why are so many people prepping for a doomsday apocalyptic event doomsday dinners Costco sells apocalypse bucket with food that lasts 25 years the readywise emergency food bucket comes stuffed with 15 meal servings ranging from pasta Alfredo to apple cinnamon cereal for $79.99 online another article reads NASA plans for doomsday scenario of asteroid with 72 % chance of hitting Earth in 14 years one line from this article reads after the theoretical timeline was posed to a group of nearly 100 government representatives in April NASA found that the best plan they made to counter the horrifying doomsday
scenario had several highlevel gaps according to their presentation and finally more Americans Embrace prepping lifestyle reflecting deeper anxieties linked to political polarization social divide preppers are a group of people who believe a catastrophe or emergency might happen in the future and take steps to prepare in advance they often hoard water and food build shelters and even stockpile ammunition and construct underground bunkers in recent years the American doomsday prepper Community has grown larger and more diverse with increasingly extreme Preparatory measures in addition to all of this not too long ago news broke of Mark Zuckerberg building
an underground bunker in Hawaii and also Sam Alman when talking about a potential doomsday scenario he was quoted as saying I have weapons gold potassium iodide used to treat radiation injuries antibiotics batteries water gas masks from the Israeli Defense Forces and a big patch of land and Big Sur in California I can fly to so the question I have is why are so many people making preparations for the end of the world well I believe that fear seems to be the dominant emotion of this day and age we are surrounded by it we live in
it Society is saturated with it it's all around us it drives our decisions it drives our politics it even drives some religious practices and affiliations when people decide to stockpile food and build underground shelters and prep for any kind of Doomsday scenario you know what that tells me it says to me that their faith is not in Jesus Christ or in his word that says no evil shall befall you nor shall any plague come near your dwelling their faith is in concrete blocks it's in shelters fabricated from steel and military-grade materials you only have to
do a bit of research of your own to see the vast number of people who are so consumed with fear that they're prepping for different kinds of Doomsday scenarios and some may find it amusing but the increase in these underground Doomsday Bunkers is symbolic of an increase in fear among many people in society really take a moment to think about it what would drive a person to take their hard earn money and place it in an underground bunker the main reason is fear fear fear of the end of the world fear of the Apocalypse fear
of Destruction a violent Uprising or any number of things these bunkers are what many people perceive as a safe place a fortress a stronghold now do you understand why David said in Psalm 20:7 some trust in chariots and some in horses but we trust in the name of the Lord Our God people will place their trust in all sorts of things things they perceive to be their Saving Grace however for believers the power of the Gospel is that we don't need to fear death we don't need to fear the end of the world or a
meteor crash or the apocalypse Our Hope rests not in bunkers or weapons but in the Cross of Christ we don't need to fear the end of the world because the Bible tells us that when the world ends Christ will be here it will end When God says it will end and not a moment sooner we have nothing to fear because our stronghold is in the arms of the Lord our Fortress is in God our bunker is the protection offered by Jesus Christ in him and in him alone can we be safe and secure some would
rather hide themselves in fortified bunkers some would run to the tallest and strongest building others would feel safer in their home with all the windows locked the doors bolted shut and the alarm on but I want to urge you this morning to abide under the shadow of the almighty run to God run to Jesus in his shadow alone you find safety you find security you find protection and preservation when you're feeling the full heat of the fire that comes with life's troubles run to God get on your knees remain in prayer continue in prayer stay
in his presence abide under the shadow of the almighty are you on Trend today's culture is incredibly trend-based Trends influence fashion entertainment and even political conversations social media sites often track or highlight subjects products or discussions that are trending influencers celebrities and Talking Heads constantly try to keep up with and anticipate the next big Trend to be trendy is a compliment but not one that will likely last long as Trends change so rapidly unfortunately the trend obsessed Outlook can permeate all areas of life which isn't always good many spiritual Trends are pretty alarming if not
outright dangerous first there is a noticeable trend of diluting the Gospel to make it more palatable in a world where tolerance is King many believe the gospel must be made to sound more tolerant if we really want to get others interested in Jesus in an increasingly postmodern and skeptical culture all religion and Christianity in particular is viewed with disdain and doubt instead of letting the power of the Gospel went over and change hearts and Minds many opt for Chang changing the gospel itself so that more people are open to it as many folks have become
