Living in Light of the End - Part 6 - Pastor Raymond Woodward

[Music] go [Music] well we are in part six of a series called living in light of the end and tonight we're going to begin the book of uh second thessalonians just a little short book three chapters long and we're going to deal with that over this week and next and finish off our series the premise of our entire series is this that from the very day that jesus first ascended into heaven his followers have always lived in expectancy of his return and the hope that believers have impacts every day every decision every detail of our lives the point though is that keeping your eye and your heart fixed on that day can sometimes get lost in the challenges of just surviving this day and so in his two letters to the thessalonians paul steps in to correct some misconceptions that have sprouted up about the coming of the lord and he teaches us overall that the purpose of prophecy is not just speculation it's motivation to keep us motivated to be living for god in light of the end the purpose of prophecy is not to create a calendar that you can debate with other people who are interested in prophecy the purpose of prophecy is to create character in you so that you know that something is afoot in the end times and you live in light of that so throughout his first letter that we finished last week paul commends these thessalonian believers for living in light of the end he was forced to leave thessalonica prematurely by some enemies that threatened his life literally that wasn't unusual for paul and so when he writes back to them he defends his ministry during his time among them he sends timothy to pastor them and bring him back wonderful reports paul promises to pray for them he exhorts them please live holy lives in light of the end and he encourages them as he writes about the rapture which is the hope of the church specifically for them they were concerned about this specifically he tells them in 1st thessalonians that we are going to be reunited not only with jesus but with our loved ones fellow believers who have already died in the faith and paul says to them very clearly satan hindered my plans to return to thessalonica the devil won that round but the devil doesn't win the war when it comes to the children of god so when paul was hindered from doing what he thought would have been best at the time he sat in a little dark room probably with a lamp or a lantern and he took a quill and a piece of parchment and he wrote these two letters that we're still studying 2 000 years later so what the enemy meant for evil god turned around and used it for good like he always does now paul's second letter that we begin tonight it was written not very long afterward because many in that assembly in thessalonica they were still very confused about the second coming of christ some had deliberately misrepresented paul's teaching on this all-important subject there were even counterfeit letters written in paul's name to this church and that confused everything and so he will tell them in this epistle not to be shaken or troubled by letter as from us don't be mistaken don't be shaken if you receive a letter that says it's from paul if it contradicts what i told you before and he even instructs them in the very last chapter we'll talk about it next week um he says i have uh written this letter this is my salutation with mine own hand and he says this which is a token in every epistle so i write he said watch for my signature at the end of the letter don't just take it as coming from me pay specific attention so there's a little bit of drama surrounding this second epistle confusion in doctrine brothers and sisters confusion in doctrine has real consequences in christian living and this is certainly the case in thessalonica some in the church are confused about the coming of the lord everyone say the coming of the lord that's the rapture and since the lord was returning soon they figured they could just leave their jobs and wait for him there are a few of their descendants still living today but of course that meant they were living undisciplined lives they were becoming busybodies with too much time on their hands and they were also becoming literal beggars um who lived off those who still had jobs and you can imagine that placed a massive burden on their brothers and sisters and of course it created major tension in the congregation but there was another tension because while some thought well the lord's coming so soon i'll just sit here and wait they were confused about the coming of the lord there were other people in the congregation that were confused about the day of the lord everyone say the day of the lord so some are confused about the coming of the lord that's the rapture some were confused about the day of the lord which is that time of god's judgment that falls on sinners on this world after the rapture and these people they were afraid they were so concerned they feared they had missed the rapture because they knew that after the rapture there's going to be a time of tribulation and there's going to be a lot of suffering on the earth and persecution of their church in that time was happening so they figured well if we're being persecuted and if we're suffering maybe we missed the coming of the lord and we're living in the day of the lord in the judgment of god on the earth and and persecution of that church had actually become a little worse since paul wrote his first letter so they thought they were living through the great tribulation and of course they're very distressed and discouraged and then when that false letter arrived claiming to be from paul in that false letter it seems to scholars that it said you're in the tribulation that's what we think well of course they became very frightened confusion in doctrine has real consequences in christian living so paul writes this little short letter called second thessalonians to straighten out all the confusion and we're going to dive in and let paul's words instruct us tonight he says paul and silas and timothy we're writing to the church of the thessalonians in god our father in the lord jesus christ grace unto you and peace from god our father and the lord jesus christ we are bound to thank god always for you brethren as it is meat it's it's beneficial it's profitable it's necessary it's it's right we thank god always for you in prayer because three things are happening to you and we're so