"When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah's day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn't realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes. - Matthew 24: 37-39
A tornado touches down in the mid-west - God is warning America! There was another school shooting - God is warning America! Remember 9-11 - God is warning America! These are the cries from the church anytime anything at all seems to happen in the normal course of daily life in this country. This from a church that only discusses sin from an outward perspective. A church that refuses to look inward at itself and see the role they are playing and the very message God is sending to us.
Here is the today's deep theology. God is not warning America. He already has. He has already warned all of us. It is called the Bible. We simply need to read it more, seek it more and believe it more. Instead however we tend to seek out books like The Harbinger, which dances around numerology to tell us something we should already know - Jesus is coming back and soon. The real reason why the church becomes semi-obsessed with books such as The Harbinger however is that it casts the blame towards the world for all of the ills and judgment that will be coming from God. But preacher - what about that earthquake!
And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don't panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won't follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come. - Matthew 6: 6-8 (NLT)
God has already warned us that there will be an increase in natural disasters and that they will come as birth pains. This means we can expect them to come more frequently and more dramatically. The severe changes in weather patterns should not surprise a Bible believing Christian who has read the warnings in His Word. Nor should it send us scurrying to judge a world that is already facing the judgment of God. It should send us running to the lost to tell them about the love of Jesus Christ and the power of His salvation over their sin. But preacher - what about the shooting at Newtown Elementary?
Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. - Matthew 6: 12 (NLT)
The real problem at Newtown, or Aurora, or Columbine has nothing to do with guns. It has nothing to do with "mental illness." It has to do with good and evil. As abhorrent as Newtown was it should not have come as a surprise to a Bible believing Christian who has read the warnings in His Word. Nor should it send us screaming at the world that they don't allow God in School. As if God was on the street corner wishing He could get in! Stop it! God is in the schools. God is everywhere. There is nowhere man can banish Him from! What we really end up doing with debates such as that, or the recent one over the comments by the Duck Dynasty patriarch, is yelling at a blind man for being unable to see.
Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." - John 8: 12 (NLT)
The world is walking in darkness and the things of God are utter foolishness to them. Yet there we go as the church trying to have a spiritual debate with people who do not have the spirit of God indwelt. But preacher - what about terrorism and 9-11?
I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." - John 16: 33 (NLT)
No one could have imagined the scope of 9-11 but the will behind the atrocity should not have caught us by surprise. Jesus Himself warns us here that we will have many trials and sorrows. I know this flies in the face of modern preaching which is another reason why the purpose driven seeker friendly agenda is weakening the church. This new kumbya Christianity built upon cheap grace and false love does not prepare the would be Christian for what lies ahead. The Bible has warned us that we ourselves will be persecuted for His name! And for the record, A and E suspending Phil Robertson is not persecution.
The modern church is all about the crown of glory but never speaks about the crown of thorns. These trials and tribulations should make us introspective. We need to be looking at ourselves beloved and what we are doing to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The only thing that will have eternal value is those that are found in the Lamb's Book of Life. That is it. When we stand before Christ we will not be discussing our fantastic political involvement. We will not be talking about how we stood up to those awful sinners in the world. Jesus is going to want to know how we loved the lost. It is not the well who need a doctor. Jesus ate with the most despised classes of people in His day. He embraced tax collectors and reached out to touch lepers. Yet we turn to the sinful in this lifetime with an accusatory finger extended and say if only you would turn back to God everything would be OK! Beloved - they cannot turn back to God because they never knew Him to begin with! That is the fundamental problem with the underpinning of the arguments found in books such as the Harbinger. People who never knew God cannot "turn back to Him." Instead they need to hear the Gospel.
he key verses today are more warnings from Jesus Himself. We need to realize today that we are living in the days of Noah and people are simply not ready for the judgment that is coming. Getting into endless social, cultural and political debates with them will not save them. Only the Gospel has the power unto their salvation. God has warned us all.
Rev. Anthony.
