Resurrection Readiness

Reach down and pick up our bibles.

Let's wave them around.

I want to get right into the word this morning.

What a celebration day it is.

Let's lift our bibles up, wave them around, make Jesus glad and the devil mad.

Turn to your neighbor before we get started.

Say I'm glad you're here.

All right, I can check that off my list.

I saw you.

Amen.

Let's say this together Say, heavenly Father, we celebrate your resurrection, the resurrection of your son Jesus.

We thank you for all he's done for us.

Because he lives, we live.

Also.

We thank you for our new covenant founded upon better promises, and we are looking at the Word of God today to grow in the things of the Lord, to do exceeding abundantly above all we've ever done in Jesus' name.

Let's look at the book of Acts, please this morning.

Book of Acts, somebody said you know the book of Acts of the apostles were written because the apostles acted.

Praise God, they did something, they didn't just sit around.

Acts, chapter one Jesus.

I won't read the whole.

You know I'll give you some homework on Easter, but I know you probably wouldn't do it.

How many of you know we have Sunday night service and we're gonna have Sunday night service on Easter, I did All right.

Acts, chapter one, and you know it's Jesus.

This is his 40th day since the resurrection and it says in verse three that he showed himself alive by many infallible proofs and convincing evidences.

So I mean, if he had to prove he was risen to them, how much more do we need to prove that he's looking to the church to manifest something to this lost generation?

And he said now, you know, I told you to go into all the world, but don't leave Jerusalem until you be endued with power from on high.

Then let's pick it up in verse eight, for you shall receive power.

That is, dunamis, supernatural power.

After that, the Holy ghost has come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and the uttermost part of the earth, Witnesses with evidence.

One version says Not just all talk, but witnesses with supernatural evidence.

We're talking about, you know, infallible proofs, amen.

We should manifest that Jesus is alive, because if we don't manifest that, he's no different than Confucius and Muhammad and all the rest of these people.

But he is different because he's different because he's alive.

He's alive, he's not in the grave.

And when he had spoken these things, who's that Jesus.

While they beheld, he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight.

Put yourself there, put yourself there.

Is that how you read your Bible?

See, I read my Bible like I'm there, like I'm witnessing what they're seeing.

I mean, just think he's talking to him and the next thing, you know, he's just lifted up.

And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in wide apparel.

How many of you know they're angels?

I mean, they just didn't go to the, you know, to billards and get a white suit.

I mean, this is.

These are angelic beings, stood by them as they're watching him disappear into the cloud.

And they said you, men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven?

This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come and like manner as you have seen him go into heaven.

Hallelujah, jesus is coming, he's coming back.

He went up, but the angel said he's coming back.

He said he's coming back.

And so my message to you today is entitled Resurrection Readiness.

Are you ready?

Are you ready for the return of Jesus?

He's coming and he's coming soon, I believe, and I'm not alone in that estimation.

You know millions of Christians across the globe are sensing that he is coming back.

You know some of the high Muckity Mucks now some of the DDs, the dumb, I mean the doctor of Divinities.

They're so educated that they've educated their faith out of their heart and now they're just full of talk and suppositions and assumptions and theories that they're kind of doubting that he's coming back.

And some of them doubt that there really is a resurrection.

You can't be saved without believing there's a resurrection.

The resurrection is a central tenet of the faith and to doubt that is to doubt your own resurrection.

And to doubt that is to doubt your own resurrection, to doubt your own salvation.

We're not saved then if he didn't rise from the dead, because then we didn't rise from the dead.

We're still dead in our sins if he didn't rise up.

Read your Bible, for goodness sake.

So why do you say pastor and why do people believe that Jesus is coming soon?

I'm not putting a date on it, but when I read 1 Chronicles 32, the sons of Issachar, the tribes of Israel, they had understanding of the times.

The word times there is Moed.

They had understanding of the appointed times so that Israel would know what they should do.

