Return of the King

you don't speak in.
Once you have spoke on
nature and science,
follow this zone over
you, you speak. I can
see your heart,
everything you say and
silence. So you chase
down my heart through
all of my failures.
Who are you creating
the light of the
world, abandon
darkness to use and
failures disappear
when you lost your
life. So I could find
it. If you left the
gray behind you so I
can see everything
you've done. Every
part design hello,
everyone. I'm Tina. We
are so excited that
you chose to worship
with us today. And I
pray that God uses
this message to speak
specifically into your
life and minister to
your heart. If this is
your first time
worshiping with us,
please let us know by
taking a moment to
fill out our digital
connect card. It is so
important to us to be
able to connect with
you. We want to pray
for you and care for
you as best we can. If
you're a returning
guest, welcome back.
We want to get to know
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couple of different
ways we can do that.
Start a conversation
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let me encourage
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to stay where you are.
Take a step toward
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Please send an email
to
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God loves you. And we
love you too. Now
let's get to the good
stuff and tune into
pastor Jason. As he
digs deeper into the
book of reverence
uncertainty always
scares us. It always
has. It's. One of the
reasons this past year
has been so difficult,
not knowing from day
to day what's coming
next. And for many
people, the events of
the past year have
caused us to think and
be afraid of future
events that will take
place on the news. And
on the internet,
people are talking
about things like the
end of the world, the
apocalypse Armageddon
Gog, and Magog the
Mark of the beast and
so much more. And if
we don't have a proper
lens within which to
view these complex
topics, they can be
scary and confusing.
But my hope is that we
can look at these real
future events in a way
that is safe and
biblically accurate
and empowers you to be
everything God has
called and created you
to be. Now last
Sunday, I gave you an
overview on how we
study the end times,
what books of the
Bible that we look at
in a general timeline
of the major events.
And if you weren't
here, I would
encourage you go back
and watch online. It
will help
you have a solid
foundation for this
series. And remember,
these are just the
major events. There is
going to be a lot
going on on earth and
in heaven during each
of these, we talked
about the rapture of
the church, the
tribulation, the
second coming of Jesus
Christ, the
millennium, the great
white throne judgment,
and then lastly,
eternity future. And
today what we want to
do is we want to focus
on the first major
event. See, there are
many Christians and
I'm one of them that
believe that Jesus is
going to come back in
two phases, the
rapture, and then the
second coming you see
we're currently in
what scholars call the
church age. And the
church age is the
period of time between
Pentecost until the
rapture, during which
Gentiles are invited
to participate in the
covenant in the church
age, God has extended
his invitation lists
to be a part of God's
kingdom beyond the, to
anyone who would
accept his offer of
salvation. And the
church age will end
with an event. Many
people refer to the
rapture of the church.
Now the word rapture
is not in the Bible,
but it comes from a
Greek word which means
to snatch away this
event, the rapture is
the snatching away to
heaven of all
Christians of everyone
who believes in Jesus
Christ. And it is
described in first
Thessalonians four
verses 13 through 18.
Let's read it
together. It says, and
now
dear brothers and
sisters, we want you
to know what will
happen to believers
who have died. So you
will not grieve like
people who have no
hope for, since we
believe that Jesus
died and was raised to
life. Again, we also
believe that when
Jesus returns, God
will bring back with
him. The believers who
have died, we tell you
this directly from the
Lord, we who are still
living when the Lord
returns will not meet
him ahead of those who
have died for the Lord
himself will come down
from heaven with a
commanding shell, with
the voice of the arch
angel and with the
trumpet call of God.
First, the believers
who have died will
rise from their
graves. Then together
with them, we who are
still alive and remain
on earth will be
caught up in the
clouds to meet the
Lord in the air. Then
we will be with the
Lord forever. So
encourage each other.
