Sermon

The Eternal Kingdom - Expected Arrival

Anchor Faith Church

Open publisher episode ↗

Publisher transcript

Transcript

View source ↗
  1. If you have your Bibles, turn over to Second Peter chapter 3.

    2 Peter 3 chapter mention

  2. I'm going to kind of conclude this idea, this concept.

  3. We've been ministering on expected arrival and you know, 2

  4. Sundays ago we started this expected arrival concept

  5. concerning that there was an expected arrival that a child

  6. would be born and the nation of Israel was looking for this

  7. child. The devil was looking for this

  8. child. The devil was looking for this

  9. child so much so that he was killing children to try to keep

  10. the child from being from fulfilling its purpose.

  11. Because the devil heard in the garden when the when Adam fell

  12. from dominion and gave his authority to Satan, that when

  13. the Lord said I will bring my seed through the woman, he will

  14. you will bruise his heel, but he will crush your head.

  15. So the enemy was like was at that point, I don't need this

  16. child to show up in the earth because if he doesn't come or he

  17. doesn't fulfill his purpose, then my head can never be

  18. crushed. And so This is why we read

  19. through scripture and it's pretty some some very horrific

  20. detail of all the children who have lost their lives because it

  21. is a Antichrist or a demonic spirit that wants to eliminate

  22. children from the earth. And so this has been happening

  23. for quite some time. And but the Lord was able to

  24. still get his seed in Amen. And his seed showed up in a

  25. virgin named Mary, of which we celebrate, you know, that birth

  26. on Christmas Day. But they were expecting a king

  27. to come now. They did not realize that he

  28. would first have to come as a suffering servant, that he would

  29. have, even though he's still king, He had an assignment to

  30. lay down his life. He had to sow his life so he

  31. could redeem or he could reap his nature back in US.

  32. And so he said we sow God sowed a king and we he received kings

  33. when we became born again because Jesus is the King of who

  34. are those kings we are. So again, Jesus death, burial

  35. and resurrection was not to take you to heaven, it was to cause

  36. you to become a child of God again.

  37. Now ultimately, will you go to heaven?

  38. Sure, we are going to be present with Him.

  39. Anyone who has passed away prior to His coming definitely is with

  40. Him and He is presently in heaven seated at the right hand

  41. of the Father, but He is not staying in heaven Himself.

  42. OK, and we're going to look at some of that.

  43. So they were a child was to be expected.

  44. So when the child came, those who were anticipating Him saw

  45. Him. Those who were not expecting

  46. missed their day of visitation. Even though they saw Him, they

  47. did not acknowledge it. And when you do not acknowledge

  48. it, then you do not reap the benefits.

  49. OK, You do not reap the benefits.

  50. So we saw quickly in Scripture that, you know, there was a, a

  51. particular man in the temple that the Lord told him you would

  52. not die till you see the Messiah.

  53. And one day in the Spirit, the Holy Ghost, you know, said you

  54. need to go to the temple because all of a sudden Mary and Joseph

  55. had brought Jesus to the temple to do the custom of the law to

  56. circumcise him. And when he held Jesus, he knew

  57. he's the Messiah. And he said, I can go, I can

  58. pass away. Now God had, I have seen the

  59. Messiah. Amen.

  60. Wise men, you know, travel for over 600 days to get to where

  61. Jesus was because prophecy from Daniel's time in Babylon had

  62. communicated that this king would be born one day.

  63. They saw his star and they traveled.

  64. And when they came to the house they were in, they fell down at

  65. his feet, opened up their treasures, and they declared him

  66. king. So they expected his arrival

  67. from Daniel's day and there can't be.

  68. There came a generation that was on the earth to see, but unless

  69. and unless they would have kept themselves looking, then they

  70. never would have showed up. So what we are learning is that

  71. the church knows that there is an expectation of a return of

  72. Jesus, but are we positioning ourselves to expect it?

  73. Now? The Bible tells us here in

  74. Second Timothy chapter 3, one through 4 says, Now this

    2 Timothy 3 chapter mention

  75. beloved, the second letter I'm writing to you in which I am

  76. stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder that you should

  77. remember the word spoken beforehand by the holy prophets

  78. and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your

  79. apostles. Know this first of all, that in

  80. the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following

  81. after their own lusts and saying, where is the promise of

  82. his coming forever since the Father's fell asleep?

  83. All continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.

  84. Well, that statement alone is not even reality.

  85. Because since the beginning of creation, a lot of things have

  86. changed. Because since the beginning of

  87. creation, there was a time when that was God, Adam and Eve in

  88. the garden. No sin, Earth was just like

  89. heaven. No sin, perfect environment, no

  90. issues. OK, but change came that did not

  91. continue. Adam fell, he ate the fruit that

  92. what he was told not to eat from and he gave his authority over

  93. to the devil. And when the devil got his

  94. authority, everything on the planet changed, right?

  95. Well, I mean it changed so bad at one point that the Lord was

  96. disappointed, regretted he made man and flooded the earth.

  97. But he could not totally judge man completely because he had

  98. said in the garden, I'll bring my seed through the woman.

  99. So he was obligated to fulfill this word from Genesis 126.

  100. Let us make man in our image according to our likeness, and

  101. let them have dominion, of which bringing his see through a woman

  102. would give access to have dominion again.

  103. And so he saved a family that was righteous.

  104. Ultimately after that flood, he said I will not judge the earth

  105. with water again. That's why the rainbow was

  106. there. It is the promise that God will

  107. not judge with water, not that He will not judge the earth.

  108. OK, the next time he judges the earth, he'll do it with fire.

  109. And so things continued. And then God kept revealing

  110. himself to man through a nation. Well, first to a man called

  111. Abram, and then into a nation called Israel.

  112. And then ultimately the seeds showed up.

  113. The child is born, the son is given, and through that nation,

  114. Jesus Christ of the tribe of Judah, Cain was born and laid

  115. down his life so that we could be born again.

  116. And when he died and rose from the grave, then it changed the

  117. earth again, because then we had access to boldly come before the

  118. throne of grace. We could have direct communion

  119. with the Lord on an individual basis, although it was not for

  120. individual worship. It was for corporate community

  121. and family of which we are individuals within it.

  122. OK. And so things have changed.

  123. Well, there will come a time because again, here we are now

  124. since Jesus is death, burial, resurrection.

  125. And some scholars have it somewhere around, you know, 2930

  126. AD when he ascended. Some have it around 33 or 34AD

  127. when he ascended went up into heaven.

  128. And and you know, now we're waiting for this return.

  129. And you know, most people conclude that there is some some

  130. events that will take place. Obviously everyone believes that

  131. Jesus is coming back to planet earth called the second coming,

  132. that he will come and put his foot down on the Mount of

  133. Olives. It will become flat at that

  134. point and he will rule in the earth for 1000 years.

