Revelation’s Most Startling Prediction - Pastor Mark Finley

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] as we share god's word together as you come each evening if you have been here four nights be sure to pick up your hope for troubled times if you are he have been here seven nights and we i hope you scanned in today if you've been coming regularly if you're here for the first time we're not doing new registrations today but if you are here for the first time and you just have come in today there was no registration but if you've been coming regularly this book called hope's end time secrets charts diagrams pictures about the second coming of christ you don't want to miss that you can pick that up tonight we are today having a very full day of preaching from god's word particularly the book of revelation and this morning i'll speak on revelations most startling message and then pastor wilson will be speaking on why are there so many different denominations one god one bible but why so many different denominations we know that this morning would be a great blessing and then tonight of course our grand glorious climax the day after tomorrow or what heaven is going to be really like just now we'll begin our meeting with prayer and invite pastor vic van sheikh to come pastor van sike is a godly pastor an evangelist a christian administrator responsible for churches here in the indiana conference so pastor pray for us let's pray together heavenly father we thank you for this beautiful day that you've given us we're so thankful that we can come here once again this morning to study your word and we believe that you have been present with us night after night and we believe that you're going to be present with us today i pray that you will be with pastor finley as he shares the message that you have for him to share with us today may you fill him with your holy spirit and may you give him strength that he needs to share your word this morning thank you for the goodness and grace that you have shown us and thank you for the wonderful hope that we have because of our faith in you and that you're coming back again soon we pray all of this in christ's name we pray amen thank you pastor charles hagerbrooks has blessed us with his music and there's a special song that charles has sung for us over the last few years the song is called i have returned some of you may have heard it it is a song by mary jane wilkin she wrote the song and came to one of our meetings she is a great songwriter wrote for many of the country music stars in nashville tennessee she in fact if you knew the know the name chris christophson mary jane wilkin made him actually built his career for him just an amazing songwriter but when she went to the top of her profession she became very discouraged disillusioned with what she was doing discouraged with her work and she looked back and said my life is not worth very much at all and she went she took a gun one day and very wealthy woman went to kill herself and she stopped the gun didn't go off and she knelt down and began to pray that god would bring her back to her senses as she did words came to her mind i've returned to the god of my fathers and she wrote the song i have returned based on her own experience of drifting from god and coming back to god when she heard charles sing that she could have had any singer in america sing it she came to charles and she said charles i want you to record i have returned the words of the song penetrate our hearts the words of the song lead us to a deep conviction to stay faithful to god charles i've returned okay okay it's ted in the booth with the song charles were there boy they're booting that song up i think it was what um we were in gatlinburg tennessee weren't we tennessee yeah mary john wilkes fantastic songwriter you may know her with the song one day at a time sweet jesus it's all that i'm asking for she wrote that song after traveling with the guy named you know the guy chris christopherson yeah she kind of populated his pop made her his career popular didn't you that's exactly right all right let's sing i've returned i have returned to the god of my childhood she wrote this song after having attempted suicide yeah i was telling them about that charles with a double barrel shotgun yeah hey if we don't have the music you can do it you can do it acapella charles all right let's go i have a return to the god of my childhood to the same [Music] simple faith as a child i once knew like the prodigal song he's amazing i long for my loved ones for the comfort of home and the god i outgrew but i have returned to the god of my childhood he is bethlehem's baby he's a prophet's messiah but he's jesus to me eternal deity [Music] praise his name [Music] i have a return i have returned to the god of my father with unfailing faith i'm the child of his heart now i just heard a shout from the angels in glory [Music] singing praises to his name that child has come home i have returned to the god of my mother i learned at her need that he is a lily of the valley but he's jesus to me eternal deity praise his name i have a return [Music] i have a return to the yahweh of judah on my knees i did fall where was once stood now the lesson i've learned as i worked my way homeward the creator of all he is a comfort man [Music] i have a return to the father of abraham he is the shepherd of moses [Music] who call him the great i am [Music] but he's jesus to me eternal deity i'll praise his name i have a return i have returned [Music] to the god of my fathers with unfailing faith he is the god of my heart he's the shepherd of moses he's a great i'm [Music] i have a return [Applause] and thank you for being so flexible to honor the lord you know one time charles and i were in jamaica in a great city square where there was a meeting people gathered together it was kind of a celebration of god's work there and at the last minute the host of the meeting said pastor mark come and speak and i said to charles after i speak and we're outdoors there's a lot of chaos you know and a lot of activity going on and after i i was walking on the platform i said charles after i speak sing i've returned so they're