What to do in the End Times

I’m so grateful to be able to worship with you all in person again. It was just almost three years ago when we worshipping virtually. What a weird time that was, and likely we will continue to talk think about it for years to come. It was so funny to me that just last year my son had a school spirit day, one of those days where you get to dress up, crazy hair whatever, there’s was come as you dressed in distance learning.

Even though we can reminisce we can also think about what it was like to be on the edge of the end of the world as we know it. You know just a little bit of what “The end” can feel like.

And for some reason people’s

The most important resource at the end is toilet paper.

This is ridiculous, because toilet paper represented our panic. Our fears. Our ability to forget all that is important and only care about ourselves. And I was tempted too.

Today we gather to change, to be the people we were created to be, to take on the mind of Christ Jesus, and as followers of Jesus we know what Jesus told us, when he talked about the End of Days

John 14:1–3 CSB

1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.

Jesus says, He is preparing a place for us.

God is working for us and He is coming back.

When he comes back it will be the end of all things, not like Covid lock down but a real end to all things.

How many of you have seen on TV , read a book, seen a movie, or even maybe in church about the end of days and it scared you? Like it was delivered as a horror movie.

A Facebook friend, a professor I followed posted this picture of these books from Christian authors all trying and of course failing to predict the end.

I want to tell you what the Bible says about the End Times and ask you to

Think about your feelings as you hear me see the End of All Things. Why? What must you do differently?

I have grown up hearing so many say that every negative thing is the end of all that there is, today since so many in Los Angeles and New York don’t follow Jesus the new scare tactic is the real threat of Global Warming. Yes our world has to deal with environmental disaster, and Jesus really is coming back, there are terrorists, natural disasters everywhere but today more people are trying to scare you into watching their movie, their news program, reading their book or going to hear them talk then giving you something that God actually told you. We who are followers of Jesus should be different than everyone else. Instead of running out to stand in lines for toilet paper, having anxiety, freaking out, and ignoring truths lets hear what Jesus actually told us.

John 14:1 CSB

1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

Look at the person to your right and your left and say God got this. God’s got this.

End of Days? God got this.

We say that about the things in our life that overwhelm us, and underwhelm us. God is real. He works. He is working and he works for the lose who are called by Him. So yes God can heal you, yes God can be with you to get the job, and yes God can save your soul, but God also will be working at the End of Days. God’s got that too.

But my friends

what do you got?

What are you supposed to be doing while the game clock of this world is ticking to zeros?

By the way that’s usually how I answer, if a person is actually listening, when they ask me if we are in the end of days, I say we are closer than we were yesterday, because that’s how time works you know.

So the end is coming, and what are you supposed to do about it?

What you are supposed to do about it might be the main thing that is freaking you out right?

Remember the lock-down and all the screwed up instructions on what we should do. From the person who created a plastic wrapped their whole house, wiping down all the groceries, I did that once, to the person who it seemed like they were licking door knobs they didn’t care enough, we know that we responded to Covid in not the greatest way.

What are we supposed to do about Jesus return?

1 Peter 4:7–11 (HCSB)

7 Now the end of all things is near; therefore, be serious and disciplined for prayer. 8 Above all, maintain an intense love for each other, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 Based on the gift each one has received, use it to serve others, as good managers of the varied grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, it should be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, it should be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To Him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

Wow, nothing in here about taking back your country, no directions to build a bunker, or getting as much Lysol as possible.

These aren’t words of fear or of stopping anything but they are words of action. These are verbs.

Instead of fear we are told to be serious.

That’s God’s words. Be serious. If there is an emergency those who panic die. If it is trouble that goes on for a very long time, those who panic wear out, there message stops getting heard. Instead we need to have the cool steady hand but did you listen also to what God says through Peter. We are to pray, love, be hospitable, and serve. That’s our response.

Honestly my friends let’s follow Jesus, believe the end of days is coming and actually do what He tells us.

John 14:1 CSB

1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

Peter tells us what that looks like, I want to give this to you in an easier to read version

1 Peter 4:7 NLT

7 The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.

Work at praying!! Spend time talking with God in your prayers. You know when the end of going out was coming on and people were talking about Marshall Law the first thing people started doing was buying toilet paper, something so ordinary but useful everyday.

What do you got? What do you need to do? Pray

My friends, if God is coming back today, tomorrow, or even centuries from now, we need to be disciplined in prayer and not just the kind of prayer people pray when they ride with me as I drive.

Gratitude, health, these are all wonderful aspects of prayer, but prayer is also power.

My friends I need to tell you that life is very, very hard for me right now. There is a lot of work that needs to be done at the church but the work I do at school is not allowing me to leave the work at school!

This devotional I invited many of you to join was on prayer. Praying in the times when it seems like God isn’t giving what I want. In the hard times. Now is a hard time.

My classroom is supposed to have me, and two district employee aides that we call paras. Then I am supposed to have a behavior technician, another aide who assists us.

Currently there is only one para assigned to my room, and three other women who work for another company to help me.

The Sunday before we went back to school from Christmas break, I got a text from Lexy, she has visited here before, she said she was having emergency surgery. She did and is doing great. We’ve been praying for her. Yet it means she won’t be back to school until February.

Another aide is getting Ubers to work, she is such a hard worker, but has transportation issues and during the storms she couldn’t get to work.

Another aide has home life issues and another health concerns.

Did I mention that substitutes almost never come?

