Last Days Believers - Future Hope (notes)

Last Days Believers - Future Hope

Everyone

• Is interested in the future, what will happen in days ahead. As we prepare to enter a new year and a new season on American Politics what is ahead for us?

The Recent

• Events in the stock market and the impact it has had on the world tells us that we live in a global economy.
• Events tell us that we could very quickly see the rise of a charismatic leader who will have all the answers to the world problems.

There Are Various

• Views about the future. Some believe we are now in the thousand year reign of Christ, others believe that the church will go through the seven years of tribulation.

When

This world leader rises to power in Europe he will build a strong economy and a strong military and will make a pact with Israel.

Truths To Look At Today

During the seven year period God will judge the world but will save Israel.

Matthew 24

• Tells us that many false messiahs will come to power and deceive many.
• There will be wars and rumors of wars.
• Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.

Jesus Said

• Famines and earth quakes will increase.
• World wide hatred against Israel.
• Betrayal of faith by many believers.
• The rise of false prophets
• An increase of wickedness resulting in cold love-no appreciation for life.
• A promise to those who stand firm in the faith during this period.

A Great Lesson

• Israel will return back to the land of promise (Israel will become a nation, 1948).
• A world wide proclamation of the Gospel.
• Great deception by charismatic leaders through signs and wonders.
• Supernatural manifestations in nature.
• The universal appearing of Jesus Christ in the clouds with power and great glory.
• The return of the Jews from all parts of the world to Israel.

Jesus

Said that the rebirth of Israel as a nation would be the start of these events and that generation would see the coming of the Lord.

What Paul Said About The Coming Of The Lord:

1. Don’t be ignorant about those who have died.
2. Don’t grieve like those who have no hope.
3. Believe that Jesus died and rose again.
4. Believe that Jesus will bring back to earth all who have died in Him.
5. The living believers will not go ahead of those who have died.
6. The Lord will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of call of God.
7. The dead in Christ will rise first.
8. Then we who are alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

I Thessalonians 4

And so will we be with the Lord forever.

Encourage each other with these words.

How & When Will The Lord Return?

1. Like a thief in the night.
2. When people are saying, “Peace & safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

What Type of people should we be in the light of the imminent return of the Lord?

1. Not part of the darkness for we belong to the light
2. Let us not be asleep but alert & self controlled.
3. Put on faith & love as a breastplate & the hope of salvation as a helmet.

I Thess. 5:1-11

• For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
• He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together.

Conclusion

• The great hope of the church is Jesus Christ, His power, His grace and His coming for us.
• Let us live in the light of this revelation.
• Let us love the Lord and each other and let the world know that they can have the same hope we have!

Last Days Believers - Future Hope

Last Days Believers - Future Hope this message was given on 12-28-08

Last Days Believers - They Obeyed (notes)

Last Days Believers - They Obeyed

Jesus said that there are blessing to obeying the voice of God.

When I live a life of obedience I will be given supernatural guidance in my life.

It’s OK to ask questions when God is about to do something supernatural & miraculous.

Luke 1:26

• God sends Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee to a virgin pledged to be married to Joseph, a descendant of David.

You Are Highly Favored

The favor of God upon our lives is one of the most powerful ingredients to living a life of significance and purpose.

Don’t Be Afraid

You have found favor with God.

Favor removes fear from the believer.

You Will Be With child and give birth to a Son and you are to give Him the name Jesus.

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.

The Lord will give Him the throne of His father David and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever;

His kingdom will never end.

How will this be, since I am a virgin?

• The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
• The Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.

Elizabeth & Zechariah

Are examples of two other people who found favor with God.

When God Speaks

• To you or I, it is in our best interest to listen and to obey.
• These people in today’s text show us the results of this.

As We Obey The

• Commandment of Jesus Christ we can hear His voice and obey what He tells us and live a life under His blessing.

Last Days Believers - They Obeyed

Last Days Believers - They Obeyed this message was given on 12-21-08

Last Days Believers - The Voice of Jesus (notes)

Last Days Believers - The Voice of Jesus

Jesus

• Is our shepherd and we are His sheep.
• Said My sheep know My voice.
• Is always speaking to us, we must be in a posture to hear and to obey.
• Talked about faith as He was mentoring His followers.
• It takes faith to obey the Word (voice) of the Lord.