With these words,
there were many
Christians in the
church at Thessalonica
who were puzzled over
how believers who had
already died would
benefit from Jesus's
return. And Paul gets
to the point. He says
any believer who has
died prior to Jesus's
return will have his
or her transformed
physical body reunited
with their soul at the
rapture. Then Paul
says that Christians
who were living on the
earth at this moment
in history will be
transformed and be
caught up in the air
to be
with Jesus. It's
incredible. And some
of you don't even like
to fly, right? Hey,
listen, here's some
thoughts, thoughts
about the rapture
you're taking notes
first. It will be
sudden it's going to
be a sudden unexpected
event. First
Thessalonians five
verses one through
two. Now concerning
how, and when all this
will happen to your
brothers and sisters,
we don't really need
to write you for, you
know, quite well that
the day of the Lord's
return we'll come
unexpectedly like a
thief in the night.
Like I mentioned, last
Sunday, only God
father knows when
these events are going
to take place. And
just as a thief
catches a household by
surprise, Jesus will
catch the unbelieving
world by surprise.
When he returns, Oh,
Christians don't know
the timing of when
Jesus will come back,
but we don't have to
worry about it because
of our position in
Jesus Christ. Many
scholars believe that
this phase of Jesus's
return will be secret.
What I mean is is that
believers will know
what is going on, but
the unbelievers will
not see him. They
won't see him until
the second phase of
his life. It's going
to be sudden. The
second thing we need
to understand is it
the rapture, it will
be disturbing to
unbelievable. First,
it's going to be
disturbing the effect
of this removal of
believers, the absence
of multitudes of
people. Well, that's
going to be evident on
earth and it will be
very
disturbing to this
world. When millions
of people are suddenly
gone, there will be
chaos. It's going to
be disruptive, but we
have to understand.
Number three, it has
purpose. There is
purpose behind this
event called the
rapture and God
explains it. In first
Thessalonians, five
nine for God chose to
save us. That's
important that word
saved through our
Lord. Jesus Christ not
pour out his anger on
us. The word save. And
verse nine has a
threefold, meaning he
is saving us from the
past. He is saving us
in our present and he
will save us in the
future. We were saved
when we first trusted
Jesus Christ. We are
being saved as the
Holy spirit works in
us and changes us to
become more like
Jesus. And we will be
saved as we share in
Jesus's final trial. I
want to look at that
verse again in a
different translation.
The new international
version for God did
not appoint us to
suffer wrath, but to
receive salvation
through our Lord Jesus
Christ. It's the same
verse, different
translation. He keeps,
he saves believers
from the wrath of the
tribulation. Again,
that's coming next. So
only is, is Jesus
saved us and saved our
souls. But through the
rapture, Jesus is
saving believers in
him from all the
events that are coming
next. The ride capture
also has purpose
because it is a
catalyst for these
events to come.
Because now there will
be global chaos.
And because the church
of Jesus has gone to
heaven to be with him,
there is nothing
stopping from
revealing the
antichrist. Lastly, it
will be incredible.
First, John three two
says, dear friends, we
are already God's
children, but he has
not yet shown us what
we will be like when
Christ appears. But we
do know that we will
be like him for, we
will see him, how he
really is. It's going
to be incredible
because believers who
have not yet died will
get to meet Jesus
Christ. And this rapid
sure will involve an
instantaneous
transformation of our
bodies to make spit
for eternity and was a
glorious event that we
should be longing for.
Believers in Jesus
will finally be free
from sin and we will
be in God's presence
forever. But I know
what you're thinking,
Jason, when is this
going to happen? Is
this going to happen
in our lifetime? Is
this going to happen
in our generation? I
just don't know, given
all that's going on in
the world right now,
it's hard not to think
that Jesus would be
coming back soon. But
think about this. Can
you imagine what it
was like to be a
believer in Rome under
emperor Nero or
Domitian to face the
arena, to face the
stake or to face the
lion's den for your
faith? Or what do you
think Christians were
thinking when
Jerusalem was captured
and the temple
destroyed in Ady 70 or
when Attila overran
Europe in the fifth
century or the Vikings
and the ninth or
Gangas Kahn in that
13th or the Ottomans
in the 16th century,
maybe Christians
thought the end was
near when the black
death decimated
Christians wiping out
entire towns and
claiming over 25
million lives in the
13 hundreds. How did
the situation look to
Christians at the
beginning of the last
century, when the
great war brought 37
million casualties or
even a few decades
later, when the shadow
of Hitler and the
third Reich was rising
over Germany and
Eastern Europe,
clearly the 21st
century has no
monopoly on death or
disaster or
devastation or terror.
