Book of Philippians. Let me ask
you a question before we to lay the groundwork of this
message. What if you knew that the Lord
Jesus Christ were coming again, coming back to this earth tomorrow? Beyond a shadow of a doubt, you
knew that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back tomorrow. What would you do? What would you do? What would
you do differently than you're doing now? I trust, I hope, that everyone
in here, I don't see any brand new faces, people that haven't
been here before, I hope and trust at least that you do believe,
or say you do, that this one named Jesus Christ actually lived
on this earth and died and rose from the dead and is coming back
to earth to judge it. That's what the scripture says.
I think you do. I think you believe that. But if you really in this one. If you really believe, which
means to trust, to know, to know, to trust and love this person,
if you really believe that this one who is coming, that he is
coming, that he will come in tomorrow, then you shouldn't
do much of anything differently than what you're doing now. You see, salvation is not merely
being religious on Sunday morning. Salvation is not straightening
up one's life, it's not turning over a new leaf or being good
or moral or any of those things, getting interested in the Bible,
becoming a devout Church member. Salvation is a relationship with
a living person. John 17.3. I quote it all the
time, don't I? Mend it. You taught it to your
children. This is eternal life. This is
what it means to be saved. Our Lord said this. This is what
it means to be saved, that they might know thee, the only true
God. Know was know me. To have a head
and knowledge of knowledge. More than that, it's the love,
we read it in Ephesians 3, the love of Christ which passes knowledge. You might be filled with the
fullness of God. To know is like Adam when he came to his wife
Eve and knew her. The two became one. It's an intimate
joining of two people in a relationship. That's what to know means. This
is eternal life. This is salvation. They might know thee, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. Salvation is to
come in contact with. I had an old Brother Minorfitch
message on tape recently, just a powerful message. It said,
Salvation is to come in contact with a living Lord. It's to be
confronted by. It's to be stopped like Saul
of Tarsus on his road to hell. It's to be stopped dead in your
tracks and come face to face with a living Lord, a person a very real, a very much alive
person who lived on this planet and who now, the scripture says,
lives evermore, and who the scripture says is coming right back again,
and right soon. And salvation is to be acquainted
with and know this person, this man, this God-man, Christ Jesus. It's to meet him. This is what characterizes those
who know him and believe him. Listen to me now. There will
be no mistake in your own heart, or there shouldn't be, after you hear this. This will
separate the weak from the chaff. This will separate the nominal
religious professor from the one who possesses Christ by faith
in his heart. Those who know and believe and
love him The scripture says they're waiting for his return. That's
the way the scripture describes God's true people. They're waiting,
they're watching, they're waiting for his return. I could give
you countless scriptures our Lord gave. Our Lord himself said,
Watch, wait. He's the one that true disciples
live to know. That's what Paul said in the
John, for me to live In other words, to live is to get to know
Christ. That's real life. That's life
more abundant. If you know it, if you've tasted
this life and it's left you dissatisfied, there's nothing abundant about
it, is there? It's same old, same old, no matter
how old you are, how many years you go, same old, same old. Eat,
sleep, work, sleep, eat, sleep, work, sleep. Life abundant is the knowledge
of the person of Christ. The one they live to know, for
me to live, is Christ, and the one they look forward to dying,
that they might see him. Believers, lovers, followers
of the living Lord Jesus Christ use language like this. Listen
to this language. Can you use this from your heart?
Listen! Oh, that I might know him and
the power of his resurrection. What does that mean? Find out. Go and learn what that means.
Paul said, For me to live is Christ, to die is gain. What
does that mean? Paul said, I have a desire to
depart and be with the Lord, which is far better. That's the
language of the believer. Is it? Is it not? Or is Paul
just a super-believer? No. It's a common language. To be sure, we're human. We have family, we have friends. I have a wife and a daughter
that I would Knowing what I know now, I mean,
being as I am now on this earth with them, I love them. I like
being with them. I would, in the thoughts of losing
one of them or leaving one of them, it, you know, causes me
some trouble. But, now, our Lord said, if any man
loves father or mother or husband and wife or son or daughter more
than me." In other words, if I loved the Lord, I'd kind of
like to be with him, too, wouldn't I? Or who would I like to be
with more? Let me finish for us today. He
said, if any man loves his father or mother or husband or wife
or son or daughter, his own life also, more than me, he can't
be my disciple. Like I said, we're human, and
the Lord knows our heart, but if anything is certain, that's
so. He knows our hearts. So the thing
for us to do is to say, Lord, if I have not loved thee before,
like Luton's hymn, that is a good part of John Luton's hymn, if
I have not loved thee before, help me begin today. I've got
to know you, not just have, like Paul said in one place. a form of godliness denying the
power thereof. What's the power of godliness?