outdoors in the uh square the city square with all that commotion around i spoke and charles get up and saying i've returned i made a simple appeal and people began to come to jesus it's amazing to see how god uses music to touch hearts to change lives one time charles and i were in south africa i was speaking at vic university one of the top 50 universities in the world and then we pitched a tent out in sweto and uh i had said to charles if you have been to africa before he said no mark i've never been to africa i said all right i'm going to be out and sweat i was preaching in this tent it was a it was a tough time and charles came he walked into the tent in the choir walked off the stage they began to sing welcome home brother and watched him around the tent it's just he and i have had so many amazing experiences together we've seen the spirit of god come down we've seen the lord touch hearts through the preached word of god and through charles is music would you bow your heads with me again as we just ask god to be with us especially father we're talking about the second coming of christ and there's nothing as important as the second coming as far as a historical event that soon will come you created the world once you entered into human life and died once and you are coming again and i pray lord that this meeting would clearly reveal just how you are going to return but most of all move our hearts and prepare us for that day in christ's name amen some of you may remember that the book of revelation can be summarized in four words pastor wilson talked about that last night jesus wins and satan loses revelations final events need not frighten us they need not scare us they can encourage us with the sense that we're living on the knife edge of eternity as you think back you may remember the flight of the columbia space shuttle there's something about space that fascinates us something about space that intrigues us something about space that ministers or speaks to our curiosity the on january 16 2003 the columbia blasted off it had seven astronauts aboard there were five men two women and for the first time an israeli astronaut was going to be going into space at that blast-off at the lift-off the propulsion was so great that it ripped a piece of foam off the challenger that piece of foam hit some tiles but unbeknownst to mission control those one of the tiles or two or three were broken and the wires began to heat they heated up above normal nothing happened initially until on february 1 2003 the columbia was going to enter our atmosphere again and as it did that spaceship exploded all seven were killed all of us one day are going to go on a space journey but here's the incredible good news this journey will not only begin well but it's going to end well when jesus comes in to return the journey that we are going to go on this journey through space we have a commander that is committed to take us home our commander is not going to abort the mission the final mission is not going to explode some way so that uh men and women on that mission experience fatalities we are going to travel beyond the moon 240 000 miles away travel beyond the planets travel beyond the sun 93 million miles away think of what it's going to be like traveling through space speeding through the air traveling up through orion that great chasm in space that even scientists now wonder about what's at the end of that traveling to the throne of god seeing the golden gleaming gates of the city of god open and hearing the angels seeing welcome home earth beings we've ascended from earth we've traveled through space we have the warm welcome of the angels and the warm embrace of heavenly beings the entire theme of the book of revelation is jesus christ jesus is the central theme of the book of revelation now when you look at revelation there are two aspects of it two what i would call foci of revelation we have jesus the lamb of god and we have jesus the coming king 28 times in the book of revelation jesus is mentioned at the as the lamb of god that's four times seven seven in the book of revelation is a symbol of perfection you got seven churches seven seals seven trumpets seven branch candlestick that's a symbol of perfection four in the book of revelation is a symbol of universality so when you have four times seven 28 times the lamb of god is mentioned christ the perfect universal savior for all mankind so jesus is mentioned as the lamb in the book of revelation but he's also mentioned in the book of revelation as the coming king and the theme of the book of revelation is the christ that came once to provide our salvation is coming again to take us home when jesus came the first time he was born as a babe in bethlehem's manger and very very few people recognized his first coming in a sense we might say it was a silent coming there were a few shepherds there later the wise men came but most people had no idea about the coming of christ the first time they didn't sense that he was a messiah when he comes the second time that's going to be dramatically different nobody is going to miss it god's end time plan of just how jesus is going to come is revealed throughout the book of revelation and in his word let's look at some of the passages in revelation that talk about the return of jesus and this coming king in revelation chapter 11 verse 15 we read the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our lord and of his christ and he shall reign forever and ever throughout scripture kingdoms rise and fall babylon rises and falls media persia rises and falls greece rises and falls rome rises and falls throughout history nations rise and nations fall but the kingdom of christ will last forever and ever and ever and ever revelation 11 verse 15 the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our lord and his christ and he shall reign forever and ever here's another prophecy in revelation revelation chapter 14 that i looked and behold a white cloud and on the cloud one sat like the son of man and the scripture says that um this christ that came that sat like the son of man on his head was a golden crown and in his hand a sharp sickle now now in the bible for example a a