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[0:00] Warning is my message. Warning. Signs are a part of our everyday lives and they are all around us.

[0:20] ! We see them as we drive down the road and they give us direction and show us where to go and they give us warning when there is danger ahead. For example, you might see a sign that says bridge out ahead telling you that there is a bridge out just around the bend and that you need to make a detour.

[0:38] And if you ignore that warning sign, the warning sign that the bridge is out ahead and you drive on, you put yourself in danger. You ignore the signs at your peril.

[0:52] It's like warning signs on the dashboard of your car. I had one lately, Jimmy said, as a particular sign came up and we didn't know what it meant. We checked the instruction manual. It told us that it was the auto transmission fluid.

[1:05] And you can't ignore these signs. You ignore the warning signs at your peril, don't you? And there's some warning signs that I want to give to you today from God's Word. 1 Peter 4 verse 7 it says, 1 Peter 4 verse 7 it says, But the end of all things is at hand.

[1:21] Be ye therefore sober and watch unto prayer. One side of the Bible is prophecy. Prophecy, it's been said, it's history written in advance.

[1:32] It's like, in some ways it's tomorrow's newspaper headlines. In fact, some of them are today's newspaper headlines. The news written in advance. Prophecy.

[1:44] One third of the Bible. Many of the prophecies have been fulfilled, but many yet are to be fulfilled. And Bible prophecy shows us some telling signs of the second coming.

[1:57] Of coming events, including the second coming. 2,000 years ago our Lord warned the Pharisees and the Sadducees that they were failing to recognize the signs of his first coming.

[2:11] Matthew 16 from verse 2 he answered and said to them, When it is evening you say it will be fair weather for the sky is red. And in the morning it will be foul weather today for the sky is red and lowering.

[2:25] So in other words gloomy, overcast, threatening. Oh you hypocrites, you can discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.

[2:36] Jesus said they could not discern, they could not recognize the signs of the times. Verse 4. A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.

[2:51] And he left them and departed. Those who fail to discern the signs are in danger.

[3:03] These people back in Jesus' day, they did not recognize the signs of the Messiah, the first coming of Christ. And they ended up crucifying him. Then some 37 years later, Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed, along with 1.1 million Jews.

[3:21] Here's a picture from the Arch of Titus, where the Romans are carrying away the sacred vessels from the temple, including the lampstand.

[3:32] And Israel now has been re-established as a nation, only in comparative recent times. And this is the start of a chain reaction of events the Bible tells us of.

[3:46] The Bible gives us many warning signs. We're just going to touch on some. Many warning signs that signal our Lord's returning to planet Earth. And these signs are markers that show us that we are in, I believe, living in the last days.

[4:04] That the Lord is coming and the signs are ever more present in the days in which we live than they have ever been. In Luke 21, verse 28, the Lord Jesus, in the same context, he says, And when you see these things, when these things begin to come and pass, then look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh.

[4:27] He says, when you see these things, lift up your heads, because salvation is at hand. Our Lord's second return, second coming is at hand.

[4:38] And God in his mercy has given us these many signs to warn people about coming events so that we can get ready. In Matthew 24, verse 3, as the Lord Jesus sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be?

[4:59] And what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

[5:10] For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, see that ye be not troubled. For all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

[5:24] For nations shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There shall be famines and pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse places. All these things are the beginning of sorrows.

[5:37] Our Lord tells us of these many physical signs on the planet, and also of a widespread deception, a rise in false Christianity, of false teachers and false prophets.

[5:48] Many signs. And I believe we've seen these many signs fulfilled in our own times. We see, as our Lord said, of pestilences. We see of plagues increasing each year of such things as the AIDS virus, of venereal diseases, STDs, anthrax, of the growing threat of biological warfare.

[6:11] There's many threats in the days we live today. And God has said that he would restore the Jews to their land, Israel. And it is happening.

[6:23] It has happened, and it continues to happen. As we see, many of these things happen in the lifespans of some of the people who are here today. It's happening.

[6:35] Jerusalem is the centre of world attention. And the forgotten language of Hebrew has been restored and is spoken again, as was prophesied that it would be. And the word tells us that the end times will be a time of Jacob's trouble.

[6:51] Israel will be right centre stage at the forefront of world history, as we know that it is. Constantly in the news, isn't it? You scarcely hear a news broadcast without some mention of the Middle East of Israel.

