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Big Mess; Bigger Message - Matthew 24:12-14

Taught on | Topic: Human Conditions | Keywords: Lawlessness, Callousness, Faithfulness, Responsiveness,

Whenever there's a mess, a messenger with a message is needed. God has always worked that way. In ancient Israel he sent prophets to herald truth to a recalcitrant nation. In church history God raised up evangelists to proclaim the gospel to sin-hardened and cynical generations. The future Tribulation will be the biggest mess ever, yet God will still have his message heard! Lets notice four human conditions that will prevail in the future of earth's most severe time.

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8/20/2006
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Big Mess; Bigger Message
Matthew 24:12-14
Skip Heitzig
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Message Summary
Whenever there's a mess, a messenger with a message is needed. God has always worked that way. In ancient Israel he sent prophets to herald truth to a recalcitrant nation. In church history God raised up evangelists to proclaim the gospel to sin-hardened and cynical generations. The future Tribulation will be the biggest mess ever, yet God will still have his message heard! Lets notice four human conditions that will prevail in the future of earth's most severe time.
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Rumblings of War and the Prince of Peace

Rumblings of War and the Prince of Peace

For 2,000 years the church has awaited the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. For 2,000 years men have tried to predict the exact moment of His return. Though no man knows the exact hour or even the day He will come back, there are signs to indicate His coming is near. In the teaching series Rumblings of War and the Prince of Peace, Skip Heitzig thoroughly expounds upon Matthew 24, explaining prophecy of what must take place and encouraging the church to always be ready.

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I. Lawlessness (Vs 12a)

II. Callousness (Vs 12b)

III. Faithfulness (Vs13)

IV. Responsiveness (Vs14)


LIVING IT:

1. How do you notice the effect of culture upon your spiritual life? Think of modern American values as promoted by songs, movies and advertisements—how do these affect you?

2. When is it hardest for you to be faithful to Jesus Christ? When is it easiest? Why? Does having a network of spiritual friends around you help? How integrated are you with them?

3. Someone said, "The church that does not evangelize will eventually fossilize." That could be also said of every individual Christian. Pray that God will open a door for you this week to tell others about Jesus.

Topic: Human Conditions

Keywords: Lawlessness, Callousness, Faithfulness, Responsiveness,

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Big Mess; Bigger Message

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Good morning.

Good morning.

Don't you love all the rain we've been having?

[APPLAUSE]

God's been so good. Matthew chapter 24. You know, I'm really glad that you were not at Isotope Stadium last Sunday night.

Were some of you there? How many there? Raise your hands. I'm sorry I embarrassed you.

They asked me to throw the opening pitch of the game. Now, that was a bad omen, because they asked me to do that a few years back, and when I did it a few years back, it was an utter failure. You see, a few years back, I threw the pitch, and it hit the ground and dribbled toward the pitcher, and it was an embarrassment.

So I thought, they asked me to do it again. I get to redeem myself. And so I practiced. I actually got a baseball and a mitt and I got a friend and we played catch, and I thought, I got it. I can do this.

And so I threw the opening pitch, and it left my hand and went about five feet and hit the ground again and dribbled to the pitcher. So now I'm the poster child for all bad opening pitches. And I think in the future, they go, you know, we need a good laugh. Get that preacher boy to do that again.

It was so bad that when I left the mound, I thought of the story of the little boy who went in his backyard with his baseball and bat and he announced to everybody, I'm the greatest hitter in the world, and he threw up the ball in the air and he swung and he missed it, and he said, strike one. And undaunted, he threw it up again, swung at it, missed it, said, strike two. Third time he spit on his hands, rubbed him together, and he said, I'm the greatest hitter in the world. Threw up the ball again, swung, missed, and he said, strike three, you're out. And then he paused as if he had a revelation, and he smiled and he said, what do you know, I'm the greatest pitcher in the world.

Well, I thought after my fiasco, I'm the greatest umpire in the world. Because even I can tell that was the world's worst pitch. It really wasn't a pitch. It was a mess.

Now, what if both of the teams who played after that thing that I did, what if they played baseball like I play baseball? It would not be a game. It would be a mess.