There are signposts.

God doesn't want us walking in darkness, he does not want us walking in confusion.

He's given clear signals about what are the signs of his return.

They're in the Bible, and in Matthew, chapter 24, he starts talking.

Matthew 24 · chapter mention

You know, this is right at the end, matthew 24.

I mean, you know it's close to his crucifixion, he's the last three and a half years, he's just the last few weeks of his ministry on earth, and he's talking to his disciples about as many things that are important.

And he's talking about the end days.

He said look at that, look at that temple up there.

There's not gonna be one stone.

Come on, come on.

This was a glorious temple in Jerusalem.

I mean they just had been there and they'd been rebuilt.

And now it's there.

And he said it's not gonna be one stone left upon another.

He starts talking to him about his return and they said Lord, when shall these things be, and what are the signs of thy coming?

The word coming.

There is perusia, your glorious appearing.

See, they knew that Jesus is coming back.

They just didn't know when.

They had no clue.

They didn't know how all of it worked.

At that point they were still spiritually dead, being they hadn't been born again yet, because he hadn't died on the cross yet.

He said what are the signs of your glorious return?

You know what?

Jesus said the first words out of his mouth to answer that question.

Take heed that you be not deceived.

And we can look around us right now and see all the millions of people on the earth that walk around, deceived, hypnotized, believing lie after lie after lie.

These people lie all the time.

I was complaining to the Lord one day.

I said God just can't believe these people.

They just keep lying.

He said the truth is not in them.

I said well, okay, that kind of explains it, doesn't it?

I mean, why would you expect them to tell the truth when the truth isn't in them?

It's not in Biden.

He does not have truth in him.

He can't tell the truth if he wanted to.

Well, I digress, we're talking about the resurrection.

But anyway, jesus started telling them about all the things that were gonna start happening the earthquakes and weather things and terrible things, floods and so forth and so on.

He said that's the beginning of SARS.

The word SARS is birth pains.

That's when a mother is gonna give birth.

She starts to have those contractions.

And you know when those contractions get really strong and really regular and you can set your watch by how close they are.

You know it's coming, the baby's coming.

Well, he's compared that to final judgment and his return.

He said the beginning of the birth pains when you start seeing all these earthquakes and so forth and so on.

He just keeps on talking, he keeps on talking and he gets down and he said now.

He said now, behold the fig tree, behold the fig tree.

In other words, look at it.

And what's he talking about?

The fig tree?

Well, joel 1.7 says the fig tree is Israel.

Luke 21,.

He said the same thing Luke's perspective.

I thank God for the four gospels because we have four different perspectives of what Jesus said at any one time.

Not all the gospels say the same thing.

They're kind of a little different.

Why?

Because men are different.

They looked at different things.

It's all the truth.

But Luke said behold the fig tree and all the other trees.

Well, what does that mean?

All the prophetic nations around Israel?

Look at them.

100 years ago they weren't even nations, they had no borders.

And in my lifetime I was born in 1947.

I know that kind of dates me.

But in 1948, israel became a nation.

He said behold the fig tree and all the other trees.

And when they began to put on leaves, know that summer is near, even at the doors.

What's he talking about His return?

He's answering their question.

So the biggest reason I am encouraged that Jesus is coming soon is because he said this generation shall not pass away until all be fulfilled.

That's why I've been saying I'm gonna see the Lord come back, and you know I'm not alone.

There's millions of Christians that believe the same thing.

Are we all wrong, folks?

I'm just here ringing the bell because in church, church out there, this didn't preach very much.

It kind of forgot about the resurrection.

They're so distracted by all the other things that are going on.

You know, I call this generation the terminal generation.

I mean this is we're gonna end it up, we're gonna see it end up, and I'm not afraid because I'm ready.

And my question for you is are you ready?

Are you ready for the resurrection?

We were building this building.

In fact, I think we had just moved in 2004.

So 19 years ago in May.

