End-time Anxiety

End-time Anxiety

Anxiety, stress, fear, despair are in the air and God's people are not immune.

A good way to address and overcome these negative emotions and thoughts is to build up a strong sense of purpose. Some seek that sense of purpose in their job, some in their family, some dedicate themself to a cause (environmentalism, political change, breast cancer awareness). A current example would be anti-war protests on college campuses.

Attaching yourself to any of these can help fill the void within... but not completely... the cause will fade with time...or fails because of internal deficiencies. We are good at analyzing, and criticizing the way things are but not so good in providing workable lasting solutions.

A career, even a family, can fade with time or circumstance.

Today, I want to talk to you about something better. God's purpose and your part in it. This is a purpose which does not fade or fail. But first, let's talk about how we got into such a state of anxiety, fear, stress.

A Long Chain of Bad Choices

We have the world we have based on a long series of choices stretching way back to the very beginning.

The book of Genesis is all about beginnings... animals, plants, people, nations and peoples, the beginning of God calling people... and  the beginning of bad choices.

The first bad choice was a whopper... Adam chose to reject God's authority over him choosing to decide matters of good and evil for himself [we have all followed his lead]. Humanity was, and is, … by God’s decree… free to choose... but that means we are also free to reap the consequences. So, our world is a mix of good & evil.

We have made our world a dangerous place... war.... crime... persecution... scary diseases... killer drones guided by artificial intelligence. So, we have anxieties, fear, stress, suicide, self harm.

That's what lead up to our present state... now let's talk about our present state.

Change Your Perspective

More and more people are asking "Is this it?"…”is this the end?”. People have a hazy idea of increasing evil leading to a climactic end. Biblically speaking there are good reasons to think we are at the time of the end. End-time thinking can increase anxiety and fear... or not... depending on your perspective.

You can:

• Place your thoughts within a framework of God's purpose and focus on your role in that purpose... and the proactive steps you can take to fulfill your role.
• Let your thoughts wander into self pity asking "why is that happening to me"… “Why now?”

Purpose and action will help you overcome anxiety, self pity will only feed it.

The Third Option

There is another option... actually the most popular option. The "I don't want to think about it" option. Its quite effective when times are good, or before anything bad actually happens. Otherwise, its not so effective.

The 3rd option is definitely not appropriate for you. Why? Because God has called [or is calling] you. He may work through a still small voice that makes you think about matters you'd rather ignore... or through a whirlwind of trial that brings you to your knees... but, He has called you… He has called you to think about it.  It is a calling to purpose.

Gloomy & Doom

Shouldn't biblical instruction be filled with positive uplifting themes? Yes!

But God's message is positive and uplifting primarily because it says "I am going to help you out of the mess you are in".

12. If you are trapped in sin that hurts and destroys you... I will help you out of it.
13. When your materialism leads you into a dead end… I will give you a future.
14. If are unable to learn the way to peace... I am going to show you how.

Romans 7:7 God cannot talk to you about overcoming sin until you know what sin is... so we have to talk about sin. God cannot talk to us about the way of peace until the way of war [and its consequences] are laid bare. Therefore, well rounded biblical instruction is going to have negative topics to discuss. But unlike so much of human thought which so good at analyzing and criticizing... God's word also provides workable solutions which you can test and prove for yourself.

You calling is to start living out the way that provides solutions now… to prove that way to yourself and others… now.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 this is God's perspective on people in the "last days". You could say "this God is full of doom and gloom, why can't He focus on the bright side?" But, in sections of scripture like this God is telling us "here are the wrong attitudes that make your world so difficult, dangerous, and anxious". He also says "Try these on instead Galatians 5:22".

Matthew 24:3, 21-22 when asked to predict the future, Jesus had a gloomy outlook as well. He said "Your chosen path will lead you to the brink of total destruction". All the war, persecution, famine etc. are the inevitable consequences of the way you have freely chosen.

God has to draw all this out… His ministry has to talk about all this…. so we learn to connect the dots... and realize the answer is surrendering our will to His instruction. Which is where we start getting to the solution part of the message and your part in it.

Christ Will Return

Matthew 24:30-31 the elect are those who heard His calling and chose to surrender to His instruction before the time of his return. The elect are people committed to living out the solution... which requires surrender to the will of God.

Humanity does not want to surrender. They will struggle against Christ even when He's is intervening to stop them from causing their own extinction. Humanity will not give up their freedom to make bad choices [and impose them on others] without a fight [trumpets].