The Bible predicts not a game, but a real mess that will encompass the whole world that the Bible describes as the worst time ever in human history, the world's biggest mess. And that will culminate in the end of the world. We read this morning in verse 12, 13, and 14 from Matthew 24, where Jesus continues, "and because of lawlessness or because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 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."

When the end of the world comes, how do you think news agencies would report it? Well, one figures that the end of the world would be reported by USA Today with these headlines, "We're Dead." Wall Street Journal would post, "Dow Jones Plummets as the World Ends." Microsoft Systems Journal would say, "Apple Loses Market Share." You'd like that deal.

Sports Illustrated would simply put on the cover, "Game Over." Rolling Stone Magazine might print, "The Grateful Dead Reunion Tour." Reader's Digest would have one word, "Bye."

Discover Magazine might post, "How Will the Extinction of All Life as We Know It Affect the Way We View the Cosmos?" TV Guide would say, "Death and Damnation, Nielsen Ratings Soar." And finally, Ladies Home Journal might read, "Lose 10 pounds by Judgment Day with Our New Armageddon Diet."

Well, there's a lot of ways to spin the end of the world. But the most accurate reporting comes from the lips of Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 24. It is the most detailed and the most sobering of all-- of the reports of that time. It's very honest as Jesus describes not only the mess, but the message that will be preached during that time.

You will remember that this whole conversation in Matthew 24 comes from a question. The disciples and Jesus are leaving the Temple Mount. They're going toward the Kidron Valley. The disciples are awestruck by the magnificence of the buildings, especially the huge stones.

They remark on it. Jesus says, every stone you see will come crumbling down. Not one will be left. This bothers the disciples. They hunt him down on the Mount of Olives, and they ask, tell us, when will these things be, and what is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

The answer to those questions is Matthew chapter 24. Jesus gives a list of signs that people can expect before the end of the world. Sign number one, spiritual deception. Many will come in my name, said Jesus, saying, "I am the Christ," and will deceive many.

Sign number two, physical reaction. There will be wars, rumors of wars, nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom. Three, there will be physical disruption, earthquakes, famines, pestilence in various places.

Fourth, there will be hateful persecution. You will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. Those are the signs we've covered so far.

Now, in the verses that we have before us this morning, we find that Jesus Christ predicts four conditions, four human conditions that will be on planet Earth up until the time of the second coming of Christ. There will be lawlessness, followed by callousness, followed by faithfulness, and finally, responsiveness. Those are the four conditions Jesus predicts and we read this morning.

First, he says there will be lawlessness. Verse 12, "and because lawlessness will abound." Lawlessness is a word anomia. It means without law. It speaks of somebody having no legal, moral constraint whatsoever.

And Jesus said not only will there be lawlessness, because there already is, he said it will abound. It will overflow, you might say. It will increase to maximum capacity.

The New Living Translation puts it this way, sin will be rampant everywhere. In other words, our Lord describes a time in the future when people just won't hide their sin at all. They'll be very flagrant, very open, very aggressive, very blatant.

Sin will be rampant, which makes sense. It makes sense that after the Rapture occurs, and all of the people who believed in and taught a high moral standard of righteousness, all those people who stood against abortion, all of those people who said, hey, keep the Ten Commandments in legal places, hey, keep God in the Pledge of Allegiance, all of those people are gone. There's no restraint. The salt of the earth has been removed.

It was Fyodor Dostoyevsky, he wrote a book. I started to read it, it's just a hard book, The Brothers Karamazov. But there's a little saying in the book that is very telling about this time. He wrote, "if God does not exist, everything is permissible." If God does not exist everything is permissible.

Well, you have to imagine a time when the bulk of the people left on the Earth are those that believe God does not exist, all of the believers gone, the rest of the world allowed to do whatever their heart desires. Lawlessness will abound. Paul weighs in on this. Listen to what he writes 2 Timothy, chapter 3.

He predicts, "there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of Godliness, but denying its power, from such, withdraw yourself."

Well, you can see if the condition of the Earth is that, and if sin is so rampant that temptation for even the strongest believer at that time will be very difficult. You see, you add now to global disruption. You add to spiritual deception. You add to wars and rumors of war. You add to persecution this rampant, unrestrained sin and lewdness where everyone does what is right in his own eyes.

