"But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. 6 For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith. 9 But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes’s and Jambres’s folly was also."
Good Morning my beloved,
Difficult times, appear to be growing in frequency, severity and in intensity as the
age moves toward a cataclysmic conclusion, as prophesied throughout the
Word of God. What is often most overlooked, is that we are now living in the last
days. In the Letter to the Hebrew Christians, the writer begins by identifying the time in
which we live. Hebrews 1:1-3 says "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world."
And, as difficult as these last days are prophesied to be, perhaps the most
distressing aspect of these difficult days is the knowledge that the
difficulty arises from within the congregations. It is distressing that
this wickedness will be associated with the assemblies of the Lord.
God exposed what was happening when He said in Jeremiah 23:16-17 "Thus says the Lord of hosts,
"Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the Lord. "They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said, “You will have peace"; And as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, They say, ‘Calamity will not come upon you."
"Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the Lord. "They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said, “You will have peace"; And as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, They say, ‘Calamity will not come upon you."
Let us bow our heads.
Heavenly Father,
Father, as always, we thank You for this much needed Word. We confess there are times, when it's hard to keep going against the grain, times when it would be easier just to compromise on truth to avoid the hostility and confrontations. Lord, grant us the patience and compassion to take Your truth to a starving people, in this dangerous time. Thank You for the great honor and privilege of carrying this powerful wisdom that leads the lost to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Help us to be faithful to You, to discharge our responsibility, to do it with authority, in humility and rejoicing with joy.
In Jesus' name
Amen
Today's Message: Dangerous Days
Many Christians today, hear the word apostasy, and they don’t even really know what you’re talking about. There’s such little teaching in the church today on the subject of apostasy. You can be certain that even more difficult days are coming. When the Apostle
wrote, "But realize this," he was stressing that which was definite.
Timothy, and therefore, all Christians, need to learn that tough times are
indeed coming.
However, it is the responsibility of the pastor to warn the congregation of what is
coming; and those who hear are responsible to echo that warning. The Apostle Paul
does not merely sound out a vague warning, he is very specific about
what the future holds for the faith. In order to have a thorough grasp on the reality of Paul’s prophecy concerning these last days
Open with me your Bibles to the Second Book of Timothy chapter three. Today, we will be looking at verses one through nine. Apostasy is not something that prophetically the stage is being
set for; apostasy when rightly understood is a prophetic sign that is
happening right now. I would like to encourage you to follow along with me as I read to set the text in our minds. II Timothy 3:1-9.
"But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith. But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes’s and Jambres’s folly was also."
Paul, in an earlier missive, wrote, "But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron " Paul is clearly warning that the last days are
to be marked by demonic assault of the Faith and infiltration of the faith by evil people. In this latter letter, the Apostle Paul will focus on
the individuals who are controlled by the demonic powers. The insinuation of evil into the worship of the One True Living God is not some new
phenomenon, this vulgar intrusion by those who act wickedly, has continued as
long as man has worshiped the Lord God.
To emphasize this point, allow me to share the statement made by John in his first letter, I John 2:18 "Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour." These Last Days are the indefinite time between Jesus’ first and His second
coming, while we cannot say how long these
last days will continue; but we may be confident that the last days are
now. Beloved, we are indeed living in the Last Days.
I believe that the next significant event on God’s timetable, is the rapture of God’s people from
this fallen world, an event that precedes the Great Tribulation when God
pours out judgement on the earth for a period of seven years. Because
we are in the last days, it is vital that we recognize what life will be
during the last days. There is nothing else that needs to happen before the rapture, Christ may appear at any time. Therefore, like the Apostle's, we are to live in anticipation of His arrival.
I don’t mean that we need to look for some
activities that are otherwise unknown; rather, I want the people of God
to understand their place among the churches during these last days and
that they are instructed how to live in light of what is taking place. Before we begin initiate an exposition of the verses in our text today, I need to stress one further
matter. When Paul writes, "But realize this," he uses the present, active
imperative of the verb usually translated "to know." In other words,
the preacher is responsible for keeping this message in the forefront of his
teaching, to bring it to the attention to the people of God. I believe that knowing both the times in which we live and
how we are to respond to these challenges is crucial
part of our Christian growth.
In verses 1-5, Paul provides us with a stunning catalogue of the dismal characteristics marking the nature of mankind in the last days. With mankind in his view, Paul's list, encompasses all of mankind. "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power."
One could easily argue that many of these characteristics mark all of us, at least to a lesser degree; and I believe that would be true! However, what I find especially
daunting, is that Paul provides this catalog as
indicative of what would be witnessed among the churches identified as
belonging to the Lord! Our society as a whole will be identified in
even greater measure by the harrowing characteristics listed and
simultaneously, the church will reflect the society, in which they are living.
