Our friends, I'll pray. Let us in prayer. Our
Father, help us and guide us as we look at your
word this morning. This is a one -off sermon,
a special one for Sue and me, as it might be
the last time that I preach here. Who knows?
But you know everything. In Jesus' name, amen.
Our friends, I'm going to talk about... Life
in the last days. But in saying that, who knows
when Jesus is going to return to judge us all
in response to him. But he will return one day.
He might not know when, but he will return. Only
his father knows when the time is obviously right
for that to occur. Matthew 24, 36. Yes, it might
be a little strange to have a sermon like this
one today, straight after Christmas, when we
celebrated his first coming. After all, I'm speaking
about how to live before his second and final
coming. Eschatology is the big word. But I think
we need to hear what God says about it all, as
we are in the last days as such. After all, it
is 2025 years, soon to be 2026 years, since his
first coming. Life in the last days does not
sound very appealing, according to God in today's
only Bible reading, the lengthy 2 Timothy, the
end of chapter 2, all of chapter 3 and part of
chapter 4 that Johanna read to us. Yes, life
doesn't sound very appealing. It might not be
a nice message to go out on, but it's reality.
I'd like to paint it with gloss and make it sound
nice, but the reality is a little different and
no doubt the reality is difficult. We are told
in the verses of 2 Timothy chapter 3 these things.
But mark this, there will be, and I don't like
this word, terrible times, difficult times, perilous
times, depending on your translation, in the
last days. Yes, we are in the last days. Acts
2 .17 and Hebrews 1 .2 tell us that. But it's
another question to ask ourselves as to whether
we might be in the last of the last days. Verse
2, people will be lovers of themselves, lovers
of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient
to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without
love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self -control.
I feel like stopping there, but God doesn't.
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 such
people. Okay, it is nice stuff, isn't it? Not.
I recently went to an accountant here in Cairns
when I did my tax return and he said to me that
he is over it all. I said, what do you mean?
He said something like, people are always crying
poor to me but over the last year 17, yes 17
fingernail centres and Botox places have opened
up in Cairns. 17. And he said, he can't work
it out. We have so much, but we say, we cry poor.
Yes, I wonder what kind of people we are becoming.
I must admit that I didn't know what to say to
him when he said that. I probably now do. And
there's two Timothy chapters 2, 3 and 4 stuff.
Now I've carefully drawn something using my Microsoft
Texture app to show when we are told these last
days occur. Do you like this? Is this really
impressive, Brendan? That's really impressive,
okay. The bit I have highlighted is in yellow.
is the last days. It's generally from the cross
until Jesus returns. Everyone was expecting a
Messiah, but not the type he ended up being.
Before he came, many thought that the last days
would be quite short, as the Messiah would stop
the rot immediately. But after he lived for more
than 30 years and then died on a cross, and rose
from the dead three days later, and then a further
2 ,000 odd years, the last days have gone on
and on and on. And people have become very, very,
very complacent. The world is winning, so to
speak. And so in these last days, not only are
we told here in this chapter what to do, I'm
sure we all would want to know that, but we're
also told that it will be terrible, difficult
or perilous, depending on your translation. And
as expressed by my accountant friend, that he
is over it all. He's starting to see it. We are,
obviously, in the last days. People will sadly
be like this and even more so. So how does one
live in such difficult times? After all, it is
terrible. It is no wonder that some of our elderly
who have died in the faith of Christ kept saying
to me things like, beam me up, Scotty. Get me
out of here. There are at least four things that
we need to do in the last terrible days. And
this applies to us as families with children,
young children too. The first thing is this.
We must resolve to follow the best mentors. We
must resolve to follow the best mentors. I get
that from verses 10 and 11 in chapter 3. Those
two verses say this. You, however, know all about
my teaching, my way of life. My purpose, faith,
patience, love, endurance, persecution, sufferings,
what kind of things happened to me in Antioch,
Iconium and Lystra. The persecutions I endured,
yet the Lord rescued me from them all. I'm glad
the Apostle Paul said that last sentence as it
was sounding a little narcissistic to me. Me,
me, me, me. Paul is saying to Timothy and to
the church he's leading, You know me. And man,
was he a good mentor. Yes, there is a place for
good mentors. For me, Glenn Davies and a guy
who you probably don't know, Brian Kelly, have
been standouts. The first thing that Paul says
to Timothy as he leads that church in Ephesus,
modern day Turkey, Concerns teaching. Unfortunately,
the church's teaching has generally been shocking.
