Now, I’ll be honest with you. This is a question that a lot of pastors would rather avoid. What happens during the end times because it it’s a subject that is just filled with different opinions. People see things from a different angle. Some would be very very fiery in their opinions and and want to make those known.

And there’s a lot of disagreement among Christians. So pray for me because I’m kicking the proverbial hornets’s nest this morning. And I’ll be honest, I I’ve often wondered you know, as I pour energy into preparing a sermon or just thinking about what’s coming next in the passages, sometimes I’ve wondered, is it really worth all the energy? Because I see what happens when Christians disagree. And sometimes, frankly, I don’t like what I see and how they disagree.

But I will say that Christians filled with the Holy Spirit can and should disagree better. We we are filled with the Holy Spirit of peace. And even in the midst of having different perspectives, seeing things from a different angle, not always seeing things eye to eye, we have the greatest ground for the most important kind of agreement. Amen. And that’s what we’re going to focus on.

And the big thing we’re going to keep right at the center here, we don’t want to lose this. The main thing that every Christian agrees on is our king is coming back. >> And he’s coming back in the flesh. He’s coming back in reality and in history. So, we want to be ready for that.

In the big story of scripture, what we see is that God has always planned this out that he wants to have this family, redeemed children, and he wants to share his glory with us. He wants to experience life with us. He wants us to know him in that way. And King Jesus is coming back to consummate that plan. And he will decisively deal with evil.

Now, he did in one sense, [clears throat] of course, deal decisively with evil at the cross in the empty tomb, but he will bring that victory to completion when he returns and he’s going to stand on this earth. And so, what I’m going to try to do is answer some of those questions that came from all of you by sticking close to the scriptures. We’re going to try to avoid speculation as much as possible. So, I hope you have your Bibles ready and your fingers are all warmed up because we’re going to be moving pretty quickly this morning. If you need a reason to listen to this message, if say you’re one of those who would say, you know, why why do we even bother with this end time stuff?

Let me just say this. End times prophecies are there to fuel holiness and bold commitment to Jesus. And I believe as we focus on this, this will spur us on. Our king is coming back for his bride. And really, end times shouldn’t freak us out.

We of all people should not be scared of what’s coming because who wins in the future. Jesus Jesus wins and he is going to share that victory with all who belong to him. So we have great things to look forward to. So if you would, if you’re able, please stand for the reading of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. The big idea this morning is rather than dividing over differing end times interpretations, Christians should be eagerly anticipating our Lord’s soon return.

So here we go. 2 Thessalonians, Paul writing this to a somewhat young church in chapter 2. He says this, “Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you brothers not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed either by a spirit or a spoken word or a letter seeming to be from us to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way, for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed. The son of destruction who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship so that he takes his seat in the temple of God proclaiming himself to be God.

Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now, so that he may be revealed in his time? For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion so that they may be they may believe what is false in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Thank you. May be seated. I want to point out something real quick as a background.

So Paul planted the church in Thessalonica in Acts chapter 17. You can look up that later on your own. He also wrote these two letters, first and second Thessalonians to them. And so this was very early on in Christianity. This was a very young church.

Some people would say this was probably the second and third books written in the the New Testament after Galatians. Someone asked me what do new believers need to know about the end times? And I think this is a good place to begin because he’s writing to new believers. And you know what Paul says here is prophecy is not just reserved for those end times experts who are you know looking at all the European leaders trying to figure out which one’s the antichrist. It’s for brand new believers.

This is something that all of us should be looking forward to, thinking about what does it mean? What will it look like? What are we to anticipate at Christ’s return? He knew Christians need to stay vigilant. We need to stay focused on this coming event.

He’s writing to a church that in other parts of second Thessalonians, you see that many of them had grown lazy. They lacked purpose. And he basically is saying to them, “Hey, remember when I was with you guys? I worked hard. I was a good example to you guys.

