"How to Live in the Last Days" with Pastor Doug Batchelor

We really need to study is studying the Word of God is part of your usual pattern in your life, did you discover it while I go to church once a week? That covers me no, we need to know what we believe, the Bible tells us your word that I have hidden in my heart that I may not sin our problem is with sin what is our greatest defense against sin your word what did Jesus use to fight against sin it is written it is written it is written if the son of God your Savior needed the Word of God to fight against the devil, do you?

I think you are better equipped than him, how are we going to make it if we are not learning diligently so that is one way we are going to survive in the

last

days

let's study the word looking in prayer now I will tell you where I am going with this part of any message like this I'm going to have three things I'm going to say the three things you're going to say a biblical prayer share if you're passing by the sanctuary in this church most of us know that temple in ancient Israel and a temple in heaven you have the place holy there were three things in the holy place remember what?

They were a table with bread an altar of incense and a candlestick with seven candles those three things are the key to entering the Holy of Holies the presence of God you want to go to heaven the three disciplines in the Christian life that I need to pray that is that altar of incense the bread the word is the bread man does not

live

by bread alone but by each word you need the bread of life the Bible and you also need to share your faith the Bible says let your light shine before men and thus be a witness in your life those There are three things that are fundamental if you want to have spiritual health you need to breathe you need to eat you need to exercise breathing it is prayer eating the Word of God exercising sharing your faith these are laws that you cannot violate there will be consequences, show me a backslidden Christian and I will show you someone that you are neglecting one of those three things, so you need to take time not only to read the word but also to pray and that is a diligent attitude. prayer looking in prayer Titus 2:13 when we think of the second coming waiting for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ now how is it that we look in prayer Jesus tells us mark 13 33 be attentive watch and pray because you do not know what is the time of your Lord's appearance look and pray what is a watchful prayer, does it mean a persistent prayer, I heard the story of a lady who went to this opera and she was, you know it was one of these luxurious, dazzling ones. things and a rich lady there and taking off her coat she took off her brooch and it fell between the seats and she came home and discovered that her very expensive gold brooch encrusted with diamonds had fallen off many years ago, so she called the theater and She asked the manager there she talked to the manager and told him I lost your brooch and she gave him the approximate area where she was sitting he said well ma'am hold the phone and I'm going to look for it so he held the phone and it took him a little of time he went up and down the aisles very soon he looked between the seats and looked under the seats and found the brooch he came back he said I have good news hello hello he got tired he waited and hung up he never gave his name he never called again he got tired of waiting he lost the treasure I wonder how many times we lose a treasure that God wants to give us because we do not look in prayer we do not look or wait and wait on the Lord in your prayers not only by talking and sometimes it is by listening to another verse same chapter mark 13 go to verse 35 look there because You don't know when the owner of the house is coming.

Jesus said that all the time in the afternoon at midnight when the rooster crows or in the morning lest he come suddenly and find you sleeping and what I'm telling you I'm telling everyone, watch, notice what what the Lord is saying we must watch and pray you don't know when I'm coming it could be the morning it could be the night it could be midnight it could be when the rooster crows so we must

live

in a constant attitude of vigilance look and pray look and pray what sad it would be to go to sleep at that hour the crucial moment 1 Peter 4:7 I already mentioned this to you but the end of all things is near be serious and vigilant in your prayers I mean serious in the things of God King James says be sober I mean Eternity is at stake something else you can never laugh, it means we must make sure we keep the main thing, the main thing, have the priorities, prayer is as important for the Christian as breathing this into your body, we must live in an attitude of prayer, you know if you have done it. are you aware of it or I don't know anything personal about you have you been breathing your whole life with very few interruptions the Bible says pray without ceasing we must be living in an attitude of walking with God and communion with him those are the people who will be ready when Christ come The Bible says that Noah walked with God Enoch walked with God Enoch the seventh from Adam was translated you and I living in the

last

generation the Church of Laodicea can be translated but we must also walk with God Luke 21:36 Therefore, watch and Pray always how often we watch and pray, pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things, what things is he talking about?

Luke 21 is talking about the signs of the end, but about calamities and anguish of the last times. In these

days

we must always watch and pray that we may be worthy to escape all these things that will happen and to stand before the Son of Man when he comes in his glory, so it is very clear that one of the things that we must do. as you are prepared for the last days, pray, have a prayer life, set times that you might be thinking, well I'm not very good at this prayer business, prayer is something you learn, even the apostles were Jesus, teach us how to pray as John taught.

