The discussed themes in the episode are crucial for soul-winning and family preparation amidst a backdrop of comfort found in God’s sovereignty. As Rogers walks us through the biblical events that echo through our current reality, he calls for a deeper understanding of the Rapture and Revelation, highlighting our duty as believers to remain vigilant and anchored in the Word of God. Join us as this episode unfolds, filled with prayers and encouragement to remain steadfast in faith, ready to meet Jesus upon His return.
Pastor, teacher, and author Adrian Rogers has introduced people all over the world to the love of Jesus Christ and has impacted untold numbers of lives by presenting profound truth simply stated. Thanks for joining us for this message. Here’s Adrian Rogers.
SPEAKER 02 :
AND TURN, IF YOU WILL, THIS TIME TO THE BACK OF YOUR BIBLE TO FIRST JOHN, FIRST JOHN CHAPTER TWO, AND, UH, WE’RE GOING TO BEGIN READING IN A MOMENT IN VERSE 18. NOW THE TIME IS RIPE NOT ONLY FOR THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH, BUT IMMEDIATELY AFTER THAT, THE ARRIVAL OF THE ANTI-CHRIST. WITH THAT IN MIND, BEGIN READING WITH ME, IF YOU WILL. FIRST JOHN CHAPTER TWO, AND I BEGIN READING IN VERSE 18. LITTLE CHILDREN, IT IS THE LAST TIME. AND AS YE HAVE HEARD THAT ANTICHRIST SHALL COME, EVEN NOW THERE ARE MANY ANTICHRISTS WHEREBY WE KNOW THAT IT IS THE LAST TIME. THEY WENT OUT FROM US, BUT THEY WERE NOT OF US, UH, FOR HAD THEY BEEN OF US, THEY WOULD NO DOUBT HAVE CONTINUED WITH US, BUT THEY WENT OUT THAT THEY MIGHT BE MADE MANIFEST THAT THEY WERE NOT ALL OF US. BUT YE HAVE AN UNCTION FROM THE HOLY ONE, AND KNOW ALL THINGS. I HAVE NOT WRITTEN UNTO YOU, BECAUSE YE KNOW NOT THE TRUTH, BUT BECAUSE YE KNOW IT, AND THAT NO LIE IS OF THE TRUTH. WHO IS A LIAR? BUT HE THAT DENIETH THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST, HE IS AN ANTICHRIST THAT DENIETH THE FATHER AND THE SON. WHOSOEVER DENIETH THE SON, THE SAME HATH NOT THE FATHER. BUT HE THAT ACKNOWLEDGETH THE SON HATH THE FATHER ALSO. LET THAT THEREFORE ABIDE IN YOU WHICH YE HAVE HEARD FROM THE BEGINNING. IF THAT WHICH YE HAVE HEARD FROM THE BEGINNING SHALL REMAIN IN YOU, YE SHALL ALSO CONTINUE IN THE SON AND IN THE FATHER. AND THIS IS THE PROMISE THAT HE HATH PROMISED US, EVEN ETERNAL LIFE. THESE THINGS HAVE I WRITTEN UNTO YOU CONCERNING THEM THAT SEDUCE YOU. BUT THE ANOINTING WHICH YE HAVE RECEIVED OF HIM ABIDETH IN YOU, AND YE NEED NOT THAT ANY MAN TEACH YOU. BUT AS THE SAME ANOINTING TEACHETH YOU OF ALL THINGS, AND IS TRUTH, AND IS NO LIE, AND EVEN AS IT HATH TAUGHT YOU, YE SHALL ABIDE IN HIM. AND NOW, LITTLE CHILDREN, ABIDE IN HIM, THAT WHEN HE SHALL APPEAR, YE MAY HAVE CONFIDENCE, AND NOT BE ASHAMED BEFORE HIM AT HIS COMING. IF YE KNOW THAT HE IS RIGHTEOUS, YE KNOW THAT EVERY ONE THAT DOETH RIGHTEOUSNESS IS BORN OF HIM.” NOW I SAY THESE ARE PERILOUS TIMES, PREGNANT TIMES, IF YOU WILL, ABOUT TO BRING FORTH, AS WE MENTIONED THIS MORNING, AND YOU NEED TO BE AWARE FOR SEVERAL REASONS. FIRST OF ALL, YOU NEED TO BE AWARE FOR THE INTERCESSION FACTOR. YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW TO PRAY. YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW TO INTERCEDE FOR THIS WORLD AND FOR YOUR LOVED ONES AND GET THEM READY. THAT THEY MIGHT FLEE FROM THE WRATH TO COME. NUMBER TWO, RIGHT ALONG WITH THE INTERCESSION FACTOR IS THE SOUL WINNING FACTOR. NOW THE REAL PROOF THAT YOU BELIEVE IN PROPHECY IS NOT HOW MANY NOTES YOU GET IN YOUR NOTEBOOK PRIMARILY, BUT DO YOU HAVE A HOT HEART FOR LOST SOULS AND YOU GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE CLOUDS OF PROPHECY AND ON TO THE PAVEMENT OF SOUL WINNING. THERE’S ANOTHER REASON THAT YOU, UH, NEED TO UNDERSTAND THIS, AND THAT IS, UH, THE FAMILY PREPARATION FACTOR. YOU NEED TO GET ALL OF YOUR LOVED ONES SAVED. THERE’S THE FAMILY PREPARATION FACTOR. THERE IS THE COMFORT FACTOR. NONE OF WHAT WE SEE HAPPENING TODAY HAS TAKEN GOD BY SURPRISE. THERE IS NO PANIC IN HEAVEN. GOD KNOWS ALL OF THESE THINGS. THERE’S NO FINE PRINT IN THE CONTRACT. AND SO, UH, LET ME LAY SEVERAL FACTORS ON YOUR HEART TONIGHT THAT COME OUT OF THIS VERY RICH PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE THAT COMES FROM FIRST JOHN. AND THERE’S SO MUCH HERE TONIGHT, I’M GOING TO TRY TO LAY THREE OR FOUR FACTORS ON YOUR HEART THAT COME OUT OF THIS. NUMBER ONE, WE ARE LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS AND YOU NEED TO BE AWAKE. LOOK IF YOU WILL AGAIN IN VERSE 18 OF THIS CHAPTER. LOOK AT IT. LITTLE CHILDREN, IT IS THE LAST TIME. NOW, WE ARE LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS, BEYOND THE SHADOW OF DOUBT THESE ARE THE LAST DAYS. YOU SAY, WELL, PASTOR, HOW DO YOU KNOW THEY WERE THE LAST DAYS? BECAUSE THEY WERE THE LAST DAYS IN JOHN’S TIME. FOR TWO THOUSAND YEARS IT HAS BEEN THE LAST DAYS. AS A MATTER OF FACT, THIS PASSAGE MAY BE TRANSLATED THE LAST HOUR. WE’RE