Rabbi Schneider - Why Is the World So Negative?
Do you know that the last thing that Jesus spoke to us was, "behold, I'm coming quickly". The last words that Jesus left us are, "I am coming quickly". The reality is that you and I need to be woken up to Jesus's return. We need to live in such a way that we're aware he's gonna come and we need to believe that he's gonna be coming in our life time again. I've talked about this. Get the earlier broadcasts. Last week as I was closing, I was talking about this contemporary sign of the Lord's return. The Bible tells us in 2 Timothy, chapter 3, verse 5 that many will have a form of godliness. In other words, it's a religious form but it's gonna be devoid of God's presence and power.
Listen now to 2 Timothy, chapter 3, verse 5, "They're gonna hold to a form of godliness, Timothy said, although they have denied its power". Beloved, what is being described here is a religious movement that is devoid of the presence and the Spirit of God. And what we are seeing in our generation is that many mainline denominations, many mainline churches, that once were having great impact on the earth for the glory of God. They were forerunner ministries. People were getting saved. People were coming to the Lord. People were repenting because of the Gospel that was being preached from these forerunner movements. What has happened with many of these movements that became denominations is that they've become cold, lifeless, religious institutions. They have a form of religion, a form of godliness, but they're devoid of power.
And this is certainly true. This is certainly true when you look today at some of the religious movements that were a hundred years ago, forerunner movements, impacting earth for the kingdom of God. And yet now many of these movements are lifeless, cold, they've got into liberal theology, even denying fundamental doctrines like the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, that Jesus is the only way. I mean some of these religious organizations are even denying that Jesus is the only way. The Bible talked about this. They said when you get into the end of the age, you're gonna find that many religious movements that were once alive are gonna become empty shells. They're still gonna have a form of godliness, a religious shell, but they're gonna be devoid of power.
We're living in this age and we're seeing, beloved, many of these older religious denominations that were once so strong crumbling. They're nothing more often times than empty shells. Now let me simply say that I know there are good pastors and good ministries going on within all denominations. I'm speaking in general terms, not in specific categories.
The next contemporary sign of Jesus's return, get this now, is the desecration of marriage. You know we're living in an age today where young people, they're growing up, they're getting to be twenty five years old, they're saying why get married. Why get married and risk the pain of divorce? I can have everything I want just living with somebody. We're living in an age, beloved, where marriage is moving out of the mainstream. We're gonna see this phenomenon happening more and more. In the Book of 1 Timothy, chapter 4, verse 3, we find that as we move into the end of the age, that there's gonna be men that are gonna forbid marriage. It's just a movement. It's a mindset. It's a philosophy that marriage is no longer an important institution. Why should I go sign a contract? That's just man made. I can live with somebody and I can "still have all privileges of a married couple".
Why go through, why go through the ordeal of going before a rabbi or a pastor or a priest or some religious clergyman? Why go through the ordeal of registering with the state? These things are no longer necessary. These things are archaic. These things are dinosaurs. These things were for another age. That is no longer important. I can simply be who with I wanna be with. We can enjoy each other as a couple. And if at any point in time we decided that our lives are going different directions, or it's not working out, then we're free to go. Who needs marriage? And why do I have to be married to have children? And so we're living in an age, you're gonna find the deeper we go into the end of the age, you're gonna find more and more people are gonna choose not to be married. This is one of the signs, beloved ones, of the end of the age.
I'm gonna share with you another contemporary sign of the end of the age that you probably haven't thought of, and yet when I share it with you, you're gonna realize this is true. "Men", the Scripture says in 1 Timothy, 4:3, will not only forbid marriage, but listen to this, "they will advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth". Listen to what I'm saying. One of the signs, the contemporary signs, that's pointing to the fact that we are truly living in the darkest of days, preparing the way for the advance of King Jesus upon the earth, is the fact, get it now, that people have turned health food diets into a god.
Listen again, 1 Timothy, 4:3: "Men who advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared". We are living in an age like never before where people have turned health fads, diets into a god. It's a false idol. You know, they don't go to church. They don't read the Bible. They don't pray in any sense of Biblical fashion, but they are focused on what they eat as, as a all-consuming ambition. You know, juicing is healthy. I juice, praise God. But many, beloved, are turning health diets into a religion. It has replaced God to them. Eating healthy, exercising, doing healthy things, that has become their god.
