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Now, here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Hi, this is Robert Jeffers, and I'm glad to study God's Word with you every day on this Bible teaching program. On today's edition of Pathway to Victory, people are asking the question. What is the world coming to? Where are we headed?
Is anybody really in charge? The answer to all of those questions. is found in a single event. The return of Jesus Christ.
Well, how are we to be living in light of his return? Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffers. The signs are clear that the end is near and the return of Jesus Christ is coming soon. And while we can't know the day or the hour, we can be prepared for whenever that time arrives.
Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress describes several characteristics from Jesus that should mark every believer as we prepare for the return of Christ. But first, let's take a moment to hear some important ministry updates. Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. In 1776, exactly 250 years ago, The Continental Congress called America to a day of prayer and fasting, a day of getting on their knees before Almighty God.
Those men understood something we desperately need to recover today: that the fate of this nation rests not merely in the strength of our armies, but in the strength of our God. You see, America's renewal will never begin in Washington. It will begin in the hearts of ordinary believers who are willing to pray. That's the motivation behind the In God We Trust matching challenge that's in motion right now. Friends of Pathway to Victory agreed to establish this matching challenge of $1.5 million as a means for inspiring friends like you to join in.
So every dollar you give today is immediately doubled, reaching more souls, strengthening more families, and calling this nation back to the God who made her great. And right now, he's inviting you to be part of something significant. Our deadline for receiving your gift is the weekend of America's 250th anniversary. And we urge you to respond soon. When you do, I'm going to send you several exclusive thank you gifts from Pathway to Victory.
We will share more details about these resources later in today's program. But right now, it's time to open our Bibles to see what God has to say about living in these troubled times. I titled my message, How Should We Now Live. The Bible says two things about the return of Jesus. First of all, his coming is absolutely certain.
And secondly, the Bible promises his coming is soon.
Well, how are we to be living in light of that certain and soon coming of the Lord? As you look through Scripture, there are three qualities that ought to characterize every believer who finds himself living in the last days. First of all, the Bible says we are to be people of hope. But not only are we to be people of hope, secondly, the Bible says we are to be people of insight. People who live in the last times are people who, first of all, understand the times.
The people of insight are people who not only understand their times, but they know what they should do. And that means in these last days, we are to be people of action. People of action. We're to be people who are doing something. And make no mistake about it, God has called upon us to confront an evil society.
He's called upon us to confront evil. leaders. He's called upon us to confront all immorality and say, without stuttering or stammering, thus saith the Lord. We are to be actively involved in battle. Listen to what Jesus said in Matthew 5, verses 13 and 14.
He said, You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You've heard me say this before, but when Jesus talked about being salt, he was talking about being a preservative. That's what salt did in Jesus' day.
It didn't prevent the decaying of meat. It delayed the decay of meat. It gave the meat a longer shelf life until it eventually had to be thrown out. And Jesus said, as my representatives in the world today, you're to be salt. You're to be a preservative in this culture.
You're to keep this world from prematurely imploding so that people have longer to accept the gospel. You know, for salt to impact meat, to preserve meat, it can't remain in the salt shaker. It has to get out of the shaker. It has to penetrate the meat itself to be a preservative. God has called upon us to influence this world, to push back against the tide of immorality that is engulfing us.
We are to be salt, but he also said, You are to be the light of the world, a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden. We are to be at the same time that we are pushing back against evil, we are being holding forth, we're to be holding forth the word of the light of God. It's not either or. Jesus didn't say you're to be salt or light. He said you're to be soft and light.
You're to confront evil, but share Jesus at the same time. And that's why I'm grateful for our church. Our church has a balance in doing that. Yes, we're standing up and speaking out in a godless culture, but at the same time, we have a plan, a plan to penetrate the darkness with the light of God's word. One of my favorite verses in all of the Bible is Daniel 11, 32.
It says, the people who know their God shall stand firm. and take action. God has called us not just to understand the times, but to do something. We're to be people of hope. We're to be people of insight.
But thirdly, we're to be people of courage. To be that salt and light in today's world takes... Courage. A.W. Tozer once said, A scared world needs a fearless church.
