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[0:00] 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 alarmed either by spirit or a spoken word or a letter seeming to be from us to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.

[0:20] Let no one deceive you in any way for the 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.

[0:46] Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? Fretfulness arises from forgetfulness.

[1:06] Think about having an assignment. I know it's summer, so you'll just bear with me. Think about an assignment that is due that you have forgotten to turn in or a quiz that you forgot was coming and then here it is and you walk into class and it's a quiz and now you have forgotten and now you are fretting about this.

[1:32] Think about forgetting to turn in your taxes or perhaps some other important form like your car registration. You realize it too late that your car is not registered and then you are fretting to get it done because you have forgotten.

[1:49] Think about forgetting an important holiday or maybe an anniversary, a birthday of someone special. Maybe someone who is doing the cooking in your household asks you to take out the butter so that we can make some cookies and you forget to take out the butter and now the butter is still frozen and it's supposed to just be chilled.

[2:13] Or maybe you were supposed to take out chicken and marinate the chicken to put on the grill. What happens in these moments? Your palms get sweaty.

[2:26] Your heart races. You can feel your face get flushed. If we were looking at you, we would see your face get a little red because you are fretting and your body is telling you, I have forgotten this and now there is going to be trouble.

[2:45] Drama is coming my way. I am uneasy. I'm nervous. I'm anxious. I'm restless. Fretfulness arises from forgetfulness.

[2:56] So far in 2 Thessalonians, this is what we have seen Paul teach. He has provided hope to help Christians, especially Christians who are being persecuted.

[3:09] What kind of hope? Hope that will help them carry on. Paul's concern is their steadfastness in the faith. Paul does not want anybody who has professed faith in Jesus to experience persecution and then to say, following Jesus isn't worth it.

[3:28] I'm out. Paul's concern is their steadfastness. He wants them to have faith that does not quit because that kind of faith will prove to be what?

[3:40] Legit. And so to that end, what has he taught? That God's promises provide perspective on present pain.

[3:51] We think about God's promises for our future and they give us perspective on the things that we are suffering right now. That perspective is helpful because when we're in pain, we can become self-centered and brittle, prickly, irritable.

[4:11] We need that perspective of God's promises. That perspective, those promises of God give us perspective. But what if? What if you forget God's promises?

[4:27] Worse, what if you are deceived about God's promises? What if someone twists God's truth?

[4:40] What if someone corrupts the truth of God that you believe that you have heard and suddenly they're coming at you with kind of a side angle on that? Maybe they're telling you that you ought to be happy and healthy and wealthy right now.

[4:59] And you're looking at yourself and I'm like, I'm none of those things. Maybe they're telling you that you ought to be living your best life right now.

[5:09] And you're thinking to yourself, if this is it, if this is my best life, then I have really missed it. Something is wrong with my faith. Maybe they are telling you that God would never, ever allow his children to suffer.

[5:26] And you're thinking about your life experiences and you're realizing, well, then why am I suffering? What's wrong with my faith? What is deficient in what I believe?

[5:37] Where everybody else who's a Christian apparently is having this healthy, wealthy, and happy life. And here I am stuck. What if you forget God's promises or worse?

[5:51] What if you are deceived about God's promises? You look around and you see Christians like yourself. And those Christians are suffering. And you feel the pain of persecution. You feel the abandonment of friends and family.

[6:05] You feel betrayal. Your life feels fuller than average with adversity and hardship. And you begin to wonder, maybe God has abandoned me. Maybe this whole Christianity thing is not for real.

[6:22] Maybe God is not going to keep his promises. And you begin to fret. And your palms get a little sweaty. And your face gets a little flushed.

[6:35] And your heart races. And you have this uneasy, nervous feeling. Anxious, restless, emotional instability. Leads to analysis paralysis.

[6:47] Can't get anything done. This sounds exactly opposite to what God has for a healthy church. A church that is steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord.

[7:01] We cannot be people who forget what God has said. Or worse, are deceived by about what God has said. And therefore become fretful, anxious, restless, uneasy people.

