Last week, I sort of touched base on how we were moving from proclaiming a year of being overwhelmed (2022), and then to a year of movement (2023)… I reminded us that, just like Joseph Prince says to his own congregation, it doesn’t mean that we were overwhelmed last 2022, and moved only last 2023 – No, in fact, it compounds – that is, last year, we move out of being overwhelmed. Both still applied.
Talking About The End At The Beginning Of The Year
We’re talking about signs of Christ’s coming, and the end of the age… at the start of this year, 2024.
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?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come..”
Matthew 24:3-14
Side note, this last verse is close to my heart. The first message I shared was on Matthew 24:14… And it’s the only message my Dad heard, live. Some things don’t change. I still say, ‘I mean’, a lot, in spite of my Dad telling me to cut that out.
At the last quarter of last year I found myself keeping an eye out for themes to precede what this year 2024 would be declared to be… and I do remember that one thing that stood out was that we were experiencing more than just one dimension of famine.
Beyond observing a lack of food in certain areas, we also witnessed a bulk of bad food in other areas. People were either getting bone-thin, or morbidly obese. Here in the Philippines we see a little of both… but the bottom line was that it wasn’t just a lack of food in terms of quantity – No, for famine, we apparently also need to consider quality, and with that said, famine is not necessarily just a lack of food, but it is the lack of nutrition.
Or to rephrase, famine is not just a lack of good food, but it is the surplus of bad food as well.
We also touched base on other deeper and actually more severe forms of famine present in this day and age. I dared to say on the pulpit that COVID-19 introduced the propagation of fake news; Whether to wear face masks or face shields, or BOTH; whether to believe in RTPCR tests or not, whether to trust in hospitals when they say you’re positive with a symptomatic/asymptomatic sickness or not… I think things got a little confusing, especially during the first months of the so-called pandemic.
Fast forward to today, and we see conflicts – at the very publicized news of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, we see everyone and their mom and their dog changing their profile pictures to include a blue and yellow flag, or all of a sudden being a lot more vocal about one or both sides (mostly Ukraine), versus their own countries.
But here’s the thing – when it comes to the more recent escalation of conflict between Israel and Palestine, we saw the same trend going on with the profile picture changes, and the protests and the disruption to public functions (i.e. riots)… but one thing that stood out for me was when Israel made the hard decision to annex Palestinian Gaza – Is it just me, or are we seeing videos of what’s going on only after the fact? If there was a blackout of media, both Social and Traditional, it worked – or, at least among the folks within my influence; People on both sides of the conflict are quick to make spins on what’s going on, but the truth is nobody really knows what’s happening.
It’s with COVID-19 that we witnessed the propagation of bad knowledge, and it’s with the most recent Israel/Palestine conflict that we witnessed the suppression of good knowledge.
And here we see another form of ‘famine’ in this day and age – On top of it not just being a lack of good food, but a surplus of bad food, I say that it is ALSO the lack of good knowledge, and the surplus of bad knowledge as well.
Wars And Earthquakes: Shaking, Displacement, and Repositioning
Besides the aforementioned conflict between Israel and Palestine (and its consequent impact on the world as a whole), there were also conflicts that aren’t making their way through the media as much – There’s Venezuela, and more recently, internal conflict in Ecuador. There’s also been moving in the form of infighting in my own beloved country; admittedly, it is more of the same politicking and mudslinging, but it’s also having its noticeable impact on the Philippines as a whole. People are starting to see the ‘end’ of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as such, we’ve seen the once usual but perennially complained about increase in tourists in our fair city. From a more personal viewpoint, relationships have ended, and other relationships are being clarified. Entire families are moving residences. Folks who used to attend our humble congregation years before are coming back, while other folks have stopped.
I’m probably the only one who’s overreacting, but I put all of this together, if only to point out that there are ‘earthquakes’ happening, but not in the form we’re used to: Authorities and leadership – the integrities of entire nations are being challenged. People are being moved from one home to another, displaced from one location to be repositioned to another. Old mindsets and priorities are shaken. And I’m sure there are other things that have lingered in my mind to make my case here a little stronger, but I’ll admit that right now it all escapes me.
Now to be honest, I did try to push in the ‘earthquake’ narrative. But I will say for sure, we’re seeing a lot of famines in all forms, especially in this day and age.
Christ In The Famine
Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
John 6:32-40
We can go as far as to suppress bad knowledge and bad food, and/or propagate good knowledge and good food… But the call is not for us to join the fray, but to see all of it and move from an eternal perspective; One we have as we trust in nobody else but Jesus Christ. Yes, the same One who confronted the enemy of our souls by saying, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by the Word of God’ – He is BOTH our Bread of Life, and our Living Word, and our Truth.
He is not mere Bread that satiates our hunger, but He is the Bread of Life – And I’m led to interpret that He, as good, nutritious food is, is energy for us. Fuel for us to, as we’ve been taught in elementary school, Go, Grow, and Glow.
