Sermon Overview Scripture Passage: 2 Timothy 3:1 These are dark days in which we live. 2 Timothy 3:1 calls them “perilous times.” But as we wait for Jesus’s return to this world, we need to learn how to prepare ourselves not only to survive, but to thrive and be victorious. And to be prepared, we first need to recognize what’s happening around us. 2 Timothy 3:2 tells us, “For men shall be lovers of their own selves...” Adrian Rogers says it this way: “What are people living for today? They’re living for what they can grab, not for what they can give.” Living for ourselves is the root of the darkness we see around us today. Psalm 16:11 tells us we can find genuine pleasure in the presence of God. But instead, problems exist because our society today loves pleasures more than it loves God. As a result, we are left with deep emptiness. In 2 Timothy 3:7-8, we can see a glimpse of humanity’s hunt to fill its insatiable desires in the last days: “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth...” Though knowledge increases, the truth does not. Does all of this sound familiar? These are dangerous times. But thanks to God, we don’t have to face these days without hope. We are called to be the Church, the Light in the darkness, and we are called to be it together. The closer we get to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, the more we need the people of God. We need to hold each other accountable to the Truth of the Gospel. We need to be saturated with the Word of God, motivated by the Spirit of God, and activated in the work of God. Apply it to your life Adrian Rogers says, “Don’t doubt in the dark what God has shown you in the light.” Know where you stand and what you stand for, because the days are growing darker and the Enemy works in the shadows. Remember what you have learned in the light.
