"[Text 1]
Speaker 1: In this video, I want to share with you the most important warnings that Jesus gives us concerning the end times. Pay attention to this, because you don't want to be caught unprepared. Perhaps you remember being left at home as a child or teenager. Your parents likely left you with instructions about what to do and what not to do. They might have said something like, make sure the house is clean when we get back, or make sure you do your homework while we're gone. They may have left other instructions such as, don't have any parties, or you can only have a few friends over. And if your parents were anything like mine, they would brief you with all the information that you needed about how they could be reached, where they were going, how long they'd be gone, and when they're coming back. 

If you're like most children, you likely spend a lot of time watching TV or playing outside or playing video games, doing everything but chores, cleaning, and homework. And suddenly, before you realized it, several hours have passed and you get the call or the text that your parents are on their way. And now you're in panic mode. You've wasted all your time. You haven't cleaned. You haven't done any homework. You haven't done one chore. And now you only have 20 minutes to get it all done. You waited until the last minute to get ready. 

And now you'll be caught short. Now, the unfortunate reality is that this is how many of us will respond to the coming of Christ. We'll go about our day-to-day business. We'll go about our day-to-day activities. 

We'll go about enjoying our day-to-day entertainment. And then suddenly, we'll be caught off guard when the Master returns. And it's not like we haven't been given ample warnings. Does Revelation 22 verse 12 not say, Behold, I am coming quickly? Does 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 2 not say for you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night? There should be an urgency in our lives. There should be an urgency in terms of how we live because there's certainly an urgency in the Word of God about how soon Christ is to return. It will be sudden. 

It will be unexpected. So rather than waiting until the last minute, wouldn't it be better to be prepared now? Wouldn't it be better to be ready all the time? 

Wouldn't it be better to live in a constant state of preparation so we'll never be caught off guard? This is what the Scripture asks of us and what Jesus commands us to do. Matthew chapter 24 verse 42 to 44 says, Therefore stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming, but know this, that if the Master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore, you must also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. The Apostle Paul reiterates these commands by telling us what it will be like when Jesus returns. He tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 16 to 17, What we learn from this passage is that when Jesus returns, those who have died in Christ will be raised from the dead, and those that are still alive will be caught up to meet them in the clouds. This passage of Scripture in 1 Thessalonians 4 tells us by what method we should expect to see Christ coming. However, the questions we need to be asking today are how do we know that Christ's coming is near? What are the signs we should be looking for? 

How do we know when it is time to prepare and what does it mean to prepare? 1 Paul tells us to look out for a figure that will appear in the end times called the Antichrist. 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 3 and 4 says, 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 seed in the temple of God proclaiming himself to be God. Paul tells us that the day of the Lord would not come until this Antichrist figure appears. This figure will claim to be God. This figure will stand for the devil, and he will lead the world in deception. 

The Antichrist will work signs and wonders so that he can woo people and entice them. However, the Lord told us that if we see such a person claiming to be the Messiah or Christ, we should not believe them. Jesus also gives us several other signs to watch for in Matthew 24. Some of the signs Jesus gives us includes an increase of war, famine, and natural disasters. 

There will be a time of great tribulation and false Christ and prophets will arise. Jesus also gives celestial signs such as the sun turning dark and the moon turning to blood. Jesus' point in these signs is not for us to get hung up on waiting for them. 

Jesus tells us his point here in Matthew chapter 24, verse 42 and 44. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 

The point that the Lord is making here is that we should not wait on the signs to get ready. His point is we should be ready all the time. We should be prepared all the time. We are to be ready to live ready because we just don't know the time of his return. 

Therefore, the best way to prepare is to simply ready all the time. In short, we must live as if Jesus is coming today. And that means we should rethink how we spend our time. Are we using our time reading and spreading the word of God? Or are we drowning our time in entertainment? Are we using our time serving others and fulfilling Christ's commands? Or are we using our time tearing other people down and dividing others? Are we using the time we have now to seek and chase after the Lord's presence? Are we hungry to get closer to God and spend more time with him? 

Or are we spending our time getting closer to everyone but God? Let us not wait for signs and wonders to prepare for the coming of the Lord, because if we are to wait until the last minute, many of us will be caught off guard, will be caught unprepared. And I'm sure that no believer wants to be left behind when Christ comes for his church. 

Now, I don't know about you, but I don't want to be left behind. I would rather be caught up with Christ in the clouds than to be caught up in the world. I want to be caught up in the heavens rather than being caught up in frivolous entertainment. I would much rather be caught up in the Word of God rather than being caught up in things that do not matter. I want to be caught up in the Kingdom of God and I encourage you to shift your perspective. 

Chase what's eternal, chase what's godly. The signs are good to know what's coming, but let's not wait on those to prepare for Christ's coming. If you knew a thief was coming to your home tonight, wouldn't you prepare? Wouldn't you make the necessary changes and adjustments to remain safe? Well, the Lord's coming and it'll be like a thief. 

And if it's just like a thief, shouldn't you make necessary changes and adjustments? The Lord's coming soon. It's time for us to act like it. When it comes to your prayer life, act like you know the Lord is coming soon. When it comes to tolerating sin, act like you know Jesus is coming back soon. This is how we ought to live our lives. Let us not be left behind. Be ready. 

Speaker 2: In December 1972, the United States suffered one of the worst disasters in its aviation history when the Eastern Airlines flight 401 crashed. The tragedy in this story can be found in not only what happened, but how it happened. 

One article reads as follows. According to a National Transportation Safety Board report, the pilots placed a landing gear handled down, but noticed the green light that indicates that the nose landing gear is fully extended and locked failed to illuminate. The pilot told the control tower of their problem and explained that they would have to circle the runway until they could find a green light. 

The control tower accepted and told them to maintain an altitude of 2,000 feet. The pilots put the plane on autopilot as they investigated the problem. Now, reports go on to suggest that for 7 to 8 minutes, the flight crew worked together to try and figure out what was wrong with this light. An article by NBC Miami reported on the incident saying, the pilots engaged the autopilot so they could inspect the light and the landing gear, but the darkness apparently made it hard to see. A short time later, the plane was cleared to turn back to Miami, and that's when a crew member noticed something was amiss. We did something to the altitude, the first officer remarked, and the captain's reply was, what? 

We're still at 2,000, right? The first officer asked, and the captain immediately exclaimed, hey, what's happening here? Seconds later, the plane crashed into the ground at 227 miles per hour and at a distance of 19 miles away from the airport. Investigators concluded that the probable cause for the crash was that the entire flight crew failed to keep an eye on the flight instruments. 

They were too distracted trying to fix the landing gear light that no one checked on the actual plane itself. Distractions in life can be devastating. Think about the damage that a distracted driver can cause. Think about the potential danger of being distracted while walking down a large flight of stairs. 

A surgeon has to tune out all distractions so that they can perform surgery. But for the believer in Christ, we should fight to maintain our focus on Christ. There has never been a time in history like we are facing today, where we are consistently bombarded with distractions. We are being distracted at every point, from technology to world events, not to mention the people in our lives. At any given time, there is always something or someone to distract us. But hear me, saints of God. 

If we allow them, if we give them access, distractions will cause us to lose focus on what matters most. What matters most is your walk with the most high God. What matters most is your relationship with Jesus Christ. What matters most is whether you are obedient to God's Word or not. 

What matters most is that you love your neighbor as you love yourself, and live a life that is wholly and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. You see, the thing about distractions is that the enemy designs them in such a way that they take your time, they take your energy, they take and take from you, and eventually, distractions will derail you from your purpose. The enemy wants to distract you because he doesn't want you committed to Christ. He doesn't want you to serve him faithfully, so he sends distractions that are meant to take your focus away from Jesus. Distractions are also there to starve your prayer life and to starve you of your time of worship. The devil is the author of confusion, and he knows exactly how to disturb, divert, and distract your attention so that in the end, your focus isn't on the Lord. The enemy desperately wants you to invest your time in meaningless things. 

He knows how to get you to spend time doing numerous things that are worthless so you lose time. Distractions come in many forms. Distractions can come in the form of people and enemies who want to destroy you. Distractions can come in the form of entertainment. 

If you're not careful, you'll spend hours and hours watching TV shows and movies day after day. The enemy loves when we spend our energy on things that offer zero value to us spiritually. The enemy loves it when we focus on things that will never edify or build you up in your faith. We, as people of God, must guard our hearts and our time. We must stay focused and continue in God's word. 

It doesn't matter how tempting it may look or how much better we think our lives will be with it. If it zaps your spiritual strength, we must turn from it and leave it alone. Children of God, it is so easy nowadays to be caught off guard and be led astray. 

There are all sorts of things that can hold our attention. It is so easy to slip away and not even realize that we have been caught up in the snare of the devil. Now, one of the ways that we can ensure that we are victorious is by keeping our mind on Christ. This may mean putting the phone down and spending more time with Jesus. 

It may mean turning off the TV or foregoing that trip out with friends. We are in the last days and time is short. Tomorrow is not promised. 

Have you noticed how the days are moving faster and faster? Nations are rising up against nations. There are earthquakes, famines, and wars everywhere. It is not even a shock nowadays to hear that some people are falling away from the faith. 

Time is truly winding up people of God and the King of Kings is soon to return. Will you be ready or will you be distracted? So let me encourage you and tell you. Don't allow the devil to distract you. Don't allow the world to distract you. Don't allow sin to distract you. Jesus Christ is worth so much more, much more. And He is the one who truly deserves our attention. 

Speaker 3: Seeking God every day should be the way of life for a Christian. God commands us to seek Him daily and not even to worry about tomorrow. As Jesus preaches the sermon on the Mount, He says in Matthew 6, verse 34, Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. 

Each day has enough trouble of its own. Since tomorrow is not promised, God wants us to focus on trusting Him today in the moment. We do this by running to God daily. 

We may worry about a health crisis or a financial situation, but God wants us to trust Him in those daily moments instead of worrying about what could or will happen. Lamentations 3, verse 22 to 23 says, 

Speaker 2: One of my favorite movies is Shawshank Redemption. And one of the main characters in the movie is Ellis Boyd Reading. He's known in the movie as Red. Red is one of the best smugglers in the prison and can get anyone just about anything they need inside the prison walls. One of the reasons Red is so good at smuggling is that he has been inside the prison for a very long time. When we first meet Red, he's up for parole after about 30 years of being in prison. He tells the parole board that he has been rehabilitated and wants to be set free from prison. Unfortunately, the board denies his parole. 

He would have done anything at the moment to get out of prison. Five years later, he goes in front of the parole board and they give him the same answer. Finally, after 40 years of being in the prison, they let Red out on parole. 

He received the freedom that he always wanted. However, after being out for a few weeks, he hates it. He is so familiar with living in the cell that he starts thinking about trying to find a way to return. He even thought about buying a gun to break his parole so he'd be sent back. 

He desired to go back to the very prison he hated. We often do the same thing as Christians. We are imprisoned to some sort of sin. God breaks those chains free. 

However, we eventually feel the desire of the prison calling for us and we run back. First Peter 2, verse 20 to 21, speaks to this. It says, Peter is talking about false teachers. Specifically, those who teach that you can live a life however you want after coming to Jesus. Those who teach that there is no need for repentance. It is better for that person to never claim that they knew the Lord than to turn to God and then turn away. To be clear, this is not saying that any Christian who has been drawn back into sin, they have already overcome by the power of the Spirit, will not receive forgiveness. However, if you claim to know the Lord, then completely forsake him and turn back to your old, worldly sin, you are outside of the Lord's grace and mercy. You are a dog that has returned to his own vomit to eat. We need not only think of this on the level of sin such as drug addiction or reentering a forbidden relationship. This happens on much smaller levels as well. Maybe God has broken you free from a food addiction or gossip. While you may say to yourself, it's not a big deal if I gossip about my friend's bad habits one more time. 

It is actually a big deal. In that moment, you are forsaking the work that the Spirit has done in your heart. This could be a slippery slope that leads you to forsaking the Lord in other areas of your life. If not careful, you may end up forsaking the Lord altogether. We have a wonderful opportunity to live a life of freedom through Jesus Christ. While the temptation we face can give us a thrill and falsely make us feel alive, sin will put us in the very cell we already escaped from. 

But let me tell you this. The blood of Jesus has set you free from that sin. You are forgiven. You are set free. Do not return to the very sin that has destroyed your life in the past. Don't go back to anything you had to pray your way out of. 

Speaker 4: A theologian by the name of Martin Luther once said something remarkable. He said, I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all. But whatever I have placed in God's hands that I still possess. 

Think about what we are being told here. Everything that this man has held on to and put his hands on, everything that he has tried to fix and change, he has lost it all. He has been unsuccessful with. But he says, whatever I have placed in God's hands that I still possess. 

In other words, he is saying, I have had better success in life when I have left things in God's hands. And dear friends, that is what I want to encourage you to do today. Leave it in God's hands. That means pray about it. Stand on God's word concerning that issue or problem. Fast and believe God for it. But more importantly, leave it in the hands of the master. 

And let me tell you this. When you take things into your hands, you are being disobedient to God. Because the Bible says, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. The Amplified translation for 1 Peter chapter five verse seven says, Casting all your cares, all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns once and for all on him. 

For he cares about you with deepest affection and watches over you very carefully. Furthermore, Philippians four verse six to seven says, Be anxious for nothing. But in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. This is telling you that if you have something you're worried about, pray about it. Make your requests known to God and leave it in his hands. 

If there is something that's making you anxious, the Bible tells you to cast all all your cares on Jesus Christ. Is there an issue with your children? Is there a private sin you're wrestling with? Whatever it is, remember that we are not to worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Only then can you and I experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. I want to tell you something. 

Speaker 2: If you've ever prayed for God to take you out of a certain situation, don't go back to it. If you've prayed for God to remove you from a toxic situation or an unstable environment, don't go back to it. If there is anything you've asked God to save you from and he does, don't go back to that very thing that once held you in bondage. Don't go back to anything you had to pray your way out of. 

And for those who've prayed for deliverance or freedom, once you have been delivered, once you've been set free, draw a line there and refuse to go backwards, refuse to look back. Let's say you were in a sinful relationship. You then prayed and prayed for the strength to make it out of that relationship. It was hard because you truly loved the person, but you knew it was not a relationship the Lord would want you to be in. Eventually, by the power of the Spirit, you have enough strength to leave the relationship. You are free from that relationship for a few months and life is going great. However, you start to feel the desire to re-enter a relationship with that person. God is calling you to flee. 

Why return to the same thing you prayed for God to deliver you from? While that desire may feel good for a little while, in the end, it will lead to destruction. You are flirting with bondage. By giving in to that evil desire, it makes it easier for you to give in to more evil desires in the future. Eventually, in the end, you may completely decide to walk away from the Lord. And according to Peter, it would have been better for you never to have known the Lord than to know him and then choose to turn away from God after following him. When you reject God after trying a relationship with him, in a sense, you are saying you have tasted and seen he is not good. 

Speaker 4: Philippians 1 verse 6 says, Being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. The amplified version says, I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will continue to perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus the time of his return. Take a moment and consider what does the Bible mean when it says this very thing? 

What is this very thing? Why should we be confident of it? Why is this very thing so important that it is associated with the beginning of a good work that will be completed until the day of Jesus? Saints, I believe that when the Bible talks about this very thing, it is talking about your salvation. And the reason I believe this is because when you are saved and when you accept Jesus Christ into your heart, you don't automatically become detached from your flesh. You don't automatically become this perfect person who never gets angry or upset. That's not the case. You need to work on your salvation by seeking more of Jesus Christ, by meditating on his word, by pursuing a closer relationship with him, by yielding to the Holy Spirit. 

Speaker 2: Let me put it this way. Faith says, I don't have to physically see the blood of Jesus for me to believe that I am protected. Faith says, I don't have to physically see angels for me to believe the Word of God that tells me that the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him. 

Faith says, I don't even have to see the Holy Spirit for me to believe that he has power and he is a comforter and a teacher. You see, faith is a requirement for every believer. It is the core of our Christian living. It's by faith that we come to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. It is also by faith that we live our lives with joy and gladness, knowing that there is eternity to be spent with the Father above. And perhaps one of the most prominent verses in the Bible about faith is Hebrews 11.6. 

But without faith, it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Are you standing in faith? Are you living by faith? 

Are you walking by faith? Faith is a life of action based on what you believe to be true. For example, the action of not worrying that is a result of you having the faith that God is in control. 

The action of not trying to fix everything. That too is a result of you having the faith that God is in control. Jesus Christ said, let not your hearts be troubled. Why did he say this? Because he wants you to have faith that he will take care of all your needs. Another way to understand or define faith can be summed up in the following way. Faith is doing your part, which is trusting God to do his part. Your part is to believe. 

That's all you need to do. And then you leave God to do his part. Your part is to stand on God's word. 

His word that says nothing is impossible with God. So let me ask you, are you doing your part? Are you believing? Are you believing and standing on God's word? Are you walking by faith and not by sight? Strong faith comes from knowing and believing that Jesus Christ not only rose from the dead, but he defeated the devil. 

He defeated death, hell, and the grave. Strong faith comes from meditating on God's word. Strong faith is cultivated and developed when you not only read the word of God, but you internalize it. 

You ponder on it and dwell on it. I would even go so far as saying, strong faith comes as a product of great trials. Circumstances change, people change, social norms and public perceptions change, but the word of God remains true forever. 

In the book of Matthew, Jesus says, heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. That's why we can stand confidently in him. That's why we can cling to him. 

When we feel like we're slipping away into the chaos of life, he will rescue us and place our feet back on solid ground. What does it mean to be unshakable in your faith? It doesn't mean never having doubts. It doesn't mean never being afraid. It simply means that when trouble comes our way, we don't panic. We don't lose hope. 

We don't turn to the world or to ourselves for answers. Instead, we are able to rest in the promises of God. The thing about Daniel and Paul and Moses was that they understood the stakes. 

They understood that even if nothing went their way, even if they ended up suffering deeply, it would be worth it because knowing Jesus was so valuable, so precious to them. Can the same be said for you? Do you treasure Jesus above your own life? He is worthy and he wants you to experience abundant life by trusting him and obeying his word. So when trouble comes your way, stand firm, be unsuable, be immovable, be unshakable. "

"[Text 2]
Speaker 1: People ask me all the time, you know, why is it, why is it that these heretics and false teachers have such vast ministries and such far reaches because the Bible is true? 

Speaker 2: Why are there so many preachers in this day and age who preach only about Jesus Christ as the good shepherd, as a merciful Lord, full of grace, but they do not preach Jesus Christ as a righteous judge? When talking about the passage in 2 Timothy 3 that warns us about the last days, just listen to this. 

Speaker 1: Timothy, there's going to come a time when people are going to run to heretics and run to false teachers, who are going to scratch their itching ears and in that time you must have a commitment to the gospel because if you don't, you'll start shaving off the edges. 

Speaker 2: According to the Bible, there's going to come a time when people will gather at the feet of false teachers. There is coming a day when people will sit in churches with itching ears. That means their only desire will be to hear the things they like, a watered down version 

Speaker 3: of the us in the Bible and allow them to guide our path. The Bible tells us in Psalm 119, verse 105, your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. For the next few moments, let us consider five signs as indicators that we may be in spiritual trouble or that danger is headed our way. I encourage you to deeply consider if you may be in danger of harming your walk with God or your life and that you allow God to lovingly correct you while there is still time. One, you are in spiritual danger when you become rebellious. God warns us constantly throughout his word to avoid becoming rebellious. In the Old Testament, the children of Israel are very frequently called out for being stiff-necked and rebellious. Just to put into perspective how bad rebellion is, let us take a look at an important scripture on the matter. In 1 Samuel chapter 15, King Saul of Israel is commanded by God to completely wipe out the Amalekites. 

Every living creature is to be destroyed. Saul does not do this. According to 1 Samuel, verse 8 to 9, Saul keeps the king alive and some of the quality animals. Saul is confronted for doing this. He tries to cover it all up by insisting that his rebellion toward what God had instructed him to do was actually for spiritual reasons. Saul has the nerve to act like he makes better decisions than God. Saul claims that the reason he did this was so that he could offer sacrifices to God. What Saul does not seem to realize is that God does not make mistakes. 

If God wanted sacrifices to be performed to him with the spoils obtained through the battle, he would have certainly asked for them. The fact of the matter is that Saul willingly disobeyed God. Because of this, Samuel is sent from God and delivers some devastating words to King Saul. We see this in verse 22 to 23 which say, Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king. We see here that God is much more interested in our obedience than he is in a sacrifice. King Saul would learn that God is serious when he commands something. 

Saul is told that the Lord is no longer willing for him to be king, and the cause is the rebellious heart of King Saul. I have noticed in my life that when I want to do something contrary to what I know God wants, I will try and package it up to be as palatable and acceptable as possible. However, if I am honest with myself, I will see that I often am openly rebelling against God and just need to get my heart right. We might try to justify our rebellion, but we have just seen that God equates it to divination or witchcraft. 

Let us use this story to avoid the dangers that rebellion will certainly bring us. Two, you are in spiritual danger when you become prideful. Pride is a common theme in the Bible. 

The danger signs are listed from cover to cover, and it would be in our best interest to pay attention to the warning. The Bible says, Proverbs 16, verse 18, pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. And then we are warned again in Proverbs 29, verse 23, that one's pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor. You can be sure that when you catch yourself being prideful, if you do not repent of that quickly, you will find yourself in spiritual danger. A prideful place is a dangerous place to be. Being filled with pride is practically an open invitation for God to bring you down to size, not because he is mean, but because he alone deserves our worship. Throughout society today, we see people who think much too highly of themselves. The Bible warns us that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. We all are in desperate need of God's grace, and he is less willing to provide us with that grace when we are arrogant and full of ourselves. This lesson was learned the hard way by a famous king named Nebuchadnezzar. 

In Daniel 4, verse 28-33, Nebuchadnezzar learns that being prideful puts a person in grave danger. He says, In his mind, he is the best thing to have ever happened to the world. In his mind, he alone built Babylon. He has no concept of the fact that God puts rulers where they are, even in ungodly nations. 

Any rank a person has achieved is because God allowed it to happen. As these prideful words leave his mouth, God steps in to intervene. He strips the king of all his lavish lifestyle right at that very moment. The king loses his mind and goes and lives in the fields like a wild beast until he comes to his senses. Amazingly, at the end of this, he comes to worship the one true God. He just had to lose everything, including his sanity, to be in a humble enough place to look to God. When a person becomes prideful, they are at risk of losing everything. Friend, let's ensure we keep our pride in check before an event like this occurs in our lives. 

3. You are in spiritual danger when you lose your care for the things of God. Another sign we can use to determine if we are heading for spiritual danger is if we seem to have lost interest in the things of God. We see here how God responds to the church at Ephesus about their loss of zeal for the things of God. 

Revelation 2, verse 2 to 5 says, I know your works, your toil, and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen. Repent and do the works you did at first. 

If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent. Notice that this church is still mentioned as currently having good attributes and good works that are indeed worthy of respect. Their problem is, however, that they are beginning to trend downward as far as their passion for the things of God goes. God notices this downward trend and tells them that they need to change. God is informing them that they need to rekindle that love that they had for the things of God like at the start and climb back to that mountain top of faith. 

Let's do a heart check. Have we lost any of our love for the things of God? Does reading His word, praying, or spending time with the people of God just not excite us anymore? 

Let's work on correcting this while we can. God wants us to return to days when we were burning bright with a desire to know God and make Him known to others. Four, you are in spiritual danger when you become distracted. People are well aware that driving a vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol is a potentially deadly choice for the driver and others. There are signs everywhere that are pleading with people to not drive under the influence. From texting to applying makeup, it seems more and more people are out driving our roadways distracted. 

This is dangerous. Spiritually speaking, I fear we have many Christians who are completely distracted. Does the Bible speak on distraction? 

Yes, it most certainly does. 1 Peter 5 verse 8 Be sober-minded. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. If a lion was prowling around your backyard, what would you do? Even worse, what if that lion had access to your house, your bedroom, the bedrooms of your family? 

I am sure you would want to prepare yourself for such a battle. And you should, because this lion certainly exists and his name is Satan. We as Christians need to be vigilant and anticipate attacks from the devil. We need to be busy arming ourselves for spiritual warfare. The worst thing a Christian could do is lie there asleep or drunk while a lion is roaming about looking for an easy meal. 

Fighting a lion is hard enough when you are prepared for it, even more so when you are caught off guard. Thankfully for us, there are some things to do that will keep us alert and help protect us from spiritual danger. Reading our Bibles and studying them diligently, praying, and going to church are all ways to stay diligent. Let us heed the clear warning in Scripture of staying alert and avoid becoming distracted. 

5. You are in spiritual danger when you are too comfortable. Is there anything inherently wrong with being comfortable? 

Extra leg room on a flight, freshly washed sheets in bed, a nice hot shower? There is nothing wrong with any of these things. There is nothing wrong with comfort. However, like many things in life, sometimes too much of a good thing can quickly turn into a bad thing. We tend to become somewhat spoiled when we become too comfortable. The Bible warns us Proverbs 27 verse 7, 1 who is full loathes honey, but to one who is hungry, everything bitter is sweet. 

Honey is great. When we have luxuries like this or any other comforts God allows us to have, we should enjoy them. But there is a difference between enjoying and overindulging. The Bible tells us that we can get to such a place of comfort that the luxuries we should enjoy become disgusting to us and dangerous to our spiritual lives. We need to avoid being in a place of abundant comfort. 

When we become intoxicated by all the comforts we enjoy, this has the potential to cause us to take it all for granted and to become so comfortable that we do not lean on God like we should. When my family and I are out preaching the gospel, time and time again, we see more people come to Christ in economically challenged neighborhoods than others. The reasoning for this is the fact that these people typically do not enjoy an over abundance of comfort. Going without luxuries or even essentials in some cases, causes people to be more humble and to see their need for God. 

This of course is just a generalization. The truth remains, regardless, we as Christians need to avoid becoming too comfortable. We have seen just how important it is to take the warning signs we find in Scripture and apply them to our own lives to protect ourselves spiritually. 

Speaker 2: Dear friends, the focus of today's prayer is all to do with our habits. Habits can reveal important things about our lives. Our habits reflect our thoughts. Our habits reflect our priorities. But our habits also reflect where our hearts are. And your heart is only ever in one of two places. 

With God in His will and in obedience to His word. Or it's in the world and in darkness. And people always think when we say darkness, we mean witchcraft or evil rituals. Darkness is absence from God. You don't have to be a bad person to be in darkness. You don't have to be an evil person to be in darkness. 

It's a state of being away from God. That's darkness. God is light. God is life. Jesus said in John 8, verse 12, I am the light of the world. 

Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. That's why the Bible says, do not conform to this world. Because the moment you conform, you're in darkness. You're in darkness because you have conformed to an authority that is not godly. The Bible says repeatedly, do not fear. 

Why? Because there is no fear in Jesus. And if you walk in Him, you walk in light. You walk with a sound mind, in a spirit of power and love. But if you walk in fear, you walk in darkness. Because fear is not nor can it be found in the Lord. You find fear when you move out of the light and walk in darkness. One of the most popular phrases is, walk by faith, not by sight. 

But think about it. When you walk by faith, you see Jesus. When you walk by faith, God's word is a lamp onto your feet. But when you walk by sight, you see this world. 

You see darkness. That's what walk by faith, not by sight, really means. Walk in the light of God, not in the darkness of this world. 

So once again, where are your habits leading you? To walk by faith? To walk in light? 

In Jesus? Or to walk in the world? To walk in darkness? People today are unaware that your habits, the things that you do day in and day out, the things that control you can lead you to dark places. Darkness is not just some evil corner in hell where all demons and bad spirits meet up. You can be going to church, but if God isn't the number one priority in your life, then you're in darkness. If God's not first, if there isn't a burning desire to know Him, to obey Him, then you're in darkness. 

And here's what happens when people don't have God first in their hearts. Some will be controlled by their work, their business, or money. For them, it's all about working. 

It's all about their career, when really, it should be all about the Lord. Some people become slaves to jealousy and envy. If it looks good, makes them feel good, they want it. 

And if you have something they don't, then jealousy kicks in. Be careful about your habits. Be careful concerning where your habits will take you. And so I want us for the next few moments to go before the Lord and pray that He will give us godly habits. May He help us to cultivate habits that will bring us closer to Him. 

Speaker 4: The Bible in Galatians 6 verse 9 says, Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Don't get tired of doing good, on a daily basis that is. People of God, we need to develop strong routines that are firmly centered around Jesus Christ. And one of the main habits that we need to develop is daily communion with the Holy Spirit. 

The amplified translation for Ephesians 5 verse 18 says, Do not get drunk with wine, for that is wickedness, corruption, stupidity, but be filled with the Holy Spirit and constantly guided by Him. When we're filled with the Holy Spirit, then that means we're always led by the Spirit. It means we're constantly being guided by the Spirit. 

It's a state of dependency. You're no longer dependent on yourself, or on your resources, or your circle of influence, but you're dependent on the Holy Ghost day in and day out. That's why it's so important to be filled with the Holy Spirit. You find that when you're filled with the Holy Spirit, you're more sensitive to the voice of God. 

Your heart becomes more responsive to the things of God, to the instructions of God. With the Holy Spirit, you can read, enjoy, and understand the Word of God in a way that's different than if you tried it on your own. So strive to make it a habit that each day you spend time with the Holy Spirit. 

Spend that time developing and building a relationship with the Lord through the help, the guidance, and the leadership of the Holy Ghost. Now let's go to God in prayer. Dear Father, God I thank you. 

I honor you and I praise you. Lord, I thank you for being more than enough, and all that I need. God, I thank you for giving me life, giving me health, and giving me another chance. And Lord, as I come before you today, I ask that you would help me to be a believer who fully depends on you. Lord, I pray that I would be someone who's completely devoted to you. May the Holy Spirit influence me on a daily basis. Ephesians 5, verses 1 and 2 say, Therefore be imitators of God as dear children, and walk in love as Christ also has loved us and given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma. 

Lord Jesus, my desire is to imitate you. When you walked on this earth, the Bible tells us that you often withdrew from the disciples. You often withdrew from other people so that you could pray to God the Father. And Lord, I pray that you would give me that same grace to model my life around the example that you sent. Help me to withdraw from the world and from all the busyness of life so that I can spend time alone with you in prayer. 

Lord, let that be my habit. When you walked on this earth, Lord, you showed people from all types of backgrounds, compassion and love and mercy. You would eat with sinners. You would love on those who were shunned by society. Help me to love others, Lord. 

Those who don't look like me, who don't sound like me, who don't have the same background as me. Help me to love my neighbor with a Godly love. Help me to love others regardless of their sin. Lord, help me not to judge others because of their sin. For I too am a sinner saved by grace, one who is in need of your mercy and your compassion, King Jesus. When you walk this earth, Lord, you are about your Father's business. 

You put your will aside so that the will of God the Father would be done. Lord, I pray for that kind of heart. A heart that puts your will before mine. 

A heart that puts you first. Let it be my delight to obey your word and fulfill the purpose and the plans that you have over my life. The Bible says in Ephesians 5, verses 15 through 17, therefore see that you walk carefully, living life with honor, purpose and courage, shunning those who tolerate and enable evil, not as the unwise, but as wise, sensible, intelligent, discerning people, making the very most of your time on earth, recognizing and taking advantage of each opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence, because the days are filled with evil. 

