[0:00] Greet you in the name of Jesus this morning. It's wonderful to be here this morning, is it not? You know, I was just thinking, the work of God, the work of the Spirit of God in our hearts is very precious.
[0:23] Very precious. You know, someone quoted that verse, guard your heart, right? I think so. You know, we need to guard what God has done that the enemy cannot steal it.
[0:41] It's a wonderful thing for God to work in our hearts and to change us and then to use us.
[0:57] You know, we heard a lot the last week and I believe we're in the last day.
[1:13] I believe that very soon, very soon, our Lord will return.
[1:27] You know, as I was thinking of this, you know, I've heard this all my life.
[1:37] and, you know, some of the ways that Scripture were interpreted 50 years ago, 40 years ago, you know, if those men were right in what they said, we're either over time or just real close to the coming of the Lord.
[2:09] And I'm not saying because Jesus said, no man knows the day or the hour. No man knows the day or the hour, so we don't know.
[2:20] If somebody says that, you know, I remember 88 reasons why Jesus will return in 88. 88, well, you all know that wasn't true.
[2:31] A lot of you weren't born then. But I remember reading that book and he was wrong.
[2:43] Well, yeah, you know, let's recalculate and let's, you know, and try to get this right next time. No. Not at all. Not at all.
[2:54] The word is, be ready. Be ready. For at an hour you think not, the Son of Man cometh. That's what he said.
[3:06] And that's how we must live. You can turn to Matthew 24. And while you do that, I want to read Job 19. You know, we think of Job and we think of all the calamities and all the evil that befell him and all of that.
[3:31] But I want to read a couple of verses out of Job 19, verse 25 and 26. I'll tell you, these verses are so meaningful and full.
[3:45] For I know that my Redeemer liveth. Just think of Job still sitting there, still scraping his sores.
[3:59] And his friends come and they condemn him and on and on and all the things that happened there. Job says, I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.
[4:17] Hallelujah. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.
[4:30] Our dear brother Job, in my flesh I will see God. Hallelujah. Someday, we're going to see this awesome God we heard about.
[4:45] we're going to see this awesome God. And we're going to stand before him. And my prayer today is that each one of us will hear, well done thou good and faithful servant.
[5:05] Enter into the joy of thy Lord. Enter those pearly gates. Enter those streets of gold. Enter this wonderful, beautiful city that I have prepared for you.
[5:21] You know, Jesus said, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am you may be also.
[5:43] What a promise. What a promise. Think of it. He's preparing a place for us. Let me join you in Matthew 24.
[6:05] Matthew 24. And Jesus went out and departed from the temple. And his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See not all these things.
[6:19] Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here. One stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately saying, Tell us when shall these things be and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world.
[6:42] You know, so when Jesus told the disciples sitting there by the temple and he told them this temple is going to be destroyed, this temple is going to, what did he say?
[6:54] There won't be one stone upon another. This whole thing is going to be flat. This beautiful building that you see, it's going to be gone.
[7:05] It's going to be gone. And all they could think is, wow, when that happens, that will be the end of the world, right? Because that's what they ask him.
[7:18] They say, what will be the sign of your coming? So when will these things be? What shall be the sign of your coming? And of the end of the world? They put it all together, you know, and let me just tell you, I think that's a lot of the prophecy teachings that we've heard over the years has been just that.
[7:44] it's been men trying to figure things out in their carnal mind and trying to come up with how things are going to be. And I'm not saying they're not, some of them aren't right or that some of them aren't partially right.
[8:00] I'm not saying any of that. But let me tell you, Jesus said, you don't know the day or the hour. And I think this instance right here is just simply a good illustration of this carnal mind trying to figure something out.
[8:19] You know, this carnal mind cannot comprehend the things of God. It cannot comprehend the things of the spirit. This carnal mind, it never has and it never will.
[8:31] It cannot come to a place that is acceptable with God. Why? Because it tries to be right. It tries to be religious, but being religious is never the answer.
[8:47] It's only through Jesus Christ. It's only by being born again of the Holy Ghost that we can have the renewed mind, that we can think the thoughts of God.
[9:00] Verse 4, And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. You know, and just think of this little phrase.
[9:13] You know, Jesus' very first word, his very first concern, when they ask about the end of the world, the end of time, he says, Take heed that no man deceive you.
[9:31] For many shall come in my name saying, I am Christ and shall deceive many. You know, and I believe we live in that day of great deception.
[9:47] I believe that. I believe that we live in a day and in a time when deception is more stronger and more rampant than ever before.
[10:00] and it's maybe more deceptive than ever before. You know, today you have a lot of sophisticated religion out there.
