Approaching

the future series and that series that we've embarked upon lately has been by design regarding the age and the time in which we are living uh we interrupted our normal teaching normally we go through a book of the bible chapter by chapter verse by verse and the whole thing behind the future series is to get you acquainted with the fact that the god of the bible is the one and only who knows the future in advance it's a great way of saying it future in advance the study of that in the bible from genesis through revelation is known as eschatology eschatology is god's doctrine given in the bible that speaks about the future future events of the bible and as you well know by now 27 percent some say 31 percent of the bible is future in its nature so over a quarter of your scriptures uh speak about the future and we're going to be looking at that today and specifically how it applies to our lives because we are living in the here and now obviously the fact that you and i are living in the 21st century has not escaped the god of the bible and that what is coming up no matter what that might be god knows and that brings us great great comfort so with that church let's do stan we're going to go from the screens because we're going to go through some selected passages rather than a chunk of scripture and we're looking at a message today titled approaching approaching what does that mean is is such a theme or thought found in the bible and the answer to that is oh yes it is and we're going to be looking at that but why is god's word prophetic and what does it mean in our lives so first of all because it's kind of divided up i'm going to read isaiah 42 verse 9 and then i will pick it up in the next section together but i'll do the opening verse and uh in two of these passages you'll pick up in your reading as well as a congregation from the screens isaiah chapter 42 verse 9 isaiah says behold the former things have come to pass and new things i declare before they speak or spring forth i tell you of them isaiah 45 21 says declare what is to be presented let them take counsel together who foretold this long ago who declared it from the distant past was it not i the lord and there is no god apart from me a righteous god and savior there is none but me verse 22 church isaiah 46 verse 9 for i am god and there is no other i am god and there is none like me and then listen we switch now to the new testament listen to what jesus says regarding the same theme and now i have told you before it comes that when it does come to pass you may believe a moment ago you heard isaiah challenge god speaking through the prophet isaiah that these things were spoken that you would come to that place of belief that you would understand that then we see jesus in the new testament echoing that same attribute father we pray this morning that as we open up your word i pray god that you'd stop the clock i pray that you'd open up our hearts and father that we would be students of your word so god we give you this time we pray now in jesus name and again all god's people said amen you can be seated and as you are church the bible speaks to us and says of itself that it is powerful the bible says that of itself it is sharper than any two-edged sword that the scriptures the bible has the ability to get inside of you and even divide up the very motive or the intent that is in your heart so says the scriptures god's word is given to us to give us light to give us understanding i always i love saying this by the way it's you know we get impressed with new york best-selling books the best-selling book new york times and ooh best-selling book do you know that every they never report this actually honestly every year the number one best-selling book of all time every year has been the bible has been the bible it appears it's always going to be the bible and why is that true because the bible tells us in psalms 107 and i love this passage psalm 107 verse 20 says he sent his word and healed them think of the power of god's word and delivered them from their destructions oh that men would give thanks to the lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men god sends forth his word and it brings healing and maybe you need that today we all need that in some way shape or form god's word is powerful we're going to be looking at the power of god's word today what it means to us in the time in which we're living but if you step back with me 2 000 years ago you think about this for a moment there's a man by the name of saul saul of tarsus he's a roman born citizen but he's he's hebrew he's jewish and he's a man that according to the bible was extremely zealous against christianity even to this day paul the apostle earlier known as saul of tarsus paul still to this day is the greatest known convert to christianity that the world has ever known he knew the old testament scriptures unlike anybody and the bible says that concerning the righteousness which is by the law he was blameless that concerning the fact that he was of the right stock he was born a hebrew of the tribe of benjamin that he had been circumcised on the eighth day and concerning his equals he was considered to be perfect but all of a sudden he met jesus on the road to damascus and his life was transformed and that man went on to be the greatest voice for the cause of god's word and what i love about paul and you got to remember this church 2000 years ago when paul preached the gospel more specifically when he came to as he was heading to europe he came to that area uh of asia minor which is uh down near uh west uh toward thessalonica one of the oldest cities in the world still to this day and when paul got there nobody was uh believers there was no church but he went there and there were synagogues and he was a man of of the synagogue and so he went to the synagogue and he opened up to them the scriptures for three weeks the bible tells us uh by the way he stayed there for three to four weeks check this out he preached the gospel from the old testament people were converted to what the old testament preached was that messiah would come and that when they began to believe the bible tells us a church was created ecclesia a gathering together and from there he moved on uh but he taught them church mark this he taught them two key doctrines he was only there three to four weeks two key doctrines one your salvation is secure in messiah and number two is the fact that god knows everything in fact christ is coming back that's what he taught them your salvation is secure i love that and oh by the way christ is coming back you put those two things together and you've got the ultimate motivation for the believer to go about this world and telling people about the hope that's