Participants: Bill Santos
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC201311
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00:01 >>Doug: Hello and welcome to another It Is Written program, My name is Doug
00:04 Bruce and I've had the privilege of directing this program for over 20 00:08 years. In 1973, Pastor Henry Feyerabend, after returning from mission 00:13 work in Brazil, felt a need to start a broadcast for the Portuguese 00:17 community in Toronto. That first program started out as only 5 minutes long but 00:22 quickly expanded to 30 min and then an English program named "Destiny" 00:26 was added. In 1991, that English program eventually became know as It Is 00:32 Written Canada. In 2000, Pastor Shawn Boonstra took over from Henry Feyerabend 00:37 as host of this program and continued until 2004 when the speaker you are 00:43 all familiar with, Pastor Bill Santos was called to lead this ministry. Today 00:48 It Is Written Canada is embracing change once again and I would like to 00:52 take this opportunity to welcome our new host, Pastor Chris Holland to 00:56 the It Is Written family and to thank Bill Santos for his 10 years of 00:59 dedicated leadership, I know you have been blessed by his ministry and it 01:04 certainly has been a pleasure having the opportunity to work with 01:07 him. Today, Chris Holland will be presenting "Signs of Hope", I know you will 01:13 be blessed by today's program. 01:27 ANNOUNCER: It has stood the test of time. 01:31 God's book: the Bible, still relevant in today's complex world. 01:39 It Is Written 01:41 Sharing the messages of hope around the world. 01:55 >>Chris: In the twilight hours of April 14, 1912 the RMS Titanic sped 01:59 through the icy waters of the Atlantic. At the last moment, an iceberg was 02:04 spotted. The Titanic maneuvered to avoid that iceberg, but it tore a 02:08 gash in the side of the magnificent ship. Almost three hours later the ship 02:13 sank with 1500 of her over 2000 crew and passengers perishing in the frigid 02:19 waters. Could it be that this 100 hundred-year-old story has a lesson for us 02:25 today? Could it be that this story sheds light on a teaching of Jesus from 02:31 almost 2000 years ago? In 1908 White Star Line's contracted to have 02:38 Olympic-class vessels built. White Star was trying to stay on the 02:42 cutting edge by building the largest cruise ships in the industry. Those 02:47 ships would eventually be known as the Olympic and the Titanic. Titanic 02:52 boasted a length of almost 300 meters, a width of almost 30 meters and a 02:57 height of over 30 meters. It was the largest ship at that time. This enormous 03:03 boat was a luxurious liner. Even the third class passenger facilities 03:08 were lavish compared to other vessels. The Titanic and Olympic were deemed 03:14 the largest and finest steamers in the world Many experts of the day 03:19 believed them as unsinkable. However, as we know today, the Titanic 03:24 was not the unsinkable ship she was thought to be. On April 10, 1912 the 03:31 fateful journey of the Titanic began. In the days leading up to the 03:35 disaster, the Titanic received several warning messages of drifting ice 03:41 in the area. Under normal operating procedures of the times, the Titanic 03:48 continued cruising at full speed. The ship simply placed a lookout to watch 03:54 for any imminent danger. Unfortunately, the spotter saw the iceberg too late. 04:00 After striking that iceberg, the Titanic sunk and along with it, 1500 04:06 people perished that day. It is a tragedy of historic proportions. 04:13 Today, some of the artifacts from this terrible disaster are on 04:17 display at Halifax's Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. 04:23 The Titanic received many warnings but ignored them. That choice cost many 04:28 lives. Is it possible, friends, that we are living at a time when we 04:33 have received many warnings, yet, we have ignored them? Is it 04:37 possible that despite the numerous warnings, we, like the Titanic are 04:43 simply cruising through life at full speed? Almost two thousand years ago 04:49 Jesus gave warning signs. He presented signs of His second coming. Those signs 04:55 were given, so that we might know that it was nearing. As Jesus was 05:01 concluding His ministry, just before He was arrested and ultimately 05:05 killed, He met with His disciples. In Matthew 24, Jesus spoke of how the 05:11 temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed. The disciples were troubled by 05:16 the prospect that the great temple at Jerusalem was to be destroyed. So 05:22 his disciples came to Him asking questions, beginning in verse 1, 06:05 The disciples asked Jesus two questions - when would the temple be destroyed 06:12 and what