Allen Jackson - Fierce Time, No Fear (02/07/2026)
The sermon "Fierce Time, But You Don't Have to Be Afraid" reflects on recent "tremors" like October 7th revealing hidden anti-Semitism and New York City's election of a socialist Muslim mayor as signs deepening the spirit of Antichrist over America. Amid fierce end-times prophecies of character decay, persecution, and ethnic conflict, the preacher urges believers to stand firm without fear through Jesus' abiding presence, the Holy Spirit's power, and active church gathering—culminating in communion and a call to strengthen the global church for triumphant victory.
Recent Tremors Signaling Fierce Times
The title for this session is Fierce Time, But You Don't Have to Be Afraid. Back in 2020, when we heard about a virus, I had a sense that God was beginning a shaking. And since then, there have been multiple episodes, tremors, that have been a part of that. I'm always surprised. I'm not even looking for them. It's just after the fact, it seems that there was an episode where things, there's a realignment. There's a tremor that brings some clarity that wasn't there for me, at least, prior to the tremor.
October the 7th was one of those. I had no imagination of the anti-Semitism that was under the surface in this nation. And October the 7th, far beyond the horrors of that terrorist attack, was the revelation of the hatred of the Jewish people that is incubating in this nation.
Well, I think last week may have been another tremor. I wasn't looking for it. I didn't imagine it. But in just, in the days after that, our largest American city has elected someone who is a professed socialist and Muslim. This really isn't about Mayor Mamdani, but the two ideologies that he very publicly, boldly, without apology, represents and espouses. Socialism and Islam. Two political ideologies that have very publicly said they intend to disrupt the American way of life.
So I think it's at least noteworthy, not about an individual, but when the American public says, we choose that to rule over us. For a nation with a Judeo-Christian heritage, not a uniquely Christian nation, we've never been that. But because we had a Judeo-Christian heritage that informed our legal system, our educational system, our way of life, because of that, we've been a nation of tolerance. You could have any political view, any religious view, and you'd be welcomed here, which is very unique in the world.
But the fabric that held us together was not our ethnicity, our language, our skin color, our accent, the region of the country in which we lived. It was a value set. And I think it's at least worth taking note that when we publicly choose, in large numbers, historic numbers, political ideologies and religious viewpoints that have openly said they intend our destruction.
If I put it in biblical language, I would submit to you that the shadow of the spirit of Antichrist deepened over our nation. I don't know what the outcomes of that will be. I didn't bring a timeline. I don't have a chart. I would invite you away from the rather popular notion that it's not our problem because we're going to get airlifted out of here. You know, I want out on the first load up. I'm not, you know, I've got no... I have no passion to tribulate unnecessarily.
On the other hand, I want to be fully prepared and do my best to help those that I'm traveling with be fully prepared for whatever's coming to the earth. And so the discussion today, the talk today is really a response to that. I believe there are some fierce times ahead, but I don't believe we have to be afraid. And I'll try to ground that in scripture.
Biblical Signs of the End of the Age
I'll start with what the scripture tells us we can anticipate as we approach the end of the age. The skeptics will say that the Christ followers have always imagined that the end of the age was imminent. I wouldn't disagree with that. There's certainly some credible history that supports that. But there are some biblical prophecies, some things that are happening in our world that the Bible associates with the culmination of the age.
I don't know the exact timing of that. It could be this year. It could be a hundred years. But I can tell you this, whether or not I'm right and these are the last days, with absolute certainty, I can tell you these are your last days. Come on. You know, and if you're really young and you think, oh, bother, I'm bulletproof, just hang on. Time brings humility to all of us. And you want to finish well. When you have spent your days, you want to hear the Lord say, well done.
I've done enough memorial services to tell you, you want to hear the Lord say, well done. Everything else matters very little when you come to the end of your days. The awards, the achievements, the applause, all of the things that seem so attractive. When your strength is gone and you're prepared to step into eternity and live in another dimension, you want to know the King of kings and the Lord of lords and the creator of all things is pleased with you.
