Will He Find Faith?

Thank you very much, Carolyn. Beautiful piece of special music here this morning.

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Sabbath Services. Good to see you all here, and it's a pleasure to be joining you in the AM this Sabbath, as you know we usually go in the afternoon.

Greetings to those who are on the webcast today as well, listening in and enjoying the Sabbath with us. Mr. Meyer is talking about the special music sign-ups for the feast. It reminded me that plans are underway right now for the Feast of Tabernacles, aren't they? And it'll be upon us before we know it. Of course, you mustn't forget about the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Trumpets either, but plans are underway for the Feast of Tabernacles this past Monday morning. Mr. Kubik recorded 20 or 30 minutes of a message that will be part of this year's Feast sermon video. So the staff here at the office is preparing a special message for the Feast as well that will be played as a sermon. And the theme is, let this mind be in you. And of course, that mind that we're to have is the mind of Jesus Christ. So that's the Feast video theme, and hopefully we'll become part of the Feast of Tabernacles theme itself too. So we'd certainly appreciate your prayers. For the fellows in the media department who have to now make this work, put it together, do the post-production on it, that it will be successful, and that it will be an inspiring message for everybody at the Feast. So we'd certainly appreciate your prayers in that regard. Listen to this startling quote from Jesus Christ that he made to his disciples. And of course, by extension, he made this quote or asked this question to us. We are his modern-day disciples, aren't we?

Here is what Christ asked. When the Son of Man comes, will he really find faith on this earth?

Will he find faith on this earth?

Is faith in God diminishing day by day, year by year? What do you think the answer to that question is? There is a new public television segment being created by Impact Television. Impact is out of Boca Raton, Florida, and they're preparing a series on public television titled Faith in America.

The host of Impact is famous American actor Martin Sheen. Impact is going to cover several religious organizations in this series, but also do a segment on the United Church of God later this year.

Their video crew will be here at Church Services, the last Sabbath of August, right here in this building.

In addition, or maybe I should say their series about faith in America will take a sharp turn as they discuss a Christian church which is not Jewish, not Seventh-day Adventist, that believes in the Seventh-day Sabbath, the United Church of God.

And in addition, they will cover the story of a rising Christian organization which keeps annual biblical festivals, not Jewish festivals, but biblical festivals.

And as will be brought out, the United Church of God believes that these annual festivals point us to Jesus Christ, that these festivals point us to the gospel message and to eternal life in God's kingdom. They're not Old Testament and they're not Jewish festivals, but God's feasts, God's holy days, the Lord's festivals, and we hope to show that these festivals are for all of humanity to observe.

So this segment of interviews with various churches to air on PBS has an interesting title, Faith in America. But perhaps the bigger question for today would be, when the Son of Man comes, will he really find faith on this earth?

So the title for today's sermon is simply, Will He Find Faith? Think about it. Imagine a world without faith, a world with no hope for tomorrow, a world that is faithless or hopeless.

Many have speculated about what Jesus meant when he questioned the faith of humanity in the end times. Let me tell you about the nuns. Do you know who the nuns are? Not N-U-N-S, but N-O-N-E-S. Listen to a few excerpts from Michael Gerson in the Washington Post from March 25th of this year.

His Washington Post piece was titled, An America That Is Losing Faith with Religion.

And I'll just read some excerpts from it with a long article. Let me just read a few excerpts.

Gerson says, the nation's religious composition is revealed in a recent presentation by Lewis Lugo of the Pew Research Center is changing. In 2012, America ceased to be a majority Protestant country. The result mainly of a decline in the numbers of mainline Protestants. One group, however, has swelled. Those with no religious affiliation, also known as nuns, as in none of the above. In the 1950s, this was about 2% of the population. In the 1970s, it was about 7%. Today, it is close to 20%. These gains can be found in all regions of the country. Gerson says, only about 30% of this group, 6% of the whole general public, are actually atheists or agnostics.

The rest of the nuns describe themselves as indifferent to religion or as nothing in particular.

Their overall growth has been swift and unprecedented. Though causality is hard to establish, many nuns hold a very dim view of religious conservatives, asserting that churches are too focused on rules and money and too involved with politics. But the trend appears to run deeper, he says. Declining trust in religious institutions since the 1990s has been accompanied by declining trust in most institutions. Confidence in government and big business has simultaneously fallen, and the public standing of both is lower than that of even the church.

