He Who Makes All Things New

How many of you this morning would say that you are looking forward to a new year? A number of you. Okay, those of you who are looking forward to a new year, how many of you make New Year's resolutions? That's interesting. Very few make New Year's resolutions, and I'm assuming it's because you've given up on them, right? How many of you are like, "Yeah, I failed by week three"? Maybe not even week three. Since I failed, I've just given up completely on New Year's resolutions.

It is that time of the year right now. It's the time when LA Fitness and 24-Hour Fitness make a whole bunch of money. They totally clean up at this time of year because they know that everybody's going to say, "All right, I'm getting fit." People jump on the scale after Christmas and New Year's and think, "Okay, it's time to get a membership." Then, by week two, they're going, "Why did I buy that membership? I probably won't use it."

So, it's that time of year when people are thinking about new things to come, planning for new things, and looking forward to new things. The reality is, the new year is really only new to us who live under a Western culture and a calendar like we have. It's not a biblical thing that when we move from December 31st to January 1st, some big change has happened. In fact, no big change has happened at all. But in our minds, it's a mental marker. There's a certain nature to it that causes us to have some anticipation about what is coming.

If you're anything like me, and I'm assuming that you are, when I come to this time of the year, I start to think about some of the things that have happened in the previous year. I go through 2013 and look at some of the highs, some of the lows, good things, bad things, difficult things, challenges, and triumphs. Then I look forward and ask, "Lord, what do you want to do in the new year? What are you going to show us in the new year?" I find myself anticipating and being excited about these things.

It's fairly common in many churches like ours, evangelical Christian churches, that at the end of the year, they often focus prophetically on the future. They look at what might be termed a prophecy update. While I don't necessarily want to give a prophecy update, I did want to look at the Scriptures and provide what might be a prophecy encouragement.

A prophetic encouragement from the Scriptures this morning. We here at Cross Connection hold to what would be considered a futurist position on Bible prophecy. Together with all Orthodox Christians, we believe in a yet future event called the second coming of Christ. We believe that there is coming a day when He will come again.

All of the major creeds of the church point to the second coming, this belief that one day Jesus will return in fulfillment of both Old Testament and New Testament prophecies, in fulfillment of words spoken by prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, as well as words spoken by Jesus Himself. We just looked at this in John chapter 14, where He makes this prophetic promise: "I will come again."

This promise is made in the midst of, or at the end of, His first coming, just before the event that defines His first coming—His betrayal, death, burial, and then resurrection. Just prior to that happening, as He is preparing His disciples for that reality, He says, "I will come again." He tells them not to be troubled, even though they were about to face troubling circumstances and situations. Jesus knew and had told His disciples that in their lives they would continue to face difficulty and trials. Yet, in the midst of it, He says, "Let not your heart be troubled because I will come again."

So, we believe in the second coming of Christ. Unabashedly, we have no problem saying that we believe He will come again in fulfillment of prophecies that were written 2,000 years ago, 2,500 years ago, and even 2,700 years ago. Throughout history, there have been times that the Scriptures record where God has given us prophetic allusions to these things coming one day. We are looking forward to this.

Every year, when we celebrate Jesus' first coming at Christmas, I cannot help but think about His second coming and look forward to it with anticipation and expectation. Now, that said, I want to preface this message with something that I think is important. I'm sure you've seen a preface in a book before. A preface is that which comes before the major content of the book, before chapter one, where the author gives a small statement about what he is seeking to do in the book or what he is seeking to show forth. Of course, I am speaking about non-fiction books, generally those without pictures. As he prepares to get into the major content of the book,

He says this is what I want to do, and this is what I want to kind of give some precursors to this. So, a preface to this message: as we're talking about prophecy, I have to make very clear that I am not a fan of what I would call speculative eschatology. I'm not a fan of speculative eschatology.

Now, the word eschatology is a theological term that means the study of the end or the study of the last days, things that surround the last days. I'm not a fan of things that are speculative as it relates to eschatology. Speculative eschatology is a study of the end times that is characterized by excessive overemphasis upon current events. It is an overemphasis on current events. It used to be called newspaper eschatology. Has anybody heard that term before? Newspaper eschatology. Today, I would call it YouTube eschatology. That's what it is in our day.