available to them in christ that's all we need we don't need a seminary we don't need books we don't need anything else it's nice to have them if they're right but we have the word of god we have the message of god and the bible says we've got the power of the holy spirit to do that and so paul did that and began to transform the world and it all comes down to the fact that i'm really if you've been hanging out here for a few weeks you're going to say man that guy quotes that verse like every week and you're right i do because i'm really rubbing it in right now and that is hebrews chapter 10 verse 24 and 25 hebrews 10 24 24-25 says this church listen and let us consider one another in order to stir the word in greek is stimulate provoke challenge to stir up love and good works keep your finger there as believers we are to be interfacing with one another to do two things in our lives we are to stir each other up to love you know love love is a verb love does stuff love's a verb we're to love that means we are to love one another and we're to love those around us that means you love those who sat in your seat today how they get your seed you're gonna love them you're not gonna ask them about that or tell them that's my seat that's not your seat by the way that you didn't know you didn't buy that seat that's not your seat oh no that's my parking spot not your parking spot because we're gonna stir one another up to love we're gonna yield our seat to them and we're to yield our parking spot to them and why because we are to love that's what we're to be doing as a church we are to love and then the bible tells us that we are to stir up these good works meaning that our activity is this we need to get together listen i'm going somewhere with this know one another enough to say hey you know what we're fellow believers we go to the same church let's go let's go shake the world up for god let's go do something let's go do some let's go party let's go to the hospital and just stand up there and pray for people let's go to the local abortion clinic and pray outside and pray pray for hope pray for salve let's go to somebody that shut in let's paint somebody's fan so let's take somebody's trash out and listen the early roman empire said caesar even confessed these christians they love one another but that's not all that that passage says it says that we are to verse 25 not forsake the assembling of ourselves together that means we are supposed to be doing church but listen he says don't forsake the assembling of ourselves together as listen the manner of some have done that's sad they've given up on assembling but the bible tells us but exhort one another and so much more as you see the day approaching 21st century right here right now the bible commands us whatever you do you need to stir each other up to love do good things good deeds blessing other people and oh by the way as a church never stop meeting never stop me but but but paul didn't know about covet never stop meeting world war one never stop meeting world war ii never stop meeting listen world war three we don't know where it's going to happen when don't stop meeting listen the church all around the world meets every city supposed to but the health department listen god knows about the health department you must understand something the bible says do not forsake the assembling together and there's no little read the fine print why because more than ever the world around us needs the love and the activity of the church we are not a company we're not a corporation we are the church of the living god and that's what we are to do we are to love and express that love to everyone we meet why why what's the big motive because the motive listen we understand clearly from scripture christ jesus could come back at any time the imminent doctrine of christ is that he comes back for the church and it could happen at any time that's a tremendous statement how many of you been to maui yeah have you ever driven listen right right off of the main boulevard when you go downtown to lahaina you've got to go past this church and i've never been to this church i've only looked at it and loved their sign when we say jesus is coming back apparently this church is so hot on that doctrine that they dr they don't even they don't even lengthen the statement jesus is coming they just say jesus coming soon have you ever seen that coming soon jurassic park or whatever it is listen you see i don't understand this pastor how does this equate to my life listen because jesus christ is coming soon in fact there's another picture of this i think somewhere or did we already show that one um we saw the the two of them um i just want to make sure you've got the front and the back they got it coming and going and as believers that's how we're supposed to be everything that about our lives we are to live yeah do we go do we go to college or do we become doctors or do we become engineers or do we raise up a family yes yes we occupy to the lord comes but the fact of the matter is we want to tell as many people about jesus christ as possible because he's coming back and even if he doesn't come back in the next few hours you and i could see him you never know when you're going to choke on that breakfast burrito or our trip over a banana peel you need to be ready to meet the lord and so paul the apostle encouraged the church for example in first thessalonians chapter one verses four and five he says knowing beloved brethren your election by god in other words god called you out of this world for our gospel did not come to you in word only but also in power and in the holy spirit and in much assurance as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake paul lived godly and he preached a godly message verse 8 same chapter says for you or from you the word of the lord has sounded forth i love that that's true about you guys too by the way not only in macedonia and acai but also at every place your faith toward god has gone out what an active church they were thessalonians and listen they were gentiles paul was a jew and he came and he preached and ignited that gentile city that pagan gentile city verse 10 same chapter we are to wait and to wait for his son from heaven whom he raised from the dead even jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come bible students you should mark the word wrath don't misinterpret this verse the word wrath the wrath is specific a definite article the wrath there is a wrath coming according to the bible it's found in the old and new testament alike and they all all passages and statements agree on this that the wrath is the wrath of almighty god this has nothing to do with hell you see well i read that verse yeah sure jesus delivered us from hell he