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 teachings through australian and international speakers And here is today's presenter, Pastor Justin Lawman.
We are been on a journey so far. Matthew, chapter 24. It's set up by the disciples asking a double question.
I wish they had asked one, but they asked two. And Jesus is a good enough teacher. He's the greatest of all teachers.
He answers the two questions. When will the temple be destroyed? When will the world come to an end? With the same answer? It is pure brilliance just on every level. The answer both come as judgments, by the way, for the same reason, their rejection of Christ.
The first 13 verses are summary verses. They are not the signs. But once we hit verse 14, we get the signs.
Sign number one, the gospel. The good news that no matter how far you've fallen, no matter how far you might think you are from God, it's not too short. His arm isn't short to reach you.
He can pluck you out of wherever you are. He'll forgive you and he'll love you eternally. After that, he warned Rome, there's a conflict, a great controversy between good and evil, and it's going to come to a climax at a town near you.
And that climax is described for us in the 13th chapter of revelation. And when we see Rome standing in the holy place, when a Sunday law, a national Sunday law, is brought in in the United States, we are told, get out of the big cities, but work for the people that are in them. It is an impetus for us to get focused on the mission that God has given us, that we would share the gospel.
The third sign. And we saw how Rome fell. I've got these reminder slides that I'm going to just speed through because we have no time.
I don't know why this clicker just stops working on me. Here we go. America will first make an image to the beast.
First thing that happens hasn't happened yet. The government and the church will speak with one voice. That's when you know you're very close.
The next thing is the mark of the beast. The third sign that happens is what the Bible calls the great tribulation. Matthew, chapter 24.
Look, I need to pray, if that's okay. I know we've prayed a lot, but I haven't. Father, this isn't about being scared.
It's about being ready. Help us today, no matter where we are with you right now, that we leave this church. Ready, Lord, in Jesus name.
Amen. Verse 22. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time.
Hang on, hang on, hang on. There's been some bad stuff happened in the history of the world, and Jesus said, the worst is yet to come. 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. The great tribulation, the time of trouble.
Jesus said, he's quoting Daniel when he says it. He's not alone. He's coming to the world.
Oh, hang on. Isn't it getting better? The Jehovah witnesses knock on my door and want to argue with me, and I love arguing with Jehovah witnesses. It's fun.
And they are good people, God bless them. Bad theology. They said that Jesus came back to the world.
His Perusia happened in 1914, and the world has got better since then. Have mercy. Are you going to teach this? I say, are you serious? Are you serious? The world's getting better, man.
There are two phases to the time of trouble. Theologically, we call one the little time of trouble, the trouble that happens before the close of probation. That's the one we want to be focused on.
And then there's the big time of trouble, the time, the great time of trouble, when Michael stands up, and that's when. That's it. It's all over.
He's finished his intercession on behalf of man. And the trouble that comes to the world will be short, but it will be unsurpassed. In revelation twelve, John, looking down to our day, says, therefore rejoice, o heavens, and you who dwell in them.
But woe to the inhabitants and the earth and the sea. For the devil has come down to you having great wrath, because he knows he has a short time. There's one thing you'll see every time in the great tribulation.
It's short. It's not the dark ages. A thousand years of misery.
It's short. It's quick, but it is brutal. Those two phases of the tribulation, the little time and the great time.
I want to focus on the little time, the great time. In Daniel twelve one, Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people, and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation. Do you see where Jesus gets it from? Even to that time, and at that time, your people shall be delivered everyone found written in the book.
I have to just put the brakes on before we jump over the cliff in the dozer. Most of us have misunderstood what the time of Jacob's trouble is. I want to correct it for you.
Jeremiah, chapter 30, verse five and six. For thus says the Lord you have heard a voice of trembling, of fear and not of peace. Ask now and see whether a man is ever in labour with a child or so.
Why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labour? Their faces turn pale, alas. For that day is great so that none is like it. And it is a time of Jacobs see that Jacob's trouble but he shall be saved out of it.