This speculative eschatology pays scant attention to the Scriptures. It doesn't look much at what the Scriptures have to say, but it jumps into all kinds of "the end is near" hysteria anytime there's an earthquake, a hurricane, or a lunar eclipse. When those things happen, everybody starts freaking out that the end is near and all this sort of stuff. The reality is Jesus actually speaks about that kind of hysteria in Matthew chapter 24, which is the passage that contains the largest section of Scripture where Jesus himself deals with the last days, the end times. It's called the Olivet Discourse.

At the beginning of that teaching in Matthew chapter 24, Jesus says, "Listen, you're going to hear about wars and rumors of wars. You're going to hear about earthquakes, and you're going to hear about famines, and you're going to hear about all these sorts of things." Three times in that section of Scripture, He says things like, "But the end is not yet."

So, in the midst of all this, when His disciples say, "Tell us what the sign is of the last days. Tell us what the sign is of your coming and the end of the age," He says, "This is what the sign is not." The sign is not earthquakes, famines, pestilence, and these sorts of things that, a lot of times when they happen, people jump up and say, "The end is near," and they start freaking out.

He goes on to say in that passage, in Matthew chapter 24, verse 14, "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached for a witness in all the world, and then shall the end come." Then He says, "The sign, the sign of my coming is something very..."

It's very specific. It's singular. One specific sign of His coming. He points back to a prophecy that the prophet Daniel gave, a prophecy about the abomination of desolation. Now, we're not going to get into a whole bunch of things today about the abomination of desolation, but I just want to point that out in Matthew 24 to say that Jesus spoke against speculative eschatology. He spoke against YouTube eschatology, even though they did not have YouTube 2,000 years ago. He says that's not the way that we should look at these things that have to do with the Scriptures.

The internet has provided the perfect petri dish for speculative eschatology. It has provided a place where any person, without even needing a computer anymore, can use a smartphone to create high-quality video content. You can piece that together, put it on YouTube, and create a following—a global following—almost instantly. It has become incredibly easy to lead people down paths of things that are not real and are not true.

Let me give you an example. How many of you have heard of Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster? Come on, lift your hands up. You all know; there are probably a few believers in here. Okay, you've heard of Nessie. I'm not going to pick on Nessie. How many of you have heard of Haji, the Lake Hodges Monster? Okay, you think I'm joking. I printed this this morning from the internet. This is the Lake Hodges Monster website, Haji.com. Don't look it up on your smartphones right now. It's H-O-D-G-E-E. I only knew about this because a friend of mine told me just about two weeks ago. A friend of his is the one who created this website about ten years ago as a joke. Now, he has a global following of people who actually believe that the Lake Hodges Scientific Research Center is for real and that there's a monster in Lake Hodges. Hello? Haji? Really? You can't be serious. You can't even make this stuff up. This stuff's hilarious. But there are people who really believe this sort of thing.

Now, why is this a problem? Well, speculative eschatology thrives on this kind of stuff, but it devastates true Bible study as it relates to the end times.

We all know that a number of years ago, in October 2008, we had a major economic collapse worldwide, not just here in the United States. Economists have been telling us that one of the primary factors that pushed that economic collapse was market speculation. Wall Street speculators and prognosticators were inflating the prices of things. When everyone realized that those things were not really that valuable, the bubble burst. They say it was speculative marketing that caused the whole thing.

I would argue that speculative eschatology is one of the larger reasons why many people in America have said, "I'm pushing back away from the church." Many are stepping away from the traditional evangelical church in America. This is one of the big reasons why a lot of people have said, "You know what? I believe in Jesus and I want to follow Jesus, but I'm not interested in some of the church stuff."

Why is this happening? Because there have been problems with speculative eschatology. For example, figures like Harold Camping have come forward and proclaimed that the end is near on a specific date, causing everyone to get all worked up and freaked out about those predictions. Back in 1999, many people in the evangelical church, particularly conservatives, made a big deal out of Y2K and actually made a lot of money selling tapes about it. Does anyone remember Y2K? Some of you might still have some MREs in your garage from that time.

A lot of people got sucked into the hype about the end being near and everything collapsing. And you know, that kind of stuff sells. Hollywood knows that, which is why they are investing over $100 million in the Noah movie that Pastor Mark mentioned. In fact, I read an article a couple of days ago stating that Hollywood has recognized the evangelical Christian market in America is huge.

