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 Perilous Times Shall Come. 



(2 Tim 3:1-9)



1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. 9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.



“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times“, is the opening line to the famous Charles Dickens book, “A Tale of Two Cities“, and it is curious how well the line fits respecting the biblical history of the world and the description of the last days.



For on the one had we all rejoice as we see the world developing in a manner that so perfectly identifies the nearness of the return of Christ for his Church.



The Word of God is confirmed as TRUE each and every day and our joy in the knowledge that we will not be ashamed of our faith grows each and every day.



We look for that “blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (Tit 2:13) and know that all our sorrow and trials is coming to a close with noting but the absolute fulness of joy on our very doorstep. 



I have said it before and know it to be true, ‘there is no problem I have today that the Rapture will not fix’. That someday soon, and IMINENTLY SOON, we who have believed the Gospel to the saving of our souls, shall be “caught up…to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thess 4:7)



All that we see occurring in the world, and as we shall see through this 2024 MAYDAY Series, In the CHURCH, proves to us that the time is very near!



And yet we also despair as we see the suffering and trials of what can only be described as indicators toward “Perilous times“.



But it is when we consider further the lines that come after the first line of Dickens most famous novel that we ought to ponder its message as it seems to align with that “time yet future” the Bible tells us of;



  It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way–in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.



The contrasting worlds written of by Dickens was that of London and Paris before and then during the French revolution, where great love together with innocent sacrifice for that Love was demonstrated, and all in the midst of the greatest societal transformation in the history of one city being undertaken.



The world is undergoing just such a societal transformation, not suddenly, but gradually yet with an almost routine suddenness jolts of change.



After the event we call “Covid”, People had begun to question the dramatic changes they were seeing around them, but could not believe.



The “Incredulity” that Dickens identified in his opening paragraph was reflected in this early 21st Century, just as it wa

Introduction



John 3:16–21



16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.



“Saved From What?“… its a question that is asked by those who query the question we asked in the first message regarding the Gospel asked by the jailor in Acts 16:30



“What must I do to be saved?”



Some time ago, a man brought forward his strong argument against the Bible, declaring, “I am seventy years of age, and have never seen such a place as hell, after all that has been said about it.” His little grandson, of about seven years of age, who was all the while listening, asked him, “Granddaddy, have you ever been dead yet?”[1]



We have spoken of Jesus Christ and why he came, why he died, how it is that he rose from the dead. 



We spoke of spoke of its historical reality and laid down the arguments that are so clear.



We spoke of our state, our sin and how we all have broken the law of God and CANNOT BE REDEEMED by our own efforts, no matter how hard we try. Sin entered into the world, and death by SIN has placed us into the same condemnation as the Devil and His angels for which HELL WAS ORIGINALLY CREATED.



The Law of God is the measurement of the standard that would grant unto us the PRIVILEGE OF HEAVEN. No man is able to meet that standard, no man that is, except the one who came in our place to give his life a sacrifice for our sin.



SAVED FROM WHAT? Is the question?



SAVED FROM HELL….is the answer.



The same HELL created for the devil for HIS SIN AGAINST GOD, is the hell mankind is condemned to for his SIN AGAINST GOD.



Incredibly, no man or woman needs to go to hell.



Jesus told the world that there is a Broad way to hell and “many there be which go in thereat, Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Mat 7:13-14)



YET JESUS MADE A WAY, AND NONE NEED TO GO TO HELL.



Why will “many go in”?



John 3:19 “…men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil”



The topic of hell is not something that most people would not bring up in polite conversation, but it is interesting to consider the contrast of today to any time in history past; for thousands of years man has had a natural concern respecting his existence after death. ‘The Afterlife’ has always been a topic of conversation among men, both pagan and Jews alike have lived their lives with this fundamental question before them. 



Paul knew EXACTLY what the jailer was making enquiry of, and the jailor also knew he did not need to explain to Paul what he was referring to when making this enquiry. Both knew that the question was specific to SALVATION FROM THE DAMNATION OF HELL FOR SIN!



In John 3, Jesus makes a number of statements employing words that IDENTIFY THAT END FOR ALL OF MANKIND apart from the gospel;



From verse 16 we see it;



whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.



Here you have to completely opposing propositions, one is that of an individual “perishing“, OR of having “everlasting life“. These are antithetical one to the other. But it continues on in the passage;



17 For God sent not his Son into the world to

What Is Repentance?



John 3:16–21



16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.



 



Repentance



What is “repentance”?



What must I Repent of to be saved?



Different aspects in the scripture respecting “repentance”.



The word appears 106 times in the Bible. (42 Old / 64 New)



A Change of Heart:



The law of First Mention



Genesis 6:6



6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.



A Change of Heart that Leads to Change of Action



Exodus 13:17



17 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:



Jesus Parable after being asked of his “authority”



Matthew 21:28–29



28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. 29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.



A Change of Heart that leads to salvation



Luke 16:30



30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.



A Conviction of the Heart that prerequisites and immediately precedes Salvation



Acts 2:37–38



37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.



Acts 3:18–19



18 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. 19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;



When Peter was questioned for going to the gentiles and recounted his vision beforehand, testifying that they too received the Holy Ghost as it did on the Jews.



Acts 11:18



18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.



