Latest / In the Stillness Podcast / The King Is on His Way.

Transcript

The King Is on His Way. · In the Stillness Podcast

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  What's up everyone, it's friendly.
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  Thanks for joining me for another episode on the pod.
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  Happy Friday. It is beautiful weather here in
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  Dallas. You can definitely feel the
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  Friday vibes and I think everyone is glad that it's the
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  weekend. I personally AM and I hope that
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  y'all are all in an awesome spot right now.
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  We are going to be circling back to Matthew 24.
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  Yesterday was our reminder not to let deception distract us or
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  keep us from being on guard for Jesus's return and fully living
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  out our purpose. Now today that will continue and
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  we will see Jesus explaining what his return will look like
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  with the reassurance that we will not be confused or unsure
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  when it happens. And yes, we are seeing
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  prophecies unfold in this very moment, which naturally can make
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  us wonder how close we really are.
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  But I do believe that there's a tension that we have to live in
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  and address. Jesus is making His way, but we
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  cannot let time passing by just make us sleepy.
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  So let's go right into what Jesus says next.
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  We're going to be in verses 26 through 35.
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  So if anyone tells you there he is out in the wilderness, do not
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  go out or here he is in the inner rooms.
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  Do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from
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  the east is visible even in the West, so will be the coming of
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  the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass
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  there, the vultures will gather. Immediately after the distress
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  of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not
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  give its light. The stars will fall from the
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  sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.
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  Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then
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  all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son
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  of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great
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  glory. And He will send His angels with
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  a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the
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  four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
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  Now learn this lesson from the fig tree.
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  As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you
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  know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these
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  things, you know that it is near right at the door.
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  Truly, I tell you, this generation will certainly not
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  pass away until all these things have happened.
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  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass
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  away. OK, so going into Jesus
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  teaching, he uses several metaphors here that I want to
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  break down for you all. First of all, we see an image of
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  vultures circling a dead body. It says a carcass that is
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  representing spiritual decay in a world that is marked by sin
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  and disobedience and ultimately the rejection of God.
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  So where the decay is obvious, judgement is coming and it is
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  near. Then Jesus goes into the sun,
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  moon, and stars going dark. Now, this isn't just astronomy.
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  It's not just an image. It's actually a Hebrew metaphor.
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  And we see this in several other scripture references like Joel 2
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  and Isaiah. It means that earthly lights are
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  being turned off. So think of earthly lights like
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  the governments and human authority and other systems.
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  All of it starts failing. And what replaces it?
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  A new order is coming in a new glory.
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  Heaven's light. And then Jesus coming on the
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  clouds. I thought this was cool.
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  Clouds represent God's presence with his people.
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  And the trumpet blast. That is a universal PSA.
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  Everyone will hear it, and we see that the response is divided
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  because there will be mourning those who realize that it's too
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  late and that they miss their chance.
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  But there will also be rejoicing for the beloved ones, His elect,
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  who waited and prepared and endured till that day.
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  For them, every ounce of suffering will have been worth
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  it. So that's why Jesus's return.
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  It should produce eager expectation, not fear, anxiety.
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  So don't lose heart. I want that to be an
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  encouragement for y'all who are following Jesus today.
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  Now we see in verse 35 it says that heaven and earth will pass
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  away, but my words will never pass away.
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  And that's kind of like a mic drop because it just ends there.
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  But the reality is that everything fades except for His
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  Word. And it's actually echoing
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  Jesus's prayer in John 1717 when he asks the Father, sanctify
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  them by the truth. Your word is truth.
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  And why does this really matter? Well, strong believers will be
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  tested in these end times. It doesn't matter how strong
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  your faith is. You are going to experience all
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  of the heaviness and the weight of what Jesus is saying.
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  Paul warns us of this. First Corinthians 10/12 through
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  13. If you think you are standing
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  firm, be careful that you don't fall.
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  No temptation is overtaking you except what is common to
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  mankind. And here's the thing that I
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  really want us to sit with for a SEC.
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  Satan does not attack those who already belong to him.
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  The people in this world, non believers who are not on God's
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  team are not threatening his power.
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  He attacks those who are challenging him.
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  So I just want us to ask ourselves, are you threatening
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  the enemy or are you an easy target?
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  Because like I mentioned in last episode, Ephesians 612, we
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  wrestle not against flesh and blood, not against each other,
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  but against the spiritual forces of evil.
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  So this isn't just about temptation.
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  It's about allegiance. Who are we committed to and
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  scripture is so, so clear. There is no middle ground.
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  James 44. There can be divided loyalty
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  because when we cozy up to the world's values and seek approval
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  from man, we place ourselves at odds with God.
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  AKA friendship with the world is not neutral.
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  That's us actually choosing a side and moving forward.
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  As I sat with this passage, the Lord actually brought me to a
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  different angle. So I read those lines about the
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  sun, moon, and stars. And to me, the Lord wasn't just
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  speaking to the world. It spoke to more like the inner
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  condition of our heart and our spiritual health.
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  Because think about it, for light to actually matter and to
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  be significant, the darkness must be acknowledged.
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  Like we must have an awareness of the darkness because light is
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  the absence of darkness. So if we plot, if we apply that
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  inward into our hearts, some believers wonder why they feel
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  distant from God or why their fire feels put out in kind of
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  dim. But ask yourself, have you asked
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  God to reveal the darkness that he has saved you from?
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  Because it's possible that you've become desensitized in
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  certain areas, that you have become desensitized to sin.
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  And this is so dangerous. I don't think people talk about
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  it enough because culture slowly blurs the truth.
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  It clouds our vision. It fades our conviction.
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  And before you know it, you are caught up in darkness all
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  around. I fully believe that complacency
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  is winning over so many Christians today, so many people
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  that go to church and go to Bible study.
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  Y'all complacency is stealing the intimacy with God and it's
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  dulling the spirit of truth. I saw this quote from Francis
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  Chan, who's an author and speaker.
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  He said lukewarm people call radical what Jesus expected of
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  all of his followers. Let me say that one more time.
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  It is so powerful lukewarm people call radical what Jesus
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  expected of all of his followers.
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  So I just want to bring a few questions to you all right now.
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  One, are you living lukewarm in any area of your life?
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  2. Are you being swayed by earthly
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  lights like politics, relationships, pop culture,
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  Hollywood 3 If Jesus returned today, would you be mourning or
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  would you be rejoicing and running into the arms of your
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  Savior unashamed, knowing that you have lived for him and gone
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  all out for him? Because God's Word is clear, it
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  has been fulfilled. It has been sustained.
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  Y'all, Jesus is making his way. Are you preparing by living all
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  in or are you halfway in? So as we consider these things,
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  I'm going to go ahead and close this out in prayer.
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  Dear Jesus, we thank you for truth, Your words that never
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  fade. They are consistent and they are
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  so powerful and meaningful. God, would you bring to light
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  and reveal any darkness in our lives, in our hearts that we've
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  grown comfortable with? Would you wake us up where we
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  have become numb or complacent? Father, help us to live ready,
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  faithful, and undivided. We want to rejoice at your
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  return. We want to just run freely into
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  your arms knowing that we gave you our everything.
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  We love you. We are here to serve You, and we
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  eagerly await your return. Prepare us, Lord, as an
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  undefiled bride ready for their bridegroom.
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  We praise you and we ask this all in your name, Jesus.
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  Amen. OK, well that is all I have for
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  you guys today, and I just hope that you'll have an awesome
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  weekend and that you can continue going to the Lord and
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  prayer, seeking Him out in His Word, and growing in a personal
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  relationship with Him. I'll talk to you all soon.