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[music and applause]
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>> I'd like to say something. It just hit me really hard over here. There is nowhere else I'd rather be right now in this whole world than right here. I mean that. The whole world. There is nothing I'd rather be doing more than what I'm doing right now. You can't name something that I would go, "Oh, I didn't think about that." You can't. This is my life. You are my life. Our life. I'm doing exactly what I want to do with all of my heart right now. I'm a happy man.
Saved >> [music] >> forever by the grace and mercy of God. All sins >> [music] >> washed away. Considered a son of God. Called a saint of God. Not because of any good things I've done, but because he's a good God. And the whole church said, "Amen." Don't you ever just just ever so often just almost lose it thinking what he's done for me? And you consider that the sufferings of this present life are not even worthy to be [music] compared to the glory that's coming. And though our outward man is perishing, it is [music] our inward man is being renewed day by day. And thank God we've learned to look at things that are not seen. Cuz things that are not seen are forever. What you can see is going to blow away one day. Hey, we ought to thank God right now for the gift of eternal life.
>> [applause] >> I'm going to do what the Bible has instructed me to do and that's this morning stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance. That means let's recall some things today. So, I want to go first of all to Acts chapter 1 so that we can read together beginning with verse number nine. Ready? Is everybody ready? Now, when he had spoken these things while they watched he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up behold, two men stood by them in white apparel who also said men of Galilee why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven. This same Jesus. I'm going to get to see him. You can be seated. May the Lord May the Lord open our eyes, our understanding, our hearts. And may we see things we've never seen before this very morning.
Now, we say it often and sometimes I think we we just say it out of habit. He could come today. Jesus could come today. But that's not true. It's not true. He could not come back to this earth today. A lot of things have to happen before Jesus could come back to this earth today. Why? You've got a 7-year tribulation period that must come to pass. 7 years. The Great Tribulation. The whole uh the holy Old Testament scriptures call it the time of Jacob's trouble. 7 years of God's testing and refining and judging Israel. When 2/3 of the population of Israel will be killed, only a third will survive. 7 years when God will pour out unheard-of, unimaginable wrath, holy wrath, on a world that has rejected His Son Jesus, who died for the world, who suffered immeasurably for the people that walk this planet, and yet they rejected Him, laughed, pushed Him aside, and chose other things. Oh, yeah, for 7 years this is going to take place. Jesus will not come back to this earth until the end of that tribulation period. Jesus will not come back to the earth until the man of sin, the Antichrist, the son of perdition, makes his appearance on the scene of this earth at the beginning of the tribulation period.
I want to be very gentle here. I I have observed over the last soon to be 3 weeks how again euphoric people are about the influence that one world leader can have suddenly, powerfully affect the whole world. What do you think is going to happen when the church is gone and the man of sin comes to the forefront? Who is Satan incarnate? With all lying wonders and miraculous powers. How do you think this world is going to act when they feel the influence of this dictator? The man of sin. And he must complete his course. He must deceive the whole world. He must do his best to annihilate Israel's population. He must walk into a temple at the end of the tribulation and declare that he is God. The Bible calls that the abomination of desolation. Jesus cannot, will not come back to this earth as you just read in Acts chapter 1 until the judgments of God have been dispensed. The seals have been opened. The trumpets have been blown. The bowls, the vials of wrath have been poured out over a space of 7 years. Jesus will not come back to this earth until that's complete, until there is a temple in Jerusalem. Jesus will not come back to this earth until there is a gathering of the nations to fight against him. And when the nations find themselves in the valley of Megiddo, the battle of Armageddon, the valley of Jehoshaphat, the the valley of judgment, that's when Jesus Christ will appear in the clouds. He will come to once and for all, before the millennial reign, judge the unrighteous and the rebellious. He will take the Antichrist, the man of sin, and the false prophet and throw them into the lake of fire. And Satan himself will be cast into the abyss, the bottomless pit, to await a thousand year period when he will then be released for a short time. So, we we innocently say, "The Lord could come today." But we forget all of the biblical facts and prophecies that must be fulfilled before that does take place.
