From His Heart with Jeff Schreve

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Christian life is not a playground, it's a battleground.
You're not coming to the Christian life like it's a
day at the beach. Bring my flip flops and my
noodle and my floaties, because it's all just We're coming
to church just to sing kumbay ah and hear about
how the Lord loves us. Hey, it's wonderful and the
Lord does love us. But the Lord has put us
in battle, and the Lord reminds us your citizenship is

(00:24):
in heaven.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
We're going to begin today with a quick mention of
the hope that America is for many nations and peoples
around the world. Our nation has struggled, as have many,
with the rapidly changing times and troubles, but still stand
tall on this July fourth Independence Day to continue to
strive for freedom for all peoples, and freedom and fairness

(01:11):
to all. Now with that hope that we celebrate today
in our nation, our world seems to be on the
precipice of problems that are perhaps insurmountable. Why you say, well,
as we'll learn today, the last days are upon us.
And in light of that truth, this world is certainly
the scene of all important spiritual battles and warfare. So

(01:35):
how should believers live as the return of Christ draws near?
This is from his Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreeve and
today part two of his powerful opening message from the
series Future Shock. What in the world is going on
today's lesson? He never said it would be easy? The

(01:56):
pastor before we start today is people are listening to
and trying to absorb the deeper meaning of this series
and particularly the first message today. What do you hope
these lessons will prepare us for as Christ's return approaches?

Speaker 1 (02:11):
I think the biggest way this series helps people prepare
is it helps them to know we're only here for
two reasons, to shine for Christ and to share how
Jesus Christ has changed our lives. And so once we
start to really get in that mindset that that's our purpose,
our reason for being here, that will help us in

(02:31):
the days ahead, because there are going to be some
hard days and so I'm ready mentally, emotionally, spiritually for
the difficulties that may come.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
Well, let's let the preparation begin in earnest open to
Sewod Timothy. Here's Pastor Jeff with a reminder that he
never said it would be easy.

Speaker 1 (02:53):
What does the Lord say about living in the last
days Three discoveries Discovery number one. The days will become
increasingly violent and dangerous.

Speaker 3 (03:03):
That's one of the things that he says.

Speaker 1 (03:06):
Evil men and impostures will go from bad to worse,
deceiving and being deceived. But realize this that in the
last day's difficult times will come. In the Amplified we
get a better feel for what that exactly means. And
the Amplified Bible says this, But understand this that in

(03:27):
the last days will come set in perilous times of
great stress and trouble, hard to deal with and hard
to bear.

Speaker 3 (03:38):
That's what we're facing in these last days.

Speaker 1 (03:41):
Now. The Lord wants us to understand the days. He
wants us to understand the times. The Christian life is
not a playground. It's a battle ground. You're called into
a battle. Ephesians, chapter six, verse twelve. It says, for
we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,

(04:04):
against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness,
against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Speaker 3 (04:12):
Hey, we're at war.

Speaker 1 (04:13):
That's why Ephesian six says you better dress for the battle.
God wants us to understand the times, and God wants us, secondly,
to understand man.

Speaker 3 (04:22):
Without the fear of God.

Speaker 1 (04:25):
We read in Proverbs that the fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of knowledge. And you know what, We've
replaced the fear of the Lord with We've replaced the
fear of the.

Speaker 3 (04:36):
Lord with the love of self.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
See what that says in verse two, difficult times will
come for men will be lovers of self. I'm not
gonna love God. I'm not gonna fear God. I'm not
gonna acknowledge God. Why because it's all about me.

Speaker 3 (04:56):
It's all about me. That's the world we live in today,
says in Some thirty six.

Speaker 1 (05:01):
Verse one, Sin whispers to the wicked deep within their hearts,
they have no fear of God at all. We live
in a world where people want to be their own God.

Speaker 3 (05:12):
They've lost the fear of God. And so God says, hey,
and these last days, people reject the fear of Me.
They choose the love of self.

Speaker 1 (05:20):
And that opens the floodgate, and that opens the sewer
pipe of all.

Speaker 3 (05:23):
Sorts of terrible, horrible things. Second discovery.

