Anticipate The Return of Christ

Please turn your Bibles to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. That can be found on page 989 if you're using the pew

Bible 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 we are

Finishing our series on implications of the Antichrist if you haven't been here for Past messages there is a handout on the sheet out there that will explain the nature of the first message

Which is in discerning the Antichrist you should discern that The Pope is the

Antichrist and if that is the case there are many implications that come from that and we've covered that in two previous sermons and on the sermon today, so while the things that I'll be saying should be true and Plain to you regardless of whether or not you take that position there are some ways that these realities are heightened if You understand that The prophecy of second

Thessalonians 2 has been fulfilled prior to our own lifetimes so I will explain that a little as we go through this, but I Would commend to you the sheet that is out on the table if you were not here for previous messages

Let me go ahead and read. Please stand for the reading of God's Word now concerning the coming of our

Lord Jesus Christ And our being gathered together to him we ask you brothers not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarm either by a spirit or a spoken word or A letter seeming to be from us to the effect that the day of the

Lord has come Let no one deceive you in any way For that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed the son of destruction

Who opposes and exalts himself against every so -called God or object of worship? So that he takes his seat in the temple of God Proclaiming himself to be

God Do you not remember that when I was still with you? I told you these things and you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way and Then the lawless one will be revealed whom the

Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming the coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders and With all wicked deception for those who are perishing because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved

Therefore God sends them a strong delusion so that they may believe what is false in Order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure and unrighteousness

Amen You may be seated Dear Heavenly Father we ask once again that you would open our eyes to see the truth of your word

That you would give us 20 -20 vision that we would not be myopic and only see the things that are now

But that we would see the things that are to come and that we would be eager for the return of Jesus Christ Jesus name we pray

Amen Final implication of understanding the things of 2nd

Thessalonians 2 is that we should Anticipate the return of Christ.

This is something that every Christian should be very eager to see but we

Living in a special era of history should be especially eager To see the return of Christ knowing that is nearer now than it was before Just to recap some of the things that were mentioned in previous messages 2nd

Thessalonians 2 begins by talking of The people not being distracted by the idea that Christ may have already come because he couldn't come at that time

Given that it was necessary that the mystery of lawlessness be revealed that the man of lawlessness would be revealed

He speaks of the man of lawlessness as having been restrained in his own time.

So the man of lawlessness is Spirit that even exists at that time, but yet is restrained

It will not be revealed until a later time Paul says in 1st Timothy 4 that at a later time

These things would take place right after he talked about the mystery of godliness by name and then not by name speaks of the mystery of lawlessness

And so if these are to happen at a later time That means there is one who would do the things described here setting himself up over the temple of God That is the church making himself the head of the church as we saw from Revelation These are things that are supposed to happen in Rome.

And so as the early Christians expected one would Grow in power and rise to call himself head of the church as the one who restrains him

That is the Emperor who would persecute Christians Declined in power as the

Emperor of Rome declined in power one in Rome would rise and set himself up as head of the church This is precisely what we have seen take place

And so that has implications for us the words that Paul gave to the

Thessalonians That they should not be disturbed by the idea that Christ has already come because he could not

Now to us at this later time means that there is less in the way of his coming at this time to read verses

One through three now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and are being gathered together to him we ask you brothers not to be quickly shaken in mind or Alarmed either by a spirit or a spoken word or letters seeming to be from us to the effect that the day of the

Lord has come Let no one deceive you in any way for that day will not come until the rebellion comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed the son of destruction

So what must take place first? Well, the man of lawlessness must be revealed and then and then sometime after that Christ will return

It says in verse 8 and on the lawless one will be revealed Whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming

So in the first message see that the lawless one has been revealed Second message so we've gone through this first the breath of his mouth

Has killed him the Reformation had an excellent power in Reducing his influence though still he has a great influence throughout the world but the gospel now goes forward in a greater clarity than it had previously and What comes last in this is killed with the breath of Christ's mouth?

But then he is brought to nothing by the appearance of his coming This is what has not yet taken place the appearance of his coming

This is what we are supposed to be longing for and waiting for and it's something that is coming soon first John Speaks of this

First John 2 verse 18 says children. It is the last hour

How do we know that is the last hour? Okay So John at his time is saying it's the last hour you see this at different times in Scripture Sometimes it talks about the last hour as being the the the final era at the biggest level

You know the whole New Testament era being the final era Sometimes last times is something that's coming in the future that is even later

Than what the Apostles were experiencing so they use the term last time later times in varying senses throughout

Scripture But how does he know that he's in the last hour? As you have heard that Antichrist is coming so now many

Antichrists have come Therefore we know that it is the last hour

He knows that it's the last hour because many Antichrists have come Various people who are trying to take power in God's Church But are actually resisting the church and later end up leaving the church and rebelling and apostatizing

As he describes here these various small a Antichrist are here So he knows that he's in the last hour in a broad sense

What does that mean for the one who has experienced the Antichrist that he speaks of it is the last hour?

