Episode Transcript
Jesus said in Matthew 28:19, go therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Welcome to go teach all nations, bringing you Christ's teachings through australian and international speakers. And here is today's presenter, Pastor Anton van Wyk.
They say that we live in a VUca world, and that would be violent, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. Could have many meanings going either way. And today I want to just talk to you about that one word, certainty.
You know, when we uncertain. And it's good to understand that we all, all doubt at times, right? And doubt is probably a very natural emotion or expression or experience, but we cannot thrive on doubt. Amen.
We have to thrive on uncertainty. And that's why when we have floods and disasters and earthquakes and things like that, it brings a lot of uncertainty. And I know one of the gps were telling us in Palmerston, north there that they were treating seven year old children with symptoms of anxiety, depression, etcetera.
So we're living in a very interesting world. And I wanted to bring to you today this case, this argument for certainty through the heart, through the mind of the gospel writer called Luke. So if you wanted to open your bibles, our study will be focusing on Luke chapter two.
It's an amazing, amazing treatise. Expose of certainty. It's a very loud sounding argument he's presenting.
So we will have a few stories we'll weave in and make this very important case today for certainty. So, Luke, what do you know about Luke? Luke was one of the disciples of Jesus, right? Some say Luke was a gentile, and others say that he was a hellenistic or a greek jew. But we know that Luke also wrote the book.
Of which other book did he write, doctor? Luke wrote the book of actions. Some people call it the fifth gospel, where whatever we've learned from the story of sacrifice and Jesus dying for us is now going into overalls, it's going into the streets, it's going over into action, it's impacting daily life. That's the book of acts.
So this is a little bit about Luke. And I want you just to hold your hand there in Luke chapter two. It's one of the most interesting launches into certainty that you can have in all of scripture.
And today I've called it confirmation. Confirmation. All right.
In 2007, a little girl disappeared from their holiday home in Portugal. Who can tell me the name of that little girl? Yes. Madeline McCain, well known around the world.
And this is now how many years? She was three years old. So it's almost 20 years ago, right? And throughout this time there have been sightings, there have been rumours, there have been suggestions, even the parents were involved as suspects at one stage. But every interview I looked at where the parents were interviewed, it was always, we've had some information, but it hasn't been confirmed.
And the parents made the statement. The most terrible thing for them is to live on the shadow side of confirmation. They don't have certainty.
They anguish, they in pain. Their lives are halved and broken because they do not have confirmation. Confirmation is so essential for us to be able to survive and to be able to flourish as believers today.
So in fact, in one of the churches I'm working with in a capital area, our next quarter, our theme will be putting Luke into lukewarmness, putting the gospel of Luke into lukewarmness so that we can thrive. And Luke is excellent again for flashing to us, bringing to us the confirmations we need. You know, just talking about Jesus over centuries, many times we've had this picture of Jesus, sort of a scandinavian looker like person walking in a white bathrobe, sort of strolling through the meadows, you know, very deodorised sanitised, manicured nails, manicured hands, very, how do you say? Very idyllice person.
But in reality we know that Jesus was a carpenter. And in those days they didn't have bunnings and might attend. They would probably have had to go and saw the wood and mill the wood and think of all the experiences that go with that and work physically very, very hard to be furniture makers, to be carpenters.
Very often our picture of Jesus is tainted through stories and pictures that we have encountered. And here in Luke we have a great case for the historic Jesus, verifying and confirming that he did come, prophecy promised. Now I'm saying this because in New Zealand we've had Professor Richard geering at Otago University with Bishop Shelby Spong who came from overseas a few times to visit, and the Jesus seminar people who had a great lobby overseas.
And these people all said that the miracles surrounded the birth of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus and the crucifixion of Jesus were stories that were made up and crafted by his followers. They had no value, no truth and no worth. They were just made up stories.
So it's done away with the total miracle story, the majestic story of Jesus coming to live on our planet with us. This is why this morning when Matthew read from Isaiah 43 talking about, you are my witnesses, Israel, that I am the true God, it really struck me in the heart, because as a church, this is our main purpose and goal, is to lift up the story Jesus as authentic and true. And it's a story that changes lives.
It's not some idyllic picture. And you need to have that assurance in your heart today. Amen.