certainly did that but that's not what the verse means it means that there's a day coming when this world will be punished for its unbelief against god and that time is well defined in scripture the bible here tells us that for those who are trusting christ there's an urgency within us to be waiting for the return of christ and it's exciting for us because the bible tells us he's going to deliver us from the wrath that is going to be poured out upon this world that age it's known of the seven year tribulation period or what is known as the 70th week of daniel chapter 9 book of daniel and it's a time when god announces i now specifically deal with israel my people to bring them back into their land and to pour out my spirit upon them he says while i pour out my wrath upon the earth remarkable a time that you'll see by the end of this message is different than the church age and so church as we look at this get ready to take some notes are you ready no you're not believe me we're we have so many verses and we're going to go so fast up until now i've gone slow with you for these last 30 years we're going to go fast right now regarding approaching and the theme of that number one market down approaching notice is the times of the signs there's quiet in here because you think i spelled that wrong normally it said well are we living in the science the the signs of the times yeah but what i would like to say to you is we're living in the times of the signs in other words there are things happening on the world scene right now in this 21st century that have never happened before but they had to happen biblically and those passages of scripture have been waiting for us to meet up with them for millennia you and i are living in a very very interesting time regarding nations regarding cultures regarding what's happening in the world it's it's not an accident that you're alive and breathing at this moment it's not an accident that you're here right now or that you're tuning in right now god knows exactly what he's doing but i'm going to suggest to you today that we're living the times of signs now look we are not sensationalist meaning oh that's a bible prophecy oh that's a bible prophecy and look that's a bible prophecy no we're not doing that that's hyper that's strange but on the other side we're not deniers either we're not saying oh god's prophetic word is not prophetic at all it's just simply allegorical oh no it's not no you know what we are how about this we're stage setters we are watching the world scene be set up in such a way that it's got to get our attention and again from genesis to revelation god's word is spoken favorably toward all those who are watching and waiting through the word of god in their daily life every single one of them it's remarkable so as we look around the world scene we we consider about the signs of the times and the times of the signs we see a stage set and there's props being put up there's placards being put in place lighting is being moved in there is there are players national players there are there are key trends and decisions being made in the world today the movement toward a world uh government the movement toward a world uh health program the talk right now of an international global a reset regarding vaccinations or economies all being talked about these are the opening throws we're living in amazing days now listen to this you might say today i don't need to know this stuff be careful it's in the bible 27 to 31 percent of it's in here for a reason number one listen matthew chapter 24 verse 1 matthew 24 verse 1 the bible says then jesus went out and departed from the temple he had been teaching there earlier if you read the previous chapters and his disciples came up to him to show him the buildings of the temple and jesus said to them do you not see all these things assuredly i say to you not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down church that's it if you're jewish and you're the disciples and you're standing there looking at one of the wonders of the world and they're they're saying jesus is amazing this is where we meet god and jesus says take a good look because it's all going to come down now they didn't like what he said but in the year 70 a.d under general titus it all came down not one stone was left upon another verse three now as he sat on the mount of olives the disciples came to him privately saying or asking three questions tell us when will these things be number two what will be the sign of your coming and three of the end of the world or the end of the age and jesus said to them now you listen to this jesus said to them indicators signs uh listen i have an awesome antique barometer at home it's beautiful it's from the late 1800s spectacular and it works perfectly all the weather that we've been having lately can you believe we had weather in california it rained we saw clouds what are those things and then it rained and then in some areas it snowed down to a thousand feet we had lightning and thunder my mom used to tell me growing up because she was born and raised in hawaii and she this is what they were told that's what told her is that when you see lightning that's the scoreboard of heaven and thunders the angels bowling look i don't think there's bowling in heaven or scoreboards but when i saw that those big flashes of light i thought man that's amazing and i remembered my mom's voice well listen the fact of the matter is when the bible tells us that these things are coming there's indicators the storm came the barometer dropped dramatically we knew something was up because the barometer fell so greatly before there was ever a cloud in the sky indicators and you keep that in mind right now because listen in verse 4 of matthew 24 jesus said to them take heed that no one deceives you for many will come in my name saying i am messiah or christ and will deceive many jesus said here's an indicator by the way if you're not a believer listen up this is awesome jesus said as you get deeper into the end time events these are some of the things that you'll see these are some of the things that will indicate the times of the signs or the signs of the times it's the fact that there will be great deceivers in a religious or spiritual context pulling people away not only from the word of god but there will be false messiahs that will rise up jesus said that church 2000 years ago remarkable next verse 6 chapter 24 and you will hear of wars and rumors of wars see that you're not troubled for all these things must come to pass but the end is not yet wars and rumors of wars constantly growing verse seven he says for nation will rise against nation those of you who are bible students you should mark this right now the word nation is the word