The abstaining and forbidding of eating certain kinds of foods, we've got all these diets now, gluten free, fat free, this free, that free, this free, that free, goodness. Think about your grandfather that lived to 90 years old and he never heard about any of these types of fads and these diets, and these restrictions. Obviously eating healthy is a good thing. But when eating healthy becomes a religion to us, and many have made it in their heart a god, this is a sign, beloved, of new age religion. It's replaced the throne of Jesus Christ in men's hearts and we see it happening today all over the earth, especially in the Western world. And maybe I'm speaking to you.
If I'm speaking to you right now, if you have made your diet, your exercise program, your, your health fanaticism, the center of your life, if you're spending more time focused on that, if that is more central to you than walking with God, learning the Scriptures, worshipping him, praying to Jesus, if your health has replaced your relationship with Jesus, I want you to know that I'm extending a loving hand to you right now in the name of King Jesus and giving you an opportunity to get on your knee and repent before him. All you have to do is say, "Jesus, that's true. What Rabbi Schneider just described is me. I repent and I make a covenant with you right now, Jesus, that I'm gonna put you first". You can still eat healthy. But don't let your health, eating habits, exercise program replace a relationship with the living God. So let's continue on with this prayer.
King Jesus, I make a covenant with you right now. I'm going to put you back on the throne of my heart. I'm gonna begin to spend more time focused on you, hearing your Word, praying, learning about you, seeking you, putting you first even with my finances. I'm gonna put you first rather than these health fads first, in Jesus's name, Amen.
You know, Paul tells us in the Word that discipline is healthy. Bodily discipline is healthy. It's a good thing to discipline ourselves to exercise. Praise God. God bless you if you do that. It's a great thing to eat healthy. I try to watch what I eat. But Paul said, "but Godly discipline is much more profitable for it holds benefit not just in this age, but also in the age to come". This health food fanaticism that we're seeing today, beloved, it's a sign of Jesus's imminent return. It's new age, false religion and it's replaced the throne of the living God in many of men's hearts.
The next contemporary sign of King Jesus's return that I want to share with you today, beloved, is the fact that our culture has become cynical, pleasure-seeking, and materialistic. And there's not a person that's listening to me right now that would argue with that. The fact that our culture has become cynical, pleasure-seeking and materialistic, beloved, this is a sign of Jesus' return. Let's examine each one of these. Cynical, we live in such a cynical society today. We've seen so many bad things happen. We've seen so many politicians fall. We've seen so many preachers fall. We've seen so many things happen that the spirit of cynicism and bitterness has come in. And you know what happens, beloved, when you and I agree with the spirit of cynicism, when we agree with the spirit of bitterness, you know what happens? We get defiled. We get poisoned.
And this is what Satan's strategy is. He wants to bring the whole world into a place of cynicism and a place of skepticism. Beloved, when we become focused on materialism, it's nice to have nice things. I mean, praise God for the nice things he blesses us with. I'm so happy for the things that God's given me, and I know that you are too. We're not putting down God's blessing. But when materialism, beloved, becomes the focus of our life, when people's goal is materialism, when they think if I could just have that car, if I could just buy that house, if I could just make that much money, when that becomes their ambition, when that's what drives them, if that's what they're waking up in the morning thinking about, they are in total darkness.
And we live in a culture today, beloved, that has been seduced by the devils of materialism. It is outer darkness. The only people that think that money's the answer are people that don't have money. Because everybody that has money knows it's not the answer. Sure, you'd rather have, you know, money to, you know to take care of yourself, and all these things, yes. But you know what, it's not the answer. It's not the ultimate answer. Money takes care of many, many things, but it doesn't fill the human heart. Jesus said, life consists of not in the abundance of things. Listen to 2 Timothy, chapter 3, verse 1 through 4, as he tells us about these signs of the last times. Notice the cynicism, the materialism, the skepticism, the demonic pride.
Listen to this, 2 Timothy, 3: 1 through 4: "But realize this, in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure, rather than lovers of God". I mean if that doesn't describe our culture today, I don't know what does. It's an evil culture.
We read about this, beloved, 2,000 years ago. The Scriptures tell us that this will be the nature of our society right before Jesus comes back, and you and I are living smack, dab in the middle of it. Jesus is coming back soon. I want you to put your hand over your heart with me. Let's just say together, "Jesus is coming back for me". Let's just say it together, "Jesus is coming back for me". You see the Scriptures told us that before his return, our culture would become a cynical, demonically filled with pride, materialistic, ungrateful culture.
