 Today we're in 2 Timothy chapter 3. We're going to be looking at the subject of the coming apostasy. Signs of the times are actually, as Paul will speak in chapter 3 here in verse 1, he'll be speaking of the last days and the conditions that relate to that, that time that is referred to as the last day. So let's begin reading together here in 2 Timothy chapter 3. I'll let you know in advance, by the way, that I started using this thing, an iPad, because I get confused with iPod for some reason I do. But this, I started using it. It's actually, I've only used it Wednesday night and I've been using paper notes, notice I brought them in case. Paper notes, since I began teaching, I began teaching in 1973. So that's almost 45 years of teaching using printed notes. And so for me it's kind of a new thing. So I may stumble, well it's a real new thing, I may stumble a bit as I learn how to do this. Just let you know in advance that I am in the 21st century, 18 years late, but I'm here. So anyway, beginning at chapter 3 verse 1, reading to verse 9. But know this, that in the last days, perilous times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving. So far it sounds like my family, slanderers without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying its power. And from such people turn away, for of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Janus and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth, men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith. But they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was. So let's develop an introduction, it'll be somewhat prolonged, to lay the foundation and then we'll move into what Paul refers to as the last days and the conditions, perilous times. Now Paul is beginning to outline the conditions of the world in the last days. He's already been exhorting this young man by the name of Timothy who passes the church in Ephesus. He's already been exhorting Timothy not to allow the present conditions that he was finding himself in to distract him. And so he is already in chapter two begun to outline his attitude, what his attitude ought to be in the conditions that he finds himself serving the Lord in. And we already saw that when we're in chapter two, how that he had spoken concerning a variety of things, and he had spoken concerning Timothy's attitude and what he should be like. He made it clear, for example, that Timothy was to be willing to endure hardship as a good soldier. He also pointed out that he was to be disciplined. He would be disciplined like an athlete who was engaged in a contest, who intended to win. And he went on to say he's to patiently work and to wait in faith for the crops to produce like a farmer does, because a farmer goes out and sows seed and waits for the early and latter rain and knows that it requires patience for the seed that he has planted to take root and to produce a crop. And so these are things that Paul was saying, using metaphors that Timothy would understand to help him to see that ministry is tough. It's a tough way of life. And it requires certain things that a minister needs to possess in order to see himself successful in all that he's doing for the Lord. And he was making it clear that every servant of the Lord will encounter obstacles, and especially the obstacle of impatience. Because sometimes a minister will sow seed and expect that seed to produce fruit that is identifiable very quickly. And so it takes some patience and the part of somebody who is ministering, it takes some patience for them to step out of the way sometimes in order that the spirit may produce the fruit that is intended by God to be produced. There's a good example of this in the life of a great evangelist that the United States had at one time, a man we all know as D. L. Moody. D. L. Moody was an American evangelist. He lived in 1837 to 1899. And his ministry of crusade evangelism lasted some 40 years. And in the 40 years that he preached back at that period, he saw something like a million people come to faith in Jesus Christ through his preaching. He was a great man. He founded three Christian schools. He launched a great Christian publishing business. He established a world renowned Christian conference center. And he inspired literally thousands of preachers to win souls and conduct revivals. When you look at the life of D. L. Moody, his father died when he was four years old. And that left his mother to raise him and his eight brothers and sisters. She was actually pregnant with twins when his father died. He had the equivalent of a fifth grade education. And people say that if you'd have known D. L. Moody when he was growing up, he was anything but a model child. At the age of 17, he moved to Boston. He worked in his uncle's shoe store. One of the requirements for him to work at the store was for him to attend church. And it was in that store that his Sunday school teacher, Edward Kimball visited him, and his Sunday school teacher led D. L. Moody to faith in Christ. Later on, Kimball was speaking concerning Moody, and this is what he said. Kimball said, I can truly say and insane it. I magnify the infinite grace of God as bestowed upon him that I have seen few persons whose minds were spiritually darker than was his when he came into my Sunday school class. And I think that the committee of the Mount Vernon Church seldom met an applicant for membership more unlikely ever to become a Christian of clear and decided views of gospel truth, still less to fill any extended sphere of public usefulness. Sometimes you will sow seeds and not know what the results will be. And Paul is making it very clear that you don't always see immediate results. So Timothy, in order for you to see God move, you need to endure hardship. You need to be faithful. You need to be patient. And you need to trust God to produce the results. In Matthew chapter 4, 26 through 28, Jesus said, here is another illustration of what the kingdom of God is like. A farmer planted seeds in a field and then he went on with his other activities. As the days went by, the seeds sprouted and grew without the farmer's help because the earth produces crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed and finally the grain ripens. So you need to be faithful. You need to be patient. And you need to trust that God will produce results. Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 7 said, so then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. So Timothy, serving the Lord Jesus Christ can be difficult. It requires purpose and patience. It's hard. And often the results are not seen immediately. So you need to endure hard times in ministry. The work is difficult, but the servant of the Lord is not to lose heart. Instead of losing heart and becoming discouraged, he's to remain faithful. When Paul was writing in chapter 2, verse 15, he had said, be diligent to present yourself approved to God. A worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Be diligent, present yourself to God. Now that's to provide a contrast between Timothy who is a genuine pastor there at the church of Ephesus and people who are actually infiltrating that church congregation who are bringing bad doctrine. Remember with me, I've said this several times as we have studied 1st and 2nd Timothy that Paul had warned the elders of Ephesus that there would be people who would, one, infiltrate. He said, they'll come in from amongst you and they're going to be bringing heresy. But he also said, and men will rise up from amongst you. So not only will you have people who are coming in, bringing in their own ideas, their own theology, their own beliefs concerning God, beliefs that are wrong, beliefs that are heretical, beliefs that are not scriptural. And yes, they will come into the church and yes, they will bring these doctrines in. He says, but men will arise from amongst you will do the same. So your leadership is going to also be tainted by this. It was a prophetic word, a word to speak to Timothy and the elders in order that they would remain alert to this. And as we've gone through 1st and 2nd Timothy, Paul has actually mentioned some of these men by name, Hymenaeus Alexander and others. By name, he said, these are people who are leaders who have walked away and are bringing in bad doctrine. They're infiltrating. They've said the resurrection is over and they're overthrowing the faith of some. He said, watch out for these. And so we've seen that as we've gone through 1st and 2nd Timothy, that this is taking place. And so he's saying, you have no reason to be discouraged, but I need to outline the dangers that the church will face in the future. So he's speaking here in chapter three of the last days, and he says that perilous times will come. Now, in his first letter, Paul had written something similar. He had said in 1st Timothy 4, 1 and 2, the Spirit expressly says that in latter times, some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits, doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own consciences seared with a hot iron. He said they're going to be bringing in doctrines that are inspired by Satan himself, and they're going to be infiltrating the church, and they're going to be undermining the faith of some of the members. And so he's speaking once again in this passage of last days conditions. Now, to continue to lay the foundation so that we can move into the chapter, we need to remember that on one hand, when Jesus spoke of the church, he spoke of its endurance. He made it clear that the church would continue, and that we, the church would be victorious. He had said in Matthew 16, verse 18, I will build my church, and the gates of Haiti shall not overpower it. And yet, though we will be victorious, he also warned the church of an invasion of false prophets. Satan would empower false prophets, and he would empower false teachers to undermine the effectiveness of the church. And many of them would be almost indistinguishable from true prophets. Remember in Matthew 7, 15, how he had said, beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. When he said, they come to you in sheep's clothing, I mentioned to you when we were studying through Matthew that the prophets would wear sheep's clothing. Their clothing was made out of the wool, and that was the clothing of a prophet during that time. And so he's saying they're going to come in looking like the real deal. But in fact, the ravenous wolves are destructive. And he had said, great numbers of people will be deceived by them, and great numbers will receive their messages. And that will, by the way, include professing Christians. There are a lot of people today, and I say this as someone who loves the church and loves the people of the church, but there are many people today who have what is referred to now as a casual faith. It's a casual faith. It's been said that there are many professing Christians who profess to be Christians, but are practical atheists. They profess to be Christians with their mouth, but their life practically lived is as if there is no God. And that is absolutely true. There are many who say, yes, I love the Lord, but don't do the things that he says. They have no inclination to it. They never read the Bible. Reading the Bible is something somebody else does for them. They never do it themselves. They have a lot of excuses as to why they don't, but they never do. So they don't have a personal time in the Word. They're not being instructed by the Spirit on their own. They're not spending time in God's Word at all. And thus, somebody will knock on the door or speak to them at work or approach them outside when they're doing something and speak to them and present to them something false. And though something within them will rise up and say, I don't think this is true, they're not equipped to be able to answer that simply because they don't take the time to be equipped. They are casual Christians. And the church is filled with casual Christians. The church at large, not only in the United States, but throughout the world is filled with great numbers of people who have a casual faith. And because they have a casual faith, they have no spiritual discernment. And so because they have no spiritual discernment, false prophets will come and they will tickle their ears. Look in chapter 4 for a moment, getting ahead of myself. And look at verse 3 and 4, 2 Timothy 4, 3 and 4. The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. The term sound doctrine, as we'll see when we go through this, simply means healthy teaching. They don't endure. They don't put up with healthy teaching. But according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers. They will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables. He's saying, listen, in the last days what's going to happen is people will no longer want to hear teaching. They don't want to know what is healthy and what's going to make them healthy. What they want is something that tickles them, something that they appreciate. And