Do not be sad. I thought prayer was spiritual. Just feel it and do it from the heart. There are ways in which I write ways to pray in their incorrect ways of praying and so they can teach you how to pray. Get some good books on prayer Cara and I read a really good book on prayer, it's a big book, we've been reading it for weeks in our worship, but it's good and it's an imbalance in case you're wondering, it's a great book, it's everything E and Bounds wrote about. Prayer All in One Book is really good, but it has helped me realize how much I have to learn about prayer, especially for those who live on the threshold of eternity.

We must know how to pray not only for ourselves but for the church for revival. Amen. okay, we're talking about learning diligently diligently look prayerfully yearn eagerly whatever you do do with all your might Christians should have enthusiasm amen if we were more enthusiastic about what you know what you know what feels means means God theology enthusiasm means a person who is in God and God nothing should excite you more than God truth the Bible tells us how we should live about what our attitude should be before the second coming Philippians 3:20 because our citizenship is in heaven from where we also eagerly await the Savior Have you ever seen a dog when their master leaves, they go to the screen door, they go to the window and they can't wait for them to come home and their eyes are open, their ears are up there, all their senses and where are they?

You see, they come in, if they come in, you already know and this is how the Christian should not be about the return of the Lord, that is, we are eagerly awaiting it. Look first at Corinthians 1:7 so that you do not lack any gift, eagerly awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. people wonder why you're so excited you say Jesus is coming you know you're you can't wait for my teacher to come home right Christians should be excited about it and you Know that your enthusiasm will be contagious Hebrews 9:28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many to those who eat early wait for him, he will not appear to all, but to those who are excited if they are simply Laodiceans about Jesus.

He's coming, oh yeah, he's coming again and you know it's kind of sad that the same word that we are Seventh-day Adventist Church, the same word Adventist implies people who believe and hope for the imminent return of Jesus and we live that way. we believe in acting as if the Lord is coming and we are eager for it to happen now if I ask you if you want the Lord to come prophecy amen, but deep in your hearts some of you are thinking about but not yet for a couple. of reasons some of you think well, I hope I can prepare first and I'm not ready now, well you better prepare because you don't know when it will be.

Someone asked a rabbi what is the best time to repent, he said. the last day of your life I think I said well, what if you don't know when it was? He said exactly, so we must be ready, always right. Adventists who believe in the coming must live with this spirit of expectation. G Campbell Morgan. he wrote to me the second coming is the perpetual light on the path that makes the present bearable I never put my head on a pillow without thinking that perhaps before dawn the last morning will have passed I never begin my work without thinking that perhaps he may interrupt my job and starting yours, we must live every day and the idea that we are just a breath away from eternity if you die, if for some reason your car veers into your lane or anything could happen.

I want to scare you, but it's a sobering thought. Your next conscious thought is resurrection. You want to be ready now. I started with that maybe we all want the Lord to come sometimes. I think not yet. Some things, Sir, I would still like to clarify. I really don't feel like it. I'm ready, fully committed, we will commit. The other reason we sometimes doubt is that we have love, once there are people we want to reach and you know that if the Lord comes right, they are not ready and you want them to be, but they are not ready. let those things keep you from praying for the glorious return of Christ.

In fact, how does the Bible end? Do you ever notice that there in Revelation what is the final call of the apostle John in the Bible? Even the Lord says behold, I am coming quickly and John says Amen. Still you see Lord Jesus, shouldn't that be our desire? and John wrote the book of Revelation, he had been a prisoner and had seen many of his friends killed for his faith. The evil despot Nero was persecuting Christians and when John said even so, come. Lord Jesus, I mean, he was really praying, it was in his heart, someone said you can't light a fire in another person's heart until it burns in your own heart.

Amen, so we should not only pursue Him eagerly, but we should also live purely. This was talking about holiness first John chapter 3 verse 2 beloved now we are children of God and it has not yet been revealed what we will be but we know that when he is revealed he is talking about the second coming we will be like him because he will see him as he is. will realize this and everyone who has this hope in him is purified or purified just as he is pure how pure just as he is pure Christians are followers of Christ our desire our goal is to reflect his holiness he did it that scares you before the bible teaches Hebrews 12 verse 14 seek peace with all people and holiness without which no one will see the Lord blessed are the pure in heart they will see God without holiness no one will see the Lord we should be praying that God can make us holy, be saints, he said new, an Old Testament because I am holy.