  135. OK. And so everyone concludes that

  136. where you know, there are some debate among people is the

  137. catching away of the church, of which there is what they call

  138. the pre Trib, which is prior to the tribulation there is a mid

  139. Trib and then there is a post Trib.

  140. Now I'm not here to teach on that today at all.

  141. I am here to teach on a because whether you're pre, mid or post,

  142. all still believe in a catching away and I'm here to talk about

  143. a catching away. Although I do believe that if we

  144. took time to go through Scripture it it can be pretty

  145. obvious how to conclude where that it takes place.

  146. And I would conclude we know for sure just with the two witnesses

  147. that there's a mid trip because they are called up, they are

  148. killed, left in the streets for three days.

  149. The whole world sees it and gives presents to one another.

  150. Do you understand? We can see anything going on in

  151. the planet today, all of us at one time because technology has

  152. allowed us to do it. You know, back over in October

  153. 7th when Israel was attacked and all of a sudden we started

  154. seeing those image. All of us were able to watch

  155. that and anywhere those images got into places people could

  156. see. Well, there's going to come a

  157. time that everyone is going to be focused on these two guys

  158. who's going to be creating great havoc on planet Earth.

  159. Now they are only saying what they're hearing from heaven and

  160. it's coming to pass. And then they'll be killed and

  161. they won't even bury them. They'll leave them in the

  162. street. I mean, the cameras will be on

  163. them. But on the third day they will

  164. be raised up and the world will watch them go up.

  165. And again, if you study Scripture, any catching away or

  166. leaving the earth going, there's only one that we do not have a

  167. specific record, but we almost could assume based upon the

  168. others. Meaning the other events are

  169. what we call precedent setting events in Bible interpretation.

  170. Which means if it's happened in these events, then you could

  171. conclude, even though it's not stated, it happened with that

  172. event. OK.

  173. And I'm going to, we're going to look at one real quick.

  174. Besides the two witnesses, 2 witnesses, they watch them go

  175. up. In Acts chapter 1 when Jesus

    Acts 1 chapter mention

  176. ascended, they watched it, which means Jesus did not disappear.

  177. He ascended and it said they watched him.

  178. They're going to do this with the two witnesses.

  179. That's two accounts. Then we go over to 2nd Kings

  180. chapter 2 verse 3 and we see another catching away.

  181. People consider this the type and shadow of the catching away

  182. of the church said then the sons of the prophets who were at

  183. Bethel came out to Elijah and said to him, do you know that

  184. the Lord will take away your master from over you today?

  185. So and then look what he Elijah says and he said yes, I know be

  186. still. So Elijah knew he was going,

  187. Elisha knew he was going, and the prophets at Bethel knew he

  188. was going and knew it was that day.

  189. Now we know when Jesus returns, we do not know the day or the

  190. hour. But the Bible doesn't say we

  191. won't know the season. It doesn't know we won't have

  192. the signs. It won't know it we won't.

  193. It doesn't say we won't know where the finish line is.

  194. We just do not know the day or the hour.

  195. And the day or the hour is within a 2420 to 4 to 48 hour

  196. period. People, that's what that is.

  197. OK, again, I can't tell you it'll be next year, but there

  198. are signs that give us indicators that we could be

  199. looking at very specific time frames with greater expectation.

  200. So we jump down to the fifth verse because they leave Bethel

  201. and go on to Jericho and then the sons of the prophet who were

  202. at Jericho. So not only were prophets at

  203. Bethel knew, but prophets at Jericho in a totally different

  204. location. New approached Elijah and said,

  205. do you not do you know that the Lord will take away your mask

  206. from over you today and he said yes, I know be still right.

  207. So then to conclude Elijah and his leaving you go down to verse

  208. 10 and this says and he said Elijah saying to Elijah, he said

  209. what do you want? And Elijah says I want a double

  210. portion of your anointing and what does he tell him?

  211. You have asked a, you know, when people like, man, I want a

  212. double anointing of this minister, you are asking a hard

  213. thing, a hard thing. I think a lot of people don't

  214. know what they're asking for sometimes, right?

  215. Nevertheless, he said if, what's that word?

  216. What's that word? That is a conditional statement.

  217. That doesn't mean because you asked, it's going to happen.

  218. That isn't I know I'm going, you know I'm going, so you're going

  219. to get it because you've been with me, you've served me,

  220. you've washed my hands. No, there was a condition

  221. because if is a conditional statement.

  222. So he says you've asked a hard thing.

  223. Nevertheless, if so, if you meet this condition, if you see me

  224. when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you.

  225. But if not, it shall not be so. So Elijah does not get a double

  226. portion just because he was with Elijah.

  227. Hallelujah verse 11 As they were going along and talking, behold

  228. the there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which

  229. separated the two of them, which means shot between them, and

  230. Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.

  231. Now we know Elijah saw him, communicates it, it's watching

  232. him leave, watching him leave, and yells out to him what he is

  233. seeing. Obviously the mantle of Elijah

  234. falls down, you know that he was wearing and he was able to then

  235. receive a double portion, which means every miracle that Elijah

  236. Elijah performed, Elijah did double.

  237. But one of his double s did not happen till after Elijah died,

  238. because he raised one kid from the dead only in his lifetime.

  239. The second one came after he had died, was in a grave, and they

  240. dug his grave up to throw a dead body in it.

  241. And when it touched the bones of Elisha, the word was so powerful

  242. that even after his lifetime it had the power in his dead body

  243. to raise a different dead man's. That's the power of the word,

  244. ma, ma, ma. But the point is that they saw,

  245. now we know of another person who was taken.

  246. His name was Enoch. Enoch was taken.

  247. OK. And we can conclude based upon

  248. they watched Jesus, they watched Elijah, they watched the two

  249. witnesses, that someone must have seen Enoch just go, that

  250. the Lord took him, that he went walking and he just kept going

  251. and they must have seen him go. Now we have the Hebrew account

  252. of Enoch, which to me was awesome because it explains

  253. things, because you're like, how can Enoch in the old covenant?

  254. I mean, we're not even talking old coven.

  255. This is prior to the writing of the law stuff that he could go.

  256. I mean he is born in a sinful world, but the Bible tells us in

  257. Hebrews by faith Enoch, which means then the Lord said

  258. something to Enoch that he could do or wanted to do with him and

  259. he believed God concerning it, that God took him.

  260. God must have said I want to bring you up here.

  261. I want to bring you up here. OK.

  262. Now many scholars believe that the two witnesses are Elijah and

  263. Moses based upon the miracles they're performing.

  264. OK, there are other scholars that believe it's Elijah, nobody

  265. debates about him, but that it's not Moses but Enoch.

