Greg Laurie - What in the World is Going On? (12/07/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie shares how robocalls and world events remind us we're in the last days, like labor pains intensifying. Using Daniel 1, he urges us to look up because our redemption draws near, stay ready for Christ's return, and live with purpose and conviction without compromise.
Signs of the Times All Around Us
I don't know about you, but I've been getting a lot of these robocalls lately. You know what I'm talking about? Random numbers that appear on my phone. Calls like, who are these people? And then when you answer, there's a little pause. And then there's a recording of some ominous voice. Maybe they're from the government. Maybe they're offering a vacation special. Maybe there's some other thing. But there are these fake calls. And I looked it up and in March alone, there were a record three billion robocalls received across the country. So they're starting to really irritate me. So I found that there's a feature on my phone where I can block them. So if you get a call from this number, I don't know the person. They never leave messages usually. You can block it. So I started blocking a lot of these numbers. And then someone will come up to me and say, "I called you five times. Why didn't you answer the phone?" Right? So I'm blocking people I want to hear from because I'm getting messages from people I don't want to hear from.
Okay, so in some ways I think as we look at our culture today, we look at what's going on in the world today and someone says these are signs of the times. They say, oh, give me a break. I've heard that before. They've been saying Jesus is coming forever and nothing has really changed. No, actually, a lot of things have changed. I believe we're living in the last days. Jesus compared it to labor pains. You girls know who've had children that as you got closer to the moment of delivery, your labor pains got closer together, right? And Jesus said that's how it would be in the end times. There would be these warnings, these things that would remind us it's coming. But as we got closer to the actual unfolding of prophetic events, these labor pains or these warning signs would get closer and closer together. And I think we're seeing that happen before us right now.
What Jesus Tells Us to Do When We See These Signs
So what are we supposed to do? Remember, Jesus said, when you see these things beginning to happen, freak out. Right? Have you read that verse? Yeah, I haven't either. He said, when you see these things beginning to happen, do what? Look up. Look up. Look up. Look up for your redemption is drawing near. What does that mean? It means look to heaven and be reminded of this, that God is in control. And because of this, we need to know what is happening in our world.
And the book of Daniel, among other things, contains a lot of Bible prophecy. That's not all it's about, but a good part of it is. This is also called eschatology, the study of end times events. Some would say, well, you really can't understand all of that. It's far too complex. I could not disagree more. In fact, Jesus said, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, and we'll define what that is later, he says, "let the reader understand." Isn't that interesting? So he's talking about a prophetic event that is still in the future, and Jesus says, let the reader understand. Why would it say that if I couldn't understand it?
The New Testament counterpart to the book of Daniel is the book of Revelation. They're like bookends of the Bible. To fully understand Revelation, you have to first understand Daniel. To gain greater insight into Daniel, you need to have a good working knowledge of Revelation. And what does the word Revelation mean? It means unveiling. The unveiling. So it is God's desire to reveal, not to conceal. It's to put in plain view, not to hide from us. So we don't have to be afraid of this topic. And in addition, there is a special blessing in Revelation promised to the person who reads the things in the book, hears the things that are in the book, and keeps the things that are in the book. It says, "Blessed is he who reads and hears the words of this prophecy and keeps the things in it, because the time is near."
Why Studying Bible Prophecy Matters Today
And I think what is true of studying Revelation is also true of studying Bible prophecy in general. Why? Number one, studying Bible prophecy helps me to remember that God is in control of all events in the world today. He's in control. So, because it can be very scary, can't it? Like, well, what's going on? What's going to happen? God's in control. Actually, things are going according to schedule. And that's also a good reminder that God's in control of your life, too. Because maybe something has happened in your life lately that doesn't make any sense. A tragedy has befallen you. There's been some big shift in other areas. And you're thinking, what's going on? Where's God? God is right there with you.
And number two, it gives you a heavenly perspective. And I think a lot of times, we lose our heavenly perspective. Yesterday, I went to a hospital to visit a young lady in our church. Actually, two days ago. Her name is Michelle. Her husband's name is Dustin. I want you to remember her in prayer. Michelle is 30 years old. And she has some kind of thing wrong with her where she can't walk. Sometimes she can't even talk. And then she'll be all right. And then it will get bad again. And it comes in and out. And sometimes she'll lose her vision temporarily. So they're running all these tests on her. They're trying to figure out what's going on and what they can do for it.