In fact, probably at that time, you won't even be allowed to say the word sin. There is no moral standard anymore. Moral relativism is the rule of the day.

I heard about an airline pilot. He was flying over the southeastern United States at cruising altitude, and he wires the local tower down below. He says, please advise, we're at 35,000 feet flying above you. Please advise us, what is the local time?

To his surprise, the tower answer back, well, tell us what airlines you are. The pilot thought, well, that's unusual. What does it matter what airlines we are? I just want to know the local time.

The response came back, oh, it makes a lot of difference. If you're Trans World Airlines or Pan Am, it's 1600 hours. If you're United or Delta, it's 4 o'clock. If you're Southern Airways, the little hand is on the 4, the big hand is on the 12. And if you're Skyway Airlines, it's Thursday.

Now, could you imagine if pilots all over the world had the freedom to do whatever, whenever, however they wanted? It would be worldwide pandemonium, wouldn't it? There are certain laws that restrain them. You can't have lawlessness in the airs.

OK, now imagine an entire world of people each doing their own thing, crash. Lawlessness. Anomia, the absence of legal, moral constraint.

Next is callousness. Same verse, verse 12, second part, "and because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold." Notice the word because.

In other words, the second condition is a result of the first condition. Because there will be rampant sin, lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. Because of lawlessness, there will be callousness.

Now, that also makes sense. Because when a society is so filled with rampant, runaway sin, and they're exposed to it every single day, you know what happens? They become insensitive to it over a while. A hardness of heart sets up. A callousness begins to form. They become heartless.

There is a new term that has been bandied about the last few years. It's called compassion fatigue. I don't know if you've heard of that word. Compassion fatigue happens to volunteer workers, law enforcement officers, sometimes military, people who are dispatched, like NGOs, Non-Governmental Organizations, relief organizations who go into areas of great famine, great need, after war or violence to help people.

And they get to a point of seeing so much bad stuff they just lose that tenderness that they once had toward the condition. They say it can even happen to people who see those things on television. There's compassion fatigue. Somebody once said, if you live in a graveyard too long, you stop crying when somebody dies. One of my saddest experiences in life-- and I've had a few such. One of my saddest are people that I once worshiped with, walked with, served with over a period of time, because of rampant sin in their culture, become so tainted by it that they become insensitive to it and swallowed up because of it.

An anything goes callousness develops. That's why Hebrews 3 tells us, "Exhort one another daily while it is called 'today,' lest any of you be hardened, calloused, through the deceitfulness of sin." Lawlessness leads to callousness.

But look a little more carefully at verse 12-- says "the love of many will grow cold." Question-- love for whom? What is the love that grows cold? Is it love for God? Is it love for people? I don't know.

Some think, well, it's probably people's love for God. But it would seem to me that in the context of the timing and in the context of the verse, it's speaking about people's love for other people that grows cold-- that what is symptomatic of that kind of rampant lawlessness is that people view others, like the compassion fatigue, with not as much tenderness or sensitivity.

That is the condition of the heart so turns inward and become so focused and so narcissistic, so worried only about number one that the love for other people is just not there like it used to be. Which, well, it raises a red flag for us, even today. Would you say that there is a callousness already in our culture? That there is starting to be a hardening today in our culture?

Follow this with me. In 1936, that was the first year Life magazine was published. It's a great title. I've always loved Life magazine. As a kid, I loved it. It's just photographs and a little bit of journalism about life. You're just chronicling life activities. That was 1936.

1974, another magazine emerged, People magazine. OK, now the focus is a little bit narrower. It's not just on life. It's on people in life. But then years went on, and another magazine was published, Us magazine. So it's not life, it's not just people, but it's the us, not them. Not those people, but us.

And then another magazine a few years later followed-- Self magazine. Now, that may be purely coincidental, or it could be sociologically revealing that as time goes on, here in our country, a couple hundred years after the founding of it, we're becoming so narcissistic, so narrow, so self-focused, I'm waiting for the next magazine, Me, to emerge.

[LAUGHTER]

But, folks, we face another danger today. We face a danger that no other generation before us has faced to the extent that we face it today, and this is it. We are bombarded by visual images of war, violence, sexual exploitation so much, so often, so intense. And we wonder, because we see these images so often, what is the result?