  266. And the reason they think it's Enoch because the Bible says

  267. it's appointed for once for man to die.

  268. Both of them went to the earth never to die.

  269. So they believe that these are the ones that come back.

  270. Because here's the thing, the miracles they perform, the

  271. miracles Moses did is an exclusive to Moses.

  272. They're actually God's miracle that he can work through

  273. anybody. So the fact that some of the

  274. same miracles that Moses performed could be done when

  275. Enoch is here is highly probable.

  276. I'm not telling you to believe either.

  277. Either way, I have my own personal view of that.

  278. I tend to lean towards the E brothers, OK, Enoch and Elijah

  279. myself personally. But at the end of the day, I can

  280. be wrong. You know, it's not going to

  281. change the salvation that I have, the power that I have, the

  282. anointing that I have, the dominion that I have.

  283. I mean, that doesn't change that.

  284. OK, We'll all find out one day. And the ones who believed it was

  285. Enoch and it is Enoch, we'll look to the ones who thought it

  286. was Moses and say, I told you and Moses would be like, how

  287. could you have thought it was me, right?

  288. And they'll talk about it or vice versa, you know?

  289. And it was like, yeah, I never had to go back, which is like,

  290. what a gig he had, right? That what an awesome thing that

  291. this man had, that he was able to live wholly in an on a fallen

  292. state that he never had to reenter it Can't explain that

  293. one. But hey, we'll be like, we'll

  294. praise God for you at the end of the day.

  295. Amen. OK, so we left, we kind of left

  296. off with this Scripture. We hinted to this Scripture last

  297. week. And I want to drive on from this

  298. point. Luke chapter 12, verse 35 to 48

    Luke 12:35–48

  299. says this. Be dressed in readiness and keep

  300. your lamps lit. All right.

  301. Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns

  302. from the wedding feast so that they may immediately open the

  303. door to him when he comes and not so there's there are many

  304. scriptures that have this context of us having this

  305. readiness or what we would call what we've been calling an

  306. expected arrival that we should really have this real

  307. anticipation that. And when we do, you understand

  308. how you make decisions on earth will change when you are always

  309. expecting His return, because you no longer will weigh your

  310. decisions on the temporal, but on the eternal.

  311. As we know in 2nd Corinthians 418, while we look not at the

  312. things that are seen, but the things that are not seen, For

  313. the things that are seen are temporary.

  314. The things that are not seen are eternal.

  315. And man, when you begin to have this expectation, then when you

  316. get an expectation, because the signs are saying, as we brought

  317. up Tanisha last week talking about running a race when she is

  318. in that 5K, it they let them know you're at your first

  319. kilometer, you're at your second kilometer.

  320. Now here they usually don't say third kilometer because there's

  321. only .12, you know, miles left after that.

  322. And so you just see the finish line and you see it.

  323. And as Tanisha said, when she sees the finish line, she

  324. doesn't slow down. Sure, don't pull off on the side

  325. of the road to take a drink and let a lot of other people pass

  326. her by and not finish. She runs harder and faster.

  327. Now the enemy wants the church as he, as we get closer and see

  328. the signs to do less, but the Lord actually expects us to move

  329. more, to be more diligent, to realize not only does the devil

  330. know his time short, but you need to know your assignment is

  331. short in this, in this particular dispensation, and you

  332. want to finish strong. Paul said.

  333. I've run my race, I have finished my course, and there is

  334. a generation that will not go to the grave but will be changed in

  335. the moment, in the twinkling of an eye.

  336. And if there's ever been a generation, it's us.

  337. So much so that we can basically, and almost

  338. emphatically, I mean, we can conclude it's within our

  339. generation. And it's not just because as we

  340. talked about last week, to the Lord, a day is like 1000 years

  341. and 1000 years is like a day where we show that Jesus is

  342. death in the grave for three days.

  343. Because again, why three days? God is all powerful.

  344. Can't he go strip the devil of his power in an hour?

  345. I mean, how long does it take him?

  346. I mean, you understand, translation is beyond the speed

  347. of light. And Philip was translated.

  348. I mean, boom, you're, you're in another location.

  349. It's not like the Lord can't go down, strip him of his power.

  350. Make him present before God the Father.

  351. He has killed an innocent man. I should have not be here.

  352. I was righteous. I never sinned.

  353. The wages of sin is death. And I've never did anything for

  354. death to come. A part of my life.

  355. He had me murdered. Jesus lays down his life, his

  356. blood pure. Why three days will be It's a

  357. sign that he is saying I was in the grave for two days and on

  358. the third day I've been revealed.

  359. So in essence, for 2000 years you're not going to see me, but

  360. I'm coming back. I'm coming back.

  361. Why? Because we already have this

  362. mathematical equation from Adam to Abraham's 2000 years, from

  363. Abraham to Jesus's 2000 years, from Jesus to his return will be

  364. 2000 years. That will then kick into the

  365. 7000 year, which is the millennial reign of Christ.

  366. But again, we've been taught evolution that our planets

  367. billions of but this sliver of time from Adam on is not and God

  368. has fulfilled his prophecies to AT he's crossed every T dotted

  369. every I right. And so not only that, but they

  370. also is in the scripture that when he pulled Israel back to

  371. their location. There's prophecy that Israel

  372. will become a nation in one day. That happened in 1948 and it

  373. said when that event occurred, that generation would not die

  374. till the return of the Lord, which means 1948.

  375. Now if we just go with the mathematical equation of God has

  376. said, you know, man's not going to be here more than 120 years,

  377. we're going to go with a long one.

  378. OK, During the Noah flood scenario, well, if someone was

  379. born in 1948 and lived to be 120, that's 2068.

  380. Well, I was born in 1970. I can make it.

  381. I can make it. I'd be 98 and I would much

  382. rather be changing the moment of twinking a lie then go into the

  383. ground. But there's other scripture in

  384. the Psalm that talks about man living a satisfied life 70 to 80

  385. years. Well, if we added 80 years.

  386. OK, now let's backtrack some math now.

  387. So 20 years back from 68 is 4820 years back is 20 What?

  388. How many years is it till 2028 again The and you say what's

  389. getting really specific? God is specific.

  390. He doesn't want us to miss it. This is not fairy tale and the

  391. reason he told us back then. Remember he said I know the end

  392. from the beginning. The reason he tells it to us

  393. back then so that when it comes, we know it was God.

  394. So it's more difficult for me to believe he'll come after I die.

  395. And the only way that occurs is if I'm murdered, I'm a martyr.

  396. I get into sin and let sickness and disease Take Me Out or

  397. something. But if I follow the plan of God

  398. based upon how long I could live, then I conclude I should

  399. be able to change. Which means every year I have an

  400. expectation. I have this expectation that I

  401. am of that generation. Come on, George, I'm that

  402. generation that is going to be able to fly like Superman.