ethnos in greek jesus said ethnos will rise up against warring against ethnos it's where we get the word ethnicity or ethnic groups jesus said one of the indicators of the last days is that ethnicities will divide from one another and they will war against each other you know what not only is that happening but the world that you and i live in it's stoking the flames of that it's oh it's as though we are hell-bent on a course to destroy ourselves as a culture and of course we are a culture without god is a destructive culture but it's amazing to me that the news media the print media radio songs movies stoking the angst that white should hate blacks black should hate hispanics reds versus fill in the blank remarkable you guys know by now i don't hold anything from you so i'll probably get in trouble about this when i get home but this morning i was getting ready to come here and uh clearly by the our bathtub our granddaughter on saturday had used our bathtub how do i know because there are a bunch of toys left in the bathtub and it made me think because i knew i knew this verse i had this verse here in my notes a few days ago but i looked at what i saw in the bathtub do you know what i saw on the bathtub i saw teacups i saw little chairs and little tables and i saw little combs and i saw a white barbie i saw what is either a hispanic or polynesian barbie and i saw a black barbie and how do you know they're all naked in the bathtub and it blessed my heart because i thought you know what's so cool about that my granddaughter she has no knowledge that this one's white that this one's polynesian or hispanic or this one's black it was the united nations in my bathtub right there it was awesome but jesus said in the last days you'll have an indicator and the indicator will be ethnic groups will war against ethnic groups you know why that's true because there's no jesus in your heart that's why that's true when there's no jesus in your heart you parse yourselves up you divide you get into little clicks and groups and god hates that hello take a picture go look at book of revelation the bible says in heaven there are those from every kindred tribe tongue and nations of the earth in heaven that is awesome so listen if you're a racist or if you want to be like that you're not going to enjoy heaven you're not going to be happy there well where's my section can you imagine they open up the door and there's flames and fire coming here's your section look the gospel asked you you want smoking or non-smoking it's right there no we need to be careful about that but jesus said watch out racism is going to be on the great increase it'd be one of the signs of the times he said in verse 7 and kingdom will be against kingdom basilia against basilia these are politicals versus politicals that's what we're most more accustomed to when we think of nations right but it's kingdoms political rules will war against political rules thus political wars verse 7 continues this is amazing he says jesus said there'll be famines there'll be pestilence incurable viruses and diseases earthquakes in various places all these are the beginning of sorrows you see it's going to get worse he said this is the beginning see glad you come to church today right big encouragement covet was just warm up think of it i'm glad jesus told me all this stuff i'm glad that isaiah told me this stuff i'm glad ezekiel told me what he said when god tells us stuff in advance it's called bible prophecy it should bring you comfort it should really bring you guys look i want to know what's coming up i mentioned it a few weeks ago but i'll use it in a different context this thing about you know why do i need to know this and why this and why that because we need to know where we're going and we need to know what's ahead that's why god has given us his word and the fact is that it's so simple to us we just need to translate it over when you and i are going down the road and now our apps are so cool they're telling us everything i've got now an app like you probably you by the way it's created by the idf i don't know if you know this or not have you heard of the app waze was created by the idf in israel regarding gaza and uh but anyway that's another story uh but when you have waze and you're driving along and it says debris up ahead three miles it also says police officer a mile ahead on the left for you sinners but it tells you what's coming don't you appreciate that here's the app for life this is it right here tells you what's coming up it tells you what's next and we need that jesus said in luke chapter 21 verse 25 luke 21 25 jesus said regarding the end times there will be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars and on the earth distress among nations listen to this with perplexity the word the word perplexity in greek means nations will have no way out of dilemmas there's no way out the sea and the waves roaring now listen think coveted right now think listen men's hearts will fail them for fear and the expectation of those things which are coming upon the earth for the powers of the heavens will be shaken listen i don't mean to be little anything but according to god's prophetic plan kovid may not even appear on the radar a blip at best there are things coming to this christ-rejecting world that are cataclysmic the world is as it were shaking and there's almost a violence to it just in and of itself but jesus said there's a time coming when men's hearts will fail them for fear they look around they'll see the headline news and they'll begin to get palpitations stress and maybe heart attacks their hearts will fail them because of fear and all around the world today i'm it's almost embarrassing to be a human right now we we buckled i'm convinced that if we didn't have the media platforms that are available uh to pound us with constant propaganda we would have fared much better [Applause] but people are bound in fear you see people crippled by fear and this is just the beginning jesus said see what's your point my point is listen christ comes into your life he takes away the fear of death he gives you a reason to live and listen listen if he can handle the grave and make it empty he can take care of anything else that comes into your life we need to stop fearing it has crippled you if you think of it signs of the times number two is the witness of the scriptures approaching every day is the witness of the scriptures the bible ezekiel chapter 12 verse 25 says for i am the lord i speak oh i love that and the word which i speak will come to pass it will no more be postponed for in your days o rebellious house i will say the word and perform it says the lord god i love what listen church when god says something listen get your bible god said