We just don't know
when the rapture is
going to happen. I'm
not going to say it's
going to happen in
this generation. I
don't know that, but
what I do know, I do
know that we need to
be prepared. Let me
share with you a few
thoughts. This one on
how you can prepare
number one, do good
works. Galatians six,
10 says we should help
people whenever we
can, especially if
they're followers of
the Lord, God has
called us and
commanded us to do
good, works, good
works. Don't save us.
But good work is a
result of our
salvation because
Jesus changed us
because of our love
for him and our love
for people. God has
called us to do good
works in our schools.
And in our workplaces,
in our churches, in
our
communities, God has
placed a call. He has
placed a purpose
inside of you. It is
Tom to step up and do
the things that God
has called you to do.
Second, we need to
share the good news
Mark 16, 15 says, and
then he told them, go
into all the world and
preach the good news
to everyone. The good
news about Jesus.
Isn't just for a
select few it's for
everyone. God wants
the whole world to
know his good news.
And we said, last
week, maybe God is
being patient so that
more and more people
can hear about him.
Did you know, there
are still some
cultures. There are
still some tribes
where the Bible has
not been translated
yet. We need to have a
passion for reading
chink people with the
good news of Jesus,
whether that's through
our online ministries,
whether that's through
missions, whether
that's through you,
investing in people's
lives and sharing what
Jesus has done for
you. God doesn't want
anyone to go to hell.
He doesn't. And it is
incumbent upon us to
do everything we can
to reach people with
the good news of
Jesus. Third, you need
to teach your family
God's word. You need
to teach your family.
God's word. I love
this verse from
Deuteronomy six. This
is the amplified
version. These words
talking about God's
word. God's all these
words, which I am
commanding you today
shall be written on
your heart. And mind
you shall teach them
diligently to your
children, impressing
God's precepts on
their months and
penetrating their
hearts with his truth
and shall speak of
them when you sit in
your house and when
you walk on the road
and when you lie down
and when you get up,
we are responsible for
the discipleship of
our children, not the
church, but, but we as
parents in it coming
upon us to raise our
children up in godly
homes, to teach them
about God's word, to
teach them about
Jesus, to teach them
about loving God and
loving other people.
How can you prepare by
preparing your
children by investing
with them in them, the
word of God. And as
the church, the church
wants to come
alongside of you and
give you tools to help
your children grow.
But we've got to teach
our family God's word.
And lastly, you need
to make Jesus your
priority. Second,
Peter, three 11
through 12 ICB
version. And that way
everything will be
destroyed. He's
talking about the end
of time and that way
everything will be
destroyed. So what
kind of people should
you be? You should
live Holy loves and
serve God. You should
wait for the day of
God and look forward
to it's coming
friends. We need to
make Jesus a priority
in our lives. We can't
be distracted by
what's going on in the
world. What's going on
at work. Jesus has to
be our focus. Jesus
has to be our
priority. Again, for
many of us, we can
remember that time. We
gave our life to him.
We can remember the
excitement. We can
remember the passion.
We can remember
wanting to pray. We
can remember wanting
to read God's word,
but somehow over the
years, we've just
drifted away. Let's
make Jesus our
priority. Again, let's
get into his word.
Let's spend time in
prayer. Let's serve
like never before.
Let's be generous.
Let's focus on Jesus
in order to focus on
Jesus. You've got to
know him and maybe
you're watching today.
And there's never been
a time in your life
where you've placed
your faith. You've
placed your trust in
Jesus. Every one of us
is born a sinner.
We're all born
naturally wanting to
rebel against God,
naturally wanting to
be our own boss,
naturally wanting to
be the Lord of our own
life. And the Bible
says because of that
rebellion, our
relationship with God
is broken and we are
destined for a very
real place called
hell. But God loves
you so much. The Bible
said that he sent his
one and only son,
Jesus Christ, that
anyone who believes in
him will not perish,
but have everlasting
life. God sent Jesus
because he loves you.