God is calling us to do that and that would mean Psalm 101 verse 3. I will not put any evil thing before my eyes, whether on television or on your smartphone. We must stay away from seeing things that are not pure and stop our ears from hearing violence. The Bible says job 31:1 I have made a covenant with my eyes, why then should I contemplate or look at a young woman? has a big problem with Immorality is not only the pornography epidemic, but it is on the posters around the city. A Christian needs to make a pact with his eyes.

God is calling us to purity and holiness. Do you want me to talk like that? How do you prepare for the last days? I know it is very easy for us and I have to constantly remind myself that it is easy for us to applaud ourselves as Christians, even if we are lukewarm Christians. A lukewarm Christian today is light years away from the morality of the world and that is why you can deceive yourself. making you think well, I'm so much better than this evil world that you think your lukewarmness will take you to heaven, it doesn't work that way God's not very good at the curve, he doesn't say right as long as you're ten years old. percent better than the evil world you will make it said the evil world is not your example Jesus is your example and he is calling us to holiness to be ready for his return you know I remember hearing a story about a guy who had carrier pigeons and you know it's just that it's a whole sport and the people that raise it are different types, different colors and sometimes they pay thousands of dollars for them and they have this network of friends all over the country and they usually have a place where they had a garden full of pins and doves and this guy was in a town in Ohio and on the roof of this town he had his doves and he tied little messages and let them go and they had sent them to him andThey had been sent to them.

They were flying back to their owners and I don't know why they do it, but they have fun with it and this guy was on his roof in Ohio visiting and while they were talking on the roof, he was showing him his different carrier pigeons. this bird fluttered said: will you look at this? said this pigeon just flew 500 miles from st. He and Louis didn't land once and the guy said gnome, how the hell do you know the pigeon didn't land once? That pigeon only told you that it came straight and didn't land once, so mind you, I can only watch.

He watched him until he landed, he said he went from his goalkeeper straight to me because he wanted to get home, he was so eager to get home to me that he didn't get distracted, he didn't land, he said because his feet are clean, his wings are clean, There's no pollen on his wings, there's no mud on his feet, the only thing he thought about was getting to me and you know that's what the Lord is calling us to do. We are so focused and so anxious and Jesus is coming that Don't get distracted by the world, go straight to your teacher.

He is calling us to purity. There was a surgeon in this congregation and he was, you know, kind of lukewarm about his face and he went to the doctor one day. The doctor went to the

pastor

one day and said, "Here I have a couple of tickets to a Broadway show here in town." You will really enjoy this and the passage that is very thoughtful of you says: I can't accept that, so why don't you need to relax? You work too much, just have fun. God wants you to have fun and he knew what kind of game.

He went and said doctor, he said: would you operate with dirty hands? Of course not so that I can't do my job with a dirty heart, but that's not just two of the

pastor

s that should be true for every believer we have to work with. do and you can't do it very well with a dirty heart, he is calling us to be pure, that is why we must be careful what we look at, what we think, it is not just living purely, but bowing totally, the righteous will live by their faith . proverbs 3 verse 5 trust in the Lord with all your heart and not in your own understanding and in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight you need to have a faith that is fully supported in the Lord in the last days if I want to be ready know what what does it mean to live my faith John 1323 was now lying on the bosom of Jesus one of his disciples whom Jesus loved you lean on the Lord I hate them listening to that song lean on me that's what Jesus really wants us to lean on him when Caleb He said to the children of Israel I know that we can enter the Promised Land because the God who brought us here can take us here when David went against Goliath he said, you come against me with a sword, spear and shield, but I come against you with the Mister.

I am completely leaning on God in this entire process of processing building products for this church. It's been a lot of work that's taken a lot of time and there have been so many times where I was tempted to tear my hair out, obviously, but I just said Lord, this is not my church, this is your church. Pastor Ross and I are talking this week. We had some challenges in being able to stay here and how long we will be here. I'll stay here and I told you honestly. I'm glad this is God's problem because I don't know how he's going to solve it and it seems like he's solving it, so you have to put things in God's hands, Jesus.

He doesn't want us to live in fear he said where is your faith? He wants us to be holy but he wants us to be at peace and trust in him, we must trust that he will finish the work he started in our lives, otherwise we will be anxious all the time fully putting our faith in him 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 5 we who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed at the last time notice Peter talking about the last time how are you? able to be prepared for the last time you are kept by the power of God how through faith we need to be a people that we are a people of faith we need to demonstrate our faith in God what people see us proven we need a spectacle and a testimony Through our trials we trust God and God will do miracles for us to teach them when Christians seem to get a really bad medical report and they trust God and then they are healed.

