“What Will Be The Sign Of Your Coming?”

                                    “What Will Be The Sign Of Your Coming?”
 
Matthew 24:3-5
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
 
This afternoon, we are going to learn as much as we can… the most intriguing question ever asked amongst the Christian. “What Will Be The Sign Of Your Coming?” It will be based on Matthew 24:3-14, we will break down each and every sign, and hopefully by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we will get the understanding of this very intriguing question.
 
From our responsive reading of the Lords Promise to return. Christians have asked the same question. “When will You return, and what will the sign of Your coming be?”. The very fact that Jesus did not rebuke the disciples for asking that question, I believe indicates that He approves of our watching for signs of His return.
 
Throughout the years many (scholars, pastors, believers) have tried to answer this question. They look at Bible and see if there is some kind of hidden codes written there as clue to the exact date of the Lords return. Many try to do the math since Israel became a nation, again…many have tried, and to their attempt…they were exposed as false believer!
 
As you can see from our text… “And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” “Take heed that no one deceives you.” That should be clue enough to every believer and that it is a great warning. Let me show you another clue that Jesus taught!
 
Matthew 24:36
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
 
This statement remains true. Although when Jesus made this statement, He was still in the flesh. To this day, Jesus reaffirms the truth that it is not given to anyone to know the “day or the hour”. But, like i said, many try and they are exposed!
 
So…first answer Jesus made…(warning) Also, in connection with Matthew 24:11…
 
 
 
Matthew 24:5
5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
Matthew 24:11
11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
                                                   (Please Keep In One Slide)
 
If you remember one of the discussions that we had in our Bible study. Right now, there are three…who claims that they are the Messiah. One in Siberia who calls himself, the “teacher’.
One who has about 5000 followers. One in London, “David Shailer” claims that he is the Christ and lives in a squatter camp, because he claims that God will provide all his needs. One in our hometown, Philippines “Apollo Quiboloy”. He said that God had appointed him as Christ here on earth. I am sure there are many more as Jesus had warned every believer.
 
Of course, there have always been false teachers, for that is Satan’s way of distorting the truths of God. That is why we have so many cults, religions, and others that claim a Christian basis for their beliefs. If Satan cannot get people to disbelieve or rebel against God altogether, he will get them hooked on some false doctrine to lead them astray.
 
Here are some false teachings that I have heard throughout my Christian walk. “there are many ways to heaven”, if that was true then why did Jesus say, “I am the Way the Truth and the Life, no on comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6) Just do good works and you will go to heaven. You have posses one of the Spirits gift or else you’re not really saved. Or, everyone goes to heaven because God is love, that He will not send anyone to hell.
 
If all of these false statements were true, then Jesus died for nothing. God would not have had to sacrifice His One and Only Son to save sinners from going to hell. That is why I encourage all of you to spend some time with the Lord, through your Bibles, so that you will know the truth. Because if you don’t, you will be falling into false teachings.
 
2 Timothy 4:3-4
3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
 
Next clue that Jesus answered…
 
Matthew 24:6-8
6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains
 
“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars” Meaning, wars that are already happening right now, in the present. And rumors of coming war. Rumors of wars in all areas of the world now occur frequently thanks to instant media coverage and the availability of a multitude of 24-hour news sources.
Whether it be against countries, or against terrorists. Jesus said, “you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come”. “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” That also falls in the same category. The fight for power, supremacy.
 
“There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.” In another translation, “pestilence” is included.
 
Jesus said that before His return we would see an increase in these problems. I think that you can agree with me that sickness, disease, and starvation are becoming epidemics in the world today. If you are active in watching the news, earthquakes are happening everywhere.
 
And look at all the crazy weather patterns we are having. Tornadoes, hurricanes, floods in different areas of the world. Because of these things, farms, crops livestock are ruined and dying. That’s where famine comes in. The economy will crash, many will be out of work, and will struggle to stay alive. Presently, wild fire is everywhere. Many are losing their homes, their properties. As you can see, all of these things needs to happen, because Jesus said it would.
 