ALWAYS ON THE BRINK OF ETERNITY. IN JOHN’S DAY IT WAS THE LAST HOUR. WELL, YOU SAY, IF THAT IS TRUE, WHY HASN’T JESUS RETURNED? WELL, LISTEN, FRIEND, EVER SINCE THE ASCENSION OF JESUS CHRIST, FROM THAT TIME TO THIS TIME, WE HAVE BEEN LIVING ON THE BRINK OF THE COMING OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. ONE OF THE GREAT TEACHINGS OF THE BIBLE IS THAT HIS TEACHING, THAT HIS COMING IS ALWAYS IMMINENT. IMMINENT MEANS IT COULD HAPPEN MOMENTARILY AT ANY TIME. THE OLD TESTAMENT WITH ITS MANY PROPHECIES PREPARED US FOR THE FIRST COMING OF JESUS CHRIST. THE NEW TESTAMENT PREPARES US FOR THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST. NOW I PREACHED THIS MORNING ON SIGNS, BUT I WANT TO SAY THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT COIN IS THIS, THERE IS NO SIGN OR EVENT THAT NEEDS TO TRANSPIRE BEFORE JESUS CAN COME. WE ARE LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS. NOW LET ME EXPLAIN THAT TO YOU, THE TWO STAGES IN THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST. THERE’S THE STAGE THAT WE CALL THE RAPTURE, AND THERE’S THE STAGE THAT WE CALL THE REVELATION. THE RAPTURE IS WHEN JESUS COMES AND TAKES THE CHURCH OUT, AND THE GREAT TRIBULATION BEGINS HERE ON THIS EARTH. AFTER THE RAPTURE, JESUS COMES THIS TIME NOT FOR HIS SAINTS, BUT WITH HIS SAINTS, AND UNVEILS ALL OF HIS GLORY, AND THAT’S CALLED THE APOCALYPSE OR THE UNVEILING, OR THE PERUSIA, OR THESE ARE VARIOUS WORDS THAT DESCRIBE JESUS COMING IN POWER AND GREAT GLORY. WHEN HE COMES FOR THE CHURCH, HE’S COMING SECRETLY LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT. BUT WHEN HE COMES IN POWER AND GREAT GLORY, HE’S COMING LIKE THE LIGHTNING SHINING FROM THE EAST, UH, TO THE WEST. AND SO THE SIGNS THAT WE SPEAK ABOUT IN THE BIBLE, ALL OF THESE SIGNS ARE NOT SIGNS OF THE RAPTURE, THEY’RE REALLY SIGNS OF THE REVELATION. WELL, YOU SAY, WELL, PASTOR ROGERS, THEN WHY DID YOU PREACH TO US THIS MORNING? BECAUSE IF THE SIGNS OF THE REVELATION ARE HERE, WE KNOW THE RAPTURE MUST BE VERY CLOSE. THAT’S WHAT I’M SAYING. FRIEND, THESE SIGNS COULD TAKE PLACE AFTER THE RAPTURE, ALL OF THEM. BUT I WAS AT A CONFERENCE HERE A WHILE BACK, AND IT WAS A CONFERENCE FOR CHRISTIAN WORKERS. BUT IN THE HOTEL, THERE WAS A CONFERENCE FOR FORENSIC DETECTIVES. AND, UH, ONE CONFERENCE FOR FORENSIC DETECTIVES AND ANOTHER FOR CHRISTIAN WORKERS. AND I SAW THE SIGNS THAT TALKED ABOUT THE DETECTIVES MEETING AND POINTING THIS WAY AND, AND ALL OF THE ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SO FORTH. THOSE SIGNS WERE NOT FOR ME. THEY WERE FOR THEM, BUT I COULD READ THEM VERY EASILY. AND, UH, IT’S THE SAME WAY WITH THE SIGNS CONCERNING THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST. THOSE SIGNS ARE PRIMARILY FOR THOSE WHO, UH, WILL BE LEFT HERE AFTER THE RAPTURE. BUT IF WE CAN SEE THOSE SIGNS NOW, WE KNOW THE RAPTURE MUST BE VERY CLOSE BECAUSE COMING EVENTS CAST THEIR SHADOW AHEAD OF TIME. BUT THERE ARE REALLY NO SIGNS FOR THE FIRST STAGE, THE RAPTURE. THE RAPTURE CAN TAKE PLACE AT ANY MOMENT. NOW I WANT TO PROVE THAT. THE APOSTLE JOHN SAID, IT IS THE LAST TIME, LITERALLY AGAIN, THE LAST HOUR. DID YOU GET THAT? NOW LISTEN, JUST JOT THESE SCRIPTURES DOWN VERY QUICKLY. UH, FIRST THESSALONIANS CHAPTER ONE AND VERSE TEN. PAUL IS TELLING THE CHURCH AT THESSALONICA HOW THEY’RE TO LIVE. AND HERE’S WHAT HE SAYS HERE IN VERSE TEN, AND TO WAIT FOR HIS SON FROM HEAVEN, WHOM HE RAISED FROM THE DEAD, EVEN JESUS, WHICH DELIVERED US FROM THE WRATH TO COME.” THE WRATH TO COME IS THE GREAT TRIBULATION. HE SAYS, NOW LISTEN, FOLKS, YOU FOLKS AT THESTANIKA, I WANT YOU TO WAIT FOR JESUS. WELL, THAT WOULDN’T MAKE ANY SENSE IF IT WERE NOT THE POSSIBILITY FOR JESUS TO COME. HE SAID, YOU’D BE WAITING FOR JESUS. THAT IS A PRESENT INFINITIVE. I KNOW THAT’LL BLESS YOUR HEART. THAT’S A PRESENT INFINITIVE. IT MEANS THAT WE ARE TO BE CONSTANTLY WAITING. THOSE PEOPLE SO LONG AGO WERE TO BE WAITING FOR JESUS. LET ME GIVE YOU ANOTHER ONE. PHILIPPIANS, AH, CHAPTER THREE VERSE 20, FOR OUR CONVERSATION, THE WORD CONVERSATION HERE LITERALLY MEANS BEHAVIOR, OUR CONVERSATION IS IN HEAVEN FROM WHENCE ALSO WE LOOK FOR THE SAVIOR, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. PAUL SAID, LOOK, WE’RE LOOKING FOR JESUS. WE ARE LOOKING FOR JESUS. THOSE EARLY SAINTS, TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO, WERE LOOKING FOR JESUS. LET ME GIVE YOU ANOTHER ONE. FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER ONE AND VERSE SEVEN, PAUL TALKING ABOUT THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS THAT THE CORINTHIANS HAD, SAID THAT, YOU COME BEHIND IN NO GIFT, WAITING FOR THE COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. THE EARLY CHRISTIANS WERE LOOKING, LONGING, YEARNING, WAITING FOR JESUS CHRIST TO COME. LET ME GIVE YOU ANOTHER ONE. HEBREWS NINE VERSE 28, FOR CHRIST WAS ONCE OFFERED TO BEAR THE SINS OF