HopeLives365

Mark Finley: Earth will be filled with distress of nations. The sea and the waves will be roaring. Natural disasters will be all around us. Men's hearts are failing them for fear. If we look where they look, we will fear their fear and our hearts will fail us too.

Guest (Male): This is Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message: Hope at End Time. Enjoy and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up-to-date with Hope Lives 365 and Pastor Mark by going to HopeLives365.com. And now, Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: The signs of the times are all around us. As we look out over our world, we see disaster after disaster. We look around our world and we see a terrible war there in the Ukraine with the invasions of Russia. Beyond that, we see the instability in Venezuela today. And you look at the Middle East, which continues to be a hotspot of conflict and strife.

Beyond that, we look to a number of places in Africa. You look at Nigeria, Northern Nigeria particularly, and you see the Muslim attacks and the rebels. It is just a terrible situation for Christians there in Northern Nigeria. All over the world, whether it's Sudan, which is unstable, whether it is Inter and South America, whether it's protests and riots in the streets of America, when you look around the world there's great instability.

But that instability is not only in the political realm. It's also when you look in the economic realm. You look at what's going on with the American economy today and the large amount of national debt. Sometime we're going to have to pay this back. Some economists feel that although the economy looks a little bit like it's improving, that our economy is on a slender thread about ready to collapse.

But yet, in the Bible in Luke chapter 21, Jesus outlines signs of His return. He talks about wars and rumors of wars both in Matthew chapter 24 and Luke chapter 21. He talks about the false religions rising. He calls them false Christs and false prophets. Jesus talks as well about natural disasters: famines, fire, flood, hurricanes, tornadoes, cyclones.

In one of the more remarkable verses in Luke chapter 21, Jesus says in verse 25, "There’ll be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars. And on the earth distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and waves roaring." Sounds almost like a hurricane coming. The fierce winds whipping up the waves and waves crashing over the barriers and flooding out cities.

Then it says, "Men's hearts failing them for fear and the expectation of those things that are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then they'll see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to come to pass, look up, lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh."

As we look out over our world, we see that there has been one natural disaster after the other. How do we get through these natural disasters? How do we survive with chaos, calamity, uncertainty all around us? I'm thinking, for example, of experiences that people had in Hurricane Katrina, that hurricane that hit Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia in 2005.

1,500 people died. There was billions of dollars worth of damage. We name these hurricanes after different ladies at times and I want to think back on Hurricane Katrina and pull some lessons out of it. Although it's over 25 years old, her name was Katrina, but she was no lady. She was no more but the image of the lives she shattered, the homes she destroyed, the cities she leveled, and the families she devastated. They will be etched in our memories for a long, long time.

We see her fury in the 135-mile-an-hour winds. That's what Katrina had. They lashed waves into 20-foot swells battering the New Orleans coastline. We see her rage in the block after block, in the city after city, the village after village, the street after street, the neighborhood after neighborhood, the town after town that she destroyed.

From Biloxi, Mississippi to Gulfport, to New Orleans, Katrina littered her debris across the once beautiful landscape. Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana experienced her wrath. Like a boxer throwing a knockout punch, she hit the New Orleans levees hard. Water from Lake Pontchartrain poured through the gaping holes in the levees and inundated the city. Waterlogged shops, flooded streets, and covered houses felt Katrina's hand.

The cost was incalculable. Well over 1,000 people killed. Now the estimate is closer to 1,500 to 2,000 in the fury of the storm. Thousands of families separated. Estimates by the experts say that there was $30 billion in property loss. It'll take years and years to rebuild the southwest coastline. In the last 25 years, they've been rebuilding that coastline, but it took them a decade to get it back to what it was.

Just as we're drying out from Katrina and a few people were straggling back into New Orleans to rebuild their shattered lives, what happens? Another hurricane. Katrina's twin sister Rita proudly announces her arrival. She slams into the Texas coastline, packing a punch of 125 miles an hour, causing one million people to flee from Galveston to Houston.

