, and the inflated by self-conceited - People today are betraying one another; people do not even hold their word today. The world and the church have become so vain! Some people just don’t have enough mirrors to look at themselves!
The Lovers of Sensual pleasures and vain amusements rather than lovers of God - whatever pleases the flesh or carnality has a grip on a lot people within the church. Vain amusement or worldly (secular) events are at the center of many so-called Christians’ lives today! A lot of us still would rather attend our old hangouts than attend a church function…maybe even a REVIVAL!
I say again the Holy Spirit does not control these types of people. They refuse to let the Holy Spirit Control their lives. They have no desire to be like Jesus!!
Look at verse five and this should be the eye opener to all of us. These types of people are like the Pharisees that Jesus spoke of in the book of Matthew! They appear clean on the outside, but the inside is full of what the text has showed us today.
Hypocrisy is on the rise, and will continue to rise! These people deny the very power that can DELIVER them from all of these wicked traits!! The scripture is simply telling us this: A true relationship with God is not a matter of knowledge and profession alone, but of knowledge, practice and obedience of what is known.
So what are we to do? We are to hold on to our faith, and spread this Gospel to others.
We are to hold firm to the Mystery of God, which is Jesus Christ.
We should practice the fruits of the Holy Spirit!
We should love on another!
We should have joy! The joy I speak of is the joy that I have when I think of what Jesus did for the entire world one Friday afternoon outside of Jerusalem!
We should have peace! The inner peace that let’s us know God will see us through these perilous times!
We should have patience! The type of patience that helps us understand that there is a need to minister to a community full of APOSTASY!
We should be kind to one another! Knowing that the scriptures teach us to do to others, as we would like them to do to us!
We should be faithful and obedient to God during these times, so that we can receive our FULL reward when we stand before the Great White Throne of Judgment!
I want to direct you all back to 1st Timothy 3:16
16And great and important and weighty, we confess, is the hidden truth (the mystic secret) of godliness. He [God] was made visible in human flesh, justified and vindicated in the [Holy] Spirit, was seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, [and] taken up in glory.
Tell others who are lost and those who are in danger of falling away about this great mystery. Plead to one another to REPENT- of sins against God! Plead to one other to REMEMBER ALL that Jesus has done for us, and plead with people to never lose the love and zeal they had when they were born again!! I want to direct you to another 3:16!
That famous 3:16! John 3:16 states that God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He even gave up His only unique Son, so that whoever trusts, clings to, and relies on Him shall not perish, but have eternal, everlasting life.
It is only through the spreading of that which we confess, and believe in with all of our heart…that confession that Jesus Died for our Sins, then after 3 days was resurrected with ALL power to overcome ALL of the wickedness of this world. We must be light to this dark world wherever we are, for these are perilous times that we live in. Let your light shine!