And he’s saying, basically, you guys need to get off the couch and get to work because our master is coming back and you want to be ready. So, just take this in for a moment. We will spend eternity with Jesus. [snorts] Do you feel the weight of that? I’ll just say for myself when I contemplate the moment when Jesus comes back on the clouds with all the angels and there’s that trumpet blaring out and and we are caught up to meet him and I’m going to stand before the one who bled and died for me.

Man, that does something in me. And I think about how he’s on the one hand, he’s going to welcome me in total love because he paid for my sins. He took care of all of that. But there’s also going to be this this weightiness because he’s also going to evaluate my life and how I did. I’m going to stand before him.

And knowing that that fuels me with this sense of purpose like every moment matters. I can’t take anything for granted. Every moment matters because it’s all to be done for Jesus. And I love Jesus. And I’m looking forward to that day when I get to stand before him and I’m going to look into his eyes, the one who purchased me with his own blood.

I’m going to see the one who died for me. That’s an awesome thought. And so, what could be a more powerful motive to make the best use of the time we’re given? Amen. So, let’s do this, everybody.

We’re going to everybody repeat after me. All right. Life is short >> and eternity is long. Okay, now we can go home. [gasps] But that really is what I want to highly emphasize in this message.

We got to see things in perspective. My prayer for all of you is that focusing on the return of Jesus is going to fuel that desire to live for Christ, to go all out, to leave nothing behind so that on that day when you stand before him, you’re going to know I lived for my king. That is why he came back for me. That is why I can stand in front of him. That is why I long for this day.

So, first question, we’re going to see how does it all play out. And one person asked it this way. How does it all play out? Is it you know pre-trib, mid-trip, or post-trib? Now, now some of you, I have to apologize because some of you, it sounds like I just started speaking a foreign language.

The Bible speaks about a time of great tribulation near the end before Jesus comes back. And it talks about this event, this this catching up in 1 Thessalonians 4. If you can please turn to 1 Thessalonians 4, just to back a couple pages, but it talks about us being caught up. And the word in Latin is rapture. We’re to meet the Lord in the air.

And the question that Christians debate is the when about this time when we’re caught up. Is it before the tribulation? And then there’s seven years of tribulation and then Jesus comes back and the saints come back with him and that’s when his final judgment on all on the earth or does it happen right in the middle of the tribulation? That’s the midtrip view. Or does Jesus do we go through the tribulation and then when Jesus comes back we’re caught up to meet the Lord in the air and then at that point Jesus pours out his wrath and judgment on the world.

That’s the question. And there are many rabbit trails. I’m just going to try to avoid as many as possible and stick with what we see in the word here. >> In chapter one, I’ll just say this. In chapter one of 2 Thessalonians, Paul describes this time when God brings relief to [snorts] afflicted Christians and justice to the unbelievers.

And then in chapter 2, he talks about the sequence. So in your notes, number one, avoid end time speculation. It’s really easy to go down these these speculation roads, these rabbit trails that aren’t really productive on the whole speculation. Instead, stick with the sequence clearly given in scripture. And he says this in in second Thessalonians chapter 2.

Now, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you brothers not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed either by a spirit or a spoken word or a letter seeming to be from us to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. So again, just sticking with scripture, we see Paul talking about the coming of Jesus and are being gathered together to him and and he’s again it’s describing that event in 1 Thessalonians 4. The same kind of language is used. So, if you back up to a couple pages, 1 Thessalonians 4:15, he says this. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

He’s saying when Jesus comes, for those of us still alive on earth, we are going to be we are going to be translated. We’re going to be given these new resurrection bodies, these new glorified bodies that cannot die, cannot suffer, cannot grow old and sick. But that won’t happen before those who have already died in the Lord. Says in verse 16, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with a voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in [snorts] the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

And so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, encourage one another with these words. Again, it’s to encourage us, not to freak us out. Paul is describing this rapture moment. And he says, “This is what you need to know.

This is what you need to focus on. We’re going to be caught up. The trumpet will blast. The archangel will call us up. And we and all who have died in Christ already will be given brand new bodies.

And this and we know that this is what will happen. And we will be with the Lord forever more. Today when a Christian dies, he or she immediately goes into the presence of Jesus in heaven. They’re not in soul sleep. They’re with Jesus.

