The first day of every year, or I should say the first Sunday of every year is always an exciting time. And I must say that the first Sunday of this year, which obviously is today, is also a very sobering time. I am aware of very distinct attacks of the enemy on my life and this church, and they will continue this coming year. And so I have a very sobering message for you this morning. It's one of warning, but it's also one of hope and encouragement. To that end, I would like to address our Lord's words in Matthew 24. If you will take your Bibles and turn they're beginning in verse 37. And I've entitled my discourse to you this morning, "As in the days of Noah." Let me read the text. Jesus said in Matthew 24:37, "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away. So will the coming of the Son of man be." My goal this morning is to both warn and encourage. And to be sure, these are very oppressive dark days in which we live. Satan is alive and well. And yet, that blackness gives great contrast to the glorious light of Christ as at night. We see him more brilliantly against the darkness. Jesus words that I just read come from His Olivet Discourse that we read about, for example, in Matthew 24, and 25, which is a deep detailed examination of impending judgment upon the earth and those who dwell upon it, and a sobering harbinger of eternal hell. And to be sure, as we read the Word of God, we find him saying very clearly that the world is moving inexorably towards a day of divine judgment, a day of divine retribution. But also, we see very clearly that God is in control of all things. And we rest and relax in His sovereignty. But there is a tension between those two things; judgment is coming, yet God is in control. And we want to maintain that tension. And this morning, my outline is very simple words of warning and words of encouragement to points. All right. Let me begin with the words of warning. Notice again, what the Word of God says here, "for the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah." What were those days like? There's really two characteristics that define those days that we need to be aware of. First of all, they were days of number one unmitigated evil and rebellion against God. But secondly, they were days of granite indifference, and apathy concerning God's judgment. And we see both of these features in the world in which we live. We see it as well and many ostensibly, evangelical churches, many of which are Christian in name only and thoroughly apostate. We talk first of all about the days of Noah regarding number one, the days of unmitigated evil and rebellion against God. There we would go to Genesis 6:5. And we learn about what was going on then. Powerful text. It says, "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil, continually." In other words, the inner compulsions that dominated their thought life plotted evil continually, every inclination of their heart was to satisfy their own lusts and mock God at every level. And their sins were so abhorrent to a holy God. That judgment was both just as well as inevitable. Verse six, "The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth and He was grieved in His heart. The Lord said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals, to creeping things, and to birds of the sky, for I am sorry that I have made them." In other words, sin had so corrupted his created order, a violence beyond restoration and reconciliation. It was so severe that he would destroy it in the worldwide flood, a harbinger of a future judgment that is coming not by water, but by fire. So they were days of unmitigated evil and rebellion against God. But secondly, they were days of granite indifference and apathy concerning the judgment of God. And this gets to the heart of Jesus warning, when He said in Matthew 24:37, "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of man be." In other words, they were living in a fool's paradise, enjoying the ordinary rhythms of life, eat, drink, marry, have family, kids have families, on and on, it goes an endless cycle. Life as usual, with no thought of God, no thought of judgment, no thought of eternity. And that's the world in which we live right now. In fact, some of you could be characterized by these very things. They utterly disregarded Noah's warnings. They even ignore the testimony of creation and conscience in their own heart that points man to God and renders them without excuse, as you will recall in Romans. Romans 1:18 and following. In fact, there we read, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who," catch this now, "suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them, for God made it evident to them." Furthermore, because they experienced no consequences, in their sinful behavior, no divine retribution, they just continue to live for themselves, and in utter rebellion against God. This is typical of man's fallen nature. In fact we read about this in Ecclesiastes 8:11, "Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil." Jesus went on to say in Matthew 24 and verse 39, "and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be." Verse 40, he goes on to say that "there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill, one will be taken and one will be left." You see, as in the days of Noah, when the Lord returns again, people will be doing the mundane things of life, the ordinary daily activities of life. And some suddenly will be taken into judgment, and others will be left to live for God and with God. So Jesus finally says, "Therefore, be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming." Again, to be sure, this text gives a vivid description of the culture and even the world in which we live. Days of unmitigated evil and rebellion against God, days of granite indifference and apathy concerning God's judgment. Now often people will ask me, "Well, Pastor, do you think that we are living in the last days just prior to the Lord's return?" And the answer is, "Well, absolutely." Because if you understand Scripture, the last days began at Christ's ascension, basically. And so you might say, "Do you believe we're living in the Last of the last days and to that end," I would have to say, "I really do" for a number of reasons.