sharp sickle in scripture represents reaping a trumpet represents victory so when you think of christ coming with this sharp sickle that represents judgment it represents harvest when he comes with the trumpet that represents the glory of victory so when jesus comes again it's judgment for all humanity that final judgment when the righteous are caught up to meet him in the sky the wicked living are destroyed with the brightness of his coming and the trumpet blast of victory jesus wins satan loses we find that revelation 14 the harvest idea we then go to revelation chapter 19 and i saw heaven opened and behold a white horse and upon that white horse he who sat on him was called faithful and true and in righteousness he judges and makes war the scripture goes on to put it this way and the armies in heaven clothed with white linen fine linen white and clean followed him on their white horses now in scripture a white horse is a symbol of purity victory and triumph when the roman romans attacked and overthrew a particular country they would leave and return the general wood on a white horse leading the captives so look at the symbols we've studied so far in revelation jesus is the lamb of god he is the one that died for us the perfect savior 28 times in the book of revelation he's mentioned jesus is the coming king every prophecy in revelation every sequence in revelation ends with victory for christ not one of those sequences ends with a defeat for jesus if you look at the seven churches the seven seals the seven trumpets every prophecy points to one place every prophecy comes to a glorious climax every prophecy finds its focal point in jesus christ who comes as king of kings jesus who comes as lord of lords jesus who comes to defeat wickedness jesus who comes to destroy evil jesus who comes to vanquish the powers of hell the christ who triumphed over the principalities and powers of hell will indeed come again streaming down the corner of the sky but the question says there are so many different ideas about how jesus will come back the second time and how can i know that i'll be ready when he comes in the scripture the bible leaves no question about the return of christ now there will be a great deal of deception before jesus comes jesus warns us of that luke the 17th chapter the 23rd verse and they will say to you look here or look there do not go after them or follow them the scripture continues matthew 24 26 therefore if they say to you look he's in the desert do not go out so there will be deceptions there will be those that say christ has appeared he's there in new york city and he's healing the sick in the masses he's there in tokyo he's there in paris you know the bible says in revelation chapter 12 the devil will come down upon you knowing he has a short time wouldn't it be just like the devil and his evil angels to masquerade as a being of dazzling brightness to deceive the multitudes just before the true coming of christ wouldn't it be just like the devil to try to pull off a counterfeit second coming to deceive thousands of people what if there were stadiums that were packed what if the devil put his spell upon people and made them sick and then took that off and they were apparently healed but the bible tells us not to be deceived because we know that when jesus comes he's not going to come down walking upon this earth he's not going to come down and appear in this place or in that place the bible tells us just how jesus is going to come luke 17 verse 24. let's read it together from the screen you ready to read luke 17 verse 24 reading together for as lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven so also the son of man will be in this day so when jesus comes it's like lightning flashes from one end of heaven to the other it is not some secret event it is not some silent event christ is coming down from above he won't rise up from below he's not coming to walk among human beings as a great healer or a miracle worker christ coming also is not some kind of spiritual mystical event in which jesus comes into the hearts of human beings and there is kind of a age of aquarius or peace on earth there are some who teach that christ is going to come secretly in some kind of a rapture we're going to talk about that a little later in the lecture and look at those passages there's others who have the idea that when christ comes he's going to usher in a new millennium and that the second coming of christ in the bible is really the coming of christ to the hearts of people and jesus is going to bring peace on earth now don't misunderstand me christ wants to come into our hearts change our lives from within but the only time there will be permanent peace on earth is when the prince of peace descends from the sky the only time there will be peace on earth permanently is when jesus comes down from the sky and we're caught up to meet him in the air and ultimately his holy city descends the coming of christ is not some nirvana event but the coming of christ is a very real a very literal event let's look at it in scripture you remember jesus stood on the mountain there about ready to ascend to heaven man steps off a mountain and goes down god steps off a mountain and goes up because the laws of gravity cannot keep the creator of gravity down and the bible says the angels there are are there beside the disciples now i can just imagine that scene in my mind christ is about ready to come to heaven and the angels look at the father and they say father the disciples are going to go through some very traumatic times father the disciples or many of them will be persecuted all of them except one may suffer will suffer a martyr's death they say to god god can we go and encourage their hearts so angels descend from the realms of glory and they come down and the disciples are standing there gazing up into heaven they're straining their necks to see the last lingering vision of the christ that's walked with them and talked with them and been with them for these last three and a half years and the angel says this same jesus the same jesus that walked the dusty streets of galilee the same jesus that walked the cobblestone streets of jerusalem the same