it you can just just wait for him to do it if god said it stand on that he cannot lie he's holy think about it the god of abraham isaac and jacob imagine if abraham isaac and jacob were standing here today you know what they would say they would say i read genesis i read exodus i read the first five books he kept every word he promised even to this day as god draws israel back into its own land could never have been said until may 14 1948. god said i'm going to do it and he's doing it when god speaks to you out of his word he's going to do it the authority of the scripture church is absolutely undeniable and accurate i boast in this i rejoice in this people say well you can't do you can't prove the existence of god i believe i can say you've got to be kidding i am not kidding because when the bible says something a thousand years ago and then here it is when the bible says something three thousand years ago and here it is you can put that in the lab you can test that the validity of the bible remember now jesus said i've told you these things in advance that when they happen you will know and believe isaiah echoed the same in fact we read it a moment ago let's look at it again isaiah 42 verse 9 behold the former things have come to pass and new things i declare before they spring forth i tell you of them that's my god he's that big this is so cool isn't it kind of like how it is with parents and kids though daddy daddy mommy mommy don't worry about it we're going to go down there we're going to turn right and then the thing's going to be there and then we're going to walk in it's all good and the kid goes all right they don't know but we know we're kind of like a little god to them in a way we take care of them we feed them they panic we've calmed them down they don't know the way we take them the way that's how they learn obedience when they're just little things right think about it that's why parenting is such a divine thing but that's another bible study some other day for that scripture isaiah 45 verse 21 and 22 isaiah 45 21 declare what is to be presented and let them take counsel together for who foretold this long ago who declared it from the distant past was it not i the lord and there is no god apart from me a righteous god and savior that means there's one god there's one savior people that's there's not going to be two there is none but me turn to me and be saved all you ends of the earth for i am god and there is no other when i see god flexing that's how he flexes right there that's just you can see god drop the microphone at that one all these idols have got to run away if they could run isaiah 46 9-10 we read it earlier today but i am god there is no other i am god there's none like me declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things that are not yet done okay so listen that's god speaking in the old testament we read in our introduction john 14 29 but listen carefully hang on your seats john 14 29 jesus said and now i have told you before it comes that when it does come to pass you may believe but the question is what am i to believe well i'm glad you asked because proverbs 30 verse 4 connects the prophetic nature of god and who you are to believe proverbs 30 verse 4 who has ascended into heaven or descended who has gathered the wind in his fist who has bound the waters in his garment who has established all the ends of the earth what is his name and what is his son's name if you know and in my notes the word if i have highlighted if that's the key isn't it isn't that all hinged for eternity that if do you know when it says what is his son's name if you know friends if you don't know this is proverbs this is the old testament god is saying what's my name oh and what's the name of my son if you know do you remember when you're in kid in school and you knew you'd jump up out of your seat pick me pick me remember that everybody in heaven are like that they're they're kid they're people like that oh i knew i knew when i lived on earth i knew will you be able to say that the prophet isaiah announced that the messiah would come by way of a virgin isaiah chapter 7 verse 14 that the very same one that would come born of a virgin isaiah 7 14 would be the one who had governed the nations and he has always existed isaiah 9 6. but those same hebrew prophets also said that you'll find them born in bethlehem micah chapter 5 verse 2. the bible says in psalm 2 that the nations would rage at god and his son wow remarkable we look to the strength and the validity and the veracity of the scriptures number three approaching is the reason for faith always every time we hear the bible the bible says in romans 10 17 that faith comes by hearing hearing the word of god christian every time you hear a bible verse or a sermon preached your faith should grow because what's implied is that you're going to practice what you've just heard right reasons for faith by the way faith is conceived the conception of faith happens when your questions get answered people have questions i think that are put in us by god what's the meaning of life i think god put that in you to ask why am i here what's the purpose of all of this what happens when i die people want answers and the bible makes it very very clear in first peter 3 15 we are to give them the answer did you know that see but i'm just a christian and you remember what the word christian means it means christ follower you're a follower first peter 3 15 says but in your hearts revere christ as lord always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have but do this with gentleness and respect isn't that cool you and i are supposed to be answering people's questions ladies and gentlemen do people have a lot of questions right now people are terrified we it's not us but we've been given the answer we don't welcome and say hey i'm the answer no we say you know what i have the answer and this is a tremendous time to do that very very thing people need answers by the way again with kids when your little kid says uh daddy do worms yawn when they're do they yawn you say i don't know but let's go study worms if your kid says what's my birthday doing right now well let's look at a calendar and see how far it is away when kids ask those amazing crazy little questions you gotta answer them because if you don't answer your kid the question listen a kid growing up without answers is confused and you know that's true in your own life that's why we say god i have this question then get the answer here at this church if you call the church you say i have so many questions what we'll say is well we'll answer your questions from the bible we'd love for you to get the answers yourself from the bible but go ahead and read it and then call us back but just know