TPC Connections

Sermon Notes

“See That You Be Not Troubled”
11/15/26

Matthew 24:1-14 “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 troubled. For all these things must come to pass, 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.”
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In these verses, Jesus makes both short range and long range predictions about the future.
Some of them were fulfilled leading up to the total destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
Others of them reach down to our day–the last of the last days–telling us what we can expect to see happen in the world just prior to his return.
And notice how, though all these cataclysmic, earth shattering things are taking place around the world, Jesus instructs his own followers,
“See that you are not troubled.”
Troubled: frightened, disturbed–from threomai “to wail.”

When Jesus says “see that you are not troubled,” He is telling His disciples — and all believers today — to stay calm, confident, and faithful.

Now that’s easier said than done!

We’re living in a world of high anxiety, great uncertainty, and anxious hand-wringing over what is taking place on the world stage and in our own United States.

So much so that depression in U.S. adults has risen 60% over the past decade, contributing to a huge increase in antidepressant use, which is now among the most prescribed medications in the U.S.

Jesus predicted that things would literally reach the place where,

“…men’s hearts will fail them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Luke 21:26).

But to his own born again children of God, He says,

“See that you are not troubled.”
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Now, how do you do that?

How do you maintain peace in the middle of all these storms?

Well, the bible says that one great KEY is to remember and rest in the fact that:

GOD HAS EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL!

He is in charge of His universe—not the devil, not politicians, not evil people, but God is in charge!

Jesus said:

“See, I have warned you about this ahead of time” (Matt 24:18).

In other words, being God the Son, He knew all this was coming, and his hand is on the temperature control!

The God that created everything sees the end of a thing before it even begins!

This is how God’s word is filled with predictions of what we can expect to see before the return of Christ.

Jesus summed them all up and, as we already read, it’s not a pretty picture!

Before his return, these signs would be evident:

-Counterfeit Christs,
-mass deception,
-wars and rumors of more wars,
-nation against nation,
-kingdoms against other kingdoms,
-widespread famines, earthquakes, and plagues,
-loved ones betraying loved ones,
-hatred from non-Christians,
-an epidemic of false prophets teaching heresy,
-out of control lawlessness,
-and many walking away from Christ with hearts grown cold.

Wow! Help me Jesus!

But even in times of turmoil like this, his word reminds us that:

-God is in control,
-that His promises will be fulfilled,
-and that “He will (one day) wipe every tear from our eyes.”

So to experience peace in a world gone mad we must learn to TRUST GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY.

God’s sovereignty means that He has supreme authority and absolute rulership over everything that exists.

The Bible describes God as all-powerful and all-knowing, and that He exists outside of time.

Nothing in the universe escapes His notice or unfolds outside of His purpose and will.

As Scripture declares,

Psalms 103:19 “The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.”

In other words, He is King over creation, forever seated on His throne with no rival!

He is OMNIPRESENT—everywhere at once, so you can’t hide from him!

“Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the LORD.”–Jer. 23:24

He’s OMNIPOTENT–all powerful, “How great is our Lord! His power is absolute!”–Ps 147:5

He’s OMNISCIENT–all knowing, “His understanding is beyond comprehension!”–Ps 147:5

As the song says, this Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Omniscient God has “got the whole world in his hands!”

And knowing this is a crucial KEY to PEACE in troubled times!
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ILLUS: Imagine that you’re on a massive cruise ship sailing through the ocean. On deck, the passengers are becoming unruly—drunk, shouting, pushing each other, and creating chaos. To the casual bystander the ship seems out of control!

But then imagine that you go up to the ship’s control room and find the captain in order to complain.

When you arrive, the captain is calm, focused, and in complete control.

You see that the captain is patiently steering the ship toward its desired destination, even though the passengers are causing havoc below.

The chaos on deck does not stop the captain from keeping the ship on course!

His authority and leadership keep the ship moving forward and right on time.
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It’s the same way with the good-ship planet earth. It is filled with unruly passengers, violence, tumult, confusion, and lawlessness.

But if we could visit heaven and step into the Captain’s control room, we would find God calm, focused, and in complete control.

And we would see that, no matter what is happening down here, He is firmly guiding the good-ship planet earth to its predetermined destination!

THE BOTTOM LINE IS: GOD’S GOT IT and is day by day working out His plan!

Isaiah 46:9–10 “I declare the end from the beginning…My purpose will stand.”

Ps 33:11 “But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken.”
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With that understanding in mind, Jesus said that all these end times events are not just random, out of control chaos, but they are like ‘labor pains.’

“All these are the beginning of birth pains” (Matt 24:8).

Birth pangs happen closer and closer together with greater and greater intensity leading to the birth of a brand new life!

In the same way, the birth pangs of last day tribulations and trials will happen with greater frequency and intensity preceding the return of Jesus Christ and the birth of a whole new world!

The Apostle Paul uses the same metaphor in Romans 8:22, describing all creation as “groaning in the pains of childbirth, awaiting redemption!”
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And when the new world is born, it will look like what John the Revelator saw:

Rev 21:1-5 “Then I saw a new earth (with no oceans!) and a new sky, for the present earth and sky had disappeared. 2 And I, John, saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven. It was a glorious sight, beautiful as a bride at her wedding.
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne saying, “Look, the home of God is now among men, and he will live with them and they will be his people; yes, God himself will be among them. 4 He will wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. All of that has gone forever.” 5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true!”

In Summary: All that is happening around us in our troubled world is under the authority and oversight of Almighty God.

It’s going to come to a climax with a new birth–a brand new world.

Are you ready?

Do you know Jesus personally?
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Let’s read the bullet points together:

• Be not troubled by troubled times
• Trust in God’s sovereignty
• A new world is coming!