And this text along with many others, I believe can support the veracity of my answers. Allow me to explain this in a more detailed way by drawing your attention to some important biblical and theological historical background. First, I must say that no one knows when the Lord will return. But it is imminent, meaning it could happen at any time and as Christians, throughout Scripture, we're told that we are to be ready, we are to be watching. We are to be alert, Titus 2:13. We are to be "looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus who gave Himself for us." The apostle Paul was clearly convinced even in his own mind, that he himself might be among those who would be caught up alive to meet the Lord in the air. In I Thessalonians 4:15, as well as 17 He uses the personal pronouns "we" which includes himself, "we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord," he went on to say, "we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air." And the imminence of our Lord's return can be seen all through Scripture. For example, in James 5:7, "Therefore, be patient brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient, strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near, do not complain brother and against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing right at the door." 1 Peter 4:7, "The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer." And Hebrews chapter 10, beginning in verse 24, "let us consider how to stimulate one another, to love and good deeds, not forsaking for our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near." I John 2:18, "Children, it is the last hour and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now, many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour." Of course, people will say, what a hoax. The last hour has been 2000 years. I mean, how many more years before the Lord comes. But what they don't understand is that God is not bound by time nor space. Eons of time are mere minutes in God's economy. Peter address this in 2 Peter 3, beginning in verse three, "Know this first of all, that in the last days, mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For ever, since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation." But the inspired apostle goes on to say in verse eight, "do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like 1000 years and 1000 years like one day, the Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance." So he delays because he is merciful. But that does not mean he is not coming as he is promised. So indeed, we await the imminent return of the Lord. We don't know when it will be. But we can discern the signs of the times in which we live. We can look at the constellation of prophetic signs that we see in Scripture. And by the way, these signs have been there throughout the church age. But as we look at them, they appear to be escalating very rapidly. And to that end, it would appear that the stage is set for the Lord's return. That the drum roll has begun and the curtains are about to be pulled back. Now please understand, we have been again living in the last days since the time Jesus was ascended into heaven, since the days of the apostle, the entire church age is the last days. Hebrews 1:1, "God after he spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets, in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son." But there are some that will ask and rightfully so, what are some of the signs of the times of these last days? Beyond being just like the days of Noah that we've already discussed? Well, I'll give you a few. And I'm going to go over these just kind of in general, without a lot of commentary. Because I just want you to get a sense of what I believe will continue to escalate in this year, and do so very rapidly. What we have to look forward to and fight against. In the last days, of course, there are going to be scoffers as we've just read. 2 Peter 3:3, that scoffing is getting louder and louder, to the point of absolute mockery. 2 Timothy 3:1, Paul said, "But realize this, that in the last days, difficult times will come," literally perilous times. "For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revelers, 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, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power." Then he went on to say avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." Beloved, we're experiencing these things in our day, as if it were a tsunami of these forms of wickedness. We also know that before the Lord comes, all the nations of the earth will be gathered against Jerusalem. Zechariah 12:3. We look around, we see anti semitism continuing to grow around the world, the entire Muslim world is allied against them. The Temple Mount remains the most disputed piece of real estate in the world, because it is the epicenter of two opposing kingdoms, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. And again, these categories of evil have always existed in the last days, the church age in which we live, however, they have risen to unprecedented levels in our day. And I believe this will continue. But in Matthew 24, the Lord Jesus offers some very specific signs of the times. Let me give you the context there. And we'll look at a few of these. In that day, with their messianic hopes dashed, their beloved temple and nation being doomed, the disciples ask Jesus in Matthew 24:3, "Tell us, when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" And as they sat there on the Mount of Olives, Jesus gave the longest answer to any question posed to him in the New Testament. The disciples thought all of the mysterious events that he spoke about would happen shortly and in quick sucession culminating in the promised messianic kingdom, but they had no idea that Jesus was soon going to leave. So they certainly had no comprehension of the church age that would intervene between that time and His Second Coming is "parousia" Jesus used the term "parousia" to denote His Second Coming. It's the idea of His presence, His appearing. So beginning in verse four of Matthew 24, Jesus begins to answer their questions in the reverse order. And he begins by addressing the signs of His coming in verses four through 14. He describes six very specific signs and there's some others in there as well beyond that, and, again, I'm going to hit the highlights of these, but they were called birth pains, birth pangs, verse eight, that will occur just prior to His coming. In other words, these will be a sequence of events analogous to a woman entering into labor events that will increase in severity and rapidity until the Messianic Kingdom is birthed.