You need to know in your heart that God is sovereign and that he shapes a history. And part of that real life history is the fact that he sent his son to come and walk with us and live with us and die for us. And you also need to know, through the eyes of Luke, that you have a place in this story.
Amen. So we're going to do that confirmation today. I just want to run through one more little interesting thing.
One of the greatest archaeological discoveries made in recent modern times happened in the last century. How many of you have heard of the terracotta army of China? Amazing, right? Amazing. And these sculptures were made for the first emperor.
You're looking at about three centuries before Christ. So all this time, the secret has been hidden. And these soldiers, they were three moulds used to make these faces, but each face was then touched up to be unique.
They also changed or were different in size because some were generals and some were lieutenants and some were corporals and some were just foot soldiers. So that's why they differed in size. They were discovered by farmers in 1974.
And these pits, there are about three of these pits where these sculptures were discovered. Why were they ever made? 700,000 craftsmen were seconded or conscripted to make these, so that when the first emperor died, they would accompany him into the afterlife. They disappeared as well as the emperor.
It became a museum story where our story is a laboratory story. It's not a museum piece. It's a real life testimony and witness that our emperor is alive and well, that our emperor went into the grave, but he came out of the grave, and our soldiers are living people in Masterton today all over the world testifying that it did happen.
Not just sculptures. Look at that there. 8000 soldiers, 520 horses, 150 chariots.
Beautifully made. But it's all a museum piece story. It's got no power.
It's only something you say, wow, it's beautiful. But that's about it. Can you see it? Beautifully made, but it's testimony to a dead emperor.
And what Luke is doing, Luke is saying, people, I'm giving you today my own eyewitness report. What's bubbling over in my heart is that we have a story crafted by the most high, and it's alive and it's well, even today, right, it's never died. And he came out of the grave.
Incredible. So church, we huddled together, but we have this living testimony. We work together in synergy.
We all different, right? The giraffes were made to eat on top of the trees and the rest low down. So we eat all of nature in a balanced way. Isn't that beautiful? And there's that synergy again.
The big old buffalo with the birds eating the ticks and the parasites. This beautiful balance of synergy that's in the world. God.
God has made it for the church as well, that we work together for the purpose of uplifting the risen christ, who is real. Listen to this statement. Acts of the apostles and through the church will eventually be made manifest.
The final and the what? Full display of the love of God through the church. We're not a dead and buried museum piece. We are living witness.
And we will carry that not from pits of clay and of sculpture, but of hearts that are warmed by what God is doing. Right? It's beautiful. So Luke brings that confirmation, and there it is.
He's confirming that the historical Jesus is authentic. And I'm going to argue for that. He's confirming your placement and role in that story, in this great thing that's eventuating.
And he's confirming that God is in full control and is shaping all of history to the end. Okay, so here it goes. If you have your Bible open, maybe in chapter one already, there's a little inkling that Luke is very determined in what he's bringing to our attention.
And Luke, chapter one, maybe verse 35. There the angel appears to young Mary. Can you remember what the angel said to little Mary? She must have been 12, 13, 14 years old.
You're going to have a baby. And in verse 35, it says this holy thing. Have you read that Luke is unique in this, this holy thing that is growing in you? This holy thing referring to, wow, we've got something special and something out of this world and something different to present to you here.
And in the presentation of chapter two, where does it go? Verse eight. And there were shepherds guarding there sheep. And the angels appeared to them.
Let me just tell you, shepherds were looked down upon in those days, shepherds were not allowed to serve on the Sanhedrin. Shepherds were not allowed to testify in a court of law because they were seen as low, uneducated and stupid people. The angels appear to them to tell them, from the lowest to the highest, there is something that's going to lift you out of lowliness.
Into exaltation. We have something different entering the history of humanity. For the solo mother who's downcast and broken, there is something coming for the young person who feels they're an outcast.
For those who feel they've broken, abandoned and neglected in life, ignored. That now they will be adored. Because it comes to the lowly of the low.
That there is something very unique and holy and special entering the stream of human history. I want to bring you to the next verse 25. There, please follow in your Bible, someone said in all of Jesus journeys, it was always going to Jerusalem.
What was in Jerusalem? The temple. Right, the temple. What was the jewish custom? When a little boy was eight days old, he had to go to the temple to be circumcised.
