But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful proud abusive, disobedience to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God- having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak willed women, who are loaded with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth 2nd Timothy 3:1-7
Every thing written in the Bible are coming to pass and the signs of it will only become clearer as the day of the Lord nears. So many prophecies are fulfilled and many are yet to be and the situation of the present clearly depicts the challenges ahead. It is true that the messages of the end times had been preached since two thousand years ago but the present signs certainly speaks a language of urgency. If we are to compare the present day to a decade ago, we will find that things has really changed to what was then to what is now. Numerous advancement in so many fields are being witnessed and even as we see it in this day it shall be remembered even in the future. To speak of war it existed since ancient times but the nature of the present conflicts are now more intense than before. Now let me get back to the topic of this sermon: The Scripture says ‘ There will be terrible times in the last days’ and indeed terrible news are making the headlines in so many News Papers. Though sins existed even in the days of the old, the sins of the present age are now more evil than before. The destruction of the sinners of Noah and Lot’s time were a tragedy of their time and it will be far worse for the sinners of these last days to be consumed by the fury of God’s wrath.
The emergence of the Al-Qaeda created headlines and the present emergence of the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ) has also bought to the fore of the things which are to come. Naming themselves as the’ religion of violence’, this terror outfit will certainly suffer more in hell if they fail to accept Christ in this life. Trust this, this terror outfit is just an organization and in the days to come we shall see more clearly of the greater violence which will emerge in the future. Since we are in the last days the wickedness of the wicked will certainly increase but the righteousness of God’s people will increase more and more. The wickedness of this world are evidenced in the lives of so many people and it is in the truth that we warn God’s people not to partake in the sins of the world. There are many who are still living in a state of spiritual death and it will be much better to slap them on the face than for them to suffer for eternity in hell.
Truth has to be told and the sinners must heed the Rod and the One who appointed it. It has to be remembered that God’s people must not be stained by any sins of the world, rather they should be clothed with Christ. Not all are saints, not all are holy but it is God’s desire for His children to strive towards perfection in love, in holiness and purity. Remember, the law is also a gift and it is a means to warn everyone of the consequences of sins. Trust this, if there had been no sin, there might have been no law but since sin came into being the law had to be given. This sounds familiar and it is as you think. Notice this: Because of the law there is a sentence for every crime and a punishment for every sin and curses because of wickedness. Now to come to the point of this teaching, we know what we are and to whom we belong and we also know the reason of our existence. It also gives us an understanding of our identity and if our identity is in Christ, our every step must be in league with the truth. This was what a sir of mine said of me years back, he said “ On the outside you look like an angel but on the inside you are so evil’. Truth is we cannot be different on the outside and different on the inside.For even as we represent the truth, we must strive towards perfection in everything. The passion of God’s people must be to hate sin completely and to love God completely. We have to understand that we can never love God in sin , hypocrisy and in deception but only in the truth. We cannot just be speaking so much about holiness on the outside and yet harbor evil thoughts in our hearts, the Word must be truly honored.
Every child must understand what it means to love and to be loved and it will only be to everyone’s gain to love God much. In the Book of Romans, the Apostle Paul states “Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation- but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. (Romans 8:12-14) Everyone knows what their sins are and repentance is the key word in preaching repentance. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God is a divine statement of the Word and it will be disastrous to sin more rather than loving much. It is to our knowledge that while we were sinners we lived as sinners but after we became new creations in Christ, we got accepted as the sons and daughters of God. Thus the Scripture states “ Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. ( Romans 6:12-14 ) Further in the preceding verses of the 7th Chapter, it says “ For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passion aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit to death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law do that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the way of the written code. ( Romans 7:5,6 ) This means that we are not to dwell on the past but we are to fix our eyes on the future even as we live in the light.
True faith is to know the certainty of what we believe and to live by the passion of what we love. The faith we boast of is not a faith of the world but of God and it is necessary for God’s people to understand it. It is never our desire for God’s people to be stained by the stains of the last days sins rather it is our prayer for everyone to remain spotless, blameless and pure till the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The likes of Job are a rare jewel. The degree of this saint’s faith was so high that the accusations lashed against him couldn’t harm him. It is in the truth we acknowledge that we were once sinners but after we became new creations in Christ, the nature of the old man in us was crucified on the cross with Christ. Thus the Word of God states “For you were once darkness but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of light consist in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret”. ( Ephesians 5:8-12 )The nature of these verses reminds us of what we once were and it also brings to light of how we should live. Even as we read this clearly it is important to know what we are. Let me state this: It is to our knowledge that we were cleansed, sanctified by the blood of Christ and it is important for us to honor it as much as we honor God.
Nowhere in the Scripture will you find God ever endorsing sin, rather it condemns sin and prophecy’s of the dangers of hell for the ones who will be in it. The Bible is so strange, even my youngest brother once said it is like a human, it is more than a human, the Bible is what God is. There are so many tings we know so many we don’t and it is only in the truth that we can be established in the powers of the Word. Mark this: The world will not become holier and since its end is near, the evils of it will only increase till they are consumed and destroyed by the power of God’s wrath. The Book of Revelation thus states “ Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy. ( Revelation 22:11 ) This verse is also a verse of the end times and it will be wiser for God’s people to be better equipped to face the wars ahead.
Every church has to understand that it is not just enough to preach the Word , we have to reach out. Neither will it be wise to just point our fingers at others, it will be wiser to help them still. Though it is also true that there are some whom we may have to push to the ground, only to help them up again. I trust you will not misunderstand me. Though I said some harsh words, I said al that I said our of love, from my heart ,for an eternal cause. Let us fix our eyes on the truth even as we prepare ourselves for eternity. Listen to this, in Christ’ own words the Scripture states “ Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. ( Revelation 22:12-17 ) In the truth we urge you to read this prayerfully and we trust and expect the powers of these verses to work in your lives too even as it is at work in us. God has created heaven to be heaven and hell to be hell and in the near future everything will be revealed when the light shines upon us. It is my belief that the sinners will not be able to see Christ and it will be far worse for them to suffer for eternity in hell without seeing Christ. But for us who are of the truth, God’s own power shall be our shield, our guide and protector. Fix your eyes on this: In the end those who are destined for heaven will be in heaven and those destined for hell will be in hell. The sealed ones are sealed.
Ambrose.J.Chakre