[7:19] Fretfulness arises from forgetfulness. But hear this. Jesus comforts those who believe God's truth. I don't know your experience with teaching on the end times.

[7:34] What will happen at the end of the world. But I can probably guess pretty close some of the things that you have been taught. Some of the things that you have heard.

[7:46] This is an interesting topic. And children, if you'd like a fancy word, you can talk about this word at lunch today. Eschatology. Isn't that fun? That's the study of the end of the world.

[7:59] What's it going to be like when the world ends? This is the study of eschatology. So I don't know exactly what your experience with eschatology is. But I have a hunch what it is.

[8:10] Partly because you're here. Partly because I know something about the types of churches that are here. And partly because we all kind of have a feel for what's normal. What's normative.

[8:21] What are people used to hearing about the end of the world? If your experience is anything like mine. Then talking about the end times.

[8:32] Eschatology brings more confusion than clarity. And more uneasy restlessness rather than comfort.

[8:42] And maybe you look at those who are very dogmatic about their perspective on the end of the world. And their dogmaticism makes you skeptical.

[8:53] Because you think, I've read those same passages in scripture. How can you be so sure? And now instead of thinking about God's promises to us for the future.

[9:06] There is this fretfulness. And there is this uneasiness. And you are inclined towards doubt rather than more faith. This is a problem. And this is a problem that Paul wants to correct in this text.

[9:20] I grew up in a particular kind of church. And we held to a dispensational view of the world. This means that we looked at world history through seven ages of time.

[9:38] We called them dispensations. And then we studied how God was working with his people. And what he expected of his people in each of these dispensations.

[9:51] And there are some things about that particular study. And understanding of the world that are helpful. And then there are some things that are unhelpful. I'm just being honest.

[10:03] The Schofield Study Bible was popular. We used some charts by a guy named Clarence Larkin. I'm not sure if you're familiar with him.

[10:15] We were scared by watching the Thief in the Night movie. And its subsequent sequels. This was a movie produced in 1973.

[10:26] I looked it up last night. It actually made a fair amount of money through donations. But on Wikipedia they call this movie an evangelical Christian horror film.

[10:36] Now I don't know if that's fair. But it's probably not far. Maybe you've heard of the book title The Late Great Planet Earth. By a man named Hal Lindsey.

[10:49] Or maybe, because this is a little closer to time now. Starting in 95 until 2007. You are familiar with Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye and their books called Left Behind.

[11:00] Or the Left Behind series. If you hold to a dispensational view of world history like I did. Like I was raised with.

[11:10] Then your concern is very much with Israel. What is happening in Israel? And so in 1948 when Israel was again recognized as a country.

[11:22] And reestablished as a country. This was a big deal. For Christians. Especially Christians who held to a dispensational view of world history. Because it meant, according to our understanding.

[11:35] There are no more prophecies left to be fulfilled. Until Jesus returns. And we call that the rapture. Now, in the dispensational view of world history and of end times.

[11:52] The rapture is the beginning of the end. Jesus returns. And all the Christians disappear to go and be with Jesus. And this is why it makes for good movies.

[12:05] And good books. And interesting reading. The rapture then kicks off these seven years of tribulation. Where God is drawing Israel to himself.

[12:17] And somewhere in the course of that seven years. Maybe about three and a half years in. The great tribulation begins. And the Antichrist is revealed. And again, more material for Christian horror films, right?

[12:30] Israel and those who would try to oppose the Antichrist are nearly wiped out during this great tribulation. But then Jesus returns.

[12:42] Swoops in to save the day. And this is his second. Or really closer in this understanding to his third coming. If you see me scowling a little bit.

[12:53] We'll get to that in just a minute. So Jesus comes back now for the third time. And he is going to judge the living and the dead. And he's going to establish his millennial kingdom.

[13:05] This kingdom will last, in this understanding, for a thousand years. During this time, the devil will be bound. He won't be able to tempt people anymore. If you believe this way of understanding.