so they're going to turn their ears from the truth and they'll be turned aside to fables. And that's exactly what's happened in our day. This reminds me of ancient Israel, how that in the book of Isaiah, God is speaking to the people and in Isaiah 30 verses 9 and 10, he says, this is a rebellious people, lying children, children who will not hear the law of the Lord, who say to the seers, do not see to the prophets. Do not prophesy to us right things. Speak to us smooth things, prophesy to see. When Jeremiah was speaking to the children of Israel, the prophets prophesy falsely, he said in Jeremiah 531, and the priests rule by their own power. And my people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end? You see, when we studied Matthew, we saw that the primary sign of the last days is deception. Remember how that Jesus's men asked him, what is the sign of your return in the end of the age? And when they asked that question, he made it clear that it would be spiritual deception in Matthew 24, 4 and 5. He said, take heed that no one deceives you, for many will come in my name saying I am the Christ and they will deceive many. And what I pointed out to you as we looked at that is how he put the personal responsibility on the ones who were hearing. He said, take heed that no one deceives you. That's my responsibility. I have to have discernment. I have to know the word. I have to be aware of the days that I'm living in, because there will be many coming in in his name and they will be saying things and he said they will deceive many. The apostle Peter wrote prophetically of the last days. He said the same thing in 2 Peter chapter 2, verse 1. He said there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, bring on themselves with destruction. You know, false prophets because they're preaching a false message are going to produce people who live an unholy life. That's what happens because their teachings appeal to carnal appetites. And because they're carnal, they can be appealing. And what they'll do is they corrupt grace. And when they corrupt grace, they turn it into permission to sin. And you can sin without any concern or conviction. So people listen. 2 Peter 2 19 says they promise them liberty. But they themselves are slaves of corruption. For by whom a person is overcome by him also, he is brought into bondage. So their teachings promise freedom, but in fact only enhance your captive lifestyle. In Galatians 513, Paul said, For you brethren have been called to liberty, only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Because when you're actually following the Lord, you no longer are going to be self centered. You're going to be other centered. So by love, he says, serve one another. My wife and I were speaking the other day about how the Lord Jesus Christ had taught us that it's more blessed to give than to receive. And we were just speaking. I was just sharing with her and talking to her about this just this weekend. When the Lord says in his word in the book of Genesis, it is not good that man should be alone. It's interesting that he had created the animals and all. Adam had the job, the responsibility, if you will, of naming them. And he gave them opportunity to see that there was nothing like him. And then the Lord made and in that time, the Lord had said, it isn't good that man should be alone. And I'm going to make a helper for him, comparable. Somebody who, in other words, is going to take the half man and make him into the whole person. And Maria and I were talking about that because there are things in her life that have completed me and things in my life that have challenged her. I mean, completed her. And we were just speaking about that. We were just talking about that amongst ourselves. And I said, it's interesting to me how that the Spirit of the Lord inspired us through his word to understand how I, as a husband, need my wife to complete me. Because if I'd married anybody different than Marie, a different woman than Marie, I'd be an entirely different man today after all these years. I'd be different because she and I have had to learn how to adjust to each other's differences. And we finally have found those gears that can mesh and make us one. And it takes a while to do that. It's not instantaneous. It's not overnight. We were together this weekend. And I was in purgatory. We went shopping. And as we went shopping together, actually she wanted to buy me a sweatshirt. But as we were going together, we went into this place, Godiva chocolates. It's in the Brea Mall. Some of you have said, get thee behind me, Satan, many times going past it. Marie's part. And I think I have points there, too. She likes Godiva chocolates. And we were walking by. And as we walked by, I turned to her and I said, would you like to get something? I think you might have points to get a sample because I'll give you a free sample. And that's the best date you can go on, place where they give you free samples. And so that's why we go to Costco all the time. So that's her date. I'll give her a flower and bang. We went on a date. But anyway, so we went into Godiva. And as we're in Godiva chocolate, I'm not noticing Marie's talking because I'm kind of looking at something else. But Marie's talking to the young lady. She's probably about 22 years old who's behind the counter and a young man who's given us samples of this chocolate drink that was very good. But anyway, as we're kind of there, you know, Marie's talking. And then, then I talk and Marie had said, I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said, because the music was kind of loud and she couldn't hear. And then the woman starts speaking to me and she says, and I said, I'm sorry. I really, what were you saying? I didn't really hear you. And so we did that for about 10 minutes and finally got the free chocolate. And but the young lady looks at us and she goes, may I ask you a question? And I said, sure, of course, she goes, how long have you been married? And I said, oh, why? She says, well, you guys answer each other's questions. She said, I can see she's telling us this. She says, I can see that you're connected. This is a young woman we've never, I can see you're connected. I can see you know each other. Because I wasn't noticing what was being said. And then I, and that's exactly what we do. And I've said this before, it's true, anybody who's been married for a while, newlyweds won't learn this, not the first week, month or year. You will learn this in 10, 15 or 20 years. But