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When God Declares War
Matthew 24:21-22
Skip Heitzig

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Matthew 24 (NKJV™)
21 "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.

New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Rumblings of War and the Prince of Peace

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.

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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Outline

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I. Continual Condemnation

II. Temporal Tribulation (Vs 21)
A. Divine Response to Man's Rebellion
B. The Worst Time in History
C. Never to be Repeated Again

III. Eternal Compassion (Vs 22)

LIVING IT:
1. How can God mix His wrath with His mercy? What is the bridge where those two seemingly opposing attributes can meet?
2. What happens to a person who refuses God's solution and God's mercy?
3. Read Ephesians 2:1-5 and compare your previous condition to your present condition. What changed? What would have happened without that change?

Topic: Tribulation

Transcript

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When God Declares War

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Now, if you turn in your Bibles to Matthew, chapter 24, we'll begin in a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, you have graced us already with your presence. You are in our midst. We've gathered in your name, and we do need to hear from you. We need a touch from you, Lord, the encouragement that comes from your mercy. And so we pray, Lord, that in this setting, at this time, your Holy Spirit would be available, moving in our midst in this group, doing your work individually as well as together as a group. In Jesus' name, Amen.

In the year 2006, God came to Noah, now living in the United States, and said, once again, the earth has become wicked and overpopulated, and the end of all flesh is before me. Build another ark, and save two of every living thing. God gave no other blueprints, saying, you got six months to build an ark before I send rain for 40 days and 40 nights.

Six months later, God said, Noah, I'm about to start the rain. Where's the ark? Noah said, sorry, Lord, but things have changed. I needed a building permit. My neighbors claim that I violated the neighborhood zoning laws by building an ark in my yard and exceeding the height limitations. We had to go to the Development Appeal Board for a decision.

Then the Department of Transportation demanded a bond to be posted for the future costs of moving power lines to clear the passage for the ark to move out to sea. I told them the sea would be coming to us. They would hear nothing of it.

Getting the wood was another problem. There is a ban on cutting local trees in order to save the spotted owl. I tried to convince the environmentalists I needed the wood to save the owls, but no go. When I started gathering the animals, the animal rights groups sued me, saying, I was confining wild animals against their will. They said the ark is too restrictive. It's cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in such a confined space.

Then the EPA ruled that I couldn't build an ark until they conducted an environmental impact study on the proposed flood. I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on how many minorities I should hire for a building crew. The trade unions say that I can't use my sons. They insist I have to hire only union workers with ark-building experience.

Also, the IRS seized all my assets claiming I'm trying to leave the country illegally with endangered species. So forgive me, Lord, but it's going to take at least 10 years for me to finish this ark. Suddenly, the skies cleared, and the sun began to shine, and a rainbow stretched across the sky. And Noah looked up in wonder and said, you mean, you're not going to destroy the world, Lord? No, said God, the government beat me to it.

[LAUGHTER]

[APPLAUSE]

I share that little story, on one hand, to demonstrate how complicated we have made things over time and also, honestly, for just a little comic relief. Because the subject we are entering into this morning is a very somber one. Matthew 24 isn't typically a chapter you go to for comfort. It's not light reading. It's anything but that.

It was the disciples who wanted to know about what Jesus predicted. You know, the disciples thought Jesus was the Messiah, and he was going to set up an immediate earthly kingdom on the earth. That's what they expected. And when Jesus said, this temple is coming down to the ground, well, they had a few questions, like, well, when is this going to happen? And what are the signs of your coming and of the end of the world?

And you remember so far what we have read. There is going to be deception, war, rumors of war, pestilence, earthquakes. And that, said Jesus, is just the beginning of sorrows. Then they're going to deliver you up to tribulation. You'll be persecuted, hated by all nations for my name's sake. There's going to be an abomination that causes desolation in that temple that will stand again.

And now we come in verse 21 and 22 to, well, let's call it the low point of the message. It's the most sobering part of what we have read so far. Verse 21, the Lord Jesus said, "For then there will be great tribulation such has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days will be shortened."