  403. Yes, and it would be more, it would be more difficult for me

  404. to believe otherwise. It's like my vehicle, when I

  405. push the button for me to open the door, I expect that thing to

  406. be unlocked. When I grab the handle, which

  407. you know, most vehicles now like mine and my wife's, we don't

  408. even have to push a button because it's on the doorknob

  409. itself. And so the minute you touch the

  410. doorknob, it unlocks and I pull it.

  411. I'm surprised if it did not open.

  412. And the only reason it wouldn't open is because no power, no

  413. power is on my vehicle anymore. Well, I'm going to stay in

  414. power. I'm going to keep the lamp lit.

  415. All right, so the signs are telling us in this.

  416. This is no. It's no wonder there's so much

  417. conversation about his Kingdom because the church for the last

  418. couple thousand years has kind of been picking up.

  419. Well, you know, it's been like this forever.

  420. So much so that they're like, man, we don't know when he's

  421. going to come and let's just go ahead and not even think about

  422. all the let it work itself out. Well, why is it say to be alert?

  423. And why does it say to be alert if it's an event that takes

  424. place without us having to be alert?

  425. Now it will come as a thief in the night.

  426. I get it. Which means it will not be signs

  427. to the world. It will catch the world by

  428. surprise, but not the believer. Now, the second coming of Jesus,

  429. when he shows up physically in the planet they will have been

  430. advertised to for some years. Within that seven-year period,

  431. they're going to know, because if all you got to do is read

  432. Revelations, we already know that when the church is gone,

  433. 144,000 from Israel are going to evangelize like we've never seen

  434. evangelism. Then in the 14th chapter of

  435. Revelation, when you read it, angels will actually get

  436. involved with evangelism that they'll fly in the minute that's

  437. they are flying in the mid heaven.

  438. You know, have you ever seen, especially here in Saint

  439. Augustine, you go down to the beach in a plane that's pulling

  440. a banner and it's advertising, it's telling you where you can

  441. get tacos right when you come off the beach, all right, and

  442. you and you reading it, it's a sign, right?

  443. Wow, there it is a billboard. Whatever the case may be, well,

  444. the angels are going to be flying in the mid heaven

  445. declaring the things of God, telling people how to accept

  446. Jesus, not to take the mark of the beast.

  447. I mean, that's going to be such a sight.

  448. I'm glad I'm not here. I'll be watching it from the

  449. other side. But the reality is these are

  450. events that are going to take place.

  451. You know, it's because the church has allowed itself at

  452. large to be able to accept. If I ask Jesus into my heart,

  453. he'll save me. So when I die, go to heaven.

  454. The rest of it I don't even care about.

  455. It'll work itself out. Yet the Bible never says for us

  456. to live an existence on earth that way.

  457. We know that it's God's will to heal, yet not all believers are

  458. healed. We know that salvation comes

  459. only by faith, yet God has already paid the price for all

  460. sin to be paid for. Yet not everyone receives that

  461. payment. Why 'cause they have not

  462. received it by and yet healing comes by faith, prosperity comes

  463. by faith. All these things of God come by

  464. faith and we think the catching away is a non faith.

  465. Now at the end of the day, if it is that the trumpet blows and

  466. you hear it regardless and we all go, I have no problem with

  467. that. It's not going to bother me one

  468. bit. But according to scripture, when

  469. it talks about be alert, there are very specific things we're

  470. going to talk about that have some other conclusions that

  471. point to other things where you're going to want to be

  472. expecting the arrival. Amen.

  473. Amen. OK, So again, Luke 1235, let me

  474. press on. Be dressed in readiness and keep

  475. your lamp slip. Be like men who are waiting for

  476. their master when he returns from the waiting fees so that

  477. they may immediately open the door to him when he comes

  478. knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom

  479. the Master will find on the alert when He comes.

  480. Truly I say to you that He will gird himself to serve and have

  481. them recline at the table. What table's that?

  482. OK, we'll talk about it and we'll come up and wait on them,

  483. whether he comes in the second watch or even in the 3rd and

  484. finds them. So blessed are those slaves.

  485. What are those slaves? They're attentive, they're

  486. alert, they're doing. They're about the Father's

  487. business. They're living their life based

  488. upon a return, not based upon what's going on in the world.

  489. And how can I make the most out of this life until I die?

  490. Now I got to prepare my life while I'm here.

  491. This is how this world works. I want to do it this way.

  492. And we make all of our decisions naturally, taking no fault of

  493. the eternal, saying, well, when we die, it takes care of itself.

  494. He goes on then to say, but be sure of this, that if the head

  495. of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he

  496. would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

  497. You 2 be what? Be what?

  498. So it can't be, you can't think about it, have no thought.

  499. This is an event that's going to happen.

  500. Just because you're born again, you're for sure in now you Let

  501. me just stop at this point. The minute I say this is because

  502. people immediately have their own religion talking and they

  503. we've have to do better at our study.

  504. You can be born of God and miss things.

  505. If someone is during the tribulation as a believer

  506. doesn't mean they are eternally damned.

  507. So when someone says well, if they don't make the rapture,

  508. you're saying they're having to do works.

  509. I'm not saying that. I'm saying that if they were not

  510. in faith and ready and are left behind, although in covenant, it

  511. doesn't mean they'll go to hell. It just means they're going to

  512. go through some hell. But that doesn't mean they're

  513. going to the Lake of Fire. But they could have come out

  514. earlier. So it's not I'm working.

  515. My you're telling me they have to work for their salvation?

  516. Being at the marriage supper of the lamb is not solely based on

  517. salvation. Right, right.

  518. Hallelujah. Now people have this conclusion

  519. that once you're saved, you're always saved, that you can never

  520. lose your salvation. And what do they use?

  521. They use this particular scripture that no one is able to

  522. take you out of my hand. You know what?

  523. No trial, tribulation, famine, nothing can separate you from

  524. the love of God. But that doesn't mean you can't

  525. separate yourself. No one can pull you from God,

  526. but you can leave God. Now how do we know this?

  527. Adam had no sin. He was perfect, no sin at all.

  528. I mean he was made in the image of God.

  529. His body won't will not even die yet.

  530. Who made the choice to leave the relationship?

  531. Did God was was he pulled out of God's hand?

  532. No, he willfully left the relationship and you can be born

  533. of God, which we'll talk about this next year.