proud of you number one your faith groweth exceedingly we're so glad that your faith in god is developing so rapidly and so well and then we're so glad about this he said i thank god for this that the love of every one of you toward of you all toward each other it aboundeth your charity your love toward each other is abounding it's growing it's a wonderful thing it's a mark of a healthy church when the brothers and sisters of that family love each other it's one thing to love god but how can you love god whom you haven't seen the bible says when you don't love your brother or your sister who you see every week and so that's what paul's saying i'm so proud of you because i watch your love developing he said so that we ourselves he said here's a third thing i'm really proud of you about and i pray and i thank god for it we ourselves glory in you in the churches of god for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure he said let me tell you something i brag on you to all kinds of churches in all kinds of places and i thank god for you because your faithfulness your faith in in this time of suffering it is actually encouraging other people do you understand that when you walk through a trial when you endure a valley when you're going through some terrible suffering and other believers see you faithfully serving god they may see you with your hands lifted tears flowing down your face and you know that those tears are part sadness and part worship but all they see is faithfulness do you know how that lifts other people because people look at you and they say if they can get through that i can get through what i'm going through it's a wonderful thing to be part of the family and paul said by the way that suffering he said that is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of god we'll come back to that in a second your suffering is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of god that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of god for which you also suffer paul states emphatically here your suffering is a righteous token your suffering is actually evidence that god is faithful it's a manifest token of the faithfulness of god because even in your suffering even in what you don't like what you wouldn't choose and what you don't understand god is faithful and god is working out his plan so even your suffering is actually evidence it's a manifest token that god is at work yes you are suffering now but that suffering has a purpose look what he says seeing it is a righteous thing with god to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you you don't have to deal with your enemies someday god's going to pay them back for everything they did against you so you leave them alone you let god deal with them he says uh that they're gonna be recompensed they're gonna receive tribulation those that trouble you but to you who are troubled he said rest with us just just take it easy just relax just know that god is in charge and we're going to enter into a heavenly rest when the lord jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels so suffering has a purpose in the future you believers you're going to be rewarded by the coming of the lord and your enemies those that trouble you they're going to be recompensed by the day of the lord so he he keeps using these two terms everyone say the coming of the lord so the coming of the lord is when jesus comes back and on that day the saints are going to be caught up we call it the rapture and you are going to be rewarded on that day one millisecond after the rapture takes place nothing that you've gone through is even going to be worthy of mentioning for a trillion years because you're going to be so thrilled to be in the presence of jesus you'll be rewarded at the coming of the lord but the enemies of the church the enemies of god the enemies of the bible they are going to be recompensed they're going to be paid back on the day of the lord that's after the rapture that's this time of judgment and he keeps using these two terms because he's trying to be clear because there's been so much confusion he said you can rest with us in our hope when you are troubled he said here's what god's going to do in this time of judgment that we call the day of the lord he said on those enemies of god in flaming fire he will take vengeance on them that know not god those that obey not the gospel of our lord jesus christ those enemies of the bible those enemies of god those enemies of the church they shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the lord it's not ever everlasting destruction is destruction that goes on forever and the biggest part of their eternal destruction is that they will be banished from the presence of the lord and from the glory of his power when he shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be admired in all them that believe because our testimony among you was believed in that day that's a king james tongue twister let's unpack it unbelievers or those that obey not the gospel they face a horrific future the words that describe the future of the unbeliever are these words flaming fire vengeance punishment everlasting destruction what's going to happen in the future after the rapture is that the world is going to receive from god the same rejection it gave to god and his word and his people those who say well i can't believe that a loving god would send sinners to hell i just can't believe it they don't understand the holiness of god nor do they understand the evil of sin a holy god who wants to have a holy heaven for his people he must take vengeance on sin vengeance is different than revenge vengeance satisfies god's eternal law revenge is just someone satisfying a personal grudge god doesn't hold a grudge against sinners let me be very clear he loved sinners so much that while we were yet sinners he loved us enough to come to this earth in a body of flesh and give his life on a cruel cross so that we could have the opportunity of redemption and if god almighty loved us enough to take on flesh that's what we celebrate at christmas time we call it the incarnation if he loved us enough to do that so he could die in agony shedding his blood just so we could go to heaven let me tell you god doesn't hold a grudge against sinners so it's not revenge it's vengeance that his law has been disobeyed and disregarded and so he will take vengeance to avenge his law he will say well i don't know about hell