God wants us to be fearless people as we stand for Him. Are you ready to stand for him regardless of the cost? Persecution is coming. It's coming not just around the world, it's coming to this country. Are you ready for it?
Sadly, most Christians aren't. If they just hear of the possibility of suffering or persecution, man, they run for the exits of the church. They hide under the bed. They're fearful of suffering. Jesus said, get ready.
It is coming. When I think about Real persecution. I think about a story Randy Alcorn told: the remarkable story of Graham Stains and his family. On January the 23rd, 1999, Graham Staines and his two sons, Philip, 11 years of age, and Timothy, six years old. were murdered by a large mob of militant Hindus.
They had gone to a Christian camp in the jungle where Graham was ministering. At midnight, the mob attacked. setting fire to the jeep in which Graham and his sons were sleeping. They were burned alive. When the fire finally cooled, they found the charred body of Graham Staines.
with his arms around the bodies of his sons. The response of his wife Gladys and daughter Esther. was on the front page of every newspaper in India. Gladys said, I have only one message for the people of India. I am not bitter.
Neither am I angry. But I have one great desire. That each citizen of this country should establish a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. who gave up his life For their sins. Let us burn hatred.
and spread the flame of Christ's love. Many people were surprised when Gladys Staines decided to remain in India. She explained her decision this way. My husband and our children have sacrificed their lives for this nation. India is my home.
I hope to be here and continue to serve the needy. When asked how she felt about the murder of her dad, 13-year-old Esther said, I praise the Lord that he found my father worthy. to die for him. Let me ask you again. Are you ready to suffer for Christ?
People who find themselves living in the last days. Need to be people of hope. We need to be people of insight, but we have to be people of courage. That brings us to an all-important question. Where exactly are we on God's timetable?
Pastor, how close are we to the end? We know in Matthew 24, Jesus said, no man can know the day or the hour. But we also read in 2 Peter that we are to be alert. We're to be looking for and hastening the coming day of the Lord.
So how close are we? There are two places we need to look to answer that question. First of all, we need to look at the world situation. That's one way to know how close we are. And when I talk about the world situation specifically, I'm talking about looking at the Middle East and, even more specifically, looking at Israel.
The Bible says the final world events before the return of Christ. that matter won't be occurring in London, New York, or Tokyo. The final events that usher in the return of Christ will take place in Israel and the nations around Israel.
Now. Again, we can't know the hour or day. I want you to write down these four truths about the world situation. Number one, there is a clear pattern of events laid out in the Bible concerning the last days. When you tie together the Old Testament and the New Testament, there is a clear pattern about what's going to happen immediately before Christ returns.
Specifically, there is going to be an increased hostility toward the Jewish people and toward the nation of Israel. And there's going to be an intense hatred for Christians. Those two things go hand in hand together. The Antichrist will launch a persecution against the Jews and against believers. There will be an intense hatred of Israel that will result in an invasion of Israel.
Number two, there's an amazing similarity between our world and the world the Bible describes at the end of time. Go back and read Matthew 24 and 25 when Jesus laid out what is gonna happen in the world before he returns. And yes, it's true, a lot of those signs have been around for a long time. But as Jesus said, those signs are going to be like the labor pains a woman experiences before birth. They're going to increase in both frequency and intensity.
And we're seeing that happen. Number three, if that is true, then we indeed may be the generation to experience the rapture of the church. Remember, the rapture occurs seven years before the second coming. If the second coming is close, how much closer will be the rapture of the church? I read this week that Ann Graham Lotz, the daughter of Billy Graham, said she believes she will be alive to see the rapture of the church.
She may or may not be true. But it's close. It's getting closer every day. As I've said so often, one of two things is happening: either he's coming or we're going, but we're living in the last days for all of us. Our confrontation with God is soon.
And that means, number four, every sign points in one direction. It won't be long now. How do we know where we are on God's timetable? Look at the world situation, but secondly, we need to look at the Bible. You know the question I'm asked?
