 Are we living in the last days? Here is how to discern the sign of the end times. Now notice I said the sign of the end times. What I'm going to be showing you is the clearest text that we have regarding the end days. It's Matthew chapter 24. We're going to read verses 3 to 13. And as we go through these verses, we're going to look at the various things that happened in the last days. And then we're going to see the sign that indicates that the end has come. Now as we move through the scripture together, it's important to remember this. I'm not sharing this to scare you, but to prepare you for what's to come. We have no reason to fear. We belong to the Lord. So whatever it is that's coming our way, whatever it is that you believe about the last days, remember this, the Lord has you. You're His. You are protected by the hand of God. So here's what I want you to write in the comment section. Let it be your prayer of faith. Right? Lord, prepare me. Let that be your prayer asking God to prepare you for what's coming. Now let's go to verse 3. Now as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying, tell us when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age. Here we see the disciples coming directly to Jesus and presenting him with a direct question. And Jesus gives a direct response. In my opinion, Matthew 24 is the clearest portion of scripture on the topic of the last days. This is why I'm using it as a framework. It's important when studying any biblical topic to begin with the clear portions of scripture and use those clear portions of scripture to understand and interpret the seemingly ambiguous portions of scripture. Don't do the opposite. Don't take the seemingly ambiguous and then try to force meaning upon the clear portions of scripture. Verse number four, And Jesus answered and said to them, take heed that no one deceives you for many will come in my name saying, I am the Christ and will deceive many. Here's the scary thing about deception. Those who are deceived don't know that they're deceived. In the last days, there will be an intensification of deception. Many will come saying, I am the Christ. Or in other words, I am anointed. I am of God. I am called. The problem is that many people fall for this. This is why Jesus says, take heed, be vigilant, watch out, pay attention. We must be grounded in both the word and true Holy Spirit discernment, not personal preference if we're to see beyond the lies of the enemy. Verse number six, And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. Now, there are a few things I want to point out in this verse. Firstly, we have to be careful, especially when covering the topic of the last days, that we're not given to fear mongering. There is far too much anxiety in the church regarding the last days. And I wonder why, no matter what your eschatology is, no matter how you believe the timeline will go, none of us have a reason to fear. We are protected by God Himself. We belong to Him. So whatever happens, we know that we are one with God. So even though this verse is talking about wars and rumors of wars, Jesus says, see that you are not troubled. Now that's challenging sometimes, isn't it? Hearing about wars, even now wars and rumors of wars, it can be anxiety inducing and we can become troubled in the soul. This is where we have to come back to the truth, back to the reality, that we have the Holy Spirit, that we belong to God. We are His children and we can trust Him with the outcome in any situation. So even though you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don't panic. Don't freak out. Don't live in paranoia. Don't live with angst. Instead, be at peace. Know that everything is under His control. Jesus goes on to say, but the end is not yet. So yes, wars and rumors of wars are an indication that we are entering the last days or the last season. But Jesus says that's not the sign. The end is not yet. So yes, there will be people who come in the name of the Lord claiming they are the Christ or claiming they are anointed. Yes, there will be wars and rumors of wars, but even with the intensification of these things, the end is not yet. That's not the sign. Verse seven, for nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. Now, I already spoke of wars and rumors of wars and that really has to do with nation rising against nation. But let's look here where Jesus says there will be famines. You know, there's a lot of talk of food shortages these days. And again, if we're not careful, this can be anxiety inducing. Believers become afraid. Don't confuse paranoia for preparation. Well, you know, I just want to be prepared. I just want to be vigilant. No, sometimes we're fearful. Sometimes we're paranoid. Sometimes we're anxious. And we call that preparation. No. To be prepared is to be aware, but still filled with confidence and faith. And let me ask you something. Why would we be afraid of food shortages when we serve the God who caused manna to fall from heaven for the children of Israel? Why would we be afraid when we serve the God who multiplied the five loaves and two fish? He created everything. He called everything out of nothing with a simple command. So yes, there will be famines, but if there are famines, if there are food shortages, as they say there will be, who knows? Who knows what's exaggerated? Who knows what's real? Prepare, but don't live in fear. And in the worst possible scenario, we still serve the God who multiplies, who creates, who calls