[13:17] But at the end of the thousand years, he will be released. There will be another rebellion. Then Jesus will end everything. Throw the devil in the lake of fire where he belongs. And establish the new heaven and the new earth.

[13:30] And there will finally be peace and rest. And if you think this is confusing a little bit. This is why we had charts like this one to try to help us. I say this.

[13:41] I'm not even joking. Although I do say that facetiously. That this is why we had charts to try to help us make sense of it. Here is what I would ask for you as we continue.

[13:53] Isn't that hard to look at? I know. Here is what I would ask of you as we continue in this time today. And in particular, in texts like this that think about the end of the world.

[14:04] Humility to learn. Wisdom to discern. And grace to disagree. I may say something this morning as I interpret and apply this particular text that you say, I don't know if I can go there with you about how the world ends or doesn't end.

[14:20] That's okay. It's okay. Humility to learn. Wisdom to discern. And grace to disagree. This is not the gospel. We'll talk more about the gospel as we go.

[14:31] But how we understand all things ending is not the gospel. Let me ask you this question. How would you respond if I said to you, Jesus has already returned?

[14:50] I mean, especially if you're sitting here in church this morning, right? You're like, what? What? What did I get up for?

[15:01] And why are we all still here? Where's the new heaven and the new earth? Because I still feel tired and my body is still creaking. And I didn't really want to get up this morning.

[15:13] What if I were to say to you, Well, haven't you heard? You're missing part of your Bible. I have a letter, an extra letter from Paul.

[15:26] And in this letter from Paul, Paul himself says that Jesus has already come back. You can sense the uneasiness rising a little bit.

[15:45] Notice how Paul begins this text. 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 1. Now, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, We ask you, brothers and sisters, not to be easily upset or troubled, either by a prophecy or by a message or by a letter supposedly from us, alleging that the day of the Lord has come.

[16:19] What is Paul's concern? Paul's concern is that he's heard some things about what is happening in this church in Thessalonica. And the Christians there in this church have become easily upset.

[16:35] They are stirred up. They are shaken up. This is the word that the scripture uses for an earthquake. So this is not like a little uneasy. They are feeling this.

[16:47] They are concerned that Jesus has already come back. And they're still facing persecution. And they don't know what to do with this. And it has created a shaking, a stirring inside of them.

[17:02] He asks that they not be easily upset. And secondly, that they not be troubled. Do you see that there in your Bible? He doesn't want them to have emotional turbulence.

[17:15] He doesn't want them to be frightened. This is the word that the scripture uses when Jesus appears in the upper room after his resurrection. And the disciples think they are seeing a ghost.

[17:29] So these words help us understand what's happening in this church is a very real threat to the longevity of this church. And not only that, to the faith of the Christians who are in this church.

[17:42] They are shaken and stirred like an earthquake. They are troubled and frightened, scared out of their minds like the disciples thinking that the risen Jesus is some kind of a ghost.

[17:54] What is the context for this fear? What is the context for this earthquake inside of them? Well, the context is concerning, Paul says, verse 1, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[18:10] If your purpose in teaching about the end of the world, in teaching about eschatology, is to get people stirred up.

[18:24] Or if your interpretation of scripture and the end of all things and what it will look like leads to fear in yourself or fear in others.

[18:35] I love you, but listen, you're doing it wrong. That is not the way that Paul wants Christians to talk about the end of the world. Paul doesn't teach about the end times in order to scare non-believers into converting through some kind of emotional response where they say, well, I just better get saved because I don't want to be left behind.

[19:01] That's not Paul's approach. Paul talks about the end times in order to calm and comfort troubled believers.

[19:17] So that they persevere in faith by God's grace. Paul's concern is not to shake things up because we're not seeing enough conversions happening at camp.

[19:29] So let's have a great sermon and get all the kids scared. Scared about the end of the world. So that they all want to get saved tonight when they go back to their cabins. Paul's concern is calming emotions by reminding Christians about God's truth.

[19:51] About God's plan. About God's purpose. What is it that is unsettling these Christians? A teacher. Or perhaps a document that is supposedly from Paul has shown up in their church.