Those two verses are the two verses we're going to consider this morning and no more. Those two verses highlight three conditions that exist between God and man. The first condition existed since the fall of man. The second condition is a future time period where the sin of man will so accumulate up to a point where God says, I've had enough. And the third is an eternal condition based upon the character and nature of God Himself.

So this morning, we're going to consider condemnation, tribulation, and compassion-- first of all, this thought of the continual condemnation of God toward man. We've already read the verses, so let me just jump right in. Jesus, in this little section, introduces a theme that gets layered upon what we've already read so far. He's already talked about signs like spiritual deception, wars, rumors of war, famine, pestilence, all of these natural disasters that will occur during the first three and a half years of tribulation.

Midpoint is the abomination. Then the last three and a half years is the worst of all. Whereas the first three and a half years they're natural disasters of what men do to men or what the earth will cough up in terms of natural disaster, the last three and a half years are different in that now the earth will experience the wrath of God. So add to all of what we have just read another layer, God's wrath coming upon the earth.

All right, the subject I just mentioned, God's wrath-- admit it-- that's our least-favorite subject in the Bible. We don't like to read about it. Preachers don't like to preach about it. It's just not a feel-good message. But you know, imagine what it would be like if a doctor wanted to give a patient a special message, and he used a courier or a postal worker to hand deliver a message to a patient. And the message said, you have cancer.

It's a hard message. And imagine that courier or postal worker saying, I don't like to deliver anything that has unhappiness in it. I only like sweet, joyful, happy messages. I won't deliver that message. We would call that an unfaithful messenger.

The Lord Jesus Christ is God's faithful son and messenger in answering the question of the disciples-- when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming and at the end of the age? Jesus predicts a time when the wrath of God would be poured out upon the earth.

But before we even get into the Tribulation-- and I put it in your bulletin. I called it the "continual condemnation." Now, this is what I mean. It might surprise some of you. The wrath of God is a continual, fixed attitude of God toward man.

Now, that's going to surprise some of you. The wrath of God is a continual, fixed attitude of God toward evil and sin that has existed in the pool of humanity ever since the fall of man. The Bible says in Psalm 7, I believe, that God is angry with the wicked every day. Now, some of you might say, hey, you just quoted the Old Testament. The New Testament's very different.

Is it? Romans, chapter 1, Paul says in verse 18, "For the wrath of God is being revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness." That's the wrath of God. That's a fixed, constant attitude toward evil and sin that exists in the pool of humanity.

Now, the wrath of God is linked with the righteousness of God, the holiness of God, the justice of God. God is good. God is just. God is holy, and he is righteous. Thus, there is wrath. In fact, if there were no wrath of God, you could never say, God is just. Because if God never deals with sin and rebellion, that means he's not just. How can you call that love?

You know, there's a movie that's been out for some months now. You may have seen it. It's based on a book by CS Lewis called The Chronicles of Narnia. It's a great movie, by the way. And in that story, two of the earthly characters, Susan and Lucy, are about to meet Aslan, the lion.

They've heard about Aslan. And they're having a conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, these talking animals. And they're getting these two girls ready, prepared to meet Aslan. And Lucy discovers that Aslan is not a human.

And she goes, oh, you mean, he's not a human? He's a lion? I don't know what it'd be like to meet a lion. And then she asks, is he safe? And the beaver answers by saying, who said anything about being safe? Of course, he is not safe, but he is good.

That's a great line. It sort of crystallizes what we're talking about. He is good. He's not safe, but He's good. And one of the reasons God is good, righteous is because He isn't safe toward evil and sin. He has that attitude of wrath toward mankind.

God's attitude never changes concerning sin. That's why it's wrong to say, well, I like the God of the New Testament. You know, it's all love, and joy, and peace, and all that stuff. And the God of the Old Testament is full of wrath and anger. He's an ornery God.

No, he's not. The God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are one and the same. God never changes. You say, well, what's the cross of Jesus Christ then? Ah, that's where the justice of God can be met with the mercy of God. And the justice is overturned by the mercy of God in Christ Jesus so that anyone who receives the work of Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross 2,000 years ago, the wrath of God does not abide in him, the Bible says. He does not perish, but he has everlasting life. However, if you're not in Christ, you will perish. And the wrath of God, as the Bible says, abides in him.