The rite of the Jews. And there was a man there. And the Bible calls him what? Simeon.
A prophet. Right. And when Simeon saw them coming in, he bursts out into prophetic utterance.
And he confirms that that baby is the messiah. Luke does something very unique and beautiful here. Luke says, people, we have a story.
And every story has a villain and a plot. But every story has a hero. And I'm telling you, the hero is right there.
The hope of all of Israel has come in that door. That shadow that has just fallen into this temple is going to be not a shadow, not buried forever. It's the light of the world.
For once, the shepherds, the outcasts have hope. They singing the sheep are looking astounded and saying, what's happened to our masters? Those who work outside the walls of Jerusalem can now go in and they can go to Bethlehem to find the hope. Luke doesn't stop.
There in the temple is a little old lady, verse 36. And what do we know about this little old lady? Anyone? Tell me, how old is she? 84 years. She was married seven years.
Then she became a widow. What has she been doing all these years? She's been polishing the ornaments and dusting. Where? In the temple.
In the church. We've never heard of her. And we never hear of her again.
She's got a little apron on. Her fingers are bent with arthritis. And her little body is timid and shaking.
Because she's old. She's been living long for those years where the life expectancy was 50 or 60. Every day she turns up.
This day she stops when that family walk in the door holding a little. And she, who has never spoken we know nothing about, says, that's the one. She confirms.
Luke's done an exceedingly beautiful job of introducing us to the life changer right. The change maker, the catalyst. The greatest news ever coming to your heart today through Luke.
If whatever is on you, weighing you down, anchoring you into this world and into despair, making you feel you in a dead end street painted into a corner and you just don't see any way out. I'm speaking to people in Napier there, one of our folks. I told him this morning the floodwaters came and it came up to roof level.
They went back there. They could salvage a few old photographs. Nothing else.
It's all gone. Despair. Luke says on an ordinary day when people are dusting and cleaning and the bells are tolling and people are doing their jobs at the marketplace and everyone is just doing what they always do, the humdrum of life.
A little family walk in the temple and a little widow says, that's the one. I've been living for that. And Simeon says, that's the one.
We never hear about them again. Luke says to all the spiritual Madeline McCann, families, we have confirmation. Amen.
We have confirmation, my friend. If you doubt that this thing about Jesus coming and the miracle surrounding, if you doubt, talk to someone about it, because that is the very foundation of who you are and who you are going to be. Make sure you enter into this with Luke.
Luke was a doctor, right? He was a bright guy. He knew. He was acquainted with Paul, the apostle.
He knew the stories. Luke comes up and he says, I want to give you today confirmation. Chapter one, that holy thing, it's not an ordinary baby.
Chapter two. The shepherds. Simeon, John the Baptist, the little widow.
I give you confirmation. Luke knew that at that time of his existence, there were many interpretations about the person and the work of Jesus Christ. He knew that.
He knew that persecution was at the door, right? And what he's saying is, be encouraged. The story you know in your heart about the true, historical Christ, God becoming human is true. I confirm it for you.
What a story. Amen. Any questions? Can we move on? We're just going to do one more, then? I just wanted to come to the next part.
So God's working in history, man. He's shaping history. God becomes one of us.
He enters into our stream of history. What about you? What's your part in it all? That little widow, she lived for that day. She knew it was coming.
You know Jesus is coming, right? Are you living for it? Are you living for it? Is that the big thing of your life? Are you living for it? I see Phil smiling. That's great. Simeon holding the baby.
I believe there's some locks only. You can open. They tell us that the chances that you are you and you are here today would be one in like 13 billion.
It used to be years ago, one in half a billion. But given stillbirths and abortions today, and I, miscarriages, they've calculated now, look in the literature that the chances that you are here today is one in 13 billion. What a privilege to be here today.
Amen. Many others missed out. You are here, and I believe in God's economy, that for the certain locks that you are the key for, and if you not there, that lock will remain locked.
I honestly believe it. And we can mention each name here today, and I'm going to prove it to you. All right, so this lady here, Rosa Parks, can you remember the story of Rosa Parks in the states? 1953, Montgomery, Alabama.
This little lady that got into the bus, remember? And she sat in the front of the bus, and the bus driver came over and said, lady, your skin is dark. You need to sit in the back of the bus. Guess what? She said, dear sir, I know my worth.