Hence the need for organisations like Gavcon.
But it isn't just teaching that matters, it's
the example of life too. And here Paul says to
Timothy, you know me. You know what I've been
through for the gospel. You know how I have suffered
for the gospel. Verses 11 and then 12. And then
Brian, a good mentor of mine, suffered big time.
So did his wife, Julie. And not only was he an
alcoholic in his past life, but had to kick out
his son from their own home. As his son got into
drugs big time and started pinching things from
his mum, Brian's wife Julie. And then, it seems
to me, pawning them for drug money. And all of
this was happening as Brian pastored a very large
church. Yes, he was a good mentor of mine. I
still miss Brian. He died from liver cancer and
is now with our Lord big time. He has been beamed
up. And then there's Glenn Davies. Well, besides
the fact that he is still a wonderful teacher,
he has endured much as he is regularly ostracised,
sadly in God's church, sadly. in God's church,
for his faithful views. And by the world, for,
as they say, not progressing with them. No wonder
he advises Gavcon on matters. And no wonder he's
known for speaking the truth in love. That is,
having a velvet glove. I personally can sniff
out the truth. I'm okay with the glove bit. But
I need to keep working on the velvet bit. On
how to express God's truth to others. Yes, these
are two men who have been good mentors of mine.
Not only do their lives reflect the gospel, but
they've been tested over and over and over again
and have been found. Not in the least of the
field of religion. I'm sorry. And being found
faithful and being found protected by God. In
a world of many pop idols, not least in the field
of religion, we must be intentional about choosing
faithful mentors. Or by default, we will probably
choose poor ones. Brendan. Choose a good mentor.
And please keep being humble. Changing the subject
slightly, but then again I don't think I am.
Yes, choose a good mentor, but don't go AWOL
when your pastor retires. A good mentor will
tell you to remain. And especially remain when
your new pastor, Brendan, is trying to be faithful.
For example, I once a month have a Zoom meeting.
Well, I had a Zoom meeting with my pastoral supervisor.
Something, a good thing, that the Diocese of
Southern Cross requires. My pastoral supervisor
said to me in our last Zoom meeting this month
something that surprised me, greatly surprised
me. He said that, quote, when a founding pastor
leaves, in my case retires, 30 % of people usually
stop coming to that church. 30 %? Now, I know
that in how we were established three years ago,
it isn't quite a church plant, but it is also.
Can I say, don't do that. Don't be one of the
30%. Don't drop off. Keep following Jesus through
your local church. For many of us here, it is
NRJ, Northern High Banglican. Don't drop off
because Sue and I aren't around. Don't. Yes,
keep following Jesus through your local church.
It will be different. But Jesus is the same.
Hebrews 13 .8. And he shall return. Matthew 24
.30. Yes, don't drop off. And a good mentor will
help you in that. The second thing that this
chapter tells us is this. We must be realistic
about the world. We must be realistic about the
world. Yes, we must be realistic about the world.
We find that also in chapter 3 and this time
verses 12 and 13. Verses 12 and 13 say, in fact,
everyone who wants to live a godly life, I'm
guessing that's you want to live a godly life,
in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. While evil
doers and impostors will go from bad to worse,
deceiving and being deceived. We should, in a
word, expect opposition. If we do expect it,
we shall not be surprised by it. In every generation,
evil people spiral downwards into hopeless corruptions.
We should therefore not be surprised by this
general downward spiral and opposition to the
gospel. Apart from the intervention of the grace
of God, this is what sin does to people. I therefore
regularly say, there but the grace of God go
I. Ephesians 1, 7 to 8. Yes, we need to be realistic
about the world. Just as the prince of this world
might have been ultimately defeated on the cross,
and he was, but he is still the prince of this
world. and wants to take people captive and therefore
do what he wants. 2 Timothy 2 .26, we heard about
it. That is, take people down with him. Satan
himself is the major influence on the opinions,
goals and views of the majority of people. His
influence, 1 John 5 .19, encompasses... the world's
philosophies, education and commerce. When people
live as if there is no God, they by default follow
the God of this world, Satan. And they therefore
please him. The unholy thoughts, the destructive
ideas, the wild speculations and false religions
of the world have sprung from his lies and deceptions.