It's a heart where the love of God is shed
abroad in the heart. Make no mistake about it, we
love our family and want to be with them and so forth, but to
be with Christ is far better. Or is salvation just believing
the doctrine? It's one or the other. Scripture says it's knowing
a person. I'm not trying to discourage
anyone. I'm trying to encourage everybody here to examine yourselves,
see if you be of this faith, to try your own hearts, to try
your own hearts, to look. Boy, is that love there? Is it
there? If not, and to look for him. If you do not know this one,
he can be known. Seek him. And he sought through
this word. I'm going to go through it. This
is how he's known. So if you're interested, I'd
just kind of straighten up right now in my seat and I'd perk my
ears up and say, Lord, I don't have this. Please speak to me." A real man
came here. Stephen, he's no figment of somebody's
imagination. He's a real man, just like you're
looking at me. It was a man that walked this
planet. His name was Jesus. A lot of them knew him as Jesus,
son of Cartner, Jesus of Nazareth. He grew up and so forth. Scripture
said he was God. He said he was God. a real man. More than a man, though. And
he did some things. He came to do a job, he got the
job done. He came down here as a man, put
his clothes on. His clothes were of flesh. He
clothed himself with flesh. He got the job done, took his
clothes off, flesh, folded them up in a tomb, and went back to
heaven. And now the scripture says he's
coming back. He's got one job left to do. He said he finished
the first job he came to do. He said he's coming back again
to finish everything off. He's coming back, coming back,
and from cover to cover, from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22, this
is what this speaks about, this coming one. Look at a few of
them with me here in Philippians 3. Look here at verses 20 and
21, Philippians 3. This is just a few we're going
to glance at. We're going to go chronologically through and
just look at a few, OK? I hope you have a Bible. Philippians 3, 20 and 21 says
our conversation or our talk, our life is in heaven. In other
words, our desire, our pursuits, our talk, what we look for is
in heaven. Well, who's in heaven? Well,
that's where our Lord is. from whence, and it's from heaven
also, as we're looking for him to come back. Since this same
Jesus, when they saw him go into the sky, the Apostle, the disciples
stood around watching with their mouths open as we would, too,
and the angel said, You men of Israel, why do you stand here
gazing up into heaven? This same one is going to come
back in the same manner you saw him go. And the scripture says
this time he's not going to be five foot eight or nine or like
He says, every eye is going to see, and it will split the heavens
wide open, as the lightning goes from the east to the west. It's
not going to be a secret rapture. No, the scriptures don't teach
that. It says, when the Son of Man comes, every eye shall behold
him. And the reactions are going to
vary, they're going to be different. There will be one or two reactions.
Fear, utter, heart-stopping fear. The scripture says, men's hearts
will fail them, they'll cry for the rocks and hills fall on them
and hide them from the face of him. And the others are going to be
changed in a moment, and the twinkle of an eye will be changed,
and they are going to be in unspeakable ecstasy and joy. From whence our Savior comes,
the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall, and this is what it says in verse
21, shall change our body to be fashioned like unto his glorious
body, according to the working whereby he is able, even as to
subdue all things." Colossians 3, verse 1. Just over a few pages. Colossians 3.1. You have it?
If you then be risen with Christ, in other words, if you had part
in that first coming and death and burial and resurrection.
He had a first part in that. What's that? That's faith. That's
just faith in Christ. You are in Christ by faith. If
you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above.
What things? There it is again, where Christ
is. Where he sits at the right hand
of God. Heaven to the believer will be to see Christ. Not to
see streets, the old pretty streets. Let me see him. Not see pearly
gates, but see that pearl of great pride. So set your affection,
set your mind, your heart, your pursuit, your desires on things
above, not on things on the earth. But you're dead. Your life is
hid with Christ and God. When Christ, verse 4, when Christ,
who, and that's in italics, who is. When Christ, our life, shall
appear. then shall ye also appear with
him in glory." With him in glory. Boy, there's a sermon title,
isn't there? I'd like to tear into that for about 30 minutes.
With him in glory. It would be glory to be with
him. But we're going to be with him and in glory. To behold his
glory and be glorified ourselves, but to be in a place called glory.