[7:07] And so the Lord Jesus foretold these days, this time, this time of moral decay too, before he comes back. The Lord Jesus says in the context of speaking on his second coming, as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

[7:25] What were Noah's days like? Noah's days were filled with violence. In Genesis 6 verse 11, we read that the earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

[7:39] If you imagine Noah standing there preaching, and people just laughing and scorning, and they're carrying on in their corruption and violence. It's not unlike the days in which we live, where modern entertainment and video games seem more and more violent and corrupt.

[8:01] Cartoons are being designed such that they are corrupting the generation in which we live. You just see these, sometimes it's subtle hidden messages, and sometimes it's blatant in your face.

[8:15] Since the 1960s, there's been a 590% increase in violent crime. A 419% increase in illegitimate births.

[8:26] The divorce rate has tripled. Teen suicide is up 200%. Corrupt. Corrupt and violent. And we ignore the signs at our peril, as they of Noah's day, we ignore the signs at our peril today.

[8:42] Basic morality is lacking. Immodesty and immorality prevails. Promiscuity and perversion are promoted within our schools. There's much more I could say, but I don't want to...

[8:57] I don't want to corrupt you today. There's many more pictures I could have painted of such things, but you know it's all too evident without me having to really cause you any more disquiet about the impurity of the world that we live in.

[9:16] Verse 9 of Matthew 24. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you, and you shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

[9:28] Verse 10. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. In Matthew 24, 9 and 10, he's telling us there's going to be an evident and growing hatred of true biblical Christianity.

[9:44] I put it to you today that we are seeing this ever more so in the media as it's becoming more and more hostile towards Christianity. It's as if telling the truth is a hate crime today.

[9:58] Telling the truth. Saying, thus saith the Lord, it's a hate crime to do that today. And the ultimate agenda of these forces that are against God is to silence us.

[10:12] To silence dissent. And Bible preachers will be branded as intolerant. Now, the Bible speaks of prophets that are like dumb dogs.

[10:25] Now, if you have a guard dog at your place, you want him to bark when the burglar comes, don't you? And that's what we need. We need preachers who are not dumb dogs, silent, but will bark when they see danger.

[10:41] And I believe we have that in our church. Those that preach, we want men who will stand strong as watchmen, who will sound the alarm. And fight for what matters most.

[10:53] And we need watchmen on the walls. Not just the preachers, but all of us. All of us to be watchmen on the walls. To be looking out for our families, for our loved ones, our children, our friends, and those we care about.

[11:06] And to sound the alarm to our fellow believers. And fight for what matters the most. Because, brothers and sisters, we ignore the warning signs at our peril.

[11:17] Deception abounds, as we see in humanistic education. That's instilling this foundation that is atheist. Even more so, anti-theist.

[11:29] Not just disbelieving God, but hating God. This is what we're seeing today. Sad times, grievous times, times of great peril.

[11:40] I pray for my own children and grandchildren. Who are at risk of being swept along by this evil flood. This swelling tide of unbelief and the hatred towards biblical Christianity.

[11:56] That is being pumped into homes through many channels. Including the contemporary entertainment trends and godless influences within education systems.

[12:07] I've seen some horrific things that I really don't want to picture for you today. But some of the things that the ones the world worships today. And what they stand for.

[12:18] What they promote. What they sing about. What they virtually preach about. And it's no wonder we're seeing that it's like Noah's day.

[12:30] Corrupt and filled with violence. Verse 11 of Matthew 24. And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

[12:43] Iniquity or lawlessness. Lawlessness shall abound. Even the governments can be guilty of lawlessness. Because why? Because God's law trumps man's law.

[12:57] God's law. God's law is what must be uppermost and foremost. And must be what we obey. It doesn't matter what they redefine marriage as.

[13:08] This tells us what marriage is. Amen. And much more along that line. There's a rampant increase in wickedness. And our lawmakers, our governors, our legislators are redefining what the law is.

[13:23] God says what the law is. God says what's right and what's wrong. And we're witnessing today the despising of authority. As children are more defiant towards their parents.

[13:35] Why? They're being conditioned that way. Everything's telling them. Question. Challenge. Fight. Your parents. Disagree with them. Undermine them.

