GET READY

“THE SIGNS OF JESUS’ RETURN”

Diagnosis:
 A lot of significant events are happening in the world today and people are watching them
with interest and some with hopelessness and anxiety.
 Depending on who you’re listening to, it’s not clear if things are getting better or worse.
Economists (up and down, global meltdown), Medical (pharmaceutical industry, living
longer), Political (global systems of governance), Technology (smarter, more connected, AI,
more people jobless), Morally (values have become fluid, opinion rules the day) … what is
going on and where is the world headed?
 Everyone is trying to make sense of the times that we are living in.

To understand the times we are living in, we don’t run to the TVs, radio hosts, social media, or the
government etc. We instead turn to God’s word because God’s word does two things:
a. It’ll help us understand the times that we are living in. It’s all recorded in God’s word.
b. It clearly tells us what we must do in order to navigate the times we are living in.

Now, because of the state of our world today, people are asking, “WHO WILL BRING AN END TO
THIS MADNESS?”
The Bible teaches us that Jesus will bring an end to this madness.

In John 14, while speaking to His disciples, Jesus told them that He was returning to His Father.
Understandably, they were crushed at this news and were filled with uncertainty and hopelessness.
However, Jesus then made a startling promise to them.

John 14:1-3 (NIV)

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s
house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to
prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take
you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Jesus promised His disciples that He would return and take them to be with Him forever. Those words
from Jesus still provide the greatest comfort today. Jesus is coming back to bring an end to this
madness and take us to be with Him forever!

However, it is vitally important that we reflect on the words of Jesus that He spoke concerning the day
of His return. Jesus said:
Matthew 24:44 (NIV)
So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect
him.

Since Jesus will return at an hour when we least expect Him, the question I have for you is this: ARE
YOU READY FOR THE RETURN OF JESUS? If Jesus were to return right this minute, would you
be ready? Does that thought fill your heart with joy or fear? Is it something that you have ignored or
dismissed, living your life like you’ll be here forever?! What does it mean to be ready for the return of
Jesus? What will happen when He returns?

Over the next three weekends, we are starting a new, three-week series that we are calling, “GET
READY”.

As we get started, and to help you get ready for Jesus’ return, I want to speak to you about, “THE
SIGNS OF JESUS’ RETURN”.
LET US PRAY:
Context of Matthew 24 (you can also find this conversation in Mark 13 and Luke 21):
Jesus had a very interesting conversation with His disciples in which He told them about the signs of
His return.

Matthew 24:1-51 (NIV)

Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his
attention to its buildings. 2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one
stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,”
they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the
age?”
4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name,
claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of
wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to
come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines
and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all
nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and
hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of
the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the
end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a
testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’[a]
spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in
Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the
house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those
days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in
winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning
of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.

Explain that Jesus, in verses 22 to 35, continued this conversation with His disciples, telling them
about what would happen when He returns. He then lands the conversation by setting their hearts
on what truly matters.

The Day and Hour Unknown

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[f] but
only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in
marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would
happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the
Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women
will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But
understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was
coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you
also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the
servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that
servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in
charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My
master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat
and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not
expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place
with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

NB:
Something to understand about these signs is that some have already happened or have repeatedly
happened across time. However, what you’ll notice is that the intensity or magnitude of these signs is
far greater now than at any point in history. We could be the generation to see the return of Jesus!

That is why we must take time to understand them and get ready for the return of Jesus.

First,
a) FALSE MESSIAHS.

Matthew 24:4-5,11 (NIV)

“Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name,
claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many…and many false prophets will appear and
deceive many people.

This is happening today in every continent of the world.

So many people claiming to be our Lord Jesus – Owobushobozi in Uganda, Kenya (Mwalimu Yesu
wa Thangole), Australia, Philippines, London, Siberia etc.
The world is awash with people who claim to be prophets, bringing God’s word to the people but
instead make up teachings that do not line up with God’s word, and back them up by manufactured
“signs and wonders” to hook the crowds. The Lord called them, “false” because although they claim
to be His messengers, they actually do not represent Him.

Examples:
- Man-centered teachings that promote licentiousness (cross, sin, obedience etc.).
- Materialistic – manipulate people so to extort money from them (hearts not set on things
above).
- Popularity – draw attention to themselves and not the Lord (a dependence on the man
and not a deepening, life-transforming relationship with the Lord).
- Denial – ignore the reality of the world in which we live (pains, frustrations). They call
this “faith” which causes people to become delusional and out of touch.

