Navigating Perilous Times: The Power of Continuing in God's Word

From November 16, 2025 Sermon:

In a world that seems to grow more chaotic by the day, we find ourselves facing challenges that test the very foundation of our faith. The question isn't whether difficult times will come—they're already here. The real question is: How will we respond?

The Reality of Our Times

We live in an era marked by self-absorption, materialism, and the relentless pursuit of pleasure. People have become lovers of themselves, lovers of money, and lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. These aren't just random observations—they're prophetic warnings that have come to pass in our generation.

What's particularly troubling is the religious dimension of our crisis. Many people maintain a form of godliness while denying its power. They attend church, participate in religious activities, and play the part, but there's no transformative power in their faith. They're like actors on a stage, performing a role without experiencing the reality of what they're portraying.

This powerless religion manifests in a peculiar way: people are ever learning but never coming to a knowledge of the truth. They attend Bible studies, engage in theological discussions, and accumulate information, but they never truly know because they never practice. It's like learning to drive by reading a manual but never getting behind the wheel. Knowledge without application remains theoretical and impotent.

The Cost of Authentic Faith

Here's a truth that cuts against the grain of contemporary Christianity: all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. Not might suffer—will suffer. This isn't a possibility; it's a promise.

Living authentically for Christ means swimming against the cultural current. It means making choices that others won't understand. It means facing ridicule, rejection, and sometimes even losing relationships. There are young people who want to follow Christ but face the threat of being disowned by their families. There are workers who experience discrimination because of their faith. There are students who endure mockery for their convictions.

And here's the sobering reality: it's going to get worse. Evil people and impostors will advance from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. We shouldn't expect the world to suddenly become more hospitable to genuine Christianity. The trajectory is clear, and it's downward.

The Power of One Word: Continue

In the midst of this chaos, one word emerges as the key to spiritual survival: continue.

When everything around you is falling apart, continue. When friends abandon you, continue. When your faith is mocked, continue. When you're tempted to compromise, continue. When fitting in seems easier than standing out, continue.

But continue in what, exactly? Continue in the things you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you learned them.

This brings us to a crucial principle: the source of our learning matters profoundly. We need people of genuine faith speaking into our lives—people whose religion isn't just form but power, whose faith isn't just talk but transformation.

The Timothy Model

Consider the example of a young man who had the privilege of learning faith from his grandmother and mother. Their faith wasn't fake or superficial—it was genuine, real, and authentic. From childhood, this young man knew the Holy Scriptures, which made him wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

This is the model we desperately need today. We need children who know the Word of God from their earliest days. Not just Bible stories as entertainment, but Scripture as the foundation for life. Not just memorized verses for Sunday School prizes, but God's Word hidden in their hearts as a defense against the chaos of the world.

The holy Scriptures have a unique power: they make us wise for salvation. They point us to Jesus, showing us how every prophecy, every symbol, every shadow in the Old Testament finds its fulfillment in Him. Isaiah never saw Jesus physically, yet wrote about His suffering. Moses never met Jesus in the flesh, yet prophesied about the curse He would bear. David never walked with Jesus, yet declared His resurrection.

All Scripture points to Jesus, and when we immerse ourselves and our children in it, we're giving them the tools to navigate a hostile world.

The Journey That Matters

Life is a journey that begins with obedience to the gospel and ends with the crown of righteousness—if we stay on course. This journey requires dying to self, which might be the hardest part of gospel obedience. It means genuinely surrendering control, not just singing about it but meaning it.

When we unite with Christ in a death like His through baptism, we're promised a resurrection like His. And just as Jesus rose to the glory of the Father, we too can live to the glory of the Father—but only if we've first died a death like His.

This is where the power enters the equation. After repentance and baptism comes the gift of the Holy Spirit—the power that enables us to live victoriously in a defeated world. Without this power, we're just going through religious motions. With it, we can face even the loss of loved ones with supernatural strength and hope.

The Stakes Are Eternal

Here's what we must never forget: eternity lasts forever. If our journey ends in the wrong place, there's no escape, no second chance, no do-over. Forever means forever—unending, perpetual, eternal.

But the flip side is equally true: heaven also lasts forever. The glory, the joy, the peace, the presence of God—forever and ever and ever.

What Now?

So how do we navigate these perilous times? We continue. We persist in prayer. We immerse ourselves in Scripture. We teach our children the Word of God from their earliest days. We choose authentic faith over comfortable compromise. We embrace the power of the Holy Spirit rather than settling for empty religious form.

And we remember that while evil may grow worse and worse, our God remains the same—yesterday, today, and forever. The mountains may crumble and the world may rage, but the Lord surrounds His people just as the mountains surround Jerusalem.

The journey isn't easy, but it's worth it. The cost is high, but the reward is eternal. And we don't walk it alone—we have each other, we have the Word, and we have the Spirit.

Continue, beloved. Just continue.