jesus that touched the eyes of the blind they were open the same jesus had touched the ears of the deaf and they were unstopped the same jesus that touched the withered man's legs and it was healed this same jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven so shall come again as in like manner as you've seen him go up into heaven when the angels say jesus is coming again i believe it what about you friends the bible says that christ is going to come in like manner he ascended in the clouds and he will descend in the clouds a very real christ ascended and a very real christ will descend so christ's coming is literal christ's coming is also a visible event it's not simply an event that takes place that we perceive in our hearts it's a very real literal event and it's a visible event the bible says revelation 1 7 behold let's read it behold he's coming with cloud he he he might come right maybe he'll come right it's likely he'll come right what's what scripture say he is coming with what clouds and a few people are going to see him every eye is going to see the eyes of the young in the eyes of the old the eyes of the rich in the eyes of the poor african eyes will see him come asian eyes will see him come south american eyes will see him come and we will see him come every i will see him come outside pastor mark we live in a round world how can every eye see him come the bible says he's going to come as lightning right what is the speed of light the speed of light is 186 000 miles a second that means in far less than a second jesus could circle the earth and your eyes cannot discern a fraction of a second so if jesus is coming with the speed of light and the speed of light is 186 000 miles a second he can circle the earth so quickly that every eye could see him and discernibly it would be at the same time so the bible says he's coming every eye is going to see him doesn't say he's coming some kind of secretly does it christ's coming also the bible says it's going to be an audible event so it's a it's a literal event it's a visible event and it's also an audible event first thessalonians chapter 4 verse 16 says for the lord himself shall descend from heaven with a what that was a great shout with a what with a shout yeah why do you shout a shout why do you shout a shout out you shout a shout because you want to get attention right so this doesn't seem very silent does it for the lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel in the trumpet of god that's a trumpet of glory the trumpet of victory the dead in christ are going to rise first incidentally it's a little strange to think if the dead already went to heaven why are they going to rise you see that's what the bible teaches 53 times it teaches death is but asleep so when you die you rest there's no consciousness christ comes and he raises the dead and then the bible says that as the dead in christ rise it tells us that we together with them are going to be caught up to meet the lord in the air i remember one night i was speaking about the second coming of christ and the glorious day that when jesus christ would come again and when the graves would open and jesus would return and as i was speaking i said how can i ever make this real to an audience and i thought what if what if i just describe an imaginary scene and i said let's suppose you had a little baby six months old and the baby had a terrible crib death it pulled the blanket over its head and the baby died and you would go to that grave and you would just weep over that grave but one day lightning shines from the east to the west one day the earth trembles one day jesus comes in the clouds of heaven and that baby is resurrected and put in your arms and i kept thinking how can i ever make this real to my audience and i said what if that little baby's name was amanda i had never used that name in a lecture before and what if little amanda was raised from the dead mama and what if she was put in your arms and together you felt those little hands on your cheeks again you looked into that little baby's eyes again and you saw her smile again and together with the angels you ascend to heaven where there's no sickness suffering and death at the end of the meeting a lady came up to me said pastor we got to talk i said what do you mean she said how do you know how did you know i said how did i know what how did you know that i had a little baby by the name of amanda and the baby died at six months and i came to your meeting tonight so depressed i had gone to the psychologist and the psychologist said the only way you can be free from this terrible memory is to buy a doll name it amanda and then go have another burial for that doll and say goodbye to the doll she said pastor i didn't know what to do i was so discouraged because of the death of my baby but i came to your meeting tonight and i saw that death is not the end i saw there was going to be a glorious resurrection and when you read that passage in first thessalonians 4 17 then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up what are the next two words everybody together with them in the clouds to meet the lord lord in the air someday you can see that father that died someday you can see that mother that died someday that child that is so sick that you put in that grave is going to rise up again and we're going to travel through the clouds together no more separation no more heartache no more sorrow no more death no more longing for that warm embrace that you cannot feel any longer jesus is coming every eye will see him every ear will hear him and the bible says so we shall ever be with the lord christ's coming is also a glorious event we read about it for his lightening comes from the east and flashes to the west so will the coming of the son of man be a real christ is coming in the sky a real christ is coming to resurrect the dead a real christ is coming to take us home the journey on earth may be long the road on earth may be rough sickness suffering death accidents but yet the son of man is going to appear in the heavens now jesus coming is not going to be it's not going to be a joyous event for everybody because the bible says in matthew 24 30 the son of man