Therefore do not be foolish and thoughtless, but understand and firmly grasp what the will of the Lord is. Father, please help me to walk up rightly. Help us as your children to walk with wisdom and honor before you. Raise us up to be a faithful people, a people who are not foolish and thoughtless, but raise us up to be a people who understand and firmly grasp what the will of the Lord is. 

Raise us up to be a people who are obedient to your will, Lord Jesus. Lord, I ask that you would renew my strength daily. I know your grace is sufficient for me, each and every day. You extend the grace so that I may walk in obedience to your commands. 

Lord, I pray that my daily habits would be beneficial to my soul and to my spirit. Let me not sow into the flesh, because the flesh is corrupt and I don't want to reap a corrupt harvest. But instead, Lord, I pray that you would revive my spirit. Quicken my spirit, Lord, so that I may sow into that which gives me eternal life. 

And Lord, I know that that is you. You, King Jesus, give me eternal life. God, I thank you for hearing my prayer. I glorify you for being a loving and a caring God. It's in the mighty name of Jesus that we pray this prayer. Amen. ""[Text 3]
Speaker 1: There was a man who absolutely despised his neighbor. For the most part, his neighbor was a nice person. His neighbor was someone who caused no drama. He made friendly small talk when the opportunity arose, and he even offered his help to others in the community. Now, the reason that this man despised his neighbor had nothing to do with the man's character or what this man had done. The reason he despised his neighbor was because of jealousy and envy. The neighbor always looked like he had it all together. The grass always looked greener next door. The neighbor's lawn was always in perfect condition. 

He always drove bigger and nicer cars, and he had a much more lucrative job. All of this produced fertile ground for jealousy to develop, and this is what I call the evil eye. An eye filled with jealousy, an eye that envies others. And the most dangerous thing about having an evil eye is that jealousy and envy prevent us from seeing the work of God in our lives. The book of James talks about jealousy. It says in James 3, verse 16, for where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. When we're jealous, we actually cause disorder. 

This in turn causes disorder for us and the people around us. In the next chapter of James, we learn a little more about jealousy. James 4, verse 2 to 3 says, you desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain. 

So you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passion. Now, what James is trying to show us is that when we covet and have envy, our hearts are off. When we're often wanting the wrong things, we ask for things to fulfill our own passions and desires instead of fulfilling the kingdom of God. 

Many people will take the words of Jesus out of context. For example, he says, ask anything in my name and you will receive it. Jesus is not telling us if we simply add in the name of Jesus to the end of a prayer, then we will receive what we ask for. The Lord is not an ATM machine that spits out what we want if we just hit the right buttons. He's telling us when we pray in the name of Jesus and when our hearts and desires match with his heart and desires, we will receive whatever we ask for in prayer. 

James is getting at the same point here. When we ask God for things to fulfill our evil desires built from jealousy and envy, we're asking wrongly and will not receive what we pray for. Reflect on some of your recent prayers. Are you praying that God will accomplish certain things in your life in order to fulfill your evil desires? 

Or are you asking in order for God to move his kingdom forward? That will show you if you have an evil eye of jealousy and envy. What can make jealousy and envy even worse is that it leads to other negative emotions. Jealousy and envy are the fertile ground with which bitterness and pride can grow. If you're jealous of somebody else's possession, you may start to become bitter that they have it and not you. 

Even worse, you may be bitter at God for not giving you what you desire. Jealousy can also lead to you living beyond your means. You see your neighbor driving around with a new car and you think you should also have a new car. However, you do not make enough money to afford that car. But then because of envy and jealousy, even after you crunch the numbers, you get the car anyway. Envy and jealousy can drive people to become financially irresponsible and some end up having to live off credit cards. One credit card turns into five credit cards. 

It becomes a giant game of keeping up with the Joneses. Your evil eye puts you in a position that is not good for you. Instead of our eyes being filled with evil, such as jealousy and envy, our eyes should be filled with the light and love of God. Our hearts should be so fixated on the kingdom of God, so much so that the things that cause us envy and jealousy do not bother us. As in the words of Jesus, we should seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. We should not build our life on receiving things or reaching a certain status. 

Everything we own will one day end up in a trash dump or in somebody's attic. The only thing that truly matters is where you stand with King Jesus. The kingdom of God will last forever. Let's be kingdom people that turn our eyes to God instead of worldly statuses and possessions. 

Worldly desires often push people to become envious and jealous. Don't let an evil eye get in the way of what the Lord is trying to do in your life. Take time to pray and examine your own heart to see if your evil eye is getting in the way of what the Lord is trying to do. And the Bible calls for each of us to examine ourselves. Plemination 3 verse 40 says, Let us test and examine our ways and return to the Lord. 

This tells me that every believer needs to test and examine themselves to determine their true spiritual standing. Are you all in for Jesus Christ? Or is there compromise in your life? Is there some acceptance of sin? 1 Corinthians 11 verse 28 says, Let a person examine himself, then and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. Examine what you tolerate in your life. What do you give room to? Is there any pride, any envy, or jealousy in your life? Have you truly examined yourself and assessed where you stand with Jesus? 

I believe it's important for each of us to test and see if the attitudes of our heart, soul, and mind are in perfect alignment with those of Jesus Christ. How do you know that you're in the presence of evil? It's not like a dark cloud appears and the room suddenly feels icy and cold. It's not like some eerie music begins to play out of nowhere and serves as a warning. So how does a child of God know when they are in the presence of evil? 

Well, there can be an uneasiness within you. You'll feel strongly compelled by the Holy Spirit, and you will know that you're in the wrong place. But how about when the evil is more subtle? Say, it's not so much the atmosphere or the place, but rather how do you pick up on evil if it's within a person? How can we as Christians pick up on some of the signs that tell us whether or not another person we associate with is being influenced by a demonic or unclean spirit? 

And you really have to be in the Lord in order to pick this up, because it's not obvious to the naked eye. Everyone looks normal and presentable on the outside. Everyone cleans up, dresses up so well on the outside, but internally they could be in a sorry, wretched, evil state. Whether we realize it or not, the people we surround ourselves with greatly impact our happiness, success, and our faith. 

I'd like to give you some quick illustrations just to highlight the dangers of having certain types of people around you. Some arctic animals have evolved unique camouflage to blend in with their surroundings. The most obvious example is the polar bear. These large predators have white fur that makes them nearly invisible as they hunt on the white sea ice. But also the arctic fox is another clever predator. Apparently, as winter mirrors, arctic foxes shed their dark fur and begin growing all white fur to blend in with the snow and ice. And so just as a conning fox disguises itself to prey on unsuspecting animals, people sent by the devil may appear harmless, but can cause significant harm to our spiritual well-being. 

Another illustration takes us into the world of biology. There are many different ways that a virus can spread rapidly through a community or a group of people. And just like a virus, the devil can send people who can infect our relationships with toxicity, causing strife and division wherever they go. 

So with that being said, how can you and I identify the kinds of people we should associate with and develop relationships with? The first group of people that you should avoid and beware of are those who embrace their sin. These are the people who still enjoy and indulge in sinful activity. And we should avoid such people because the Bible warns us against this. The Amplified Translation of 1 Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 11 says, But actually, I have written to you not to associate with any so-called Christian brother if he is sexually immoral or greedy, or as an idolater, devoted to anything that takes the place of God, or as a reviler, who insults or slanders or otherwise verbally abuses others, or as a drunkard or a swindler. 

You must not so much as eat with such a person. The Bible here is clearly telling us not to keep company with those who indulge in sin. There is a clear difference between someone who is struggling with sin and someone who indulges in sin. For those who indulge in sin, the Bible instructs us to avoid such a person, and not to so much as eat with such a person. I believe the Bible so explicitly warns us about sinful people like this because they could very well offer us some of what they are indulging in. Another type of person that we should avoid is the one described in Proverbs, chapter 24, verse 1 and 2. The Bible reads, Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, for their hearts devise violence, and their lips talk of trouble. 

I like that the Bible uses the word desire, because we can and probably have at some point desired to be with a certain group of people or to fit into a certain circle. But the Bible is saying, if those people are evil, have no desire to be with them. And you may be asking, what exactly am I classing as evil? 

Sin is evil in God's eyes. This is why we are told clearly that we should not envy the wealth of the wicked or crave their company. We should have no desire to be in the company of self-righteous people, or selfish people, or prideful people. This isn't to say walk around with a judgmental attitude trying to find out people's weaknesses or sins. 

No. It simply means be attentive, be careful around such people. As a child of God, you should know that bad company ruins good morals. So you should take every measure to not expose yourself to people who can potentially disturb your walk with God. Another group of people you should avoid at all costs are those with a religious spirit. A religious spirit is a demonic spirit that influences a person to replace a genuine relationship with the Lord, with their works. We should never turn a blind eye to this type of person, because they are a danger to our faith. Someone with a religious spirit is so focused and preoccupied with the rules, the systems and how things ought to be done that they forget about the main thing. And that is the Lord himself. A religious spirit hardens the heart of people against God, and we need to be aware of its subtle influences. 

In 2 Timothy 3, verse 4-5, the Bible tells us that in the last days, men will be treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. Anyone with the appearance of godliness, you should avoid. Now in saying all of this, I am by no means telling you to completely shun them away, rebuke them and condemn them. 

This is not the case. We are to love our neighbor, but some neighbors can be loved from a distance, meaning that you pray for them. You intercede on their behalf and go before the Lord so that they would be set free. 

A true Christian will not condemn anyone because they realize that they themselves have been given mercy, and so we are to extend that to others. The next time you encounter someone who you should be avoiding for the sake of your faith, this is what you should do. The first thing you should do is spend as little time as possible with them. The second thing to do is that you should always try and shift the conversation topic to be about the Lord, about the word of God, and about repentance. 

Now the third thing is the key thing you ought to do. You should pray for them. Pray for the Lord to have mercy on them so that they would see the error of their ways. Even if we should avoid these people, we can still love them with the love of God. 

Speaker 2: A man went on a trip with a group of friends, and during the course of that trip they met a local man who gave each of them souvenirs. Now this particular guy took these souvenirs without knowing that those items were part of ceremonial practice that was evil and occultic in nature. 

When he got back from his travels, he placed these ornaments in his home. That very night, things started to change and things started to happen. He had opened a spiritual wide open for the devil to walk straight into his home. He started to experience unusual things. There was unrest in his heart. 

He felt weighed down, oppressed even, like there was a massive weight on his shoulders. The sleepless nights and nightmares started. He became a man filled with fear. He became fearful of everything and anything. He started to experience all sorts of things that were not from the Lord simply because of a lack of knowledge and a lack of vigilance, a combination that left him spiritually open. So he confided in his father who brought the pain. The pastor now took the items and said, we need to burn these things. This is the cause for all the unrest you have been experiencing. 

You, my son, have been under spiritual attack. So they started a fire and threw the items in. Ten minutes passed, twenty minutes passed, and these items were not burning. They added a bit more fuel and gave it another ten minutes. Nothing. 

No sign of those things burning. So both the pastor and father began to pray and praise the name of the Lord. They started to call on the name of Jesus. They started to speak the blood. They started to speak the word of God. And those things began to melt and burn. The lesson here is that you should be careful regarding any items or things you accept as gifts. Now, there's an interesting biblical story that teaches us about the potential spiritual consequences of taking in objects and things. In Joshua chapter seven, the story of a man named Achan. Here's how it unfolded. Joshua sent some of his men from Jericho to spy out the town of Ai. When they returned, they told Joshua, there's no need for all of us to go up there. It won't take more than two or three thousand men to attack Ai. 

Since there are so few of them, don't make all our people struggle to go up there. So approximately three thousand warriors were sent, but they were soundly defeated. The men of Ai chased the Israelites from the town gate as far as the quarries, and they killed about thirty-six who were retreating down the slope. The Israelites were paralyzed with fear at this turn of events, and their courage melted away. Joshua and the elders of Israel tore their clothing in dismay, threw dust on their heads, and bowed face down to the ground before the Ark of the Lord until evening. Then Joshua cried out, Oh sovereign Lord, why did you bring us across the Jordan River if you are going to let the Amorites kill us? Joshua knew that something had gone badly wrong. They had just brought down the walls of Jericho, and besides that, God had promised to be with them wherever they went. But somehow, they had seemingly lost their way. At this point in the story, only God knows the true explanation. Now after Joshua prayed, here's what God answered, saying, Get up! 

Why are you lying on your face like this? Israel has sinned and broken my covenant. They have stolen some of the things that I commanded must be set apart for me, and they have not only stolen them, but have lied about it and hidden the things among their own belongings. That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now Israel itself has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction. 

Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says. Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for the Lord. 

You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you. In the morning you must present yourselves by tribes, and the Lord will point out the tribe to which the guilty man belongs. That tribe must come forward with its clans, and the Lord will point out the guilty clan. That clan will then come forward, and the Lord will point out the guilty family. Finally, each member of the guilty family must come forward one by one. 

The one who has stolen what was set apart for destruction will himself be burned with fire, along with everything he has, for he has broken the covenant of the Lord and has done a horrible thing in Israel. Now when morning came, it was revealed that Akan had stolen a beautiful robe and 200 silver coins and a bar of gold weighing more than a pound. Akan was one of the soldiers from the tribe of Judah who took part in the Battle of Jericho. 

Akan took a few things for himself, even though Joshua had commanded everyone to stay away from anything belonging to Jericho. All of it was accursed. Akan's greed led to Israel's defeat at eye. The story of Akan then ends tragically because Joshua and all the Israelites took Akan, the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, daughters, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, tent, and everything he had, and they brought them to the valley of Acre and stoned them. The Bible tells us that they piled a great heap of stones over Akan, which remains to this day. That is why the place has been called the valley of trouble ever since, so the Lord was no longer angry. From this story, we must be aware that Akan took items that were cursed, and this resulted in devastating consequences. God's judgment fell on the nation because of Akan's sin. Verses 2 to 5 describe the battle and Israel's defeat. 

Nearly 36 Israelite soldiers lost their lives needlessly in what should have been an easy battle, but became a bitter defeat. The Bible says, Do not be in the category of people who perish because of a lack of knowledge. A lack of knowledge that if you give the devil an inch, he will take a mile. 

A lack of knowledge that the devil will dress himself up as something harmless. There couldn't possibly be anything wrong with a souvenir. There's nothing wrong with me accepting a gift from someone while I'm traveling the world. That souvenir has really come from? Do you know what spirit, what atmosphere, or what you're inviting into your home when you're watching that film? Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 6 to 9 says, And on your gates. In this passage, God instructs the children of Israel to keep the word of God in a prominent role in the household. Now, the home plays an integral part in the life of the believer. As Christians, our homes should be. They need to be homes where the name of God, the presence of God, is always resident. The home should be a sanctuary, a holy place. It should be a place of peace, serenity, and joy. 

It should be a place where God's word is elevated and lived out. Now, that's all good and well for me to say, but in a practical sense, if the home is indeed a sanctuary, if our home is a place where God's presence should abide, then we should just not allow certain activities, practices, and forms of entertainment in the home. I submit to you that we should be more vigilant about the things we allow in our homes. We need to be aware that just as we close and lock the physical doors in our homes, we need to do the same spiritually. 

Speaker 3: There's an old saying, when it rains, it pours. Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever felt like there's something going on in your life and it's deeper than what your eyes can see? 

Have you ever felt like there's something going on in your family or in your household that doesn't seem natural? Like there's some other force at work because it's one thing after another. It's attack after attack. 

It's battle after battle. From another perspective, have you ever felt like when things are going wrong at home, they tend to carry over in other areas of life? It's like when something is going on with your kids at home and it affects your work. Or when something is going on in your marriage and it affects your interaction with your kids. 

Or if something is going on at work and it affects all of the above. It quickly becomes apparent that all of these things are interconnected. And it also reminds us that if the devil can get a foothold in one area, then he has gained a foothold in all of these areas. The devil is trying in an unprecedented way to destroy families today. He wants to disrupt the family system and order. Satan knows that if the Christian family is intact, if the Christian family is working in one accord, then it's one of the strongest weapons against his deceptions. From the day that Satan spewed his lies to Eve, he was in the process of disruption. In order to maximize his deception, he approached Eve when she was alone. 

He approached her when she was separated from the family unit. And he did this because a divided family is easier to conquer. The devil is in the business of sowing discord and division in our homes. 

He's in the business of causing senseless fights and conflicts. The devil is in the business of causing husbands' hearts to stray away from their wives. And vice versa, he wants the hearts of wives to stray from their husbands. The enemy is in the business of causing children to be rebellious and to have a complaining spirit. 

Satan wants to destroy our households because he knows that a spiritually weak home is the easiest way to take us away from God. He's not new at this. He's been at it for a long, long time. The strategy of Satan is to attempt to divide and conquer the family. Immediately after that, he instigates destruction between the same family members. And the Bible is full of stories of dysfunctional families that fell to the disruption of the enemy. If Satan was able to disrupt the families of giants of faith such as Abraham, Jacob, David and Solomon, then we should be aware of the enemy's schemes and prepare to defend our homes. Now, when it comes to guarding ourselves and our families against the deceptions and invasions of the enemy, the first question is, how does the devil gain access to our homes and minds? 

How does he try to gain access to disrupt our families and our lives? One of the biggest ways that the devil gains a foothold in our families today is through media. Music, movies and social media are huge access points to our families. Music accesses our brains and bodies in a way that few other mediums do. The messages in music today are ripe with sinful themes like lust, sex, violence, rebellion, among other sinful things. 

This is one of the easiest ways for Satan to gain access to our minds and souls. We listen to lyrics with this content and become desensitized to it. Before we know it, we begin to think that these sinful themes are not so bad and lust, fornication, violence and rebellion have taken root in our hearts and in our homes. Along these same lines, movies and television are perfect pathways for the enemy to take root in our homes. We constantly watch things full of violence, sex, cursing and all kinds of other images that lodge themselves in our brains and hearts. 

Studies have shown that by fifth grade the average child has seen 8,000 murders on television. Think about that. Think about how Satan might be using that to gain a foothold in our households, not to mention all of the blatantly demonic content in TV and movies. There are full movies and shows directly about demons, spirits and evil spiritual forces that we readily let into our homes. We are literally opening the door for Satan to come and dwell in our homes. 

The same goes for social media which has all of these same elements but also has the added seduction of obsession with self, image and other people's opinions. The question for us now is how do we resist the wiles of the devil in our families? How can we close the doors through which the enemy can enter? First, we can be much more vigilant about the entertainment choices we allow in our households. We need to monitor all the content in our homes in one way or another. An additional strategy when it comes to safeguarding our homes and families is that we should cultivate regular family worship and devotional time together. If a family is starting or ending their days in prayer, worship and Bible study, that makes it much more difficult for the devil to get a foothold in that family. That family has girded themselves with the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit. Taking up this armor of God in our families is what will guard them against the deceptions and temptations of the enemy. Let us put on the armor like spiritual warriors. Let us guard our homes from the enemy. Let us resist the devil and he will flee from us. Amen. ""[Text 4]
Speaker 1: I would like to offer you a biblical perspective on a recent article published by the World Economic Forum. This article addresses four global risks to look out for in the post-pandemic era. 

These four areas are as follows. Number one. Power disperses in a post-superpower era. Number two. 

A big election year won't stop our recurrent crisis of political legitimacy. Number three. A more complex global mental health crisis. 

Number four. An era of shock events. Now before we dive in and look at what is potentially coming, I want to clearly state this. The Bible tells us repeatedly, do not fear. Do not be afraid. Fear not. 

Be anxious for nothing. It's the same message spoken in different ways. And I want you to remember that. As you listen, you should not be fearful, but rather prayerful. 

Fear is not in the DNA of a child of God. Let's dive in. In an article titled, Four Global Risks to Look Out For in the Post-Pandemic Era, the WEF states the following. Look for global risks to be further exacerbated by unexpected, destabilizing shock events. What does this mean? 

To someone in their home listening, they may hear the words, global risk, destabilizing shock events, and they'll be in panic mode. But here's the amazing thing. Even in news such as this, the Bible has already told us this. 

Just look at this. Second Timothy chapter 3, verse 1 says, But mark this, there will be terrible times in the last days. And then Luke chapter 21, verse 25 to 26 says, There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. So you see, there is nothing new that can happen on this earth that we haven't been warned about. The Bible is clear as it warns us of what will come. So if some organization announces to the world that there are shock events to come, events that will destabilize the world, believers in Christ should just say, Yes, we know. And then they should say, We're not worried. 

We have God on our side. Another portion of the article reads, So expect more extreme climate events that further exacerbate our mental health, especially for growing numbers of climate refugees. Second, AI is being imposed on us, whether we like it or not. 

Many will feel they do not fit into this new AI driven economy, or are not even being offered a chance, creating a greater precarious class who feel left behind. The world is being awakened. If you are to listen carefully, if you are to look carefully, you will notice that things are changing. The tide is shifting and there is a spiritual awakening happening. Some are drawing closer and closer to the darkness of this world, as there is a moral collapse in society today. Life is no longer valued. 

People's hearts are growing colder by the day. People are being consumed by the lusts of this world. There is a seduction of sin. 

There is popularity and prosperity for those who teach demonic doctrines. And the Bible warns us. It warns us and says, Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you. He is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short. The devil is certainly aggressive in these last days. 

But let me tell you this. As aggressive as the enemy is, as sinful as the world is becoming, many are turning to Christ because they are in need of hope. Many are turning to Christ because no one else can carry their burdens. In these last days, many are turning to God because they need divine love, divine protection, and true peace. 

Speaker 2: So how do you know, how do you test your own motivation to determine whether what you're doing is truthful or just another snare of deception? 

Speaker 3: See, I think one place with respect that I think you are wrong on this subject and that you miss it is that you think human beings have the capability to divine between, decide between left, right, truth, lie, all these things that are going on. And we're just not capable of it. 

Speaker 1: We need more Christians like this. Christians who know their Bible and, more importantly, are not afraid to speak accordingly in line with the Scripture. 

Speaker 3: I am not looking at the real Jordan Peterson. I'm looking at what Jordan Peterson lives in for a while. You're not looking at John Rich. I just live in this thing for a while. The real Jordan Peterson lives forever. He's an eternal being. He was created by the Creator and he was put in that body that you're in right now to last as long as it's going to last. And then that body is going to die and then the real Jordan is released from that body. 

Same way it goes for me. So the only way a human being can discern what is true and what is a lie is you better have Jesus inside of you because he's the ultimate truth. Let's unpack this for a moment. 

Speaker 1: Now, a human being is made up of three parts, the spirit, the soul, and the body. How do we know this? Well, the Bible in 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 23 says, Now, the heart is found in the soul, which is the seat of emotions and affections. It's the center of human personality, the will, the reasoning, the intellect, memory, and conscience. In the heart, the heart is the center of human personality, the will, the reasoning, the intellect, In fact, I would like to describe it this way. 

The heart is an arena. It's the center of everything that a believer needs to guard concerning their lives. It's a battleground where all the fights in your life take place. The fight between good and evil takes place in your heart. The fight between God and earthly idols. 

That takes place in your heart. The fight to wake up early and pray. Stay up late to pray. 

Spend time in the word. All of these are issues dealt with in the heart. And so, when you think of your heart as an arena, you appreciate that not everything must be allowed to land in that space. And so, here's why I believe we're told to guard our hearts. It's because God wants to land in the arena of our heart. 

He wants to sit on the throne of our heart. But so does the devil. And so do you, with your own will and selfish desires. So, without Jesus Christ in your heart, you are lost and incapable of being loving, forgiving, or defeating sin. 

Speaker 3: So, if you've got the real truth living in you, which is not something you have on your own, we're inherently evil, doctor. We are born into sin. Sin is anything that is less than perfection. You don't have to be a murderer to be a sinner. You don't have to be something terrible to be a sinner. Anything less than absolute perfection in the eyes of the Lord is sin. So, we are sin. We are in a continual state of it. And you can't escape it. But the only way you're able to navigate through that and go to heaven when you die is that you brought the Son of God, you've asked Him to come in and turned over your will to Him. 

Speaker 1: No one is without sin. We have to know that. The Bible says in Romans 3, verse 10, As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. If you put your hope in people, in a pastor, you will be disappointed. Only Jesus Christ is perfect. 

It's only Jesus Christ who can never disappoint you. Now, my second point is that we all, to some degree, have to fight against living a double life. There is a battle between who you are in public and who you are in private. God sees the heart. God sees what's done in private. 

God sees what's done in the darkness. If we claim to be followers of Christ, we cannot be split down the middle. When it comes to faith in Jesus Christ, there is no such thing as a neutral stance. You cannot have one foot in and one foot out when it comes to the things of God. 

Speaker 4: Every now and again, we need a reality check. The pain in your body reminds you that you're not invincible. It reminds you that you're not Superman. You're not superwoman. A disease can come out of nowhere and remind you about your mortality. You see, every now and again, we need to have a reality check. 

And I don't know about you. But have you ever had the sense that God is giving you a reality check? Perhaps everything in your life has been good. And all of a sudden, a storm comes out of nowhere. But it's God's way of reminding you that you still need Him, regardless of how well you're doing. 

You still need Jesus. 1 Peter 4.17-19 says, For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God. And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome of those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? 

Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. Don't you find this to be thought-provoking? Don't you find this to be a reality check for every Christian man or woman? We all know that there will be a day of judgment with the Lord. We all know that there is a book of life. 

We know that. There is a day where all of our works will be tried by fire. But what challenges me about this passage of Scripture? In 1 Peter 4 is the location of where God's judgments begin. Verse 17 says, For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God. For judgment to begin. You mean to tell me that we, the church, are judged first? God's judgment begins with us. This to me shows that God is just. His judgment isn't simply reserved for those who reject Christ, but even those who are in the church. 

It's a reality check. Judgment begins with those who confess to be Christians. Now, how many of us are ready to be judged? You would think that since we are active Christians in the church, we would always be ready for God's judgment. But I am of the opinion that if God were to cast judgment on us in this very moment, many of us would simply not be ready. 

We wouldn't be prepared. The Bible points us to the danger of being scarcely saved yet in the church, meaning that too many people are professing Christ, but they are barely saved. Matthew 7 verse 21 to 23 says, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. But the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you. 

Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. The people who say Lord, Lord are people in the church. But Jesus is saying, although you're in the church, although you know the lingo and the mannerisms, when judgment day comes, do you have me in your heart? 

There is no room for hypocrisy in our lives as believers. We have to be completely loving and living for God in order for us to spend eternity with Him. So the question is, how many of you in the church have a genuine love for Jesus Christ? How many of us are genuinely saved? 

And on the other hand, how many are fake but claim to be genuine? God is aware that there are some among us who are imposters and hypocrites. So judgment has to begin in the church. 

And I wonder, what will be the fate of hypocrites in the church? The people who put on a mask and pretend to be something they are not. The people who claim to know and follow Jesus. But they behave in a way that counteracts the Lord. The Bible says in Matthew 6 verse 1, beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them. For then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Verse 5, and when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners that they may be seen by others. 

Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. Now by no means should you be under the impression that we are the ones who can judge and determine a hypocrite. Because ultimately, it's an issue of the heart and only God knows the heart. But we must examine and judge ourselves in a way to make sure that we are not the hypocrites spoken of in the Bible. 

So the message here is to check your heart. We're given clear commands to follow all throughout the Bible. And if we are in Christ, we should be fully committed to being obedient. The Bible says that all who love God must also love their brothers and sisters. How many of us would be found wanting regarding this? How many of us love our fellow brothers and sisters? 

How many of us love our neighbor? Judgment begins in the house of God. The amplified translation for 1 Peter chapter 4, verse 17 and 18 says, For it is the time destined for judgment to begin with the house of God. And if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not respect, or believe, or obey the gospel of God? And if it is difficult for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the godless and the sinner? When I read this, I am reminded that I'm never as saved as I think I am. 

Because I can so easily fall if not be for the grace of God. So take this message and be warned. Judgment begins in the house of God. Simply saying, Lord, Lord, it's not enough. But doing the will of the Father, the righteous and holy will of God, that's what counts. So I encourage you, make sure you're fully given to Jesus Christ and do away with any hypocrisy. Be someone who has the genuine love of God. Be sincere in seeking the Lord. Judgment begins in the house of God, saints. And if it is starting with us, what will happen to those who have rejected God? 

Speaker 1: Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. This call to vigilance and watchfulness is as relevant for us today as it was for the disciples when Jesus spoke these words. 

Just as a vigilant watchman remains attentive to potential threats, we must stay alert and watchful for the signs of Christ's imminent return. The fascinating thing about a watchman is that a watchman has many different roles which are all just as vitally important. In the olden days, a watchman was responsible for protecting towns and army camps from surprise enemy attacks as well as any other potential dangers. Watchmen on the walls would look out for approaching messengers, danger, armies or envoys. 

In 2 Samuel 18, we are told that David was sitting between the two gates. And the watchman went up to the roof over the gate to the wall, lifted his eyes and looked. And there was a man running alone. Then the watchman cried out and told the king. And the king said, if he is alone, there is news in his mouth. 

And he, the messenger, came rapidly and drew near. It's a watchman's job to always be on the lookout, to peer into the distance, to observe, to await, and certainly to be alert. The watchman stands as a sentinel guarding against any dangers. And in our own spiritual lives, every Christian has this role of acting as a watchman. We are to observe, evaluate, and examine our lives against the word of God. We are to guard the gates of our eyes, ears, and heart from the threat of sin, the threat of evil, and the threat of the devil. 

We are to be watchmen over our hearts' desires and affections. Now, as children of God who live in a period of time where there is great uncertainty, one thing we have to guard against is the spirit of fear. People out there are fearful of so many things, the threat of emerging pandemics. For some, there is uncertainty when it comes to the current state of international affairs. The Bible warns us of wars and rumors of wars. And when we finally see Bible prophecy unfolding right before our eyes, it can leave us seeking clarity. And you can end up asking questions like, How will this affect the country I live in? 

How will this affect the world? And so, there is uncertainty there. For someone else, the fight they face is economic uncertainty, either personal finances or the wider economy of their country. For other people in certain parts of the world, Christians who face persecution for their faith in Christ, there may be some uncertainty as they think, How long can I endure this? Or how much more should I endure, Lord? And I personally believe that in these last days, in these days where we see Bible prophecy unfolding before our eyes, I believe the Bible gives us five commands that will help us all in these times. The first of these five commands is to keep watch because Christ is coming soon. Matthew 24, verse 42, the Bible says, Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. When you are living in uncertain times, when you are living in fearful times, in times where biblical prophecy is happening, and we are seeing an increase in the number of conflicts all around the world, we are seeing pestilences, we're seeing the love of many growing cold. When you are living in such times, it's important to keep watch, for you don't know what day your Lord is coming. 

We may not have the answers to everything. There may not be a detailed roadmap telling you what to do and how to do it whenever you see troubling things happening, but all in all, we must remember that ultimately, our focus should be in one place, and that is on Jesus Christ. If you focus on the world, you will be worried. You will be burdened and anxious. But when you focus on Jesus, you will see the trouble in the world, but you will not be troubled in your heart. The second command is to watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. Matthew 26, verse 41 says, Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. 

The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. We are encouraged to watch and pray so that we won't give into temptation. And a lot of times, people associate temptation to only be of a sexual nature. However, people can be tempted by sin in various ways. Some are tempted to lie and steal, all for their personal and selfish gain. 