So it'd be 19 years ago in May that we moved into this building here and I went to Galveston and pray as I do three or four times a year.

And God spoke something kind of curious to me and he doesn't often just speak like that, but I heard his voice in my heart and he said many are satiated with the cares of this world and the pleasures of this world, and much of the care comes from the pursuit of the pleasure.

He said many just tip their hat to me and go along their merry way.

Well, simultaneous to that, oral Roberts, you know, at one time Oral Roberts was the fourth greatest known name on the whole planet.

Back in the late 70s, very, very well known man of God, a prophet of God, a general of the faith, and his, the cornerstone of his ministry was preaching that God is a good God.

Now we think today well, that's how unique is that?

But back then in the 40s, he came out of the Pentecostal hole in this church, the nomination, and he had preached to say I wish you'd quit saying that People are going to get the wrong idea about God.

Get the wrong idea about God.

God's a good God, the devil's a bad devil.

I mean, what in the world are you confused over?

But they had got so religiousized and so legalistic that nobody could be good enough.

No, but see, they didn't understand the blood.

He said God is a good God, he'd say I'd hurry him to say this I don't know how many times God is going to do something good for you today.

How many of you remember hearing him say that?

Well, that same man got a pretty stern warning in 2004.

In fact, the summer of 2004,.

I heard about it happened in July.

I heard about it in August and I got to go see him in January of 05 and interviewed him all about it Visitation.

He showed me where it happened in his home.

He described every aspect of it, what happened to him and he said God said my people are not ready for the second coming of my son.

They're not ready Now.

That's a pretty heavy indictment.

That is a pretty negative word from a man like him.

But God chose a general of the faith.

You had a great voice, many people listening to him and, as God is my witness, I thought really in the year since it just fell on deaf ears.

Nobody cared, nobody went, and I was one of the only ones that went and interviewed him about his visitation.

He was on Christian television three times and they couldn't even ask him a decent question and dig into what he was saying.

And what did Jesus really mean by that?

They just tipped their hat and go along their merry way.

They just keep doing what they've been doing.

Well, I don't know about that.

The second coming is kind of falling out of favor everywhere except Hollywood.

Hollywood makes all kinds of references to something going to happen, cataclysmic events, one movie after another after another.

Every one of these movies the Avengers and this one and all these movie trends, for all of it is about supernatural people in you with supernatural power.

You know they have more faith than the church does Goofy things.

No, I'm here to tell you that Jesus is coming soon.

I believe it's.

You know, he said it's even at the doors.

This generation is not passing away until all be fulfilled.

Are you ready?

That's the question.

Many are indifferent or they're apathetic.

You know, one of the verses I gave at my brother's home going last week was Paul's letter to Timothy, second Timothy, chapter four.

Paul said I fought a good fight.

I finished my course.

I've kept the faith, the faith, not a faith, some faith, the faith, and the faith has as a cornerstone of belief in the resurrection.

He said I've kept the faith.

Henceforth, there is laid up for me, a crown of righteousness which the Lord, that righteous judge, will give me at that day, and not to me only, but also to all those who love his appearing.

Love his appearing, I mean.

It ought to be something that we desire.

It ought to be something that we yearn for.

It ought to be something that's on our mind on a constant basis.

But if you never hear about it and if it's not, behind the things that you're doing for him, there's a lot of people.

They're doing a lot of things for God, they're doing a lot of things for the kingdom, for Jesus, but they don't spend any time with him, they don't yearn for him.

Come on, lift your hands right now, lord, are you ready?

Part of that readiness has got to be a fire.

It's got to be a fire for him.

Should we be doing things?

Well, yeah, we ought to be doing them, but we ought to be first and foremost hooked up with him in his presence.

So the second coming is in two parts.

Brother Roberts had to teach the church back.

Then we lump it all in together as one.

But there are two parts to the second coming.

The first is Jesus coming for or for his church.

