Teaching Notes

STAND REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU SEE

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,[a]' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. - Matthew 24:3-14

As I was preparing to write for this month, I wondered what would be a good topic. Then I read some one's post on Facebook. They wrote, "Earthquake felt around the world, 2012 here early." Many of you know about the 2012 rumor. It is mostly based on a movie that came out that says the earth will be ending in the year 2012. However, I wanted to remind us that even though we see these events, we should not be worried.
 
Why shouldn't we worry? Well worry is that these things are happening and no one is in control of the outcome. Yet there is someone in control, God. Jesus spoke in the scripture we are using this month to his disciples about his return.
 
Jesus tells them that in that time before his return, there would be famines, wars and rumors of wars. There would be earthquakes but he says even more importantly is that there will be those that will try to deceive you into believing they are the true Christ. Can I tell you we have that today? There are cults and religious movements that have said their leader is in fact "the Christ". Yet Jesus warns his disciples do not be tricked by these lies. He also warns do not let your hearts be "cool" toward the truth of God's word.
 
This is the most dangerous of all the things mentioned. If you or I allow our hearts to grow cold toward God, we will miss the reward of being with God eternally. What then is Jesus' message to his disciples then as well as now? He is first telling his disciples then, of the direct prosecution that would befall them. They lost their lives for the advancement of the Gospel that you and I now enjoy. He is also speaking to us today not to be deceived by individuals or religious groups telling you when the earth will end. Jesus let's us know these things we see all point to a time when God's perfect plan will be culminated, but only he knows. It could be in 12 years, 212 or 2112 years; only God has that date no one  else. More important for you and I to concern ourselves with is, when is our appointed time with God and if we are ready to meet him? Today is some one's appointed time to meet God, yet the entire world may not be aware of it. Daily people die and our concern as believers should be to make sure we tell as many people as we can about Jesus Christ and his gift of salvation.
 
If anyone tells you Christ has returned or that they know the exact time of Christ return, Jesus warns do not be deceived. What are we to do then when we see earthquakes, famines and events that are shattering the lives of people? We need to be Jesus in those times. We are to offer our help, our prayers and the witness that Jesus said these things would come but he promises to return to gather all those that live for him.
 
How can you be a light in this dark time? How can you give hope to those that suffer such events as earthquakes and such? How can you examine your life in comparison to this scripture? Have you allows this truth that Jesus spoke about people growing cold to be on that includes you? If you do not want to drawn into a coldness against God, what do you need to do to change that? These are some of the questions we need to ask ourselves this month and meditate on how we can be ready to stand for God no matter what we see or what we hear.
 
Prayer: Lord, this month we ask you to help us not to be afraid of the things we see. Help us to first make sure we are in a right standing with you. Then help us to be a light in this dark world. Help us to offer you to those suffering from the events of our world; famines and the such. Help us not to be deceived by those telling us you have already returned, or that they know the time and hour of the end. Only God knows that and he simply tells us to be ready at all times so that when you return we are ready to be with you. Help us and others learn to love you with our whole hearts. Amen.