In Pictures - Luke 21

In Pictures - Luke 21

⁹ When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”

 ¹⁰ Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

¹¹ There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

  

   ²⁵ “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish 

and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 

²⁶ People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 

²⁷ At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 

²⁸ When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

 ²⁹ He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. ³⁰ When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. ³¹ Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

   ³² “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³³ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

   ³⁴ “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, 

^{and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.} 

³⁵ For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth.


³⁶ Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

A Lesson on Submission

^{1Peter 5: 5} In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
   “God opposes the proud
   but shows favor to the humble.”
 ⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

^{James 4:13} Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. ¹⁵ Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
 ¹⁷ But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

James 4

 ¹ What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? ² You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. ³When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Blind Leaders of Blind

On one occasion, Col. Robert G Ingersoll, the agnostic lecturer of the last century, was announced to give an address on Hell. He declared he would prove conclusively that hell was a wild dream of some scheming theologians who invented it to terrify people.

As he was launching into his subject, a half-drunken man arose in the audience and exclaimed: "Make it strong, Bob. There's a lot of us poor fellows depending on you. If you are wrong, we are all lost. So be sure you prove it clear and plain."

Matt 15:14 "If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch."

If hell is not real, does it matter what sins i commit, for there are no consequences?
But what if hell is real? (Luke 16:19-30)


If all roads lead to heaven, does it matter what my belief is? For couldn't I just believe in my dog?
But what if there is only one road, one way, one path? (John 14:6)


If doing good can lead me to heaven, does it matter how much good I do, for it is sufficient?
But what if I am not doing enough good? Not enough to guarantee me a ticket to heaven? (Romans 3:23)


If the bible teaches of a loving God who loves me dearly, wants me to be reconciled to Him in His eternal joyous Kingdom, wants to take care of me, wants to wipe off every tear that I have ever shed, is willing to accept me into His Kingdom regardless of the evil deeds I have done, is willing to die the most tragic death ever, to save me despite my sin, why am I hardening my heart to reject Him? (Man)

Sanctus, "I am a Christian"

"I am a Christian."

The young man said nothing else as he stood before the Roman governor, his life hanging in the balance. His accusers pressed him again, hoping to trip him up or force him to recant. But once more, he answered with the same short phrase, "I am a Christian."

It was the middle of the second century, where Christianity was illegal and believers throughout the Roman empire faced the threat of imprisonment, torture or death. Sanctus, a deacon from Vienna, had been arrested and brought to trial. The young man was repeatedly told to renounce his faith. But his resolve was undeterred. "I am a Christian."

When at least it became obvious that he would say nothing else, he was condemned to severe torture and a public death in the amphitheater. On the day of his execution, he was forced to run the gauntlet, subjected to wild beasts, and fastened to a chair of burning iron. Throughout all of it, his accusers kept trying to break him, convinced that his resistance would crack under the pain of torment.

But as Eusebius recounted, "He did not utter a word except the confession he had uttered from the beginning."

His dying words tell of an undying commitment. His rallying cry remained constant throughout his entire trial. "I am a Christian."

Matt 24:13 "But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved."

The Parable of the Sower - Retold for a new generation (Matt 13)

Jesus once told his disciples a parable of the sower.

A sower who sowed the seeds of the gospel sowed it across a field.

Guarding against Procrastination (Matt 13:19)

Some of the seeds fell beside the road where birds came and ate them up. The seeds are those who hears the gospel yet do not understand it. The devil comes and snatches away what is in the their hearts.

Are you this seed? Are you still procrastinating in believing the Word of God? Without faith first, can you understand? Has the devil snatched away what's is in your heart?

Being Prepared for Persecution (Matt 13:20-21)

Some of the other seeds fell on rocky places, where the soil is thin. They immediately sprang up because of the thin soil. Yet when the scorching sun shined upon them, they withered away for they had no roots. These seeds are those who hear the gospel with joy immediately. They might make emotional yet superficial commitments to Christ but the commitments are not real. They remain interested till persecution comes and there's a price to pay.

Are you this seed? Will you forsake what you received immediately with joy when persecution, inconvenience, costs, come into the picture?

Godliness in handling Prosperity (Matt 13:22)

There were some other seeds which were sowed among thorns. The seeds grew but were choked out by the thorns. These seeds are those who hears the Word, yet the world's worry and the deceitfulness of wealth choke their understanding of the Word and they become unfruitful. The make superficial commitments without true repentance. Yet, can't break from the love of money and love of the world.

Are you this seed? Are you a friend of the world, yet enemy of God? (James 4:4) Are you the rich ruler who cannot give up his possessions to follow Christ? (Matt 19:16-27)

Wouldn't a prosperity gospel introduce more 'weeds' to choke budding seeds? Why would we introduce more weeds when there are already many as there already is?

Guarding against Barrenness (Matt 13:23)

Finally, there were seeds which fell onto good soil. They are those who hears, and understands. Such bear fruits of repentance and fruits of the Spirit. They bear fruits of thirty fold, sixty fold and a hundred fold.

Are we bearing fruits or are we barren? The good tree bear good fruits. Any other tree is thrown into the fire. As such, only the seeds that grow into fruit bearing plants enter the Kingdom of God.

Which seed are we?

Do we guard against procrastination in believing God's Word or do we thirst for it?

Are we prepared against persecution or fall away when we have to bear the cost?

Do we sow seeds of the gospel or sow weeds of wealth's deceitfulness?

Are we barren plants or good trees that bear good fruits?

For the Master,
Jason

Are you seed thrown onto rocky soil?

From John MacArthur, Matt 13.

"If your confession of Christ, however you define it, if your confession of Christ, I'm talking about you personally, does not come from a deep inner conviction of your sin, does not come from a deep sense of lostness, does not include a tremendous desire for the Lord to cleanse and purify and lead you, if your confession of Christ does not involve a great hunger for self-denial and self-sacrifice and a willingness to suffer for His sake, then you have no root and it's only a matter of time.

And something will come along and you'll burn up and die, because you're not willing, as Jesus said, to take up the cross and follow Him. And if you're not, you're not worthy to be His ... what? ... His disciple.

Only God can break up that stony heart and if you've got that kind of heart, you need to pray and ask the Lord to do for you what He promised to do for Israel in Ezekiel 36:26 when He said, "I'll take away your stony heart and give you a heart of flesh."

And so, He says there are ... there are these who hear but they never clean out the soil. The world is still there. And money is still there. And that's exactly why Jesus said - You cannot serve God and money ... you either hate the one and love the other or despise the one and cling to the other. That's why John said - If any man love the world, the love of the Father is ... what?... not in him.

You can't be that double-minded man. The soil that is going to produce the fruit must be cleansed of that stuff and that is why I'm so convinced in my heart that true salvation only occurs where there is true repentance...where there's a willingness to deal with sin in the life and that is a marvelous and gracious work of God.