And as you have heard that Antichrist is coming Therefore we know that it is the last hour.

How much more do we? After the appearance of that Antichrist know that we are in the last hour

We are in the last hour of the last hour as it were Matthew Matthew tells us of the parable of the weeds

What is the what is the character that we should expect to see of the world as things are going on just to give?

you a Summary of how different Christians see this if you are pre -millennial that is you believe there's going to be a golden age after Christ return

If you are pre -millennial you believe that you tend to believe that this is coming very soon Right very very very soon.

Maybe even maybe even imminently Imminent meaning there's nothing in the way If you are post -millennial, which means that you believe that there's going to be a golden age after which

Christ returns you see this as very very far away. I've heard some popular post -millennial teachers

Describe the coming of Christ as being one that is probably like we are still likely in the early church

There is there are thousands of years maybe tens of thousands of years left and then for the

Amillennial those who believe that we are that the golden age that Revelation 20 describes the reign of Christ is not really a distinct golden age

It is just the whole of the New Testament era the whole of the inner advent period that is what is taught here it's not something that's in our confession, but it is biblical position

Tends to be a lot of silence on the matter. Now the character of that age if you are pre -millennial tends to be

That things will get worse and worse and worse as time goes on if you are

Post -millennial it tends to be that things get better and better and better as time goes on if you are amillennial

It tends to be that things Remain roughly the same or rather they become more intense.

Let me demonstrate this from Matthew 13 Verse 24

He put another parable before them saying the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field

But while his men were sleeping his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away

So when the plants came up and bore grain Then the weeds also Appeared and the servants of the master of the house came and said to him master

Did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds and he said to them an enemy has done this

So the servant said to him, how do you want us to go and gather them? But he said

Then do you want us to go and gather them? But he said no less gathering the weeds You root up the wheat along with them

So let both grow together until the harvest and at harvest time I will tell the reapers gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be buried to be burned

But gather the wheat into my barn the way that many people read this is that this is describing the church that there will be weeds growing up in the church and It's just going to be this case for all of time that the church has

Unbelievers within it and that this will not be corrected until the end. I believe all that's true But is that what this parable is saying?

He explains later on in verse 36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house and his disciples came to him saying

Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field He answered the one who sows the good seed is a son of man the field is the world and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom the weeds are the sons of the evil one and The enemy who sowed them is the devil the harvest is the end of the age and the reapers are angels

Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire so it will be at the end of the age the son of man will send his angels and they will gather out of his

Out of his kingdom all causes of sin and lawbreakers and throw them into the fiery furnace in that place

There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the Sun in the kingdom of their father He owes ears.

Let him hear so in verse 37, he said the one who sows the good seed is the son of man, but in verse 38 says the field is the world and The good seed is the sons of the kingdom the weeds are the sons of the evil one

The field is not talking about the church With weeds and tears within it the field in this parable is talking about the world

So what this is describing is that until the end you will see both The church grow and you will see the world grow

You are to see not things getting better and better and better not things getting worse and worse and worse

But for both the good getting better and the bad getting worse You are supposed to see both of those you will see an increasing intensity

The church ever since the time of Christ has grown is grown in Maturity is grown in the size as grown in its glory

And yet the world likewise has also grown and it's grown in many ways including in some areas of wickedness

You are to expect to see an increasing intensity so understanding that character is an important lens through which you would understand what

Someone would mean when they say that we are close to the end you are not necessarily supposed to be measuring this by things getting worse or by things getting better, but By an understanding that the church will grow and the world will fight against the church

Continually as they both grow so there is a

We are very close To the end there is a an awaiting that we should be doing for the return of Christ Now there is a limit to what

I can tell you about What we should be waiting for in seeing there are limits to my own understanding.

This is a very difficult topic I have a lot of the details come from the book of Revelation Which I would still like to study in greater measure

I have been preparing myself for a much deeper study of it at some point I've studied first and second

Thessalonians deeply in preparation Daniel Ezekiel Isaiah Haggai half of Zechariah when

I'm done with the other half of Zechariah, that's my That's my final step there are there are things that I would like to understand

I do not know You know many of the Puritans believe things like that.