Some are tempted to get drunk. Others are tempted to gossip. But most of all, watch out against being tempted to follow a gospel that tickles your ears. In the last days, there will be deception. And this deception will be tempting to many, because you will be told a gospel that simply makes you feel good instead of leading you to repentance. 

Be careful not to be tempted. The third command is to watch and pray so that you can escape. Luke 21, verse 36 says, Watch therefore and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape. All these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man. When Jesus said this to his disciples, he was talking about the future, and he was warning them of the terrible things to come on the earth as we edge closer to the end of the age. 

Those who will be counted worthy to escape God's wrath on this earth are those who have put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ. But you can only do this if you watch and pray always. In other words, Jesus is telling us to be focused on him. The fourth command to believers in this day and age is to be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. The Bible in 1 Peter 4, verse 7 says, The end of all things is near. Therefore, be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 

In this context, sober means serious. In other words, as believers, we should be careful about how we live. Our choices impact our ability to think clearly. 

It is better to be self-controlled so that we can pray earnestly. I believe here that Peter is also speaking to those who suffer for Jesus' sake, the believers who are persecuted. And Peter gives us a word of warning that is also encouraging, as he says, It's almost over. 

The end of all things is near. And don't we see that today more so than ever? The fifth and final command to believers is to Be clear in your mission. 2 Timothy 4, verse 5 gives us great advice when it comes to dealing with all that we hear and see in the world today. The Bible says, But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord. 

Work at telling others the good news and fully carry out the ministry God has given you. The world has many different voices, some godly, some ungodly. And these voices will tell you so many different things. Things that will confuse you. Things that will leave you perplexed. 

Things that will pollute your mind and all of this leads you to live in a fearful state. But God's word is calling us to have a clear mind in every situation. And I believe that you can achieve this by doing one thing. 

Focusing on Christ and doing everything for His glory. As more and more people ask questions like, Are we living in the last days? Is this the end? I want to encourage you to do something. Rather than look at each and every event that is currently happening in the world. My message to you is that you should make sure that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Yes, it's good for us to take note of the events happening in this world. But the focus for our lives should be to make sure that our individual relationships with God are in good standing. Whether these are the last days or not, whether this is the 11th hour or not, you and I as believers need to make sure that our focus is only on Jesus Christ. We should focus on the one who is the way, the truth, and the life. And that is Jesus Christ who explicitly said, No one comes to the Father except through me. ""[Text 5]
Speaker 1: Paganism is rising in America. One thing is clear, and that is that a lot of Christians can recognize that America is in rebellion against God. In 2022, an article appeared on NBC News titled, Why Paganism and Witchcraft Are Making a Comeback. The author of this article went on to state, and I quote, I am one of a million plus Americans who, whether proudly, secretly, or dabbling through the power of consumerism, practice some form of witchcraft. Witchcraft, which includes wicca, paganism, folk magic, and other New Age traditions, is one of the fastest growing spiritual paths in America. 

End quote. If you go over to Salem, a city on the north coast of Massachusetts above Boston, you will find that they host an event every October, and here is the description of the event. The witches of Salem honor this time with Festival of the Dead, an annual event series that explores Death's macabre customs, heretical histories, and strange rituals. Presented by Salem Warlock's Christian Day and Brian Cain, posted by the foremost authorities on the spirit world, Festival of the Dead beckons guests to step through the veil into a realm where spirits await. 

End quote. The festival is said to be attracting nearly one million visitors every Halloween season. Streets are packed with tourists from all over the country, hoping to take part in these celebrations of Halloween. Paganism is evil in the sight of the Lord. It is idolatry. It is a rejection of God's law. Just listen to this passage in the Bible that warns us about God's judgment on those who reject Him. Hosea chapter 4 verse 12 to 14 says, They ask a piece of wood for advice. 

They think a stick can tell them the future. Longing after idols has made them foolish. They have played the prostitute, serving other gods, and deserting their God. They offer sacrifices to idols on the mountaintops. 

They go up into the hills to burn incense in the pleasant shade of oaks, poplars, and terribent trees. That is why your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters in law commit adultery. But why should I punish them for their prostitution and adultery? 

For your men are doing the same thing, sinning with whores and shrine prostitutes. Oh foolish people, you refuse to understand so you will be destroyed. In the book of Revelation chapter 2, Jesus is addressing one particular church and he says something interesting. Revelation 2 verse 13 reads, I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. 

You refuse to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan's city. Jesus said that where they live, Satan has a throne. That is, Pergamum was somehow a place where Satan had established a stronghold via idolatry and heathenistic religious practices. Satanic worship was prevalent in Pergamum. The phrase where Satan has his throne, which is used twice in this passage, has been debated by scholars through the ages. 

But we can reasonably come to the conclusion that Pergamum was a kind of hub or focal point for evil. That is what is meant by the phrases, Satan lives there or Satan has his throne there. Satan has tremendous power but he is not omnipresent. In fact, as you look at the whole of Scripture, you see that within the demon world, there are territories or places that certain demons control or oversee. Daniel 10 references a demon who had oversight of Persia. So Satan cannot be everywhere at once, as God can, but he can establish footholds in certain areas. 

These are usually not permanent. You can see that over the centuries, Satan established hubs of evil, footholds in Babylon, Egypt and Rome, and in more recent times in Hitler's Berlin, Stalin's Russia. But here in Revelation chapter 2, over 2,000 years ago, one of Satan's hubs of evil was Pergamum. There was a powerful demonic presence in Pergamum. Revelation 2 verse 13 indicates that Satan had a throne there. Some suggest there was some kind of conduit or channel to convey evil. What all of that means may not be crystal clear, but what is clear is that we do see that Satan is able to establish footholds in different places. 

Many have reported feeling a dread or heaviness in certain places where voodoo, Satanism, witchcraft and other occult practices flourish. Pergamum was one such place when John penned the book of Revelation. The Lord's messages to the seven churches in the book of Revelation carry particular meanings for different phases or ages in church history. The church at Pergamum received a word of commendation, but also a strong word of rebuke because they compromised. They mixed their holy calling with the ways of the world. 

This mixing with the world meant that they were becoming weaker because of it. Jesus commended them for remaining strong when the faithful antipas was martyred. Tradition holds that he was arrested while preaching on the street. He was put into a large brass bowl, which was a kind of idol and torture device. They lit a fire under the brass bowl and martyred him. The onlookers hoped to hear screams of agony, but instead they heard singing and prayers. His faith and courage sparked a revival in the town. 

Jesus Christ commended antipas, noting that he did not compromise, but was faithful unto the end. Now, let me just point out something. Here's how Satan works. If he can't destroy us, then he will discourage us. He wants to divide us. He will attempt to have us compromise on what we know in our heart to be right. God has expectations for his people. He writes his word in our hearts. It is confirmed by the prompting of the Spirit. When you look closely, you will find that the church in America today is marked by compromise. 

Far too many people view Christianity as just one of many acceptable philosophies or worldviews. We must beware, and we must remember the Lord's promise. To those who remain faithful, to those who are victorious and overcome, to those who endure, to those who will not compromise, I will give hidden manna. 

What hidden manna is, is a bit of a mystery, but it does point to how God provided for his people during the Exodus in the days of Moses, and that was a great thing. Today, Jesus presents himself as the bread of life, a type of manna, something that's good, something that sustains. Jesus will help us to be strong in these times we live in. 

He will provide for and spiritually sustain those who remain faithful. Over the years, many stories and interviews have been widely circulated concerning Jesus being the only way to heaven. You've had figures like Oprah denying that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. There's clips of figures like Steve Harvey saying, There's no one way to heaven, no one way to paradise. And there's also that infamous Larry King and Joel Osteen clip where Osteen does not clearly state or declare that Jesus Christ is Lord. Now, in this present day, can you just imagine someone standing there on an international stage and declaring that Jesus Christ is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings, and that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven? Can you imagine someone of influence, a wealthy businessman, a prominent politician, or perhaps even a president or prime minister saying that? 

Imagine the headlines and the media fallout. In the Bible, just before Jesus was taken to heaven, he said to us, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 

But since this instruction, what has happened? Have Christians embraced the Great Commission? Here's what Pew Research says, and I quote, The religious profile of the world is rapidly changing, driven primarily by differences in fertility rates and the size of youth populations among the world's major religions, as well as by people switching faiths. Over the next four decades, Christians will remain the largest religious group, but Islam will grow faster than any other major religion if current trends continue by 2050. End quote. This is alarming to the Christian community. 

This should make you weep. Have you been preaching the gospel? If you look at America, the percentage of American adults who identify as Christian has been declining each year, while the percentage of those who do not identify with any religion has been rising rapidly. Right around 2010, the share of Americans who were Christians dropped below 75%. By 2021, the General Social Survey reported that the share of Christians had declined to 62%. In just the last five years, the share of Americans who are Christians dipped below 50%. At the same time, it's said that around 28% of Americans identify with no religion as of this year. This shows a deep decline and a serious cause of concern for us as Christians. 

It only points to one fact. We've not been performing our Christian duties. The big question we need to ask ourselves is why this is happening. Are Christians not preaching the gospel? Is the spirit of Antichrist getting stronger by the day? Well, I believe there are four reasons for this. 

The first reason is a lack of knowledge. How often have you heard the gospel in a sermon, book, or conversation? If you've been a Christian, even for a short time, you have likely heard the gospel hundreds of times. Yet many of us still struggle to articulate the truths of the gospel in a simple, coherent, and intelligible way. Could you share the essential message of the gospel in 60 seconds right now? Many Christians can't do this, and that's tied to one reason. We have not truly studied and taken the time to learn the gospel in preparation for when we come across unbelievers. The second reason is that some of us don't care much about lost people. We would never say it, but our priorities and lives reveal it. We make no time in our busy schedules to interact and engage with those who don't know Christ. 

We have long stopped praying for lost people in our neighborhoods and workplaces. We do not have the courage to share the gospel with non-Christian friends or acquaintances. When was the last time you invited someone into your home who did not know Christ and shared the gospel with them? When was the last time you consciously prayed for lost souls? This is a significant assignment that Christ gave to us. If we will truly show His light, we must be ready to make soul-winning our priority. 

The third reason is fear. Many Christians ask questions like, What will others think of me? What if they don't like me or my family? Some are paralyzed by the thought of being disliked, marginalized, laughed at, or openly mocked. We're afraid we'll lose business or get passed up for that promotion. What if they stop inviting my kids to birthday parties? What if talking about Christ makes seeing my neighbors awkward? 

These so many what ifs are leading men to hell. Luke 9 verse 26 says, Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, The Son of man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. These are words straight from Jesus' mouth. Will you smile if Jesus denies you on the last day? How will you feel if he tells you that he doesn't know you after all your tithes and offerings on earth? You need to know today that God's heartbeat is soul-winning. 

While your tithes and offerings are crucial, they do not equal your evangelical service. Silence the fear. Share the gospel. The fourth and final reason is that too many of us have a lack of compassion for the lost soul. We have long forgotten what it was like to live without hope, to be lost and far from Christ. We rarely consider what the Bible says about those who do not obey Christ. 

2 Thessalonians 1 verse 9 says, They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might. However, do we care that much? We might say we care, but we rarely cry out to God for the salvation of our lost neighbors, coworkers and classmates. God is reminding us of what to do again. We need to have compassion for lost souls. You need to remember that the only way to God is through Christ. 

That means anyone outside Him does not even know the Father. By now, we need to know how we can fulfill this Christian duty. First, we need to remind ourselves of what the Gospel says. In 2 Timothy 2, Paul reminds Timothy of the Gospel's truth in order to encourage him to press on and be faithful to the message entrusted to him. If Timothy, a student of Paul, a faithful servant, a pastor, preacher and teacher, needed to be reminded of the truth of the Gospel to keep going, how much more do you and I need to be reminded of the eternal truths of the Gospel? Much of this reminder happens when gathering together with fellow believers. As God's people recall His truths, week to week in homes and gathered together in worship, we combat the forces that are set to silence the Gospel in our nation by reminding one another that God's mission is to save sinners through the work of His Son, Jesus. As we preach and continue to preach the Gospel to ourselves and to one another, we will be more prepared to speak it afresh to those without Christ. 

Speaker 2: A Christian man was on his deathbed. As he lay there, his family by his side, the room was silent. The only sound was the heart rate monitor machine beeping slowly in the background. He summoned the strength to give his loved ones some parting words. He said, The Bible warned me that time is short. 

And I didn't listen. The Bible warned me that it profits nothing for a man to gain the whole world, but lose his soul. For over half my life, I worked and worked. I accumulated possessions. 

But no amount of money I've made could buy me another 24 hours on this earth. The Bible warned me to forgive, but I carried so much anger against so many people who had done me wrong. It is only in my final days that I have been able to forgive. Don't be like me. Listen to God's warnings early enough to take action. Don't wait until it's too late. It was almost too late for me. 

Now, when I heard this story, it made me think. How many of us underestimate biblical warnings? How many of us take biblical warnings seriously? Now, the Apostle Paul is a fascinating character in the Bible. Before he was Paul the Apostle, he was known as Saul from Tarsus. He was originally a Pharisee and a persecutor of early Christians. Saul was a zealous Pharisee who was determined to stamp out what he saw as a dangerous heresy that was spreading in the Jewish community. This Saul would go door to door and beat Christians. 

And it's believed that he also killed them. In the book of Acts, the first person to die for following Jesus was a man named Stephen. Stephen gave a speech about Jesus and called everyone to repent and trust in Jesus. 

At the end of the speech, Stephen is stoned to death. It says of Saul in Acts 8, verse 1, and Saul approved of his execution. At the least, Saul approved and was happy with the execution. 

At the most, he set up the execution. Saul killed followers of Jesus. But despite all of this, Saul had a dramatic conversion experience on the road to Damascus where he saw a vision of Jesus. And after this experience, the one persecutor of Christians became a Christian himself. Now, let me ask you, was Paul so bad that God couldn't use him? 

Of course not. Paul was transformed when he encountered Christ. And when Paul did encounter Christ, he wrote many books in the New Testament. And there's one passage of Scripture where he gives us six cautionary warnings regarding how we live our lives. These six warnings are, Don't participate in the darkness of wild parties. Don't be involved in drunkenness. 

Have nothing to do with sexual promiscuity. Do not live immorally. Do not be found quarreling. And the last point is not to be jealous. Now, these six points can be found in Romans 13 verse 13 where the Bible says, Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don't participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. When Paul says, Don't participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, the imagery here is powerful. 

Imagine a person stumbling around in the dark, unable to see clearly. In the same way, engaging in wild parties and drunkenness clouds our judgment and leads us into spiritual darkness. Just as a lighthouse warns ships of dangerous rocks, the Bible cautions us about the perils of indulging in activities that dull our spiritual senses. The next couple of points are to do with guarding against sexual promiscuity and immoral living. Continuing in Romans 13 verse 13b, Paul urges us not to participate in sexual promiscuity and immoral living. The combination of sexual promiscuity and immoral living are like a thick fog that obscures our vision of God's plan for our lives. 

Such behaviors breed an ungodly attitude, ungodly habits, and eventually, it becomes a lifestyle. This is why it is incredibly important to be rooted in God's Word. Much like a compass points true north, the Bible provides a moral compass that, when followed, guides us away from the fog of immorality. In Romans 13 verse 14, Paul provides us with a solution as he writes, Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. Clothing ourselves with Christ is like putting on a suit of armor. It protects us from the arrows of temptation and shields us from the allure of worldly desires. Just as a soldier prepares for battle by putting on armor, we prepare for the spiritual battles of life by clothing ourselves with the character and teachings of Christ. As we navigate the challenges of our time, let us heed these warnings. 

Guarding against the pitfalls that lead to spiritual darkness. Now, I would like for us to further explore warnings from Paul the Apostle, and one of his most serious warnings to Christians is related to unbelief. 

Speaker 3: Hebrews 3 verse 12 says, See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. This is a serious warning because Paul is telling us that we need to see to it that none of us have a wicked and unbelieving heart. A heart which refuses to trust and rely on the Lord. A heart that turns away from the living God. And let me show you just why unbelief is so crippling to a Christian. In Matthew 13, when Jesus was coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in the synagogue and verse 58 says, Now he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. 

Think about that. Jesus didn't do any miracles because of unbelief. Jesus didn't perform any mighty works because of unbelief. And so my friends, you see why Paul warns us against having an unbelieving heart. When you have a heart filled with unbelief, you deny God's power. You deny God's glory. You deny the Lord of all that he is. So be warned, people of God. See to it that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 

Now for this next warning. I have to give you a little bit of context before I go on any further. The children of Israel were led out of captivity and slavery. They saw incredible miracles from God. 

They saw the Red Sea was parting. The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way. And by night in a pillar of fire to give them light. 

They were fed by manna from heaven. But despite seeing God's strong hand, the children of Israel rebelled, murmured, and complained against God. And so Paul in the New Testament warns us in Hebrews 3 verse 15 to 17. As has just been said, today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion. Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for 40 years? 

Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? The warning here is that we should not harden our hearts. Don't be cold and insensitive to the voice of God. In the midst of all the chaos and confusion of this world, the voice of God is still calling out to us. 

The Spirit of the Lord is knocking on our hearts. A hardened heart means that someone is blind. It means insensitivity towards God's beauty and glory. It means chasing after our own desires instead of the things of God. But thankfully, in his mercy, God is offered to change our hearts. 

God can change our hearts. The third warning I believe we should be aware of can be found in Hebrews 2 verse 1. Therefore, we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard lest we drift away. Now, I believe that the amplified translation explains this verse further as it says, For this reason, that is, because of God's final revelation in his Son Jesus and because of Jesus' superiority to the angels, we must pay much closer attention than ever to the things that we have heard so that we do not, in a way, drift away from truth. In essence, what the Bible is telling us here is that we should be careful not to drift away from the truth that is Jesus Christ. We should be careful not to slip away from the truth of the Gospel because in this world, you will encounter people who give you their own watered down version of the Gospel. People who will preach a Gospel that will require no repentance, no commitment, no denying of self, but instead a Gospel that tickles the ears. 

It sounds good, makes you feel good, but has no power to transform you or challenge you. This is what we should be careful about. Let's not drift away from the truth of the Gospel. The real Gospel of Jesus Christ will challenge and convict you. It will lead to a change in your sinful habits and cause you to repent. And we should do just that, saints. We should repent and turn away from sin. ""[Text 6]
Speaker 1: In 1993 John MacArthur preached a sermon titled, What's Wrong with America? A question that would be fitting even today. In the sermon he focused on Romans chapter 1 where three times we're told the phrase, God gave them over. If you look at this passage, the Bible hammers home this phrase three times saying in verse 24, Therefore, God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. Then in verse 26, because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Then in verse 28, so God gave them over to a depraved mind so that they do what ought not to be done. He then said something powerful in his sermon and I quote, There comes a point in God's dealing with man and nations, groups of people, when he abandons them. 

And the consequence of that abandonment is that they will eat the fruit of their own choices. If I were to simply answer the question, What's wrong with America? I would say God has abandoned America and America is now feeding on its own choices. Chosen to sin they have. Chosen to turn their back on God they have. Chosen to reject the gospel they have. Chosen to reject a biblical morality they have. Chosen to disobey the clear commandment of God they have. And God says, Let them alone. 

End quote. Now when you look at society today, are people given over to the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity? Are people given over to shameful lusts? 

Are people in society in general living with a depraved mind where they do what ought not to be done? Are we soon to be judged by the God of heaven? Have people strayed so far from the gospel? So far from truth that God's judgment is imminent? The amplified translation of 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 1 says, But the Holy Spirit explicitly and unmistakably declares that in later times some will turn away from the faith, paying attention instead to deceitful and seductive spirits and doctrines of demons. The Bible also says in Matthew chapter 24 verse 10 to 13, At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. Look at the three things here that the Bible prophesies will happen. In later times some will turn away from the faith. 

People will betray and hate each other. The love of most will grow cold. All of these aspects are heart issues. Love will grow cold. That is a heart issue. People will betray and hate each other. That is a heart issue. 

Some will turn away from the faith. That is a heart issue. So from all of this we can conclude that in the last days there will be an increase in the hardening of the hearts for many, many people. One thing that I do not want in my life is a hardened heart. A heart that is insensitive to God's word. 

A heart that doesn't care about the gospel or care to be obedient to God's word. Pray for the grace to keep your heart with all diligence. Therefore, keep watch because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. This call to vigilance and watchfulness is as relevant for us today as it was for the disciples when Jesus spoke these words. 

Just as a vigilant watchman remains attentive to potential threats, we must stay alert and watchful for the signs of Christ's imminent return. The fascinating thing about a watchman is that a watchman has many different roles which are all just as vitally important. In the olden days, a watchman was responsible for protecting towns and army camps from surprise enemy attacks as well as any other potential dangers. Watchmen on the walls would look out for approaching messengers, danger, armies or envoys. 

In 2 Samuel 18, we are told that David was sitting between the two gates, and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate to the wall, lifted his eyes and looked, and there was a man running alone. Then the watchman cried out and told the king, and the king said, if he is alone, there is news in his mouth, and he, the messenger, came rapidly and drew near. It's a watchman's job to always be on the lookout, to peer into the distance, to observe, to await, and certainly to be alert. The watchman stands as a sentinel guarding against any dangers, and in our own spiritual lives, every Christian has this role of acting as a watchman. We are to observe, evaluate, and examine our lives against the word of God. We are to guard the gates of our eyes, ears, and heart from the threat of sin, the threat of evil, and the threat of the devil. We are to be watchmen over our heart's desires and affections. Now, as children of God who live in a period of time where there is great uncertainty, one thing we have to guard against is the spirit of fear. People out there are fearful of so many things, the threat of emerging pandemics. For some, there is uncertainty when it comes to the current state of international affairs. The Bible warns us of wars and rumors of wars, and when we finally see Bible prophecy unfolding right before our eyes, it can leave us seeking clarity. And you can end up asking questions like, how will this affect the country I live in? 

How will this affect the world? And so, there is uncertainty there. For someone else, the fight they face is economic uncertainty. 

Either personal finances or the wider economy of their country. For other people in certain parts of the world, Christians who face persecution for their faith in Christ, there may be some uncertainty as they think, how long can I endure this? Or how much more should I endure, Lord? And I personally believe that in these last days, in these days where we see Bible prophecy unfolding before our eyes, I believe the Bible gives us five commands that will help us all in these times. The first of these five commands is to keep watch because Christ is coming soon. Matthew 24, verse 42, the Bible says, therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. When you are living in uncertain times, when you are living in fearful times, in times where biblical prophecy is happening, and we are seeing an increase in the number of conflicts all around the world, we are seeing pestilences, we are seeing the love of many growing cold. When you are living in such times, it is important to keep watch, for you do not know what day your Lord is coming. 

We may not have the answers to everything. There may not be a detailed roadmap telling you what to do and how to do it whenever you see troubling things happening, but all in all, we must remember that ultimately, our focus should be in one place, and that is on Jesus Christ. If you focus on the world, you will be worried, you will be burdened and anxious, but when you focus on Jesus, you will see the trouble in the world, but you will not be troubled in your heart. The second command is to watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. Matthew 26, verse 41 says, Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. 

The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. We are encouraged to watch and pray so that we won't give in to temptation, and a lot of times, people associate temptation to only be of a sexual nature. However, people can be tempted by sin in various ways. Some are tempted to lie and steal, all for their personal and selfish gain. Some are tempted to get drunk, others are tempted to gossip, but most of all, watch out against being tempted to follow a gospel that tickles your ears. In the last days, there will be deception, and this deception will be tempting to many, because you will be told a gospel that simply makes you feel good instead of leading you to repentance. 

Be careful not to be tempted. The third command is to watch and pray so that you can escape. Luke 21, verse 36 says, Watch therefore and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man. When Jesus said this to his disciples, he was talking about the future, and he was warning them of the terrible things to come on the earth as we edge closer to the end of the age. 

Those who will be counted worthy to escape God's wrath on this earth are those who have put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ, but you can only do this if you watch and pray always. In other words, Jesus is telling us to be focused on him. The fourth command to believers in this day and age is to be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. The Bible in 1 Peter 4, verse 7 says, The end of all things is near. Therefore, be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 

In this context, sober means serious. In other words, as believers, we should be careful about how we live. Our choices impact our ability to think clearly. 

It is better to be self-controlled so that we can pray earnestly. I believe here that Peter is also speaking to those who suffer for Jesus' sake, the believers who are persecuted. And Peter gives us a word of warning that is also encouraging as he says, It's almost over. 

The end of all things is near. And don't we see that today more so than ever? The fifth and final command to believers is to be clear in your mission. 2 Timothy 4, verse 5 gives us great advice when it comes to dealing with all that we hear and see in the world today. The Bible says, But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord. 

Work at telling others the good news, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you. The world has many different voices, some godly, some ungodly. And these voices will tell you so many different things. Things that will confuse you. Things that will leave you perplexed. 

Things that will pollute your mind, and all of this leads you to live in a fearful state. But God's word is calling us to have a clear mind in every situation. And I believe that you can achieve this by doing one thing. 

Focusing on Christ and doing everything for His glory. As more and more people ask questions like, Are we living in the last days? Is this the end? I want to encourage you to do something. Rather than look at each and every event that is currently happening in the world, my message to you is that you should make sure that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Yes, it's good for us to take note of the events happening in this world. But the focus for our lives should be to make sure that our individual relationships with God are in good standing. Whether these are the last days or not, whether this is the 11th hour or not, you and I, as believers, need to make sure that our focus is only on Jesus Christ. We should focus on the one who is the way, the truth, and the life. And that is Jesus Christ who explicitly said, No one comes to the Father except through me. When God is trying to get your attention, I believe that there are clear signs that you should look out for. 

So the first sign that God is trying to get your attention is that His word or a particular passage of Scripture will convict you more so than usual. A man sat in his office one day with his head in his hands and on both sides of the table, he had huge mountains of paperwork. As he sat there, feeling overwhelmed, he opened his Bible. And as he was reading, he came across Revelation 3, verse 3, which says, Remember therefore how you have received and heard. 

Hold fast and repent. Therefore, if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. He felt his soul jump when he read this, and this passage of Scripture was literally burning in his eyes. He couldn't move on from that verse. And throughout that day, it was all he could think of. 

One day went by, another day went by, and he was replaying this Scripture over and over again until finally one day in his living room, he broke down. God, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for all that I have done. 

I'm so sorry that I have been unfaithful to you and grieved you with my disobedience. This man was overcome with sorrow all because of this one verse and the Holy Spirit working in his heart. All he could do was sob uncontrollably and ask for forgiveness. He told his wife what had happened that night. She encouraged him and assured him this was the work of the Holy Spirit. A couple of days later, he was traveling to work. 

In his heart, he was rejoicing and singing along to a gospel tape he was playing. But suddenly, tragedy struck. As traffic abruptly came to a standstill on the highway, a truck got into the road. 

The truck, going 70 miles per hour, slammed right into the back of his car. And this man died instantly. When his wife and friends and loved ones gathered together to lay him to rest, the wife said he was taken too soon for her liking, but ultimately God is in control and not her. And then she went on to say that the reason she had the strength to stand and smile while she was still in mourning is because God in his goodness, God in his mercy, convicted the heart of her husband to repent and he listened. God in his love gave him a warning and he listened. 

Yes, it hurts that he is no longer here, but it's a great comfort to know that his heart was rededicated and committed to the Lord only a couple of days earlier. Friend, we may not have such an experience, but I guarantee you that at some point in your life there has been or there will be a passage in Scripture that will tear your heart open and convince you. Hebrews 4 verse 12 says, for the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow and as a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. God's word can literally cut right through the sin in your life and get to the deepest parts of your heart, telling you to repent. What is God's word convicting you of? 

Is it prayerlessness? Is God's word convicting you about lying? Is God's word convicting you of the pride in your life? Or is God's word convicting you of sexual immorality? Whatever it is that you may be convicted of, listen, do not harden your heart. 

Be quick to obey. The beauty about God's word is that it literally exposes you, the real you. God's word tells you about the company you keep and it says, Blessed is the man who walks not in the council of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. God's word tells the man who thinks that just because he has not physically been unfaithful to his wife, he has done no wrong. 

No, God's word addresses that and says, Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. The word of God exposes everything. To those who think they are spiritually strong and mighty, tells them to take heed lest you fall if you think you stand strong. 

To those who do things so they can be seen, to those who pray in front of others so that they can show off their knowledge and vocabulary, the Bible tells them, When you pray, go into your room and when you have shut your door, pray to your father who is in the secret place and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly. There is absolutely nothing that the Bible doesn't shed light on in one way or another. And so I believe that if you're looking for what God is saying to you today, open your heart to the Holy Spirit and then open your Bible, meditate on it day and night and you will see how the scriptures will come alive. 

Speaker 2: The Bible is clear about many things. It's clear that God is a jealous God and we are not to have any idols. The Bible is clear that Jesus Christ died on a cross and rose again. The Bible makes it clear that there is a heaven and there is a hell. 

The Bible also makes it clear that there is a day of judgment to come. But one of the things that the Bible tells us to do is to acquire knowledge. Proverbs 18 verse 15 says, An intelligent heart acquires knowledge and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. Think about what this verse is saying. Those who are intelligent, those who are prudent and discerning, they seek to acquire knowledge. 

But why? Why is knowledge so important? Well, Hosea 4 verse 6 in the New King James Version says, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for me. 

Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. Saints, we need knowledge concerning the authority that we have in Jesus. Because when you lack this knowledge, there's no way that you can walk in dominion. There is no way you can walk in victory because you would have no knowledge of who you are in Christ. 

We need knowledge and wisdom because a lack of knowledge can result in you being deceived. The Bible tells us that even the devil transforms himself into an angel of light. People with a lack of knowledge will see signs and wonders and think that it's a move of God. 

Not knowing that the Bible says in 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 9 in the Amplified translation, the coming of the Antichrist, the lawless one, is through the activity of Satan. Attended with great power, all kinds of counterfeit miracles and deceptive signs and false wonders, all of them lies. When you have a lack of knowledge, you will believe anything and everything. 

You will follow any doctrine, accept any teaching, and be drawn by any miraculous sign. However, to guard yourself against this, the Bible says in Proverbs 1 verse 7, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Saints, in order to gain knowledge, you have to invest time. You have to invest effort in seeking the Lord. You have to seek Him in prayer. You have to seek Him in His Word. I believe that there are things. There are lessons and deep revelations that God can only reveal to you once you begin to chase Him with an intensity. Once you commit yourself to seeking the Lord and seeking His presence, God will show 

""[Text 7]

Speaker 1: A covenant is a relationship in which two parties make binding promises to each other. You can enter a covenant through words, vows, or promises. Or you can enter a covenant through actions and deeds. 

And so this means that you can even enter a covenant unintentionally if you don't know what you're saying or what you're doing. After the Flood, God said this in Genesis 9, verse 8 to 11. Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons, with him saying, And as for me, behold, I establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you. 

Of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. Thus I establish my covenant with you. Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood. 

Never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. God made a promise and established a covenant. The Bible also goes on to tell us. Genesis 2, verse 24 says, Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife. Other translations say to be joined or to be united together with his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Now here, a man shall commit the act of leaving his father and mother to go to his wife. Once with his wife, they shall become one through the act of sex. This establishes a covenant between this man and this woman. So from this we can understand that you can enter a covenant through what you say, through vows, through oaths, through promises. The Bible says in Matthew 5, verse 37, Let what you say be simply yes or no. 