He is the Truth that is an infinite notch above knowledge, whether we call it ‘good’ or ‘bad’; Let the entire world bicker and struggle with each other on what are facts and what are lies, and what is good information and bad data – The Truth we have not only satisfies what each and every human soul in all of creation is looking for, but as Christ is our Truth and our Living Word, it means that we have His mind. I believe this means that through His finished work, we have been so reconciled to God that His thoughts are thought in our mind, just as our thoughts are birthed and nurtured, all in His presence, no matter what we or the world would classify them as (again, ‘good’ or ‘bad’).
Christ In The Earthquakes
Not all of David’s songs of praise were in the Psalms. Some of them were recorded in other places in the Bible, and if we’re not seeing songs totally independent of the Psalms, we’re seeing ‘remixes’ of them. For instance 2 Samuel 22 is another recorded version of Psalm 18… But what’s nice about these songs written elsewhere is that we’re given some sort of context of what was going on in David’s own life as he was making these compositions… and in the case of 2 Samuel 22 we learn that Psalm 18 has the appropriate backstory, explaining that he wrote it ‘on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.’
For purposes of this message, we’ve pulled up the latter words of the song. David writes: “The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation, the God who gave me vengeance and brought down peoples under me, who brought me out from my enemies; you exalted me above those who rose against me; you delivered me from men of violence.” (2 Samuel 22:47-49)
Generations later we see how our God, being a rock, was not only essential for our protection from our enemy who may even surround us, but also as the establishment of His church:
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Matthew 16:13-19
Matthew 16:13-19
Friends, I pull all of this up if only to share that in spite of all the shaking, displacement and repositioning; In spite of all the earthquakes that are going on in our own lives, and despite all of the conflict going around, we not only have a Rock as our Protection, but we have a Rock as our Foundation – the beginning of new things.
Christ is the Bread of Life for all in His Body. Whether in this day and age with its own definitions of famine, or in times past, when famines were seen differently, Christ was the Bread of Life for those for have gone before us, just as He is today – That is, He was and is satisfaction for our hunger, and fuel for us to go, grow, and glow.
Christ is the Truth for all in His Body – That is, He was and is the Truth we all seek (as Pontius Pilate sought) for comfort and relief, as well as the Truth we all seek for guidance, inspiration and direction as we navigate through this very complicated web of reality.
Finally, here we see that Christ is the Rock – When we are shaken by external forces, He is the Rock on whom we stand… but, oft overlooked, He is also the Cornerstone on whom we build all our plans and desires upon.
And just as we place the cornerstone before anything else when we actually start erecting a structure, so we acknowledge Christ in all our plans… and, as the Word would remind us and assure us, our thoughts would then be established.
Trusting In Christ
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.
Psalms 20:7-8
I am still in awe over how we see the Holy Spirit’s involvement with the writers contributing to what we call Scripture… Just as I am amazed at how the Holy Spirit also guides us in this day and age, with divine tutelage leading to new perspectives.
For see, I don’t think it’s an accident how David (or whoever wrote Psalm 20) wrote of chariots and horses. It gives me a perspective of just what options we have as to what or who to trust in this reality.
Simply put, horses are representations of other things in Creation… While chariots are our own creations. We bow to the sun, the moon, and/or the stars; Some of us adore other animals religiously. And sure, we may be quite ‘intellectual’ in this day and age, but we can go ahead and place absolute belief and even adoration to our own observations of creation, claiming them to be more than they are. And if we aren’t trusting in horses, we’re taking creation and making idols; But, again, we may be more ‘intellectual’ in this day and age, but that doesn’t mean that some of us are so engrossed in religious rituals more than the get-rich-quick schemes or the so-called paths to enlightenment.
When we say that we trust in the Lord, we’re saying that we’re placing our trust – not upon chariots or horses, nor upon other things in creation, or our own creations… We trust in the Lord, who is Creator – superior to ALL creation. We trust in the Lord Jesus Christ , who is our Bread of Life, and the Rock of our Salvation.
If we were overwhelmed, and if we were brought to move or see the movement of God last year, this year 2024 is more of this, but with the additional reminder that we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Yes, we trust Him, above the famine and the earthquakes; In fact, we may question His trustworthiness in these turbulent times of nation rising against nation, on top of the lack of nutrition and the shaking from outside and within – And that’s okay. The world would have us ‘programmed’ to be anxious during these times, but we give thanks to God, because the Holy Spirit in us reminds us that it is PRECISELY during these times of uncertainty that we see how we can certainly trust in God.
In all that’s bad, we see God’s goodness more.
In all that’s hopeless and beyond rescue, we realize and appreciate the hope and salvation we have in and through Christ.
In all that’s confusing and discouraging, we have the Holy Spirit, who constantly reminds us of our right-standing with God, through it all.
Indeed, it’s during these times that they collapse and fall… but we rise, and stand upright.
Let us keep trusting the Lord in this season, and in this year 2024. Amen.
Until the next post, God bless you.
19108/365000
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