But the most important thing in all of that is that the rapture of the church, the catching away of the saints, the great disappearance, is going to take place. That's the only reason that the Antichrist and the false prophet and the deception is going to cover this earth because Jesus is not coming to earth to get us. He is stepping on the clouds to call us. He's not coming back until he comes back to put a an end to the battle of Armageddon. But he's going to bring his church, his people out of this before he comes back. And that's the most important thing I want to say to you today because if Jesus emphasized anything, he was always emphasizing readiness. Be ready. Keep your eyes on the clouds. Whatever you do, don't get relaxed. Don't feel safe and secure. You never know what's going to happen next. You never know when the trumpet is going to sound. So, don't get comfortable. Watch. For in such an hour as you're not even aware, the Son of Man will come. Jesus was warning us. Keep your eyes open. Keep your prayers going up. Live in awareness and readiness all the time. Watch what you say. Watch how you live. Watch where you go because you belong to Jesus. The church will have to be removed before Jesus comes back to this earth. We, the body of Christ, will have to be taken out, taken away before the Lord can pour his wrath on this world. We will not be a part of that. Why? Because he has already suffered wrath for us. Hallelujah to God.
So, I'm reading here what Paul is saying in 2 Thessalonians. And now you know what is restraining. Well, let me go back up. Let no one deceive you by any means. That day will not come unless the falling away comes first. And the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was with you, I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining that he may be revealed. You know what is holding Antichrist back. You know that the Antichrist cannot appear as long as there's one character left. And that is the church. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains the body of Christ will do so until he is taken out of the way. We will hold back evil. Brother, sister, we're worshipping, preaching, praying, praising, evangelizing. We're doing the work of the ministry. And that power, that force is restraining, forbidding the spirit of Antichrist to engulf this world. But a trumpet is going to sound. And the church, the restrainer, is going to be removed. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth, and destroy with the brightness of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all powers and signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception. Listen, among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this reason, God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who do not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Folks, if ever we've preached and taught and evangelized, if ever we've been involved in missions, we ought to be doing it today. We are the restraining force in this world. And light is holding back the darkness, but darkness is pulsating. It's trying to break through. Evil knows that there's a little time left, and it wants to break the dam, so to speak. So, as long as we are here, this is what we're going to do. We're going to live for Jesus, walk with Christ, live in the word, tell the truth, do the right thing, come together on Sunday, lift up the name of the Lord, let the Holy Spirit fill us again, bless the Lord at all times, until the trumpet sounds and the Lord calls us home.
So, who are we? I've preached on this a number of times. I just can't seem to get to the bottom of it. We're the church. We're also called the chosen. Chosen of God. Hallelujah. I don't know if you ever get down or not, but if you do, you ought to say, "Oh, but he chose me. I didn't choose him. He chose me. I was not looking for him. He came looking for me." I was not hungry for him, but he longed for me. I had no life, so he gave me his life. I'm telling you, if you're down today, you ought to just say with this thing right here called your mouth, "I have been chosen." He chose me. He put his hand on me. He picked me out. And that's the other word that by which we are defined, elect. We've been elect. We're called the elect of God. That means, you know, not everybody gets elected. Only a few get elected. Have you ever noticed that? And the Bible goes uh so boldly and bravely as to say, "He elected you from the foundation of the world, chosen, elect, the people of God." In fact, when Peter was preaching to the council in Acts chapter 15, he says something like I can't find it now, but anyway, he says, "The Lord has chosen for himself a people for his name." "Out of the Gentiles, he has called a people for his name." Listen to this again. From Pentecost till the rapture, God is calling a people for the glory of his name. Until the trumpet sounds and we go home, God is amassing a people, the chosen, the elect, for his own glory. It is not Israel. They are still God's elect, and God still has a work and a plan for Israel. We are the church of the living God. We are built on the pillar and ground of the truth. We are the recipients of the gospel of grace, meaning that just because God wanted to, he reached down and picked you up out of the miry clay, washed you off and gave you abundant and eternal life. I don't know any other way to say it. Not one of us deserves it. We did nothing to get it, BUT BY GRACE you have been saved THROUGH FAITH. BUT, THAT'S NOT OF YOURSELVES, IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD. LEST ANYBODY SHOULD BOAST, THEY SHOULD REMEMBER, he did it, YOU DIDN'T. BUT I HELPED HIM DO IT. NO, YOU DIDN'T. YOU WERE DEAD in trespasses and sins. AND A DEAD MAN CAN'T MAKE a decision. AND A DEAD MAN CAN'T raise himself. Resurrection power has to raise a dead man. HEALING POWER HAS TO heal a sick man. AND JESUS DID IT ALL FOR YOU. PRAISE his name forever.