Anything more than this comes from evil. When I read this, I take this as a warning that you shouldn't just promise things. You shouldn't just vow to do things or speak an oath without understanding. This is because you can enter into a covenant with someone who you should not be in agreement with. 

This is especially dangerous in relationships. Many people are holding onto someone they dated many years ago, or a boyfriend or girlfriend from many years ago. You're still holding onto them because you entered a covenant even though you weren't married. You vowed to always be with them. You promised to always love them. And years later, you're no longer with them. 

But that person continues to have real estate in your mind, and you can't seem to figure out why. It's a covenant that needs to be broken. In the Bible, when Jesus meets the woman at the well, remember the exchange that happened in John chapter 4 between verse 16 and 18. Jesus said to her, Go, call your husband and come here. The woman answered him, I have no husband. 

Jesus sent to her. You are right in saying, I have no husband. For you have had five husbands. And the one you now have is not your husband. 

What you have said is true. There is something that happens in the spirit realm when you enter a covenant with someone. Physically, you might be fine, and there seems to be nothing tangible. But in the spirit, in the spirit, you could have attached yourself to all kinds of spirits and demonic influences. This is why so often, you'll find many people saying that this keeps happening to me and I don't know why. I keep going this far and I can't seem to progress any further than a point. I don't know why. 

The reason is spiritual. A story was told of a young man who got involved with a young lady. Now, unbeknown to this young man, this young lady was a soothsayer. She was under a demonic influence, and she was into things like foretelling the future and palm reading and all sorts. Now, to the young man, she presented this world of magic and future telling as a game, as lighthearted entertainment. 

They would be at dinner, and while they were waiting for their food, she would take his hands and jokingly ask if she could read his palms and tell him his future. They weren't together long as a couple, but after they went their separate ways, this young man started to experience strange things and unfortunate things. He would be ill, and I mean bedridden, but the doctors couldn't find out why. He was then diagnosed as depressed, and in his words he would say, I just feel like I'm being pushed down. 

He would struggle to sleep. He didn't enjoy anything at all, and it took his mother, his worried and loving mother, who called on a genuine man of God, her local pastor at a small assembly. She asked him, please, would you come and just pray for my son? Pray for him, and encourage him. Now, this mother told the pastor about the state her son was in, and about all the doctor visits and them not finding anything. 

She told him all of that. The pastor agreed, but he said, I need to fast and pray before I see him, and I need you to join me too. They agreed, and for the next three days, the pastor and his wife joined this single mother in fasting and praying. Now, finally came the day when this man of God went to see this troubled young man. Now, when the pastor told this story, he said he felt in his spirit that he ought to ask this man at some point who was close to him. Who were the people in his inner circle, and what did they think? When he asked him the question, he responded and said, a lot of my friends think I'm down because I had a bad breakup. The pastor probed a bit more, and the boy revealed that this young lady began to make him feel extremely uncomfortable. She became obsessed with the magic stuff. Did you ever get involved in it? The pastor asked. 

No, not really. At first, we only did lighthearted stuff. You know, like she would pretend to read my future and those sorts of things. And the pastor immediately said, son, the moment you gave her your hands and allowed her to think she could see into your future, you entered a covenant with her. Because by virtue of opening yourself up and being receptive of her influence, you were in agreement with her and whatever spirit that was upon her. That pastor, his wife and the mother prayed for this young man. They spoke the blood of Jesus Christ over him and broke that covenant. 

And almost the very next day, there was an undeniable change on this young man's face. The moral of the story is be careful. Be careful of entering dangerous, unholy, and evil covenants. When you have sex outside of marriage, you're entering a covenant. 

When you make promises and vows and oaths, and I'm not talking about civic duties or anything like that, I'm talking about vows and oaths where there is no legal requirement and where you have no business saying certain things as a child of God. Be careful because you could be entering a covenant. Be careful of your actions or deeds. Don't agree to have someone say they can read your future. Don't agree to have someone invite you to participate in unholy things in the name of entertainment. You're entering a covenant if you're not careful. 

Saints of God, pray for wisdom. The devil will never force his way into your life. He will never forcefully oppress you. He will trick you to open a door and consent to being oppressed. Adam and Eve were tricked by the serpent into losing the blessing they had in the Garden of Eden where they could freely fellowship with God. 

Don't believe the serpent. Now, the type of covenant we should be making, much like the one found in Matthew 26, 26 to 28, where the Bible says, Now, as they were eating, Jesus took the bread and after blessing it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat, this is my body. And he took a cup and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying, Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which has poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Now, as children of God, when we partake in the act of the Holy Communion, we are partaking in this covenant. When we speak, when we plead the blood of Jesus Christ, we are partaking in a blessed covenant. And so I want to pray with you. I want us to believe that the Lord will break every ungodly, unrighteous, and unclean covenant in our lives. 

Speaker 2: Over the years, the power that a distinctive atmosphere can have on people has become more and more apparent. And this has meant that institutions, businesses, the entertainment sector all use the psychological effects of an atmosphere to their advantage, for some to make more money. Take a look at certain sport venues. 

They're designed in a way that allows the best acoustics. You can hear the crowd cheering and even on occasions where the home team is losing, an atmosphere can lift any team. You go to watch a movie and what do they do? Turn off the lights, turn up the speakers. Some even offer a sensory experience where your seat shakes and you feel the effects of the movie. It's all to create an atmosphere. Look at a bar or nightclub. Loud music, dimmed lights, a closed off environment, alcohol. 

It's an atmosphere. And we do it too as Christians. We go to church. And most people on their way to church listen to gospel music. 

Once you get to church, the praise and worship teams nearly always come before the speaker. It's all to create an atmosphere. An atmosphere is distinctive. It's a force. You can feel it. And in a spiritual sense, an atmosphere is a spiritual doorway. Have you ever noticed that you can walk into a room full of people and feel an atmosphere? You can feel whether you're welcome or not. You can even walk into a church and feel either comfortable or uneasy. 

In fact, you can walk into a room with only your spouse there and you can sense you can feel the type of atmosphere or mood in that room without saying one word. Scripture teaches that there are spiritual battles all around us. We live in two atmospheres. One is physical where our senses are engaged. We can see, smell, hear, touch and taste. The other is spiritual. We can't see it with the natural eye or experience it with the rest of our senses. But it's very real whether you believe it or not. We don't wrestle against flesh and blood. 

Why? Because our enemy is not in the physical atmosphere. And when we open these certain doors, when we open these spiritual doors, we're inviting a presence into the place we are. 

Now, let me tell you this. The devil does not fight fair. Revelation 12 verse 12 says, he is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short, meaning that he will not give up until you're wounded and destroyed. And yes, he will attack us by virtue of us being children of God, but he will also attack us if we leave certain doors open in our lives, if we allow him access through spiritual doors. Before I go any further, I do want you to understand that regardless of how much fury the devil is filled with, we are not to be afraid. 

We are to be watchful, to be sober and vigilant, but we are not to be fearful because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. God has given his angels charge over you. The Lord has promised to protect you. The Bible says, this I declare about the Lord. He alone is my refuge, my place of safety. He is my God and I trust him, but we should not be ignorant. We should, as children of God, be alert that one of the most dangerous things a Christian can do is open up the door to the enemy. 

And how do you do that? How do you open yourself up to the enemy? Well, the enemy is deceptive in how he operates. He will never openly try and walk into your life. He will hide behind the things you watch. He will hide behind what you listen to. 

He will hide behind the places you go. And I don't mean the grocery store or to your job. I mean, when people make the decision for fun, to visit those haunted experiences or haunted, scary rooms at amusement parks. And you know why these are all doors? When you watch something, when you listen to certain types of music, when you visit certain places, you're exposing yourself to an atmosphere, a pervading tone or mood. 

Consider this. When we worship God, when we sing praises to him, you can be in your car, in church, or in your home. The atmosphere shifts because you're inviting him in. You're calling out to him. 

You're reaching out. And the same is true when you switch off the lights to watch a horror movie. What are you doing? You're creating an atmosphere. You may think it's entertainment, but it's actually an atmosphere. You're inviting an ungodly presence. And those are the spiritual doors that the devil enters through. That's why it's so important to be mindful of the atmosphere around us, in our homes and at the places we are. 

We need to discern whose presence we're allowing to be highlighted. Our enemy will keep trying to do what he does, to steal, kill, and destroy. And he does it best with your consent. The atmosphere of praise, worship, prayer, love, and unity attract the Holy Spirit. Just as an atmosphere of lust, drunkenness, anger, and hatred attracts demonic spirits. 

You impact your own spirit by the atmosphere you choose. The choices you make with the places you go can impact the way you get tempted to sin. Be careful with the places you enter. 

The atmosphere there might get you to sin. Use wisdom. Be alert. We have to be guarded, even in a season of pain because sometimes that's when we're most vulnerable. Everyone has and will suffer hurt in life. We all have to endure some kind of wound, suffer some type of disappointment, suffer wounds and scars that should have, could have, and probably still can destroy. Destroy your faith, kill your hope, destroy the trust in a marriage, steal the future of a young man or taint the eyes of a young lady. The enemy does come to steal, kill, and destroy if you're not guarded. He doesn't need an invitation to come in and attack, but the mistakes that we think is that when the devil attacks a believer it should be fire and brimstone. Some think of a grim reaper look alike, but no, it's problem after problem. 

It's issue after issue, one thing after another. With an intention to wear you down, get you to a state of being sick and tired. Why do you think the Bible tells that they who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength? It's so you won't get tired of this enemy. Come on to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Or Hebrews 12, therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. In other words, don't grow tired. Don't let the devil wear you down. But here's how to be guarded. Always, always be sensitive, be alert, be mindful of the kind of atmosphere you're exposing yourself to. 

Speaker 3: A Christian man was on his deathbed. As he lay there, his family by his side, the room was silent. The only sound was the heart rate monitor machine beeping slowly in the background. He summoned the strength to give his loved ones some parting words. He said, the Bible warned me that time is short and I didn't listen. The Bible warned me that it profits nothing for a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul. For over half my life, I worked and worked. I accumulated possessions, but no amount of money I've made could buy me another 24 hours on this earth. The Bible warned me to forgive, but I carried so much anger against so many people who had done me wrong. 

It is only in my final days that I have been able to forgive. Don't be like me. Listen to God's warnings early enough to take action. Don't wait until it's too late. It was almost too late for me. Now, when I heard this story, it made me think, how many of us underestimate biblical warnings? 

How many of us take biblical warnings seriously? Now the apostle Paul is a fascinating character in the Bible. Before he was Paul the apostle, he was known as Saul from Tarsus. He was originally a Pharisee and a persecutor of early Christians. Saul was a zealous Pharisee who was determined to stamp out what he saw as a dangerous heresy that was spreading in the Jewish community. This Saul would go door to door and beat Christians. 

And it's believed that he also killed them. In the book of Acts, the first person to die for following Jesus was a man named Stephen. Stephen gave a speech about Jesus and called everyone to repent and trust in Jesus. 

At the end of the speech, Stephen is stoned to death. It says of Saul in Acts 8 verse 1, and Saul approved of his execution. At the least, Saul approved and was happy with the execution. 

At the most, he set up the execution. Saul killed followers of Jesus. But despite all of this, Saul had a dramatic conversion experience on the road to Damascus where he saw a vision of Jesus. And after this experience, the one persecutor of Christians became a Christian himself. Now let me ask you, was Paul so bad that God couldn't use him? 

Of course not. Paul was transformed when he encountered Christ. And when Paul did encounter Christ, he wrote many books in the New Testament. And there's one passage of Scripture where he gives us six cautionary warnings regarding how we live our lives. These six warnings are, Don't participate in the darkness of wild parties. Don't be involved in drunkenness. 

Have nothing to do with sexual promiscuity. Do not live immorally. Do not be found quarreling. And the last point is not to be jealous. Now these six points can be found in Romans 13 verse 13 where the Bible says, Because we belong to the day. We must live decent lives for all to see. Don't participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living or in quarreling and jealousy. When Paul says, Don't participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, the imagery here is powerful. 

Imagine a person stumbling around in the dark, unable to see clearly. In the same way, engaging in wild parties and drunkenness clouds our judgment and leads us into spiritual darkness. Just as a lighthouse warns ships of dangerous rocks, the Bible cautions us about the perils of indulging in activities that dull our spiritual senses. The next couple of points are to do with guarding against sexual promiscuity and immoral living. Continuing in Romans 13 verse 13b, Paul urges us not to participate in sexual promiscuity and immoral living. The combination of sexual promiscuity and immoral living are like a thick fog that obscures our vision of God's plan for our lives. 

Such behaviors breed an ungodly attitude, ungodly habits, and eventually it becomes a lifestyle. This is why it is incredibly important to be rooted in God's Word. Much like a compass points true north, the Bible provides a moral compass that, when followed, guides us away from the fog of immorality. In Romans 13 verse 14, Paul provides us with a solution as he writes, Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. Clothing ourselves with Christ is like putting on a suit of armor. It protects us from the arrows of temptation and shields us from the allure of worldly desires. 

Just as a soldier prepares for battle by putting on armor, we prepare for the spiritual battles of life by clothing ourselves with the character and teachings of Christ. As we navigate the challenges of our time, let us heed these warnings, guarding against the pitfalls that lead to spiritual darkness. Now I would like for us to further explore warnings from Paul the Apostle and one of his most serious warnings to Christians is related to unbelief. 

Speaker 4: Unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. This is a serious warning because Paul is telling us that we need to see to it that none of us have a wicked and unbelieving heart. A heart which refuses to trust and rely on the Lord. A heart that turns away from the living God. And let me show you just why unbelief is so crippling to a Christian. In Matthew 13, when Jesus was coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in the synagogue and verse 58 says, Now he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. 

Think about that. Jesus didn't do any miracles because of unbelief. Jesus didn't perform any mighty works because of unbelief. And so my friends, you see why Paul warns us against having an unbelieving heart. When you have a heart filled with unbelief, you deny God's power. You deny God's glory. You deny the Lord of all that he is. So be warned, people of God. See to it that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 

Now for this next warning, I have to give you a little bit of context before I go on any further. The children of Israel were led out of captivity and slavery. They saw incredible miracles from God. They saw the Red Sea was parting. The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light. 

They were fed by manna from heaven. But despite seeing God's strong hand, the children of Israel rebelled, murmured, and complained against God. And so Paul in the New Testament warns us in Hebrews 3, verse 15 to 17, as has just been said, Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion. Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for 40 years? 

Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? The warning here is that we should not harden our hearts. Don't be cold and insensitive to the voice of God. In the midst of all the chaos and confusion of this world, the voice of God is still calling out to us. 

The spirit of the Lord is knocking on our hearts. A hardened heart means that someone is blind. It means insensitivity towards God's beauty and glory. It means chasing after our own desires instead of the things of God. But thankfully, in his mercy, God is offered to change our hearts. 

God can change our hearts. The third warning I believe we should be aware of can be found in Hebrews 2, verse 1. Therefore, we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard lest we drift away. Now, I believe that the Amplified Translation explains this verse further as it says, for this reason, that is, because of God's final revelation in his Son Jesus and because of Jesus' superiority to the angels, we must pay much closer attention than ever to the things that we have heard so that we do not, in a way, drift away from truth. In essence, what the Bible is telling us here is that we should be careful not to drift away from the truth that is Jesus Christ. We should be careful not to slip away from the truth of the Gospel, because in this world, you will encounter people who give you their own watered-down version of the Gospel. People who will preach a Gospel that will require no repentance, no commitment, no denying of self, but instead a Gospel that tickles the ears. 

It sounds good, makes you feel good, but has no power to transform you or challenge you. This is what we should be careful about. Let's not drift away from the truth of the Gospel. The real Gospel of Jesus Christ will challenge and convict you. It will lead to a change in sinful habits and cause you to repent. We should do just that, saints. 

We should repent and turn away from sin. Have you ever heard anyone say something along the lines of, I sense the presence of God in here, or something about Him is just off, something about her being here made me feel uncomfortable. Maybe even the phrase, something about it just doesn't sit well with me. Perhaps you're familiar with these phrases, or phrases similar to them. 

They all speak to some kind of ability to discern things that are unseen, things that are unspoken and generally hidden. There are numerous stories about people who felt led to go to such and such a place at such and such a time, and they met somebody that needed help or a kind word. They would later recognize that to be a divine appointment. If we follow the promoting of the Holy Spirit, we will find ourselves led and drawn in all kinds of directions. 

Speaker 5: There was a British evangelist who lived and preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and in a book written by George Stormont called Wigglesworth, a man who walked with God. There are some amazing stories of how God worked wonders through this man. I'd like to read a short excerpt from this book, and I pray that it will minister to your hearts. One day, God spoke to Wigglesworth, telling him to go to a certain spot by the side of a street in Bradford and wait for a man he would send. After waiting an hour and a half, he was on the point of leaving when he saw approaching him a man driving a horse and carriage. 

This is the man, prompted the Holy Spirit. Wigglesworth jumped up and sat on the seat by the side of the driver. He was ordered off, but stayed put, lovingly, earnestly, patiently. God's servant, Smith Wigglesworth, spoke to the driver about his need of Jesus. Before they arrived at his destination, the man yielded to the Savior's claim. Very shortly after that, news came that the man had suddenly been taken ill and died, and with the news came a message that he had died trusting in the Lord. Now, in this short story, some people would highlight the fact that Smith Wigglesworth was really a man who was mightily used by God. 

Others would pick up on the importance of obeying God when he speaks to you, because you never know whose life you could end up impacting. However, I believe that the bigger picture in this is, isn't God so good? Is he not so wonderful and loving? And I say this because God led Smith Wigglesworth to minister to this man shortly before he passed away. God in his love offered this man one more opportunity to hear about the gospel of Jesus Christ. God in his mercy afforded this man another opportunity to make a decision concerning his eternal destination. So for me, this story wasn't all about being obedient to God's voice, or how God could use any one of us to touch the lives of someone else. But instead for me, this story is about God's love for a person who was lost and heading for eternal damnation. 

Speaker 4: The dictionary definition of discernment is simply the ability to judge well. A secondary definition relates to spirituality, and it says, perception in the absence of judgment with a view to obtaining spiritual guidance and understanding. In other words, spiritual discernment is the ability to see, hear, and understand spiritual things that are not readily seen, heard, or understood. Now, it's important for us to establish what discernment is not. Discernment is not intuition. 

It's not your gut feeling. It's not a superpower. It's a spiritual gift given to believers for spiritual purposes. Spiritual discernment is something provided by the Spirit of God to lead and guide you to his will. 

It's an intentional process by God to bring us into cooperation with his plan for our lives. Paul in the Bible in 1 Corinthians 2 verse 13 speaks concerning spiritual discernment. And the Bible reads, these things we also speak not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. One important distinction in this verse is that spiritual discernment is intricately tied to the Holy Spirit. 

Discernment comes from the Spirit of God. It's not something that comes from being a good judge of character. It's not something that comes from oneself. It comes from God. It's a spiritual gift just as the Word of God also says in 1 Corinthians 12 verse 10 that, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. God gives us the ability through the Holy Spirit to discern between various spirits and forces in this world. At the heart of spiritual discernment is spiritual warfare because we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places. Whether you believe it or not, there are spiritual forces at work behind the scenes that we cannot see. There are forces of light and darkness that are out there seeking to influence the human heart for or against God. The gift of spiritual discernment then allows the believer to discern when there are spiritual forces at work in the course of daily life. 

I need you to get that. The gift of spiritual discernment allows you to discern, to identify when, when there are spiritual forces at work, good or bad. So this means you don't walk around discerning that the cashier is possessed because they gave you the wrong change. You don't walk around saying that you feel the presence of God simply because a gospel song comes on. You are not holier than thou if you have the gift of discernment. But my point is that discernment is a wonderful gift and having a spirit of discernment gives us a weapon to use against evil forces because we're not easily deceived. We pick up on things like a preacher saying God but never the name of Jesus. With the eyes of discernment, we look at the gospel artist releasing a record and see if how they live their life matches the content of their song. 

Are they singing hallelujah keep my heart pure but are they living in sin? With the gift of discernment, we know that if we call on God in times of temptation and trial, the devil will have to flee according to James chapter 4 verse 7. If we are able to open our eyes and see that our temptations are spiritual in nature, our trials, tribulations and struggles are spiritual in nature and the battle for our minds and hearts are spiritual in nature, then through the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be able to resist those spiritual forces. I believe another term for discernment is spiritual insight. 

You are in sight, off the spiritual. You are considering what type of atmosphere is being created by this movie, by this show or by this game. Is it one that creates a feeling of excitement through fear? You consider the implication of certain objects you bring in your home. What is the meaning of that souvenir or gift from a friend? And I'm not talking about some innocent things like mugs or scarves. I'm talking about specific objects that are unique to a specific region. Spiritual insight will have you asking the question like where did that thing come from? 

What does it mean? Is it a ritualistic object and so forth? However, discernment isn't only for the supernatural or the gifted. Every believer should have a measure of the Holy Spirit to help them discern decisions and choices in everyday life. 

When we are thinking and acting according to the Holy Spirit, we are lining ourselves up with God's will for our lives. This can obviously have implications for major life decisions like who to marry, what house to buy, or what career to choose. But it can also have an impact on mundane daily decisions like what to wear today or where to go to lunch. For people that are in tune with the Spirit's leadings, they may find themselves led to divine appointments. And what I mean by that is you just so happen to be in the right place at the right time. 

You miss that bus which just so happened to crash that day. You were off sick on the day that something serious happens at your workplace or you take a wrong turn and walk straight into people who God wanted you to meet so you can provide them with a word of encouragement or they can bless you in some way. Now why is spiritual discernment so important? 

Would any of us be worse off if no one had it? The Holy Spirit gives it as a gift to believers for a reason, but what is that reason? One reason is that there are forces and powers in the world that are beyond our line of natural sight. Spiritual discernment brings us in tune with those forces and helps us to navigate them. If we are not in tune with God's Spirit, how do we expect to be in line with God's will? It is discernment through the Holy Spirit that allows us to follow God in a way that we should. 

The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to the truth of the spiritual realities in every decision in our lives. God is not out there disconnected and unconcerned about our lives. If we are willing to listen and open ourselves up to the Holy Spirit, then we will discover that God has interest in the ordinary and mundane of our lives. 

We will be able to discern God's will in every aspect of our lives. Spiritual discernment is an important part of the believer's experience. It is important to help us to discern the spiritual forces around us in this world, to discern God's will for our lives, and to help us follow that will. Each and every one of us should pray for the gift of discernment so that we are in line with the will of God. Several times in Scripture, men and women of God led to do something or to go somewhere because of their discernment of the will of God. God has not stopped speaking today. God is still speaking, leading, calling us to go and to do for Him. It is our task to ask the Holy Spirit for the ability to hear and to follow. ""[Text 8]
Speaker 1: Before the second coming of Christ, the antichrist will reign and take control of the earth. How do I know this? The Bible established that he would perform some activities that would establish his clear apathy against the ordinances of God. However, this won't happen suddenly. The Bible lists some key events that would happen before the antichrist established a new world order, which is what we'll unveil in this video. If you're oblivious to these things, then you need to pay attention to this message. The Bible says we must not be ignorant of these things. Some of these events that will happen before the antichrist takes over will also herald the second coming of Christ. The antichrist's reign will only be for a short time, but it will be a terrible time. 

So you must be prepared. Now, let's look at things that will happen before the antichrist establishes a new order. First, the whole world would fall into a state of unrest. Matthew 24, verse 6 to 7 says, 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. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. This verse highlights the world state just before the antichrist's appearance. There will be wars and rumors of wars. Nations will rise against nations. 

From all indications, this is already happening today. The antichrist is at work preparing for his triumphant entry. Why would the antichrist do this, you ask? 

His entry or establishment will be ushered in like a system with a solution. In other words, to give a false peace treaty. We must not forget that the Bible warns about this. 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 3 says, While people are saying peace and safety, destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 

Thus, when it looks like a solution is about to emerge, we need to be more cautious, because that is the full revelation of the antichrist. He will appear as a good world leader, trying to unite the entire world. This leads to the next thing he would do. He will introduce a global financial system. 

He will do this to control everyone with a mark to buy and sell. Revelation 13, verse 15 to 18 says, The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak, and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. It also forced all people great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark. Which is the name of the beast, or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast. But it is the number of a man. 

That number is 666. Of course, without one currency worldwide, this would be difficult. Many have opined that the emergence of digital currency is a move towards the antichrist's plan to have a global currency. Looking at this critically, you'll discover this might be true. 

Today, digital currencies are acceptable in almost all world nations. The next thing he would do is to kill the passion for sound doctrine. He'll manipulate many people to reject the true gospel, and dance to the tune of a demonic gospel that tingles the ears. They'll love to hear what pleases them, and not what pleases God. 2 Timothy 4 verse 3 to 4 says, For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their desires, they will gather around them many teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth, and turn aside to myths. The time referred to here is the coming of the antichrist. He wants men to disobey God by luring them away with false doctrines. 

And in line with this comes false teachers and prophets. These are the people that he would use to perpetuate his schemes. He knows that the more people are deceived, the more people will follow his new world order, and reject the narrow way. Jesus said in Matthew 24 verse 24 to 25, For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 

See, I have told you ahead of time. Here is a warning for us in Romans 16 verse 17 to 18. It says, I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the minds of naive people. Thus, it falls on you as a believer to be more careful of teachers and prophets. 

You must test all spirits and know that which is true. The antichrist is making great moves on how to deviate many. Another event that would happen before the antichrist establishes a new order is that he would ensure the persecution of genuine believers. 

This all happened because the antichrist craves worship. So when you claim to worship the living God, he'll unleash his wrath on you. You will not tolerate those who are strong in faith. Hence, the serious persecution against genuine believers all over the world shouldn't surprise you. Matthew 24.9 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. Hence, be prepared for this. 

You must be strong in faith and hold on to your salvation with fear and trembling. Then there will be an increase in economic problems. There will be natural disasters, and most especially famine. Revelation 6 verses 5 to 6 says, When the lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, Come, I looked, and there before me was a black horse. Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 

Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures saying, Two pounds of wheat for a day's wages, And six pounds of barley for a day's wages, And do not damage the oil and the wine. This situation will drive the world to an edge. Hence, there's a need for a leader who can stand as a world power and solve all these problems. 

However, he will only raise false hopes, as he cannot do anything about the world situation. Why do you need to know all these as a Christian? You must watch out and take heed. Do not be one of those the Antichrist will deceive. 

So what are the few things you can do? First, you must live with the consciousness that Christ can return any time. The first return is categorized as the rapture. So, in a nutshell, prepare yourself for the rapture. Keep your house in order. Move close to God by studying more of his word. 

Let him reveal more of himself to you as you await your flight. The Antichrist has no power over the raptured believers. However, he can make a believer lose his rapture through the events that we've outlined. That's why the Bible admonishes that you should be sober and vigilant. Your adversary, the devil, is looking for whom to devour. 

Don't give the Antichrist the chance to make you lose your reign with Christ. Another thing you need to do is to be discerning. You need to test all spirits. 

You must scrutinize everything. As a Christian, you need to check the messages you listen to and where you worship. If you discover that there is a practice different from what you know as the truth, walk away immediately. Do not give it a second thought. 

That's the Antichrist in disguise. Not only that, you need to watch out for your friends and advisors. You must ensure that they've not become an agent of the devil in your life. Then you must not lose hope. Many souls are in captivity because they've lost hope in Christ. They've assumed he will not return. 

But that's just not true. Jesus will return. A clear sign is what is happening in the world. While the rest of the world might be seeing problems, rest in the hope that Jesus will soon catch up with the saints. 

Also, you must encourage your brethren. The body of Christ is just like the parts of the body. So for the whole body of Christ to overcome the plans of the Antichrist, we need to stay strong together. 

If you notice that a brother or sister is getting cold spiritually, you must draw close to them and encourage their faith in the Lord. This way, the Antichrist won't be able to cover their hearts with deception. Then ensure you live today as if it's your last. This will help you live with the consciousness of heaven. You'll be able to fulfill all the commandments. 

And most importantly, you won't become the devil's prey. One of the things that would become rampant before the appearance of the Antichrist is the edification of the flesh. Men will become proud and boastful. They'll love themselves instead of God. 

Children will disobey their parents. But when you live each day as if it's the last, you will always overcome this. You will always walk by the Spirit. Lastly, endeavor to keep propagating the kingdom of God. Even though the evil one keeps increasing his influence in the world, this doesn't stop the children of light from dominating the earth. 

Hence, let your light continue to shine before all men. Keep winning souls through the help of the Holy Spirit. Finally, remember that the Antichrist is preparing for his reign. Ensure you keep watching and... Do not fall into spiritual slumber. 

Speaker 2: The Bible says in Matthew 24, verse 6 to 8, 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. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. 

Pay attention to what the Bible says in verse 8. All these are the beginning of birth pains. The beginning of birth pains, the Bible says. Now, we're living in a time where there are many conflicts all around the world, and there are these loud grumblings of more potential conflicts. But this is all in the Bible. The Bible tells us that we should not be alarmed. 

Such things must happen. Everything we are living through now, we've been foretold in the Bible, and if we are Bible-believing saints, we should not be surprised by the headlines. But the main thing for us is that we should not be fearful, but more so filled with faith. We need faith and hope in Jesus regardless of whether or not there is a war. We need to keep our faith and hope in Jesus regardless of whether or not the headlines are filled with doom and gloom. We need faith and zeal no matter how evil the days are, and no matter how many disasters strike the world. 

And I believe that one thing we need to be aware of is what happens inwardly. In these last days, we should really be careful that our hearts aren't swayed or hardened. I believe that in the last days, the presence of evil will be so real and so tangible that if we are not careful, some of us will fall into a false sense of security, thinking we are living for Christ when in fact we are living according to our own self-righteous standard. I encourage you to pray for a soft heart, a heart that is quick to repent, a heart that is quick to run to the Lord and quick to run away from evil. The Bible tells us that in the last days, because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. Hearts will grow cold as we edge closer and closer to the end of the age and the return of Christ. So here's my warning to you. Be careful that your heart is not hardened. 

Speaker 3: Jesus Christ is coming back. Don't be distracted by this world. Jesus is coming back. Don't get too comfortable in this world. Jesus is coming back. Don't sleep on the word of God. Don't sleep on the promises of God. 

Don't ignore the signs of the times. Jesus is coming back. Like a thief in the night, the Lord is coming. And this message is repeated over and over again because the Lord wants us to go on living as if he were coming tomorrow to be on red alert. Be found to always be ready so that if he came tomorrow, if he came tonight, you and I wouldn't be embarrassed to be saying the name of Jesus, but not living for Jesus. Don't be found to be lukewarm. Get your house in order. So stay prayerful. Be watchful of the times. The Lord is coming soon. 

Speaker 2: In our world today, not only is there evil at every corner, not only is there temptation all around us, but this world provides you with so many distractions. There are many things vying for our attention on a day-to-day basis. And to be honest, if we're not careful as men and women of God, we can easily and sometimes unknowingly lose our focus on what really matters in life. I encourage you to take a moment and think about whether or not you are truly living for Jesus Christ, or are you content living life and simply putting Jesus Christ alongside everything and everyone else. The Bible in Hebrews 3, verse 15 says, while it is said, today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. And on this matter of hardening your heart, Proverbs 28, verse 14 says, happy is the man who is always reverent, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. 