this we're just going to point you to the bible because the bible is the answer when somebody has the bible as the answer you can't shake that answer it's firm it's that fast it's immovable but you listen the questions have got to be answered it's the way you're wired as a human the bible tells us that in acts chapter 17 verse 2 this is again this is paul's tactic this is paul's way he uh he's in greece now but anyway acts 17 it says then paul as his custom was went into them that is his jewish brethren his his uh jewish brothers for three sabbaths reasoned with them from the what scriptures and that's the old testament i often tell you church be skilled at speaking as to why listen listen please listen why do you believe what the new testament says you should be challenged all the time on this what do you believe the new testament oh that's simple because the new testament is simply the reporter's records of what was promised in the old i would never know if what was spoken in the old was fulfilled unless the eyewitness accounts of the new testament that's what it's for the old testament announced this and the new testament recorded it that's how i know the new testament's true because i read the old testament are you with me when paul preached he only had the old testament he didn't say turn to romans whoops i haven't written that part yet they didn't have it and what did they do they preached christ they preached crucifixion they preached resurrection they preached listen righteousness by faith not by works faith before god in his ability to provide a sacrifice beginning with abraham and isaac on mount moriah all of it absolutely awesome faith and we need to know that and we need to practice that number four are we on number four church anybody taking notes lost my place fourth approaching is a clear understanding oh this is fun a clear understanding so where we are today uh is the 14th yes today is the 14th of this month of this year guess what we have never been this far before we're in uncharted territory folks and yet you're not worried about it how is that you didn't go to bed last night oh my goodness and guess what when you wake up tomorrow we've never been there before that's okay god told us how it's going to go here's what's cool about this i love books and i have some really old books and so when i'm reading these great saints of yesteryear i have books that are two three four five hundred year old authors when you read guys who for example great scholars 500 years ago when they look at jesus's words about the temple or when they look at daniel chapter 9 you should hear what they have to say it makes no sense you want to know why they were so far back that they didn't see clearly up ahead time is linear people on a line think of it time begins and time ends and you know what's cool about this we know that that's true even in physics times of time is a physical aspect of physics you can tamper with time it's weird time begins and time ends on a linear scale and somewhere along the line somebody lived and somebody wrote a book and for their day at their time they had a understanding from their perspective now those of us who live in the 21st century are way further down on that timeline with bible open for example daniel chapter 9 verses 24 to 27 mark it down is the lock and key of understanding all bible prophecy daniel chapter 9 verses 24 to 27 if you don't read daniel 9 24-27 you'll never understand the book of revelation ain't no way listen it's from that it's from those few verses of that book that it announces to us that israel will come back into their own land israel will someday in the last days have a temple again that the messiah will come but he's going to be killed but not because he did anything wrong it tells us that another one will come after they reject him and they will accept an imposter it's daniel 9 24-27 that tells us in the middle of the seven year tribulation period he breaks the treaty he makes with israel that's old testament doctrine people we understand that now because israel is a nation again the wheels are turning and we're further down on that linear scale now toward the end and it's an amazing time to be alive church family by the way daniel 9 2 9 uh daniel chapter 12 verse 4 says this daniel 12 4 listen to this says but you owe daniel shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end watch this scholars because here comes a qualifying statement many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased translation daniel what i just showed you just lock it up just lock it up you're not going to get it people are not going to understand it people won't be able to figure it out until we get closer to the end oh by the way daniel here's one of the clues by the way for people who wind up reading this in the end in english it says men will travel to and fro the hebrew word is men will travel quickly and broadly fast and far wow and knowledge shall be increased exponential knowledge here then here then here and it's really cool because the more time goes by the greater the doubling up of knowledge gets where'd you get that idea from bible remarkable greater understanding as we get further down the road who would have for example who would have ever thought that it'd be a good idea to zero out all the global economies and currencies and make it just one numerical system and make it cashless human trafficking is a problem what are we going to do about that how do we stop drug and how do all the what do we do remove remove currencies and you'll end it all it's brilliant the bible tells us that's how a false messiah is going to come on the scene and deceive the world now we hear talk in fact i was talking to my israeli friends just this last week and israel is considering now nobody they're considering it maybe now no one coming to israel without having an israeli vaccination because they trust theirs and they don't trust ours i get it listen what if the whole world says yeah that's right you can't come to canada without a vaccine and then australia says yeah you can't come down under either well what if the whole world says you can't come okay well ladies and gentlemen that's not the mark of the beast that's preparing people for it do you understand cause there could be five other things that come down the road before that time ever comes i'm getting down a road that we shouldn't go down right now we have clear understanding number five approaching is the increasing darkness in our world and i'm not talking about forgetting to change your clock this morning some of you woke up in pitch black dark you wonder what happened darkness i'm talking about the moral decay and decadence and evil that is rampant in our world today so yeah it's always been