WEBVTT

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Our friends, I'll pray. Let us in prayer. Our

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Father, help us and guide us as we look at your

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word this morning. This is a one -off sermon,

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a special one for Sue and me, as it might be

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the last time that I preach here. Who knows?

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But you know everything. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Our friends, I'm going to talk about... Life

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in the last days. But in saying that, who knows

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when Jesus is going to return to judge us all

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in response to him. But he will return one day.

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He might not know when, but he will return. Only

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his father knows when the time is obviously right

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for that to occur. Matthew 24, 36. Yes, it might

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be a little strange to have a sermon like this

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one today, straight after Christmas, when we

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celebrated his first coming. After all, I'm speaking

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about how to live before his second and final

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coming. Eschatology is the big word. But I think

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we need to hear what God says about it all, as

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we are in the last days as such. After all, it

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is 2025 years, soon to be 2026 years, since his

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first coming. Life in the last days does not

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sound very appealing, according to God in today's

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only Bible reading, the lengthy 2 Timothy, the

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end of chapter 2, all of chapter 3 and part of

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chapter 4 that Johanna read to us. Yes, life

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doesn't sound very appealing. It might not be

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a nice message to go out on, but it's reality.

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I'd like to paint it with gloss and make it sound

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nice, but the reality is a little different and

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no doubt the reality is difficult. We are told

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in the verses of 2 Timothy chapter 3 these things.

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But mark this, there will be, and I don't like

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this word, terrible times, difficult times, perilous

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times, depending on your translation, in the

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last days. Yes, we are in the last days. Acts

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2 .17 and Hebrews 1 .2 tell us that. But it's

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another question to ask ourselves as to whether

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we might be in the last of the last days. Verse

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2, people will be lovers of themselves, lovers

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of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient

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to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without

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love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self -control.

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I feel like stopping there, but God doesn't.

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Brutal, not lovers of the good. Treacherous,

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rash, conceited. Lovers of pleasure rather than

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lovers of God. Having a form of godliness but

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denying its power. Have nothing to do with such

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people. Okay, it is nice stuff, isn't it? Not.

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I recently went to an accountant here in Cairns

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when I did my tax return and he said to me that

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he is over it all. I said, what do you mean?

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He said something like, people are always crying

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poor to me but over the last year 17, yes 17

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fingernail centres and Botox places have opened

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up in Cairns. 17. And he said, he can't work

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it out. We have so much, but we say, we cry poor.

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Yes, I wonder what kind of people we are becoming.

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I must admit that I didn't know what to say to

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him when he said that. I probably now do. And

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there's two Timothy chapters 2, 3 and 4 stuff.

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Now I've carefully drawn something using my Microsoft

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Texture app to show when we are told these last

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days occur. Do you like this? Is this really

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impressive, Brendan? That's really impressive,

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okay. The bit I have highlighted is in yellow.

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is the last days. It's generally from the cross

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until Jesus returns. Everyone was expecting a

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Messiah, but not the type he ended up being.

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Before he came, many thought that the last days

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would be quite short, as the Messiah would stop

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the rot immediately. But after he lived for more

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than 30 years and then died on a cross, and rose

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from the dead three days later, and then a further

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2 ,000 odd years, the last days have gone on

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and on and on. And people have become very, very,

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very complacent. The world is winning, so to

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speak. And so in these last days, not only are

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we told here in this chapter what to do, I'm

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sure we all would want to know that, but we're

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also told that it will be terrible, difficult

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or perilous, depending on your translation. And

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as expressed by my accountant friend, that he

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is over it all. He's starting to see it. We are,

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obviously, in the last days. People will sadly

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be like this and even more so. So how does one

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live in such difficult times? After all, it is

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terrible. It is no wonder that some of our elderly

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who have died in the faith of Christ kept saying

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to me things like, beam me up, Scotty. Get me

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out of here. There are at least four things that

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we need to do in the last terrible days. And

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this applies to us as families with children,

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young children too. The first thing is this.

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We must resolve to follow the best mentors. We

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must resolve to follow the best mentors. I get

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that from verses 10 and 11 in chapter 3. Those

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two verses say this. You, however, know all about

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my teaching, my way of life. My purpose, faith,

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patience, love, endurance, persecution, sufferings,

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what kind of things happened to me in Antioch,

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Iconium and Lystra. The persecutions I endured,

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yet the Lord rescued me from them all. I'm glad

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the Apostle Paul said that last sentence as it

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was sounding a little narcissistic to me. Me,

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me, me, me. Paul is saying to Timothy and to

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the church he's leading, You know me. And man,

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was he a good mentor. Yes, there is a place for

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good mentors. For me, Glenn Davies and a guy

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who you probably don't know, Brian Kelly, have

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been standouts. The first thing that Paul says

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to Timothy as he leads that church in Ephesus,

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modern day Turkey, Concerns teaching. Unfortunately,

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the church's teaching has generally been shocking.

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Hence the need for organisations like Gavcon.