[20:03] And this is circulating. And it's just getting everybody all stirred up. Because it's teaching that Jesus has already returned. This makes sense, doesn't it?

[20:17] If Paul has written to us that we need this kind of hope that helps us to hang on until Jesus returns. And then someone says, well, Jesus has already returned.

[20:28] Don't you know that? Don't you believe that? Haven't you read this extra letter from Paul? You would be right to say, then what's wrong with what Paul has already taught us? Why do I need hope?

[20:39] It's hopeless now. No wonder these persecuted Christians are shaken up.

[20:50] But notice how Paul exhorts them in verse number three. Don't. Don't let anyone deceive you in any way.

[21:06] For that time will not come. Unless the apostasy comes first. And the man of lawlessness is revealed.

[21:18] Two events that the Christians can watch for. First, they can watch for the apostasy. Your Bible may say the rebellion. Some teach that this refers to some kind of a global rebellion against God.

[21:35] A global turning away from spiritual things. But I think it's better to understand this as a massive abandonment of faith from within the church.

[21:50] This is underneath our word rebellion or apostasy. Is that idea of a abandoning. A giving up of faith.

[22:01] I wonder if Paul has in mind a significant walking away from Christianity. From among those who used to profess faith in Jesus.

[22:16] People deconstructing their faith. But then not rebuilding it again on God's promises to them. The second truth.

[22:37] The second event that Paul says is coming. There is a man of lawlessness that is going to be revealed. A man of lawlessness that is going to be revealed.

[22:49] Well, we should ask the question, who is this? Or you could say, who dis? But we should ask the question, who is this? And we actually get some help in Daniel chapter 11.

[23:02] And I would probably be hesitant to turn to the book of Daniel. Because I'm frankly a little afraid of it. But since we already studied Daniel together in 2023. I think we ought to go back and just look quickly there.

[23:15] So, if you have your Bible, look back at Ezekiel chapter. Sorry, Ezekiel. Daniel. I'm really afraid of Ezekiel. Daniel chapter 11 and verse 36.

[23:29] When you get there, Daniel chapter 11 and verse 36. Let me read the end of verse 3 from 2 Thessalonians. He says this. The man of lawlessness is revealed.

[23:40] The man doomed to destruction. Why? Because he opposes and exalts himself above every so-called God or object of worship.

[23:53] So that he sits in God's temple proclaiming that he himself is God. Who is this? Well, Daniel helps us.

[24:04] Daniel chapter 11 and verse number 36. Then the king will do whatever he wants. He will exalt and magnify himself above every God.

[24:20] And he will say outrageous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed. Because what has been decreed will be accomplished.

[24:35] That sounds like what Paul's talking about. Someone who is elevating himself above God but is doomed to destruction. Someone who seems for a while to get away with all kinds of rebellion.

[24:49] But Jesus is going to bring that rebellion to an end. You can look down in your Bible at verse number 12. Remember what Paul refers to this man as the man of lawlessness.

[25:04] The man of lawlessness. Chapter 12 and verse number 10. Notice this. Many will be purified, cleansed, and refined.

[25:17] But the wicked. This is the word literally the lawless. The lawless will act how?

[25:28] Wickedly. They will act lawlessly. None of the wicked. None of the lawless will understand. But those who have insight will understand.

[25:39] Who is Paul talking about here? Some kind of a final enemy of God and his people. And his purpose is to attack through deception.

[25:52] That leads to godlessness. That leads to wickedness. That leads to lawlessness. And for anyone who refuses to follow this final enemy of God.

[26:05] Swift persecution. For anyone who desires to remain steadfast. Now, back to 2 Thessalonians.

[26:17] He opposes, verse 4, and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship. Notice, so that he sits in God's temple.

[26:29] Now, some take this to mean a literal building. A real temple in Israel.

[26:42] And this is why, if you hold to a dispensational view of the end of the world, you are concerned about what's happening in Israel.