openly antagonistic towards scripture and Faith some in larger Christendom have sought to show the world that the bible really isn't all that bad they've tried to reinterpret or even retranslate it in a more modern and tolerant light on one hand such efforts seem successful they often open doors of dialogue discussion and interest among people who previously showed no interest interest in faith but is that really success consider the recent Tik Tock sensation Jen Z Bible stories this Tik Tok channel has over 350,000 followers and multiple videos have garnered several million views the popularity has even
led to the publication of the Gospel by Jen Z which includes 50 stories from the gospels as the name implies these stories are told in Jin Z slang now the popularity of this product is apparent and while it has received criticism it's also received High Praise one of the primary arguments in favor of this translation is that it reaches and engages people who otherwise might not read the Bible that must be a good thing right well not necessarily if we get people interested in the Bible by changing the Bible then we haven't got people interested
in the Bible have we we've gotten them interested in something else and this is the major problem too many modern Trends seek to make Christianity popular and palatable and in the process these Trends offer something powerless because it isn't the gospel to stay with the Gen Z Bible just consider some of the reviews and praise if you peruse the comments and reviews you'll find that most praise the stories for their humor smiley faces and laughing emojis about bound people can't stop laughing and that's why they like it it's entertaining there is something to be said
about the New Testament being originally written in Co Greek and the need for it to be translated into a common understandable language but that never has been a humorous task when the beautiful and awe inspiring event of Gabriel speaking to Mary about the son she will bear is turned into comical and whimsical parlaments something has gone tragically wrong as many comments and reviews clearly State people follow and continue to read not because they are captivated by the power of Jesus but because they are entertained so while things like the jinz Bible might get people talking
about Jesus do they get people talking about the right Jesus in the right way not hardly as one commenter said I ain't even religious and this is so much fun another said I'm not religious but I'll listen to the Bible this way others remarked they would attend church if the Jin Z Bible was used see it's not about the gospel changing lives it's about changing the gospel to fit current Lifestyles not only does such trans border if not live in the realm of blasphemy and sacrilege they also have no saving power because they aren't the
true gospel the Jin Z Bible may seem silly and harmless to some people but in many ways it falls in the same category as other groups that co-opt and alter scripture for example there are reports of a new Bible translation being worked on in China sanctioned and overseen by the CCP it's been claimed that this updated translation aims to keep up with the times and make the Bible align with communist principles there have even been rumors that confusion and Buddhist principles might be worked in while we will have to wait for the translation to come
out to know if these rumors are true they are frightening we can see the problem with changing the Bible to make it conform to confusion Buddhist and communist principles doing so makes the Bible something other than the word of God but if that's true then isn't that also true when we try to update the Bible to conform to Modern Western culture the trend of modernizing the Bible's message to fit culture is a perilous Trend that Christians should avoid what might be a less dramatic but far more dangerous trend is the trend of distraction many Christians
will Bo at attempts to water down the Bible but most of us will struggle with the endless forms of entertainment and distraction as if many of us didn't watch more TV than we should already internet streaming services have now made mindless binge watching easier than ever smartphones have brought the worldwide web to our f fingertips and Pockets most people can't wait out a red light stand in line or use the restroom without checking their phones AI is exploding onto the scene making it more possible than ever to escape reality in favor of the virtual but
what's wrong with these things on the surface nothing and that's part of the danger entertainment isn't categorically sinful smartphones don't need to be burned like magic books and empasis while AI might have significant downsides it may also have some beneficial applications so what's the danger perhaps the most significant threat is simply distraction one study suggests that globally people spend an average of just under 7 hours of screen time every day the sheer amount of time we spend on phones computers and television is staggering and even if all that time was spent on innocent har less
entertainment that's still a tremendous amount of time and spending that much time being distracted and entertained can have serious spiritual consequences the more time we spend distracted the less time we spend reading God's word praying and serving others the more distracted we are the less focused we are on the spiritual warfare we are engaged in Christians need to think very soberly about how to curse curb the current trends of distraction and entertainment one final Trend to be wary of is affirmation culture on the surface there may be a lot to like about self-care and positive