The kingdom led obviously by the king, by Jesus,
is not, not of this world. Now, I don't want
to blame it all on Satan. But this world is still
under his control. When someone comes to Jesus,
one is no longer under Satan's control. No longer
of this world, but now of the kingdom to come.
And it will. It will one day come. But in the
meantime, it's not going to be that great. Those
around us who won't acknowledge Jesus will probably
go from worse to worse to worse to worse. Or
they'll simply accept it all. Hence they are
deceived. Hence why followers of the real King
Jesus suffer. for righteousness or are persecuted
for righteousness. And the father of lies is
the one behind such deception. John 8, 44. The
third thing that this chapter tells us is this.
We must rely on the Bible. Friends, this is what
it all comes back to. This. We must rely on the
Bible, no matter how grim, how terrible, how
difficult, how perilous things become. We must
continue in it. It's very sad that parts of the
church no longer hold to it. Some parts of God's
church no longer read it anymore, let alone are
faithful to it. Not only should the scriptures
shape the Christian's mind into the right view,
Romans 12 .2, a view alien to the secularist
and endlessly selfish person, and not only do
the scriptures make us wise for salvation through
faith in Christ Jesus, verse 15, but precisely
because they are God -breathed, verse 16, the
Bible, the scriptures, are useful. They provide
what is needed and we must rely on them no matter
how the world might be indifferent towards God's
people. They might mock you for it. They might
oppose you because of it. They might even persecute
you for it. Hence only the Bible, the scriptures
can be used for teaching, rebuking, correcting.
and training in righteousness nothing else no
matter what it is can be referred to as the bible
the scriptures are god breathed i get quite concerned
when i go to an evangelical conference and the
bible itself is sidelined rather the fad for
the day is highlighted yes i get concerned We
must, must rely on the Bible. We must not bring
to it what we want it to say. We must let God
speak to us. We must therefore be humble and
accept it by living it out. James 1 .21 So they
are the three things that we must do in the last
days. We must resolve to follow the best mentors.
We must be realistic about the world and we must
rely on the Bible. The fourth thing is this.
We must proclaim the Bible. There is a difference
in this point and the last point we looked at.
We must keep proclaiming what is true even if
it's not palatable because the world thinks differently
now. Even last week when reading Waiting for
the Christ, I think it was reading from day 22.
A book that many of us are doing. We'll perhaps
finish now. Yes, the book said, quote, Christians
can count on things getting worse before Jesus
returns. These challenges should not discourage
us and cause us to doubt. Instead, they should
remind us that Christ is coming soon. It's strange
to think about challenges as encouragements.
but this seems to be an important implication
of Jesus' teaching. Today, when we feel like
the golden era of Christianity, whenever that
was, is behind us and the world has turned against
us, we should not be discouraged. This is not
a sign of failure, but of promise. Jesus said
that the world would hate us on account of him.
I would add John 15, 18 says that. And this hatred,
as it increases, is a sign that his coming is
growing nearer. End of quote. We must rely on
the Bible and we must keep proclaiming it. For
example, Jesus is the only way back to the Father.
John 14, 6. One cannot rely on what the Bible
says and then keep it to oneself. Go tell it
on the mountain. It must be proclaimed. Hence,
there will come opposition. Hence, the last days
aren't crash hot. May we at NHA, Northern Hope
Anglican, Under your new pastor, Brendan, keep
proclaiming the Bible. The Bible is God's words
to us. We must therefore need them. We must therefore
heed them. Yes, Brendan, keep proclaiming the
Bible no matter how the world is going. Even
if we think it is the last of the last days,
I should say... especially if we think it is
the last of the last days. You know, one of my
favourite verses, well, there are two verses
in it, John 6, verses 68 and 69. Do you know
John 6, 68 and 69? Karen, do you know it? Peter,
a follower of Jesus, says this, Lord, to whom
shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
We've come to believe and to know. There is a
subtle difference between believe and know. Yes,
we have come to believe and to know that you
are the Holy One of God. At times when I wonder
about things and where everything is heading,
A retirement for Sue and for me. Well, in the
short term. I come back to these words. Lord,
to whom shall we go? But we, Sue and I, have
come to believe and to know that Jesus is the
Holy One of God. And if he is, and he is, we
must proclaim him to the nations. And that includes
all of us. Yes, keep proclaiming Jesus. Keep
living for him. Goodbye for now. Amen.