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End Days Solution with the Discipleship Cure

This one's not going to be easy. Not that there's so much hard truth in it, but I like to compare assembling and writing the Sunday message as like a chef trying to prepare good spiritual plates for folks. And sometimes you make too much food and you need to remember everybody only has one plate. Sometimes a pastor can get up and talk for an hour. That's like giving people way too much than what their plate can handle. So you got to find that balance, right? Other times, like today, you wonder if the food actually goes together and will digest and be beneficial.

So today's message, which is coming at you, if it was a bistro, it would be called fusion, but really weird fusion. Like I'm about to serve you the spiritual, let's call it Kung Pao chicken alongside corned beef and cabbage with a taco, because there's something that leads to something that leads to something else.

Now, there's two main scriptures today. One is going to be in James chapter 1. The other is going to be in First Thessalonians chapter 5. And I'll get to those a little bit later. And that also makes this a difficult message because, as you know, those of you who've been around Fresh Encounter since I've been here for three and a half years. I like to take a text and then we do what's called exegesis. And so, we do like a steak, potato, and side salad. You follow? This is not going to be that.

The title of today's message is called the discipleship cure and along with it an introduction to revelation.

The two scriptures are going to be James 1:2-4 and 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. And today will very much be an overview and much of what I'm going to discuss with you today is going to come back around in the next few months. Just so you know, many of the concepts, the outlines of what you're going to see today, will be repeated in various ways and throughout various messages over the fall preaching season.

And today, I'm going to be making a case for living out real authentic discipleship as a cure for the worldly and cultural pain we see all around us. A lot of this is going to go quick. By about 2, three o'clock today, this will be posted on Salvaged by God. It's a YouTube channel, Rumble channel. It's also, you can search wherever you get iTunes content—Spotify, that type of stuff. Just salvaged by God because that's how I kind of feel my life is. Pluck me off the salvage pile.

And so, we're also today going to get a proper focus on the end times and last days that can really help a believer in walking out their sanctification and their purpose for the kingdom.

The Narrow Path of End Times Focus

I say proper focus because like so many other things in our spiritual walk, last days is also a narrow path. You take things wide and you bring them down to the narrow. See, on one side you've got people who are so eschatology focused—that's the study of last days—that they lose sight of the basic tenets of the faith and other. And on the other side you have people who couldn't care less whatever kind of thing.

See, I feel the proper focus is to keep your hand on the wheel of the last day prophecies as written in context. And when discussions and they happen, you keep the focus on Jesus as savior, redeemer, and king. Some people get so caught up in the rapture theory and whatnot that they take their eyes off of Jesus and put their eternal hope in some rapture future event.

Two Lanes: Sovereignty and Love

See, if you're looking for the return of Christ, and we are commanded to do such, you do this as a soundly saved believer, then you will then process much of your life in the two lanes of the sovereignty of God and the love of God. The sovereignty of God and the love of God.

The Sovereignty of God

Start with the sovereignty of God. The sovereignty of God is best demonstrated through not my will, Lord, but yours. And the if not clause. The if not clause. Are you catching this? Not my will but yours, Lord. And the if not clause.

Sovereignty over our lives will have us saying, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Please come get us today, this week. But if not, Lord, not my will, Lord, but yours. You decide in your perfect wisdom. But just give me another, you know, another day of strength. Please give me strength for another day. Not my will, but yours, Lord. Don't let the circumstances dictate my outlook, Lord. Keep me strong and intentional regardless. But not my will, but yours, oh God."

Then you've got the if not clause. The if not clause is best demonstrated in Daniel chapter 3. The three Hebrew children, they're about to be thrown in the fire for their faith. And they tell the king, "Look, our God can save us, but if not, we're going to serve him and we're going to aggressively serve him because there is no other but him. He can save us." And it turns out in Daniel chapter 3, he did save them. But if not, I'm still going to serve him like no other.