Abraham

• Is called the friend of God and a man of faith. He obeyed God’s voice.
• Was called by God to leave his country and he obeyed. It took faith to obey.

When God Gives us a command it takes faith to carry it out. Faith always precedes obedience.

Truths To Look At Today

· We must believe in the character of God and in His power when it comes to listening to His voice and obeying His commands.

To Obey God’s Word means I trust what God can do. I have faith in God’s ability to back up His Word to me.

Why Do We Have

· Set backs in our lives?

· Because God speaks to us and we do not listen and we do not obey.

· We must learn to quiet our spirit so we can listen to His voice.

A Great Lesson

• In listening to God’s voice & obedience is found in John 10.

Jesus is many things in John 10.

• The Gate (the only way to God)
• The Good Shepherd
• The Voice of God
• The Savior
• The One who gave His life for us

Principles

1. Jesus is the only way to have a relationship with God
2. Satan is the thief
3. The watchman is the Holy Spirit
4. The sheep are believers
5. Jesus knows everyone of us by name
6. The sheep know His voice
7. We will never follow a stranger
8. If we enter through the gate we have eternal life.
9. If we know Jesus we will have access to God’s presence.
10. Satan steals, kills and destroys.
11. Jesus gives abundant life.
12. Jesus is the Good Shepherd & knows His sheep and we know Him.
13. There are other folds (church groups in the world).
14. They too will listen to His voice.

What We Must Do To Live A Life Of Hearing God’s Voice

· Stay quiet inside.

· Learn to get alone with God to be able to listen.

· Learn to obey whenever He speaks to us.

· Teach others to do the same.

When We Live our lives like this we will have an abundant life.

Last Days Believers - The Voice of Jesus

Last Days Believers - The Voice of Jesus this message was given on 12-14-08

Last Days Believers - The Living Word (notes)

Last Days Believers - The Living Word

Jesus

• Came to give us victory over the kingdom of darkness.
• Is the living Word of God. The Logos, the Word that never dies.

Jesus

• Was with the Father in eternity past. Has always been and will always be.
• John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.
• Is the Word of God. Revelation 19:13
• Is the one by which everything was created according to Colossians 1:16

The Word of God

• Is alive and full of power and sharper than any two edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

All Things

Were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.

Truths To Look At Today

• Jesus is the center of creation.
• By His Word was everything created and everything is held together by the Word of His Power.

In Him

• Was life and the life was the light of men. Light produces life or sustains life. God is the creator of light and His light is what gives life to creation and revelation to men about this.

God Formed

• Man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Gen. 1:7
• Life was given to man to live forever. The light of God is what gives man the ability to live forever.

The Light

• Shines in the darkness; and the darkness can never extinguish it. (New Living Trans.)
• The darkness couldn’t put it out. (Message)
• The darkness has not overcome it. (KJV)
• The light blazed out of the darkness. (Message)

John 1:5

The Kingdom

• Of God always advances into the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of darkness has never been able to stop it and it never will.

Jesus Came to destroy the works (kingdom of darkness) of the Devil.

I John 1:8

Events that are happening right now in the world were all predicted as events that would happen before Jesus Christ would return for His people, the church.

What We Must Look for:

The coming of the Lord before we look at the kingdom of darkness and all the evil in the world.

When We

• Pray, we are to pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

The Kingdom

• Of heaven has been forcefully advancing since John came announcing the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 11:12

Points To Ponder

• The light of the glory of God will always defeat the darkness and its evil forces.
• We are children of the light.
• We are called the light of the world.

The Great Promise

Of Jesus is that His kingdom would destroy the forces of darkness.

Of Jesus is that we are to go into the very gates of hell and snatch people from going into eternity without salvation.

Matthew 16:18

But As Many

• As received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in His name.

John 1:10-12

This Is God’s Time

• For the church to understand the authority and the power that we have by being a part of the kingdom of God.
• For the church to advance into the kingdom of darkness and defeat the enemies of the cross.
• For us to stand in the power of His might and defeat our enemy.

Eph. 6

Last Days Believers - The Living Word

Last Days Believers - The Living Word this message was given on 12-7-08