Well, there are several. Medical Journal of Pediatrics reports, "children most exposed to sex and violence are the ones most likely to participate in sex and violence." One study reported teenagers who regularly listen to music with degrading sexual content are most likely to have intercourse than those who do not.

Another study-- high school students who watch professional wrestling on television have a habit of getting into fights with their dates. Now, that, to me, is just an interesting thought. You watch professional wrestling. You go on a date. I don't know. I don't think, you know, they (GRUFF VOICE) let's wrestle.

[LAUGHTER]

But it's just interesting that being exposed to confrontation leads a person to be confronted, a fighter. The point is simple-- lawlessness produces callousness. But that's not the end of the story. Those are the first two conditions that are mentioned in verse 12. There are two more. In the midst of that, there will be a third condition. And that is in verse 13, faithfulness.

Notice how verse 13 begins as a negative contraction. "But"-- or in contrast to that-- "he who endures to the end shall be saved." Now, we cheated a little last week. And we looked at this verse just barely, and now we go back to it.

Let's just recap. This verse does not mean that you get saved. Your soul gets saved by you enduring things or that if you are in the tribulation and you endure and stand up, then God will save your soul. We know that's not true. Only faith in Christ and the finished work of Him shedding His blood on the cross is what saves a person eternally. So it doesn't mean that.

Nor does it mean that all who endure will escape physical harm. We know that's not true, because we know there is going to be a whole host of people martyred during that time. This, then, is a general statement to say, though there will be lawlessness, and though there is going to be callousness, there will also be, in the midst of that, people who will endure. There will be faithfulness.

Now, here's a thought. And it's just an opinion, but it might be what's happening here. It could be that this verse was meant to be a warning to those who would read this chapter during that coming time. I say that because in a few verses, it will say in verse 15, "whoever reads, let him understand."

John put that as a footnote, as if he knows people up through that time are going to be reading this. And this could be a warning to those who read, as if to say, if you think you're going to be safe by falling away from Christ to escape all of this wrath, think again. Your safest bet is to stand and endure to the end. It's a thought.

Well, the enduring saints that Jesus speaks about, I believe, are written about by John in the Book of Revelation. So hope you don't mind, but turn with me to Revelation chapter 7. Let's look at them. I think that John, in the Revelation, fills out-- puts meat on the bones, so to speak, of Matthew 24.

Revelation 7, verse 9-- "After these things, I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, people's tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palm branches in their hands." Verse 13-- "One of the elders answered saying to me, 'Who are these arrayed in white robes? Where did they come from?'

And I said, 'Sir, you know.' So he said to me, 'These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in the temple.

And he who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore, nor thirst anymore. The sun shall not strike them, nor any heat, for the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. God will wipe away every tear from their eye.'"

And here's a group of people who-- they obviously hungered, because they're not going to hunger now anymore. They obviously had thirst issues, because they're not going to have that anymore. Why did they hunger? Why did they thirst? We could only assume it's because they refused to take the economic mark of the Antichrist, and they suffered for it.

And all of the horrible conditions caused them to cry and weep and mourn because now all the tears will be wiped away. And they enter into the thousand-year millennial reign of Christ. So these endure to the end of the tribulation period.

And I believe they crop up again in Revelation chapter 20-- I'll read it to you-- verse 4. "Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years."

So these are the enduring ones during that time of faithlessness or lawlessness and callousness. They're faithful, and they endure to the end.

OK, let's step back from this, being futuristic. There is a greater truth here. There is an overarching truth for us. And this is it-- faith. That is true faith.

Though it may have its lapses from time to time, even Abraham, the father of faith, lapsed in faith. Faith may have its lapses. Although that's true, there is always a quality of permanence with it, always a quality of permanence. True faith endures to the end-- always has a quality of permanence.

Do you remember how Paul wrote to the Philippians with this promise? "Being confident," he said, "of this very thing that he who has begun a good work in you will continue to perform it to the day of Jesus Christ."

