Latest / Bott Podcast Network / The Greg Laurie Show - Greg Laurie on Doom Scrolling, the Antichrist, and the Peace Treaty That Deceives the World

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The Greg Laurie Show - Greg Laurie on Doom Scrolling, the Antichrist, and the Peace Treaty That Deceives the World · Bott Podcast Network

• 0:11
  Speaker 1: You know, even among non-believers, there's a recognition that something
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: is going on in our world, and that something is
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: not good. And my question is, could this be what
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: the Bible says is the end of days? Question. Are
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: you a doom scroller? You know what I mean? It's
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: late at night, you're lying in bed, and you've got
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: your phone out, and you're going from one bad headline
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: to another. And I've got to tell you, if you're
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: reading news headlines, it's going to bring you down. A
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: recent poll found that 38% of adults report worse sleep
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: tied to doom scrolling before bed, and that leads to
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: anxiety and depression. I remember I talked to one lady,
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: and she told, watching what's happening in the world and
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: the news right now keeps her up at night. You know,
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: even among nonbelievers, there's a recognition that something is going
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: on in our world, and that something is not good.
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: And my question is, could this be what the Bible
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: says is the end of days or the last days?
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: A UC Irvine study published this year revealed that up
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: to 40% of Americans actually believe we're living in the
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: end times. Now, this is not a poll taken among
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: people in church or people who profess to be Christians.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: These are just regular folks out there who are reading
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: the same news headlines that you're reading, and they're wondering,
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: are we in the last days? One expert said we
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: live in a culture that is awash in apocalyptic imagery.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: In fact, the very word apocalypse has now become a
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: mainstream word, a secular word, not merely a religious word.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: There's actually a whole kind of programming out there that
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: they call apocalyptic fiction or doomer fiction. Shows like The
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: Last of Us, The Walking Dead, The Handmaid's Tale, the
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: list goes on. A whole genre has now been built
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: around the times in which we're living. So we wonder,
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: are we living in the last days? Of course, you
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: probably know what I personally think about that. I believe
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: we are in the last days. I believe Jesus could
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: come back at any moment. Jesus himself said, when these
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: things begin to happen, look up. for your redemption is
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: drawing near. Notice that he doesn't say when these things
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: begin to happen, freak out or panic. He says, look up.
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: Maybe the problem is we spend too much time looking
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: down at our phones and we don't spend enough time
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: looking up. Heard the story of a salesman that was
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: out on the road After a long day at work,
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: he went back to his hotel room and he's getting
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: ready for bed. So he's sitting on the edge of
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: his bed, taking his shoes off. As his first shoe
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: dropped to the floor with the big thud, he thought,
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: oh man, what if someone's in the room below me?
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: I don't want to wake them up. So he took
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: the other shoe off. very gently and set it down
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: on the carpet. And he goes to bed. 30 minutes pass.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: There's a knock on the door. He opens it. Here's
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: a guy with dark circles under his eyes. And the
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: man says, I'm in the room below you and I'm
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: waiting for the other shoe to drop so I can
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: get some sleep. I feel like our whole culture is
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: waiting for the other shoe to drop right now. So
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: I want to talk to you about what Jesus said
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: about the end times in Luke chapter 21. It's actually
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: an answer to a question from his disciples. And by
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: the way, it's the longest answer he gave to any
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: question that was ever asked of him. And the question was,
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: what will be the sign of your coming and of
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: the end of the world? People are asking this very
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: question today. What are the signs of Christ's coming? Is
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: the end of the world near? A lot of people
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: want to know more about the Antichrist. I'll get to
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: him in a few moments, but in our time together,
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: I want to focus on why we should even talk
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: about this. So why should we talk about the end times? Answer.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: because 25% of the Bible is prophetic. So it's not
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: some obscure side note. The Bible literally oozes with the
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: return of Jesus Christ. In fact, the New Testament contains
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: over 300 references to the return of Jesus Christ to
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: the earth. So if the Lord talks about this a lot,
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: shouldn't we be talking about it as well? Shouldn't we
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: be paying attention to it? Some people say, well, it's
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: so hard to figure it all out. It's hard to understand.
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: I understand that. But listen, it's not God's desire to conceal,
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: but to reveal. In fact, the last book of the Bible,
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: the book of Revelation says, the word actually means the unveiling.