Do you remember the Bible series that aired on the History Channel about a year ago? Everyone got really excited about it. Hollywood was amazed at the viewership of that series. This next year, there are about half a dozen Bible movies that Hollywood is investing a lot of money in. Noah is just one of them. Another one will be about Mary, and there are two movies coming out about Moses. These are high-dollar productions with big names involved. I think I heard somewhere that Brad Pitt is playing Moses in one of these films. I'm thinking, oh gosh, that's just terrible. That is not Charlton Heston at all; it's just wrong.

Like, seriously. Hollywood recognizes that these things are a big deal. The Bible has some pretty cataclysmic events that God has done in times past. You will see that Hollywood is going to capitalize on this in a big way. They've been ringing the zombie bell for too long, and now they have decided to move on to the Bible.

When we talk about the last days and the end times, we need to be careful not to hunt for events happening in the world and try to say, "Well, an earthquake and a tsunami happened here on this date, and because it aligns with this date and this date, then that means it's the time of the end." Jesus spoke against that. We need to be very careful, church, and stay away from such things.

In His final words to His disciples, how many of you would say that the last words a person says are important? I think they are. In His final words to His disciples in Acts chapter 1, just before He ascends into heaven, He gives a lesson that is appropriate for us living here in the year 2013, facing 2014. We should take note of what He says. Open your Bibles to the book of Acts, Acts 1.

Now, for context, when Jesus says these things in Acts chapter 1, it is in response to something that His disciples ask Him. This reveals that His earliest disciples, the apostles—Peter, James, John, Bartholomew, Thomas—had an inordinate focus on the coming messianic age and the coming messianic kingdom. We know this because in Acts chapter 1, verse 6, they said to Jesus, "Will you now restore the kingdom to Israel? Will you now come and rule and reign? And we will rule and reign with you."

They had an understanding of things that were prophesied in the Old Testament. They knew that there were things that had not yet come to pass, and they were excited about it. While it is not a problem to be excited, one can be inordinately focused on it. Jesus gives a mild rebuke in Acts chapter 1, verse 7, to refocus His disciples from their messianic fervor about the kingdom to their mission.

From the Messianic Kingdom to mission, Jesus said, "Listen, don't be concerned about that. Focus on this." Even though this will come, He emphasized the importance of their mission. In Acts chapter 1, verse 7, He said to them, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put under His own authority. But you, church, you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto Me in Jerusalem, and all Judea, and Samaria, to the end of the earth."

Jesus instructed them not to become consumed or overly focused on the coming Messianic age. He was preparing to leave, and just moments later, He stood on the Mount of Olives, which is just east of the city of Jerusalem, looking at the Temple Mount. Most of the pictures you see of the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem come from that mountaintop. There was Jesus with His disciples, sharing His last words with them, the final time He would be with them in person. He was getting ready to ascend into heaven, as described in the following verses of the Bible.

He urged them to focus on their mission: "Wait until you receive the promise of the Father, the power of the Spirit. Then you will be witnesses unto Me in all the world." Why is this important? In Matthew 24, during the Olivet Discourse, which I mentioned earlier, Jesus was in the same place as in Acts chapter 1, on the Mount of Olives. He stated in Matthew 24:14, "This gospel is going to be preached for a witness in all the world, and then shall the end come."

His disciples asked, "Is the end now?" He replied, "No, no, no, no, no. Wait a second. You're in Jerusalem. There's a big world out there, and you are going to be witnesses of Me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the world." The gospel is to be preached for a witness in all the world, and then the end shall come.

Here we are, 2,000 years later. Do you realize that as of December 29, 2013, there are still more than 1,200 distinct people groups who have no witness of Jesus Christ and have never heard the gospel? Among the 7 billion people living in the world today, 1,200 distinct people groups have no witness for Christ. This gospel of the kingdom is to be preached in all the world, and then shall the end come. It's hard for us to fathom living in a place where this reality exists.

Where there is such a saturation of Bible preaching and teaching, there are people in the world who have never, ever heard the name of Jesus. They have never, ever heard the reality of the gospel. Jesus says to His disciples, "I need to refocus your attention from this messianic kingdom that will come. God is going to do it. He has a time appointed when He will bring these things to pass. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and then you shall be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth."