was the sign of His second coming? The disciples thought that 06:17 those two events were one in the same. However, they were and are distinct from 06:23 one another.Jesus, as He sat on the Mount of Olives, overlooking 06:28 Jerusalem, painted a vivid picture of a time when Jerusalem would be 06:32 destroyed. He pointed forward to 70 AD when the Roman armies led by the 06:37 General Titus would come and not leave one stone upon another. The 06:45 disciples thought for sure that such a catastrophic event must precede the 06:50 Lord's return, but they misunderstood. Frankly, they may not have been 06:55 able to endure the true nature of all of the events to come. So, as 07:01 Jesus answered He blended His answer so as to not overwhelm His disciples. 07:07 They were unprepared for a full disclosure of future events. After Jesus' 07:12 death, burial, resurrection and ascension;the disciples 07:17 continued to study the words of Jesus and with the guidance of the 07:21 promised Holy Spirit they gained a more complete understanding. Today, like 07:27 those early disciples, we are studying the words of Jesus to discover what 07:31 words of warning He has for us. 07:37 When reading a book or watching a movie, the final chapter of the book 07:41 or the final minutes of that movie is often the climax. In that final 07:47 chapter or minutes, tensions are resolved and everything that book or 07:52 movie was driving towards is brought to a conclusion. The Bible is 07:57 no different. The Bible is replete with warnings to God's people and in the 08:03 last chapter and the last verses theat final warning is given, which all the 08:09 other warnings pointed to. In Revelation 22 verse seven, Jesus says 08:24 "Behold, I am coming quickly!." And then again in verse 12, "And behold, 08:31 I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one 08:36 according to his work." An finally in verse 20, He says again, "Surely I am 08:46 coming quickly" In the last chapter of the Bible with great urgency, Jesus 08:52 tells us three times tells us that He is coming quickly. Today we're 08:58 studying specifically the warnings given in Matthew 24 that point directly to 09:03 the nearness of His coming. These warnings are in reality encouragements 09:09 to be steadfast in our faith and to cling more closely to Him. As we 09:14 begin this study, I want to share with you a key principle in understanding 09:19 the timing of the Lord's return. In Matthew 24 verse 36 Jesus is very 09:28 clear, 09:49 Did you hear that? No one knows the exact time of the Lord's return. So, if 09:53 any pastor, preacher, or teacher begins sharing that they know the exact 09:57 timing of the Lord's second coming - we can know that they are not 10:02 operating according to Biblical principles. Yet, we ought to care about the 10:07 nearness of Jesus' return, because in verse 42, He goes on to say, 10:33 In these verses, Jesus gives us two key principles that will 10:37 enable us to be prepared for His return - watch and be ready. In chapter 24 He 10:44 tells us what to watch for and gives us the signs of His soon return. Then in 10:49 chapter 25 He tells us how to be ready through 3 parables. Those two 10:56 principles of watch and be ready, prepare us for that day of glorious hope when 11:01 Jesus will come and take us from this hopeless and helpless world. What does 11:08 it mean to watch? The original language gives the idea that this word is 11:12 defined as being on the alert, being vigilant and having a zealous 11:18 watchfulness. This watching is not just a casual glance,but an 11:23 intent gaze. This type of watching pays attention to the details so as to not 11:29 miss anything. 11:33 With just over 3 minutes to play in the gold medal women's hockey matchup at 11:38 the Sochi Olympics the US women's team held a 2-0 lead over the Canadian 11:43 team. However, in a shocking turn of events, the Canadian team tied the 11:49 game in just less than two minutes and sent the match into overtime, where they, 11:55 of course won the gold medal. Imagine for just a moment that you had 11:59 watched the entire game and in those closing three minutes you figured the 12:04 game was over and went and popped a bag of microwave popcorn or you went to use 12:08 the washroom or you went outside to gather your mail. In just those few 12:13 moments you would have missed some of the most exciting moments of 12:17 Olympic history. When Jesus said watch, He didn't mean that we would 12:23 stare up in the clouds all day long, but He intended that we would carefully 12:28 observe what is going on in the world around us. Don't misunderstand what I 12:34 am saying, we should dwell on heavenly things and fill our mind with 12:38 heavenly thoughts - yet at the same time