There would be a final influx of the Jews that there would be a mass conversion of The Jewish people before the final end

I have not figured out a lot of these things however there are some things that I do know that we should be looking for and I would like to present to you those signs and What they tell us is that while we are close while we have hit some of the milestones that some people are still waiting for Like the man of lawlessness being revealed.

There are some milestones that have not yet happened and so The return of Christ is not imminent in that it cannot

Be something that would happen just today But it is something that would happen that will happen soon

I'd like you to understand these things that we should be looking for God tells us to look for these signs a lot of people think that because he says we do not know the day or the

Hour that means that we shouldn't make general statements, or we shouldn't have any sort of speculation about these things

He tells us to look for the signs even Paul tells them Statements about Christ cannot come yet So the idea that we don't know the day or the hour does not mean that we can't make any positive

Statements about the return of Christ or that we cannot make any Reasonable readings of the signs that have been given us specifically for reading

The fact that no man knows the day or the hour is not a command to keep our eyes shut, but we should still be looking

So What should we be looking for first thing that we should be looking for is? The is the advancement of the gospel in greater measure

Matthew 24 14 says in This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed through the whole world as a testimony to all nations

And then the end will come There is much more Advancement of the gospel that needs to take place.

I do not know what the Granularity with which the gospel reaching everybody has to be accomplished before this passage would take place

But I think that it is evident in our own time that this has not been fulfilled that this is close to being fulfilled but not

Not imminently to be filled just a couple of statistics for you One from the

Joshua project. Maybe you've heard of that but that tries to collect data This is an organization that's been around for a long time that tries to maintain data on Unreached people groups people who have not heard the gospel

It estimates if you don't divide by country if you divide by country you end up getting a larger number

But if you just divide people groups by language and culture There are about 10 ,000 people groups 3 ,000 of those there are less than 0 .1

% of people following Christ Less than 1 % less than 0 .1

% of people following Christ. So that's less than one out of a thousand So 30 % of people groups

Have less than one out of a thousand following Christ The gospel needs to advance more.

There's another organization called Operation world That estimates that 25 % of people over 25 % of people have never heard the gospel

This is not the gospel having gone out into the whole world yet. But this is something that must take place

The other thing that must take place which in some ways is the opposite of this in some ways it is the

Well, it is the end of the advancement of the gospel in some ways is What we see in revelation

Chapter 20 Revelation 20 if you go ahead and turn there I'll walk through this passage for you

It describes what we should see what we are seeing during this time But then also what we should expect to see near the very end

Revelation 20 verse 1 says then I saw an angel coming down from heaven holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit in a great chain and he sees a dragon the ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan and Bound him for a thousand years

This thousand years. This is the millennium that people talk about when you hear people talk about pre millennialism or Amillennialism or post millennialism.

This is the thousand years. It's not something that is spoken of much in Scripture In fact, this is the passage that speaks to the millennium.

So it is an interesting thing that the views hinge on but this is it so if you're pre millennial you think that this is something that it's upcoming and Christ comes in ushers in that rain if you are

Postmillennial you think that that rain gets ushered in and then Christ comes at the end of it Or if you are a millennial you believe that this is just describing

Christ reigning from the time that he ascended Now, why would you?

Believe that it's just from the time he ascended or from the time of his earthly ministry Well, he said as he sent the disciples out as the gospel was beginning to be proclaimed that he saw

Satan fall from heaven like lightning Christ himself is telling us what has taken place

He's alluding to Isaiah 14 Where the king of Babylon is described as Lucifer the one who would be the the morning star in the sky being cast down and This is what this very thing is referring to that That Satan has been cast down It says and he threw him into the pit and shut it and sealed it over him so that he might not deceive the nations

Any longer until the thousand years were ended after that. He must be released for a little while So this is the main substance of what those thousand years are is that Satan is no longer able to deceive the nations

Now that is precisely what you're seeing today. Is that Many nations are coming to Jesus Christ ever since Pentecost Many nations are coming to Jesus Christ Satan does not have the same power to deceive them as he had before During the

Old Testament so that only very few from the nations came to the true religion

Now is going out throughout all the world Then in verse 4 then

I saw thrones and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed and I saw the souls of those who have been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and For the

Word of God and those who had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands

They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended

This is the first resurrection Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection over such the second death has no power