The next contemporary sign of King Jesus's soon and imminent return is the fact that Jerusalem would be at the center of international conflict. The Bible tells us in the Book of Zechariah, chapter 12, that before the day of the Lord, we'll find that Jerusalem will be at the center of international conflict. What's amazing is the for almost 2,000 years Jerusalem as a Jewish state didn't exist. This Bible prophecy could have never come true for the past 2,000 years, but today as of 1948, it has again presented itself right in front of us. Israel's become the Jewish homeland; Jerusalem the Jewish state. And this, beloved, is bringing about all types of accusation from all over the earth and fulfilling the words of Zechariah that before the day of the Lord that Jerusalem would become the center of international conflict.
Hear the Word of God, Zechariah, chapter 12, verse number 3: "It will come about in that day, the Lord said, that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it". What he's telling us there is that Jerusalem is gonna become a place that's gonna be so fought over that the people that try to get involved are going to be injured. It's gonna be at the center of activity. And certainly we're seeing that today, beloved ones. Jerusalem is at the center of activity. And we're seeing the hatred growing against Israel today. More and more nations around the earth are telling us that Israel is wrong for protecting themselves, that Israel is hurting others that they shouldn't be hurting. And more and more people are getting on the band wagon against Israel.
And you know what, it's all in fulfillment of prophecies that we received almost 3,000 years ago preparing us for this day, for the day of the Lord's return. When we see these things happening, Jesus said, look up and know that your redemption draweth nigh. The continual heated conflict that will continue to heat up over Israel, whether Israel is wrong or right, those that are for Israel, those that are against Israel, this battle will continue to escalate. Beloved, we read at the end of the age that there's gonna be such heat there that half the city of Jerusalem's going to be destroyed. And then the end will come and Jesus is gonna step in and set up his kingdom.
And lastly today, I want to mention to you that the contemporary sign of Jesus's return that brings everything full circle is this, that Jesus said in Matthew, 24:14, that when the Gospel is preached to the end of the earth, the end will come. Listen to Matthew, 24:14. Jesus said this: "This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come". You know, through the sending of missionaries, through television, and now through internet, the Gospel has been preached to almost every corner of the earth.
It could have never happened before until this time. It could have never happened before the age of information technology. It could have never happened before the age of television. It could have never happened before the age of internet. But we're in the age of satellite television. We're in the age of the internet. We're in the age of information technology. And you know what, it has brought the Gospel to the ends of the earth. And Jesus said when the Gospel has been preached, the entire world, then the end will come. Do you see it, beloved? Jesus is preparing us for his return. He is advancing. The kingdom of light is advancing towards the earth and Jesus is coming back for you.
Now I share all this with you, not just so we could just list a bunch of signs to tell your friends about the fact that Jesus is coming back soon. But no, the Lord tells us these things and shares these signs with us that we would act on them, that we would do something. So what should we do? Well first of all, we should do is focus on his return, 'cause the Bible says everyone that has his hope fixed on his return, purifies himself even as he is pure. So I want to ask you right now, let's ask God to help us focus on Jesus's return. Let's ask the Father right now to help us focus in front of us that Jesus is coming back.
Father God, we ask you right now to quicken our hearts and awaken us that we would live in a conscious expectation of Jesus's return while we're walking on planet Earth today. And Father, that his expectation of his return, Father, that it would be with us all the days of our life, that there wouldn't be a day that would go by, Father, that we would not recognize that Jesus is gonna return.
Secondly beloved, what the Lord expects us to do from this is to fear him in a holy way. You see, Jesus said, don't fear man that's only able to kill the body. But Jesus said, fear God that's able to destroy both soul and body in hell. A lot of times today with this preaching that we have that waters down the truth, we hear our preachers telling us that, oh God doesn't really want you to fear him. He just wants you to respect him. He just wants you to reverence him. And you know what, we need to respect God, obviously and we need reverence. But the fear of the Lord is more than just respect and reverence. It's fear. This is why Jesus said, don't fear man that's able to destroy the body only. But fear God, Jesus said, that's able to destroy both soul and body in hell. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. When we fear the Lord it keeps us on the right path. Jesus is coming back. We're gonna face him. We're gonna meet him. That should give us the fear of the Lord, which cleanses our soul.
And then lastly, beloved, I share these things with you on this broadcast that you would spend your effort, your time, your finances, your talents on being used of God and building his kingdom. Because the last things that Jesus told us in Revelation, 22, is behold, I come quickly and he said, my reward is with me. You see, everything that you do for Jesus in this age while you're alive on planet Earth in the flesh, he's gonna reward you for. Jesus is coming back soon. Jesus is coming back for you. Jesus is coming back for me. Let's love him. Let's serve him. Let's give him our hearts. Let's say together, Jesus is coming back for me. And Jesus, we love you.