I want you to watch out for a few things
over the next few months the first is a
greater falling away from the church
this doesn't just mean Christians
leaving the faith but Christians turning
to error Christians compromising and
becoming more tolerant of things that
are forbidden in the Bible the second is
a rise in demonic activity in mainstream
entertainment worldly music is becoming
increasingly evil and occultic in nature
movies and TV shows are increasingly
glorifying evil the third is to do with
people in society 2 Timothy 3 talks
about the last days and I feel as though
the theme of the chapter is captured in
the first verse because the Bible says
but Mark this there will be terrible
times in the last days second Timothy 3
then continues to tell us some things we
need to watch out for there will be a
time when people will want to have their
ears tickled they will want a go gospel
that gives the blessing but doesn't
require repentance they want a gospel
that preaches Prosperity instead of
sacrificial living and there's a lot of
this now a lot of people prefer to have
their ears tickled instead of receiving
the pure gospel that will penetrate the
heart and challenge every sinful
behavior in your life now to add to the
corruption that will be in the world
second Timothy 3 tells us that there
will be a total breakdown of society
because people will be treacherous r
slanderous brutal disobedient to parents
abusive and without
self-control no rules no moral absolutes
no restraints of any kind everyone will
do that which is right in their own eyes
and woe to the person who dares to
question anyone's lifestyle
choices now verse 5 says that people
will have a form of godliness but deny
its power have nothing to do with such
people
this is the age of religious Rebels men
and women who have the outward
appearance of godliness but deep down in
their hearts they are filled with sin
and deceit religious Rebels will ask all
of the right questions but watch their
actions because they will follow all of
the wrong answers religious Rebels may
go as far as quoting scripture but their
hearts will be far from God and even
further from his word and so for the
Christian who is listening what are you
to do how will you survive the
conditions described in 2 Timothy 3 well
the chapter ends in verse 16 and 17
saying all scripture is God breathed and
is useful for teaching rebuking
correcting and training in righteousness
so that the servant of God may be
thoroughly equipped for every good work
the truth of the word of God can save
you forgive you justify you sanctify you
purify you transform you regenerate you
and one day it will take you all the way
home to heaven for all
eternity Dr Tony Evans gave This
brilliant illustration which should help
us to live with our eyes on eternity he
said any NFL player will tell you that
during the season Monday is Judgment Day
because that's the day where the tape is
revealed from Sunday's game and you go
in with your position coach and the
position coach analyzes the tape from
your position to tell you the Good the
Bad and the Ugly of your performance on
the previous day on Sunday many will
tell you that they weren't excited about
that day if they knew they hadn't
performed well the day before and the
tape would reveal that there's coming a
day when you and I will be with the Lord
and he is going to show you your tape
this will be the tape from the time when
you accepted Christ to the time of your
transition to Glory either by by death
or by the Rapture it'll be a review of
Your Life as a Christian it's not a
review to determine salvation you don't
even get to this judgment unless you're
a Christian it is an examination to
determine the gain or loss of reward
that is how did you function as a
Christian over and over again the
Apostle Paul in particular but other New
Testament writers talked about this day
because he wanted to inform Christians
not only to understand the day but to
begin to orchestrate our lives in light
of that day now the Bible is clear about
what will happen in the last days
however it's up to us to believe in
God's word or begin to entertain human
explanation and
reasoning now there are several
occasions that the Bible clearly reveals
and warns us about what will happen in
the last days allow me to give you a few
scriptures 2 Timothy
3:1 but understand this that in the last
days there will come times of difficulty
other translations say dangerous times
will come times of great stress and
trouble will come difficult days that
will be hard to Bear but I'd really like
to focus on 1 Timothy 4:1 where the
Bible says now the spirit expressly says
that in later times some will depart
from the faith by devoting themselves to
deceitful spirits and teachings of
demons do you understand what the Bible
is saying here in the last days people
men and women who were once in the
church will turn away from the faith men
and women who once believed will turn
away from the
faith why because of deceitful and
seductive spirits and doctrines of
demons so let's pause for a minute and
take account of what we just just read
according to 2 Timothy 3:1 there will
come times of
difficulty according to First Timothy
4:1 people will leave and turn away from
the faith and now according to 2 Peter 3
3 to 4 the Bible says knowing this first
of all that scoffers will come in the
last days with scoffing following their
own sinful desires they will say where
is the promise of his coming for ever
since the father fell asleep all things
are continuing as they were from the
beginning of
creation people will mock the children
of God they will question you about the
coming of Christ they will follow their
own sinful desires and take the word of
God for
granted so with all of these things
coming with all of these prophecies
being fulfilled as children of God what
are we to do because you look around the
world today and you will see that we are
living in times of of
difficulty people around the world are
