What ways can God's People prepare for the time of Trouble
Preparing for the time of trouble, as described in Christian eschatology, involves both spiritual and practical readiness. Here are some ways God's people can prepare:
Spiritual Preparation
Strengthening Faith:
Daily Devotion: Spend time in daily prayer and Bible study to build a deeper relationship with God.
Faith in God's Promises: Trust in the promises of God, especially those regarding His protection and provision during difficult times.
Moral and Ethical Living:
Repentance and Confession: Regularly confess sins and seek repentance to maintain a clear conscience and strong spiritual standing.
Holy Living: Strive to live a life that reflects Christian values and principles.
Building a Supportive Community:
Church Involvement: Actively participate in a local church community for mutual support, encouragement, and accountability.
Small Groups and Fellowship: Join or form small groups for deeper fellowship, prayer, and study of God's Word.
Developing Spiritual Disciplines:
Fasting: Practice fasting as a means of humbling oneself before God and seeking His guidance and strength.
Scripture Memorization: Memorize key Bible verses that offer encouragement and strength during challenging times.
Practical Preparation
Emergency Preparedness:
Basic Supplies: Stock up on essential supplies such as food, water, medicine, and other necessities to last through potential disruptions.
Emergency Plans: Have a plan in place for various scenarios, including natural disasters, social unrest, or economic hardship.
Financial Readiness:
Debt Reduction: Work towards reducing debt and becoming financially stable to be better equipped to handle economic challenges.
Savings: Build an emergency savings fund to cover unexpected expenses.
Skill Development:
Practical Skills: Learn practical skills such as gardening, first aid, and basic repairs that can be useful in times of crisis.
Community Skills: Develop skills that can benefit the community, such as organizing, teaching, or providing medical care.
Mental and Emotional Resilience:
Stress Management: Practice techniques for managing stress, such as prayer, meditation, and exercise.
Support Systems: Cultivate relationships with friends and family who can offer emotional and practical support.
Staying Informed and Vigilant
Understanding Prophecy:
Biblical Prophecy: Study biblical prophecies related to the end times to understand the signs and events that may precede the time of trouble.
Current Events: Stay informed about current events and how they may relate to biblical prophecy.
Vigilance and Discernment:
Spiritual Discernment: Pray for discernment to recognize false teachings and deceptive practices that may arise.
Alertness: Be watchful and alert to the signs of the times, staying ready for Christ’s return.
Trusting in God's Sovereignty
Dependence on God:
Faith in God's Control: Trust that God is sovereign and in control of all events, even in ti
Preparing for the time of trouble, as described in Christian eschatology, involves both spiritual and practical readiness. Here are some ways God's people can prepare:
Spiritual Preparation
Strengthening Faith:
Daily Devotion: Spend time in daily prayer and Bible study to build a deeper relationship with God.
Faith in God's Promises: Trust in the promises of God, especially those regarding His protection and provision during difficult times.
Moral and Ethical Living:
Repentance and Confession: Regularly confess sins and seek repentance to maintain a clear conscience and strong spiritual standing.
Holy Living: Strive to live a life that reflects Christian values and principles.
Building a Supportive Community:
Church Involvement: Actively participate in a local church community for mutual support, encouragement, and accountability.
Small Groups and Fellowship: Join or form small groups for deeper fellowship, prayer, and study of God's Word.
Developing Spiritual Disciplines:
Fasting: Practice fasting as a means of humbling oneself before God and seeking His guidance and strength.
Scripture Memorization: Memorize key Bible verses that offer encouragement and strength during challenging times.
Practical Preparation
Emergency Preparedness:
Basic Supplies: Stock up on essential supplies such as food, water, medicine, and other necessities to last through potential disruptions.
Emergency Plans: Have a plan in place for various scenarios, including natural disasters, social unrest, or economic hardship.
Financial Readiness:
Debt Reduction: Work towards reducing debt and becoming financially stable to be better equipped to handle economic challenges.
Savings: Build an emergency savings fund to cover unexpected expenses.
Skill Development:
Practical Skills: Learn practical skills such as gardening, first aid, and basic repairs that can be useful in times of crisis.
Community Skills: Develop skills that can benefit the community, such as organizing, teaching, or providing medical care.
Mental and Emotional Resilience:
Stress Management: Practice techniques for managing stress, such as prayer, meditation, and exercise.
Support Systems: Cultivate relationships with friends and family who can offer emotional and practical support.
Staying Informed and Vigilant
Understanding Prophecy:
Biblical Prophecy: Study biblical prophecies related to the end times to understand the signs and events that may precede the time of trouble.
Current Events: Stay informed about current events and how they may relate to biblical prophecy.
Vigilance and Discernment:
Spiritual Discernment: Pray for discernment to recognize false teachings and deceptive practices that may arise.
Alertness: Be watchful and alert to the signs of the times, staying ready for Christ’s return.
Trusting in God's Sovereignty
Dependence on God:
Faith in God's Control: Trust that God is sovereign and in control of all events, even in ti
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LearningTranscript
00:00All right, so we already covered the second part to this question was by what means do
00:09they overcome the devil?
00:10We see that in Revelation 12 verse 11.
00:13That's right.
00:14Which we covered before by the word of the Lamb and by the blood of the Lamb and by the
00:19word of their testimony.
00:20Now let me comment on the blood of the Lamb.