Speaker 1 (05:27):
Not only will the days become increasingly violent and dangerous,
the days will see a rise in false teachers and
false teaching. Verse six, he says, for among these that
hold to a form of godliness, although they have denied
its power. For among them are those who enter into
households and captivate weak women, weighed down with sins, led

(05:48):
on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come.

Speaker 3 (05:52):
To the knowledge of the truth.

Speaker 1 (05:54):
And just as Janice and Jambres opposed Moses, so these
men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected
as regards the faith. But they will not make further progress,
for their folly will be obvious to all, as also.

Speaker 3 (06:08):
That of those two came to be.

Speaker 1 (06:11):
He likens them to two guys during the days of Moses,
Janice and Jambreeze.

Speaker 3 (06:19):
You say, who are those guys?

Speaker 1 (06:21):
Well, they were the magicians of Pharaohs, and here they are,
and they opposed Moses. Well how did they oppose Moses?
See they hold to a form of godliness. They come
across like their spiritual but they deny the power of
the gospel.

Speaker 3 (06:35):
You know, Paul said, I'm not ashamed.

Speaker 1 (06:37):
Of the gospel, for it is a power of God
for salvation. There's power in the gospel. These guys deny
the gospel, but they have power. These guys are thinking
they can hang with God and hang with the miracles
of God. They can't and listen to false teachers. They
might be able to do some stuff because there's demonic

(06:58):
power there. They denied the true power of the God
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They've denied the Lord Jesus Christ,
and they oppose the truth. They stand against the truth. Listen,
what do we do in these days where there's so
much false teaching out there? Hey, you say, ah, how
do I know who's genuine, who's true? How do I

(07:20):
know who's a sheep and who's a wolf in sheep's clothing? Well,
Christians must not be spiritually weak and undiscerning. See it
says in verse six four. Among them are those who
enter into households and captivate weak women, weighed down with sins,
led on by various impulses. Spiritually weak women. It's not

(07:42):
talking about they hadn't been to the gym in a while.
It's these are women who are just spiritually weak. They
don't know the word of God very well, and they're
probably not under the authority of their the protective authority
of their husband, or the protective authority of the church.

Speaker 3 (07:57):
And so they're sitting ducks.

Speaker 1 (08:00):
They're just spiritually weak, and they have sins in their lives,
and they're weighed down with sin and with guilt. And
these false teachers, like the crocodile comes into the water,
they come without a ripple, and.

Speaker 3 (08:11):
They go after them.

Speaker 1 (08:13):
If you've watched the National Geographic Channel, you've ever seen
the lions when they hunt, you to the Bible says
that Satan prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom
he may devour. You watch lions when they go after
a pride of kudoo or.

Speaker 3 (08:28):
Some kind of will to beast or something like that.
Who do they get.

Speaker 1 (08:32):
They get the strongest, fastest wilde beast. No, they get
the one they just can't can't quite make it. It's
like man, I got a bad hip hold on gang.

Speaker 3 (08:40):
You know. It's that kind of deal. And the lion
gets him.

Speaker 1 (08:43):
He doesn't get those that are moving fast with the pack.
He gets the weak, He gets the ones that can't
quite make it. You know lions aren't saying, well, I'm
not going to eat that. When he's weak it tastes
good to the lion. He doesn't care. And so here,
how do you protect yourself? How do you keep yourself
from being attacked and duped and deceived by the false

(09:05):
teachers and their false teaching. You spend time in the
Word of God. That's how you build yourself up. The
Word of God is milk, it's meat, it's food, it's bread,
it's what helps us grow. And so you spend time
in this book, and you spend time under the covering
of a Bible believing church.

Speaker 3 (09:25):
Now listen, you got to remember something about the devil.

Speaker 1 (09:29):
The devil is a deceiver and he is good at deception.

Speaker 3 (09:33):
The Bible says that if possible, he deceived even the elect.

Speaker 1 (09:38):
Don't ever think, well, he could never deceive me, belooney,
He can deceive any one of us.

Speaker 3 (09:43):
If God weren't.

Speaker 1 (09:44):
Protecting you, you'd be in big time trouble. Let me
tell you how deceptive the devil is. When Jesus came.
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, he was coming to them
as their messiah, and they received him as such. For
a very short time until they said, well, you're not
overthrowing rome.

Speaker 3 (10:02):
Crucify him, crucify him.