Question-- when did all this wrath start? Answer-- as soon as Adam sinned. The fall of man brought a holy reaction to a human infraction. Let me give you a couple verses. This is Romans, chapter 5, verses 12 through 14, and I'm just going to read a couple snippets of it. "Through one man, sin entered the world. Who's that one man-- Adam. "And death through sin so that death spread to all men, for all have sinned, and death reigned from Adam to Moses."

So we see a progression in those verses. Sin entered. Death entered. Death spread. Death reigned. And this is what it means. It means now that every single person ever born, that cute little baby, every person in the world has the same spiritually genetic flaw of sin that needs a savior. We all need salvation.

Have you ever bitten into an apple to discover a worm? I did a few months ago. I bit into the apple. And I looked that I had bitten into a wormhole and that I had severed the worm in half.

[LAUGHTER]

That's what I said, but I said it after I swallowed.

[AUDIENCE GROANS]

Yeah, that's what I said. I did a little research after that episode. I discovered that, contrary to my belief, I used to think that worms get from the outside and go to the core. They don't. They start on the inside. The eggs are laid in the blossom of the apple. The worm is hatched in the core and works its way from the core to the skin.

So now I'm thinking, how many worms have I eaten in my life? You're never going to look at an apple the same again. Are you? Well, that's very similar to us.

You might say mankind is rotten from the core. Theologians call this the "depravity of man." It doesn't mean we're as bad as we can be. It means we're as bad off as we can be, that within the very heart, the core of every single person is that sin element that grows and goes from the inside to the outside.

And by the way, that's the answer to the question, how come we haven't gotten any better after thousands of years of improvement in education and technology? Because the issue isn't what we learn. The issue is with the heart of man, the very core.

So the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven. OK, something else-- in the Greek language, there's a couple different words translated "wrath." There's a few of them. Let me just tell you about a couple of them. One is the word [GREEK]. We get the word "thermos" from it or "thermometer." It speaks of a heat, a red-hot eruption of anger.

There's a second word, "orge," and this means a constant, simmering, controlled anger. Not an eruption. Not somebody flying off the handle having a fit-- a slow, constant, burning, controlled anger. When Paul uses the term in Romans, "The wrath of God is being revealed from Heaven," he uses the word "orge." It's that controlled, patient, simmering, constant, fixed wrath.

However, in the Book of Revelation, a few times John speaks about the wrath of God during the Tribulation. But he uses the first word, [GREEK], an eruption, a fit, a rage. In other words, this continual condemnation, this attitude toward evil in the world that has been patient, and slow, and simmering, and controlled will one day erupt. And it will erupt during a period of time known as the Great Tribulation.

Well, now when we read verses like Romans chapter 2, verse 5, it brings it into a different picture. Paul says this, "Because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath." Here's the picture. God's permanent but patient attitude toward sin in his wrath will one day erupt into an episode.

So we go now from this continual condemnation to the second phase, temporal tribulation. Now look at verse 21. "For then--" when? Then. When is then? Immediately after the verses we just read. There is going to be in the middle of the Tribulation period an abomination of desolation. "Then there will be great tribulation such has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be."

If you'll notice as you look down at verse 9, Jesus said, they'll deliver you up to tribulation. That word is scattered throughout this chapter, tribulation here, tribulation there. Verse 21's a little bit different, "Then there will be great tribulation." The Greek word is [GREEK] for "great--" megatribulation, megatrial, megadistress.

You see, Jesus said, in this world, you will have tribulation. We all have it. But the tribulation we all have from just being earthlings is different from this Great Tribulation, this megatrial, because it is the wrath of God sent from Heaven during an episode of human history.

And here's the deal. At that time, the age of grace will be over. God will have had enough of all this accumulated sin upon the earth and rebellion. That age of grace is over, and now God gets involved judicially and dramatically for a period of time.

And look at the description. "It has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be." Wow, that that's quite a statement. What it says, in effect, is you can think of the worst times in human history ever, and those things pale in comparison to that time. So think of World War II, World War I. Think of the Holocaust, and think of the Dark Ages. Think of what's been going on over in the Middle East.