I have been working so hard but God showed me so much in prayer. God is caring me through. I have just enough energy to make it through the day.

We studied prayer last week, for those of you who were doing the online devotional it dealt with all kinds of easy and hard aspects of prayer. For me, the idea of prayer in overwhelming circumstances. I do pray for God to change my circumstance but I am also learning that God provides in all circumstances. That just because I know things could be better doesn’t make the current situation un-doable.

God got this. I get prayer!

Just because I don’t want to be in the situation I am in doesn’t mean that God is not there, and showing me His power to carry me in the midst of my undesirable situation.

Next week we will be doing a devotional on this book of the Bible. If you want to join us then scan this QR code on your paper.

So if it is the end of days we all have to people of prayer. A prayer of gratefulness, forgiveness, repentance, endurance, so much prayer that we need in our lives. This is the response we need to have to an awareness of the end of days.

But there is more!

1 Peter 4:8 CSB

8 Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins.

Ever notice that some people get upset when a person does some tiny thing, but then other people do the same tiny things and they don’t care?

We forgive quickly, encourage easily, minor things don’t bother us. It becomes easy to relate. it is the opposite of suspicion

Proverbs 10:12 CSB

12 Hatred stirs up conflicts, but love covers all offenses.

That’s how we are to be to our brothers and sisters in the church. It doesn’t mean that we don’t acknowledge wrong and encourage them to return to God, what we call repentance. It means we forgive quickly through love and hope. We are doing the exact opposite of what many of us were raised in the church to do, to look for the sin in the other person so that you can stop listening to them.

Yet God’s way is to love. We already know what people do when we have a pandemic. People hoard. People lie. People turn into political monsters.

End of Days. God’s got this. I got Love.

Take a moment, because you know, when it seems like everything is ending did you respond with more love.

See if you think this is more true: The ways that people were like just became more.

If they were very worried and suspicious, they became more worried and suspicious. Those who aggressive became more aggressive. Those were kind, stuck out because they were kind. Those who were hard working, kept going. Those who didn’t care, kept not caring even more.

And this is the point of what God is telling us

What we do know is what we are doing and will do when Jesus comes back.

So LOVE NOW! Love through forgiveness. Love through a willingness like Jesus does to die on the cross for you and for me even when we didn’t believe, follow and even rebelled against Him.

It keeps going

1 Peter 4:9 CSB

9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining.

This might be confusing because so many of us think of hospital or Martha Stewart when we hear the word hospitable. So lets read this

1 Peter 4:9 NLT

9 Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.

At this time there were no hotels. Sadly hotels became an invention because people stopped believing in taking in the stranger and often the fear of the stranger took over.

Today we have a crisis of hospitality, hospitality is not just providing people a meal it is making them feel at home. Most people have no group that they are part of other than their home and work. Even churches are not places where friendships are made. For most of us, it takes work to be hospitable.

Look at the end of the verse.

1 Peter 4:9 CSB

9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining.

Hoarding is the opposite of complaining. We know what the world looks like.

What we are called to do is be the opposite.

My wife is such a wonderful person that she kept telling me to be patient and not hoard. When everyone else was buying toilet paper, she said don’t worry about it.

Our church doesn’t need to hoard our community. We don’t need to keep to ourselves and our homes. I really mean we. I don’t mean that you need to share your home with just my family. I mean each other.

End of Days. God got this. I got being a welcoming friend. (Hospitable)

Love each other. Be hospitable towards each other. That’s a two way street.

Each and every one of you is vital to our community and if we believe this is the last days of the earth, the last days of ourselves or just Tuesday let us be hospitable without complaining. Because each of us is important to Jesus.

Look to the person to right and left and say you are important.

God gives each of us spiritual gifts, ways of serving others through the church,

1 Peter 4:10–11 NLT

10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 11 Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

There is a great amount of different things you can see and do for God. God has given you a burden for it. You see the problem, it comes easy to you or fun to you, and you are willing to do it. Your just waiting to be asked.

My friends, stop waiting. God is calling, do it for God.

So many of us love our Christmas sweatshirts thanks be to God for the service of Ariel and our brother James Lano from Gravity. Let me tell you James does all his printing for the glory of God.

That’s not the only way people serve the Lord. Did you see the Roses outside of the church? Cheryl does a wonderful job trimming all the plants during the week and watching the property.

Lori worked hear for over 6 hours cleaning for our children’s ministry rooms.

But friends its not just about our property. Helen, thank you for speaking, as the scripture says, as though God himself were speaking through you.

My mother, shows us that even while your on chemo you can still reach out by phone as she has reached out to many and spoke as though God himself was speaking through her.

I can go on.

Isn’t Deborah doing great with the children in our church.

I can go on Victor thank you for the online worship.

I can keep going Andrew thank you for the slides. Phil, EJ, Lori.

End of Days. God got this. I got serving.

Let us keep on serving and serve even more.

Many of us work in a place where we have a manager or you used to work in that place. How bad was it for you if your boss came around and saw you messing around, that’s a horrible time to get caught. Yet what happens when your boss comes by and sees you working hard.

The best way to be ready for Jesus to come back is to :

Pray, Love with a forgiving love, Hospitable - Be a welcoming friend, and Serve for the glory of God.

Next time someone tells you Jesus is coming, He is coming back soon and they try to tell you about all the horrible things in the world.

- Bring glory to God