God sent Jesus to save
you. God sent Jesus so
that you could live in
eternity, in heaven
with him after you
die. But while you're
on this earth, you
could have an abundant
and blessed life
following him. Jesus
died on the cross. He
was buried in a
borrowed tomb and he
Rose again three days
later to prove to
everyone that he's
exactly who he says.
He was the son of God
in the flesh. The one
that had the ability
to forgive and set
free. And if you will
place your trust in
Jesus today, he will
forgive you of your
sin. He will set you
free. He will restore
relationship with God.
You will know with
confidence that you
have a home in heaven
and he will send his
spirit to live inside
of you to lead and
guide you each and
every day. But it's a
decision only you can
make. Are you ready
for the return of the
King? Are you
prepared? It all
starts with Jesus. You
say Jason, that's me.
I want to give my life
to Jesus today. I
invite you to pray
this with me. I know
I'm not ready. I know
I haven't followed you
like I should today. I
realize I'm a sinner
in need of a savior.
I've been going own
way with my life. I've
been trying to make my
own decisions and be
my own boss. Be my own
God, no more today. I
decided to trust
Jesus. I believe that
Jesus died on a cross
for me and Rose again
from the grave. I'll
place my faith in him
today to save me, to
change me, to give
me a brand new life.
Jesus, you are my
Lord. And I want to
follow you for the
rest of my life in
Jesus. It's in yours,
your name. I pray as
you listen. That's the
greatest decision you
can ever make with
your life. But I want
to ask you, please
don't change the
channel. Please don't
turn this video off
without letting me
know. You can go to
our website and fill
out the digital
connect card. You can
fill it out in the
post above or the
comments below police.
Just give me a name
and email address.
Just some way to reach
out to you. I want to
pray for you by name
specifically. And I
want to send you
resources that will
help you grow to
become more like
Jesus. At the end of
every service, we
dedicate Tom to prayer
and to worship. And so
in just a moment,
we're going to worship
together one last
time. And if you need
prayer, I invite you
to stop what you're
doing. Just cry out to
God. Maybe you have
some prayer requests
you want to let us
know about. You can
post them in the
comments below if
you're comfortable or
you can fill out our
online prayer card,
our website and our
pastoral team, our per
team is ready to lift
up your name to Jesus.
Let's worship
together. And if you
need Jesus, we thank
you. We thank you that
everything that's
going
to happen in the end
times has purpose God.
We thank you that
there is nothing that
is outside of your
control. We thank you
that you were aware
that you have purposed
each and every moment
for your honor and for
your glory. And we
thank you that we can
have peace that we
don't have to live in
fear because we trust
you. Jesus and God, I
pray today for those
who got need to just
recommit themselves a
fresh and a new to
you, God, that you
would just give them
great faith that you
would pour out grace
and purpose into their
lives. God, that you
would give them a
great peace and
father. I pray that
you would give them
fresh wind and fresh
fire as they follow
you. Lord, for those
who are just
struggling this
morning, dealing with
hurts or bad habits or
hangups in their life.
Father, I pray for
healing over each and
everyone. Father. We
love you. And we're
going to give you the
honor and glory for
what you do and it's
in Jesus' name. We
pray. Amen. Thank you
again for spending a
little bit of time
with us, but more
importantly with God
today, we would love
to hear from you. So
please let us know if
you have any questions
about the message or
any prayer requests.
Did you decide to give
your life to Christ
today? If so, we want
to congratulate you.
It's truly
the best and most
important decision you
will ever make. The
Bible says that you
are reborn when you
acknowledged Jesus as
your personal Lord and
savior, and we would
love to help guide you
through what that
means and your next
steps as a new
believer. But we can
only do that if you
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great week. See you
next time.

This morning, we are continuing
our in time series of the return
of the King with everything going
on around the globe. There's been
a lot of talk about the end of
the world and Jesus coming back.