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: When Jesus talked about the abomination of desolation, he added
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: this word of commentary, let the reader understand. In other words,
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: he's saying, as I'm talking about these end times events,
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: I want you to understand these things. When the apostle
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: Paul was addressing the topic of end times events, in
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: 1 Thessalonians, he said, I would not have you ignorant
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: brothers and sisters. So, hey, We can, we must know
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: about this, and we can understand it. I heard a
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: story about a guy who just loved studying the book
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: of Revelation, and some academics came up to him and
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: They considered themselves far more intelligent than he was. They
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: were great theologians. And they said to this guy, why
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: do you read the book of Revelation all the time?
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: No one can understand that book. It's an enigma. The
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: guy says, well, I love to read it, and I
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: do understand it. They said, oh, do you? Okay, well,
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: then explain the book of Revelation to us. And the
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: guy said in response, it means we win in the end.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: He got it right. We are going to win in
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: the end. The Bible promises this. So why should we
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: study Bible prophecy? Why should we know more about end
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: times events? Answer. Understanding Bible prophecy brings hope in a
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: hopeless world. Let me say that again. Understanding Bible prophecy
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: brings hope in a hopeless world. And that is why
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: the Bible calls it the blessed hope. In Titus 2.13,
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: Paul writes, looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. And by
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: the way, that word blessed can be translated happy. So
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: we could say it's a happy hope. It's a happy
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: thing to realize that Jesus could come back at any moment.
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: Martin Luther said, and I quote, there are two days
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: on my calendar, this day and that day. In other words,
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: he's saying there's a damn living in right now, and
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: there's that day, the day of the Lord's return. Another
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: reason it's a good thing to study Bible prophecy is
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: it unravels the mystery of history. You know, we ask
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: the question, why is there so much evil in the world?
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: When will right prevail over wrong? When will Satan finally
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: be judged? Answer, when Christ comes back and establishes his kingdom.
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: Isn't that what he taught us to pray and what
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: we call the Lord's Prayer? He says, after this manna,
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: therefore you should pray, our Father who art in heaven,
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  Speaker 1: hallowed be your name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: done on earth as it is in heaven. Another reason
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: we should study Bible prophecy is it brings sense to
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: our suffering. Because we ask questions like, what do you
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: say to someone who has suffered a great tragedy? What
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: do you say to someone who has suffered been going
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: through life with a severe disability? What do you say
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: to someone who has lost a loved one? What do
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: you say to someone who is weeping with grief? You say,
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: this is not God's final plan. You say, there's coming
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: a day, according to Revelation 21, for when God will
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: wipe every tear from our eyes, and there'll be no
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, for those things are
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: gone forever. What do you say to someone who has
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: lost a loved one? Well, if that loved one has
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: died in faith, you come back to the words of
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: the Apostle Paul when he was writing to the believers
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: in 1 Thessalonians 4, who had lost loved ones. And
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: he said, the Lord himself is going to descend from
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: heaven with a shout and with the voice of the
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: archangel and the trump of God, and the dead in
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: Christ shall rise first, and we which are alive and
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: remaining shall be caught up together with them in the clouds.
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: And so shall we ever be with the Lord. That's
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: what you say. You see, you tell them, if your
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: loved one died in faith, you're going to see them again.
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: You're going to be reunited with them again. They're not
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: just a part of your past. They're also a part
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: of your future. And that is why Paul adds this
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: statement after he talks about the Lord's return. And that
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: statement is, therefore, comfort one another with these words. Whenever
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: you see the word therefore in the Bible, find out
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: what it's there for. Paul's drawing upon what is said.
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: He's saying, in effect, Christ is coming. You'll be reunited
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: again with your loved ones. So comfort one another with
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: these words. Another reason we should study Bible prophecy is
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: it causes us to live a godly life. The more
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: we think about the future, the more we'll be motivated
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: to live right in the present. Whenever you read what
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: the Bible says about the future, there is usually an
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: exhortation to live a godly life attached to it. As
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: an example, 2 Peter 3.11 says, Since everything around us
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: godly lives you should live. And then in 1 John
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: it says, He that has this hope and is the
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: hope of the Lord's return purifies himself even as he
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: is pure. So coming back to Luke chapter 21, this
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: is really Luke's version of what we call the Olivet Discourse,
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: which is also found in Matthew 24. Again, the question
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: that the disciples of Jesus ask him on that day is,
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: what will be the sign of your coming? Here's what
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: Jesus said in a response to that. Luke 21, verse
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: 8 and 9. Watch out that you're not deceived, for
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  Speaker 1: many will come in my name claiming, I am he,
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: and the time is near. Don't follow them. When you
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: hear of wars and rumors of wars, don't be frightened.