[13:46] The breakdown of family units. Family order. This prevailing spirit of ungodliness, rebellion and moral decay. These are the last times I believe today.

[13:57] Verse 13. The Lord Jesus says, But he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations.

[14:10] And there shall the end come. It says, Hang on to your seats. Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a rough ride. You know, stick with it. Persevere.

[14:21] Be patient. The gospel is wider spread than ever before. Most of the world's languages have the Bible in their own language. By 2025, it's projected that all the world's 6,909 spoken languages will have a Bible.

[14:38] I don't know how many languages are represented here this morning, but the 6,909 odd languages and they just about got the Bible in every language today. And it's projected to happen in foreseeable future.

[14:51] So, we're seeing that the gospel is spread as our Lord said it would be. It's preached in all the world for a witness. Paul told Timothy of some further signs.

[15:02] We're just scratching the surface today, but just some further signs. Signs of the end times. And he described these times of the end as being perilous. Perilous or fearsome, troublesome, savage times if you like.

[15:16] Verse 1 and 2 Timothy 3. This note also that in the last days perilous times shall come. It's been said that we're living in the me generation.

[15:28] The me generation. A self-obsessed culture. Obsessed with self. The Lord says through Paul to Timothy. Verse 2. For men shall be lovers of their own selves.

[15:41] Covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. Verse 3. Without natural affection.

[15:53] Truth breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good. Traitors, heavy, high-minded. Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.

[16:04] Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof from such turn away. All of these signs of 2 Timothy 3. You could say, well, that sounds like what's happening right now.

[16:16] And it is. It is happening right now. The form of godliness, this loving of self, this without natural affection as we see. Abomination is considered the new normal.

[16:28] God says it's unnatural affection. It's not right. It's as if it's a society that's out of control. And our Lord tells us of these times where people will be lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.

[16:43] People vainly filling their minds, their lives with worldly music, movies, vain entertainments. Wasting their time on these God substitutes while sparing little thought, little thought for the Lord.

[16:58] We ignore the signs of our peril. We see cities filled with crime, brutality. We see what is sinful paraded and praised and lit up in neon lights.

[17:15] We see self-love, self-esteem, self-reliance, self-gratification. And it's all actively promoted and encouraged by media, by schools, psychologists and preachers.

[17:32] Humanity has become increasingly materialistic. Love is a pleasure. Dark days, brothers and sisters. No generation in history has so many means at its hand to entertain itself.

[17:46] And our nation has become spiritually sick. It's lost all sense of decency and honour. Many have rejected God. They will not have Christ reign over them.

[18:01] Paul tells us of further signs on the church front in 2 Timothy 4. The time shall come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall heap to themselves teachers having itching ears.

[18:15] And they shall turn away from their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables. The signs are all too evident. Where we see the Bible's authority undermined.

[18:29] It's like the Bible has become a banned book. And the true church is under assault today. It's been marginalised and disarmed.

[18:41] And what is popular Christianity increasingly these days is being redefined. We see the ecumenical movement. The one world church is striving for unity at the expense of truth.

[18:57] We want unity, yes. With those who love our Lord and are like-minded in the faith. But not at the expense of the truth. No. This uniformity that is compromised, that is conforming based on compromise, is dangerous ground.

[19:14] It's thin ice. We ignore the signs at our peril. We're seeing the rise of an experience-based Christianity. It's all about the experience. It's about the goosebumps.

[19:25] It's about the fuzzy-wuzzy feelings. It's about the hype, the gloss, the glamour, the glitz, the jazz, the jive. The bleak.

[19:37] What about that? It's replacing the Bible. That's the danger. And we can have a good time in church, amen? But it's not at the expense of the truth.

[19:49] It must be founded and grounded upon the truth. That's what we need. Not replacing the Bible as the standard. And there's much evident mixture of the world in the church these days. As we sing, as our Lord tells us in the word, that the Antichrist himself will have power.

[20:06] For lying signs and wonders. So such claims of such things are no guarantee of the truth either. But rather the opposite. And Satan's agents will be able to mimic and counterfeit what seems signs from God.

[20:21] This is happening. And as the church goes astray from the Bible, we fall prey to falsehoods and delusion.