In many years, hurricane forecasters use letters of the alphabet to name storms and in some years they run out of letters. Something has terribly gone wrong. Nature is doing strange things these days. Who can hold back the winds? Who can stop the rains? Who can halt the devastation?

Floods ravage China. The tsunami disaster devastates Southeast Asia. Typhoons wreak havoc in Indonesia. Hurricanes rip apart the Southeast United States. Weather patterns have dramatically changed and we are all left wondering what in the world is really going on? Where's our planet headed? Is what we see merely a freak of nature or is something going on behind the scenes?

Is there a sinister cosmic plot to destroy our world by some evil power? In an end-time sermon that we mentioned in the Gospel of Luke chapter 21, Jesus does outline these signs that precede His return. After discussing such things as wars, famines, pestilences, rising crime and violence, Jesus mentions a cluster of incredible omens in the natural world.

What did He say? We read it earlier. There would be distress of nations. The sea and waves would be roaring. Men's hearts would be failing them for fear. Jesus' prediction is amazingly accurate. Natural disasters are increasing at alarming rates. Do you know that in some years, we have over 20 nameable storms, hurricanes that hit America?

Do you know that since 1900, we can expect 17 major earthquakes from 7.0 to 7.9 and one devastating earthquake of 8.0 in any given year? The National Earthquake Information Center locates more than 50 earthquakes every day and 20,000 a year. Around the world, natural disasters are increasing, whether it's a hurricane, whether it's a famine that's taking place and one of every three in the world go hungry, whether it is a typhoon, whether it's an earthquake.

Something is happening here that's unusual. The words of the Apostle Paul echo down the centuries. His inspired predictions are being fulfilled before our eyes. Writing with penetrating insight forecasting our day, the Apostle declares in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verses 2 and 3, "You yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. They shall not escape."

Natural disasters are bursting upon the world as an overwhelming surprise. Sudden destruction has devastated our villages, towns, and cities. There's billions in property damage every year. The extraordinary has become ordinary. The occasional storm has become commonplace. What we considered unusual once has become normal.

What do you do when the ground beneath your feet is shaking? What do you do when nothing seems certain anymore? What do you do when you can lose everything in an instant? Maybe it's time to pause and to take a deep breath, to evaluate what's really important. Maybe it's time to take spiritual inventory.

The Apostle counsels us with these penetrating words in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 5 and 6, "You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We're not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as others do, but let us watch and be sober." In other words, it's time to take a spiritual inventory.

How's your soul health? Do you place priority on spirituality? Is your spiritual experience superficial or is it shallow? Are you growing more spiritually every day? Is your experience with God this year the same it was five years ago? What changes for the better have taken place in your character this last year?

Are you kinder, gentler, more understanding, more committed? What direction is your spiritual life going? Are you moving closer to God or are you drifting further from God? Disasters call us to take a spiritual inventory. Uncertain times urgently appeal to us to place our faith in something that's certain.

When everything around us seems to be crumbling, it's time to take our eyes off the temporal and focus on the eternal.

Guest (Male): We'll be right back with Pastor Mark Finley. Thank you for listening and hope you're enjoying today's message. Our mission is to attractively present the Christ-centered biblical truths of scripture in a practical, relevant way to people around the world, so that they may experience the abundant life that Christ offers and effectively share with confidence His life-changing truths with others. You can support this ministry and help us reach even more by going to HopeLives365.com/donate. And now, back to Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: God is still seated on His throne. Though at times it may not appear to be true, He's still in control. A few years ago, a busy editor developed severe eye problems. He thought he might need an operation. When he visited his eye specialist, he discovered things were not as bad as they first appeared.

His doctor told the editor what he really needed was to rest his eyes for about six months. The editor objected, "I'll lose my job." His doctor suggested an alternative plan. The editor's office overlooked a beautiful valley and mountain range. The doctor gave the man this prescription for his overtaxed eyes.

"Once an hour," he said, "take 10 minutes off. Leave your editing, gaze out the windows at the mountain. The faraway look will refocus your vision." At times in our lives too, we need the faraway look to refocus our vision. As the simple chorus says, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."