The Bible does teach that there
will be certain events that
happen in the last days, but we
want to make sure that we are
looking through the hype and
through the fear-mongering in
order to get the most biblically
accurate information possible.
And I don't want you to just have
information. I want you to be
encouraged and empowered to make
a kingdom impact in this world.
Now last week and the week before
we quickly walked through the
major events of the, in times the
rapture of the church, the
tribulation, the second coming of
Christ, the millennium, the great
white throne judgment and
eternity future. And today we're
going to hone in and talk about
the tribulation. Last week we
discussed the rapture of the
church. We said that the next
major event that is going to
happen is that Jesus believers in
Jesus are willing to be
transformed and meet him in the
air. And if you'll remember,
there are two purposes for the
rapture first to save the church
from the wrath that is going to
be poured out on the earth and to
with the church removed some
scholars referred to the church
as the restrainer or the Holy
spirit. As the restrainer with
that remove, Satan can finally
empower and reveal the
antichrist. Now I've said many
times that during each of these
major events, there are going to
be multiple other events
happening in heaven and on earth.
So what I want us to do today is
I want us to look at what happens
after the rapture. So the first
question is what's going on in
heaven after the rapture, if
you're taking notes first, there
was going to be an event called
the judgment seat of Christ.
Matthew 16, 27 says for the son
of man will come with his angels
and the glory of his father, and
will judge all people according
to their deeds. The Bible talks
about a special judgment that God
will hold for believers in Jesus
Christ. Only it's known as the
judgment seat of Christ or the
judgment seat of God. This is not
a judgment to determine who will
enter heaven. The sins of
believers will not be an issue at
the judgment seat of Christ
because the ju the sins of
believers have already been
forgiven with the death of Jesus.
On the cross. The destiny of
Christians has been once. And for
all settled, there is no
condemnation for those who are in
Christ. Jesus, you see the
judgment seat of Christ is not
designed to punish believers, but
rather reward Christians for
faithful service. All of us will
give an account for what did with
our lives after trusting Christ
as savior. So the judgment seat
of Christ is a judgment of
believers works after their
salvation. Then there will be an
event called the marriage supper
of the lamb it's described in
revelation 19, starting in verse
seven, let us be glad and
rejoice, and let us give honor to
him for the Thomas come for the
wedding feast of the lamb and his
broad has prepared herself. She
has been given the fondest of
pure white linen to wear for the
fine linen represents the good
deeds of God's Holy people. And
the angel said to me, write this
blessed are those who were
invited to the wedding feast of
the lamb. And he added, these are
true words that come from God. If
you remember John, the writer of
revelation, he had seen a vision.
And in this vision, he heard all
of heaven praising God, because
the wedding feast of the lamb,
literally the marriage supper was
about to begin. This is what the
Bible describes as the wedding
between Jesus Christ and his
church. Now concept of this
marriage, supper is better
understood when we know how
Jewish weddings took place while
Jesus was on the earth. First,
these wedding customs had three
major parts. A marriage contract
was signed by the parents of the
bride and the groom, and then the
parents of the groom or the groom
would pay a dowry to the Broad's
parents. And this was what was
called the betrothal
or what we would call an
engagement period. Then the
second step of the process
usually occurred about a year
later, when the groom accompanied
by his male friends would go to
the house of the bride at
midnight, creating a torch light
to parade through the streets.
The broad would know in advance
that this was going to take place
and she would be ready with her
maidens. And they would all join
the parade in up at the groom's
house. And why don't we still do
this? Isn't that fun. And then
the third phase was the marriage
supper itself, which may go on
for days. It was a huge
celebration. And in these verses,
we just read, we see a picture of
the wedding feast of Jesus Christ
and the church, and it's in the
third phase. And the implication
is, is that the first two phases
had already taken place. The
first phase was completed on
earth when each individual
believer placed his or her faith
in Jesus Christ as savior,
because Jesus paid the price for
us by shedding his blood on the
cross. And the second phase
symbolizes the rapture of the
church when Jesus Christ came to
claim his bride. So what we see
going on in heaven is this
marriage supper, sometime between
the rapture and the second
coming, and the Bible describes
it as a glorious celebration,
Jesus is going to throw a party
and we get to be a part
of it. Now what's happening in
the earth during this time, while
celebration is going on. And
after the rapture, Kayla breaks
out on the earth, millions of
people have vanished and
unbelievers will be left behind
to face a series of disturbing
events called the tribulation.