i don't think that's real i don't think god would do that i heard one definition that impacted me greatly hell is how much and how long you would have to suffer to pay for your own sins eternal torment hell is how much and how long you would have to suffer to pay for your own sins because that is actually what you are choosing to do if you reject god's plan of salvation but how different it will be for believers on that day because we obey the gospel paul says something here it's a king james tongue twister when he shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be admired in all them that believe he says because we've obeyed the gospel on that day we will be worshiping our god that word glorified means honored or exalted we will be worshiping our god we'll be giving him honor and glory forever and forever and then he says this is this is so so neat and to be admired that's not a word that we see very much in the bible to be admired and all them that believe that word admired means celebrated or or to be marveled at literally what paul just said is that while the the unjust while the unsaved while the unbeliever are going to experience eternal torment not the believer we're going to experience the glory of god forever and and we're going to admire marvel at the beauties and the wonders of heaven every time you turn a corner in heaven your jaw is going to drop open and your eyes are going to bug out and you're going to spend all of eternity looking at the wonders god has created in heaven it's not at all like taking a walk in a beautiful park and you go wow isn't that pretty you do that once then you go home and watch netflix and forget all about it no this is eternal amazement this is eternal marveling that for the endless ages you're going to marvel at the glory and the wonder that god has created for his people and everything that was bad about your life is going to be such a distant memory it won't even be worthy of speaking about it because forever you're going to be worshiping and glorifying god paul said this is why i can declare to you your suffering is going to be worth it and you can rest with us in this hope and it's all going to happen because the testimony we gave you because the gospel we preached unto you you believed it that's why you're going to get to go there paul's so overjoyed and overflowing about these believers he said wherefore also we pray always for you he said i just keep talking to jesus about you that our god would count you worthy of this calling i know you're suffering i know you're going through persecution i know you've got enemies and problems i just keep praying that god would count you worthy of this calling and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness and the work of faith with power i pray that in the middle of your worst day god gets in you by his spirit and he just turns it around for your good and he just turns it around to bless his kingdom why that the name of our lord jesus christ may be glorified in you and you in him according to the grace of our god in the lord jesus christ i am praying that god isn't just glorified when you come to church and lift your hands i'm praying that god is glorified in you when you're weeping tears and your head is down and your heart is dismayed i'm praying that god will be glorified in you on your worst day not just your best day and you in him because the coming of the lord is ahead for the church and because the day of the lord that judgment is ahead for the unsaved paul said i just keep praying for you i'm praying that you go in the coming of the lord that you don't remain behind to experience the day of the lord i pray always for you you must make it you must be ready you must stand strong you must be living always in light of the end you must always keep the rapture in view that day should impact today that day should impact this day the promise of his coming should impact what you do in your life this week in first thessalonians paul describes the coming of the lord everyone say the coming of the lord in first thessalonians he talks about the coming of the lord the rapture now in second thessalonians he's going to kind of switch gears just a bit and he's going to describe more so the day of the lord everyone say the day of the lord and the day of the lord this is god's judgment on sinners we know it as the tribulation we know it as the wrath of god the bible calls it in one place the time of jacob's trouble we know it as the great white throne judgment it's basically every way in which god judges the earth after the rapture the day of the lord it's the day when he sets everything right and writes every wrong now the coming of the lord and the day of the lord they are not the same event at all although there are times in the scripture when the rapture and the great tribulation are included together when the scripture speaks about the day of the lord and the reason is because it is that catching away of the church in the rapture that opens up everything that follows so there are occasions when the writer of scripture whoever it may be at that moment may say something about the day of the lord and it's obvious in the context that they're talking about the rapture and everything that follows but there are just as many times in scripture when those things are divided and so the coming of the lord or the rapture that's when when the church has that's what the church has to look forward to and the day of the lord everything that follows the rapture every kind of judgment that will be poured out the day of the lord that applies to the sinners to the world to the unjust and the unsaved is the catching away of the church that will remove the final hindrance to the tribulation it will remove the final hindrance to satan's deception and the antichrist take over the catching away of the church at the coming of the lord will remove the final holdback so that god's wrath may be poured out on the earth now in thessalonica the saints misunderstanding of these two distinct events it led to the confusion they faced in between the time of paul's letters everything that they were confused about came because they had misunderstood the coming of the lord versus the day of the lord and and similar understandings i've got to tell you similar misunderstandings rather they lead to many errors in bible interpretation today when people get the coming of the lord mixed up with the day of the lord or vice versa so let me