will appear in heaven and all the tribes of the earth will mourn now notice when jesus comes it's not that he comes to rapture the righteous and the living wicked the living unsaved don't know what happened it's not that at all the son of man is going to appear in heaven then all the tribes of the earth are going to mourn who are the tribes of the earth the unsaved and then the bible says every eye is going to see him that's the eyes of the wicked and the eyes of the righteous that's the eyes of the saved and that's the eyes of the unsaved and it says they will see that's the unrighteous that's the wicked so it's not just that the righteous see them coming and they're raptured off not at all it says they'll see the son of man coming with clouds with power and great glory jesus came as a babe in bethlehem's manger once he came and very few people knew he had come but the second time when this whole controversy between good and evil ends when this whole crisis between good and evil ends christ is not going to come secretly the whole universe is going to know it it's glorious every eye sees it every year hears it it is a climactic event as well this event settles the human destiny of all humanity the apostle paul says in first corinthians fifth chapter 15 verse 51 to 53 behold i tell you a mystery we shall not owe what everybody sleep so death is like a sleep until the coming of jesus we shall not all sleep but what does it say we shall be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet so when we go to sleep in death it's like the next thing we know we wake up like you know when our children were young we used to bring him to meetings and so sometimes when my little boy mark junior was young he is in dermatology now and sees about 40 50 patients a day at times but when he was a little boy i'd be preaching in these stadiums and auditoriums like this my wife would bring him and we'd have a little little uh blanket and we'd put him over here in the little bike and he'd sleep now he would go to sleep during my preaching it's all right if he goes to sleep but you better not but so he'd sleep and at the end of the meeting i'd carry him you know we were in new england at the time and up in connecticut you know it's snow and we'd be taking him home and sometimes the roads would be icy and i kind of drive skid go past the truck you know and so forth and so on you almost go in a ditch and i'd get him home he'd still be sleeping put him in the little crib and uh next morning this little boy would wake up he'd say daddy are we still at the meeting you still preaching i said son i preach long but i don't preach that long you know and so you see he had no consciousness of time did he he fell asleep and so the next thing we know that father that mother that sister that brother that is resting in in jesus right now in that grave the next thing they know is jesus calling their name john come forth mary come forth alice come forth joseph come forth and those graves open and their bodies are changed immediately as the bible says and they receive glorious immortal bodies and as they do that we too who are living receive those glorious immortal bodies the bible says the trumpet shall sound victory the dead will be raised incorruptible and we shall all be changed traveling through the illimitable realms of space this corruptible must put on incorruption this mortal what does mortal mean subject to death what does mortal mean it means subject to disease heartache sorrow we must put on immortality no sickness no suffering no death no heartache christ comes the graves are open the living righteous and the righteous dead are caught up to meet christ in the sky can you imagine what that's going to be the most spectacular event in the history of the universe you do not want to miss it is anything worth clinging to to miss the event of the second coming of christ are any of the trinkets and cheap pleasures of the world or the habits worth holding on to to miss that day when jesus christ returns again revelation 15 3 says that great and marvelous are your works lord god almighty just and true are your ways o king of saints jesus wants to bring everybody to heaven but if jesus brought everybody to heaven it wouldn't be heaven it'd be indianapolis right what do you think right so jesus wants to bring everybody to heaven but he's he can't do that because he did somebody be robbing the streets of gold somebody'd be climbing over the walls and trying to rob something else so so jesus wants now to come into your heart and mine to so fundamentally change us from within that we experience the presence of god here and that we are so in tune with god and his presence so fills our lives that we no longer have a taste for earth in our mouth we long for the streets of eternity we long for fellowship with christ we have such fellowship with him here that we long for that permanent fellowship in heaven and we long for that day when the sad saga of death will be over and we long for that day when he will come we long for that day as it says in isaiah 25 9 behold this is our god we have done what what have we done we've waited for we haven't given up in trial we haven't given up in difficulty we haven't given up in sorrow we haven't given up in disease we haven't even accepted the false christ who's come we have waited for him and he will save us this is the lord this is the lord we have waited for him we'll be glad and rejoice in his salvation it will be worth waiting whatever trial you go through whatever difficulty you go through it's going to be worth it when jesus christ comes again that's why the bible says to us behold ii corinthians 6 2 behold now is the accepted time behold now is the day of salvation people come to meetings like this all the time and they say to me pastor mark i know i should make a decision for christ but but but don't worry about your butch just make the decision see somebody says but but don't i told you don't worry about those butts just make your decision for christ here's the point did the red sea open before moses stepped in or after moses stepped in he had to put his feet in the water right so the problems that you are facing that hold you back