Love is Waxing Cold
Matthew 24:10-12 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
Jesus told us one of the signs we would be in the end times was that sin would be all around us and the love of the vast majority would wax cold. The Greek word for the translated word “many” here means the “preponderance of ” or the vast majority. We are clearly in the end times as the world and even the apostate church is full of lawlessness and hate. Few Christians are showing the love and compassion to others as exemplified and preached by Jesus. The love of many has indeed waxed cold.
Since the economic crises hit in full force last fall (2008), donations to virtually all charities have plunged. This includes Christian ministries, churches and secular charities of all kinds. Every time I turn on a Christian radio broadcast, it seems half the time is spent soliciting money to stay afloat. Ironically, at the same time the needs of charitable organizations are skyrocketing through lost jobs, foreclosures, homelessness, disasters, their sources of funds are drying up. This is coming to a head and in the coming year you will see many missions and godly organizations close their doors from lack of money. Where will the people in need turn?
Personally my heart is with missions that take in men and women, care and equip the homeless, the battered, and the abused. No matter what specific area of service you focus on, now is the time for those in Christ Jesus to step up and show the compassion and love Jesus showed.
The Lord has spoken to me and told me this is coming and that it is part of His plan. He will shake all that can be shaken and anyone not standing on a rock solid foundation of faith built on a complete 100% trust in the Lord will be shaken by the events to come. Some will be shaken out of the faith as their foundations have been built on the sinking sands of false teaching and Apostasy. Most everyone is worried about money, even long time devout Christians. People under duress will revert to their animal instincts of survival. Giving and sharing are one of the first things to go, if we are not fully trusting in God. People will act entitled to your business or your money because you have and they have not. When circumstances threaten survival, people will do desperate things and commit evil. Stealing, lying, cheating, deception and all kinds of evil will be increasing as the love of many wax cold. Those that do not really know the Lord will take matters into their own hands and will rationalize their evil given their dire economic circumstances. Be forewarned so that you will be ready to stand the test and prepare yourself so you will not be shaken out of the Body of Christ.
We are not to take the blessings of God, which includes EVERYTHING we have and horde it, covet it and be selfish and stingy with it. We need to follow the example of the early church, who took care of each other where nobody kept score. This includes not only our money but our homes and our time/attention as well. We are called to show hospitality, especially to those in the church. Praying for people is great but if you have resources to help someone and don’t offer to help them you are a hypocrite of the true faith. James had this to say:
James 2:14-17 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Hebrews 13:1-3 Keep on loving each other as brothers. 2Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. 3Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. I believe prisons mean not only literal prisons but more principally people in bondage to sin, Satan and the lusts of this world. Aren’t we to be like Jesus and do the things He did? Jesus came to earth to free people from bondage and save them from their sins. That is what the church is supposed to be doing yet we would rather remain comfortable and entertain ourselves.
Peter’s exhortations to the church apply to us today in the end times.
1 Peter 4:7-10 The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. 8Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.
Our love, demonstrated in action in serving others will cover a multitude of sins. We are to offer hospitality without complaining about it, it is our God given duty. This doesn’t mean handouts to people that are lazy, capable of working or finding work but don’t.
The rich young ruler asked Jesus what he had to do to enter heaven and after telling Jesus he obeyed the commandments, Jesus said this very profound statement:
Mark 10:21 One thing you lack; go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross and follow me. Sadly, this young man walked away as his possessions were more important to him than Obeying God. God doesn’t want us to make ourselves poor and in need of a handout ourselves, but He demands we use what He has given us to help others. We can’t obey God if we have idols before Him.
Many of us have no problem helping out our friends, the ones cut from the same economic and demographic cloth. We go to dinner at each others houses, our kids go to school together and the men play golf. We know them, and know that they will help us when we need help. This is awesome but God has a different standard. He tells us to help people that cannot repay us and goes to great lengths throughout scripture to make clear favoritism was a sin. I won’t show those verses but want to share this passage that tells us how God feels about our hospitality.
Luke 14:12-14 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous
Lastly, consider the shocking news the “goats” hear from Jesus on the Last Day. As recorded in Matthew 25, these goats were shocked that Jesus told them to depart from Him and accused them of not helping Him in his time of need.