Do you know the trouble with Jacob is Jacob? And this afternoon when you're finished with our meeting and you go home and it's still Sabbath, you can't you watch afl over here, don't you? You know, I've never watched a game of Afl my whole life. Isn't that dreadful? I had to throw that in. I just started.
I watched a fair few rugby league games so don't tell anyone. But when you go home and you dust off the cupboard and there's a book there called the great Controversy. Pull it out and there's a chapter called the time of Jacob's trouble.
And you'll discover the time of Jacob's trouble. The trouble with Jacob was Jacob. And Jacob got himself in such a fix.
He deceived his brother. He ran away. He ran away.
He tried to get out of it and then he hears the trouble. His brother with his 300 men or whoever they are coming to get him and he knows he's cooked. He knows he's done.
He knows he's guilty. He's done the wrong thing and he goes and separates all the family. He puts the favourites furthest away and the ones he doesn't care for, he puts them out the front.
He's a dude. There's Jacob. He's a flawed individual and he's an archetype for you, for me and this flawed individual who has favourites like his mum had favourites.
He goes off and he's in such turmoil he's bent over in pain and suddenly a stranger touches him and he starts to wrestle with the stranger by the way. It's Jesus. It's Jesus.
He's come to help him and Jacob is fighting against him and he wrestles. It says, can you imagine what that looked like? They're wrestling for Jacob thinks for his life and then the son starts to come up and the Bible says the angel of the Lord, Jesus, touches Jacob and his hip pops out of joint and he realises it's being God he's been fighting against. And he flips the script and he grabs Jesus by the leg, by the ankle, and he will not let him go.
The time of Jacob's trouble that we are all going to go through. You'll be wrestling with your own sinful self. You'll be doubting your own sincerity and whether you can be saved.
Don't believe me? Dust off the book and read the chapter. The time of trouble. The time of Jacob's trouble.
The problem with Jacob. The trouble with Jacob is Jacob, God will get you through anything. I love the story of John Wesley.
John Wesley, who was just such a mighty preacher for the Lord. He's five foot eight tall. He comes up to my chin, same height as my wife, little Mandev, the big heart.
But he was such a failure in life. He was saved as a boy out of a house fire at home. His dad is a gambling preacher.
He's gambled away all the family's money. He's an anglican priest. His mom has 19 children.
You heard me, Susanna. Wesley's famous for putting their apron over her head in the kitchen. Everyone had to be quiet because that was a prayer time.
19 children. The girls. The girls could read the Greek New Testament by the time they were six years old.
She's quite a mother. She's a desperate legalist and she has so many kids. When the house burns down, they forgot about 119, as you would.
It's like the Pathfinder club. You got to tick the list to see who's on the bus. Have we left one behind? John Wesley was left in there and he described himself as a brand plucked from the fire.
He joined the holiness club at Oxford with a guy named George Whitefield, who was the prince of preachers. Whitefield, they say, was the greatest preacher outside of scripture. Wesley and him were in a holiness club and they were a pack of legalists.
They became so methodical in their devotions and religion, they called them Methodists. Methodical. Wesley went to America to convert the native Americans to Indians, to Christianity.
He didn't have any converts. In fact, he realised, he said in his journal, that he himself needed to be converted. He gets on a boat to come home and they go through the most brutal storm the Atlantic Ocean could throw at them.
The ship was overcome by waves. It was going to go down. And Wesley, in his terror of dying and not being right with God, this is his time of Jacob's trouble.
He walked onto the deck, holding on for grim life. And he sees a group of christian disciples kneeling on the deck in perfect peace, in prayer, and he can't comprehend it. And after the storm abates, he goes to these moravian Christians and he says, how could you do that? And they famously said back to him, John Wesley, go and find God.
Wow, the preacher is lost. He did that. He got back to England and he went to one of their prayer meetings and they were reading a commentary on the book of Romans, Martin Luther.