Although He mildly rebukes them in verses 7 and 8, look at what immediately follows in Acts chapter 1, verse 9. Now, when Jesus had spoken these things, while they watched Him, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. How awesome would it have been to have been there to see that? Standing on the Mount of Olives, they had seen some amazing things in the last month and a half. They had seen Jesus tried, convicted, crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. Now, they had spent the last 40 days with Him as He performed mighty signs and wonders.

And now, there they were, standing on the Mount of Olives, excited about the coming Messianic age, when He just starts to lift off the ground and goes up into the air. They would have been doing the same thing that they were probably doing—standing there, stunned, as He was lifted up and a cloud took Him out of their sight.

Then we read something else: Behold, as He went up, two men stood by them. They appeared in white apparel and said, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing here gazing up into heaven?" They might as well have said, "Duh." Why are you standing here gazing up into heaven? Notice this: This same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven. Jesus said in John chapter 14, "I will come again." His prophetic promise is confirmed by what we believe to be two angelic beings standing there by the disciples on the Mount of Olives.

As they watched Him ascend up into heaven, they were blown away by this. They said, "Why are you standing here looking up into heaven? Don't you know that this same Jesus will come again in like manner? Just as you have seen Him go up, He will one day come again."

In the midst of all the things that could happen and do happen in this life, Jesus says, "Do not be troubled." What is the basis of us not being troubled? It is this promise: "I am going to prepare a place for you, and if I go, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

When Jesus spoke those words in John chapter 14, it came on the heels of some very difficult and troubling statements that He made to His disciples. In John chapter 13, He said, "One of you is going to betray Me." All the disciples were shocked by this, and they looked around, asking, "Is it I? Is it I?" They went around the room, each one saying, "Am I? I would never betray You." Peter declared, "Lord, though everybody forsake You, I would die with You."

Jesus responded, "Peter, before this night is over, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." In another account of that same event in one of the other Gospels, He said, "All of you are going to be deniers of Me tonight. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will scatter. Every one of you is going to deny Me." They all insisted, "No, we would never deny You." They were troubled by this. He was saying things like, "I'm going to die; I'm going to go to the cross," and they were thinking, "No, that can't happen." They were troubled.

In the midst of this, He said, "Let not your heart be troubled, guys." Why? Notice what it says in John 14: "Let not your heart be troubled." How can I walk without trouble in the midst of trying and difficult circumstances? Jesus said, "You believe in God; believe also in Me."

What is the basis of this peace in the midst of troubling circumstances that we will face in this world, which is exactly what Jesus says we will face in the Olivet Discourse? The basis of peace is this: "You believe in God; believe also in Me." If you believe, then there is this promise: "I am going to prepare a place for you, you who believe. If I go, I will return and come for you. I will receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

This is not the only place in the Scriptures where we read these great things that Jesus says and other prophets speak of regarding the second coming of Christ. The angels in Acts chapter 1, verse 11, said, "Hey, this same Jesus you saw taken up into heaven will come in like manner." Let me give you a few more verses.

There's dozens of them in the Bible. I just want to highlight about five of them from the scriptures that speak about this second coming. You can note them down and take a look at them later.

Matthew chapter 16, verse 27 states, "For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father." In Matthew 24, verse 27, it says, "As lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be." Furthermore, in Matthew 24, verse 30, it is written, "All the tribes or all the peoples of the earth will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."

He is saying there is coming a day when you will see lightning, and even though it flashes off in the distance, it lights up the whole sky. When the coming of the Son of Man occurs, it is going to illuminate everything. All the tribes of the earth will see when He comes with power and great glory.

The book of Hebrews, specifically Hebrews chapter 9, verse 28, states, "So Christ will appear a second time." There is a sequel; Christ will appear a second time. Why? To save those, to rescue those who are eagerly waiting for Him.

Additionally, Jude, the second to last book of the Bible, which consists of just one chapter, says in verse 14, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, ten thousands of his saints." Jesus says, "I will come with power and great glory like the lightning shining in the dark sky." Every eye is going to see it when He comes. He will come with angelic beings, and He will also come with ten thousands of His saints, His holy ones. He will come to rescue those who have eagerly waited for Him.