Matthew 25:42-46 Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 44“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.‘ 46“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Many think they are sheep because they go to church, pray, call Him Lord, and even give out of their abundance. But they are really goats that have squandered the talents (material blessings) given to them by God. His sheep hear His voice, the know Him and they follow Him.
Remember the parable of the Talents? The guy given one talent went off and buried it until the Master returned. He believed his master would be pleased that he did not lose it but the master was furious because the talent had been squandered and put to no good use. The guy was thrown into outer darkness where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth. God will judge us by what we do with the talents He gives us. This parable has eternal significant to all who call themselves Christians.
We are called to action. In these last days, the Lord is testing the faith of all men. We will be tested in two possible ways. First, how will we respond to the trials of life in these end times?. Will the worries of life choke off the good seed that He planted in us? If you are being tested my friend, seek out the Lord or a brother/sister that can help you see the light of God. Do not resort to evil or abandon your faith. Pray for God to send someone to help you.
Another test will come especially to those with wealth. God will send people to us that need help and if we don’t help, we show ourselves to be a goat. Sheep hear the voice of the Good Shepard and they follow Him. Nobody who loves money or comfort more than Jesus will enter the kingdom of Heaven. If He is our Lord we WILL OBEY HIS COMMANDMENTS which said to Love Your Neighbor as Yourself. Do not disqualify yourself by acting like the world and putting idols in front of God. We all must endure to the end to be saved. This applies to everyone, even people of modest means, we all have something to give and we need to give back in the same measure it has been given to us.
As all my posts, I write this to myself. God spoke to me in prayer a few weeks ago and told me He was sending somebody to me that I needed to show hospitality to and take into my home. You think I want to do this? What about my family, my sons that still live here? What if my wife doesn’t agree and thinks I am nut? All of these questions have swirled in my mind but the message from God was real. It is a test of my obedience and love for Him. He will be testing many others and I pray you all will step up and obey Him.
This country continues to decline morally and spiritually. Only a few are walking the narrow road with Jesus. As the going gets tough, those in Christ need to get going to be His ministers and bring in the harvest before the end of the age. Stepping out for Christ will become increasingly more contentious and resisted as the last vestiges of a Christian heritage give way to a secular world. God is not dead, He lives in us. We must remain a light in the world and draw people to Him by our deeds.
Protect yourself and be prudent as there are many frauds and dishonest people, even those calling themselves Christians. Let the Holy Spirit guide you, just as when Peter had the vision about going to the gentile family, the Spirit of God will tells us and give us confirmation. In that moment of decision you must obey.
The Lord is faithful, He will give you strength and protect you from the evil one.
MAY GOD BLESS YOU RICHLY!!
Luke 6:38 Give and it will be given to you
Hi Student, Good to hear from you. As usual you ask penetrating questions. My thoughts to your questions would be as follows:
1. Importance of possessions: The most important possessions God wants us to give away are the ones that are nearest and dearest to our heart. If they are idols before God, he wants them gone. It is easy to give away your old clothes that you were about to throw away. It is indeed much harder to hand over a fairly new in perfect shape leather coat because you have two of them. So once again, God will look to our heart to see if we obeyed Him in helping the poor. Lots of rich people, myself included relatively speaking find it easy to give money but much more difficult to give our time. Our time and attention is a possession as well. Remember the widow that gave her only penny. Jesus said she gave out of her heart, not out of her abundance. Jesus said, to much that has been given, much will more will be expected.
2. We can’t directly save people from their sins. EZEK 18:20 The soul that sins shall die. God calls people and he imparts his spirit and saves them, man never does it although many boast that they do. We can play a part though and that is we can point them towards Christ by preaching the gospel and being an example for them. So indirectly we can assist in saving people. When I said “covers a multitude of sins”, that verse I believe speaks to God’s mercy. When God’s people submit to HIM in relationship, he withholds judgment and wrath. It brings out his mercy. So by many of us doing good, we put God in a more merciful state as He alone decides. Think about Jonah and the Ninevites and many other stories, God held off his judgement because of the faithful actions of some of his people.
Would any possession we do not share (with others) be more important to us than God?
Can people save other people from their sins?