DID YOU KNOW THE END OF THE WORLD STARTS WITH GLOBAL PEACE & SAFETY--BEFORE THE DISASTERS?

chapter six of um of the book of revelation we've gotten so far to the second verse i'm happy to say and as we open to revelation 6 and verse 2 i wonder and and you know most people have a kind of a preset when you go to revelation you can oh we know what you're going to talk about you know the disasters but do most of us remember what directly precedes god's launch of the tribulation remember god launches the tribulation it doesn't happen god launches it and we're seeing it this morning in verse 2 is the launch it's almost like the first missile going out sent from heaven toward the earth well the way that jesus and the apostle paul and the apostle john and the old testament prophet daniel all describe the start of the tribulation is not with disasters wars famines earthquakes or pestilences the tribulation begins according to the bible with global peace and prosperity and safety now that i mean that just doesn't sound like you know the late great planet earth fare we're so used to the gloom and doom but actually as we'll see this morning even though for decade after decade we in christ church have been well taught about the inexorable slide our world is heading in toward that final war toward the final holocaust armageddon and all the apocalyptic events associated with it are part of secular media i mean we hear that all but all the time in fact now the weather channel has picked up on it now they call the storms we went through this past winter snowmageddon los angeles calls their traffic carmageddon all of that is because the biblical metaphors are in society we hear regularly about the dangers of nuclear war bioterrorism of pollution and global warming it seems like every day we're seeing more and more of what the bible talks about it seems like our world is plunging deeper into chaos there are more ethnic conflicts there are greater horrific acts of terrorism and aggression and it seems like they're more and more natural disasters i mean we were we were learning stuff our children always teaching us technology and my kids told me they said dad now you know in china if you're sitting in a wi-fi zone you can call estelle in honduras and i said but i don't have a chinese phone i this it's on airplane mode they said no on skype and so here i am sitting around and and i finally fiddled around and actually worked it you know my phone and the wi-fi went to skype and somehow i went to honduras and so we were talking to style and she said oh dad last night she said i thought that uh one of the giant burrowing jungle animals had gotten under our little hut where we live i said why she said because i heard this sound of dirt moving and she said but it lasted so long i realized it couldn't have been a jungle animal and she said i jumped up to see and there was an earthquake in honduras and you know it seems like we're hearing about earthquakes everywhere oklahoma has three recently i mean it's just unbelievable china had the deadly one but we hear all these disasters and so god's word warns us that plagues and quakes and famines are all part of the tribulation but what we really need to see from the bible is and we need the scriptures to guide us because the lord sent this to us so we would know and we need to answer the question from god's word which comes first global peace or global holocaust and you already know the answer because jesus and paul and daniel and right here in revelation john tell us that what comes first is global peace and prosperity that's what's next for planet earth on god's schedule well is earth sliding straight down the slope to fiery destruction and demon hordes and solar scorchings and the holocaust described in revelation in other words will the things get darker and darker and disasters just keep amplifying until the tribulation bursts into view well the answer from god's word might surprise us because what the lord says is ultimately all those disasters are going to hit but temporarily in the short term god says we are headed toward a time of unprecedented prosperity and peace is coming our way and although all those prophesied disasters are coming god explains that just prior to the tribulation our world will experience the peace and safety and the prosperity and harmony that mankind has only dreamed of for centuries and just before the very worst time in history our world may well see the best times that humans have enjoyed since the garden of eden that's revelation 6 2 and it reminds us this morning that peace and safety the cry of all humans for over the past 6 000 years since the fall of humanity into sin is going to finally come but it's only temporary and it's going to be shattered so quickly by the worst times the world has ever known so there is coming in a day not too much in the distant future when a superman is going to rise and he's not going to be in the theaters and he's not going to need special effects and this superman is going to amaze everyone and to everyone's grateful surprise he will at last bring to earth the peace and safety they've longed for and that's the first element of the tribulation that god introduces us to and that's revelation six and since you're there let's read the first two verses if you stand together with me and and listen as god briefs us on the future and we need to understand why he briefs us revelation 6 verses 1 and 2 now i saw when the lamb opened one of the seals and i heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder come and see now verse two what we're going to focus on every piece of this morning and i looked and behold a white horse he who sat on it had a bow and a crown was given to him and he went out conquering and to conquer let's bow for word of prayer father thank you for your word thank you that we know this morning that it is inspired and the more the world makes fun of christians and what we believe and the truth of your word the more we're aware that this is the very voice of you oh god captured written down preserved for us and in our possession may we take the time to hear and to allow your spirit to open the eyes of our understanding and may we understand why you have given us this road map of the future so speak to our hearts especially apply lord jesus to our hearts the lessons you want us to learn today that we might live according to the plan that you have for us to know about in the name of jesus we pray amen you may be seated as you're seated one of the surest signs of the end of days is when this world with all of its current problems arrives at a time of peace and safety and prosperity that's something that we need to think about especially as things ratchet up i mean all of you know that there's this global debt kind of balloon that's swelling up about a month ago i i was sent a because you know everybody knew i was going to china's they're all trying to get me ready and i was sent a little link to a bbc the british broadcasting corporation link that that went to one of their specials on china and i thought i wonder what this is going to be about and what it was about is that china has built about 20 cities and spent three trillion dollars doing that and the cities are empty not a person lives in them there are complete cities they have 30 40 50 story skyscrapers apartments malls sidewalks roads lamps you know stop lights trash cans appliances in every apartment tile on every floor but nobody lives there and what they've done is to to make china grow to the second largest economy in the world they've had to get their factories working and their workmen working in the construction industry going and the appliance industry going and one of the best ways to do it is to build cities well i read i mean i watched the video clip and it showed how you could tell which were empty cities well as we were being motored around from place to place to meet different people all of a sudden i said honey look and we went by one of these i mean it was i i was counting i was taking pictures and counting the stories and and i i saw 30 40 and 50-story buildings and there wasn't a human being other than the security guards anywhere in sight in these places and and so only that to tell you that the time is coming when the debt that people i mean it's worked china's the second largest economy in the world but they also have an immense amount of debt for all of this building and construction that their people have taken on it's kind of become a real estate kind of like they used to flip condos in miami you know you'd buy for 50 sell for 100 and then some would sell for 200 and then 400 and people were making fortunes flipping real estate in hot markets and then it all came down well that's going to happen sooner or later over there the whole i mean you you know that europe's going through this right now i mean it's it's amazing greece laid off yesterday the first person in 105 years that's ever been laid off by the government of greece there's hard times coming but there's going to be this superman that with one hand can get the muslims to stop fighting each other the sunnis and shiites and get them to stop fighting and hating and being intent on the destruction of israel and in the same with his other hand he's going to reach over and start working out all the debt crisis and then he's going to work on all the other the the food problem there isn't enough rice to go around right now and and and there's not enough water in so many parts of the world sub-saharan and of course india and central china and he's just going to solve all the problems and the world is going to go into this time as jesus described the time leading up to the end of days as a time of peace and safety and prosperity in fact paul says in second thessalonians when they cry peace and safety sudden destruction will come on them but the world is crying out and and experiencing peace and safety well what christ shows john here in revelation 6 and then has john write down for us before us in the bible this morning is a lesson in divine inspiration now now that's the first before we even get into this prophecy remember this comes to us divinely inspired by god this is not john you know as he's in retirement on an island writing books it's god breathing out and inspiring and divine inspiration reminds us and the doctrine we need to understand and hold tightly to is the truth that god's word gives us is a direct revelation this is not john's words paul's words james's words daniel's words moses's words it's directly from god sent to us to tell us exactly what god wants us to know and so god's word is inspired which means god's word is truth which means that god's word is flawless it's perfect it's inerrant it's trustworthy so god send it to us and if you remember when we started in the book of revelation the whole purpose of this book if you read the first couple of words of the first few verses it's the revelation of jesus christ the unveiling of christ which god gave him to give to his servants we are his servants we are the recipients of this