Ready or Not… He’s Coming!

I'm going to invite you, if you can, very briefly,

I'm going to read one verse of Scripture in the

book of Revelations, Revelation chapter 22 and

Revelation 22 · chapter mention

verse 20, all the way to the end of the Bible

today. Very last book, last chapter, and almost

the last verse. And it reads this way. He who

testifies to these things says, surely I am coming

quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Another

translation says, he who testifies to these things

says, surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord

Jesus. As we go now into our third installment

of our countdown to eternity, we're just going

to pray today and ask God to speak to us. My

message is very, very direct. Amen. Very direct.

Straightforward, but this is what God has placed

in my heart, and I'm going to preach today with

his help. Ready or not, he's coming. Ready or

not, he's coming. Father, let's pray. Father,

we come before you today. We thank you, Lord,

for... your visitation, and not only that, your

habitation, Lord, that you inhabit the praises

of your people today. We thank you, God, that

you gave us the strength, Lord, one more week,

one more day, to enter your gates with thanksgiving

and to your courts with praise, Lord. And now,

God, I pray that you would touch and anoint the

hearing, the ears, the hearts of every person

sitting in this place or watching online today,

God. Because this is an important moment for

somebody, God. This is a moment of eternity.

This is a moment of destiny, God. And I pray

that it not just be my words, but that it be

your word, God, that penetrates the hearts of

people and brings change, conviction, and encouragement.

We ask all of these things, God, in the name

of Jesus, we pray. Somebody say amen. Why don't

you give God one more hand praise? Amen. You

may be seated in God's presence. Our opening

verse today records the last prayer in the Bible.

It's the last prayer. It's not long. It's not

poetic. But it's powerful. And that last prayer

is even so come Lord Jesus. Come Lord Jesus.

Someone say come. Let's say that again. Come

Lord Jesus. Amen. I find it interesting that

the Bible does not end with a word or a prayer

for blessings. Doesn't come with a prayer for

gifts. Doesn't come with a prayer for more time.

These are all of the sorts of things that you

think that the Bible might offer at the very

end. Think about all of the promises. Think about

all of the words, the principles, the laws, the

instructions, the counsel, the full counsel of

God that is contained from... cover to cover

in this blessed book that we call the Bible,

the Holy Scriptures. Think about everything that

is written in here. Think about all the prayers

that have been prayed that were recorded in this

Bible, the great and marvelous things that God

has done and promised to do that are all contained

in the Word of God. Think about all of that.

That's a lot. Amen? There's many, many promises,

many, many prayers that are in this book. Amen.

Think about all those things and all the wonderful

things that man could ask for at the very end.

Think of the last prayer in the Bible as that

departing or closing word, the final chapter

as the Bible comes to an end. I mean, what would

be the one thing that we would pray, right? If

God said, hey, this is the last prayer I'm going

to record. for you think about what you might

ask for or man just if i could just squeeze this

last petition in if i can get one more prayer

in there this is what i would ask for And I think

that if we're honest today, especially if it's

in a moment of desperate need, we might pray

for that need that we have in our life or possibly

healing in our body or for God to do something

on our behalf. But I want you to, with me today,

consider the fact that at the very end of the

Bible, the last prayer that is prayed is a prayer

that says, Lord, come for us. The last prayer

in the Bible is Lord, come. Even so, come, Lord

Jesus. This prayer cannot be prayed unless the

one praying it has a clear revelation or understanding

about eternity and God's working in humanity,

understanding that it's all going to come to

a hedge at some point. And as I was reading this

last very short verse in the Bible, I began to

think about my own prayer life, began to think

about the kinds of things that I pray or that

I have heard people pray, and I wondered how

often Christians pray that prayer. Now, I don't

mean verbatim, but I just mean, you know, out

of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

I wonder if our conversation, if the desires

of our heart, our prayers even, would... in some

way resembled this prayer that was prayed at

the end of the Bible. I wonder if that prayer,

even so come Lord Jesus, gets harder to pray

depending on where you're at in your life. I

wonder if that prayer gets harder to pray or

is a hard prayer to pray when you're still young,

still in the prime of your life. Maybe that prayer

is easier to pray after you've lived a good,

long, and full life. It's like, well, come, Lord

Jesus. I'm ready to go home. I've lived my life.

That's, I think, an easier prayer to pray when

you're at the end. But how about when you're

in the prime, when everything in your life or

around you suggests to you that there is more

life to be lived, more experiences to be had?