we are observant of the 12:44 happenings on this earth to see the waymarks. We need to watch until the 12:49 very end. 12:53 Mark chapter 13 is a parallel chapter to Matthew 24. It shares the 12:57 same event but from a different perspective. Notice Jesus' comment 13:03 about watching in Mark 13:28-29, 13:32 Jesus gave a simple illustration, when we see the buds on tree branches 13:36 we know the change of season is at hand. After the harshness of winter, 13:41 the breaking of tree buds tells us that the warmth of summer is on its way. 13:47 In the same way Jesus gave signs in Matthew 24 indicating that His return 13:53 is soon, even though we do not know the day or the hour. What are the signs 14:01 of His return? As we study this chapter we will see that the signs of His 14:06 return can be grouped into four categories: signs in the religious world, the 14:11 political world, the natural world and in the world of society. The 14:16 signs in the religious world are recorded in Matthew 24:23-24, 14:46 There is the true Christ and there are true prophets, but Jesus says 14:51 that there will be counterfeits. The challenge in many of these 14:54 cases is that counterfeits are not always easy to recognize. In fact 14:58 Revelation 16:14 says, 15:21 Satan works through them to perform signs, which deceive and confuse. So 15:26 often error is not outright error, but it is truth mixed with error. 15:32 This is what makes counterfeits so dangerous - they are often truth and 15:36 sometimes a lot of truth mixed with just a small amount of error. You never 15:42 find a person who introduces himself or herself as a card-carrying 15:45 member of the false prophets club, do you? No the error is often couched 15:51 in truth. When counterfeiters make bills, you don't see them 15:57 counterfeiting 13 dollar bills, do you? Why not? Because they don't exist, 16:03 of course. Counterfeiters will try to copy the genuine article. In May of 16:08 2000, the town of Walkerton, Ontario seemed like any other small 16:13 Ontario town. But suddenly many of the townspeople began getting sick. Little 16:20 did they know, but the town's water supply had been contaminated with the 16:25 deadly E. Coli bacteria. A silent killer that doesn't have a taste or smell. 16:32 People drank the water because drinking water is good for you. But this, 16:35 good for you drink, had been contaminated with a poison. It was good and 16:42 bad mixed and the bad made people sick, in fact at least seven people died. 16:53 Truth and error work the same. The devil often wraps error with enough 16:58 truth to make it palatable. What can we use as a standard for truth? 2 17:03 Timothy 3:16-17 says, 17:30 Scripture is the litmus test. It will mark with distinction what is truth 17:35 and what is error. It will make clear what is true and what is false. Friend, 17:40 I must tell you, beware of any teacher that steers you from the Bible. It is 17:47 our only true guide. To many today make decisions based on emotion and 17:53 feeling, but God's Word gives us the foundation to help us make decisions 17:58 based on principle. The devil has packaged false teachers and false 18:03 teachings in many different forms. Books, magazines, television 18:09 programs and movies featuring the occult have grown and are some of the 18:14 most popular. These falsehoods have been aimed at our young people and 18:19 teens seem to be the most fascinated by these teachings. Youth and young 18:24 adults dominate the number of adherents to the occult and new members of cults. 18:31 False teachers and leaders use their magnetic and memorizing personalities 18:37 to deceive unsuspecting followers. 18:42 In recent history we have seen the names in the headlines There was Jim 18:47 Jones who formed the People's Temple. He claimed to be the people's 18:52 saviour and in 1978 ordered a mass suicide. That day 909 people died 18:59 of drinking cyanide laced Kool-Aid. In 1993 David Koresh made a stand 19:06 against the US government in Waco, TX. Koresh had a magnetic personality who 19:12 drew a number of followers. He too, claimed to be the Messiah of Bible 19:16 prophecy. On April 19, 1993 78 members of the branch davidians, 19:22 including Koresh perished when the US government entered their compound and 19:27 it caught on fire. Marshall Applewhite, who's piercing eyes have been 19:34 seen in the many news magazines and television programs, was known as 19:37 John Doe. He led the Heaven's gate cult. He taught his followers that 19:42 the famous Hale-Bopp comet was being trailed by a spacecraft that would 19:47 receive them and take them to a place of bliss. Between March 22-26 of 19:54 1997, 39 individuals took their lives on the hopes of bliss. In Australia AJ 20:02 Miller claims