revelation and it's it's a revelation to show us as his servants the things that are going to happen in the world according to god's almighty and perfect plan see from our perspective it seems like we're headed for a crisis where it's all going to come down and and be horrible and god says yeah and the whole world is going to think it's that way and the whole world is going to think that it's hopeless and there's no way out of the debt crisis and the water crisis and the food crisis and the bioterrorism crisis and all the the the radical islamic terrorist crisis and then the jesus everybody wants the one who doesn't say you have to repent of your sins the one that says i'll just give you what you want kind of like the some of what we see on christian television you know just anything you want you can have he finally steps forward only he's the anti-jesus and we can always trust god who alone knows the future because that's what he says so let's go to verse two of chapter six and we're gonna plod through there there are four phrases in this verse and i call them four truths because each of the phrases presents uh one truth god wants us to know and here's the first one god unleashes god unleashes the tribulation never forget who's in control god unleashes powerful rapid global forces now look look how this is explained to us john says in verse 2 and i looked and beheld now this is the first what john is seeing is the first of what are called four horsemen of the apocalypse most of us i remember i remember when billy graham i mean i'm so old that billy graham used to be writing his books when i was a little boy and one of them was the four horsemen of the apocalypse and i remember he used to preach on that in crusades and talk about you know the the bad times that were in the world well john looks and sees that scene unfold and it involves what most bible teachers describe as these four horsemen of the apocalypse and you can see what it says a white horse and he who sat on a had a boat this is the first event of the tribulation it's one of four horsemen that are coming out and as each seal is broken a horse is unleashed onto the earth and each horse is a different color and each horse has a different rider and each horse is symbolizing something it's symbolizing this this powerful force unleashed into the earth and it has a global impact so john sees in succession the first second third and fourth horsemen now why is it that they're horsemen i mean to us we go what is this like the kentucky derby or something i mean is this a horse show among the rich in scottsdale arizona where where people you know are really into horses no a horse and a horseman were the fastest known means of travel in the first century so this would be like saying unleashing that new hypersonic airplane or whatever it is that the u.s government has developed that's so secret that that they launch and it can go up into earth orbit and it can fly around to any spot on the face of the earth in in a very short order and it can come back down and it does stuff all the time and and it's hypersonic so that's what this is like or maybe it's like you know one of the newest f-35s or something the fastest known means of transportation but in the first century it was a horseman that was the fastest known means of travel and horses for us today are beautiful and they they're somewhat of a hobby animal or a form of sports and they're expensive to maintain they're not really vital for life but not in the times of the bible see we have to realize that to to interpret the bible correctly you must understand what god was communicating when he communicated this letter initially to the people that received it in the first century and to them a horseman carried a huge message of the fastest means of communication and travel in bible times horses were vital for travel vital for communication and most of all vital for warfare i mean i think about that when everybody's unleashing their newest latest and greatest weaponry that horses were one of the most vital pieces of warfare back then they were the fastest means of transportation that's why the scripture equates them with power in job 39 in fact job 39 19 to 25 has a whole section on how strong horses are and how swift horses are and how mighty they are so in the bible mind and the thinking of the first century it was a powerful means it was a means of warfare horses pulled chariots it was a means of conquest horses carried swordsmen and archers that were almost unstoppable i mean right up into modern times i mean the the the mighty empire of genghis khan was won because of the rapid spread of the empire through horsemen from the steps you know of of the of central asia that could ride their horses and the horse was going this way and those men without saddles holding out their knees could turn around and without missing a beat fire and arrow at their enemies pursuing them and and that rapid transport and that rapid delivery of armaments conquered one of the largest empires of the ancient world so a charge in calvary was always seen as a symbol of power and conquest so starting in verse two each of these horsemen is revealing a swift effect on the earth now the emphasis is not on the horse man it's not like each of these you know there's not this red man coming in this pale green man coming and this black man coming this white man coming it's the horse and the rider was was a picture of this rapid sweep through the earth and each of these horsemen symbolizes and communicates this this unleashing across