experiencing difficult times with
extreme weather and natural disasters
earthquakes floods and famines these are
all things prophesied in the
Bible however in these last days that
we're talking about I want to encourage
you as a Believer there is no need for
us as children of God to live in fear
because the Bible tells us that acts 2:1
17 and in the last days it shall shall
be God declares that I will pour out my
spirit on All Flesh and your sons and
your daughters shall prophesy and your
young men shall see visions and your old
men shall dream
dreams the Bible says in Titus
2:13 waiting for our blessed hope the
appearing of the glory of our great God
and Savior Jesus
Christ Saints we have a blessed hope
Jesus Christ The Return of Our Lord is
the Blessed hope we have as his
children and so don't be disheartened
don't be discouraged don't be
discouraged regarding the events of this
world but rather keep your eyes on
Jesus keep your eyes fixed on Jesus
Christ as we see more and more headlines
about a cashless Society the next Global
pandemic civil unrest and rumors of War
as we see or rather hear how perverted
some worldly music is becoming and we
see the slipping standards of morality
in this world as we see and hear all
that is going on I would like to share a
few messages regarding the last days
from some of the preachers who have made
an impact on my life I pray this will
refocus your mind on God and encourage
you to meditate on the word of God at
the end of his servant as he was
conducting an altar call and urging
people to repent and turn to Christ
Derek Prince once said the following in
dear friends we are living in the midst
of a perverse and a crooked and an
immoral and a dishonest and an
untrustworthy generation you need to be
saved from it you need to come out from
it you need to be changed you need to be
different I know people have come
forward already this morning thank God
for everyone that did but if there is
anyone here this morning you've never
turned your back on this Godless world
and this ungodly generation you've never
come out and made a commitment to
Jesus I want to give you one final
opportunity to do it don't be caught in
the devil's snare save yourselves from
this perverse
generation I know that there are those
who need to do that we are not going to
wait this may be your last opportunity
you want to escape the wrath of God the
judgments that are following in on a
Christ rejecting Nation now one of my
all-time favorite preachers was a man
named Adrien Rogers concerning the last
days here's a powerful quote that he
said the late great Dr Vance havner used
to say that Civilization is like a
chimpanzee with a blowtorch in a room
full of dynamite that's the situation
we're in so scientifically we're in The
Graduate School morally we're in the
kindergarten
science is not the answer I want to say
that politics is not the answer no
politicians going to be able to deliver
us we win the wars and lose the peace
the only thing that social reform does
if it prevails at all is to make the
world a better place to go to hell
from what you're about to hear are some
of the most serious biblical warnings
concerning the last days let's dive
1 John
2:8 says children it is the last hour
and as you have heard that Antichrist is
coming so now many antichrists have come
therefore we know that it is the last
hour so take two things away from this
verse the Antichrist is coming and many
antichrists have come here we're being
forewarned that the great opposer is
coming but what does the bible mean by
many antichrists could there be more
than one Antichrist well 1 John 4:3 says
and every spirit that does not confess
Jesus is not from God this is the spirit
of the Antichrist which you heard was
coming and now is in the world already
so the Bible clearly states that any
spirit that refuses to confess Jesus
Christ is not from God and the key part
from this verse is that it says this is
the spirit of the Antichrist which you
heard was coming and now is in the world
already so here's what we can establish
there is the Antichrist there is the
spirit of the Antichrist and this Spirit
of the Antichrist is already in the
world and it's a spirit that refuses to
confess Jesus Christ as Lord it refuses
to acknowledge Jesus Christ as king now
take moment and think in this world
today can you not see the spirit of the
Antichrist operating are there not
people establishments and institutions
that now refuse to acknowledge Jesus
Christ for who he is they refuse to
acknowledge Him as the Son of God they
refuse to acknowledge Him as the way the
truth and the life they even refuse to
acknowledge that he died and rose again
this is the spirit of the Antichrist in
operation
now the next warning can be found in
Revelation
12:12 which says therefore Rejoice oh
heavens and you who dwell in them woe to
the inhabitants of the earth and the Sea
for the devil has come down to you
having great wrath because he knows that
he has a short time now I want to
emphasize the last sentence in this
passage of scripture the devil has come
down to you having great Wrath because
he knows that he has a short time we
need to take this seriously in this day
and age we need to be a people who abide
in God's presence always because there
is eternal consequences when we are
outside of God's will you see the devil
is always looking for opportunities to
lead people away from God especially in
these last days he is intent to direct
people onto a path of Destruction that's
why you see the incre increase in evil
nowadays and by evil I mean evil in
every sense in entertainment throughout
society and even in many of the
ideologies that are pushed out this is
all because the devil has great wrath
and knows his time is short moving on
the Bible in 2 Corinthians 4:4 says in
their case the God of this world has
blinded the minds of the unbelievers to
keep them from seeing the light of the
Gospel of the glor 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 and you may think well how