Speaker 1 (10:04):
Jesus said this, He said, I come in my father's
name and you don't receive me. Another will come in
his own name, and him you will receive.

Speaker 3 (10:17):
And when the Antichrist.

Speaker 1 (10:20):
Comes, the Jews are going to say, that is our Messiah.
I mean you talk about getting it one hundred and
eighty degrees wrong. No, your Messiah came in on Palm
Sunday and you said crucify him on Friday.

Speaker 3 (10:39):
This is the.

Speaker 1 (10:40):
Devil incarnate and he's the one that you hail as Messiah. Hey,
the devil is slick. You got to know this book
and you have to be discerning. That's why it says
in first John chapter four, but love it. Do not
believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether
they are from God. Because many false prophets have gone
out into the world. Many have gone out. So test

(11:03):
the spirits. You say, how do I test the spirits?
How do I test people on television or people on
the radio, or people send me something. I get some
kind of email and it's some kind of teaching. How
do I test what this person is saying three c's,
three s's. This is how you test any kind of teacher.
Number one, character test that person's character. And it's hard.

(11:27):
Sometimes you say, I don't know this person, How do
I test their character?

Speaker 3 (11:31):
Check to see how that person lives.

Speaker 1 (11:34):
You know, I did a little check to see Forbes
had the top ten pastors in terms of net worth.
Top pastor, his net worth is one hundred and fifty
million dollars. I say, he's doing pretty well, one hundred
and fifty million dollars, you know, And they say, well,
you know, God wants us to be wealthy.

Speaker 3 (11:56):
Obviously you're wealthy. I guess that's what you say. You
know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (12:01):
It's kind of like, hey, send in your money and
God will bless one of us. You know, one hundred
and fifty million dollars. What did Jesus have when they
crucified him? A robe in sandals and a tunic? He said,
foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests,
and the son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.

Speaker 3 (12:23):
One hundred and fifty million dollars. Check their character, you
know you've heard.

Speaker 1 (12:27):
Is and then in the news so much about a
pastor was saying how he has to go all around
the world, which is a great thing, but his plane
wasn't doing so well, so he needed a sixty five
million dollar plane. Really, is that the only plane that
you can get? A sixty five million He said, You know,
if if just a couple of hundred thousand of you

(12:48):
would give me three hundred dollars, I could buy the plane.

Speaker 3 (12:51):
Like, yeah, I guess you could. I mean you can
do the math right, good night? What is that reveal?

Speaker 1 (12:57):
It reveals this person's character. You have to have the
most expensive plane to do the word and the will
of God. What did Paul have two shoes? I mean
he just hooked it where he went. So you check
their character, check the content. What are they teaching? Does
it line up with a word of God. Let me

(13:19):
tell you what you hear lots of on television, health, wealth, prosperity, fame, fortune,
that kind of thing.

Speaker 3 (13:27):
You know.

Speaker 1 (13:27):
Who preaches a gospel of health, wealth, and fame the devil?

Speaker 3 (13:33):
You said, well, now I don't think that's true. Uh huh.
It is true. Jesus is tempted in the wilderness.

Speaker 1 (13:38):
He's fasted for forty days and the devil comes to him.
And he says, if you're the son of God, command
these stones to become bred. You're looking a little puny there, Jesus,
you're looking a little weak. You need to eat, You
need to increase your health. Command these stones to become bread,
because after all, it's all about health. And and hey,

(14:01):
after you do that, let me take you and show
you all the kingdoms of this world, because they've been
given to me, and I'll give them to you if
you'll just do this one little thing, Jesus, just bow
down and worship me, and I will load you down
with material things, and I'll give all this wealth to you.

Speaker 3 (14:20):
And then and then let me let's go to the
top of the temple and.

Speaker 1 (14:24):
Jump down, Jesus, because if you jump down, and the
scripture says, he'll give his angels charge concerning you. Lest
you dash your foot against the stone, God will, the
Father will, He'll send his angel so you don't get hurt,
and everyone will ooh and ah over you, health, wealth, fame.
Watch for the content. Is that what's coming out? What's

(14:46):
the content supposed to be? The content is supposed to
be the gospel Paul said, I delivered to you of
first importance what I also received that Jesus Christ was crucified, that.