Here's the point-- yes, you can be faithful. You ever wondered that? If times get really bad, would I be faithful to Christ? If it's true faith, it'll be faithful. And the reason you can be faithful to Christ is because God, who is faithful, is faithful to keep you. He'll keep you in the palm of His hand. And no one plucks you out of His hand. True faith is enduring faith.

There are several examples of this in history. I'm going to give you one-- great story. In the second century AD, there was a gentleman who was a disciple of John the Apostle, a friend of John's. And he was the bishop, the pastor of Smyrna. I was in Smyrna just a few months ago. And his name was Polycarp.

When Polycarp was 86 years old, he was arrested by the Roman government and brought before a tribunal. And the Roman proconsul, who didn't want to kill Polycarp, wanted to spare his life, said, I urge you-- renounce your faith in Christ. Just renounce Him for a moment, and I can let you go.

And this 86-year-old man said, for 80 and 6 years, Christ has never done me any injury. How can I then now turn away from Him? The proconsul was visibly angry. He said, I have wild beasts who will tear you limb from limb. Polycarp said, call for them, for why should I repent of that which is good to embrace that which is evil?

The proconsul got even angrier. He said, I'll burn you with fire. Polycarp smiled, and he said, you threaten me with fire that lasts for but an hour and is extinguished? And you are ignorant of the everlasting eternal fire of judgment that is coming on you.

Can you imagine saying that to a guy threatening your life? You know, you think that when your life is on the line, you might be tempted to say, well, you know, we all have our individual beliefs.

[LAUGHTER]

He didn't do that. He thought, look, I'm 86 years old. What do I got to lose? Christ has been faithful to me. What a way to go. He was faithful to the end.

| always loved the Latin motto adopted by the Marine Corps. I love it. "Semper fi," they say to each other-- always faithful, always faithful. True believers have true faith, and true faith will endure.

Well, go back to Matthew 24, and look at verse 14. This describes a fourth condition that will be at that time. There will be lawlessness. There will be callousness. But there will be faithfulness. And even above and beyond all of that, there will be a responsiveness to the world's greatest message. "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, unfortunately, verse 14 has been butchered through the years, not limited to, but especially by certain mission groups, who will look at verse 14, and they'll say, well, Jesus cannot come back until we preach the gospel to the world. Because it says the gospel will be preached in all the world, and then the end will come.

So the reason Jesus hasn't come back is because we haven't told the world. And I've even heard preachers say, let's hasten the day of Christ. Let's bring Him back soon, as if we, as men, women, as the church can schedule the coming of Christ.

Listen, the coming of Christ is in the purview and control of God, the Father, and Jesus will come back not a second later or earlier than that time that He alone knows. We don't schedule it. We don't bring Him back. We don't do anything to do that. That's not what this verse means.

What the verse means is that despite deception, despite wars, despite persecution, there is still going to be the message that God heralds during that time. And there'll be a receptiveness to it. In other words, the tribulation will be the world's greatest mess. And in the midst of the greatest mess, there will still be the world's greatest message.

You know, whenever you have a mess in any culture, you look at it, (LOW VOICE) it's a mess. It's an opportunity. Light shines in the darkest places. And if you have a big mess, but if you get a messenger with a message to go into the mess, people's ears may be perked-- could be very opportune.

Now, you might hear that and go, well, I don't quite get it. How will people be saved in the tribulation if the church is gone? All those saved people-- [THOOM]

Answer? God's going to save more of them. The other church age officially may be over, but God, through the Holy Spirit, is still at work. How do we know that? Because Revelation 11 introduces something called two witnesses. Two witnesses-- they're introduced to the nation of Israel. They perform miraculous works. Nobody really knows who they are. Some of us guess who they are.

I think personally, and it's just my opinion, that the two witnesses are Moses and Elijah come back to the nation of Israel. What would be a greater witness to a Jew than that, the law giver and the greatest prophet? You say, why would you believe that? Because of the miracles they do. They call fire down from heaven. Elijah did that. They turn waters into blood. Moses did that. So it's a hint.

So two witnesses come, perform miracles. It dazzles people. The world sees it. But especially the Jewish nation, I think, responds to the two witnesses. And out of that emerges 144,000 Jewish believers saved and sealed for God's service, Revelation 7, out of the 12 Tribes of Israel.