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: These things must happen first, but the end will not
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: come right away. So, Let's pull the camera back. Let
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: me give you the big picture of the end times events. Now,
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: I know there's differing opinions on the order of these events,
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: and I'm going to give you my perspective, which, by
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: the way, is the right one. Well, actually, I do
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: believe that, don't I? I mean, after all, if I
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: didn't believe that, why would I hold it? But I
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: believe this is the right perspective on the event. So
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: here's the timeline as I see it, according to Scripture.
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: I'm not an expert on Bible prophecy. I am a
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: student of Bible prophecy. I've been studying it for over
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: 50 years and teaching it for the same amount of time.
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: I have actually not changed my opinion on any of
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: these topics, though I have developed a deeper understanding of
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: them as a result of studying the Bible. So here's
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: how I see it. The next event on the prophetic
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: calendar is what we call the rapture of the church.
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: I already mentioned it earlier. They're in 1 Thessalonians 4.
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: The Lord will descend from heaven with a shout, with
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: the voice of the archangel. The dead in Christ shall
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: rise first. That means we're caught up to meet the Lord.
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: Commenting on it in the book of Corinthians, Paul says
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: it happens in a moment in the twinkling of an eye.
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: That can happen at any time on the heels of
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: the rapture. We have the emergence of a mysterious figure,
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: spoken of in the Bible, called the Beast and the Antichrist.
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: He inaugurates a seven-year tribulation period. Then we have the
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: culmination of the tribulation period with the Battle of Armageddon
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: fought in the Valley of Megiddo. So to summarize, it
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: starts with the emergence of Antichrist, and it ends with
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: the second coming of Jesus Christ. So in the rapture,
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: we're caught up to meet the Lord in the air.
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: In the second coming, we return with Christ to the earth.
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: In the rapture, he comes for his church. In the
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: second coming, he returns with his church. In the rapture,
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: he comes to catch up believers into heaven before the
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: time of judgment coming upon the world. And in the
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: second coming, he returns with judgment. So after the battle
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: of Armageddon, we have what is called the millennium, which
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: is a 1,000-year reign of Christ. And finally, we have
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: the new Jerusalem as a bride adorned for her husband
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: coming down to our planet. So heaven and earth effectively
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: become one. Again, coming back to that statement, of Christ
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: and the Lord's prayer, thy kingdom come, thy will be
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: done on earth as it is in heaven. So that's
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: a big picture. So Jesus begins his talk about end
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: times events by talking about the emergence of Antichrist. He says,
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: many will come in my name saying, I am Christ.
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: Now understand this, the prefix anti does not just mean against,
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: though it does mean that, it also means instead of.
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: So Jesus says, in the last days, you're going to
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: have a man who will emerge on the scene that
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: will present himself as the Messiah. And some people will
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: even believe he is the Messiah for this reason. The Antichrist,
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: the beast, this coming world figure, is going to be
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: a peacemaker. He's literally going to establish a peace treaty
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: that will get the other nations of the world to
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: cease from war. Now, imagine that in our world right now.
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: The war in Ukraine, the continuing conflict over in the
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: Middle East, specifically with with Iran, all of the tensions
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: the nations over there have with each other. Imagine a
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: global peace brought about by one man. Hey, this Antichrist
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: figure is going to be brilliant. He's going to be charismatic, magnetic, intelligent,
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: probably be a good-looking dude as well. He'll probably be
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: on the cover of GQ even. Think the devil wears Prada.
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: But as it turns out, the Antichrist is is going
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: to be revealed to be the most evil man who
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: has ever lived. And the Bible tells us Satan actually
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: gives him his power. He is literally energized by the devil.
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: So instead of being the greatest peacemaker that ever lived,
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: he's going to be the greatest troublemaker. In fact, the
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: Bible says, through peace, he will deceive many. Now, some
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: people ask the question, is Antichrist alive today? I don't
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: know the answer to that. He could be. Clearly, things
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: are ripe for this dark night to rise to power,
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: but the Antichrist cannot be revealed until the church is raptured.
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: 2 Thessalonians 2, 7 and 8 says, For the mystery
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: restrains will do so until he is taken out of
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: the way. And then that lawless one will be revealed,
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: whom the Lord will consume with the brightness of his coming.
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: So right now, the restraining force in the world today
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: is the Holy Spirit working through the church. That's you.