His feet are not even going to touch down on earth.

He's going to be up there in the air and we're going to all meet him.

It's commonly known as the rapture of the church or the catching away.

Literally it means the snatching away.

Snatching away, I'll tell you, I'm ready for the upper taker.

I'm not paying too much attention to the undertaker, but the upper taker is when I'm Glory to God.

And then, seven years later, the second part of the second coming is Jesus coming with his church.

That's going to be a terrible day.

That's going to be an awesome day.

That's going to be a day of great weeping and gnashing of teeth, why?

Because that's going to be the second part of the resurrection, the resurrection of the damned.

And all those in hell are going to get a new body that's never going to disappear and they're going to have to stand before the great white throne judgment of God and they're going to be judged according to the books.

And, of course, if their name is not written and it won't be their name is not enrolled in heaven.

See, we sang that this morning.

I'm just glad my name's enrolled in heaven.

I know that's where my name is written up there.

But there's millions of people whose name's not written and on that day they're not going to be happy, I mean, they're going to be full of fear, and we'll be there.

We'll be there when Hitler stands before God, osama bin Laden stands before God and I won't mention any modern political figures because I'm not their judge and so they'll be cast, not in the hell, but in the lake of fire.

I thought this was going to be an uplifting message.

You're not going to hell, thank God, unless you want to.

If you want to go to hell, you can go ahead and go, I mean, if that's what you want to do.

But I'm here to say you don't have to go.

He took care of everything, but we need to be ready.

First, thessalonians chapter four gives us a picture of the rapture of the church.

I'm going to read it.

And the Thessalonians were.

Paul congratulated them, said you know, you're widely known about your way.

You've had to suffer for being believers.

In the second letter he said your faith growth exceedingly.

Everybody's found out about you.

So it wasn't that they didn't have faith, but they had some people in there.

They weren't false prophets, they were misinformed prophets.

There's a difference of false prophet and false teacher, a false pastor.

They're there, they know their false and they're doing it to get in your pocket or making merchandise of you.

There's plenty of those around the day.

I've got a message on discerning between true and false ministries, but then, on the other hand, there are people out there that don't know that they're false.

They have a you know the good motive, but they're stupid.

Sorry, they just.

They have not rightly divided the word of truth.

They preach everything under the sun.

It's wrong.

They don't do it intentionally, they just do it because they're ignorant.

And so Paul had to write two letters to the Thessalonians because of that problem, and I don't know how many letters he would write the modern church, but probably fill a library full of letters with all the mess.

Oh, I thank God for the background I've got for the people I came up under the revelation.

They walked in and lived.

But first Thessalonians, chapter four, verse 13,.

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them, which are asleep that you saw or not, as others that have no hope.

Now, the word of sleep just means that.

That doesn't mean literally asleep, it means they're dead in the grave.

The tradition back then was that Christians were buried.

A lot of people get all upset.

They don't know about cremation.

Well, if you want to spend 50,000 for a funeral, you don't have to have cremation.

You can go the whole route and do the burial, and I'm not against it or for it.

One way or the other, it's up to you.

Really, the funeral is for the living, but God is not limited to whatever.

I mean.

You know what about people that fall overboard and are eaten by a whale?

I mean, god is not limited in raising the dead.

I mean, if the matter is here and he will raise the matter and make it a new body, doesn't matter.

If you've ever lived and existed on this planet, you're going to get raised.

So you don't have to worry about that.

You don't have to worry.

I don't know who that's for, but you don't have to worry about it.

And he said I don't want you ignorant, so you can be totally ignorant.

You can be partially ignorant about the coming of the Lord, or you can be ignorant I already talked about that In other words, apathetic.

You ignore it.

Well, you know, you believe it, but it's not anything you think about.

Very often it's not something that you really are on fire about you.

Don't wake up thinking, oh Jesus, could this be the day when we'll see your face to face?

Oh, I mean, I want to see him.