I wonder if that prayer gets harder to pray when

you still have things to do, places to go, things

to accomplish. You see, I think, and this is

just what I have been impressed upon in my spirit

today, that many in the church today are not

praying. This is not an indictment. This is just

simply an observation. Are not praying or not

saying, come, Jesus, come. But instead, they're

saying either with their lips or their lifestyle,

wait, Jesus, wait. Wait until I get myself together.

Wait until I make a little more money. Wait until

I get married. Whoa, some of you prayed that

prayer many years ago. Praise God. Not until

I get married. Okay, hallelujah. Wait, hallelujah,

until I have a family. Let me just experience

that for myself. Wait until I travel the world.

Wait until I can taste the finer things that

life has to offer. Or wait until I'm really ready.

Until I have got all of the living out of my

system. And I have experimented with the world

a little bit. Just wait, God. Not come, Jesus,

come. But wait, Jesus, wait. But let me tell

you today, church and friend, that Jesus didn't

say, I'm coming when you're done with your plans.

Somebody help me today. Somebody say amen. He

didn't say, I'm coming after you get your act

together. He didn't say, I'm coming when you're

ready. He said, I come quickly. Someone say,

ready or not. Ready or not, I'm coming. And if

Jesus said it, friend, then we must believe it.

I said, we must believe it. We must live, how?

As if, this is what it means to believe that

Jesus could come. It's to live as if he's coming

today. Hallelujah. To live as if he's coming

now. We must live as if though this can happen

today and this starts, this really begins by

understanding what his coming really means. And

so when we talk about the coming of the Lord

or the rapture of the church, which is what we're

going to focus on today, the return of Christ

to catch away the saints and the church of the

Lord. When we talk about these things, there

can be a lot of misconceptions, ideas that have

been placed upon us, things that we have picked

up, whether in church or even outside of the

church. even through literature, through Hollywood

and different things that can inform. But we

need to get back to the Bible and look at what

God says about his coming. And so today I want

us just for a few moments to look at three aspects

of Christ's return. Three aspects of his return.

If God allows me, another week or so in this

series, we'll look a little more about eschatological

things or future things that are to come, but

we need to look at his return, and we need to

start with the timing of his coming. Someone

say the timing. The timing of his coming. This

is the first aspect of his return that we need

to look at. Back in the 90s, or excuse me, the

80s, a popular book came out called, it was entitled,

88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. This

is a book that actually came out. And I want

you to know that over 3 million copies were printed

and sold and distributed across America. It was

a popular book. You know what people did upon

reading this book? They sold their homes. Sold

their home. Quit their jobs. Many people maxed

out their credit cards thinking that they were

going to be here next month. And then you know

what happened? September came. And it went. And

the author, he was actually a NASA engineer turned

prophecy teacher, I guess. He ended up revising

it. He produced another book and said, wait,

wait, not September, October. He's coming. Well,

here we are 36 years later. We're still here.

We're still here. I think the author, whatever

his intentions were, maybe it was just to sell

books. He must have forgot to read the words

of Christ himself. Because Jesus said, but of

that day and hour, no one knows. Not even the

angels in heaven, but my Father only. Nobody

knows the exact time that Jesus is coming back.

And if they tell you that they do, They're not

being truthful. Not even the angels in heaven

know the exact day. And so every once in a while,

you'll see a billboard on the side of the road,

Judgment Day. It's going to happen on this day,

or somebody will make headlines, right, in the

news, because they have predicted a day. Let

me tell you, that's a dangerous thing to do,

and we should not be, as the people of God, in

the business of trying to predict when exactly

Jesus is going to come. It's clearly dangerous

to predict when he's coming. But let me tell

you today, church, it is equally dangerous to

go to the other extreme and assume, well, pastor,

since we don't know when he's going to come,

then we can just ignore the signs of the times.

Let me tell you that is equally dangerous. Equally

dangerous. As dangerous as it is to predict when

he's coming, it is to live. with our blinders

on, ignoring and not paying attention to what

is happening around us in our world as prophecy

is being unfolded each and every day. We may

not know the exact day or time, which we don't,

but Jesus warned about the season of his coming.

And Jesus said this in Matthew 24. And if this

topic interests you, you ought to devote much

time in reading and studying the book of Matthew

Matthew 24 · chapter mention

chapter 24 and 25. But he writes, or he says

this in verse 32. Now learn this parable from

the fig tree. When its branch has already become

tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer

is near. So you also, when you see all these

things, someone say all these things, know that

it is near at the door. So here in this chapter,

Jesus is predicting what is going to come during

the end times. And he talks, and I'm going to

share a little bit about what those things are.