Jesus spoke about the tribulation
and Matthew 24 21. He said, this
will be the worst time of
suffering since the beginning of
the world. And yet nothing, this
terrible will ever happen again.
And the tribulation is a period
of seven years, which God's
judgment will be poured out on
sinful humanity. And this is the
fulfillment of a prophecy that we
find in Daniel chapter nine,
starting in verse 24, 70 sevens
org decreed for your people in
your Holy city to finish
transgression, to put sin, to end
to a tone for wickedness, to
bring in everlasting
righteousness, to seal up vision
and prophecy and to anoint the
most Holy place. No one
understand this from the time the
word goes out to restore and
rebuild Jerusalem until the
anointed one, the ruler comes
there will be seven sevens and 62
sevens. There will be rebuilt
with streets and a trench, but in
times of trouble after the 62
sevens, the anointed one will be
put to death and will have
nothing. The people of the ruler
who will come to the steroid, the
city and the sanctuary, the end
will come like a flood war will
continue until the
end. And desolations have been
decreed. You see what the Bible
is talking about with those 70
sevens? It is a period of 490
years. And based on this
prophecy, when it was written,
there would be 49 years until the
rebuilding of the Jerusalem and
the temple, and then 434 years
until the Messiah would come and
be killed. And so according to
this prophecy, there are seven
years left. There are seven years
left to be fulfilled in this
prophecy. And that is the time we
call the tribulation or the time
of Jacob's trouble. And so what I
want us to do is today, I want us
to talk about the first three and
a half years of the tribulation.
What's going to be going on all
on earth during that first three
and a half years, if you're
taking notes, the first thing
will be the battle of God. And
may God. We see this in executive
chapters, 38 and 39 at the
beginning of the tribulation, a
leader referred to as God of the
land of may, God will lead a
great army from the North of
Israel in Alliance with several
other countries from the middle
East and Africa. And they are
going to attack the nation of
Israel. But the scriptures say
that God will send wild animals
and confusion and fire and
disease and hailstones and
burning sulfur. And he will super
naturally protect the nation of
Israel. It says that so
many of Israel's enemies will be
killed. It will take seven months
for the dead to be buried. Now,
this is not the battle of
Armageddon. That is something
that happens much later, but
there will be this battle. There
will be this war at a time of
relative peace in Israel. And God
is going to show up in a powerful
way, just like he did in the old
Testament, Tom and Tom again. And
he is going to fight for Israel
and protect the nation. We also,
we're going to see what we call a
revived Roman empire, Daniel
seven seven says then in my
vision that night, I saw a North
beast terrifying, dreadful, and
very strong, outward, and crushed
its victims with huge iron teeth
and trampled, their remains
beneath its feet. It was
different from any other beast.
It had 10 horns. Now in this, the
vision that Daniel had in this
prophecy, he was talking about a
government that is going to rise
up because after all of the chaos
of the rapture, there will be
many world leaders who will be
gone. There will be many
governments that have no
leadership in some people call
this a one-world government. As
I've studied. I believe that this
will be a revived Roman empire
and a powerful government will
rise to power and dominate the
world. During the end times. Now
this could be either a world
political system or more likely a
specific nation
or a Federation of nations.
That's going to be led by one
ruler. And the fact that it
mentions the element, iron
suggests a connection to Rome,
and the 10 toes could imply that
there will be a 10 nation
Confederacy, but revelation
describes this government has
last and less and full of tyranny
and it's require absolute
submission and financial and
spiritual and political matters.
There will be a government that
rises up that really tries to
dominate and take over the world.
