Latest / Journey Elgin / Sunday Message 10/18/26- Seeing the Signs of the Times- Rev 22

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Sunday Message 10/18/26- Seeing the Signs of the Times- Rev 22 · Journey Elgin

• riverside phillip journey church of e: All right. Well, we are gonna be wrapping up our our series, right? And so our our series has been going on for a while. we are in the end game now. again, kind of intentionally entitled that kind of being provocative, just to get us to think a little bit. There are definitely definitely things that are different now or different challenges that we are facing that could be pointing to a literal end game. but but it the reality is is where we've been in it. You've been in it since the moment you were born, right? Because and and that whenever we don't recognize that, it I think it makes it more difficult for us to know how to make a difference in the world around us. We need to recognize that no, once once Christ came out of that tomb, right, it it was the the countdown had begun, if you will, to his returning. And that that's that's going to be a literal thing. I know this is kinda It's kind of like whenever you think about have you ever tried to think about eternity? Right? And and not just a kind of a blank but but actually go down thinking what that would mean. Right. And kind of using that thought exercise. What what would eternity be like? And all of a sudden your mind kind of goes in a pretzel. And you're like, I I can't even fathom it, right? And then and so we choose just to say, Yeah, I believe in eternity, but you know what? I really don't want to think about it all that much because it's really Blows my mind, because it's something that we cannot fathom, right? It is greater than us. Well, that's a lot of times how we we view the end. It's like, okay, yeah, I I believe that it's gonna happen. But then you start saying, Okay, well, what does that practically look like? And it's like, what w can all this stuff really happen? Is Christ really going to come again? Then it's essentially I was talking with Tom about about this, you know, I have no problem at all believing that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and that hundreds of people saw him after he was dead. I believe the evidence points in that direction. Yes, it ultimately comes down to faith, but right like my faith is rock solid on the fact that Christ rose again from the dead. When I start talking, thinking about him literally coming back, right? And being visible again. I start thinking about that. I'm like, what? I can't even fathom that. Well, why not? I believed it happened once before, right? And I do believe that it's going to happen again. And I think it's important that we don't just shut our minds off to that reality. Now, however, it's also because Revelation, I talked about this last week. of how confusing it has become because it's being taught from so diff so many different angles, right? And and you know those are the people, the the preterist or right, right, kind of prehistory that it all was all was fulfilled in 70 AD when the temple was was torn down. Well if that's the case, why is revelation even in the Bible, right? If it was already fulfilled. Right? So I I think it it points to something, right? And then there's kind of been the, well, it's it's all symbolic. Okay, there's a lot of symbolism in it. Yes. But is it really? So if it's all symbolic, what else is symbolic? Is it is it symbolic that Christ is going to return again? Is it symbolic that we live with him in eternity? You know what, what what aspects are symbolic? So we have to wrestle with this. And I and I'm not saying I know the exact way to of everything that it's that revelation is saying. but I don't think we should just shut our minds off to it. Right? And and so what we're gonna try to do here at Journey is is if if you want to get into details, we we just had one, you can find it on our YouTube page, on our church app, you can find it on Redeemed Idiot website or YouTube page. If you want to get deep into things about revelation, how it ties the whole Bible together. We we're going to do that. It can be very interesting. And it is because it's all focusing us on Jesus Christ, right? we are not going to, on a regular basis, be talking about, okay, well, today, what happened today to fulfill something that happened in Revelation, right? That's not our sole purpose here. But there is a strong aspect of understanding what is being said. So so I was trying to figure out how exactly. to wrap up our our time on we're in the end game now. And and so I s started thinking, well, let's see, let let me let me share all the things that are happening in the real world today that are pointing to the fact that the the table is being set. And then I was like, well, but but if I do that, I'm gonna have to make sure I I pull out scripture to support that. It becomes really overwhelming, right? So, you know, I could kind of go through and go through those the seven different churches that are mentioned in Revelation. You know, that that were literal churches and there were problems that all of those churches. And guess what? The same problems that those churches have, and that believers in those churches have, we have that today. But there's also this kind of laying out of prophetic history that can be seen through those seven churches. Some would disagree on that. I I think it there's a lot of evidence that points to the fact that Christ, whenever he says, I'm giving you signs, so pay attention to them. Maybe this is how he's done it. This is how it worked in the Old Testament, right? in Daniel and Ezekiel. And you can actually look at the prophecy and you it points to exactly the time frame that the Messiah was going to be born. Right? Well Maybe he's doing the same thing, pointing to when he's going to come back