The Love of God

The sovereignty of God, the love of God. Let's talk about the love of God. God loved us, his creation, and that love comes from when he saved us while we were yet sinners. We then become his children. Don't confuse the love of God for his creation and the love of God for his children. They're two different things. See, he saved us while we were still sinful. We then became his children. And we have our eyes opened and our ears opened to so much. So much that we could have never imagined. That's the love of God. It's salvation for the sinner. And once that salvation happens, there is a new life. And that's the demonstration of the love of God.

When the Fight Is On

The sovereignty of God and the love of God. Then what happens? What happens? Then the fight is on. The world, the flesh, and the devil come at us, and the love of Jesus is in us, and our righteousness pursuit takes off. And those two dogs, they throw down every single day.

And those who live in victory do so by living in the settled victory of Jesus at the cross and the resurrection from the dead and our new life in him and our time to come when he calls us home. Then all the while that battle rages around us. We walk in peace and confidence because he first loved us.

Oh sure, we wobble. We stumble. We fall from time to time, but we get back up. Why? Because the love of God is all around us in our salvation and in our sanctification journey. Now, because of all of that, then God's love for us is so real, we can't help but start to love others.

And so as we struggle, we discover that the cure for all of life's ailments and confusion is authentic discipleship in Jesus.

The Discipleship Cure

To be a true disciple is what all of us saved peeps really want to be. And many times we look around and we see others doing it better than us and we think we don't have that much to offer. And sometimes folks get caught up in the comparison trap. Compare what they don't know about somebody else to what they do know about themselves and they usually come up on the short end of the stick.

But when we block out all that noise, stay solid in the word of God, get back to simple faith, simple faith grounded in the love Jesus has for you. And this is proved out by a changed life and the fact that you now have love for others you normally don't have. You're now on your way to discipleship.

Being a disciple and making disciples. Faith in Jesus is the key to pleasing God. You can't please him without faith. Hebrews chapter 11 sums this up. You faith is understanding that you have something that you cannot see. It's hoped for, but you have faith in it. And that's what pleases God.

If you look at the last half of Hebrews chapter 11, you're going to see a bunch of different people listed there. They all had faith, but they had different outcomes. Some escaped and some had to endure some awful stuff. Some escaped, some had to endure, but they all had faith.

Don't let someone deceive you into thinking Jesus is some genie in a bottle. And if your faith is strong enough, you can expect health, wealth, and happiness all to live long day. That's not biblical and that's not reality.

True discipleship will cure many things and it may not look like the cure the world or the false teachers will try and sell you. As a true disciple of the Lord, life on this earth may get worse and worse. But if you are living, walking, and breathing in the sovereignty of God and the love of God, it will be well with you. It is well with my soul. I think I heard that recently. Follow.

Mental Pollution: A Modern Crisis

So let's ask ourselves today. What are some of the real issues we are facing as a collective? Now there are many and I just want to mention one before we get into it deeper today. And this is dealing with the human mind. And I think this is key for all of us in the modern times in which we live. There's a thing called—are you ready?—mental pollution.

Do you sometimes ponder how much faster and more connected we have become and how fast this permanent change in our society has happened? Look over the expanse of human history, which isn't hundreds and thousands of years, by the way. The actual historical record goes back as far as the biblical timeline. Shocking, right? I'm talking actual verifiable finds, not manufactured fakes to fit a narrative. Anyhow, so over the actual history of mankind, information came slowly. Conversations over campfires, a letter carried across the land, a book passed between two people.

Humans absorbed life in active moments and then marked them by pauses, stillness, even boredom. Boredom and of course repetition. The brain was created to execute this well in this type of world and in this type of pacing.

The Information Overload Crisis

In our modern culture. Even for those of us who never lived a day without long distance phone service or the younger who have never lived a day without the internet, we have now a speed of information immersion issue that is unprecedented in all of human history. I don't know if you've thought about that.

We now live in a world of total immersion and uninterrupted input. From the moment we wake, we are immediately tossed into a flood of phone alerts and digital notifications, video messages, social media feeds, status checks, work info, and more. And all of it competes for our attention in split second bursts.

The issue isn't the time we spend with media, but the intensity that time now demands on our brain. Stay with me now. This reality has reached a boiling point about a decade ago and has become habitual and is accelerating into the insane info overload we walk in every single day. And it's being called mental pollution and it's being described as a real threat to the human well-being.