>> [applause] >> So, again, I refer to Revelation chapter 5. When you see that scene in heaven where Jesus is being worshipped. They're crying that you are worthy to receive glory and power and strength and honor for you were slain. And you have redeemed us to God out of every kindred, tribe, people, and nation. And you have made us a kingdom of kings and priests. Old Testament Israel will never experience that. Those who are saved after the rapture will never experience that. That's only for the raptured and the resurrected. Do you realize, church, how blessed you are? Praise God. And one of these days it could be today. How many times have I said it in my life? I've been preaching a long time, and I I listened to preaching even longer. How many times have I heard one of these days it could be today. Not that Jesus is coming back, but that he could call us home. Hey, we're going one way or the other. Now, it's possible that somebody here right now listening to me or watching me online will not be here next week. I don't mean you won't come to church. I mean you'll be dead. Your body will be. If you're saved, you'll be in the presence of the Lord. You're going. He's going to call you one way or the other. If he calls you when your time comes and the death angel says, "I'm here to escort you home." Yeah, the death angel. Remember that time I preached on that death thought he was master and king and lord and he thought he had the upper hand on humanity. Death was master. Jesus said, "No. No, I'm turning you into an escort. And when I call one of my children home, one of the ones you thought you had control over, you're just going to escort them into my presence and then you turn around and leave." Cuz death has no power over those who have been washed in the blood of Jesus. Hallelujah. But it could be today. In the moment or in a moment in the twinkling of an eye. "Let not your heart be troubled," he said. "You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's family house, mansion, whatever you want to say. In my father's place, there are many rooms, many places. And I'm going to prepare one for you. And if I go and he did and prepare a place and he is I will come again and receive you. Do you hear what he said? I'll receive you unto myself that where I am, there you may be also. Hallelujah.
So, when that happens, the trumpet sounds, the Antichrist comes to the stage, darkness and deception take over. God is still a merciful God. After we're gone, after we are receiving our rewards at the Bema, the judgment seat of Christ, and our robes of righteousness, God's still taking care of business down on Earth. After the rapture, God is so kind that he allows angels to fly through the skies preaching the gospel of the kingdom. Now, we'll be in heaven in glorified bodies. We'll have bodies just like the body of Jesus. Beloved, it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we shall be like him. We are the sons of God, and we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And for eternity, we will be in an immortal glorified body. But there's still some work going on down here on Earth after the rapture takes place. God is giving a few of those a chance to come into the kingdom. He's going to set up a kingdom, see, when he comes back and the sheep are on the left and the I'm sorry, the goats are on the left and the sheep are on the right, lost and saved, saved nations, lost nations, and the goat nations will be cast into hell, and the sheep nations will be allowed to go into the kingdom. That means they will be allowed to live, exist, carry on, except that Jesus will be the dictator of the whole Earth, and they will come and worship him and bring gifts to him. The whole Earth will do this. God lets those angels, through the tribulation period, cry out and say to mankind, "The king is coming. The king is coming. Get ready for the kingdom of heaven." God is so good that he allows two witnesses to stand up in the middle of the tribulation period and preach the kingdom. Preach the message with signs and miracle-working power to convince people that there is a God in heaven. And God will allow the Antichrist to kill those two prophets. And their bodies will lie in the streets of Jerusalem for 3 days. Or is it 3 and 1/2? One of those, something like that. Now, there was a time where people would think, I was little, they they didn't know how this could be known. How can people know what's going on in Jerusalem? Why, if I knew where my phone was right now, I could I could pull up a picture live in Jerusalem right now. The whole world can see anything anywhere. And the whole world is going to be watching when after 3 days those two prophets who were killed and left in the streets for their bodies to rot, suddenly shake their heads and get up on their two feet. The whole world will watch a resurrection take place. And they will be raptured into heaven. The whole world is going to see this. How good is God to show his miracle-working power one more time. HOW GOOD IS GOD TO LET 144,000 Jewish converts cover the earth with the gospel of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Don't tell me God is not a good God. Oh, I'm telling you angels are preaching it in the sky, prophets are preaching it in Jerusalem, 144,000 Jewish converts preaching it all over the world. God is a good God. He doesn't want anybody to perish. He's giving everybody more than an adequate chance to come to his saving knowledge.