Verses four and five. The first one he talks about is false messiahs. In other words, self appointed prophets, Priests, kings, deceivers leading to the worship of the ultimate false messiah the Antichrist. Secondly, in verses six through seven, there will be nations at war, verses seven and eight natural disasters of epic proportions. Verse nine, persecution of saints, verses 10 through 13, defection of and betrayal by false believers. And in verse 14, it will be mass evangelism. These will find their final fulfillment during the time of the seven year Tribulation. And again, these events are consistent with the prophecies that we read about in Daniel 9:24. Daniel's 70th week is consistent with the pre kingdom judgments of Revelation, chapter six through 19. All of these things will ultimately come to a head just prior to the establishment of the Kingdom when the Lord returns. And I might add as a footnote, although God's economy and dealing with Israel finds numerous fulfillments, in the church, nevertheless, Daniel's 70th week, a distinctly Jewish context, pertaining to God's covenant with Israel, those things cannot be describing anything in the Church Age, when Israel enters into, quote, "the time of Jacob's trouble," Jeremiah 30, and verse seven, it will be a period of unprecedented oppression on Israel, ethnic Israel. And that context describes her final restoration just before the Messiah returns. And we see the same descriptions in Revelation, chapter six through 19. And Jesus clearly indicates in Matthew 24, verses 15 and 16, as well as Mark 13:14, that the 78th week of Daniel prophecy, is to be the template for the chronological sequence of the beginning of the birth pains. These are pre kingdom judgments, consistent with God's purposes and plan for Israel, not the church. Let me read this to you, Daniel 9:24, "70 weeks had been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place." You can go back and listen to my expositions on the book of Daniel, and understand these things in much greater detail. So while the nation of Israel has been set aside, as a nation temporarily, as we read in Romans 11, verse 11, through 15, the normal reading of scripture would help us understand that these things are clearly going to emerge with respect to Israel, will be the object of divine attention at that point. And I might also add for many reasons, I believe the church will be translated, snatched away, raptured, before the seven years, that's often called the tribulation, which is synonymous with Daniel's 70th week. And we await that glorious event. If you want to know more about those, or that concept of the rapture and so forth, go back to, I forget when it was, 2006, when I went through the Gospel of Matthew, you can listen to the exposition. So Matthew 24, and so forth. Now all six signs of His coming, that Jesus describes in Matthew 24. Again, they've existed in the church age all along, but because of the internet, and because of television, and because of social media, these things are exploding exponentially. Jesus warned, for example, that just prior to His coming in Matthew 24, six, you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. I thought about that this week did a little bit of research. Once again, Serbia and Kosovo are on the brink of war. It has been reported that the President of Serbia has just raised the alert level of his military to quote the highest level of combat readiness. Look at the high tensions that continue to exist and mount between India and Pakistan as they continue to fight over the fiercely contested Kashmir region. We are now witnessing Turkish forces advancing along its border with Syria in their attempt to defeat the Kurds. Tensions have never been higher between North and South Korea. North Korea continues to threaten South Korea by sending Drones into their airspace. In fact, Major General Li Sing Yo spokesman for the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said this in a recent briefing, quote, "our military will thoroughly and resolutely respond to this kind of North Korean provocation." And in Pyongyang, North Korea has launched a record number of ballistic and other missiles this year. I understand over 90 of them this last year, including a pair fired last week towards Japan. We can look at China. And most of us are aware that China continues to flex its muscle in the South China Sea, continues to threaten to take over Taiwan. This week, they sent 71 planes and seven ships toward Taiwan in a 24 hour period. Look at Israel and Iran. Benjamin Netanyahu has just been reelected Prime Minister of Israel, and he is pledged that he will never allow the Iranians to build their own nuclear weapons. Yet, the IAEA claims that the Iranians are now quote "one technical step away from enriching weapons grade uranium." And Iran promises to level Tel Aviv to the ground. They have this in a chilling video explaining how they would respond to an Israeli airstrike on its nuclear plant. Look at Russia and Ukraine. They continue to fight which could possibly spill over into a war that would trigger the United States and NATO getting involved. I read an article recently, quote, "the Russians continue to try to frame this conflict as a great battle between good and evil." In fact, a commercial has just been released that portrays Vladimir Putin as a Santa Claus figure that is delivering a boy, catch this from the twisted values of the Western world. Goes on to say Russian President Vladimir Putin has been portrayed as Santa in an anti Western propaganda video released on the country social media the film, made by a production company called "Signal" depicts Santa Putin swapping a photograph of a child's same sex parents for one of a mother and father and gifting