“All these are the beginning of birth pains”. Moms can relate to what this verse means. Like a woman going into labor, the closer and closer she comes to delivery, the more severe the pains are and the more frequently they occur. Christ is telling us that the increase in the number of disasters and the increase in the severity of the disasters that we are witnessing today are just the beginning. And again, THESE THINGS MUST HAPPEN!!!
 
Moving on…
 
Matthew 24:9-10
9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other.
 
Living here in America, we still have it pretty good. Although there some countries where Christianity is being persecuted. California is trying to pass a bill to ban the Bible. Because it offends the LGBT community. Christian businesses are being shut down because they have the right to refuse service to anyone, if it goes against their beliefs. Christians will be hated, even to the point of death.
 
Look at the seriousness of verse 10, keep in mind Jesus said that all these things must happen.
“At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other”. This is for every believer, every church, everywhere. Christians will hate and betray each other. Scary right. These will be our brothers and sisters. People we brake bread with…we fellowshipped with. This will happen to every church and even in our own household.
 
Matthew 10:21-22
21 “Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.
 
Scary right!!! But again, it must happen. Because Jesus said it would. “But he who endures to the end will be saved”.
 
Matthew 24:11-13
11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
 
False prophets, we have covered that part early on this message, on verse 24:5. The deception of lies will be rampant, and many will be deceived through them. Remember, that since there are false prophets, there will also be false believers. The false prophets will feed the its church false doctrines, it will disciples falls believers. And as a result when these false believers evangelize, what do you think they will say? LIES!!! Because, HE Who is the TRUTH is not in them!
 
“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold”.
 
Lawlessness is becoming rampant. Bizarre killings are multiplying, school shootings, church shootings. At least once a week I would get a notification from Chan2 news, about a crime happening everywhere. Robberies, home invasions, you name it, lawlessness is growing. Jails are filled to overcapacity with hardened criminals of all kinds. Drugs & alcohol are virtually a staple of modern society and traditional families are almost nonexistent.
 
Marriages are falling apart because hey had fallen into sin. Children are rebelling against their parents. Couples do not value marriage anymore, they would just rather “live in” together. Because its normal and accepted in the world.
 
Let’s continue…Matthew 24:14
 
 
 
Matthew 24:14
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
 
With all these things happening in the world. This is also happening. Even though a lot of the bad stuff needs to happen. The gospel still needs to preached…everyone needs to hear the truth about Jesus!
 
Jesus declared that before His second coming, the Gospel much be preached for a witness to all the nations. The Gospel must be taken to the ends of the earth, reaching the unreached regions before the end will come.
 
No doubt this seemed a daunting task to the disciples present that day. They could not imagine being able to literally take the Gospel to the entire world. In fact, until recently this statement seemed almost impossible. However, our Lord continues to work and the Gospel continues to be proclaimed in the unreached corners of the world.
 
Even today, the Gospel is being shared with people… groups who are hearing it for the first time. Technological advancements have helped make this task a reality. Through use of the internet, tv and radio, the Gospel is reaching areas that preachers and missionaries have yet been unable to go. The Lord is fulfilling His plan to reach the world with the Gospel. We are getting closer to having a Gospel witness throughout the world. As we consider all that Jesus has said up to this point, I don’t see how anyone could argue against His soon return.
 
In Conclusion:
 
With all that we have learned today, there is hope. We read them through all those verses. Scary as they sound. There hope!
 
Matthew 10:22
“But he who endures to the end will be saved”.
Matthew 24:13
“But he who endures to the end shall be saved”.
                                                          (Keep in one slide please)
 
You see…with all the things that will happen. Many will fall away because they have no faith Jesus. Their belief was to their own ability, their own strength. The fear of all the disasters that were mentioned will put fear and doubts in their minds. They would feel that God has abandoned them to go through all of that on their own, that they would not be rescued.
 
“But HE”. The “He” there is the one who has complete trust in Jesus to get them through it all.
“Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”. That is a promise!!!