When God’s Patience Runs Out

Paul wrote in 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 1,

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

Mark this, there will be terrible times in the last days.

Germaine Greer, who was one of the architects of the new society that emerged in the 1960s,

a woman who wrote that book, The Female Eunuch,

I wouldn't necessarily recommend that you read it, but in it she lays out the principles for the new world

and the new freedom we would find by casting off all restraint.

It was only 15 years later when, interestingly, in a TV interview with Mary Whitehouse,

Germaine Greer conceded, and this is what she said,

she said that when we cast off all restraint,

we thought that we would find freedom only to discover

that we discovered a deeper bondage than the bondage we were trying to leave behind.

I think that was almost a prophetic word.

For the world in general, and the West in particular, is in a mess.

Today is Advent Sunday, a day when the church looks back to that moment when the Son of God

entered the world in the person of Jesus Christ.

But there's a time also, which we're a little more diffident about, understandably,

and that is looking forward to the time when God will pull down the curtain on the whole of human history

and Jesus will return.

We are told very clearly in Scripture, read in Acts chapter 1 if you don't believe me,

Acts 1 · chapter mention

that it's not for us to calculate dates or times when Jesus will return.

But it is certainly for disciples of Jesus to seek to read the signs of the times.

Mark this, wrote Paul, there will be terrible times in the last day.

When Paul wrote these words, he was in prison.

He knew that his days were numbered on planet Earth

and that very soon he would be executed by the Roman authorities.

His time was running out.

And so he wrote to this, interestingly, exceptionally young church leader

with some words of advice.

Come back to that.

Mark this.

What that means is pay very careful attention to it.

And then he lists some things that I don't know what you felt when Ros wrote out that list of things to us.

But it doesn't read well, does it?

Two things about what Paul's writing here.

The first thing is, it shouldn't really surprise us.

Paul, in writing to the Christians in Rome, chapter 1,

reminds his readers there,

that godlessness in any society

will have some shocking consequences.

He says there,

in Romans chapter 1 and verse 25,

Romans 1 · chapter mention

He says,

they exchanged the glory of the immortal God

for images made to look like mortal men and birds and animals and reptiles.

Verse 25,

they exchanged the truth of God for a lie

and worshipped and served created things

rather than the creator

who is forever praised.

Listen to me, I hope you understand that.

Paul here is saying

there is a fundamental problem

with human beings

and it's this,

that we are always in danger

of confusing the creation,

the things that we enjoy

here on planet Earth

with the creator.

And then the danger becomes

that our minds become focused

on what God has created

rather than the God who created them.

I think we see that

in our times, don't we?

The bondage we thought we were escaping from

feels today like a greater,

like a bondage today

that really is worse than the bondage

we thought we were escaping from.

All this stuff

about the degradation of human life

shouldn't surprise us

in a culture which is godless.

You've only got to look at these statistics

to see that that is a reality.

When I was born in 1949,

almost 90% of the people,

despite a world war,

claimed belief in God.

Today,

that figure has dropped below 50%.

And amongst people

between the ages of 0 and 35,

that has dropped to below 20%.

This does not bode well.

And if that were worrying enough,

the world that we are creating

increasingly, it seems,

is making us ill.

The stress levels,

the rise in mental health issues.

At the moment in our world,

though it's hard for us to imagine,

there are 29 wars going on

and 80 famines.

Friends, this is 2022,

not 1452.

29 wars

and 80 famines.

I read it on Google,

so it must be true.

Our politicians today

constantly crow about progressive policy.

And what you need to know is,

Michael Blasland,

in his amazing book,

called The Hidden 50%,

makes it very clear

that 90% of policies

inflicted upon us

by democratic governments

do not work.

90%.

Just think for a moment.

In 1942,

our nation was at war.

There's a man called

William Beveridge,

who was a social reformer,

who wrote what we now call today

the Beveridge Report.

The Beveridge Report

imagined

what would be the priorities

of a post-war government.

He named

what has come to be called

the Five Giants.

The Beveridge Report

were the founding documents

for the National Health Service

and ultimately

the welfare state.

Five Giants.

One was idleness.

He said

post-war governments

would need to create employment.

Well,

it is true today

that we have

a surfeit of jobs available

in the United Kingdom.

The problem is

that the majority of them

are being paid at a rate

that it's cheaper

not to work

than to work.

He said

ignorance

would be another evil,

another giant

that needed to be defeated

and talked about

the need

for an education system

that was all-embracing

and inclusive.

Yet,

20%

of our children,

your children

in some cases,

leave primary school

without basic skills

in literacy

and numeracy.

Interestingly,

closely correlated

with the number

of free school meals.

The third giant,

he said,

was disease.

There was a need

for a healthcare system

that embraces all

and is free

at the point

of delivery.

I wouldn't say

much more about that

other than dream on.

