after the eclipse what happens I'd like to tell you about some of the things you'll see the first is that God's word will continue to be fulfilled and what do I mean by that well Jesus gave us many indicators for Discerning the signs of the times not just one yes people are concerned in bringing massive attention to Luke 21:25 which says and there will be signs in the sun in the moon and in the stars and on the earth distress of nations with perplexity the Sea and the waves roaring the April Eclipse can understandably be
interpreted as signs in the sun moon and stars however we also have to be mindful that Jesus gave us a full prophetic picture in Matthew CH 24 and so strange signs in the sky is only one aspect but Matthew 24 reveals that there will be a massive deception in the last days and I imagine this level of deception to be unprecedented it will be open deception the kind that is so egregious but still some people will believe it furthermore we will see an increase in false prophets false Messiah wars and rumors of wars famines earthquakes
pestilences or rather pandemics the persecution of Christians will increase the love of most will grow cold the gospel will be preached to the whole world so you see when looking at the signs of the last days we should never magnify one single sign and this leads me to my next point the closer we get the crazier things we'll get indeed the longer we are living in these last days does it not appear to you that things seem to be increasingly volatile deception is on the increase movies music even certain churches and their Doctrine if you
look closely in research online you'll find the Christian persecution is on the rise and alternatively with the growth and popularity of the internet and streaming services the gospel is reaching more and more people around the world the the closer we get to the end of the age the more crazy the world will become because we'll see a lot of end time signs ramping up the final thing I would like to mention is that over the next few weeks months and even years you will see more and more things that will concern you perhaps worry you
even but always remember this the Bible says in Luke 21: 28 when these things begin to take place stand up and and lift up your heads because your Redemption is Drawing Near so the key message to all of us as Believers is that when we see the signs that the Bible tells us to watch out for when we see these signs come to light we should not be swayed to the left or to the right but instead we should stand and lift up our heads because our Redemption the return of Jesus Christ is drawing nearer
David Wilkerson preached a message titled last days satanic seduction he said words to the following effect I heard a radio host not too long ago mocking the coming of Jesus Christ and he said you Christians have been calling these the last days for 2,000 years nothing has changed every generation has had its troubles and disasters how about you tell me about it 200 years from now now the Bible that that kind of scoffing will happen in the last days in fact Peter warned us saying knowing this first that there shall come in the last days
scoffers walking after their own lusts saying where is the promise of his coming David Wilkerson then went on to teach and say it's not that evil has gotten stronger or that it's more seductive than any other age because we have Christians today in spite of all the increased wickedness they are growing closer to Jesus they're more holy than any past generation we have a Remnant people that are walking in the midst of all this filth untouched Overcomers in Jesus Christ but Paul sees in this last generation a giving heed to seducing Spirits he's saying that
hell is going to open up its mouth and out will come hordes of seducing Spirits spirits that will seduce if it were possible even the elect or chosen of God and let me just say one thing seducing Spirits sound good they sound right but that's as far as it goes but the true gospel of Christ challenges it convicts it enlightens it Demands a response in terms of changing the way you live or think and aligning it to God's word now he gave this great illustration along the lines of suppose Paul the Apostle came back to
life and you just allow him to see the quote unquote miracles of today for him to see a car or an airplane it would be mindboggling but if he went into our homes and see that little box they turn it on and all of a sudden there you don't have to go to a house of harlotry but right there in the home is access to sinful adult entertainment a wicked Wonder great signs and wonders of Seduction the word seduced means to be enticed and led away from what is right and moral and clean Satan has
some of you that are sitting here tonight he has already taken you by the hand and he's leading you into a seduction he's seducing you away from the heart of God from the Heart of Jesus Christ and you're under deception and the Holy Ghost wants to expose that tonight he wants to reveal feel it so he can save you from it just think about what he said here satanic seduction will never be something overtly evil you'll never see a red scary demon attempting to seduce someone it will always be subtle things things that appear harmless