Here's some reasoning behind it. First, it's not just about the clock. It's not just about time. In 2008, researchers estimated that the average American consumed roughly 18, I'm sorry, 11.8 hours of information a day. Today, that number is similar depending on which study you look at, it's 11.2 to 13 hours. So, similar enough in time.

The crisis lies in what is being called the density or the intensity of what is being consumed. In 2008, which for some of us older people feels like a couple years ago, it wasn't, by the way, people used those 12 hours with much more passive media, listening to music, watching TV, reading the newspaper, even browsing websites, mostly using dial-up. So, you had to wait for a second for the page to load. The researcher in the article I'm talking this from called it predictable linear media on manageable human terms.

Now the same 12 hours today are filled with high frequency high velocity content delivered through screens we now carry in our pockets. And so I'm reading this article and the next line really hit me especially in light of the discipleship cure and the rhythms of discipleship. You ready?

Every scroll brings a new decision. Every swipe a new emotional hit. Every alert and interruption demanding a response. We are constantly gliding between tasks, platforms, conversations, various apps, important apps, playful apps. Doing all of this without pause or rest.

And brain scientists refer to this as cognitive load—the mental effort required to process information. Did you know that we're told that our working memory can only handle about four to seven items at once depending on who we are? Yet, we are exposed to thousands of inputs every single day. Mental pollution is exploiting that very limitation in each of the humans in this modern culture.

There's a lot more I could go into for another 20 minutes about the lowering of IQ during multitasking because of this hit stunting attention span and greatly reducing creative and decision-making thought. But I want to punctuate this part by highlighting this finding. Many of us now wake up tired, not from a lack of sleep, but what researchers are calling an endless backlog of unresolved input.

Constant cognitive demand and persistent interruptions can have the same effect as losing an entire night's sleep. We scroll through headlines we can't act on, respond to messages we didn't ask for. We bubble up outrage on issues we didn't seek, all the while trying to remain informed, connected, and productive in the face of the constant noise.

Did you get all that? Our minds are completely saturated before we even leave the driveway in the morning.

The Solution: Transformed Minds

So, who's tracking the mental pollution? We track calories. We track our steps. Some people even track their carbon footprint. But what matters most, the peace of mind and listen now, contentment with godliness being great gain. Do we track that?

And I believe the solution is part of what I gave you last week. It's in Romans 12:2—the transforming of your mind into the mind of Christ. And then what happens? Then we get intentional about pursuing discipleship. And I'm here to tell you this morning that discipleship is a cure for what I just laid out.

Because I feel like what we're about to talk about today is how we can fight back against the relentless overflow of low-quality, high disruption signals, impulses, and provocations that corrode our ability to think. Like think of about a rusty wire. You know, it corrodes us to be able to think clearly, feel deeply, and live intentionally.

Tightening Your Straps: Four Essential Foundations

So, with all of that in mind, this is how it's going to go over the next 15 to 20 minutes. First, I'm going to give you four things to tighten up. Then, I'm going to give you what I call two barriers plus a result to disciple walking and discipleship making. Then we're going to gain another review of the six rhythms of discipleship. And none of these are that long, by the way. Then I'm going to show you a blueprint of seven things to enhance your discipleship walk. Then I'm going to give you a quick outline of revelation because why not throw a taco on the plate, right? Because once you're into intentional discipleship, revelation becomes important and end times becomes important.

So let's tighten our belts. Let's tighten our straps to start. Now, Larry McReynolds when on the NASCAR broadcast, he would always say just before Darrell Waltrip would say, "Boogity boogity boogity." He'd say, "Reach up and tighten those belts one more time." Why would he say that? Because every race car driver knows that's what you do.

