Collierville First Baptist Church

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Well, I'm sure that you've gotten the text

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or you saw on our social media page that I'm starting a new series of sermons today.

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It's entitled "Perfect Ending."

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Have you ever watched a movie

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and you were looking for that perfect ending?

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Have you ever played in a football game

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and longed for that perfect ending?

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I know that you have.

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You've looked at a movie, you've been in a game, you've been involved in things and you look for that perfect ending to your marriage,

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that perfect ending for your kids as they grow up.

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I can tell you one thing.

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I know someone who guarantees a perfect ending to everything that's happening in this world today.

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His name is the Lord Jesus Christ.

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We need to ask ourselves,

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are we poised on the edge of eternity?

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Judging from the bloody conflicts in Ukraine and other parts of the world,

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the anti-Semitism that threatens the existence of Jewish people, a fragmented world economy,

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widespread unrest in the major cities of the world, not just America, but the major cities of the world,

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political violence like we saw with the assassination

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of Charlie Kurt, a major increase in lawlessness. I saw a video this week where a crowd of people

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broke into a jewelry store and took hammers and broke the cases and just looted the entire store.

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It seems like when that happened, nobody gets arrested.

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Nobody pays a penalty.

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One would have to assume that this world is sitting in a ticking time bomb.

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The storm clouds are gathering.

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If only we could know the future.

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People often turn to psychics,

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looking for them to tell their future.

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They go to a medium,

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and they want that medium to contact a dead person so that dead person can tell them what's going to happen.

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They read their horoscopes.

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They go to palm readers,

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all in an effort to find out about the future.

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These people are glad to take your hard earned money to tell you basically what you want to hear.

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Now think about this.

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In my 71 years, I have never heard of a psychic winning the lottery.

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Now that disturbs me.

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I mean, if I'm going to you and I'm going to pay good money

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for you to tell me about my future,

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I need to see some evidence that you can do this.

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Let me tell you all the things I've listed are demonic.

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If you want to know what's going to happen in the future,

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you really want to know, turn to the Lord and His word.

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Today, I want to speak to you.

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The first sermon in the series, it's sort of a set up sermon for the entire series.

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It's entitled biblical prophecy.

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Now, biblical prophecy reveals the future

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and it explains what the positive and negative results of future events will be.

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It's very precise.

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It's very dependable.

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And it's worthy of our complete trust.

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How many of you believe John 3 16? Raise your hand if you believe John 3 16. I believe John 3 16 with two hands.

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Let me tell you this.

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I can go to any prophecy in this Bible

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and I can tell you that I believe in it and trust it just as much I do John 3 3 16. You know why?

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Because it's a word of God.

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It is truth without mixture of era.

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It shapes our lives.

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It guides us in serving our Lord. It's a source of strength for us.

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And it provides a roadmap to the future.

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To ignore biblical prophecy causes us to miss one of the greatest gifts of God.

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The question needs to be asked and answered.

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Why did the lights go out?

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That's not the question.

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Let me get my phone out and I'm going to keep going.

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You just listen.

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All right. So why should we spend time on this subject? Thank you for the lights.

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The devil don't want you to hear this message.

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Now I can't get my light off.

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Now there we go. All right.

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Why should we spend time on this subject?

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Well, listen this 25% of your Bible is predictive prophecy.

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25%.

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Now in my mathematical brain, that's one fourth of the entire Bible.

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There are 300 plus references to Jesus return in the New Testament.

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For every Bible prophecy about Jesus.

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Doesn't mind to leave my light on.

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He's the prince of the power of darkness, right?

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It's all right. Look, you just keep listening.

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So you got playing with me back there.

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That's Ryan doing that back there.

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Hey, good. Jeremy, good.

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Thank you, my brother.

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All right. We're going to go on with lights or without lights. Okay.

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So for every Bible prophecy about Jesus first coming, there are eight concerning his second coming.

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It's vitally important that we pay close attention to the prophetic portions of the Bible.

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The prominence of the theme demands it.

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Maybe you're wondering why I'm going to preach and teach Bible prophecy when you need help with your marriage

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or when you need help knowing how to raise your kids or when you need help understanding how to handle your finances or how to make the right career decisions.

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I want to give you five solid reasons why I'm preaching this series.

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Why studying biblical prophecy is so important. Number one, biblical prophecy fills us with hope.

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It fills us with hope. Think of the believers that you know, the believers in this church, the believers in your family who are facing cancer,

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who are grieving over the loss of a loved one. I look out at the congregation. I see people who recently buried a spouse

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or who buried a child in the past.

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And there are members who are sinking in financial quicksand.

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There are believers who are battling depression.