I want to get rid of this body and get me a brand new one.

The Bible says the whole earth, creation, groans and travails together until now, waiting for the redemption of our bodies.

See, I mean, our spirits have been redeemed, but our bodies have yet to be.

That's what's gonna happen at the resurrection.

That's what's gonna happen when he comes.

For the church.

I don't want you ignorant, paul said, for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

What do you mean bring with him?

Well, their spirits are in heaven, so he's gonna bring.

That's the cloud.

That's the cloud, I mean the cloud that comes with him, as all those spirits up there that have already died.

Their bodies are down here, their spirits are up there and they're gonna be coming down with Jesus.

Picture that You're gonna be there, most of you.

For this we say unto you, by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain, see, I believe I'm gonna be among that group.

Just think about it.

We're walking around one day and all of a sudden the ground opens up and all these people come out of the ground.

These bodies come out, all these cemeteries get dug up, casket lids flying every direction, tombstones knocked over.

Think about the daycare centers and all the little kids.

All of a sudden, the daycare workers, nobody to take care of all the little kids, are gone.

We which are alive and remain will not precede those.

We won't go first.

We'll all go together and meet the Lord in the air, and the dead will meet their bodies in the air.

Are y'all getting this now?

For the Lord himself first, sixteen shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up, the catching away, caught up together with him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

So shall we ever be with the Lord?

Wherefore bash one another, condemn one another.

You know some of you that grew up Pentecostal.

They used to bash you with the rapture.

You're gonna miss the rapture.

You're so, you're backslidden.

You're gonna miss the rapture If you don't straighten up.

Stop this.

You better not cut that hair.

You're you.

You you cut that hair, you're gonna miss the rapture.

They'd use the rapture to bash people.

No, it's to comfort one another with these words Are y'all getting this now?

So what's gonna happen right after we're taking up?

See, there's, there's something gonna happen in heaven after we're taking up.

This is the.

The Jesus has come with his church.

See, the Jesus already has his body.

He got his body on resurrection day.

But the body of Christ has this old body.

We've got this, this body that's mortal.

It's subject to every kind of disease.

It's subject to all kinds of decay, aging and everything else.

It doesn't make sense if the rest of the body isn't right.

We have to have a new body.

We must because our head has a new body.

But what's gonna happen after we get up there?

Let's look at Revelation.

I Just read this the other day, revelation 19, verse 6, and I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude and as the voice of many waters and as the voice of mighty Thundering, saying Alleluia, for the Lord, god omnipotent, reigneth.

Revelation 19:6

Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him, for the marriage of the lamb is come and his wife Hath made herself ready, his wife that's what the Bible calls the church His wife hath made herself ready.

Now Gladys and I got married my junior year at A&M and I had the Spring semester with January to May At A&M.

I was in school and then during the summertime I Alternated semesters every other semester working at a place Reynolds metals and corpus and so this we had it planned to marry in June.

I had it on my calendar June 29th and so the here we are, that spring semester semester at A&M.

I mean we're apart.

She's working down in corpus.

I'm finishing up that spring semester and I'm thinking, man, june the 29th.

I've got her picture on my desk in Mitchell Hall, which is torn down.

It was so dilapidated.

Her engagement portrait color, oh, I'd look at that thing.

I think about just a few more months, had a calendar and I was x in the days off.

X, x Got into April.

I'm thinking man is getting, I get sweaty palms.

I'm thinking you know it's coming.

I looked at all those X's that I'd X'd off, just got a few more.

I Mean we counted the days.

That day came when I saw her at the front door of the church and I'm up on the altar in that old Catholic church where I used to serve mass and spent a lot of my childhood there.

And here I am getting married there.

We got married in the Catholic church.

She's Baptist, but she agreed, and so I almost fainted.

I mean I actually I looked that back there.

Of course she still had the veil on until her brother got closer to him and brother walked her down the aisle and Ken lifted her veil and more.