self-image but this movement has a potential dark side it shifts our Focus From The Potter to the vessel it attempts to glorify the creation while relegating the Creator you are enough may sound appealing but it contradicts the gospel without Jesus we most definitely are not enough left to our own abilities devices and tendencies we will remain separated from God but this trend of looking to self instead of God is not new or modern this goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden Satan deceived Eve into thinking she needed more than God had given
and into thinking she could be and deserve to be like God when Eve saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise she took of its fruit and ate what did Eve do she looked towards the creation not the Creator she elevated her desires and relegated God's commands and Satan has used this tactic of deception ever since we see it when high-profile church leaders are caught up in terrible scandals because they abuse their power and choose
worldliness over godliness we see it when people leave the church because of scandals because they placed their faith in a man and not in God we see it in ourselves when we choose pleasure over Holiness satisfaction over sanctification or fun over faithfulness Satan's ways are subtle but it's the same old trick be wary of the trend to elevate self Trends are hard to fight we all want to fit in we want to be liked but be wary of Satan's devices don't seek to be famous and on Trend seek to be faithful in Christ all across
the world today we Christians can't help but notice the steady decline of people who regularly attend church or openly hold to the Christian faith it used to be that businesses were closed on Sundays employers allowed their workers to have Sundays off and attending church Church seem to be the norm amongst our peers times have changed when I tell people that I prefer having Sundays off of work so that I can attend church people almost seem offended that I consider myself religious what is happening here it used to be that Mom and Dad took their children
to church every Sunday and the children grew up understanding the importance of their religion typically this process would continue throughout the generations however today we see something different the sight of seeing multigenerational churchgoers is rare to say the least even churchgoers appear to be changing right along with the secular culture as the Zeal and enthusiasm for the Christian faith decline all around us the hostility and dismissiveness of Christ and his teachings seemingly increase is it fair to say that religion is dying no this is not a fair assessment religion is alive and well but people
have shifted their priorities people today are more concerned with how they can personally benefit they are less concerned about how they can humbly serve God and serve others religion is still just as prevalent but the end goal is no longer loving God and loving our neighbors I submit to you that there is a new religion taking a foothold in the lives of people today this religion is contrary to the values and teachings of the generations that have come before us and the Very teachings of Christ we hold so dear this new emerging religion is a
religion of self many churches in Christians today claim that their number one purpose in life is honoring Christ but is this true do their actions support this I would say that many indeed are convinced that they are putting Christ first in their lives because this emerging religion of self has grown subtly as Eve was deceived in the garden I fear many of my brothers and sisters today have been ens snared by this selfish mentality many people seek to hear things about the Bible that make them feel good but never stop to consider if these things
are true Christians and non-believers today seem to agree on this one thing what truly matters in life is happiness but what does the Bible say Jesus so perfectly enlightens Us in Matthew 16: 24-26 about what our focus in life should truly be on let's establish this portion of scripture as our main text for this lesson in verse 24 the Bible says then Jesus told his disciples if anyone would come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me Jesus is very clear about what he is stating here if people want
to follow Christ which many claim they want they must be willing to put what they desire aside and dedicate themselves to what God desires this is extremely unpopular today the religion of self teaches that our happiness hopes dreams and comfort are the most important Pursuits a person can have although this idea may sound nice on the surface it's subtly picking away at the very Foundation of Christ's Ministry it is hard to convince a person that they should put God first in a society that has constantly impressed on them the exact opposite people are constantly being
bombarded with ads of the hot new items to buy pressure at work to become the biggest and greatest or music that glorifies happiness over what is right and wholesome when people continue to live with this inward focus and lose sight of God the result is always empty consider the wisdom that PR proverbs 30 gives us Proverbs 30: 7-9 says two things I ask of you deny them not to me before I die remove far from me falsehood and lying give me neither poverty nor riches feed me with the food that is needful for me lest
I be full and deny you and say who is the Lord or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God the religion of self teaches us to constantly acquire more and more every year a new model of a popular vehicle hits the market and people do everything within their power to buy it every year a new cell phone comes out and people count every penny they have to ensure that they will be one of the first people holding that new phone but how often do people consider the fact that the