The question is, what will He do when He comes? What is the whole purpose of His coming? If you would turn in your Bibles to the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, specifically Revelation 21, the second to last chapter of the last book, I want to describe some of the things that Revelation chapter 20 speaks about.

Revelation 20 says that Jesus will return, and when He returns, He will have written upon His robe, "King of kings and Lord of lords." He will not come riding upon a donkey; instead, He will come riding upon a white horse, and He will come as a conquering, triumphant king. He will come to establish a kingdom.

The Bible describes that this kingdom will last here upon the earth for a period of a thousand years. We commonly call that the millennial reign of Christ. Here, at least at our church, we believe that this has not yet come to pass. There are some Christians who would be called amillennial, which means they don't believe that there is an actual, literal reign of Christ here upon the earth. They say that it is spiritual or allegorical, and that He is already reigning through His church upon the earth right now.

Now, whether or not that's the case, I disagree. I believe this is yet future, as stated in Revelation 20. He will actually, literally come and establish a kingdom here upon the earth for a thousand years. At the end of that thousand years, something great is going to take place.

Look at Revelation chapter 21, verse 1. The one who penned these things down is the Apostle John, the same one who wrote the Gospel of John. These things were revealed to him in a vision. Revelation 21:1 states, "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth." Why? Because the first heaven and first earth, that is, this earth and this universe, had passed away. Also, there was no more sea.

There is a lot of speculation about what that means. What does it mean that there was no more sea? Many people say that surfers are going to be bummed in the new heaven and new earth. I don't know; we'll see. Then John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

He heard a voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God." So, after this thousand-year reign of Jesus here upon the earth, this earth, these heavens, and the universe are destroyed. God says, "Alright, we're creating something new." He makes a new heaven, a new earth, and this new Jerusalem.

There isn't a lot of description about this, and there are many ideas about what all this means, but at the very least, it is clear that God is doing something new. A new heaven, a new earth, a new Jerusalem, a new day. God dwells with His people.

Notice this in verse 4, Revelation 21:4: "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." How many of you say, "Yeah, that sounds good. No more death"?

No more pain, no more sorrow, no more tears. The former things of this world have passed away. Then look at this, verse 5. He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." He is the God who makes all things new.

Why? Just like in our last series here at the church, "Why Christmas?" This is a broken world, a fallen humanity living in a broken world. This is not what God desired for His creation. And so, He is going to make all things new: a new heaven, a new earth, a new Jerusalem, a new day with no tears, no pain, no sorrow, and no death. That's a good day. Good news! This church is what we look forward to. This is our hope in Christ.

Paul told Titus in Titus chapter 2 that we are looking for that glorious appearing. It is our hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, where He comes and establishes these things that we read of in Revelation chapter 21, verses 1 through 5. He is the God who makes all things new. This we know for certain: there will be a new heaven, a new earth, a new Jerusalem, and a new day where God dwells with His people and takes away pain, sorrow, and death. The former things will pass away. He is the God who makes all things new, this one who sits upon a throne.

Now, Jesus is spoken of by the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 17, where Paul says, "Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation." All things have become new. The former things have passed away.

Jesus, in His first coming, came to die on the cross in my place, in your place, to die for our sin, to take the punishment of Almighty God upon Himself for our sin. He did this so that He could open up the way to salvation, so that if anyone is in Christ, they become a new creation. When you become a new creation in Christ, as you put your faith in Him, which Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, you are made ready for that new creation that He will make in the future. He has prepared you.

And made you ready to be prepared for the new heaven, the new earth, and that new day when He dwells with His people. The reality is that those who have not received that new life in Christ are not ready for the day when the new heaven and the new earth are created. How do we know? Well, look at Revelation 21 again, specifically verse 8.

Revelation 21:8 states, "But the cowardly, unbelieving, and their unbelieving nature is revealed by their actions." What kind of actions? They are abominable murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and liars. What will happen to them in this new creation? These are people who have not received new life in Christ through the gospel. Those who are murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. That does not sound like fun.

There is discussion among Bible scholars and teachers about whether or not that will be an eternal burning where they are tormented forever, or if they will simply be completely consumed and destroyed, annihilated. Wherever you stand on that spectrum is not really important. The reality is that it is not a good place to be. The only way to avoid being there when this new heaven, new earth, and new day are created by God, when all these former things pass away, is to receive the new life that is in Christ.