Perhaps you've been asked as well as. Why is the Lord so slow in returning? Why, we've heard this refrain for 2,000 years that Jesus is coming back. He hasn't come back yet. With a world situation like it is, why doesn't the Lord put an end to it and come back?
Well, Peter faced that same question, and he answers it in 2 Peter 3, verses 3 to 10. I want you to look at these verses very carefully. Peter warned, know this first of all. That in the last days, mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lust, saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning.
For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice. That by the word of God the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of the water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But the present heavens and earth, by his word, are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved. That would the Lord One day is as a thousand years.
And a thousand years? as one day The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some count slowness, but he is patient toward you. Not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. In which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat.
And the earth and its works will be burned up. Here are three insights from that passage to always remember. Number one: the Lord's return is certain. Because God promised it. We have the same scoffers today that were present in Peter's day.
Where is the promise of his coming? You all talk about it all the time. I don't see him anywhere. I don't see him anywhere. I'll never forget when I was a teenager listening to a popular preacher here in the Metroplex, listen to him on the radio.
Saying the same thing on Easter Sunday morning, he said, Oh, these stupid Christians looking for the coming of Jesus. Why, people have been saying from the beginning of time, he's coming back. He hasn't come back yet, and he's not coming back. That's a pastor of a well-known church here in the Metroplex. That's what the scoffers will say in the last days.
You know what Peter says? There's another time men were saying that. They were seeing that right before the flood. God had promised to destroy the world because of its wickedness. But the flood was delayed.
And people scoffed at the idea, but one day, as Jesus said, while they were eating, drinking, and marrying, and giving in marriage, the flood came and swept them all away.
So will it be when Christ returns again. The Lord's return is certain because He's promised it. Secondly, the Lord's return will usher in a day of judgment for the ungodly. Notice the sequence of words here: water, destruction, judgment, fire. When the flood came, It swept the unbelievers away into everlasting judgment.
God destroyed the world once with water. And he promised he would never do it again. I know it's hard to look around and believe that promise sometimes, but he really has promised as wet as it gets, he's not going to destroy the world again with water. Every time you see a rainbow, that is God's promise. He won't destroy the world by water.
But he is going to destroy it by fire. The Bible says everything we see is going to be burned up one day at the Lord's return. That is going to be good news for us who are believers. It is terrible news for unbelievers because the Lord's return signals his judgment. And number three, the Lord's return is delayed to give people a chance to trust in Christ.
This delay That the scoffers mock? Where is the promise of his coming? That delay. It's for their benefit. God gave them a delay as a gift to them to give them one final chance to repent.
God is not a God who hates people, He loves people. But he's also a God of justice. He must judge sin. God has provided a way of escape through faith in Jesus Christ. And God is giving every person one last chance to repent before the day of judgment comes.
And that leads to the question. How can you, how can I, best prepare for the apocalypse? How do we prepare for the certain and soon coming of the Lord? You know, we look around the world and we say, what in the world is wrong with the world? To answer that question, all you have to do is look in the mirror.
If you want to know what's wrong with the world, just look in the mirror. You're the problem. I'm the problem. The turmoil in the world today is because of the turmoil that exists in every human heart. A turmoil that is caused by sin, a rebellion against God.
And the Bible says we've all sinned. We've all rebelled against God, and everything that is wrong in the world today. can be traced back to that rebellion against God. A rebellion we've all participated in. We've all sinned, the Bible says.
We've all are deserving of God's judgment. How can we be made right with God? How can we be at peace with God? Listen to what Paul said in Romans 5, verse 1. Therefore, having been justified by faith, We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Listen to me. The only way any of us are going to be at peace with God. The only way we can be assured of being welcomed into heaven is to be justified by God. That word justified is a legal term. It means to be declared not guilty.
The only hope any of us has is that we will be found not guilty before God. But here's the problem: we're guilty before God. You don't need me to tell you that. You've sinned, I've sinned, we've all sinned. We're very, very guilty.
How could God ever find us not guilty?