They are happy because again they are with Jesus. That’s exactly what they’ve longed for. As someone once said, there’s never been a Christian who dies who regrets dying because you’re with Jesus now. But and this is what this is what we need to see though. Those who have gone home to Jesus are not yet complete because they still await their resurrected bodies.

That’s what the Bible talks about. You’re still awaiting your resurrected bodies. If if someone has died and gone home to be with the Lord, they’re still waiting for something to happen. They’re resurrected bodies and and while they’ve gone home to be with the Lord, there’s another sense in which they’re not fully home because they’re in heaven with Jesus, but the Bible says our eternal home is the new heavens and new earth when heaven and earth are united and all things are made new. And I would argue that while they’re free from pain, they’re also still longing for justice to be done.

We get a hint in that from Revelation chapter 6. Okay, so next question. What are the signs of his coming? So jump back to second Thessalonians 2. Paul says, don’t be alarmed.

He’s saying some of you are are freaking out. You’re you’re you’re concerned that you missed the day of the Lord, that you missed Jesus coming back. And so he’s trying to calm them down. It might seem strange that they were worried about missing Jesus’s return, but remember this was very early on. These were new believers and they didn’t have as much to go on.

Maybe they thought Jesus had come back and that he was maybe off in in Israel or some part of the world and he was starting to build his kingdom. They didn’t know. I encourage you to go read Matthew 24 this week. Very important passage related to all this. We don’t have time, but in Matthew 24, Jesus talks about these signs to watch for that will accompany or preede his return.

He says there’s going to be deception growing, lawlessness, hatred, persecution, and false Christs and false prophets. And on the one hand, we’d say, well, we’ve seen that all through church history. That’s true, but it will be ramped up before his return. So number two in your notes, at Christ or as Christ’s coming draws nearer, apostasy, lawlessness, and rejection of the truth will increase. This is what we see in 2 Thessalonians 2.

So Paul is saying, this is why you shouldn’t freak out. This is why you can know that Jesus hasn’t come back yet. He said there’s two things, two signs they need to be watching for. They have to happen first. Verse three, let no one deceive you in any way, for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.

So Paul says, “The coming of our Lord and are being gathered together to him will not come unless this great rebellion or the word is apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed.” Now, faithful Christians have taken different perspectives on how this whole timeline unfolds with the end times. And and because of that, we need to understand there’s going to be those who see things a little bit differently, and that’s okay. We try to look at scripture to understand the truth for ourselves. We don’t want to get mired down with speculation, and we don’t want to get so overzealous that we hit each other over the head with our end times charts, right?

We’ve got to stay focused on the main thing, and that is that our king is coming back for his bride, the church. And I’m telling you, Jesus does not want this event to be something that divides his people. He wants this to be something that we together look forward to, united in the spirit. He wants us to be united in the truth of the gospel. And he wants us to remember what really matters.

So believers who take different views on the end times, they should be able to be in church together, like each other, they should be able to worship together and praise the Lord because that is what focuses our our energy. That should be the the center point. Now, if you hold to some version of a pre-tribulation view, so you’d say that the rapture happens before the seven-year tribulation, you’d have to say that Paul here is describing the second coming as a a separate event from the rapture, which happens seven years earlier. If you hold to more of a mid or or post-trib view, you’d have to say that these two things must happen before Jesus catches us up to be with him when he comes back at the second coming. As that that would be one event if you’re post-tr But either way, just sticking with what Paul says here, it’s clear that the second coming cannot happen until a great apostasy and a man of lawlessness is revealed.

We’ll talk more about this man of lawlessness in a moment here. So people ask, so so what are the signs of Christ’s return? And there’s a lot of speculation out there about here’s the things that you know will happen and here’s how it’s going to happen. And I would just say, let’s look at what scripture says because Paul seems to be talking about this specific thing. And he’s pretty clear.