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But it isn't just teaching that matters, it's

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the example of life too. And here Paul says to

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Timothy, you know me. You know what I've been

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through for the gospel. You know how I have suffered

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for the gospel. Verses 11 and then 12. And then

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Brian, a good mentor of mine, suffered big time.

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So did his wife, Julie. And not only was he an

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alcoholic in his past life, but had to kick out

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his son from their own home. As his son got into

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drugs big time and started pinching things from

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his mum, Brian's wife Julie. And then, it seems

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to me, pawning them for drug money. And all of

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this was happening as Brian pastored a very large

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church. Yes, he was a good mentor of mine. I

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still miss Brian. He died from liver cancer and

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is now with our Lord big time. He has been beamed

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up. And then there's Glenn Davies. Well, besides

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the fact that he is still a wonderful teacher,

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he has endured much as he is regularly ostracised,

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sadly in God's church, sadly. in God's church,

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for his faithful views. And by the world, for,

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as they say, not progressing with them. No wonder

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he advises Gavcon on matters. And no wonder he's

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known for speaking the truth in love. That is,

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having a velvet glove. I personally can sniff

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out the truth. I'm okay with the glove bit. But

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I need to keep working on the velvet bit. On

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how to express God's truth to others. Yes, these

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are two men who have been good mentors of mine.

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Not only do their lives reflect the gospel, but

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they've been tested over and over and over again

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and have been found. Not in the least of the

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field of religion. I'm sorry. And being found

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faithful and being found protected by God. In

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a world of many pop idols, not least in the field

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of religion, we must be intentional about choosing

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faithful mentors. Or by default, we will probably

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choose poor ones. Brendan. Choose a good mentor.

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And please keep being humble. Changing the subject

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slightly, but then again I don't think I am.

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Yes, choose a good mentor, but don't go AWOL

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when your pastor retires. A good mentor will

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tell you to remain. And especially remain when

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your new pastor, Brendan, is trying to be faithful.

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For example, I once a month have a Zoom meeting.

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Well, I had a Zoom meeting with my pastoral supervisor.

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Something, a good thing, that the Diocese of

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Southern Cross requires. My pastoral supervisor

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said to me in our last Zoom meeting this month

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something that surprised me, greatly surprised

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me. He said that, quote, when a founding pastor

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leaves, in my case retires, 30 % of people usually

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stop coming to that church. 30 %? Now, I know

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that in how we were established three years ago,

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it isn't quite a church plant, but it is also.

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Can I say, don't do that. Don't be one of the

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30%. Don't drop off. Keep following Jesus through

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your local church. For many of us here, it is

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NRJ, Northern High Banglican. Don't drop off

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because Sue and I aren't around. Don't. Yes,

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keep following Jesus through your local church.

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It will be different. But Jesus is the same.

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Hebrews 13 .8. And he shall return. Matthew 24

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.30. Yes, don't drop off. And a good mentor will

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help you in that. The second thing that this

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chapter tells us is this. We must be realistic

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about the world. We must be realistic about the

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world. Yes, we must be realistic about the world.

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We find that also in chapter 3 and this time

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verses 12 and 13. Verses 12 and 13 say, in fact,

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everyone who wants to live a godly life, I'm

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guessing that's you want to live a godly life,

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in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. While evil

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doers and impostors will go from bad to worse,

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deceiving and being deceived. We should, in a

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word, expect opposition. If we do expect it,

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we shall not be surprised by it. In every generation,

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evil people spiral downwards into hopeless corruptions.

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We should therefore not be surprised by this

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general downward spiral and opposition to the

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gospel. Apart from the intervention of the grace

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of God, this is what sin does to people. I therefore

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regularly say, there but the grace of God go

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I. Ephesians 1, 7 to 8. Yes, we need to be realistic

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about the world. Just as the prince of this world

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might have been ultimately defeated on the cross,

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and he was, but he is still the prince of this

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world. and wants to take people captive and therefore

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do what he wants. 2 Timothy 2 .26, we heard about

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it. That is, take people down with him. Satan

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himself is the major influence on the opinions,

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goals and views of the majority of people. His

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influence, 1 John 5 .19, encompasses... the world's

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philosophies, education and commerce. When people

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live as if there is no God, they by default follow

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the God of this world, Satan. And they therefore

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please him. The unholy thoughts, the destructive

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ideas, the wild speculations and false religions

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of the world have sprung from his lies and deceptions.

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The kingdom led obviously by the king, by Jesus,

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is not, not of this world. Now, I don't want

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to blame it all on Satan. But this world is still

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under his control. When someone comes to Jesus,

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one is no longer under Satan's control. No longer

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of this world, but now of the kingdom to come.

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And it will. It will one day come. But in the

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meantime, it's not going to be that great. Those

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around us who won't acknowledge Jesus will probably

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go from worse to worse to worse to worse. Or

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they'll simply accept it all. Hence they are

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deceived. Hence why followers of the real King

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Jesus suffer. for righteousness or are persecuted

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for righteousness. And the father of lies is

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the one behind such deception. John 8, 44. The

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third thing that this chapter tells us is this.

