From His Heart

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Do you fully understand the times that we're in? Discover how to know today on From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve.

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God wants us to all, as his children, be discerning. You spend time in the book, and because you spend time in the book, you spend time with the Lord. You know what the Bible says. You understand it. You rightly divide the word of truth.

You're able to see good and evil, truth and error, right from wrong. You're able to discern that. You're able to look at the times in which we live and understand the times and what we need to do.

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There is tremendous truth. There is blessing. There is hope that you always dream. Love. He can heal me every scar with truth. Real love. Real hope from his heart.

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You and I are living in harsh, fierce, and savage times. The Lord says it would be like this in the last days before his coming. Are you able to properly understand the times and what you need to do in these difficult days? This is from his heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve.

Today, he begins a sobering message that shares four critical discoveries regarding the times in which we live. Times that are increasingly dangerous to those of faith, hurtful to a future generation and their spiritual journey. It is certainly important to have discernment in the Days of Deception. That's the name of the series that we're in this month called "Discernment in the Days of Deception."

Today's message is titled "Understanding the Time." It's the fifth message in this five-lesson series. All five messages in this discernment series are our gift of thanks to you for your support this month of any amount from His Heart. You can receive the series when you make your gift, and it will come on CDs, DVDs, a USB flash drive, or as an immediate MP3 download.

We so appreciate you considering coming alongside to help us broadcast these kinds of messages to you and around the world each and every day. You can get yours when you go to fromhisheart.org or call us at 866-40-BIBLE. I'll tell you more later.

Now, though, open your Bible to First Chronicles. Here's Pastor Jeff to begin telling us how to better understand the times.

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In First Chronicles chapter 12, we read about David and his kingdom coming to power. From the time he was anointed king until he was 30, he had difficult experiences. He had some great victories, such as defeating Goliath, and then he was in Saul's army. God was with David, and His hand was off of Saul, which made Saul very jealous of David. Saul tried to kill David, and so we read about David running and being on the lamb for many years, not understanding what was going on. He faced all kinds of difficulties.

When David was 30, Saul was killed in battle. David sought the Lord and asked what he should do, and God instructed him to go up and be king of Judah, the nation of Judah. David followed this command, and his capital city was a place called Hebron. Thus, David became king in Hebron over one tribe, the tribe of Judah. However, the rest of the tribes followed Saul's son, Ish-Bosheth. It took Ish-Bosheth a long time to learn how to spell his name, and he became king. As time passed, the house of Saul began to diminish while the house of David strengthened.

After seven and a half years in Hebron, the people from all the tribes came to David and expressed their desire for him to be king. In First Chronicles, chapter 12, beginning in verse 23, it states, "Now these are the numbers of the divisions equipped for war who came to David at Hebron to turn the kingdom of Saul to him according to the word of the Lord." Then in verse 38, it says, "All these being men of war who could draw up in battle formation came to Hebron with a perfect heart, a unified heart, to make David king over all Israel." The rest of Israel was also of one mind to make David king.

The twelve tribes of Israel were the twelve sons of Jacob. When Joshua led them into the promised land and conquered it, they divided the land among the different tribes. David was in Hebron, located just a little west of the Dead Sea, ruling over the tribe of Judah. The Bible notes that while he was in Hebron, leaders from the other tribes came to David and pledged their support. The numbers of those who came were significant: 7,100 mighty men from Simeon, 6,800 from Judah, and 3,000 from Benjamin, Saul's own tribe. Saul's people were coming to David, saying they wanted him to be king.

The numbers continued to grow, with 50,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 20,800 from Ephraim, 28,600 from Dan, 37,000 from Naphtali, and 40,000 from Asher. However, the tribe of Issachar had a notably smaller number. In verse 32, it states, "And of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times with knowledge of what Israel should do, their chiefs were 200, and all their kinsmen were at their command." While many mighty men came to David, the tribe of Issachar had a small group that understood the times and knew what Israel should do—just 200 men.

This highlights a significant point: discerning believers are often not the majority. God desires all His children to be discerning, but the Bible makes it clear in Hebrews 5:14 that solid food is for the mature, who, because of practice, have their senses trained to discern good and evil. Spending time in the Word and with the Lord allows us to understand the Bible, rightly divide the word of truth, and discern good from evil, truth from error, and right from wrong.

The leaders in Israel, including the Sadducees and Pharisees, prided themselves on knowing the scriptures, yet they failed to truly understand them. In Matthew chapter 16, Jesus rebukes them, saying, "When it is evening, you say it will be fair weather, for the sky is red, and in the morning there will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening. Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?" They were unable to perceive the truth right before their eyes, despite witnessing miracle after miracle.