And Wesley said for the first time in his life, his heart was strangely warmed. And he becomes a follower of Jesus. Lies full of tribulations.
I'm going to jump over this because I'm just going to save you a bit of time. Let me go back when Jesus was in a boat in a storm, he could stand up and say, peace, be still. Today, the biggest disease in the western world is depression and anxiety, the restless human heart.
And today, as we are entering one of the darkest periods of earth's history, today is the day you find peace. In Isaiah 96, the prophecy of Jesus, it says, for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulders and his name shall be called wonderful counsellor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace. If you have Jesus, you have peace.
He's the lord of peace. And if today you are troubled and worried and anxious, I want to encourage you to find the peace that Jesus alone gives you. He says in two Thessalonians 316.
Now may the lord of peace himself give you peace always and in every way. The Lord be with you all. What is peace? In John 1427, Jesus says, peace, I leave with you my peace.
My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid of.
Jesus says his peace is different from what the world offers. Now what the world offers. I'd like some of what the world offers as peace the world offers.
I have, like $10 million in cash in my bank. That's what the world would. I'm open if you're offering, but I'm, I got $10 million.
I've got two or three houses. I've got the perfect family. My dog obeys me.
That's important. I've got everything. He's absolutely perfect.
And I'm fit. I go to the gym. I eat good diet.
Everything you could imagine is perfect. Now in West Australia, I know that's sort of normal. But for the rest of the country, most people aren't like that.
Most people don't have the peace the world offers. Can I tell you a funny thing? The biggest rate of suicide per capita are people who are millionaires. Did you know that? The poor don't commit suicide as a statistic? There's exceptions.
It's the wealthy who are most unhappy. You see, what the world offers is a con job. It's not.
You think it'll make you happy. You watch too many ads on tv. It's not gonna.
Doesn't make you happy. Can I testify of that? No. Cause I haven't had that yet.
So I'm. I look at the statistics. He says, let not your heart be troubled.
You see, it is the condition of the human heart. Whether I'm wealthy or I'm poor, whether I'm in a storm or a sunny day, in my heart, I can have peace. I can have peace.
In John 16 and verse 33, he says these things I've spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. See, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you'll have tribulation.
But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. You see, the time of trouble's not a problem.
If you've got Jesus in your heart, let them bring it. They're going to chuck me in prison. I can sing hymns in prison and praise the Lord because he's living in my heart.
Jacob has a time of trouble because Jacob isn't right with God. He's wealthy. He's got all the kids and the cattle and everything you could imagine, but he doesn't have God.
And he found him that night as he wrestled with him. Your peace will be in the midst of trouble. When there's a fiery furnace, he doesn't take you out of it.
He goes through the fire with you. He goes through the trouble, the strife, the grief, the loss, the agony. He's beside you the whole time, keeping you in perfect peace.
It's a time of Jacob's trouble. In December 27, 2019, we had a couple of bushfires on the east coast. I don't know what it was like.
You always got fires over here, haven't you? It's like every week up batlow way where I live, we have a very high rainfall. Like it's wet all year. But we had a drought that was a proper one, the fire.
Not many times in my life have I seen those sort of fires. And I thought, this is not good. They had a town meeting because the fire over at Dunn's Road was heading straight towards Batlow.
I live about there. And they called us all together in the RSL club and everyone in the town that's not. It's 1200 people.
There's not a lot of people in the town. And all my neighbours are there and everyone. And that the police and the fire chief and all the government people said, leave now.
It's undefendable. We can't stop it. It's going to overrun you.
And I said, well, you know, you can't see this. This is my house. At midnight on New Year's Eve.
There's a glow out here in the trees. One night the fire went 100 kilometres. My son's in the rural fire service.
What a fire does to the wildlife, to the cattle and the sheep and the horses, is horrendous. Wiped everything out for a hundred k's. It was the most eerie time.
It was apocalyptic as it was happening and it was coming to our town. We had a reprieve for a couple of days. So I dug in pipes.
