Voice of the Nazarene 5-7-23

I'm coming to you from North Central Ohio, we share with you the voice of the Nazarene, a week by week venture into the Word of God sponsored by the Bucyrus, Ohio Church of the Nazarene, we joined our Pastor Ray LaSalle, and the voice of the Nazarene.

In our earlier service, we had our graduates recognized the number of high school graduates and college graduates, also.

We're so very proud of them and what they're doing and where they're going. And I just want to mention, I didn't mention that in the earlier service but would like to right now.

Yesterday morning, the ladies had a conference. And it was a beautiful time together with a meal and a guest speaker. A community event, sponsored by this local church. And one of the ladies had said to me said, Pastor, this thing's a lot of work. Of course, they'd put up the tables and gotten all ready for it. Put on tablecloths and had brought the tables in from the gymnasium and the chairs.

And she said, so a lot of work.

I said, Yes, but it's worth it.

She said it is. And I said, in case you didn't know what everything around here is a lot of work. Didn't know if you realize that we've got cameras on right now, there're focusing in for television. Also for live stream, we've got those that are manning the cameras. We've got others handling the lights, there's the sound booth with all the sound equipment and those working that. And over there, the children's church, they're in a program, we have children's church during both of our worship times here. And we have workers working at the other two campuses that we have, takes a lot of work. I don't know if you know this, but when I walk into the pulpit, it's not an accident when I say I've studied and worked my way through scripture, to be sure that I'm being sound, and telling exactly what Christ once said, from his word, there's a lot of work. But, it's a good thing isn't it? And when these singers get up here and the musicians play, it took practice they met together and produce some beautiful, beautiful music. Thanks for being here. And welcome to all of our guests. Matthew 24, verse one, we've been talking about the closing out of time. And I want to move right on into the signs. He said, as Jesus went out and departed from the temple and his disciples came to Him, for to show Him the buildings of the temple. Not like he didn't know about them. And Jesus said unto them, see, and not all these things. Rarely I said to you, there shall not be left here, one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

And as he sat down upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? What should be the sign of that coming and the end of the world, some very legitimate questions. I want to look at the signs of the end as given by Jesus. I didn't read these out of a book. It's not some eschatology theologian that is projecting what he thinks will happen, if you've got a red letter edition and incidentally, if you take your New Testament and just read the red letters, it's the very words of Jesus Christ. Christ is sharing with us the signs to look for when he comes back again, and I want to go down through those. Now in verse two, he said to the disciples, I know you're in ambered, with the temple, it's awesome. The antiquity of it, the awesomeness of it, and they're in awe of it. But he said, You need to understand, that temple is going to be destroyed. They'll not be one stone left upon another. That happened 37 years after he said it, which was in 33 ad, a Roman general by the name of Titus swept into Jerusalem, conquered the city, leveled the city, built a Roman city. 1.1 million Jews lost their lives. Just like Jesus said would happen. You go to verse three, and Jesus is on the Mount of Olives and gathering around him are his disciples. And it's the Mount of Olives, the highest point in all of Israel, you can look out in all directions and see everything and he's pointing toward those things. This is the mount that Jesus ascended to heaven from. It's the very same mount that when he comes back, he'll come to the Mount of Olives. He's teaching them they're sitting around, and his disciples saying, Jesus, what are these things is going to be what will be the sign of your return and the end of the world.

And Jesus responds in verse 33.

So likewise, ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that is near, even at the door, did you notice he said, all of these things, a conglomerate of all that's happening, not just one little thing over here and one later over there, but all of these things. Now, if you can't see the sign, you don't know, really what's going to happen.

And so they're saying, Jesus show us, he didn't rebuke them.

He didn't call them a faithless generation. And he's not upset if you're wanting to know, the signals or the signs of the end times. Now, I want to remind you that the one that's coming back is the very one, giving you the secrets and the signs of when he's going to come. And so simply, I want to give you the various signs that Jesus gave to His disciples. And by the way, all of these things are happening in a conglomerate.

They're in a sequence. They're all happening at once, and you need to really focus in on all of that. So he said, When all of that's working together, my coming is very near at the door, Sign number one, Deception. Look at verse four. They said, Lord, tell us the sign. And he responded, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am a Christ, and shall deceive many.