NB:
If you can, share a story of someone who went through this.

Secondly:
b) WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS.

Matthew 24:6-7a NIV

“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things
must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom.

The world, on almost every continent, is riddled with wars and violence in so many places, nations
against nations, tribe against tribe, racial tensions, terrorists attacks, school shootings, rebel
movements in different countries, etc.

Illustration
 Ukrainians and Russia
 Israel and Palestinians
Thirdly,
c) FAMINE AND EARTHQUAKES.

Matthew 24:7b-8 NIV

There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
All these are the beginning of birth pains.

We see this today - a looming global food crisis and earthquakes happening in many places.

 Illustration on famine:
A global hunger crisisUp to 783 million people – one in ten of the world's population – suffer
from chronic hunger. WFP estimates – from 79 of the countries where we work (and where data
is available) – indicate that more than 345 million people are facing high levels of food
insecurity in 2023.
Ref www.wfp.org

 Illustration on earthquake
Morocco earthquake of 2023, also called Oukaïmedene earthquake or Marrakech-Safi
earthquake, severe earthquake that struck near the town of Oukaïmedene in western Morocco
on September 8, 2023. More than 2,900 people were killed and 5,500 people injured in the
shallow magnitude-6.8 temblor and its aftershocks.

QN: Were any of these people ready for these happenings? Did they wake up thinking that
could be their day? We must be ready because we don’t know when it’ll be our day.

Fourthly,
d) PERSECUTION & MANY WILL TURN FROM THE FAITH

Mathew 24:9-10 (NIV)

9
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all
nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and
hate each other…

Jesus said that there would be the persecution and murder of those who are born again and follow
Him as His disciple. Today, there is an intolerance towards those who follow Jesus and practice their
Christian values in our communities, places of work, schools, etc.

Examples:
 Christians fired from work because of their values and beliefs.
 Students being failed by lecturers because of different views on faith and life. The Bible
is kicked out of public life and portrayed as a “HATE BOOK”.
 Christians are attacked, sidelined, made fun of, projected as enemies of progress in the
media because of holding onto their values. Shutdown during interviews. CANCEL
CULTURE.
 Christians being tortured and killed because of their faith.

According to www.opendoors.org - Open Doors International, a non-denominational mission

supporting persecuted Christians in the world, here are some recent 2023 stats.
 Globally, more than 360 million Christians suffer at least “high” levels of persecution and
discrimination for their faith.
 Worldwide, 1 in 7 Christians now experience at least “high” levels of persecution or
discrimination; with 1 in 5 in Africa, 2 out of 5 in Asia, and 1 in 15 in Latin America.
Please encourage people not to give up on their faith in the Lord.

Jesus also said that many will turn away from the faith.
Mathew 24:10 NIV
10
At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other…

Paul restated this when he said to Timothy:

1 Timothy 4:1 NLT
“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.”

We call this apostasy- the total rejection of faith in Jesus by a person who, having at one time
professed the faith in Him.

We have seen many prominent Christians some musicians, Pastors, and evangelists, regular Christian
folk (brothers and sisters in the Lord) turn from their faith. These are people whose faith in the Lord
Jesus was destroyed by their own selfish expectations that were never met, weaknesses that they
didn’t surrender to the Lord, identity challenges, the love of money among so many other things,
hardships and trials that they failed to endure, wrong teaching, etc.

Fifth sign is that:

e) AN INCREASE IN WICKEDNESS
Matthew 24:12-14 (NIV)
12
Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold…

Jesus said that there would be an increase in wickedness. In otherwards, sin (rebellion to God’s ways)
would be rampant across the earth. This is what causes people to lose their love for the Lord Jesus –
hearts given fully to sin.

Apostle Paul wrote about it as if he were alive today.

Romans 1:29-32 (NIV)
29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are
full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters,
insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31
they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s
righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these
very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Today, sin and those who practice it are celebrated. The world has gone nuts!!
Examples:
 Sexual perversion and promiscuity (LGBTQ, Porn industry, sex trafficking etc.)
 Corruption
 Injustice
 Murder etc.

Sixth,
f. “THE ABOMINATION THAT CAUSES DESOLATION”.
Matthew 24:15-21 (NIV)
15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’[a]
spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in
Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the
house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those
days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in
winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning
of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.