Squalor

was his fourth giant.

There would be

good quality housing

provided for all citizens.

And just this past

fortnight,

we read of the tragic

story of

Awab Ishak,

a little child

who died

because his

apartment

was so full of

dangerous,

damp spores

that he got a

respiratory disease

and died.

And the final

thing that

Beveridge talked

about

was want.

Poverty

alleviation.

I have no idea

where these figures

come from,

but we're told

that in the coming

months,

millions,

millions of people

in the United

Kingdom,

the seventh

richest economy

in the world,

will be pushed

into poverty.

Let me ask you

a question.

Don't shout out.

But would you say

our so-called

progressive policies,

80 years on

after Beveridge,

have come home

to roost?

We're in a mess

and one

fundamental

question

should be in the

minds of Christian

disciples and it's

this,

what is God

saying to us

right now?

have we lost

the ability

to listen

to God?

Is our life

so fast track

and microwave

that many of us

don't even find

time to sit down

and try and

listen to God?

And I want to

offload on you

today one very

simple idea.

I think you've seen

this coming.

And it's this.

In a society

which is

increasingly

godless,

terrible,

terrible

consequences

will emerge

for people.

In a godless

society,

people begin

to manifest

characteristics

that are the

mirror opposite

of what Paul

wrote about

in Galatians

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5.

There Paul is

talking about

the fruit of the

spirit,

characteristics

that should

increasingly mark

the lives of

Christian disciples.

Love, joy,

peace, patience,

kindness,

all these things.

And then you

come to our

text,

2 Timothy 3

2 Timothy 3:1–9

verses 1 to

9.

What will be

the signs of

the times in

these last days

says Paul?

People will be

lovers of

themselves.

I don't know

what kind of

people do this

but some people

apparently like

angling as well

but some people

count the

words in

our media,

in newspapers

and the like

and note which

words are coming

into further

prominence.

You know the

word that is

increased in

prominence the

most in the

media?

The word

self.

We are a

selfie culture

but we're also

a self-obsessed

culture.

The Times

newspaper,

which I

take every

day,

which used

to be a

serious

newspaper,

has a

bit in it

called

Times 2.

This is full

of the most

wrong-headed

ideas imaginable

and at the

same time

it's full of

a lot of

kind of pop

psychology.

Do this

and you will

feel a lot

better about

yourself and

about the

world.

love, joy,

peace, patience,

kindness,

goodness,

faithfulness,

gentleness and

self-control.

Would the

world be a

different place

if people

focused on

these

characteristics

rather than

narcissism,

lovers of

themselves,

lovers of

money,

boastful,

proud,

abusive,

disobedient to

their parents,

ungrateful,

unholy?

It goes on.

We live a

degraded

lifestyle in

the 21st

century.

Remember the

prodigal son

when he left

home with his

father's cash

ended up

eating pig

fruit.

And you

can try

and put a

fitted carpet

in a pig

sty but it's

still a pig

sty.

today our

text reminds

us that we

are a society

which is

godless and

reminds us of

the kind of

byproducts of

that godlessness.

One, the

self is

elevated.

Two, sin

is normalized.

Some of you

are sitting

there thinking

you know

what the

world I was

born into

is a very

different world

than the

world I

experience

today.

I'm not

talking about

the good

things and

there are

plenty of

good things.

I'm talking

about our

degraded

culture.

In 1950,

those of you

who were

around then

will remember

that there

was a big

course in

what was the

high court

then, not the

supreme court,

regarding

Lady Chattel

is lover.

Remember that

book any of

you?

Don't put your

hands up if

you've read it.

Because my

gut feeling is

on the basis

of my experience

in school is

if you took

that book and

threw it in the

air and you

threw a hundred

copies in the

air, they'd all

come down open

at the same

page.

the

attempt

successful

apparently

of the

gamekeeper to

seduce Lady

Chatterley.

In terms of

the kind of

stakes of

pornography

that are

available today,

that book was

pretty minimal.

Compare it

with today,

what's allowed.

television

programs where

people who've

never clapped

eyes on each

other before

are encouraged

to get

married.

Dating

programs where

people assess

the person

they might

date on the

basis of

seeing them

naked.

Won't bode

well for me,

I can promise

you.

And people

will say,

with

complacency

deep in

their

hearts,

oh, it's

always been

the same.

No, it

hasn't.

We didn't

have the

internet, we

didn't have

social media,

we didn't

have these

things, which

allow depraved

minds free

license.

Whatever the

good of social

media, and I'm

persuaded that

there are some

good things,

keeping people in

contact with

each other, my

goodness, there

are an awful

lot of bad

things that go

on.

what happens,

self is

elevated, sin

is normalized,

and meaning

is degraded.

2 Timothy

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

and verse

4.

Sorry, I

don't mean

verse 4.