those who've been married for a while will know this. And that is you have a dance that you do. You just don't know it, but you're constantly in a dance move. How do I know that? If you have, it's the morning, you're getting ready and you husband and you're with your wife, right? She has to get ready at the same time for some reason you are right. And what happens? Well, she'll go in there and she'll reach in front of you. Do you say, what are you doing? Why are you reaching in front of me? No, you just take a step back. She reaches, then you reach. And after a while, 10, 15 minutes, you've been dancing for 15 minutes. You just don't realize it. And you're still conversing. You're still, it's your dance. And you learn that when you first get married, you don't even know you're going to learn to dance. You don't. But you know, you will learn. You begin to do these things. It's so natural. You begin to know each other so well from so many years of conversing that you know each other's concluding statements to many of the things that are being said. And that's the way it is. So this young woman looks at me and she says to me, may I ask you, how long have you been married? I said, why? She says, because you guys finish each other's statements, I can see that you've been together for a long time. And that's the truth, and I told Maria as we were walking out, I said, you know, the two shall become one flesh, one flesh we learn. So we've learned, one of the things, I'm getting ahead of myself, but this is important. We have learned something Jesus said. He said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. And one of the things you learn in relationship, in marriage, in church, is that concept, that it is a better thing, it's more Christ-like, it's more God-like when you learn to give of yourself. Because in the giving of yourself, and my wife in the giving of herself to me, we have become that one flesh, which has made me a better man. And if you want to, if you're single right now, and you want to have a good relationship, always remember this, you ought to be the best person God can have you be. Because anybody who wants to grow in the things of the Lord is looking for somebody who will help them to be better than they are, not less, but more. And I was, again, Maria and I were talking, and I said, you know, when we first connected, when Maria walked into that first Bible study that she ever came to, that I was teaching here in Ontario. When she walked into that first Bible study, she knows this, I'm not saying anything that would embarrass her, it's just truth. We were just talking about it this week and I said, I was not attracted to Maria as a woman, I was not attracted by outer beauty. At that time in my early 20s, my idea of beauty was a blonde with blue eyes. That's what I liked, blondies, surf chicks. And here comes this little brownie, so I'm not even looking at her. You know, I'm not, I'm not. She walked in and she sat down, didn't. But I spoke to her afterwards and like deep, calling unto deep, I climbed into my Volkswagen, because I was a hippie. And I was driving with my sister, and I still remember turning to my sister Madeline saying, I just met the girl I'm going to marry, because there was something about her that was beyond the physical. There was something about her that drew me as a man and said, inside said, this woman, this woman is the one God has for me. And the result of that has been I've become a better man because of that better woman. The two shall become one flesh. This isn't a teaching on marriage, but it's an application to the reality that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Because the mark of the last days as Paul is about to share is self love, self centeredness. A lot of times when we think of last days teachings, we want to know about wars in Syria and Iraq and Iran and and how is Russia may God going to work with, you know, Jordan and Egypt and what does the scripture say? I realize that and we do teachings like that when we when the subject demands. Yet today, we're looking at the church itself and what's going to happen in the church in last days, because you need to notice something with me. When it says in verse one and second Timothy three, know this that in the last days, perilous times will come. I want you to notice verse five when he says having a form of godliness, but denying its power. The church is going to be influenced and it's going to be infiltrated with unbelief, selfishness and things that are ungodly, which is going to diminish its power and witness in the world the coming apostasy. The time when the church has been infiltrated by evil. When Jesus was speaking in Matthew chapter 13, he gave a series of parables. Again, those who were with me in Matthew, you know that we went through the series of parables found there, but I'd remind you that in Matthew 13 he gave parables that spoke of this when he said, for example, the parable of the wheat and the tares. And as we looked at the parable that Jesus gave concerning the wheat and the tares and all, that he says that somebody had had the farmer had sowed seeds, but an enemy came in, he said, while men slept and sowed tares amongst the wheat. And as we looked at that, I was pointing out that the church is asleep in the last days, not diligent, not vigilant, not awake and is allowing error to creep in and accepting it as if it's from God. Jesus said that's what's going to happen and the tares are going to grow up right next to the wheat. Jesus continued as he was giving this kind of insight into prophetic events just before his return, and he said, it's going to be like the parable of the mustard seed. Mustard seed being the smallest seed in Israel planted yet becomes a tree, and he says, and the birds of the air nest in its branches. While he had already said in the parable of the sow and the seed that the enemy comes and is given the figure metaphor of a bird and snatches the seed, so as he continues using parables, parabolic consistency, as he does that, the bird is an image he had used earlier representing evil. And the point he was making is there's an inordinate growth because mustard seeds don't grow into trees, they're into large plants, but this talks about branches and bird's nest. And in Jesus, once again, is pointing to the fact that in the last days there'll be great numbers of people, but the church will be filled with evil, and then he goes on to speak concerning leaven, which a woman put into the dough, and leaven