These two things have to happen. If you do hold to a pre-trip view and believe the rapture happens seven years before the second coming, here’s my encouragement for you. The thing that scripture teaches us to focus on is not the rapture per se, but the second coming of Jesus. If you ask what language is used or what’s emphasized most in the New Testament, what do we keep getting our eyes drawn back to? It’s Jesus is coming back.

That’s the emphasis. The other thing to be clear on is that we’re never promised. Christians are not promised that we’ll be spared from trials and tribulation. It’s just not in here. In fact, what we see repeatedly is reminders.

Yes, you will go through trials and tribulation. And Jesus said as much he said you will experience in this world tribulation but take heart because I overcome the world. His prayer in John 17 is I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one. Now if you hold to a posttrip view which I’ll just tell you I lean more toward. Here’s my encouragement for you.

You have to be clear on this. If you hold to a post-trip view and you see a rapture, second coming as kind of one event, you have to be clear that Jesus does not pour out his wrath on his church. If you get that straight, then you’re you’re in a good place. But you cannot believe that Jesus pours out his wrath on his own people. That is what Jesus rescues us from.

The other thing to be clear on is that God doesn’t break his promises. So in some scheme you have to understand every promise that God makes he will fulfill including the promises he made to Israel. In some sense you have to work that out. This leads to the next question. What about Israel?

Sometimes it’s framed in this way. Does God have to literally fulfill every promise he made to the descendants of Abraham? And my answer is 1,000% yes. He has to because that’s who he is. If he makes a promise, he’s going to keep it.

That’s who our God is. He doesn’t say, “I’m going to do this and actually I’m going to do that.” Now, I believe that many of those Old Testament promises to Israel about a land, lineage, and Lord are going to be fulfilled ultimately in a 10,000-year reign of Christ after his return during that event called the millennium. Third, in your notes, Israel still has a role to play in the fulfillment of God’s plan of redemption. Still has a role.

I can’t fit everything that I would like to say here about Israel. That would be like a 20our sermon. So we can’t do that. But here are just some high points that I want you to see based on scripture. So if you’ve got your Bibles now, turn to Romans chap 11.

Romans chapter 11. This is important for us to see as we think about God fulfilling his promises. In Romans 11, Paul begins by asking, “Has God rejected his people?” He’s saying, ‘Look, there’s a lot of Jewish people that have rejected Jesus as his as their Messiah, and a lot of Gentiles are streaming to this Jewish Messiah. So, what does this mean?

Does that mean that God is now stiff armed Israel? He’s rejected his people. And Paul’s answer is by no means. Verse 25 says, “Lest you be wise in your own sight.” Right?

And he’s talking to Gentile believers here. He’s saying, “Remember where you came from.” He’s talking to us. He’s saying, and he uses this picture of an olive tree. He says, “What if the natural branches, the Jewish people, were broken off so that these wild branches were the wild branches, us Gentiles, got grafted in, it’s still the one olive tree.

So, we have one people of God. I don’t believe there are two kinds of salvation. I believe there’s one salvation. Jew and Gentile alike are in Christ, the one olive tree. But then he says, you know, it’s it’s going to happen that these natural branches, what if they got grafted back on?

And then he goes on to say in verse 25, I don’t want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers, a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. So here’s what we can see. It’s clear by the context. Paul is not talking about a spiritual Israel. And here’s why I would say that.

He says, “Israel has hardened to God.” So, this isn’t a spiritual Israel. If if Israel is being described as hardened to God, that’s not a spiritual Israel. What it says is there’s a there’s a sense in which all Israel will be saved in the next verse. Now, all Christians are sons and daughters of Abraham by faith.

That is absolutely true. There’s a sense in which we are in that spiritual lineage. But what Paul’s talking about here is ethnicity. It’s clear from the context he’s comparing Jewish believers who have rejected Jesus and Gentiles or excuse me, Jewish people who have rejected Jesus and Gentile believers. But he says the partial hardening of Israel is only until the full number of Gentiles has come to Christ.

This is interesting. And then what happens in verse 26? And in this way, all Israel will be saved. As it is written, the deliverer will come from Zion. He will banish ungodliness from Jacob.