And all of that isn't as bad as what is coming. And now we understand why. Because there is going to be natural disasters on top of supernatural disasters. There's going to be not only wars among men, and earthquakes in the natural realm, and Satanic activity with the deception that's going on. But add to all of that now God pouring out his wrath in the midst of that.

And now it makes sense. No wonder it's called "the worst time in human history." Daniel, chapter 12, verse 1, "And then there will be a time of trouble such as has never been since there was a nation even to that time." It sounds very similar to this. Also, Jeremiah, the prophet, said, "That day is great. There is none like it, for it is a time of Jacob's trouble."

The Tribulation period that the Bible predicts coming in the future goes by several different names in the Bible. 26 times it's given the title "the day of the Lord." In Isaiah 26, it's called "the indignation." Isaiah 63, it's called "the day of God's vengeance." In Revelation, chapter 6, the Tribulation goes by "the great day of God's wrath."

And oddly enough in that same chapter, Revelation 6, the Tribulation is called "the wrath of the Lamb." People will hide in caves, saying, hide us from the wrath of the Lamb, for his wrath is great. Now, doesn't that sound like a contradiction, an oxymoron, the wrath of the Lamb? When is the last time you saw an angry lamb? Ever read a sign "Beware of Lamb," "Guard Lamb," "Lambo?"

Lambs are docile. They're gentle. You think of them as, no, it's you'd never have to be afraid of a lamb. But the lamb is who-- Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.

Typically, we only like to think of the gentle, sweet, loving side of Jesus Christ. That's how we love to picture him. We don't like to think of that Lamb of God as having wrath in justice and truth. But the same Jesus who drew in children to himself drove out merchants from the temple. There was a day he took up a whip. And for a short few moments in the temple, those Jews saw the wrath of the Lamb. The world will see it again.

Well, Jesus says here, it's going to be a bad time. And you might ask, well, what could be so bad about that time? What could make that time worse than other bad times? Well, let me give you a quick little snapshot of the Great Tribulation.

In Revelation, chapter 6, seven seals are peeled off of a scroll, and judgments are read. And that's the first part of the Tribulation, I believe, and that's unparalleled war, and slaughter, and famine, and inflation, as well as people hiding from God. Then we get in Revelation, chapter 8, the seven trumpet judgments where there is hail and fire coming from the sky, ruining rivers, springs, all of the drinking water, all of the green grass and plants. Many of them are destroyed on the earth.

By the way, I'll say the worst time in history to be an environmentalist would be the Tribulation period. It would be. If you think we've ruined the earth, wait until you see what God does to it. He trashes this place that people have now started to worship as Mother Earth. It has become their God. God will judge that God during that time.

In Revelation, chapter 9, the bottomless pit is open, and demons are belched out of it. Roman-- Revelation, chapter 12, hordes of demons are cast from the heavens to the earth. And then we get to the last few judgments called the "seven bold judgments" in Revelation 16 that include malignant sores upon the flesh of men and women. Water is poison. The sun scorches them, and hail flies out of Heaven to the earth.

Then we get to Revelation 16, the Battle of Armageddon, this huge, international coalition of countries against Jesus Christ. And listen to Heaven's reaction. As all of these armies gather together in the final days to ultimately overturn God and his son Jesus. Revelation 19, "I saw heaven open, and behold a white horse. And he who sat on him is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war."

Jesus Christ will come back to the earth. He came as the Prince of Peace. He'll come back again to make war, declare war, until he can finally overturn the world system and bring in everlasting peace, which now begs this question-- why?

Why would God think it's so important at some future period to have all of that happen to Earth? Why would he allow that Great Tribulation period? What's the purpose of the Tribulation? What does it serve? Several purposes-- I'll give you two.

Purpose number one, it is God's final reaction to man's infraction. It's a final judgment poured out upon the nations who have rejected God's solution for their sins, generation after generation. You see, we have presumed upon God's grace for a long time. Men and women who've heard the Gospel have chosen not to respond and thinks, I can get away with a little more and a little bit longer. And we presume too long.

There's a story about a farmer who was an atheist, and he never went to church, never cared for God, mocked those who did. And he finally wrote a letter to his local newspaper and asked that it be published. And so the editor said he would do it. And here's the letter.