But they will be priests of God and of Christ and they will reign with him for a thousand years so what this is describing is

Basically the life that believers have upon their death it describes those that have died but they come to life

There is a life that is to be enjoyed in that fourth of a fourfold state of man Man having been created in a state of innocence, but then having fallen

Being in a state of guilt and then after that having been regenerated being in a state of grace

But then in a state of glory Those who have died Have life, okay, so there is death leads to the first resurrection, but then for others their resurrection leads to the second death

But those who have trusted in Christ do not have the second death They do not have to experience the eternal torment that will happen after that resurrection

Then in verse 7 it says and when the thousand years are ended Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth

Gog and Magog to gather them for battle their number is like the sand of the sea

So this is what was spoken of earlier in verse 3 after that He must be released for a little while at the end of the thousand years.

There is Much of his power returned to him and a great warring against God's people

Then in verse 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the

Saints in the beloved city but fire came down from heaven and consumed them and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and Sulphur where the beasts and the false prophet were and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever

This is the final end Satan completely defeated tormented day and night forever and ever the final end

So what we see is the error that we are in where the gospel is going out to the nations The nations are no longer deceived by Satan because he is bound but there is a short while of him being loosed

So what are the two main things? That I'm presenting to you that are signs the gospel going forward

Because Satan is bound and then the end of that because Satan is loosed

What does that mean? That means an increase of persecution against the church think a global persecution think

Nation oriented so the actual power of all the rulers opposed to the church there would likewise be a

Relative cessation of conversions. I'm not saying that there would be a complete cessation of conversions

But if what it means that he is bound is that the gospel is going out to the nations what you are to expect

When he is no longer bound But he is loosed for a little while as there would cease to be so many conversions

Now Just to give a little extra reasoning why God might have it that way

He has it in his plan that most people who are saved are saved during their earlier years

The reason so they can be sanctified so they can suffer with Christ Identifying with him suffering with him in order that they might be glorified with him

There are a few people who are saved in their final Who are saved in their final years now that's a wonderful grace when that happens, but it is relatively rare because God's purpose in having a redeemed people is for them to Carry their cross to be identified with Christ We must suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him as it says in Romans 8 and there are few people that he has condensed all that suffering that they should encounter

Right at the end of their life. There are some people like the criminal on the cross who Identifies with his

Savior in that last moment, but this is a relatively rare thing and so what would it mean if there were no period of time where there were a

Cessation a relative cessation of conversions it means that there would be a massive number of people who didn't have to undergo any kind of Any kind of real suffering any kind of real sanctification so I believe this may be

Christ's purpose in in ordering things in this way so that Satan would be released for Released for a little time now stepping back and just making some

Statements about what this means that we should be anticipating in terms of time frame as I said as Christ himself said no man

Knows the day of the hour, but he also tells us to look for signs And I think it is right for us to make some healthy some reasonable and modest restrained

Speculation about what this entails and so I'd like to just take a step back and describe to you the history of the world as it exists the

Bible gives us the Lifetimes of various people throughout it so we know what the time period is that the

Bible covers there are roughly 2 ,000 years between Adam and Abraham and There are roughly 2 ,000 years between Abraham and Christ and there have been 2 ,000 years between Christ and where we now are

Okay, so if you just break it up very very roughly 2 ,000 between Adam and Abraham 2 ,000 between Abraham and Christ and 2 ,000 between Christ and us the revelation of the man of lawlessness

Happening in the early 1500s there has been 500 years since then these things should just get your wheels turning in terms of a shape of History you know there was someone who

I don't know When he wrote the book it might have been in the early 80s But wrote a books called 88 reasons why

Christ will return in 1988 all right I'm not suggesting that we come up with a specific date, but if you were to speculate that perhaps his intentions were that the

Reformation would be the halfway mark so that we would experience the flourishing of the gospel for at least a great period of time

That would mean that we have a thousand years left I think there's a lot of reasons that you should think that it would not be so long one if What is

Christ is doing is he if he is ensuring that the gospel goes to all people first?

Then what you have seen in the acceleration of that suggests that that is something that will be accomplished much sooner

Than a thousand years from now Additionally If you

Speculate on these things based on what God would have his people experience Consider that he had so many years 2 ,000 years before Abraham that he had so many years 2 ,000 years between Abraham and Christ to experience other stages of Less clarity is it not the case that his purposes seem to be in collective experience rather than in raw time

In other words there are more people now on the globe than there have been before in fact

There are likely more Christians alive Than there have been before Now does that make sense?