bad listen not only has it not been this bad i equate the times that we're living in it sounds like they're almost similar to or equal with as it was in the days of noah aberrant sexuality violence the bible says there was violence continually remember jesus said it's going to get worse as we approach those times increasing darkness i'm sorry to pain you on this beautiful morning but we won't be here long on this i am dumbfounded stupefied of this world's unwillingness to address evil you you pick the topic and those that are supposed to be gatekeepers of truth turn a blind eye if it's dialing 9-1-1 to the supreme court to apparent turn it blind eye shocking increasing darkness where there's this absolute unified determination to suppress good the things that listen the things that we're fighting just this church we're just a little nothing we're not even a blip on the radar you think about it the things that we have to fight to keep our messages online these days now the enemy is the social media czars why because when you don't have a real message of your own you're terrified by truth john adams said truth or facts are stubborn things and when you can't cope with facts you have to make things up and listen please i hope all of you learned this last week and a half well i'm going to fact check that now we know who owns the fact checking apps hello now oh franklin graham prays a prayer and the fact checkers said we fact-checked his prayer it's not correct that's not what god meant when he said that can you believe this listen you don't know what's true unless it's in the bible and i if you can get a good book by a dead guy then read it because if it's a good book by a living guy i'm a little bit nervous because he's still alive he could change his mind the bible's not changing isaiah 5 verse 20 says what sorrow awaits those who say that evil is good and good is evil that dark is light and light is dark that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter what sorrow awaits those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever number six we'll end with this i'm saying we're ending with this we're not ending but we're ending with this because you need to know that is the greater hope approaching is the greater hope church family titus 2 13 a verse i often quote because it's one of my life verses it's undeniable it says looking for the blessed hope the word looking here is in the active present it means that we are as believers we are to be doing our jobs living our lives being who we are doing what god has called us to do and the whole time we're doing it we are looking for the blessed hope what does that mean we're looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great god and savior jesus christ is the bible wow any time now any moment now any moment anytime because remember he can come for us at any time so we're going to run through some things hang on in the doctrine of eschatology within the study of theology people who are lazy i believe in my opinion lazy and pre-formulated by others can approach the bible with a bias and you can come out saying that this is how i view it rather than letting the bible speak you just let it talk to you you must understand church that god calls the bride of christ the church in the bible a mystery he never says that israel is a mystery did you know that he calls israel his people his nation are you with me the bible draws a clear distinction between the church which is predominantly gentile and israel there is no national judgment or anything like that regarding the church there's only only individual judgment for the church or scrutiny of christ but there is national judgment for the nation of israel this is important to know because when it comes to the rapture in the second coming there's a great difference and a lot of people today are saying that there's no difference and frankly that comes from lazy theology so we can't fix the world in five minutes but we're gonna try are you ready get ready know the difference know the difference number one let's look at this on the screen the greater hope is this so a will equal church b will equal israel number one number one a at the rapture jesus appears in the atmosphere to receive his church only in the second coming jesus returns to israel with his church these are lifted right from passages of scripture number two at the rapture all church age believers go up to meet christ at the second coming all church age believers come down with christ number three at the rapture christians are taken to the father's house jesus said at the second coming christians returned from the father's house revelation 19 number four at the rapture there is no judgment on earth at the second coming christ comes to judge all the nations of the earth number five at the rapture only the church sees and hears christ appearing at the second coming unbelievers will see and hear christ returning number six at the rapture the timing is imminent and sudden at the second coming the timing is chronological and sequential seven at the rapture there are no prerequisite events or signs required at the second coming multiple prerequisites and signs are required eight at the rapture the church is the focal point at the second coming israel is the focal point nine at the rapture there is great joy and comfort at the second coming there is great weeping and sorrow ten at the rapture all believers are suddenly changed at the second coming no believers are suddenly changed eleven at the rapture there is no mention of satan being bound at the second coming satan is bound for a thousand years and all god's people said at the rapture god's promise to deliver the church from his wrath is fulfilled at the second coming god's promised wrath is fulfilled 13. the church is taken up to heaven in the rapture and and judged at the bema seat that's the olympic seat a gold silver bronze in heaven that's the word bema it's where it comes from from the olympics of his of first century at the second coming all nations are judged at jerusalem the bible says it has to happen in jerusalem according to the book of joel and zechariah number 14 at the rapture the seven year tribulation period begins at the second coming the seven year tribulation period ends 15 at the rapture there is no marriage feast of the lamb in heaven at the second coming there is marriage uh feast of the lamb on earth that is debated by some scholars i commend you to dr john wolverd on that it's an amazing study what's the point point is that there's a difference this is the first time listen are you sitting down this is huge i'm about to say since 1948 this is the first time the church and israel has co-existed for the first time in history that's how close we are because