So let's start with the fierce times. The Bible tells us very plainly, I'm amazed at the candor of scripture. You know, Jesus is our model. He's our leader. And Jesus was very candid with his friends and his closest followers about what awaited him in his life. You know, when I get to Jerusalem, I'll be betrayed, arrested, beaten, tortured, crucified, buried. I mean, he told them repeatedly. And yet when the events got there, they were completely caught off guard. So there's clearly a gap between information being available and our ability to process it. We're going to try to close that gap a little bit.
I know we try to ignore it oftentimes. We want to whistle in the dark. You know, we want to try to celebrate our way through places where there's grief or sadness. I understand coping mechanisms, but we don't want to cope with the reality, the truth. We want to prepare for it so that we can flourish in the midst of it. I believe there's a pathway.
We'll tag it. The second Timothy chapter three, verse one, Paul's writing to a young man that he's mentoring. And he said, Mark this, take note of this. There'll be terrible times in the last days. The English is a little softer than the Greek. The new Testament was written in Greek. The Greek word is the times will be exceedingly fierce. It's not a comforting thought.
And then Paul lists 18 aspects of human character that will deteriorate. Fierce times won't come because of political ideologies or parties or political movements or economic trends. The ferocity of the season will be driven by the cratering of human character. You got to think about that a little bit. We tend to think in terms of politics. I tell you over and over that politics are not our problem. It's the anemic condition of the people of God.
And Paul said, there'll be fierce times because human character will deteriorate. And then he makes an interesting statement. He said, people will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. They'll have a form of godliness, but deny its power. And then the next phrase is important. He didn't say, live amongst them as evangelists. He said, have nothing to do with them. They'll have a form of godliness, but deny its power.
They'll have religious language. They'll have religious architecture. They'll hold religious services. But they will deny the power of God. Gee, that doesn't sound prevalent. Exceedingly fierce times because of the deterioration of human character.
Jesus' Warnings in Matthew 24
Matthew 24, Jesus spoke to it directly. Matthew 24 is Jesus' most lengthy prophetic passage. He's the greatest of all the Hebrew prophets. Greater than Isaiah or Jeremiah that we're reading right now. Of all the Hebrew prophets, Jesus is the most celebrated. And Matthew 24 was his most lengthy single prophetic discourse.
He said, nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. In Greek, it's ethnos, from which we get ethnic. Not nation states, but ethnic conflict in the earth. We see a lot of that. There'll be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. The beginning of birth pains.
It's that episodic... My father was a vet. Most of you know. I've seen lots and lots of things born. Foals and calves and kittens and puppies. And once birth pains begin, there's some things that are observable. I've never given birth. I don't identify as a birthing person. Oh, I couldn't resist. But I have observed many, many, many times things being born. And I can tell you, once those birth pains begin, they're going to continue. They're going to continue. And they're going to increase in frequency. And they're going to increase in intensity until there's an arrival.
So, when Jesus said these things are the beginning of birth pains, I think the frequency of the tremors and the intensity with which they arise will increase. Now, I don't know the specific timing of that, but I understand the pattern that he's referring to. The beginning of birth pains.
Then you'll be handed over to be persecuted and put to death. You'll be hated by all nations because of me. It's pretty popular. I'd add sheik in a lot of intellectual circles to be angry with the Jewish people or the modern state of Israel. Here are all sorts of expressions around that. Well, a hatred for the Jewish people and a hatred for the people of Christ are two sides of the same coin. They're an expression of the spirit of Antichrist.
And I would submit to you that what you're watching is simply a foreshadowing of what is going to be directed at you. And we'll have to make a choice. We'll have to make... There's a distinction between the Jewish people and the remaining people of the book. Jewish is both a religion and an ethnicity. So you can be Jewish and reject completely the authority of Scripture. You don't have to be religious. You don't have to worship. You don't have to believe there's anything significant around that. But you're still Jewish. So it makes the target more prominent.
You know, if you live amongst a Christian people and you say, Well, I don't believe in the authority of Scripture. And I don't believe Jesus was the Son of God. And I don't agree with that. I don't practice that. We still don't call you a Christian. We can call you an agnostic or an atheist. And you can disappear back into the woodwork.
So the Jewish people present a more persistent target for the hatred, that spiritual hatred. The people of faith, the people who believe that Jesus is Messiah, have to make a choice, an intentional choice to identify with him. And Jesus, in this passage, we're not going to dwell on it, but he points out that there'll be an enormous falling away because as the pressure intensifies, there'll be people who make a calculated decision. They'll call it good business. They'll call it the preservation of their family. They'll call it protecting their children. Whatever label they use, they will step away from that identification so they can blend back in to the larger population.