I turn over to 1 Thessalonians, just one or two pages. 1 Thessalonians
9 and 10 says this. It says that some of you turned
to God from idols. See, verse 9, at the end of that
verse, you turn from idols to serve the living and true God,
and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the
dead, even Jesus, which was delivered delivered us from the wrath to
come. Chapter 3, verse 12. Got it? Paul says, The Lord make
you increase and abound in love, one toward another, and toward
all men, even as we love you, to the end you may be established,
your hearts established, unblameable in holiness before God, even
our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all
his Saints." And we're going to read that. Look over at chapter
4. Chapter 4 says that when he comes,
his Saints are coming with him. The dead in Christ are going
to rise. It says graves are going to come open. Truth is stranger
than fiction. It sounds like some fairy tale,
but this is the truth. I'm not reading from science
fiction quarterly. This is the word of God that
says the grave is going to split wide open and all the dead in
Christ are going to rise, and we're going to go up into the
air to meet them all in the air, one big gathering together under
this One who came for them. And he's going to go back with
them into heaven and say, Behold, and present them to the Father,
everyone of body and soul. The whole line of children that
thou hast given me, we're all here. Here we are, Father, and
then the marriage is going to take place, the marriage supper. And on and on it will go. It
just keeps getting better. That's what it says here. Let
me read it in 1 Thessalonians 4. I would not have you ignorant,
verse 13, concerning them which are asleep, or those that died.
Don't sorrow even as those who have no hope. If we believe that
Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in
Christ Jesus." In other words, those that died in faith, that's
what he's saying. Not just everybody that died.
Everybody that died is not going to be with Christ. Some separated. But those who trusted Christ,
believed Christ, given the gift of eternal life by faith in Christ,
it says that, look at this, those that sleep, God's going to bring
with him. If we say unto you by the word
of the Lord that we which are alive and remain, if we are still
on the earth at the coming of the Lord," are you reading it?
If we are still here when he comes, we're not going to go
before them, we're not going to prevent them, which are asleep
or already died. They're going to go first. In
other words, he's going to gather them first, and we're coming.
Now, the Lord himself, read it, verse 16, the Lord himself shall
descend from heaven with a shout. It's going to be lighter than
that, folks. I woke some of you up. It's going to wake some people
up. But too late. The bridegroom is coming! But don't yell, preacher. You
ain't never heard yelling before until you hear that shout. Behold, the bridegroom coming. And the saints of God are going
to have to say it, as they say now, whoopee. Hallelujah. Well, praise him. I've been waiting on this day.
The day is here. And a trumpet. We should have
a trumpet right now, Rick. A trumpet shall sound, it says. of God, God's going to blow the
trumpet! And the David and Christ shall
rise first, and we which are alive and remain shall be caught
up together with them in the clouds." You talk about a country
fellow that's singing, man! We sing the psalm oh, four thousand
times, won't need it, we'll have one, and it's going to sing like
it's never sung before. A perfect one. To meet the Lord
in the air, so shall we be ever, here it is again, with the Lord.
Wherefore? Comfort one another with these
words. Virgie, you're getting old now. Keep reminding me of
this. You ought to know it. But this
is what you ought to know more than that, is you're, humanly
speaking, you're closer than anybody in this room to meeting
the Lord. You ought to be the most excited
person in here. You ought to! She's dying. She's dying. Wish I was. But we are. We are. Comfort one another with these
words. He's coming. Look at chapter 5, 1 Thessalonians
5, verse 23. Look at this, "'Oh, I hope and
pray that the very God of peace will sanctify you wholly, set
you apart completely, mind, body, soul, spirit. Pray, God, your
whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless.' That's
what you've got to do, you've got to be blameless before this
Holy God. How's that? Let me tear into
that for a while. How are we going to be holy and
without blame and unapprovable in God's sight? How? Through
the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through
what he did for us, the righteousness he established and imputed it
to some. The blood he shed that justified
many, that put away the sins of many, that you may be preserved. What about that? Preserving power,
being kept by his power. under the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ. He's coming. Faithful seed that
calls you, also do it. Don't have time to go there. I turn over to 2 Thessalonians
1. We read this, and did it strike
a sober chord in your heart? It should have, as we read this. Or did we just go through the
morning scripture reading? Look at it, 2 Thessalonians 1, verse
7, it says, You that are troubled, rest with us. This world has
got you troubled, rest. Why? What? Me weary? You know
that old cartoon fellow, Alfred E. Newman? He used to always
say, What? Me weary? That's the way the
believer ought to be. That ought to be his slogan.