  534. I did not get to it this year. We will next year that in this

  535. dispensation a person can get into the blasphemy of the Holy

  536. Ghost, and it is an imparnable sin in this one and the one to

  537. come, which means you cannot have blasphemy of the Holy

  538. Spirit unless you were born again.

  539. So for people to say you can't lose your salvation, that is not

  540. true. You, you don't lose it, You, you

  541. denounce it. No one's stealing it from you

  542. taking it. You know, I'm so no, you

  543. denounce again, I'm not going to get into detail, but you have to

  544. conclude that when God went to Sodom and Gomorrah with the

  545. angels and said lot, get your wife, your daughters and get out

  546. of town, he like meandered. We're going to see a new

  547. covenant. We're going to hear Jesus

  548. comment about this. Moran, meandering, grabs his

  549. hand, pulls them out. These 4 leave the city.

  550. They are going to the next town. They have made it to the city,

  551. all four of them. But the minute what did Lot's

  552. wife do because her heart was in that world again, it it, it

  553. makes me go. Could someone start to go up and

  554. love this life more? I don't know.

  555. I'm not telling you that. I'm just you got to what's going

  556. on with Lot's wife. Now, the daughters were not

  557. without spot in their minds. They were still carrying some

  558. thought processes from where they came from.

  559. There ain't no men out here, girl.

  560. We gonna have to sleep with Daddy.

  561. You know, it's just us 3 and no more.

  562. Like the whole population of the world's gone.

  563. I mean, they basically consider the whole world falling apart at

  564. the time. At least their world did, right?

  565. But they were saved because they didn't look back.

  566. OK, what's the Bible say? It says this, that anyone who

  567. puts their hand to the plow and then they're not fit for the

  568. Kingdom, then we're not even getting into a dog, returning to

  569. their mom and stuff. Hallelujah.

  570. Hey man, you know when we were born again we should make.

  571. We have to stir up that passion and grow and grow and grow.

  572. I'm not here to scare you. I'm here to empower you to love

  573. your relationship with God because I'm going to communicate

  574. things that you can be so confident that you are going to

  575. be changed in the moment, in the twinkling of an eye, that you

  576. are going to be able to walk around and tell people prior to

  577. your going that they need to be stayed with God.

  578. You need to give your heart to Jesus.

  579. Don't take the mark of the beast because your clothes aren't

  580. going to be left somewhere and your car on the highway.

  581. So you're going to be changed. That doesn't mean you're leaving

  582. that fast. If you look at the first

  583. resurrection, when Jesus came and the grave was open, they

  584. walked the streets of Jerusalem and went back to their families

  585. to testify that Jesus was the Messiah before they went up with

  586. Jesus. So this last event of the return

  587. of Christ or the catching away of the church will be able to

  588. witness in our glorified body to the ones left behind and give

  589. them instruction and then they get to watch us leave.

  590. For most though they will conclude the deceptive argument

  591. that aliens took us, which is why you see all the alien

  592. abduction stuff happening in the Movies Now.

  593. Hallelujah. OK, verse 40, you 2 be ready for

  594. the Son of Man is coming an hour that you do not expect, Peter

  595. said. So you don't know exactly the

  596. day or the hour. But so when you say you don't

  597. expect it, that doesn't mean, well, we shouldn't expect, but

  598. we don't know. That's not what it's saying.

  599. It's saying he's coming in a day and an hour that you don't know,

  600. but yet you know he's coming. So expect his coming even though

  601. you don't know the day or the hour.

  602. Just like when someone's coming over to your house and saying

  603. hey, I'm going to be coming over.

  604. So you expect them now you don't know exactly when they're going

  605. to show up. But you know, they're coming,

  606. all right. So he goes on and Peter says,

  607. Lord, you are addressing this parable to us.

  608. To or to everyone else as well. And the Lord said, who then is

  609. the faithful and sensible steward whom his master will put

  610. in charge of his servants to give them their rations at their

  611. proper time? Listen, this life is a resume

  612. for the next one and what you receive in the next life.

  613. We all are equally. We all have the equal

  614. opportunity to receive all God wants for us by doing His will

  615. in the earth while we remain in the earth.

  616. But not everyone will have the same rewards when we go to the

  617. Kingdom. It will not be socialism.

  618. There will be responsibilities that will be different.

  619. Yes, some of your peers are going to be governing, see more

  620. cities than you are. OK, Blessed is the slave whom

  621. the Master finds doing when he comes, right?

  622. Truly, I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his

  623. possessions. But if the slave says in his

  624. heart it's his slave, it's his person, my master will be a long

  625. time in coming begins to beat the slaves, both men and women,

  626. and eat and drink and get drunk. And the master of that slave

  627. will come on a day when he does not expect him, which no one

  628. knows the day or the hour, but he doesn't even have

  629. expectation. He's not even looking for him.

  630. He's not even alert. And an hour that he does not

  631. know, he will cut him in pieces and assign him in a place with

  632. unbelievers. Now he doesn't say the slave is

  633. an unbeliever. He says he'll assign him in a

  634. place with unbelievers. Now most of the time people

  635. conclude that the weeping and gnashing of teeth is hell itself

  636. or the lake of fire. But the tribulation is known as

  637. a weeping and gnashing of teeth as well.

  638. And again, if you're a believer and you've been assigned with

  639. the unbelievers, I like to say it kind of this way.

  640. In this dispensation right now, I have to crucify my flesh and I

  641. have my own free will, crucify my flesh daily to live by the

  642. Spirit. And in doing so, it's proving my

  643. love to the Lord of what He's done for me, because I will not

  644. do my own will, only my Father. And I'm doing it in the realm of

  645. the Spirit. Should you be left behind

  646. because of unreadiness, you'll be you'll have to become one of

  647. the martyrs that will prove that you are loyal and He is Lord of

  648. your life because you did not keep your flesh in subjection

  649. and not run after the things of the world.

  650. Wild Believer say Amen. Anyway, the Lord has issues with

  651. things going on in his church. All you got to do is read the

  652. book of Revelations and read about his church in one of his

  653. churches. He's like, y'all are lukewarm

  654. and he said I'm gonna throw, I'm gonna throw you up now that's I

  655. mean, that's tough stuff. Hallelujah.

  656. And that these are not negative things.

  657. These are things that are empowering.

  658. These are things that say, OK, I won't do that.

  659. I mean, really, how more empowering can this be?

  660. We're going to talk about the negative mindset next year.

  661. But again, how more empowering is this?

  662. If the Lord says, hey, now this right, here's a challenge.

  663. I'm like, thank God for telling me that because I'll make sure

  664. I'm not in that challenge. I mean, that's a no brainer to

  665. me. Like praise God, you told me

  666. what not to do, because here's the thing, what I could not do,

  667. you did in me. You made me a new creature in

  668. Christ. You put the Holy Ghost in me.

  669. And by my studying my yielding to you my living by the Spirit,

  670. you renewed my mind because I allow the renewing of my mind

  671. process to take place. I crucified my flesh.