But the hatred is ahead of us. You better practice your courage in saying, I'm with Jesus. I find that courage and perseverance and overcoming all of those things, they're like muscles. They have to be exercised to gain strength. And if you're not in the habit of saying, you know, I'm a Jesus person, yeah, I pray, I read my Bible, I go to church. If you're not in the habit of letting those things be a part of the description of who you are, because you're aware of the pushback or the resentment or the resistance, it's the holiday time. We're going to get together with families. And we all understand that those kind of statements of faith bring division, even in our families.
You don't have to be angry or belligerent. You certainly don't need to be violent, but you've got to be willing to identify. Start the practice. Jesus said, if you won't identify with me in front of men, I won't identify with you in front of the Father. There's no such thing as covert Christianity.
You'll be hated by all nations because of me at that time, many will turn away from the faith and betray and hate each other. Why? Because there's tremendous pressure. I'm not one of them. Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Those aren't just religious characters. Prophets are people you expect to tell the truth. Biblical prophecy isn't so much foretelling. The prophets were God's representatives to the people. This is God's perspective. This is the truth.
Marriage is between a man and a woman. A biblical principle, not a political ideology. God created as male and female a biblical principle, not some cultural ideology. False prophets will no longer tell the truth. And because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. Many Greek words for love, the one there is the word used for the love of God. The love in the hearts of God's people will grow cold because of the wickedness.
But he who stands firm to the end will be saved. There's the assignment, standing firm. All the way to the end. You don't know when the end is. You just know you have one. I have one. I want to stand firm to the end. Well, I'd rather go to a party or have a picnic or have cake. But sometimes we have to stand firm.
The implications all around there is it won't be easy. That there will be boiling hatred. There will be folks who abandon the story and they will create hate and it will be intense. And then the penultimate sign of the culmination of the age is this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations. Then the end will come.
The ultimate sign of the end of the age isn't the antichrist or his beastly activity or all the horrific things that may happen in the world. The ultimate sign is the proclamation of the gospel in the whole earth. Did you know we have an assignment to play? We have a... We're a linchpin in the culmination of the age.
How seriously do we take that? Forget the distant nations and learning other languages. The technology is really taking down all of those walls so rapidly it's dizzy. The proclamation of the gospel starts with your sphere of influence. Does everybody that know you understand your alignment with the gospel? It doesn't mean they're all going to accept it. It doesn't mean they're all going to join you. But you don't want anybody in your sphere of influence that doesn't understand the alignment of your life.
If you're hiding the truth, you're described in that passage. If you're abandoning the truth because it's uncomfortable in your circle of friends, you either need more courage to tell your friends the truth or you're going to need new friends. Fierce times. Don't forfeit your place in the kingdom because you're trying to win the approval of people who don't intend to honor the Lord. That's not a good bargain.
Persecution and Blessing in Matthew 5
Matthew chapter 5. It's the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is giving the Beatitudes. This is included in that litany, kind of that unfolding statements of blessings. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
I'm glad Jesus said that because if he didn't say that, I don't think that's a blessing. I would much rather people applaud me. I prefer awards to persecution. How about you? I'd rather be liked and hated. Then we read that and go, oh yes, I don't. Did you ever run a 5K? I've kind of shuffled the 5K. I wasn't trying to impress anybody. I just wanted to make it. But those are so fun because people line the route that you're running and they stand and applaud. They don't know you. They're going, oh, good job. Keep it up. You look great.
No, I don't. I can't find enough oxygen. And there's little stations along the way. They'll give you fruit or refreshments or water, hydration. I'm like, oh, good job. You know, I think, well, that would be how I'd like it if I'm going to be a Christ follower. And Jesus said, well, actually, there's a blessing when you're widely hated. When you're persecuted because of me.
Do you have the imagination that every time you deny your faith or you turn the volume down on your faith or you try to camouflage your identity with Christ, that you forfeit the blessings of God? You know, the Bible presents us with two alternatives, blessings and curses. There's really no middle Lane. When you're hiding from blessings, when you're making choices to intentionally avoid what God said would bring you a blessing, you are volunteering for curses. It's not a good bargain.
