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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Sam Walters

The Embrace of Identity

Dear Lord, we thank you so much for your love, kindness and mercy towards us, in that whilst we were sinners, you sent your son down to die for us.

Man, the love of God, how measurless, dear Lord.

We thank you for everything that you've been doing for us as we go into your word this morning.

I'm praying that you will speak to our hearts.

When the congregation comes, there's so many different types of soil of the heart.

There's the stony ground, There's the ones with thorns and weeds in it.

But dear Lord, I'm just asking for a miracle, a transformation of each heart here, mine included, so that it's good soil, so that we may hear, receive, and live out what you're calling us to do in today, dear Lord, please.

These things we pray in Jesus' name, amen.

This morning's sermon was supposed to be the embrace of identity.

That's going to be this afternoon's sermon.

I trust that you're all going to be signing up to the small groups.

I was at a small group just yesterday, so then I ended up sharing a different message yesterday.

But I feel like that message that I was going to share yesterday, because I thought Imam Hada didn't realise, I just feel like that's a good 1 for people to have as they start the first half of the year in 2023.

It's my belief that as individuals, families, young people, churches, communities that in 2023, if Jesus doesn't come, we can come out stronger.

Now, today I want to talk about going from survival mode to thriving, spiritually.

You remember when, now, before Covid, did anybody know what Microsoft teams was?

Before COVID, did anybody know, I didn't.

But had anybody used Zoom more than 3 times before COVID?

A couple of people had used Zoom more than 3 times.

I feel like Skype was set up in a way so that it could transition to be able to just be stronger in a period of what looked like a lot of companies were going down.

Zoom added about 2.2 million active users during a really short time space in 2020.

But Skype, on the other hand, I think took a hit.

When you look at companies that were struggling or thriving during that COVID time period, you begin to see certain patterns about how they went about and approached situations and circumstances that were thrown at them that they weren't expecting.

For us, thankfully, I was so grateful for the Sabbath school session up there, where we were doing the desire of ages.

And some of the things that was brought out was that Jesus was telling us or telling the disciples things beforehand so that when the things happened, there was a bit of preventative care that took place, so that they weren't as rocked when things happened.

So, in Matthew 24, you see Jesus engaging in some, what they called up there, but I agree with them, preventative care.

Come with me to Matthew 24, and we'll start the sermon Stronger in 20-23.

Matthew chapter 24 starts actually in Matthew chapter 23.

This is just while you're turning to Matthew chapter 24.

In Matthew chapter 23, it ends with a terrible scene.

And he's looking at Jerusalem, and his heart's gone out to the people, his heart's gone out to the city, he's tried time and time and time again for these people to engage with him, for these people to reach out to Him.

He's been doing everything He can to reach them.

And as He's been trying to reach out to them, many of them have rejected Him.

Verse 24, chapter 24, verse 1 See ye not all these things?

Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here 1 stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.

And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be?

And what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?

The focus of the sermon isn't Matthew chapter 24, but I feel like I need to start here so that I can get to where we're getting to.

So in Matthew chapter 24, the disciples have just asked Jesus a couple of questions.

In their mind, they think that they're asking Jesus 1 question.

Because Jesus has just said, the temple's going to be destroyed.

And they're thinking, okay, when's these things going to happen?

Verse 3, tell us when these things shall be, and what shall be the sign of thy coming and at the end of the world.

They're thinking that the destruction of the temple is so momentous that it coincides with the destruction of the world.

They didn't realize that they'd put their prophetic calendar in a box and that there were going to be things that took place way after the destruction of the temple.

But what Jesus does here is that he answers the 2 questions by using the destruction of Jerusalem as somewhat of a Metaphor for how the destruction of the end of the world shall be is everyone with me so far, okay He begins to give Some of the signs that we can expect of the times.

And Jesus answered and said unto them, take heed that no man deceive you.

For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ and shall deceive many.

And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars.

See that you be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

There shall be famines and pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse places.

In the Western media, we know a lot about what's going on in Russia and Ukraine.

I did a quick Google search of just places that are in war, in conflict right now.

Myanmar, Ethiopia, over 100, 000 people have passed away.

Mali, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Central African Republic, Libya, the list goes on.

Having just come out of Covid, we know about pestilences.

As I flew out of the UK almost 2 weeks ago, we were going through an outbreak of scarlet fever and strep A, to the point that we were running out or we were low on liquid antibiotics for the pediatrics because it was spreading amongst the pediatric population.

And in Matthew chapter 24, Jesus does this amazing, you know, Jesus just, he knows what he's doing.

He does this amazing job of painting a picture of what the world is going to look like in the time going towards Jesus Christ's second return.

But the story, or the answer to the 2 questions that the disciples have doesn't end in Matthew chapter 24.

Matthew chapter 24, Jesus answers the question by letting you know what's happening in the world.

But he doesn't end his answer to the question.

So the signs of the times don't end in Matthew chapter 24, but he continues explaining the signs of the times in Matthew chapter 25.

So in Matthew chapter 24, the spotlight is what's going on in the world.

But in Matthew chapter 25, as Jesus continues answering the questions of the signs of the times, he takes the spotlight off the world.

He takes the spotlight off the world and puts the spotlight on the church.

So you've got the signs of the times that's going on out there, but then it says there's some signs of the times that's going on in here.

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The Embrace of Identity

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