again. Right? And so you look at those seven churches and we could go deep into them. It begins with Ephesus, and and this is the the early church, right? up until around 100 AD, kind of that that first period. But by the end of this, and you can see this in some of the writings of Paul, you can see this that that that church is beginning to lose their first love. Right? And so there's a there's a a Correction for all of us. Don't lose your first love. Then there's then there's the church in Smyrna. It was a s a church that was was under massive persecution. In this, it talks about 10 days. There were 10 different emperors that actually were the persecution of Christians was high. And so you could you can actually connect that. wow, that that's kind of showing what was to come in Smyrna. And I love one of the verses there. It says, Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. Right? This was the those times of of heavy persecution. Because in the Roman Empire, it was, well, it's kind of like it is today. Like right now, there are if you're a Nigerian Christian, you are concerned every day that your head may be cut off. Literally. I would not recommend it. But you can start Googling and going down the rabbit hole. You can see what's going on in Nigeria in 2026. People are being persecuted for their faith. Well, Smyrna, that was going on, right? And there were different pockets of that within the Roman Empire. It wasn't always widespread, but it was always there. So we can talk about how, wait, we see that period of the church. Then we get to Pergamum and we see now. after Constantine, the Roman Empire in in the three hundreds, how he can started consolidating power. Right. And basically the church and the state started to get a little bit closer. The church started to become more hierarchical. Right? And it and it makes sense. Some of it is in response to the persecution. These are human elements. People, you know, this is a new message and of who Christ is, but then it's being blended with some old pagan practices, right? It makes sense why you would start to see this merging that would be happening. And that's what the church of Pergamum is talking about. It says, I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is, yet you hold fast my name. Right? So they're holding on to who Christ is, but they're starting to introduce some some dangerous things. And then we get to the next church, Tyra Tara. we see the it talks about the woman Jezebel. Jezebel is connected with idolatry. And leading the leadership into idolatry. She caused major problems in Israel, right? Got got the kings to start worshiping other gods. That led to all kinds of pagan behavior that is a result of idolatry. And so we we see her coming in. And what what we have is we start having a full merger of of power, civic power, government power connected with the church. Right. It's not a not a good time. Then we have the church in Sardis, right? It says you have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Right. So we have the church splitting, you have the reformation that is happening. There's all kinds of issues, and you can go through and you can actually see historically, this this may this could be what this was talking about, right? And then you continue on and you see the church in Phil Philadelphia. Right? It is and it's another one of those churches where the the word of God spread rapidly. What do we see? There's a first and second great awakening. We see a movement coming across the across the Atlantic Ocean. We see the rise of a of a new nation, right, that is based on biblical principles. All of that is in the time frame of the church in Philadelphia where things where God's word is spreading. And that was historically, that was the largest. spreading of Christianity throughout the world happened around in that time frame, right? Late seventeen hundreds through the nineteen hundreds, right? And you see mission movements going all across the world, right? And then we get to the final church, Laodicea, the lukewarm church, the apostate church, right? Because you are war lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. Right? It talks about that that they the people were poor and blind and naked, right? That they were not spiritual. They were an apostate church, right? That could easily fit to now, right? Now all of these are are these kind of time frames that we can see. So we could go through and we can talk about that. And if you want to listen, we go into to depth on on that. You know, I could I could go back in time and look at a larger picture. Kind of a geopolitical picture that is painted in the books of Daniel and Ezekiel. Right? Ezekiel, we talked a little bit about this, how Ezekiel actually talks about how there will be a reconstituted Israel. Remember the dry bones coming back up, right? That and it and it is connecting that to time frames. Now, again, there are those who will disagree with this. I I get it, but just a plain reading. Just a a reading and okay, here's what is written and here's what it what that technically means. It points to a reconstitution of the people of Israel in some form or another. Well, that was not fathomable until the late eighteen hundreds is when there actually started to be talk of, no, let's we actually need to reconstitute. There needs to be a place for the Jewish people. Right? And then in nineteen twenties there was kind of an agreement, and then it it formalized in the nineteen forties. I don't know if this has anything to do with the end, except that the Bible does say there's a reconstituting of Israel. Maybe we should pay attention to the signs, right? We can look at Daniel and the the wonderful vision that he had, vision of of the statue, and it starts with a a head of gold and that is Babylon. And and and and Daniel has this dream and then he interprets it. It's funny, people