And he concludes, whatever the explanation for the decline of institutional religion, it has major social and political implications.

And so we see from this piece in the Washington Post that not only is commitment to faith in religion declining, but trust in most institutions, including government and big business.

Will Christ find faith of any sort upon his return? Certainly beginning to look like an end-time scenario of hopelessness before our Savior returns. And men are increasingly losing heart in the society around them, losing faith in their country and their society.

Turn to Luke 18. Let's read the first eight verses of Luke 18, and we'll read the full quote from Jesus about faith on earth from his parable outlined here in Luke 18. Luke 18 verse 1, verse 2.

And Jesus spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.

And as Gerson pointed out in the Post, men are losing heart. Women are losing heart and not really having faith in anything anymore, even in their own government and local businesses. Verse 2, saying, there's a certain city, a judge who did not fear God, nor regard man. Now, there was a widow in that city, and she came to him saying, get justice for me from my adversary. And he would not for a while, but afterward he said within himself, though I do not fear God nor regard men, yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. Then the Lord said, hear what the unjust judge said.

And shall God not avenge his own elect, to cry out day and night to him, though he bears long with them? So Christ is admonishing us to cry out to God in faith for what we need. Because verse 8, I tell you that he will avenge him speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he really find faith on the earth? It's a chilling question.

And now even others are asking that question, aren't they? As we just read. Many are losing heart. As we read in verse 1. Losing faith in society around them.

I believe that one of the biggest challenges we face in preaching the Gospel of God's Kingdom in this day is this very phenomenon of the nuns. A huge percentage of our population is afraid to commit to anything, let alone religion. And even those who are willing to commit to their faith, our version of Christianity is among the most unpopular of all.

We're asking people to more than just come to church on Saturday.

We're asking them to change their entire life, and how they think, and how they live.

The seed we sow of the Gospel today so often falls on stony ground.

It falls on thin soil and weather-beaten plots, notwithstanding the effect the devil has of blowing that seed to the forewinds. Our task as God's people to get people to commit, to commit faithfully to our Creator God, is a huge challenge in this day and age.

The faith less in society is growing in leaps and bounds at an alarming rate, and almost everyone is afraid to commit.

There's another obvious trend being picked up by analysts around the world, and it's that the United States and Britain, those nations are in decline now.

Even some say a rapid decline. The glory days may be over. Much of this can be chalked up to an arrogance against God, a waning faith in their Creator, and a refusal to follow Biblical admonition on how to live our lives.

A case in point is the Edward Snowden spy leak debacle. Listen to this headline from the Wall Street Journal by Brett Stevens, written on June 24, just about a week ago. Brett Stevens in the Wall Street Journal has an article titled The Age of American Impetence. And here are some excerpts from the article. He says that this writing, Edward Snowden, the fugitive national security agency contractor, indicted on espionage charges, has been charged with a $1 billion dollar bill.

He is in Moscow. The Vladimir Putin spokesman insists his government is powerless to detain him.

But however the Snowden episode turns out, what it mainly illustrates is that we are living in an age of American impotence. The administration has decided it wants out from nettlesome foreign entanglements and now finds itself surprised that it's running out of foreign influence. Speaking from India, Mr. Kerry offered a view on what it would mean for Russia to allow him to flee. Disappointing, said our 68th Secretary of State. And then Brett Stevens concludes, Moscow must be trembling. So it doesn't take much research to see what happened to the British Empire in the last 70 years. At its height, it was the largest empire in history.

And for over a century was the foremost global power. By 1922, the British Empire held sway over one-fifth of the world's population. The Empire covered almost a quarter of the earth's landmass. And you may recall that at the peak of its power, the phrase, the empire in which the sun never sets, was often used to describe the British Empire because its expanse across the globe meant that the sun was always shining on at least one of its territories, no matter which time of day. Where's the British Empire today?

Even the United Kingdom is now splitting apart with Scotland wanting to go out on its own.

Well, guess what? The United States of America, the most powerful nation in the world, is following the same path. It is now in decline. Its military is scaling back.

It no longer has the same influence on the world scene.

It is becoming impotent, as put by Brett Stevens in the Wall Street Journal. And you have to agree.

What is the major cause of this?

It's a turning away from God, from faith in God in all aspects of life.

It's turning away with God's law, Ten Commandments.

It's also because of a violation of the Fourth Commandment.