  672. I allowed your spirit and my new spirit to dominate me.

  673. I did that that you gave me instead of you gave me all this

  674. power, and I never used it. Then the master will come on

  675. that day. He'll sign him with unbelievers.

  676. Verse 47. And the slave who knew here it

  677. is. And the slave who knew his

  678. master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his

  679. will, will receive verse 48. But the one who did not know it

  680. and committed deeds worthy of a flogging will receive.

  681. But for everyone from everyone who has been given much, much

  682. and to whom they entrusted much of him, they will ask all the

  683. more. Yes, So I could have everyone

  684. who's ever gone to a Bible school, whether it's in this

  685. house or somewhere else, you've been given more.

  686. I mean, someone who just came to Anchor Bay Church and just

  687. gotten born again. I mean, God's not requiring the

  688. same. And for us to ignore his will

  689. with training we've received. This is called personal

  690. responsibility. This does not negate the God's

  691. side. This does not diminish the God's

  692. side. This does not act like God

  693. didn't do his part. God did his part.

  694. Only God could have done his part.

  695. Now he's empowered you to do your part and expects you to do

  696. a part. I mean, he's a fruit inspector.

  697. Which brings us to Matthew 25. Matthew 25, one through 13, says

  698. in the Kingdom of heaven may be compared to 10 virgins who took

  699. their lamps. Oh, we're back to those lamps.

  700. Remember what it said. Keep your lamp.

  701. All right. Who took their lamps and went

  702. out to meet the bridegroom? Five of them were foolish.

  703. Five of them were prudent. Before, when the foolish took

  704. their lamps, they took no oil with them.

  705. But the prudent took oil and flask along with their lamps.

  706. Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy

  707. and began to sleep. But at midnight there was a

  708. shout. Behold, the bridegroom come out

  709. to meet. There's a shout, the trumpet.

  710. Right Then all the virgins rose. Trim their lamps.

  711. The foolish said to the prudent, Give us your oil for our lamps

  712. are going out. But the prudent answer, no,

  713. there will not be enough for us and you to go instead to the

  714. dealers and buy some for yourself.

  715. Now we read last week where it says when he returns, those that

  716. are in the housetop do not go back in the house.

  717. There was this context that when he'll take one leave the other,

  718. but he said when, when these events do not go back.

  719. OK. Then the foolish said to the

  720. prude, obviously give us some. So you got to go get your own

  721. because again, what I've done, I've done and I can't give what

  722. I've done to you. And while they were going away

  723. to make purchase, the bridegroom came and those who are ready,

  724. those who are what went in with him to the wedding feast.

  725. What wedding feast is this? It's called the marriage supper

  726. of the lamb and the door was what was it?

  727. Later the other virgins came also saying Lord, Lord open to

  728. us and he answered truly I say to you, I do not know you now

  729. this word do not know you literally means first of all,

  730. fool it, let me go on. They do not know you.

  731. Verse 13 be on the alert then for you do not know the day or

  732. the hour. So what are you to be?

  733. You have an expected arrival, and this is not hard.

  734. Every day you can say, Lord, I believe you're coming and I'm

  735. expecting now I'm going to do what's necessary for me never to

  736. be considered left behind, period.

  737. And it's not my works. It's you working through me.

  738. It's my faith in you and your will.

  739. I'm operating in faith. I'm doing you.

  740. I'm only here to do your will. I'm not getting caught up in

  741. what's going on in the world. I'm not getting caught up on how

  742. to live here in the world. I'm not getting caught up in all

  743. that stuff. I'm caught up in you.

  744. I'm called up in your church. I'm called up in your vision.

  745. I'm called up in what you've called me to do in my life.

  746. That's what I'm doing. And he'll find you about his

  747. business, right? Because you're supposed to seek

  748. first the Kingdom anyway, and everything else will be added to

  749. you. But again, the word foolish here

  750. means lacking in reverence or proper respect.

  751. Because when he says I truly, I do not know you.

  752. Perry Stone, a minister says that word if when you break it

  753. down, this original context means I was not intimately

  754. acquainted with you. I was not intimately acquainted

  755. with you. Now, the first thing we need to

  756. conclude is this. I have everyone is the beast

  757. without spot or wrinkle, and the blood of Jesus did that.

  758. Right now we are going to be dealt with based upon what we

  759. know in accordance to acting on his will.

  760. And some people don't know what other people know at this point.

  761. So everyone who is going or caught up may not have the same

  762. spiritual maturity, but they are doing based upon what they have

  763. been revealed to them and they're blameless in that.

  764. So again, someone who's never drank, smoke, all these things,

  765. you know, have studied the word, but now it's just basically kind

  766. of gone back doing their own deal.

  767. And then someone else that is still dealing with, you know,

  768. cigarettes, maybe even drugs or alcohol, they get caught 'cause

  769. maybe the Lord hasn't dealt with them on that.

  770. They just got born again. They're following God based upon

  771. what He has revealed to them at that juncture when someone else

  772. knows way more and they're choosing not to.

  773. Basically, I like this present life and I've concluded probably

  774. not going to come in my lifetime anyway.

  775. I mean, because when's that everybody's been talking about

  776. it. You know, I got to take care of

  777. my family down here. I got to make sure I do what I

  778. need to do down here because, you know, I've asked Jesus in my

  779. heart to save me. So I know when I die, I'm going

  780. to go to heaven. And we're so more focused on how

  781. we are performing down here that we are not seeking Him at all.

  782. And the Bible gives warnings concerning that.

  783. Now, again, you'll never have that issue if you only seek Him

  784. first. So if I never put myself in that

  785. position, well then I never have to be concerned whether I'm

  786. going to hear or not, whether I'm going to be ready or not.

  787. He's told me just be ready. All right.

  788. First, Peter chapter 2, verse 6 through 12 says it this way.

  789. Therefore it is also contained in Scripture.

  790. Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone.

  791. Elect precious. He who believes on him will by

  792. no means be put to shame. Therefore, to you who believe He

  793. is precious, but to those who are disobedient, the stone which

  794. the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

  795. Verse 8 and a stone of stumbling and a rock of a fence they

  796. stumble. Why?

  797. Being disobedient to the word here it is to which they were

  798. appointed. He goes on to say, But you are

  799. chosen generational royal priesthood, a holy nation for

  800. His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him

  801. who called you out of darkness into this marvelous light, who

  802. wants were not a people, but not, but are now the people of

  803. God, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

  804. Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims us look what he

  805. said. Abstain from fleshly lust which

  806. wage war against your soul, having your conduct honorable

  807. among Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evil doers,

  808. they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God

  809. in the day of visitation. Meaning when you are caught up

  810. because you did the Word, you abstain from the things of the

  811. world they'll be able to say. Do you remember Vanessa?