to be Jesus of Nazareth reincarnated. He claimed that in 2012 20:09 Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney would be engulfed by the sea and no longer 20:16 exist - his predictions, of course, failed. Apollo Quiboloy founder of the 20:22 Restorationist church in the Philippines claims to be the appointed son of 20:28 God. Friends, while these may seem easy to identify and easy to avoid, many 20:36 people have been deceived.And while these are scattered isolated 20:40 instances the Bible tells us that there will be a deception of a global 20:46 nature, that all who dwell on the earth will face. 20:52 The book of Revelation, predicts this about the end-times, just before the 20:58 return of Jesus, in chapter 13 verses13-14, 21:38 Do you see the common thread in the deceptions we read about in the 21:41 Bible? There will be incredibly amazing, and seemingly miraculous signs 21:46 and wonders that lead many to be deceived. Friends, we cannot allow that which 21:52 is exciting, or exhilarating that plays to our emotion dictate what 21:57 is truth and error. All these signs in the religious world, should 22:02 not discourage us. There is hope for this helpless planet. These signs point 22:06 to the reality that Jesus is coming soon. The time is now to cling to Him. 22:12 But Jesus also said that there would be signs in the political world, in 22:17 Matthew 24:6, 22:47 When you look back over the course of the 20th century, what you find is 22:52 that it was the bloodiest century of all in history. The 20st century brought 22:58 180 million deaths from war. In a society that many claim is getting 23:04 better and better - reality would suggest otherwise. Jesus predicted 23:08 a rise in war. In just the first 14 years alone of the 21st century there 23:11 have been over 25 wars and well over half a million casualties. Today there 23:18 are fragile peace agreements. Despite the many political spins on 23:24 peace, so many areas of the world teeter on the brink of war. Countries 23:30 like Libya and Egypt have experienced major political upheavals, Syria 23:34 is still in the midst of crisis, Iraq and Afghanistan are extremely 23:38 unstable. Just in these past weeks we have seen the developments in the 23:45 Ukraine This should come as no surprise, 1 Thessalonians 5:3, 24:02 Friends, Jesus predicted these signs, we don't need to worry, we don't need to 24:09 be overwhelmed, we need to trust. The word of God is our only guide in this 24:15 chaos of hopelessness. Jesus is our hope when we feel helpless. All of 24:23 these signs point to His soon return when He will bring an end to sin, 24:28 suffering, death and dying. 24:33 Jesus has given many more signs of His return, which we will continue to study. 24:37 But I want to leave you with this assurance of Jesus. Even in all the 24:43 turmoil of this world Jesus has given these signs of hope. In Joshua 24:49 1:9, the Bible says, 25:12 Jesus will be with you, He won't leave you or forsake you, but He invites you 25:17 today to come into relationship with Him. Joshua had these words of 25:22 encouragement for the people of Israel on edges of the promised land, in 25:28 Joshua 24:15 25:46 Heaven is our promised land. A choice to enter into a relationship with 25:51 Jesus gives us assurance and hope, not just for then, but for now and the 25:57 everyday things of our lives. Deuteronomy 31:6 assures us, 26:21 His signs of hope can give us courage as we face the future of tomorrow and the 26:28 struggles of today. Oh friend, Jesus is reaching out his hand of courage 26:32 today, I invite you to give your heart and life to him right now. Let's 26:39 pray. Father in heaven we live in a world that is hopeless and helpless. We 26:46 find many struggles that exist. We fight against many things in our every 26:52 day lives, but we need courage, courage to endure. And so today, we 26:59 give our heart to you and ask you to give us the endurance as we see the 27:05 signs of the times to stand fast and cling to you every day that we 27:12 would be ready for you when you come again. We pray this in Jesus' name, 27:16 amen. 27:27 Friends, you can get more information about the program today, a resource 27:31 for your spiritual library in the Discover Bible lesson. Here's the 27:35 information you need to get that lesson. 28:12 >>Chris: Thank you so much for watching. You can go to 28:16 www.ItIsWrittenCanada.ca to get more information about this program and to 28:20 see our archived programs. We hope to see you again next week and until then 28:25 remember, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone but by every 28:31 word that proceeds from the mouth of God. 28:36 $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ |
Revised 2015-02-05