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: That's me. That's us. as believers, speaking up for our faith,
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: speaking out against what is evil, restraining the bad things,
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: promoting the good things. But once we're removed, literally, all
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: hell is going to break loose. Once the church has
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: caught up to meet the Lord in the air, you
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: can see how this charismatic world leader could emerge on
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: the scene and deceive so many people. Now let me
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: talk about this time the Bible refers to as the
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: great tribulation period that lasts for seven years. Some would
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: suggest that as Christians we're going to go through it. Well,
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: let me address that. It is true that Jesus said
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: we will have personal tribulation, but there's a big difference
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: between personal tribulation, trial or hardship, and the great tribulation.
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: Jesus said In this world you will have tribulation, but
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: be of good cheer, I've overcome the world. So we
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: all go through trials and hardships, but the difference between
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: personal trial or tribulation and the great tribulation is that
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: latter event happens for a seven-year period of time, and
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: the last half of it is God's judgment coming upon
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: the earth. In fact, speaking to the Church of Philadelphia,
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: mentioned in the book of Revelation, Jesus says in Revelation 3.10,
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: protect you from that great time of testing that will
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: come upon the whole world to test those who belong
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: to this world. The Bible says, God has not appointed
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through through our
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: Lord Jesus Christ. Whenever you see God's judgment coming upon
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: people in the Bible, God always removed his people first.
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: When God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, what happened? He got
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: Lot and his family out safely first. Before God judged
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: the world in the time of the flood mentioned in
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: the book of Genesis, he got Noah and his family
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: safely in the ark. We will not go through the
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: great tribulation period. Now let's talk about a controversial subject.
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: Let's talk about Israel and the Jewish people. So there's
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: no question about it. Israel, the Jewish people, and the
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: Middle East all play a key role in end times events.
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: And that's why all Bible students are watching with rapt
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: attention what is going on over there right now with
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: this ongoing conflict between and war with Iran, with the
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: tension between Iran and Israel, with the alliance of Russia
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: and Iran. We're watching a lot of important things happen
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: right before our eyes. Going back to Luke chapter 21,
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: Jesus says, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: know that the time of its destruction has arrived, and
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: then those in Judea must flee to the hills, and
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: those in Jerusalem must get out, and those out in
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: the country should not return to the city. Now, what
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: Jesus is describing is not happening yet. This is all
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: going to happen in the great tribulation period. But here's
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: what we're seeing. We're seeing forced shocks of what is
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: going to happen, or we're seeing labor pains. In fact,
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: Jesus said when a woman is pregnant and she's getting
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: ready to give birth, her labor pains get closer together.
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: So in the same way, as we get closer to
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: the return of Christ, we're going to see these labor pains,
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: these four shocks, of bigger things to come. So Jerusalem
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: is the most important city in all of the world. Ironically,
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: the name Jerusalem means city of peace. Yet more wars
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: have been fought at her doorstep than any other city
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: on the planet. And you think of Jerusalem, it's more
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: significant in end times events in Washington, D.C., or Moscow,
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: or Paris, or Berlin, or you can name any city.
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: It's Jerusalem. the city of the past, the present, and
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: the future. Jerusalem is a city of the past because, well,
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: after so many important biblical events took place, David, of course,
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: ruled from Jerusalem as the king. Jesus himself went to Jerusalem.
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: He preached there. He was crucified outside of the walls
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: of this great city. So much important biblical history happened
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: in Jerusalem, the city of the past. but it's also
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: the city of the present. We gather together a modern-day miracle,
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: becoming a nation against all odds on May 14, 1948. Yes,
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: they're the city of the present, but they're also the
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: city of the future. God has a plan for the
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: future of Jerusalem. In fact, when Christ returns to the earth,
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: he will set foot on the Mount of Olives right
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: outside of the city of of Jerusalem. Let me go
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: back to Israel becoming a nation again, because some would
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: say that's not a fulfillment of Bible prophecy, but I
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: believe it is. When the Jewish people returned to their
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: homeland on May 14, 1948, I believe it was a
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: modern-day miracle and it set the prophetic clock ticking. Consider this.
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: Never has a nation been able to maintain its national
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: identity even three to five hundred years after being removed
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: from its homeland until Israel. They came back to their
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: land again, the land that was given to them. And
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: understand this, the key to understanding Bible prophecy is understanding
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: Israel and specifically the Jewish people. God made a promise
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: to them. In Genesis 12, God said to Abraham and
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: his descendants, I'll make you a great nation. I'll bless
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: those that bless you and I'll curse those that curse you.