The Beast's War in Revelation 13
Revelation chapter 13, Revelation is the last book of the New Testament. It's the culmination of this thing. There's a window there. The beast, the book of Revelation is really a dialogue between two individuals, the lamb and the beast. It seems at face value that the outcome would be a foregone conclusion that the beast would overwhelm the lamb, but that's not the truth. Because the lamb is also the lion of the tribe of Judah.
But we're given some pretty honest evaluations of the beast's intent and his behavior. What we can anticipate said, the beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and exercise his authority for 42 months. He opened his mouth to blaspheme God and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.
I think the mockery of God will grow in the earth. It's commonplace today in a way that would be unimaginable to our grandparents. It has a place in the public square and in media and literature. That will grow. It's okay. But don't be surprised.
He was given power, the beast, to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe and people and language and nation. Nobody will be exempted. And all the inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast. All whose names have not been written in the book belonging to the lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
Why will they do that? It's not primarily a religious exercise. It'll be because they imagine it's to their benefit. Submit to that authority and there are perks. There are opportunities. There are things that can come to you.
Verse 9. He who has an ear, let him hear. If anyone's to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If he's to be killed with the sword, with the sword he'll be killed. The next line is not overly comforting. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.
There are some things to be faced, endured, to be overcome. I don't know all the details. But I want us to begin to prepare. Daniel, long before the book of Revelation, God Daniel was trustworthy. God trusted Daniel so much he gave him visions and dreams of what would happen at the end of the age.
There was just a line there that I thought was intriguing. As he said, as I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them. Until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High. And the time came when they possessed the kingdom.
I believe it's just a little mini description of the end of the age. That the beast waged war against the saints until the king came. And he defeated the beast. And his saints ruled with him. You see, the question, why would you endure? Why would you persevere is an important question.
If I go to the gym, I meet people that say they have a runner's high. I just think they're high. I don't get that. The gym takes self-discipline for me and commitment. It doesn't feel overly rewarding. The best part of the gym is leaving. The best part of cardio activity is being finished. Right? Not far from the gym that I... Is the donut shop. And there's kind of a strategic alignment with all of that.
But why would you persevere? Well, I'll do it with exercise. Because I believe it brings some health benefits. Why would you persevere in the context of what you believe? Why would you persevere for an alignment with Jesus? Why would you persevere when there's pressure to deny that? To be more timid. To tone that down. To not tell the truth that you know.
See, there's elaborate theological arguments being put forward on why you should accommodate evil. We want to be bridge builders. We want to be inclusive. God's a God of love. Well, that's true. But that's only a part of his character. It's an incomplete narrative. He's also a God of justice and a God of judgment.
So why would we persevere? Because our king will be triumphant. And those who align themselves with him will rule and reign with him. For all eternity. Not for an election cycle. Not for an economic cycle. Not for some short, but for all eternity. We can rule and reign with the king of kings and the lord of lords. For that privilege, I will endure. That seems like a worthwhile motivation to me.
God's Provision for Fierce Times
We got to go. There's something you should... We talk about the difficulty, the ferocity of what's ahead of us. And sometimes there's confusion in it. There's a confusion within the people of faith and amongst the people of God. Our alignment with Jesus is first and foremost. I'm a Christ follower. I'm not a hyphenated Christ follower. I won't hyphenate it by my race. I won't hyphenate it by my gender. I won't hyphenate it because of a political alignment. I am a Christ follower. We need clarity on this, folks.
Conservatism will not save us. Conservatism will ultimately embrace the antichrist. We don't have a political problem. We have a spiritual problem. The problem we face isn't because of the depravity of the wicked. The problems we face are because of the ambivalence of the faithful.
Jesus is our Savior. Establish it in your heart with the investment of your time, with the investment of your resources, with the investment of your energy, with where your hope is anchored. Jesus is our Lord. So God's provision. I want to take the balance of our time with this. This is exciting to me. How do we make it through fierce times? God's made provision.
He made provision for his disciples when he said it's going to get rough in Jerusalem before it gets better. Well, he's made provision for us. And I'm going to just tag these pretty quickly. One, Jesus has promised his abiding, his presence with us.