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People who are hurting need the benefit of specific prophecies and promises that instill genuine hope in their hearts and their souls.

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We get that from biblical prophecy.

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Jesus said this in John chapter 14 verses one to three.

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He said, "Let not your heart be troubled.

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You believe in God, believe also in me.

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In my father's house are many mansions.

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If it were not so, I would have told you, for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am there you may be also."

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Hey, you love that passage, don't you?

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It comes right out of John's gospel.

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It is a prophetic passage.

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And it brings, I can't tell you the number of times I've read that in funerals or pre-sad in funerals where people are hurting.

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Prophetic passage brings hope to hurting hearts.

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But there's a second reason I'm preaching this series on biblical prophecy.

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Biblical prophecy gives us perspective.

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It gives us the ability to properly assess what's happening in the world around us. Why it's happening and how it will turn out in the end.

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In Titus 2, 11 to 14, Paul wrote, "For the grace of God has appeared,

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bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age." That's right now.

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"Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds."

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So this passage gives us biblical perspective.

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When you see things happen that are found in biblical prophecy,

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it should give you confidence to know that God's got the whole world in His hands.

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He's sovereign just like I read out of Psalm 103 verse 19 a few minutes ago.

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We don't have to fear.

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No matter what happens around us,

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we know what the future holds and who holds the future.

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So biblical prophecy gives us hope.

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Number two, it gives us perspective.

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Number three, biblical prophecy purifies us over and over the New Testament. We are told to eagerly wait for the Lord's return.

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It says that in Philippians chapter 3 verse 20, and it says it in multiple places. So as a body of Christ, as believers, what are you eagerly waiting for?

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The Bible says we should eagerly wait for our Savior's return.

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I open pray that you can say today with authenticity

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that you are looking forward to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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If you were to truly adopt this approach,

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it would have a powerful impact on what you say and what you do. See, I believe we ought to get up every day and say this could be the day.

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Today could be the day.

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And the Bible says if we do that, if we have that attitude, that perspective, it will purifies. First John chapter 3, verses 2 and 3, listen to it.

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Beloved, now we are children of God. Aren't you glad you're a child of God? And it has not yet appeared what we will be. We know that when he appears, Jesus appears, we will be like him

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because we will see him just as he is.

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And everyone who has this hope fixed on him or Jesus purifies himself just as he is purer. So if you honestly are eagerly waiting for Jesus to come,

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it will change the way you think.

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It will change what comes out of your mouth.

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It will change the very actions of your life.

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You'll be motivated to live in a way that pleases the Lord Jesus Christ. I remember when I was growing up, I think my dad was so excited to have a boy

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for several reasons.

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Maybe one of the, maybe a lesser one, maybe more of one,

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have somebody to mow the garden.

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I remember as a teenager, he gave me a strict rule when the grass was growing.

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He said, "Chuck, when my truck comes around that curve,

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this yard better be mowed."

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You say that sounds like a threat.

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No, that was a promise.

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That was a promise.

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I had to have that yard mowed by the time my daddy got off work and came around the corner toward the house.

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Biblical prophecy purifies us just like I was motivated to get the yard mowed before he came around that curve.

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But biblical prophecy number four equips us.

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Prophetic truth opens doors for effective evangelism.

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Unbelievers by and large know that the world is decaying before their very eyes. That there is a hopelessness that has saturated the entire world. It should never saturate born again believers. It should never saturate the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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But even people who are lost and without Christ,

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they wonder what in the world is going on. They wonder where all of this is headed.

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That's why Peter wrote these words in 1 Peter 3.15. He said, "But sanctify Christ," right into the church.

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"But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asked you to give an account for the hope that is in you yet with gentleness and reverence."

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So the lost person facing the stigma of a world in chaos,

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absolutely saddled by fear and uncertainty comes to you and say, "Hey, why are you not worried?

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You know what that gives you an opportunity to do?

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I'm not worried because I put my faith in Jesus.

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He is my Savior and my Lord and I trust Him.

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I'm going to be with Him forever."

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I tell you, it is a powerful thing to be able to look into the eyes of someone and tell them, "I know that if I were to die tonight with my head on that pillow, I'll be with Jesus instantly."

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Biblical prophecy equips us to share the gospel.

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Number five, Biblical prophecy prepares us for the last days.

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There's so many scriptures I could read.

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Prophecy protects us from deception and it shows us how to live for Christ so He'll be honored and glorified in the last days.

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In 1 Thessalonians 5, verses 4 to 8, Paul wrote to these Thessalonians, I believe, by the way, in every chapter in 1 Thessalonians, the return of Christ is mentioned.