But he says, when you begin to see these things,

you may not know the exact day or time, but you're

going to know that the hour is near. You're going

to know that my coming is near. When you see

these things, when you see like a branch, a fig

tree producing its leaves, you know that summer

is near and that the end is at the door. So how

do we know that branch is tender? What are the

signs of the time? I wish I had time to investigate,

break down what each of these signs are. But

just for review. These are some of the signs

which Jesus... refers or hints to at the end

of the end of the last days. Talks about wars

and rumors of wars. You can't go a day or two

without hearing of another war or another rumor

of war or another nation that is arming up its

nuclear warheads, investing in more capabilities

to attack and to create war. Now, through centuries,

there have been wars and rumors of wars all the

way from... you know, from the time of Christ

to this point, especially in the last century

or two with World War I and World War II and

all types of wars that have sprung out all over

the earth. But we need to understand that these

are signs. And even today, there are signs of

wars, the rumors of war. Nation rising against

nation. This is not just referring to one country

fighting with another country. This nation is

actually speaking of nationality or ethnicities.

Ethnic group rising against ethnic group and

fighting or hating each other. Famine and pestilence,

which we have seen through different pandemics

and epidemics that have affected us even not

too many years ago with the coronavirus. And

just because it's not happening on a global scale

doesn't mean that there's not pestilence and

doesn't mean that people and entire villages

and people are not dying because of famine even,

the lack of food. Earthquakes in various places.

The Richter scales are breaking records for earthquakes

that are taking place in diverse places that

are not known to typically be earthquake zone.

You know, here in the Bay Area, whenever there's

a little rattling, I mean, we hardly even, it

hardly makes this. news you know what i'm saying

it's like a little rattle it's like it hardly

makes the news why because we we are in a earthquake

zone right there's always going to be earthquakes

now some are bigger than others but in other

places where there isn't a big fault line they're

not used to having East earthquakes are springing

up in these places. Lawlessness is increasing.

Obviously, we're seeing a rejection of laws that

rule and govern, and the love of many is growing

cold, and all of these things are happening.

False prophets, oh my goodness, and apostasy

has run amok, especially now with the proliferation

of ideas through social media, the internet,

Google, I mean, you name it, YouTube. I mean,

anybody can start a church. on YouTube now and

gain followers and just spew whatever it is that

they want to say, whatever doctrine they have

come up with. And so apostasy, which is false

doctrine and false teaching, is running rampant

in the world today. And I thank God, hallelujah,

that we've got good doctrine, solid doctrine.

Amen. Hallelujah. a sign of the time is these

things are going to happen and there's also signs

in in the terrestrial realm and in the moon the

stars and on the earth and we see that men's

hearts jesus said in the in luke that men's hearts

would begin to fail them because of fear and

because of fear they're going to lose heart and

lose hope and become depressed and suicide and

so all of these things are happening around us

and and just because You're not tuned in to that

news channel. But I can assure you they are happening

on record levels. But also in a company with

that, not only are these bad things happening,

but also the gospel is being preached all around

the world. And that is another sign of his coming.

When you start seeing the gospel, when you start

seeing revival, when you start seeing the message

of Jesus Christ being preached in diverse places

and communities and different dialects and different

people and different creeds. to remote areas

that you never thought the gospel would ever

go, that is also a sign, and that's a good sign,

hallelujah, that Jesus is getting ready to take

his church out of here. Somebody clap your hands

and let's give God some praise today. Hallelujah.

Now, Jesus said, back to the next slide, please.

Jesus said, now, when these things begin to happen,

look up. He said, look up and lift up your head.

Why? Because your redemption draws near. We as

a people of God will see these things unfolding

in our world today, whether on the 24 -hour news

cycle or through the rumor of a friend or it

might even hit or touch our own family members

or households. But we as a people of God ought

not to become depressed or discouraged or lose

our faith or lose out with God. We ought to be

encouraged. We ought to comfort one another with

these words and say, hey. Everything is going

to be all right because Jesus is coming back

for his church. We don't say these things to

depress you and to, man, man, man, this world

is really in a bad. It is to encourage one another.

Say, hey, get your eyes off of this world. Get

your eyes off of everything. Don't get caught

up, you know, start walking around with tinfoil

on your head and say, oh, there's conspiracies.

Yeah, there might be those things out there,

but fix your eyes on. Jesus and say, hey, this

world is not my home. I'm a pilgrim passing through.

