Signs of the Times

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday, the 14th of November, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Have you ever seen the movie “Bruce Almighty”?  Bruce has had a very bad day and he’s in his car driving along while praying to God for a sign.  “Just show me a sign, God”, he prays.  “Show me what to do!”

And all the while we see road signs and construction signs telling him to “Detour”, or pointing “This Way” and “One Way”.  Yet Bruce just keeps driving and praying for a sign, oblivious to all the signs he’s being shown.  Until he wrecks his car, that is, because he didn’t pay attention to the “Road Closed” sign.

Family, our Bible is full of signs from God.  We have signs pointing us which way to go, and signs warning us about what is ahead.  We even have signs that Jesus Himself erected for us, to keep us on the right, and righteous, route.  Please listen and follow along to what the Apostle Mark recorded in his Gospel account, in chapter 12 verses 38 through 40 and chapter 13 verses 1 through 8, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

12:38 He said to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, 39 the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, 40 who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance's sake make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

13:1 Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!”

2 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?”

5 And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 6 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. 7 But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.

--Mark 12:38-40; 13:1-8 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for all the signs You put in place for us to clearly see in our Bible.  All we need to do is read this great book to be guided through this life.  Thank You, Father, for showing us the path to walk and for warning us of the pitfalls ahead.  Please help us see and pay attention to the signs You give us.  Help us stay safe and be more righteous in Your eyes.  And help us to do as You will and not just what we want to do.  Please keep us strong in our faith and of one purpose in our service to Christ Jesus.  Please keep us healthy and safe through these trying times.  And Father, please guard us from Satan and those who do his bidding.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us this morning.  Remove the scales from our eyes and the blinders over our hearts so we can clearly see Your signs.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.   Amen.

During the 1982 war in the Falkland Islands between England and Argentina, the Royal Navy's 3,500-ton destroyer HMS Sheffield was sunk by a single missile fired from an Argentine fighter jet.  It caused some people to wonder if modern surface warships were obsolete, sitting ducks for today's sophisticated missiles. But a later check revealed that the Sheffield's defenses did pick up the incoming missile, and the ship's computer correctly identified it as a French-made Exocet. But the computer was programmed to ignore Exocets as "friendly." The Sheffield was sunk by a missile it saw coming and could have evaded.

The ship’s systems saw the approaching missile in time to intercept and destroy it before it could impact, yet they did nothing to stop it.  Why?  Because the missile was correctly identified as one made by an ally, the French, even though it was launched, in this case, by an enemy.  So while it was definitely, clearly on a collision course, the missile was allowed to pass, untouched, until it struck the Sheffield and sank her. They saw the sign, but ignored it.

Well family, we humans have been warned of a missile called "condemnation" that is headed straight for us.  People can easily evade it by accepting Jesus as Lord, but so many won't.  So many people will ignore the sign that missile bears.  And they will be sunk, for all eternity.

In the first part of our scripture reading, Jesus tells us to be leery of those who are basically only pretending to be Christians.  They put on a good act so that they can receive the admiration and praises of their fellow man, while actually causing harm to others, including the most vulnerable in their community.

We’ve seen that kind of behavior in action, haven’t we?  Especially from some of our politicians and public officials who take advantage of photo ops to make themselves look good to the masses, while enacting and enforcing policies that actually hurt the people they purportedly help.  And sadly, we can see this behavior in many pulpits, where greed has taken hold even of those called to serve Jesus by tending to His flock.

None of this is new, because greed and avarice have always been man’s downfall.  But as incidents increase, we can take it as a sign of the approaching fulfillment of all that Jesus told us.

And then we come to the more explicit signs Jesus told us to watch for in chapter 13.  Again there’s that warning to beware false prophets, false teachers, false Christians, even those who may claim to be the returned Christ.  We can easily see the false teachers and fake Christians around us.  But family, there are also those who are claiming to be Jesus by putting writings out there the He supposedly wrote, new writings, telling us what He really meant by the things recorded in our Bible.