Now, what does it mean to have a hardened heart? It means spiritual blindness. It means insensitivity towards God's beauty and glory. 

It means chasing after our own desires instead of the things of God. A hardened heart rejects God. But thankfully, in his mercy, God has offered to change our hearts. And I want you to know that God can change our hearts. 

Ezekiel 26, verse 36, and I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Since the beginning of time, God has been drawing us toward himself. Even when we stubbornly ignore him, he doesn't walk away. 

He never gives up on us. In the book of Matthew, Jesus compares his second coming to a great wedding feast, a joyful celebration of the perfect union between Jesus Christ and his bride, the Church. And so we are invited to the greatest dinner banquet of all time. Have you responded to that invitation? 

Or are you putting it off until the last minute? Maybe you have become deafened to the sound of him knocking. Maybe your attention has been captured by other things like work and finances and romantic love. Those things seem important until you realize that they are only temporary. 

And when your life is over, or Jesus returns, they will no longer be of any value. We all think we have more time to get right with God. But the truth is that life is short. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. 

Everything we do today matters on an eternal level. If Jesus came back today, would you be ready? Would you be able to say that your heart was firmly set on Christ? Now is the time to place your faith in Jesus. And so today, if you hear his voice, don't harden your heart. Instead, allow him to come in and change your life forever. 

Speaker 4: Let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. The Bible is calling us to strip off every unnecessary weight in our lives. Do away with the sin which tries to ensnare you and keep you bound. 

People of God, Jesus Christ, is all that matters. And with the time that you have, live with wisdom and make use of today and serve the Lord while you still can. Our days are numbered and we must live for God. So when everything you do, put God first. In the midst of everything you go through, trust God first. 

Speaker 2: Psalm 1, verse 1 and 2 say, Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. 

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. You are blessed when you don't sit and entertain scoffers. Don't sit with them or break bread with them. Of course, do your Christian duty, which is to love all people and share the gospel of Christ, but do not sit or get into a state of being relaxed when you are around a scoffer. 

They will pull you down. The dangerous thing about a scoffer is that their sole aim is to make you doubt. They plant seeds of doubt. 

That's their mission. It's simply to spread doubt. They want you to question everything about the Lord. They want you to question 1 Thessalonians 4, 17, which says, Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. They want you to question Revelation 3,10. 

Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to try those who dwell on the earth. They want you to question the word of God, but we should resist such a person. Protect your faith. 

Protect yourself by not exposing yourself to people who purposely come to trip you up. Instead, focus on living a life that is pure and pleasing to Jesus. Focus on doing all you can to put this flesh under subjection. In fact, the Bible tells us how to prepare for the coming of the Lord in 2 Peter 3, verse 14-15. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him. We as children of God should be found spotless and blameless, in peace, that is inwardly calm with a sense of spiritual well-being and confidence, having lived a life of obedience to him. ""[Text 9]
Speaker 1: Billionaires blocking the sun, AI becoming a religion, and scientists attempting to play God. We are living in dangerous times where technology has so advanced that, in some cases, humans are now attempting to be creator, or at the very least to modify God's natural order of creation. In 2023, Thai magazine published an article titled, Why Billionaires Are Obsessed With Blocking Out The Sun. And I quote, Bill Gates, for instance, backed a project by Harvard University scientists to test an idea to spray calcium carbonate into the atmosphere in the skies over northern Scandinavia in 2021. 

The project was ultimately canned after outcry from local indigenous groups and environmentalists. Jeff Bezos put Amazon's supercomputer capabilities to work, modeling the effects of plans to inject huge amounts of sulfur dioxide, SO2, into the atmosphere later that year. Earlier this month, Dustin Moskowitz, a billionaire Facebook co-founder, plowed $900,000 into funding for scientists in Mali, Brazil, Thailand, and other countries to study the potential effects of solar geoengineering. 

Even the smaller fryer getting in on the action, with venture capitalists giving a combined $750,000 to a company pledging to implement a planetary solar geoengineering project using SO2. Man has always had a fascination or rather a sinful urge to be in control. Today we see this in abundance. Transhumanism, the proposed use of technology to allow human beings to develop beyond their natural capabilities. This movement is practically a religion to some people. I recently heard one AI expert warned of technology becoming a pseudo-religion, saying artificial intelligence can alter humanity's relationship with reality to the point that humanity's desire for control, which satisfies the anxiety typical of the human condition, could take on a tendency toward a pseudo-religion regarding machines. The theologian said that as machines become increasingly humanized, humans also become increasingly mechanized. Forbes recently published an article headlined Five AI Predictions for the Year 2030. 

Here are a couple of points that the article highlights. We will interact with a wide range of AIs in our daily lives as naturally as we interact with other humans today. By the year 2030, we will use AIs as our personal assistants, our tutors, our career counselors, our therapists, our accountants, our lawyers. They will be ubiquitous in our work lives, conducting analyses, writing code, building products, selling products, supporting customers, coordinating across teams and organizations, making strategic decisions. And yes, by 2030, it will be commonplace for humans to have AIs as significant others. 

Let's just stop there for a second and read that again. By 2030, it will be commonplace for humans to have AIs as significant others. This is not God's design for anyone when it comes to a relationship. 

This is not the biblical definition of marriage or love between a husband and wife. Now, the article further goes on to say, Over 100,000 humanoid robots will be deployed in the real world. Though most people don't yet realize it, humanoids are on the verge of being deployed in the real world. Tesla is investing heavily to develop a humanoid robot named Optimus. The company aims to begin shipping the robots to customers in 2025. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has stated in no uncertain terms how important he expects this technology to be for the company and the world. I am surprised that people do not realize the magnitude of the Optimus robot program. The importance of Optimus will become apparent in the coming years. Dear listener, we are in an era where biblical prophecies are coming to pass at an alarming rate. 

Some prophesied by prophets in the Old Testament, while some are the words of Christ himself. But the time is inconsequential. It is the realization that matters. And right now, the most prominent biblical prophecy flying around is the increase in knowledge. 

Daniel 12.4 says, But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge. While you may think this verse talks about technology generally, that's not the first focus. The first thing is that men would become desperate to seek answers in the end time. 

They want to know more about themselves, the universe, and the supreme being without acknowledging the existence of God. This is the main root of technology. And today, this verse is more glaring in the explosion of AI. While technology has been evolving for centuries, the world has never experienced a mighty wave like that of AI. 

We are quickly getting to the stage where technology in this form can speak, reason, and even perform tasks only humans can. What is the main reason behind these inventions? It all boils down to the need for an answer. It goes beyond creating tools to ease our daily lives and the quest to push beyond human limitations. 

Many hearts are drifting away from God to artificial things. They want to know the mystery behind how every cell in humans came to be. Yet, they don't want to know God. They want to travel back in time to discover how the planets, galaxies, and systems came to be. 

But they forget that God is an unsearchable being. They want to enjoy a life. They want quick results for everything. However, they no longer want to wait on God because he works with time. 

But is that the true way? Will AI replace God in our lives? Moreover, what are the dangers behind the AI terminology? 

Is this part of the Antichrist's preparation for his rule? You need to remember that AI does not come to life itself. There are humans behind the creation of these humanoids. What is their main aim? 

According to researchers, they want to make them God-like. This simple statement looks like what Lucifer thought of before God sent him out of heaven. Consider the five I-Wills of Lucifer as found in Isaiah chapter 14, verse 13 to 14. I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. 

I will be like the most high. Don't you think man today is replicating this ideology somehow? By wanting to create something God-like with all the answers and infinite knowledge, what does the Word of God say about the world that we live in? I would like to give you three Bible verses that should give us a godly perspective on how we ought to live our lives in this day and age. 1 John 2, verse 15 says, Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. Romans 12, verse 2 says, And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. And finally, James 4, verse 4 says, Adulterers and adulteresses, Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 

There are three messages that we can clearly extract from these scriptures. As children of the Lord, we are not to love the world. We are not to be conformed to this world and we are not to be friends with the world, because the Bible says that Satan is the God of this world, meaning that the devil has his tentacles in the world's philosophies and beliefs. 

There is a lot of evil that influences worldly music and the entertainment industry. And sure enough, if you take a look at this world through the lens of the Bible, you will notice a trend. What the Word of God stands for? The world is against. 

What Jesus Christ stands for and represents? The world is against. The Bible in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 4 says, Among them, the God of this world, Satan, has blinded the minds of the unbelieving to prevent them from seeing the illuminating light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. Those who have been blinded by Satan live under a delusion. They won't see that the love of money drives so many ungodly things in this world. 

They won't see that sexual immorality has been normalized in this world, as though the Bible doesn't tell us to flee. And so, as believers in Christ, we are called to live in this world, but not to love this world. Although we are in this world, we are not to conform to it. That means the standards of this world are not our standards. The behavior accepted in this world is not the kind of behavior outlined in the Bible. As believers, the only way we can keep from being swept away by this world is to keep our eyes firmly on Jesus Christ. 

Speaker 2: I want to tell you about people in the last days. The first group of people are those itching who give an ear to demons. The Bible warns us in 2 Timothy 4, verse 3-5, saying, For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires. Because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers, and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, and do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 

Be careful that you do not have itching ears. Too many people love to hear one side of the Bible, but not the other. We love to hear about faith and joy. We love to be told, The Lord is my shepherd, and I shall not want. We love to be told that God is a God of the impossible, and we are more than conquerors. But how many of us are receptive to the Word of God that tells us we will have to be accountable for every word and every action we say? How many of us are receptive to the Word of God that tells us God will not be mocked? 

Or that God is a consuming fire? You see, we need sound doctrine. And sound doctrine means we take the Bible in its entirety. We ought to take the Word of God as it is, not pick and choose. The Bible clearly states that people will turn their ears away from the truth. 

Don't let that be you. Seek to always hear the pure unfiltered gospel of Jesus Christ, a gospel that preaches repentance and encourages righteous living, a gospel that requires you to carry your cross and follow Jesus Christ. The second group of people are the modern Pharisees, the religious leaders who only want to be seen, who do things in the name of the Lord, but for personal glory. In the book of Matthew, we see Jesus rebuke the Pharisees and Sanctuces for their self-righteous behavior. Matthew 6, verse 5 says, And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners that may be seen by others. 

Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. In Greek culture, a hypocrite was an actor in a play. They would have many different roles in a play. In one scene, they would come out in a green mask. In the next scene, they would play a different role and come out in a red mask. They were constantly changing their roles depending on the scene. Jesus says that the Pharisees and Sanctuces do the same thing. 

They play different roles in front of people, depending on the audience they have in front of them. In today's culture, we would find it strange for someone to stand on the street and start praying. However, when Jesus was on this earth, the Pharisees and Sanctuces would be perceived as extremely holy for doing such a thing. 

However, Jesus tells the hypocrites that their motives are off. True holiness is not praying so that others would hear you, but praying in order to have a relationship with your heavenly Father. The hypocrites will not receive the reward of a relationship with God, because their reward is others listening to them. The difference between self-righteousness and righteousness really comes down to motive. 

The self-righteous, such as the Pharisees and Sanctuces, do good things in order to be seen by others. There is always an agenda. Another group of people are those who despise good. Isaiah chapter 5 verse 20 says, Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, Who put darkness for light and light for darkness, Who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. 

The word well could be translated in modern terminology as beware or great sorrow. So effectively the Bible is saying, Great sorrow be upon those who call evil good and good evil. Now the people who despise good will attempt to teach us to tolerate evil. However, the word of God teaches us that sin is sin, and we ought to live according to scripture and not tolerate what scripture deems to be evil. The people who despise good will teach us to compromise with sin. People who despise good will say, It's okay to knowingly slip into sin every now and again. You deserve a treat. 

Don't be so hard on yourself. However, the word of God teaches us that the wages of sin is death. People who despise good will never call evil evil. You see, these people, those who despise evil, will tell you that pride is okay because you've worked hard to get where you are. They will tell you that revenge is okay because no one should be talking to you like that. 

No one should treat you like that. However, the word of God teaches us not to be overcome with evil, but instead to overcome evil with good. By virtue of us being told not to be overcome by evil, that means there is a chance that a person can be consumed and overcome by evil. Another group of people that you will begin to see will be the idolaters, people who idolize things in their life. Money is an idol to them. 

Power is an idol to them. Physicians, cars, business, accolades, all of these can be idols. You see, an idol is anything or anyone that you place above God, or place on the same level of God. If there is anything or anyone in your life who you put first before the Lord, that is an idol. 

An idol doesn't have to be a golden image placed on a shrine in a secret room in your home. An idol can be the love of money. It can be the love of materials and possessions. 

It can be the love and yearning of the applause of men. Basically, anything that you love more than God, that thing has become an idol. And we are warned about idolatry in the Bible. Exodus chapter 20 verse 3 to 5 says, You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God. 

Visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. God will not stand for any idols in your life. So it is important for us, as children of God, to examine our hearts and make sure that we have no idols in our lives, because God simply won't tolerate it. The final group of people that you will see in the last days are the mockers and scoffers. 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 3 to 4, the amplified translation says, First of all, no, without any doubt, that mockers will come in the last days with their mocking, following after their own human desires and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? What has become of it? 

For ever since the fathers fell asleep in death, all things have continued exactly as they did from the beginning of creation. A mocker is someone who jeers and scoffs at something. How many mockers do we have in this present day? People who do what they do out of arrogance and pride. They think they are intelligent. In fact, they stand to try and reason against the Bible, because just as we've read, a mocker will question the coming of the Lord. They will question the promise of Christ returning for the church. They will question the validity of God's word and say, Our ancestors are dead and buried, yet everything is still the same as it was since from the beginning of time until now. Yes, we have the obvious signs about the last days. 

We know men will be lovers of self. We're told that dangerous times will come, and there will be famines and pestilence and rumors of war. But did you know that mockers are a sign of the last days? People who question the coming of the Lord are a sign of the last days. Where is this Jesus you speak of, they'll say. He hasn't shown up for hundreds of years or so. 

Where is he? That's what a mocker will say. A scoffer and a person who mock are one in the same. But the point is that one of the signs that we are in the last days is that people will come. They will write articles and newspapers. They will write comments. They will give their opinions. They will stand and speak to crowds. 

And they will question where is this coming he promised. Psalm 1 verse 1 and 2 say, Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord. 

And on his law he meditates day and night. You are blessed when you don't sit and entertain scoffers. Don't sit with them or break bread with them. Of course, do your Christian duty, which is to love all people and share the gospel of Christ. But do not sit or get in a state of being relaxed when you are around a scoffer. They will pull you down. 

Speaker 3: Backsliders. Every Christian understands that the Christian life carries with it challenges and hardships and is by no means an easy life. The Bible makes it clear in James 1 verse 2 to 4 that we will endure trials and tribulations when he says, Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance and let endurance have its perfect result so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Notice that he says, When you encounter various trials and not if, trials are inevitable in the Christian walk. 

Now trials can do one of two things to you. They can ignite a fire and a desire in you to cling to God. Or they will fill you with doubt and unbelief and a strong Christian can easily find themselves backsliding. It is a dangerous place to find oneself backsliding. But what does it really mean to be backslidden? Well, traditionally the word referred to someone that had become apostate, that is someone who has left the Christian faith altogether. Today, however, it is rarely used in its proper manner and is often used to describe someone who has given themselves to some worldly temptation and sin. It is a person who has given up. They have stopped fighting the good fight of faith. 

They have stopped fighting against sin. This is a dangerous place to be in for the believer. The reality is that we are ever going in one of two directions as a Christian. Either we are growing in holiness or we are slipping into sinfulness. There is no such thing as coasting as a Christian. You can't be on the fence as a Christian. You can't serve two masters as a Christian. 

Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. An author by the name of John Owen often speaks on this theme in his book called The Mortification of Sin, and he says we must fight to live a lifetime fighting against this sinful pull that is inside of us. The Apostle Paul also constantly speaks of this battle. The greatest danger for the backslider, the one who is not fighting against this sinfulness, is that they may not truly be saved. This isn't something that we can simply assume just because someone has fallen into sin, because we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. But let me tell you that one thing is for certain, and that is that everyone who has been saved will hate his or her sin, and they will struggle against it. This doesn't mean they always win the battle, but they will fight and strive against sin daily. They won't give up, because the Bible even says, for a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity. 

This is the good fight of faith. So if you are unsettled and constantly fighting sin, that's good. It means your spirit is alive to Christ, and it's at war against the sinful nature in our fleshly bodies. Paul the Apostle experienced this struggle himself, because in Romans 7, verse 15, he said, For I do not understand my own actions, for I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. The difference here is that the believer hates his or her sin, but the backslider has freely given into their sin with no struggle. In addition, the great danger of giving into sin is that all sin ultimately leads to death. The book of Romans tells us, For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Sin begets more sin, and soon it leads to a never-ending spiral, and ultimately a spiritual death. For the backslider, the greatest warning is found in the gospel of math, when the Bible makes it clear that, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. All of those who are truly saved will persevere until the end of their life. This is both a great comfort to the true believer that God will help him persevere, and yet a great warning for the one who is backsliding and not persevering. 

This is why it's so important, and I can't highlight it enough. It's so important to examine yourself honestly. Where do you stand with the Lord? Scripture says, examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. 

Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless indeed you fail to meet the test. A backslider should be worked that he or she does not pass the test if that person is given in to worldliness and godlessness. If one were to find himself enjoying his sin, rather than hating it, despite having fallen to it, that person should seriously question whether or not he is in the faith, and if not, fall to his knees and beg God to save him and give him a new heart, making him a new creation. The last thing to say about backsliding is that there are protections against such things in the body of Christ. In fact, this is the very reason church discipline exists. It is a protection for the believer who may otherwise fall into temptation, and it is a warning to those who would give in to sin, thinking there is no consequence. 

In God's most gracious way, the order of discipline that the church is meant to administer entails multiple steps, as outlined in Matthew. If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you. 

So that by the mouth of two or three witnesses, every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 

Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you lose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Unfortunately, many churches do not practice church discipline. It is not an option for the biblical church, and it guards the body against sinfulness and backsliding and serves as a warning, should someone have to be cast out of the church. This is the end result, according to God, for the truly backslidden and unrepentant person. If he refuses to repent, the church must publicly put him out of the fellowship to protect the body of Christ, and in hopes that the shame will eventually lead that person back to repentance. Heaven forbid anyone becomes so unrepentant that this step must be taken. So let the backslider beware, and let him repent. ""[Text 10]
Speaker 1: Imagine waking up one day and hearing this. Breaking news. A new law has just been passed. It is now considered illegal to own, purchase, or reference the Bible. 

Speaker 2: Breaking news. All citizens are to conform to the new unified religion. Christianity is now outlawed and it is an offense for any group to gather with the purpose of discussing, praying, or worshiping Jesus Christ. 

Speaker 1: Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a reality, but what if one day it was? 

Speaker 3: Today's teaching topic is the Antichrist. The Antichrist is one of the principal characters in the book of Revelation. He is evil, not just a symbol of evil. He is the personification of evil. Let me begin by sharing a brief overview of this evil world leader spoken of by Daniel, John, Jesus, and Paul. The Antichrist will be a man who was dwelted by Satan. His objective is to destroy all that God loves. The Antichrist will feign humility, at least at first, but is exceedingly proud. 

The Bible refers to him as the man of sin. He will be able to manifest seemingly miraculous signs and wonders. He will even claim divinity, but he is not divine. Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, he will at first hide his true nature. He will not be what he appears to be. Like the nefarious Superman villain Lex Luthor, he will be crafty and cunning, but also malevolent and merciless. Hitler, Mao, Stalin, Genghis Khan, Nero, Calagula, Herod. 

These men were banned and had a thirst for blood. But the Antichrist, he will make them look like Mary Poppins. He will be the foremost villain in all of history. 

His hatred of God's plan and people and the scope of the pain and suffering he will inflict on the world will be unprecedented. In Daniel chapter 2, we read that the prophet had a vision of the statue made of different elements. Gold, silver and bronze. Daniel was given to understand that each part of the statue referenced a future kingdom. The feet of the statue, specifically the statue's 10 toes, referenced the 10 part kingdom of the last days. The kingdom, the Antichrist, will rule. Daniel 7 notes that the Antichrist will rise from 10 kings. Some believe he will assume control of 10 regions or nations. Some believe the Antichrist will oversee a 10 nation confederacy that is based in Europe. It will be a form of a revived Roman empire. Others believe he will build on the works of 10 notorious leaders through the ages. 

Individuals such as Alexander the Great or Nebuchadnezzar, Sirius or Caesar. Prophecy notes that as the Antichrist rises to power, 3 nations or 3 kings or 3 components of the system that he controls will rebel. But according to the prophet Daniel, that rebellion will be crushed and a powerful new world government will rise with the Antichrist emerging as the absolute ruler of the world. Though there are questions regarding the interpretation of the text, what is clear is that in time the Antichrist will not just control a nation or a continent. He will control all major global systems, religion, the economy, government, military, everything. 

The Antichrist will be attractive, charismatic, politically savvy and wise. Through back room deals and stellar diplomacy, he will garner support and be thrust into power. Yes, leaders of the world will encourage him to step into power. 

He will appear to be a man of peace, but while he makes grand promises, he will be planning to kill millions. Many believe Daniel chapter 9 indicates that the Antichrist will come to power at the beginning of the prophet's 70 weeks prophecy. This can be a little difficult to follow, but in prophetic language, one week equals seven years. This means the Antichrist rise to power coincides with the last or 70th week in Daniel's prophecy. And coincides with the seven years of tribulation profiled in the book of Revelation. Most Bible scholars believe that the Antichrist will step into the world stage after leading in brokering a peace agreement with Israel and the nations at war with her. We read of this in Daniel 9. 

This means the seven year tribulation period does not begin with a war or the rapture. It begins with an Israeli focused peace agreement brokered by the Antichrist. That peace agreement will promise peace and security. 

Perhaps it will even grant Israel the right to rebuild the third temple, but the peace will not last. At first, the Antichrist will be hailed by the world as a wonderful and wise leader. He will introduce ideas that appear to solve many global issues. Many believe the world will be in chaos when he steps on the scene. Perhaps he will come in the aftermath of a war, a new pandemic, a financial crash, or the rapture of the church. Amid the chaos, he will step into the spotlight with plans and promises to save the world. His lies and promises will be attractive and convincing. The weary world searching for hope and answers will follow him. Give me control and I will bring peace and order to the world, he will say. 

Trust in me for I know the way. He will lie. He will mask his true agenda and desperate nations will surrender control to this self-proclaimed man of peace. In time, he will dominate all major world systems and lead a one-world government. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, profiled in Revelation 6, provides an overview of what will happen during the Tribulation period and what role the Antichrist will play as Tribulation events unfold. 

But before moving on, I think it's important to make an important clarification. Daniel 6, 7, 8, 9, Matthew 24, 1 Thessalonians 5, 2 Thessalonians 2, and Revelation 6 and 11 reference the Antichrist. That is one particular man. Scholars today refer to him with a capital A, a proper noun, a title unique to one person. But the Apostle John, who was inspired to write the book of Revelation, also wrote three epistles. And in 1st and 2nd John, he uses the term Antichrist with no capital A. In 1st John 2, verse 18, and also in 1st John 4, verse 3, for example, John defines an Antichrist, small A, as one who opposes the will of God. John noted that in his day, there were many Antichrists, small A, many who opposed the will of God, and that in the last days, there would be many more. So, Scripture assigns two definitions to the term Antichrist. The word Antichrist, small A, refers to humans who intentionally work to oppose the will of God. The term Antichrist, capital A, refers to one particular human who will be indwelt by Satan himself and rise to power during the Tribulation period. Let me share with you what the Bible says about that person, the Antichrist, capital A, referenced in the book of Revelation. The Antichrist will be indwelt by Satan and be able to manifest supernatural signs and wonders, deceiving the masses with demonic power. He will, by the midpoint of the Tribulation period, claim to be divine. 

But Daniel 7, verse 24-25 indicates that the Antichrist will be a man. Philippians 2 indicates that Jesus was 100% human, and yet at the same time, 100% divine. He was both man and God at the same time. This unique fusion of divinity and humanity is sometimes referred to as the hypostatic union. 

Jesus was the first and last to have this dual nature. The Antichrist will claim divinity and demand to be worshiped as God. Revelation 13 indicates he will suffer an apparent fatal wound to the head and then appear to come back to life again. 

A kind of black and white version of the full-color resurrection of Jesus. But despite his claims, the Antichrist will be human. He is a human indwelt by Satan. Satan is not the Creator. He does not create. 

He destroys and he mimics. In the book of Revelation, we see Satan mimicking the trinity via the dragon, that's Satan. The beast, that's the human Antichrist. 

And the false prophet, another human who supports the work of the beast. The Antichrist will be a man, albeit an extraordinary man. In Daniel 8, we read that his countenance will be fierce. He will be proud, haughty, full of hubris, and will be able to intimidate many to acquiesce to his wishes. He will say he is a humble man of peace. But there will be an unmatched ferocity and viciousness about him. 

He will not hesitate to attempt to destroy all that stands in the way of his rise to absolute power. The Bible notes that he will be accompanied by a wonder-working partner, whom I have mentioned as the false prophet. The false prophet will champion the Antichrist's rise to power and will likely become the leader of the new global religion of the last days. He will be the chief supporter of whom Jesus called the Abomination of Desolation. Daniel 8, verse 25, notes that the Antichrist will cause craft to prosper. The key Hebrew word in that passage means deceiver, or one who leads in fraud, falsehood, guile, and treachery. 

Clearly, the character traits I have listed thus far are not positive, but most would say they are not unique. The Antichrist will be a liar. He will be a deceiver. He will hate God. 

That seems to describe many today. He will be a killer. He will be treacherous. He will be proud. He will have psychophant followers. He will claim to be God. 

He will manifest demonic power. Scholars argue that even these features are not unique. More than 100 men are known to have claimed to be God or claimed to have supernatural powers. But these negative qualities have been witnessed before. They are not new. What will be new is the scope and impact these amplified qualities will have on the earth. Revelation 6, verse 8 indicates that one fourth of humanity will die in the first four seal judgments, which will take place in the first half of the Tribulation period. Tribulations will come and people will die because they have been deceived by Satan. His representative during the Tribulation period will be the Antichrist. Truly, if all turned to Christ and rejected Satan, there would not be a Tribulation period. Therefore, the Antichrist will have the blood of billions of people on his hands. 

But that just takes us to the midpoint of the Tribulation period. At that point, the persecution of people of faith will intensify. About this time, the Antichrist will suffer what appears to be a fatal wound to the head. There is some conjecture on this point, but most believe the Antichrist, a man, will die. But several days later, Satan will somehow take possession of the body and it will appear that the man resurrected from the dead. The Antichrist will claim that he resurrected himself. 

This is another vain attempt to copy the ministry of Jesus, whom the Bible says laid his life down and raised it to life again. Many will be deceived. Many will proclaim the Antichrist to be divine. 

At this point, the Antichrist will have almost absolute control over the world's systems, consolidating them into one world's government, religion, and economy. Prophecy notes that a new, third Jewish temple will be rebuilt before the midpoint of the Tribulation. The Antichrist will enter this temple, defile it, and there proclaim himself to be God and demand the world worship him. With the help of the False Prophet, the Antichrist will usher in a new system to identify who is and who is not a loyal follower. 

To prove one's allegiance to the Antichrist, one will have to receive a mark of loyalty on their hand or their forehead. This mark is known as the Mark of the Beast. With cruel ingenuity, this mark will be tied to one's ability to buy or sell. The mark will likely be some kind of digital device that will track your movements and store your personal and financial information. Without the mark, it will not be possible to buy or sell, and it will likely not be possible to have a traditional job, attend a school, run a business, or receive medical care. 

In a best-case scenario, those who refuse to take the mark will suffer profound economic hardship. Many will let loose their homes and their business. Families will suffer. Many will starve or die for lack of medical care. 

But remember, that's the best-case scenario. Those who refuse the mark will be named as enemies of the state and hunted down like criminals. In Revelation 13, Scripture associates the mark with a number. That number is 666. Note, the Bible does not say all people who take the mark will somehow be branded with the number 666. But rather, the number 666 is associated with the Beast, the Antichrist. Though it is not crystal clear, the number 666 likely has great symbolic value, and there will be many layers of interpretation. 

For example, the number 666 in Hebrew culture is associated with man, just as the number 766 is associated with God and the Divine. Also, in Hebrew culture, to say something three times is the epitome of whatever you state, that's why often in Scripture, we do not read that God is holy. We read that God is holy, holy, holy. 

The word holy, repeated three times, indicates that God is the ultimate or highest expression of holiness. So, the number 666 could emphasize the human and imperfect nature of the Antichrist, which is particularly important because at that point in history, he will be claiming to be God and demand to be worshiped. Though there may be some debate or dispute about what the actual number of the mark indicates, there is no debate about what taking the mark means. Receiving the mark of the Beast indicates one's loyalty and allegiance to the Antichrist. People who refuse the mark will be arrested and placed into modern day concentration camps. 

Imagine the horror. Some may ask, what is so bad about taking the mark? Advocates of taking the mark will probably say that it's just a way to regulate or improve the economy, or a way to ensure the effective coordination of government services, such as medical care. Take the mark, take care of your family, they will say. View it as an economic decision, a way to keep your job and buy groceries, they will say. But though taking the mark does have an economic component, taking the mark is not an economic decision. It is a spiritual decision. Those who take the mark are declaring their loyalty to the Antichrist. 

They are declaring that they believe he is divine, that he rose from the dead and is God. Yes, they will be coerced. Under threat, many will feel forced to take the mark. Revelation 13 verse 15 states, the false prophet and his followers will cause those who do not worship the image of the Antichrist to be killed. But those who take the mark will have to pay a terrible spiritual price. God warns in Revelation 14 verse 9 to 11, if anyone worships the beast and his image and receives the mark on his forehead or on his hand, he will also drink the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of his anger. And he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. 

They have no rest day and night. Those who worship the beast and his image and whoever receives the mark of his name. Those who take the mark will not be able to go to heaven. 

It is as simple and as terrible as that. The last half of the three and a half years of the Tribulation is known as the Great Tribulation. During this time, God will implore people to resist the beast and turn to him. Increasingly severe judgments known as the vile or bull judgments will befall the earth. 

During this time, those who have taken the mark will contract painful, festering sores. The oceans will turn poisonous and all life in the seas will die. Shipping will cease. Oxygen production will be impacted. Fresh water will turn to blood. Aquatic life will die. The light from the sun will be reduced. 

Ecosystems will be negatively impacted. A great darkness will come over the earth. So great and heavy will the darkness be that the scripture states, wicked will gnaw their tongues in agony. 

Still, the followers of Antichrist will not turn from their wicked ways. The waters of the Great Euphrates River will dry up. A huge army from the east will seize the opportunity to march west and will ultimately share in the final battle of Armageddon. The earth will be rocked by an unprecedented earthquake. 