car and phone they already have are just fine why is it that people are never satisfied it's because they feel like they deserve the hot new items on the market they often are too self-focused to realize there are far greater concerns in life to attend to than simply obtaining items that will lift their social status their desire for material things is a fake counterfeit to happiness and will never truly satisfy anyone the Bible teaches us that true happiness and contentment are reached when a person seeks God above all else proverbs 30 gives us a warning
that the desire to obtain items we want or even need for that matter should not take priority over our walk with God is being full of food drink and luxuries work worth the cost of denying God is living life as a thief as a means to obtain the things you want worth profaning the very name of God the answer is no so our priority instead should be asking God for just the right amount of things that we want and need and being content with whatever amount he chooses to give us if our needs are met
and we are content what should we then be setting our affections on the answer given in Matthew 6:33 is but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you contrary to what self-absorbed thinking teaches contentment is not achieved by seeking to build a kingdom for ourselves it is achieved by seeking to build the kingdom of God our Focus as God's people should be on God's Will and not our own depriving ourselves of our selfish Ambitions and submitting ourselves completely to Christ is the true meaning of life
let us continue with our main text and Jesus's words in Matthew 16 against self-promotion verse 25 and 26 say for whoever would save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it for what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul or what shall a man give in return for his soul in a world that prioritizes self-preservation the Bible confronts us with a very difficult truth to accept this idea seems so counterintuitive and yet much joy and peace is to be found
when one accepts it by by faith the very Act of letting go of even our lives is the key to finding our lives the religion of self teaches that the ultimate goal in life is discovering who you are and satisfying that selfish Destiny however we see here from the very mouth of our savior that the willingness to forsake our own life and purpose is exactly what helps us find our life and purpose this is possible because our identity is in Christ when we give Christ the proper headship that he deserves we understand that any worth
we have is solely based upon him and not ourselves now someone might be tempted to say are you telling me my safety is not important to God how is it that I need to be willing to lose my life for him friend we must understand that although God Watches Over Us protects us and blesses us none of this is mandatory for him he does these things because he loves us not because he has to we must understand that God may allow us to go through certain trials hardships or even lose our lives for the sake
of bringing him glory the way a person responds to this truth is a good indicator of how heavily they have or have not been influenced by this mentality of self- worship let us hear what God teaches us through Paul the Apostle in 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10 so to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations a thorn was given me in the flesh a messenger of Satan to harass me to keep me from becoming conceited three times I pleaded with the Lord about this that it should leave me but he
said to me my grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ May rest upon me for the sake of Christ then I am content with weaknesses insults hardships persecutions and calamities for when I am weak then I am strong throughout the Bible we see good men and women of God who lived with a far lower quality of life than you and I we see God's people belittled physically assaulted and even killed most people these
days would hardly be willing to even inconvenience themselves for God let alone accept bodily harm or the laying down of their lives even now as I stand and claim that I am a follower of Christ the thought of losing my life or suffering pain because of my faith sounds terrifying this is something I should work on and I am certain I am not the only one but as we read through scripture we find time and time again little clues that God wants us to get our priorities straight is our concern to be with ourselves or
with God in his purpose notice that God was allowing the Apostle Paul to endure a certain health problem for the reason of not allowing him to become too full of himself and prideful although Paul asked God multiple times for him to take this away God chose to allow Paul to continue with the thorn in his flesh we see a similar scenario play out when Job loses his wealth wife children and his health at the hands of Satan God allows this like the health condition Paul endures to happen does God care for Paul does God care
for job of course he does and very much so but he also never promised that life would be easy comfortable or even safe for God's people what does this mean for us God never promised us safety either we must be willing to lose our very lives if that is what God desires from us we do not have to understand but we need to obey the world will teach us that we need to do what makes us happy and to live out what we perceive to be our destiny but this is false what truly matters is
