10.22.23 | PERILOUS TIMES
2 Timothy 3:1 (NKJV)
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come.
2 Timothy 3:2
For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
2 Timothy 3:3
unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
2 Timothy 3:4
traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
2 Timothy 3:5
having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
2 Timothy 3:6
For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts,
2 Timothy 3:7
always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of truth.
2 Timothy 3:8
Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses so do these also resist the truth; men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith;
2 Timothy 3:9
but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs was also.
Jeremiah 6:15a
Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; nor did they know how to blush.
2 Timothy 3:1
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come.
Perilous – Harsh, savage, difficult, dangerous, painful, fierce, grievous, hard to deal with.
Rick Renner – Wild, vicious, uncontrolled animals that are unpredictable and dangerous.
“You emphatically must know what I am about to tell you! In the very last part of the last days, in the very end of the age, hurtful, harmful, unpredictable and uncontrollable, high-risk periods of time will come. These times have already arrived!” - Rick Renner
2 Timothy 3:2-3
For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanders, without self -control, brutal, despisers of good.
2 Timothy 3:4-5a
Traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.
How do we live in perilous times?
Three faith declarations for the Body of Christ in perilous times:
1. GOD HAS CALLED ME FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS!
Esther 4:14b
Yet who knows whether you have come into the kingdom for such a time as this!
By God’s grace, we have been brought into the kingdom for such a time as this!
Romans 5:20b
But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.
2 Timothy 1:9
Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.
2 Peter 1:3(NLT)
By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence.
2 Peter 1:4(NLT)
And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.
2. GOD HAS ANOINTED ME FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS!
2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Zechariah 4:6
So he answered and said to me: This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.
Luke 4:18-19
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
The anointing of God is the power of God coming upon the people of God to advance the Kingdom of God for the Glory of God.
Say yes to the call of God, show up, pray in the Spirit, wait for Him to move.
3. GOD WANTS TO WORK THROUGH ME, FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS!
2 Timothy 2:21
therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
Do any of these phrases in 2 Timothy 3:2-5 speak to issues in our own hearts?
We want to be a clean conduit for the Glory of God.
2 Timothy 3:8-9
Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproving the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs was also.
Betsy Ten Boom to her sister Corrie, “Go tell the world Corrie. Tell them what we have learned in this place. Tell them that Jesus is stronger than the darkness!”
Yes, we are living in perilous times, but Jesus is alive, and Jesus is stronger than the darkness around us!
Discussion Questions:
Do you believe we are living in the last days? Why or why not?
Which phrases in these verses really speak to the culture in which we live?
Which of these phrases speaks to an issue in your own heart?
Are you wiling to repent and ask God to cleanse you, forgive you and change you?
What is God calling you to do in these last days to advance His kingdom?
Will you say yes?