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: God loves the Jewish people. And he has a plan
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: for them. He has not cast them away. Some would say,
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: oh no, God's done with the Jews. And now all
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: the promises given originally to Israel applied to Christians. They
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: applied to the church. This is sometimes referred to as
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: replacement theology, which I totally disagree with. Here's what Romans
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: 11.1 says. I ask then, has God rejected and deserted
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: his people, the Jews? Oh no, not at all. Some
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: would say of Israel today, well, these people that have
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: returned to Israel, they're colonizers. No, they're not colonizers. They
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: are the indigenous people of the land. They are the
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: original inhabitants of the land that God gave to them.
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: I've been to Israel many times. I've led many tours there.
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: And I have to tell you, these people just want
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: to live in peace. They want to raise their families.
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: They don't want to be at war with anybody. but
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: they're constantly attacked, and they have to defend themselves. Now,
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: when we look back on October 7th, when over 1,200
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: Jewish people were slaughtered— men, women, children, babies, and many others
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: were taken as hostages— and it was so barbaric what took
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: place there. And then Israel responds. People say, well, that's
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: a genocide. A genocide is a systematic elimination of a people.
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: What Adolf Hitler was doing in World War II is
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: he was attempting to do a complete genocide of the Jews. Now,
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: Israel is responding to the attacks that have come to her.
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: If they wanted to commit a genocide against the people
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: living in Gaza, they could do that in short order.
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: But the fact is, they will often drop leaflets, flyers
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: on areas that they're going to strike where there are
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: Hamas terrorists based, etc. So that's a last thing that
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: these people would survive a genocide against them. They would
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: never want to bring a genocide on someone else. So
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: we need to keep praying for the tension in the
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: Middle East and praying for our Jewish friends. And remember
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: that the Bible says, pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: But here's the thing. The primary events of the last
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: days have not yet begun. But once that first event
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: takes place, the rapture of the church, all of the
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: others will follow in short order. You could compare it
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: to a bunch of dominoes closely stacked together. You've seen
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: it before, the First domino falls, and then all the
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: others fall right after that. And this is how the
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: end times events are. So the first domino, again, to
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: fall is the rapture. That hasn't happened yet. Once that falls,
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: the others will follow in rapid succession. So let me
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: loop back to something I said earlier, that statement of
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: Christ in Luke 21, 28. When you see these things
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: beginning to happen, look up because your redemption is drawing near.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: Know this. governments change, wars erupt, threats increase, people panic.
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: But again, Jesus says, look up, not freak out. I
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: know it can be scary at times, but why should
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: I not freak out? Why should I not panic? Simple answer.
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: God is sovereign, and God is in control. Listen, nothing
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: is catching God by surprise right now. History is not
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: spinning out of control. History is moving exactly as God
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: said it would, because history is His story. The great
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: preacher C.H. Spurgeon put it this way, and I quote,
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: The sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which a
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: child of God rests his head at night, giving perfect peace.
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: End quote. I love that statement. So you might be
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: facing something right now that makes no sense to you
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: at all. And you're asking the question, why is this happening?
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: Of course, I can't give you the answer to that.
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: But I can tell you this. God is sovereign. God
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: is in control. Now, look, sovereign means he knows what's coming.
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: He's ultimately in control of all circumstances that surround your life.
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: But add this other layer to that. God loves you.
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: I mean, we can say God's in control, but God's
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: angry in me. No, no, no. God loves you. Jeremiah 29, 11,
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: the Lord says, So he's in control, but he loves
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: you and has a good plan for your life. Check
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: this out. God's plan for you is better than your
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: plan for yourself. So listen. You can lay your head
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: on the pillow at night knowing that the Lord has
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: all things in control. I remember a while ago, I
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: was watching a Super Bowl, and it was getting toward
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: the end, and I had to put it on pause
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: for a moment. I got into a conversation with someone,
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: and then I just checked my phone really quickly on
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: X and realized who won the game. So when I
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: took it off pause, I knew who was going to
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: win the game. I watch it differently, but I have
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: to say it wasn't as exciting because I knew what
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: was going to take place. This is how God looks
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: at things. He knows what's going to happen. He's called
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: it out for us. on many occasions, in great detail,
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: telling us what will unfold in the end time. So,
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: this is how we should look at the world. Know
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: that our God, who loves us, is sovereign, He's in control,
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: and everything is going according to His plan. In the end,
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: like the guy said, who loved to study the book
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: of Revelation, we win. That's true. We win in the end. So,
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: In closing, why should we study Bible prophecy? Well, Bible
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: prophecy is not given to scare us, but to prepare us.