the world of something so verse two the white a horse is the rapid spread of a false temporary deceptive peace you say how do you know that because i'm going to show you in a moment jesus actually outlines what john is writing about in matthew 24 and jesus describes what's going on with this white horse if you go to verse 4 red is for the rapid global spread of warfare and bloodshed with the red horse black in verse 5 the black horseman is for the rapid global spread of of famine they work all day and they get a quart of wheat and remember in bible times the man went out and worked and he brought back for his whole family a quart of wheat can you imagine the starvation and hunger when entire families live an entire day on a quart of wheat and and it's just speaking of of famine and scarcity that just sweeps across the earth and finally in verse 8 this pale green one has the gangrenous color of death and through a rapid global spread of pestilence death comes and so that's the four horsemen so the first element of verse two is that the tribulation starts with god unleashing powerful forces so second god says that global deception comes first look what it says in verse two after john looked and beheld these four horsemen it says the first one in verse two is a white horse global deception comes first now you say white deception yeah remember think in terms of the bible paul said in first corinth or second corinthians 11 and verse 14 satan can transform himself to appear as an angel of light i was just reading in some airport somewhere the newest out of body experience and the new york times was spoofing it it said this is the longest out of body experience since lazarus only he the new york times said this so they obviously know the bible they said lazarus was three days out of body and he didn't even write a book about it and this this is a medical doctor that was out of body seven days and they say it's going to be the best seller of all and and he sees all kinds of stuff no one else has seen before which immediately makes warning bells ring that that god in his whole book hasn't revealed what this doctor in his out-of-body experience book is going to reveal but all that to say satan can transform himself to appear as an angel of light rather than the angel of darkness he really is so white is not always a sighting of something pure or something holy in the bible it can also be a symbol of deception or hear of deceptive global peace and it's temporary in its faults and most conservative bible teachers over the centuries have taken this first horseman as a symbol of the rapid spread of global peace that finally jesus who came as the prince of peace remember he he was supposed to be the wonderful counselor mighty god everlasting father and prince of peace and and he comes and is rejected so this man that satan energizes says i am the christ that you've all heard about and you've had confusion about but i'm bringing peace and it just spreads it's unleashed it's called forth by god this peace to launch the tribulation and god says global peace is what mankind has always wanted so god gives them what they want and through a series of deceivers the chiefest of whom becomes the antichrist you say becomes the antichrist yes did you know satan has always had a man in the wings to be the antichrist you realize the antichrist is not a super person of themself it's the power of the mightiest being god ever created completely working through them it's the first time god's going to allow satan to channel his his incredible power directly through a human and this person can be one of the most insignificant you know people all over the world are wondering what the antichrist looks like and is he kind of like an ivy leaguer and a mensa scholar and he's going to win all these awards and elocution he's probably a dodo is what he is because all it takes is a body that satan can speak through in fact i was reading this week and in this four weeks ahead when we get to the antichrist but there's an interesting account from the nuremberg trials in germany after world war ii where some of the witnesses that were eventually able to bring some of the nazi leaders to be hung some of the witnesses talked about what it was like to be on stage with adolf hitler and they said they knew hitler they worked with him they were around him all the time and they described him and they said but when he stepped up to the lectern to deliver some of his famous speeches like the one in the munich stadium to 200 000 people where he got them all in unison chanting and jumping up and down and then they burst out of there and it just was one of the turning points of the nazi regime they said that hitler sitting in the chair talked in a certain voice but they said when he got up to speak before the microphone the witnesses said it wasn't his voice they said it was it was a completely different voice than we ever heard in any of the reichstag in any of the you know the the different meetings and that's probably what's going to happen with this antichrist person they're going to be you know just joe the plumber you know average and all of a sudden when they talk the angel of light himself speaks through them and so this happens and this global peace through this deceiver comes and look what the world is like in fact don't lose revelation 6 but turn back with me to matthew 24. i want to show you jesus describing him now we're going to go through this in depth at another time but i just want to show you in matthew 24 verse 36 this is in matthew 