What? Me weary? When my Lord is on the throne
and he's ordained everything and Everything that comes to
pass is according to his will and purpose, and it's all wise,
and it's for my good." What? Me weary? The little world is
falling apart. You ought to get involved in
it. Why? Now, you can polish your brass on a sinking ship. I heard a fellow say, It ain't
sinking, it's still the lower. Yeah, it is sinking, too. It
is sinking. It's going down fast. And those who are in it are going
to go with it. But those that are floating on
the water in the ark will float off into eternity.
And you are told, Rest with us, when the Lord shall be revealed
from heaven with his mighty angel, and flaming fire, and taking
vengeance on them, and so forth. When he shall come, verse 10,
to be glorified and be sanctified, admired, and all that. Now, 2 Thessalonians 2, and let's
just rush down through here. I regret that I have to rush
through it, but I do. I wish we had the capacity and
the time and all that, but we don't. 2 Thessalonians 2 says,
I beseech you, brethren, by the coming. by the sure and imminent
and certain and soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ, I beseech
you, brethren, and by our gathering together with him." That's what
we're doing here this morning, we're gathering unto him. We're
not coming to mere church service, we've come to Christ. It's not
that you come to church, you come to Christ. He says this, remember this,
Paul was writing this letter 1900 years ago. He was writing
it right after our Lord left the earth. Our Lord hadn't been
away very long at all, and this letter was written in the year
90 A.D., and Paul was writing this letter back It wasn't that
late, it was earlier than that, but it was the first century.
Our Lord hadn't been gone long, and our Lord had told his disciples,
all of them, he said, I'm coming again. I've got to go now. It's expedient for me that I
go. It's necessary. I've got work to do further,
but I'm coming again. And our Lord promised many things,
and in those promises he said, tribulation and trial and trouble
and persecution is going to come before I come. You're going to
be hated and persecuted and sought out and killed and this and that
and the other. Remember that? Well, that was happening to the
church at Thessalonica. It was happening all over. People
were being persecuted, and they thought, well, the Lord is coming.
Son, you don't admit that you're 60 years, and they all thought,
well, he said this would happen. It's happening, and surely he's
coming soon. Paul says in verse 2, Don't be
shaken or troubled in mind by everything that's going on, nor
by spirit or preacher, prophet, nor by word, word of mouth, or
by letter of forgery from us, as that day of Christ is at hand,
as soon." He said, No, no, it's not real soon. Talking to the Thessalonians.
Are you with me? He's talking to the Thessalonians.
He's saying, now, that day is not at hand for you people, no. And he didn't give a time. We
know now it was 1900 and some years had passed since then. He said, now, don't you be troubled
or shaken by some creature or whatever that the day of Christ
is at hand. But let me tell you people out here, nearly 2,000
years later, you'll be troubled and you'll be shaken because
the day of Christ is at hand. In other words, those who do
not know him, you who are troubled, then all rest with us. We need
to rest and believe and trust Christ right now. But if we do
not know him, we need to be real troubled and shaken in mind,
and God would shake our souls in mind, because the day of Christ
is at hand. Why do you say that, Preacher?
And that's what they said to Peter. Peter said, in the last
days, scoffers shall come, walking at their own lusts, saying this.
Where is the promise of his coming? 2 Peter 3. Well, since the days
of our fathers, all things have continued as they once were.
Where is the promise of his coming? Peter said, Don't be ignorant
of this. This one thing, a day is a thousand years, and a thousand
years is a day. The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise, but his long-suffering to us-ward," 2 Peter 3.9. He's
not willing that any of us should perish, but he's coming in a
day, in 2,000 years, two days have passed since he said that.