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: It's not given to make us argumentative. It's given to
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: make us evangelistic. We should not be focused on who
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: the Antichrist is. We should be focusing on who Jesus
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: Christ is. The Bible does not tell us to look
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: for Antichrist. It tells us to be looking for Jesus Christ.
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: Let's think for a few moments about what the Bible
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: says specifically about how we are to be living as
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: Christians in the end times. So coming back to Luke 21,
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: which is his Olivet Discourse, his talk about what's happening
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: in the last days, now he effectively says, okay, so
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: this is what you ought to be doing in light
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: of these events— Luke 21, 34, he says, watch out.
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: Don't let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: and the worries of this life. Don't let that day
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: get you unaware like a trap, for that day will
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: come upon everyone living on the earth. Keep alert at
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: all times, Jesus says, and pray that you might be
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: strong enough to escape these coming horrors immediately. stand before
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: the Son of Man. So Jesus is saying, hey, be careful.
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: Here's the danger of spiritually dull hearts. Christ identifies three
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: things that can dull our hearts and our spiritual alertness.
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: One of them is carousing. Another is drunkenness And the
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: third one would be worry. Two of them are about
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: numbing out, and one is about worrying too much. Notice
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: that Jesus puts partying and panic in the same sentence.
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: I know they sound like opposites, but actually they're very similar.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: In fact, they both distract us. So what does the
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: word carousing mean? It's a word that can be translated
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: excessive partying, indulgence, and pleasure-seeking. It's the idea of eating
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: and feasting and drinking and then having the hangover that follows.
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: I remember that feeling well when I used to go
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: out and party as a young man and I'd get
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: drunk and I'd wake up the next morning with that
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: numbing hangover feeling. So glad that's not a part of
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: my life anymore. I don't get hangovers anymore because I
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: don't drink anymore. The only thing similar to that feeling
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: is drinking. When you eat bad food, I went to
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: the Orange County Fair not too long ago. And as
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: you know, everything at the fair is gigantic. You don't
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: just get a chicken drumstick. You get a turkey drumstick.
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: It's a massive thing. Or you get all these deep-fried things.
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: They deep-fry everything at the fair. They deep-fry Twinkies. They
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: deep-fry Snickers. They deep-fry Ozempic. Everything is deep-fried. You find it,
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: they'll deep-fry it. And so I went out and got
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: a cinnamon pretzel, which was gigantic. And I thought, what
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: better way to top this off than with a corndog? Now,
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: I was doing a personal experiment because I happen to
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: like the corndogs at Disneyland. And I wondered, is this
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: as good as the Disneyland corndog? Answer, no. Disneyland corndog
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: rules in this case. But so I eat this cinnamon pretzel,
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: then I eat this corn dog, and afterwards I have
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: that dull, awful feeling from too much sugar and too
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: much grease and other things. But we can have that
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: happen to us spiritually, and we become dull to spiritual things,
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: dull to the Word of God, dull to the leading
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: of the Holy Spirit. Then there's worry. Oh, man, we
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: worry about so many things. I heard about a guy—
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: That was a real worry wart. And he was always
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: worried about something. And one day he just stopped worrying.
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: And a friend came up to him and said, hey, man,
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: you seem really like really at peace right now. You're
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: chill all the time. What happened? He says, I don't
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: worry anymore. His friend said, wow. How did you pull
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: that off? He said, I hired someone to worry for me. Really?
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: How did you do that? I took an ad out
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: and just said, I want someone to worry for me,
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: and I'll pay you $ 50, 000 a month. The guy said,
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: you don't make that kind of money. How are you
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: going to pay that guy? He responded by saying, that's
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: for him to worry about. So apart from hiring someone
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: to worry for you, maybe we can try to get
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: a biblical perspective. The Bible says, don't worry about anything personal.
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: Pray about everything and the peace of God that passes
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: all human understanding or guard your heart and mind in
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: Christ Jesus. So we don't want to be panicking. We
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: don't want to be partying. So what should we do
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: as we await the Lord's return? Jesus says, watch and pray.
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: I love that. Watch and pray. You know, a lot
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: of people spend a fortune on prepping for a physical apocalypse.
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: They have bunkers and generators and freeze-dried food, but Jesus
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: did not say, hunker down. He said, watch and pray.