24 36 is christ's personal description of the tribulation now this is jesus himself telling us what the tribulation is going to be like and he just before the start of the cataclysmic global holocaust christ describes something that always amazes me when i think about the powder keg that we live in every day i mean we live in a very dangerous time right now the earth is one big ticking bomb of nuclear arsenals biological and chemical warfare agents trained terrorists all kinds of special forces soldiers of nations bristling with unbelievable amounts of weaponry and on top of all that we have the external dangers of warfare and and bombs but we also have this problem with no breathable air in parts of the world no drinkable water and and perish perishing food supplies and i mean it's just like a big ticking bomb but in the midst of all that in matthew 24 36 jesus says just before the global bomb explodes the whole earth is going to be like one big party you know they just had in san francisco uh it was it was when we were in san francisco on monday they were showing pictures on all the newspapers of the big pot party you know they had a smokin in san francisco and and i don't know 10 000 people all at once were blowing their marijuana smoke and just making this cloud to go over san francisco as if they need more you know uh of that and and um it was talking about the the party atmosphere we'll look at the party on earth in matthew 24 36 uh jesus says this but of the day and hour no one knows not even the angels of heaven what day and what hour well he's just spent the past 35 verses describing the tribulation with the stars falling and the sun darkening and everything imaginable happening and jesus says the day and hour that that happens no one knows not even the angels of heaven but my father only verse 37 but now this this is the party but as the days of noah were so will also be the coming of the son of man for as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking they were marrying and giving in marriage until the day noah entered the ark and did not know until the flood came and took them all away you see the flood hit a totally unsuspecting world and jesus uses that historic event to say the tribulation will hit a totally unsuspecting world in fact if you have the niv verse 39 says they knew nothing about what would happen the new american says they did not understand the esv says they were unaware now think about today today everyone is afraid that iran might start world war three and if not iran maybe north korea will well that was interesting we were sitting 13 miles from the border at the airport and one of the kind students the korean students we just taught who had us eat sushi for breakfast again you don't make him feel bad and you should see us eating that you know what's in sushi you know you have to get your monocle out and look for the worms and the raw fish and everything but uh here we are sitting and he says you know why everybody's afraid here i said no why is everybody afraid he said there are 30 000 artillery pieces along the north korean border every one of them are primed to fire at once on seoul and he said do you know what thirty thousand five hundred pound shells exploding at the same time in seoul will do he said it will kill millions of people i said when is that flight leaving you know um but the world is thinking if it's not iran it's north korea and if it's not that it's global jihad or an asteroid or some global pandemic a bird flu which by the way was stirring up in shanghai while we were sitting there and if it's not that type of disaster then the european debt crisis or global water crisis but you know what verse 39 says all that's going to melt away the feelings of danger are going to evaporate on earth and a deceptive peace safety and security surrounds the planet that's the first horseman god unleashes into the tribulation to start it and it's a white horse of deceptive temporary peace okay back to revelation 6 and we've got to finish up because it's time to go number three god unleashes judgment it's not the judge himself now just to show you this is not christ some people well meaning equate the revelation 6 2 white horse coming to earth with the revelation 19 11 through 15 white horse coming to earth and it's a it's an easy thing to do white horse and white horse but that's the only similarities this white horse is riding in to start the tribulation it's not christ he rides in in chapter 19 to stop it and culminate it this one is carrying a bow christ carries a sword this one as he's coming is given a crown christ it says has many crowns and he is the king of kings and lord of lords so this this is not christ he has a bow there's no arrows in fact it appears this is a bloodless conquest that the antichrist conquers the earth with his message of peace and no one resists him isn't interesting they resisted the real christ they don't resist the anti-false christ so there's a powerful deceptive false peace and it's not christ on this horse but that brings us to the end of verse two look at the end of verse two note the words and a crown was given him and he went conquering to conquer god allows people to have what they really want while while we were traveling you know email never stops and so whenever i could be in a safe place a safe country i would download some and and i was getting and i get regularly notes from all the people in the counseling discipleship class and they say okay i've done this with what we learned in class and now they said