Dr. Péter Hack’s preaching summary 06.11.2022.

Jesus answered his disciples in detail when this world era will end and what the signs of it will be. He gave them instructions on what they will have to pay attention to. There will be difficulties and as a result, love will grow cold in many. There will be struggle in which we can only be successful if we prepare ourselves purposefully for it.

Some will allow hatred in their hearts, and there will be those who do not allow themselves to stumble but endure to the end, avoiding the traps.

We need to be prepared. Those who let indignation in their hearts can easily fall to sin because indignation offers them an excuse for why they might do something bad or evil. For stumbling and indignation, the devil willingly prepares the ground, for people to quarrel over small things.

The way to protect ourselves is to decide in advance that we will not stumble and that we will not betray each other under any circumstances. An atmosphere of trust has to be created, so the community of love will not be replaced by hatred.

Jesus said it directly to his disciples that it had not been them who had chosen Him, but it had been Him who had chosen them. Jesus calls us to abide in His love. Jesus was both the Son of Man and the Son of God and in His earthly life, He emptied himself of his glory, thus He had to resist temptation as a human. He only had human abilities, but still, He was able to abide in the love of the Father.

Jesus stood against the temptation in His human nature, with which He provided us with an example.

The most important feature of a community is whether its members live in a community of love with each other. There are people who can only be detered from sining, but it is better if love is the main motive.

There are several pits of war in the world today, which indicates that the end of this world era is near. Jesus also warns that a lot of false prophets will arise who will deceive many. Israel never has been popular in the world, because its new government adheres to biblical truths more than the previous one.

Today it is extremely easy to sell propaganda, even the most absurd ones. The aim of this is to generate hatred of which Israel is expected to be the target as well. Hatred is the opposite of love.

Jesus was asked which was the greatest commandment. He called God’s love the first, and we are able to practice that with obedience to His Word. The second is fraternal love.

Love must first work in the family, which fills the believers who come to the church completely filled with it, to be further strengthened in love.

The love of God is not a clammy, slobbery thing, but it is masculine, strong and has endurance.

The Word of God gives criteria for self-examination. The first thing to check is whether our love is patient. It is also important that our love is kind, and that we stand in good faith towards the others. Love is not envy, so it is able to be happy for blessings of others, but of course, we should not boast about our blessings either. Love does not act indecently: it does not violate the rules of etiquette, nor is it intrusive. Love does not provoke anger. It reacts to mistakes with patience, and if mistakes that happen, patience becomes visible in social life as well. Love takes no account of mistakes and never runs out.

Let us strive that all our activities are carried out in love. We must be rooted in love and get a firm foundation on it, this is the only way we remain in divine love.

Every situation presents us with a choice of how we react to it. In such a situation, we must not give room to our old selves.

The Word of God warns us to make sure that love remains, and not to let it grow cold. Through the Holy Spirit, we can be renewed in love without hypocrisy.

The help of the Holy Spirit will be particularly needed in later times. God also makes us capable of fervent love, which does not fail.

We must prepare for the Lord’s return so that we are abundant in our love for one another. We can ask for this in prayer, so we can achieve a blameless condition by the time of the return of Jesus Christ. The more we are rooted in love, the more we will be able to give love. Such a person will have a soft heart and will be less affected by conflicts than other people.

Verses spoken:

• Matthew 24:10-13, 22:36-40
• John 15:9-16
• 1 Corinthians 16:13
• Hebrews 13:1
• 1 Peter 1:22
• 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13

Fordította: Heibl Eszter