in Scripture is a picture of sin. And so as we were looking at that together and when we went through Matthew 13 and the parables, those are the things that we were taken from Scripture and recognizing that were pictures of the church in the last days, you have the visible church, which is just everybody showing up in the same place, and you have the invisible church, which is the genuine believer. And so you will always have those who are not saved, who are there amongst those who are. That's how it works. And in the latter times, the church is going to be influenced and infiltrated through the bad doctrine that began so early in its history. And in the latter days, it'll be unholy. And so, by love, we're supposed to be serving one another. See, when people are enslaved by error, when they get convicted, they very often become argumentative, they become upset. But in reality, the one sharing the truth ought to be loved and thanked because they're caring for them. That wasn't always true in the case of Paul. When writing a word of correction to the Galatians, their response wasn't positive. The Galatians didn't respond positively at all. In Galatians 4 verse 16, Paul had to say, have I therefore become your enemy? Because I tell you the truth. We need to remember it's God's desire for us to know the truth. Why? Because it's the truth that frees us. In 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 4, that verse reminds us that God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. And so with this in mind, Paul is writing concerning conditions during the last days. Notice what he says in verse 1. Know this that in the last days, perilous times will come. And he says, know this, that means keep this in mind. I'm about to give a very important bit of information. And this information that I'm giving to you is this. In the last days, perilous times will come. Of this you can be a hundred percent sure. Now this passage is best understood as speaking of conditions before the return of Christ. Obviously, the conditions spoken of have existed throughout the history of the church, but they will be more intense and extensive as the end approaches. So the question is, what will the conditions be just prior to the return of Jesus Christ? Paul says, again in verse 1, in the last days, perilous times will come. Know this. Of this you can be certain. Of this you must be aware. Wickedness will be normalized and genuine Christians will become targets. Is that occurring today? Absolutely. Absolutely. Wickedness is normalized. Christians are targets. You said, oh no, I don't think so. See, that's a problem with you, you Christians, you pastors. You're always preaching the negative. Okay, go to a gay pride parade where Jesus loves you t-shirt and see how many people walk up and say, thank you. I needed to know that. We don't live in a time like that. We actually live in hazardous days. And it can be hazardous for you to share what you believe. A former member of this church, they hadn't been with us for a while, but a former member of this church last year has been several months. It's recent. Last year was in a supermarket and in front of him were two lesbian women and he got in a conversation with them and he shared with them that God could set them free from lesbianism. They didn't like that. So apparently, they made a phone call because when he left the store, a van pulled up, dragged him into the van and they beat him to death. Don't tell me perilous times are not with us. Don't tell me that because they are, because they are. And so Paul stated this. He said, know this, know this in the last days. Dangerous times will come. Dangerous times will set in. When he says perilous, the word perilous means literally hard to bear, dangerous. He's saying they will set in. They will be upon us. They're going to be days that are hard to endure. He said the days will be a time of danger, persecution, even painful trials. The last days will be difficult days to live in and it won't be just because there's a lack of jobs and it won't be because of cost of living or the wars that we find ourselves in. They'll be perilous because the evil will be increasing and normalized. It is not perilous because of the worldly and ungodly people that that's what's interesting. It is perilous because of the people who profess to believe in God. Again, he said it in verse five, having a form of godliness, denying its power. It's professing religious believers that are about to be described by Paul, not just the world. And this is the external fruit of clinging to false teachings that have taken a foothold. As we go through this, and I'll do this briefly, and you say, thank you, Jesus, I'll do this briefly, Paul is going to list 19 characteristics that distinguish the last days. Obviously, we can't spend that much time looking at each and each one individually. I'll develop them, but I'll just touch on many of them. But he lists 19 characteristics that distinguish the last days. Verse two, he says, for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. He begins with selfishness. Men will be lovers of themselves. Self love will be dominant. Men will be lovers of themselves. Men will make their own interests more important than the interests of any other. Selfishness is the chief sin and upon this sin all the rest of the sins he mentions are built. It begins with self love, with self centeredness, selfishness. There was a little boy and his younger sister, they were riding a bicycle together. And the little girl said, if one of us would just get off, there would be more room for me. So there's selfishness is bound up in our hearts. It is a self interested kind of attitude that we have and the sin of selfishness, of self love is the great destroyer because it destroys everything it touches. Families are destroyed because of self love very often because I want you to love me more and you're not loving me enough and you're not giving me enough and families can be destroyed through divorce because in order for a family to make it, faithfulness and sacrifice are necessary but with self love they're not valued. Friendships can be ruined through self centered need for attention. The need to dominate is the self love. You're in a group of people, you're having coffee, you're enjoying yourself with them and one person dominates, talks over and over and talks over you. After a while you don't want to be around them anymore and then they think nobody loves me why because they've been so interested in hearing their own voice they couldn't hear yours. Relationships and society is filled with a plague of selfishness, of pushiness. It's easy to see there's a growing lack in our society of civility and courtesy. Society is built on the foundation of caring about others it keeps us together but very often we just don't believe that selfishness is in opposition to the way of the Lord. There are many well-known teachers today who have emphasized putting yourself first. The idea that it is more blessed to give than to receive is lost on them. They teach that the reason you give is to receive and that's rooted in selfishness and in the last days even churches will be infected with takers. God's people are supposed to be self-sacrificing. God's people are of all people to be aware that God is gracious to us. You see God has shown us his love and he's revealed his love by his giving. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. God said this is how I demonstrate love while you're still a sinner Christ died for you and so we need to understand that God's love is revealed through giving. In John 15 verses 12 and 13 Jesus said my command is this love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this that he laid down his life for his friends but in the last days Jesus said as well as Paul Paul in this passage said there would be selfish interest. Paul is saying self-love will be rampant. A second thing people will be lovers of money. Greedy materialism will dominate and in fact even the church many will pursue more money and in doing so abandon their marriage and their family for materialism. In Proverbs 23, 4 and 5 do not wear yourself out to get rich. Have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches and they're gone for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. So instead of yielding to greed, God's people seek the things that last and they're aware that we are just passing through. We are pilgrims and we are sojourners. In 1st Timothy Paul had said it in chapter 6 verses 6 through 9. Godliness with contentment he says is great gain. We brought nothing into this world certain that we can carry nothing out. Having food and clothing with these we shall be content but those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. A third thing he speaks of is boasters. A boaster is somebody who brags about their accomplishment. They brag about what they have what they are and frankly that sin is very unattractive but it's especially so in the life of a believer. It's taking for yourself honors that you haven't earned and that you don't deserve. In the military we call it stealing honor and that's what's going to be very very rampant not just in the world but even in the church people bragging about how much they have and who they are. You see at the heart of boasting is a rejection of humility it's what has been called a deceived self-confidence. In Jeremiah 9 23 and 24 Jeremiah said this is what the Lord says let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches but let him who boasts boast about this that he understands and knows me that I am the Lord who exercises kindness justice and righteousness on earth for in these I delight declares the Lord. Paul said it like this in Galatians 6 verse 14 may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. A fourth thing he speaks of is pride or being proud. The word speaks of showing yourself to be above others. It speaks of showing contempt for others it's treating them as if they're inferior and that destroys the unity of the church. You see true Bible teaching produces people who seek to be humble who resist arrogant pride. In Romans 12 verse 3 Paul said I say through the grace given to me to everyone who's among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to think soberly as God is dealt to each one a measure of faith. He said in Romans 12 16 live in harmony with one another don't be proud but be willing to associate with people of low position don't be conceited. Fifth he said blasphemers a blasphemer uses what is called scornful language they're insulting they insult God and they insult men when in reference to God they're insolent they're disrespectful you know to be honest with you it's the flippant kind of like that big guy upstairs it's a kind of a it's an improper way to speak of the Lord and they don't reverence him there's no sense of the fear of God in them when they're speaking to people they they injure them they don't exercise their speech with love they don't have consideration and and that will ruin marriages and destroy kids in Proverbs 12 18 reckless words pierce like a sword but the tongue of the wise brings healing Christians are to be otherwise according to Ephesians 4 29 Paul said do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs that it may benefit those who listen a sixth thing disobedient to parents they are rebellious and they don't want to hear anything mom or dad has to say today speaking in the last days in these days that we live there are through so many reasons many children alone in home all day and the only thing that is babysitting them sometimes is going to be the games that they play online or some disinterested caretaker and so what happens is the children grow up with a disobedience with a sense of resentment they feel like they many times they feel like they've been neglected and they don't listen and sometimes I've seen it where a parent will say don't do that and then turn around and continue talking to somebody and not even notice that the kid went immediately back to what they were just told not to do that happens all the time and they develop a way to get around it I've had kids tell me yeah my mom got mad and she took things from me but tomorrow I'll get it back because mama gives it back and the children have learned how to take advantage of what the parents very often are wanting to show grace in I can remember one of my kids who uh when they were young younger less than five six years old had done something that was wrong and I approached them and I said you know what you did really is spanking you really ought to get a spanking now I was doing studies on grace and love and all and I'm thinking I want to learn what that means and so I said you know I really ought to spank you but what I'm going to do is I'm going to give you grace and so I didn't spank them well a little while later not the same day they did something and I said you really deserve a a spanking and they started yelling grace grace daddy