Have you have you ever thought about that? There are likely because of the expansive population more

Christians alive now more followers of Christ alive now than have ever Existed right if you take all those who are dead and you compare them to the ones alive now it's possible that this number is greater and so if you are thinking about what

God's purposes might be in terms of the his the time that he would have people to experience certain things if These things were to be measured in collective experience rather than in just raw time

You should see things as accelerating because there is a greater collective experience that is taking place as there are more followers of Christ I believe the end is coming not imminently

Likely not in my lifetime But could it happen in our children's lifetime?

Could it not happen a generation after that these are things that are soon and we should be looking at the signs

Remember he commands us to look at the signs He does not command us to shut our eyes a lot of people think that's the holy response

Where we wouldn't think about these things at all, but he commands us to be watchful And I would have you to be watchful

I would have you to have a sense of urgency about the work that we are about not being ignorant to the times that we

Live in there's a responsibility that you have given this information given this

This Urgency and Christ soon not imminent, but soon returning

There are two things is to be diligent and to be watchful now when I say diligent I'm not saying vigilant a lot of times people say be vigilant and be watchful.

Those are the same things Those are synonyms. I'm saying be diligent and be watchful cover each of those in turn, but consider how the people in 2nd

Thessalonians are being instructed And 2nd Thessalonians verse 15 says so then brothers

Stand firm and hold to the traditions that were taught by us either by our spoken word or by our letter

Alright, so what are they supposed to do as they wait for the end to come as they there are several signs that have yet To be fulfilled for them that they have not seen

They are supposed to stand firm and hold to the traditions that were taught by us Either by spoken word or by a letter.

Alright, so follow the scripture follow the Word of God. What does that mean? Chapter 3 verse 6 he explains now

We command you brothers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness

And not in accord with the tradition that you receive from us Okay, so to walk according to the tradition is to not be idle.

What is the opposite of being idle? It's being diligent. They are supposed to be diligent He goes on and he says in verse 11 for we hear that some among you walk in idleness not busy at work

But busy bodies now no one knows for certain what exactly was happening in first That's learn in the in the people of Thessalonica, but it is likely

That because they were undergoing such persecutions as are described in these two epistles and because they had been

Lied to that Christ had already come or that the end is incredibly near that rather than seeing it important to build up the church and to To walk in the holiness before the

Lord They were acting as though it's pretty much already here There's really not a purpose and doing a lot of things if you've ever encountered

How people respond to doomsday cults that do predict a certain day of the

Lord What do they do they end up selling their house and moving to the mountains, etc.

Right and they basically just and Gauge an idleness because they think they know when the Lord is returning.

This is real thing that real people have done They just sell their house, they're not trying to pass off things to their children

They don't care about their children, you know Proverbs 13 22 Good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children that command suddenly doesn't apply to them because they're not going to have children's children or if They do they're not gonna last for very long right, but what he commands is because we don't know the day or the hour and because We see these things coming and they are urgent, but we don't know how many generations away we should

Not be idle we should be diligent and a watchful so to cover those each Diligence, what does diligence means mean?

Now there's a certain kind of holiness that we should be living before the Lord at all times like second

Thessalonians is describing But you are to be diligent even in your pursuit of the end

The Lord's return is not something that you have no hand in The Lord's return is something that is accomplished through means he tells us in 2nd

Peter 3 that He is Not slow as men count slowness

But is patient towards us not willing that any should perish the reason why Christ tarries is because many of the elect have not been brought in What is needed is for the elect to be brought in We are to be eagerly

Evangelizing knowing that this will bring in the end Now there are various ways that you can participate in evangelism.

Of course, you should be bold With those who are around you you can give to the efforts of missionaries you can

Give even to this church as we support missionaries and as we support the work of evangelism around us

You should not engage in the work of evangelism thinking that this is something that is Just a work that you're supposed to do because God has commanded it and there's no purpose behind it

He has not only commanded it he has told you his purpose behind it and that it is ushering in the very end as More and more of the elect come in.

Do you have a role to play in all that? You especially as parents as fathers and mothers have a role in your children's lives to share the gospel with them to Daily as you walk by the way, etc teach them the words of God that they might believe that they might be ushered in and That they might not only be ushered in but be the kind of More equipped forces to do this work in greater measure.