have dismissed this as not being prophetic because they say it was written a lot later. And we keep finding things in archaeology that pushes the date back further and further, where it is very easy to to believe that it was written before all of this happening. Right? And so so the the Bible connects this all out. It's not it's not hiding it. It says, There's it's it's talking about that area, the area of Israel and who's in control of that area, right? And it starts off when the the gold on the head, that's the Babylon. then you have the silver chest and arms with two arms, and that's the medieval Persian Empire. That empire came in, kicked Babylon out. Then you have the the the skirt, right? and and that is Greece and it directly references Greece, right? How did Daniel know what a Greece is? Right? But he does because God is is showing this to him. Right. And it's a wonderful picture of how Greece comes from the West and comes across, right? It's it's quite incredible. And so then you look at history and you're like, okay, after the medieval Persian had all of this area, now Alexander the Great comes in. What does he do? takes all of that area. The Bible even talks about how there is four little horns, or there's one horn that represents the leader and it's struck down. Well we know Alexander was either poisoned, killed, or just had a really bad reaction to some food. We don't know. But he dies. And when he dies, his four generals break up all of that area. The the Bible literally talks about how he will die and then the Four little kings will rise up. So then we see all of that. Then we get into the legs of that statue, and it's legs of iron. And what do you have now in charge of that area? It's what becomes Rome. It's what becomes the Catholic Church, right? The the influence of that. Then you get to the feet, and it's made of clay and iron. And it specifically talks about the tin toads. And I mean you can get into this and it's fascinating and it and but but there's a lot to it. But what does clay represent? Well If you connect that with the Quran and we're talking about that same area, what what empires are ruling in that area? It was Babylon, it was Meteor Persia, it was Greece, it was Rome. Well, who is it now? I showed the that a few weeks ago, showed that map of that whole area. What is that whole area under now? It's Islam, right? The the mixture of clay and iron at the bottom. Clay, the Quran connects clay in three separate ways to how Allah created. There's actually connection with what is said when it's in in talking about that Nathaniel. It is fascinating. There's no way we can get into all of that. So I'm not gonna explain that to you today. We we could we could get into just very circumstantial things, like reading what Revelation talks about that is going to happen and and seeing how the potential is now there. For example, one thing that is very clear in Revelation is you have a globalization of the world, global governments kind of coming together. Right? Well, have you noticed that for probably the last thirty, forty years. There's been a strong globalization movement. We have a United Nations. We have all of these things where where we're so interconnected. And you may say, and I I was this way. I was like, Well, there's no way they will all work together. How would how would the United States and someone like China ever agree on anything? Did you live through COVID? All of a sudden, we're doing the exact same things China is doing. Right? All of a sudden, we're doing the same things Italy is doing. We're doing like the whole world all of a sudden starts doing things the same way. And you start going, maybe the time is set for the possibility of this to happen. There's places in in scripture where it talks about it'll get to that place where the your ability to buy and sell can be controlled. Right? And and especially in the United States, we've been like, what are you talking about? You know, we're we're independent, we're free, you can't you can't do anything. And how can you do that? How can we get to a place where that is possible? But not to freak you out, but you're there. Right? And it's only getting better. Right? We have technologies that are able to track us in real time. I don't know if you saw Did you know that all over seven hundred thousand Americans literally were put on lists by the SBI that they connected with banking records that happened within the last four years. It really happened in the twenty twenty-one to twenty twenty-three. And some of the search terms were if you bought a red MAGA hat or if if if you bought things that were connected with America first. And all of this is starting to come out. It doesn't mean that all those people were imprisoned, but the government is collecting that information. Now, do you not see how that could go horribly wrong? Maybe you love the guy who wears the red hat. Guess what? One of two things is going to happen. He's not going to serve again, or he's going to die. He's pretty old. Right? So you may have complete trust in him. Well, guess what? There's going to be someone else. Right. I and and we are we're still one of the most free countries in the world. So all of these things you're like, wow, that that's interesting. Then you start looking at the geopolitical things that are going on right now. And Daniel does talk about these different countries. And he he doesn't talk about them in the names that we use them, but he sees them and he talks about a a an area that is Iran, Syria, Iraq, and Turkey. He specifically talks about that area, that that area will will come against the area of Israel and you know where the Saudi Arabia is, that big area. There's actually ten countries there. The scripture mentions the ten toes, and it actually connects it to countries that have ports that are that are connected to the sea. Well, guess what? There's ten countries. I can't think of them all. Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan. a lot right all these countries. The Bible just taken very literally connects that that area up there, which by the way is Muslim, will actually come into conflict with the area down there. What's happening right now? You have Iran and Iraq and Syria kind of starting to align. You have literally Israel Joining into agreements with Saudi Arabia, with Jordan. This is these are different things that we've never seen before. Does that mean we're in the true end times? No. But man, the dominoes are kind of being sex, right? Now is it important to pay attention to that? Yeah, I think it is. Is it in should we obsess over it? No. And here's the biggest thing. We should have not one ounce of fear because he has given us the signs of the tiles, and he has also given us the indicates. And one of the biggest disasters I think on interpretation of Revelation is that it was interpreted in a way to get you to be fearful. Right? If you read the Left Behind series, anybody familiar with the Left Behind series? Left behind there's books, there's you know, movies that came out that were very high quality. Yeah. May May maybe, maybe not. But so all all of that came out. There's some things that are very accurate in there. but there's there's some that they're taking things that are clearly symbolic and trying to to make them real, and it's it's just this disaster zone right from the beginning. Listen, the book of Revelation is just laying out human nature, and when human nature starts being idolatrous, they start going away from God. And these are the things that happen. War happens. Guess what? It's happening right now over there. There's no reason for us to be fearful. There's some bad things that will happen. But God will prepare you if you're going through it. But we need to be preparing people who possibly could be, quote, left behind. Right? We want people to, when things start changing, we want to be able to point them to Jesus Christ and say, hey, he's kind of laid some of this stuff out. And so today I could go deep into all of that. If you're interested in going really deep, everything that I said, there is scriptural backing. Now there will be some who you know quibble on the interpretation, but I do fully believe that the book of Revelation is laying out what is to come. Right? I think that that's the purpose. That doesn't mean that it didn't mean something back then. It did. God can do two things at once. Right. But I think He's given that to us for a purpose, to not be fearful, to be prepared. And if we are the generation when this actually happens, man, we have a huge responsibility as the church to start to specifically prepare people, right? It it should be something that is more exciting than fearful. Unfortunately, the way that Revelation has been handled by so many. It has become more fearful than hopeful. But if you just read the words of Revelation, it is filled with hope and it is filled with power. And it connects all of Scripture together. I want us to read Revelation twenty two. So if you remember we read Revelation twenty-one last week. Now we're reading Revelation twenty-two. And if you remember can in chapter one, Paul begins the his not Paul, John begins his letter and he kind of sets the scene, right? And and he says, An angel is coming to him and is revealing all of this. And so about halfway through, it shifts from him giving an introduction to To his actual vision. And so the rest of of Revelation is him either seeing things or hearing things. Right. And he's just told, write this stuff down, right? Share what you're seeing. Share what you're hearing. So from Revelation the last part of one all the way to 22, we're seeing this vision. And and this first part of 22 is the closing of this vision. All right. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God, from the lamb, through the middle of the street of the city, also on either side of the river the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were there for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, his name will be on their foreheads, and at night will be and night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. End of vision. Isn't this awesome? Think back to Genesis. You see all the connective tissue that is there? It is truly incredible. He's what is he is describing? And and we could get a you can go so deep into this, but just a casual reading of it. What is it? It's talking about trees, it's talking about fruit, it's talking about bringing the nations together. When God created the world, what did he create? He created the Garden of Eden, right? Where all would be in his presence, where every need was met. Right? And so we're moving back to that. He is restoring. All that has gone wrong. He is overcoming the sin now that entered into the world. And so we we see that that imagery of of the river, and all of these are pointing to God the Creator, God and His sovereignty. And now He's wrapping all of this up, right? If he got it started and then it went kind of bad, don't you think He's going to make it right again? Yes. And that's what this revelation is sharing with us. He is going to make it all right again. And that I love very specifically. It says, no longer will there be anything accursed. When s sin entered into the world, what did God do? Things were cursed. It started with the the s the snake, right? He was cursed. But then the man and the woman had curses upon them because of sinfulness. But what is Christ doing? He is making everything new again. And now there is no one under the curse. Because again, This is after everything is played out, right? So we've had judgment. People have been held account, right? All of this, but he's giving us a picture of what the end will look like. It says, the but the throne of God, and