MANY, AND UNTO THEM THAT LOOK FOR HIM, SHALL HE APPEAR THE SECOND TIME WITHOUT SIN UNTO SALVATION.” THEY WERE TO BE LOOKING FOR JESUS, THOSE SAINTS TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO. HERE’S ANOTHER ONE, TITUS CHAPTER TWO VERSE 13 SAYS, WE’RE TO BE LOOKING FOR THE GLORIOUS APPEARING OF THE GREAT GOD AND OUR SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST. ALL OF THESE TEACH US THAT, UH, AT ANY MOMENT JESUS MAY COME. JESUS COULD HAVE COME ANY MOMENT FROM THE TIME THAT THE APOSTLE JOHN WROTE OUR TEXT HERE IN, IN CHAPTER TWO AND VERSE 18 UP UNTO THIS PRESENT TIME. AND THAT’S THE REASON JESUS GAVE US THIS SCRIPTURE FROM MATTHEW 24 VERSES 48 THROUGH 51. HE TALKED ABOUT A SERVANT WHO WAS NOT READY FOR HIS MASTER TO RETURN. AND HE SAID, BUT, AND IF THAT EVIL SERVANT SHALL SAY IN HIS HEART, MY LORD DELAYETH HIS COMING, AND SHALL BEGIN TO SMITE HIS FELLOW SERVANTS, AND TO EAT AND DRINK WITH THE DRUNKEN, THE LORD OF THAT SERVANT SHALL COME IN A DAY WHEN HE LOOKETH NOT FOR HIM, AND IN AN HOUR WHEN HE IS NOT, THAT HE IS NOT AWARE OF, AND SHALL CUT HIM ASUNDER, AND APPOINT HIM HIS PORTION WITH THE HYPOCRITES, THERE SHALL BE WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH.” WHAT JESUS SAID THEREFORE IS THAT, UH, IT IS WICKED NOT TO EXPECT AND PREPARE FOR THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS, AND IT WILL RESULT IN JUDGMENT.” SO, UH, THE LAST HOUR BEGAN IN JOHN’S DAY. WE ARE LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS INDEED. I BELIEVE WE’RE LIVING IN THE LAST OF THE LAST DAYS. NOW THERE ARE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. BUT THESE SIGNS OF THE TIMES DO NOT TELL US THAT JESUS CANNOT COME AT ANY MOMENT OR COULD NOT HAVE COME AT ANY MOMENT. WE’RE ALWAYS LOOKING AND WAITING FOR THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST. I’VE BEEN IN THE MINISTRY FOR MORE YEARS THAN, UH, THAN I CAN REALLY REALIZE WHEN I THINK ABOUT IT. A HALF A CENTURY I’VE BEEN PREACHING THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST AND I’VE BEEN PREACHING ON THE SECOND COMING. I believed in the second coming when I first began to preach it, and I still believe it. And the anticipation and the nearness has never gone from me. When I was a boy in college, I was preaching a revival meeting in Stewart, Florida. They put me in a hotel right near the railroad track. I didn’t know it was near the railroad track. In the middle of the night, I had just preached a message on the rapture. And in the middle of the night, a diesel locomotive outside my window blew the whistle. I WAS ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN IT WAS A RAPTURE. I MEAN, I, I, I’D NEVER HEARD A NOISE LIKE THAT. IT WAS THE MOST PENETRATING SOUND I’D EVER HEARD. AND AFTER I’D BEEN PREACHING AND MEDITATING ON THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST, AND I SET UP IN BED AND I SAID, OH, THIS IS IT. HERE I GO. BUT I DIDN’T GO. I JUST STAYED THERE IN THE BED. BUT I, I, I’M TELLING YOU, FRIEND, ONE OF THESE DAYS IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN A MOMENT, IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE, WE’RE GOING TO HEAR THE SHOUT, BEHOLD THE BRIDEGROOM COMETH, GO YE OUT TO MEET HIM. SO, UH, WHAT WE NEED TO SAY FIRST OF ALL IS VERY CLEARLY, THIS IS THE LAST DAY AND WE NEED TO BE AWAKE. NOW NUMBER TWO, THE ANTICHRIST IS COMING. NOT ONLY IS JESUS COMING, THE ANTICHRIST IS COMING, AND WE NEED TO BE AWARE. LOOK AGAIN IN VERSE 18, LITTLE CHILDREN, IT IS THE LAST TIME, AND AS YE HAVE HEARD, THAT ANTICHRIST SHALL COME. EVEN NOW ARE THERE MANY ANTICHRISTS WHEREBY WE KNOW THAT IT IS THE LAST TIME. NOW, AH, THERE IS A WICKED malevolent, ungodly person who will be Satan in the flesh, who is waiting in the wings, waiting to be revealed after the rapture of the church. This Antichrist is ready to step on to center stage. Now, it may surprise you to know that the Apostle John is the only one in the Bible who calls this man the Antichrist. HE, LIKE MANY CRIMINALS, HAS MANY ALIASES, BUT HE HAS ONE HEART AND ONE MIND. LET ME GIVE YOU SOME OF THE OTHER NAMES THAT, AH, AH, HE IS CALLED IN THE BIBLE. HE IS CALLED, FOR EXAMPLE, THE MAN OF SIN. AND PUT THIS SCRIPTURE DOWN, SECOND THESSALONIANS TWO, AH, VERSE THREE, LET NO MAN DECEIVE YOU BY ANY MEANS, FOR THAT DAY SHALL NOT COME, EXCEPT THERE COME A FALLING AWAY FIRST, AND THAT MAN OF SIN BE REVEALED, THE SON OF PREDICTION.” HE IS SAYING THAT THE DAY OF WRATH WILL NOT COME, UH, THE TRIBULATION WILL NOT COME UNTIL THAT MAN OF SIN IS REVEALED. UH, THE REASON I USE THAT PHRASE IS THAT THERE’S SOMEONE SO WICKED THAT THE BIBLE CALLS HIM A MAN OF SIN. THE WHOLE PROBLEM BEGAN WITH THE SIN OF MAN, BUT IT IS GOING TO END WITH THE MAN OF SIN. THE EVOLUTIONIST WANTS US TO BELIEVE THAT, THAT WE HAVE, UH, COME FROM THE BEAST. WE HAVEN’T COME FROM THE BEAST, WE’RE HEADED TO THE BEAST. THE MAN OF SIN. THE BIBLE