In other words, you not only have the opportunity to Bring a sheep into the fold

You have an opportunity to bring one into the fold who would be bringing others into the fold in a greater measure than others are able to because They have been taught such thing from early days of their youth

You have the opportunity to Impact the kingdom in a greater way than just sharing the gospel with one individual

Because you can so shape someone from their early days and you can encourage brothers and sisters in evangelism, too

That they would be eager to do that work believe there are a lot of ways that we should be thinking about The strategically about how the gospel expands as people think about missions

They think about where the gospel needs to be heard. They think about how they can best impact the gospel, you know that one of the ways that we've been especially blessed to be able to think about this and to be able to strategically impact the expansion of the gospel throughout the kingdom is

In thinking about what that means for the advancement of the free proclamation of the gospel

If you were here at our last Dorian con, you know, some of the things that were being spoken of in the messages the way that the gospel is

Inhibited from advancing that we have a special opportunity even as we host that conference

And we have that upcoming again in September to To Help the gospel to be advanced at a greater rate than it would be.

Otherwise I'd like to share some stories and statistics with you that are things that you would find on the bulletin there's a

QR code on the back for a video that Andrew case produced Describing some of these things if you want to watch that afterward that might help you understand some of this better But let me tell you about the various ways that the

Bible is not going forward as Rapidly as it should as the the gospel is not going forward as as much as it should 81 % of the world has a complete

Bible, but only 54 % of the world has a Bible that they can legally share

So what that means is in a lot of places if you translate the Bible When you translate it you are

Translating it not from the original languages. That's a second check that happens afterward You're usually translating it from the main language of which that language is an offshoot

So if you're in Mexico working on a translation for some little people you're translating it from Spanish Usually using native speakers of that sub language that also know

Spanish and are translating it into that sub language And then you do some checks afterward So much of the world has a

Bible but much of the world does not have a Bible that they have the free permission to go ahead and Translate into any of the sub languages.

For example, Russia. There is no Russian translation that has that is without restriction where you would not have to ask the publisher for Permission in order to be able to translate it into one of the dialects or one of the languages that that is derivative

Russian if you watch that video Several other things will be said there's someone from the is a translator in the

Dominican Republic. He says that his for the experience of the average person in the

Dominican Republic to purchase a Hebrew grammar or To pay for seminary online

Even at a relatively cheap one is half a monthly salary now you could get you know subsidized

You could get a scholarship, but still a quarter of a monthly salary still that's unbearable for most people and these a lot of what's being given in seminary is not

The one -on -one instruction a lot of it is just the static material that's already been developed in that video there's also a language professor in Brazil who returned his a

Textbook that he had bought to teach the students with he's not a student. He's a teacher He had bought a textbook to teach his students and ended up returning it in order to pay for his kids tuition at school

Now, you know thoughts aside about how kids should be raised and taught That he had to decide do

I send my kids to school or Do I have this book that I need to teach this language class and he ended up having to return it there have

There's also described in that video situation in Africa where there is a written Bible the the translation is complete but the people is an oral people and they can't read and so the publishers are asked for permission to that to record

The Bible in the language and they're the people who want to record it in the language are just denied

This is stuff that happens all the time. If you if you have any, you know, there's software engineers here

Some of you have experience writing Apps and then asking for permission to use the content that you would need in the app

This is what happens is, you know For example, you make software you ask for permission to put the

Bible in the software and the publisher tells you no Or they might even not respond and that's that's the norm.

This is not this is not Unusual that's the norm

Daniel block if you know that name, I've read a few of his commentaries. He's a good commentator He wrote a commentary on Deuteronomy That was being used in Chinese classrooms and China shut down the use of hardcopy religious textbooks in schools

And so the missions organization that this author works for asked if they could share the

PDF With the students and the answer they got from Zondervan was just no No explanation just no you can't share it

Because people have in mind all these other objectives about raising money Etc and charging for these things that are not focused primarily on the advancement of the gospel

What makes things worse is a lot of times These various translations of the Bible or resources are funded in a large part by donors

Who are doing it eagerly for the advancement of the gospel But then it's given to an institution who decides to steward that by locking things down because that they think that's what's going to be best a couple of other things 77 % of adults do not have credit cards like globally 77 % of adults do not have credit cards

So even if you were to only charge a penny for something online means that 77 % of people can't receive that teaching and in many countries

Especially a lot of Latin America country Latin American countries a lot of third world countries digital resources are never given because They know what's going to happen is that the copy protection is going to be stripped from those things

So that they can be easily shared. And so a lot of times publishers will never give digital resources to Two third world countries all this to say

This needs to end if the gospel is to advance that needs to end and we as a church have a special way of Sharing that message of ensuring that the gospel has a greater multiplier added to it not just You know, a lot of churches are blessed to be able to send missionaries to particular parts of the world

We are blessed in a way to be advancing a multiplier on the Word of God.

