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Endure

Matthew 24:13. “ uBut he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” [1]

I.   Crime v.10

     A. Belittling

     B. Betraying

II. Corruption v. 11

     A. Behaving

     B. Bribing

III. Coldness v.12

     A. Bereaving

     B. Breaking

Introduction:  We know what Jesus says about worry.  It is a sin to worry.  Jesus’ warning about worry is found in Matthew 6:25, “lTherefore I say unto you, mTake no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” [2]

If we are not supposed to even think about eating and drinking and the clothes on our backs; what about a shelter where we are safe?  What about a sanctuary?  Does Jesus have to spell out everything for us?  Stop worrying!

Context is important when considering scripture.  In Luke we find another account of the same episode with Jesus speaking of worry.  In Luke’s account Jesus was actually talking about buildings.  He mentioned a simile or a parable about a man who had a perfectly good barn that he decided wasn’t good enough.  From the YLT Luke 12:20, ‘And God said to him, Unthinking one! this night thy soul they shall require from thee, and what things thou didst prepare—to whom shall they be? 21 so is he who is treasuring up to himself, and is not rich toward God.’ [3]

That was from Young’s Literal Translation which I am reading through this year.  Again from the YLT Jesus went on to say this, ‘22 Because of this, to you I say, Be not anxious for your life, what ye may eat; nor for the body, what ye may put on; 23 the life is more than the nourishment, and the body than the clothing.” [4]

It is a sin to allow the pressures of life to bombard you into submitting to the world.  We forget to pray and instead we look to the ones who know less about God than we do to tell us what to do.  Trust God!  We are on a set course that is more important than anything this life has to offer.

This from the 1900 KJV; Matthew 6:33-34, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; sand all these things shall be added unto you. 34 mTake therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” [5]

That verse 34 used to get me.  What does that mean?  With the trials and tests that God has allowed me, now I am finally beginning to understand.  Ya’ll probably know what it means already.  It means that there is enough evil today to get through.  Why should I be so concerned about the evil tomorrow so that I can’t make it through today?  God is good!  We pray that He gives us this new day and He did.  Amen! 

Dad’s worry!  It is a fact!  That is why Jesus warned against it.  Mom’s nurture and they want their children to be comfortable and happy.  Most fathers want their children to be safe and prepared for what might attack after their children are out on their own.  Moms don’t much want to think about that time.  Mom’s nurture; they are fearful when their kids are far away.

When God designed the family it was to include both.  Thank you God for fathers.  Help us all not to worry.

Scripture:  Today’s focal text is Matthew 24:13.  Please stand for the reading of God’s word,

Prayer:

Message:  The preacher and the preaching have been rough for the past few Sundays.  Pastor Jim acts like he is really upset.  Tell me that has not entered your mind lately.

I am anxious too.  You are family.  Families squabble.  Families get over stuff and they learn from the squabble.  Matthew 6:25-34 is one of my favorite passages.  Remember context?  So what comes next?  Matthew 7:1, “aJudge not, bthat ye be not judged.” [6]  When I get anxious I get judgy.  Is that even a word?  Let me tell you this, I love this congregation.  All of you.  Even the ones who won’t come because they don’t love or even like me.  I need to trust the God who speaks and calms me with His Holy Spirit that He calms each of you too.  Amen?  I am a Dad.  I know that.  I am a pastor.  Didn’t want to admit that for a long time but I am.  Pastors want to know that when they are no longer with the flock God placed them to take care of that the flock will continue to be a congregation that trusts God.

The scripture that we are concentrating on today is interestingly confusing.  We know that we  ourselves can do nothing to be saved from eternal separation from God.  We chose separation and it is final.  Yet God does pity.  He didn’t want the separation from us but it was our choice.  So He sent Jesus to give us another choice.  When we choose Jesus that’s it!  We are saved!

This scripture says that he who endures to the end will be saved.  So what does that mean?  Saved from what?  Jesus saves.  Going through trials and tests is not what saves us from eternal separation from God.  What are we saved from by enduring?  For that matter; what is it that we must endure?  This is where context matters greatly again.

Jesus was talking to his disciples here.  They asked Him about the last days.  They had accepted Jesus so this is prudent to Christians who have received eternal security.  It is going to be tough for us here and now.  This is what Jesus said in Matthew 24:9-14, “9 pThen shall they deliver you up qto be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then shall many rbe offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many sfalse prophets shall rise, and tshall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 uBut he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this xgospel of the kingdom yshall be preached in all zthe world zzfor a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.[7]

So again, saved from what?  The outline today has the three verses listed for the “AND” verses.  “And then shall many”, “And many”, “And because”; verses 10, 11, and 12.  Here Jesus is talking to disciples.  He is talking to me.  He is talking to you.  This is truly terrible scary stuff.

Then shall many disciples be offended.  What is an offense?  Look it up.  Something done against a law is an offense.  We will be guilty of crimes against God.  We will!  We will no longer show Christian love for each other all of the time.  Instead we will belittle each other openly.  You say, “Surely that is not happening.  None of us would do such a thing as that would we.  We are family.  We love each other.”  It’s happening!  The opposite of love is hate!