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Every chapter, five chapters.

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Paul wrote, "But you brethren are not in darkness."

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Now, everything I'm reading is a message to the church.

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That makes it a message to you.

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"But you brethren are not in darkness that the day would overtake you like a thief,

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for you are all sons of light and sons of day,

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for we are not of the night nor of the darkness."

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No pun intended.

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Verse six, "So then let us not sleep as others do,

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but let us be alert and sober."

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Now, sober there does not mean you're not drunk.

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Sober means you're serious minded. You're serious about the things of God.

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Verse seven, "For those who sleep do their sleeping at night and those who get drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober,

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having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation."

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Hey, let me just go to one other passage. I don't have it in my notes. It's Romans chapter 13.

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Romans chapter 13.

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Listen to this.

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Paul wrote to the Roman church and he said, "Do this knowing the time."

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Do you know the time?

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"Do this knowing the time that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep.

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For now salvation is nearer to you than when you believed."

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I was saved when I was 20 years old. I'm now 71, so I'm 51 years closer to the return of Christ.

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Verse 12, "The night is almost gone. The day is near." The day of near. What's he talking about? The day of the Lord's return.

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"The day is near. Therefore, let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regards to its lust."

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Biblical prophecy prepares us for living in the last days.

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Now for the next several weeks,

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we're going to concentrate our attention on two chapters in the Bible.

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Matthew 24 and Matthew 25.

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That section of scripture is called the Olivet Discourse.

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In this section, the theme is the second coming of Christ, not the rapture of the church. The theme is the second coming of Christ at the end of this present age to establish His millennial kingdom on this earth.

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So I want you to open your Bible to Matthew 24 this morning.

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Let's jump right into the words that we see in the first three verses of Matthew 24.

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Jesus, the Bible says in verse 1, "came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him.

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And He said to them, do you not see all these things?

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And Jesus said, look what He said, "Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another,

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which will not be torn down.

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As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives,

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the disciples came to Him privately saying,

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tell us when will these things happen and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

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It was Wednesday of Jesus' final week on this earth.

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On Friday He would be crucified and on Sunday He would be resurrected from the dead.

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He was going to the temple,

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had gone to the temple for the last time.

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He was preparing His disciples for His death on the cross, His resurrection from the dead,

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and His ascension to glory.

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These men, these disciples were awed by the temple and it was a thing of beauty.

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I mean, it was huge.

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You count all the colonnades and the temple proper and the courtyards, I'm telling you, it was huge.

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And it was built, the eastern wall of the temple was plated in pure gold so that when the sun came up in the morning,

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you could see the sun bouncing off the temple from miles away.

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I mean, it was something to behold.

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And these disciples were awed by that temple.

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And then Jesus revealed something to them that must have left them in utter shock.

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A word of prophecy, by the way.

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And Jesus taught them, look at verse 2,

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"Do not see all these things.

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Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another which will not be torn down." You realize that some of those stones were as big as a railroad car.

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Huge.

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And they were shocked.

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Let me tell you, that prophecy came true in A.D. 70.

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When Titus Vestavian, the Roman general,

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brought his Roman army to Jerusalem,

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they built siege walls against the temple.

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They lit a fire and the stones burst in two and the gold melted.

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And it's projected that over a million Jews were killed by the Roman army in A.D. 70.

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Now, that was about, let's just estimate, about 40 years after Jesus had prophesied this.

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But it came true to A.T.

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The remaining Jews that were not killed

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were sent to the four corners of the earth, and the Jewish nation ceased to exist.

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That is until May the 14th, 1948,

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when the Jewish nation became a nation again. And I'm going to tell you this, you mark it down.

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When Jesus comes again, there will still be a Jewish nation on this planet.

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Now, on the Mount of Olive, Jesus began to teach his disciples

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about world events that would ultimately lead to his return. That's what we're going to be getting into next week and in the coming weeks.

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The Olivet Discourse itself, that's what it's called, chapters 24 and 25.

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The Olivet Discourse was prompted by the disciples' questions.

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Look at them again.

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They said, "Tell us, when will these things happen?"

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They wanted to know the future.

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And what will be the sign of your coming

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and of the end of the age?

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And those questions prompted Jesus to give the longest answer to any question asked in the New Testament. In the entire New Testament, from Matthew to Revelation,

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chapters 24 and 25 is the longest answer in the entire New Testament.

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The truths embedded in it are absolutely essential for understanding his return and the amazing events associated with it.

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The Jewish context for our Lord's answer is crucial. You'll never understand this if you don't understand the context.

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For many centuries, the Jews have been subdued by one foreign power after another.