00:25The Bible frequently refers to the blood of Christ.
00:27We know from Leviticus 17 and 11, the life is in the blood.
00:31The blood carries the life.
00:33The blood is a carrier of the life.
00:35Now when Christ was in Gethsemane, he shed blood, but that wasn't a payment for sin.
00:38Are you following me?
00:39Because if he had changed his mind and gone back, we would still be lost.
00:43So he shed blood in Gethsemane, but that was not the giving up his life.
00:46And so when we talk about the blood of Christ, we mean the life of Christ.
00:50He has poured out his soul unto death, as Isaiah 53 tells us.
00:55And so the blood of Christ is the life of Christ lived in us, you understand, to accept
01:01that victorious life as mine through surrender to Christ.
01:05That's how we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of the testimony.
01:09We have demonstrated that we will be faithful to thus said the Lord, regardless of external
01:14circumstances, the blood of the Lamb, the sacrifice of Christ, which is the life of
01:19Christ given for us and our faithfulness by his indwelling power to God's standard of
01:24righteousness, which is his law, because often the word testimony refers to the law
01:28of God.
01:29Amen.
01:30Amen.
01:31What a lot of us don't understand, obedience releases power.
01:37People ask me, how do I keep a Sabbath?
01:39By keeping it.
01:40And that sounds funny.
01:41But an attempt to obey releases power, a genuine attempt to obey brings power to obey.
01:47You don't wait for power to obey and when it comes, then you obey.
01:51Then obeying the power is released and a lot of us do not understand that.
01:55Don't wait for power, start obeying and the power works as you make a genuine attempt
02:00to obey God, because that power is God's life himself or the life of Christ.
02:04Amen.
02:05Amen.
02:06So Elder Skeet, I'm going to move on to the last question that we have here.
02:13Alan White writes in Last Day Events, page 254, paragraph three, and I quote, it is often
02:22the case that trouble is greater in anticipation than in reality, but this is not true of the
02:30crisis before us.
02:32So what are ways God's people can practically prepare for the time of trouble?
02:40Simple.
02:41Jesus told us in Luke 16, 10, he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in
02:49much.
02:51If we're faithful to God now, excuse me, regarding the little challenges that come our way day
02:56by day, we will develop the resources, we'll develop the power through Christ to handle
03:03the big ones that are coming.
03:05He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.
03:10And he that is unjust or unfaithful in the least is unfaithful or unjust also in much.
03:15So that's a fundamental principle.
03:17Be faithful to God now in the little things, you will develop the immunity to handle the
03:21large challenge to come.
03:23The other principle is, Matthew 16, 24, I believe it is, what is a man profited if he
03:27gains the whole world and loses his soul?
03:30Make Christ your priority.
03:33Make the kingdom of God your priority.
03:36Strip secular things, which are not all bad, strip them of the high position they have
03:42held in your life and give that honor to spiritual things.
03:46Make that your priority, my listening friend.
03:49That and be faithful in the little things, that will prepare you and me to handle the
03:54terrible times that are coming and they are coming.
03:58I've heard some people say, well, just before probation closes, I'll repent.
04:01No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
04:02You won't have the capacity to repent.
04:05The time to get ready for the time of trouble is now, not when it comes.
04:10And so the two principles, one, be faithful in little duties, little things, honor God,
04:16honor God in everything, two, make the kingdom of God your priority.
04:22It was for Jesus.
04:23It was for his predecessor, John the Baptist.
04:26It was for the disciples.
04:27It was for the pioneers of this church.
04:29It must be for us.
04:32Amen.
04:33So we have to say something else.
04:38Yes.
04:39Make Bible study a priority because the deception that are coming will be so overpowering without
04:45a clear grasp of truth.
04:47We will not detect truth from error.
04:49Let me say that again.
04:51Make the study of the word of God and the practice of this word are unchallenged priority
04:57for that alone will allow you and me to detect the overpowering deceptions that are coming
05:03upon us.
05:04Amen.
05:05That reminds me.
05:06It's good.
05:07Get it.
05:08But it will not protect you against error.
05:11Are you following me?
05:12High position.
05:13They're fine.
05:14Daniel had one.
05:15Joseph had one.
05:16Nehemiah had one.
05:17They do not defend against error.
05:20The only defense against error is, thus said the Lord, studied and obeyed.
05:27Not just studied for an academic grade, studied as a way of life, studied as a source of sustaining
05:33power.
05:35Amen.
05:38So there has to be that indwelling power that comes from the word of God.
05:43There must be.
05:44You don't get drunk by smelling alcohol.
05:48You don't get drunk by taking it in.
05:50You become strong by taking Christ in, keeping him in through constant obedience to his word.
05:55That's right.
05:56That's right.
05:57This is serious business, my good sister.
06:00A lot of Christians are just going to church once a week, maybe not even that, and life
06:07as usual.
06:08Life as usual is no preparation for the time that is coming.
06:13If you want to look at the dangers of life as usual, read Luke 17, 26-30, where the days
06:19of Noah, the days of eating and drinking and marrying, giving in marriage, building, planting,
06:25whatever.
06:26That's life as usual is no preparation for the time that's coming upon us.
06:33Amen.
06:36Solemn words that we have to take in, friends.
06:39All of us.
06:40Okay.
06:41All of us.
06:42Amen.