The calamity will be accompanied by flashes of lightning and hailstones as large as 100 pounds falling to earth. It is the willful disobedience of the Antichrist that provokes these final judgments. So terrible will this time be that scripture says that were it not for God's intervention, no life would survive. Filled with rage, the Antichrist will coordinate a series of battle against Israel and followers of Christ who have gathered in Jerusalem. The last battle will be fought in a great plane, commonly known as Armageddon. The word comes from the Hebrew word, par, Megadon, which means Mount Megiddo. 

A small raised area in the vast plain where many noble battles throughout history have been fought. Antichrist will lead a huge army toward Jerusalem, outnumbering the followers of Christ many times over with his soldiers and weapons. At that last moment, when Jerusalem is surrounded, Christ will come from heaven, riding a glorious white horse, followed by those who were raptured or died as martyrs during the tribulation. The followers of the Antichrist will be consumed with just a word from Jesus Christ. The very word of God will conclude the battle of Armageddon, but the Antichrist and the false prophet will not perish with their followers. They will be captured by a mighty angel, bound, judged, and cast alive into the lake of fire. After Jesus rules the earth during what is known as the Millennial Reign of Christ, the Antichrist and all followers of Satan will be judged once and for all, in what is known as the Great White Throne Judgment, referenced in Revelation 20. The followers of Satan will be cast into hell forever. The Antichrist will wield incredible power, but the ultimate victory belongs to Christ. Jesus will have the ultimate and final victory, and those who believe in him and are committed to live for him can share in his victory. 

In 1 Corinthians 15 verse 57 we read, Thanks be to God who gives us victory through Jesus Christ. Yes, turbulent times are coming. The Antichrist is coming, but help is available. His name is Jesus. Our only hope is to align with Jesus and seek safety, strength, and salvation in him. God promises help and rescue to those who put their faith in Jesus. Those who walk with the Lord will be raptured. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 51 to 53 states that in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, followers of Christ will be caught up and rescued from this world, saved from the tribulations and persecutions of the Antichrist that is to come. Those who believe in Jesus, confess their sins to Jesus and follow Jesus, will be raptured by Jesus, and will not suffer the oppressive rule of the Antichrist. Don't be left behind. Put your faith and trust in Jesus today. 

Speaker 4: Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people. And by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast, it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. Also, it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 

Revelation 13, verses 11 through 17, a passage that has sparked countless questions and debates. Who is this beast? What are the signs he performs? Why do people worship this beast? And the most intriguing question of all, what is this mark of the beast? Is it a physical mark? Has it already been introduced? 

Or is it a prophecy yet to be fulfilled? Why would anyone willingly receive this mark? And what does it signify? These are just a few of the many questions that have captivated theologians and believers alike for centuries. For nearly 2,000 years, the mark of the beast referenced six times in Revelation 13 through 20 has been a subject of intense speculation. Christians have delved into these passages seeking to unravel their profound meaning and interpretation. 

The diversity of interpretations is staggering. Some believe the beast was Nero, the ancient Caesar of Rome, and that the mark was something pertaining to the ancient Roman Empire. Others interpret the language more symbolically, that the beast is any man or institution that opposes God, and the mark distinguishes between God's people and God's enemies. Still, others believe the beast is a political or a military figure who has not yet arrived. 

But when he does, he will usher in a new world order of evil, and the mark of the beast will be a means of control over the world's population. Some think this mark is a physical marking like a tattoo. Others believe the mark might be something like a chip implant, or a device that people are forced to receive and use. 

Clearly, this topic is a complicated and difficult one, and yet there are some straightforward lessons we can learn. First, whether one interprets the mark of the beast literally or symbolically, it clearly distinguishes God's people from worldly and evil people. The concept of a mark or seal is not limited to the mark of the beast. For example, in Exodus 28, God taught Moses how to craft the garments to be worn by the high priest. Part of the priest's garments included a turban, and on the front of the turban was a golden plate engraved with the phrase, Holy to the Lord. Thus Aaron and subsequent high priests wore a literal sign on their forehead that claimed they were set apart for and dedicated to the Lord. So this sign, this mark, demonstrated the high priest's devotion and service to God. In more figurative language, the prophet Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 44 verse 5, this one will say, I am the Lord's, another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand the Lord's and name himself by the name of Israel. 

Here, this method of writing on one's hand demonstrated loyalty, devotion, and belonging to God. In Ezekiel 9, the prophet is shown a vision in which God commands an angel to pass through Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of people who sigh and groan over the abominations being committed in the city. Then, God commands others to pass through Jerusalem and slay any person who does not have the mark. So, once again, a mark on the forehead was meant to show who belonged to the Lord. In this case, that mark and thus belonging to God meant safety and salvation. This imagery is used in a similar case in Revelation 7, verse 3, where one angel commands other angels, do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. Revelation 14, verse 1, also mentions those with the Lamb and the Father's names written on their foreheads. 

Thus, in Scripture and particularly the Book of Revelation, those who have the mark of the beast stand in contrast to those who have the seal of the Lamb and the Father. We all belong to one of two camps. We belong to the Lord or we belong to Satan. We are either devoted to Jesus and his kingdom or we are the Lord's enemies. 

The sobering truth should cause us to reflect and ensure we are on the Lord's side. Are we dedicated to the Lord? Are we holy, sanctified, and set apart for the Lord's kingdom? 

Or are we more devoted to our desires and passions and the ways of the world? If we are not devoted to the kingdom of Christ, then we belong to the Lord's enemies. But belonging to the Lord is not always easy. Serving Jesus and his kingdom will bring challenges. Satan will not allow the Lord's people to serve Jesus without cost. 

He will use any means necessary to cause our devotion to Christ to crumble. Sometimes he uses distraction. Sometimes he uses confusion. And sometimes he uses persecution. Persecution can take many forms. Sometimes it involves physical violence. Other times persecution comes in the form of emotional and mental attacks. 

And sometimes economic persecution is the most effective. In Revelation 13 and 17, John states that those without the mark of the beast could not buy or sell. To be unable to buy or sell would mean financial ruin and economic downfall. Imagine if you could not earn a living unless you denounced Jesus. Imagine you couldn't purchase food for your family unless you acknowledged Satan as your master. What if everything you owned could be taken away from you unless you chose to serve the world instead of Jesus? Would you still be faithful to God? Would you be willing to give up everything and cling to Christ? 

Or would you forsake Christ for earthly comfort? The prophetic language of Revelation is difficult to wrestle with. And the specific interpretation of images like the beast and his mark will continue to be pondered and debated. But one thing we should all agree upon is that Christians must be devoted to Jesus. Are we living for the Lord or for ourselves? Spiritually speaking, do we bear the mark of the Lamb or the mark of Satan? Who are we really devoted to? 

Who do we truly belong to? We can also be sure that Satan will use any method he can to pull us away from the Lord and to cause us to lose our souls. And Satan's methods will never be easy to thwart. 

They will be difficult, dangerous, and even deadly. But will we choose temporary safety or eternal salvation? Will we cave to the pressure and threats of the enemy? 

Or will we stand firm, endure persecution, wait on the ultimate victory of the Lamb, and trust in the salvation the Lord promises? There is a war going on. The victor is already determined. The question for you and me is, which side will we choose? The victorious Lamb or the condemned beast? 

Speaker 5: There is a flood coming, a wave. We're told in Revelation chapter 12 verse 12 that, therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them. But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short. The devil knows, and he understands that his time is short. His days are numbered, and so he is coming with an anger. He's coming for the believers, trying to get them to backslide. He's coming for those who are on fire for God, and he's trying to get them to a state of being lukewarm. He's coming for the family and for the home, all so that he can steal, kill, and destroy. But the Bible says, when the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him, meaning that should the devil try to flood your life, then in Jesus' name the gates of hell shall not prevail. Whatever the flood may be, God will raise a standard against him. You have a deliverer in Jesus. You are on higher ground when you stay in the presence of the Lord. 

You have a defense in Jesus, an impenetrable fortress, and no flood from the devil can harm you. At some point in life, most people will hear the term the good old days, and in most instances it's a reference to a time period that people remember fondly. Our grandparents always believed that the days they grew up and lived in were far better than this present day. 

Likewise, our parents talk about how things were when they were coming up, and how they were different and better than the things that exist today. Matthew 24, verse 37 to 38, the Bible reads, But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark. The days of Noah. From generation to generation, would you say that society as a whole has been improving morally and spiritually since the days of Noah? Or would you say that society has been declining morally since the time of Noah? During the days of Noah, the Bible says in Genesis 6, verse 5, The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 

How does this generation compare? If sin was prevalent in those days, what should we make of this present day? If the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the days of Noah, then what does he think of today? We've had a boom in technology, the kind of technology that makes it easier to sin in many different ways. We've had society glamorize sin through celebrities and entertainment. So if the days of Noah were bad, what about today? 

Could this current generation be the most wicked known to man? At least since the flood? Jesus did not refer to the days of the past, the days of Noah, as the good old days. But instead, he referred to them as a time that we could look at as a means to understanding his second coming. For Christians, this might inspire us to want to ask the question, exactly how bad was the generation that existed in the final days before the flood? In speaking of his own return, Jesus said, in Matthew 24, verse 37 to 39, But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of man be. 

For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in Until the day that Noah entered the ark and did not know until the flood came and took them all away. So also will the coming of the Son of man be. Jesus desired to let his followers know that if we could discern and understand the times leading up to the flood, then perhaps we could discern and understand the season in which he, Jesus, would return. 

It's all about having the awareness to know that when these things start happening, when people become comfortable and start pushing God out of their lives, when sin and wickedness is the norm, when you start to feel the birth pains, then you know, you know, that the return of Christ is near. So what was it like during the days of Noah? What was it like before the destruction of mankind? The book of Genesis tells us that the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth and he was grieved in his heart. The Bible also teaches that all mankind was corrupt and that the earth was a wretched place. Genesis 6, verse 11 and 12 says, the earth also was corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth and indeed it was corrupt. For all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth, so the earth was filled with violence. 

All flesh had corrupted their way, way up to those descriptions against the world today. However, in and amongst all that was going on, Noah found grace in the eyes of God. Noah was described as perfect and just in his generation. 

He was described as a man who walked with God and because of this he was saved. In this day and age, ask yourself as a man or woman of God, am I a Noah in this sin field world? Am I walking with Jesus? Am I practicing righteousness? 

Or am I to be found sitting and dining on the same table as those who willingly sin against God? Though God's intent was to destroy the evil that controlled the hearts and minds of his creation, he did not intend to annihilate his greatest creation as a whole, which is why he saved Noah. God's heart has always been to reconcile sinners back to a state of righteousness. 

He wants us to spend all of eternity with him, but all too often we're not paying attention to his word which tells us how to live and what to watch out for in times like these. 

Speaker 6: Over the years, the power that a distinctive atmosphere can have on people has become more apparent. And this has meant that institutions, businesses, the entertainment sector all use the psychological effects of an atmosphere to their advantage for some to make more money. Take a look at certain sport venues. 

They're designed in a way that allows the best acoustics. You can hear the crowd cheering and even on occasions where the home team is losing an atmosphere can lift any team. You go to watch a movie and what do they do? Turn off the lights, turn up the speakers. Some even offer a sensory experience where your seat shakes and you feel the effects of the movie. It's all to create an atmosphere. Look at a bar or nightclub. Loud music, dimmed lights, a closed off environment, alcohol. 

It's an atmosphere. And we do it too as Christians. We go to church. And most people on their way to church listen to gospel music. 

Once you get to church, the praise and worship teams nearly always come before the speaker. It's all to create an atmosphere. An atmosphere is distinctive. It's a force. You can feel it. And in a spiritual sense, an atmosphere is a spiritual doorway. Have you ever noticed that you can walk into a room full of people and feel an atmosphere? You can feel whether you're welcome or not. You can even walk into a church and feel either comfortable or uneasy. In fact, you can walk into a room with only your spouse there and you can sense. 

You can feel the type of atmosphere or mood in that room without saying one word. Scripture teaches that there are spiritual battles all around us. We live in two atmospheres. One is physical, where our senses are engaged. We can see, smell, hear, touch, and taste. The other is spiritual. We can't see it with the natural eye or experience it with the rest of our natural senses. But it's very real, whether you believe it or not. But we don't wrestle against flesh and blood. 

Why? Because our enemy is not in the physical atmosphere. And when we open these certain doors, when we open these spiritual doors, we're inviting a presence into the place we are. 

Now let me tell you this. The devil does not fight fair. Revelation 12 verse 12 says, he is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short. Meaning that he will not give up until you're wounded and destroyed. And yes, he will attack us by virtue of us being children of God. But he will also attack us if we leave certain doors open in our lives, if we allow him access through spiritual doors. Before I go any further, I do want you to understand that regardless of how much fury the devil is filled with, we are not to be afraid. We are to be watchful, to be sober and vigilant. 

But we are not to be fearful because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. God has given his angels charge over you. The Lord has promised to protect you. The Bible says, this I declare about the Lord. He alone is my refuge, my place of safety. 

He is my God and I trust him. But we should not be ignorant. We should, as children of God, be alert that one of the most dangerous things a Christian can do is open up the door to the enemy. 

And how do you do that? How do you open yourself up to the enemy? Well, the enemy is deceptive in how he operates. He will never openly try and walk into your life. He will hide behind the things you watch. He will hide behind what you listen to. 

He will hide behind the places you go. And I don't mean the grocery store or to your job. I mean, when people make the decision for fun, to visit those haunted experiences or haunted scary rooms at amusement parks. And you know why these are all doors? When you watch something, when you listen to certain types of music, when you visit certain places, you're exposing yourself to an atmosphere, a pervading tone or mood. 

Consider this. When we worship God, when we sing praises to him, you can be in your car, in church, or in your home. The atmosphere shifts because you're inviting him in. You're calling out to him. 

You're reaching out. And the same is true when you switch off the lights to watch a horror movie. What are you doing? You're creating an atmosphere. You may think it's entertainment, but it's actually an atmosphere. You're inviting an ungodly presence. And those are the spiritual doors that the devil enters through. That's why it's so important to be mindful of the atmosphere around us, in our homes and at the places we are. 

We need to discern whose presence we're allowing to be highlighted. Our enemy will keep trying to do what he does, to steal, kill, and destroy. And he does it best with your consent. The atmosphere of praise, worship, prayer, love, and unity attract the Holy Spirit. Just as an atmosphere of lust, drunkenness, anger, and hatred attracts demonic spirits, you impact your own spirit by the atmosphere you choose. The choices you make with the places you go can impact the way you get tempted to sin. Be careful with the places you enter. 

The atmosphere there might get you to sin. Use wisdom. Be alert. 

We have to be guarded. Even in a season of pain, because sometimes that's when we're most vulnerable. Everyone has and will suffer hurt in life. We all have to endure some kind of wound, suffer some type of disappointment, suffer wounds and scars that should have, could have, and probably still can destroy. Destroy your faith, kill your hope, destroy the trust in a marriage, steal the future of a young man, or taint the eyes of a young lady. The enemy does come to steal, kill, and destroy if you're not guarded. 

He doesn't need an invitation to come in and attack, but the mistakes that we think is that when the devil attacks a believer it should be fire and brimstone. Some think of a grim reaper look alike, but no, it's problem after problem. It's issue after issue, one thing after another, with an intention to wear you down, get you to a state of being sick and tired. Why do you think the Bible tells that they who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength? It's so you won't get tired of this enemy. Come unto me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Or Hebrews 12, therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. In other words, don't grow tired, don't let the devil wear you down. But here's how to be guarded. Always, always be sensitive, be alert, be mindful of the kind of atmosphere you're exposing yourself to. 

Speaker 7: A Christian man was on his deathbed. As he lay there, his family by his side, the room was silent. The only sound was the heart rate monitor machine beeping slowly in the background. He summoned the strength to give his loved ones some parting words. He said, The Bible warned me that time is short, and I didn't listen. 

The Bible warned me that it profits nothing for a man to gain the whole world, but lose his soul. For over half my life, I worked and worked. I accumulated possessions. 

But no amount of money I've made could buy me another 24 hours on this earth. The Bible warned me to forgive, but I carried so much anger against so many people who had done me wrong. It is only in my final days that I have been able to forgive. Don't be like me. Listen to God's warnings early enough to take action. Don't wait until it's too late. It was almost too late for me. Now, when I heard this story, it made me think, How many of us underestimate biblical warnings? 

How many of us take biblical warnings seriously? Now, the Apostle Paul is a fascinating character in the Bible. Before he was Paul the Apostle, he was known as Saul from Tarsus. He was originally a Pharisee and a persecutor of early Christians. Saul was a zealous Pharisee who was determined to stamp out what he saw as a dangerous heresy that was spreading in the Jewish community. This Saul would go door to door and beat Christians. 

And it's believed that he also killed them. In the book of Acts, the first person to die for following Jesus was a man named Stephen. Stephen gave a speech about Jesus and called everyone to repent and trust in Jesus. 

At the end of the speech, Stephen is stoned to death. It says of Saul in Acts 8 verse 1, and Saul approved of his execution. At the least, Saul approved and was happy with the execution. 

At the most, he set up the execution. Saul killed followers of Jesus. But despite all of this, Saul had a dramatic conversion experience on the road to Damascus, where he saw a vision of Jesus. And after this experience, the one persecutor of Christians became a Christian himself. Now, let me ask you, was Paul so bad that God couldn't use him? 

Of course not. Paul was transformed when he encountered Christ. And when Paul did encounter Christ, he wrote many books in the New Testament. And there's one passage of Scripture where he gives us six cautionary warnings regarding how we live our lives. These six warnings are, Don't participate in the darkness of wild parties. Don't be involved in drunkenness. 

Have nothing to do with sexual promiscuity. Do not live immorally. Do not be found quarreling. And the last point is not to be jealous. Now, these six points can be found in Romans 13 verse 13, where the Bible says, Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don't participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living. 

Or in quarreling and jealousy. When Paul says, Don't participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, the imagery here is powerful. Imagine a person stumbling around in the dark, unable to see clearly. In the same way, engaging in wild parties and drunkenness clouds our judgment and leads us into spiritual darkness. Just as a lighthouse warns ships of dangerous rocks, the Bible cautions us about the perils of indulging in activities that dull our spiritual senses. The next couple of points are to do with guarding against sexual promiscuity and immoral living. Continuing in Romans 13 verse 13b, Paul urges us not to participate in sexual promiscuity and immoral living. The combination of sexual promiscuity and immoral living are like a thick fog that obscures our vision of God's plan for our lives. 

Such behaviors breed an ungodly attitude, ungodly habits, and eventually it becomes a lifestyle. This is why it is incredibly important to be rooted in God's word. Much like a compass points true north, the Bible provides a moral compass that, when followed, guides us away from the fog of immorality. In Romans 13 verse 14, Paul provides us with a solution as he writes, Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. Clothing ourselves with Christ is like putting on a suit of armor. It protects us from the arrows of temptation and shields us from the allure of worldly desires. Just as a soldier prepares for battle by putting on armor, we prepare for the spiritual battles of life by clothing ourselves with the character and teachings of Christ. 

As we navigate the challenges of our time, let us heed these warnings, guarding against the pitfalls that lead to spiritual darkness. Now I would like for us to further explore warnings from Paul the Apostle and one of his most serious warnings to Christians is related to unbelief. 

Speaker 5: Hebrews 3 verse 12 says, See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. This is a serious warning because Paul is telling us that we need to see to it that none of us have a wicked and unbelieving heart. A heart which refuses to trust and rely on the Lord, a heart that turns away from the living God. And let me show you just why unbelief is so crippling to a Christian. In Matthew 13, when Jesus was coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in the synagogue and verse 58 says, Now he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. 

Think about that. Jesus didn't do any miracles because of unbelief. Jesus didn't perform any mighty works because of unbelief. And so my friends, you see why Paul warns us against having an unbelieving heart. When you have a heart filled with unbelief, you deny God's power. You deny God's glory. You deny the Lord of all that he is. So be warned, people of God. See to it that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 

Now for this next warning, I have to give you a little bit of context before I go on any further. The children of Israel were led out of captivity and slavery. They saw incredible miracles from God. They saw the Red Sea was parting. The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light. 

They were fed by manna from heaven. But despite seeing God's strong hand, the children of Israel rebelled, murmured and complained against God. And so Paul in the New Testament warns us in Hebrews 3, verse 15 to 17, as has just been said, today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion. Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for 40 years? 

Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? The warning here is that we should not harden our hearts. Don't be cold and insensitive to the voice of God. In the midst of all the chaos and confusion of this world, the voice of God is still calling out to us. 

The Spirit of the Lord is knocking on our hearts. A hardened heart means that someone is blind. It means insensitivity towards God's beauty and glory. It means chasing after our own desires instead of the things of God. But thankfully, in his mercy, God is offered to change our hearts. 

God can change our hearts. The third warning I believe we should be aware of can be found in Hebrews 2, verse 1. Therefore, we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard lest we drift away. Now, I believe that the Amplified Translation explains this verse further as it says, For this reason, that is, because of God's final revelation in his Son Jesus and because of Jesus' superiority to the angels, we must pay much closer attention than ever to the things that we have heard so that we do not, in a way, drift away from truth. In essence, what the Bible is telling us here is that we should be careful not to drift away from the truth that is Jesus Christ. We should be careful not to slip away from the truth of the gospel because in this world, you will encounter people who give you their own watered-down version of the gospel. People who will preach a gospel that will require no repentance, no commitment, no denying of self, but instead a gospel that tickles the ears. 

It sounds good, makes you feel good, but has no power to transform you or challenge you. This is what we should be careful about. Let's not drift away from the truth of the gospel. The real gospel of Jesus Christ will challenge and convict you. It will lead to a change in your sinful habits and cause you to repent, and we should do just that, saints. We should repent and turn away from sin. ""[Text 11]
Speaker 1: Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. This call to vigilance and watchfulness is as relevant for us today as it was for the disciples when Jesus spoke these words. 

Just as a vigilant watchman remains attentive to potential threats, we must stay alert and watchful for the signs of Christ's imminent return. The fascinating thing about a watchman is that a watchman has many different roles which are all just as vitally important. In the olden days, a watchman was responsible for protecting towns and army camps from surprise enemy attacks as well as any other potential dangers. Watchmen on the walls would look out for approaching messengers, danger, armies, or envoys. 

In 2 Samuel 18, we are told that David was sitting between the two gates, and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate to the wall, lifted his eyes and looked, and there was a man running alone. Then the watchman cried out and told the king, and the king said, if he is alone, there is news in his mouth, and he, the messenger, came rapidly and drew near. It's a watchman's job to always be on the lookout, to peer into the distance, to observe, to await, and certainly to be alert. The watchman stands as a sentinel guarding against any dangers, and in our own spiritual lives, every Christian has this role of acting as a watchman. We are to observe, evaluate, and examine our lives against the word of God. We are to guard the gates of our eyes, ears, and heart from the threat of sin, the threat of evil, and the threat of the devil. We are to be watchmen over our hearts' desires and affections. Now, as children of God who live in a period of time where there is great uncertainty, one thing we have to guard against is the spirit of fear. People out there are fearful of so many things, the threat of emerging pandemics. For some, there is uncertainty when it comes to the current state of international affairs. The Bible warns us of wars and rumors of wars, and when we finally see Bible prophecy unfolding right before our eyes, it can leave us seeking clarity. And you can end up asking questions like, how will this affect the country I live in? 

How will this affect the world? And so, there is uncertainty there. For someone else, the fight they face is economic uncertainty, either personal finances or the wider economy of their country. For other people in certain parts of the world, Christians who face persecution for their faith in Christ, there may be some uncertainty as they think, how long can I endure this? Or how much more should I endure, Lord? And I personally believe that in these last days, in these days where we see Bible prophecy unfolding before our eyes, I believe the Bible gives us five commands that will help us all in these times. The first of these five commands is to keep watch because Christ is coming soon. Matthew 24, verse 42, the Bible says, Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. When you are living in uncertain times, when you are living in fearful times, in times where biblical prophecy is happening and we are seeing an increase in the number of conflicts all around the world, we are seeing pestilences, we're seeing the love of many growing cold. When you are living in such times, it's important to keep watch, for you don't know what day your Lord is coming. 

We may not have the answers to everything. There may not be a detailed roadmap telling you what to do and how to do it whenever you see troubling things happening, but all in all, we must remember that ultimately our focus should be in one place, and that is on Jesus Christ. If you focus on the world, you will be worried, you will be burdened and anxious. But when you focus on Jesus, you will see the trouble in the world, but you will not be troubled in your heart. The second command is to watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. Matthew 26, verse 41 says, Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. 

The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. We are encouraged to watch and pray so that we won't give into temptation. And a lot of times, people associate temptation to only be of a sexual nature. However, people can be tempted by sin in various ways. Some are tempted to lie and steal, all for their personal and selfish gain. Some are tempted to get drunk. Others are tempted to gossip, but most of all, watch out against being tempted to follow a gospel that tickles your ears. 

In the many, because you will be told a gospel that simply makes you feel good instead of leading you to repentance. Be careful not to be tempted. The third command is to watch and pray so that you can escape. Luke 21, verse 36 says, Watch therefore and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man. When Jesus said this to his disciples, he was talking about the future, and he was warning them of the terrible things to come on the earth as we edge closer to the end of the age. 

Those who will be counted worthy to escape God's wrath on this earth are those who have put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ. But you can only do this if you watch and pray always. In other words, Jesus is telling us to be focused on him. The fourth command to believers in this day and age is to be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. The Bible in 1 Peter 4, verse 7 says, The end of all things is near. Therefore, be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 

In this context, sober means serious. In other words, as believers, we should be careful about how we live. Our choices impact our ability to think clearly. 

It is better to be self-controlled so that we can pray earnestly. I believe here that Peter is also speaking to those who suffer for Jesus' sake, the believers who are persecuted. And Peter gives us a word of warning that is also encouraging, as he says, It's almost over. 

The end of all things is near. And don't we see that today more so than ever? The fifth and final command to believers is to be clear in your mission. 2 Timothy 4, verse 5 gives us great advice when it comes to dealing with all that we hear and see in the world today. The Bible says, But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord. 

Work at telling others the good news and fully carry out the ministry God has given you. The world has many different voices, some godly, some ungodly. And these voices will tell you so many different things, things that will confuse you, things that will leave you perplexed, things that will pollute your mind. And all of this leads you to live in a fearful state. But God's word is calling us to have a clear mind in every situation. 

And I believe that you can achieve this by doing one thing, focusing on Christ and doing everything for His glory. As more and more people ask questions like, Are we living in the last days? Is this the end? I want to encourage you to do something, rather than look at each and every event that is currently happening in the world. My message to you is that you should make sure that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Yes, it's good for us to take note of the events happening in this world. But the focus for our lives should be to make sure that our individual relationships with God are in good standing. Whether these are the last days or not, whether this is the 11th hour or not, you and I, as believers, need to make sure that our focus is only on Jesus Christ. We should focus on the one who is the way, the truth, and the life. And that is Jesus Christ who explicitly said, No one comes to the Father except through me. 

Speaker 2: I heard one pastor share the following story that illustrates the devil's schemes and plans. One day in the deep pits of hell, the devil met with all of his demons to discuss how to keep the gospel away from people. 

They wanted to make a plan to get as many people as possible to pay attention to everything else but the gospel. One demon suggested that people should be told that there is no God. He doesn't exist. The devil thought about it and said, there's too much evidence for that. It's going to work for a few who don't understand logic, but for the most part, people will believe that God exists. Another demon suggested that maybe we should tell people that Jesus Christ didn't exist. But the devil thought that there's a lot of evidence regarding the existence of Jesus. Some people will believe us, but many will know the truth. And then the third demon suggested, let's tell them that there is no eternity. 

There is no life after death. But the devil didn't think that would be strong enough to accomplish mass deception. The devil said, what will do is this. 

We will tell people this message. You've got time. You've got time to repent. So keep sinning. You can get right with God later. You've got time to keep living however you want. You don't have to worry about God and turning your life around just yet. 

Do it tomorrow. And I believe this is why you go to some churches nowadays. And there is no message concerning repentance. They don't preach about the reality of hell. They only talk about heaven. It's a lukewarm gospel. 

A gospel that tells you that there is no rush to get right with the Lord. Do it tomorrow. But dear listener, you don't have time. 

We don't know what tomorrow holds for each of us. I was told a story of a man who was an atheist. He didn't believe there was a God for the majority of his life. At some point in his life, he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. And one day things got so bad that the doctors told his wife to prepare for the worst. His wife was there by his side and she brought up the subject of life after death. She told him to consider giving his life to Jesus Christ one last time. So that should he be taken away, he would go to be with the Lord in heaven. Thankfully, he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. 

And that night, just like the thief who was next to Jesus on the cross, he went to paradise to be with the Lord. Dear friend, you may not have the same ending to this life. So you need to always be ready. Always be right with God. 

Speaker 1: There's an old fable that took place during the Trojan War. This is the fictional story of the Trojan Horse. During the Trojan War, which happened around the 12th century BC, the Greeks tried to gain access to Troy. 

It was very difficult to enter a city at this time as giant walls were surrounding almost every city. To get into the city, the Greeks created a massive wooden horse. The inside was hollow, which allowed the Greek army to hide in the horse. They presented the horse as a gift to the city of Troy. The horse was accepted by the Trojans and they brought it inside the city of Troy. After hiding in the horse for a few hours, the Greek army emerged from the horse at night and took siege of Troy. 

What seemed to be a good thing for the people of Troy ended up leading to their downfall. Satan does the same thing in our life. He will use things that are good or even morally neutral. However, these things are sometimes designed by Satan to be a Trojan Horse and lead to our downfall. When we think of the work of Satan, we often think of him directly tempting us to sin. We think he simply tempts us directly to be prideful or to fall into sexual immorality. Satan is much more deceptive than that. He presents something as a good gift that ultimately leads to our downfall. 

We see this tactic from the very beginning. In the book of Genesis, God gives Adam and Eve one rule. That rule is not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. However, Satan is trying to deceive them into eating from the tree. Satan doesn't say eat from the tree to join the dark side or eat this fruit so you can be evil like me. He presents eating the fruit as a good gift. 

Genesis 3, verse 4-5 says, But the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die, for God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. He presented the fruit as a gift that would open their eyes. It was a gift that would make them like God. He described the sin as something that would lead to life. 

However, when Adam and Eve ate the fruit, it led to them being kicked out of the garden. Satan will take bad things and dress them up like a Trojan horse to make you think they are a good gift. The devil not only dresses up bad things to make them look good, but he uses good things to get the bad out of you. The devil will often seek to enter our lives as something good such as a hobby or activity. 

For example, maybe you set up lunch with a co-worker. That's not a bad thing. As a matter of fact, it can even be a good thing. However, Satan can use lunch breaks between male and female co-workers to lead to evil. 

This can open the door to adultery. While there's nothing wrong with two people eating lunch, Satan can use that for his evil purposes. Satan will do the same thing with entertainment. God allows us to make movies and music so it would lead to the worship of him. There's nothing wrong with watching movies and listening to music. However, movies with sexually stimulating imagery or music with sexually seductive lyrics can open the door to pornography or sexual immorality. 

Satan will dress up movies and music as a Trojan horse, but then will attack when we let him in the front door. We often make the mistake of taking good things and making them a God thing. We lift up the good things that God has made and make them ultimate things in our life. 