He's like the heavens. The earth is 6,000-some years
old. The Lord made the earth in six days,
and he rested on the seventh. Peter said, Don't be ignorant
of this. You need to know that much. And there are other signs
that precede his coming. Paul said in 2 Timothy 4, in
the last days, some shall fall away from the faith. Our Lord
said these signs would precede his coming. He said this in Matthew
24. He said that there must become
a falling away of earth. That day shall not come except
there come a falling away at first, and he said, the gospel
of the kingdom has to be preached in all the world. He said, then
the end is coming. Don't you be ignorant of this, Joe Park
and Stephen. The gospel has been preached
in all the world. It's never touched the four corners
of the earth like it has now in our day. All the iron curtains
down, all the barriers to the gospel are down. You'd be hard-pressed
to find one soul on this planet who hadn't heard the name Jesus
Christ. I'm telling you, it's sin. He said there shall come a falling
away at first. What's the falling away? Look
at it there, verse 3. It says, "...let no man deceive
you by any means. That day shall not come, the
day of Christ, his return, except there come a falling away first,
and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition." Forgive
me for talking a little bit fast, but I have a lot of ground I
want to cover. This falling away is some shall
depart from the faith. It's apostasy. It's people renouncing
the faith. We're seeing that now as never
before. You'd be hard-pressed to go throughout
the land and find. It's extremely difficult to find
anybody who believes anything concerning the truth. Right? There's been a whole series of
departures. Twenty years ago, there used
to be something of the fear of God in men and women and young
people. The things you hear now and see
now are just absolutely taboo, unheard of, just shocking. They
throw you in jail for some of the things that are just common,
everyday occurrences now. But now, everything's—anything
goes now. This tells me the Lord has just That's what it tells me. A falling
away. Calling evil good and good evil,
aren't they? Isn't that where we're at? If
you want to read something that describes these days, these last
days, these perilous times more than anything else, 2 Timothy
3, in your own time. 2 Timothy 3 is just like reading
the newspaper in 1994. There is no other age when it
is applied more than now. 2 Timothy 3, lovers of their
own selves, covetous, boaster, proud, blasphemer, disobedient
to parents, unruly, unthankful, without natural affection, mothers
giving their babies over, and truce breakers, false incontinence,
fears, homosexuality, you name it, it's never been like it has
been now. Never. The Lord said, when they shall
say, Peace and safety, then shall sudden destruction come. Peace
and safety. We're living in a time when,
you know, there were times, and I attribute some of this fear
of God that men had, to troublesome times. In our country's history,
If you take the history of our country, there have been nothing
but wars and rumors of wars from the very outset, hadn't there?
The Revolutionary War, this country was founded because of that.
Those were hard times. Every man and his brother and
his son went to war and fight. They were calling on God, buddy.
They were calling on God. The mothers, the daughters, the
wives, the children were calling on God. Then came the Civil War. Oh, they were calling on God.
They were talking about great revivals that went through the
Southern Army and the Northern Army. They were calling on God.
They were in fear of going to face that God. Five hundred and
some thousand went to face him in the Civil War. Then came World
War I. They were calling on God by England,
Ireland, Scotland, the United States, calling on Australia.
World War II came along. This is it. This is it. You think
that was the end of Henry and World War II came? A lot did.
Call it on God, the fear of God. Vietnam came along, still a little
bit of that, but now we've lived in virtual peace and safety heaven
for some time now. It's far removed. If we need
to fight a fight, we'll just fight it with computers, like
we did the Gulf War. This is far removed. Peace and,
so when they say peace and safety, Everything is well, economic
prosperity, world peace, and the walls are broken down, and
then shall sudden destruction come. He said, at a time when you think
not. He said men and women would be
buying and selling and marrying and giving in marriage, didn't
he? Our Lord said that in Matthew 24. There's nothing wrong with
those things, he didn't condemn those things, he just said like
in the days of Noah when they were buying and selling and marrying
and giving in marriage and doing all these things, they weren't
thinking about any flood. He said the same thing is going
to be happening. The buying and selling stock market is going
to rise. Everything is going to be hunky-dory. Then, he said,
we're going to split those skies wide open. So are you trying to alarm me,
Preacher? knowing the terror of the Lord. We persuade men,
Paul said. In other words, knowing the holiness
and the justice in this Almighty God, we're all going to have
to face men and women and children. Yes, I'm trying to persuade you.
You need to know this person that you're going to see and
either be forever with him or forever separated from him. Seek, ask. Today's the day of
salvation. Jennifer? Today's the day of salvation. Not tomorrow. What are you going
to do tomorrow? You might be dead tonight. Let's
knock ourselves up tomorrow. We don't know what a day we'll
bring forth. Today's the day of salvation. I'm preaching the
message of salvation right now. That this one is coming. And
we can know him. Ask, seek, knock. He said, Ask,
you'll find. Ask, you shall be given to you. Seek, you'll find. Knock, you'll
open up to you. To whom come him? Today is the
day of salvation. May 29, 1994, at 12 o'clock,
high noon. Sun rises at high noon, doesn't
it? Thank you, Lord, for that providential time. The sun is
going to rise at high noon with healing in his wings for his
people. But for the rest, it's going to burn them up. You know
what? The sun is at its hottest when it's high noon, and the
rest is going to burn up. Those plants with roots deep
on the rocks, even on the water, the wellspring of life, whose
leaves are falling upward. go to be ever green with the
Lord, and ever wither. But those shallow roots on dry
ground are going to burn up." What's this son of perdition
here? This son of perdition says that son of perdition, read on,
verse 4, Read on, "...who opposeth and exalteth himself above all
that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God
sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."