the boy being raised as a girl of football, toy cars and a drum kit. In other words, they're making a mockery of what should be a mockery, and that is the degradation and immorality of the United States. The video feeds into Russian prejudices about Europe and the United States. The article goes on to say, which had been fueled by proclivity and Kremlin propagandist during the war in Ukraine to frame the conflict as a, quote, "clash of values between Russia and Ukraine's Western allies." Beloved, the world is a powder keg. And what's the response? In fact, most of this you don't hear on the news? If you do, it's kind of in passing. The response with most of the people in our country is simply this well, yeah, okay. We'll be alright. But by the way, who are the Titans playing today? You see, that's the bigger issue. Why? As in the days of Noah. Jesus also warned in verse 24, false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders so as to mislead if possible, even the elect. Dear friends, the wholesale acceptance of the satanically inspired social justice and prosperity Gospels is a living illustration of this. It is absolutely heartbreaking to see what these people teach and believe and how churches have embraced this stuff. There is unparalleled apostasy in the Church. We have painted up pedophile perverts, aka drag queens reading Bible stories to children in worship services. I can't think of anything perhaps more blasphemous than that. We have sodomites and lesbians and transgendered lunatics pretending to be pastors. Man, you can't make this stuff up.

Maybe you've all seen the clip of this, of this bearded guy with long black hair with all the makeup on, and he's got the homo speech and and the mannerisms that signal his perversion. And he's talking about how his pronouns are they and them. And what's equally, if not more appalling, is there are people who will hyperventilate on their yoga mats and choke on their Starbucks, if you misgender some of these people. This is a level of insanity that begs language. I've counseled a number of homosexuals and lesbians over the years. And I've seen some of them come to saving faith in Christ, I've seen God radically change them, change the desires of their heart. It's a wonderful thing to see the power of the gospel. But I have to say that I wish I didn't even know what I know about what goes on in that community. Homosexuals, in particular, do things that are so vile, so filthy, so bizarre that they can only be described as demonic. In Jude 7 it's called gross immorality. Paul speaks of all manner of wickedness, which would include this in Ephesians five beginning in verse 11, he says, "Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead, even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret." The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that male homosexuals experienced a 4,000% higher risk of cancer than the rest of the population. Male homosexuals with long term partners live on average 30 years shorter than heterosexual men. And yet we live in a culture that accepts this, not just accepts it, but celebrates it. And although God is clear when he warns in I Corinthians 6:9 that neither the effeminate nor homosexuals will inherit the kingdom of God. We have many so called Christian churches that celebrate these perversions and even allow these people to be their pastors. And we're going to see more of this. It's coming at us like a freight train. Some of you have asked Pastor, how long are you going to continue to pastor of Calvary Bible Church, and my response is, as long as the Lord gives me strength. But I have to tell you in my heart, I believe that things are mounting so quickly that I will eventually be imprisoned. And some of you will be there as well. That's how serious this is. According to the Family Research Institute, the median age of death for homosexuals was virtually the same nationwide and overall, about 2% survived to old age. If AIDS was the listed cause of disease of death, I'm sorry, the median age was 39. For the 829 gays who were listed as dying of something other than age, the median age of death was 42, and 9% died old. The 163 Lesbians had a median age of death of 44 and 20% died old. Even when age was apparently not involved, homosexuals frequently met an early demise, 3% of gays died violently. They were 116 times more apt to be murdered, compared to national murder rates, much more apt to commit suicide and had high traffic accident death rates, heart attacks, cancer and liver failure were exceptionally common. 18% of lesbians died of murder, suicide or accidents, a rate 456 times higher than that of white females aged 25 to 44. Age distributions of samples of homosexuals in the scientific literature from 1858 to 1997, suggest a similarly shortened lifespan. It went on to say follow up studies of homosexual longevity have confirmed these general results. Comparison of gay obituaries who died of AIDS to official US HIV AIDS surveillance data demonstrated very close agreement between the estimated median ages of death as well as the 25th and 75th percentiles of the age at death distribution. Another study looked at multiple lines of evidence including more recent US obituaries, and patterns of homosexual partnerships in Scandinavia. Again, finding that homosexual behavior was associated with a shortening of life of probably two decades. Dear friends, it is obvious to any unbiased observer that the inevitable temporal penalty of homosexuality is the consequences of the perversion itself. Paul spoke of this in Romans, "men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons, the due penalty of their error." Despite all of this our culture continues to praise these perversions and to cancel and