The Apostle Paul teaches us that the exaltation of the self will reach its apex in
the last days. This is certainly characteristic of our society today! The "selfie," has replaced the family photo. Sticking our heads in the sand and ignoring this horrifying reality is not a helpful
way to solve problems or to face these Last Days. So as pessimistic as it may
be, we need to know the problems that we are up against so that they
will not hit us broadside to discourage and disorient us.
I would like to draw your attention, to the particular negatives named in this apostolic
catalogue of sinful behaviors and attitudes. The first behavior identified,
is that people will be lovers of self. Self-love will mark mankind
in the last days. This is not merely an issue of taking care of
oneself, as one may be inclined to think upon first hearing this term. It is selfishness to the extreme. To be a self-lover implies
excessive love of oneself; in today's vernacular, it is to be narcissistic, self-centered. In the classical Greek, the concept of a self-lover would
have been abhorrent because it meant that the self-lover was unwilling
to sacrifice for the good of others. Scripture is clear, our problem is that we love ourselves, and if we love ourselves all too well, then we love money because we see it as the means to a more comfortable lifestyle. Because they exalt self, they refuse to seek forgiveness when they are wrong or to grant
forgiveness when they have been wronged. They hold a grudge and seek
ways to inflict revenge upon those who have wronged them.
As we read through this long extensive list of evil characteristics marking mankind, you probably
think of the godless enemies of the faith, that would never darken the door of the House of God. However, when you come to verse 5, where Paul says that "holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power." You quickly begin to realize, that Paul is speaking about those within the church. Here, Paul is describing professing Christians. Some are church leaders, some teach Bible studies. He's not speaking about passive members of the church, who sit in the pews, he is talking about those who are active in the ministry! However, being nothing more than an a religious empty shell, they lack the heart, and the reality of a genuine walk with God. As a footnote, all of the major cults in church history began with those who had the form of godliness without its power.
It is so easy to fall into this trap of outwardly professing Christ, yet inwardly living another way. Especially towards those that really know us! The reason that
unbelievers so often complain about all the hypocrites in the church, is because
there are a lot of hypocrites in the church! Beloved, we must take great care to ensure that we are not one of them. The issue is, the worse a man is, the less he is aware of it. If you have the inward reality of a vital relationship with Jesus
Christ, you will be judging your life each day by the light of Scripture.
In verses 6-7, Paul writes "For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." These purveyors of false religion often prey on people with great emotional or
spiritual needs, such as guilt, not by offering the gospel. As with Satan, in the original temptation, they prey on susceptible
women, who may be more vulnerable than men would be. "Led by various impulses" implies that these false teachers were seducing these women while
their husbands were away. It may refer to women who are led more by
their emotions than by godly reason and self-control.
"Come to the knowledge of the truth," refers to a saving knowledge of Christ, the false teachers appealed to the pride of these woman. Typically, these teachers of satanic doctrine, gain their following by making sensational claims.
The Apostle Paul tells us in verse 8, that "Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith." Paul makes his point by referring to Jannes and Jambres, the Egyptian
magicians who opposed Moses. These men are not mentioned by specifically name in the
Bible, but rather in early Jewish writings and tradition. They imitated
the miracles that Moses and Aaron performed before Pharaoh, obviously, not by the
power of God, but rather by sleight of hand or demonic power.
Paul
says that the false teachers "oppose the truth" and are "men of
depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith." Often the cults will
offer results that are promised to believers in the Bible, but they
offer them without bringing people to the cross and to faith in Christ. For example, the Mormons, for, offer harmonious family relationships, but
they do not proclaim Jesus as Lord and preach submission to Him.
In verse 9 he writes "But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes’s and Jambres’s folly was also." Paul is not saying that these evil men will cease to plague the church, but rather that God will only allow them to go so far. They may acquire some victims,
but Jesus Christ promised to build His church, in Matthew 16:18, "and the gates of Hades
will not overpower it."
In Closing...
The only antidote against the wickedness of the enemy, is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of the truth of God's Word. Therefore, we must ensure that we feed on His Word daily, allow it to confront our sinful thoughts, speak, attitudes and behaviors. Being filled with the Holy Spirit, confessing our sins before God, seeking His forgiveness, taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
Modern contemporary governments may seek to advance their new "If it feels right, do it," moral code. However, it never seems to occur to these political leaders that the ideals on which our nations are founded and which we take for granted, freedom of speech, religious liberty, freedom of association, all which grew out of the shared faith of Christians.
Yes, we are living in challenging times; times in which the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ is needed more today than ever.
May it be so...
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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