[26:52] I'm not sure that that is the best way of understanding this. Perhaps, perhaps the Antichrist will indeed sit in a literal temple and demand worship.

[27:11] But let me ask you. The majority of Israel has not and does not believe in Jesus. Is that true? The majority of Israel has not and does not believe in Jesus.

[27:26] And so, in that way, they are incapable of the kind of apostasy that Paul is describing here. They're incapable of turning away from God because they don't know God.

[27:38] They're incapable of abandoning faith in the gospel of Jesus because they never really believed the gospel in the first place. And so, having someone sit in the temple and demand worship, I don't know, maybe.

[27:53] But I wonder if there's a better way of understanding that. This phrase, God's temple, is used nine other times outside of 2 Thessalonians, and it always refers to Christ or the church.

[28:13] For example, 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 19.

[28:25] Don't you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit? You will also find this in Ephesians chapter 2.

[28:38] You will also find this interesting when Jesus turns the tables on the religious leaders and he says to them, you tear down this temple and I will rebuild it in three days.

[28:51] They think he's talking about the literal building there. What is Jesus actually talking about? John tells us in John chapter 2. He's actually talking about his body, the temple of his body.

[29:05] You crucify and kill me, and I will raise myself back up three days later. Paul never uses this phrase to describe a literal building.

[29:22] What then does it mean that this wicked one, this lawless one, would sit in God's temple? Well, think about the things that we have already noticed from our text.

[29:36] Think about the context. This Antichrist has infiltrated the church, the churches, the big C church, and he has gained such a following in the church through deception that there is a widespread abandonment of God's truth.

[29:59] What has happened to this Antichrist? They have taken the Lord Jesus, who is rightly ruling in the throne of our hearts.

[30:10] They have removed Jesus from his place of authority, sitting on a throne in our hearts, and they have allowed the Antichrist to establish a place there in their hearts.

[30:22] And as a result, as a result, apostasy and lawlessness. This last wicked, lawless, religious, supposedly, leader, gained so much influence, so much authority, even within the church, that he rivals God in the minds of those who have professed faith.

[30:52] And he causes some who profess faith to take their eyes off Jesus, and to focus on the things here of this world, and to stop believing, and to compromise, and to become lawless and sinful.

[31:11] And we have looked closely at parts of this text that may be difficult for us to understand, so now let's elevate a bit, like a drone, and let's see if we can get some perspective on these four verses that we have looked at so far.

[31:29] Because of an influential teacher, or some kind of a document that is supposedly credible, and from Paul, some within the Thessalonian church are upset and troubled.

[31:44] And so Paul exhorts them not to be deceived by a teaching, or someone who says they have a gift of the Spirit and gives them some prophecy, or some letter that is alleged to be from Paul that causes them to think that Jesus has already come.

[32:02] Paul says, don't be deceived by that. Interesting. First imperative in this letter. Don't be deceived by that. You didn't miss Jesus.

[32:17] Jesus won't come until the apostasy happens, until there is this widespread abandonment of faith, I believe, from among the church.

[32:28] Jesus won't return until you see this man of lawlessness, and he is converting and perverting God's people, those who previously professed faith, such that they walk away and follow the lie.

[32:45] What is Paul's expectation with this teaching? Well, he told us, didn't he? Paul's expectation is that this teaching will comfort them, will deal with their fretfulness as a result of their forgetfulness.

[33:03] But listen, this comfort that Paul intends is lost. If you try to use this text to support a dispensational view like what I was raised on and maybe what some of you also were raised on, even if you didn't call it that, especially a view of end times that begins with the rapture.

[33:32] You will not be comforted by this text. Not if you hold to that view of the end.

[33:44] Why? Let me try to show you. Look in your Bible at verse number one and notice what Paul says. Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, if you hold to a view of the end of the world that includes a rapture, then this is the rapture.

[34:02] It happens right here in verse number one. Jesus is coming and the Christians being gathered to him. But notice in your Bible there's another word at the end of verse two.

[34:14] The day of the Lord has come. And then Paul says it again in verse three. Don't let anyone deceive you in any way for that day will not come.