Now, I don't know if you know this, but the news tells us there are at least 1,000 right now on Earth, claiming to be the Christ over 1,000 deceivers. And I want you to understand the plan of Satan. It hadn't changed at the very beginning of time, Genesis 3:13, the Lord said to the woman, what is this you have done and the woman said, The serpent, the serpent, deceived me, and I ate. And I want you to understand from the beginning of time, the tool that Satan uses is deception. And if you're going to the end of the Bible, Revelation 20, verse 10, and the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire. He's going to get his, the devil that deceived them. You need to understand one of the end time signs is deception. Genesis 2:16, the Lord God commanded the man, saying, incidentally, you need to understand why God spoke to the man and didn't speak to the woman, because the woman hadn't yet been created. That make sense? Why talk to a woman that hadn't shown up yet? So he's talking to the only one that's there and it's Adam. And he said, Of every tree in the garden, thou may freely eat, but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shall not eat of it. For, the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shall surely die. Now this is simple.

Genesis 3:13 Revelation 20:10 Genesis 2:16

God said that tree right over there, you're not to eat of it.

Because when you eat off that tree, you're going to die.

That's pretty simple. I would think anybody ought to have enough brains to leave that tree alone if you don't want to die.

But look what the serpent did Genesis 3:1, the serpent was more subtle than any beasts of the field was the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, He shall not eat of every tree of the garden. Now do you see what the devil is doing? Ladies and gentlemen, he's getting them to question the Word of God, and because of serpents role in this, deceiving them, the devil using the serpent. God said to the serpent, you'll no longer walk, but you will crawl on your stomach on the ground, and you will lick up the dust. In other words, the serpent, his arms were taken away and his feet were taken away. So that means he was disarmed and defeated.

Genesis 3:1

Now, what's the devil doing today? He's getting people to question the Word of God. July 2022, 20% of Americans said that they believe that the Bible is the Word of God. That meant that 80% of Americans said we do not believe that the Bible is the Word of God. And the fastest growing religion in the world right now is the Muslim faith.

And I need to remind you, and I'm not fighting anybody. But the Christian faith and the Muslim faith are not sister faiths. They do not believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior. And may I say to you, Jesus isn't just a good way to heaven. He's not a better way to heaven. He's not the best way to heaven. He's the only way to heaven. The only way to heaven. No man come on under God except through Jesus Christ. He said I'm the door. 50 years ago, 90% of Americans said that they believed in God, and were Christians. Now as the years have swiftly passed, it's shrunk to less than 50%. Now the disciples asked, What are the signs? And he said, look around, there's going to be deception everywhere. And here's sign number two, the sign of war. 32 active conflicts going on in the world today. Now our Lord is speaking. Look at what he said in verse six. And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, see that you be not troubled for all these things must come to pass.

But the end is not yet. Now today, for the last two years, we have watched Russia as its invaded the Ukraine. 1,000s of lives have been lost, devastation is astronomical, if you've seen any pictures. And it's just a prelude to what's about to happen. Over in Ezekiel 37. It's a chapter that talks about dead the dry bones coming to life that happened May 15, 1948, when the Jews from everywhere came and stood up having planted a flag in their soil and stood up like a living army. And then have you move from chapter 37 to the very next chapter, Ezekiel 38. Which takes place during the tribulation period, written 2,600 years ago, and look what the Bible says, Son of man set thy face against Gaga. Now Gaga is a person, Gaga is a leader.

Gaga is a prince. Now could Gaga be Putin? Over there in Russia?

I don't know. I'm not suggesting that he is. I would not emphatically say that he is. But he's starting war, in't he? And it says the land of Magog. Now, what's the land of Magog? It's that land around the Black Sea, which is occupied today by Russia. He said, Son of man set thy face against Gaga the leader, the land of Magog which is Russia, the chief prince, that word chief, I looked it up in the Hebrew, it's rush. It's where we get the word Russia.

And it said the chief prince of Moscow, which is the Hebrew for Moscow, the city of Moscow capital. And he said in Tubal, which is another large city in Russia. Now, you've got to understand, that's in verse two.

It says that Russia will invade Israel, but they're going to form alliances first. And if you look at verse five, it tells you some of the nations in that alliance, check it out, get on the news and look it up. It's the same. It says Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya. Now whats interesting, it says that Russia is going to make an alliance with Persia. That blew my mind.

And then I begin to study about Persia, and I found that in 1936, Persia was renamed Iran.

And so Russia will form that alliance with Iran and see it was just reported November of 2022. They said exclusive. Iran is seeking Russia's help to bolster the nuclear program. And our own US Intel officials believe they found interesting news, Russia and Iran are working together to develop nuclear programs. Now, if you've studied, if you've read Ezekiel 28, then you already know what had happened. I mean, the Bible is more current than tomorrow's news. Just read your Bible. And then these nations turn against Israel but keep in mind and don't forget this. If you ever forget me or something happens to me, always remember that Israel is the apple of God's eye and keep in mind that he that watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. So when they invade Israel, divine help, will come from God and 82% of their armies will be destroyed, and it'll take seven months just to bury the dead. Now, did you know that when World War II took place, two countries had nuclear weapons? Right now nine countries have nuclear weapons.