as a matter of fact you end up spending more time doing those things than anything related to god let's look at a few practical examples entertainment you have your phone social media you spend so much time scrolling and then you want to unwind and watch a movie or a new television series then you have the option of your new virtual reality headset or for some they're into gaming and before you know it it's the end of the day and you've spent no time in prayer or in the word maybe you're into fitness work out you
have your meal prep you have to go to bed early to make sure that you get your 8 hours of sleep before you're off to work in the morning day in and day out you perhaps only pray half-heartedly or read a verse or two before bed these aren't bad things necessarily but when they stop you from spending time with God then you are deceived as to what is really important distractions in life can be devastating think about the damage that a distracted driver can cause think about the potential poal danger of being distracted while walking
down a large flight of stairs a surgeon has to tune out all distractions so that they can perform surgery but for the believer in Christ we should fight to maintain our Focus On Christ there has never been a time in history like we are facing today where we are consistently bombarded with distractions we are being distracted at every point from technology to world events not to mention the people in our lives at any given time there is always something or someone to distract us but hear me saints of God if we allow them if we
give them access distractions will cause us to lose focus on what matters most what matters most is your walk with the most high god what matters most is your relationship with Jesus Christ what matters most is whether you are obedient to God's word or not what matters most is that you love your neighbor as you love yourself and live a life that is Holy and acceptable to God which is your reasonable service a pastor by the name of Adrien Rogers once said this regarding people who neglect their relationship with God the backslider is a saved
person who's out of fellowship with God if there was ever a time when you love D the Lord Jesus Christ more than you love him at this moment if there was ever a time he meant more to you when prayer was sweeter to you when worship was more real to you when your service was more effective for the Lord Jesus Christ if there ever was a time like that when it was more than it is now you may be backsliding end quote if you're no longer praying what's distracting [Music] you if you're no longer spending
time studying God's word what's distracting you in December 1972 the United States suffered one of the worst disasters in its aviation history when the Eastern Airlines flight 401 crashed the tragedy in this story can be found in not only what happened but how it happened one article reads as follows according to a national Transportation safety board report the pilots placed the landing gear handled down but notied the green light that indicates that the nose landing gear is fully extended and locked failed to illuminate the pilot told the control tower of their problem and explained that
they would have to circle the runway until they could find a green light the control tower accepted and told them to maintain an altitude of 2,000 ft the pilots put the plane on autopilot as they investigated the problem now reports go on to suggest that for 7 to 8 minutes the flight crew worked together to try and figure out what was wrong with this light an article by NBC Miami reported on the incident saying the pilots engaged the autopilot so they could inspect the light and the landing gear but the darkness apparently made it hard
to see a short time later the plane was cleared to turn back to Miami and that's when a crew member noticed something was a Miss we did something to the altitude the first officer remarked and the captain's reply was what we're still at 2,000 right the first officer asked and the captain immediately exclaimed hey what's happening here seconds later the plane crashed into the ground at 227 mph and at a distance of 19 M away from the airport investigators concluded that the probable cause for the crash was that the autopilot was accidentally disengaged and the
entire flight crew failed to keep an eye on the flight instruments they were too distracted trying to fix the landing a light that no one checked on the actual plane itself you see the thing about distractions is that the enemy designs them in such a way that they take your time they take your energy they take and take from you and eventually distractions will derail you from your purpose the enemy wants to distract you because he doesn't want you committed to Christ he doesn't want you to serve him Faithfully so he said distractions that are
meant to take your focus away from Jesus distractions are also there to starve your prayer life and to starve you of your time of worship the devil is the author of confusion and he knows exactly how to disturb divert and distract your attention so that in the end your focus isn't on the Lord the enemy desperately wants you to invest your time in meaningless things he knows how to get you to spend time doing numerous things that are worthless so you lose time distractions come in many forms distractions can come in the form of people