So, when Jesus was teaching about this, in Matthew 24, he says, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." Jesus is coming back. He's let them hear it for 7 years, watch it for 7 years. And Jesus in Matthew chapter 24 says, "As the lightning flashes from the east to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of man be. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from heaven. And we all know that's not natural uh stellar stars that are 10 million times bigger than the earth. Stars uh meteorites. It even means messengers, angels at times will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then, the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. OH, HALLELUJAH. HE'S NOT coming secretly. JESUS SAID, "DON'T GO OUT INTO the desert and look FOR ME. I'M NOT IN A DARK ROOM SOMEWHERE. WHEN I COME, I'LL SPLIT THE SKY. I'LL SET IT ON FIRE. YOU'LL SEE ME SITTING ON A WHITE HORSE WITH 10,000 OF MY SAINTS BEHIND ME." I LOVE THIS. And Revelation says, "Every eye will see him." For all of you that came from churches that taught scripture was just an allegory or symbol symbolic and and they say the coming of the Lord is when someone gets saved. Oh, you're in such error. You were taught such erroneous doctrine. Brother, Jesus isn't coming silently inside of you. He's going to shake the WHOLE WORLD AND EVERY HUMAN EYEBALL GOING TO LAY ITSELF ON the side of a coming Jesus. He said, "Even those who pierced him. He is coming back again. Then the end comes."
So, you go back over to 2 Thessalonians and here's what Paul said. We ourselves boast of you among the churches for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure which is manifold evidence of the righteous judgment of God that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which you also suffer. Since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you. Sometimes I like that verse and I just want to stay there. I just want to stay there a while. Cuz I got some revenge in me. It's not all out yet. I'm still mad about stuff. So, I'm going to read it again. Since it is a righteous thing with God to repay WITH TRIBULATION those who trouble you. I might read it again. I'm going to say it the same way I've said it for years. Nobody's going to get away with anything. You think somebody slid under? You think pardons will get you off? You think because time passed and people forgot about it? You think because YOU DIDN'T GET CAUGHT THAT YOU GOT AWAY WITH IT? OH, NO. NOW, I DIDN'T MEAN TO GET INTO THIS. BUT THERE'S AN ALL-SEEING EYE SITTING ON THE THRONE OF GLORY. NOTHING GETS PAST HIM. NOTHING GETS BY HIM. HE SEES IT ALL AND ONE DAY EVERY DEED IS GOING TO BE PAID FOR. GOD IS A RIGHTEOUS JUDGE. AMEN. And to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire. Oh. Think about that. Jesus revealed in heaven. Thousands of innumerable saints behind him. In flaming fire to do what? Take vengeance on those who do not know God. Well, for all of those who came from denominations that overstressed the love of God and ignored the justice of God. Yes, and even the anger of God. You missed it again. God is a God of love, but God's a God of justice. And God gets angry. And God is angry with the wicked every day. And he's not sitting up there polishing his nails. Every evil deed disturbs a holy God. Everything he's watching upsets him. But the most important thing to remember is that he gave everything he had when he offered up his own son for the sins of the world and to have a world laugh at it and belittle it and kick it to the side and make fun of those who do believe in it. God is not going to take that lightly. In flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh my, did you hear that? These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power when he comes in that day to be glorified in his saints and to be admired among all those who believe because our testimony among you was believed.
So brothers and sisters let me tell you why I'm happy today. I've been studying the Bible a long time. I've studied destruction and hell and the grave and uh the anger of God and everlasting fire and worms in darkness of hell and after a while you study it so much you as a believer you even get unnerved about the great extent of God's anger. Uh it will even trouble you even if you had a a wonderful [snorts] father as we did. My dad was an easygoing holy praying man. Uh he was just kind everybody liked old brother Lawrence. But I knew when daddy got mad and he could it was not a time to play. I I guess that's a kind of a weak illustration to tell you God is my father. I preach him. I love him. We worship him. But still that holy heavenly father is going to show a side of himself that this universe has never seen before. And that makes me tremble. But then I go back to the words of Jesus. Jesus said he that believes on the son has life. And will and has passed from death unto life and will not see judgment. Now, don't just look at me like that. I just told you that the wrath that's going to to be poured out on this world one day will never touch you. Jesus already took it.