I was gonna put sprinklers up. I was going to fight it. My neighbour does property protection for the forestry department.
He's a good neighbour. And he said, hey, mate, do you want a couple of dozers? You know, me and dozers are good friends. I said.
I said, you better believe it. So he sent two. That's the actual photos of them.
There were trees five minutes before and these dozers come in stuck because I wasn't allowed to cut down trees by the government. But under a bushfire it's all on. And I remember the dozer operator opened the thing.
He says, what can we knock over? And my son was with me and he just said, we're not greenies. That was his only answer. So he cleared.
They cleared there. That's it. You can see my house right here.
They cleared and they pushed over everything. They've spent about 40 minutes. And we just thank God for such people.
They didn't have to do it. We're not a part of the forestry, but they did that because they're good. Anyway, the fires came.
They came on a sabbath and my. I had the dogs, the cat, everything with me but my cows. You can't.
There's nowhere to take them. Everyone was in the same boat. My Highland cattle.
At the time I had three girls. And you know what you do at that point? You don't have to read a book on prayer. You just pray.
And I called my church in Canberra and I said, guys, I don't care about the house, but I actually care about my cows and I want you to pray for my cows. That's selfish. I don't know, but I like my cows.
That's where the dozer was parked. That's when the fire had come through. It came 5ft from my house.
It burned down three of my neighbours house. That's my son. You can see the fire went right up to the house on the grass but never touched us.
Out the back, that's where you can see the brown ground where the dozers had cleared my pipe on the ground there. It was just miraculous. That's the dog's kennels.
It was a horrendous day. It was 43 degrees, blown a gale. I just opened the gates for the cows to run.
I found dead kangaroos not far from the house. They couldn't. The kangaroos couldn't outrun the fire.
It was wicked how it came through there. It's recovered. That's what it was like in winter, that same spot.
But the animals and the loss of life and my cows. And we were praying and I drove up with my son the next morning. And as we came into the town of Batlow, there were hundreds of dead cattle on the road where the fire is overcome.
It was a horrendous thing to witness. And we got to the farm there everything was absolutely annihilated. And there were my cows.
We renamed them Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. I have no idea how they did it, but the little bit of green grass that was there, they were just standing on it eating the grass. How do I get peace in the midst of trials? There'll be many, many more trials coming, it says, and by him to reconcile all things to himself, by him were the things on earth, things in heaven.
Having made peace through the blood of his cross. You see, peace is on the inside. Ask Jacob.
It wasn't the fact that he doesn't have enemies anymore. It wasn't the fact he didn't have troubles. You'll always have them.
It's his heart was right with God. Through the blood of the cross is how we get peace. He made peace through the cross.
In Ephesians 214, it says, for he himself is our peace, who has made both one and broken down the middle wall of separation. He himself is our peace. The way I find peace is not to get rid of trouble, not to make millions.
The way I find peace is to have Jesus in my heart. That's how you get ready for the time of trouble. You get ready now.
Isaiah 26 three. You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. I couldn't save my cows.
Everyone. The district lost horses and stock, the wild deer and brumbies and everything around us. They're just annihilated.
And I had no hope. But I had Jesus. And I want to tell you, even if I lost my cows, I'm going to keep trusting him.
Just keep trusting him. I love Philippians four, six, seven. Be anxious in nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication.
With thanksgiving. Let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
The key word in that whole verse is thanksgiving. If you're in the habit of of whinging. I used to pastor in the United States, in California.
And the Americans thought it was really funny. When you said whingeing. They said, what's whingeing? I said, you call it whining.
Whining in Australia has a different meaning. You know, whinges. There's lots to complain about.
If you're a complainer and a whinger, you will probably not be a person in peace. Peaceful people find opportunity for Thanksgiving and praise. Wow, that's very un australian.
He's worried about stuff. He says, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, being thankful, being grateful that you have what you have is one of the great secrets to having personal peace. And it's going to be even more so.