[34:25] If you try to use this text to present or to teach a view of the rapture, then you are not encouraged by Paul's words.

[34:36] You are not calmed in your fretfulness by his words. Why not? Well, because you have to hold on to two separate comings of Jesus. One in verse one and one in verse two.

[34:48] And this is a problem. Let me try to role play, which I am loathe to do, but let me try to role play and see if it will help us catch the gist here of what's happening.

[35:05] I'll stand over here when I'm going to be the Thessalonians. The Thessalonians. We are concerned that we have missed the coming of the Lord Jesus.

[35:18] It's getting really bad out here to be a Christian. I'm concerned that Jesus has come back already and we've missed him and this is the end of the world and things look really dark and scary and now I am concerned because I thought that I believed in Jesus and now I'm not so sure.

[35:41] I'll switch over here when I'm going to be Paul. Paul, I hear you. He's a good pastor. I hear you. I hear your concerns.

[35:52] Have you seen the two signs? What signs? Have you seen the apostasy?

[36:04] A massive abandonment of faith by Christians. Have you seen the man of lawlessness? You think it's that bad? It is bad.

[36:19] This persecution is really bad, Paul. That's why we think we've missed Jesus' coming. We think this is the end of the world. Now you are more stirred up than ever before because you're holding on to this idea in verse number one that Jesus has raptured his church and yet you're still here wondering why.

[36:46] There's no comfort for us in these verses if that's our view. Now let's try this again just for the sake of argument and because that was more fun than I thought it would be actually.

[36:57] The Thessalonians. We're concerned that we have missed the end of the world. It's getting really bad out here, Paul. We're concerned that Jesus has already come back. Plus there's this letter that we saw.

[37:10] Paul, have you seen the signs? What signs? We don't even know what you're talking about. What is this signs? The two signs.

[37:21] Have you seen a massive exodus of Christians, people who profess faith and they're all giving up their faith and walking away. Have you seen this man of lawlessness?

[37:32] This one who's doomed to destruction? Well, it's pretty bad but it's not that bad. we haven't seen that.

[37:45] Then you haven't missed it. You haven't missed the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. You haven't been left behind.

[37:55] If you want to hold on to this text and also hold to a view of the rapture, then it works against Paul's stated purpose.

[38:16] And I would humbly ask that you carefully scrutinize and reevaluate and reinterpret your understanding of that because when Paul encourages these Christians, he wants to deal with their fretful, earth-quaking, stirred-up hearts.

[38:33] Look at verse number five. I just love the way he says this. Don't you remember that when I was still with you, I used to tell you about this?

[38:47] Remember what I taught you. Jesus died for your sins. Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus is interceding for you right now even though it's really hard and you're facing persecution and you're tempted to quit.

[39:08] Don't quit. Don't stop believing. Jesus loves you and Jesus will return for you.

[39:25] Fretfulness arises from forgetfulness but Jesus comforts those who believe God's truth.

[39:37] If fretfulness arises from forgetfulness, what do we as God's people now need to believe? What do we need to remember?

[39:49] Well, let's remember this first of all, that this final enemy is doomed to destruction. That is good news for God's people.

[40:02] This final great enemy is doomed. You don't need to fear the Antichrist. You don't need to fear the devil. You don't need to be afraid of any of his demons coming after you.

[40:15] Paul says, Romans chapter 8, we quoted it together this morning, what can separate us from the love of Christ? And Paul's answer, nothing.

[40:29] We need to remember that this last enemy is doomed to destruction. He will do his worst and then Jesus will deal with him. so when you read and study and think about the end times, make your purpose align with the authors of scriptures purpose.

[40:48] Make your purpose that in your reading and your studying, you become more settled in God's promises, not more stirred up and anxious and fretful about the Antichrist and what's going to happen next.

[41:02] The second thing that we should remember, that deception is countered by knowing God's truth.

[41:15] When Paul says, don't be deceived, he means that. How do we pursue not being deceived?