[10:12] And they can say all the right words and they can do signs and wonders and they can carry on and they can do all those good things. But in the end, I believe the majority of it, Jesus is going to say, I never knew you.
[10:34] 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. For nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.
[10:47] There shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places. All these things are the beginning of sorrows.
[10:58] You know, we see lots of wars, rumors of wars, we see lots of conflict and all of that. It's nothing new. As long as I can remember since I was a little boy, there's always been trouble in the Middle East.
[11:17] It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter who's president, it doesn't matter who's in charge in Israel, it doesn't matter who's in charge in the Palestinian world, there's always been trouble in the Middle East.
[11:33] Why is that? Why is that? It's because God promised the land of Israel to Abraham.
[11:45] And that promise went on. it went on. And you know, that promise was renewed to Jacob and then and to his family and to the children of Israel.
[12:07] Jacob became to Israel. And so God said, I will set my name here. There in Israel, there's a mountain there in Israel where God said, I will set my name here.
[12:27] Well, the devil said, I will set my name here. That's what he did. And so there's always been war. There's always been trouble ever since Israel is back in the land.
[12:39] Satan is trying to get him out. He's trying to take it over. But he won't. He won't be able.
[12:53] You know, in a little bit I might want to look at a verse in Luke where it says, a little phrase that says, until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
[13:04] You know, I believe that in the 40s when Israel became a nation, that made a mark in history that the time of the Gentiles is coming to an end.
[13:30] Verse 9, Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
[13:40] You know, and, thank you, for most of my life I've heard men preach this and say, well, but, you know, we still have freedom of religion in this country, in this Christian nation, and on and on and on.
[13:58] Let me tell you, we are hated in this country. Christianity, humanity, Jesus Christ, is hated in this country.
[14:16] You know, we still have freedom. We don't know how long. But there's a strong current to take down everything that reminds society of Jesus Christ.
[14:33] Christ, we are in that day. We are hated of all nations for Jesus' sake.
[14:43] then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many.
[14:57] And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
[15:09] And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations. And then shall the end come. So let's just look at these couple verses.
[15:29] Many will be offended. You know, you know, there's there's also a verse in Daniel that talks about that.
[15:47] You know, but the trials and tests that come our way, will they offend you or will you be faithful?
[16:02] you know, you know, you know, just because you're a child of God does not make you immune to the trials and hardships of life.
[16:24] You know, the Bible talks about the trial of your faith is much more precious than gold that perish in.
[16:38] You know, what good is a faith that's not been tried? How does God know what your faith is? How, you know, he's going to try us.
[16:52] He tries us to see what we're made of, to see if we're, to see if we're totally yielded to him, to see is our commitment real or not?
[17:10] The trial of your faith, much more precious than gold. Many will be offended betray one another, hate one another.
[17:28] False prophets shall arise and deceive many. And let me tell you, a lot of those false prophets, they'll come with a lot of truth.
[17:42] They'll come with a lot of truth. And sometimes they'll come with something that sounds like it's more spiritual than anything you've ever heard.
[17:57] This man, ah, look at him. You know, watch out for it. If it lifts up a man more than Jesus, you know it's wrong without looking any further.
[18:11] false prophets, false teachers, deceiving many.
[18:26] You know, we have a firm foundation. It's this word of God. It's a word. It's a blood.
[18:36] It's the spirit of God. we have a firm foundation. And let's stay on it. Let's, you know, everything that comes down the road, everything that we hear, everything that comes, let's test it by this word.
[18:58] That we be not deceived. You know, later here, there's a verse that says, if it were possible, verse 24, it says, there shall arise false Christ and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
[19:22] Behold, I have told you before. You know, Jesus told them. And then he says, just look at this. Remember, I told you this. I warned you.
[19:34] I warned you. because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
[19:52] You know, are we getting used to the dark? dark? Do we just get used to seeing the darkness, the sin around about us, the drunkenness, all those things?
[20:18] Are we getting used to it and just turning the other way? God's love? He says, because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
[20:35] But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Hallelujah. Oh, let us be in that number, that endure unto the end.
[20:49] Those that endure to the end, they shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations.
[21:04] And then shall the end come. You know, you know, I remember many years ago, many years ago, there was a prophecy.
[21:28] And I believe that prophecy was actually fulfilled partially by the school of Christ. There was a prophecy, I think it was in the 80s, that there's going to be a work, there's going to be a revival start in Russia, and it's going to spread over the whole world.
[21:51] that was back in the time when such a thing looked totally impossible. It looked totally impossible.
[22:01] but I believe it happened. You know, China has seen a great revival.