and enemies who want to destroy you distractions can come in the form of entertainment if you're not careful you'll spend hours and hours watching TV shows and movies day after day the enemy loves when we spend our energy on things that offer zero value to us spiritually the enemy loves it when we focus on things that will never Ed ify or Build You Up in your faith we as people of God must guard our hearts and our time I want to give you four illustrations of how deception is working in this world and why it's
accepted by so many the first illustration is what I'd like to call the chameleon's disguise imagine a chameleon expertly blending into its surroundings adapting its appearance to conceal its true identity this is similar to a person who looks like a Christian they talk like a Christian and can even go as far as acting like a Christian when you see them however their heart their intentions are far from Jesus Christ This is how deception in the last days often presents itself in ways that mimic truth deception today makes things challenging for a person to distinguish between
truth and lie Jesus warned us in Matthew 24:4 saying for false Messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive if possible even the elect just as the chameleon's disguise requires careful observation it requires you to pay close attention we too must be vigilant and Discerning seeking the unchanging truth found in God's word the second illustration is the Mirage of shiny Illusions think of a traveler crossing a desert parched and weary in the distance a shimmering Oasis appears promising relief however as the traveler draws closer The Mirage dissolves leaving disappointment
in second Timothy 4: 3:4 the Apostle Paul warns for the time will come when people will not put up with sound Doctrine instead to suit their own desires they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear the Allure of false teachings can be as deceptive as a mirage leaving us spiritually thirsty true refreshment comes from the living water of Christ's teachings the third illustration is the puzzle of half truths picture a puzzle missing a few pieces from a distance it seems complete but closer inspection reveals
the gaps it reveals that things are fragmented and incomplete deception often involves partial truths carefully interwoven to create a convincing narrative Jesus emphasized the importance of discernment in Luke 21:8 when he said watch out that you are not deceived for many will come in my name claiming I am he and the time is near do not follow them just as a puzzle requires all its pieces to form a coherent picture we must rely on the complete counsel of God's word to guard against deception now my final illustration is not so much geared at understanding deception
but rather unmasking deception and I would like to call this The Guiding North Star consider Sailors navigating vast oceans under the guidance of the North Star when you look at the history of navigation at Sea before GPS and modern technology one of the simplest methods for determining a ship's Direction was to watch the movement of the Sun across the sky Sailors used the position of the sun as it moved from east to west to guide their route at noon they could determine North and South by the Shadows the Suncast Sailors had to literally look up
to be able to figure out where they were heading in the same way God's word serves as our unchanging reliable guide through the tumultuous Seas of deception Psalm 19 19 105 assures us your word is a lamp for my feet a light on my path as the North Star remains fixed amidst shifting Skies the truth of God's word stands unwavering offering Clarity and direction in a world filled with confusion we must stay focused and continue in God's word it doesn't matter how tempting it may look or how much better we think Our Lives will be
with it if it zaps your spiritual strength we must turn from it and leave it alone children of God it is so easy nowadays to be caught off guard and be led astray there are all sorts of things that can hold our attention it is so easy to slip away and not even realize that we have been caught up in the snare of the devil now one of the ways that we can ensure that we are victorious is by keeping our mind on Christ this may mean putting the phone down and spending more time with
Jesus it may mean turning off the TV or forgoing that trip out with friends we are in the last days and time is short tomorrow is not promised have you noticed how the days are moving faster and faster nations are rising up against Nations there are earthquakes famin and Wars everywhere it's not even a shock nowadays to hear that some people are falling away from the faith time is truly winding up people of God and the King of Kings is soon to return will you be ready or will you be distracted so let me encourage
you and tell you don't allow the devil to distract you don't allow the world to distract you don't allow sin to distract you Jesus Christ is worth so much more much more and he is the one who truly deserves our attention a restaurant in New York City had a tremendous rating from customers when it came to their food and service in the early 2000s there were rarely any complaints however as time went on the biggest complaint became that their service was too slow the restaurant did some research and found that to be true the average