[20:32] And if it's all about pleasing the crowd and pulling the numbers, rather than a faithful proclamation of Bible truth, we're getting off track. Jeremiah 5.

[20:44] Jeremiah 5. The Lord says a wonderful and horrible thing. In other words, it's amazing. It's a shocking thing. Committed in the land. Verse 31. The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means.

[20:58] And my people love to have it so. And what will you do in the end thereof? A time is told here, a time where people like the false prophecies and those bearing rule by false means.

[21:13] The people love to have it so. In days such as these, we need watchmen. Watch women. Ezekiel 3. Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel.

[21:26] Therefore hear the word at my mouth and give them warning from me. Amen. There's a time for warning. When peril is at hand.

[21:38] And how we desperately need men and women in these times. Men and women of character. Men and women of stability. Men and women who stand strong. Desperately need such men and women.

[21:50] Men and women of prayer. Men and women who rise up. And be salt and light. To be examples to their children. To be role models that are godly.

[22:02] To be the salt of the earth. Furthermore, these latter days are foretold to be days of financial woes. In James 5, verse 3. Again, of the context of the last times, of the last days.

[22:16] James writes, your gold and silver is cankered. It's corrupted. It's dwindling and disintegrating. And the rest of them shall be a witness against you.

[22:28] And shall eat your flesh as it were fire. You have heaped treasure together for the last days. You have heaped treasure together for the last days. Our nation is in trouble.

[22:40] There's a deepening financial crisis. I was talking with someone last week. Saying just that. We know that. The world knows that. The banks know that. The government knows that.

[22:53] We're in trouble. There's a financial crisis looming. It's getting ever more serious. More than people realise. Maybe the US will fall before we do here. But it's just around the corner what's going on.

[23:06] I believe. This is my impression. I'll put it that way. I'm not saying thus saith the Lord. But I'm saying there is evident signs that I can see. Of this culture of debt.

[23:18] That's ensnaring our nation. And the system is fragile. It's unstable. Many people. Many worldly commentators. Are commenting of a coming financial collapse.

[23:31] Of a financial disaster. A great crisis is facing humanity. And we're seeing uprisings and riotings. What does it take for a city just to be thrown into uproar.

[23:45] And chaos. And confusion. It's just. It can happen so easily, can't it? Yeah. Could it happen in Adelaide? Yeah.

[23:56] Yeah. People serve. But if these people run out of money. And they're desperate. Yeah. Who knows what people could get up to. Yeah. And it's prophesied that one day a man of sin.

[24:07] Of lawlessness will one day take charge. In 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 3. Let no man deceive you by any means. For that day, that day shall not come. Except there come a falling away first.

[24:19] And that man of sin be revealed. The son of perdition. There's going to be a falling away. Then the man of sin. Or lawlessness will be revealed.

[24:31] There's forces at work today in our world, brothers and sisters. Forces of globalisation and global control. And I believe God's word foreshadows such a time. A time of such power.

[24:43] Global power. Worldwide control. Global governance. Verse 7 of Revelation 13. Of course, we know it's talking in that context of the end time.

[24:55] Antichrist, the beast, the man of sin. Verse 7 of Revelation 13. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And power was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations.

[25:09] This will be a government that has power over all kindreds, tongues and nations. A satirically empowered, controlled government. I'm informed that the Commission for Global Governance has been created by the United Nations.

[25:24] And it's released a report. It says, our global neighbourhood. Which affirms a world court, a global tax and a global police force.

[25:35] These are things that the press are telling us. That there will be one day these moves towards a world court, a global tax and a global tax.

[25:47] And a global police force. It sounds a bit like a global control, doesn't it? And who's going to run such a thing?

[25:58] The Bible tells us the man of sin will be right at the apex. Right at the top, as it were. Or the pyramid, as it were. And one of the features of these cunning days also will be, amongst other things, sorceries.

[26:11] Sorceries. Sorceries. Revelation 9, 21. It says that they didn't repent of their sorceries. We're seeing these days a worsening drug culture. And the drug culture is allied with sorceries.

[26:23] We see that it's got the same root word, the meaning of sorceries as to pharmacy, as to drugs. And we see this growing interest these days in the occult and in spiritual counterfeits like the New Age.

[26:38] What is it that Oprah Winfrey goes on about? Not that I've particularly watched her. But such things, those leading lights, they bring in the New Age gurus to give higher wisdom.