I will just sit in the front. She started that whole revolution, that civil rights movement. She sparked it.
That little lady, that old lady, Rosa Parks. I want to tell you this. There was the russian guy with the time when the russian communism fell.
Boris Yeltsin. Someone came to him, a reporter once, and said, who had the greatest influence in your life? And Boris Yeltsin said, well, Lech Walenza in Poland, the labour movement. He had the biggest influence in my life.
So they went and asked him, who had the biggest influence in your life? Guess what? He said? Martin Luther King Junior. Inspired me, drove me, carried me away. On his speech, they asked Martin Luther King, remember some reporters later, who had the greatest influence in your life? Guess who? Rosa Parks.
See how the spark went, how it followed. You will never know what influence you have and will yield for the kingdom. If you just today in your life affirm it is true that Jesus came, that he suffered and he died, and he went into the grave and he rose again.
If that's your confession, if that is your confession, if that is your will and testament, if that is your living sacrifice to God. I know. I know in whom I have believed.
You will, and I am persuaded. Beautiful grace, if that's your testimony, lives are going to be touched. And today, I am Simeon.
I am the little widow telling you he came and that you have a part to confirm that to the world. Right? Here's the proof. When God called Israel, deuteronomy seven.
And we're going to close soon. Listen to this deuteronomy. When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it.
This is going into Canaan, right. And hath cast out many nations before you. I want you to count them.
There's a perfect number. The Hittites, the Gigishites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the persicites and the Hivites and the jebusites. Let's call them all the termites.
Right. Guess how many? Perfect number. Seven.
God said, I've put them out of the way. Why? Seven nations greater and mightier than you. For the Lord thy God has chosen they to be a special people unto himself.
Above all the people that are on the face of the earth. Because to you he has entrusted the living oracles that there is a true God of Isaiah 43. There is a true God.
Not made of stone, not sculptured, not one who dies and has people buried with him. Not a pharaoh, not the guru of the east, not Mister Moon in New York City, not the pope, not the pastor. He's chosen you.
Where you work, at the office, at the conveyor belt, where you work, at the factory, where you work in the orchard. I have chosen you to choose you. I've put seven mightier nations out of the way because they're not carrying the oracles of the living God.
So you are the key to unlock the promised land. What a statement from deuteronomy. Amen.
What a statement. So what if we glean today from Luke? Luke opens the door and he starts with Maryland. That holy thing in your uterus.
Only God was holy. To say to a jewish girl, you've got holiness in you is a massive statement. Massive.
And then number chapter two. To the lowly, broken, abandoned shepherds, you're going to be carriers of good news to a little man called Simeon who's worked all his life. He lives for that day.
That's the saviour. A little widow. That's him.
No wonder my favourite author, Alan White, says, through the church masterton, the full and final display of God's love will be manifested. Because you are not buried soldiers for a dead kingdom. You are living bricks, living witnesses for a living God.
I have one question to ask you, and forgive me for asking. People say, Anton, but there are so many churches. Have you ever thought about that? Surely all christian churches would be God's children, right? Do you agree with that? Absolutely.
He says, I have many other sheep. Can you remember that? Who said that? So the next question people always ask me, Anton, so what is our role then as Sabbath keepers? By the way? There are many other groups keeping sabbaths now. It's just growing.
And Sabbath is always linked to the creator, right? So what would be our special, unique role then in the whole family of christian churches, right? Because when you look at the twelve tribes of Israel, it says that the tribe of Issachar knew and understand the times. Can you remember that? Chronicles. So it seems they all had their, the Levites had their jobs.
So my answer is always this. And think about it. I come from dutch reform, right? We never studied the Bible, never knew the prophecies.
We only did what the Dumini, the minister told us. I think, Peter, you will maybe resonate with that if that's your background. When I came into a fuller understanding of the Bible and I am where I am today, I believe that the adventist church, their unique and specific role is to be the prophetic voice or guide in the family of christian churches today.
It's a unique, beautiful voice calling us to the second coming of Jesus, calling us to the prophetic fulfillments that are coming upon the earth, telling us not to be afraid. Because certainty, when confirmation comes, certainty comes. When certainty comes, hope comes.