The battle will be short, Christ will prevail, and their resistance will bring about lots of collateral damage. That will be the end of the current phase of human history. At least 6,000 years of self rule. Those who survive [and their subsequent children] will begin to learn the way of peace. They will be taught as children should be taught by loving concerned parents.

Discipline, correction, proper boundaries, lots of time and attention.

The elect will assist Christ in teaching the way of peace... but that means the elect will have already learned it themselves. This is your calling... to learn the way of peace... NOW. Live the way of peace... NOW ... prepare yourself for what is to come later. That is the sense of purpose which will give you a positive perspective on bad news.

You are learning and living the way of peace in an age of anxiety, stress, fear, persecution and violence. You see and experience the way of war and the way of peace side by side... you can compare and contrast.

God will walk you through the carnage of ruined lives, violence, persecution, despair, anxiety, and fear. Partly by explaining what you are seeing and why [discussing the negative] and teaching you the solution [providing positive uplifting life lessons]. That's biblical balance.

Righteous Rule

Christ's return will mark the beginning of a new phase in human history on earth... the time of righteous rule. Human government and leadership has changed before... whether  from election... reform... revolution... or military coup... but we only got a new boss who turned out to be the same as the old boss. The spiritual causes of our problems was ignored.

Without the aid, influence, and direction of God, human rule goes badly. The solution is to be ruled by Godly minded leaders. Even the pagans knew that... they just don't have a reliable definition of what Godly nature is like. Plato's philosopher king ended up being the Soviet Union.

Acts 3:19-21 the time of refreshing has come upon you now... it will be extended to all the earth after Christ's return. Which will be a time of restoration… apo-kata-stasis.

The word restoration apo-kata-stasis... its only used once in the bible so we cannot look to other verses to understand what it meant to the people who used it. In other writings apo-kata-stasis meant: a "repair" of a public way, the "restoration" of estates to rightful owners, a balancing of accounts.

The restoration Christ brings is not a return to some past glory days.

Ecclesiastes 7:10 Looking backwards is not the answer. Many talk as though we would solve all our problems is we just went back to the way things used to be... pre-COVID... the 50's... classical Rome or Greece... the 1st century Church... the golden age of David and Solomon. Yet, all these epochs of human history were filled with their own set of evils and problems.

The other option is going forth into something completely new… we call it Progress!

Politicians and activist of various types basically offer one [or the other] of these options. But:

• Moving back we don't know how to separate what was good from what was evil... so how do we know what to go back to?
• Moving forward we cannot trust our own impulses and human reasoning... which we all admit are selfish and self serving. So how can we know if the new thing is good or evil.

Based on our track record we do not know the way of peace or the way to find it... we need help from God.

What Will Make the Difference?

What features will make Christ's government different from all that has gone before?

Power? Christ will have power to rule over all people. But human experience is that absolute power in the hands of the wrong person(s) becomes corrupt, oppressive and harmful to the subjects of that power. So its not just a matter of more power to get stuff done.

Wealth? In Christ’s rule there will be no shortage of the materials needed to succeed, food , minerals, energy. But human experience is that more and more wealth makes us less and less content. The wealthiest nations and empires lose their sense of purpose when they turn inward to focus on enjoying their wealth.

The difference will be the attitude of those who lead.

Matthew 20:25-28, Philippians 2:5-8 to imitate Him we: willingly humble our-self, give freely of what we have, look out for those in need, help the poor and hungry, give up our lives in sacrifice to others so they might receive eternal blessings. That's the solution... that's the calling... that's what gives you purpose. And that purpose will help you overcome anxiety and fear.

Order & Discipline

God's government over the earth [which you can be part of] will exercise power when necessary to prevent harm to self or to others. Correction and discipline are as much a part of Christ's rule as forgiveness, patience, and mercy.

Deuteronomy 6:24-25 righteous rule will be based on God's commands... with justice... not granting exemptions or privileges for people based on class, race, or wealth [you must learn to not be a respecter of persons in this way].

The foundation of God's commands is love. Those good and fair laws will be administered by leaders who will have learned to apply them with judgment, mercy, and faith Matthew 23:23.

Conclusion:

Anxiety, stress, fear, despair are in the air and God's people are not immune… address and overcome these negative emotions and thoughts with a strong sense of purpose. But not just any purpose, God’s purpose which does not fail or fade away.