And it's because of a decline of faith in God.

As the nuns become a larger and larger portion of our society, and as love for our fellow man wanes, we have to ask, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?

Turn to Matthew 24 with me. Let's make a note of Matthew 24. We'll read verses 3-13.

Let's read Jesus' own words about the lack of faith before He returns.

It's a description of end-time events. Matthew 24, verse 3. 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? What should we be looking for? They asked. To know that you'll be coming back.

Verse 4, 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. So He said, don't be deceived. There's going to be a lot of false religion out there. Be careful. Don't lose faith in the truth. Verse 6, and you'll 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, kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places, and these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they'll deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. So those who hold to the truth will not be popular. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another, and many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. In verse 13, we are told to endure to the end if we want to be saved. So there will be challenges in the end time. It'll be hard to keep your faith. Lawlessness will abound, and those who are lawful will not be popular, as I said. Evil will run rampant. Faith in God and obedience to His way will be hard to find. Let's flip over to 2 Timothy chapter 3 now. 2 Timothy 3 verses 1 through 5. And here is what the apostle Paul explained to Timothy about the end times.

2 Timothy 3, 1. But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come. Why? Verse 2. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers without self-control, brutal, despises of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Having a form of godliness but denying its power, from such people turn away. Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. The nuns of all types will be the norm. Faith in God will be hard to see.

I have a fascinating concept to bring to you here now. This may be something you've not heard before.

After all, why should we be worried about the lack of faith in society out there?

As long as we do what's right, who cares about everyone else? Well, it has now been proven that faith in God has a huge, positive impact on our entire society.

This is not something that can be accomplished by the nuns or by atheists. Let me explain. The question has been asked. Is religion an essential driver of economic growth?

Is faith in a higher power a determinant of the success of society?

And is there any particular religion or faith that is more successful at this than all the others?

One of the most respected economic analysis magazines is Forbes.

Economists, those playing the stock market, get Forbes magazine.

Let me quote you some excerpts from a Forbes article from May 29th of this year by Jerry Bowyer, titled, Is religion an essential driver of economic growth? Now, Forbes is a secular magazine, obviously. This is an interesting article that appeared in Forbes. Here's what Jerry Bowyer says. He's introducing a fellow named Peter Berger.

He says, Peter Berger is perhaps the world's most prominent living sociologist. He has written two dozen books, including seminal texts in the development of the sociology of religion, the sociology of knowledge, and the sociology of modern development. He may be the most qualified person to speak with authority on matters pertaining to the relationship between religious beliefs and economic development.

At age 84, Berger is still sharp as a tack, and has a long lifetime of study and analysis behind him. Bowyer says he thinks he has a few years ahead of him yet, too. I guess Berger's quite healthy.

Bowyer says, when I asked him what he has learned in a lifetime of studying these questions, he told me that there are certain social preconditions to economic development.

That the way a society operates is important in regards to how prosperous that society can become. This is largely a matter of culture, and for most of the world, culture basically means religion. Religion drives culture. Culture drives social forms, and social forms drive development. Here's what he says. Regarding different religions and their level of conduciveness to growth, he said, they are not equally conducive. He pointed out that the lifestyle which arose from Protestantism played a decisive role in the creation of modern prosperity.

It upheld the virtue of productive labor in this world, as opposed to an otherworldly orientation often associated with medieval Catholicism. The result is a well-educated, highly skilled, diligent workforce and large pools of capital. Without this, or something like it, modern capitalism would not have arisen as it did. He said the reason for our prosperity is religious. And then, Berger also says, not all religions, at least in the current form, have the same characteristics. Therefore, not all religions are equally conducive to development. But he points out that this is not a matter of bias, it's simply a matter of facing the facts.

According to Berger, Confucianism preaches many of the virtues of Christianity, such as education, hard work and delayed gratification, which are conducive to prosperity among individuals. But the Confucian disdain for commerce has tended to create societies which are more conducive to entrepreneurial stagnation. Therefore, a Confucian China can stagnate for millennia. Regarding Islam, Berger points out that historically, the subservient role of women in Muslim nations is a source of economic drag. To isolate half of the talent of a population from productivity is bad enough. But to add to that, a pattern of leaving women uneducated makes things even worse because of the role that mothers play in the intellectual development of children.