I was talking to a bull rider one time and I said, "Why would you ride bulls?" And he says, he goes, "It's not the ride. The ride, anything can happen." He says it's those few seconds like 30, 50 seconds right before the gate opens and you got your hand all tight in there and I mean he said there's nothing like it on earth and for me it's when you're rolling off across the start finish line at about 35 miles an hour and the caution lights at the track go out and you roll through one and two and you're coming down the backstretch and you can see ahead of you because I was never on the front row. You can see ahead of you the pace car pull off and you're reaching up and you're pulling those belts tight cuz you're just jacked. Any second you're going to just stomp on it. Three a 350 Chevy with a 750 Holley carburetor generating almost 700 horsepower. You're going to you're going to go and you're driving with what I call your hair on fire.

And yes, the racing is great, but there is nothing like rolling up to turn three, pulling those belts tight, waiting for that dude to throw that green flag in the air. It's just you are so keyed up. And when we are walking with Jesus Christ, it can be that same kind of excitement. And so, if you're going to go off into the discipleship journey, I want you to pull these straps tight. Ready? I got four of them for you.

Strap #1: God Is Good

Point number one. Strap number one, God is good. Tighten that up and don't forget that God is good. When bad things happen, instead of blaming a fallen world, trusting the sovereignty of God, we can sometimes blame God and allow ourselves to become discouraged in God when we lose sight of the absolute goodness of God.

Romans 8:28, he works out all things for those of us who believe in him for his good. You mean it's good when I get cancer? You mean it's good when I lost my job? It's good when my best friend died. God works it all out and this is all temporary and it becomes well with us and our mind is transformed and God is good. And you pull that strap tight.

Strap #2: Nothing Is Impossible with God

Number two, nothing is impossible with God. What is God calling you to do? Maybe he's calling you to take big risks. Some people when they hear that, they're like, "Well, I'm going to go do this big risk where I get the glory." That God's never calling you to that. What big risk is he calling you to where he gets the glory? What if God got glory? You took a big risk and failed.

Is God not good anymore? No. Nothing is impossible with God. Which means all of your success, all of your failures, when you're walking in that discipleship rhythm, it is well with you and God is good and nothing becomes impossible when he is with you. So you will take chances.

Strap #3: Everything Was Settled at the Cross

Number three, everything was settled at the cross. Tighten that in your being. Everything was settled at the cross now and for the ages to come. The incredible level of settled in this is so strong. If it's if it's just rock solidly settled, you know what that'll produce? It produces peace and contentment.

Strap #4: True Significance Is Revealed in True Servanthood

Number four, true significance is revealed in true servanthood. If everything's settled at the cross and nothing is impossible with God and God is good, you will find true servanthood. And in that, you will find your true significance. God will put you in places and have you do things that nobody will ever know. And because God is so big in those moments, you don't even want to know. You won't even tell people. You'll just bask in what God just had you see.

The son of God served all the way up to and through the cross. And because of this, the more we experience true servanthood, the more contentment in Christ and our significance in Christ solidifies. See, these four things, these four straps you tighten set the stage for a full invasion of your heart and mind of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when you go hammer down the front stretch and you're going off into turn one of your life, living that full life for Christ, those belts are tight and you can trust him. Come what may, easy to say, harder to live. But with the Lord Jesus, all things are possible.

So some years I have seen the best of times and some years I have seen the worst of times. Lord, you come get me when you decide. I'm just going to try to go flat out and see what happens. Sure, many times it'll go sideways. We'll get crossed up. But Jesus is there with me. And you know what happens? It's well with me. It becomes well with me. Jesus will be there for you. And you can say it is well with me.

James 1:2-4: The Testing of Faith

James 1:2 through 4. Now with that setup, here's our text part one. "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Let the steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

Trials come in all shapes and sizes. Trials come just the timing of some of them, it's just awful. We supposed to count it all joy. I could tell you about some stuff that's not joyful at all. Count it all joy. Can he really mean that?

Notice it does not say act joyful. Everything's great. Nor does it say to go around looking for trials. What James is saying is that the trials are testing of our faith. Testing. This is for growing patience and dependence on Jesus in our lives.

When these trials come and the testing is upon us, we're supposed to count it all joy because Jesus is our substitutionary salvation. We have received. We have it all. Winning the lottery doesn't come close to this. So then we push to maintain a joyful attitude. And without the joy of one's salvation and the forgiveness of sins, how can anyone be joyful when bad things happen to good people?