Now, notice Paul begins quoting from Old Testament scripture. And he’s making the point that God’s covenant with Israel is not in the trash bin. He is hearkening back to that same promise that he made to the people of Israel. And he says, “Look, there is a day coming when this massive national revival of ethnic Jewish people are going to come streaming to their Messiah. They’re going to have their eyes opened and they’re going to finally recognize it’s him.

It’s Jesus, the one we’ve rejected.” That will be an awesome thing to witness. And this will happen before the second coming. Okay. Now, let’s jump back to 2 Thessalonians 2.

And now we come to the question, what about the antichrist? A lot of people wonder who is this antichrist? When is he going to show up? What what are what should we be aware of? Verse [snorts] three says this, “For that day will not come again talking about that day that Jesus comes back unless the rebellion comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed the son of destruction who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship so that he takes his seat in the temple of God proclaiming himself to be God.”

So here’s what we know from this. An actual individual is going to show up on this earth and he’s going to deceive the world. He is going to claim to be God. In fact, he might even claim to be Jesus. In your notes, number four, the man of lawlessness will demand worship but be soundly defeated when Jesus returns to judge all evil.

One person asked how AI and technology might fit into all the things in the end times. It’s an interesting question. The main thing I would want us all to remember is that AI just like the internet just like all technology is morally neutral. It can be used for good god glorifying ends and it can be used for evil because used in in the hands of sinful human beings it can it can be used either way. People have already seen how deep fakes have been used and fooled people.

How they they thought I was seeing this public figure give this message, but actually it wasn’t even them. And it’s interesting that in Revelation 13, we’re told that the beast from the sea, who I would identify with, this man of lawlessness, has what seems to be a mortal wound. In other words, before Jesus comes back, there’s going to be this man of lawlessness, this beast who who it looks like he’s going to die. It it people will be convinced he’s dead. And it says that his right-hand man, the false prophet, will deceive people into thinking that he raised him from the dead.

And so, it’s essentially a parody of the gospel with a counterfeit Christ. Again, I want to be clear. I’m not I don’t know how people will be deceived. We don’t want to speculate or rely on speculation. What we do know is that people will flock to this powerful world leader because they will think that he died and came back to life.

And they’ll be in awe of this man and they’ll want to worship him when he demands worship. The vast majority of the world is going to go allin with this powerful world dictator. Now, it is interesting when you think about this. When in history has this been possible where across the entire globe, people can be deceived into thinking that this one person is is this is the god is someone who died and rose again. How can that happen?

And you look at how technology today, we have the ability with the internet and with social media, people see things across the entire world all at the same time today. And so I do think technology gives us a clue on how this worldwide deception is going to work. Revelation 13 even talks about how people will be forced to receive a mark with the number without which they won’t be able to buy or sell. So this dictator is going to have total control over the global economy. Scholars debate whether this is a literal or symbolic mark.

I think it’s probably both. John in Revelation says that 666 is the number of man. And so this is going to symbolize this anti-God ideology that exalts the the majesty of humanity. It’s going to lift up man and put God to the side. And so the reminder here is for g for followers of Jesus to cling to the truth of God’s word to use discernment to not be taken in by every so-called miracle because there are such things as false miracles.

There are false wonders that are designed by Satan to deceive people and we need to be aware of that. The point is if you’re more rooted in Jesus, if if you’re rooted in the truth of Jesus, you’ll be able to spot the lie. You don’t need to be afraid. If you know the truth about who Jesus is, what he said about his return, you don’t have to be afraid that you’re going to be deceived. You just need to know the truth.

Several years ago, a girl at the church I was at previously was very upset and she came up to me and said that her boyfriend told her that he saw Jesus under a bridge and that Jesus told her that the Bible got some things wrong. And I responded by saying, “Look, I know for sure your boyfriend didn’t just have a little chat with Jesus.” How do I know that? And I took her to Matthew chapter 24. I said, “Look, Jesus warned about people coming along and doing this.”

He said, “People are going to lie about him.” He said, Jesus said people are going to say, “Look, here’s Jesus. I just saw him in the inner rooms.” Or, “Here’s Jesus. I just saw him out in the wilderness.”