All of the difficulties, challenges, and hardships of life are calls to take spiritual inventory and focus on the eternal. They speak to us loudly of our need for a deeper faith. They are urgent invitations to know God for ourselves. The first lesson we learn from disaster is to take a spiritual inventory.

The second is the need to evacuate as quickly as possible. You know, in New Orleans, in the face of Hurricane Katrina, too few people evacuated. The death toll was far higher than it should have been. If the mandatory evacuation put in place by local and state officials were heeded, many lives would have been saved.

In the wake of Hurricane Rita rapidly approaching the Galveston, Texas coastline, one million people fled. You cannot flirt with disaster by comfortably staying put in the face of danger. There are some habits and attitudes in our lives which are deadly. Our only safety is to flee immediately.

When Joseph was tempted by the enticing allurements of a married woman, Potiphar's wife, he fled. And the Bible graphically describes the scene in these words. "She," Potiphar's wife, I’m reading Genesis 39, verse 12, "caught him by his garment saying, lie with me. But he left the garment in her hand and fled and ran outside."

Joseph knew that unless he fled immediately he would fall to the treacherous wiles of the temptress. Her beauty would have overwhelmed him. In the days of Lot, Sodom and Gomorrah were a cesspool of sin. Dark clouds of doom hovered over the city. The judgments of God were about to fall. God's message to Lot was plain. Escape, escape for your life.

You can't play with sin. It's destructive. It's interesting to observe that storms do the most of their devastation in low-lying areas. As the storms of difficulty approach at end time, God calls us to seek higher ground. The lower the level of your spiritual life, the more devastating the winds of temptation are.

The higher the quality of your spiritual life, the easier it is to deal with temptations. You'll recall our Lord's call to the aged Apostle John on Patmos in Revelation chapter 4, verse 1. "I saw a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I heard was like a trumpet speaking to me saying, 'Come up higher.'"

God's call is always come up higher. His appeal is take another step toward Me. Seek higher ground. There's an old hymn which puts it this way: "I'm pressing on the upward way, new heights I'm gaining every day, a higher plane than I have found, Lord, plant my feet on higher ground."

Christianity is not static. It's dynamic. God calls us from the lowlands of temptation where the winds of satanic enticements destroy our souls to the heights of His marvelous grace, to the joys of His abundant love and the companionship of His glorious presence. You can live a vibrant life at end time if you see the storms of life as an opportunity to come up higher, to grow spiritually.

Trials and obstacles are God's call to higher, holier living. They are God's invitations to know Him more intimately, love Him more fully. I do not mean that God sends these difficulties. He doesn't. The devil is on a leash, but sometimes God gives him rather a long leash. Satan can bring disaster only as far as God allows.

When disaster strikes, God uses it to accomplish His ultimate purpose of revealing the temporary nature of life and the fragility of all material things. Calamities become opportunities to know God better. They become doorways to a deeper faith. They become divine invitations to find refuge in Him.

In the greatest challenge of his life, David found refuge in God. In the storms of life, the Psalmist found a place of security. Over 40 times in his Psalms, he describes God as the source of refuge from disasters threatening to destroy him. He sings God's praises in times of trouble.

I love what it says in Psalm 59, verse 16 in the New International Version. David says, "But I will sing of your strength. In the morning I'll sing of your love, for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble." In the presence of Christ, there is peace. Amid the storms of life, He is there.

I think about Trisha. I read her story when she was facing the hurricane and its devastating winds, the rain pelting down in New Orleans. You see, Trisha lived in low-income housing in the city. A few months before Katrina struck, she became a committed Christian. Every day she spent time seeking Jesus in prayer.

She attended one of New Orleans' inner-city churches. Fearful of leaving the city, she decided to stay put during the hurricane. Trisha was one of only two people left in her apartment building. Although she had no electricity, was running low on food, she survived the storm quite well.