  812. Remember Kevin was always talking about this and they

  813. won't miss it. In fact, they'll begin to.

  814. They were right it he is the Messiah, he.

  815. But if you're acting like the rest of the world, unprepared.

  816. Hallelujah. What happens when we're called

  817. up? Revelations chapter 19, verse 7

    Revelation 19:7–19

  818. to 19. Look at this, it said, Let us

  819. rejoice and be glad, and give the glory to him.

  820. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made

  821. herself ready. It has been given to her to

  822. clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean, for the fine

  823. linen is the righteous acts of the Saints.

  824. Then he said to me, right, blessed are those who are

  825. invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

  826. And he said to me, these are true words of God.

  827. Now it's easy to conclude that if your name is written in the

  828. Lamb's book of Life, you should be getting an invitation.

  829. The King James says the righteousness of the Saints, but

  830. so many other translations actually say the righteous acts.

  831. So I'm like, well, what does that mean?

  832. So we look this up and it means this Saints were already Saints.

  833. We already are. We all of us are in name by

  834. title and profession according to the Scripture meaning of the

  835. word Saints, that is persons consecrated or dedicated to God.

  836. So the minute you made Jesus Lord of your life, you are

  837. considered by title A St. You're born again.

  838. Saints we are by title, but woe to us if we rest content with

  839. being mere title Saints. To the outward consecration must

  840. be added the inward sanctification which converts

  841. the name into a reality, the righteousness of Saints, the

  842. saintly life. We see now very clearly that

  843. what that in what that life or righteousness consists, that it

  844. consists above everything else in devotion to the will of God,

  845. in the reconciliation of our wills to his holy and blessed

  846. will, alike in action and in suffering, in joy and in sorrow.

  847. Here is the root of the matter, and this root such as marvelous

  848. virtue in it, that it will Grove and flourish and bear fruit in

  849. any soul of circumstance, stance of ritual, or religious opinion.

  850. But it is to do this it must be cultivated with all diligence.

  851. Be watching, be striving by praying by, in, in, in cessant

  852. struggles against the snares and temptations and enticements of

  853. the world, the flesh and the devil, by repeated efforts after

  854. self mastery and self nursification, In a word, by

  855. earnest imitation of Christ and the power of the Spirit of

  856. Christ. In essence, you've been made

  857. righteous in Christ. Now live it.

  858. Now livid. Hallelujah.

  859. And if we continue on in the scripture, we know at the end of

  860. Revelations 19, it tells us that Jesus is coming back on a horse.

  861. So Jesus was not a mere expression of just coming to

  862. into our heart. He is a physical being that has

  863. a physical suit, a glorified body of which he will physically

  864. show up in the planet. In Revelation 19 it says he will

  865. come with the Saints, with his armies, not with his navies, not

  866. with his coast guards, not with his marines, but with his

  867. armies. Hoorah.

  868. So we understand the eternal branch of service is the army.

  869. Say Amen anyway, so he comes back with his armies and he will

  870. judge the nations with a rod of iron.

  871. And then we see when we move over into the 20th chapter of

  872. Revelation, he when he comes he will grab this the Satan, the

  873. devil of old one Angel will apprehend him, chain him and

  874. throw him into the bottomless pit which he will be sealed

  875. there for 1000 years. And Jesus will physically once

  876. again like he did when he was born and was grew up to be a man

  877. full of favor during the will of God lay down his life, died on

  878. the cross, but rose from the grave.

  879. Then they ascended to heaven. He will a second time come to

  880. planet Earth. He will be on the planet and

  881. reign with us in our glorified bodies of which we will be the

  882. judges of communities, while sinful man like we are, are

  883. still in the earth and we will reign with Him for 1000 years.

  884. Then he will release the devil. The Bible says for a time, which

  885. means it's not the last time you will encounter the devil.

  886. Now here when you encounter him, don't worry, you're not going to

  887. be tempted. You're never going to be prone

  888. to sin because when you get sealed in that glorified body,

  889. you're never going to have that issue.

  890. Don't have to worry about man. You're going to let him go.

  891. Man, I don't want to mess. You're not going to mess up.

  892. You made the first resurrection. Glory to God, Amen.

  893. But he'll deceive the humans on the earth that have been under

  894. the reign of Christ for 1000 years and can see him, touch

  895. him, go worship him. I mean, that's even better than

  896. the one we're in now that we just have it by the Spirit.

  897. They'll have the Spirit and physically see Jesus.

  898. But they will listen to him, They will wage war, but that

  899. battle will not last very long. And after that takes place, he

  900. will throw the devil with the false prophet, the beast.

  901. All the kingdoms of the world will be cast into the lake of

  902. fire, which is the second death. Then he will give up the dead,

  903. all that have died, never making Jesus Lord.

  904. They will leave hell or the grave and go to heaven, where

  905. they will stand before the Father.

  906. So even those who are assigned to the lake of fire will go to

  907. heaven and stand before the great white throne, of which

  908. he'll open up the Lamb's book of life.

  909. See no name in it. Shut that book.

  910. Open up the books of their deeds, which are all the charges

  911. against them for their treason to the crown, and he will justly

  912. judge them and cast them, and give them what they wanted,

  913. Eternity without Him. Say Amen.

  914. But you want to hear some really good news?

  915. Let's close with these passages of scripture.

  916. These are powerful people, I'm telling you.

  917. Look at this in Revelations 21, one through 5.

  918. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the 1st heaven and

  919. the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.

  920. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem coming.

  921. What down out of heaven from God made ready as a bride adorned

  922. for her husband and I heard a loud voice from the throne

  923. saying, behold, the Tabernacle of God is among notice.

  924. God never intended for us to come up to him as in the Genesis

  925. 1. He's come down to man in the

  926. end. He's still coming.

  927. All you want to do is go to heaven.

  928. All God wants to do is come to earth.

  929. We're singing when we all get to heaven, the Lord singing when we

  930. all get to earth in that Interesting.

  931. Now we don't have that record in Scripture, but we know he's

  932. coming. So it could be that when we all

  933. get to earth, what a day of rejoicing that will be when we

  934. all dwell among me and we'll sing and shout the come on.

  935. We can write this as a song. They'll they'll call us, you

  936. know, a cult again. But if they read their Bible,

  937. they would see this. I mean, this is your Bible.

  938. This is not just things I put on the screen for you to look at.

  939. Pull your own Bible out, it says.

  940. I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the

  941. Tabernacle of God is among men, and he will what live among

  942. them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be

  943. among them. And he will wipe away every tear

  944. from their eyes, and there will no longer be any death, and

  945. they'll no longer be any mourning or crying or pain.

  946. The first things have passed away.

  947. And he who sits on the throne, behold, I am making all things

  948. new. And he said right.