things out of nothing and into existence. We don't have to worry about where our next meal will come from. We can live by supernatural means. Pestilences and earthquakes, other things that cause people panic. But again, it comes back to the same principle. God is in control and he loves us. Verse eight, all these are the beginning of sorrows. So this is not final by any means. This is just the start of it. Verse nine, then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you. And you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. Now this for sure, we've seen intensifying in the world today, persecution. It seems like the Antichrist system is beginning to form. And that Antichrist system will always come against God's people. And we see it everywhere in movies, in music, political groups. People are coming against the church. The world, the system of the world as a whole is coming against the church. You can speak about any religion, not that Christianity is a religion, but you could speak about any religion. You could speak about false gods. No one's going to be offended. The moment you say the name Jesus, suddenly people are in an uproar. Suddenly you've angered them and offended them. Why? Because that's just the way it's going. That's what Jesus described. That system that's being formed is Antichrist and therefore anti-church, anti-gospel, anti-truth, anti-you. So this is a part of what's going to happen. The intensification of persecution. Verse 10, and then many will be offended, will betray one another and will hate one another. A hypersensitivity, people easily offended. Verse 11, then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. Where there is lawlessness, there are hearts of stone. Lawlessness transforms the individual and causes them to become cynical, to have their love grow cold. Let's continue. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. Verse 14, and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations and then the end will come. Now I understand that the scripture very clearly describes various traumatic events that begin to occur as we get closer and closer to the final days. I understand the Bible says there will be disease, there will be earthquakes, there will be food shortages, there will be wars. I understand the Bible talks about persecution and the love of people growing cold and anti-Christ abounding and false prophets abounding. And it's easy when hearing all of this to begin to develop a victim's mindset in regards to the last days. But even with all of those signs, even with all of those indications, even with all of those things that go wrong, the sign of his return, the sign of the final days is not one of defeat, but one of victory. And this gospel shall be preached to the ends of the earth and then the end will come. Why is it that the preaching of the gospel is the sign? Why is it that the preaching of the gospel is the marker that indicates to us this now is the conclusion? It's because it always ends in victory for God. It's not over until God has the victory. It's not done until the church is victorious. It's not concluded until there's a story of redemption. The gospel will be preached and then the end will come. That means in the midst of all this chaos, in the midst of all these things that are going wrong, ultimately there's a sovereign move of God. Ultimately, we end on the note of revival. Yes, the world is getting darker, but we end with the gospel going throughout the world. In the last days, yes, perilous times will come, but the Bible never once says that in the last days the gospel will lose its power. Revival, not chaos, is the sign of his return. So there's no need to hide. There's no need to fret. There's no need to cower in the corner and say, Lord, get me out of here. It's time to be about our Father's business. It's time to begin preaching the gospel. It's time to begin winning souls. It's time to begin casting out devils, healing the sick, prophesying and discipling other believers. We are in a move of God. We will be victorious. So perhaps you've been hearing about the last days, perhaps you've been hearing about the end times and anxiousness and fear have built up in your heart. It's time now to let that go. We are going out on the note of revival. God will have the last word. The church will be victorious. Souls will be saved. It's time to set aside the fear and it's time to get busy winning the world. The gospel hasn't lost its power. The gospel is still true. There are still souls that need to be saved. Now is not the time for fear. Now is the time for victory. I want to pray with you right now. I want to pray that the Holy Spirit would give you a fresh touch of boldness and I want to pray against any fear that may have entered your mind or your heart because of the things you've been hearing. So Father in the name of Jesus, I thank you for the fire of the Holy Ghost and Lord I pray that you would begin to remind your people that you are in control. I pray you begin to remind your people of the power of the gospel. So Father give them a fresh baptism of boldness and I bind every lie of the enemy. I come against every lie spoken that would cause fear and anxiety and panic. We thank you Father for your love for we are secure in your love. We honor you. We bless you. We love you. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray and I want you to say it because you believe it. Say amen. 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