AMEN Australia 2019 Conference: Witnesses Unto Me

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Adventist Medical Evangelism Network Australia

Andrew Jasper

A Witness to all Nations

If you have your Bibles, turn to Matthew 24.

I'd like to shed some light on this segment.

As you're going there, I'm just gonna reiterate our text for this weekend from Acts 1, verse 8.

Tom, 1 of the reasons I was smiling at you during that song on power in the blood, would you do service for Jesus, your king?

And that's what you were talking about, how if you want to go out and serve, we need to connect.

And in this passage in Acts, what comes first of the 3 things?

You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses all over the place.

That's what I'd like to unpack today in Matthew 24.

Matthew 24 is a passage we're familiar with as Adventists.

Signs of the coming of Jesus and signs of the troublesome times in the disciples' time leading up to the fall of Jerusalem.

Matthew 24 speaks of a deteriorating world condition.

Jesus is asked a question by his disciples because of something he has said.

He says to his disciples, "'Do you see all these things?' pointed to the temple.

"'Assuredly, I say to you, "'not 1 stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down.

And so later on, they were sitting on the Mount of Olives and they said, hey, when's this gonna happen?

When's Jerusalem gonna fall apart and when are you gonna come back?

So Jesus begins describing elements in their day leading up to our day.

And rather than go through this like an evangelistic series, I just want to take these themes.

Notice what he starts by saying in verse 4.

He actually repeats that 3 more times in the chapter.

False prophets, false Christ, watch out, take heed.

We're gonna look at 1 of those deceptions here in a minute.

They're gonna say I'm the Christ and they're gonna deceive many people.

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars.

So the national landscape is gonna be troubled, yeah?

But then he says, see that you're not troubled, for all these things must come to pass.

Not yet, okay, so we're, there's the end, we're not there yet.

We're gonna have wars, political turmoil, nations against nation, kingdom against kingdom, remember that word, nation against nation.

What is the environment or the description of nations?

Hostile, they're contrary, and there will be famines.

50% of us in this room don't like not having food.

When you don't eat, not because you've chosen not to eat.

Weak, a little bit, maybe we stop seeing the pattern, like Dara was saying.

There'll be pestilences, so what else is not going to be around?

So people's health is going to go out the door.

What do people get like when they're not healthy?

Well, earthquakes, at least we can depend on the ground we stand on, right?

That's kinda like that scene in early writings where, you know, they're going up that small road and everything's just giving way behind them.

All they've got is Jesus, you know, and they take the swing.

Even the ground we stand on isn't dependable.

And he just says, these are just the beginning of sorrows.

He continues on, then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you.

Somewhere in the equation now he's turned it to the disciples.

These other things are happening all around them.

You'll be hated by all nations for my name's sake and then many will be offended and betray 1 another and will hate 1 another.

And by the way, This often happens when finances and health and the world are falling off from around us.

It really tests our trust and closeness to 1 another.

Many false prophets will rise up and do what?

Now just follow this because false prophets have a message.

And because lawlessness will abound, what is the false prophet's message?

It's something that gives rise to iniquity.

And you see that in today's relativistic world.

You ask most people, what's the standard for right and wrong?

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A Witness to all Nations

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