even criminalize those who don't. For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like in the days of Noah, days of unmitigated evil and rebellion against God, days of granted indifference and apathy concerning God's judgment. May I remind you, according to Romans 1:1 when when man rejects God, God rejects man, it's real simple. And he gives them over to as you look at that text, to sordid immorality, shameless homosexuality. And in the final stage of shocking depravity in verse 28, we read, "and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind to do those things which are not proper." Paul's use of the term depraved is most telling, because it basically explains the utter irrationality and insanity that is now so pervasive in American culture. The Greek term translated depraved means unapproved, it means worthless, useless, and it was originally used to describe worthless metals rejected by refiners due to their impurity. And in this context, it highlights the frightening reality that when man ignores all of the evidence of nature, God's creation, as well as ignores his conscience and approve of refuses to approve of God, he will be given over to an unapproved, a worthless, a depraved mind. A disposition of godless corruption and that's where we're at. And it's going to get worse. This is similarly stated in Titus 1:15, "to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. They profess to know God but by their deeds they deny Him being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed." Our culture's obsession with transgenderism is a prime example of this kind of depraved, worthless mind. This stuff is absolutely appalling. It's insane. I mean, what lunatic would encourage children to explore gender options, because their biological gender doesn't match their perceived identity? What kind of monster would promote irreversible physical mutilation and chemical castration. So a child could pretend to be what they could never be? The opposite gender. This is the position of our president. This is the position of many of our government officials. This is the position of those that teach your children in most of the public schools, your colleges or universities. I was reading an article Fox News quote, "the massive 1.7 trillion omnibus bill that was made public by federal lawmakers Tuesday includes the 750,000 earmark for a Los Angeles based gender transgender Latino group" that wants to quote "dismantle the US criminal justice system and Immigration and Customs Enforcement." That's ice and inject, quote, "transgender history and discourse into elementary schools, among other progressive initiatives" end quote. That's what our tax dollars are paying for. You want to know where we're headed in 2023 This is it, folks. We're not just heading there, we're there, but it's gonna get worse.

According to another article in The Lion, quote, the latest text of the spending bill released Tuesday includes 4155 pages of items, with 7510 earmarks, totaling 1.7 trillion and stuffed inside the bill are earmarked to set aside millions for different initiatives such as an American LGBTQ Museum and an LGBTQ Support Center and growth of quote, equity incubator. Worse yet, folks, there are people that actually vote to put these people in office. That's what scary. Something authentic Christians would never do. They elect officials that legalize and promote and protect all manner of perversions. We live in a culture that worships actors and authors and athletes and comedians who advance all of these wicked perversions. What should be considered, and shameful is exalted under the banner of a rainbow, and they call it pride. It is pride. It's an arrogance that shakes his fist in the face of a holy God. This is insanity. Just like the days of Noah. Moreover, this is the wrath of divine abandonment, isn't it? When God just gives people over, all right, you're gonna reject me, I will reject you and let you experience the consequences of your iniquities, and they will destroy you. The Psalmist speaks of this in Psalm 81, beginning in verse 11, "but my people did not listen to my voice. And Israel did not obey me. So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart to walk in their own devices." And through Hosea, God lamented saying and chapter four, verse 17, Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone. That will be the judgment. Sadly, this is the state of the United States of America. I might also add that like the antediluvian civilization, that God judged through the worldwide flood, because of their wickedness, because it was so great that every intent of their thoughts of his heart was continually evil. The Canaanites were the same way. And they also deserve to be exterminated. And it was for this reason that God commanded his covenant people Israel, in Deuteronomy 20, beginning of verse 17, "I want you to utterly destroy them, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may not teach so that they may not teach you to do according to all their detestable things, which they have done for their gods, so that you would sin against the LORD your God." Certainly God has not called us to destroy people, vengeance is his not ours. We're here to give them the gospel and to love them, but we also have to call things for what they are. Yet today, we see all of those forms of wickedness in our culture, the gross abominations of the LGBTQIA whatever community, the unspeakable perversion of bestiality, the growing acceptance of pedophilia, that's what all this drag queen stuff is all about. These are perverts of the worst order, the multibillion dollar pornography industry, the sacrifice of unborn children on the altar of convenience, Satan worship, divination, fortune telling necromancy, you