When hope comes, peace comes. What is so needed in our world today? I went to buy Mandarins $10 a kilogramme. I just stopped for a moment, thought, we're living in a difficult world, right? Those of us going on pension with a fixed income, you know what that means? No mandarins, right? People are despairing, people are anxious, people are fighting, people are angry.
There's a lot of stuff happening in our world. So what we need is a distinctive, clear clarion call, prophetic voice saying, this is the prophetic message from scripture, like Luke says about Jesus for our times. So in the family of Christendom, I believe adventism today has the unique role of being a prophetic voice and guide in the family of Christendom, calling people to come to the truth of the prophetic word.
And it's a big role. I shudder when I think, but it's such a privilege, such an honour to be able to be chosen for that role. God said, deuteronomy, I've chosen you.
So go strong, take it by the bit. Go and make a sound that what we believe is true and confirmed. Amen.
God bless you. This message was made available by the Masterton 7th day Adventist Church. For more resources like this, visit Mastertonsda dot NZ.
It seems like every time I look at the news or YouTube theres some new doomsday scenario. Is Russia or North Korea going to initiate a global nuclear war where superpowers fight back and forward until the only thing left on Earth are cockroaches and everyone else has been annihilated by nuclear weapons? Now, perhaps one of the asteroids that NASA is tracking through its near Earth asteroid tracking project will hit the earth and produce an extinction level event. What about a fatal disease that sweeps through Earth, wiping out all humanity? Is the future really this bleak? Is there anything to look forward to? That's what I'm going to be talking about in this video.
Twelve facts about the end of the world. Number one, there is hope for the future. Is the future this gloomy? Is there any hope for planet Earth? Or are we doomed into an eternity of oblivion? Titus, chapter two in verse 13 says, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and saviour, Jesus Christ.
Revelation 21 four. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.
There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. The future life will be full of new beginnings. Just imagine, no more broken relationships, no more cancer, no more depression, no more loneliness, no more suicide.
The power and effect of sin and death will be gone, replaced with health, happiness, and peace. Although I love life here and now, there are things of this world that I'm pretty tired of. Number two, the second coming of Jesus is the hope of the future.
Hebrews 928. So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for him, he will appear a second time.
Apart from sin for salvation, the second coming of Jesus brings victory and salvation to the followers of Jesus and an end to this world in its present state. This event is so important that it's mentioned over a thousand times in the Bible. In the New Testament alone, one in every 25 verses speaks of the return of Jesus Christ.
Christ number three. We can be certain Jesus will come again. Jesus promises us in John 14 one, three, let not your heart be troubled.
You believe in God. Believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions.
If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself.
That where I am, there you may be also. Jesus gives us his word that he will come again. Not maybe or should or hope to, but will.
If there's one thing we can be absolutely certain of, it is the second coming of Jesus. Notice also the main purpose of the second coming, to receive us to himself and take us back to heaven with him. So how will jesus come again? Notice what the Bible says about how Jesus was taken to heaven after his resurrection.
Acts, chapter one, verses nine to eleven. Now, when he had spoken these things while they watched, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, man of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven.
Did you catch that? He will come in like manner when jesus comes back. He will come back in the same way that he left. That is, he will be coming back literally and personally, not figuratively or spiritually.
Notice the words used while they watched, they looked steadfastly gazing up, they saw him go into heaven just like those apostles. We will be able to look up into heaven and actually see him there in the sky. The return of jesus will be visible also.
It will be this same Jesus who returns not a ghost or a spirit, but in bodily form, just as he left number four, jesus isn't coming by himself. Matthew, chapter 25, verse 31 tells us, when the son of man comes in his glory and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. Can you imagine the enormity of the second coming of Jesus? Jesus will be coming down out of heaven accompanied by possibly billions of his angels.
The second coming will be the most glorious event this world has ever seen. You're not going to miss it. The Bible makes that clear.
Five. Everyone will see Jesus. Matthew, chapter 24 30.
Then the sign of the son of man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Revelation, chapter one, verse seven. Behold, he is coming with clouds, and every eye will see him, even they who pierced him.
And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. Even so. Amen.
Matthew 24 27. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the son of man. Beverly? The second coming will be a global event seen by everyone, good and bad.