from walking through this baptismal pool and totally giving your life to christ those problems are not going to be solved unless you step out unless you say lord i am trusting you lord i'm making a decision for you lord i'm committing my life to you our eternal destiny is being settled by the choices we make every single day now let's summarize what happens when jesus comes first the bible says there'll be a great earthquake so be cystic upheavals lightning flashes from the east to the west the righteous dead will be resurrected the righteous living will be changed immortality will be bestowed on both the dead and the living the wicked living will be destroyed by the brightness of his coming the righteous will welcome christ and the righteous together will ascend to heaven now somebody says but mark there's a text in the bible that says that jesus is going to come as a thief there's a text in the bible like that i i and isn't there a text in the bible that says something about two in the field one taken one left fifteen hundred times in the bible the bible mentions the second coming of christ once in every eight verses in the for every eight verses in the old testament that for every one verse in the old testament that speaks about the first coming of christ there are eight verses that speak about the second coming of christ once in every 25 verses in the new testament speaks about the coming of christ those verses all speak about jesus coming every eye is going to see him every year he's going to hear him it's like lightning flashes from the east and to the west so if you have a few texts you don't throw out 1500 texts to try to harmonize them with a few you look at the context of those few texts so let's let's just look at them does the bible say jesus coming as a thief it does matthew 24 verse 36 but of that hour now notice the key word here is that day or hour no one knows not even the angels of heaven but my father only but know this if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come the scripture says he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken up now notice what this text is emphasizing it is not emphasizing how christ comes but the time is coming it says if we would have known the hour the time of his coming that is coming as a thief so in other words when the bible uses the term thief it is indicating that jesus would come at a time at an hour we don't expect it so let me ask you about indianapolis thieves anybody here know anything about indianapolis thieves do they come like this don't leave your house tonight because i'm gonna crawl in your back window and rob you do indianapolis thieves announce they're coming do they do that you say pastor mark they certainly don't do that so they come swiftly quickly unexpectedly right so when jesus comes it's a literal coming every eye sees it every year hears it he comes with lightning he comes with ten thousand times ten thousand angels gloriously but he comes quickly and unexpectedly as a thief that's what the bible says look matthew 24 44 therefore you also be ready why we ought to be ready for the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect it so the thief references have nothing to do with the manner of his coming everything to do with his the time of his coming now to show you that in another text that this is not speaking about the manner of christ coming look at second peter chapter 3 verse 10 but the day of the lord will come as a what thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise so this is not some rapture where jesus sneaks back as a thief and raptures a few people when he comes as a thief he comes with what kind of noise everybody what kind of noise great noise and then the bible says what else happens when he comes as a thief the elements will melt with fervent heat so when he comes as a thief it's not that he raptures a few but he comes with fervent heat and the earth and the works that are in it are going to be what burned up so when jesus comes there's no second chance when christ comes men and women are are saved or lost the second coming of christ is a surprise to the unprepared but somebody says but pastor mark there's some passage in the bible someplace about one taken in the other left this is one of the most misunderstood misinterpreted texts of all the bible look what it says luke 17 verse 36 two men will be in the field one will be taken the other left does it say that the person who's left is left alive is that what it says no it just says he's left okay then jesus explains that passage he says as it was in the days of noah in the days of noah how many classes were there two one class went into the ark one class did not go into the ark so you only have two classes in the days of noah was anybody left alive on earth in the days of noah no so one taken one left in the days of noah one saved one lost one alive one dead then he goes on likewise it'll be in the days of what lot what was it like in the days a lot did some come out of the city yes lot and his family they were saved were some left in the city yes were they left alive no they were destroyed so then luke 17 says it's like that when the son of man comes and the question is asked when the son of man comes where lord in other words what happened to these people who were not saved and the bible says where the body is gathered they will be gathered so they're destroyed with the brightness of christ coming the point of this parable one taken one left is that there only be two classes in other words our salvation is not something to trifle with our salvation is not something to play with that god is speaking to our hearts revelation 6 15 to 17 the kings of the earth the great men the rich men the commanders the mighty men every slave and every free man the bible says hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains and said to the rocks in mountains fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb when jesus comes he comes to save all humanity but those that have rejected his love those that have turned their backs on his claims those who will not accept the gracious invitation that he gives them and who have idols in their heart and refuse to