Birth Pains and Blessed Hope – Facing the End with Eyes on Christ

 

Sermon Notes: End Time Signs – A Divine Warning

Sermon Title: Birth Pains and God’s Promise

Scripture Reference: Matthew 24:3-12; 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 3:1-5

Introduction:

• Hook: What if I told you that the chaos, fear, and uncertainty we see in the world today are not random? That they are, in fact, part of a divine roadmap, a series of signposts placed by Jesus Himself to warn us and prepare us for what is to come?

  Read: Matthew 24:3
  3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will bethe sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

• Opening Prayer: Lord, open our hearts and minds to Your Word. Help us not to fear these signs, but to understand them as a loving warning, and to draw closer to You in this time. Amen.
• Context: Jesus is sitting on the Mount of Olives, looking over Jerusalem. His disciples ask him a profound question: “When will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” Jesus’ answer, recorded in Matthew 24, is not meant to scare us, but to equip us.
• Purpose: These warnings aren’t to scare us, but to prepare us.

7 Signs Before the Second Coming

Point 1: The Initial Signs – Birth Pains of a New Age (Matthew 24:4-8)

• Sign #1: Deception (False Christs/prophets) (v. 4-5)
  
  4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
  • Jesus’ First Warning: “Take heed that no one deceives you.” This is His primary concern for us.
  • False Christs: “Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” This isn’t just about individuals claiming to be Jesus, but also about movements, ideologies, and beliefs that promise salvation outside of Christ. The notes mention a Jewish book recording over 40 such claimants. This is a historical reality.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jewish_messiah_claimants

Application: “Test everything; hold fast what is good.” (1 Thess 5:21) Stay Bible-anchored and Spirit-led.

Punchy line: “If you don’t live by revelation, you’ll fall for the imitation.”

• Sign #2: Wars & Rumours of Wars: Global Instability (v. 6-7):
  
  6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for [a]all these thingsmust come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, [b]pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
  • Wars and Rumors of Wars: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” The notes mention current conflicts (Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Gaza). This isn’t just a list of historical wars, but a pattern of escalating global conflict.
  • Global picture: Analysts flag Ukraine, Israel-Palestine, Sudan, Syria among the top conflicts to watch in 2025.

Application: Jesus said, “See that you are not troubled” (Matt 24:6). Refuse fear; fix your eyes on Christ.

·       Sign #3: Famines, Pestilences, Earthquakes (v. 7):

• Famines, Pestilences, Earthquakes: These are not new, but Jesus says they will increase in frequency and intensity.
• Famine: International analysts have confirmed Famine (IPC Phase 5) in Gaza Governorate (15 Aug 2025). Pray, give, and act.
• Pestilence:
  • H5N1 (bird flu) jumped into S. dairy cows in 2024 with sporadic human cases in exposed workers; risk currently low but monitored.
  • Dengue hit record levels globally in 2024 (≈ 14 million cases), continuing an upward trend.
  • We just lived through a global pandemic, COVID-19
• Earthquakes:
  • Taiwan M7.4 (Apr 2, 2024)—deadly, strongest since 1999; >1,000 injured.
  • Afghanistan (Sep 5, 2025): third quake in six days, as the death toll from the first continued to rise > 800 dead
• Discussion Question: Are we just seeing a repeat of history, or are these signs accelerating? How does the “birth pains” analogy change our perspective on these events?

• Analogy: Jesus compares these initial signs to “the beginning of birth pains.” Think about a woman in labor. The contractions start, they are maybe far apart and not very intense. But as the moment of birth approaches, they become more frequent and more powerful.

Application: Stock the soul, not just the shelves: Word, worship, fellowship, prayer.

 

Point 2: The Spiritual and Moral Breakdown (Matthew 24:9-12)

• A Deeper Pressure: The signs intensify, moving from global events to a more profound pressure on humanity’s spiritual and moral core.
• Sign #4: Worldwide Persecution (v. 9):

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 

• Hated by all Nations: “You will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.” This is a clear statement. It’s not just pockets of persecution, but a global trend of animosity towards Christians.
• Personal Application: Are we prepared to be counter-cultural? To stand for our faith when it is unpopular?
• Global persecution today: Open Doors estimates >380 million Christians face high levels of persecution; 310 million in the top-50 worst countries alone.
• Response: Pray for the persecuted; prepare your own heart. “He that endures to the end shall be saved.” (Matt 24:13)

Punchy line: “Pressure doesn’t create your faith—it reveals it.”