Speaker 3 (14:58):
He was buried, that he rose on the third day.
That's at the heart.

Speaker 1 (15:00):
If that's not at the heart of the teaching, something
is seriously off. Because that's what we're called to do,
is to lift up the name of Jesus, and I,
if I be lifted up, the Lord says, will draw all.

Speaker 3 (15:12):
Men to me.

Speaker 1 (15:13):
So the content and then look at the converts the
last see character content converts. What are the people like
who followed this guy this teaching?

Speaker 3 (15:23):
Do they have godliness in their life?

Speaker 1 (15:26):
Do you sense and smell the sweet aroma of the
knowledge of the Lord on their lives? Listen the days
we'll see a rise in false teachers and false teaching.

Speaker 3 (15:37):
And the Lord is saying, be ready, be aware of this.

Speaker 1 (15:41):
Watch out for the janis and the jam breeze. They
may have some power, but it's demonic power. You make
sure that that person hasn't denied the only Master and Savior,
Jesus Christ.

Speaker 2 (15:55):
Pastor Jeff returns with the third and final discovery about
the last days in just a moment. People use that
phrase the last days a lot, but basically and technically
it's a period of time between the first and second
coming of the Lord. But the big question that we're
answering in this series Future Shock, is this is Jesus

(16:20):
going to return soon? Now? With the way things are going,
it's hard to fathom that he wouldn't return soon. We
want to sound the alarm now to many people, as
many people as possible in these days to come, so
that they can be ready for the return of Christ
to that end faster. Jeff has written a timely booklet
entitled how Near is the End? And we'll send it

(16:43):
to you as our thanks for your support this month
of any amount from his Heart, and with that gift
will also send you the nine message timely end time
series called Future Shock. What in the world is going on?
You can get it on a USB, CDs, DBD or
digital download. Not to make your gift, go online from

(17:04):
his Heart dot org or call eight six six four
zero Bible eight six six four zero Bible. Now let's
conclude part two of this first message in the series.
He never said it would be easy. Here's Pastor Jeff.

Speaker 3 (17:20):
Discovery number three.

Speaker 1 (17:22):
The days will require Christians to be good soldiers, Paul
told Timothy in chapter two, verse three suffer hardship with
me as a good soldier of Christ.

Speaker 3 (17:35):
Jesus.

Speaker 1 (17:36):
Remember what we said. The Christian life is not a playground.
It's a battleground. You're not coming to the Christian life
like it's a day at the beach.

Speaker 3 (17:44):
Bring my flip flops and my noodle and.

Speaker 1 (17:46):
My floaties, because it's all just We're coming to church
just to just to sing kumbay ah and hear about
how the Lord loves us. Hey, it's wonderful, and the
Lord does love us. But the Lord has put us
in battle, and the Lord reminds us your citizenship is
in heaven. You're not citizens of this earth. You're strangers

(18:08):
and aliens. And we used to sing that song. This
world is not my home. I'm just passing through. My
treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.

Speaker 3 (18:17):
And that's so true. And so we have the mindset.

Speaker 1 (18:23):
If we're gonna be biblical, if we're gonna be wise,
if we're gonna be walking with God, especially in these
last days, we need to have the mindset. I'm in
the Lord's army, man, I'm a soldier in the Lord's army,
and I want to be a good soldier. Let me
tell you about good soldiers. Good soldiers endure hardship and persecutions.
That's a mark of a good soldier. Paul says this

(18:47):
in verse ten. But Timothy, you followed my teaching conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance,
persecutions and sufferings such as happened to me at Antioch,
at Ionium and at Lystra. What persecutions I endured? And
out of them all the Lord delivered me. And indeed
all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will

(19:09):
be persecuted.

Speaker 3 (19:11):
You know where Timothy was from. He was from Lystra.

Speaker 1 (19:16):
You know what happened to Paul on his first missionary journey.
He was stoned at Listra and they thought he was
dead and they dragged him out of the city. And
Timothy and his mom and his grandmother, they were privy
to that information because that was big news. When the

(19:37):
evangelist came to town and we stoned him, we thought
we killed him. But somehow the guy got up, kind
of like that song, I get knocked down, Get up again,
Never gonna knock me down. And that's what happened to
Paul's like, this guy is like he just like the
energizer bunny. He just keeps coming. He went back into
the town and started preaching again. Killed you, now you didn't.