walk all the way in his truth he couldn't possibly bring them into heaven because they're not safe to save and they would start this rebellion all over again and so the scripture says the great day of his wrath has come who is able to stand in other words what scripture is saying is there's no second opportunity there is the time to get serious about your salvation is now and if you've been hesitating about any decision for christ this is the hour to make that decision god did not bring you to these meetings simply to learn further information you may be a church member you may be not a church member whoever you are today god has brought you here for purpose in his divine drama of destiny in the interweaving of the providences of god god has brought you here for a purpose he's brought you here to make eternal decisions to take another step in your christian life because when christ comes again it'll be a literal coming it'll be a visible coming it'll be an audible coming it'll be a glorious coming it'll be a climactic coming and it will be an incredible joyous event jesus said read it with me please from the screen john 14 verse two and three jesus said i go to prepare a place for you and if i go and prepare a place for you i will come again to receive you unto myself that where i am there you may be also jesus says good news jesus says let your hearts be filled with joy jesus says when tears flow from your eyes and you have lost a loved one jesus says have that assurance i will come again some time ago my mother developed cancer her mother had been a two-pack a day smoker and mom took up the problem of smoking and smoked a pack and a half and then finally quit committed her life fully to christ but the damage done from smoking was there mom developed lung cancer and we shared with her kept sharing with her the promises of christ's coming that jesus would come and his lightning shines from the east even into the west we knew she didn't have much time left and i kept asking my sisters because i was traveling and preaching tours and had seen my mother before i went on the tours i said to my sisters now look i've got to go preaching again she may survive another month that maybe three months maybe six months we just don't know so i'll call in every day and you let me know how she's doing so we were traveling in the caribbean and i called my sisters and they said mark she took a turn for the worst it looks like within a few days she's going to die you need to come home so we left our preaching tour and i got a ticket teeny and i my wife and i and we we flew home my mother was living in deltona florida at that time and i flew into orlando didn't get there until about 12 12 30 at night and we didn't want my mother to die in the hospital so we brought her we had brought her home before that and we put her in a hospital bed in the living room i tried to be quiet tini and i opened the door coming into the house and she's lying on this bed in the living room and you know there are some experiences you have in life that they're deeply etched in your brain you never forget them and i walked into that room that night and i was just coming through the door and i heard my mother's voice and this is what she said son i knew you would come son i knew you would come she knew that i would not let her die alone she knew that i would be there holding her hand and rubbing our fingers through her hair son i knew you would come and jesus says to you and to me today my child whatever tears flow from your eyes whatever heartache breaks your heart whatever loved ones you have lost i'm gonna come i am gonna come and i want you to be ready for my coming i want you to put priorities on the thing that really counts and there's only one thing that can satisfy us today and forever and that's an eternal decision for christ that's an eternal decision for the king of kings and lord of lords my dear friend pastor kevin is going to enter the baptismal pool just now here are two that have made that eternal decision for christ praise god pastor kevin pastor of the capital memorial church and he has two that are walking in the water they want to be ready for the coming of our lord jesus christ they want to be ready when jesus descends down the corridors of the sky emily is walking in the water raise your hand emily so i can see you okay there she is can you greet her raise your hand say praise god for emily [Applause] and sandra is walking in the water as well praise god for these two ladies who've made their decision to follow the lord jesus christ [Music] we raise our hand now miss emily we thank god for your decision to follow jesus we thank god that he's touched your life and that you want to follow him now and forever so we lift our hands to heaven and we baptize you in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen [Music] amen praise god praise god amen amen amen amen my dear sister you are clean pastor will pray for you and sandra emily's granddaughter has come and she has come to commit her life anew to christ she has come to be cleansed by the grace of christ she has come to follow jesus and keep his commandments and walk in the way of christ so my dear sister because you want to follow jesus you want nothing between your soul and jesus you want to walk in his way be part of his last day people that around the world today over 3 000 will be baptized into the adventist church and family and so we lift our hands to heaven and baptize you in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen amen amen [Applause] amen amen charles sing i've decided one verse let's get him singing it together i i have this song sing together [Applause] to follow jesus i have decided [Music] to follow jesus no turning back [Music] the world behind [Music] no turning [Music] many of you last evening filled out a response card that you want to look forward to baptism we have another response card today ushers can you pass that out just now please i want to be sure that our message was clear to you today by filling out the response card and i hope every single one of you will fill this out because it really it does two things one it helps us to understand that the messages we have