 Partial Fulfilment (still a future fulfilment).

Antiochus IV – 167 BC - He set up an altar to Zeus over the altar of burnt offering, and he sacrificed
a pig on the altar… www.gotquestions.org

What Antiochus did certainly qualifies as an abomination, but it was not a complete fulfillment
of Daniel’s prophecy…And in Matthew 24 Jesus, speaking some 200 years after Antiochus’s evil
actions, spoke of Daniel’s prophecy as having a still future fulfillment.

Jesus said that something like what Antiochus IV did would happen again. The anti-Christ
(Rev.13), who’ll have helped Israel broker a 7-year peace deal with her enemies, will stand in
the rebuilt temple (holy place – 3.5 years into that deal) and declare Himself to be God. The
Jews will recognize Him to be the anti-Christ and will reject Him and start to repent and turn to
Jesus Christ for salvation. This will lead to all out persecution for them.

This will happen and will be a sign for the soon second return of Jesus.

Finally, Jesus shared with them what would truly usher in His return.
g. THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL.
Matthew 24:14 (NIV)
14
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all
nations, and then the end will come.

The gospel will be heard across the world. It will reach every heart and every home. The world will be
without excuse because they will know who Jesus is, the only true son of God, Savior and hope for
mankind. They will all receive the opportunity to receive Him. Once this happens, the end will come.

The world is set up for this today.

With technology, the gospel can literally be heard around the world in any language at any moment.
This could be the generation that sees the return of Jesus!

Transition:
So, now that we know what the signs of Jesus’ return are:
WHAT MUST WE DO?

WE MUST GET READY!

Matthew 24:37-39 (NIV)
37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days
before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the
day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood
came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

In otherwards, people ignored Noah’s warnings and pleadings. They went on with life as it was, refusing to
listen. And then, the flood came just as the Lord had spoken and they were all destroyed. Don’t ignore the
signs, GET READY!

To GET READY:
1. GET SAVED:
Jesus said:
John 3:3 (NIV)
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again[b] he cannot see the
kingdom of God.”

Explain what it means to be born again.

Thereafter, explain that Jesus is returning to take with Him those that are born again. His return is
hope for us because we shall be with him forever.
Get ready by giving your life to Jesus.

2. WORK OUT YOUR SALVATION

If you are born again, ensure that you work at your salvation and remain in the faith.
 Stay in fellowship. Stay in the word of God and do what it says. Stay accountable to other
believers. Walk with the Holy Spirit. Tell people about Jesus.
 Do not be deceived (as Jesus said in verse 4). Pay attention to who and what your listening
to. Watch the company you keep around you.

Apostle Paul said:

Philippians 2:12-13 (AMP)
12 So then, my dear ones, just as you have always obeyed [my instructions with enthusiasm], not
only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation
[that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired
fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that
might offend God or discredit the name of Christ]. 13 For it is [not your strength, but it is]
[a]God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening,
energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good
pleasure.

Explain that some people wrongly react to the message of the return of Jesus. They are full of
fear and therefore, do not leave the house to go about life in fear of sinning or messing up.
Instead, we should go about life, obeying Him and doing what He has given us to do.

Matthew 24:45-51 (NIV)

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the
servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that
servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in
charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My
master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat
and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not
expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place
with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

If we stop working at being those servants of God who are doing as He desires, our master will not be
pleased with us when He returns, and we shall be separated from Him forever in hell where there’s
weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Finally,
3. DO NOT BE ALARMED.
Matthew 24:6b,8 (NIV)
…but see to it that you are not alarmed…All these are the beginning of birth pains.

Do not be alarmed, afraid, shocked, taken by surprise because Jesus is in control of everything
happening in the world. Jesus said these things must happen as a sign of His soon return. Things are
happening on schedule just He said.
You can explain using the example of birth pains of a pregnant lady that begin to increase in
intensity leading up to the birth of the baby. The parents ensure they’re ready – check into
hospital so that they are in the right place to receive the baby.

The intensity of this signs help us understand that Jesus could return any time now. Therefore, get
ready!

CONCLUSION:
Friends, none of us know the day or hour of Jesus’ return.
However, Jesus cautions us to focus on being ready when it happens.
Put your faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sin and the salvation of your soul and you’ll be ready.

Let us pray.