time for service in 2004 was 1 hour and 4 minutes however in 2014 the average time for service became 1 hour and 55 minutes the owners were confused as they had not changed much over those past 10 years which would cause them almost to double their service time after looking back at the surveillance videos from 2004 to 2014 they believed the cause of the delay was actually the customers customers became so distracted by their cell phones that everything took longer including ordering eating eting and paying the bill the distraction of this cell phone had caused
chaos for this restaurant distractions do the same thing in our Christian Life they cause chaos in our life by moving our eyes from looking toward Jesus to looking at sin we need to turn from Evil and look toward our beautiful savior Luke 17: 30-33 says so will it be on the day when the son of man is revealed on that day let the one who is on the housetop with his Goods in the house not come down to take them away and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back remember Lot's
wife whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it but whoever loses his life will keep it Jesus is talking to his disciples about his second coming he reminds us that his second coming will be like any Ordinary Day people will be going through their everyday routines then we get to verses 30 and 31 where Jesus tells us that we need to be prepared for that day and not be distracted these illustrations are stressing that people will have no time to prepare when he appears he then gives us the warning of Lot's wife in Genesis
God comes to destroy the city of Sodom and Gomorrah due to their rampant sin before the destruction God comes and warns a man named lot and his family who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah God commands lot's family to flee and not turn back at some point as they flee Lot's wife looks back at the city in an instant she turns into a pillar of salt Jesus is warning us here not to be distracted like Lot's wife if we become so distracted by the world that we completely turn our eyes away from Jesus we will receive
judgment just like Lot's wife when we make our lives about self-preservation we lose our lives to God's judgment however when we give our lives up to following Jesus we keep it to be clear there will be moments in life that distract us from Jesus but although every believer will stumble at some point and even fall those who continue fighting those who have repent and go to Jesus Christ will receive forgiveness true Christian maturity is not that we don't sin but it's the fact that we turn our eyes back to Jesus when we fall short however
many people have been so distracted by this world that they have never truly turned to Jesus on Judgment Day They will receive judgment like Lot's wife because they have completely turned and rejected God's love there are so many distractions in life life that can cause us to turn our eyes away from Jesus sometimes we turn and look to bad things such as destructive substances forbidden relationships and lustful thoughts when we do we are looking to fulfill our own desires however these desires do not lead to the life that we think it will other times we're
distracted by things that can be considered good we become distracted by our jobs families and hobbies while all these things are good when they force us to turn our eyes away from Jesus they become Idols so we need to be on guard about any distractions in our life be careful being preoccupied with how much money you make how successful your family is or how much power you have when Good Things become distractions that can be a massive hindrance in our walk with Christ now God is not calling you to leave your family or quit your
job instead he calls you to put him at first and Center in your life he should be the focus and while it may feel like you're losing your life by turning from distractions to Jesus you're actually gaining life suppose the restaurant owners I mentioned at the beginning asked people to get off their phones while at the restaurant it would lead to much quicker service times what feels to the customers like a loss ends up being a gain by getting off their phones they gain shorter meal times deep relationships with people they're eating with and a
more enjoyable meal experience of course the customers have a choice to get off their phone however if they choose to lose a little they gain a lot the same is true when it comes to Turning from sin to Christ by turning away from sin we stop focusing on fulfilling every desire we have and the thing is we may lose some relationships with those around us and we lose the right to be king or queen of our life however we gain so much more we get to be called a child of God we get to inherit
eternal life and we get to have a deeper intimate relationship with the one true God in the same way that customers in a restaurant have the option to get off the phone and focus on the ones there with then we have the option to turn our eyes to Jesus so let me ask you what distractions do you have in your life right now that are blocking you from seeing Jesus it may feel almost impossible to give those distractions up but while it may feel impossible those in Christ have his Spirit dwelling in them and by
turning from our distractions to Jesus he clears up the chaos and leads us to True Life