are clear but second the response card helps you in your walk with christ the first line on this card says i believe jesus will come literally personally visibly and audibly how many of you that's clear to you today that when christ comes just say amen he's going to come literally personally visibly and audibly is that clear to you today was it clear from the lecture okay check that box just put a box there if you need a pen or a pencil just raise your hand please okay because i want to be sure that every person fills out this card you may be a church member you may not be but that's okay just fill out the card secondly it says i desire to be ready for jesus return if that is your commitment today that you say look there may be some things in my life that are not in harmony with god's will but i want to be ready for the return of christ you can check that second box okay third box i'd like to be baptized soon [Music] if you have not yet walked through the water of baptism when you walk through that water it's a symbol that your sins are clans you have new life in christ the peace of god will flow into your life and jesus promises the holy spirit at baptism and as we open our hearts he grants us the power he grants us the strength of his holy spirit to live the christian life one of the reasons many people keep stumbling and falling is they've never made that commitment to christ and as the result of that they stumble they fall all the time but if we make that commitment we make the commitment christ supplies the power so check that box i'd like to be baptized soon now let me talk to you to you about some people have already been baptized there may be people there are two reasons for re-baptism number one you may have been baptized and you drifted away you've you you broke the commandments of god and you you lived a life that was not in harmony with god's will and you still feel uncomfortable about that when you go into the water to be re-baptized you are recommitting we don't get re-baptized every time we sin but if you have been separated from christ he is appealing to you today to make that decision for re-baptism the second reason we're rebaptized is this there are many baptist christians many pentecostal christians they've been baptized by immersion but they come to meetings like this and they hear matthew 28 verse 19 and 20 where jesus says go there for uh and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit teaching them whatever i've commanded you they never learned what christ commanded knew very little about the bible sabbath and they desire to walk into the water again to cleanse from the errors of the past that may be your choice if you choose you can be part of the family of god by profession of your faith if you've already been baptized but check that third box and we'll counsel you if you need more reading material on jesus coming simply fill out that box take time to meditate upon your decision right now if you need a prayer request write it on the back our prayer team will fill that out and charles lord i'm coming home lord i'm coming home just take a moment to hold your card in your hand pray over your card make this a very sacred moment of trust for you i've wandered far away from god but now i'm a coming home [Music] the path of sin too long i have tried but now [Music] if you know it sing the chorus with charles coming home [Music] [Music] of love [Music] lord i'm coming ushers once you've collected the cards you can bring them down so you can collect your cards now pass your buckets across if you haven't collected them yet eternal decisions are made on these cards one night i was preaching in brazil young man filled out his card for baptism he had been a drug dealer he didn't turn it in filled out his card for baptism he hadn't paid some drug money that he should have paid that night he went home and um the drug lords came to his house as he was just going to go in the door and he was shot to death on the doorstep at the funeral his mother took out the card there were scores of young people at that funeral she began to wave the card and she said my precious son made his eternal decision that night and she appealed to those at that funeral as she read his card to them to make their decision to that's why god is appealing to you today to make an eternal decision for christ ushers once you have the cards all of you come down here and just stand and i'm going to pray over those cards i want to be sure that we have everybody's card we missing any cards on this side missing it once on this side okay i want to be sure they're passed across what about in the center anybody have a card in the center you can wave it if you do i should be sure to pick them up what about on this side any we missing any cards okay just wave your card the ushers are all going to come down here just stand with your buckets ushers just stand with your buckets here i'm going to pray over them just gather here at the altar once you get all the cards god knows every card he knows every heart he knows every single name let's stand together we're gonna pray stand with me congregation [Music] we're gonna pray together oh my father our hearts are full we think of the second coming of christ and it's the most glorious event in history and lord we don't want one person to miss that so my dear father move among us thank you for these eternal decisions made on these cards and we look forward to that day when jesus will return and every one of us not missing one will be in heaven with you together in christ's name amen you may be seated we are going to take a five minute break between now and the next program if you need to get up you need to stretch you need to go to the bathroom but i would encourage you there's many more going to come in for the 11 o'clock meeting i'd encourage you to kind of don't wander too far from your seat or you might find somebody else sitting in it and sitting on laps is not real comfortable okay so just take a break stretch a little bit and we'll see you soon

Channel: Seventh-day Adventist Church

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Id: Bm8TPj2M6So

Length: 71min 24sec (4284 seconds)

Published: Sat May 28 2022