just kind of give you this i think this way you may not uh but but i think this way if i can get it down kind of in like a laid out logical chart form uh it helps me think so let me consider these two events in the form of a chart over here you have the book of first thessalonians that first letter and in first thessalonians paul talks about the coming of the lord everyone say it one more time i'm trying to drill it in your head you know that everyone say the coming of the lord paul talks about the coming of the lord in first thessalonians this is when christ returns in the air and at this coming he comes secretly for the church we are caught up the world doesn't even know it could happen in the dead of night it could happen in the middle of the business day but instantly the church is gone and the world is oblivious to what has happened he will come secretly for the church and because of the coming of the lord believers will escape what comes after which is the great tribulation that's the coming of the lord and the coming of the lord let me tell you emphatically if you didn't get anything else out of this whole series you need to get this the coming of the lord could occur at any time and it will happen without warning that means you've got to be ready for the coming of the lord now over here in 2 thessalonians the the letter that we've begun tonight paul follows up on the teaching about the coming of the lord and in second thessalonians he discover discusses the day of the lord and in the day of the lord it's not christ returning in the air it's christ returning to the earth and this time he will come openly every eye will see him the bible says he'll come openly and he will come with his church and the very moment of that second coming that second appearing is the battle of armageddon when the lord in his church they interrupt the battle of armageddon and they turn back the forces of the devil and the antichrist and that's the very precise moment but everything following the rapture leads up to that moment it's all the day of the lord it's all a time of judgment and and the day of the lord is different than the coming of the lord at the coming of the lord believers escape the great tribulation but in the day of the lord unbelievers experience the great tribulation and so while the coming of the lord could occur at any time and it will happen without warning the day of the lord the earth will see it coming it will culminate at the end of the great tribulation specifically in the battle of armageddon now why doesn't the church have to face god's wrath and judgment on our sins along with the rest of the world great answer because my sins and the wrath of god on my disobedience they are under the blood that was shed on the cross of calvary 2000 years ago so the wrath of god does have to fall on my sin and on your sin but thank god jesus died in our place and so the wrath of god didn't come on you it fell on jesus whoa the judgment of god didn't fall on you it fell on jesus it wasn't your blood that had to be shed his blood was shed and so i don't have to face god's wrath god's wrath was already absorbed for me into the person of jesus christ and it is covered in his blood and i am forever grateful for that and i know you are too and i think we could even take a moment in the middle of a bible study after just looking at a chart to just say jesus i'm so thankful you took my sin you took my shame you took my pain you took my sickness but most of all you took the wrath that needed to fall on my wickedness and see it wow my goodness and so paul he gets strong here now because he he's just said all of that and now he says now we beseech you brethren i'm begging you i'm pleading with you by the coming of our lord jesus christ and by our gathering together unto him that's what's going to happen on that day that you not be that you be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled neither by spirit nor by word here it is what i was talking about earlier nor by letter as from us if somebody writes a letter says it's from paul and says you missed the rapture and you're living in the the great tribulation just because you got a little bit of problem don't listen to them don't listen to people that say to you and somebody had don't listen to people that say you've missed the coming of the lord and the day of christ is at hand that you're living in the tribulation that that you've missed it somehow somebody pretending to be paul had taken advantage of these new believers and had written a letter to them in thessalonica and we don't have the letter but it's obvious from the context they had deceived many of these beautiful believers into thinking we've missed the coming of the lord and we're now living in the day of the lord and since they were suffering persecution and it was pretty intense persecution it was pretty easy to convince them that the great tribulation was indeed happening but paul had already told them in his first letter you remember in first thessalonians 1 and 10 he said jesus delivered us from the wrath to come in first thessalonians 5 and 9 he said god has not appointed us to wrath so paul told them emphatically in his first letter that god's wrath will not be poured out on the church and so now he says don't be shaken in mind don't be troubled don't be troubled in your spirit don't be troubled if somebody says something don't be troubled even if somebody writes a letter and pretends it's from paul don't be troubled what he says to the church is calm down boy i wanted to say that all year long ever since about the middle of march just calm down i know it gets rough out there sometimes i know it's not nice i know it's confusing and i know it can be a little bit uh concerning and disconcerting but but but just calm down jesus is in control and the church isn't headed for the wrath of god the church is headed for the rapture when jesus christ comes back for us so just calm down turn to your neighbor and just say calm down you're going to have to say it loud because you've got a mask on say calm down now let me tell you one critical difference between the coming of the lord and the day of the lord and paul's about ready to dive into it in this chapter there are no prophetic signs zero zip zilch there are no prophetic signs left to be fulfilled before the coming of the lord if you hear otherwise be careful because you could be in danger of being deceived and thinking that it's no big