It talks

about

people being

far away

from the

truth.

This is a

slightly tricky

passage, because

at one level,

Paul is talking

about people in

general, and

then at another

level, and this

is a little

worrying for

church leaders,

he's saying

that part of

the problem is

church leaders

who have

depraved minds

as well.

Men, who he

says, oppose

the truth.

If you're

worried about

Jenner's and

Jambres, those

two people

mentioned there,

they were

sorcerers,

Egyptian

sorcerers, who

tried to

oppose

Moses.

What is

God saying

to us in

all of

this?

Have

nothing to

do with

these people.

Now, there

are some

branches of

Christian

discipleship that

have taken

that very

literally and

decided they

will shut

themselves away

from the

world.

You all have

read about the

Amish in

North America,

or the

strict brethren

here.

I don't think

that's what

Paul meant.

I think what

Paul meant

was have

nothing to

do with

wrong-headed

ideas.

These ideas

put about by

depraved minds.

people

are

and if

we'd read

on, we

would read

there what

Paul's

antidote to

all this is

for

Christian

disciples.

Paul says

to Timothy,

get focused

on the

Bible.

Preach it

in season

and out of

season.

And be

very wary

of false

teachers.

I think

the Church

of England

nationally is

in a mess

at the

moment,

because there

are fundamental

differences

between

leaders as

to what the

Bible actually

means when

it says

stuff.

When a

society becomes

godless,

terrible things

happen.

But listen,

here's the

kicker,

which has

particular

relevance to

church leaders,

but also to

all of you

as well.

Here it is,

when a

society becomes

godless,

God calls

his church

to account.

You and

me.

That's the

message of

the prophets.

Message of

the prophets

describes what's

going on in

the world and

then calls the

faithful to

step it up.

Leaders must

not be false

teachers, but

must be

faithful to

that which is

handed down

to them.

And yet.

And so on

this Advent

Sunday, I

want to

encourage you

to do three

things.

One, look

up to the

sovereign

Lord.

This is not

a recipe for

complacency, but

actually we do

need to remember

that the

sovereign Lord

of the earth

and the heavens

and all that

therein is,

is in control

even when we

don't feel

that.

second, look

down into

your Bibles,

read, mark,

learn and

inwardly digest

its truth

and seek to

live as God

would have you

live.

And thirdly,

look around.

Look around

you.

This is not

just, you know,

too much of

church just

resides within

the four walls

of our

ancient

buildings.

Some of you

get this, and

I thank God

for you, but

we've got to

get out into

the world, a

world which is

suffering immensely

at the moment,

and show people

what God is

like by talking

to them about

Jesus Christ.

Paul was

writing to

Timothy in

Ephesus.

And if you

have been to

Ephesus,

it's a pile of

rubble.

I mean, it's an

interesting pile of

rubble, but it

is a pile of

rubble.

In Revelation

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2, we

read there that

the church had

many things that

the risen Christ

could commend it

for.

Commend it for

its doctrinal

purity.

authority.

They were very

clear on who

was a heretic,

very clear on

who was out

of the kingdom.

And I

didn't expect,

don't expect,

that they

thought the

risen Christ

would then

accuse them.

He already

said to

them,

all this is

good, but

you have

lost your

first love.

friends, let

me ask you,

are there

saints sitting

in church this

morning who've

lost their

first love?

Isaiah

Isaiah 64 · chapter mention

chapter 64

and verse 6

says that our

spiritual experience

is like the

autumn leaves,

it fades and

withers.

Maybe the

Holy Spirit

is whispering in

your ear this

morning and

telling you,

step it up,

come back.

There's a

warning here for

us, isn't

there, that

churches can be

doctrinally pure

but lacking in

love.

I think I've

been to some

churches like

that.

Churches that

sit in

judgment over

this world,

forgetting that

God loves the

world that he

created and

calls us to

love it as

well.

it's Advent

Sunday, a

day to

repent.

I'm

minded of

Clive's talk

when we came

back from

COVID where he

talked about a

reset, the

church in

reset.

Maybe God is

telling you

today that

Advent would be

a great day for

this to happen,

to repent and

return to the

Lord.

Our society

needs Christians

who will stand

up, will speak

up in prayer to

God and in

witness to this

world.

Luke 15

tells us,

there is joy in

heaven when a

sinner repents.

Wouldn't it be

great if a few of

us could kick

off a few parties

in heaven today?

God is

going to be

here to

pray.

I'm not here to

tell you when

Jesus might

return, but I

am here to tell

you that we

need to read the

signs and we

need to do

something.

In the name of

our amazing God

who loved us

enough to send

his son onto

this planet that

we might be set

free, redeemed.

In the name of

that wonderful

God, Father,

Son and Holy

Spirit.

And the people

who agreed said

together.

Amen.

Amen.