CALLS HIM HERE THE MAN OF SIN. NOW THAT’S A VERY INTERESTING PHRASE, THE MAN OF SIN. AS A MATTER OF FACT, IN MY STUDY I LOOKED IT UP IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT TRANSLATIONS. LET ME TELL YOU HOW IT’S TRANSLATED IN VARIOUS TRANSLATIONS OF THE SCRIPTURE. ONE CALLS HIM THE MAN OF LAWLESSNESS. ANOTHER CALLS HIM, VERY INTERESTINGLY, THE INCARNATION OF WICKEDNESS. ANOTHER CALLS HIM THE CHAMPION OF WICKEDNESS. ANOTHER CALLS HIM WICKEDNESS IN HUMAN FORM. THE APOSTLE JOHN CALLS HIM THE CHRIST. AH, HE IS CALLED ALSO IN THIS SCRIPTURE THAT I GAVE YOU IN SECOND THESSALONIANS CHAPTER TWO AND VERSE THREE, HE’S CALLED THE SON OF PREDICTION. AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS SPEAKS OF THE JUDGMENT THAT IS AWAITING HIM. THE WORD PREDICTION MEANS JUDGMENT. AND, AH, THE ANTICHRIST WILL NOT PREVAIL. HE’S HEADED TO HELL. BUT HE IS THE SON OF PERDITION. BY THE WAY, THE ONLY OTHER PERSON CALLED THE SON OF PERDITION IN THE ENTIRE BIBLE IS JUDAS. NOW AGAIN, HE IS CALLED, AND I’VE ALREADY REFERENCED THIS, HE’S CALLED THE BEAST. IN REVELATION CHAPTER 13, IF YOU REMEMBER OUR STUDY IN THE BOOK OF THE REVELATION, HE IS CALLED THE BEAST. THE REVELATION IS FULL OF EMBLEMS AND SYMBOLS, AND SO THIS MAN, LIKE A BEAST, IS FEROCIOUS. HE IS CRUEL, HE’S FIERCE, HE IS BLOODTHIRSTY. BUT JOHN CALLS HIM, IN OUR PASSAGE, THE ANTICHRIST. NOW IF YOU WERE HERE THIS MORNING, YOU REMEMBER THAT I TOLD YOU THAT THE PREFIX ANTI- MEANS TWO THINGS. IT MEANS INSTEAD OF, AND IT MEANS AGAINST. IT HAS TWO MEANINGS. UH, SO HIS, THIS IS ONE WHO COMES INSTEAD OF CHRIST. THAT IS, HE IS A FALSE CHRIST WHO SUBSTITUTES HIMSELF FOR CHRIST, THEREFORE TO BE AGAINST CHRIST. HE IS THE COUNTERFEIT CHRIST. HE WILL BE TO THE DEVIL WHAT JESUS IS TO THE FATHER. JESUS SAID, HE WHO HATH SEEN ME HAS SEEN MY FATHER. THE ANTICHRIST WILL BE ABLE TO SAY, WHO HATH SEEN ME HAS SEEN MY FATHER. SATAN HAS ALWAYS DESIRED WORSHIP. JUST AS WE ARE TO WORSHIP GOD THE FATHER THROUGH GOD THE SON, SATAN WHO MIMICS GOD, WANTS TO RECEIVE WORSHIP THROUGH HIS ANTICHRIST, HIS FALSE CHRIST, THE CHRIST OF THE CULTS, SATAN WANTS OBVIOUS, OPEN, OVERT WORSHIP. LET ME TELL YOU SOME THINGS ABOUT THE ANTICHRIST. AND LET’S LET THEM BEGIN WITH THE LETTER D SO YOU CAN REMEMBER THEM. FIRST OF ALL, HE IS DEVILISH. HE IS FULL OF THE DEVIL. HE IS SATAN INCARNATE. NUMBER TWO, NOT ONLY IS HE DEVILISHED, THE ANTICHRIST, HE IS DIVISIVE. LOOK IN VERSE 19 OF OUR CHAPTER HERE, IF YOU WILL. BUT THEY WENT OUT FROM US, BUT THEY WERE NOT OF US. FOR IF THEY HAD BEEN OF US, THEY WOULD NO DOUBT HAVE CONTINUED WITH US. BUT THEY WENT OUT, THAT THEY MIGHT BE MADE MANIFEST, THAT THEY WERE NOT ALL OF US. IN JOHN’S DAY, THERE WAS A DIVISION IN THE CHURCH. THERE WERE SOME PEOPLE WHO STARTED IN THE CHURCH, BUT THEN THEY LEFT, THEY WENT OUT. THE US REFERS TO THE CHURCH. AND THERE WAS A, A SPLINTER MOVEMENT. THERE WAS A BREAKAWAY MOVEMENT. AND JOHN SAYS, THE POWER BEHIND THAT DIVISION WAS THE ANTICHRIST. THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST THAT WAS ALREADY IN THE WORLD IN JOHN’S DAY DIVIDES CHURCHES. AND HE SAYS, THEY WERE NOT OF US. THAT IS, THERE WAS NO TRUE FELLOWSHIP. THERE WAS NO TRUE UNION. UH, THEY DIDN’T LOSE THEIR SALVATION. THEY NEVER HAD IT. THERE WAS NO REAL COINONIA. AND SO THE ANTICHRIST IS THE POWER BEHIND ALL OF THE FALSE CULTS THAT YOU HAVE. A LOT OF THE FALSE CULTS HAVE THIS STAMP ON THEM, MADE IN AMERICA. THEY HAVE BROKEN AWAY FROM THE TRUE CHURCH AND THEY HAVE COME OUT WITH THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST AND THEY ARE PREACHING A FALSE GOSPEL. THE BIBLE SAYS IN FIRST TIMOTHY CHAPTER FOUR VERSE ONE, IN THE LAST DAY’S PERILOUS TIME SHALL COME FOR MEN SHALL DEPART FROM THE FAITH, GIVING HEED TO SEDUCING, AH, SPIRITS. SO THERE IS THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST THAT IS DEVILISH, AND THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST THAT IS DIVISIVE, AND THERE, THERE’S THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST THAT IS DECEPTIVE. AND, AND THAT, THE BIBLE SAYS THE DEVIL WOULD DECEIVE THE VERY ELECT IF IT WERE POSSIBLE. LOOK, IF YOU WILL, NOW IN VERSES 20 THROUGH 23, BUT YE HAVE ANUNCTION. HE TALKS ABOUT THESE WHO’VE GONE OUT AND SPLIT AWAY, BUT HE TALKS NOW TO THE TRUE BELIEVERS. BUT YE HAVE ANUNCTION FROM THE HOLY ONE, AND KNOW ALL THINGS. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that know lies of the truth. Who is a liar? But he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ, he is an antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father. But he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Now what he’s saying is this antichrist who is devilish and who is divisive is also very divisive. DECEPTIVE. AND NOTICE THE FOCAL POINT OF HIS DECEPTION. IT IS OVER THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST. HE WANTS TO DENY THE FACTS ABOUT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. NOW THE DEVIL DOESN’T CARE WHAT YOU BELIEVE. YOU CAN BELIEVE MANY THINGS THAT ARE GOOD AND RIGHT AND HONORABLE. AS LONG AS YOU’RE WRONG ABOUT JESUS, HE DOESN’T CARE WHAT ELSE YOU MAY BE RIGHT ABOUT. IF YOU’RE WRONG ABOUT JESUS, NOTHING ELSE REALLY MATTERS. LET ME GIVE YOU A COUPLE OF ANCILLARY VERSES HERE. NOW REMEMBER, WE’RE TALKING ABOUT ANTI-CHRIST, THE SPIRIT OF ANTI-CHRIST. NOT THE ANTICHRIST, BUT THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST. THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST IS DEVILISH. THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST IS DIVISIVE. THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST IS DECEPTIVE. NOW YOU’RE IN FIRST JOHN TWO, GO OVER TO, UH, FIRST JOHN CHAPTER FOUR AND LOOK HERE, BEGINNING IN VERSE ONE, BELOVED, BELIEVE NOT EVERY SPIRIT. DON’T GET THE IDEA THAT EVERYTHING THAT IS SPIRITUAL IS HOLY. BELIEVE NOT EVERY SPIRIT, BUT TRY OR TEST THE SPIRITS, WHETHER THEY ARE OF GOD, HE’S GOING TO TELL YOU HOW TO TEST THE SPIRITS HERE IN A MOMENT. BECAUSE MANY FALSE PROPHETS ARE GONE OUT INTO THE WORLD. HEREBY KNOW YE THE SPIRIT OF GOD. EVERY SPIRIT THAT CONFESSETH THAT JESUS IS COME IN THE FLESH IS OF GOD. AND EVERY SPIRIT THAT CONFESSETH NOT THAT JESUS CHRIST IS COME IN THE FLESH, JESUS THE MESSIAH IS COME IN THE FLESH, IS NOT OF GOD. THIS IS THAT SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST, WHEREVER YE HAVE HEARD THAT IT SHOULD COME AND EVEN NOW ALREADY IS IN THE WORLD. THE TOUCHSTONE, THE TEST POINT IS JESUS. NOW REMEMBER THIS, UH, WHEN A FALSE CULT COMES TO YOUR DOOR, UH, THEY WILL SAY, BELIEVE SOMETHING. WHEN A REAL CHRISTIAN COMES TO YOUR DOOR, THEY WILL SAY, RECEIVE SOMEONE. THAT SOMEONE IS JESUS CHRIST. THE BIBLE SAYS, BELIEVE NOT EVERY SPIRIT. TEST THE SPIRITS, WHETHER IT BE OF GOD. LOOK, GO BACK, NOW YOU’RE IN, IN, UH, FIRST JOHN, GO TO SECOND JOHN. AND LOOK IF YOU WILL IN VERSE SEVEN, FOR MANY DECEIVERS ARE ENTERED INTO THE WORLD WHO CONFESS NOT THAT JESUS CHRIST IS COME IN THE FLESH. THIS IS A DECEIVER AND AN ANTICHRIST. LOOK TO YOURSELVES THAT WE LOSE NOT THOSE THINGS WHICH WE HAVE WROUGHT, BUT THAT WE RECEIVE A FULL REWARD. NOW NOTICE VERSE NINE, WHOSOEVER TRANSGRESSETH AND ABIDETH NOT IN THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST HATH NOT GOD. HE THAT ABIDETH IN THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST, HE HATH BOTH THE FATHER AND THE SON. IF A PERSON IS WRONG ABOUT JESUS, THEY’RE WRONG, FRIEND. NOW NOTICE IN VERSE 10, IF THERE COME ANY UNTO YOU AND BRING NOT THIS DOCTRINE, WHAT DOCTRINE? THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST, RECEIVING NOT INTO YOUR HOUSE, NEITHER BID HIM GOD’S SPEED, FOR HE THAT BIDDETH HIM GOD’S SPEED IS PARTAKER OF HIS EVIL DEEDS.” THEY COME KNOCKING AT YOUR DOOR AND YOU’RE THERE, WELL, HOW ARE YOU? WELL, I’M SO-AND-SO AND SO-AND-SO, WE’RE SO-AND-SO AND SO-AND-SO. RIGHT AWAY YOU KNOW THEY DON’T BELIEVE WHAT YOU BELIEVE AND THEY DON’T WORSHIP THE JESUS THAT YOU WORSHIP. BUT DON’T BE SO FOOLISH AS TO SAY, BUT YOU KNOW, WE REALLY NEED UNDERSTANDING. LET’S COME ON IN MY HOUSE AND, AND I’LL BRING MY NEIGHBORS AND I’LL LET YOU TEACH US. WE’LL HAVE A BIBLE STUDY HERE IN MY HOUSE. YOU MAKE YOUR, YOUR HOUSE HEADQUARTERS FOR HELL. DON’T DO THAT. OR YOU SAY, NO, I WOULDN’T DO THAT. WELL, I’D JUST SAY, YOU KNOW, IT’S JUST SO WONDERFUL THAT YOU, YOU BELIEVE WHAT YOU BELIEVE. GOD BLESS YOU. GOD BLESS YOU. NO, YOU DON’T SAY, GOD BLESS YOU. I MEAN, YOU DON’T SAY, GOD BLESS WHAT YOU’RE DOING. YOU CAN PRAY THAT THEY, THEIR EYES, THEIR HEARTS, THEIR MIND WILL BE OPEN. YOU CAN DESIRE THE WELFARE OF GOD, BUT YOU CANNOT BID GOD’S SPEED ON THAT EVILNESS. IT’S WICKEDNESS. IF THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, UH, HE IS DECEPTIVE. THE GREAT FACT OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH IS THAT JESUS CHRIST HAS COME IN THE FLESH. REMEMBER THIS, THE DEVIL IS NOT AGAINST RELIGION. THE DEVIL IS INTO RELIGION UP TO HIS EARS. HE’S THE FATHER OF, THE MASTER OF NEW AGEISM AND DEMONISM AND WITCHCRAFT AND CULTISM. THE ANTICHRIST IS THE DEVIL’S MESSIAH. HE IS THE CHRIST OF THE CULTS. HE COMES AGAINST CHRIST AND INSTEAD OF CHRIST. THAT’S WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT. AND THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST HAS BEEN IN THE WORLD FOR A LONG TIME. THE DEVIL WANTS CONVERTS AS WELL AS HE WANTS, UH, CASUALTIES. AND SO FIND OUT WHAT ANYBODY BELIEVES ABOUT JESUS CHRIST. IF THEY’RE WRONG ABOUT JESUS CHRIST, THEN IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT ELSE THEY MAY BE RIGHT ABOUT. IF ANYBODY DENIES THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST, HE IS OF THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST. AND SO THIS ANTICHRIST IS DEVILISH. THIS ANTICHRIST IS DIVISIVE. THIS ANTICHRIST IS DECEPTIVE AND HE IS DESTRUCTIVE. NOW