Quite well, that is, until the looters ransacked the building. She barricaded herself in her apartment, locked her doors, and prayed. She heard the screams of other women being dragged out of the complex. Trisha sensed that she had to leave quickly. Soon the looters would break down the door. Soon they would molest her.

She would have to face devastating consequences if she stayed. She prayed, "Oh Lord, You're my refuge and security. Help me, Jesus. Help me, Jesus. Help me now." She had a major problem. Her car was sitting in three feet of water and she was low on gas. Of course, there were no mechanics available to help her get her water-logged car started.

And there were certainly no gas stations open. Rushing to her car, she nervously stuck the keys in the ignition. When she turned the ignition switch, the car sputtered. The exhaust began spitting out water. Trisha quickly shifted into drive and to her absolute amazement, her car plowed through the flooded streets.

It was as if some divine hand was guiding her. It was as if the angels were pushing the car. She nervously looked at the gas gauge. It was on empty and of course no gas stations were open. A calm assurance flooded her soul. It was as if God was saying, "I'm in control here. Don't worry, just keep driving."

And she did. On an empty tank, she drove 60 miles to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to safety. Somehow in the midst of the incredible disaster, God was there. He was there encouraging His child to hang on. He was there encouraging Trisha to find in Him refuge and security. He was lifting Trisha's spirits in spite of her terrible situation.

He was still guiding her in her troubles. In the devastating storms of your life, He's there. He still whispers, "Peace, be still." He still holds you in His arms and says everything's going to be alright. He still invites you to place all of your troubling anxieties in His hands.

Shortly after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, one federal emergency management assistant official commented, "Since the 9/11 disaster, the United States government has spent billions on an emergency response system for natural disasters, but Katrina was just too catastrophic."

The only unfailing emergency response system, my friend, is Jesus. He never lets us down in the emergencies of life. He's never caught by surprise. The catastrophe is never too great. He never is short of resources to cope with the disaster. All of heaven's resources are available for you.

10,000 times 10,000 angels are at His command. There is nothing your heavenly Father would not do for you. His love for you is unending. In fact, He loves you so much He's coming back for you, to take you to a land where disasters will never touch you. The storms of life will be over then.

The catastrophes which unexpectedly snuff out our lives and destroy billions of dollars worth of property in an instant will be a thing of the past. In His love, we find refuge for all of today's trials and hope for an unending tomorrow filled with the joy of His presence. Remember what Jesus said?

In John chapter 14, verse 1 to 3, Jesus 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 to prepare a place for you, I will come again to take you unto Myself."

And remember what Jesus said in Luke chapter 21 that we read at the beginning of our message today? Earth will be filled with distress of nations. The sea and the waves will be roaring. Natural disasters will be all around us. Men's hearts are failing them for fear. If we look where they look, we will fear their fear and our hearts will fail us too.

But then it says, "Then they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with power and great glory." Now listen to this. "When these things begin to happen, when these wars take place, when nation rises against nation and kingdom against kingdom, when there's famines, earthquakes, fires, and flood, when these natural disasters are taking place, when there's uncertainty and crime in our streets, when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads because your redemption draweth nigh."

We're not looking around us at the trials, the difficulties, the challenges. We're not overwhelmed when the disasters strike because we are looking in a different direction. Look up, look up, because your redemption draweth nigh. We can have the absolute confidence that Jesus Christ is coming again and put our hope and trust in Him.

He will strengthen us today and prepare us for tomorrow, so we can face the future unafraid.

Guest (Male): You've been listening to Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you've enjoyed today's message and remind you that you can find more in our many ministry resources at HopeLives365.com. And you can support this ministry by going to HopeLives365.com/donate. And now, a final thought from Pastor Mark.

Mark Finley: We can have the absolute confidence that Jesus Christ is coming again and put our hope and trust in Him. He will strengthen us today and prepare us for tomorrow, so we can face the future unafraid. Let's pray.

Father in heaven, thank You that in the crises of life, in the disasters of life, in the trials of life, we can look up and have confidence that our God will come and not keep silent. We give our lives to You today. Prepare us for that glorious event when You will return, in Jesus' name. Amen.