deal and you've got lots of time to get ready there are no prophetic signs left to be fulfilled before the coming of the lord however and this is where it got confusing for thessalonica and this is where it gets confusing for some people today there are prophetic events that must happen before the day of the lord that time of judgment the coming of our lord jesus christ paul says it right here we beseech you by the coming of our lord jesus christ the coming of our lord jesus christ must happen first so paul tells them since that has to happen first and it hasn't happened yet there's no way that the day of christ is at him there's no way we're in the day of the lord if the coming of the lord hasn't happened yet the day of the lord that time of judgment cannot happen before the coming of the lord the rapture of the church and so he bears down quite sternly here because he doesn't want them to be confused he says let no man deceive you by any means for that day everyone say that day he's talking about the day of the lord here not the rapture not the coming of the lord he's talking about what he just called the day of christ or the day of the lord that time of judgment that will fall on the earth that's what he's talking about he said don't worry that you're in the tribulation don't worry that you're in that day because that day shall not come except or until or unless some things happen first first of all except there come a falling away first and secondly that man of sin be revealed the son of perdition that's the antichrist who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called god or that is worship so that he as god here's something else that will happen he as god will sit in the temple of god showing himself that he is god so here's what paul just said he said i know some of you in thessalonica you're concerned that you've missed the rapture and you're living in the tribulation because you've got some persecution going on but let me tell you you're not in the great tribulation because that day the day of the lord the day of judgment the tribulation shall not come until these things happen first of all before god's judgment is poured out on the earth the world will see a falling away the word is apostasia apostate we would say and that literally means in the greek language a revolt staged by a military commander in this case it will be that spirit of antichrist it will be a total rebellion against god and his word and righteousness and then another thing that will happen before the great tribulation leading up to the great tribulation is that the world will see the rise of antichrist the son of perdition he will rise to a place of absolute power there is no world leader on the scene today that could even come close to paralleling the absolute power that the antichrist will be granted he will oppose quote all that is called god he will oppose everything that is holy righteous everything that is moral he will exalt himself so that the world these smug atheists and agnostics they will worship him as god and then paul said and by the way he will set himself in the temple of god that's that jewish temple in jerusalem he will set himself in the jewish temple and declare himself to be god he's trying to usurp the place of jehovah god now i can tell you tonight as we teach this bible study near the end of the year 2020 that that jewish temple in jerusalem has not yet been rebuilt so that cannot happen yet however in paul's day there was a temple over in jerusalem so it would have been easy for those people to get confused and a little worried thinking well there is a temple over there any day now he could set himself up the antichrist in the temple but we know from our vantage point right now there is no chance for that to happen yet could the coming of the lord happen yes it could any instant can the day of the lord happen yet not yet there are still some things that are left to happen before the day of judgment but we have no idea how many weeks or months it's going to take into the tribulation for the antichrist to set everything up so the rapture could happen now the rapture could happen tonight the rapture could happen before you stand up to leave so while i'm not worried about trying to toughen up for the day of the lord because i don't expect to be here i am highly concerned and greatly motivated about being constantly ready for the coming of the lord because that could happen at any moment the bible describes it in the twinkling of an eye think about it these events that i just listed this great falling away not just backsliding but the whole world will leave its sensibilities the whole world will leave morality in any semblance of godliness think about that think about the antichrist this son of perdition this beast this wicked ruler that he will rise up and literally seize control of the world system and the world will worship him think about it and we are already beginning to see some of that coming together no we haven't seen the antichrist yet no we haven't seen the fullness of this great falling away that's gonna happen but boy can't you can't you read uh and watch in the media and can't you see it beginning to happen you can almost see the wheels beginning to turn that people are losing their sense they're falling away from any sense of morality any sense of godliness any sense of god's word that wheel's already starting to turn can't you see it as we talk about the great reset of society and and one world government and we need leadership right now can't you see the wheels beginning to turn to set us up for the antichrist and did you know i've stood in this building in the temple institute in jerusalem do you know that the jews are already building all of the implements that are going to be used in that third temple they're already working on it i've seen the harps i've seen the golden candlestick i've seen the little uh ladles that that carry the blood from the altar they've already made a bunch of that stuff the wheels are already turning so what i'd like to say to you is that if those things are not going to fully happen until after the rapture but they're already beginning to happen now then i got to tell you the coming of jesus has got to be inching closer and closer and closer and closer every day that you live every minute that you breathe and so above everything else your number one job is to get yourself ready and keep yourself ready for the coming of the lord i wish you