LOOK IF YOU WILL IN VERSE 24 AND VERSE 25 OF FIRST JOHN CHAPTER TWO, LET THAT THEREFORE ABIDE IN YOU WHICH YOU HAVE HEARD FROM THE BEGINNING. IF THAT WHICH YE HAVE HEARD FROM THE BEGINNING SHALL REMAIN IN YOU, YE ALSO SHALL CONTINUE IN THE SON AND IN THE FATHER. AND THIS IS THE PROMISE THAT HE HATH PROMISED TO US, EVEN ETERNAL LIFE.” NOW THE DEVIL WANTS TO DESTROY SOULS. THE DEVIL WANTS TO STEAL FROM YOU ETERNAL LIFE. AND HE WANTS TO DESTROY YOU, UH, FOREVER IN HELL. NOW YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE ETERNAL EXISTENCE. THERE WILL NEVER BE A TIME WHEN YOU WILL NOT BE. THERE WAS A TIME WHEN YOU WERE NOT, BUT THERE NEVER WILL BE A TIME WHEN YOU WILL NOT BE. NOW THE DEVIL KNOWS THAT YOU CANNOT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE APART FROM FAITH IN THE CRUCIFIED, RISEN, ASCENDED SON OF GOD. I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO GOING TO HEAVEN. I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO ETERNITY. I MADE RESERVATIONS IN THE NON-SMOKING SECTION. THE DEVIL, THE DEVIL WANTS TO KEEP YOU OUT OF HEAVEN. THIS IS THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST. NOW, WHAT I’VE SAID IS THAT IT’S THE LAST DAYS YOU NEED TO BE AWAKE. THE ANTICHRIST IS COMING, YOU NEED TO BE AWARE. HERE’S THE THIRD THING, OUR LORD IS ON HIS WAY AND YOU NEED TO BE ABIDING. NOW, JOHN HERE PICKS UP AN INTERESTING WORD AND HE USES IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN. LOOK, IF YOU WILL, IN VERSE 24, LET THAT THEREFORE ABIDE IN YOU WHICH YE HAVE HEARD FROM THE BEGINNING. LOOK IN VERSE 27, BUT THE ANOINTING WHICH YE HAVE RECEIVED OF HIM ABIDETH IN YOU. UH, LOOK IF YOU WILL IN VERSE 28, AND NOW LITTLE CHILDREN ABIDE IN HIM. DO YOU SEE THAT? NOW, WHAT’S HE SAYING TO US? WHAT’S HE SAYING TO ME? WHAT’S HE SAYING TO YOU? THAT IF, UH, IF IT’S THE LAST DAYS, AND WE NEED TO BE AWARE. IF ANTICHRIST IS COMING AND THE GREAT TRIBULATION, WE NEED TO BE AWARE. THEN OUR LORD IS ON HIS WAY AND WE NEED TO BE ABIDING. NOW WHAT DOES THE WORD ABIDE MEAN? WELL, LITERALLY IT MEANS TO BE AT HOME. IF I BUILD A HOUSE AND SAY, THIS IS WHERE YOU ARE TO ABIDE, UH, THEN THAT, THAT’S YOUR HOUSE. THAT’S WHERE YOU DWELL. THAT’S WHERE YOU ARE TO BE. IT MEANS TO MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME. NOW JOHN TELLS ADRIAN AND ALL OF US THREE THINGS THAT WE’RE TO DO IN THESE DAYS IN WHICH WE LIVE. NOW HERE’S WHAT WE’RE TO DO. WE ARE TO BE AT HOME IN THE WORD OF GOD. WE ARE TO BE AT HOME IN THE WORD OF GOD. LOOK, LOOK IN VERSE 24, LET THAT THEREFORE ABIDE IN YOU WHICH YE HAVE HEARD FROM THE BEGINNING. NOW WHAT’S HE TALKING ABOUT HERE? IT’S THE WORD OF GOD, THAT WHICH YOU’VE HEARD. IF THAT WHICH YE HAVE HEARD FROM THE BEGINNING SHALL REMAIN IN YOU, YE SHALL ALSO CONTINUE IN THE SON AND IN THE FATHER. YOU ARE TO MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME IN THE WORD OF GOD. NOW MANY CHRISTIANS ARE FAILING TO DO THIS. YOU NEED TO APPRECIATE THE WORD OF GOD. AND THEN YOU NEED TO APPROPRIATE THE WORD OF GOD. THEN YOU NEED TO ASSIMILATE THE WORD OF GOD. YOU NEED TO ASK GOD TO INCULCATE IN YOU IN THIS COMING YEAR A HUNGER FOR THE WORD OF GOD. BECAUSE WHAT HAPPENS IS THIS, NOTICE WHAT HE SAYS HERE, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE WORD OF GOD ABIDES IN YOU? WHEN THE WORD OF GOD ABIDES IN YOU, HE SAYS, YOU WILL CONTINUE IN THE FATHER AND IN THE SON. AND THAT’S WHAT YOU WANT. YOU WANT THE FATHER AND THE SON. LOOK IN VERSE 24, LOOK AT IT AGAIN, IF THAT WHICH YE HAVE HEARD FROM THE BEGINNING SHALL REMAIN IN YOU, YE SHALL CONTINUE IN THE SON AND IN THE FATHER. NOW DO YOU WANT TO KNOW THE LORD JESUS CHRIST THE SON? DO YOU WANT TO KNOW THE FATHER? THEN YOU NEED TO ABIDE IN THE WORD OF GOD. YOU NEED TO GET THIS INTO THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF YOUR CHILDREN. THE WORD OF GOD, NOT JUST GIVING THEM ADMONITION AND GOOD ADVICE, AND FOOD AND CLOTHES AND A GOOD EXAMPLE. YOU NEED TO SATURATE THEM WITH THE WORD OF GOD. AMERICA NEEDS THE WORD OF GOD. THAT’S ONE REASON I’M SO GRATEFUL FOR THIS CHURCH AND LOVE WE’RE FINDING MINISTRIES. DID YOU KNOW THAT THE MOST QUOTED BOOK OF THE FOUNDING FATHERS OF THE UNITED STATES, THE MOST QUOTED BOOK OF OUR FOUNDING FATHERS WAS THE BIBLE? TODAY IT IS THE MOST CENSORED BOOK. THAT’S AN AMAZING THING, AN AMAZING THING. WHAT, WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO? MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME IN THE WORD OF GOD. NUMBER TWO, MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME WITH THE SPIRIT OF GOD. LOOK AGAIN NOW IN VERSE 27, BUT THE ANOINTING WHICH YE HAVE RECEIVED OF HIM ABIDETH IN YOU, AND YE NEED NOT THAT ANY MAN TEACH YOU, BUT THE SAME ANOINTING TEACHETH YOU ALL THINGS, AND IS TRUTH, AND IS NO LIE. AND EVEN AS IT HATH TAUGHT YOU, YE SHALL ABIDE IN HIM.” AH, NOW THE ANOINTING IS CALLED HERE, AN HYM, H-I-M. IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, THERE