Read the Gospels. As long as the disciples had physical proximity to Jesus, they really didn't care. He could speak to the storms. He could command the demons. He wasn't afraid of the Romans. Lack was not a problem. He could feed a multitude of the little boy's happy meal. Death wasn't a problem. They saw him raise the dead back. If they could have proximity to Jesus, they didn't get really tense until Jesus said, I'm leaving and where I'm going, you can't come. Then they began to raise their hands and say, wait a minute, that's not the bargain we struck.
And he said, well, it was your understanding, but your understanding was incomplete. Look at the notes. Matthew 28, Jesus came to them. This is post-resurrection. He said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, you go and you make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I've commanded you.
He didn't say, I'm going. He said, you go. All authority has been given to me. Now I'm commissioning you with the authority that I have. You go. He said, you can use my name. And in the halls of heaven, it'll be processed as if I were making the request. Here's my account number. Here's my security code. Here's the expiration date of the card. Go. It's an amazing statement.
We're not just playing church. We're not just religious people. We're not moralist. We're on an assignment from the creator of the universe to go into all the world. That's what it said. It's very plain language. Teaching them to obey everything I've commanded you. Not just to consider it. Teaching them to obey. And then look at the promise. And I'm with you always. To the very end of the age.
His abiding presence is conditional. You have to accept the assignment. Look at Hebrews 13. It's on the next page. Keep your lives free from the love of money. Be content with what you have. Because God has said, Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you. So you can say with confidence, The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid.
How can you face fierce things and not be afraid? Because God helps me. Doesn't mean he always removes me from the arena. He may send you to the lion's den. But it'll be a night when the lions aren't hungry. You may find yourself in the furnace, But you'll have on in a bestest outfit. And ultimately we have to adopt the same attitude That those three young men did. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And so they said, King, we don't really have to consider our response very carefully. You do what you need to do. If you throw us in the furnace and we die, So be it. But the God we serve is able to deliver us. And he might just deliver us from you and your attitude. The king got so mad. He did the furnace. You know the story. And then he saw Jesus in the fire.
The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. That's why we need one another. Because we walk through shadowed valleys. We walk through difficult seasons. We walk through places that are frightening And intimidating and threatening. And we need one another to say, I know the Lord is our helper. We don't have to be afraid.
You can do courageous things While you battle fear. Courage isn't the absence of fear. Courage is not allowing fear To dictate your behavior. We don't have to be afraid. Think of fear as a person without a body And begin to speak to it. You're not welcome here. You're not going to dominate my thoughts. You're not going to dictate my emotions. In Jesus' name, you get out. Satan uses fear. He sends fear as an intruder Into your heart and your thoughts.
The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? Remember your leaders Who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their life. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, Today, and forever. He hasn't changed. He hasn't stopped doing miracles on the earth.
So I would submit to you The first element of God's provision Is Jesus' abiding presence in your life. Get to know him. Make him your friend. I mean, if you have friends you depend on, Don't raise your hands. I hope you have one. Or two. Or three. That's a treasure. To have a friend you can call on. The best possible friend you can have is Jesus. He has no limits. He won't leave. He's faithful. Treat him like a friend.
If you hear somebody maligning your friend, Use your voice. Let me help you with that. If you hear somebody mocking me, And you say nothing, For clarity's sake, You're not my friend. You may be a parishioner. You may be a fellow worshiper. You may be a fellow... You can find some label that you can live with, But you're not my friend. And if I hear someone maligning Jesus, Watch me find a voice. I intend to be identified with him.
That has nothing to do with my profession. That attitude got me into this profession. And I've had to grow up in that. I didn't start with that so well. There have been plenty of times in my life When I was embarrassed of my faith. And if you're in that category, It's not terminal. But don't stay there. Have the courage to acknowledge it. I didn't even want to say I was a pastor for a long time. I didn't like people's preconceptions about pastors. And what could be worse than being a pastor? Being a TV preacher. I mean, selling used cars is an upgrade, right? I thought, oh, Lord, you wouldn't. I mean, you grow in that. And if it's a struggle for you, acknowledge it. Don't hide it. Don't deny it. Don't get mad at me. Say, Lord, I need to talk to you about this. There's places where I go where I'm not really forward with you. Help me with that. I'm sorry. I want to be a better friend.