[26:50] These ascended masters and such like, as they are supposedly called. This New Age kind of, this total obsession with the New Age.

[27:04] It's like there's an obsession. They're totally preoccupied with the New Age and it's very evident. And God's Word tells us also of a persecution coming for Christians.

[27:16] In 2 Timothy 3, verse 12, Paul says, Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. If you're suffering persecution, it's normal.

[27:31] It's normal. Get used to it. Get used to it and rejoice. If you're godly in Christ Jesus, you must be doing something right. Verse 13, But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

[27:47] It says that evil men and seducers will be more evident, become worse and worse. And friends, many Christians are suffering in the times in which we live today.

[27:58] We see reports of brutality, of crucifixion, of slavery. Our Lord Jesus says that we can expect these things to be hated for his name's sake.

[28:10] In Luke 21, verse 17, And you shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. Again, are you hated for Christ? Do people hate you because you're a Christian?

[28:23] Get used to it. It's normal. It's normal. There's an intensifying attack on Christians around the globe. It's been said that every year, 100 million Christians, 100 million Christians suffer persecution, imprisonment and even death.

[28:42] Even death. It's been reckoned that about 150,000 Christians are martyred every year in these present times. 150,000 killed for their faith in Christ every year.

[28:57] We see examples such as this one, this man in a persecuted land. He says, even if they kill me, I'm not going to leave Jesus. What about you?

[29:09] What about you? When the rubber hits the road, people today, what about you? Christians and biblical values and truths are increasingly derided and mocked.

[29:25] It's another sign of the end times. We see mockery, mockers in the last time. Jude 1, it says, But beloved, remember the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, how that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.

[29:45] Peter writes of this time where there will be those preoccupied with ungodly lusts. They will mock Christian teaching in the context here of Jude, rather of 2 Peter, I'm talking now, of an unbelief in the second coming and a disdain, a disbelief in the teaching of creation.

[30:07] This is 2 Peter 3 from verse 3. Knowing this first that they shall come in the last days scoffers, walking up their own lusts and saying, Where is the promise of his coming?

[30:20] There were also fleshly mockers in Noah's day and in Lot's day, but they were destroyed. In Luke 17 we read that, Like was also it was in the days of Lot. They did eat, they drank, and they brought Bort and they sold, they planted, they builded.

[30:36] But the same day, the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

[30:52] We ignore the signs in our peril. They did ignore the signs in Noah's day. They ignored the signs in Lot's day. Our Lord warned that in the last days they would be alike to such times, alike to the days of Lot.

[31:08] Lot lived in wicked Sodom. Luke 17 through 28 through 30. And we see that the sin of Sodom was homosexual sin, especially.

[31:19] And today the homosexual agenda is flaunted and forced upon our entire society. Truly another sign.

[31:30] An evidence sign. It's not been such before. It's much more prominent now. These are days of ungodliness, people. We ignore the signs at our peril.

[31:41] Seeds of deception are being sown in hearts. The warning signs. The warning signs. And many yet seem unaware of the serious times in which we live.

[31:52] There's a lack, an evident lack of discernment. A lack of the fear of God. And God's unchanging truth seems to be neglected in favour of crowd pleasing.

[32:04] And there's an overwhelming ignorance of the enemy's devices. And many have retreated from the battlefront. They've retreated to compromise and to just go with the flow.

[32:17] And I think the signs are pretty evident today. I believe the signs are very evident that we touched on just in a little way today. And one of the end times that an observer has commented, I read some commentary along this line.

[32:34] And it got me thinking a little about this. How easy it is to get desensitised. Isn't it? Desensitised. You know what?

[32:45] Christian some 50, 100 years ago would think of what's going on commonly today. You know? It's like we're drowning in a sea of signs. Here's what this writer says.

[32:56] It's like to times of prolonged warfare. I'm told that apparently in times of prolonged warfare, this writer captures this thought here, that the frontline soldiers get so accustomed to the thundering sound of the incoming artillery shells, you know, that horrible sound of that shell about to hit the ground.

[33:20] They hear it all the time. Such that they sleep through the heaviest bombardments. It doesn't matter to them that a shell might be directly aimed at their location.