WAS SOMETHING CALLED AN ANOINTING. IT WAS A CEREMONY. IT TOOK PLACE WITH OIL. IF THERE WAS A KING OR A PROPHET, OR PRIEST, THEY WOULD TAKE OIL, AND THEY WOULD PUT OIL ON HIM, AND THEY CALLED THAT THE ANOINTING. IT WAS THE ANOINTING OIL. THEY WOULD PUT THAT OIL ON HIM. AND THAT ANOINTING, THAT OIL, WAS AN EMBLEM, A SYMBOL, A VISUAL LESSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. NOW JOHN IS PICKING UP ON THAT AND HE SAYS, YOU HAVE AN ANOINTING, YOU HAVE ANUNCTION. IN VERSE 20 IT’S CALLED ANUNCTION. DO YOU SEE THAT IN VERSE 20 IF YOU HAVE THE KING JAMES? IT’S THE SAME WORD. IT’S JUST TRANSLATED DIFFERENTLY. IT MEANS AN ANOINTING. IT’S JUST TRANSLATED DIFFERENTLY. NOW, THOSE OF US WHO HAVE THE WORD OF GOD AND WE MAKE OURSELVES AT HOME IN THE WORD OF GOD, THEN WE ALSO NEED TO ABIDE IN THE SPIRIT OF GOD, MAKE OURSELVES AT HOME WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT BECAUSE HE’S THE ONE WHO TEACHES US TO UNDERSTAND THE BIBLE. I PRAY OVER THE BIBLE. I ASK GOD TO OPEN MY EYES TO HELP ME TO UNDERSTAND THE BIBLE. YOU SEE, THE CHRISTIAN HAS A BUILT-IN GUIDANCE SYSTEM AND HE HAS A BUILT-IN ALARM SYSTEM. PUT THIS VERSE DOWN, JOHN 14 VERSE 26. JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT. HE CALLS HIM THE COMFORTOR. AND THE WORD COMFORTOR THERE DOES NOT MEAN NOW, NOW, THERE, THERE, POOR THING. IT’S A WORD THAT MEANS WITH STRENGTH, COMFORT. THINK OF A FORTRESS. THINK OF YOUR FORTE, YOUR STRENGTH. NOW, JESUS SAYS, THE ONE WHO’S GOING TO GIVE YOU STRENGTH, BUT THE COMFORTER, WHICH IS THE HOLY GHOST, WHOM THE FATHER WILL SEND IN MY NAME, HE SHALL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS AND BRING ALL THINGS TO YOUR REMEMBRANCE, WHATSOEVER I HAVE SAID UNTO YOU. NOW, THIS IS WHAT, WHAT JOHN IS SAYING HERE IN THIS PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE, THAT IT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT WHO IS GOING TO TEACH YOU. NOTICE AGAIN IN VERSE 27, BUT THE ANOINTING WHICH YE HAVE RECEIVED OF HIM ABIDETH IN YOU, AND YOU HAVE, AND YE NEED NOT THAT ANY MAN SHALL TEACH YOU. WELL NOW WAIT A MINUTE. THAT’S WHAT I’M DOING RIGHT NOW, ISN’T IT? AREN’T I TEACHING YOU? AND YET JOHN SAYS, YOU DON’T, YOU DON’T NEED ANY MAN TO TEACH YOU. THERE’S NO CONTRADICTION HERE. THE BIBLE SAYS IN EPHESIANS FOUR THAT GOD GAVE TO THE CHURCH PASTOR TEACHERS. BUT WHAT HE IS SAYING IS THAT THE REAL TEACHER, AND THIS IS DEEP, BUT I WANT YOU TO GET IT. THE REAL TEACHER IS NOT ADRIAN, THE REAL TEACHER IS THE HOLY SPIRIT. BEFORE I CAME OUT HERE, I GOT ON MY KNEES AND PRAYED. BECAUSE, AND YOU’VE HEARD ME SAY THIS A THOUSAND TIMES, ANYTHING I CAN TALK YOU INTO, SOMEBODY ELSE CAN TALK YOU OUT OF. THE ONE WHO TEACHES YOU IS THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD. HE’S THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD. GOD USES HUMAN TEACHERS. BUT THE ONE WHO TEACHES YOU, THE ONE WHO REALLY HELPS YOU TO UNDERSTAND IS THE SPIRIT OF GOD. NOW THE BIBLE IS NOT AGAINST HUMAN TEACHERS. AND CERTAINLY THE BIBLE IS NOT AGAINST STUDY. THE BIBLE SAYS, WE ARE TO STUDY TO SHOW OURSELVES APPROVED UNTO GOD WORKMEN THAT NEED NOT TO BE ASHAMED, BUT THE TRUE TEACHER IS THE HOLY SPIRIT. SO YOU MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME IN THE WORD OF GOD. THEN YOU MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME WITH THE SPIRIT OF GOD. AND WHEN YOU DO THAT, YOU’RE GOING TO MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME WITH THE VERY SON OF GOD. LOOK HERE NOW IN VERSES 28 AND 29 OF THIS SAME CHAPTER, AND NOW LITTLE CHILDREN ABIDE IN HIM, NOW HE’S TALKING ABOUT JESUS, THAT WHEN HE SHALL APPEAR, WE MAY HAVE CONFIDENCE AND NOT BE ASHAMED BEFORE HIM AT HIS COMING. NOW YOU SEE, WHAT HE’S SAYING NOW IS THAT WE ARE TO BE AT HOME WITH THE VERY SON OF GOD. WE’RE TO TRUST HIM AND OBEY HIM AND THE WORD OF GOD AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD MAKE THE SON OF GOD REAL IN YOUR HEART. THEN YOU HAVE CONFIDENCE AND YOU’RE NOT GOING TO BE ASHAMED WHEN JESUS COMES AGAIN. BACK IN, UH, WORLD WAR II, I WAS A LITTLE BOY. MY DAD WAS IN THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD. MY DAD, UH, WAS STATIONED AT HOPE SOUND, FLORIDA, NOT FAR FROM OUR HOUSE, WHICH WAS REALLY GOOD BECAUSE HE COULD COME HOME FROM TIME TO TIME. WHEN HE’D GET, UH, A FURLOUGH OR A TIME ON, IN THE WEEK SOMETIMES, HE COULD DRIVE THAT, UH, 40 OR 50 MILES TO OUR HOUSE. GASOLINE WAS VERY HARD TO GET. IT WAS RATIONED. IT ALL WENT TO THE WAR EFFORT. AND MY DAD GOT THE MOST ECONOMICAL CAR THAT HE COULD GET THAT BURNED THE LEAST GAS. HE BOUGHT AN OLD MODEL A, BLACK MODEL A FORD, SAME CAR I LEARNED HOW TO DRIVE IN, A 1931 MODEL A FORD. AND HE BOUGHT THAT CAR. AND BEFORE MY DAD WOULD GO OFF BACK TO THE BASE, HE WOULD GIVE MY BROTHER AND I INSTRUCTIONS. HE WOULD TELL US WHAT WE WOULD DO AROUND THE HOUSE, HOW WE WOULD MIND MOTHER AND HOW