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The Northern ten tribes have been conquered by Syria in 722 BC.

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The Southern two tribes fell to Babylon in 586 BC, by the way. I'm teaching verse by verse through the book of Daniel on Wednesday night at 6.30.

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And I'll tell you, it's amazing what Daniel is revealing about the future in his book.

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And I want to invite you to come. If you want to come to be a part of a great study,

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that's Wednesday nights at 6.30 in the fellowship hall.

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So the Southern two tribes fell to Babylon in 586 BC. The Eastern, the Medo-Persians, the Greeks, and finally the Romans ruled over the Jewish people.

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Despite all of this, the Jews knew that God had promised and prophesied that one day the anointed one would come, the Messiah would come, and he would establish the rule and reign of David again on earth, and reign of peace, prosperity, and safety that would never come to an end.

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In Isaiah chapter 9, verses 6 and 7, written about 700 BC before Christ came.

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Listen to what Isaiah prophesied, the Word of God. "For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, the government will rest on his shoulders, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

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There will be no end to the increase of his government or peace.

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On the throne of David," listen, "on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore." Micah chapter 5, verse 2, "But as for you, Bethlehem, Ephrathah,

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too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you one will go forth from me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago from the days of eternity." Let me ask you, where was Jesus born? Bethlehem.

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Here's a prophecy in Micah chapter 5, verse 2, I think it's about 500 years before Christ came.

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A prophecy that says that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Now think about this, the priests, the Jewish priests, didn't care enough about prophecy to study so that when Jesus was born, they would hightail it to Bethlehem to see the Messiah. They didn't care enough about prophecy.

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I'm telling you this, you ignore biblical prophecy to your own peril.

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When you say, "Pastor," I'm just not into it.

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I can tell you this, you better get into it.

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You better get into it.

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You better allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart.

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So with that being said, the Jews in Jesus' day had a great hope for the future.

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They were looking for their Messiah.

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And when John the Baptist appeared on the scene, the people's interests intensified greatly because God had prophesied that before Messiah came, Elijah would come. I'm going to tell you, John the Baptist had the spirit of Elijah.

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And they were so excited, they could just sense that the Messiah was about to come.

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And then when Jesus rode in Jerusalem on a coat on Palm Sunday, the crowds openly proclaimed Him as Messiah.

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In Matthew 21, verse 9, the Bible says, "The crowds going ahead of Him and those who followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the high." Now, why were they doing that?

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Because they knew the biblical prophecies.

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However, the Jewish people had no concept of the Messiah coming twice.

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They didn't buy into that. They didn't understand that.

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You see, Jesus came the first time to offer Himself as a perfect sacrifice on the cross of Calvary for our sins.

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He came to be the Savior.

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But the Bible says that He's coming again.

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He's coming again to judge the world.

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And to establish His millennial kingdom on this earth,

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to sit on the throne of David and rule the entire world.

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The Lord's predictions that He must suffer and die and be resurrected had simply not even registered with His disciples.

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You see, the New Testament clearly presents the concept of two ages.

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In Ephesians chapter 1, verses 20 and 21,

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the Bible says, "Which He brought about in Christ, "when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand "in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power "and dominion, and every name that is named, "not only in this age, but in the age to come."

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Two ages.

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You see, we're in the present age right now.

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In the passage that we're going to focus on in this series, in the next several weeks,

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the Lord Jesus prophetically described what would occur between His first coming and His second coming.

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He revealed the future so that His followers could anticipate what was coming in the future and leverage that knowledge for the glory of God in their personal lives and their spiritual lives.

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So here's the truth I want you to lock into.

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Would you lock into it this morning?

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Jesus reveals the future so you can live with confidence.

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That idea, that statement sort of captures the entire series that I'll be preaching.

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Matthew 24 and 25.

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Jesus reveals the future so you can live with confidence.

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Listen, we are closer to the return of Jesus Christ than any other generation in history.

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We are 2,000 years closer to the coming of Christ

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than Peter, James and John were.

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2,000 years.

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And if you read through the New Testament,

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you'll discover that the apostles riding under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit constantly challenged the body of Christ, the church, to eagerly wait for the Savior.

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They anticipated His coming.

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And we must do the same.

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So I want to close by asking three questions.

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Question number one, are you saved?

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Are you saved?

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I told you about my daddy coming around the curve to the house.

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I had to be ready.

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Or I would face the consequences.

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Now I'm asking you, are you ready for the return of Jesus?

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See, one thing is for sure. Either you're going to step into eternity through death, or you're going to step into eternity without dying at the return of Christ.

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Are you ready?

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You say, Pastor, I got plenty of time.

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Do you know that? You don't know that.