The Holy Spirit as Helper and Power
Jesus abiding present. The second part of God's provision is he's given us a helper. In Acts chapter 1, just prior to his ascension, just before Jesus left his friends, he said, it's not for you to know the times or the dates the Father has set by his own authority. I smile. Two millennia later, what's our first question? What's your timeline? Show me the chart. And Jesus said, that's not really of primary importance. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Those are expanding concentric circles to include the whole earth. What did he promise? He said, with the arrival of his spirit. would come a power.
If we're going to flourish in the midst of fierce times, we're going to need the power of God. And it's not centered in a theology or a doctrine. It's centered in a person. Just as your salvation is centered in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the power of God is made available to you through the person of the Holy Spirit. And we're going to have to be comfortable with him. Familiar with him.
John chapter 14. Jesus is talking to his friends about his exit. And he said, I'll ask the Father and he will give you another counselor to be with you forever. The spirit of truth. The world can't accept him because it neither sees him or knows him. But you know him for he lives with you and he'll be in you. Another counselor, another comforter. You'll have help. He won't leave you. He won't forsake you.
Same chapter, verse 26. The counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things. He'll remind you of everything I've said to you. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Jesus, peace for him wasn't an absence of conflict. He had conflict almost everywhere he went. He got thrown out of his hometown in the synagogue. They wanted to kill him. He went to Jerusalem where he was an expert in the matter in Jerusalem and they hated him. He faced conflict a lot. Well, often I think demonically initiated. Storms, all sorts of things. And yet Jesus was never rattled. He had a calm assurance of God's abiding presence.
We just looked at Jesus that he would never leave or forsake us. My peace, he said, I give to you. I'll be with you. The Father's been with me. I'll be with you. I'm sending you a comforter. We need to make peace with the Holy Spirit in more than language, in more than a theological construct. We need to learn to recognize his prompting, his conviction, his direction.
Instead of making fun of the God speaking into our lives, let's start to cultivate a listening heart. Engage in behaviors that give you proximity to the Spirit of God so that you would be more available to the slightest direction that he would give. Because the more fierce the time, the more subtle the direction we'll need.
John 16. Jesus said, I've told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world, you'll have trouble. But take heart, I've overcome the world. Again, there's no fear that he's coaching his friends towards. What he's promising them is the presence of the Spirit, a power from God to help us through. We see that lived out in the disciples through the book of Acts and through the epistles in the New Testament. The manifestation of the Spirit of God.
Some of you have read it in Corinthians. He lists these ways that the Spirit of God is made evident in our midst. Whether you call them manifestations or gifts, expressions of the power of God. Folks, we will need those things to flourish because of the ferocity of the times. Maybe times have been good enough, level enough, stable enough that you haven't had to depend on that. And we could have polite theological discussion about whether or not we believed in that or we didn't believe in that or if there was room in our lives for the moving of the Spirit or there wasn't.
But the season ahead of us will necessitate the presence of the Spirit for us to flourish. Have the humility to grow. Well, that's not how I was raised. Great, change. You weren't raised to use a cell phone, but you've probably got one. We've got to grow up. We've got to humble ourselves. We're so rigid in some of our theological formations that we reject the help of God. His Spirit is present in the earth to help His people. We better participate.
Say, well, I don't know how to do that. Let's learn. Start to invite God into your home. Start having a meal once a week around the table. Re-center. Take some of your life back from the busyness. Tell some of the coaches, no, one meal a week, you don't touch our schedule. It's the holiday time. Don't gather with your friends and your families and not invite God into the midst of that. You don't have to be weird. You don't have to stand on the table straddling the Turkey going, oh, God. And if you do, don't mention my name. I don't want anything to do with that. But you could say, you know, can we just thank God that we got to be together this year? And in a sentence, go, God, you've been so good to us. Thank you. Don't get together and not invite God in. Don't get together and condone wickedness and immorality and ungodliness. Don't act like you don't notice. You do. Well, it's disruptive to tell the truth. Not nearly as disruptive as inviting the devil in. Harmony for the sake. of sacrificing the truth is not Harmony. It's capitulation.