WE WOULD CLEAN THE YARD AND HOW WE WOULD DO THIS AND THIS AND THIS AND THIS. AND THEN WHEN HE CAME HOME, HE ALWAYS CHECKED UP. SOMETIMES I LOVED TO SEE HIM COME AND SOMETIMES I HATED TO SEE HIM COME. It all depended whether or not I had been doing what my dad told me to do. I could hear that Model A Ford coming. We just lived outdoors all the time. We didn’t have air conditioning. We didn’t have television, either one. There’s no such thing as a Game Boy. We lived outdoors. And the weather’s nice down in South Florida. But that Model A Ford had a distinctive sound. I could hear my dad’s car almost before I could see it. AND IT HAD A RUNNING BOARD IT’S SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN STAND ON, STEP ON I THOUGHT THOSE WERE OUT OF DATE UNTIL THEY BEGAN TO BUILD THESE SUV’S AND NOW THEY’VE GOT A RUNNING BOARD ON THEM SO YOU CAN STEP UP INTO THEM THE OLD MODEL A’S HAD A RUNNING BOARD AND PEOPLE WOULD STAND ON THE MODEL A FORD RUNNING BOARD SOMETIME AND HANG OUTSIDE THE CAR AND JUST RIDE ALONG AND WHEN MY DAD WOULD COME I WOULD RUN IF I HAD BEEN GOOD IF I HAD BEEN OBEYING MY MOTHER AND BEEN DOING WHAT MY DAD TOLD ME TO DO, I JUST LOVED TO, BECAUSE I LOVED MY DAD VERY MUCH, AND I WOULD RUN TO MEET THAT CAR AND HE’D SLOW DOWN AND I’D JUMP ON THE RUNNING BOARD AND REACH INTO WINDOW AND HUG MY DADDY’S NECK AND, AND JUST RIDE HOME WITH MY DADDY. SOMETHING LIKE THE SECOND COMING OF THE LORD. JUST, YOU KNOW, I HEAR THE SOUND, AND I GO TO MEET HIM, AND HE’S COMING TO MEET ME, AND WE GO HOME TOGETHER. IT’S JUST REALLY A WONDERFUL THING. BUT I WANT TO TELL YOU SOMETHING, FRIEND. THERE WERE TIMES WHEN I HEARD THAT MODEL A, I DID NOT WANT TO RUN MEET IT, I WANTED TO RUN AND HIDE. NOW IT ALL DEPENDED ON WHAT I’D BEEN DOING, HOW I’D BEEN LIVING. YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHAT JOHN IS SAYING, LITTLE CHILDREN ABIDE IN HIM, THAT WHEN HE SHALL APPEAR, YOU MAY HAVE CONFIDENCE BEFORE HIM AND NOT BE ASHAMED AT HIS COMING. NOW IF THE TRUMPET WERE TO SOUND RIGHT NOW, AND YOU SAY, I’M TRULY SAVED, PASTOR, I’M TRULY SAVED. WELL, I THINK SOME OF YOU WANT TO GET UNDER THE SEAT. YOU SAY, OH, NO. I, HERE I AM WITH THIS GRUDGE IN MY HEART. HERE I AM WITH THAT BEER IN MY ICE BOX. HERE I AM WITH GOD’S TITHE IN MY POCKET. HERE I AM UNPREPARED, UNPRAYED UP. HERE I AM NOT A SOUL WINNER. MUST I GO IN EMPTY HANDED? MUST I MEET MY SAVIOR SO, WITHOUT ONE SOUL WITH WHICH TO GREET HIM? MUST I EMPTY-HANDED GO? LITTLE CHILDREN, ABIDE IN HIM, THAT WHEN HE SHALL APPEAR, YOU MAY HAVE CONFIDENCE AND NOT BE ASHAMED BEFORE I MET HIS COMING.” MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME IN THE WORD OF GOD. MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME WITH THE SPIRIT OF GOD. MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME WITH THE SON OF GOD. SO THAT WHEN HE APPEARS, YOU’LL NOT BE MEETING IN THE RAPTURE SOMEONE YOU’VE ONLY HEARD ABOUT, BUT YOU’LL BE MEETING SOMEONE YOU KNOW HEART TO HEART. ARE YOU READY FOR JESUS TO COME? WOULD YOU BE LEFT BEHIND IF HE CAME TONIGHT? YOU SAY, NO, I KNOW I’M SAVED. WELL, WOULD YOU HAVE CONFIDENCE OR WOULD YOU BE ASHAMED AT HIS COMING? WE’RE GOING TO HAVE A PRAYER, AND IF YOU’RE NOT SAVED, I WANT TO GUIDE YOU IN RECEIVING CHRIST. IF YOU BELIEVE THE FACTS OF THE GOSPEL THAT YOU’RE A SINNER AND YOUR SIN DESERVES JUDGMENT AND HELL, BUT YOU KNOW THAT JESUS SUFFERED, BLED, AND DIED ON THE CROSS FOR YOU, THAT YOU MIGHT BE FORGIVEN. IF YOU KNOW THAT HE SHED HIS BLOOD ON YOUR BEHALF, TOOK YOUR SIN PUNISHMENT AND CARRIED IT TO THE CROSS, AND IF YOU KNOW THAT SALVATION IS BY FAITH, YOU CAN NEVER EARN IT OR DESERVE IT, YOU RECEIVE IT AS A GIFT, YOU’RE A CANDIDATE TO BE SAVED TONIGHT RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE. NOW LET ME GUIDE YOU IN THIS PRAYER. WOULD YOU PRAY LIKE THIS, DEAR GOD? I’M LOST AND I NEED TO BE SAVED. YOU MAY NOT LIKE SAYING THAT YOU’RE LOST, BUT IF IT’S TRUE, JUST SAY IT. DON’T, DON’T. GOD KNOWS YOUR HEART AND YOU KNOW IT. GOD, I’M LOST AND I NEED TO BE SAVED. AND I WANT TO BE SAVED. JESUS, YOU DIED TO SAVE ME AND YOU PROMISED TO SAVE ME IF I WOULD TRUST YOU. I DO TRUST YOU, JESUS. I DO. I BELIEVE YOU’RE THE SON OF GOD THAT DIED FOR MY SIN ON THE CROSS. I BELIEVE THAT GOD RAISED YOU FROM THE DEAD. AND NOW, LORD JESUS, I OPEN MY HEART. I RECEIVE YOU INTO MY LIFE AS MY LORD, SAVIOR, AND MASTER. AND I YIELD MY LIFE TO YOU. AND I JUST THANK YOU FOR DOING IT. I DON’T LOOK FOR A SIGN. I DON’T ASK FOR A FEELING. LORD, I’M STANDING ON YOUR WORD. YOU PROMISED TO SAVE ME, AND I TRUST YOU TO DO IT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, JESUS. NOW, LORD, BEGIN TO MAKE ME THE PERSON YOU WANT ME TO BE. Help me never ever to be ashamed of you. Give me the courage now, Lord, to make this public because I really mean business. In your name I pray. Amen.
SPEAKER 01 :
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