That's part of the sanctification journey, isn't it? And then that bleeds into fulfilling the great commission, making disciples. Now that you are a disciple, you need to make disciples. Why? Because you can't help it.

Breaking Down Barriers: Two Barriers Plus a Result

To make a disciple, you share your faith. And there are barriers to doing that. I want to point out a couple of them quickly. So, let's talk about two barriers and a result.

Barrier #1: We Sometimes Strongly Dislike Starting Conversations with People

Number one, we sometimes strongly dislike starting conversations with people. And there are reasons for this. Some of the reasons are time. There's just not a lot of time to go around to just be having all kinds of I got places to go. I mean, I'm on a tight schedule. I mean, the overload, especially parents with kids and sports. Oh, can't tell you how glad I am those days are over. Sorry to be such an encouragement to you, but your time is so valuable. You know, fear of rejection. Fear of rejection is a legit thing. I don't want to be rejected. I want to be liked. And that's number three, wanting to be liked.

And those are two different things, by the way. You cannot care what people think of you and still fear rejection. Or you can want to be liked so much that you will soften whatever you say so that you don't offend anybody. And then the last one is spending time and effort on defeated outcomes. Oh man, why would I waste my time with that loser? You know, he ain't never going to come to know the Lord anyway. So, I'm just describing what people used to say about me. You never know. You never know how God's going to use you.

Barrier #2: No Plan

So, if we can benefit, you know, just changing our life from additional, quit trying to add stuff on to simple, intentional, what's that? Well, that's more of a rhythm. A rhythm that breeds consistency. And I'm going to show you that in a minute. But the second thing as a barrier is no plan.

When you're planning life around the rhythms, you'll become more effective. You can't help but be more effective. And whatever and being a strong disciple and making disciples will be, it's no different. Whatever you're doing with no plan won't be as effective as one with a plan. Making disciples is no different. No plan and good intentions you can waffle around for years. And I'm not just talking about discipleship making. I'm talking about all kinds of stuff.

The Result: We Lack Intentionality in Our Rhythm

So that's brings us to the result. We lack intention. intentionality in our rhythm. We lack intentionality when we start working within the rhythm of discipleship. Therefore, you create so many more ups and downs than what there needs to be.

And when your life is like James 1:2 through 4, you'll put away the checklist and you'll start to live your life in the rhythms of discipleship. It won't be flashy or astounding or stunning. Maybe sometimes, but most of the time it becomes this solid consistency fueled by intentionality bit by bit, brick by brick.

Should we accept should we expect setbacks? Of course, you live in a fallen world that is awaiting the final renewal of his promise that's coming in the scriptures. But when you are soundly saved and living in a growing flow of discipleship rhythms, the peace of Jesus Christ, the peace of the Holy Scriptures wash over you day by day. And it's awesome. There's nothing in this world like it.

The Six Rhythms of Discipleship

So, I've shown you these before, but I'm going to show them to you again. The six rhythms of discipleship. This isn't hard.

1. Know the Story

Number one is know the story. You know, God's story as a story. Read your Bible and and try to figure it out as salvation history told as a story. And then know other people's stories as well as much as you possibly can know their story.

2. Celebrate

Number two, celebrate. Join in the celebration of others. You know, anniversaries, birthdays, but also victories others have everyday victories. Really celebrate stuff with them.

When I grew up from seventh grade through 12th grade, I had a group of friends that we hung out. We rode bikes and we all got our driver's license together. Those are the those guys and I hadn't seen one for 40 years and I went to his house in Norfolk on Friday, Norfolk, Nebraska. First time I'd seen him. He's got two grown kids. He's got a grandson. I haven't seen him in all this time. Now, we had a couple friends pass away and we've talked to each other and, you know, chipped in and bought flowers and stuff like that. So that's not and with Facebook there's been some contact but I haven't seen him in so long and you know I got to see his life without going into too much detail. He's had a great successful life and I left Norfolk just thrilled for him because that's what me and those guys did. We we we just wanted everybody to win. Everybody to win.