And Jesus is very clear. He says, “Don’t believe it. Her eyes got really huge when I said all this and I said, ‘Look, Jesus said that when he returns, there is not going to be any doubt. It’s not going to be a private encounter. It’s going to be like lightning streaking across the sky and every eye will see him.

You’re going to know when he comes back. At some point during the time Paul’s describing, Christians will have their loyalty to Jesus tested. The test will be despite all these amazing signs and wonders that the beast shows, are you going to stay committed to Jesus when the the threat of persecution, even possibly execution comes, which is, by the way, happening in all kinds of parts over the world right now. People are are threatened with their life for getting baptized. They’re threatened with their life for saying, “I believe in Jesus.

I follow Jesus.” That can be a death sentence in some parts of the world. And ge and and Paul is saying you need to be ready. Where does your allegiance lie when those threats come? Revelation 13 talks about how the beast or antichrist makes war on the saints and kills them and he’s given authority over the whole world.

But here’s what we need to know. At his return, Paul says the Lord Jesus will kill this man of lawlessness with the breath of his mouth. He will seem so invincible, so powerful to everybody. And then in a moment when Jesus comes back, he’s annihilated and no more. Now, let me ask what for some is the obvious question.

Does it all matter? With all these details and disagreements and differing timelines, you know, some people are tempted to just throw up their hands and say, “Look, who cares? It’s all going to work out in the end.” Let me just caution you. These prophecies are here for a reason.

And I think the enemy would love for us to just ignore these prophecies because he knows how these prophecies motivate us and fuel us to be ready for his return. There is a day on God’s calendar marked Jesus comes back and I want to be ready for that day. You know, as I think about it, on the one hand, my my fears are calmed because I see how it all unfolds. On the other hand, I’m filled with this urgency. We need to get the message of salvation out.

There are people who aren’t yet reconciled to God. They need to know Jesus is the only way and he is coming back. When Whitney and I were in Lincoln City this last weekend, I was thinking about this sermon and as I was looking around the coffee shop we were sitting in, I I saw all these people and I couldn’t help thinking, you know, every single person here going about their day just thinking about their latte is one day going to have to stand before Jesus and give an account. The question is not whether Jesus is returning. The question is whether you will be ready when he returns.

My prayer is that your love for Jesus would grow so passionately that it would be white hot that when he comes back you will be ready. And that in the meantime, you’ll be longing for that day. The things of this earth are passing away, but our king is coming back and he will sit on a throne that lasts forever. Because again, life is short and eternity is long. 1 John 2:28 says that some Christians will shrink back in shame when Jesus returns.

Can you imagine being ashamed when you see Jesus for the first time? But then it goes on to say in verse two of 1 John 3, beloved, we are God’s children now. You’re his kids. He loves you. And what we will be has not yet appeared.

But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. When Jesus comes back, we are going to be changed. We are going to be enveloped in his glory. We will be made like him and he will share his glory with us.

That is an awesome thing to look forward to. And as you put your hope in this, John says that purifies you. That purifies you stop living for yourself and you start living for him. You stop trying to accumulate as much earthly temporary wealth as possible and you start thinking about eternal riches which matter so much more. Number five, finally in your notes, Christ’s physical, personal, and public return should shape every part of your life.

Now, let me get real practical and then we’ll close here. Paul warns about apostasy and lawlessness growing in the last days. Apostasy means walking away from the faith. In other words, there are going to be people, a great number according to this, a great number are going to who were in church and maybe were praising Jesus are going to walk away from the faith. And these warnings are all throughout the New Testament about shipwrecking your faith.

Hebrews 2 talks about it talks about apostasy as as drifting away from Jesus. It’s this picture of a ship that that the anchor comes loose and it just starts drifting out into the sea away from safe harbor. Apostasy rarely happens in one sudden moment. It it usually happens over 1,000 compromises that happen in your life. You stop making church a priority.