We need the help of the Spirit of God. There's a third part of God's provision. This one's been under assault since 2020 in a very visible, open, unashamed way and that's the church. I don't mean a denomination or a particular congregation or a particular building. When I talk about the church, I talk about the people of God, those who named Jesus as Lord of their lives.
The Church: Gathering and Authority
Matthew 16, 18 is a verse that changed my life. Jesus said, I'll build a church and the gates of hell won't overcome it. He said, I'm going to build something. I'm going to establish something and hell won't stop it. And he went on to talk about the authority given to the church.
When I say that our problems are not fundamentally political, they're spiritual, this next phrase is why I believe that. He said, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. What you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and what you loose on the earth will be loosed in heaven. The ineptitude, the ambivalence, the apathy of the church has unleashed something amongst us. Our children are victims. They're preyed upon by immorality, heinous spiritual things because the church has been distracted. Gratefully, we're being awakened.
But Jesus said, I'm in the business of establishing the church. I don't do a lot of word studies with you, but there's one that's helpful here. I've got to wrap it up. The word that's typically translated in the New Testament church is ecclesia, from which we get ecclesiastical. In the Greek, ecclesia simply means the gathering.
You see, we've got this. perverted idea of the church. because we've had a gospel of salvation and not a gospel of the kingdom. It's a fractured gospel. And there's been such a focus on personal salvation, which I believe in. I believe in conversion, salvation, the new birth, however you describe it. But because there's been a disproportionate focus on that, and the line that has emerged out of that is, I don't need anything else. I've met Jesus. I said that prayer. I got dipped in a pool. I'm good to go. I got the golden ticket.
That really is not the larger presentation of the New Testament. Jesus said, I will build my church. It's a gathering. We need one another, folks. When everything's working and you're receiving applause and every decision you make gets the greatest possible outcome and there's no threats, you can imagine you can navigate alone. When the tremors start, when the birth pains begin, when the contractions get hard and frequent, we need one another. It's disorienting. when they tell you to follow the science and the science is changing at the state line. We need one another. When churches don't advocate for the truth and they capitulate, we need fellow believers.
The ecclesia. There is no church without a gathering of people. There just isn't. We'll put it this way. Let's tell me you're a baseball player. Well, I'm happy for you. But you need a team. If there's no team, you're not a baseball player. You're an athlete with a uniform. Come on. We need a community. I know it's awkward. It's uncomfortable. This is the most peaceful building in this town when you're not here. I walk through these halls and through the sanctuaries. I can feel the presence of God. And then you roll in. And I'm telling you, the wheels come off the wagon. You look across the room and I can't believe they're here. Look at them. They're sitting over here in church like they're a Christian. Can you believe that? I'm offended. It's a messy business, people. But we need one another.
Jesus is in the church building business. Luke 11, Jesus said, he who's not with me is against me. And he who doesn't gather with me scatters. There's only two options. You're either gathering the people of God or you're scattering them. Which are you better at? Do you use your words and your influence to gather the people of God? Or do you scatter them? Be careful.
Revelation 19 gives us a little bit of a window in the culmination. It's my last verse. We're done. John said, I saw heaven standing open. Before me was a white horse whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. And his eyes are like blazing fire. There's a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. Who is it? It's our king. He's coming back as a conquering king, folks. He's not being born in a stable in Bethlehem. You don't have to get overly stressed about the beast. The king is coming. In a triumphant procession. And we will join him. If we're asked to endure or overcome or persevere, it's a mild inconvenience on our way to being reunited with our king.
Jesus returns to the earth to deliver his church from the assault of evil. He will not leave us nor forsake us. Don't focus on the disruptions. Keep your eyes on the king. Get to know the comforter. Be certain that you're standing in the midst of the gathering of the people of God. It's important.
Our Response: Strengthening the Church
So what are we doing? A couple of things. We're expanding our campus. Looks like a bomb went off on the West Side of this place. Because in a time when they're retreating and people say church is out of season and that's no longer fashionable, I thought, no, I haven't found that in my Bible. And you were so gracious. You've invested with generosity and you are walking with us through this season.