this or now i've done this and they've done that and what what should i do next and there was an interesting note in this member of the class said now i have met with this person and i've told them this but they're refusing what i said and they're going to go ahead and marry this unsafe person what should i do and i said well you should back up and remember what god does do you know when god warns and warns and warns and warns us and we still proceed with our own way you know what he does he goes okay you can have what you really want you see god gives everyone what they really deeply want and that's the worst thing if what you want is not his way and that's what romans 1 is all about that god gives the whole world he god turned them over to their greedy desires and let them have what they want well right here in verse 2 at the end god allows people to have what they really want each element of the tribulation is launched here in revelation 6 as a plan from god it's unleashed according to his purpose and god always gives to each of us what we really deeply from the very center of our being want which reminds me to say be careful what you really want god will give you what you really want make sure what you really want is godly and god honoring and pleasing to him because he'll give you what you really want note how john says look at the end of verse 2 a crown was given that means god allowed and sent this deceiver mankind has always wanted peace but they've always been unwilling to bow to the prince of peace to obtain real peace so god offers them a false peace and a false christ and they bow before the false peacemaker and they worship him that's the first horseman of the apocalypse well that's verse 2 and we're done but before we go let me ask you how does revelation 6 fit in with all the rest of the bible is what we just read verified by the rest of the bible is this what the bible says is going to happen since god inspired all the scripture is this section of the bible consistent with the rest of the bible and what is amazing is the first four elements those first four horsemen exactly correspond with the first four descriptions jesus makes in matthew 24. in fact if you would take the time in matthew 24 4 jesus says take heed that no one deceives you for many are going to come in my name saying i am the christ that's the first thing jesus says what's the first seal a white horse that brings peace into all the earth how do we know it brings peace look in your bibles in revelation 6 and look look at verse 3 it says that the second horseman in verse 3 takes peace from the earth that means that the first horseman brought peace to the earth and so horseman one deceptor uh deception and deceiver seal one that's described in matthew 24 deceivers you know what the second thing jesus describes in matthew 24 nations against nations kingdom against kingdom what's the second horseman the red horseman bring warfare and killing what's the third thing jesus says in matthew 24 7 there will be famines what's the fourth horseman i mean the third horseman black famine and weighing the grain they don't have enough of next jesus said there'll be pestilence and earthquakes what's the fourth seal the pale horse of death as there's pestilence stalking the planet and it doesn't stop with the first four matthew 24 9 jesus talks about delivering up believers to tribulation and killing them and the fifth seal are the martyrs of the tribulation the next thing jesus talks about is the sun will be darkened in matthew 24 29 what is the sixth seal the sun turns black like sackcloth and the moon darkens to be like blood red it exactly tracks so revelation 6 follows exactly the same plan or script for what god has decided and it's what jesus said in matthew 24 it's what john illustrates in revelation 6 and it's exactly in sequence with all of the old testament prophets and everything they said so we started this morning with the doctrine of inspiration god actually breathed out his word it's flawless and eternal a second doctrine that we need to hold as tightly as we hold inspiration as this that the inspired god has given us a map of the future and that's called prophecy or eschatology and if you remember matthew 24 is the longest answer to any question jesus ever gave i mean people asked me about everything they asked me about where he came from who he was why he was dying you know what he gave the longest answer to what's coming in the future so that should remind us because there are four entire chapters in the gospels packed with inspired divine truth to answer questions about the end of days or the doctrine of eschatology and that's an amazing way god emphasizes that it's very important to him and it should be important to us one last thought and i love this how does jesus not prophetic conference speakers not people that like to be intriguing on the radio and always saying things get people's attention how does jesus want us to apply what what we've seen in revelation 6 i mean what possible application could there be of the tribulation to us that he's promised he's going to deliver us from that wrath to come how are we supposed to apply this this is just an introduction but maybe for some of you you know i'm always meeting with uh people and one of the things they say is could you tell me something i just need help i don't know where to start studying my bible and i love to suggest something to them and and and check up with them and see if they did it well if you're one of those that aren't sure where you're going to