Did you know that one warhead in a submarine right now has seven times more capacity than the atomic bombs that were dropped in World War II? We're setting on a live cave. In fact, no matter, if you go to Peter's writings at first or second Peter, and he'll tell you it'll be a burning fire. Now, the first world was destroyed by water. What will come the next time, no doubt will be nuclear warfare. So you'd probably ask the question is nuclear warfare prophesied in the Bible? Can I read it to you? It Zachariah 500 years before Christ, chapter 14, verse 12. And this shall be the plague which the LORD will smite all the people. All the people that have fought against Jerusalem, their flesh shall consume away while they stand on their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. Now, my dad was in that theater of war that was in the Philippines. But all across the way in Japan, when they dropped those bombs, anybody that even turned from 100 miles away and looked toward that bomb when it exploded their eyes literally melted and ran out of their sockets and ran down their face. They reached up to feel their face, and their ears came off in their hands and their nose melted off, of their very countenance. Intense atomic bombs. Now Zachariah didn't have our cymatics. He didn't have our terminology. He didn't know how to express nuclear atomic warfare. But he uses the language that describes their eyes melted, their flesh melted away. And Jesus said, the disciples asked what shall be the signs? He said, the one you better watch for first of all, is deception. And the next one, he said is war. And then he goes on in verse seven, a third sign, is a famine? I ought to say, famines, it's in the plural. Did you notice that hunger is increasing? Hunger is increasing, because 30% of the wheat produced in all the world is over there in Russia, in the Ukraine area, and they're in a war. Therefore, when you go to the stores, you'll notice goods missing, and the shelves are getting a little bare and a little barer all the time.

There's going to be a famine.

And that's one of the reasons why you need to realize how many are starving. 25,000 people every day die of hunger in our world. 10,000 children die of hunger in our world every day.

One out of seven people in our world are starving to death.

Jesus said it would be happening. There'll be deception. There'll be war, there'll be famine, and sign number four, there'll be pestilence. In verse seven, Jesus said, there will be diseases, the sign of pestilence. The doctor said here the other day, I have been in medical science for over 40 years. But what we've encountered with COVID-19 is nothing like we have ever seen.

Nothing we've ever met and been able to understand. It's doing things that are beyond our mind.

And then later on all kinds of problems in the human body. We put people on vents and then we were never able to take them off. And more than 6 million people have died as a result.

I've never experienced anything like it in my lifetime, have you? I never dreamed I could go to a bank. And they would tell me to put a mask on, I never dreamed I'd go to church and some preacher wouldn't receive the offering. That every church has buckets in the back, they don't pass the plates.

And you know how preachers are, they all can get your last nickel. Little boy swallows a nickel and mother's told the dads to take him to the preacher he'll turn him upside, he'll shake that nickel out of him.

Jesus said when you see all of these things happening together, like deception and war, famine, pestilence, and sign number five earthquakes, verse seven, earthquakes in diverse places.

You say pastor, there's always been earthquakes. You're right.

And in the 15th century, there were 115. But they've intensified now. And in this 20th century, more than 3,000 earthquakes, and the Richter scale is just rocking the Earth.

Down in Turkey, this last earthquake, more than 40,000 people died, and they're still not through all of the wreckage and debris trying to find bodies. Let me give you another sign. He said when you see all of these things happening at the same time, the sign of persecution. Look at what verse nine says, Jesus said, Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, they shall kill you and he shall be hated of all nations for my namesake. Do you know you can't please everybody, at the same time. Fact of matter if you can, please God, it doesn't matter who else you don't please. But if you don't, please God, it doesn't matter who you do please. And if you're pleasing everybody, sir, probably your favorite color is plaid, or pink. The sign of persecution. Last year 5,600.

Christians were martyred. And maybe many, many more. 6,000 Christians were put in prison for their faith. 4,000 Christians were kidnapped, that we know of. More than 5,000 churches were destroyed because of their Christian faith. In Afghanistan, right now, if you become a Christian, you either flee the country, or you will be executed. And he's saying here when all of these happenings at the same time, it's telling us the coming of Christ is near. If you're not ready, I'd like to know why you're not ready.

Here's another sign. It's the sign of seeing seventh sign.