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: It's not a survivalist mentality. It's an evangelistic mentality. Like,
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: how can I reach more people with the gospel as
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: I wait for the Lord to come back again? But
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: you could be watching without praying, and then it's just
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: going to turn into anxiety. Oh man, look at what's
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: going on in the world. What am I going to do?
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: Watch and pray. But you could be praying but not
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: doing anything about it. Jesus links the two together. Watch
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: and pray. Don't let that day catch you by surprise.
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: That means live in a state of constant expectancy. In
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: Revelation 22, 20, Jesus says, Surely I come quickly. And
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: the Apostle John, overwhelmed with this, says in response, Amen.
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Amen. So we say, Amen, Lord, come.
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: So be it or let it be. As the Apostle
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: Paul says, let it be. That's Paul McCartney, not the
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: Apostle Paul, actually. But hey, you've got to be alert, too.
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: You've got to be aware. Sort of like when I
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: ride my motorcycle, you've got to be switched on. You know,
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: when you're cruising down the road in your motorcycle, you
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: have to anticipate every crazy thing potentially happening. The guy
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: in front of you may throw his brakes on. That
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: person may pull into your lane because they don't know
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: you're there because they're looking at their cell phone. Something
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: else might happen. So you're in a constant state of readiness.
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: In contrast, when I drive my car, it's almost the
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: very opposite. I'm listening to a podcast or I'm listening
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: to some music or doing something else. I'm looking around.
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: So we need to be switched on like when we
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: ride a motorcycle. We need to be ready because Jesus
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: is coming. He said, watch and pray. So we need
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: to watch and pray, but pray about what? What should
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: I specifically be praying for as I await the return
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: of Jesus Christ? Here's one thing you can pray. Lord,
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: Keep me spiritually alert and awake. Romans 13 says, knowing
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: the critical strategic period of time, it's time for you
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: to wake up out of your sleep and cast off
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: In other words, Paul is saying, wake up, be alert.
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: Another thing you could pray is, Lord, help me to
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: live a godly life. Again, coming back to something I
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: said earlier, that's how Bible prophecy should affect us. It
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: should motivate us toward godliness. As John says, he that
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: has his hope purifies himself. So if I understand these
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: truths of the imminent return of Christ as I should,
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: it should impact me in the way that I live.
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: And if it isn't impacting me in the way that
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: I should live, how well do I understand them? It
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: could be I'm missing the point. So I heard a
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: story about two old farmers, and one of them had
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: the most amazing dog ever. This dog of his walked
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: on water. So he said to his buddy Clem, who
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: you could not impress, hey Clem, I have this amazing
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: dog that walks on water. I'll prove it to you.
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: So they went out duck hunting and a flock of
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: ducks flew by and the farmer fired off a shot
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: and the duck fell into the middle of the lake.
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: And sure enough, his dog ran across the top of
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: the water, got the duck, brought it back again. And
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: then the farmer didn't think Clem really was paying attention,
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: so another flock flew by. He fired off another shot. Again,
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: the dog retrieves the duck from the water, brings it,
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: and drops it at his feet. The farmer said, what
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: do you think about that, Clem? Clem kind of kicked
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: the ground a little bit and said, I don't think
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: your dog knows how to swim. Well, talk about missing
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: the point. And there are people today that can hear
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: all these things about the return of Jesus and that
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: we're living in the last days and miss the point completely.
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: So we want to let this affect us and the
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: way that we live. So yes, we should pray that
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: it would cause us to live godly lives, but we
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: should also say, Lord, give me opportunities to share the gospel.
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: Jesus said, the fields are white to harvest. pray that
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers into
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: the harvest. But before you pray, Lord, send laborers into
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: the harvest, if you're a Christian, say, Lord, send me
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: into the harvest. You know, some people will say, I
• 38:09
  Speaker 1: want to be a missionary. I want to cross the
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: sea for Christ. Hey, why don't you start by crossing
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: the street for Christ? Have you talked to your neighbor
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: about Jesus? Everywhere you go, the fields are white to harvest.
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: Everywhere you go, there are people that are waiting for
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: someone like you to talk to them about Jesus. Listen
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: to this. There are some things you can only do
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: in heaven, and there are some things you can only
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: do on earth. For example, only in heaven can I
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: worship without sin. Only in heaven will I be reunited
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: with loved ones who have preceded me. Only in heaven
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: will I see Jesus face to face. But then, There
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: are certain things I can only do on earth. Only
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: on earth can I share the gospel with someone. There's
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: no evangelism in heaven. So you need to share your
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: faith on earth so we see more people in heaven
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: as a result. Only on earth can I store up
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: treasures in heaven. You see, when I support the work
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: of the kingdom of God, When I give a gift
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: at my church during the time of offering, or I
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: send a gift to a ministry like ours who is
• 39:20
  Speaker 1: preaching the gospel, I'm laying up for yourself treasure in heaven.