And it was a long article, and I actually went ahead and listened to the entire interview that he had with Peter Berger. And it made me realize that the culture of the Christian religion, in comparison to every other religion, as shown by the facts and decades of research, is one that develops the most prosperous economic model for society or nation.

And so, think about this. If a society decides to stray away from that religious basis, what can we expect to happen? Economic difficulties, recession, debt, unhappiness. And those types of things are the result of a nation distancing itself from God and His way of life. And we see it happening now in our nation all around us, as people don't see a need for faith any longer. Faith in government, faith in schools, the Ten Commandments, whatever you want to talk about. I began to think that this would make an interesting message for the Feast of Tabernacles. The Christian religions of our day are actually rather flawed, and do not represent the type of belief system that Jesus Christ actually intended for His Church.

We know that. Unfortunately, numerous biblical beliefs have now been supplanted by pagan theology, all the way from Sunday worship to Christmas, Easter and the Saturnalia. We know how those things have influenced Christianity today. And yet, despite its flaws, the underlying principles of Christianity have still allowed our society to flourish, as blessed by God and as prophesied and promised to Abraham's descendants because of His faith. So take this all a little step further.

And imagine a time in the millennium when Jesus Christ is ruling from Jerusalem, and all of mankind will eventually start practicing true religion, true Christianity. And imagine how that will allow the nations and all of humanity to prosper. Peter Berg's study of the sociology of religion is fascinating. So if everyone had faith in the true God, the entire planet would be different. Well, getting back to our subject of really fine faith, let's turn to Luke 17. Read verses 5 and 6. Why has faith in God diminished? Here in the U.S.

and, of course, in most nations around the world. Luke 17, verse 5. The apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith! They saw a need to be more faithful. So the Lord said in verse 6, If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can see this mulberry tree be pulled up by the roots and planted in the sea, and it would obey you.

The disciples obviously saw the works Jesus did, and also heard the high standard of His teaching, and realized that they needed more faith, probably a whole lot more. Amazingly, as we get closer to the end of this age, we tend to exercise less faith in our lives, and people don't seek it as they once did. Perhaps technology has a part to play. Perhaps there are too many distractions around us to compete, even with our faith in God, let alone the faith of society in general.

We need to increase our faith, just as Jesus said. Society needs to increase its faith in God. But unfortunately, it is headed in exactly the opposite direction. To counteract this pull, we also must pray to God, to have Him, through the power of His Holy Spirit, increase our faith. It's important to understand the reasons why faith in God has diminished in society. Bill Bradford in Brisbane, Australia, one of our pastors there, outlined three points about diminishing faith in an email message he sent to his congregation last week.

I jotted down these three reasons that he gave in his letter. Here are some of the reasons he gave for diminished faith in the world today, and even for us in the church. He said, number one, today we have more solutions to our previously unsolvable problems. Society is providing more solutions to things that we couldn't figure out before. There have been medical advances, for example, to handle our ever-growing number of health ailments.

More medical care is available, and we have refined programs where medical and emergency care is extended to more people. The thought of asking for an anointing or for healing by God is not on the minds of most people around us. Years ago, actually, it was. But it's not only medical advances that are seemingly solving our problems. Many people believe that given enough time, science will solve all of humanity's problems.

People do not put their faith in living God's way or following the admonition of Jesus Christ, but instead, trust in science. Trust in the medical community. Bill Bradford said, secondly, we have more wealth and social systems devised by our governments so people are not without help of some form. Social welfare and various forms of government assistance are now given to more than 50% of the US population. It was reported in the Wall Street Journal on May 26, 2012, in an article titled, Number of the Week, Half of US Lives, or Half of the US Lives in Households Getting Benefits.

That 49.1% of the population live in a household where at least one member receives some type of government benefit. Now, that was in 2011. So notice now in 2013, it is now over 50% received some kind of government assistance in the US. The Wall Street Journal article continues, this is up from 30% in the early 1980s. The increase in recent years is likely due in large part to the lingering effects of the recession.

But, says the Wall Street Journal, even without the effects of the recession, there would be a larger reliance on government. So you see that. People now rely more on the government than they are on faith and trust in God to provide for them. And faith and trust in the government is fine up to a certain point. But all at the expense we're finding are faith in God. Interestingly, social scientists will tell you that once more than 50% of the population becomes dependent on the government, there's no turning back. Wouldn't it be great if more than 50% of the population put its reliance on the Almighty God?