So as I talk with Michelle, there in the hospital room, she ministered to me more than I ministered to her. Why is that? Because she just said, man, the Lord is with us and we're trusting the Lord. And she actually said to me, "Pastor Greg, I'm very excited about what is happening. The Lord is at work." I'm thinking, you're lying in a hospital bed and you're excited? But she is. And I'll tell you why she could say that. Because when you're in a time of difficulty like that, God will be with you in a special way. Maybe it's just that you're more aware of how he is with you. And you're hanging on to him more tightly. And his strength can be made perfect in weakness.
Looking Up When Life Gets Hard
I think we all need that in our life right now. Because we can go through a whole day without a single thought about heaven. We can go through a whole week without even thinking about eternal things. But when you're on your back, the only way you can look is up. Look up. Your redemption is drawing near. And so we need a heavenly perspective. And we need to be reminded of this simple fact. Jesus Christ is coming back again. And he's coming back soon. And my question for you is, are you ready? Are you ready?
I would liken it to dominoes. How many of you like to play dominoes? I don't even know how to play dominoes. All I know how to do is knock them over, right? That's to me dominoes. So you stack a bunch of dominoes next to each other. And then you knock the first one over. And it hits the next one. And it hits the next one. That's how the prophetic events are going to be. Once the first one happens, the others will happen in rapid succession.
So what is the next event on the prophetic calendar? No one can say with certainty, but I'll offer my opinion, which happens to be right. Well, of course, I do believe it's right, but hey, we'll see, right? We'll see. I believe the next event on the prophetic calendar is what many call the rapture of the church.
The Rapture and What Follows in End Times Prophecy
Now what is that? Someone said, there's no rapture in the Bible. Show me rapture in the Bible. Well, dude, listen. The word millennium isn't in the Bible. The word Trinity isn't in the Bible. And the word Bible isn't in the Bible. How do you like that? So relax. And understand this. Actually, the word isn't in the Bible. If you have a Latin version, because it's from the word rapturus. It's a translation of the Greek word harpazo, which means to be caught up suddenly by force. That word is used repeatedly in the New Testament. In 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians, it's that event where we're harpazoed or we're caught up suddenly to meet the Lord in the air. And sometimes it's referred to as the rapture.
That is when the Lord comes for his church. It is on the heels of the rapture that the coming world leader is gonna emerge on the scene. First he'll appear as a man of peace, a good guy. And then he'll reveal his true colors. He's known as the Antichrist, the beast. Then the tribulation period begins. It lasts for seven years. Again, as I said, it begins peacefully, but then literally, all hell begins to break loose, culminating with the final battles to be fought in the Valley of Megiddo, known as the Battles of Armageddon.
It is during the Battle of Armageddon that Christ himself returns from heaven in glory. This is called the second coming. So people sometimes get confused. What's the difference between the rapture and the second coming? Two events. In the rapture, he comes for his church, and the second coming, he returns with his church. And the rapture, it's in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. You can't even measure it in human time. In the second coming, every eye will see him.
So what goes up must come down. And we're gonna go up to meet the Lord, and we're gonna return with the Lord in the second coming. And then Jesus established what is known as the millennial reign, sometimes called the millennium. The word millennium just means a thousand. So the 1,000-year reign of Christ, and after that, the new Jerusalem, as a bride adorned for her husband, comes down from heaven to earth, and we rule and reign with the Lord.
These are events that are happening. And when the first one happens, the others will follow in rapid succession. I think I can safely say that we've never been closer to the return of Jesus Christ than we are right here, right now. We need to be ready.
From Captivity to Conviction: Daniel Chapter 1
Pastor Greg will continue his message, "What in the World is Going On?", in just a moment. Seasons pass, and my prayers seem to get lost in the waiting. I feel so alone. What are my tears and prayers worth? How am I to cope when I'm overwhelmed and feel hopeless? Who can I turn to? Who can I trust? Now open your Bible to Daniel 1. As Pastor Greg continues, "What in the World is Going On?", from the series, End of Days.
We've looked at a couple of books recently, Nehemiah as well as Esther. And in Nehemiah, we read about the return of the Jewish people who were living in captivity in Babylon back to their homeland and they rebuilt the walls of the city. In the book of Esther, that's during their captivity when Xerxes was reigning and Haman wanted to destroy the Jewish people. Okay, so this is now going back to the beginning where they're taken into captivity into Babylon.