Now, I don't know if you've ever seen a Jewish evangelist. But I found that when a Jewish person gets turned on to Jesus Christ as their Messiah, look out. There is just some on-fire thing that happens where they discover, this is my heritage. Jesus is not some Western gentile thing. Yeshua is my Messiah.

Now, you just think for a moment, 2,000 years back, 12 Jewish apostles turned the world upside down. Imagine 144,000 of them. And I think 144,000 are the ones responsible for that great multitude of people from other gentile nations who come to Christ.

So there's going to be two witnesses. There's going to be 144,000. But beyond that, there's going to be, for the first time in human history, an angel flying through heaven, preaching the gospel, finally getting the job done, you might say-- never happened before.

Listen to this. This is Revelation chapter 14, verse 6. And I personally believe this is what Jesus meant in verse 14. It says this-- John says, "I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth to every nation, tribe, tongue, or dialect, and people."

What that means is every person on Earth who speaks any language will hear that angelic messenger, for the last and final thorough time, getting the gospel message out.

With that in mind, look at Matthew 24 at verse 14, and notice two words in it. "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world." The word "world," [GREEK]-- it's a different term than the word typically used, cosmos, which means the world system. The [GREEK] means the "inhabited globe."

And then look at the next word-- "as a witness in all the nations." That word is [GREEK], or ethnic groups. So everywhere around the globe, every ethnic group, every person alive at that time is going to hear the gracious, everlasting gospel.

And then Jesus said, "and then the end will come." And then Christ will come back. And then God will rule and reign. And then Jesus will set up his kingdom. And then the end will come. But that's then. That's not yet.

Today, we live in what they call the Age of Grace. And this is what it means-- the end, when God finally says, I've had enough. I'm going to judge the world. That time isn't yet. It's still the age of God's goodness and grace and reaching out. And God's hand is reaching out towards you, even this morning.

Some of you have heard messages time and time again. And you've been drawn back to church or coerced back to church. Or you're here with a friend. You're visiting from another state. And so you put up with it. And you've even learned to deal with the appeals to come to Christ. You've learned how to put up a barrier. You've learned how to say, not yet, not yet, not yet.

We sang a song at the beginning of our service, "I Exalt You, O Lord." Originally, it's "We Exalt Thee, O Lord." That's the original hymn, that praise chorus. That praise chorus took on a whole new meaning to a father when he brought his three-year-old daughter to church one Sunday. And she didn't quite have the words right. She sang, we exhaust Thee, O Lord. We exhaust Thee.

[LAUGHTER]

Aren't you glad that's not true? Aren't you glad that even though there are trends today toward lawlessness and callousness that God is not exhausted to the point of judgment yet? That it's still the Age of Grace?

It's still God's hand reaching out saying, I am so willing to come into your life and love you and forgive you and change you. I'm willing to take my balm, my salve of salvation and cure you. I'm willing to receive your life and give you a new life. God is not yet exhausted.

And God is calling some this morning to come to Him. I've heard it before, you say. You're right. And now you're hearing it again because there is a God who loves you and would love to come inside of you and show you what life is really all about.

Heavenly Father, with our heads bowed, we pray that our hearts would be comforted, knowing that even in the worst of times, the best message, the gospel, the good news is sometimes more heard.

And some may be here, experiencing their own heartache and suffering. It's a tribulation of sorts. Their life could be considered a mess. Even though things outwardly might seem really great inwardly, there's a war going on. You've got a message. And that message is hope. And so we pray, Father, that You would once again reach out as people respond and ask you to save them.

With our heads bowed as we are praying now, if this morning, you would sense your life is away from God. Maybe at one time, you made a commitment to Him, but you've walked away. Or maybe you've simply been a good religious person, but you've never given your life yet to Jesus Christ personally.

You can. And you can do it simply right here. If you want to do that and receive the Savior and forgiveness from the Savior, as we're praying, I want you to raise your hand up in the air so I can see it. I'm going to pray for you and acknowledge your hand. But I'm going to pray for you-- we all are-- in just a moment.