Satan has won the battle when we do that. For example, socializing is a great thing. God created us to be people who desire relationships. It is a good gift from God. The problem becomes when we make this good thing an ultimate thing and replace God. When those friends we socialize with take the place of God, we have a problem. When we spend more and more time with them and less and less time with God, we have made a good thing a God thing. 

We have put his good gift in the place of God. Another example of this is food. Food is a great gift from God. However, we should not live a life of continual excess. While there are appointed times to feast, our lifestyle should not be one of continual feasting. When we constantly overeat, we are taking something God meant for good and using it for evil. 

This is gluttony and Satan is satisfied with this because his Trojan horse worked. Computer software started to be developed in the 20th century. At the same time, people created computer viruses that would attack this software. The name of these viruses were often called Trojan horses. The viruses looked like they belonged in the software but would eventually attack the software and try to destroy it. 

The Trojan horses would damage or disrupt a computer's programming or try to steal personal information. Satan is trying to do the same thing in your life as we speak. He is dressing up Trojan horses that look like a good gift from God, but this will lead to sin in your life. Sometimes the devil will dress up something that appears to be harmless. 

He may well dress up sin to appear harmless, but at the end of the day, that thing is straight from the pits of hell and designed to destroy you. That is why we must be aware and ready for the attack. What would have happened if the people of Troy had investigated the Trojan horse before bringing it into the city walls? They would have found the Greek army inside and prevented the destruction of their city. We should take heed and learn from the city of Troy. We must always be alert to prevent Satan from destroying our lives. ""[Text 12]
Speaker 1: The following is a biblical illustration on how a global economic collapse could pave the way for the Antichrist to take center stage. Let's imagine this scenario for a moment. It's the year 2035, and the global economy is on its knees. An economic collapse, unlike the world has ever seen, happens. Credit cards, debit cards, ATMs, and cash all become useless in this kind of environment. Wall Street is in disarray. 

The world's financial powerhouses in Europe collapse. But here appears a man who many say is revolutionary in his thinking. He calls for the world's governments to be unified. He calls for every person on earth to take an implant of tiny microchips that are digitally controlled. And he tells people that this will enable the creation of a one-world digital currency. 

Now, all of this has not happened. However, modern technology has made it possible for the Antichrist to do exactly what the Bible predicts. And that is to literally control the purchasing power of every individual. But for this to happen, there needs to be an event. A seismic event that creates the need for drastic change. And this will be the catalyst. Many scholars believe that a global economic crash is exactly the kind of environment needed for the emergence of the Antichrist. He will rise from the shadows and right to the forefront of the global scene by offering ideas and solutions to the world's economies. The Antichrist will not appear to be evil when he comes to power. 

In fact, he will be hailed as a benevolent hero, a bounding and charm, wisdom and solutions to the grave problems that plague the world. One theory is that a global economic collapse will be the perfect opportunity for a one-world currency to be introduced as a solution. And this will inevitably lead to the fulfillment of Revelation 13, verse 16 to 17, which says, It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their forehands so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the same of the mark of the beast or the number of its name. When you control the world's financial systems, you can enforce allegiance, and that's exactly what the Antichrist will do. Many people will go to work one day and be told, we can't pay you unless you have the chip, and in biblical terms, the chip is the mark of the beast. This will be a system whereby you can't own a house without the mark. You can't go to the supermarket and buy anything unless you've got the mark. 

You can't travel in a car or on public transport without the mark. Now, it's important to note that we don't know whether the mark will be a physical chip that can be implanted just under the skin. We don't know whether it's something digital. We don't know whether the mark will be a barcode that people will have to accept. But what we do know is that a lot of people will certainly accept the mark. 

And the simple reason for this is that the Antichrist will make it so difficult to live without the mark. Imagine these scenarios. All of the major institutions of the world, the banks and hospitals, for example. Imagine if they say you need the mark in order to pay your medical bills or to perform any banking transactions. Imagine if you're told that you can only make your mortgage payments, your rent payments, if you have the mark. 

What would you do? Just imagine the pressure. Another piece of the puzzle to note is that Daniel 9, verse 27, tells us how the Antichrist will make a peace treaty with Israel. So he will present himself as a problem solver, a peace bringer. 

But this is all deception because he will then later break this treaty. For his power to be truly asserted, he will inevitably enforce this new world system, a new global financial system, which will be designed to enslave humanity. The Antichrist will reduce people's lives beneath a crushing yoke of oppression. 

They must bear the mark of his name on their foreheads or hands in order to buy or sell anything, and they will be allowed to do neither if they don't have it. This man will be backed by an evil supernatural force, enabling him to take complete control over nations, their fate and their systems, ensuring that they are entirely loyal to him and him alone. Throughout this part of the Antichrist's reign, chaos and confusion will be king. But this perfectly dark and hopeless climate will also produce false teachers and false prophets from the shadows of every corner. They will teach and preach twisted, lying doctrines that will lead many souls to the very pits of hell. They will run to the Antichrist's banner as if they were lambs being led to slaughter because their hearts were caught in the trap of the promise of an easier life. But instead of finding the utopia they had hoped and waited for, in the end they will see the yawning abyss that will overtake them and swallow them up. 

The One World Monetary System represents the Antichrist's desire to control every aspect of human life, even our basic needs. But let us be encouraged. For God has warned us of these events in advance. He has given us His word to equip us with discernment in wisdom. God's word has told us this, so that we would always be found living in the truth that is in the Bible. 

Because when you know the truth, in the light that is in this world of God, you cannot be deceived by the Antichrist or the spirit of the Antichrist, which, according to the Bible, is already in operation in this world today. And so, we must stand firm in our faith, refusing to compromise our devotion to Christ, even if it means facing hardships and persecution. 

Speaker 2: Before I begin, I want to remind you that the Bible calls us, Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Matthew 10, verse 16. The world is becoming increasingly hostile to biblical Christianity, and I would venture to say it is becoming purposefully hostile to the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

With this in mind, let us be aware of world issues and begin to think biblically as we discuss some of the pressing matters that we will be facing on this planet. Have you heard of the phrase transhumanism? The dictionary definition of transhumanism is that it is the proposed use of technology to allow human beings to develop beyond their natural capabilities. With this in mind, here's an interesting article titled, Transhumanism. Billionaires want to use tech to enhance our abilities. The outcomes could change what it means to be human. 

A few points from this article are as follows. And I quote, Many prominent people in the tech industry have talked about the increasing convergence between humans and machines in coming decades. For example, Elon Musk has reportedly said he wants humans to merge with AI to achieve a symbiosis with artificial intelligence. His company Neuralink aims to facilitate this convergence so that humans won't be left behind as technology advances in the future, while people with disabilities would be near-term recipients of these innovations. Some believe technologies like this could be used to enhance abilities in everyone. These aims are inspired by an idea called transhumanism, the belief that we should use science and technology to radically enhance human capabilities and seek to direct our own evolutionary path. Disease, aging, and death are all realities transhumanists wish to end, alongside dramatically increasing our cognitive, emotional, and physical capabilities. 

End quote. Now, for a moment, let me remind you that the Bible says, So God created mankind in his own image. In the image of God, he created them. Male and female, he created them. Genesis 1, verse 7. 

The Bible also tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Now let me tell you what the devil does. The devil works to try and imitate God. Or disrupt the work of God. 

Here are a few examples. Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God had created the world and humans, but here came the devil to corrupt and introduce sin. Think of the role of angels in the Bible. They're worshipers, messengers, and warriors. But the bottom line is that they do the work of God. But yet, we're told that the devil masquerades as an angel of light. 

He imitates. God sends prophets, men like Elijah, Jeremiah, Isaiah. But yet the Bible warns us that the devil will be the driving force behind false prophets who are wolves in sheep's clothing in the last days. So keeping this notion of transhumanism in mind. Could it be that the New World Order is a simple, yet sinister way to tamper with and corrupt God's design for humans? Transhumanists often advocate for three supers. Superintelligence, superlongjevity, and superhappiness. Can you see how everything is separated from God? Let me just read this to you. And I quote, Tech billionaires are among the biggest promoters of transhumanist thinking. 

It's not hard to understand why. They could be the central protagonists in the most important moment in history. Creating so-called artificial general intelligence, AGI. That is an AI system that can do all the cognitive tasks a human can do and more, is a current focus within Silicon Valley. AGI is seen as vital to enabling us to take on the god-like role of designing our own evolutionary futures. 

End quote. I believe that this philosophy of transhumanism is really man aspiring to be God. It's really man trying to have dominion over everything, including when they die. 

Transhumanism may be presented as a means of creating an enhanced version of humanity. However, I would stand and argue to say that God makes no mistakes. He gave us exactly what we need when he created us. 

Nothing less and nothing more. Some people are looking to world leaders for answers. Some people are looking to world leaders to show them how to navigate the future. And in the Christian community, there are Christians who are so fixated on political events because they are looking and searching for a sign that validates Bible prophecy. 

Some Christians believe the World Economic Forum may even be pushing events forward in a way which could fulfill end-time prophecy. When you turn on the news, it seems like our society is spiraling out of control. What was once seen as wrong is now right. 

And what was seen as right is now wrong. Not only that, you hear about life-threatening earthquakes, wars, and all sorts of evil. The world is under so much tension. 

It feels like it might implode. This may lead you to think that God has forgotten us. It may feel like God has left us to our own struggles. 

However, the opposite is true. This is all happening because God is getting ready to return. We are living in the last days, and God is preparing to come back to save his people and judge his enemies. But before we get to that, let's take a look at some of the most intriguing end-time biblical prophecies. 

Speaker 3: In Revelation 6, we are introduced to the four horsemen in the apocalypse. The rider on a white horse is widely believed to be the Antichrist. The rider on the red horse represents war and bloodshed. The rider on a black horse represents famine. And the final rider is on a pale horse that represents pestilence and death. 

But today, it's the black horse that I want to focus on, and here's why. Recently, Bloomberg published an article titled, Europe's New Security Nightmare is Food Supply. And a few lines read, Expect a level of chaos. 

You may be confused at times. That's how European officials, food experts, and industry representatives were greeted last month in Brussels as they embarked on a war-gaming exercise for a scenario barely on the radar a few years ago. A full-blown food crisis. Governments are no longer asking when a food crisis may arrive, but rather how many they can deal with at once. In another Bloomberg article, it reads, To watch one of the best-fed regions in the world stress-test its food system, underscores a growing level of alarm among governments over securing supplies for their populations. In the space of four years, multiple shocks have shaken up the way food is grown, distributed, and consumed. When it comes to this topic of global food shortages, people are divided. 

Some do not see it happening, and yet others believe it is inevitable. In Revelation 6, the rider on the black horse represents famine. Revelation 6 verse 6 says, And I heard a voice from among the four living beings say, A loaf of wheat bread or three loaves of barley will cost a day's pay, And don't waste the olive oil and wine. Putting these measurements in context, the Bible is telling us that there will come a time during the tribulation period where people will earn just enough money for food. Food shortages will play directly into the antichrist's hands, because, remember, no one may buy and sell unless you have the mark of the beast. 

Now, imagine that every supermarket has empty shelves. There is little to no food for anyone who doesn't have the mark of the beast. Now, I want you to hear this prophetic warning from Jesus. Luke 21 verse 10 to 11 says that Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. The looming threat of famine is just one sign of the coming of Christ. 

Here's another sign. Matthew 24 verse 9 to 11 says, Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake, and then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. Notice how there are three things that we're told will happen to the Church. The first is persecution, because there will come a time when we will be hated in every nation because of our love for Jesus Christ. The World Watchlist is an annual report published by Open Doors, an NGO which supports Christians worldwide and lists the 50 countries in which Christians face the most extreme persecution. Its most recent report, which covers the year 2023, said, Around 365 million Christians are subject to high levels of persecution and discrimination. This compared to 340 million in 2021. One in seven Christians are persecuted worldwide, including one in five in Africa and one in seven in Asia. 

This compared to one in eight worldwide in 2021. Could persecution towards Christians increase in the years to come? Most certainly, and I believe this to be the case because Revelation 12 verse 12 says, Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them, But woe to you, O earth and sea, For the devil has come down to you in great wrath, Because he knows that his time is short. 

The devil's time on this earth is short, and what I want you to understand is that because his time is short, his aggression toward the children of God will intensify, which undoubtedly means that persecution will increase. The world entertains and promotes many doctrines, ideologies, and beliefs contrary to God's word. And when the world comes knocking, it's in those moments that God calls us to trust in him and not the world. The problem that every believer has is knowing what the world says and knowing what the word of God says. 

Which voice will you listen to? The world will tell you that it's okay to compromise with sin. You only have one life to live, so enjoy it. 

Since you only live once, give in to every desire that you feel. The Bible tells you that there is judgment from God after this life, and we should therefore live for the Lord. Now, if you stand up to speak this truth, the truth that is in the Bible, the most likely thing to happen is that you will be persecuted. When the world challenges us to believe something counter to God's word, we must do what the book of Romans commands us. We allow the word of God to transform our minds. We must go to the Lord and pray against the false belief that the world is trying to speak to us. And after we go to the Lord in prayer, we should then replace the word of the world with the word of God. As we do that, he changes and fortifies our hearts, so we do not give in to the ways of the world. Choosing not to trust the world may cause us to miss out on experiences that our flesh wants us to give into. It may cause us to not sin in ways our desires want us to. 

It may even cost us money. However, it will cause us to grow in relationship with God, which is what really matters. Take a look at what the amplified version says in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 3-4. But even if our gospel is in some sense hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only to those who are perishing. Among them, the God of this world, Satan, has blinded the minds of the unbelieving to prevent them from seeing the illuminating light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 

Think about that for a moment. The God of this age, the God of this world, Satan, has prevented unbelievers from seeing the light of the gospel. Now, in case you didn't know, the devil is very influential on this earth. Whether you see it or not, whether you believe it or not, the devil can and has influence on the ideals, opinions, and standards in this world. That's why the Bible says, the God of this world. The devil has his tentacles in the world's philosophies. 

They are in so many institutions. There are a lot of things happening in this world. There is a lot of evil, and the truth is, this world needs believers who are full of Christ. It needs spirit-filled believers who can be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. 

Be so filled with the word that the light of Jesus Christ will shine through you into this world. We are not commanded to hate anyone in this world. We are commanded to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. This love that the Bible speaks of is one that can only be shown to others when you yourself have received Jesus Christ. Unbelievers may be blinded by the God of this world, but as Christians, we need to ensure that we are overflowing with the love of Jesus Christ so much so that they will have to see the truth. They will have to see the way to eternal life. Jesus Christ. 

Speaker 2: Jesus Christ. ""[Text 13]
Speaker 1: Isn't it great to receive good news? Everyone loves getting good news. Whether it's news that you're getting a promotion, that you passed the test you've been studying so hard for, or that you and your spouse are expecting your first child, there's nothing quite like getting good news. But you know, some criminals exploit our excitement about good news. Have you ever received an email or message saying that you had won some large sum of money, or that some wealthy person had picked you to share their fortune with? Most of us recognize such messages as scams. But those methods are used for a reason. 

They work. Sometimes people are so excited by the prospect of receiving wealth, they are so overwhelmed by the excellent and exciting news that they are about to be rich, that they are fooled and don't see the scam taking place. Sometime later, they are devastated when they realize no wealth is coming. Instead, they've lost their own money to the scammers. What they initially thought was good news turned out to be a terrible fraud. 

Financial scams are awful, but there is a much worse fraud that takes place constantly around the world. Every day, people are fooled and deceived by a false gospel. The word gospel means good news. The gospel is the good news that God has offered humanity deliverance through the gift of his Son, Jesus the Messiah. Through Jesus' sacrifice, resurrection, and kingship, humanity can be forgiven, redeemed, and have eternal life with God. 

That is wondrous news. But sadly, many distort the true message of the gospel and teach a gospel that is false. Like many scams, false gospels sound appealing and exciting, but they will leave us spiritually bankrupt if we fall for them. So how can we know that the gospel we follow is the true saving gospel, the real good news? How can we ensure we are not following a false gospel that will lead to our demise? First, we must always rely on scripture. The Bible is God's inspired word, and it teaches us the true gospel. 

In scripture, we find the true events of God's work, the life of Jesus, and the plan God would have us follow to be saved from our sins. Whenever someone teaches a false gospel, they will always change something about the scripture's message. Maybe they say the Bible isn't relevant. Many false prophets have discarded God's word and claim to have a special message from God that needs to be followed instead. Whenever someone says this, we know they share a false gospel with no hope. The Apostle Paul once told Christians, but even if we are an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preach to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. 

When someone says the Bible isn't necessary, is no longer relevant, or is incomplete without their additional message, they are offering a false and empty gospel. Likewise, if someone's message contradicts the Bible, what they teach might sound appealing, but it's not the soul saving good news of the gospel. While the gospel is counterfeited in many ways, here are a few that appear often in modern times. First, any gospel that is not Christ-centered is a false gospel. Modern gospels usually focus on self, self-love, self-care, self-affirmation, and so on. 

The focus is on personal happiness and self-fulfillment, but I am not the focus of the gospel, and neither are you. Jesus is. Yes, we are wondrously blessed by Jesus, but he is the Lord and King, neither is he our Savior. Any gospel that makes Jesus a friend but not a ruler is not a complete or true gospel. Jesus' being, life, work, and kingship are at the heart of the gospel. Only when Jesus is the focal point can we trust we are listening to and obeying the true gospel. 

Why do many opt for a gospel that is not fully Christ-centered? Likely because for Jesus to be king, we must be dethroned as the ruler of our lives. We must listen to, trust, and obey Jesus instead of our whims, desires, and ideologies, and this isn't always easy. While Jesus promises us eternal blessing, the road to such a future is not an easy one. In fact, Jesus describes it as a narrow and difficult road. We don't like difficulty, thus many are duped by false gospels that promise an easy life. Jesus calls his disciples to take up their own cross to deny self and to serve others. 

That's a difficult life. Many would prefer safety over sacrifice and selfishness over self-denial. Thus, many false gospels sway people from the truth when they preach promises of prosperity, comfort, and personal satisfaction. But we must remember, as pleasing as they sound, false gospels have no power to save, while they lead to comfort that comfort is fleeting, not eternal. Also, submitting to Jesus as our saving king requires something we don't like, repentance. Yes, Jesus loves us even though we have sinned, as Romans 5 or 8 says, but God shows his love for us and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. But Jesus did not die so that we could persist in sin. 

He died so that we could be forgiven and saved from our sins. Yes, Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners, but he did so to teach them the truth and to call them to repentance, to command them to change their sinful ways and follow him instead. Yes, Jesus taught a message of love, but that loving message demanded repentance. Matthew 4, verse 17 tells us that when Jesus preached, he proclaimed, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. In Luke 13, verse 3, Jesus says, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 

The gospel, as preached by Jesus, requires repentance. Sadly, many proclaimed preachers today require no such thing. Many preach come as you are, and while that might sound encouraging, their real message is, remain as you are. Any gospel that does not call us to repent of sin, give up sinful behaviors and attitudes, and can form our lives to the will of Jesus is not the true gospel, and it is not good news. 

It may sound nice, it may sound comforting, it may make us feel better about ourselves, but it will do nothing to actually save us from our sins or transform us into godly people. The gospel really is good news. It is the message that Jesus, our Creator, and our God is the sovereign King, that he is willing to forgive us and that he can and will save us if we follow him. But to be blessed by Jesus, to be forgiven by his blood and saved by his power, he requires that we belong to him. He demands that we trust him, believe in him, and obey him. And in that, Jesus is uncompromising. Many people want salvation, but are unwilling to truly yield to Jesus' lordship. Thus, they settle for false gospels, proclamations and religions of men that look a lot like the gospel and share some of the same characteristics of the true gospel, but at the end of the day, they are empty and false. 

They promise much, but steal souls. Don't be scammed by a lie. Don't be fooled by a false gospel. Trust only in Jesus and his word. Compare all messages with the inspired word of God and resolve to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. 

Rejoice in the saving power of the true gospel, and don't be scammed by anything less. How many doors do you think you pass through on any given day? Doors between rooms, doors in and out of buildings, car doors? You likely pass through doorways dozens of times every day without a second thought. But you pass through more than just physical doors. Doors of opportunity, change, temptation, growth, and more open and closed countless times each day. Some of these metaphoric doors are as routine as the real ones. Others are rare, and yet others need to be closed and walked away from. Like the physical doors one walks through, choices are often made with little thought. Many decisions seem small and inconsequential, but even small choices can be a door to a path the Christian should not walk. 

So what door should the Christian be wary of, if not avoid altogether? First, consider the world of horoscopes, zodiac signs, and astrology. Many may wonder what harm there is in reading horoscopes, knowing one's sign or consulting astrological guides. 

Some may read a horoscope for entertainment, but not take it seriously. Others may place significant stock in horoscopes and astrological guidance. The goal of astrology is to learn about personality and destiny by interpreting the stars and celestial bodies. Astrology is based on the idea that things such as fate and destiny not only exist, but can be learned because the story of fate is somehow written in the stars. 

Thus, if you know how to read that story, or can find someone to read it for you, you can know yourself and others better and learn the best way to make fulfilling decisions. The problem for Christians is that reading fate from the stars is foreign to the stars and heavenly bodies serve a purpose, but that purpose is not to reveal fate. According to Genesis 1 verse 14, when God created the sun, other stars, and moon, He made them to be, for signs and seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth. 

The celestial bodies obey the order of God's creation. Stars have long been used for navigation. The moon's phases can be used for charting time, but never does the Bible instruct the Lord's people to read the stars to learn their fate or help them make decisions. In fact, astrologers are mentioned in the Bible, but not positively. 

Isaiah 47 verse 13 speaks derisively of counselors who gaze at the stars who at the new moons make known what shall come up on you. Couldn't astrology just be something fun? Perhaps some see it that way, but there is a danger behind astrology. God's people don't need to read the stars to know their fate. 

Christians trust the future is in God's hands, not ours. The fate that matters is our eternal fate, and scriptures, not the stars, show us how to ensure we inherit eternal life. God's people don't need signs and stars to help them make decisions. The Bible does that, and astrology is too closely connected to mysticism and the occult for the Christian to partake just for fun. 

Astrology is a door best left closed. Speaking of things that are just for fun, what about entertainment? Everyone looks for ways to pass the time while driving a car or during periods of relaxation. Music, books, video games, movies, and more become easy ways to be entertained. Typically, decisions about what music to listen to or what television series to watch are not long thought out decisions. 

They are decisions based merely on what is pleasing and enjoyable, but these decisions may have a subtle yet profound impact in the wrong direction. Music is a universal treasure. Every culture loves, listens to, and makes music. 

But what kind of music is made? Modern secular music often extols and glorifies behavior that Christians should have no part in. Many songs glorify violence. Profane and foul language litter many tunes. And of course, a vast amount of music lifts up and praises immoral lifestyles and behavior. It's easy to claim, but it's just a song, or I just like the melody. 

But how often can the Christian listen to songs that don't just downplay fornication and immorality, but praise it without being affected by that message? The same goes for books, video games, and movies. All these things, the things that people consume through their eyes and ears, have an impact on the heart. Jesus said, For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander. How often can a man or woman watch illicit behavior yet maintain a vigilant guard on their thoughts? What a person consumes begins to shape who they are. 

If Christians are entertained by consuming evil things, how long before their heart is changed and they begin thinking and acting more like the world than like Christ, some doors of entertainment need to be left closed. Lastly, what about words and speech? People often speak without thinking. After all, how harmful could words be? The world may find words to be innocuous, but Scripture repeatedly warns God's people to guard their language. 

Jesus promised that everyone will give account of their words on the Day of Judgment in Matthew 12, verse 36. The Apostle Paul condemns corrupting talk, foolish talk, and crude joking in Ephesians. James provides a lengthy warning about the Christian speech and the danger our words possess. The world may walk flippantly through the doors of speech, but the Christian should take heed of their words and only choose doors of speech that speak truth, build others up, and praise God. What doors will you walk through today? Choose them carefully. The doors you walk through determine the paths you walk. Make sure you walk the pathways of God, not the roads of the world. 

Speaker 2: I'm about to read to you a very crucial passage of Scripture that's in the Bible. And as I read these verses, I want you to take special note of what the Bible says about your heart, your mouth, your eyes and feet. Proverbs 4, verse 23-27 says, Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. 

It's a key thing to note that this passage of Scripture begins and starts by talking about the heart. Think about your physical heart. You have a bad heart than the rest of your body's in jeopardy. If the heart quits working, then everything else quits working. 

You can't have a dead heart and a healthy ear. Same is true with our spiritual heart. If the heart is good, then what flows out is good. However, if the heart is bad, what flows out of our heart will be bad. 

Guarding your heart can be challenging because the heart is attacked from so many different angles. This world and its pleasures are after your heart. Satan is after your heart and our own sinful flesh wants to attack and fill our hearts with sin. 

And when we're having a hard day or going through tough times, it can be easy for our hearts to drift away. The next area we need to be careful of is our mouths. We are to put away our perverse speech. Our mouth actually reveals what's going on in our hearts. There's evil in our hearts. If there's sin, our mouths will reflect that. The words and actions that flow from our mouths reveal where our heart is actually at. We may look spiritual from the outside, however. 

Our words will reveal our spirituality. And now to the eyes. We're to keep our spiritual eyes directly forward. Think about your physical eyes. If you're driving and you don't keep your eyes directly forward, you're going to get in some real trouble. 

Some of the worst crashes are because our eyes are focused on something else, such as a phone or somebody in the back seat. And our spiritual eyes can do the same thing. When we turn our eyes away from the Lord, we're prone to stumble. 

And the final area mentioned in this passage of Scripture is all to do with your feet. When we focus on keeping our feet on the path, we move in the right direction. If you're going for a walk on a trail and you decide to get off the trail, you're much more likely to get lost. 

However, if you focus on keeping your feet on the trail, your path is laid out. Yet again, the same is true spiritually. If you follow the moral path God's laid for you, you will not stumble. 

However, as you seek your own path, it becomes so much easier to stumble. I encourage you to pray that your heart would not be drawn to sin. Pray that your mouth would not be filled with perverse words. Pray for your eyes to remain focused on God and for your feet to be led by the lamp that is the Word of God. 

Speaker 3: Perspective. What is your perspective as a believer in Christ? I ask this question because at some point in your walk with the Lord, as you know Him more and more, you have to shift your perspective from, God, take me here, take me over there, to, Lord, I thank you for how far you've brought me. I thank you because I am no longer where I used to be. Perspective. 

Speaker 4: Yes, every now and again, all of us ought to take a moment and remember. Remember all that God has done because it's easy to forget what God has done for us, especially when we face challenging times or become preoccupied with our daily routines. 

But do you know why it's important to look back? It's important because you will begin to see how faithful God has been time after time. You'll begin to see how God has watched over you and opened doors for you time after time. When we reflect on the significant events and moments in our lives, we can recognize how God has been with us every step of the way. This is emphasized in Psalm 77 verses 11 through 12 where the Bible reads, I will remember the deeds of the Lord. Yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. 

I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds. This verse reminds us that God's works in the past are worthy of our reflection and meditation. By focusing on God's faithfulness in the past, we can gain confidence in his promises for the future. 

As the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 828, And we know for those that love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Secondly, remembering the past helps us be grateful for what we have. When we look back and see how God has provided for us, protected us, and guided us, we can develop a heart of gratitude. And God certainly loves a thankful heart. When we are filled with thanksgiving and gratitude, this helps us to focus on God's blessings rather than our difficulties. Philippians 4 verse 6 says, Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Note how Paul said with thanksgiving, meaning it's an essential component if we want our requests to be heard by God. By being thankful, we develop a deeper relationship with God, recognizing him as the source of our blessings. 

A Puritan preacher by the name of Thomas Watson once said, Remembering the mercies of God breeds gratitude in our hearts. In addition to this, remembering the past helps us to share our testimony with others. Our personal testimonies are powerful tools for evangelism and can inspire others to seek God. As we reflect on what God has done in our lives, we can share our experiences with others, showing them how God has transformed us and guided us. In conclusion, I'd like to quote the words of a Christian theologian by the name of J.I. Packer, who said, The past is a source of knowledge, and the future is a source of hope. Love of the past implies faith in the future. 

Speaker 5: Shall Take an Oath In those moments where we are still before God, we need to realize just how mighty God is, just how powerful God is. The Bible tells us there is no one and nothing that can be compared to God. We need to remember this. Nothing and no one is worthy to be competing for the number one spot of your heart. God should be first. 

Speaker 6: Out of all the people we will ever come across in life, there is only one who will never disappoint us. There is only one who can satisfy our soul's deepest needs. There is only one who has ever uttered the words, I will never leave you nor forsake you, and was able to keep the promise. 

His name is Jesus Christ. There is none like Him. There is none who can rival Him. 

There is none on earth or any person who has ever lived who can come close to Jesus Christ. He loves with an unconditional love. He speaks with unmatchable wisdom. He is the Good Shepherd and His presence. It casts out all fear. All unclean things and anxiety have to leave. His presence heals. 

It renews and it restores. At the sound of His name, demons tremble. On this earth, miracles happen. Healing the sick, restoring sight to the blind, unstopping deaf ears. 

All those are part of His resume. He is the way, the truth and the life. And so dear friend, when you open your heart and embrace all that Jesus Christ has to offer, this will impact your life. 

This decision is the one that will radically transform your life if you really surrender and embrace the Lord. Not only does He bring eternal life, but in this present day here on this earth, if you truly surrendered to Jesus Christ, He is able to bring you joy. And how many of us could do with a little more joy in our lives? 

Psalm 16 verse 11 says, You make known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. When Jesus Christ comes into your heart, He brings joy. And you will discover that joy is ever present in your darkest hour. Joy is ever present in the midst of chaos. 

And that is simply because Jesus Christ is the source of joy. So, I ask you dear friends, have you invited the Lord into your heart? Have you embraced Him? Have you met the one who can offer amazing grace? Have you met the one who can heal your deepest scars? 

Have you met the one who raised Lazarus from the dead? If you haven't met Him, you can. You can accept Him in your life today, and He will come into your heart. He is the one who can renew, He can restore, He can rejuvenate. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, He is waiting for you to seek Him. 

Speaker 5: When the Bible says, Be still and know that I am God, it's really telling you to stop everything you're doing, stop worrying, stop fighting, stop resisting and start yielding to God. 

Start listening to God. There is something about stillness. And I believe that this verse is calling us to be still before the Lord because we need to direct all of our attention, all of our focus on the Lord. You see, when you spend time getting to know the Lord, when you spend time in the presence of Jesus Christ, you will truly be transformed. And I encourage you to desire and hunger for these types of rich encounters in the presence of God. Because it's only in those one-to-one intimate encounters that each of us can get a personal revelation of who God truly is. It's only in those one-to-one intimate encounters that each of us can be empowered and filled with courage, the courage to face the world and stand up for Christ. The courage to stand up to the devil and declare that Jesus Christ is Lord. The prophet Isaiah received a revelation that should inspire all of us to recognize God for who he truly is. 

Listen carefully to what Isaiah 45 verse 2 to 7 says. I will go before you and make the crooked places straight. I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places that you may know that I, the Lord, who call you by your name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake and Israel my elect, I have even called you by your name. 

I have named you, though you have not known me. I am the Lord and there is no other. There is no God besides me. I will gird you, though you have not known me, that they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides me. 

I am the Lord and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create calamity. 