Well, that is the miracle of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When Jesus died on the cross, He willingly took the punishment for your sin and my sin. And when we trust in Jesus for our salvation in that great courtroom of heaven, God bangs the gavel down and says, not guilty. Justified. Freely forgiven.
Forever. The only hope we have to be at peace with God. When He comes, or we go to be with Him and stand before Him in judgment, is to be found not guilty. That's the way we prepare for the soon and certain return of Christ. There's an old fable about Satan meeting with three new apprentice demons.
He told the demons that their job was to deceive people from turning to the truth. and knowing Christ as Savior.
So he said to the demons, now, how do you propose to deceive people? The first demon raised his hand and said, I'll tell people there is no God. Satan said, no, that won't work. I mean, everybody can look around and know there has to be a God who created all of this. The second demon raised his hand and said, I'll tell people there is no hell.
Satan said, that won't work either. I mean, deep down, instinctively, everybody knows there has to be a place of judgment. for unbelievers and for evildoers. The third demon raised his hand and he said, I know. I'll tell people There is no hurry.
Satan smiled and said, Would that you will deceive millions. There is no hurry. Oh, Pastor, I know I need to get things right with God someday. I know things aren't what they should be and I'll get around to it one day. But I've got my family responsibilities.
I've got this problem at work. I've got this health issue I'm dealing with. I'm just starting out in life as a teenager and young adult. I've got some living I want to do, I'll get around to it eventually. There's no hurry.
That's the deception of Satan. The truth is Today is the only day you have. And today very well may be. The last day that you have. And that's why the scripture says.
Today. is the day of salvation. Jesus is coming again. Are you ready? At Pathway to Victory, we're pleased to hear from men and women from all walks of life and from all points on the globe who say yes to Jesus.
And this thrills us because Pathway to Victory exists for this very purpose. And these encounters are made possible because we've fostered friendships with people like you, friends who trust Pathway to Victory, to impact others through their voluntary gifts. Take, for example, Mitch from Ohio. Mitch wrote to tell us that Pathway to Victory restored his faith in Christ, and that he now finds himself talking about the Bible with others as part of everyday conversation. There are millions more like Mitch Your Gift to the In God We Trust matching challenge puts God's Word in front of every one of them.
Doubled an impact. twice the reach, and every soul reached for eternity. Can I count on you to respond with your gift today? When you do, I'm going to say thanks by providing several exclusive resources from Pathway to Victory. First, our 250th commemorative edition of America is a Christian Nation.
Second, two powerful messages on DVD. And third, an MP3-format audio disc featuring incredible patriotic performances by the First Baptist Dallas Choir and Orchestra. This year is America's 250th birthday. That story deserves to be told and passed down. Your gift to the matching challenge will ensure this happens.
The doors open right now to double your impact.
So please respond today. Here's David to tell you more. When you give a generous gift to support the Ministry of Pathway to Victory, you're invited to request the brand new 250th commemorative edition of America is a Christian Nation. In addition to the book, you'll receive In God We Trust. It's a brand new two-disc set featuring music performances by the First Baptist Dallas Choir and Orchestra and teaching from Dr.
Robert Jeffress. To request these resources, call 866-999-2965, visit ptv.org, or you could text ptv to 78800. And when you give one hundred dollars or more, we'll also send you the America and the Bible message series on DVD video and MP3 format audio disc set. And remember, because of the In God We Trust matching challenge, your gift to pathway to victory will be matched and therefore doubled in impact.
So be sure to get in touch with us today. One more time, call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org. You can also send your donation by mail right to P.O. Box 223-609 Dallas, Texas 75222. Again, that's P.O.
Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. I'm David J. Mullins. In recent decades, politicians have established laws that are hostile toward Christian values. Does that mean Christians should disobey the government?
Hear the answer to that important question in a message titled, To Obey or Not to Obey. That's Tuesday on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here.
Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. And right now, your ministry gift will be matched and therefore doubled in impact thanks to the In God We Trust $1.5 million matching challenge. Take advantage of this opportunity to double your impact before the deadline on July 5th. To give toward the matching challenge, go to ptv.org slash donate. or follow the link in our show notes.
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