You stop seeing the need to meet with other believers. You stop getting up and and reading the Bible and getting into the word because you see it as less and less important in your life. And maybe this is the clearest warning sign. You stop praying and start living as if God is no longer central to your life. In our secular culture, it’s very easy to stop inviting God into every area of your life and and start drifting away.

Second Timothy 3 speaks of the last days as a time when people will become lovers of self, lovers of money, and lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. And Paul talks about lawlessness. What’s lawlessness? It’s tolerating sin in the name of grace. You start sitting in judgment on scripture and disagreeing with what scripture says about sin, especially when it comes to things like sexuality and gender and things that the culture is embracing.

And you start thinking, you know, I think scripture got this wrong. You start believing hell is unreasonable. We’re going to be talking about heaven and hell next week. But most of all, you start you start tolerating sin in your own life in the name of grace. You start saying, you know, it’s okay that I have this pet sin.

It’s okay that I do this because after all, God is gracious. Now, let me be very clear. God is full of grace. But the biblical grace leads to repentance from sin, not to lawlessness. So, let me encourage each of you right now.

Examine yourself. Ask yourself, am I drifting away in the faith? Am I drifting toward shipwreck or am I clinging tightly to Jesus and Jesus alone as the anchor of my soul? Some of you are realizing you need to trust in Christ for the first time. You need to know that when he comes to judge the world, the Bible speaks about it this terrifying event.

People are going to be running and hiding in caves. They’re going to be terrified of the wrath of the lamb. And today, the door to salvation is wide open. God desires all to be saved. The Bible says he desires all to come to repentance and knowledge of the truth.

You need to understand that God is holy and righteous. He must judge your sin. But the good news is that God is indescribably loving. And he came to this earth. He took on flesh.

And when Jesus was on that cross, he was being treated as if he committed all of your sins. He died in your place as your substitute and he rose again. And listen, God doesn’t want you to pay for your sins. Some of you didn’t realize this about God. This is who he is.

He’s a gracious and loving God. He said, “Let me pay for your sins so that you can be totally forgiven. That sin will not hang over your head. You won’t be paying for that guilt over eons. No, you will be reconciled fully to me.

The Bible says it’s a gift of forgiveness. But you have to receive it by faith. You have to take it into your heart by faith and say, “Yes, I believe Jesus died for me. That he was on that cross loving me and that when he rose from the dead that was proof that he gives new life and we can live for him because of that. Life is short, eternity is long.

If you have not yet put your faith in Jesus and the Holy Spirit is is putting the pressure on you right now, you need to know you can’t put this off. We don’t know how long we have. The day of salvation is today. I’ll leave you with this question here. Does your life indicate that you’re eagerly longing for Christ’s return?

Or will you shrink back in shame when he comes? I’m going to ask Vicki to come forward and start playing the piano as I close in prayer. And it’s possible that this morning as you’re thinking about all this and you’re recognizing the urgency of the moment, the Holy Spirit is revealing to you, you need to give your life to Jesus. You need to fully surrender to him. And so, would you bow your heads and close your eyes with me as we pray together?

And if that’s you, and if if this morning you’re thinking, I need to make sure I am in a right relationship with God, you can you can pray this from your heart. God, I know I’m a sinner. I know that I have put myself first and not you first in so many areas of my life. I know I haven’t lived for you. And God, I believe that when Jesus was on the cross and he was bleeding and dying, he did that for me.

I don’t understand exactly how it works, but he paid for my sin and all my guilt and shame was fully taken care of. And that he rose from the dead so that he could offer me new life. And God, I want to ask Jesus to come into my life right now. I want him to have full control over my life. I want him to reign and I want to know that I have an eternity secure in him and I want to follow him for the rest of my days knowing he is the king coming back.

If that’s your prayer this morning, let me just encourage you. This is the time to give yourself fully over to Jesus, to know his salvation. And we’d love to hear from you. We’d like to know that this is your prayer this morning. We’d like to know how we can come alongside you and help you as you walk with Jesus from this day forward.

Jesus, thank you for giving your life for us, ranso

Transcript machine-generated from the sermon audio, so it may contain errors. 7,162 words.