Why did Israel end up in Babylon? Simple answer, because they kept worshiping false gods. And the Lord warned them over and over, stop worshiping false gods. Turn from these false gods. It made no sense. They had this vibrant relationship with a true and living God and they wanted to worship inanimate objects instead. It would be like leaving your beautiful, loving, nurturing wife for a mannequin. Right? You know, one day you say, "Honey, I'm leaving you. I have a new woman in my life." "Where is she?" "She's in the car." And your wife walks out and there sits in the passenger seat a mannequin from the department store. Why would you choose her over me? For starters, she says nothing. She doesn't talk. She doesn't complain. She doesn't nag. She just sits there and has that beautiful smile on her face all the time. One hand sort of like this all the time. She goes where I want to go. She does what I want to do. I'm leaving you for her. You're an idiot, buddy. What are you talking about?
Is it any more ridiculous that we leave the true and living God for some object, some thing? That's what Israel was doing, worshiping these false gods over and over again. So he warned them and not only did the Lord warn them, he even specifically warned them who would lead the armies that would take them into captivity. In Jeremiah 25:8, the Lord says, "Gather together all the armies of the north under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon whom I've appointed as my deputy." Isn't that interesting? A pagan guy. The Lord says, he's my deputy. "I'll bring them all against this land and its people." It was an ominous warning and they weren't paying attention.
Lessons from Babylon: No Compromise with God's People
So now the Lord says, you want idols? I'm gonna give you idols. Welcome to idol central Babylon, where they worship thousands and thousands of false gods. Careful what you wish for, you might get it. You say, "God, I want this. I want this person in my life. I want this career. I want this ministry." And you keep asking and asking. You know, a better prayer to pray is, "Lord, I think this is what I should have. It seems to me this is a good idea, but then add this: Not my will, but yours be done." Because God knows better than you, don't He? Thank you. Thank you.
So now we have Israel, captives of Babylon. And now that Nebuchadnezzar's in control, he wants the finest young men of Israel brought to him. He wants to school them. He wants them to abandon their Hebrew faith. He wants them to embrace Babylonian culture and religion. Let's read about it. We're in Daniel chapter 1, verse 1. And we read these words: "During the third year of Jehoiakim's reign in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it with his armies. The Lord gave him victory." I find it interesting that the Bible says the Lord gave him victory over Jehoiakim of Judah.
"When Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon, he took some of the sacred objects from the temple of God and placed them in the treasure house of his god in the land of Babylonia. Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, who was in charge of the palace officials, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah's royal family and other noble families who had been brought to Babylon as captives. Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men. Make sure they're well-versed in every branch of learning and are gifted with knowledge and good sense and have the poise needed to serve in the royal palace. Teach these young men the language and literature of the Babylonians."
"The king assigned them a daily portion of the best food and wine from his own kitchen. They were to be trained for a three-year period and some of them would be made his advisors in the royal court. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah. The chief officer renamed them with these Babylonian names. Daniel, he called Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael was called Meshach. And Azariah was called Abednego."
"But look at this verse. But Daniel purposed in his mind not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to him by the king. He asked the chief official for permission to eat other things instead." Okay, we'll stop there.
Purpose and Conviction in a Pagan World
So let's pick this story up. Four young men, among others, taken captive to Babylon. Many scholars believe they were around 14 to 19 years old. So very young guys. All of their names had a form of the Lord's name in their name. The form of the name Jehovah. Daniel meant "Jehovah is my judge" or "God is my judge." His new name was Belteshazzar, named after a pagan god, the god Bel. Hananiah, his name was a great name, "beloved of the Lord." It was changed to Shadrach, which means "illuminated by the sun god." And that's a name downgrade for sure. Mishael, his name meant "who is like God." And his name is changed to Meshach, which means "who the moon god is." Azariah, his name meant "the Lord is my help." His name was changed to Abednego, which means "the servant of Nego," another false god.
Their world as they knew it changed overnight. Young men torn away from their mother and father and placed in this alien culture of paganism and unparalleled luxury. They would have previously lived pretty simple lives, though they were from royal families. But now they are in one of the most epic places on the planet. Babylon in its day was awe-inspiring. In fact, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world was the hanging gardens of Babylon. So they're walking around. It's jaw-dropping opulence, but there was no reverence for God in this place. And the man in charge was the greatly feared Nebuchadnezzar.