What is that? Who is that? Is that one person?
No. No. Don't be deceived, brethren.
Brother Terrell said, "...the Antichrist is leading the search
for the Antichrist." This man, this son of perdition, is
a false gospel, a man-centered gospel that exalts man, that
puts man in the place of God. It exalts man's free will, man's
decision. It brings God down and puts man
up on the throne. It's this false gospel, this
free will of man, man, man. Isn't that what's coming to the
forefront now? Huh? Man, don't you see that in the temple, in
the so-called church? Man on the throne, God in the
wings waiting. Huh? Isn't that what's happening?
Son of perdition. Everybody that believes this
is unto perdition. Huh? They've been a spiritual
descendant of these things. Is that not right? See, Terry,
they don't see this thing. The world doesn't see this thing.
They're looking for . . . They have this spirit of anti-Christ
and pro-man, anti-the work and person of Christ, but pro-us,
our work. That's anti-Christ. Isn't it? They don't see it, Terry. Why?
They're anti-Christ. John said in 1 John, even now
this mystery of iniquity doth already work. There are many
anti-Christ, he said. It's already working, this mystery
of iniquity. And like Terrell said, the Antichrist,
those that are in this, are leading to the search for a man. They're
looking for a man. Oh, if they would look for the
man, Christ Jesus, he wouldn't have to worry about that other
man. Right? Why look for the Antichrist?
Why be taken up with him? Why not be taken up with the
Christ? But this also, and old Puritans
and men that are much wiser than I am, have seen down through
the years, this is the position of authority. This is a religious
leader and a ruler, not one man but a succession of men. Does
this remind you of anybody? Read it again. Who opposes and
exalts himself above all? Somebody that sits somewhere
and imparts spiritual blessings to anybody? Divine favor, merely
for a word from his mouth, who absolves you of your sins and
forgives you of your sins. Does that remind you of anybody?
Read on. He is worshiped, who they come
and kiss his toe and his ring. Does that remind you of anybody? Sits in the temple of God to
show him himself as he is God. They call him the Holy Father.
Does that remind you of anybody? They say the world doesn't see
it. Why? They're following him. Oh, come out in the newspaper
and say this, Stan, that potpourri is the spirit of antichrist. Whew, you'll never get another
article in the newspaper. Will you? Why? Can't people see this? Why can't people see this? They're following him. Read on in the mystery of iniquity.
In verse 5, Paul said, now you remember that, I was with you,
I told you these things. Read on now in verse 7. In the
mystery of iniquity, the authority works, only he or God who now
lets it, or allows it, or directs it, he'll let it until it's time
to take it all out of the way. Then shall that wicked be revealed,
whom the Lord shall consume. It will be revealed to me in
time who is the Lord and who is not, and the Spirit of Antichrist
and the true Spirit of God." Everybody is talking about the
Spirit, aren't they, Roberta? It doesn't even resemble the
Spirit in the scripture. It's going to be revealed on
that day. Let me reveal that wicked whom
the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, shall destroy
with the brightness of his coming, even him whose coming is after
the working of Satan, all power and signs and lying wonders."
These things are happening, aren't they? Miracles and wonders, and
the Lord said this. He said, them that seek the sign,
I'll give them one. He said, an evil and darkest
generation seeks after a sign. Read on. with all deceivableness
of unrighteousness, and them that perish, because they receive
not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." What's
the love of the truth? What's the truth? It's the gospel of
Christ. It's just a plain, unadorned,
dogmatic, straight, narrow, down-the-line, according-to-the-word-of-God
gospel of the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the character of God the state of man before his holy character,
sovereign, just character, the necessity, the absolute necessity
of a mediator, a substitute, just a plain old gospel. That's the truth. That's the
truth. He says to us, buy it. Don't
sell it for anything. You'll sell yourself. Some people don't love that.
We've got a little sparse crowd in here this morning, don't we?
I'm preaching on prophecy. Maybe I should have announced
it in the paper. We'd have got a bigger crowd.
Don't worry. I want people to come here about
prophecy. I want God to bring true seekers in. It's a testimony
of Jesus' spirit of prophecy. What's the testimony of Jesus?
the gospel. Unto you it is given, not given
unto them. It is hidden from the wise and
prudent." Ah, the love of the truth. People
don't love it. Why are people flocking in there to hear this?