[22:17] I don't know if you even call it a revival. A great expansion of the kingdom God. And they endeavor to send forth missionaries.
[22:33] You know, how far are we from the whole world hearing the gospel again? We might be a lot closer than we think.
[22:46] And then shall the end come. I read verse 24.
[23:01] Let's read verse 25. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore, if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth. Behold, he is in the secret chambers, believe it not.
[23:14] For as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
[23:29] Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light. And the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.
[23:40] Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
[23:55] And he shall send his angels with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. Hallelujah.
[24:09] You know, notice this. Then shall the tribes of the earth mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
[24:24] The one that they hate, the one that they despise, the one that they try to block out of their memory. There he comes with great power and great glory.
[24:39] Hallelujah. And every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God. Hallelujah.
[24:49] That day is coming. That day is coming. It's coming soon. It's coming soon. I'm going to read a little bit out of Luke 21.
[25:09] much the same, but a few differences here.
[25:26] Verse 24, they shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive in all nations. And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
[25:42] You know, we know that Jerusalem was in the hands of the Gentiles from, you know, whenever there was in the first century or whenever it was there that they was taken over by, you know, and Israel was scattered around the world.
[26:05] Jerusalem was in the hands of the Gentiles until the 40s. And then I believe it was in the 60s when East Jerusalem was captured.
[26:23] You know, we don't know. We don't know God's timing, but we know we're close.
[26:38] We know we're close. There shall be signs in the sun and in the moon and in the stars and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring, men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
[27:06] You know, we already have people that are fearful and they're afraid of the things that are coming upon the earth. You know, hallelujah.
[27:20] then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads for your redemption draweth nigh.
[27:38] When you see these things come to pass, when you see these things starting to happen, lift up. Lift up your heads, look to the heavens, your redemption draweth nigh.
[28:00] Verse 33. Let's just continue reading here. And he spake to them a parable, behold the fig tree and all the trees.
[28:13] When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.
[28:29] You know, we see these things come to pass. We see it happen. He says, know that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.
[28:42] You know, we don't know the day or the hour, but we know it's close. And you know, God doesn't see time the way we do.
[29:01] So we don't know. You know, there have been people, there have been people that have gone out into some wilderness setting and well, the Lord's going to come back so we're just going to live here till he gets here.
[29:17] Well, the Lord's coming back, but he didn't come back when they thought he would. You know, I believe God wants us to be busy in his vineyard. He wants us to labor for him.
[29:30] He wants us, he wants us to be good stewards of our time. He wants us to be good stewards of what he's given us. Whether it's one minute or one hour, one day, a decade, or however long it is till he returns, that we are found faithful with what he has given us.
[30:04] Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. You know, Peter talks about men that mock. Oh, what is the sign of his coming?
[30:16] Yeah, we've heard this all our life and he hasn't come back. But he's coming back. He's coming back.
[30:30] Verse 34, take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life.
[30:43] And so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the earth. Watch ye therefore and pray always that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all the things that shall come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man.
[31:07] Take heed lest at any time your hearts be overcharged or overcome of worldliness or drunkenness the appetites and the desires of the flesh and the cares of this life.
[31:31] You know we all have cares of this life. We all have responsibility. We all have family.
[31:44] We all have, you know we're all responsible. But let us care for our responsibility without being overtaken by it.
[32:02] You know let's keep it in its place. Let's keep it in its place. And let's put God first in our life.
[32:14] You know when we put him first then everything else will come into place. Everything else will take care of itself as we walk faithfully.
[32:34] I want to look at 2 Timothy chapter 2. 2 chapter 3.
[33:04] This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come. Perilous times. You know it might be perilous times physically but I believe he's telling us there will be perilous times spiritually.
[33:27] You know Jesus warned of deception. Perilous times. Deceptive times. for men shall be lovers of their own selves.
[33:43] Look at that. In the last days perilous times shall come but the first thing that he says the first thing in his list is men will be lovers of their own self.
[33:57] Selfishness. Selfishness in the human race. humanity is marked by self. Selfishness.
[34:09] I, I, I. I want this. I want that. But I want to do this. I want to do that. How often do you hear that? All the time.
[34:23] Perilous times because of that big eye. People want to serve themselves. They want to serve themselves and fulfill the lust of the flesh and the pleasures of life.
[34:40] Covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, from such turn away.
[35:21] You know, this is quite a list. It's quite a list. And there's some very simple things in this list, things that we always tend to overlook.
[35:33] But just look at it. You know, unthankful is right there in the middle of the list, along with all those terrible things, those things that we look at us as so terrible and so dark, unthankful is right there in the middle of it.
[36:07] Disobedient to parents. you know, in our day, people just want to overlook that. But it's a mark of self and selfishness.