I just almost fainted again.

I mean, I'm ready.

I said I'm ready.

I'm ready because the bride had made herself ready.

What if she had just you know what?

If everybody's there at the church?

We're all waiting around looking at her when?

What?

Well, she's not here yet.

Well, somebody find out.

Oh, I forgot.

Is it today?

Oh, I forgot.

Oh, I slept late.

I thought I was gonna get to sleep late today.

Oh, oh, well, wait a minute.

I don't think the dress is here.

I don't think I ordered it, but it's not here yet.

I mean, what would you do?

I mean, would you get the idea that the bride is a little bit apathetic?

Would you want to continue on with the ceremony?

It doesn't say all that in their pastor, I know.

I'm just using it as an illustration.

I mean, look, the bride made herself ready.

We ought to be making ourselves ready right now.

It's coming down.

We don't have the date, but we know the season.

God told us what the season would be when we see the Israel get back in the land.

That's the biggest one.

That's the biggest billboard there is.

It's flashing right now.

Oh, he's coming soon.

Have you made yourself ready?

Are you ready for the rapture of the church?

I'm almost done.

I just want to read something that God gave me.

I guess the best description of it is a psalm.

It's a supernatural thing that came to me.

It started as an utterance and I quickly realized that it needed to be written down.

So I sat down at my table and when I read this I always relive the moment because I saw everything that I wrote and experienced the emotion of it.

So forgive me if I choke up a little bit when I'm reading it, but it's from my perspective on the day of the catching away, and it's entitled the Cloud.

I met a cloud today on my way through up, where the air is crisp and the sky is so blue.

Cumulus.

Clouds were not in my gaze, but the glory of Jesus made me amazed.

He held my attention.

I could not speak.

I felt awe and wonder.

I fell at his feet.

When I saw the love in my Jesus face, I knew for certain that I had won my race.

Gladness and joy filled my heart full.

The cares of this world could no longer pull.

I was looking on Jesus, my Lord and my King.

No fear, no dread, no sorrow.

Death had lost its sting.

Then, in wonder, I beheld the cloud that was all around.

The mighty cloud of witnesses fill the air with a joyous sound.

People from every kindred, every tongue and every nation were singing our God's praises with gladness and elation.

Deep within me, laughter rose.

I noticed no one crying.

I began to laugh and shout praise God, I'm starting to laugh and laugh.

Praise God, I'm starting flying.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

First on the earth, then in the sky.

Multitudes flying beside me, up there, looking like Jesus, without any care.

I saw brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends, clouds of witnesses on the wings of the wind.

Then I looked closer.

Suddenly I felt a keen sense of loss.

My heart began to melt.

I flew through the cloud, I searched and I searched.

Surely you must be in the glorious church Shouting your name.

I looked high and low, no response given.

So I started to go down to earth to find you, to take you with me.

Then Jesus said no, son, listen to me.

I went down there already to die on the cross.

I laid down my glory.

I suffered their loss.

The one you are looking so desperately for refused to surrender or walk through the door of my mercy and grace.

They wouldn't believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

So we'll have to leave.

The earth grew smaller as we started to rise higher and higher.

Tears fill my eyes.

I deeply regretted that you were left behind, still in bondage to the ties that bind.

Then I awoke from the dream, so real, trembling and crying.

I could actually feel the darkness and torment that kept you from joining that mighty cloud of witnesses on resurrection morning.

Oh, thank God, I was dreaming.

It's not too late.

You can still be saved.

You don't have to wait.

Just surrender to Jesus.

He'll cleanse all your sin, he'll make you brand new and teach you to win.

Then, on that day, when the trumpet blasts, you'll rise up in glory and you'll be aghast at the beauty of Jesus, our Lord and our King, and the mighty cloud of witnesses will begin to sing You'll be there in glory, no darkness, no sin, to live with God forever and ever.

Amen.