grace and I said no it's time for a law wow you know so you know after it's it's difficult I guess I'm trying to say it's difficult to to raise them right it's difficult isn't it but if we neglect them they learn to be rebellious they learn to be disobedient to parents they learn to rebel against parental authority and doing so are also rebelling against God given authority and these are those who are uh in rebellion against authority and in in contrast according to Ephesians six one and two Paul said children obey your parents and the Lord for this is right honor your father and mother which is the first commandment with a promise seven thing unthankful they're not appreciative of the acts of kindness they never get enough when raised in an ungodly home they become expecting to be entitled to everything they can be unthankful they they don't show appreciation for kindness is given and the gifts that are given they don't understand that you have to teach children to be thankful don't you you have to again Marie and I were in the mall and as we were walking she turns to me as we went by shoes for children there were kids shoes as we were walking by she says you know I have a grandson his name is David baby Dave we call him baby David and she said you know baby David outgrew his shoes I said really she goes yeah he outgrew his shoes she says I saw he has some shoes and and it has a zipper she says that you zip up she says and the zipper was down so I asked his daddy my son David those those shoes and you know they don't they fit them anymore and little David my son said no no no no we're gonna have to get him some shoes and so as we're standing there I'm looking at these shoes and I said well we ought to buy him some shoes we had to buy him some shoes so Marie goes yeah that'd be a good idea so we get some shoes and then we think well we've got my Bella his older sister she's gonna need some shoes so we ended up buying shoes you got we got shoes outside for you if you know we put your sizes out there so we ended up we ended up getting Belle Bella some shoes and little David some shoes baby David right so that was on Friday on Saturday I get a phone call and it's my Bella Papa I just want to tell you thank you so much for those shoes I said do you like your shoes mama oh I love those shoes thank you so much I said you're welcome then baby David gets on the little one he's three and he's saying you know Papa thank you so much you know I appreciate any and he didn't say I appreciate I like them I see you like your shoes daddy oh I like my shoes Papa thank you you know where that came from it is the natural it came from the parents where the dad and the mama say you give a call to your grandmother and your grandfather and you tell them thank you see thankfulness is something that you're trained to express and when you don't train people to say thank you I appreciate send the card saying I'm glad you came we we loved having you when you don't train them to do that they grew up expecting that everything should be handed to you and even in the church I have to tell you that can be found you have to train them to be thankful Colossians 315 says let the peace of God rule in your hearts to the which also you are called in one body be thankful an eighth thing unholy they're raised without God they don't respect the sacredness of religion the things that are holy they don't value or understand devotion they don't know reasons for worship they don't understand the need for fellowship they end up living lives that are impure well that's in the church but in contrast Christians are to reverence the Lord and live holy lives in verse 3 he speaks about being unloving that speaks of without natural affection there's a callousness towards everybody it's this attitude I'm more important than you and who cares about you so ultimately they don't care for parents they don't care about siblings they grow up not even to care for their own children again Christians are to love one another a tenth thing they're unforgiving their bitterness is never satisfied it's never left behind they continually blame everybody else for their lack of joy or personal problems they refuse to forgive and they've refused to move on I was reading in Facebook yesterday somebody posted something about the question some of you perhaps read the question you may be on getting the same that I get on Facebook and and there was a question can somebody who committed adultery change and then there are people and there were a lot I didn't read all of them but a lot of responses and the overwhelming amount was responses that said no they can't once a cheater always a cheater and I saw over a lot of posts no no once they do it they're going to do it again there are a lot of people who believe that it was posted so many of them arguing that no once you're a cheater you're always a cheater that's the way it's going to be forever so I posted and I said listen I've been preaching for 48 years the gospel of Jesus Christ and I know that God forgives sinners and I know that God transforms lives and I know that you could have been a cheater but God can make you faithful because God is able to do that when you repent that's the heart of the gospel your lives will change now if you're a person who believes no once a cheater always a cheater let me share with you one the word of God says if you repent God forgives you but if you repent you bring therefore you bring fruits of repentance the life is going to demonstrate that you really have repented and you can go forward in the things of the Lord I have friends I will not name but I have friends right now that I'm thinking of who committed adultery prior to getting saved prior to getting saved they were womanizers and prior to getting saved they committed adultery more than once when God grabbed whole of their hearts they were transformed and some of my friends are pastoring some of the finest churches in the world today because God forgives sinners he transforms you he transforms you God does forgive but when we say he won't we have taken the place of God and we've gotten I'm telling you the church is filled if I were to take a private you know poll where you didn't have to give your name but you gave your opinion and if I asked you can God forgive cheaters a lot of you to this day would say nope they never change once a sinner always a sinner that's not true God changes people's lives when they really do repent the issue is did they repent has nothing to do with can they yes