Notice what Jesus said in verse 12, because of iniquity shall abound, iniquity. You got to understand, because when we near the end iniquity is going to abound and I promise you, iniquity has increased. 30% of all the content on the internet highway is pornography. Iniquity has increased. And let the Bible speak for itself let the written word 2,000 years ago, let it speak for itself. Just let me read the Scripture. Okay. Thank you. Talking to myself now.

Second Timothy three first five verses I want the scripture to speak. This know also that in the last days when, last days, what are the last days like perilous times shall come for men shall be lovers of their own selves. Some guys, I think they could put some perfume on and take themselves on a date.

Covetous, boasters proud, blasphemers, catch this one, disobedient to parents. Have you ever seen such disobedience to parents, as these days? And the governor has made it so you don't dare even hardly spank your kid. I don't know what would have happened if Dad had been alive now. I know, he was pretty warmed up the last time I saw him. I don't want to go to church. Hey, who gave you any choice? If you lived in our house, you didn't get to eat that day. You didn't have a bed to sleep and you didn't have clothes to wear yous going to go to church because the family was going, there wasn't any choice.

You're the parent, He said disobedient to parents. I'll move on. That's not a good one.

I'm thankful and holy without, hey, hang on to this one without natural affection. Can I just say that without going into it in a mixed audience without natural affections. You ever seen such a crazy world we live in? Truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, that means without self control, fears, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God? Hey, Pastor, I won't see you till the fall.

We've got a lot of good things to do, it's summertime. Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. Having a form of godliness but denying the power. There, that's the prophecy of our day.

Isaiah 5:20 says, Woe unto them, they call evil good and good evil. Listen, when a woman is raped every 48 seconds, it tells me that iniquity has abound.

Isaiah 5:20

When I see cities burning down over political maneuvering and manipulation, iniquitie's abounding. When I see human trafficking in a so called lawful Christian nation like America, iniquity is abounding.

When I get phone calls as a pastor and somebodies weeping and they're saying, preacher can I come to your church? I said, Sure, why not? Well, where we attend, they're putting sodomites now as pastors. And can we come and have a pastor that is normal. I won't go any farther with that. What about the son of Israel? Verse 32, Jesus said, Now learn the parable of the fig tree, when his branch is yet tinder, put it forth leaves, you know that summer is nigh. It's talking about the rebirth of Israel in 1948. Now listen, God is a God of order. Understand something from Adam, to Abraham, Abraham was the father of the Jewish nation, God made a covenant with Abraham. And from Adam, to Abraham was 1,948 years that.

Did you catch that? And Israel become a nation in what 1948?

The most amazing things. And God said, Israel is an apple of my eye. Now, have you ever had anybody touch the pupil of your eye? Do you know why I wear these things? I know, you know, so I can see. It's like asking why do you wear suspenders? Hold your britches up. But the reason I wear these that I don't have contacts. I cannot stand anything getting near my eye.

I've got the worst eye gag reflex you've ever seen. I don't put one of those things in my eye for fear that I couldn't get the contact out later. It'll be in there when they're putting me in the grave. And I'll still be scratching my eyes. I can't stand my eyes touched. God said when you touch Israel, you're touching the apple of my eye.

You're poking me in the pupil of my eye. That's what God is saying. When you mess with Israel, and in Psalm 121 verse four, he that watches over Israel, he never slumbers, he never sleeps, he's watching. And Genesis 15:18 talks about the land that was given to Israel.

Genesis 15:18

And according to that is from the Nile to the Euphrates, and according to Joshua 1:4, from the Euphrates, to the Mediterranean Sea. This is the land that God gave them. It's their land. And we're talking about portions of Syria and portions of Saudi Arabia and of Lebanon and the West Bank. And yet they're always being pressured to give their land up in order to bring peace. Can I say a couple things and not be political. And you not walk out of here and start a rumor that I'm being political. If you'll study every president, especially the last five or six presidents, they campaigned on the platform that if I'm elected, I'll help make Jerusalem become the capital of Israel, and we'll protect Israel. And they get elected and it's amazing how quick they forget the promises they made to their electorates. You listening? They get in office and they forget. You may be in disagreement with Donald J.

Joshua 1:4

Trump. But I'll give him this, he's the only one that had enough.

this is a Hebrew term guts to allow Jerusalem to become the eternal capital of Israel. I'll give it to him for that. All those Jews went back in 1948.

And according to Amos 9:15, it said they'll never be uprooted again and the little bitty nation. I don't think it's as big as New Jersey. And all the countries around 40 some million Arabs, nobody can get the Jews off of that little strip of ground. It's amazing. I want to give you some interesting facts.

Amos 9:15

I want you to know I'm fair and balanced. Now I'm not very balanced. I'm a football. I'm big in the middle a little both ends.

