Are You Woke Yet – Part 3

ARE YOU WOKE YET?

Mat 24:36  “But of that [exact] day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son [in His humanity], but the Father alone.

Mat 24:37  For the coming of the Son of Man (the Messiah) will be just like the days of Noah.

Mat 24:38  For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the [very] day when Noah entered the ark,

Mat 24:39  and they did not know or understand until the flood came and swept them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be [unexpected judgment]. [Gen 6:5-8; Gen 7:6-24]

Mat 24:40  At that time two men will be in the field; one will be taken [for judgment] and one will be left.

Mat 24:41  Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken [for judgment] and one will be left.

Mat 24:42  “So be alert [give strict attention, be cautious and active in faith], for you do not know which day[whether near or far] your Lord is coming.

 

one of the greatest questions people are asking right now is this:

“Are we living in the last days?”

Jesus makes it clear:

You will not know the exact day
You will not know the exact hour

Mat 24:6  You will continually hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those thingsmust take place, but that is not yet the end [of the age].

Mat 24:7  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

Mat 24:8  But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs [of the intolerable anguish and the time of unprecedented trouble].

Jesus says:
Don’t panic… but stay woke.

Birth Pains?

  • They signal something is coming
  • They increase in intensity
  • They move toward a moment

But they are not the moment itself.

Jesus is telling us what the world will look like.
He is preparing us for how we must live in it.

Matthew 24:12–13

Mat 24:12  Because lawlessness is increased, the love of most people will grow cold.

Mat 24:13  But the one who endures and bears up [under suffering] to the end will be saved.

  • Sin will increase
  • Love will decrease
  • Endurance will distinguish believers

Matthew 24:12
“Lawlessness will increase”

When sin increases, people stop feeling it.

This Is Where Deception Lives

  • No conviction
  • No discomfort
  • No change
    • LIFE
    • LANGUAGE
    • LINEAGE

Just religion without transformation.

Jesus shows us the environment.


Paul shows us the heart condition of people living in it.

2 Timothy 3:1–5

“In the last days perilous times will come…”

  • Lovers of self
  • Lovers of money
  • Proud
  • Ungrateful
  • Without self-control
  • Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God

“Having a form of godliness but denying its power”

Look like they belong to God
 Sound like they belong to God
Associate with godly things

This is not just describing the world.
This is describing people around God but not changed by God.

There is a difference between being in church and being in Christ.

You can attend, serve, and know Scripture and still not be transformed.

2Co 5:17  Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation”

If there is no change, we must question the connection. 

You can be in church and still live in sin.
But you cannot be in Christ and be comfortable with sin living in you.

Eph 2:8  For it is by grace [God’s remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God;

Eph 2:9  not as a result of [your] works [nor your attempts to keep the Law], so that no one will [be able to] boast or take credit in any way [for his salvation].

Eph 2:10  For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above–spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].

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