(20:02):
He endured persecution. Timothy saw it. Timothy was from Listra,
and he says, you remember what happened to me. You
remember the sufferings in the persecution.

Speaker 3 (20:11):
Let me tell you something.

Speaker 1 (20:12):
Sometimes we read in the Bible these guys get stoned,
and we just said they got stoned.

Speaker 3 (20:19):
How about if you get stoned.

Speaker 1 (20:22):
There's a lot of pain associated with getting stoned. That
happened to him, got beaten with rods, that happened to him,
got placed in Philippi, His feet were placed in the stocks,
stretched out in the stocks in the inner prison. That
happened to him, And there was suffering that takes place
in the Christian life. And good soldiers endure the suffering,

(20:45):
and listen. Good soldiers know that it's gonna be hard.
Navy Seals, special Forces.

Speaker 3 (20:52):
Those guys know it's not gonna be easy. They don't
go into special forces thinking, well, what do you got
with you? I got my flip flops, my noodle is
just gonna be a blast. They know it's not like that.

Speaker 1 (21:03):
They know it's gonna be hard, and listen, we need
to start getting the mindset of a soldier, of a
Special Forces soldier that says he never said it was
gonna be easy, and so I need to go into
it knowing, hey, in the last days, difficult, dangerous, hard
times are gonna be there, and I'm gonna be ready
for those by God's strength and by God's grace. So

(21:25):
a good soldier he endures hardship. Good soldiers don't quit.
They don't quit. Here is a poem. I've shared with
you this poem before, but I love it. And you
might be here, and you might be ready to throw
in the towel on your Christian life because you just
say it's.

Speaker 3 (21:42):
Just so hard. I want to let go, but I
won't let go.

Speaker 1 (21:49):
There are battles to fight by day and night for
God and the right, and I'll never let go.

Speaker 3 (21:55):
I want to let go, but I won't let go.

Speaker 1 (21:59):
I'm sick to true and worried and blue and worn
through and through, but I won't let go.

Speaker 3 (22:04):
I want to let go, but I won't let go.

Speaker 1 (22:08):
I will never yield what lie down on the field
and surrender my shield. No, I'll never let go. I
want to let go, but I won't let go. May
this be my song amid legions of wrong?

Speaker 4 (22:25):
Oh, God, keep me strong that I never let go. Listen,
don't ever let go, don't ever quit in your walk
with God. It will get.

Speaker 3 (22:36):
Hard, because it gets hard in battle. But don't quit.
And let me tell you some good news before we close.
Good soldiers. You know what happens to them, good soldiers
of the Lord Jesus Christ. They experience divine deliverance.

Speaker 1 (22:52):
Paul said, Hey, Timothy, you know the persecutions I endured,
and out of them all the Lord delivered me. And
he says in Chapter four, verse eighteen, some of the
last verses he ever wrote, the Lord will deliver me
from every evil deed and will bring me safely to
his heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory, forever and ever.

Speaker 2 (23:14):
Would you be found a faithful soldier in the Lord's
kingdom at your last hours on earth. The battles will
certainly be hard, but we must not give up. You're
listening to from his heart with Pastor Jeff Shreeve and
the Lesson today. He never said it would be easy.
It's the first in his nine message series, Future Shock.

(23:34):
What in the world is going on and our special
gift of thanks for your support this month is the
series Future Shock as well as the booklet How Near
Is the End? Just go to from Hisheart dot Org
for details or call eight six six or zero Bible.
You can always listen to any of these broadcasts that
have already aired. When you go to from his Heart

(23:54):
dot org click the listen tab. Join us on Wednesday
for the next lesson in the Future Shock series, called
The Truth about Islam. That's when Pastor Jeff Shreeve will
speak real truth, real love, and real hope from his heart.

Speaker 4 (24:21):
Always.

Speaker 2 (24:37):
From his Heart is the listener supported broadcast ministry of
doctor Jeff Shreeve, who believes that no matter how much
you may have messed up in life, God still loves
you and has a wonderful plan for you. Find out
more about that when you go to fromis Heart dot org.