After the rapture, I mentioned
that there will be a ruler over
this nation or this Confederacy
of nations. And we called this
ruler, the antichrist. And so
after this begins to happen, we
are going to see the rise of
someone we call the antichrist or
the Bible refers to them as the
beast. We see this in second
Thessalonians, two, seven, and
eight for this lawlessness is
already at work secretly, and it
will remain secret until the one
who is holding it back steps out
of the way. Then the man of
lawlessness will be revealed, but
the Lord Jesus Christ will slay
him with the breadth of his mouth
and destroy him by the splendor
of his coming. You see this new
powerful government will be led
by a satanic empowered person who
promises world peace, but they
will really be after world
domination and this person, well,
it's not an all-inclusive list,
but the antichrist, the Bible
says will be a
genius in the areas of concern,
immerse, and war and speech and
politics. Antichrist will be able
to perform counterfeit and
miracles. This person will
receive their power directly from
Satan. He won't magnify himself.
He will want people to see him as
a God. He will want to be worse.
And the triple we'll start with
him brokering a seven year peace
treaty with the nation of Israel.
Now, at first people in the
world, they will be sieved into
thinking that this person is an
incredible leader. Someone who is
going to heal the world after the
chaos and the grief associated
with the rapture. I mean, he's
going to be able to broker middle
East peace, right? Something no
one's been able to do, but as
time goes on, the world will see
who he truly is because
ultimately he wants to be
worshiped. He wants people to see
him as a God. That's something I
see a lot of people doing right
now on social media is accusing
world leaders of being the
antichrist or trying to figure
out who the antichrist is. It is
important to understand since
Christians will be raptured
before the beginning of the
tribulation, those who are alive
before the rapture will not see
the antichrist rise to power.
It's possible that Christians
will see this person on the world
stage, but they will not be able
to recognize him as the beast or
the antichrist because this
person will not
have yet made moves towards world
domination. You see, since Satan
doesn't know the timing of the
rapture, he always has to be
ready with what many people call
the unholy, Trinity, Satan, the
antichrist, and another figure
who is going to have a prominent
role in that is the false
prophet. But sometimes the Bible
refers to him as the second beast
revelation 1311 says, then I saw
another beast come up out of the
earth. He had two horns like
those of a lamb, but he spoke
with the voice of a dragon. He
exercise all the authority of the
first beast and he required all
the earth and its people to
worship. The first beast whose
fatal wound had been healed. He
did astounding miracles, even
making fire flashed down to earth
from the sky while everyone was
watching and with all the
miracles he was allowed to
perform on behalf of the first
beast, he deceived all the people
who belong to the world. You see
where the antichrist is going to
lead the world political system.
The false prophet will be a say,
tonically empowered leader who
will lead a world religious
system. He is going to give the
impression that he is gentle and
harmless, but he will speak with
the very words of Satan. The
false prophet will actually
promote the worship of the
antichrist as God. And people are
going to listen to this false
prophet because he's going to be
able
to perform miracles. One specific
sign. The Bible says is that he
will be able to make fire come
from heaven in front of people.
And these spectacular miracles
will mesmerize and deceive the
world. The false prophet will be
there. The driving force behind
the Mark of the beast that we'll
talk about next week. Now I know
what you're thinking, Jason, this
sounds discouraging. And it
sounds bleak. And it sounds
scary, but you don't understand.
Even in the midst of the
tribulation, God is still going
to be moving. God is still going
to be working and God is still
going to be changing lives
because the Bible says that God
is going to provide two witnesses
in revelation 11 three, and I
will give power to my two
witnesses and they will be closed
in burlap. And they will prophesy
during those 1,260 days, God is
going to send two people to share
the gospel of Jesus Christ,
accompanied by miraculous signs
and wonders. And we don't know
who these two people will be, but
many scholars believe that this
will be Alijah and knock from the
old Testament because each of
them were taken up to heaven.