And when you're around people like that that are always cheering you on and celebrating together, it's fantastic. And it also helps in making disciples.

3. Listen

Number three, listen. Pay attention to the stories of others. This is harder and harder in an ever growing selfish society. You know, the biggest part of counseling and the greatest asset to those who seek counseling is someone who actually listens.

To be a good listener, you either have to be trained to be that way or you have to have something that can't be taught. You know what that is? You have to care. When I was doing corporate training back in the day, I used to tell people, I can teach you all kinds of stuff, but I I can teach you the ABCs of, you know, selling. I can teach you all this other stuff, but I cannot teach you to care.

And you want to know the number one reason that salespeople were defeated? It's because they didn't care. Apathy is a killer. You have to care. And you will be shocked by how much God will add the concern of love for others into your heart once you've decided you want to be a better listener in order to live more fully alive in Christ.

4. Bless

Number four is bless. Bless intentionally through words, actions, gifts. I see this play out all around this church in various ways. The most obvious way is the secret sister stuff where there's always a gift out on the table for somebody just about every week.

5. Eat

Number five is eat. You're looking at me like duh. Eat. Break bread with others often. Wednesday nights, mystery dinners, our church picnic coming up on September 13th. Why is family dinner so important? Because there's something spiritual going on in there. When we break bread with others and to start having pizza night with friends, eat together with others in an intentional way to have discipleship cure the ails of our society.

6. Create and Recreate

And lastly, it's create and recreate. You rest in Christ's completed work and out of that you create beauty. That can be done in many different ways. It can be, you know, plowing up a garden. It can be painting on a canvas. It can be photography. It can be writing songs. even creative writing, a skill about to be lost to AI.

This point is one of the only reasons I still want what I consider to do to be a hobby show with Emily. And that's the no apology talk show. It's the only reason I do it is right here, the create and recreate. We're just creating this for a handful of people who like our talk show with no expectations. And part of it is it's almost like date night for us because we just enjoy doing this together because we've done it together for over 25 years.

What are you creating? And are you creating it just out of the love of Jesus? Well, how can you know woodworking be the it is? You're creating something and let it honor God in your own way.

So, what about the six rhythms, you know? Well, I can I can feel you, but let me just share two things with you about them. First, I hope you see something here that you do well and you know you do some of these things well already in the six things. And second, I hope you see an area or two where you're lacking and with an intentional push, you'll honor the Lord in the days to come.

Seven Rules for Strong Discipleship

So, that's the six rhythms. How about a blueprint outline of maybe seven routines or best practices or seven rules or seven prescriptions or whatever you want to call it talking about being a strong disciple and making disciples. Here you go.

1. Make Jesus Central in Everything

First thing you need to do is make Jesus central in everything especially in your mind. Whenever you can in your heart and in your mind be constantly pointing to Jesus. Get alone with Jesus as often as you can. Talk to him. Read his word.

2. Use God's Strategy to Identify Disciples

Number two, use God's strategy to identify disciples. Start by finding what is called people at peace. What does that mean? What is meant by that is someone who generally welcomes you. It's generally open to you. This can happen very quickly or sometimes not at all. But allow God to open the doors. Open doors with your rhythm.

You don't walk up to strangers. Do you know where you're going to go when you die? Ever seen somebody on an airplane turn and say that to the person they're sitting next to? How well does that go? They're not people at peace with you. They're not they're not welcoming you yet.

I have actually sat down on a plane and asked God, "Please just let me be uh let me just have this flight quiet. I don't want to deal with anybody." And the dude next to me goes, "What do you do?" And I said, "Well, I'm a radio host and a Bible teacher. I got problems in my life, man. Guess what I did for the next hour and a half? He was open. Do you follow?

3. Share Faith in Cultural Relevant Ways

Number three, share faith in cultural relevant ways. Sharing the gospel in a post-Christian culture is always going to be uncomfortable. One way to make it more at ease is to simply live it. Amazing how many people will avoid you because you're the Christian in the room and then something happens in their life and guess what? Now they want to talk to you.