  949. For these words are faithful and woo glory to God.

  950. Now, when this takes place, when this New Jerusalem revelation

  951. does not communicate, what takes place when the New Jerusalem

  952. comes down? What happens in the New

  953. Jerusalem 'cause once the the the enemies, the final enemy is

  954. thrown into the lake of fire, something occurs.

  955. And Revelation doesn't tell us, but First Corinthians 15 does.

  956. 1st Corinthians 15 gives us the insight of what happens in this

  957. new heaven and new earth. He says, But in fact, Christ has

  958. been raised from the dead. He is the first of great of a

  959. great harvest of all who have died.

  960. So see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the

  961. resurrection from the dead has become has begun through another

  962. man. Just says everyone dies because

  963. we all belong to Adam. Everyone who belongs to Christ

  964. will be given new life. So a man lost dominion.

  965. A man regained dominion because God had to do it that way.

  966. Verse 23 but in but there is an order to this resurrection.

  967. Christ was raised at the first of the harvest.

  968. Then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes

  969. back after that, say after that the end will come.

  970. So after everything is done, it says this, then he will turn the

  971. Kingdom over. Who's turning the Kingdom over?

  972. Jesus. God said, let's make man in our

  973. our image according to our eyes and let him have dominion over

  974. all the earth. So man had the Kingdom on the

  975. earth. Why God had the Kingdom in

  976. heaven? Adam fell from dominion, gave

  977. his Kingdom to the devil who should have never had it.

  978. Jesus takes back the Kingdom that was rightfully man's, but

  979. because man had a problem and cannot rule just like God the

  980. Father, Jesus in the form of man.

  981. Although God will give the Kingdom back to Dad and when

  982. will he give it to Dad? After destroying every ruler and

  983. authority and power? So This is why they'll never be

  984. an issue again, because Dad will have all the power, because

  985. Jesus will say what you gave man in dominion to rule.

  986. It's yours. You rule it.

  987. We follow. Go on, let's keep reading.

  988. For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath

  989. his. He must because God's given

  990. dominion to man. And the last enemy to be

  991. destroyed is death, which means you'll never have to worry.

  992. In all eternity, in the new heaven and the earth, would you

  993. ever make a mistake? Would you ever blow?

  994. Would you ever think about wanting to rebel against God?

  995. Never going to happen because death will no longer be a

  996. problem. For the Scripture says God put

  997. all things under his authority. Of course, when he says all

  998. things under his authority, that does not include God Himself who

  999. gave Christ his authority. Then when all things are under

  1000. his authority, the Son will put himself under God's authority,

  1001. so that God who gave his Son authority over all things will

  1002. be utterly supreme over everything, everywhere.

  1003. Hallelujah. And where will they be living?

  1004. So let me comfort you with these closing statements.

  1005. In second Peter chapter 3, verse 10 through 14, he says, But the

    2 Peter 3:10–14

  1006. day of the Lord will come like a thief.

  1007. When it comes, the heavens will disappear with a horrific noise,

  1008. and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze, and the

  1009. earth and every deed done on it will be laid bare.

  1010. Since all these things are to melt away in this manner, what

  1011. sort of people must we be conducting our lives in holiness

  1012. and godliness while waiting for and hastening the coming of the

  1013. day of God? Because of this day, the heavens

  1014. will be burned up and dissolved, and the celestial bodies will

  1015. melt away in a blaze. But according to His promise, we

  1016. are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which

  1017. righteousness truly resides. Therefore, dear friends, since

  1018. you are waiting for these things, strive to be found at

  1019. peace without spot or blemish when you come into His presence.

  1020. Verse 17. Therefore, dear friends, since

  1021. you have been forewarned, be on your guard that you do not get

  1022. LED astray by the air of these unprincipled men and fall from

  1023. your firm grasp on the truth. But grow in the grace and

  1024. knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

  1025. To Him be the honor both now and on that eternal day.

  1026. We need to have an expectation that the eternal Kingdom is

  1027. coming and that we're going to be a part of it, and our

  1028. guarantee is first. Jesus is Lord and we live a life

  1029. in keeping with our repentance. John the Baptist says then leave

  1030. a live a life and keep him with repentance.

  1031. You're not living a life because I prayed a prayer back some year

  1032. that I wrote in my Bible and this is when I was born again.

  1033. And you really don't even have much conversation with the Lord

  1034. at times. You may pick up a Bible.

  1035. You darken the door of a church whenever it's convenient.

  1036. You serve at your own decision making.

  1037. There's a way that he says to live, that you've been empowered

  1038. to live this way because you've been given the likeness of

  1039. Christ and Christ lived this way.

  1040. And when you live that way, then when the trumpet sounds, you're

  1041. going to be changed in the moment, in the twinkling of an

  1042. eye, and those around you will see.

  1043. You can bear witness and then they'll watch you go to be

  1044. caught up in the air with the Lord at His marriage supper,

  1045. giving the rewards of your obedience to Him in the earth,

  1046. and then you'll return with Him, to reign with Him for 1000 years

  1047. with sinful man still on the earth, but then in the new

  1048. heaven and new earth. Hallelujah, What a blessed hope

  1049. we have because God has given us a Kingdom that cannot be shaken.

  1050. Hallelujah, I said Hallelujah, Hallelujah, I said Hallelujah.

  1051. So this last thought, This is why the scripture says do not

  1052. forsake the assembling of yourself together.

  1053. And all the more as you see the day approaching, because God

  1054. Himself knew that if you try to individually live for God

  1055. separate from His body, you are at the greatest risk of being

  1056. deceived and quite possibly being left where He is not

  1057. intimately acquainted with you. People think that the only

  1058. reason pastors quote that is because we want to see numbers

  1059. don't care about numbers. I care about your personal life

  1060. and your assignment in the body. I'm passionate about you

  1061. fulfilling God's will and doing what he said to do.

  1062. So I didn't tell you to assemble.

  1063. God said, and he said all the more you have to be more

  1064. diligent in the last days to make sure nothing keeps you out

  1065. of the body that he assigns you because you're very existence.

  1066. I'm not saying lake of fire. I'm just saying with God

  1067. rewards, all kinds of things are at stake because even during the

  1068. tribulation, it says if God had not cut those days short, it was

  1069. possible that could it be possible that even the elect

  1070. could have been deceived. And as as as casual as people

  1071. are in the relationship with God right now and the relationship

  1072. with his Church and we think we can overcome deception.

  1073. No, we're banking on I ask you to send them a heart and save me

  1074. so that when I die, go to heaven and I'm in, I'm secure, I'm

  1075. good, I got it. And it doesn't really matter

  1076. what I do know it matters a lot what you do because he's

  1077. empowered you to do and you're not doing the salvation.

  1078. You're living out the salvation.