But you slip your hand up and say, pray for me. I need to receive Christ. Or bless you and you, sir, and you right over here to my left. Anybody else? Raise the hand up. Right over here, God bless you-- in the back, in the back, on the side, in the corner, right up here in the front. Anyone else? You slip it up. Balcony, family room, God bless, you. Right down the middle, a couple of you.

Lord, This is Your work. This is Your church. And these are people that You love dearly. Behind every hand is a heart, a life, a story, and each one is a special one. And Father, I, we pray for these that from today onward, their lives would never be the same. Fill them with Your peace as they experience salvation in Jesus' name. Amen.

Would you stand to your feet? And I'm going to ask-- if you raised your hand, I'm going to ask you to make that prayer a reality by publicly receiving Christ. So, often, Jesus called people publicly.

And I'm going to ask, if you raised your hand-- you're in an atmosphere of love, just one big, happy family-- for you to find the nearest aisle and walk right up to the front, right up here, where a couple of counselors are going to be. And I'm going to pray with you and lead you to faith in Christ publicly. If you raised your hand, you get up and come right now. We're going to wait for you, but do it quickly. Do it right now and stand right up in the front to receive Christ.

[APPLAUSE]

Come on down. Lord bless you guys. Yes, God bless you. God bless you.

Please don't stop with just a hand raise. Please follow that through with a public commitment. It's going to do something for you and in you when you do. You heard the applause. We've all been there. We're cheering you on, man. And if you haven't made that thing public yet, you come and join these who are here already. There were hands all around the auditorium, from the family room, balcony, back-- we're going to wait for you.

[APPLAUSE]

Come on down. In doing so, you're making a clean break from the world, a clean break from the past. And this is a new day for you, where you say, I am not ashamed to follow Jesus Christ. You're going to experience great freedom in that. Anybody else?

[APPLAUSE]

Anybody else?

Awesome, awesome. Well, those of you who have come forward, congratulations on your boldness taking that step. Allow me to lead you to Jesus. And the best way I know how is I'm going to say a prayer out loud. I'd like you to say it out loud after me. Say it from your heart. Say it to God. God will listen to that prayer. Jesus will come in. There will be changes. You'll see. Let's pray together.

Lord, I give you my life.

Lord, I give you my life.

I know I'm a sinner.

I know I'm a sinner.

Please forgive me.

Please forgive me.

I trust Jesus--

I trust Jesus--

--who died for me on the cross--

--who died for me on the cross--

--and rose from the dead.

--and rose from the dead.

I turn from my sin--

I turn from my sin--

--and I turn to You.

--and I turn to You.

--to follow You.

--to follow You.

Help me--

Help me--

--to live for you--

--to live for you--

--in Jesus' name.

--in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]

Congratulations.