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: You see, there's no apple pie in heaven. There's no
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: Venmo in the afterlife. So do your giving while you're living,
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: then you're knowing where it's going. Okay, let's conclude. One day,
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: that other shoe is going to drop. The only question
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: that will matter is, will you be ready when it happens? Listen,
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: Jesus could come back at any moment. He could come
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: back today. He could come back tonight. He could come
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  Speaker 1: back tomorrow. But then again, death could come knocking. We
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  Speaker 1: don't know when that's going to happen. That's why we
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  Speaker 1: need to always be ready. So live every day as
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  Speaker 1: though it were your last day, because someday it will be.
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: Be ready. Be ready for the Lord's return and be
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  Speaker 1: ready to meet Jesus Christ. So I ask you this
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  Speaker 1: in closing. If this were your last day, if this
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  Speaker 1: were the last time you heard the gospel, would you
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  Speaker 1: be ready to meet the Lord? You say, well, what
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  Speaker 1: do you mean the gospel? The gospel means good news.
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  Speaker 1: Here's the gospel in a nutshell. God loves you. God
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  Speaker 1: has a plan for your life. But you're separated from
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  Speaker 1: God by your sin. And there's no way you can
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  Speaker 1: get rid of that sin. All of the good living
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  Speaker 1: in the world will not remove that sin. This is
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  Speaker 1: why Jesus came, to die on the cross for our sin.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus said, For God so loved the world, He gave
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  Speaker 1: His only begotten Son, and whosoever believes in Him should
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  Speaker 1: not perish, but have everlasting life. Christ died for you
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  Speaker 1: and rose again from the dead. And now he stands
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  Speaker 1: at the door of your life and he knocks and says,
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  Speaker 1: if you'll hear his voice and open the door. So
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  Speaker 1: my question is, if you were to die right now,
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  Speaker 1: would you go to heaven? I know I will go
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  Speaker 1: to heaven when I die. It's not based on what
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  Speaker 1: I did. It's based on what Christ did. It's based
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  Speaker 1: on the fact that Christ purchased my ticket, if you will,
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  Speaker 1: to heaven today. by dying on that cross in my place.
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  Speaker 1: So if I will ask him to come into my
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  Speaker 1: life and forgive me of my sin, I can know
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  Speaker 1: that I know I'm going to heaven. And I can
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  Speaker 1: know with certainty I'll be ready for the Lord's return.
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  Speaker 1: If you're not sure if you're ready to meet the Lord,
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  Speaker 1: if you're not certain that you're ready for the return
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  Speaker 1: of Jesus Christ, you can pray a little prayer with
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  Speaker 1: me right now if you'd like, and we can get
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  Speaker 1: this settled. Would you like to do that? If so,
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  Speaker 1: if you want Jesus to come into your life, if
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  Speaker 1: you want him to forgive you of your sin, if
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  Speaker 1: you want to know that when you die, you will
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  Speaker 1: go to heaven, if you want to be ready for
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: the Lord's return, just pray this prayer. You could pray
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  Speaker 1: it out loud after me right now, if you like.
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  Speaker 1: Just pray these words. Lord Jesus, I know that I
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  Speaker 1: am a sinner, but I know that you're the Savior
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  Speaker 1: who was born in that manger in Bethlehem. You died
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  Speaker 1: on the cross at Calvary. and He rose again from
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  Speaker 1: the dead. Now come into my life and forgive me
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  Speaker 1: of my sin. I turn from that sin, and I
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  Speaker 1: choose to follow you from this moment forward. Thank you
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  Speaker 1: for hearing this prayer and answering this prayer. In Jesus'
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  Speaker 1: name I pray. Amen. Hey, if you prayed that prayer
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  Speaker 1: a minute, I want you to know in the authority
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: of God's Word, Christ has come to take residence in
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: your heart. Let me help you get started on the
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: right foot and following Jesus. I want to send you
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: a free gift. It's called the New Believers Bible. It's
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: a special edition of the New Testament in the very
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: friendly New Living Translation, along with hundreds of notes that
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  Speaker 1: I wrote that will encourage you in this commitment you've
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  Speaker 1: just made to follow Christ. I'll send it to you
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: at no charge. Hey, until next time, God bless you.