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You don't know that. Are you kidding me?

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It would behoove every person in this church, every person watching live stream. If you've not repented of your sin and placed your faith in Jesus in just a moment, we're going to sing a song, and we're going to have a moment where you can respond to the ministry of the Holy Spirit through His Word, and you can give your heart to Jesus in saving faith.

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If I were in this room today, and I were not saved,

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I would run, not walk to one of these staff members.

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And I would tell them, I want to be saved.

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I don't want to live another minute outside of Christ.

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You see, He loved you so much that He was willing to die on the cross for your sins, and He was raised from the dead. So you could be justified before a holy and righteous God.

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Come to Christ today.

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Come to Christ today.

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So you just come to one of the staff members in just a moment. Second question.

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If you are a believer,

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are you living the way He wants you to live? Are you?

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Are you prioritizing what He wants you to prioritize?

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Are you serving Him?

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Do you love Him with all your heart, your soul, your mind, your strength? Do you really?

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I mean, you only get one shot at this thing.

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Now, as a believer, you may say, well, I'm too busy.

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I read something, one writer called it a bubble of normalcy.

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He said too many believers are living in a bubble of normalcy. The parents are bringing their paychecks home. They're paying their bills.

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The kids are involved in activities galore.

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And everything's great.

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Let me tell you, when Jesus comes, He's coming like a thief in the night if you're not ready.

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How many thieves will call you and say, I'm coming to your house tonight. I'm going to break in the south window, and I'm going to take everything you've got. That doesn't happen.

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I remember when I got saved at Mississippi State,

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I went to a film on the campus there at Dorman Hall.

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It was called the Road to Armageddon about the second coming of Christ.

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And I'm telling you, the Holy Spirit ripped me to shreds because I was lost.

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I got back to my room that night. I fell on my face before God. I said, God, forgive me.

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Lord, please save me and change my life.

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He did it.

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You know why He did it? Because He promised to do it.

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And He keeps His promises. So if you're here today and you're a believer and you're not living the way He wants you to live,

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I want you to come to this altar.

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You say, Pastor, I don't want to embarrass myself in front of people.

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Can I just be honest with you?

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I'd rather be right with Jesus.

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And embarrass myself in front of people any day.

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Come to this altar.

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Tell the Lord you're sorry.

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Ask Him to forgive you and change your life.

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Third question, are you connected with a Bible-believing church?

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You say, Pastor, my membership is here. Does that count? Nope. Nope. It's a piece of paper.

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You know what counts?

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It's when you are actively committed to a local New Testament Bible-believing church that honors the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Let me read you something.

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You say, you're making that up, preacher. Take your Bible. Look at Hebrews chapter 10 just a moment.

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Hebrews chapter 10.

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Hey, I don't know what time it is because it's not back there on that clock. The clock's broken.

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Look at verse 23.

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Hebrews 10, 23, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."

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Let us consider how to stimulate one another to loving good deeds, being a part of a church, not forsaking our own assembling together. It's like people. I think some of you have done what Thomas Jefferson did early in our nation's history. He took a penknife and he cut stuff out of the Bible he didn't like.

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And I think many people who are members of churches have cut that part out of their Bible,

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not forsaking our own assembling together.

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That means come to church, as is a habit of some, but look at this, "But encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day," draw near what day?

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The day of our Lord's return.

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That's motivation to be a part of a local New Testament church. I'm going to tell you, it's going to get harder and harder and harder to Jesus comes.

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And the price we're going to pay for our faith is going to get steeper and steeper and steeper. And we're going to need each other to encourage each other and to hold each other accountable.

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Listen, if you're in this room today and you're not connected to a Bible believing church, I invite you to come to one of our staff members and just tell them you want to be a part of this church.

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I promise you, we're going to worship the Lord and we're going to study the Word. We're going to teach the Word of God.

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So you come to a staff and tell them you want to be a part of this church. And if you're a member of this church and you're not actively engaged in giving and serving and coming, attending, listen, you need to come to the altar and get right with God.

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I'm telling you, your chances to do so are dwindling away every hour.

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He's coming.

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He's coming.

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So I'm going to ask our worship team to come, our staff to come,

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and we're going to have a time when we respond to the Lord. It's just 12.02. Look at that.

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Let me pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, if ever you laid a message on my heart, you laid this one on my heart.

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Lord, I pray that the Spirit of God would use the Word of God to change our hearts, to get us out of the bubble of normalcy,

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to help us to see that the day is drawing near.

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Oh, Lord Jesus, do a work in our hearts.

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In Christ's name.

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Amen. Would you stand, please? Let's worship. And you come as God leads you.