"I've plowed on Sunday. I've planted on Sunday. I've cultivated on Sunday. I hauled in my crops on Sunday, but I never went to church on Sunday. Yet I have harvested this October more bushels per acre than anyone else, even those who are God-fearing and never miss a service." So the editor printed that. But then underneath he added his own comments. "God doesn't always settle his accounts in October."

Oh, God will settle the account. Make no mistake about that, but he's very patient. And though God is not willing that any should perish but all should come to repentance, there will come a time. And the Book of Revelation puts it this way. God says, "Let there be delay no longer." God says, I've had enough. It's over. My grace that has been so long-suffering and long-lasting is now at its limit. And there will be a final reaction to man's infraction.

There is another reason for the Tribulation-- so that Israel would get prepared to receive her messiah. Remember, the Tribulation is given the name "the 70th week of Daniel" or the "time of Jacob's trouble." 70 weeks are determined for your people, the angels said to Daniel, and for your holy city. So in order to get Jews ready for their messiah that they rejected the first time-- He came to his own. His own received him not-- the Tribulation gets them ready, 144,000 at least. Those are the ones that are sealed by God during that time.

And so all of this is a part of God's justice. God is just. He is good. He is righteous. And because he is good, because he is just, because he is righteous there is a wrath. There has to be.

I used to think that God, like a lot of people, is just this feeble, old, sweet, bearded, gray-haired guy that sits on a cloud with a goofy kind of a smile. And he just watches year, after year, after year go by, and people below, and it's kind like, oh, well, we all make mistakes. But think of it this way. You know how you react when you read a newspaper headline about a rape, child molestation, somebody being brutally killed, somebody getting away with murder, wars, and all the things that you read about in headlines.

Look at what's going on in the Middle East. It makes your blood curl. Now think of what God sees. He sees every headline of every newspaper in every city, every day of every year, and not only what's published but what isn't published, all of the sin and filth that is accumulated on the earth. And you've got to admit, God's been very patient. There's been this wrath of God toward man that he has just simmered, and controlled, and waited, and waited. And finally, God will say, I'm going to act now. And that's just. That's righteous.

It brings us to our third and final point, and that is eternal compassion. And aren't those odd characteristics to have in one common bond-- condemnation, tribulation, compassion? We'll look at it, verse 22. "Unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved. But--" oh, I'm glad that word's there. "But for the elect's sake, those days will be shortened."

That's a spiritual principle, folks. And that is God always mingles mercy with judgment. God is saying, I've had enough. I'm going to judge the earth. But, but those days need to be shortened.

You may remember there was a guy in the Old Testament named Habakkuk who discovered that God was going to use the Babylonians as a punishing rod against the Jews. And he knew the Jews were imperfect, but they were God's covenant people. Habakkuk got a little miffed at this, saying, look, we may be bad. But the Babylonians, well, they're, like, godless. So why would you use people that bad to punish us?

And he didn't quite understand that. It posed a problem. But he finally prayed, OK, look, I don't know what you're doing, God. But do whatever you need to do. I trust you. But then he prayed this, and it was based upon what he knew about God. He said, God, in wrath, remember mercy.

You know why he pray that? Because he knew the character of God. God always will remember wrath-- or mercy in the midst of wrath. There's always this commingling of, yes, there's judgment, but I'm going to pour in my mercy to take that edge off of judgement.

So you might ask, well, how is God going to be merciful during this period of time coming called the Great Tribulation when these kinds of things will come upon the earth? Well, number one, the Rapture, that's merciful. The Rapture will have already taken place before this horrific time of judgment upon the earth.

In mercy, God will remove all of those who have been saved up until that point. That's a principle in Second Peter, chapter 2, that says, "The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment." That's number one.

Number two, God's mercy will be in the midst of that tribulation saving many people during that time after the Rapture. Jews and Gentiles, he will mercifully save them for eternity. And they become what the Bible calls here "the elect."

And number three, the days themselves will be shortened. Jesus said, look, if those days weren't cut short, nobody would survive. There wouldn't be anybody left on the earth. But those days will be shortened. Now, what does that mean?

