It's About Time. 1 Chronicles 12:32 & 38

Transcription

1 It's About Time 1 Chronicles 12:32 & 38

2 Daniel 4:35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, 'What have You done?'

3 I. We Are to Read the Signs of the Times. Matthew 16:1-4 1 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered and said to them, When it is evening you say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red ; 3 and in the morning, It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening. Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. 4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. And He left them and departed.

4 A. The Pharisees couldn't read the signs of the times. B. Beware of those who claim spectacular knowledge. - Concerning when Christ will return. - Concerning the identity of the Antichrist. 1 John 2:18, Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. - Concerning the demise of our planet. 1 Timothy 4:1-3 RD 2 Tim. 3:1-4 RD

5 Isaiah 24:19-20 The earth is violently broken, The earth is split open, The earth is shaken exceedingly. 20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, And shall totter like a hut; Its transgression shall be heavy upon it, And it will fall, and not rise again.

6 C. Look for signs already revealed in the Bible. - Moral decline as in the days of Noah. Luke 17:25-27, But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. - Violent eruptions in nature.

7 Luke 21: 25 And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;

8 International signs relating to Israel. Luke 21:29-33, Then He spoke to them a parable: Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. 31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. D. Understanding these signs should help us win people to Christ.

9 II. We are to Recognize Special Times for Israel. Luke 19:43-44 days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, 44 and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.

10 A. Jesus wept over the tough times coming to Jerusalem. The city would be surrounded by enemies. The enemies would bring desolation and destruction. 1 Thess. 5:2-3, For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, Peace and safety! then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. B. What were the reasons for His tears?

11 III. We Are to Redeem These Sinful Times. Eph. 5:15-16, See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise A. 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. B. Redeem the time by seizing every opportunity to witness. C. Redeem the time by seeing sin abound in the last days. Matthew 24:11-12, Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. D. Redeem the time by being lights in this dark world.

12 Philippians 2:14-16 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

13 Romans 13:11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 1 Chronicles 12:32 The sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do