Mar 20
What should we think about the end of the world? This week, Ben Stuart picks up where he left off two weeks ago. He looks at Paul’s encouragement for the church regarding the end times and gives us a perspective-changing message about how it should impact our lives.
Key Takeaway
We may not know when the end is coming, but we know that it is coming, and we want to be ready when it does.
You don't know when it's coming.
You know that it's coming.
Be sober and awake.
Our weapons are faith, hope, and love.
“
"We know the story is coming to an end, and so rather than be people who stockpile out of fear, we're people who step out in faith. Rather than be people who kind of lock up the doors out of fear, we send love into the city because we care, inviting people into this Ark with us."
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Ben Stuart
Discussion Questions
How do you feel knowing that the end of the world coming?
The Bible says that we don't know when the end is coming. Why do you think people still try to predict the end of the world?
What does it mean to you to be sober and awake?
How can you be ready for the end times?
Read Ephesians 6:10-18. What pieces of the armor of God bring you the most comfort?
Scripture References
1.Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2.for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3.While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.4.But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5.You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6.So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. 7.For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8.But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9.For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10.He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11.Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
42.
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43.But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44.So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.45.
“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46.It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47.Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48.But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49.and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50.The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51.He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
36.
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,
24:36
Some manuscripts do not have
nor the Son.
but only the Father. 37.As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38.For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39.and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
15.“The day of the Lord is near
for all nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you;
your deeds will return upon your own head.
18.Woe to you who long
for the day of the Lord!
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?
That day will be darkness, not light.19.It will be as though a man fled from a lion
only to meet a bear,
as though he entered his house
and rested his hand on the wall
only to have a snake bite him.
15.That day will be a day of wrath—
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of trouble and ruin,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness—16.a day of trumpet and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the corner towers.
3.Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4.They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5.But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6.By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
10.But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.3:10 Some manuscripts be burned up
19.But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they do not know what makes them stumble.
12.When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
12.and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you1:12 Some manuscripts us to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13.For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
31.The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.32.And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
there will be deliverance,
as the Lord has said,
even among the survivors
whom the Lord calls.2:32 In Hebrew texts 2:28-32 is numbered 3:1-5.
Ben Stuart
Ben Stuart is the pastor of Passion City Church D.C. Prior to joining Passion City Church, Ben served as the executive director of Breakaway Ministries on the campus of Texas A&M. He also earned a master’s degree in historical theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Donna, live to inspire and equip people to walk with God for a lifetime.