I'm going to lift up your head, lift up your

eyes, and look to the hills. Your redemption

draws nigh. This ought to be the disposition

of the church. We don't have a message of doom

and gloom. We got a message of hope that Jesus

is coming back for his church. We're living in

the last days, church. And just because he hasn't

come yet, let me tell you what my other title

was going to be. How many of you want to know

what the runner -up title was going to be? My

other title was going to be, and if you like

it, you can have it. Amen? Jesus is still coming

soon. Focus on the word still. Because you hear

people say, well, he hasn't come. I've been hearing

Jesus is coming. He's still coming soon. And

I tell you, when he gets there, he's going to

be right on time. It's been the last day since

I was a child. And it's still the last days.

And the fact that he hasn't come yet doesn't

mean he's not coming. Come on. Someone say hallelujah.

Then we have another aspect that we need to understand,

which is not only the timing, but the test. Someone

say the test. You got to understand something

about the catching away of the church or this

coming of the Lord. It's going to be a spiritual

test. Jesus said in Luke 18, 8, when the Son

of Man comes, speaking of his coming, his second

return, he will, or will he really find faith

on the earth? He asked this question, when I

come back, what am I going to find? Oh, man.

How many of you remember when your parents would

go away for a little bit? And maybe some of you

were left in charge. Of the house? I feel conviction

coming in right now. You're like, Pastor, you're

not going to tell them what we did, do we? No.

Your secret is safe. Huh? The party you threw?

No, I'm just kidding. Hallelujah. Whatever it

was you did, amen. And your parents said, I'm

coming back. I'm coming home. Right? Maybe they

got delayed or whatever. And it might have been

that what if they come home a little sooner than

what you thought? It's either car coming down

the street, uh -oh, get out of the house, or

clean. We said we were going to do the dishes

and we didn't do them. Mom said when we came

back, this house better be clean. And it's a

mess, throwing things under the couches. We got

to make it look clean. But if they come unannounced

and they just show up, guess what? You don't

have time to make it look clean. It's a test

to see if what, and Jesus ain't, I'm coming back.

And I left you there like in charge of the house

while I'm gone. And when I come back, what am

I going to find? How have you been living? What

has your life been like? What's been your testimony?

How's been your attitude? How's been your prayer

life? How's been your obedience to me? What am

I going to find? And there are many examples

which I don't have time to get through, but there

is one very powerful, very poignant parable that

Jesus talks about in Matthew 25 with the parable

of the 10 virgins who were all waiting for the

bridegroom to come. They all had lamps. They

were all waiting equally. Every one of them were

waiting. All these 10 virgins were waiting. They

had these lamps. As many of you may be familiar

with that story, but only five were ready when

he came. Half. And the other half were not ready.

And so at the very last minute, They went and

they tried to get their oil that they did not

have, that they were supposed to have ready in

their lamps. They went to try to go to the store,

to the neighborhood Walmart, whatever it was,

to try to buy and sell so they can get some oil.

It was too late by then. And there's a lot of

people that they're always getting ready to get

ready. But the question is, are you ready? Someone

say, are you ready? Because when he comes, there's

not going to be no time to get ready, my friend.

There's not going to be no time to say, oh, if

I could just get to an altar now. If I could

just repent now. If I could just listen and be

obedient now. If I could just get my heart right

now. Because when he comes, it's going to happen

in a snap of a finger, even faster than that.

And there won't be any time to do any of those

things. And the master's going to want to know,

is there any oil in your lamp? Have you been

praying? Have you been living right? Come on

now. Is there oil there? And God forbid, there's

no oil. And there's another example. The same

chapter, Jesus tells of a master who entrusted

his servants with talents. And when he returned,

he began to inspect their works. Okay, what did

you do with the talents I gave you? Okay, just

paraphrasing this very quickly. What did you

do with the talents I gave you? Two of them were

faithful, and they were fruitful with the talents

that God gave them. One of them decided, you

know, I'm going to take this one talent and bury

it. You know, because he was so fearful of it.

He was living from a place of fear, so he went

and he buried it. And what was the punishment

for him? Well, Jesus said that he was cast into

darkness. When the master came back, he looked

around and he said, what did you do with what

I gave you? What did you do with what I gave

you? What did you do with the gift I gave you?

What did you do with the blessing I gave you?