Every eye will see him. No one will miss it. Jesus compared his coming to a huge electrical storm flashing from one side of the sky to the other.
No wonder Jesus said in Matthew 24 26. Therefore, if they say to you, look, he is in the desert. Do not go out or look, he is in the inner rooms.
Do not believe it. If someone tells you that Jesus has come back secretly, Jesus said, do not believe it. The second coming will be the most public event ever.
If you turn on the news and a man is claiming to be Jesus and he's walking around meeting with dignitaries and performing miracles, you can know for a fact that that isn't the real Jesus. Not only will the second coming be visible and glorious, it's going to be loud. John 528 29.
Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come forth. Those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation. First Thessalonians, chapter four, verse 16.
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. There will be nothing secret or silent about the second coming of Jesus.
Even the dead will hear the voice of Jesus with words such as shout, voice, trumpet. God wants to make sure we're absolutely clear that the second coming will be an event everyone will hear. Number seven.
The second coming will affect the earth as well. Revelation, chapter 1618. And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings.
There was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. Revelation, 1620. And every island fled away and the mountains were not found with earthquakes like we have never seen.
Islands sinking and mountains falling. Planet Earth as we know it will be devastated by the second coming. I've been in few earthquakes before, but never anything that made islands sink or mountains fall.
Number eight. The lost are destroyed. Second.
Thessalonians. Two, eight. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth and destroy with the brightness of his coming.
Those who have rejected the free gift of salvation cannot bear the sight of a pure and holy God. They shout out for the rocks and mountains to fall on them, to hide them from the face of Jesus. Jesus says that he is coming in all the glory of God the Father.
Remember, at the time of Christ's resurrection, the brightness of just one angel, and it caused the roman guards to faint and become like dead Menta. Imagine the impact of what could be millions, possibly billions of angels along with the glory of Jesus. The evil natures of the wicked will be overwhelmed with his purity and brightness.
Number nine. The saved dead will be raised from the grave first. Thessalonians 416 again, for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel in the trumpet of goddesse.
And the dead in Christ will rise first. When Jesus returns, the righteous dead will be raised first out of their graves. Imagine the excitement of standing in a graveyard at that time or seeing your loved relatives, family and friends raised from their graves.
Notice how the prophet Isaiah describes that event in Isaiah, chapter 26, verse 19, your dead shall live together with my dead body. They shall arise, awake and sing, you who dwell in dust, for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Number ten.
The saved living meet Jesus in the air first. Thessalonians 417. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And thus shall we always be with the Lord. Once the righteous dead have been raised, those who are alive and waiting for the return of Jesus will rise into the air as well. There will be a great reunion of all those who have loved God throughout the history of the planet.
Notice that Jesus does not set foot on the earth. We all meet him in the air. Jesus will not be seen on CNN or Fox News at a football match or meeting the president at the White House.
The earth will be wiped clean of all life, and all the righteous will meet in the air. It's amazing to try and imagine what that must be like. Imagine running along towards Jesus and suddenly your feet leave the ground and you're heading towards Jesus in all his glory in the air.
Number eleven. There will be great deception about the second coming. When the disciples asked Jesus what the signs would be of his return, the first thing Jesus said was, take heed that no one deceives you.
Even though the Bible is clear on this topic, there's still a lot of deception in Matthew 24 five, for many will come in my name saying, I am the Christ and will deceive many. Jesus warns us that there will be counterfeit or fake Christ. It's interesting to note that the Jews are anxiously looking for their messiah.
The Muslims are looking for the return of Jesus, who they consider to be a prophet called Isa, who they say will destroy the Antichrist and then reign from earth. And the Christians, of course, are also looking for Jesus to return. One of the last deceptions will be a range of counterfeit Christs.
The Bible tells us that Satan can transform himself into an angel of light, so it makes sense that he would try to impersonate Jesus in an effort to mislead people. Jesus said that these deceptions would be so effective, so realistic, that if it were possible, even the very elect would be deceived. The only way that we can avoid deception is to know what the Bible says on this topic.
Isaiah 820 says, to the law and to the testimony, if they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. In order to know what is right, we need to firstly understand and trust the scriptures. We need to test everything by this word.