Additional Messages in this Series

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8/6/2006
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Why We Can't All Just Get Along
Matthew 24:6-8
Skip Heitzig
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War has always been a part of the regular life of humanity since our beginning. So what makes war a sign that Jesus' return is near? And more importantly, why can't people around the world get along? Why is it that strife, conflict, rivalry, and fighting have so marred God's highest creation? Where will it lead and how can we cope?
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9/10/2006
completed
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When God Declares War
Matthew 24:21-22
Skip Heitzig
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War is ugly but sometimes necessary. It's meant to defend the weak and punish deadly aggressors. Jesus' words here depict a time when God wages war on the human race and throws every conceivable judgment to the earth in the Tribulation. These two verses also highlight three prevailing conditions that exist between God and mankind. The first condition has existed since the Fall of Mankind, the second will be a temporary result of the first, and the third condition is rooted in the character of God and takes the edge off of the first two.
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8/13/2006
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When Faith Turns Fatal
Matthew 24:9-11
Skip Heitzig
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The Bible extols the benefits of faith. Faith justifies the sinner, appropriates God's promises for the believer and will bring us into eternal joy. But faith can also be fatal - there are consequences to believing! Faith in God brings us into direct opposition with Satan's worldly system and incurs the wrath and opposition of unbelievers and false believers. What will it be like for those who trust Christ just before His Second Coming?
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10/8/2006
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What Angels Want to Know
Matthew 24:36
Skip Heitzig
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Man's knowledge is impressive but it pales next to God's knowledge. The only things we know for certain are the things that God has revealed to us. Some things must be stored in our hearts in the imaginary file marked, "Wait for further information." As we wait for Jesus to come for us, let's consider what we know and what we don't know; in fact let's see what angels don't even know!
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9/17/2006
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The New Dark Ages
Matthew 24:23-28
Skip Heitzig
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Jesus said, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."(John 9:5) and that His followers were to take up the same occupation: "You are the light of the world" (Matt 5:14). But what happens when the light has been extinguished? What happens when spiritual darkness overshadows everything, everywhere? There's an old saying, "It's always darkest just before the dawn." Jesus tells His followers here that just when the world plummets to its darkest moment, He will be returning!
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10/1/2006
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The End Times Farmer's Almanac
Matthew 24:32-35
Skip Heitzig
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For years agrarians have consulted the venerable Farmer's Almanac for predictive signs on what this next season would bring, in terms of weather forecasts, threatening bugs and water table levels. It helps them know how to navigate through the growing year. Jesus gave a story to His disciples on how the future generation can tell when the season of judgment is upon them and how they should live during the last days on earth.
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7/30/2006
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Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign
Matthew 24:3-5
Skip Heitzig
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Do you believe signs when you see them? Do you know how to read signs when they are given to you? Jesus, in Matthew 24 tells of His return and the signs we are to look for. If we have a different understanding other than what the bible says then we may miss the greatest happening of all time and be left behind.., the return of Jesus. So, will you read the signs and seek to understand, or will you simply dismiss them and interpret your own signs.
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7/23/2006
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Rumblings of War and the Prince of Peace
Matthew 24:1-3
Skip Heitzig
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When you hear of wars and rumors of war what do you think of? When you see TV news of images of the horrors of evil what do you think? Most of us turn to others for comfort and others turn to the bible for answers but the real question is do you believe in your heart that God is your Father? Matthew tells us of the concerns of the disciples as they heard of Jesus speaking of the end times. The disciples are much like you and I for they asked Jesus and He told them plainly but did they really believe? So are you hearing and believing or are you believing what you think you want to hear? Think about it.
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9/24/2006
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Ready or Not, Here He Comes!
Matthew 24:29-31
Skip Heitzig
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Children love to play games. One of those games is Hide and Seek where a child, after counting to ten, will call out to his friends, "Ready or not, here I come!" One day, after a time of intense distress, Jesus will return to the earth for the second time and many will not be ready for it. Those who survive and are ready will be gathered together with the rest of God's people to be ushered into God's eternal Kingdom. Are you ready or not?
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9/3/2006
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Holy Land Tour: CANCELED!
Matthew 24:16-20
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For many Christians, a trip to the Holy Land is a once-in-a-lifetime dream. To see where Jesus walked, taught and spoke prophetically of is thrilling. But trouble is in store for Israel's future, in fact Scripture refers to it as "Jacob's Trouble" (Jer. 30:7). What will be Israel's future and what can we learn about the nature of God in adversity? Moreover, what should a believer's response to catastrophic events be?
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8/27/2006
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God's House Vandalized!
Matthew 24:15
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This single verse is pivotal in understanding prophecy. It highlights something that is both historic as well as prophetic. This verse, when tied to its historical roots in the prophet Daniel, will help you understand what John wrote in the book Revelation. But it offers more than just biblical information it provides practical inspiration when properly understood.
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10/15/2006
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Eat, Drink and Be Judged!
Matthew 24:37-44
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When Noah built his ark, most people thought he was nuts. Only seven others listened to his warning and went with him. Jesus spoke about the fool who thought he was prepared for the future because of his wise investments. This man said to himself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." (Luke 12:19). Jesus also tells us that the world will largely adopt this attitude in the final days of history unaware of what's ahead.
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10/22/2006
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Caught in the Act!
Matthew 24:45-51
Skip Heitzig
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Every parent remembers walking into their child's room catching them in some act either good or bad. The youngster wasn't expecting you to be there and that child's look tells all, betraying innocence or guilt. The return of Jesus Christ will catch some people off guard while others will be diligently involved in the Master's work. Ever wonder what you'll be up to when Jesus returns: what activities, conversations and thoughts you'll be engaged in? Let's consider two possibilities.
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There are 13 additional messages in this series.
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