[36:22] covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers.
[36:35] You know, this is quite a list, but it's what we're seeing in our day. The Apostle Paul warned that these things make our times perilous.
[36:55] They bring a peril to our soul. Why? How is it perilous to us?
[37:06] Well, we get used to it. We get used to the dark. We don't see the seriousness of it. We make excuses for it.
[37:31] Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. You know, we see that all over. We see that in the majority of humanity.
[37:45] They love pleasure more than they love God. God. Their heart is not after God. They don't have that new heart. They don't have that new life.
[38:01] But they have a form of godliness. They have a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof. You know why they deny the power thereof?
[38:15] Because they don't have that power. They claim to be Christians, but they don't have power over sin. They claim to be Christians, but they're living in sin all the time.
[38:31] They might confess their sin, but the next week they're back in it again. sin. And so they deny the power.
[38:41] They look at us and we live a clean life, a pure life. We live a life of victory, but they deny that.
[38:58] They say it's not possible. You know why? They need the new life. we heard all about that this last week. That is why people deny the power of God is because they don't have it and they can't have it until they die.
[39:18] Amen. Amen. Amen. But let us, let us guard our hearts.
[39:35] They were not overtaken. They were not overtaken by the cares of this life. Matthew 24, 36 says, but of that day and hour knoweth no man, know not the angels of heaven, but my father only.
[39:56] My father only. You know, we don't know the day or the hour. We don't know when, but we know he's coming.
[40:07] And, you know, in these perilous times, in these perilous times, I believe what God is doing, what he's been doing this last week, and what he's doing, what he's been doing, is he's raising up an army to go forth in this dark time, in this last day.
[40:29] He wants to raise us up to go forth in the name of Jesus, in the power of the Holy Ghost, and to show to this world, one more time, the power of God.
[40:40] God. You know, David said, David prayed to God, and he said, don't let me perish until I've shown your power to this generation.
[40:54] You know, a new generation had come, and they didn't know the power of God and the exploits that David and his men had done. lived in a time of ease, a time of peace, but David said, oh, that I might show this generation the power of God.
[41:19] You know, God is raising up his end time army. He's raising up you. He's raising up me. That we might walk faithful, that we might walk in the power of the Holy Ghost.
[41:37] And let me tell you, don't put a limit on what God can do through you, all of you. It's only our unbelief that limits him.
[41:52] You don't have to be ordained to be mighty in the spirit of God. You just need his anointing. you know, hallelujah.
[42:09] Oh, yes. Daniel said, I'm going to read just this short verse. Daniel 11, 32, the last half of the verse.
[42:22] Before this, he talks about the wicked and how they will do and all that.
[42:33] But here he says, but the people, but the people that do know their God. Is that you this morning?
[42:46] Do you know God? Are you a child of God this morning? Hallelujah. Amen. Then it's you.
[42:59] The people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. You know, there's a lot more in that verse than what we just, the people that do know their God.
[43:18] It's not just knowing about God, but it's knowing God. truly knowing God, truly having his power in my heart, truly being led by the Holy Ghost, truly having the anointing of the Holy Ghost upon me, knowing my God, knowing his power, knowing his will, knowing I'm in his will.
[43:46] The people that do know their God in this last day, in these perilous times, they will be strong and they will do exploits.
[43:58] They will do great wonders. They will do great works. We will do works that we cannot do in this natural body.
[44:10] Why? Because the Spirit of God is upon us and because of the need that is there. You know, Jesus never wasted a miracle. He never did a miracle when it wasn't necessary.
[44:24] But as we go on into these end times and into these perilous times, whatever situation comes your way, if it calls for a miracle, call upon God.
[44:42] He's the God of miracles and he uses men. he uses men. The people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits.
[44:59] Amen. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you. Lord, that you have not left us comfortless, but you sent your spirit to dwell within us, to empower us, to lead us and to guide us into all truth.
[45:27] Lord, I pray you would just help us to know our God, to know you personally in such a way that you can use us however you desire in this last day.
[45:51] Lord, we just want to give ourselves to you. Lord, we thank you for the work you're doing in our hearts. It is so precious.
[46:04] We thank you for it. Lord, we commit ourselves to you. Have your way. and continue this work that you've begun.
[46:16] We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. You know, the work that God is doing, don't lose it and let it continue and it will grow.
[46:38] You've not arrived. You've not arrived. None of us have. We've not arrived till we get over yonder. Until that day, we will continue to grow.
[46:52] We will continue to fight the battle. We will continue to be cleansed until that day. We'll never give up.
[47:04] Never turn back. help. We'll be inside in