[33:32] That would end their life. The danger is muted. They've been desensitised to it. Such that an experienced soldier has heard the sound of artillery thousands of times.

[33:43] But then the new recruit who turns up at the battlefront, they're very alert. It's even the most distant enemy fire. It's like that today, people. We're desensitised.

[33:55] We're desensitised to the signs. It's like when the neighbour's burglar alarm goes off. You know, our alarm went off at home these days. Someone was making a bit of dust and the alarm went off.

[34:07] And no neighbours came to come and save me. But no, oh, there goes the alarm again. You know, it's like that, isn't it? Oh, there goes their alarm again. No one bothers, do they?

[34:19] They hear these signs, these warnings, and there's no action. And this source goes on to say that most believers are apathetic. Totally apathetic about how close, how close we are.

[34:34] How close we get to the tribulation hour. And he goes on. Over-familiarity appears one of the many reasons for the lack of vigilance.

[34:45] Many key prophetic indicators are reported so frequently in the media that they've lost their lustre. When they were breaking news years ago, everyone was excited about their connection to prophecy.

[34:59] And as time dragged on, people's interest in them faded, even as they continued to edge closer to the point of reaching fulfilment." Desensitise us a danger, isn't it?

[35:13] In times of deception, now more than ever, we need to hold fast the word of truth. We need to hold it fast. We need to set this as a priority for our lives in such end days.

[35:24] We need more than ever to be strongly anchored and grounded. Ephesians 4 tells of a time, Paul writes that, We henceforth be no more children. Tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine carried about by the smite of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.

[35:43] Tossed to and fro, carried about like the wind. Our one and only source of authority is the Holy Bible. Grab it and take it, a real Bible, and take it seriously.

[35:57] 1 Peter 4, verse 7, But the end of all things is at hand. Be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. I believe the end is at hand.

[36:10] And the Bible says, Watch and be sober, and watch unto prayer. We have much need of vigilance and soberness. Do we stop to pray? Don't neglect to pray.

[36:22] Don't neglect to pray. Be at the prayer meeting. Be in prayer. Be in prayer at home. Be in prayer with your family. Don't neglect to pray. 1 Thessalonians 5, But of the times and seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write unto you.

[36:38] For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child, And they shall not escape.

[36:52] But ye brethren are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.

[37:03] Therefore, let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober. That word again, sober. Verse 7, But they that sleep, sleep in the night. They that be drunken are drunken in the night.

[37:15] But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and find a helmet, the hope of salvation. Friends, we've looked at the warning signs.

[37:27] Bridge out ahead. Do you just keep on going? Keep on going your merry way. Ignore the warning sign.

[37:39] What should Christians be doing? What should you be doing? What should I be doing? In the light of this truth, in this reality that Christ is coming back for his church.

[37:56] In these days we need to resist the world's seductions. We need to resist that spiritual laziness. It's like a spirit of apathy. Grabs a hold of people.

[38:07] Use your time and resources wisely for God's glory. Put yourself out. Study. Pray. We need true champions of faith today.

[38:20] Men and women who will do what the Bible says to do. Willingly, cheerfully, gladly, depending on God's power. Waiting on him.

[38:31] And finding his strength. We have a mandate, brothers and sisters, to spread the gospel. You know, our Lord said, go. He didn't change the command.

[38:43] He hasn't changed that one. He still says go and be his witnesses. He says go. Can you memorize that? Two letters.

[38:55] G-O. Remember that. You remember nothing from this message today. What should Christians do? Go. Are you ready? The world is becoming more a battlefield for the genuine Christian.

[39:10] We face many growing threats. Yet our Lord is in control and we need not fear. Let me just close, just to put to you, history shows five general steps for harassing a group.

[39:23] And here's what I gathered from a source. Five steps to persecution. I mean, where are we on these five steps, if you like?

[39:34] Identifying. It's where the ruling authority points the finger as it did to, as Ahab did to Elijah and says, Aren't thou here that troubleth Israel?

[39:45] You're troubled, you Christians. You're causing trouble. You're not going along with what the agenda is. You're troubled.

[40:01] I believe that biblical Christianity has been identified. It's been identified. Biblical Christianity has been blamed for not going along.

[40:15] Number two, marginalising. It's when the politically incorrect portion of the church is smeared. There's a smear campaign.