exactly does he do this well look at the
driving force of many many major
companies it's money money has become a
god an idol to many people including the
bosses of many major corporations they
will track your movements watch what
you're watching analyze what you click
on some even take your personal
information and sell it with the
objective of what money money is the
number one objective money is the only
objective for so many institutions in
this world yet the word of God says the
love of money is the root to all evil
this is just one example but you see the
God of this world the devil he blinds
unbelievers so that they don't see that
things like money has become an idol
their career can be an idol material
things can be an idol all of these
things can be and are used by the enemy
to Blind the minds of unbelievers
another strong warning can be found in
Matthew
24:12 which states because of the
increase of wickedness the love of most
will grow cold when Jesus came to
fulfill the law the law was Consolidated
into two commands to love the Lord with
one's whole heart
with all your soul and with all your
mind and to love your neighbor as
yourself and so naturally the absence of
Love would be a Telltale sign of the end
of days as we can see today in many
parts of the world lives are no longer
valued there's a lack of human
compassion a lack of kindness between
people Jesus commanded us to love others
as we love ourselves people's failure to
give adequate love to others is simply a
reflection of their failure to love even
themselves adequately but how can one
truly love oneself without appreciating
the love of God towards us furthermore
the Bible in Ephesians 5:1 15-16 says be
very careful then how you live not as
unwise but as wise making the most of
every opportunity because the days are
evil what does that mean what does the
bible mean when it says the days are
evil what does it mean when it tells us
that the days are filled filled with
evil I believe you only need to look at
the state of the world today the devil
is attacking the very essence of our
lives and future he's attacking us in
clever ways he's stealing people's time
he's occupying their thoughts he's
keeping their eyes from seeing the truth
and he has closed their ears from
hearing the truth and what I mean when I
say this is that people don't have time
for God anymore they don't have time to
sit down and study the Bible
consistently they don't have time to
pray anymore we're so preoccupied with
chasing money chasing houses chasing our
Ambitions and businesses and he's doing
it so subtly by desensitizing the
general population to
evil have you ever heard the expression
life is a journey I believe it is life
is a journey
and in this journey of life there are a
number of factors that influence how far
you go and where you end up the same is
true for our Christian lives 2 Timothy
4:7 says I have fought the good fight I
have finished the race I have kept the
faith reading between the lines this
tells me that this life as a Christian
is a
journey so how do you know if you're on
the right Road how do you know that
you're heading in the right direction
when it comes to this journey as a
Christian and this isn't a simple
question to answer because Jesus said in
Matthew 7:
22-23 many will say to me on that day
Lord Lord did we not prophesy in your
name and in your name drive out demons
and in your name perform many
miracles then I will tell them plainly
I never knew you away from me you
evildoers this says to me that many
people will think they are heading in
the right direction but they will be
greatly
mistaken many will think that they are
on the right Road when in fact they
couldn't be further from the
truth so I'll ask once again how do you
know you are heading in the right
direction concerning your relationship
with Jesus Christ the sad thing is that
a lot of people wouldn't even recognize
the signs that tell them they are
heading in the wrong
direction well let me tell you what some
of the signs look like when you're on
the wrong
path one clear sign can be found in
Romans
1:4 therefore God gave them up in the
lusts of their hearts to impurity to the
dishonoring of their bodies among
themselves Society at this time was
filled with people who wanted to live
around a hedonistic
philosophy these people only lived to
gratify themselves there was no
self-control they lived in corruption
and the Bible says God gave them up to
the lusts of their hearts to
impurity so be careful because when you
find that you can freely sin with no
conviction no Struggle No Remorse or
guilt then you are on a path that leads
to Eternal
damnation be careful not to venture in
this direction because God can lift off
his restraining hand and you have full
expression of your sinful and shameful
desires so let me warn you Proverbs 8:2
says I walk in the way of righteousness
in the paths of Justice if you walk in
any other way that's not righteousness
that's not in God's word you are on a
dangerous
road any path that is against the
teachings of Jesus Christ is the wrong
road so make sure the path you walk on
is in alignment to the word of God make
sure that the path you walk on is within
the will of God any path that is not
producing the fruits of the spirit in
your life as stated in Galatians 5: 22
to
23 that path is not worth walking
on the Bible says but the fruit of the
spirit is love joy peace patience
kindness goodness
faithfulness gentleness
self-control against such things there
is no
law so be
warned man's way ends in despair but
God's way never ends it simply takes you
to a destination where the Lord will
wipe away every tear from your eyes a
place where death will be no more grief
crying and pain will be no
more man's way leads to D ruction but
God's way leads to eternal life man's
way is not profitable for your soul but
God's way will see you enjoy Treasures
in
Heaven so be
aware what direction are you heading
[Music]
in