name it, we do it and like the Canaanites, Americans have been given over to a depraved mind to pursue the most vile forms of wickedness. And they also delight in those who join them as we read in Romans 1:28- 32. For indeed, according to Titus 1:15, that I just mentioned, to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. But both their mind and their conscience are defiled. Yet in His grace, isn't it amazing that God continues to stay his hand of judgment, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance, Second Peter three, nine, but judgment is coming dear friends. May I remind you that at His first coming according to John 12:47, Jesus said, "I did not come to judge the world but to save the world." But that's not the way it's going to be in His Second Coming. Because he went on to say in verse 48, "He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings has one who judges him. The word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day." So the truth, my friends, is Jesus is coming again, the world is moving inexorably towards the day of judgment. And this same Jesus that was meek and lowly, is also the eternal judge to whom God has given all authority to judge the living and the dead. Hebrews 9:27, It is appointed for men to die once, but after this what? The Judgment. Acts 10:42 "The Lord Jesus has been ordained by God to be the judge of the living and the dead." And Jesus said in John 5:22, "The Father judges no one but has committed all judgment to the Son," verse 27, "and has given him authority to execute judgment." And on that day, no one will be able to deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every knee will bow every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. Well, there's the warning. Let me close with the encouragement, with the hope, now that you're all thoroughly depressed. I've got two points here. Number one, Jesus still saves, Jesus still saves, He forgives sinners, those who will humble themselves before Him and confess their sin. I'm always fascinated with that passage in First Corinthians 6:9, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revelers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." Then He says this "such were some of you." What a precious statement. You were washed, you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God. You see, dear friends, here's the good news. In the midst of all this darkness, Jesus saves, he washes our sins away with his precious blood. And He sanctifies. He sets us apart from sin unto himself. We're no longer his enemies, we become his friends, his children, and he justifies. He declares us righteous. Justification is that divine gift, whereby God through His grace imputes, the righteousness of Christ, to believers. Legally declares them to be righteous in His sight, and then treats them as such. What an amazing thing, Jesus still saves. Secondly, here's another piece of hope for you, to encourage you, Jesus is coming again. He is faithful to His promises. Nothing can thwart his purposes. And because we don't know when that coming will be, we must be on the alert, right? We must live in a state of eagerness, a state of readiness and holiness. That's why John tells us in I John 3:3, "And everyone who has this hope fixed on him, purifies himself, just as He is pure." Unlike the spiritually dead that are at enmity with God and bereft of spiritual understanding, people who are living today as they did in the days of Noah, unlike that our lives are not characterized by unmitigated evil and rebellion against God, but rather they're characterized by faith and hope and love and joy, the fruits of the Spirit, characterized by a passion to live for God's glory, burden for the last. Were not marked by granite indifference or apathy concerning the coming judgment. No, no, no, we know it is coming. And we also know we deserve it right? And yet we celebrate God's grace, because we are debtors of that grace. And we preach that grace to those who are lost, who are going to perish in their sins, unless they come to a place of genuine saving repentant faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And, beloved, that needs to be our challenge for this new year, that this will be the priority of our heart.

Romans 13 Paul said this beginning in verse 11, "Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone and the day is near. Therefore, let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife. In jealousy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regards to its lust." Oh dear friends, may this be the motivation of our heart. This coming year may we live in light of His return. And then we can sing with the psalmist, I should say the hymnist, who wrote this "creation groans beneath the curse rebellions just reward, we long to see the fall reverse and Eden's joy's restored. Come quickly, Lord, make all things new. Redeem the church, your bride. With longing eyes we look for you, for home is at your side. Amen. Let's pray together. Father, thank You for these eternal truths. They they bear much fruit in each of our hearts. May we have a deep compassion for the lost who are utterly blinded by the evil one. And I pray that if there be such a person here, within the sound of my voice, that you would overwhelm them with conviction, that today would be the day that they come and bow before the cross in repented faith and trust Christ as their only hope of salvation. Use us mightily this coming year, to be salt and light that many might come to faith in Christ. Give us hearts of compassion, hearts that are burdened for the lost hearts that are filled with love for you and for one another. That in all things Christ might have the preeminence for. It's in his name that I pray. Amen.