October 2023, "see that you are not troubled"...
..."See that you are not troubled"...
In Mathew 24, Jesus tells His disciples what should have been a shocking statement to them. ""Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."” (Matthew 24:2) Now, He had just had another confrontation with the scribes and Pharisees in ch23, the disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple, and He makes this statement.
On a side note, it is important to remember that the Law of Moses cannot be observed or kept without that temple, and the ability to make sacrifice. And Jesus is declaring that it will all be torn down. For the Jew, that is really bad news!
But the disciples, to their credit, accept what Jesus is saying as though they already know it to be true. And they ask three relevant and critical questions: "Tell us, when will these things be? What will be the sign of your coming? And (what will be the sign) of the end of the age?"
So, here we are
There's another war going on, and here we are still trying to figure out the answer to these questions! Everybody has their favorite end-times teaching or position, but have you noticed that every time there is anything going on with Israel, or Russia, or China, or the Euphrates River, out come all the charts, and the four blood moons, and the revived Roman Empire, and before you know it, your blood pressure is through the roof!
There are two things I want to bring out from this discourse that are important to us. And I believe that is where we need to focus. Here they are:
1. “And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you.” (Matthew 24:4)
This is the very first thing Jesus says. He doesn't even answer the first question before He starts talking about the probability that there will be a lot of people running around lying about what is happening!
It is clear that He is making this our responsibility. "You make sure that" no one deceives you about this!
I'm not here to point out any false eschatological predictions for you today. I'm only reminding you of what Jesus said. It is a characteristic of the last days (inclusive of almost all interpretive views of apocalyptic literature) that deception will be rampant. Jesus said it is our responsibility to be mindful of it, watch out for it, and literally don't believe everything you hear (ref v6, v23-26).
2. "See that you are not troubled" (Matthew 24:6), which is the main point I want to focus on in this note today. The overall scheme of the enemy is to 'steal, kill and destroy'. It is our responsibility to see to our own heart condition, and maintain our focus, our purpose, our peace, and to resist the actions of the enemy to steal any of that.
Jesus said there would be wars and rumors of wars. And here we are with both of those. Again.
But the Kingdom doesn't get paused because there's a war. The Kingdom gets preached in a war, in peace-time, and at all other times. "Not troubled" doesn't mean we are not touched, or concerned, even heart-broken by the horrors of war and of what people do to one another. We are and we should be. But that heart feeling can be our call to action, to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the hurting and dying during these times, and at all other times.
Many of us are paralyzed from the bombardment of news from just in the last month, not to mention the last few years, paralyzed in our emotions and in our thinking. That is the kind of heart trouble Jesus is talking about. The word for ‘troubled’ in v6 means to be frightened or terrorized. Part of the plan of the enemy, if he can do it, is to put us in a prison of fear!
What then are we to do in these days? We do the same as all the other days. The Great Commission is still on, and we are still to be about our Father's business: preaching the Gospel, healing the sick, casting out demons, baptizing, teaching, planting churches and Bible Colleges!
So, don’t allow your heart to be troubled, keep calm, and build the Kingdom!
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