The Bible records these two reversed.  Before hate in this verse is betrayal.  I can’t decide which is worst and which is first.  Disciples will betray each other.  They will sell each other out for a song.  “Mess with me and I’ll get even.”  Surely that’s not happening.  Is it?  We know that we can and do count on each other.  Nothing would ever come between us to make us think somebody else has out best interest so that we would ignore God.  Betrayal was a Judas thing!

False prophets will come and deceive many.  Many who?  Jesus is talking to disciples.  Jesus is talking about me.  Jesus is talking about you.  Many are being deceived.  What are the false prophets saying now?  Transgender is OK and you’re not OK if you don’t let your kids decide who they are.  When I was a kid I thought I was Davy Crockett.  I had a coon skin cap and everything.  Guess what; I’m not Davy.  Thank God I was not allowed to change my name.

Truth is being corrupted now.  People are buying into what they are being sold.  Behaviors are changing in the way that people are accepting and acting like those who are doing the corrupting.  To say being sold is the right thing to say about the deceit.  If people don’t behave the way the vendors say they must they are told to go somewhere else.

I had to change doctors because the company I retired from is no more.  Somebody else is in charge of my life now.  Rachael is with a different healthcare network than me.  It is happening and there is not much we can do about it.  We are not free to decide who our doctors are anymore.  Is it a form of bribery?  What else is it?  Our previous doctor said she would no longer take insurance.  We have good insurance.  It is happening more than we care to believe.

That last one really scares me more than the others.  The love of many disciples, Christians, will wax cold.  What happens when soft wax gets cold?  It hardens.  It won’t bend and form to what it is designed to seal.  His love for us and our love for Him is what seals the world out. 

The Holy Spirit can be quenched.  It is very easy to quench the Holy Spirit.  I have felt Him more here than most other places where I have worshipped.  Recently I came here and He was not here.  It scared me!  It hurt me!  I had never felt that coldness here like I have felt in many other places. 

Bereavement is what a person feels when somebody is taken away and there is nothing that person can do to find the one that is lost.  We don’t have to feel that!  Jesus left but He left the Holy Spirit so we don’t feel the bereavement of losing Jesus.  Yet here Jesus is warning that we will feel that coldness; that coldness; that loss of love.

When wax is not cold you can work it, and it won’t break.  We can work our faith and it won’t break unless it gets cold.  I pray that we don’t break.  Jesus wasn’t talking about being saved from death.  Jesus was talking about what we will endure here in this life as the end approaches.  He who endures this mess that we are in right now to the end of this mess right now will be saved from the pain of this mess we are in right now.  We are ensured of heaven because of what Jesus did.  We will endure to the end of this mess if we continue to love.  We will be saved from the hardness that comes when we forget to love each other only if we continue to love each other.

What about it fathers?

Prayer:

Invitation:  Today the invitation is especially for fathers.  Let us trust God so that we will not be about anything that takes us from the love that we have for those God placed here to watch us.  Let us be Godley examples for our children to not always think that we must always be ready to answer in our understanding but are always standing under God’s provision of love.

Let us sing…  Let us pray...  Let us love each other so that the world will see again!

u See ch. 10:22.
[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Mt 24:13). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
l To ver. 33, Luke 12:22–31.
m ver. 27, 28, 31, 34. See 1 Sam. 9:5 (English). So Ps. 55:22. Phil. 4:6. Heb. 13:5. 1 Pet. 5:7.
[2] Ibid., Mt 6:25). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[3] Young, R. (1997). Young’s Literal Translation (Lk 12:20–21). Logos Bible Software.
[4] Ibid (Lk 12:22–23). Logos Bible Software.
s So 1 Kin. 3:11–14. Ps. 37:25. Mark 10:30. 1 Tim. 4:8.
m ver. 27, 28, 31, 34. See 1 Sam. 9:5 (English). So Ps. 55:22. Phil. 4:6. Heb. 13:5. 1 Pet. 5:7.
[5] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Mt 6:33–34). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
a To ver. 5, Luke 6:37, 38, 41, 42.
b Rom. 2:1. & 14:3, 4, 10, 13. 1 Cor. 4:3, 5. James 4:11, 12.
[6] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Mt 7). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
p ch. 10:17, 21. So John 15:20. & 16:2. 1 Pet. 4:16. See Luke 21:12.
q Rev. 2:10 (Gk.).
r See ch. 11:6. Comp. 2 Tim. 1:15. & 4:10, 16.
s See ch. 7:15. So 1 Tim. 4:1.
t ver. 5, 24.
u See ch. 10:22.
x See ch. 4:23.
y Rom. 10:18 Col. 1:6, 23. 2 Tim. 4:17.
z Luke 2:1. & 4:5. & 21:26. Acts 11:28. & 17:6, 31. & 19:27. & 24:5. Rom. 10:18. Heb. 1:6. & 2:5. Rev. 3:10. & 12:9. & 16:14 in the Greek.
zz See ch. 8:4.
[7] Ibid., Mt 24:9–14). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.