submitting to what God's will for our lives is and what will bring him glory we must resist this emerging religion that seeks to elevate ourselves over our Lord and Savior Jesus as well as placing Our Hope in God and Hope holding on to him we are also encouraged to be joyful and to have a grateful and thankful heart in all circumstances Paul's message to us in 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 is still just as important and relevant today as it was back in his time he encourages Us by saying Rejoice always pray continually give thanks in
all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus if we can live out these words if we can just hold on to God no matter what we can overcome all the obstacles and troubles we face in this world Romans 1 verse 16 it reads for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to Salvation for everyone who believes for the Jew first and also for the Greek listen to those words I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ a lot of people in this
world have things that they're proud of and equally a lot of people have things that they're ashamed of now when it comes to us as children of God are we ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ are we ashamed to say that I am a Christian who believes in the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ are we ashamed to say that I am a Christian who believes that one day the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God and the dead in
Christ will rise first then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and thus we shall always be with the Lord are we ashamed to tell our co-workers things like I believe that heaven is a real place hell is a real place and if you reject Jesus Christ you'll spend eternity in hell but if you accept Jesus Christ as your lord and savior then you will enter eternal life Saints are we ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ are we
ashamed to tell our friends and family that we all need to turn towards Jesus Christ and repent for the kingdom of God it is at hand as Believers we should not be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ we should not be ashamed of the gospel because of the devil and the world oh they are aggressively spreading a message message of deception the devil in this world is aggressively trying to lead people away from the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ and so it is time that we as Believers of Jesus Christ stand up and declare
to the world that there is a savior there is someone who can set you free if you're bound there is a redeemer and his name is Jesus Jesus Christ Saints we should not be ashamed of the Gospel but Christians must stand up and fight for the gospel we must rise as Sons and Daughters of the most high and Proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord we must Proclaim for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to Salvation for everyone who believes and so I encourage you be bold
as the voice of the world gets louder the voice of The Church Must also become louder the voice of you and I as Believers must also be louder and we must tell every soul we can that Jesus is Lord and Jesus is king So Saints don't be silent refuse choose to be silenced by the world tell them of Jesus speak of Jesus shout about Jesus and do not do not ever be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ let not your hearts be troubled believe in God believe also in me those are the words of
Jes Jesus Christ in John 14:1 if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your lord and savior then you have every reason not to be troubled you have every reason not to be anxious or worried within your heart the life of a Christian isn't easy Jesus himself said that in this life we will have trouble but He commands us to take heart for he has overcome the world do you have an issue with anger look at your heart do you have an issue with self-control an issue with gambling do you keep cycling in and out of
the same sin well it's a hard issue keep your heart with all diligence for out of it spring the issues of Life the Bible says the issues of life are heart issues don't be intimidated by the magnitude of the Temptation around you don't be frightened by the size of the enemy instead take up your weapons take up prayer take up the word of God take up joy and peace in the midst of adversity these are the things that the devil can't stand I believe that the reason we should not let our hearts be troubled can
be found in John 14: 6 which reads Jesus said to him I am the way and the truth and the life no one comes to the father except through me and if you move on further to read John Chapter 14 verse 16 the Bible says and I will ask the father and he will give you another helper to be with you forever and so from these two verses we know that if you have accepted Jesus Christ into your heart then you have accepted the one who is the way the truth and the life there is
nothing that he does not regulate there is nothing that he is unaware of he is the answer he is the solution for all things and the fact that he has given us a helper the wonderful Holy Spirit this means that we have help in times of trouble we have strength in times of weakness and we have guidance in times of uncertainty so do not let your heart be troubled because if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your lord and savior and if we we submit to his ruling Authority in our hearts then you and I
become like sheep to the Good Shepherd [Music]
