David Diga Hernandez - The Final Harvest: Revival in the Last Days

So, last week we ended on verse nine. Let’s jump right into this: Matthew 24, verse 10. «And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other.» What’s interesting to me here is that Jesus is talking about people turning away from Him, meaning these people are believers. There is going to be a great falling away from the faith. 1 Timothy chapter 4, verse 1 says, «Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith. They will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.» Now, an entire lesson can be devoted to this portion of Scripture alone, and we are seeing it. I am seeing it, and so are you. Leaders of the Christian faith are suddenly announcing, «I no longer have faith.» Why is that? Well, this is not something that just happened overnight. This is because deception is taking root in the hearts of many who proclaim to be followers of Christ, and the reality is this: it’s going to get worse. You will be shocked at the many leaders; you will be shocked at the many denominations; you will be shocked at the many groups that turn away from biblical truth to embrace worldly culture and worldly ideas. This is going to affect many. There will be a great falling away from the faith. Now, I’m not a doomsday sayer; I don’t enjoy ministering on these things necessarily, but there is the truth, there is the reality, and so I need to prepare you. It is my duty as a minister of the Word of God to teach all aspects of the Word. Sometimes I teach on faith, sometimes I teach on miracles, and I primarily teach on the Holy Spirit, but this is what God has put on my heart to teach to you. This is something you have to hear; it’s preparation for these times. Now, this great falling away from the faith happens because people aren’t rooted in the Word, they’re not rooted in prayer, and they’re not rooted in the body of Christ. So, this is a warning to you: if you’re a believer who does not have a prayer life, who does not delve into the Word of God daily, and who is not a part of a community of strong believers, as the Scripture encourages and commands us to be a part of, then you are at risk for falling for deception. I just read not too long ago this article about a church—mind you, a church—that hired a psychic to serve on the pastoral team. There are deceptions everywhere, and we need to be prepared. We must know the Word; we will not recognize deception unless we know the Word, because the Word is the light, and if we have the light, we can see in the dark places and expose all of the deception of the enemy. Verse 11 says, «And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people.» So many will rise, and I believe this is not only describing false religions, but this is also describing twisted versions of Christianity. Be careful, be very careful! Jesus must be the center. Verse 12 says, «Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.» So, sin is rampant. I want you to look at this world and consider the fact that sin is rampant. This is what Jesus is describing here: people are losing their minds. If I’m just being real with you, much of what is out there is pure lunacy; it is insanity in the strictest definition of the word. The world is losing its mind; it’s calling good evil and evil good. It’s backwards. So, we as the church must be prepared. We must stand strong; we must stand on the Word. Now, look, we’re not by any means in survival mode, okay? We’re victorious; we’re winning. The kingdom is advancing, the gospel is spreading, the church is growing, revival is occurring, and the Holy Spirit’s power is touching lives all around the world. We’re on the winning side, but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible to be deceived. We must find our footing. This is not a message of defeat; this is not a message of retreat; this is a message of preparation so that you can guard your heart against the deception of the enemy. So, there’s going to be a falling away from the faith; there’s going to be a rise in false prophetic voices; there’s going to be a rise in sin. The world is going to become more perverse, and the Bible lists all of these signs. As I mentioned in part 1 of this message, you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; kingdoms will be divided against kingdoms; there will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. The Bible begins to describe all of these events that begin to happen, but then it says, «The end is not yet,» or «The end is not coming at this point,» or in other translations, it words it differently. But the primary message is that all of those signs—while they are bad things—are not necessarily signs that Christ is about to return. Here is what the Bible says. So, let’s look to the verse; in verse 14, I want to preface it by saying that, if you’ll notice, Jesus has kind of been building this point. He’s saying, «Look, there’s going to be a rise in people who are claiming to be the Messiah,» and then He says, «But the end won’t follow immediately; don’t panic. There will be wars and rumors of wars, but don’t panic.» Then He says, «Kingdoms will rise against kingdoms, famines and earthquakes.» He says, «But all of this is only…»