Life At The Ridge

With as many of the indicators that our Lord gives us in Matthew 24 about the end of the age, we still are not at the end yet. So far we have covered 3 of the 6 indicators, these are the mass deception, wars and rumors of wars, and famines, earthquakes, pestilence, signs, and terrors. We still have 3 more to cover.

Famines, earthquakes, terrors, pestilence, and signs...oh my! These are the next events that happen that signals the end of the age. Jesus gives us some very specific details about it and His second coming. As we have been dissecting the Olivet Discourse as found in Matthew 24-25 we have seen some interesting and wild events that will take place. What assurance does this bring to those who confess Christ and follow Him? We must be prepared.

As we continue to study our Lord's sermon about His second coming He gives us some very specific details and indicators about the end. In vs 6-14 Jesus tells us about all these events that are going to happen but "the end is not yet" How will knowing about these events prepare us?

Are we living in the last days? When we look not only at the state of our country but the world as a whole, we can definitely see evil, sin and corruption on the rise, but does this mean that we are approaching the end of the age? When will the end of the age be? How will we know that we're close. Jesus gives us the answers to those questions in his sermon found in the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24-25.

This is our first message out of our new series entitled "Be Prepared" We will take a journey through Matthew 24-25 over the next couple of months and discover some fascinating realities about Christ's coming and the end of the age.

Up to this point, Ephesians has not been a very personal letter. Perhaps this was because Paul intended for it to be circulated among several of the churches in Asia Minor. But now, this brief conclusion oozes with his evident care for these Christians. What do we learn from this last few verses? We learn the importance of the church and the care that should be evidenced among the believers.

Enjoy this message from one of our Elders

We come to the crowning jewell of this text about our spiritual warfare. Paul tells us exactly how we fight… It’s no surprise that how we fight is through prayer. Paul says we fight spiritual battles through spiritual prayer. What does it mean to pray in the Spirt? How do we use prayer to fight in the spiritual battles?

Do you know how to use a sword? As we come to the 6th piece of armor for the believer, this is the only piece of armor that is both offensive and defensive. While the other pieces of armor that we have considered were necessary to protect the soldier from the enemy’s attacks, they could not kill the enemy. Only the sword can do that.

The helmet is essential because it protects the head. Without the helmet we go unprotected in enemy territory. Have you ever thought of why what you think about is so important? As one person said it “Watch your thoughts, they become words; watch your words, they become actions; watch your actions, they become habits; watch your habits, they become character; watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.” Why is it called the helmet of salvation though? What does salvation have to do with our head?

One of the ways the enemy shoots his arrows at the believer is through conflict and offenses. When someone mistreats or opposes us, our instinctive reaction is to justify ourselves and do everything we can to get our way, before we know it, believers are holding grudges, refusing to fellowship, and allowing bitterness to take hold of their life all because we refuse to resolve conflict and offenses that happen in our life. How can we handle conflict and offenses in a biblical way instead of being defeated by the enemies arrows?

One of the darts that the believer is often confronted with is the fiery dart of anger. Anger, in and of itself is not sinful. Anger is very necessary and a useful reaction as a communication of feeling in reaction to another's behavior. Anger however can become sinful when we either vent or internalize it. We either blow up at someone often using damaging words or actions, or we clam up and hold on to the anger often leading to bitterness or resentment. How is the believer to handle anger righteously? How can we fulfill the command of Ephesians 4:26 "Be angry and sin not"? We must use our shield appropriately.

Is there any hope for the sexually immoral? Christians who battle against the fiery darts of sexual temptation such as pornography, SSA (Same Sex Attraction) homosexuality, lust, adultery, fornication etc can quench these fiery darts of the spiritual enemy. How? Through faith!

Throughout God's Word we are commanded to fear and not to fear. Our goal as Christians is not to become fearless. When we talk about overcoming fear and quenching these fiery darts of fear we’re not talking about eliminating all fear. It’s not good to be completely fearless. God gave us the emotion of fear for a specific reason. There are times when we should fear, and there are things we should fear. The believer needs to distinguish between natural healthy fears and sinful fear. God's Word tells us we overcome fear through love.

How do you as a believer in Christ handle worry and anxiety? We should be using our shield of faith to extinguish all the fiery arrows that come our way. For many worry and anxiety are arrows that are being constantly shot at them. How exactly do we use our shield to extinguish them? God has given us His Word on how to do it. Do you believe it and are you willing to put it into practice?