They arrest the disciples. And Paul just gets up. He's been stoned with rocks to kill him.
And he gets up praising God that he was counted worthy to suffer for Christ. Wow. That's an attitude.
That's an attitude. Psalm 119 165. Great peace.
Have those who love your law and nothing causes them to stumble. It's so marvellous that when you follow God's law, when you're obedient, how much happier you are. It's not a legalistic thing.
It's a sensible thing. You want a good life, obey the Ten Commandments. And you're just going to have a happier life.
Finish with a story. Greatest running race in the history of running happened between two runners, Roger Bannister and John Landy. Roger Bannister.
I always get these two mixed up. He's the british person. Pommy.
No one had run a mile in under four minutes. And all of a sudden Roger Bannister does what they believed impossible. He runs a mile in under four minutes.
And while they thought it would never happen, within two weeks, an australian runner, John Landy, does exactly the same thing, exactly the same time. They both broke the four minute barrier within weeks of each other. Never thought it could be done.
They were to meet in a running race at the Empire games. We call them the Commonwealth Games now. They were called the Empire Games and they were held in Vancouver in Canada.
And everyone had a massive expectation on what was going to happen during the race, because these two guys were identical. The thing about them is the Aussie runner was very different to the british runner in style. The British, Roger Bannister.
He would run, pacing himself slowly at first, and as he got to the end, he would be going flat out. The Aussie was a typical Aussie. Oi, oi, oi.
He went flat out from the beginning, and by the end, he was going the slowest of the whole race that he had. But he just got across the line. That's how he ran.
And no one could catch up to him. He was exhausted and so were they. So when they ran the race, everyone was saying, well, who's gonna win? Because of the different approach.
And it went exactly as they believed it would. The Aussie, John Landy, flat out. He got way out in front half a lap, and the others are just pacing themselves.
And the british runner, Roger Bannister, he's just pacing himself. Pacing himself. And they come to the final lap and he makes his move and he's moving.
And as the Aussie runner, John Landy, as he's running around down the back corner, down the back straight, the crowd is starting to go spastic screaming. Are you allowed to say spastic anymore? I do. There's a special rule in Batlow.
You're allowed to say it. Okay, they're going spastic. Cheering and the Australian out front, he knows what's happening.
He knows the british runner is making his move. They come around the back corner and now the crowd are standing and throwing things and screaming. And as they're coming back onto the back straight, a cameraman clicked an image.
The Aussie couldn't resist it. He turns his head to look to see where the other guy is. And you can't run fast with your head facing backwards.
And you know what happened, don't you? The British Rana passed him in that split second right there on the screen. The stadium is gone. And of course, that's how the race ended.
We got second, the stadium's gone. But they created a monument of that second in the race. The Aussie guy's got his head turned, looking to see what the other guys did doing.
And Roger Bannister, he's got his head towards the finish line. Folks, as dark as the future looks, you keep your eyes in one place. Not on the church, not on this, not on that, on Jesus.
On Jesus. Let me pray with you, Father. We worry, Lord.
I worry about the silliest little things. The creator of the universe is on my team. There's nothing you can't do yet.
I worry about stupid stuff. Father, forgive me. Help me to trust you more.
Help me to know that you have the end from the beginning. And even though I do foolish things, you'll step in and overrule them at the end of the day, Father, as our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, if there are people here today like me that are worried about stuff that they shouldn't be, and they just want to give that to you now, lord, and say, lord, can you please take care of that? I'm going to invite them to raise up a hand. And as they're lifting up a hand, they're saying, Lord, take my troubles, my burdens and my cares and give me perfect peace, that you're going to get it sorted out.
Lord, we trust you now. We ask you to do these things not because we're good or righteous, but because you are good and righteous and altogether lovely. We pray in Jesus name.
Amen.
This message was made available by the Bunbury Seventh-day Adventist Church. For more resources like this, visit their YouTube page,Bunbury SDA. This programme has been brought to you by 3ABN Australia radio.