It could mean that God is saying, though I have every right to punish the earth for 1,000 years, say, or 2000 years, I'm going to cut it really short, relatively short. It's only going to be three and a half years. And that's 1,260 days or 42 months. It's all written in the Bible. And it could refer to just those last plagues, like the bowls that are poured out upon the earth. Those horrible judgments look like they take place in a very short period of time-- days, or weeks, or months.

It could mean something else. It's possible that what Jesus means here is that the days themselves will be altered. Now, listen. Three times in the Book of Revelation, the Bible talks about God reconfiguring the lights-- the sun, the moon, the stars, the days. And listen to this. This is in Revelation, chapter 8, "The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars so that a third of them was turned dark, and a third of the day was without light and also a third of the night."

It could be then that with a third less sunlight, of course, that's a third less energy for all the systems in the biosphere to function. That's going to create all sorts of temperature problems. But that's a short period of time. And it could be that God is doing that so that the Antichrist and all of his forces won't be able to carry out all of the plans they had against the elect. The daylight hours for that activity will be cut short. It's part of God's mercy.

But here's the point. God's wrath is revealed. That's a constant, fixed attitude. It will erupt one day in the Great Tribulation period. But even in the midst of the worst kind of condemnation and tribulation, God pours in compassion, mercy. That's part of his character.

There was this sign that was hung on a tree right outside a convent. This is what it said, "No trespassing. Violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Signed, the Sisters of Mercy."

[LAUGHTER]

We laugh because it doesn't fit. Well, God, who is judge, will hang up His sign one day, "I've had enough." And yet, even then, there will be a thread of mercy woven into it. And I love what James writes in James, chapter 2. He says, "For mercy triumphs over judgment. Mercy triumphs over judgment."

I want to close with this thought. Every person sitting here this morning in this room is a broken person to some degree. All of you have experienced at one time or multiple times hardship, heartache, heartbreak, disappointment, a form of tribulation. Not the Great Tribulation, of course, but it's affected you.

You've been broken. You're damaged goods. We all are. I don't know what it is that broke you-- a divorce, a disease, an affair, slander, something that caused you to limp a little bit. And you're broken. And some of you even feel like, man, I've had hardship that just seems to follow me every day.

OK, now think about King David. Saul followed him for 10 years to kill him. Others followed him for years to betray him. But yet David writes these words, Psalm 23, "Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life."

And here's my exhortation to all of us-- going to be disappointment, going to be hardship, going to be heartache, going to be tribulation, brokenness. Learn to look for the mercy. It's there. It's there, guaranteed. No matter what it is, God pours in his mercy to take the edge off even the pain, the tribulation.

Corrie ten Boom, you've heard her name. She was a teenager when she was in a Nazi concentration camp. She observed human suffering. She observed a form of tribulation where human beings were slaughtered mercilessly.

She said, during that time, there was a little poem I memorized to keep me sane. She would say over and over again in her head as she saw all of these injustices, she would say to herself, "Look around, and be distressed. Look within, and be depressed. Look to Jesus, and be at rest." That helped her focus on the mercy of God in a concentration camp.

So let's learn to look for that thread of God's mercy even in the worst of times. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we are so grateful for your love for us. We are so thankful for the truth that your word reveals to us.

On one hand, we see this constant wrath that is revealed from Heaven. It has to be there because you're righteous and holy. At the same time, there is this deep attitude of love. And it all comes together at the cross, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever would believe in him would not perish but would have everlasting life.

Lord, I pray that the grace of God would abide on every person here this morning rather than the wrath of God. But then that is our personal choice. You've extended such mercy today in that you've offered the Gospel. You've extended the cross to be applied to our lives that anyone who would receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior would have everlasting life. And, Lord, I pray that every person leaving this morning would begin to look for that silver lining of mercy even in clouds of despair. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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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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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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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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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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8/20/2006
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Big Mess; Bigger Message
Matthew 24:12-14
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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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8/27/2006
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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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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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9/17/2006
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The New Dark Ages
Matthew 24:23-28
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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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9/24/2006
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Ready or Not, Here He Comes!
Matthew 24:29-31
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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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10/1/2006
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The End Times Farmer's Almanac
Matthew 24:32-35
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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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10/8/2006
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What Angels Want to Know
Matthew 24:36
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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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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
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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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