What did you do with the talent I gave you? You

see, here's something, before I move on to the

next point, which I'll get to in a moment, this

is something we need to understand, and I pray,

I really do, that it puts the fear of God in

the church. We tend to think that only backsliders

and sinners are going to miss the rapture. And

I'm here to tell you there's going to be churchgoers

that miss his coming. Not just the lost, but

those who, you know, take heed, the Bible says,

to those who think they stand lest they fall.

Those who think, ah, I've got it all covered.

I'm good. I don't need to grow anymore. I don't

need to repent anymore. I don't need to improve

anymore. I'm good just as I am, and I'm just

going to sit here and wait for him to come. That's

not how it works. We've got to occupy. We've

got to be about his business. We can't just be

in cruise control. You know what I'm saying?

There are more accidents that happen out there

in the driving world because people are on cruise

control. They're not paying attention to the

signs. They're not on guard. They're not sober.

and they're not vigilant and sober -minded. They're

not looking up and lifting their eyes to the

hills for his return, and they're just saying,

oh, he's going to, I don't know when he's going

to come, but he hasn't come yet. No, Jesus wants

to know, how will I find you when I come? Because

after that, there are no more make -up tests.

Somebody say amen today. Jesus will ask, what

did you do while I was gone? Were you murmuring

and backbiting the whole time? Playing games,

acting childish, holding grudges, being proud,

petty? Were you loving? Were you kind? Were you

generous? Were you winning souls? Were you forgiving?

Were you submissive? You know, what is he, what

kind of faith is he going to find? And this,

I have to put the fear of God in each and every

one of us because all of us here today, listen,

if you feel a little pinch today in the Holy

Ghost, that's all right. That's the love of God.

That's the love of God. You feel a pinch. I feel

for those who don't feel that pinch anymore.

I'm more concerned when you don't feel the pinch.

But when you start to feel the pinch, ooh, that's

the Holy Ghost right there. Oh, God, let us not

be like that one servant that Jesus talked about

in Matthew 24 who just kind of did whatever he

wanted because the master was away, but he did

what he wanted. And his rationale, the way this

one servant kind of talked his way out of it

is he said, well, my master is delaying in his

coming. And so because the master hadn't come

yet, he was just, you know, he felt like he could

just mess around and just act up and live any

kind of way. But then the master came and he

was found unready because the master came at

a time that he was not expecting. He came at

an hour he was not looking for. And so this is

the warning to the church today. Hear me today,

church, brother and sister in the Lord. This

is the word of God to you. Jesus is going to

come when you're not. expecting him to come.

Oh, wouldn't it be nice if he all came when we

were in church, you know, hands lifted, crying,

speaking in tongues. Oh, it would be great. But

I've got a feeling like he's going to come on

a Monday morning when your co -worker cussed

you out or somebody got on you. I've got a feeling

he's going to come when you're driving somewhere.

You least expect him. And you say, oh, surely

God's not going to come right now. This is why

we've got to get up every day and say this is

the day that the Lord has to come. And I will

rejoice and be glad in it. I'm not going to let

the devil rob me of my eternal home. It's a pop

quiz. Someone say, it's a pop quiz. The master

showed up to that one servant in Matthew 24,

and he wasn't looking for him. And he just, remember

those pop quizzes you got in high school when

the teacher was, we have a pop quiz today, right?

Everyone starts looking around like, oh, man.

And then you find out who's been studying. And

you find out who's been prepared. And can I tell

you something? And with all due respect, like

anybody could, anybody could ace or do well on

a test if you know when the test is going to

happen and you have ample time to prepare. Right?

And you get reminder after reminder after reminder.

It's coming tomorrow. Remember tomorrow, 5 o

'clock, it's coming. You know what most people

do? We would cram that 455. Hallelujah. Brother,

come on up here in a minute. But Jesus is not

coming like that. He's not coming. The rapture

will be a pop quiz. And you're either ready,

someone say you're ready or not. Come on, say

it louder. Say ready or not. Ready or not. He's

coming. And this is the kind of fear when I talk

about fear. Hear me today. I'm not talking about

this. Fear of the boogeyman, I'm not talking

about a fear of of, you know, you're just like,

oh, I'm afraid of things. I'm talking about irreverence,

a godly fear that we ought to live with. The

Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning

of wisdom. The fear of the Lord. The fear of

the Lord. And this needs to be restored in the

church today because there are many that have

become lackadaisical, lukewarm in their faith

because Christ hasn't come yet. So, you know,

I've got time to mess around. I've got time.