>> [applause] >> He that believes in the son has passed from death unto life and will not see judgment. Jesus took your judgment, your sins, your pain. Jesus took hell out of your destiny. Jesus gave you a hope, A LIVING HOPE. YOU GOT A PLACE IN HEAVEN. YOU GOT A THRONE WITH JESUS. YOU GOT A HORSE IN A BARN SOMEWHERE IN GLORY THAT YOU'RE GOING TO MOUNT AND RIDE BACK WITH JESUS WHEN HE COMES TO JUDGE THIS WORLD. HALLELUJAH.
>> [applause] >> Blood of Jesus has delivered us from the wrath that's coming. Stand up. Without one second delay. If you know what I've told you today is the truth and you're happy about it, I want you to lift two hands. And I want you to bless the LORD FOR THE BLOOD OF JESUS THAT TAKES AWAY THE JUDGMENT OF GOD. THANK YOU, JESUS. THANK YOU, WE WILL NEVER SEE the judgment. WE WILL NEVER SUFFER THE JUDGMENT BECAUSE YOU DID IT for us. YOU WERE WOUNDED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS. YOU WERE BRUISED FOR OUR INIQUITIES. THE CHASTISEMENT OF OUR PEACE WAS UPON YOU. WITH YOUR STRIPES, we are healed. THANK YOU FOR TAKING MY SINS IN YOUR BODY and taking them to hell. That just means I won't have to GO TO HELL. PRAISE GOD FOR JESUS.
>> [applause] >> HALLELUJAH. That was a good message, Brother Loran. I'm ready to go home. So, that's what I mean. He won't come back to Earth today, BUT PRAISE GOD I CAN LEAVE EARTH TODAY. And I'm ready. Anybody want to go with me? I hope nobody's left. What you playing?
Now, let me do what a pastor's supposed to do. While we're all standing and I'm sure the vast majority of you are saved. I'm also convinced that [music] some of you are pretending to be or you think you are, but you are not. A story was told to me this week, a true story, about somebody I personally know who used to sit in this church and do everything you're doing. But, he decided that he wanted to chase women and sit at bars [music] and do all that stuff. And he told someone who confronted him, he said, "No big deal, I'm still saved." No, he isn't. He's going to hell if he doesn't repent. But pastor, what if he's a prodigal? Okay, well, what do I What do I do with this verse? Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness. And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins and in him there is no sin. Whoever abides in him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen him nor known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous just as the Lord is righteous. But he who sins is of the devil. For the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin. For his children remain in him and HE CANNOT SIN. HE CANNOT PRACTICE SIN. HE CANNOT CHASE WOMEN OR MEN. HE CANNOT LIVE HIS LIFE DRUNK. HE CANNOT DO DRUGS THE REST OF HIS LIFE. HE CANNOT LIVE HOMOSEXUAL a homosexual lifestyle or any other kind of lifestyle that besmirches the character of Christ. He who has been born of God does not sin. For his children remain in him because he has been born of God. A man who's born again cannot live a life of sin. You will not practice sin. Am I going to get an amen? Cuz it really doesn't matter how you feel about it, what society says about it, how they redefine anything. THIS IS ALL THAT MATTERS right here. And if Jesus is not Lord and love of your life and you find it easy to transgress, you might want to find an altar somewhere [music] if you truly mean business with God. We're going to sing that song again. Now, I'm going to rejoice cuz I'm on my way to heaven. But if there's somebody here this morning that's playing around, playing the game, you say you're saved no matter how you're living, but you're not living right. Oh, what a wonderful thing if you'd come to grips and say, "If he could come today, I don't want to be gambling with my soul." While we [music] sing it, if you want to come down, we'll pray with you. Does everybody make sure cuz I'm I'm not playing. Just because you come down doesn't mean you get saved. You got to live a life. The life will be the proof of the salvation. [music] There'll be fruit in your spiritual walk. I love you, church. And one day we won't ever do this again down here. I may leave before you do. Don't you dare cry. I'll be exactly where I've wanted to go ever since I met him. I'm I'm not going to cry if some of you take off a little early, it seems. What I really want is for us to be standing here like this one day and >> [music] >> blink and suddenly there he is. Jesus! Yes. So, let's live [music] right and go to heaven. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart [music] be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, my redeemer. Amen. Love you.