Pastor Deric's Blog

“DON’T LET YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED!” (John 14:1)

Posted on Aug 20, 2021 in Pastor Deric's Blog |

That’s a good word for today! There is much to trouble us in the world. Earthquakes, wars, disease, deception, division, and betrayal, to name a few. There is no doubt that the planet is heating up, in more ways than one. So why would Jesus counsel His followers to NOT let their hearts be troubled?

Just a brief word about what He did not mean. Jesus is not saying that we should be indifferent toward the grief and mayhem all around us. He is not saying that we should be aloof and unfeeling about the heartache we witness in the world. He is not telling us to “keep our distance” from the brokenness of our world. He simply meant, “don’t let it rattle or shake your faith.” In fact, that’s His prescription for not being “troubled,” i.e. “have faith in God.” We can remain stable, steady, and strong amidst the upheaval of the planet because we believe that God is sovereign.

Basically, Jesus went on to tell the disciples that this troubled world is not their home. Their permanent dwelling is “in the Father’s House” with its “many rooms.” (John 14:2) If this world is all you have, there is cause to be troubled. The foundations are destroyed, and the house is slowly disintegrating. In fact, Jesus said in Mark 13 that the intensified troubles of the world are the “beginning of sorrows.” Trouble will increase as we approach the “last day.”

Expanding on His teaching to keep their hearts from becoming “troubled” Jesus gave His disciples TWO promises that have healing power. Here are TWO anchors that will guard your heart and keep your mind.

“I go to prepare a place for you.” He’s referring to the CROSS.

The only way to the Father’s House is by way of the Cross upon which Jesus died. I’m sure you’ve heard someone say that our “mansion must be beyond belief because He’s been gone for 2021 years now preparing a place for us.” That sounds nice but it’s a serious misapplication of the text. Jesus was going to the cross and in so doing would prepare a place for us in the Father’s House. Jesus is the only way to the Father. The cross is the place where the troubles of your heart are taken away and replaced by perfect peace.

Please take a moment to thank God for the cross because it alone has the power to calm your troubled heart. The cross has the power to heal your fear and anxiety. Focus your faith upon what happened there, and you will find yourself at peace in a troubled world.

“I will come again to receive you unto myself.” He’s coming back for YOU!

He will “descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4) He will return for His Bride, His Beloved, the church.

Knowing that He is coming soon, we can remain in the perfect peace that He gives to all who know and love Him. Pause for a moment and posture your heart in expectation that He will return for YOU. Yes, you. All who have come to the cross by faith and receive Jesus as the gift of God to us, are reconciled to God and have a secure home in His everlasting Kingdom. This kingdom is described in the New Testament as a “Kingdom that is unshakable.” (Hebrews 12:28

Church family, Be prepared for His return! pd

Pastor Deric

P.S. We are continuing our study in Mark 13 this Sunday morning. The coming TRIBULATION is our theme. See you then!

THE LAST DAYS

Posted on Aug 13, 2021 in Pastor Deric's Blog |

Jesus often communicated in prophetic language to stir His followers to embrace God’s agenda, not their own. Much of His message includes promises about the future hope of the Christian. Some of my favourites include:

John 14:1-3: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Romans 8:18: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

2 Corinthians 5:10: “For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ.”

Philippians 3:20-21: “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

In His famous “Olivet Discourse” (i.e. prophetic teaching) He was straight up about the distressing times that the world will experience prior to His glorious second advent. His sermon is detailed in the synoptic Gospels (Mark 13, Luke 21, Matthew 24-25).

He detailed such things as the seductive teaching of false messiahs, wars and international conflict, earthquakes, famines, pestilence, persecution, and betrayals. But He added, “the end is not yet.” The characteristic that Jesus highlighted about these common tragedies is that they will increase in intensity. He specifically said that “these are the beginning of birth pains.” (ESV). The KJV uses the English word “sorrows.” It’s actually a better word because the original word can refer to a woman in the final agonizing pain of childbirth or it can refer to a person who is in the final throes of death. If you’ve ever watched a loved one die, you know this word is particularly descriptive of the end times. The planet is gasping its last breath!

History, from the first advent of Jesus Christ to His second coming, will be marked by distress, disease, division, and deception. While there have been times of relative peace and quiet, human beings are accustomed to living with the ever-present reality of disaster upon disaster. It’s just as Jesus said it would be.

The idea in Jesus’ sermon is that the world is always moving closer to the painful end of its rebellion against God and rejection of His Son, Jesus Christ. The world and humanity have a “date with destiny.” Life will not carry on as it’s always been. There is a coming apocalypse described by Jesus in Mark 13: “For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be.”

There are three simple lessons that comfort me from reading Jesus’ description of the “last days”:

Don’t be ignorant or blind.

He is bold and clear in warning us what the end will look like, so be prepared.

Don’t be alarmed.

Since the believer knows what the future holds, we don’t need to panic.

Don’t be fooled.

The greatest danger one faces as the world increases in its chaos, is spiritual seduction. In all three records of the Olivet Discourse, Jesus warned about the risk of being led astray or walking into apostasy. Walk in daily, humble fellowship with Jesus and stay alert.

Church family, I want to be ready for His coming, but I also want you to be prepared to meet Him in the air!

I look forward to studying Mark 13 with you again this week. Our text is Mark 13:1-13 covering Jesus’ description of the last days.

Maranatha!

Pastor Deric