October 13, 1991, George Bush Senior promoted the Madrid peace conference. And he said we need to divide the land of Israel with the Palestinians. Give it back some of that land to keep peace. The next day a storm broke out on the East Coast and made its way right up from the Atlantic, tearing up home after home after home till it got clear up to Kennebunkport, Maine, and wrecked the house of George Bush Senior. God said if you mess with Israel, and you're poking me in the eye, and I'm gonna have a gag reflex, I'm gonna respond. Get that. He tried it again August 23, 1992 and Hurricane Andrew hit Florida. On January 21, 1998, Prime Minister Benjamin whatever his name is, you can't say amen so you couldn't pronounce his last name either. He comes to Washington DC. President Bill Clinton refuses to meet with him. He requests lunch with President Clinton and with the Secretary of State and they both refused to meet him. He leaves and he goes home, later that day, Monica Lewinsky scandal erupts. You mess with Israel, you're poking god in the eye.

And God reacts. December 12, 1998. Clinton goes to Israel and encourages them to divide the land back up with the Palestinians. The vote happens that afternoon to impeach him.

Fair and balanced. George W.

Bush pressured Israel to give up the Gaza Strip. And while he's pressuring, Israel to give up the Gaza Strip, Hurricane Katrina hit. God said don't mess with him. You're poking me in the eye. President Barack Obama May 20, 2011 says that Israel should return to pre 1967 borders and the deadliest tornadoes ever hit America hit Joplin, Missouri. What are you saying pastor? I'm saying when you touch Israel, you're touching the apple of God's eye.

If you need one more sign and there's a number more, the side of the blood moons, let me say something. Here in the Bible, maybe you haven't noticed God said let there be light in the firmament of the heaven. That's the sun, moon, and the stars.

And let there be light and divide the day from the night.

You go to Acts chapter two, verse 20, The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood before that great and notable day of the Lord come. Now back up to the verse before and I will show wonders in heaven above. And signs in the earth beneath.

Blood, fire, vapor, smoke and signs. I've searched that word sign in the Hebrew, it's signals. God is sending out signals, and he's sending out signs. You don't have to miss it. If you really want to know how close we are to the coming of Christ. You got to see the signs, Acts 2:20. What are the signs? Well, the sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood. You say well, When's that going to happen?

Acts 2:20

Before the great and notable day of the Lord. And when you see the moon turned into blood, when you see the blood moon, which literally is a lunar eclipse. It is when the Earth's shadow completely covers the moon and the light from the sun passes through and makes the moon red.

You say Well, that means that the coming of the Lord's near?

That's what the Bible says. When did it happened last November 8, 2022? All the signs. So pastor, what should we do? What he tells you to, Luke 21:28 look up and lift up your heads, lifting up your head you're breaking contact with this world and making contact with the world above. Because he said when all of these things are happening your redemption drouth nigh. Now you say, preacher, as we near the end, and everything's happening in the Lord's about the come, I'm a little worried.

Luke 21:28

Let me tell you something, it does create anxiety. I don't care what anybody says. But I love verse 18 of that first Thessalonians chapter four, where it says, comfort one another with these words. And if you'll back up a little further the Lord shall, descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel and the trump of God, shall sound of the dead and Christ shall rise and we which are alive and remain will be caught up together to meet him in the air. Even so shall we ever be with the Lord.

The coming of the Lord ought to comfort our hearts. Don't get so caught up with all the signs that you miss the shout, the Lord's coming with a shout.

While all these signs are piling up, one other verse, Matthew 24:27, For as the lightning coming out of the East, and shinning even unto the West, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. You say, Well, Pastor, lightning coming out of the East and shinning toward the West, that does't work that way, I know. And meteorologists will tell you that when that happens, it means the storm is over. And I'm trying to tell you when Jesus Christ comes, the storm, is over. Aren't you glad? Are you ready? I hope you are. I want us to take our elements for communion. I missed it. I was preaching on the close out of time last week. I was so caught up in it in that first service that I forgot all about communion. I think only two people had a heart attack over it. But it's preaching about getting ready for His coming.

Matthew 24:27

And I want you to understand that this thing of communion is a reminder that we're to do till he comes. And so if you'll take your elements, and you'll lift off the thinnest part of it, you'll come to the piece of bread. And let's wait let's do it together. I want to have a word of prayer. There's a little verse that goes along with this, let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup Father.

Thanks for being a part of the voice of the Nazarene. Visit us every Sunday at 9am with BNC's Pastor Ray LaSalle. For more information regarding BNC visit Bucyrus nazarene.org.