Now, I don't know what's happened in your life lately, but maybe you've had a change of location. You've been moved from one place to another. You moved to a new neighborhood. You transferred to a new school or started college, or maybe you're in the military and you were transferred over to some other foreign country. I know this because people listen to these messages on podcasts that are in the military, and they'll tell us how important it is to have sort of a lifeline back home. Because you might feel isolated. "I don't have any friends here." "My business moved me to this new place." But listen, they were not alone. God was with them. And wherever you are, God is with you too. Just remember that. The Lord is gonna be with them every step of the way.
See, Nebuchadnezzar thought that Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel would be seduced by all of this luxury. And more than one head has been turned by such things for sure. But he didn't bargain on one thing. He didn't prepare himself for the fact that these boys had character. They had been raised in godly homes by godly parents, as evidenced by their beautiful names given to them by their parents. And these boys had something he did not have or anybody else. They had purpose and conviction. And that's my first point. These young men had purpose and conviction. My question is, do you have purpose and conviction?
Look at verse eight of Daniel 1: "But Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to him by the king. He asked the chief official for permission to eat other things instead."
Small Choices Lead to Big Victories or Big Problems
Now, we don't know why he didn't wanna eat this food. I don't even know what he was being offered. Maybe it was the dietary laws of Israel. It was forbidden under Mosaic law. Things that were not kosher. So it might have been they were being offered unkosher food. Then again, it may be because the food was offered to false gods and they didn't wanna eat that. We don't really know why, but let me say this. It's a seemingly small thing, but it's in the small matters that big victories are won. Let me say that again. It's a seemingly small thing, but it's in the small matters that big victories are won.
There might be small things you choose not to do as a Christian because it drags you down personally. You feel uneasy about it, a sense that it's not right before God. Despite the fact that others may be doing it, you choose to not do it because you don't feel right about it. And that is a good thing because the Bible says in Romans 14:23, "whatsoever is not of faith is sin." Or another translation of that verse says, anyone who believes that something he wants to do is wrong shouldn't do it. He sins if he does, for if he thinks it's wrong, for him, it's wrong.
Let me illustrate. Let's say that you have the liberty, so-called, to drink alcohol. So you go out to a restaurant, you order a beer, you order a glass of wine, you order a cocktail. You say, "This is no problem for me. I can handle this." Okay, let's just concede that point and say, do you ever stop and think about the influence you have on other people? Because there might be someone that just accepted Christ and they came out of a full-blown alcoholic lifestyle and God gloriously delivered them and they see you drinking and they say, "Wow, if they're drinking, then I can drink too" and they take a drink and they fall off the wagon and go back into horrible things and you say, "Well, that's their problem." No, excuse me. We have responsibilities. We're an example to other people and so maybe you would say, "I have the liberty to do this, but could your liberty, as the scripture reminds us, be a stumbling block to somebody else."
So just because someone else does it doesn't mean you necessarily should do it because the Lord may give you a conviction you shouldn't do that thing. And that's what was happening with Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel. They said, we're not gonna eat your food and we're not gonna drink your wine.
And so that brings me to my next point. Number two, little compromises turn into big problems. Little compromises turn into big problems. Remember, little things turn into big things. Kittens turn into cats. Bunnies turn into rabbits. Chicks turn into chickens. Small things become big things. And we don't think about this sometimes because we'll say, well, it's all right. This is just a minor infraction. But here's the thing. If you're willing to cheat on your test in school, will you now lie on your resume when you're trying to get a job? And if you're willing to cheat in school and lie on your resume, where else are you willing to cheat? How about on your spouse?
You know, a study was done by some business group. And this is not from a Christian perspective. But they found that when there is affairs in the workplace, that there was a breakdown in other areas of the people's lives. In other words, if two people were having affairs, being unfaithful to their spouses, and would lie in that area, they found they would pad business expenses. They found that they would cheat here, cut corners there. They found a pattern of it. And doesn't it make sense? Because if I'm willing to take this wall down, why not kick this wall down too and kick that wall down as well? Why have any walls? In fact, because you're having fun, you're in the euphoria of sin, you're not thinking about the repercussions yet, so little things turn into big things.
Are there some small areas that you're making compromises in now? Isn't it time to go shore those walls up and stop doing those things? Is the Holy Spirit convicting you right now of a certain thing? Just right now, oh, I know what it is, I know what it is. Deal with that. Because the Lord's showing you that for your own good, you see. Because little compromises turn into big problems. And Jesus says, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. And whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." Listen to this. In a single moment in time, we can make a decision that affects our entire life.