I Of the work that you do here of your Service in volunteering at the conference whether it be making food or whatever it is to think about In all the ways you serve

God to be thinking about the big picture of what is being accomplished as the Word of God goes forward there are

Significant things that are afoot as the Word of God goes forward

Now beyond evangelism, there's even just building up the church in itself Ephesians 4 talks about the church growing to full maturity before Christ returns

This is not just describing more people being added to it. This is also describing the individual people growing in maturity

You have the opportunity to encourage one another Older women are instructed in Titus 2 to train younger women and how to love their families

There are all kinds of ways that you can be building up the church around you or even building up yourself within that church

Even in the zeal with which you worship the Lord Contribute whether it be financially whether it be with time whether it be with zeal earnestly earnestly to the

Lord and Then pray pray for the return of Christ. This is another way that you can be diligent

Many people do not think that their prayers can hasten Christ's return They've bought into the line known as that's often labeled hyper

Calvinism No one would call themselves a hyper Calvinist, but this is a good label for that doctrine so a

Calvinist is someone who believes that all things are ordained by God a Hyper -Calvinist is someone who believes the end is ordained by God and Loses focus of the means that he would use

So if you believe that, okay. Well God already knows all things. He knows when the end is coming.

He's ordained the end I don't need to evangelize because it's gonna take place. Anyway, every last person is gonna be saved.

God's already decided it So I don't have to do anything That is missing the fact that he uses means and those means line up with the end

No one thinks that about other things in their life an illustration I use often is no one says well

God has ordained whether or not I would be fed this evening. So I don't need to go Lift the spoon to my mouth to eat dinner they know that Feeding themselves is the means that God uses for them to be fed

Likewise prayer is one of the means that God has ordained when we pray in the Lord's Prayer your kingdom come we are praying for Christ kingdom of glory to hasten and then we have the instruction given to the widow or excuse me the instruction given to the disciples that uses the parable of the widow in Luke chapter 17

He speaks of the the kingdom that is coming and he says how people will not be vigilant

They will not be diligent. They will not be thinking about it. They'll be thinking about other things But he tells them a parable that they would always pray and not lose heart.

I'll read it. He says in a certain city There was a judge who neither feared

God nor respected man And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying give me justice against my adversary

For while he refused for a while he refused but afterward he said to himself Though I neither fear

God nor respect man yet because this widow keeps bothering me I will give her justice So that she will not beat me down by her continual coming and the

Lord said hear what the unrighteous judge says and will God not Give justice to his elect who cry to him day and night.

Will he delay long over them? I tell you he will give justice to them speedily Nevertheless when the

Son of Man comes will he find faith on earth? Now this parable is totally applicable to anything that you might pray persistently for But the specific reason that it's given here in Luke is about the coming of Jesus Christ That's what makes it so appropriate because this unjust judge who does not hear out the woman

Who is just ignoring her is Functionally equivalent to our experience with God though.

He does hear us we pray for generation after generation after generation for Christ to return and he's telling us to not lose heart in that because he is

Though he might appear to be an unjust judge not hearing his people He is actually just judge who is hearing us and if the unjust judge answers that prayer eventually

How much more will he do this speedily it's not as we count speed

But it is as he counts it knowing what speedily means. We are to be praying earnestly for the return of Christ knowing that our prayers actually do accomplish it our prayers actually do

Bring that about God answers things quicker. He brings about these signs quicker through our prayers

They are not nothing we are commanded for a reason and the reason in part is because they actually

Accomplish it because they are the means he uses to Give us these answers and then at the very end of the

Bible. What do you see the Spirit and the bride say come? Who's the bride the bride is the church who is the spirit spirit is the third person the

Trinity living within each of us He is within each of us and we are to call out that Jesus return if You are not calling that out regularly eagerly like the

Widow is calling out to the unjust judge Can you be said to be part of the bride if you are not calling that out eagerly regularly, can you to be said?