• Sign #5: Apostasy and Betrayal Within the Church (v. 10):

10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 

• “Many will be offended, will betray one another…” Under pressure, some who profess faith will renounce it. They will betray fellow believers. Those who betray the Christians will betray them to secular authorities for judgment. This is a painful but crucial warning.
• Thought-Provoking Question: What does this say about the importance of our foundation? Is our faith rooted in Christ, or in comfort and social acceptance?
• Sign #6: False Prophets and Cults (v. 11):

11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 

• “Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.” This is a direct parallel to Jesus’ initial warning. False teaching, cults, and spiritual deceptions will multiply, preying on those who are vulnerable or seeking an easier path.
• Sign #7: Lawlessness & Love Growing Cold(v. 12):

12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

• The Crucial Warning: “Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.”
• The word is ‘Agape’: This isn’t worldly, romantic love. It is the self-sacrificial love of God, meant to be the hallmark of a Christian’s life. We have faced the fact that, under the pressure of lawlessness, even the love of Christians will turn cold—unless, of course, they are forewarned and take necessary precautions to maintain their love for the Lord and for one another.
• Why does it grow cold? The pressure of lawlessness, of a world that rejects God’s order, can harden our hearts. We become self-protective, defensive, and our love for one another and for the lost begins to diminish.

Recap from Matthew 24:7-12

Sign #1: Deception (False Christs) (v. 4-5)

Sign #2: Wars & Rumours of Wars: Global Instability (v. 6-7)

Sign #3: Famines, Pestilences, Earthquakes (v. 7)

Sign #4: Worldwide Persecution (v. 9)

Sign #5: Apostasy and Betrayal Within the Church (v. 10)

Sign #6: False Prophets and Cults (v. 11)

Sign #7:  Lawlessness & Love Growing Cold(v. 12)

 

·       Point 3: Two engines behind the chill: The Two-Fold Pressure (1 Timothy 4:1 & 2 Timothy 3:1-5)

• The Source of Pressure: The notes highlight two main sources of pressure Jesus paints:
  1. Satanic Spiritual Pressure:
     1 Timothy 4:1 (NIV) 4 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

     1 Timothy 4:1 speaks of people “abandoning the faith” and following “deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” There is a real, supernatural attack on believers’ minds and spirits.

  2. Degeneration of Human Character: 2 Timothy 3:1-5 lists 18 moral blemishes that becomes more and more obvious – more and more blatant as this age draws to close. Corruption of human nature initiated by Sin is taking it’s full course.”Lovers of themselves, lovers of money, lovers of pleasure.”
     • Reflection: How accurately does this describe our society? Self-centeredness, materialism, and hedonism are rampant.
     • Key Distinction: These are not just irreligious people. The passage says they have “a form of godliness but denying its power.” This is religious hypocrisy, a veneer of faith without a heart change.

• Counter-formation: Only disciplined love (1 Cor 13) keeps the fire hot: repentance, holiness, service.
• Application: Check your temperature: Word in? Worship up? Love out?

Conclusion: A Way of Survival

• The Purpose of the Signs: Jesus didn’t give us these signs to fill us with dread, but with divine foresight. They are a supernatural warning system.
• The Promise: We are not left to face this alone. Jesus says He will “send His angels” (Matthew 24:31).
• Call to Action:
  1. Be Forewarned: Understand the times we are in. Don’t be naive or caught off guard.
  2. Take Precaution: Guard your heart against the cooling of love. Invest in your relationship with Christ and with your fellow believers.
  3. Hold Fast: Stand firm in your faith. Do not be deceived by false teachings or apostasy.
  4. Embrace the Mission: The final sign is the good news being preached to all nations (Matthew 24:14). Our job is not to retreat in fear, but to be a light in the darkness, to share the gospel with a world in labor pains.
• Anchor: Read Bible Daily
• Assemble weekly: small-group, prayer night—love stays hot in proximity.
• Act : Be the Doers of the word not just hearers.: serve one vulnerable person/family (love vs. lawlessness).
• Advocate & assist globally: Share the good news – pray for persecuted believers (Open Doors).

Gospel turn: The point is not panic but preparation—and the greatest preparation is salvation and holiness in Christ.

Closing call

• “Church, the birth pains are real—but so is the Blessed Hope.”
• “Eyes off rumours, eyes on Jesus. Hearts not cold, but burning.”
• Altar call: Fresh surrender to truth, courage, compassion, holiness.

Closing Prayer: Father, thank you for Your divine warning. Strengthen us to be faithful in these last days. Help us to shine Your light, to share Your love, and to be a people who are ready and waiting for Your return. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.