When we think about prophetic things that will come in the future, we should always default to the gospel and recognize that there are still lost people who need to be saved. The problem is that too much of the focus in American evangelical Christianity on the end times is completely selfish. It does not care about the rest of the world. It simply expresses a desire to escape, saying, "I want to get out of here; to hell with the rest of you." Whether they use those exact words or not, that is the sentiment when they say, "Let's just get out of here," failing to recognize the call that Jesus gave.

Let me finish with this as we close. Jesus, when He spoke about the last days and His coming in Matthew chapter 24,

The Olivet Discourse is the longest section of Scripture where Jesus speaks prophetically about the last days. He ends that message with three applications through three stories at the end of Matthew 24 and into Matthew 25. Jesus often told stories to make applications for those who were listening to Him. He shares three of them there, and they have three points that we Christians should take to heart when thinking about the last days.

The first story is about a master who had a chief servant whom he left in charge of all his affairs and household when he went to a faraway country. This chief servant was told by his master, "I will come again," but he disregarded that. As his master tarried, he became lazy and slothful and started to mistreat the other servants. When his master returned on a day when he was not watching, he judged him for his unfaithfulness.

The second story is about ten virgins who were waiting for the coming of the bridegroom. Five of them were wise and had oil in their lamps, while five of them did not. They knew that the bridegroom could come at nighttime, so the wise virgins had oil in their lamps and had their wicks trimmed and ready to go. The other five did not. They all slept and slumbered. When the sound of the bridegroom's arrival came, only those who were ready and had oil in their lamps were prepared to go with him. The rest were left behind.

The third story is the parable of the talents. Jesus says there was a master who had three servants and was going to a faraway country for a period of time. He gave to his three servants three different talents. To one, he gave five talents; to another, he gave two talents; and to the last servant, he gave one talent. A talent was a measure of money. He went away for a long period of time, and when he returned, he settled accounts with his servants. The one who had five talents invested them and made five more, totaling ten. The one who had two talents invested those and made two more, totaling four. The one who had one talent buried it and, upon the master's return, said, "I knew you were a tough guy, so I just figured I would give you what was yours." That servant was judged because he was not a faithful worker.

The point of these three stories at the end of Jesus' teaching on the end times is this: we, who are His people, need to be faithful servants.

Who are wisely watching, waiting, and working until He comes? Watching, waiting, and working until He comes. Why? Well, because one of the other things that Jesus said before He ascended to heaven was, "Church, go into all the world and preach the gospel. Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

Why? Because Matthew 24:14 says, "This gospel shall be preached in all the world for a witness, and then shall the end come." So here's my 2013-2014 prophecy update. It sounds very similar to my 2012-2013 prophecy update: Jesus is coming. As far as I can tell, He has not come yet, so we need to get to work. We have work to do in the new year because there are people in our community who have not yet heard the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Though we may face difficulties and go through troubling times in the new year, we know this: Let not your heart be troubled. Why? Because you believe in God; believe also in Jesus. If you do, He has gone to prepare a place for you, and one day He will come to receive us to be with Him. We know that for certain. We don't have to worry about it. We don't have to be looking for blood moons. We don't have to be chasing all kinds of things trying to find out who the Antichrist is. And no, I don't think it's Barack Obama. I know; I've seen the emails. You can prove anything on the internet.

Jesus will come again. He has not come yet, so get to work. Amen? Amen.

Let's stand together and pray. Lord, thank You for the assurance that we have from Your Word, the assurance we have from the promise that You gave that You will come again. Lord, help us to rest in that. Rest meaning that we're not worried about all the events that are happening around the world. But Lord, I pray that we would not rest.

In such a way that we fail to fulfill the ministry and the mission that you've called us to. Lord, give us the ability by Your Spirit, just as You did with Your disciples back there in Acts chapters 1 and 2. Give us the ability by Your Spirit to be witnesses of You here in our Jerusalem, San Diego County; in our Samaria, the state of California; and in our Judea, Lord, on to the rest of the world. Work in us to be witnesses.

I pray for any that may be here today who do not have that assurance yet. They do not have that absolute certainty, that hope that they will be with You for eternity because You have prepared a place for them. This is because they have not yet put their trust and faith in You. So, Lord, I pray that You would stir their hearts and draw them to Yourself. In Jesus' name, Amen.