just lift up your hands and acknowledge the presence of the lord in this room the elders had this down just right that when you preach about the coming of the lord jesus just kind of shows up and elbows his way in by his power because he wants his church to be ready he's so anxious to see you on rapture day i hope you're equally anxious to see him on rapture day my goodness thank you jesus for the witness of your spirit in this room this is the kind of atmosphere that so many of us that are a bit older we grew up in where the elders would preach about the coming of the lord over and over again and it follows our responsibility to not lose sight of the coming of the lord the most important event on god's calendar it follows our responsibility to not lose sight of that even though we've got many more distractions in our lives than the elders had in theirs paul says don't you remember that when i was yet with you when i was back with you in thessalonica i told you these things you shouldn't be confused i told you these things and now you know what withholdeth you know what's keeping the antichrist from getting his agenda together you know what's holding back the floodgates of evil and filth and sin you know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time the antichrist will be revealed but he can't do it yet because there's something in his way for the mystery of iniquity doth already work it's already beginning to happen the program of the antichrist and satan is already being pulled together for the last of the last days the mystery of iniquity is already at work only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way satan would love to reveal his man of sin as soon as possible because he knows that when the world worships that antichrist that world leader they will actually be worshipping the devil and he knows that so he wants that so if he wants it so bad and if he do it in a heartbeat why doesn't he because he can't right now he is prevented from seizing control he has prevented from implementing his agenda by the holy spirit that is empowering the church in this earth this is the only thing holding back the all-out onslaught of hell against the world it is you but when the coming of the lord happens and the church is removed from this earth also the holy spirit is lifted from this earth all of that godly influence and immediately after the rapture all hell will break loose on planet earth it will allow the antichrist to quickly move into position and that's why the day of the lord the tribulation will be such a devastating period for the world and paul says it clearly this mystery of iniquity doth already work you feel it you can sense it you can see evidence of it but the holy ghost who prevents hinders delays and restrains the devil will continue to hold back satan's agenda until that moment when the church is taken out of the way in the twinkling of an eye out of the way of what out of the way of the judgment that is coming that's what we're going to be taken out of the way of we're going to be snatched out of here before the judgment of god falls on this earth but once the church is gone the antichrist will be given absolute power over this earth during the great tribulation and the world paul says will be enthralled with his signs his miracles his lying wonders and satan will empower that leader to do these things and the world will be totally deceived totally and the antichrist will have full control he will do whatever he wants to do and nothing will be able to stop him during the great tribulation but his days are numbered and then shall that wicked be revealed and the lord will consume him with the spirit of his mouth and he will destroy the antichrist and his kingdom with the brightness of his coming even this one this wicked one this son of perdition this beast this antichrist even him who's coming is after the working of satan with all power and signs and lying wonders the wonders the miracles aren't a lie because they're fake they're a lie because they lead you to believe deception that's why they're lying wonders now the antichrist should not scare you because god is going to judge him god will look after the antichrist but i'll tell you what should concern you it is the antichrist agenda that should concern you because it is easy to be deceived and because the deception is already starting to happen now even before the rapture now i want to read you a couple of the most to me the most terrifying verses in the new testament paul says and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish why do they perish why are they destroyed when god's judgment is visited on the antichrist kingdom why are they still here in the day of the lord when the antichrist is in control what in the world is going on with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish why are they still here because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved but it's worse than that and for this cause for what cause because they didn't receive in their heart a love for god's truth for this cause god shall send them a strong delusion our friend brother stone king is fond of saying if the devil sends you a delusion or if man sends you a delusion you can recover from that but if god sends you a delusion there's no recovery from that and because these people refuse to love god's truth before the rapture they will be here after the rapture and god will send them a strong delusion that they should believe a lie they'll follow the antichrist hook line and sinker that they all might be damned who believe not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness you can believe what you want and interpret how you like but i read that verse and here's what i see i believe tragically that the antichrist most loyal followers and most loyal promoters after the rapture will be those who rejected god's truth before the rapture they received not the love of the truth and that's why god himself will send them strong delusion they cannot recover from that they will be deceived and damned on the other side of the rapture it is so important that we embrace and love and cherish and follow and preach and teach and believe and hold to god's truth i don't just endure the truth that the preacher preaches i love the truth that the preacher preaches i don't just read the bible and chafe at what it says to me because i don't like it or it inconveniences me no i love the truth of the word of god i