To have the spirit Who is calling this out? These are things to take seriously to be calling out to God Eagerly for the return of Christ the spirit and the bride say come

Now in addition to this we should not only be diligent in going about the Christian life and particularly thinking about how we may hasten

Christ's return But likewise we should be watchful Now part of that watchfulness is simply over our own lives

He is coming we do not want to be caught not ready many people think that they can delay that they can wait until the last minute and then just deal with Christ in there was a

Pretty notable example of this recently Scott Adams the creator of Dilbert, you know the comic strip

He recently died and he said in his final days His wife recorded a final letter that he said and he was he had to record a few videos of this beforehand, too

That he did not believe in God but the value proposition was so great that it seemed like a good thing to convert and So he decided that on his deathbed he would convert and this is what he did

He on his deathbed. He said I Don't know if I I don't believe in these things

But if I should wake up in heaven, that would be evidence enough for me. So before everyone

I Believe in the or I commit myself to the Lord Jesus Christ and become a

Christian something like that, right? So he he says he does not believe and then says he is a

Christian and he thinks that that is conversion That's what a lot of people think that they can do. A lot of people have been lied to by Churches who teach easy believism who teach that all you have to do is walk an aisle and the magic happens

That is not what Christ said. Yes All you need to do is trust in him, but trusting in him is not treating him like he can be manipulated

Trusting in him involves a diligent Preparation the one who really trusts in him obeys his words like the the virgins who have their lamps trimmed and ready

You must be ready for that final day. Watch over yourself if you Are not right with the

Lord do not say that you will get right with the Lord later get right with him now You do not know when your life is coming to an end

Even if the return of Christ itself is not imminent It is soon and even if this return of Christ is not imminent your death may be

Get right with the Lord soon or now and if you are already right with the

Lord Be watching eagerly over yourself that you would not fall into temptation

We are instructed to make our calling and election sure That does not mean fretting as though it belongs to us as though it's not

God's work within us That would be sanctifying us Saving us that it would not be

Christ intercession. Who is Who is Him praying for us keeping us in his power

But we are to always be watching to ensure that we are not slipping away

It is all of Christ's work, but we are not supposed to be idle in the matter

Now likewise, you should not only watch over your own life, but you should be watching for these signs the

Bible instructs us to be watching for the signs I Should have done this earlier, but I ordered some books on eschatology

This past week that will arrive if you are looking to learn more about this

If you have been hearing these messages this past month and want to know more about what God has planned

I believe these are resources that have helped me. These are resources that can help you

Lord willing they'll arrive soon and you can read some of those but Do not neglect these parts of Scripture.

Do not say that these things are just too hard Spend some time trying to study them trying to understand what they're saying asking

Women asking your husband's at home husbands asking me Etc.

Try to Try to understand these things Be watchful and it should be something that fills you with joy as you are watchful

If you are not myopically thinking about what you have to do right now not being anxious for tomorrow, but thinking about tomorrow joyfully because of What God is doing that can radically change your view and perspective on life

I think that most people Struggle because they it was struggle with the Christian life because they are so myopically focused on what is right in front of them

There's a story. I don't know where it comes from. It's very It's very old illustration

Maybe you've heard it before about three stonecutters who are being asked what they are doing They're all working on the same project.

The first one is asked and he says I'm doing backbreaking labor It is very hard The second one is asked and he says

I am working to put food on my family's table The third one says I am building a great

Cathedral Okay, if that is your mindset how much more how is that going to change the the not only the joy

But the eagerness with which you are living out the Christian life if you recognize that you have a part in building up the temple of God Until it's finally complete in Christ returns

How much more eagerly? Another similar illustration. I don't know if this is a true story, but the the story goes that Kennedy taking a tour of NASA NASA once asked a janitor what he was working on as he was carrying a broom somewhere

What he was doing in the janitor responded He said I'm helping put a man on the moon.

Mr. President That's You know, it might be a small part that you have in the kingdom

But it's still to a great great end And if you have that in mind you can do it so much more joyfully than if you are not anticipating the return of Christ This is the command for us and the command for us that has a greater weight on us than it even did to the

Recipients of Paul's letter because we live further along to them now it is tautological to say that the return of Christ is closer now than it was before but it is not to say that we have hit a significant milestone 500 years ago with the revelation of the man of lawlessness and There is a special weight on us to be looking and waiting and eager for the return of Christ And that should give you a great joy as you go about the things of God Maranatha come

Lord Jesus the Spirit and the bride say come. Amen dear

Heavenly Father We thank you for the return of Christ We thank you that you have given us the privilege of living in this era where his return is nearer now than it was before We pray that you would fill us with the joy that such a situation warrants that we would not squander the opportunities we have to labor for the sake of Christ's kingdom

Advancing it in evangelism Advancing it in just our own Holiness as we go about the

Christian life Advancing it even as we pray we ask that you would make us diligent and watchful in all these things in Jesus name.