I believe we'll see more people gather on our campus to worship the Lord than at any point in our history. And I thank you for that. But that's far more than our congregation. It's a statement to the broader church. Everywhere I go, I know I meet people and they speak of you and your courage and your generosity and your determination and how you serve when they visit here. They have far more comments about you and your attitude than me. The people were kind. They were welcoming. They helped me. I don't visit places, they say, where people are like that.
God is moving in our lives. This isn't just some exercise on the weekends to be polite. It's not a competition. We simply want to honor the Lord. But beyond that, we're committed to strengthening the church, not just in the middle of Tennessee, but across our nation and throughout the earth. Anything we can do, we take our services and we turn the lights on now. I don't really enjoy that that when I speak to you or whoever's listening on the other side of that over there. They can see me more easily than I can see them. But it's an opportunity for the proclamation of the gospel.
Technology shrunk the world. It's made it affordable. It's available. The curriculums that we create for you, we share with the church across the last curriculum we did with Nan Gurley around Corrie Ten Boom. 72 hours after it's released, people in 48 states were using it in more than a dozen countries. We built it for you. But they raised their hands and said, I want to be a part of that. Okay. We're doing anything and everything we can to strengthen the church, the people of God.
Now there's invitations coming, congregations coming in Israel and saying, could we walk along with you for a few months? Can you share curriculum? They've reached out from Ukraine. We broadcast services before the war in Russian and Ukrainian for a number of years. And now the leaders in the churches, they are reaching out and saying, can you help us? The broadcast had been interrupted, but can you help us?
We're going to strengthen the church in middle Tennessee across our nation and throughout the earth wherever God gives us. Why? Because Jesus said he'd build his church.
Closing with Communion
We're going to close with communion. When you came in, the ushers gave it to you. I got two minutes. We're going to do this in a hurry. If you're at home, you need to go grab a glass of water and a cracker. Communion is a tangible reminder of Jesus' provision for us. If you didn't get the elements when you came in, the ushers will share with you there in the aisles, whichever space you're in.
Jesus put this in place. It's a physical... It's a point of contact for us for Jesus' redemptive work, his death, his burial, and his resurrection. That his body was broken for us, his blood was shed for us, and because of that, we have standing in the kingdom of God. Not because of the congregation we attend or the theology we embrace or the translation we read, because of our alignment with Jesus of Nazareth.
It's why we call him Lord. It's why we're willing to identify with him irrespective of the winds that are blowing, because our future is secure in who he is and our relationship with him. So whatever challenge you may have come to church with today, through the blood of Jesus, God has provided victory.
There are prayers that we say, proclamations that we make together. Through the blood of Jesus, I'm delivered out of all the. attacks of the enemy. Through the blood of Jesus, I'm justified. Through the blood of Jesus, I'm made holy, set apart to God. None of those come because I can run faster and jump higher or quote more verses.
So when we come to the communion table, we come to acknowledge the one who is our Lord and to receive his health, his life, and his strength. There are fierce times ahead. But God has given us everything we need to be triumphant. So we come as disciples.
Has everybody got your communion? Jesus took bread at the end of the Passover meal with his disciples and he broke it. And he said, this bread is my body broken for you. As often as you eat this, do this in remembrance of me. Let's receive.
And he took a cup and he said, this cup is a new covenant. Literally a new contract. signed with my own blood. As often as you drink this, you proclaim my death until you see me again. Let's receive together.
You stand with me for a prayer. Heavenly Father, I thank you for your provision in our lives. that you sent your son. That we might have life and have it abundantly. And as we have received the bread and the cup today, we receive that life. We acknowledge Jesus as Lord of our lives. Forgive us of our sins as we forgive those who've sinned against us. Lord, we release them today. And I thank you for your great love and mercy towards us.
I thank you for your provision in our lives, your health in our bodies, your peace in our minds, your hope in our souls. that there's nothing before us that is a surprise to you or threatens you or intimidates you. That you'll never leave us or forsake us. That we can walk forward confidently. That your strength is sufficient. That your peace is abundant. That your presence is transcendent. We thank you for it. We praise you for it today. That your church will be triumphant in the earth. that we will see good overcome evil. That we will see Jesus as Lord of all rule and reign in this earth. And that we have the great honor of being included with you. May you be pleased with us. Give us the wisdom to choose you and to honor you and to acknowledge you. In Jesus' name. Amen.