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We must rely on the Bible. Friends, this is what

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it all comes back to. This. We must rely on the

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Bible, no matter how grim, how terrible, how

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difficult, how perilous things become. We must

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continue in it. It's very sad that parts of the

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church no longer hold to it. Some parts of God's

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church no longer read it anymore, let alone are

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faithful to it. Not only should the scriptures

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shape the Christian's mind into the right view,

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Romans 12 .2, a view alien to the secularist

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and endlessly selfish person, and not only do

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the scriptures make us wise for salvation through

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faith in Christ Jesus, verse 15, but precisely

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because they are God -breathed, verse 16, the

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Bible, the scriptures, are useful. They provide

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what is needed and we must rely on them no matter

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how the world might be indifferent towards God's

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people. They might mock you for it. They might

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oppose you because of it. They might even persecute

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you for it. Hence only the Bible, the scriptures

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can be used for teaching, rebuking, correcting.

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and training in righteousness nothing else no

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matter what it is can be referred to as the bible

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the scriptures are god breathed i get quite concerned

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when i go to an evangelical conference and the

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bible itself is sidelined rather the fad for

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the day is highlighted yes i get concerned We

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must, must rely on the Bible. We must not bring

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to it what we want it to say. We must let God

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speak to us. We must therefore be humble and

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accept it by living it out. James 1 .21 So they

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are the three things that we must do in the last

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days. We must resolve to follow the best mentors.

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We must be realistic about the world and we must

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rely on the Bible. The fourth thing is this.

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We must proclaim the Bible. There is a difference

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in this point and the last point we looked at.

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We must keep proclaiming what is true even if

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it's not palatable because the world thinks differently

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now. Even last week when reading Waiting for

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the Christ, I think it was reading from day 22.

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A book that many of us are doing. We'll perhaps

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finish now. Yes, the book said, quote, Christians

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can count on things getting worse before Jesus

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returns. These challenges should not discourage

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us and cause us to doubt. Instead, they should

00:21:42.509 --> 00:21:47.210
remind us that Christ is coming soon. It's strange

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to think about challenges as encouragements.

00:21:51.420 --> 00:21:53.579
but this seems to be an important implication

00:21:53.579 --> 00:21:58.779
of Jesus' teaching. Today, when we feel like

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the golden era of Christianity, whenever that

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was, is behind us and the world has turned against

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us, we should not be discouraged. This is not

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a sign of failure, but of promise. Jesus said

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that the world would hate us on account of him.

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I would add John 15, 18 says that. And this hatred,

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as it increases, is a sign that his coming is

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growing nearer. End of quote. We must rely on

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the Bible and we must keep proclaiming it. For

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example, Jesus is the only way back to the Father.

00:22:50.250 --> 00:22:53.089
John 14, 6. One cannot rely on what the Bible

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says and then keep it to oneself. Go tell it

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on the mountain. It must be proclaimed. Hence,

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there will come opposition. Hence, the last days

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aren't crash hot. May we at NHA, Northern Hope

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Anglican, Under your new pastor, Brendan, keep

00:23:21.069 --> 00:23:25.589
proclaiming the Bible. The Bible is God's words

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to us. We must therefore need them. We must therefore

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heed them. Yes, Brendan, keep proclaiming the

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Bible no matter how the world is going. Even

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if we think it is the last of the last days,

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I should say... especially if we think it is

00:23:48.619 --> 00:23:53.380
the last of the last days. You know, one of my

00:23:53.380 --> 00:23:55.839
favourite verses, well, there are two verses

00:23:55.839 --> 00:24:01.480
in it, John 6, verses 68 and 69. Do you know

00:24:01.480 --> 00:24:07.299
John 6, 68 and 69? Karen, do you know it? Peter,

00:24:07.380 --> 00:24:12.220
a follower of Jesus, says this, Lord, to whom

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shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

00:24:19.299 --> 00:24:23.980
We've come to believe and to know. There is a

00:24:23.980 --> 00:24:27.980
subtle difference between believe and know. Yes,

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we have come to believe and to know that you

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are the Holy One of God. At times when I wonder

00:24:36.539 --> 00:24:40.000
about things and where everything is heading,

00:24:41.579 --> 00:24:44.279
A retirement for Sue and for me. Well, in the

00:24:44.279 --> 00:24:47.680
short term. I come back to these words. Lord,

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to whom shall we go? But we, Sue and I, have

00:24:52.779 --> 00:24:55.859
come to believe and to know that Jesus is the

00:24:55.859 --> 00:25:03.119
Holy One of God. And if he is, and he is, we

00:25:03.119 --> 00:25:07.400
must proclaim him to the nations. And that includes

00:25:07.400 --> 00:25:13.750
all of us. Yes, keep proclaiming Jesus. Keep

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living for him. Goodbye for now. Amen.