I've got just as much to say about prophecy in the end times
as anybody does, don't I? But it's all in relation to this
coming one, isn't it? We're not dwelling on black horses
and red horses and white horses and plagues and seals. We're
dwelling on a person whom you must know. You might not know
anything about those seals. You might not know anything about
those horses or plagues, but you sure better know the one
who's coming. And we've got to know something
of why he came the first time before we'll be having interest
in his second coming. See? There's a lot of people
looking for his second coming who don't have the foggiest idea
why he came the first time. And salvation is to know when
I came the first time. And that will get you looking
for it the second time. The love of the truth, that they
might be saved. And for this cause, look at it,
read on, I'll not keep you much longer. For this cause, God shall
send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie. Strong
delusions, God sends them. Some of these miracles and signs
and wonders, there's some truth to them. There's no truth in
them, but they're real. I mean, it's what's happening.
It says the Lord sends them. Can you believe that? It says
the Lord sends them. Do you believe there's people
being healed by some of these quacks? Yeah. I think most of
it's a charade. If we'd follow it out, you'd
find out. We have, haven't we, Bob? Some of it may be real,
because it says here the Lord shall send them. The Lord says,
what are you looking for? I'll give it to you. The Lord
gives whatever people want. Them that want the world, he
gives it to them. Those that want Christ, he gives it to them.
Them that want signs and wonders and be amazed and entertained,
he gives it to them. Those that want their eyes opened
to behold wondrous things out of God's law and his word, he
gives it to them. Those that want to lie and believe
and lie and don't want to believe that God's like he is, that God's
all love and all that, he'll give it to them. He won't let
terrible things come to pass in their lives. He'll keep them
from harm's way. But those who want to know the
truth, who want faith tried by the fire and gold that perisheth
not, to know Christ to be found real in that day, he gives it
to them. And it says, those that believe
these lies will all be damned for believing it, who believe
not the truth but have pleasure in unrighteousness. What's unrighteousness? It's self-righteousness. But, oh, I wish I would have got to
this sooner, but we're bound to give thanks to God, brethren,
beloved of the Lord, for you. Who are you thanking, Joe? Let's
everybody give, let's give John Sheasley a big hand. He's accepted
the Lord. John decided for Jesus. Oh no, not bound to thank God,
or thank John? Why? John was shaking his fist in
the face of Jesus for all his life. He didn't want to have
anything to do with this Jesus. Thank God the Lord Jesus Christ
had something to do with him. He chose him from the beginning. After a while he said to John,
he said, You've come far enough. Just like those waves that come
into the ocean, you know, or come in from the ocean onto the
sea. He said, Here are the two of you. So you come, and no further.
There was a time when God's people who were wild, raging, bulls
or waves in the ocean rushing through this life headlong over
a cliff, and God says, That's as far as you go, bud. Turn around. You're coming back to me. You're
not coming back, you're coming to me. So who are we going to
thank? Who are we here to talk about
this morning? Bag on one another for accepting Jesus? We're bound
to give thanks to God. You want to know the difference
between what we do here and what the world is doing this morning?
We're giving all the thanks, all the praise, all the glory,
all the credit to God, to God alone in Christ, while the world
is out there bragging on one another. We're bound to give thanks always
to God for you. Why? Because he, beloved of the
Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation.
You were never chosen to him, had he not chosen you. How'd
he do it? A sanctification of the Spirit. Like a cowboy. He has his brand on his own particular
hood. There's a mass of them out there,
and they all look alike. Some of them got a brand on them.
You can't tell, the world can't tell who's who. Who is the elect? You don't know. There's nothing
on them to show that they are. Do you send out that gospel host?
Heh heh heh heh. Eh, it works. Shoot him out on
an adventure. Phew. You gonna let it hit? You
better believe it. Who was directing the arrow?
The Holy Spirit. There he is. Got the blood on
him. I've been looking for him. Phew. Pierces through the heart with
the gospel. Heh heh heh. and hasn't got enough on the
end of it, Joe. Come on. Come on, I'm drawing you to the
curves of the man. Come on in. I don't want to.
Yeah, you do. Yes, you do. Don't you? Well,
I do. Yeah, I do. Come on. Brings you in. Oh, you're glad. And then you turn around, Joe,
and look back and see that mass was awful. But I want to thank
God for choosing me out of the mass. See that? That's a lesson, not
an option. It's a person choosing persons. From the beginning, sanctity
of the Holy Spirit coming and reading them out through belief
of the truth. How do you know them in the end?