want to receive that love for the truth because i don't want there to be a shred of a millionth of a percent of a chance that i could miss the coming of the lord and remain to see the day of the lord now what i will next say is controversial today it was not controversial just a few decades ago in the church in basically just about any kind of breed of christianity but today it's controversial we've been inundated with a bunch of uh after the rapture movies that are totally fiction we've been inundated with series of best-selling books that that dress up false doctrine in a work of fiction and and make us all feel like it's going to be fine and it'll all work out so what i'm about to say would not have been controversial if i'd have spoken it 30 years ago but speaking it tonight it's controversial now not because the bible has changed but because the church in many quarters has moved off its moorings and is now believing what sounds appealing to the ears the bible tells us that we cannot be saved unless god's spirit draws us and the same word of god says that his spirit he who now letteth he who is preventing the devil's agenda his spirit will be removed from the earth at the rapture now you draw your own conclusion but i can read scripture that if it is the spirit of god that draws us and you cannot be saved without the spirit of god drawing you and the spirit of the lord is removed it removes itself from the earth when he raptures the church then it is impossible to experience the new birth which includes the infilling of the holy ghost after the rapture which leads me to make this statement which is now controversial in the 21st century church you cannot be saved and put in the bride of christ after the rapture will god work with other people oh yes there are tribulation martyrs there are the 144 000 there are the jewish people god will turn his attention to a lot of other groups but once the rapture of the church happens the rapture seals and completes the bride of christ the church of the living god so i say to you again disagree with me if you want but be very careful that in your disagreement you're not giving yourself an excuse to not be vibrating with anticipation and expectancy of the coming of the lord be very careful that your your debate with me is not giving you license to just kind of relax and not worry about it i'm not concerned about the antichrist i don't intend to go toe-to-toe with him and if i had to i'd pray him down in jesus name just like we've been praying the devil down in jesus name but i'm not worried about him what i am concerned about is getting a church ready to present a bride a spotless bride to jesus christ on that day and that day is coming at us like a freight train and you've got to be ready debate prophecy all you want but be ready right now for the coming of the lord if you don't think it's going to happen for a thousand years fine but be ready tonight because it could happen tonight [Applause] oh lift your hands in the presence of god see when the elders preach about the coming of the lord conviction just kind of settled in like a blanket it's doing that again because we're closer to the rapture than the elders ever thought of being they're already there we're going to meet them in the air but we've got to be ready to go meet them and go meet jesus yes yes yes yes ah oh i love you jesus oh i love you jesus brother and sister mother and father children young people we've got to be ready for the rapture what a joke to spend your life coming to an apostolic church and then miss the rapture because you got enthralled in the things of the world at the last moment god snatched you away from the fires of hell you owe him your life we deserve to be ready we better be ready god wants us to be ready so let's be ready paul says but i'm talking about the day of the lord and the great tribulation and the antichrist but that doesn't describe you dear brethren the people that didn't receive the love for the truth that doesn't describe you because you do love the truth dear church that's why god chose you we are bound to give thanks always to god for you brethren beloved of the lord because god from the beginning has chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit god didn't just love you enough to save you he loved you enough to sanctify you to put in your life boundaries that keep the world away from you and you away from the world through sanctification of the spirit and the belief of truth where unto he called you by our gospel paul said i had the privilege of preaching the gospel to you and you've obtained the glory of our lord jesus christ so brothers and sisters here at ccc those of you that are watching online we're so glad you're joining us when we see the signs of the times swirling all around us when we feel our world convulsing with the birth pains of prophecy when we hear of wars and violence and plagues and pestilence when we sense the encroaching darkness of a culture that is spinning out of control there is only one thing for the church to do he said therefore brethren stand fast stand fast hold on calm down you don't have to get looking around and get fearful and frightened keep going live holy pray fervently be faithful stay ready love the truth and look up because your redemption is drawing nigh therefore brethren stand fast hold the traditions which you've been taught don't let the world talk you out of your apostolic pentecostal heritage hold fast the traditions which you've been taught paul said whether by word or by our epistle now our lord jesus christ himself and god even our father which has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace i'm praying that god in these turbulent treacherous times that god will comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work i'm praying for you because jesus is coming if paul could say with conviction jesus is coming 2000 years ago oh my goodness when we see the signs of the times all around us we can say with strong assurance jesus is coming would you lift up your hands i just got one more quick thing and we'll get you on your way but would you lift up your hands let's not rush out of the presence of god and the moving of his spirit and the weight and the conviction of his word tonight allah yosa kathy come on back i just need keyboard we're going to sing that old song the elders taught us he's coming soon i worship you jesus i worship you jesus you have probably read this or heard