Signs of the times.  Wars and rumors of wars come next.  But again, this is nothing new.  Mankind has been at war with himself since Cain first struck down his brother Abel.  Jesus tells us not to let any of this trouble us because these things must happen.  Before He comes again, certain things must happen.  And these, therefore, become our signs.

The ever accelerating instances of wars and threats of war.  Nation rising up against nation, kingdom against kingdom, family against family, neighbor against neighbor.  Earthquakes, famines, and troubles popping up all over.  Jesus wasn’t overly specific here, but I think “troubles” could include floods, wildfires, drought, and pandemics.

And yes, we’ve been experiencing these things throughout our history.  But the thing is, they are increasing in numbers, in frequency, and in devastating effect.  And the scary things is, Jesus says this is only the beginnings of sorrows.  There’s worse yet to come.

Now none of this is meant to frighten us, but to prepare us.  If we truly believe in Jesus, we will trust what He tells us and take His warning to heart.  If we don’t ignore the signs of the times, we will understand what is to come – and it may be soon - and be better prepared.

The important thing is to keep our faith firm and secure, no matter what happens.  As we come across sign after sign, faster and faster, we must not lose hope and let our faith waver.  Trust in God always, and trust in the word of our Lord Jesus, for His signs are not all bad.

The last book in our Bible contains the vision of what is to come that Jesus showed to the Apostle John.  For many, this is truly a frightening glimpse into what we may have to endure.  But it resolves with Jesus coming again to set everything right.

Listen to the wonderful reassurances the Book of Revelation opens with, from chapter 1, verses 1 through 8…

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.

To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

--Revelation 1:1-8 (NKJV)

Hear these words of prophecy and hold them close to your heart, for the time is near when all will be fulfilled.  Jesus is coming again, and this time in all His glory, not hidden in some obscure manger but coming with clouds.  Every eye will see Him, believers and non-believers, those who follow Him and those who rejected Him.

And there will be a great mourning across the land as the non-believers realize it was all true; everything in our Bible was all true.  The signs were there all along.  But too many people ignored them.

Family, we don’t want to be like Bruce Almighty, not paying a bit of attention to the signs God has posted for us until we crash.  We must keep our faith strong.  We must continue to serve our Lord Jesus, trusting in Him to set everything right, trusting in His word.

Bad, scary things will happen, must happen, and with increasing frequency.  But we can’t let it get us down, or shake loose our hold on the truth of Jesus’ word.  When our Lord returns, He’ll call us home and none of what we’ve gone through will matter.

Just be watchful of the signs, knowing what is to come, and keep a firm grip on your faith.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus, our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for setting Your great plan in place that will allow us to live with You forever, just as You intended in the first place.  All we have to do is believe in Your Son Jesus and maintain our faith and obedience to the end.  Thank You, Father, for having mercy on us.  Please help us remain strong and true during these frightening times.  Sometimes, Father, we get too busy to watch for the signs You set for us.  Please forgive us when we ignore those signs and warnings.  Help us to endure what is yet to come.  Remind us that a far greater tomorrow awaits us if we remain faithful and true.  Encourage us and strengthen us as we strive to carry out the work Jesus left for us even as the world seems to be falling apart.  Please keep us strong in our spirit, in our faith, and in our service to You and Jesus.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You from our hearts through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more faithful and true, putting all our trust in You and Jesus, and seeking Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, You warn us of troubling times yet to come.  We realize that this is not meant to scare us, but to prepare us, to forewarn us.  Thank You, Jesus, for letting us know what lies ahead.  Lord, we ask You to help us remain vigilant and watchful for the sign of the times.  Help us stay true to You and faithful no matter what may happen next.  And help us carry on Your work here on earth.  Strengthen our will to do what our Father God wills us to do.  Help us to be more loving, more understanding, kinder to all we encounter each day.  And please help us as we try to show Your love to everyone who crosses our path.  All this we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.