What I'm saying is live out the kingdom. Don't be ashamed. Be the Christian in the room. Always proclaim it in tangible ways. Forget debating. Just proclaim it. And sometimes that proclamation is simply being an honest person, simply being a caring person. And then God will open additional ways to be a disciple and to be used by him to make disciples.

4. Make Discipleship Rhythms, Not Just Meetings or Programs

Number four, make discipleship rhythms, not just meetings or programs. Time in pursuit of Christlikeness together through prayer, the word and gathering with like-minded folks. It's awesome. Creates an intentionality of living discipleship and therefore discipleship making organically happens. Life on life sharing is created.

5. Simple Patterns and Practice

Number five, simple patterns and practice. Just use simple patterns and practices. Trust the simple to support the rhythms, the basics. Repent and believe. Put the old self off and rejoice in the new life in Christ. Basic scriptures to reinforce the simple walk. Romans chapter 8, Romans chapter 12, and all the other ones I'm going to show you today.

6. Intentionally Apply the Art of Hospitality

Number six, intentionally apply the art of hospitality. For some of us, this has to do with simple intentionality. The Bible says Jesus was with them. We need to continue to expose more of our lives with others and this will create an enhanced authenticity.

Our men's group right now is on this path. Fellowship events with no strings in order to build a bond that will allow for deeper spiritual conversations. Also with men, especially as we get older, we don't have friends mostly because we don't want them. I'm 60. Do you know why I don't have closer friends? Because I don't want any more close friends. I'm at the age where I really like being left alone. In fact, I got to be honest. I'm two degrees from hey kid, get off my lawn. Thank you, Jesus. I haven't got there yet.

So, intentionality is required to actually apply the art of hospitality. And nine times out of 10, the rewards from that are supreme and unexpected. Which is why go, especially men, guys, older guys, we have to continue to try to pursue that, especially the grumpy old ones.

7. Empowered by the Spirit

Number seven, empowered by the spirit. Allow the life-changing Holy Spirit of God to be the source. Our action must be in line with the spirit of God.

Now, there's two ways to see that you have the Holy Spirit working in and around you. Listen to me now because this is an area of much deception in our culture. Much false teaching in our culture is around this topic right here of the Holy Spirit.

There's two ways. One is the evidence in you of a changed life. You know you're not who you used to be. That's evidence of the Holy Spirit. Number two, and you're filled with the Holy Spirit at the time of conversion. Number two, thoughts and actions line up with scripture. And when your thoughts and actions aren't going to line up with scripture, your conscience will be pricked and you'll start to feel guilty.

Be afraid, my friend. be greatly afraid if you're acting outside of what scripture would have good for you and you start to feel no guilt about it because that's God handing you over. That's not a good place to be. Don't forget in Exodus, Pharaoh hardened his heart. Hardened his heart. Hardened his heart. Then God hardened his heart and his cork was sunk.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: God's Will Made Clear

So let's look at our next text for today. And I'm running out of time. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. "Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

I just want to find God's will for my life. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances. Bing bada bing bada boom boom shakalaka. There it is. Add any other boom boom dah you want to it. That's his will for you.

Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. What does that mean? Your mind's transformed. So as you're thinking thoughts, you're thinking prayers. Give thanks in all circumstances. And then joyfully live out discipleship. And guess what happens then? By osmosis, by natural growth, by spontaneous results, your life now creates and makes more disciples.

It's another byproduct of the flowing of the discipleship rhythm is always looking for the return of Christ and knowing our time here is very temporary. Looking for the return of Christ.

Looking at the Last Days and Revelation

This is my last point and I pretty much out of time but I'm going to go for it anyway. Sorry. The radio guy in my head's like the news is coming at the top of the hour, you know.

We're looking at the last days and soon, you know, we're going to start to get into this fine deep minutia of the incredible book of Revelation. And and in light of the discipleship cure, I want to give you a couple quick snapshots today. In the weeks to come, the months to come, I'm going to discuss in more detail.