this or seen this our pastor's wife sister kathy read it at the beginning of prayer meeting on saturday i posted it early yesterday morning on social media [Music] many other people have been sharing this our friends pastor marvin and claudette walker they've led a church in troy michigan called faith apostolic church for the last 20 years but before that they were leaders in bible quizzing for our fellowship they led tupelo children's mansion for a couple of years and they've taught family life center seminars all over north america and the world they have some great kids who are now adults they've got grandkids and their kids are in ministry a good godly family and these two brother marvin and sister claudette walker are wonderful godly people and they know how to hear from god this is a prophetic word that was given to sister claudette walker on sunday november 29 2020 and she says specifically it was not just for our church it was for the body of christ and when i posted this online i said this i'm amazed but i am not at all surprised at how closely the prophetic word given to sister claudette walker how closely it paralleled what the lord jesus spoke to our church family on that very same sunday just 10 days ago it was a message called worn out we had just newly entered into the orange phase of restrictions we did not have very many people in the building that day but something about that word from the lord caught on in troy michigan it caught on here at ccc and i have heard from literally dozens and dozens and dozens of pastors in fact there are several that are playing the message worn out for their churches tonight i got some texts today something is going on when god speaks to that many pastors and that many saints and that many churches all at the same time all on the same day in a very similar world here's the prophetic word that sister claudette walker took the time to write down my precious children i would say unto you today that i understand that you do not understand i feel your confusion i feel your heaviness you have cried out to me but many of the things that you have asked of me i have denied i understand that this is difficult for you my call unto you today my children is to trust me i am asking you to trust me i have you in a spiritual gym i am adding weights to the barbell each day this is not because i'm an uncaring father but because i am a loving father i know how strong your spiritual muscles must be to endure these last days and so i add more weights to the barbell your faith muscles must exert and become stronger to fight and to stand in this day when the spirit of antichrist is exponentially increasing every day the war is raging my children and i am preparing you to become victors do not despise the process that i am putting you through i am causing you to lift heavy weights every time that you lift the weight and declare my word in spite of how you feel your faith in me grows faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of the lord so i urge you to bathe yourself every day in my word cling to my word speak my word in spite of what you see and your faith will grow you will not only make it through these days but you will be strong and do exploits i must not pamper you i must not coddle you but i must train you my coming is nigh even at the door yet before i come there will be a great outpouring of my spirit i am preparing you to bear the weight of my glory stand against these evil spirits that come against you my children although i allow heaviness upon the inhabitants of the earth this day i am raising you up for i am training you now i ask you when i come will i find faith on the earth the enemy is trying to sever your faith for that is your lifeline to me whatever you must do do not allow that to happen cling to my word cling to me like never before i am requiring blind faith from you when you walk in darkness still trust in the light of my promises be patient my children i love you with an everlasting love i love you so much that i am training you to stand and to trust in the process of my plan what a powerful prophetic word that was loosed just 10 days ago at the same time god was speaking to our church and many many other churches god wants you to be ready and until that instant which could come at any moment when he receives us to himself until that moment he wants you to be ready and he wants you to be strong we don't need a weak church limping out of here just kind of scraped off the the pile of the dung of this filthy culture and this sin cursed earth we don't need a weak church we need a strong church that knows their god that knows how to pray that knows how to war against the enemy that's what we need right now that's your destiny and your calling you've been so receptive to the word of the lord tonight and i thank you for it just one more time would you lift up every thing you've got in your spirit in your heart with your voice would you just lift up everything you've got and would you touch god and let god touch you because god wants to restore somebody that you've been floundering because you just felt so worn down god wants to restore somebody that you've been wobbling because you've had the devil attacking your life god wants to restore you and renew you it's not your destiny to be weak it's your destiny to be strong it's your not your destiny to be lost it's your destiny to be caught up together with him [Music] oh i need some spirit-filled apostolic people to just lift up your voice right now in the presence of god in the moving of his spirit i just need some people to just lift up a prayer right now lift up a prayer right now god wants you to be ready god wants you to be ready you must be ready you've got to be ready don't let anything distract you don't let anything cause you to lose out you got to be ready you got to be ready oh jesus what conviction of the holy ghost is in this room today [Music] i worship you jesus i give you praise god he's coming [Music] soon [Music] you

Channel: Capital Community Church

Views: 5,956

Rating: 4.9523811 out of 5

Keywords: capital, community, church, fredericton, nb, new, brunswick, canada, upc, upci, united, pentecostal, church, international, apostolic, christian, preaching, sermons, sermon, raymond, woodward, jack, leaman, matthew, woodward, bible, study, biblical teaching, bible, study

Id: DonYoVRmU6Y

Length: 66min 34sec (3994 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 09 2020