I'll repent next Sunday. I've got time. I'll

do things how I want. But I'm here to tell you

that if Jesus came today, are you ready? If he

came today, would you be ready? You know, there

was a time, I remember this growing up. There's

a time that, man, growing up in a Christian household,

some of you, this may not sound familiar to you

because maybe you didn't grow up in a Christian

home where this was taught. But there was a time

then where I grew up, I'd come home. This was

before the invention of, you know, cell phones.

And I think they may have had pagers, but, you

know, people took like three hours to respond

to those things, you know. And you'd come home

and nobody would be there. And then you'd call.

Mom, did you call Grandpa? Grandpa didn't answer.

Did you call everybody? Did you call the pastor?

Nobody asked. I'm telling you, it's like you

would think, did Jesus come? For a split second,

it hits your mind. Like, wait a minute. Did it

happen and I'm still here? That's the kind of

fear that we lived with. It could happen at any

moment. You've got to be ready. Somebody say,

you've got to be ready. Oh, but let me tell you

about when he comes. Let me tell you about when

he comes. The Bible says this in Thessalonians.

In chapter 4, Paul writes these words to encourage

the Thessalonians so that they might comfort

one another through their trials and tribulations.

He said, for the Lord. himself will descend from

heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel

and with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ

will rise first hallelujah would you stand with

me this afternoon oh hallelujah then we who are

alive and remain shall be caught up together

with them in the clouds to meet the Lord We shall

always be with the Lord. Come on. Why don't we

give God about 30 seconds of praise right there?

Come on. Thank you, Jesus. He's coming. He's

coming. The dead in Christ are going to rise

first. Those who are dead in the Lord are going

to rise first. Hallelujah. And there have been

some that have already gone on to be with Jesus.

And I feel like we've been in a season where

there's been quite a few. Sometimes I feel like

heaven's bus just comes by, you know, and picks

up a number of people. Okay, it's time to go

home. And some of we have said goodbye to some

people recently that have died in the Lord. Well,

guess what? They're ahead of the pack. Hallelujah.

When Jesus comes, they're going to be in front

of us. They got their first in line. Hallelujah.

Praise God. But those of us, hallelujah, that

are alive and remain, we're going to meet them

in the air. And when Jesus comes, he's not sending

an angel. Next slide. Hallelujah. He's coming

himself. Oh, my Lord. Jesus himself is going

to descend in the clouds. Woo! My Lord. He's

coming back for us. Oh, and when he comes, he's

not just going to descend in a very soft cloud,

you know, with singing angels and violins and

harps and that sort of thing. When he comes,

there's going to be a shout. There's going to

be a voice. And there's going to be a trumpet.

Hallelujah. Oh. what the shout of God is going

to sound like on that day. Oh, my God. The shout

is the shout of Jesus. How many of you can you,

my brother, can you imagine what the shout of

the Lord Jesus Christ will sound like? It's going

to sound like the lion from the tribe of Judah.

It's going to be. It's going to break the cedars

of Lebanon. It's going to... Oh, my God. What

a shout. There's going to be a voice. The archangel,

most likely Michael, is going to shout with a

loud voice announcing the coming of the king.

Here comes the herald, the king of... Let the

praise team, if they could come and prepare themselves.

There's going to be a trumpet that's going to

sound. I feel the Holy Ghost in this place. The

trumpet is a powerful symbol of what God is doing

when he comes back. Trumpets in the Bible, church,

they represent, they represent. They represent

praise. And they were used in battle. But trumpets

were also used to gather the people of God. When

they blew the trumpet in the book of Isaiah.

All the people of God gathered together in one

place. And when Jesus comes back for his church.

There's going to be a trumpet. The Bible says

the last trumpet is going to sound. And when

that trumpet sounds. We shall be changed in a

moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last

trumpet. And we're going to meet the Lord in

the end. my question today. I feel the Holy Ghost

right now. Some of you want to begin to worship,

go ahead. Don't stop. If you want to, God is

working in this place. The praise team is going

to sing in just a moment. There's a song, hallelujah,

that God has put in this moment for us. But I

want you to understand that I preach this today

not simply to warn you. I preach it to comfort

you. I preach to tell you that life is hard.

Life is difficult. There is pain. There are problems.

There's disease and famine and violence and war.

There's all kinds of things that can affect us

in this world. And so I come today with a word

of encouragement. If you're not living right,

get right with God today. Oh, make sure your

heart is rapture ready. And if you need comfort,

I've come to comfort you today and tell you this.

to pray like the prayer prayed in revelation

and say come