But first, I want you to see that the ancient prophecy that was referred to, you know, is yet to come to fulfillment. And it's in Zechariah and the Gospel of John in the book of Revelation mentioned this verse. And and as we're looking for the return of Jesus when when he actually returns in victory. This is what's going to happen. And the way the nation of Israel is set up spiritually right now goes hand in glove with this. And so this is a good foundation before we get into Revelation, which I think is the key for walking out the discipleship cure. That's why I tacked it on. That's why we put the taco on the plate.

Zechariah 12:10 says, "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that when they look on me, on him who they have pierced, they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly over him as one weeps over a firstborn."

So, as we look to the return of Jesus Christ, as we realize everything's temporary, as that puts us in a discipleship rhythm, as we celebrate joyfully our salvation in our walk with Christ, we will need to look at the book of Revelation and what Jesus says is coming as he comes to take us home.

The Blessing of Reading Revelation

Just a side note, Revelation and Daniel are connected, and I'll get into that with you in the next few weeks. But do you did you know that just by reading the book of Revelation, you will be blessed? That's what it says. Look at it with me. Revelation 1:3. It says, "Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words to this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near."

Now, many scoffers will say that was written 2,000 years ago. Time is near. Listen, the person who out last night out on the I-80 passed away, wasn't expecting it. Was that time near? If Jesus doesn't come with a rapture, but he comes to take you home this afternoon, is your time near? You follow?

The Structure of Revelation

So then the book would naturally have a clear purpose and a clear structure. If this is how we cap discipleship rhythm, disciple the cure for what ails us in our culture is Jesus return in this book, would would you think that it would have a clear purpose and a clear structure? Well, it does. And once you see it for what it is, it's amazing.

Many get hung up on the bowls, the seals, the trumpets, and the marks on the right hand, and the forehead, the crazy sounding beast, the weird lady riding the weird animal. And it just can get intimidating at first, and then you see it from Jesus's perspective, and everything changes. Everything opens up.

In verse 19 of chapter 1, it gives us this structure, plain of day. Revelation 1:19 says, "Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are, and those that are to take place after this."

So if you really think about it, not like a deep scholar, but I mean, just think about it like a dude, okay? Just common sense. What does that verse tell us the structure of the book is going to be? It'll be the things you've seen, the things that are, and the things that take place after these things, right? Sure it would. And that is exactly what we find.

Chapter one is the things you have seen. Chapter two and three are the things that are. That's the seven churches. We just finished that series. That was a great foundation for where we're possibly going. And therefore, chapters 4 through 22 are the things that take place after these things.

Now, this understanding will be helpful as we go through this book together over the next few weeks, but I want to tag this on the end of this message so that you start reading it. Just start reading it.

The Modifying Point

And and let me just give you this other little tip before we close today. The thing that escaped me for years that put the timeline together and and many miss this as their potential timeline gets messed up. So, I can look at somebody's end times timeline. I can be okay. It's called the modifying point.

You want to see it? The modifying point is in chapter 10 verse 11 and it says this. "And I was told you must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings."

I believe that this means that chapter 11 and 14 actually look back at chapters 4 and 10. So that's how you try to merge the timeline. See the intention is to focus on the people in 11 through 14. You get the antichrist, the false prophet, the woman, you know, in in chapter 12, verse one, etc. It's focused on the people involved. The emphasis is on the people and people groups connected to the various events.

And I believe all of it goes hand in glove with second Peter 3:11. And that's it should all drive us to a godly living. If we're in the end times, should we not be living godly lives? 2 Peter 3:11 says this, "Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness."

The Final Takeaway

And so that gets to the final takeaway today. A solution to combat the mental pollution of our day. Another push to help the cure that is discipleship and being a disciple. And it is the purpose of the book of Revelation. It's three things.

Number One: Endure

We have to endure.

Number Two: A Challenge of Followers to Live for God

Or another way to put it, godly living.

Number Three: To Testify that God Will Ultimately Be Victorious in Christ

Endure godly living and victorious. Ultimately victorious in Christ.

That is the theme of the book and that can be the theme of our lives. And so together we look up. We lift up our heads because our redemption draws near. Go and be strong disciples, my friend.