How do you know if they believe the truth? Everything I said
this morning is the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the
truth. So help me, God Almighty. Put
my hand on the Bible. Better yet, read it. I'll read the Bible. So help
me, God. It's been the truth. So help
me, God's Word. So help me, God, to preach your
Word. It's truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and
nothing else to say but that. And notice it here. He said,
"'Neither of God heareth God's word.'" They believe, bound to
give thanks to God. Aren't you? "'To you, brethren,
beloved Lord, because he chose you from the beginning through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth, whereunto
he called you by this gospel, to the obtaining of the glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that glory when he comes in the heavens.'"
Oh, brethren, stand fast. Are you reading it with me? Where
are you standing? Stand fast on the rock, Christ. You hold the traditions which
you have been taught. What traditions? That old, old
story. Jeremiah said in chapter 6, he
said, "...stand ye in the ways, and see, and look for the old
path, wherein is the good way, and walk therein." I'm not the
gospel Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel were preaching, and walk
in it. Paul and Peter and John and James
were preaching, and walk in that, no other. He said the world,
other verses there in Jeremiah 6, said the world said, nah,
we won't walk in that. But blessed God and God's people
do. I say, that's just where I want to walk. Lead me in the
paths of what? Righteousness, for his name's
sake, for his glory's sake. Don't you see? I'm enjoying this. The Word of God is just bearing
witness with itself, isn't it? stands for all the traditions
which have been taught, whether by word or by heart, by the Old
Testament or by mood. Now, our Lord Jesus Christ, he
ends it up with a prayer. Now, our Lord Jesus Christ, himself,
and God, even your Father, which has loved us, given us everlasting
consolation, and a border like this phrase, a good hope. How? Cross your fingers, hope to die?
Stick something in my eye? Rabbit's foot and whatever, huh?
I would hope through grace. Through grace. That's why it's
good. And hope, he says here, it's
not a hope, a hope, a hope, a hope, a wish, a wish, a hope, a hope,
a hope, you know. A hope means that you don't see
it. Hope, you hope for something you don't see. But another place
says it's a sure hope. It's sure. Faith is the service
of things hoped for. It's a good hope. When you see
it, hope will give way to sight when you finally see Christ.
But right now you hope to be with him. It's a good hope. How's
that? That if you be good enough and
he's straightened up and that goes through grace. Don't you
like the gospel of grace, you old sinners? I am. And I just wouldn't have any
other gospel. I just don't want it. It doesn't give me much hope. You tell me how to this and how
to that, and I can't seem to live up to it. But you tell me
that it's a good hope through grace, and I'm going to get there
by God's grace, and His grace never fails. That's good, boy,
I like that. Comfort your hearts. and establish
you in every good word and word." He's coming. He's coming. Boy, it just tickled me to know
he'd come. And that's what the Revelation
said to people after he was all over them. It said, even so, even so, come, Lord
Jesus. Come quickly. He said, I will. I will. He said, I come quickly. I come quickly. Don't you be
ignorant of this, brethren. A day is a thousand years, and
a thousand years is a day. If a thumb is falling away first,
it's here. As you say, peace and safety, and
then sudden destruction will come. The Lord wants to put the
skies open. He's here. It might be tomorrow,
it might be a year, but it's near. It's near. based upon the
word of God. And if he doesn't come in your
lifetime, it's still near. Today is our salvation nearer
than when we first believed. You know what he said? He said, for some of you, Joe,
you're fifty-some years old, and if you live to be seventy,
that's twenty years, but it's not even half of what you've
already been through. It's soon, isn't it, for you? It's soon. And sooner for some than others.
What do you think about that? Ella? Huh? Comfort yourself with
these words. Huh? You love these people? Love me? We like them, we love about these
people. Well, they're lovely people, aren't they? Christ likes them. Does that tell you anything? Wrap them all up.
all the nice people that ever lived, and multiply it a million
times. That's who's coming. Doesn't
that give you an idea of who's coming? You want to see? As much as I love old Henry there,
and the reason I love him is because he's Christ-like. And
I'd love him more if he'd get more Christ-like. What about
Christ himself? Scripture says he's altogether
You want to see? Don't you want to see? That's
what this is all about. It's right over here this morning.
I hope I made him just a little more, I can't do that, I hope
the Holy Spirit has made him just a little more real and the
need to know him just a little more urgent. And the nearness
of his coming just a little nearer. Because it is. It is. Joe, did you pick out a hand
for us? You got something picked out? All right, good. Come up. Would
you come up and lead us? Number 51. Prayer is the sake. That's it.