I, the Lord, do all these things. This is a wonderful revelation of just who God is. God is firmly in control. God is all-knowing. God is almighty. ""[Text 14]
Speaker 1: Yuval Noah Harari, an Israeli author, professor, and advisor to the influential World Economic Forum, believes AI is not only on the brink of creating a new religious text, but one that Harari asserts might actually be true. Harari made the stunning claim during a conversation on AI and the future of humanity with journalist Pedro Pinto. 

Another article stated the following. While dismissing the validity of religion as a whole, Harari specifically took aim at Christianity, suggesting that AI can rewrite a new, more correct Bible. Artificial Intelligence is the first technology ever that can create new ideas. The printing press, radio, television, broadcast spread the ideas created by the human brain, by the human mind. 

They cannot create a new idea. You know, Gutenberg printed the Bible in the middle of the 15th century. The printing press printed as many copies of the Bible as Gutenberg instructed it, but it did not create a single new page, Harari stated. 

It had no ideas of its own about the Bible. Is it good? Is it bad? How to interpret this? 

How to interpret that? AI can create new ideas and can even write a new Bible. Unity, power, wealth, and being a part of a movement. That is what many people are looking for and have been looking for since the early days of human existence. These desires are greatly preyed upon when you add seduction and deceit into the mix. Nothing checks all these boxes quite like false religion, and specifically the worldwide false religion that we see alluded to in Revelation 17. We see all kinds of religions around the world today that only seem to be gaining speed, seemingly propelling us straight into the kinds of things we see playing out in Revelation. There are many reasons why people fall into or accept false religion, but the main reason is that these people are deceived. False religions claim that they are the truth and that everyone else has it all wrong. It is much easier to cast all logical thinking aside and blindly follow when it has been hammered into your brain that you are a part of true and sacred. Revelation 17, like the rest of the prophetic books, can be difficult to interpret, and there are certainly different viewpoints on what exactly is being stated. But God has given us enough clues in the text, especially when referencing the rest of the Bible, that we can grasp the main idea of what is happening well enough to be informed and to apply these things to our lives today. 

The main idea is this. Although we see many false religions around us, they will all ultimately boil down into one final world religion. When God makes things right in the final days, he will judge and destroy all false religion, false teachers, and anything that stands against his holiness. We can use some key words and key phrasing in Revelation 17 to better understand what is being taught and learn to guard ourselves against false religion. With the details we can uncover in this chapter, we can learn to be more discerning and filter everything we choose to believe through God's word. Verses 1 and 2 are setting the theme for this chapter and tell us this. Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk. Notice here that we are first being informed about a coming judgment. 

The seven bowls that are mentioned are also seen earlier in Revelation and they refer to the wrath of God. God will never allow wickedness to reign indefinitely. If God never deals with and punishes the evil in this world, then he is not truly good. 

In order for him to be good, as we believe and affirm with all our hearts, he has to judge sin, and we as Christians find comfort in the fact that he will right every wrong that has been committed against him and against humanity. Also, notice the words that paint a picture of unfaithfulness. In a marriage, we have a promise of a man and a woman being faithful to each other and treating their unity as something special and sacred. 

A husband and wife prefer to look at each other and nobody else. The Bible treats the worship of false gods and false religion in a similar manner. There is a reason God gave Moses the Ten Commandments in a specific order. 

First and foremost, we are to not have any other gods before the true God. In doing so, the Bible has harsh words that liken this sin to a spouse being unfaithful. Throughout this chapter, we find the phrase, great prostitute. Let me note that this is God's word and is pure. However, this is not meant to be pleasant. God is not trying to beat around the bush on his feelings towards the matter. False religion, idol worship, and all actions that seek to dethrone God of his majesty and replace him with something false is both disgusting and wicked. The theme of sexual lewdness is unpleasant, unsettling, and uncomfortable. 

However, please understand this is meant to be the case. This is a grave subject that the Bible is speaking to and we ought to feel uncomfortable and ashamed with it. God is furious when he is deprived of the worship that he rightfully deserves. Now let's focus on the mention of kings of the earth. These kings, as we are told, are guilty of committing sexual immorality with the great prostitute. As a result of this, we are also told that the dwellers of the land, that being the people who suffer the consequences of the king, are also involved in this whole thing by being drunk by the wine of this sexual immorality. 

There is a lot of speculation as to what exactly is happening here in the vision and what this will actually look like when it is played out in the future, but we can still understand the essence of what is going on. Quickly, call to remembrance the story of Babylon in Genesis and recall each time that Babylon is mentioned in the Bible and the kinds of thoughts that name is meant to invoke. Babylon can be traced back to Genesis 11 with the Tower of Babel. Here, the dwellers of the earth work together in unity to achieve something extraordinary, that is, a tower that extends up into the heavens. 

They wanted to make a name for themselves. Is this not what humanity is always striving for? It would appear so even in these last days. People and powers are always seeking to find unity with others. We see more commonly these days this idea of universalism. No matter your religious belief, you are welcome in these communities. 

However, unity is not always good. Remember that God is holy and separate. He is not just another God that we can tack on to our never-ending list of deities to try and keep happy. 

He is the one true God that will not share his glory with anyone or anything else. How can we as Christians have unity with people who do not hold this sacred view of God? We simply cannot do it in good faith and consciously. 

No matter how beautiful they try to package it up to us, it does not matter how many people stand together united to accomplish something if that something is evil in nature. The Bible tells God's people, you shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. You shall not fall in with the many to do evil. 

This unity in the wrong thing is a ticking time bomb. When the entire world is speaking one speech and working together to achieve wicked things, it is asking for God to come down and do something about it. That is exactly what happens at the Tower of Babel. And as we see later in the world, the world is a wicked nation, sometimes referred to as physical and sometimes spiritual. These colors or attributes are something to remember and they fit perfectly to what we see here in Revelation 17. Rebellion to God, opposition to God's kingdom, persecution of God's people, pride and power, and finally judgment. Those are feelings that the mention of such a place is supposed to stir up. It is obvious to us that the great prostitute and great Babylon mentioned in the Old Testament is more significant than just a person or a place. 

We are to put on our thinking caps and really consider the entire Bible. With our knowledge of Babylon in Scripture, we can come to an understanding in Revelation 17 that there is a spiritual movement taking place. All throughout history, movements come and go, but this is different. Usually, movements are isolated to certain areas of the world or small groups of people. Certainly, there have been world powers that dominate the world with an iron fist, but it is not always as easy for the entire world to submit to a certain belief of ideology and actually hold to it with sincerity. This movement that we see in Revelation 17 is different. This sexual immorality has infected the kings of the earth and their people. 

This is worldwide. Not only that, but this sexual immorality has caused them to be in a state of intoxication. This language suggests these people were actually drunk on this teaching, this false religion. The Bible does not tell us here that people were simply going along to get along or to not get in trouble with the kings who had authority over them. It seems to me a fair statement that these dwellers of the lands, as well as their leaders, all held this false religion in sincerity. We know that false religion can completely consume a person. 

They are not designed by some ordinary person seeking to control or harm them, although that is a reality. Even more deep-seated than that, there are demonic forces that are at work and are playing a major role in these people accepting these false teachings with all their heart. This sexual immorality that is mentioned, that is to say, false religion, is causing both kings and dwellers of the land to participate in it and has bigger consequences than meets the eye. 

This sexual immorality actually has eternal consequences. With all of this in the forefront of our mind as we read this chapter, we are supposed to be admonished to steer clear of false religion and to warn others about them. There's a lot to break down, but let's keep it simple for now. Look at what unfolds in the next chapter. And he carried me away in the spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. Notice the attire of the woman. She would seem, from the outward appearance, to have it all. Nice clothing and jewelry. However, we know that even when something is attractive to us, it can still be deadly. 

The substance underneath the physical observations is more important. She is characterized by her golden cup of abominations and impurity. She is identified for her false and blasphemous teachings. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery. Babylon the Great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations. And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. 

We see that she obviously has power, and she has used that power to become drunk off of the blood of God's people. That is the unity. This false religion is nothing but a hatred for God and the people of God. As we read on in the chapter, as well as the entire book of Revelation, we see that God eventually steps in and makes things right. 

So what do we do with all this? Let us look at this verse. Second Timothy chapter 3, verse 1 to 5 says, But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty, for people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness but denying its power. 

Avoid such people. The Bible paints a picture of this end times false religion with some poetic ambiguity, but beautifully enough details to hold on to. There are enough blatant warning signs that we can latch on to. We have seen some signs of this end times false religion. It is worldwide, massively appealing to some, powerful, seemingly beautiful, wicked, seeking to harm God's people, defiant against God. This section of scripture in Revelation 17 is warning us of a worldwide false religion. 

I hope that scratching the surface of this text has opened your eyes to some of the key characteristics that this end times religion will have, and that you will steer clear and warn others. 

Speaker 2: Society changes. Whenever there are major events in a particular country or region, society changes. Go back in time and you'll see this. In early church history, in the Roman Empire, particularly under Nero, there was an acceptance in society those days for Christians to be persecuted and even martyred. In the Victorian era in Britain, one of the more accepted signs of success for males included having a wife and family, having a good home, and owning a horse and carriage for transportation. When the Great Depression happened in 1929, society changed, and people established new norms like thrift gardens in order to survive. After the 2008 financial crash, society changed. People began to diversify their investments, their savings, and how or where they kept their money. And just look at how many things that are widely accepted today, but 50, 100, or even 200 years ago, they were not the norm. Violence on TV, violence in music, and in video games. This has all become the norm in society when, many years ago, it was not as prevalent as it is today. 

Premarital sex was once taboo, but in this day and age, people are making a living having premarital sex and selling it online. These are just a few examples of changes that have happened in society over the years. But what does the Bible tell us about the changes that will happen in society to signal how close we are to the Second Coming of Christ? Well, the first change that I want to talk to you about can be found in 1 Timothy 4, verse 1 and 2, where the Bible says, Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times, some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron. 

Let me just list these points to you. People, in the last days, will turn away from the faith, meaning there will be an apostasy falling away. And what does this look like? Well, it looks like less and less people attending church, less and less people professing to be Christians, less and less people practicing Christianity in their daily lives when it comes to things like prayer and reading God's word. People in the last days will pay attention to deceitful and seductive spirits and doctrines of demons. 

This is the point I want to focus on, so we'll come back to it in a moment. And people in the last days will be filled with hypocrisy and speak lies. This means you will have many who come saying and preaching one thing, but living in a completely different manner. Then the final point is that people's consciences are seared, meaning there will be a coldness to humanity, a lack of love, a hardening of the heart. 

And this is all because of sin being prevalent in the lives of many. Now, I want to focus on doctrines of demons. Society in the last days will be more welcoming of new teachings, false doctrines, alternative gospels. And this is precisely what the Bible means when it says doctrines of demons. The devil will never come out in the open and present himself. Instead, he will use men and women to spread deceit. 

And here are some of the key messages from people who preach under demonic influence. They will tell you that. You will get to heaven by being a good person and doing good things. God accepts you for who you are. It's okay to sin when you've been good for a long time. But God's word tells you that you cannot earn salvation through good works. 

Salvation comes only by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and turning away from sin. God's word tells you to deny self and to keep your flesh under subjection. And finally, the Bible tells you that the wages of sin is death. And so there is no trade-off between good behavior and sinning freely. 

So you see, these are doctrines of demons. Now earlier this year, a report was published. Utah District bans Bible in elementary and middle schools after a complaint calls it sex-ridden. The article goes on to say, a suburban school district in Utah has banned the Bible in elementary and middle schools after a parent frustrated by efforts to ban materials from school argued that some Bible verses were too vulgar or violent for younger children. Now the Bible says in Isaiah 5 verse 20, Whoa, judgment is coming to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. This is what we are seeing. 

Good is now being called evil and evil is being called good. The world is a very different place to what it was 20 years ago. There are many more threats that we have to contend with, physical threats, emotional and mental threats. And of course, there are many more spiritual threats that we face today. Sin seems much more rampant and chaos is common. You look at the television, you watch the news and look at the entertainment industry and you'll find that there is so much hatred, idolatry and pride that has infiltrated our culture. 

And if you're not careful, it's easy to be influenced, swayed and even enticed by the evil around us. Despite that, Christians are called not to let their love grow cold in such a time of evil and sin. In Matthew 24, Jesus answers two separate questions that his disciples were asking him. The disciples asked when the fall of the temple in Jerusalem would happen and what would be the signs of the return of Jesus? 

Both are legitimate concerns for the disciples. One happened very quickly. That was the fall of the temple in Jerusalem, which happened in 70 AD as the Roman army came in and dismantled Jerusalem. 

The other has yet to happen. That is the return of Jesus. In response to these questions, Jesus says in Matthew 24, 12, and because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. It is hard to tell whether Jesus is talking about the increased lawlessness happening before the fall of the temple or his second coming. 

He's likely talking about both. Whatever the case may be, there will be a time when increased lawlessness will happen. The goal of the Christian is not to allow the increased corruption to make our love grow cold. We can see an increase in many areas of lawlessness today. Many take advantage of the poor to get rich. Many commit vicious crimes out of impulse for selfish gain. 

Many have a disregard for human life. And unfortunately, in some pockets, increased lawlessness can even be seen in the church. There are groups of people within the church who live a life of judgment. They will not embrace sinners who sin in different ways than them. 

Instead of showing love and compassion, they show self-righteousness and condemnation. We need to ensure that we are people who do not let our love grow cold, but instead we must have a deep love for God. We do not want to be the very people who the Bible speaks of when it says, the love of many will grow cold. 

So how do we make sure not to be included in this group? The only way to ensure our love does not grow cold is to continue having an active and vibrant relationship with the Lord. Many think that Christianity is a ticket to heaven. While it is true, in the end, we get to heaven, the Christian life is much more than that. The Christian life is about having an every day, all-the-time relationship with the Lord. 

Jesus put it this way in John 15.4, As we abide in the Lord, we grow in bearing fruit, and our love does not grow cold. We can and should obviously grow our relationships with the Lord through prayer, reading, and coming to worship services. However, one of the most critical ways to abide in the Lord is by living in a Christian community with one another. The Christian life was not meant to be done alone. 

It is when we live the Christian life in isolation that our faith often dies. A study was done where a single rat was put in a cage with a drug tablet. The study was to see if the rat would eat the substance. Every time a rat was put in a cage by itself, it partook of a substance. The isolation led it to the drug. They also put the substance in a cage full of rats. Every time the substance was in the cage with multiple rats, the rats ignored the substance as if it was not even there. While we are not rats, the same is often true for us. When we surround ourselves with Christian community, we are much more able to live a godly life. 

However, we are much more likely to let our love grow cold when we live in isolation. We live in very evil times. The world has always had evil and will continue to have evil until the return of Jesus. How are you combating that evil right now? Do you have godly Christian relationships? 

I suggest finding a group of Christian people to meet with at least once a month. It does not have to be a big group. However, these are the people you trust your life with. 

You share the good, bad, and ugly of your life with them. As you do that, you find a place where you can be open and honest about where God has you. Satan is trying to combat your Christian life by making your love for the Lord grow cold. However, surrounding yourself with Christian community, as well as reading the Word, praying, and going to Sunday services will help you abide in the Lord and combat that desire to turn from God in these evil days. 

So hear me. Even though the hearts of many has grown cold, even if godly values, biblical values are no longer held to high esteem and society, I want to remind you that greater is he who is within us than he who is in the world. Jesus Christ is light and he is the pure and holy light that drives out all the darkness. 

Speaker 1: In Ephesians 5-8, the Bible says, For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. The Bible says that we too once walked in darkness. Before we came to Christ, we were in darkness. But God, in his great mercy, opened our eyes to the truth of Jesus Christ, the author of all goodness and purity and righteousness. It is because of him that we can shine, even among the shadows. Matthew 5, 14-16, You are the light of the world. 

A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. If you've ever lit a candle in a dark room, you know what a big difference that tiny flame can make. 

One small spark has the power and intensity to light up an entire room. The Bible says that is what we are like when we allow the Holy Spirit to fill us. As a child of God, you are like a candle in a dark world. And when we all come together with fellow believers in one accord as the body of Christ, then we can really impact the darkness in this world through the light of Jesus Christ that burns within us. John 1.5, The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. So, how can we let God's light shine in us in our everyday lives? Well, 1 Peter 4.10, As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's very grace. 

In order to reflect his magnificent glory, God has given each of us unique gifts to serve his body. Some of us are encouragers. Some of us are teachers. Some of us are worshipers. The beauty of the body of Christ is that we all have different but vitally important roles to play. Whatever your gift is, you can use it as a powerful way to let God's light shine through you. So let the light of Jesus Christ shine brightly in you, even in the midst of great darkness. ""[Text 15]
Speaker 1: Not long ago, Tucker Carlson was quoted as saying, There's a spiritual battle underway. And I think every Christian in America, and around the world, can sense that there's a spiritual battle taking place right now. 

Look around the world. Division, lawlessness, and the unraveling of society can be seen by anyone who knows the Word of God. Some say deception is the driving force behind the division crippling America. Others say the moral decay in the West is bringing about God's judgment. 

But for a moment, I want us to focus on what the Bible says about division. Jesus began his famous Olivet Discourse about the last days by saying, Take heed that no man deceive you. Deception was mentioned first as the precursor to the unraveling of society in the last days. But then he went on to say, For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 

And there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places. Look at that word nation. In Greek, this word is εντος, which means a group of people, a tribe, or an ethnic group. Now this means Jesus was telling us that ethnic group will rise up against ethnic group. 

Is this not what we're seeing right now? Strong division between people. One neighbor's political beliefs are here, while another neighbor's political beliefs are there. And because of this, they resent each other. Or strong division between some believers even. Baptists against Reformed. 

This denomination is against this denomination. The days that we are living in are different. The Bible tells us in the last days, Perilous times will come. The word perilous means a full of danger and full of risk. While I would venture to say perilous times are here. And while you see much about global affairs, tensions rising between this country and that country, political unrest and so forth. When you see this, remember that regardless of what happens, regardless of what will happen, God is ultimately in control. Who runs the world? 

Speaker 2: In the minds of a lot of people, there is this notion that there is a group of people, a secret society, if you will, that really rules the world and manipulate economies and decision makers to their advantage. Conspiracy theory or not, there is no doubt that there are people in this world who believe that there is a group in the shadows that govern the world. Think about those people who believe in the Illuminati. 

With this kind of thinking, there is a lot of fanfare and attention when it comes to things like hand gestures, symbols, and certain greetings between people. But what if I told you? No, what if I gave you biblical proof that shows you that beyond the governments of the world, beyond the decision makers, the wealthy bankers, and influential figures of the world, beyond all of them, there is a force that actually rules the world? Well, in the next few moments, I will explain to you why the influential force in this world is far more sinister and far more evil than what any conspiracy theory can point to or explain. 

Now, as you are listening, here's something that you should keep in your mind and heart so that you do not fear. John Piper said, although Satan has a measure of rule and authority in the air or the heavens, he's not God. He's vastly under God. Christ is vastly superior to over and has authority over him. So Satan's rule in the power of the air or in the lower air of the heavens is not supreme. The Bible in Ephesians 2 verse 2 says, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the Prince of power of the air, the Spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. 

Let's underline that phrase. The Prince of the power of the air. What does this mean? The NIV translation uses the phrase, the ruler of the kingdom of the air. The NLT translation uses the phrase, obeying the devil, the commander of the powers in the unseen world. Now, I dug a little deeper to see what some of the prominent Christian pastors of today interpret this. In his sermon titled, The Prince of power of the air, John MacArthur explained, Ephesians 2 verse 2 like this, world does not here represent the physical creation of the world order, the world systems of values and way of doing things, the world's course. 

And as Paul makes clear, the course of this world follows the leadership and design of Satan, the Prince of the power of the air. Now, let me just say, when you look at the world versus the word of God, there is a clear difference. The spirit of the times in the world today reflects a rejection of God's laws and principles. For example, what's right in the Bible like marriage between one man and one woman? That notion is challenged in the Bible. 

Secondly, what's wrong in the Bible such as sexual immorality is widely accepted in today's society, with adult platforms being the most visited websites globally and a growing normalization of sexual promiscuity and perversion. And behind all of this, behind all of the world systems and values, it's not Blackrock. It's not the Illuminati, but it is the devil at work. He may very well influence certain people and decision makers, but Christians must be aware of the true evil force that is behind these people or institutions. One more thing to point out from John MacArthur when speaking about sinners in this world and their persistent rejection of Christ, he says, They are of one mind because they have a common leader and Lord, the Prince of the power of the air. Satan is now the ruler of this world. 

And until the Lord casts him out, John 12 verse 31, he will continue to rule. The power or authority of the air probably refers to Satan's host of demons who exist in the heavenly sphere. Paul has this in mind in Ephesians 6 verse 12, where he warns of the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places during the present age. He and his demon host dominate, pressure and control every person who is unsaved. He is the personification of spiritual death because he is the personification of rebellion against God. 

And so is the system he designed. Now do you understand why the Bible says God's children are sealed with the Holy Spirit? Do you understand why the Bible tells us that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Do you understand why God's word calls us to be separate from this world? On this topic, John Piper said, scholars and commentators, including me, are not generally confident or certain about why Satan is called the Prince of the power of the air. In Ephesians 2 verse 2, That's the first point which I certainly agree with. No one can definitively say why Satan is called the Prince of the air. 

And the air being talked about here is not oxygen or radio or broadcasting airways. No, Piper further goes on to say, The fact that Satan has some measure of authority in the air does not imply that he is omnipresent or omniscient. We are not told in the Bible the extent of Satan's knowledge or how a non-spatial reality like a spirit, which he's called in this very verse, the spirit that is dominating the sons of disobedience. With no up, down or sideways reality, positions himself in the world. But he's not God. He does not share God's omniscience and omnipresence. 

But we do know that he has many unclean spirits, demons at his disposal. And they are deployed all over the world in the air. The air is where the flaming arrows fly, according to Ephesians 6 verse 16. Now, the God of this world has a major influence on the ideals and opinions of people. He has a big influence on the hopes and views of people. And it's in a deceptive way that he does this. 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 4 says, Satan, who is the God of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the good news. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. Here's a trick that the devil uses. He's out to desensitize people from sin. 

And here's what I mean. If you're sensitive to sin, you will be quick to react and get away from it. But if sin has become your norm and you no longer see sin as sin, then you begin to tolerate it. 

You begin to accept it and compromise. Different examples if you look at someone who has a fear of dogs. Most of the time, they didn't grow up around dogs. And so they have this fear about how a dog should act around them in the mannerisms of different dogs. But given enough time around dogs, they'll come to a stage where that fear of animals goes. Because they are used to seeing the animals. 

They are used to the dog's behavior. And so what the devil does is that the devil puts sin in front of you so often and so frequently so that it goes from being sin to being the norm. You're in your car and all day you're listening to music that is talking about violence and it's full of profanity. You're around a group of friends or acquaintances who are very vulgar and unclean in their speech. 

You get home. You watch movies and TV shows full of violence and profane language. Now you can imagine what this does to you. It fosters and nurtures and bruises the spirit of anger. 

Your mind is filled with violent and angry thoughts because uncleanliness is everywhere. This is what the God of this world has done. This is what the God of this world has done. The God of this world is after your mind. If it isn't sexual promiscuity that's being advertised it's something related to gambling. 

If it isn't gambling, it's something related to alcohol or some substance abuse. The God of this world is after your mind. If he can get you to put your own image above the image of God. If he can get you to love pleasure more than you love God. 

If he can get you to stay in the snare of pride or bitterness then he knows he can blind you from seeing the goodness of God. Now this is not to say that the devil rules the world completely. No, God is still almighty and he is still sovereign. 

He has only allowed Satan to operate in this world within a set of boundaries. But one day, Revelation 20 verse 10 says And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and false prophet were and they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever. There will come a day when the devil is defeated and destroyed once and for all. There will come a day when Jesus Christ will rule and reign forevermore. 

There will come a day when we who believe and endure to the end shall be with Jesus Christ for all of eternity. So reject the advances of the God of this world. Do not accept what the world accepts. 

Do not embrace what the world embraces. But instead, only accept the word of God. Only accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Only accept there is one true King. One who is the keys to life and death in his hands. And that is Jesus Christ. 

Speaker 1: Judges 21 verse 25 says, In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. In this time in Israel's history, child sacrifices were happening. People went to and women were treated as slaves. One specific story that happened at this time in judges 20 involved a concubine. For those who may not know, a concubine is a woman who lives with a man but has lower status than his wife or wives. The fact that men had concubines is a red flag in and of itself. The concubine was traveling with a Levite man with whom she was in a relationship. The Levite and concubine took a stop to rest in a city as they travel. 

The man got drunk that night with someone in the city. The other men of the city took the concubine for themselves and this led to her death. While there was a lot that does not make sense in that story, it illustrates the wickedness that was happening in Israel at the time. They lived in a culture of lawlessness. While the laws of God were in place, everyone did what was right in their own eyes. We also live in a time of lawlessness. Sin is everywhere and easy for the taking. 

You turn on your computer and access pornography from wherever you are sitting. You can turn on the TV and find people being hateful to each other on every news channel. You can go to the doctor and get any procedure done no matter the impact it will have on the people around you. What used to be wrong is now accepted as right. While we may not be stuck in sin as deep as the people who were at the time of the judges, lawlessness is still very present. Sin is cheap and very accessible in this willfully rebel against the laws of God and man. Now, I wonder, do most people even realize that lawlessness is like the air that we breathe in this world? The Bible talks about lawlessness quite often. The truth is that we need laws. Without laws, the world would be in chaos. 

People would be able to live how they want with no consequences. People often think that the laws of God are oppressive. However, these laws are put in place to protect humanity. 

These laws were made for our benefit. When God tells us not to commit adultery, it is actually in our best interest. When we commit adultery, we ruin our relationships with our spouse and the people around us. It is good for us when God commands us to love our neighbor. 

We build good relationships with those around us. The problem becomes that people see these rules as restricting. We live in a time when these laws are ignored. This is what the Bible calls lawlessness. An early example of lawlessness is seen in the book of Judges. 

So, how can the Christian remain on fire while living in such a lawless society? Matthew 24, verse 12, helps us with that. It says, And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 

While this verse seems to only state a problem, within the problem is the solution. To fight lawlessness, we must not allow the love in our hearts to grow cold. The love in the heart is not talking about general love. Lawless people love all the time. They love their spouses, kids, friends, and even their lawless actions. 

The love that Matthew 24, verse 12, points to is the love for God. It is as though the more our love for God is fostered, and it grows, the more we run away from darkness. Let's say you are in a house, and it is completely dark. There is no reflection from the moon and stars, no light posts putting off light, and not even a car driving by. 

As soon as you turn on the light in your house, you now have a way to see. If you open your door, the darkness does not come streaming in. The darkness does not have the power to overcome the light. However, if you are in the dark and you light a match, the light overcomes the dark. The more light you have, the less darkness there is out there. Love for God is the light that overshadows the dark desire for lawlessness. So what does it look like to stay on fire for God in such a lawless time? We spend time with God and allow His love to transform us. This begs the question, are you spending time with God? If you are listening to this, this is a great starting point. Hearing the word of God taught and preached is excellent. 

However, it must be more than that. Are you spending time seeking Him in prayer? Are you taking time to read the word? Are you gathering in Christian community so that the Holy Spirit can shape you through the lives of others? 

If not, you are putting your heart at risk of allowing your love to grow cold. If you want to fight the lawlessness that can grow in your heart, you must allow the light of God's presence to be active in your life every day. I recently heard one pastor say the following statement. I am very concerned with the amount of false teaching and false prophets that have found their way onto the internet. Vulnerable Christians are listening to them as if everything they say is from the mouth of God. Everything must be brought into agreement with what the Bible says. 

Now, Bible prophecy warned us that prior to the rapture, there will be a great falling away from faith. And if possible, the very elect would be deceived. Now, a crucial aspect of our journey as believers is not only to understand deception, but to unmask deception in these last days. Because it is no secret that we have to navigate a world filled with conflicting messages. And we are given enticing falsehoods. But this is why the Bible is important. 

It equips us with wisdom to discern truth from deception. I want to give you four illustrations of how deception is working in this world and why it is accepted by so many. The first illustration is what I would like to call the chameleon's disguise. 

Imagine a chameleon expertly blending into its surroundings, adapting its appearance to conceal its true identity. This is similar to a person who looks like a Christian. They talk like a Christian and can even go as far as acting like a Christian when you see them. 

However, their heart, their intentions are far from Jesus Christ. This is how deception in the last days often presents itself in ways that mimic truth. Deception today makes things challenging for a person to distinguish between truth and lie. Jesus warned us in Matthew 24 verse 24 saying, For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Just as the chameleon's disguise requires careful observation, it requires you to pay close attention. 

We too must be vigilant and discerning, seeking the unchanging truth found in God's word. The second illustration is the mirage of shiny illusions. Think of a traveler crossing a desert, parched and weary. In the distance, a shimmering oasis appears, promising relief. 

However, as the traveler draws closer, the mirage dissolves, leaving disappointment. In 2 Timothy 4 verse 3 to 4, the apostle Paul warns, For the time will come when people 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. The allure of false teachings can be as deceptive as a mirage, leaving us spiritually thirsty. 

True refreshment comes from the living water of Christ's teachings. The third illustration is the puzzle of half truths. Picture a puzzle missing a few pieces. From a distance, it seems complete, but closer inspection reveals the gaps. It reveals that things are fragmented and incomplete. Deception often involves partial truths, carefully interwoven to create a convincing narrative. Jesus emphasized the importance of discernment in Luke 21 verse 8 when he said, Watch out that you are not deceived, for many will come in my name, claiming I am he, and the time is near. Do not follow them. Just as a puzzle requires all its pieces to form a coherent picture, we must rely on the complete counsel of God's word to guard against deception. 

Now, my final illustration is not so much geared at understanding deception, but rather unmasking deception. And I would like to call this the guiding North Star. Consider sailors navigating vast oceans under the guidance of the North Star. When you look at the history of navigation at sea, before GPS and modern technology, one of the simplest methods for determining a ship's direction was to watch the movement of the sun across the sky. Sailors used the position of the sun as it moved from east to west to guide their route. At noon, they could determine north and south by the shadows the sun cast. 

Sailors had to literally look up to be able to figure out where they were heading. In the same way, God's word serves as our unchanging, reliable guide through the tumultuous seas of deception. Psalm 119-105 assures us, Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. As the North Star remains fixed amidst shifting skies, the truth of God's word stands unwavering, offering clarity and direction in a world filled with confusion. 

The last days present unique challenges to all of us believers, but we need not be overcome by deception. In fact, we should be like skilled detectives. Have you ever seen the level of forensic detail that detectives go to in order to uncover the truth? They will exhaust every possible avenue seeking the truth. We too can do the same as believers. We can uncover the truth. We can unmask falsehoods by being attentive, testing every spirit against the word of God by knowing the word of God and seeking direction from above through prayer. 

As we journey forward, let us remember the Chameleon's disguise, the mirage of shiny illusions, the puzzle of half-truths, and the guiding North Star. Let our discernment be fueled by faith rooted in God's word and empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul told us in Ephesians 6 verse 14, Stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist. Let us gird ourselves with God's truth shielded from the deception that seeks to derail our faith. I pray that all of us would become vigilant believers, unmasking deception with discernment and the truth that is in the word of God. 
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