Hey, first you are witnessing through your faith. Peter 5:7 casting all your worries on him because he cares about you Peter knew about it you know he saw Jesus walking on water when Peter lost his faith he started to sink someone once said that faith sees the invisible believes the incredible and receive the impossible FB Meir said that unbelief and lack of faith put our circumstances between us in God, but faith puts God between us and our problems, so whatever your problems are, cast them on the Lord, lean on in God and we are going to need point six of faith, not only to live purely and fully inclined, working actively, I told you the three things, one is to let your light shine, we need more love in our hearts to melt the lead in our feet and go out and tell our neighbors Luke 10 verse 2 Jesus said the harvest is truly great but the workers are few, there are many more people who want to know about Jesus and what they believe, then people in the church who want to tell them.

I know it's hard to believe. We think it is very difficult to get people to come to church. The reason it's difficult is because we don't tell them that it's not so difficult if we share it with our neighbors, if we use our gifts to share the gospel and I'm like preaching to the choir because we have a pretty active group. church work we are very proud of you, but I know there are others listening, so I wasn't telling you, I'm telling them that we have to get involved in evangelization. Someone once said that only God can save the world, but God can.

He will not save the world alone. I know that may sound. God can't do anything? He will not save the world without our cooperation. Even the Angels told it to the Shepherds when Jesus first came so they could tell it to others. The Angels told the Sage. they could tell others God tells us because he is going to use us to tell others even when the Lord appeared personally DePaul does it now what do I want? What am I supposed to do? God said, well, wait, I'll have someone come tell you. God uses people to reach people, he told the disciples, go into all the world, teach, he wants us to share the good news and share the Christian vision, it is the second coming determined, now listen, I want, I'm going to take a kind of pause before arriving.

To my last point and I just want to make it very clear how God set a date for the second coming. That's a different question from: Does God know the date of the second coming? Does God know everything? Yes, but is the second coming determined by a calendar God has or is the second coming determined by something that happens here on earth. Didn't Jesus say that the gospel will be preached in all the world Matthew 24:14 the gospel will be preached in all the world? all the world as a testimony to all nations then the end? will come, he said something has to happen, so is there anything we can do to speed up the last days?

I want you to notice a verse 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 11, therefore, speaking of how to live in the last days, Peter says that the heavens will be dissolved. with fervent heat the earth and the things that are in it will be burned therefore since all these things will dissolve well in any case the world is going to burn what kind of people you should be and all holy conduct we talk about that and the piety seeking and hastening the coming weight hastening we can hasten there is something we can do to hasten the coming of the day of God for which the heavens as they dissolve are on fire and the elements will melt with fervent heat according to the Greek translation of that word Hasten means that we are hastening the arrival of the day of God.

We can do something to help set the mood by preparing hearts to race that day. If you want Jesus to come, try it. There is something we can do to help speed it up. You realize? that Christ could have come before now, did God intend for the children of Israel to wander for forty years in the desert? You know he miraculously saves him from Egypt he takes him out in the desert he says you shouldn't tell this to you but I'm going to take a walk in the desert for 40 years then I'll take you to the promised land that wasn't his plan he brought them to the borders of the promised land with the intention of taking him to the promised land but they lost faith at the borders of the promised land they were not prepared and that is why they wandered that was not God's ideal plan that is why we pray that your will be done because many things What happens is not God's will it was not God's intention that we will be here as long as we are now, you know, if the early church had continued the revival that began with the apostles, Jesus would have come before now if the Adventist movement of the seventh day would have done what they were supposed to do during that revival after 1844. he would have been here, let me read you something from the object lessons of Christ, page 69, that classic book.

Christ is waiting with eager desire for the manifestation of himself in his church, when the character of Christ is perfectly reproduced in his people, then he will do it. coming to claim them as his own is the privilege of every Christian not only to wait but to hasten the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ we all who profess his name bearing fruit for his glory how quickly the whole world would be sown with the seed of the gospel quickly the last great harvest christ would come turn to page 37 it was not God's will that the coming of christ should be delayed like this so when I say we are living in the last days and the Lord is coming soon, that is a conditional statement, he might come a little sooner , a little later and no matter what the world does, there will be a day when the curtain will fall properly.