[41:26] We pursue this by knowing God's truth. Brothers and sisters, wherever you are in your walk of faith, wherever you are in your walk of faith, I wonder if you would be willing to commit to a greater commitment to God's word.

[41:46] Maybe you read God's word. Would you commit to also studying it and digging in deeply? Maybe you study God's word. Would you commit to adding to that a time of meditating on God's word, opening God's word in front of you, reading it and thinking deeply about the things of God?

[42:07] This will almost inevitably lead to memorization of God's word. What a wonderful blessing that God has given us minds to remember and understand.

[42:19] Like that little baby with object permanence that we talked about a couple weeks ago. You don't have to say peekaboo, you can just read God's word, meditate on it, and put it in your brain.

[42:31] Have it when you need it. Let's remember that our enemy is doomed to destruction. Let's remember that deception is countered by knowing God's truth.

[42:44] And let's remember this thirdly, that apostasy is most often due to drifting, not nose-diving. I wrote that third one that way so you'd remember it.

[43:00] Apostasy is most often due to drifting, not nose-diving. You're likely not going to wake up tomorrow and say, you know what, it's not worth it, I give up on Christianity, I want out.

[43:16] You're not going to make that kind of a nose-dive. But you know what could happen? Drifting. Slowly and subtly.

[43:26] Remember, your faith is not static. Your faith is either growing or it is shrinking. Either your faith is being put to use, producing inside of you worship and greater love for Jesus.

[43:40] It's either being put in, your faith is either being put to use, producing hope and a desire to evangelize those around you who don't know Jesus yet. It's motivating you to love and good works or your faith is atrophying.

[43:56] It is shrinking. It's never static. Apostasy happens most often through drifting, not nose-diving.

[44:09] And that's why the book of Hebrews can be very helpful to us. The author of Hebrews writes this in chapter 2 and verse 1, pay attention. Pay attention all the more to what we have heard so that we will not drift away.

[44:27] He gets it. Apostasy doesn't typically happen by nose-diving and just wholesale saying, I reject it all. It happens little by little.

[44:38] You give up the truth and the promises of God. And so the author of Hebrews says, let us pay attention all the more so that we don't drift. But notice this, Hebrews chapter 3 and verse 12 and 13.

[44:53] It's not just for ourselves, steadfast church. Watch out, brothers and sisters, so there won't be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.

[45:07] This is a community project. Your faith in Jesus is a community project with those around you who love Jesus.

[45:18] We need to encourage, support one another. And if we get a sense that someone is drifting, we call them back to what God has said. Don't be deceived.

[45:30] Remember God's promises to you. Don't drift, my brother. Don't drift, my sister. Finally, we remember that apostasy is most often due to drifting, not nose diving, but notice this from Hebrews chapter 10.

[45:47] Our God is faithful. Our God is faithful. He will keep you.

[46:00] He has promised to keep you if you are a child of God. So let these promises calm your fretfulness about the end of the world.

[46:13] God will let your heart be encouraged by being reminded about what God says is true. And let fresh worship spring up in our hearts as we remember that God is faithful to keep us until that day when Jesus returns once and for all.

[46:35] I'm looking forward to that day and I hope you are too. Let's pray. good father we are grateful to receive your word.

[46:52] Please help us as we take in these things that we have heard help us to listen and to learn with humility grant us wisdom to discern what is right what is true give us grace where we need to disagree with one another about topics related to the end of the world.

[47:21] We're grateful for Paul's purpose to calm and to comfort and we want that to be our purpose as well that our hearts are calmed and comforted by these reminders of your work yet to come.

[47:39] through our Savior the Lord Jesus who we believe will return to judge the living and the dead and to set up an eternal glorious kingdom new heaven and the new earth that will last forever and we are eager to participate in that.

[47:59] Father would you grant life and faith to someone here this morning who needs to believe in Jesus perhaps for the very first time would you grant repentance and confession where we have strayed from your purposes for a teaching on the end of the world.

[48:22]  Calm and comfort our hearts encourage us for the sake of the gospel for the fame of Jesus we pray Amen. Amen.