Johns Baptism was a baptism of Repentance;



Acts 13:24



24 When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.



Acts 19:2–4



2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. 4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.



A “Fruit” that evidences The Change of Heart



Matthew 3:1–8



1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand…..



7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:



A Regret



(Gen 6:6)



1 Samuel 15:35



35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.



Job 4

What Must I Do To Be Saved?



Acts 16:25–34



25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. 34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.



Two weeks ago we spoke of the triumphal entry of the Lord. The day that Jesus presented himself as the King of Israel, the day the people acknowledged that this same Jesus is the one spoken of all through the Old Testament and presented himself on the very day Daniel wrote of 483years earlier.



To the very day that Cyrus, king of Persia made his proclamation in both speech and also in writing;



2 Chronicles 36:23



23 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.



Incredibly however, while one day the people rejoiced in Jesus and exalted him as their king and that all should follow him, a few days later he was turned upon, falsely accused before a multitude and sent through no less than three fake, unlawful trials before being presented with false witnesses, until he was unlawfully condemned by the testimony of his own lips.



Remember beloved that accusations must be PROVED by the accusers.



 Accusations are NOT to be defended against, they are TO BE PROVED. 



This happens to each and every one of us from time to time,



You will have people forcing you to defend against an accusation, but the burden of proof is on the accuser. “Innocent until PROVEN guilty” is the correct manner of law, not ‘guilty until PROVEN innocent’. 



Those seeking you to answer an accusation are reversing the lawful burden of proof.



This is what occurred to Jesus. He was asked to defend himself against an accusation, but the burden of proof is ALWAYS on the accuser. 



What happened to Jesus was LAWLESSNESS. This same LAWLESSNESS is repeated often today.



What we witness in the Bible during this time was that the cries of “Hosanna, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord”, four days later gave way to “Crucify him, Crucify him”.



Not even the Governor Pilot could get an answer as he cried out “Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more saying Let him be crucified.” Mt 27:23



Three days and three nights later the resurrection of Jesus Christ became the single most proven historical event of all history, the denial of which would require the denial of ALL history not video recorded. 



What then came of all of this?



Opportunity for eternal life began to be preached to all the world as a testimony to the truth of Christ for the salvation of the world.



       The world was changed, NOT BY WAR, but by WORD!



The testimony is that Jesus, the Son of God and God the Son, died for the sins of the entire world and eternal life became available to ALL wh

Now Is Christ Risen



1 Corinthians 15:12–26



12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 



20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.



What a difference a week makes. 



If there was ever a time in your life of a week that has both its highs and lows we might wonder how it could compare with the week that had seen the Lord Jesus Christ go from the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, to his murder at Golgotha and his resurrection three days and three nights later. 



John 12:12–13



12 On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.



Is the record of John, the beloved apostle.



Mark 11:9–10



9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: 10 Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.



Is the record of John Mark, apostle and company-man of Bananas and Paul for the ministry of the Gospel of Christ.



Matthew 27:22–25



22 Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. 23 And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. 24 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. 25 Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.



Is the record of Matthew a few days later, with similar accounts in Mark, Luke and John.



In a matter of a few days the testimony of Christ went from exaltation to condemnation in the eyes of the people. From Veneration to detestation, from being worshipped and adored to being demonised and abhorred, and all this in but a few days.



What happened?



When you look at the account in its best chronological order as seen in Matthews Gospel, we see that after Jesus presents himself as King on the very day prophesied by Daniel (9:25-27) and in the very manner spoken of some 500 years earlier by Zechariah (9:9), the zeal of Christ for the temple of his father consumed him after his entering into the city and he overthrew the tables of the merchandisers. 



Chapters 22 to 25 of Matthews Gospel was the next day where he condemned the leaders of the people with great clarity against their sin, no sooner had he done so that Matthew 26

Triumphal Entry



Luke 19:28-44



Jesus had just come from Jericho (v1)



Pt 1 (Lk 19:28-35)



The Event and Context



Luke 19:28–44



28 And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. 29 And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, 30 Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither. 31 And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. 32 And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. 33 And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? 34 And they said, The Lord hath need of him. 35 And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. 



Jn 12:12-15  (See Zec 9:9)



Day 1- Entry in Mt 21:1-11 then the cleansing of the temple!



Day 2 (v17-18) Miracle of Fig Tree (18-22) / Debates In the Temple (Mt 21:23-23:38)



Pt 2 (Lk 19:36-40)



The Prophecy



36 And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. 37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; 38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. 39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. 40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. 



Ps 118:22-26 “Blessed is he that cometh…”



Gal 4:4-6 “when the fulness of time was come..”



The stones would cry out….WHY? = Daniel 9:20-26



Pt 3 (Lk 19:41-44)



The Rejection



V44 “because thou knewest not…”



41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.



Day 2: Matt 23:34-37



Lk 23:28-31 (journey to the Cross)



Jn 1:9-12 (“..came to his own…his own received him not..”



Pt 4



He Shall Come Again



Matt 23:38-39 (“…till ye shall say..”)



Hosea 3:4-5 (“…Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek…”



Zech 12:9-10 (“..they shall look upon me whom they have pierced”)



2 Cor 3:12-18 (“even to this day…the vail is upon their heart”)



Romans 11:25 (“until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in”)
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