read this week let me just share this with you to close jesus applied the coming of the tribulation by telling five quick stories if you notice right after jesus finishes with all of the horrors of the tribulation he goes into five quick parabolic stories that's the end of matthew 24 and all of 25 and the theme of every story was jesus applying the end of time scenario to the everyday lives of people that weren't going to go through the end of days that were alive right then in us and basically jesus said this is how you apply the truth of the tribulation to your living today and i'll just i'll just read to you the five stories okay number one in matthew 24 32-35 jesus said know my plan and if you read that story he says i want you to know my plan i want you to know what's coming so you know what that means learn the doctrine of eschatology number two in matthew 24 36-44 jesus said keep watching i'm coming quickly do you know what the lesson is we don't know when he's going to come for us he's going to come at the time we least expect it and many christians are going to be so taken up with this time of prosperity and peace and finally the stock market is going to be worth something and finally we're not going to have to worry about our food being poisoned you know and and the terrorists coming that they're going to be christians as these times start coming that are going to be deceived jesus said don't let this time deceive you now i'm not saying that the christians are going to be in the tribulation but this is going to be a work up there's going to be coming a time when everything is going to be stabilizing and getting better and christians are going to be wow this is great and the lord says keep watching i'm coming quickly don't be deceived matthew 24 45-51 jesus said avoid distractions matthew 25 the first 13 verses jesus said remember there's no second chance live for what counts now while you can and finally matthew 25 14-30 has a very simple theme don't waste your life god's already told us a plan he's already told us how it's all going to end he's already told us why he saved us don't waste your life live for what i saved you to do that's the message of how jesus applied the tribulation let's all stand for a closing word of prayer and as you stand i want you to think about something we don't know when the lord's going to come but in those stories jesus said i hope i will find you doing what i left you to do this week i was in a fog i still am in a fog in fact i don't know what i'm going to do tonight because i get very sleepy uh when i'm supposed to be awake and so in my fog this week i went out for uh with one of my boys and i was sitting with them and when i got all done i noticed that the waitress had watched us you know we had worked at the bible and prayed and everything and it must have been unusual in their restaurant and so the waitress came up to me and we were the last ones in the restaurant they were actually closing and she was sleeping and so i moved to high chairs so she could sweep underneath it and she turned off she said hey thanks i was hoping she talk to me and i stood up and i said if you die before you get home tonight do you know that all of your sins are forgiven that's the five second way to evangelize do you know what she did burst out into tears and she said i am a single mother i have two little kids i don't go to church i can barely make ends meet and she said i have more sins than i have time to think about and so i reached in even though i was foggy pulled out a track from the rack right there by the door and i said you know what you're working i'm going not going to take your work time i said has anybody ever shared how you can know for sure your sins are forgiven she looked at me and said what church do you go to and i said calvary bible she said it's not the huge one is it i said yeah it's the huge one but she said okay i'll take it she said there's a lot of crazy churches in town and obviously we're not one of them and she took that gospel track and you know what i thought i thought wouldn't it be nice if when the lord comes he finds us doing what he left us to do he left us to just in the simple way he designed us to go through life to at times like that i mean i i i had a lot of other stuff on my mind but i thought wow maybe if i move the high chair so she can sweep under it she'll pause and i can talk to her i just had that thought and see the lord wants to prompt us to be doing what he left us to do let's bow with the word of prayer father thank you for telling us the future thank you we can trust what you said because your word is inspired and you are god and you have saved us for a purpose may you find us doing what you left us to do when you come or call in the precious name of jesus we ask that and all of god's people said amen god bless you as you go [Music]

Channel: DTBM

Views: 163,390

Rating: 4.8818183 out of 5

Keywords: Bible, God, Jesus, Christian, teaching, biblical, teach, sermon, trinity, church, lesson, traditional, truth, true, divine, theology, freedom, guilt, testament, pure, interpret, spirit, holy, John, Barnett, christ, father, heaven, hell, doctrine, doctrinal, sinful, forgive, forgiveness, history, teachings, chapters, verses, discover, the book, ministries, dtbm, Dr. Barnett, controversial, repent, helpful, sin, the, book, dr, john, doctor, barnett, training, videos, series, resources, savior, god, jesus, holy land, pilgrimage, spiritual renewal

Id: thBNyONAeog

Length: 44min 47sec (2687 seconds)

Published: Fri May 28 2021