I think we all agree, but there is something we could do to speed it up. we can hasten the coming of the Lord by living godly Peter said that by sharing our faith we would only get to the last point here by loving fully Matthew 22 verse 37 you must love the Lord you get someone he said what is the greatest commandment what is the greatest thing how should we ? live in the last days love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your mind this is the first and the great commandment 2 Corinthians 5:14 for the love of Christ it constrains us why we want to share the loss why we wanted to live holy we love him because he loved us first the love of Christ obliges us because we judge like this if one died for all then all died Colossians 3:14 but above all these things he is taking it to the top shelf above all these things put on love what is the bond perfection if you want to know if the church is ready for the second coming the Bible says that all men will know that you are my disciples so your prophetic understanding by your religious zeal law all men will know that you are my disciples for their love for each other and we prove our love for God by saying over and over again you have to say a hundred times over and over again I love you God that's how you do it we show it The Bible says we should show love to each other and you know how that happens .

God puts us in situations where our love for others is challenged. It often begins at home and then we show our love for God by loving our neighbors. Everything has to start. with love for God correct but above all these things put on love first Peter 4:8 and above all have fervent love for one another notice what Peter says for one love will cover a multitude of sins when we do not have love we go and announce the faults of people, but love covers, aren't you glad that the love of God is willing to cover your sins with his blood?

It makes me think of a story from the Bible. Noah walked with God, good man, but after the flood Noah began to grow grapes. maybe he didn't know what happened if the grape juice takes too long but it's fermented and he thought, oh, this is nice, it relaxes me or but one day he relaxed too much and says he was stumbling, I know if Noah noticed that alcohol could ruin you and we should all be aware that Noah couldn't control it, no one can really start stumbling drunk in his store, naked, he moves on and one of his sons came in and instead of trying to find out.

His father got up and respected his condition and kept it to himself, he came out of the tent and began to tell everyone in the camp that our patriarch is stumbling around drunk in his tent and is naked, come and take a good look when his brothers They heard what the Bible says. do not dishonor your mother or your father they said that you should respect him Shem and Japheth took a garment they entered the tent they entered backwards out of respect for the father they did not even want that image in their minds they entered backwards they put something on it they covered it love covers no means that forgives sin but wants to protect wants to save the Bible says that love will cover a multitude of sins first John 3:11 because this is the message that you have heard from the beginning that we should love one another someone said at one pointcount a lost day that you have not tried to do something kind for another person and love has converted more sinners than zeal, eloquence or learning, you know that the most effective and reaching loss is love first Corinthians 13:13 now you know this now remains Faith Hope Love to these three but the greatest of these is what love is let me tell you a love story jack liked a young girl He was working with her name was Mary.

It is a true story. He was very shy. Jack didn't know where to start, so he spoke to a local florist and asked them to deliver a single red rose to Mary, which they did. She didn't know who. She came without any note now this every day for four days at that time her curiosity was really getting to her. Rose appeared for delivery every day and he wonders if she went to the flower shop and she said who delivers this rose and the guy. She wasn't supposed to say it, but he said, I think it's a guy named Jack who works with you.

He said: Oh, I think I know who he is. She approached him with the rose and said: What is happening? He said: Well, I wanted to ask you out. but i was scared and i just thought to soften you up send you some flowers and then she said i will go out with you he is a good boy so she left without him and then while she goes out with him he still continued to send a rose every day and finally he proposed, she accepted, they got married, then he sent a rose every day during the honeymoon, she thought everything had stopped, but during the honeymoon he arranged for a red rose to arrive every day, but then Of course, after the honeymoon we.

We all know all those things go away, maybe he wasn't supposed to. She was surprised when she got home, she went back to work, he continued with all the rows every day, and after 47 years of marriage, a rose appeared every day, finally Jack died on the day.After the funeral someone called the door with a red rose while she thought that where it didn't reach him she probably had a standing order and where it didn't reach him, she said, you realize that Jack died and you don't need to. do this more he said I will miss you misunderstood your husband arranged for you to receive a red rose every day for the rest of your life because he never wants you to forget how much he loves you by the way his name was Jack Benny and his wife was Mary Livingston and she lived nine more years after that and got a rose every day.

You know, the Bible says that love never fails and then one of the most important things we can learn as we prepare for the last days is love if you love God more, you will serve him better if you love God more, you will read about him better, If you love God more, you will pray better, you will do more to share your faith Chrissa, the Bible is the one in which we learn more about God we love him more I think we are living in the last days and we want to be ready we want to be faithful amen.