listen to this, and the Lamb of God will be in it, and his servants will worship him. It is making clear that we understand. The creator's God is Jesus Christ. He is God. And his name, what is God's name? In the Old Testament, they would put Yahweh, right? And they wouldn't speak it because you couldn't speak the name of God. What is God's name? Jesus Christ. That is God's name. That is what we see. That's what we see God doing, giving us the name of who He will be. And it talks about that there is only one God and his name is Jesus. They will see his face. In the Old Testament, Moses has to cover his face to even be in the presence of God. He has to be hidden in the cleft of the rock when God comes by, giving him the Ten Commandments, because anyone who looked on the face of Jesus Christ would die. Now we can actually look upon the face of our Creator. We can see Jesus for who he is, because he is literally present with us. And then I just love the image of the complete pushing out of darkness. He says there will be no more night. Why? Because Christ is the light. No longer do you even need the sun because God Himself, Jesus Christ, is present. It's such a powerful image, and He's giving that to us to keep us focused on what's important. That we want to be part of that. Right? And then I want to read the last part of Revelation twenty two. So now we have John talking with the angel. The angel is the one who has given him this vision, who's kind of put him in a place where he can see these things, hear these things of God, and now it's wrapping up. So this is not talking about things that will happen in the future. Now John is in his time again. And I think what he says here is so important. And it it speaks to where we are today. Starting in verse six, and he said to me. These words are trustworthy and true. Where we hear that phrase in chapter one, right? And says, And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place. Remember that word soon. It's not a time distinction, it's a season distinction. That we are in the season. Right? It is not talking about, hey, this is five minutes from now. No, it's talking about we're in the season, the time where these things could happen. And he says, and behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. Now, isn't that interesting? Isn't it interesting how we have become, myself included, have become so scared of talking about revelation because there's we've butchered it as a society so much that everyone just gets mad at each other because we all think we've got it figured out. The reality is none of us have got it figured out, but the answer is not. To just quit paying attention to it because we are blessed. The one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. That means this book is important. We should pay attention to it. There was a reason that it was in here. Right? And then I love it because it was on. I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. So he's talking about his vision that he has been given, right? And when I heard and saw them, I fell down. To worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. Now this is so important. So what is John's response? He is in total awe of what he has experienced. Now imagine, again, I believe this literally happened. Maybe it didn't. I believe that it did. I'm just I'm that's my default now. I'm just that's where I'm going. Because things are too confusing out there, right? I can understand differences, but I'm approaching it that this is the word of God, right? And so John in in that moment he bows to worship the angel, which any of us would, right? Because the angel is clearly a superior being than us. It is kind of God like, right? So I'm going to worship the angel. And then I love what this says. But he said to me, You must not do that. I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers, the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God. What do we see throughout so much of the Old Testament, even into the I mean, so much in the New Testament and the Old Testament? We see all through the book of Revelation. What is it warning about? It is warning about idolatry, worshiping false gods. That's what it's about. And and John actually fell into a really dangerous slippery slope trap that he was. Starting to worship something that was good, something that was godly. But if you start worshiping something other than Jesus Christ, you will eventually be led astray. What we have been talking about with that goes on in in in other churches and some of the challenge that we're seeing, I believe it's because you start worshiping something else other than Christ, and all of a sudden you find yourself having, you know, a pride. Service in June. That's how it works. And so what does the angel do immediately to John? Says, No, worship Christ and him alone. Then says, and he said to me, Do not seal up the words of this prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Right? So it hasn't it hasn't been fulfilled yet. He's not sealing it up, right? It's still to come. He says, Let The evildoer still do evil. And the filthy still be filthy. And the righteous still do right. And the holy still be holy. Wow, that's a powerful, right? We want to go out there and we want to fix it. Listen, we live in a fallen world. There are going to be those who do evil. There are going to be those who are consumed by sinfulness. We can't solve all of that. But what can we do? We can choose to do what is right. We can be righteous in the face of a culture that has become evil and filthy. We can show what holiness is even in the midst of an unholy world. That's where we are. That's where John was at that time. That's where all Christians from the point that he wrote this until this very day, that's where we are. And then he says, Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha, the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Christ is reminding us who he is. Again, we see that in Revelation chapter one, that he is the Alpha and the Omega. Now Revelation twenty two, he's reminding us of that because we're still in the darkness. It's still messy. So he's going to end up the whole Bible, the whole story of salvation, right? Is ended by reminding us of who Jesus Christ is. That He was the one at the beginning. He was the one when all this was set in place. He was the one who entered into this world. He was the one up on that cross. He was the one who came out of that tomb. He is the one who has given us redemption. He is the one who sits upon. the throne and will return again. Then he continues on. Blessed are those who wash their robes so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and that they may enter the city gates. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, murderers, idolaters, everyone who loves and practices falsehood. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things to the churches. I am the root. And the descendant of David, the bright and morning star. All of this is already said throughout all of Scripture. The Spirit and the and the bride say, Come, and and the bride say, Come, and let the one who hears say come. Let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires the water of life without price. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the pledge described in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away the His share of the tree of life and in the holy city which we are describing the book, he who testifies to these things says, Surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. And then John ends it with this The grace and the peace of Jesus be with all. Amen. We do not have to be afraid of what is to come, but we have to be prepared so that we can be holy even as evil is going on around us, so that we can point people to the Alpha and the Omega Jesus Christ. And if it happens that the the reality of the second coming happens in our lifetime, praise God that He warned us. And that he told us, hey, I have you, I am for you, I am with you. Stand up for me. Keep the faith. Keep doing what is right. Share the light in the darkness. You know, is come up, we're gonna sing a song. If y'all wanna go ahead and start headed this way. This just kind of happened and this song was already scheduled for us to sing and we've sung it many times before. It's the great I am. And That that song is based on an encounter that Moses had when he was going into God was calling him at the burning bush to to go back to Egypt, right, and to bring his people out. Moses wasn't equipped for that. He was trying to come up with every excuse that he could possibly do to not have to go back. And he finally said, Well, what who do I say sent me? And God tells him, You tell him that I am sent you. It's just this unbelievable word that encompasses just the vastness and majesty of who God is. He says you're standing now on holy ground. You are in the presence of Jesus Christ. Moses was in the presence of Jesus because God's name is Jesus. He was in his presence. And he was given the assurance that the I am. The great creator will be with you as you move forward. And God was. And one of the reasons that that song is so special to us, and Molly kind of mentioned it a little bit of this when we first started, as we got to that point that we were getting ready to possibly actually s go and start a church. lots of things happened at the previous church this that I was in, and and we found ourselves having to to move very quickly. And and it was a it was a dark time. It was a frustrating time. And and so basically I was asked to to leave. And I'll I'll tell you details if you want them. But asked to leave on a very very suddenly and given no reason. I and and it was a it was just a mess. And so we're sitting there knowing that we're that we thought that God had called us to plant this church. Now everything is just crumbled, right? And you're trying to figure out what's going on there. and so then you're wondering, well God, you still you still want us to go plant this church. We look at what just happened. You know, and it's just human stuff. Right? And and we so we're in her parents' church and we're sitting there and they sing this song. No, I don't know if you'll tell it right. So we're sitting there. We're sitting there and this song comes on and Philip is his head in his hand and he's he's weeping because the candle looks so broken at the moment. And this song comes on and I just reach over and I'm like, sweetie. This is it. This is your we go. And they're playing this song. I don't remember the weeping. What are you talking about? But it's it was one of those moments that God was just saying, I am the greatest I am and he was saying, Just go. You know what? And we're If you if I would have if you would have told me that I would have ever preached a sermon even similar to this that even cracks the door open to the potential that we could actually be in the end times, I I would have thought you were completely crazy. But I even if we're not, man, the culture is getting dark. Very dark. So honestly, I pray that the Lord is coming soon. Because I the the culture is going off a cliff. So I don't know exactly what it means, but I know that the great I am is going with us. He's going to lead us. We are going to follow him as we engage this culture. You know what? We may not do it right because we're human and we're still followed. But we're going to follow him and we're going to speak out against the darkness. We are going to share the light. And he's calling each one of you to do that. You are in place to make a difference in people's lives that are caught up in the darkness. So let us stand and let's sing the great ayah. Impacting his kingdom and loving Sing to him big. Mmm.