they can because you were a liar you don't have to lie you were a thief you don't have to steal you were lazy you don't have to be lazy anymore your whole life can be changed you did drugs you don't have to do drugs you were an alcoholic you don't have to why because when the sun sets you free you are free indeed the power of the Holy Spirit it's a denial of that they have the appearance of godliness but deny the power thereof we need to understand it that is the sign of the last days they refuse to forgive they refuse to move on Ephesians 4 32 says be kind one to another tenderhearted forgiving one another even as god for christ's sake forgave you there's slanderers a slanderer is a false accuser people who are very comfortable making false statements about other people proverbs chapter 6 verses 16 through 19 says these six things does the lord hate yes seven are an abomination to him a proud look a lying tongue hands that shed innocent blood a heart that devises wicked imaginations feet that are swift in running to mischief a false witness who speaks lies and he who sows discord among brethren god hates gossip he hates slander there have been so many people there have been over the years so many things that have been said about me i won't go into them of course that were such terrible lies and the sad thing is is people believe him but gossas i hate one who sows discord among brethren christians refuse to gossip and they do not bear false witness against the neighbor a 12 thing without self control they give in to any desire or lust that they have they're uninhibited they don't control their own drives their own impulses because they see no reason to but in contrast a genuine christian has what is called self control and you see that in galatians chapter 5 verses 22 and 23 a 13th thing is they're brutal they're fierce they're they're savage in their heart they're they're mean spirited in every way but in contrast a christian is kind and gentle towards others a 14th is their despisers of the good they mock those who love christ even in the church there are people go to church who mock you if you want to live sold out for christ even in the church this is what paul is speaking about they mock those who love christ and truth but as a result we who love him by trying to do those things that he says we endure rejection in verse 4 he he speaks of traitors these are those who are out to get all they can for themselves and in times of persecution these false ones will turn in christians and then 16th they're headstrong they're reckless that means that they're impulsive they do things that are risky sometimes they'll even speak things that are mean to you 17th they're haughty that means they're blinded by conceit they're extremely self important so he's returned to his initial concept they're self-centered and they care less of others then he says an 18th thing they're lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of god here's the thing i'll say this quickly but they don't see the value of moderation they want instantaneous gratification these are people who see pleasure is more important than anything else so they'll stay in line for two or three days to get tickets to watch a movie or go to a concert you've seen it i've said maybe you've done it will you get a a tent for days in line right why because i gotta see you know the whatever you know see the movie it's just like that's a great movie it'll change my life forever you know but these are the people who would never think of even being on time for church if they come lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of god it's there it's right in front of us we see it in the newspaper all the time people who live for themselves and then in verse five having a form of godliness 19th a form they outwardly appear to love the lord they claim to be spiritual but they don't have the spirit they only have an appearance what is timothy to do verse five from such people he said turn away don't fellowship with these hypocrites though they influence you to go in the wrong direction timothy they are the ones that are making the last days so perilous in roman 16 17 paul said i bc'd your brother and mark those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine that you've learned avoid them but here we are in a time when people are actually learning the habits and behaviors of those who are lukewarm and then he goes on to say for this sort verse six are those who creep into households and make captives of the gullible women loaded down with sins led away by various lusts always learning never able to come to the knowledge of the truth now as janis and jambres resisted moses so do these also resist the truth men of corrupt minds disapproved concerning the faith but they will progress no further further folly will be manifest to all as theirs also was they worm their way into homes and gain control he's saying over weak willed undeserving women laden with sins their their consciences he's saying are in need of cleansing because they're loaded down with sin but they take advantage of these women who need cleansing from sin they worm their way in then they lead them astray and he goes on in verses eight and nine to identify the two sorcerers who opposed moses in egypt janis and jambres and these two sorcerers had performed counter miracles in in a contest against moses he said they were exposed for what they are and so will these in the last days they failed and these false teachers will also because god's truth will always prevail what are the signs of the last days pertaining to what's going on within the walls of a church these things we will be found these sins and so as we've gone through these let me close by saying this i go through scripture and what i do is i say god help me help me not be self-centered god help me not to be a lover of money god help me not to be a boaster god help me not to be proud may i not be insolent in the way i speak of you or others may i not be a man who doesn't respect my own parents may i be thankful may i have a pure life because you read the word of god not for other people but you read the word of god so that god can form you into the image of christ look at your own heart and ask yourself does any of this apply to you and if you're a believer in christ then you say god forgive me thank you for the strength that you've given to me i can be different and i will be by your grace because i want to be genuine i want to be the real deal i want to live for jesus christ