Instead, we're seeing the opposite happening. Unfortunately, it'll only get worse. Turn to Revelation 13 with me, and we'll read verses 3 and 4. Revelation 13. The book of Revelation predicts a time when almost all of humanity will put its trust and its faith in government, in a world-ruling government and religious superpower. It will be the ultimate dependency on government. Revelation 13, verse 3, talking about the beast, verse 4. They worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast?

Who is able to make war with him? They are worshipping what is to become a false faith. They'll be worshipping something that has the works of the dragon behind it. It says the whole world marveled and followed this governmental system. So this future government will be adored and even worshipped, until, as we also read in Revelation, the whole plan goes horribly wrong. And it turns into a murderous, religiously motivated, worldwide nightmare.

But first, it will seem like a good thing, saving the world out of its problems. Thirdly, Bill Bradford said, we have more knowledge now, and knowledge is increasing so that, where there are problems, we can find solutions. So people feel, not just trusting in science, trusting in medical technology, not just trusting in government, but we're trusting in our own knowledge. Where people once lived by faith and had a conscious belief in God, it was because often they had no other choice. Life was tough, but now we have many choices. There's always a new way of doing things, of understanding things, that will somehow make your life better. Of course, then this becomes the goal, to make your life better. The goal is not to live a more godly life, the goal is to have a more fun life. Listen to these headlines from this past week, and you'll see what is important to people today. We have more knowledge and solutions so that our life can seem better. But ask yourself if these items that people see as important today have anything to do with faith in God and living a godly life. So here's what's important today. 13 iPhone apps that will make your life better. Or how about 25 ways to make your life better immediately? Then they're all listed. I might mention that I checked all these out, and not one of them has anything to do with trusting in God. 48 ways to make your life a million times better. You owe it to yourself to try. 6 ways to make your life better today by the eHarmony staff. And here was one, the 5 secrets to living happily ever after.

None of those 5 secrets had anything to do with eternal life or trust in faith in God, I might add. But when you dig a little deeper, you'll find that things are not actually better, even though people may think they are. Despite technology, despite more solutions, more wealth in some countries, more government assistance, and more knowledge, people are not actually any happier. Ever wonder why some people long for the good old days? Gary Petty did a Beyond Today program with that title a couple of years ago. Why are more diseases emerging every day that we don't have a cure for?

Why do people do terrible things to other people on a scale that we haven't seen before? Violence, rape, people oppressing others, terrorism, suicide bombers, homelessness, sexual diseases, cancer. Knowledge is increasing. We're told that in the end time it will increase, but so are the problems. Mankind is actually not getting ahead. People are more educated and quite technologically advanced, but it's not increasing happiness. And it seems that the few are benefiting from all this advancement. The vast majority is still in a hopeless condition. In some ways it seems like life has changed for the better, but only where you and I live.

Not for the vast majority of mankind. If you've ever traveled outside the United States, you know that. If you've ever traveled to what's called the developing world, you know that. This world is not better off, because human nature still hasn't changed, and God is still on the outside looking in on planet Earth. I watched a one-hour documentary last week titled, The Fourth World. Lest you think that poverty, disease, and health epidemics are being solved, more than one billion people are now living in what is being called, the fourth world. You and I in the developed nations, the Western nations, live in the first world.

This is what's called the first world where we live. Russia and China are in the second world. Most of Africa and much of Latin America is in the third world, now called the developing world, which actually it's not. But more than one billion people live in the fourth world, a new category of abject poverty and absolute hopelessness. A billion people. As we read earlier from Matthew 24, Jesus knew this when he predicted that as a sign of the end time, there will be wars and rumors of wars, famines and disease, and all with the underlying cause of false religion and false Christ being preached. What's happening to this world is the result of a society that does not value faith in God.

And so it will get so bad that it will reach the point where the world's governments try a global approach to find the solutions. And that global approach will be the enforcement of false religion backed by a powerful military, to try and fix things. But as we know, that experiment, too, will fail in a horrible manner. We read the Apostle Paul's letter to Timothy a few minutes ago about the perilous times to come at the end. And both Jesus and Paul understood that things would not get better, regardless of man's best effort, because human nature is not being changed.

Rather, they said it would get worse until Jesus Christ has to return and save humanity from itself. The knowledge and abilities in which man experiences growth do not produce the right kind of change. The right kind of change that's needed is faith and trust and belief in the Almighty God. We are living in more perilous times than we ever have before, and it will get worse. And as the end of this age approaches, much more of humanity will become part of that fourth world.