When the Son of God was present, they misinterpreted Him, claiming He cast out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of demons. They were so far from the truth that they labeled the Son of God as the devil in the flesh. The Lord pointed out their inability to discern the times, asking if they could read the sky but not understand the times in which they lived.

As we conclude this series on discernment, we want to understand the times and share four discoveries concerning the times in which we live. Discovery number one: we are living in difficult times. Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 3, the last book he wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, "But realize this, that in the last days, difficult times will come." We are in difficult times because we are in the last days.

The last days began on the day of Pentecost, and even before that, when Jesus ascended to heaven. Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, stating that it was the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy concerning the last days. The last days are not a short period; they encompass a long duration of time. James wrote in James chapter five that "the coming of the Lord is near," and John stated in 1 John 2:18 that "it is the last hour." If the Bible writers in the first century referred to it as the last days, how much closer are we to the Lord's return today?

We are now in the last of the last days, and the signs are all around us. However, we must not be deceived. The scripture warns us that in the last days, difficult times will come. The word "difficult" means hard to take, troublesome, dangerous, harsh, fierce, and savage. We see this reflected in the riots, looting, and violence occurring in our society.

Talking to officers who have provided protection during these riots reveals the harsh and savage nature of our times. This is not a new phenomenon; God warned us that these difficult and brutal times would come. The scripture continues in 2 Timothy chapter 3, describing the characteristics of people in these times: "For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power."

The second discovery is that we are living in God-rejecting times. The Bible makes this clear in the book of Romans. Romans chapter one describes a society that rejects God. It begins with the statement that "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness."

God has made His existence evident within every person through their conscience. Even those who claim to be atheists cannot escape the innate understanding that there is a God. The voice of conscience and the voice of creation both testify to God's reality, leaving humanity without excuse. No one can stand before God and claim ignorance.

The scripture continues, stating that even though people knew God, they did not honor Him or give thanks. Instead, they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, exchanging the glory of the incorruptible God for images of corruptible man and creatures.

As a result of this rejection, God gives them over to their desires. Three times in Romans chapter one, it states that God gave them over. First, He gives them over to sexual immorality, leading to a sexual revolution that began in the 1960s. The advent of the birth control pill and the cultural shifts of that era marked a significant change in societal attitudes toward sex.

Today, we are bombarded with sexual content, and pornography has become a massive industry. The normalization of sexual immorality has led to a society where infidelity and promiscuity are commonplace.

Secondly, God gives them over to homosexuality. Romans 1:26-27 describes how women exchanged natural functions for unnatural ones, and men abandoned the natural function of women, burning with desire for one another. This is a clear indication of the homosexual revolution that has taken place in our society.

Lastly, God gives them over to utter depravity. The scripture states that they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, leading to a depraved mind that cannot discern right from wrong. This is the world we live in today, where not only has there been a sexual revolution and a homosexual revolution, but we are now witnessing a state of utter depravity where people's minds no longer function correctly.

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You're listening to From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve and today's lesson, "Understanding the Times." It's from his five-message series, "Discernment in the Days of Deception." Pastor Jeff will return tomorrow to explain exactly what that means. Of course, some may hear that as judgmental, but there's a lot of misunderstanding and confusion these days about what is and what is not judgment, particularly as it pertains to Matthew 7:1, which tells us, "Judge not lest ye be judged."

How can you know what godly judgment is necessary? Pastor Jeff shares when it's right to judge and when it's wrong to judge, and how that works in practicality in the five-message series, "Discernment in the Days of Deception." It's also our special gift of thanks to you for your support this month. The five-lesson series can be requested on USB flash drive, CDs, DVDs, or as an MP3 download. All you have to do is call us at 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or go online to fromhisheart.org.

Please know that God is using you and many others around the world to come alongside Pastor Jeff to broadcast these messages on radio, television, and online. We are bringing Biblical discernment in these dark days. So thank you for investing in Kingdom work through From His Heart. The number again is 866-40-BIBLE or go to fromhisheart.org to request the series, "Discernment in the Days of Deception."

Thank you for joining us today on From His Heart. I'm Larry Nobles, and as we've learned today, if we don't realize the deception that is in our world and growing, there is so much at stake that can be and will be lost. Are you ready for the battle? If not, you'll want to join Pastor Jeff tomorrow for part two of the lesson, "Understanding the Times." Join us on Tuesday when we'll again open up God's Word and share real truth, real love, and real hope from His heart.

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There is treasure, there is love, there is hope that you always dream Love. He can heal every scar from the.

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From His Heart is the listener-supported broadcast ministry of Dr. Jeff Shrieve, speaking the truth in love to a lost and hurting world.

Remember, no matter what, God loves you and He has a wonderful plan for your life.

Find out about that when you go to fromisheart.org.