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2018-09-16

The Church Age

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(Matthew 16:18b, NKJV)

“On this rock I will build My church,

and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”

I.  Introduction

     We are currently living in what I call “The Church Age.” It is that period of time during which Jesus is keeping the promise He made when He said, “On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18, NKJV).  “The Church Age” is that period of time during which Jesus is building His church.

     “The Church Age” began when Jesus was on Earth and it will continue until Jesus returns to take His church to heaven.  He promised to be with His church from its inception until “The Church Age” ends.  He said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20, NIV).

     “The Church Age” will end when Jesus returns.  He said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2b-3, NKJV).  When the church is no longer on Earth doing the work of making disciples, “The Church Age” will end.

     Many in the contemporary Christian church have a very limited understanding about what the Bible teaches regarding the events that will surround the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Let me quickly say that Jesus is coming again—regardless of whether or not people believe it.  Near the end of His ministry on earth, He said, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3, NKJV).

     One of the benefits of living with the awareness that Jesus is coming again is that it motivates us to live a clean and pure life.  John wrote, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure” (I John 3:1-3, NIV).  Therefore, we will spend the next few weeks doing a chronological study of the events surrounding the second coming of our Lord!

II.  Ten Events Preceding the End of the Church Age

     Matthew recorded a scene during which Jesus described ten events that would signal the approach of the end of “The Church Age.”  He wrote, “Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.’  Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’  [Notice: In the mind of His disciples “Your coming” and “the end of the age” were synonymous!]  And Jesus answered and said to them: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end [the end of The Church Age] is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:1-14, NKJV).  Let’s take a moment to emphasize the events that will occur before “the end will come.”

• The presence of false christs: “Many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:5, NKJV).
• Widespread wars: “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” (Matthew 24:6-7a, NKJV).
• Widespread food shortages: “There will be famines” (Matthew 24:7b, NKJV).
• Widespread epidemics: “There will be…pestilences” (Matthew 24:7b, NKJV).
• Widespread earthquakes: “There will be…earthquakes in various places” (Matthew 24:7b, NKJV).
• Worldwide persecution, martyrdom, and hatred of Christians: “They will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations” (Matthew 24:9, NKJV).
• Conflict among Christians:  “Many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another” (Matthew 24:10, NKJV).
• An increase in false prophets: “Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many” (Matthew 24:11, NKJV).
• Love crippling lawlessness: “Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12, NKJV).
• Global evangelism: “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations” (Matthew 24:14, NKJV).

     The penetrating question that must be asked is, “Are you ready for Jesus to return and ‘The Church Age’ to end?”  Another haunting question is, “Are your family and friends ready?”  If not, you need to seriously consider the following statement made by Jesus: “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, NIV).  

III.  Conclusion

     As long as “The Church Age” endures, it should be the highest priority of God’s people to “make disciples.”  Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20, NIV).  It is our responsibility to “make disciples!”

     It’s not about enticing people to keep coming to worship services.  It’s not about having a bigger average attendance than another church.  It’s not about having the biggest outreach events in the area.  It’s about making disciples!  It isn’t enough to make “converts.”  We must devote ourselves to giving Him glory by working through the ministries of His church to “make disciples.”  Paul wrote, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21, NKJV).

     Making disciples is our current assignment and will be until the end of the “Church Age.”  Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations…to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19a…20b, NIV).

Next Steps

• Believe in Jesus to receive the gift of eternal life.  He said, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, NIV).
• Ask God to clearly teach you what role He wants you to play in the process of making disciples.  After all, Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations…to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19a-20b, NIV).

Bring a friend to church next week!

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