Let's turn to Luke 23. Notice verses 28 through 30. Luke 23 verse 28. Remember, Jesus wondered if he would find faith on the earth when he returned. And actually, as we will see, on a worldwide scale, the answer will be no. Luke 23 verse 28. Jesus turned to them and said, Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. Why? For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, Blessed to the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed. Verse 30.

Then they will begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us, and to the hills cover us. People will be crying out just to be relieved of their suffering and say, Just let me die. At the end of this age of man, right before Jesus Christ returns to save humanity from its own destruction, people will have lost faith, lost hope, and be terrified for their lives. Turn with me to Revelation again.

Revelation 6 verse 15. It's there that we read a similar scenario. Revelation 6 verse 15. The kings of the earth, the great men. This is not just those who are the little people. The kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men. Every slave and every free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. People will be so fearful.

They will have lost all faith and all hope. And what is amazing, though, is despite the pain and the suffering and the wish to die, humanity will still refuse to turn to God and have faith in Him. Revelation 9, 6 says, In those days men will seek death and will not find it, there will be desire to die and death will flee from them.

People say, just let me die. This is terrible. And then it concludes this way in Revelation 9 verse 21, which is hard to imagine. But here's how it ends in Revelation 9 verse 21. Despite the pain, the suffering, and the Almighty God saying, turn to me, follow Jesus Christ, here's what happens in Revelation 9, 21. They did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual morality or their thefts. People will still refuse to actually turn to their Creator. So when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth? Well, not true faith, no. Not a whole lot.

Despite the pain, the suffering, mankind will not return to faith in His Creator. Humanity, as a whole, we're told, will not repent. The exception will be the people of God. His faithful servants, led by Jesus Christ, being prepared now for Jesus Christ's return, being prepared now to teach true Christianity, true religion, in all the world, when Christ returns.

As we wrap up this message, let's heed the warning now given to us, to you and me. We've seen that this world will be lacking faith in God. The world will become faithless and hopeless. Look at 1 Timothy 4 and the first two verses. A warning given to you and me. 1 Timothy 4, verse 1. Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times, some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.

What is the warning here in Timothy? Don't depart from the faith. We must remain faithful. Don't lose faith.

We must not let the lusts of the world sear our conscience. We must remain spiritually pure, we read. When Jesus Christ returns, He must find faith in us.

On a global scale, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Go to chapter 6, 1 Timothy 6, verses 11 and 12. 1 Timothy 6, verse 11. But you, O man of God, and we are men and women of God, children of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, and love, patience, and gentleness. Pursue faith. Verse 12, fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life, to which you are also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

It is essential that the people of God, who really seek God, not just know about faith, not just have education, not just show up at church every week, but actually live by it and fight for it. You have to fight for your faith. And what that often is, is just a refusal to go the other way, a refusal to follow this world. Fight for your faith in your own life.

The world can erode our faith. And we won't realize it. We're not close to God in prayer, meditation, and study.

When bad things happen to us, we see the need for God in our lives then, don't we? We cry out to God. Can we honestly say that we live by faith now?

Or have we too come to believe in the answers and solutions the world is offering us?

One last thing about this. Of the many solutions being offered by this world, the most alluring is a promiscuous lifestyle that so many of us have come to. Involving sex, alcohol, drugs, an incessant pleasure-seeking, narcissism. Just looking out for yourself. Narcissism is a term that originated with the narcissist in Greek mythology who fell in love with his own reflection in a pool.

He couldn't stop gazing into the pond at himself. That was narcissist. Currently, it's used to describe a person characterized by egotism, vanity, pride, and excessive selfishness. Someone who's narcissistic.

Instead, what must we do? Look out for the well-being of others. Love God first. And secondly, our fellow human beings as much as we would love ourselves. Some have sunk into an incredibly selfish way of life to deal with increasing stress of the times, as Paul explained in 2 Timothy 3 that we just read. Don't get sucked into the horrible pattern of life that so many are pursuing now. But instead, live by faith. Fight the good fight of faith in your life.

God's way is a way of faith, increasing faith.

Truly seek God and obedience to Him. In a world growing more faithless now and more hopeless every day.

So where are we? What is the answer? Will the Son of Man, when He returns, find faith?

And the answer? Yes. Where? In you.