god is just about ready to put his eyes back on israel that's a remarkable thing church these are important things these are just a fraction of things that are significant that you should get excited about regarding christ and his imminent return then seven we end with this we end with this in the seventh argument regarding approaching is the one moment that matters the most so okay whatever this is great no but hey here's the thing the bible tells us that when you and i hear the gospel we are to respond to it no matter what i've said prior to this moment this now becomes the most important thing and the most important thing said the bible says that jesus christ according to the old testament scriptures came born of a virgin died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the dead and left an empty tomb in jerusalem having been resurrected from the dead by his sacrifice by his offering his pass over our sins are forgiven and the bible says jesus christ said himself i am the way the truth and the life and no man can come for the father but through man he's the only way this is the most important thing that you cannot save yourself you cannot be good enough the moment you find out how amazing god is you realize how wretched you are that's why god gave us the ten commandments because they're perfect and holy and pure and when we wake up to the value of them we realize we broke the first one well how many do you need to break before you look poor most moses comes down the mountain moses is carrying the ten commandments down the mountain and poor joshua he's standing there waiting can you imagine looks in the sundial it's been forever moses comes down and joshua says listen the people are rejoicing and moses says they're not rejoicing they're having an orgy and moses throws down the ten commandments and then tells them you people broke these think about it they did they were breaking it before god probably put his finger in the stone and it's true for all of us we wake up to the realization that we're sick we find out we have cancer we find out that we've got leukemia we find out that we've got a problem after we have it god's word says all of us are s-i-n-positive and he says but i took care of that if you come to me i will remove your sin from you as far as the east is from the west the most important thing of these last days in church i'm going to leave this with you is for us to give people the gospel listen people are mortified people are terrified right now you hear what's going on in texas the governor opened up the state of texas so watch this and a bunch of other governors followed followed his lead here's the deal did you see uh the governor's gonna be sued and so is the state of texas by texans i'm gonna get mail for this i shouldn't have called them texans they're probably a bunch of californians who moved to texas we're sorry sorry but they're suing they're going to sue the governor they're threatening to sue the governor because they don't want to stop wearing masks look first of all it's a free country you want to wear a mask wear a mask no no listen it's okay listen here's the deal i'm going somewhere with this mask no mask i don't care here's the thing even when it's okay to not wear a mask people want to wear a mask why but why do they want to wear a mess because they're they're fearful they're scared i don't want to get it listen this this is your assignment this week every one of us when you go out into the world look if you should wear a mask wear a mask i'm dead serious but here's the thing when you see someone remember you're supposed to answer their questions with respect and kindness you can go up to somebody and say i see you're wearing a mask are you okay how are you i'm fine i'm i'm fine no i'm fine i'm fine listen i know that a lot of people are scared a lot of people are fearful and fear has clearly crippled families and our culture listen friend i want to pray for you but i want you to know something i'm i'm a christian i'll just confess that straight up i'm a christian and i was at church last sunday and the pastor said something about a person wears a mask so that they don't get sick that they believe that the mask is gonna stop the virus and so here's the thing jesus christ he came to stop the virus of sin in our lives jesus hung on the cross to die for our sins and then being resurrected to impart his righteousness to us that friend i understand the fear part of it but the greater fear is where are you going to go if you die where are you going listen you shouldn't be so afraid of being sick here your great fear should be sick in eternity jesus said i am the physician i have come to heal those that are sick father we thank you for your truth and for your word and lord it all comes down to us being confronted truly with your your bible and our feelings adams was right facts are stubborn things ben shapiro's right truth doesn't care about our feelings oh that's true but we do rejoice this morning that the way and the truth and the life is a person who ministers and loves who forgives prostitutes and bank robbers and malfactors and corporate liars and marital cheaters and the whole lot and today father god i pray that decisions would be made to follow jesus to do what isaiah said that all those who call upon the name of the lord shall be saved so lord we do know the answer who's the one that holds the wind and his fist and the hollows of the seas and the hem of his robe what is your name and what is your son's name if you know it's yeshua it's jesus and we thank you that our salvation is not tied up in some ritual or fixed in some icon but christ lives and because he lives we live also well hey thanks for listening and we appreciate you and of course we do in this time and in this age us being together and linking up together to get the word of god out is actually ministry being fulfilled and in fact if you would like to subscribe please do so hit the subscribe button tell your friends about us and listen if you'd like to help us get this out on a broader scale you can support us by hitting on the give now button and look we're going to continue on with or without you we're inviting you to join us no pressure but if you'd like to link arms in this venture you'd be greatly appreciated so listen keep praying for us we're praying for you god bless you and we'll see you back here real soon

Channel: Real Life with Jack Hibbs

Views: 163,986

Rating: 4.9293098 out of 5

Keywords: jack hibbs, jack hibbs futures, amir tsarfati, amir tsarfati middle east update, behold israel with amir tsarfati, prophecy roundtable, prophecy udpate, jack hibbs sermons, stock market

Id: -bvLpHljsIQ

Length: 65min 11sec (3911 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 14 2021