Perhaps the greatest deception is that people think they are ready for Jesus to return when they're not prepared at all. In Matthew, chapter seven, verses 21 to 23, Jesus says, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you depart from me, you who practise lawlessness.
There are people today who claim to be Christians, full of the Holy Spirit, yet they'll miss out on heaven. The reason is simple. Jesus wants not only our worship, but also our obedience.
In fact, the highest form of worship is obedience. Any Christian who says, Lord, Lord, but is not willing to keep God's law, is separating themselves from God. And they're not practising true Christianity.
They're choosing a different master. We don't have to be deceived. Number twelve.
We can be ready for the end of the world. We can be part of that group that Isaiah describes in Isaiah, chapter 25, verse nine. And it will be said in that day, behold, this is our God.
We have waited for him and he will save us. This is the Lord. We have waited for him.
We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. Notice how John, the writer of revelation, responds when Jesus says he is coming back. Revelation, chapter 22, verse 20, he who testifies to these things says, surely I am coming quickly.
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The second coming is the great hope for the Christian.
There may be some of you who want Jesus to come, but not yet. You may feel you have too much of your life still to live. But a life with Jesus is not boring.
It's not restrictive. It involves living life to the full with health and happiness. It's a life that brings peace, meaning contentment.
Added to this, it will soon be an eternal life where there will be no more pain, suffering or sorrow. We can join John in saying, even so, come Lord Jesus. Remember, the second coming is the great hope for the Christian.
Jesus will return to planet earth physically, visually, audibly and gloriously. And deception regarding the second coming is a vital tool of the devil. So we need to be studying the Bible now so that we are prepared.
If you are interested in learning more about the Bible and finding out what it means to have a relationship with Jesus, then visit our website, Mastertonsda dot NZ Dot, where you can request free studies on Bible prophecy. We also live stream messages every Saturday. If you have a question or want to talk with someone, you can also contact us on our website.
We hope you enjoy this short presentation from lineage journey.com. king Ahab was defeated and killed in a battle with Ben Hada, king of Syria, and after this time they were a constant threat to the Israelites, conducting repeated raids across the border. In one of these raids, they took away a young girl as a slave and she went to the house of Naaman.
Naaman was a captain of the syrian kings army, but he had a problem in that he had been plagued with leprosy. Despite being a slave, she had pity on him and recommended he went to see the prophet Elisha. Her parents would have had no idea that when they taught her the principles they wanted her to live by in life, that one day she would live in the home of the enemies of Israel.
But such a marked impression she made upon her host that when she recommended the name of the prophet Elisha, Naaman, who wasn't a believer in God, decided that he would go. He took a letter from the king of Syria. 6000 pieces of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, and ten changes of clothing.
Firstly, he came to the king's palace, and when Elisha heard word of this, he called for him to come his house. As he neared his house, Elisha stayed inside and sent out word that he needed to go to the river Jordan and wash in it seven times. Naaman had expected to see some wonderful manifestation of the power of God.
And his pride was offended when he was asked to do this simple task. And he asked why the rivers of Damascus were not good enough. Naaman's servants then reason with him, they said, if you had been asked to do some great task, you would have done it.
So why not do this simple thing? Naaman's faith was tested. His pride stood as an obstacle. But he listened to his servants and followed the counsel of prophet Elisha.
Going down to the river Jordan, he dipped in it seven times and came up clean, free from leprosy. He now testified that there is no God in all the earth except the goddess of Israel. Going back to the prophet Elishas home, he offered him the gold and silver that he had brought with him, but Elisha refused it.
His servant, though Gehazi, was tempted by the offer. And after Naaman had left, he went after him and said that Elisha had changed his mind and he wanted a talent of silver he was given too. When he neared back to the house, Elisha asked him where he had gone, and seeing his deceitfulness, disobedience and covetousness, he said he would now receive leprosy.
And the Bible says he became a leper. White as snow today, in every land there are those who are honest in heart. Naaman is recorded in scripture as one of those.
He was honest and lived up to what he knew and when he was shown to. Furthermore, he lived his life accordingly. God is looking today not for large crowds, but for people who are honest, who, when they see truth, they live and pattern their lives accordingly.
May we be those people, and may we seek to find those people as well. To view more episodes in the series, visit lineagejourney.com. it's been our pleasure bringing you this programme today here on 3ABN Australia radio.