[40:27] And they're called things like radical, extremists, separatists, fringe, right wing whatever they want to call us. Marginalised.

[40:38] Marginalised. Christians are getting marginalised today. The third step is vilified. It's where they use slander and abuse and innuendos and associations.

[40:52] Vilified. Now, what does the media like to put in the media? Oh, the church is full of horrible people. We know that the nominal churches, those that are not the true church, aren't corrupt.

[41:09] But they just put us all in the same bag. Vilified. Fourthly, criminalised. Criminalising. Where the state charges the persecuted with alleged criminal wrongdoing.

[41:22] Because they don't go on with the views or the government mandate. And there's heavy handed control. I believe we're getting close to that.

[41:34] And then lastly, terrorising. Where there's outright coercion and threats of violence. And silencing and neutralising by the tyrannical government in power.

[41:47] Now, these are some views about what could be happening. What has happened in the past. How persecution can mount up, step by step.

[42:00] Phase by phase. Such that, ultimately, Christianity could be outlawed in our land. It is in some lands. It's happening in some countries already.

[42:12] And true biblical Christianity is being vilified. It's being harassed. And ultimately, it's going to be illegal. I can see a time.

[42:23] I can see it happening. And so, friends, we ignore the signs of our peril. What are Christians going to do? What are you going to do? Go. Go.

[42:34] It's reaching a tipping point, isn't it? Friends, just to wrap up. What about your Bible? Has it got dust on it? Read me. Someone's written in some dust here.

[42:45] Read your Bible. Read me. Get ready, Christian. Get ready for persecution. Read your Bible. Discern the times. It's crucial that we get ready.

[42:56] Get ready. Many are going to be caught off guard. They're not going to be ready for what faces them. And these are days that call for us to be sober. There's more I could say about that.

[43:09] You could think of that in the natural sense too, couldn't you? We need to have all our senses be sober.

[43:22] And for us, his returning is truly the blessed hope. It's the blessed hope. These are not times we need to be fearful, but joyful. The blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour.

[43:36] It's just around the corner. So what are you going to do? We need to get ready. Get ready. Immerse yourselves in the Word of God. Meditate on it. Memorise it.

[43:47] Put it in your heart. The tempest is surely coming. The time of trouble. We need a wake-up call, a warning. And I pray this is a warning that you'll take heed of.

[43:58] I pray these are warning signs that you'll take heed of today. And as much as it's so easy to get desensitized, I just hear, oh, some more Christians got killed.

[44:10] Oh, another country's fallen to this militant, godless religion. Oh, another godless law is now in force.

[44:21] And it's going to be forced upon you, forced upon churches, forced upon your culture. Oh, the song you trashy garbage being taught your children at the local school. What are you going to do, Christian?

[44:35] We need a wake-up call. We need to get ready. If you're hearing this message and you're not saved, you especially need to get ready.

[44:48] Especially need to get ready. Friends, time is short. The end of all things is at hand. If you know the Lord, His returning will be a blessed hope.

[45:01] He'll take you to Himself. If you're outside of Christ, you're in great peril today. I urge you, find your trust in Him. Place your trust in Him today. Trust Him. He who came in that first coming, as the Messiah crucified, killed, bleeding, dying, rising again.

[45:18] Saviour, Lord. If you call on Him, you will be saved. At His second coming, He won't come as some baby in a manger. He'll come as the crowned and glorious King, taking rightful reign over planet Earth again.

[45:35] Friends, I urge you to be found in Him. Found in Him such that His coming will be a blessed hope. It will be a glorious, joyful expectation. As you know Him, He's coming for you.

[45:47] Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you we can rejoice and know your peace in troubled times. We know that hearts can be strengthened even while we're facing persecution, even death.

[46:00] For your sake, Lord, let it be to your glory. Help us, Lord, to be strong and to stand firm and fast. To be steadfast to hold fast your word. To hold it forth, to go, to give this message of the witness of your gospel.

[46:16] To tell others of your saving grace. To tell others, while we've still got breath to breathe and words to speak, let us use our time and resources wisely. Let us be found in fellowship whenever we can make it.

[46:29] Let us be found in your word whenever we can make that moment. And found in prayer as you help us to pray. Lord, help us to find your grace in these times ahead. In Jesus' name, Amen.

[46:42]  Amen.