Without dying revelation says
they will be so powerful that no
one will be able to stop them
while they are doing God's work,
work. And at the end of their
ministry. And they have said
everything that they needed to
say, the Bible says the
antichrist will
kill them. And the evil world
will rejoice. Their bodies will
be allowed to lie in the streets
of Jerusalem, but three and a
half days later, the Bible says
these witnesses will be
resurrected. And in full view of
their enemies, they will ascend
to heaven to be with God. In
addition to these two witnesses,
the Bible there'll be 144,000
Jews who give their lives to
Christ. And their mission will be
to evangelize the post rapture
world and to proclaim the gospel
during the tribulation. I love
this even while God is pouring
out wrath on earth, God in his
great love and compassion is
still providing a way for people
to be saved. It breaks my heart
when people accuse God of being
unloving or unfair or impatient,
because over and over again,
throughout history, he has given
and will continue to give people
the opportunity to accept his
gift of salvation. But he has
also given us the responsibility
and the mission of reaching
people with the gospel. I don't
know about you, but I want people
to experience the marriage,
supper of the lamb. I want people
to experience eternity with Jesus
and not the tribulation. And so,
as we read all of this today,
everything that is going to
happen, I think the question we
have to ask ourselves as Jason,
what does this mean to me? What
am I supposed to do with all
knowing what's going to happen in
heaven, knowing
what's going to happen on earth?
What do I do with this? What we
do with this friends is we learn
how to share the gospel with
other people. We make sharing the
gospel of Jesus Christ, the very
vision and mission of our lives.
We fulfill the great commission
that God has given us because
every person watching every
person listening, who has given
their life to Jesus Christ, you
are a missionary. You are a
minister and God has commissioned
and you to tell people about
Jesus. And so real quickly, what
I want to do is I want to teach
you how to share the gospel with
other people, because information
just makes us arrogant. But when
we know how to apply, God's word
to our life, we can make a
kingdom impact in the life of
others. And so if there is
nothing else, you rat down the
day share with you four simple
steps. This is from Billy
Graham's evangelistic
association, four simple steps to
share the gospel with people.
Number one, tell them about God
God's plan, which is peace and
life. God loves you and wants you
to experience the peace and life
that he offers. Bible says for
God. So loved the world that he
gave his one and only begotten
son that whoever believes in him
should not perish, but have ever
lasted life. God has a plan for
you. Number two, share with them.
Our problem separation from God,
being
at peace with God is not
automatic, but nature. We are all
separated from him. The Bible
says for, we have all sinned and
fallen short of the glory of God.
God is Holy, but we are human.
And don't measure up to his
perfect standard. We are sinful
and the wages of sin, his death.
Then you talk about God's remedy
the cross of Jesus Christ. God's
love, love bridges. The gap of
separation between you and him.
When Jesus Christ died on the
cross and Rose again from the
grave he paid penalty for your
sins. The Bible says he himself
bore our sins in his body on the
cross so that we might die to
sins and live for righteousness.
By his wounds, you have been
healed. The crown cost is God's
remedy an hour response. Number
four, our responses that we
receive Christ you cross the
bridge, the God's family. When
you accept Jesus, Christ's free
gift of salvation. The Bible
says, but as many as received him
to them, he gave the right to
become children of God, Romans
10, 13, whoever calls upon the
name of the Lord will be saved.
And so maybe, you know, people in
your life, maybe it's people in
your family, maybe it's people at
school, people in your workplace.
And you say, Jason, I know, I
know that they need Jesus. You
can walk through these four steps
with them and help lead them to
peace and life
in Jesus Christ. It may be.
You're even watching right now.
And there's never been a time in
your life where you've given your
life to Jesus Christ. The same
words apply to you. There is
peace and there is life available
in Jesus. We may be born
separated from God, but because
of God's great love for you. He
gave up his son, Jesus, to die on
a cross and then resurrect
himself from the dead so that you
can have forgiveness and freedom
and accepting. This is a decision
that only you can make, uh, a
pastor cannot make it for you.
Your parents cannot make it for
you, but you have to decide to
choose Jesus today. And if that's
okay, you and you say, Jason,
yes. I want Jesus to be the Lord
of my life. I invite you to pray
a prayer with me this morning.
Pray, dear Lord, Jesus. I know
that I'm a sinner. And I ask for
your forgiveness. I believe you
died for my sins and Rose from
the dead. I trust and follow you
as my Lord and savior guide my
life and help me do your will.
Jesus. It's in your name. We
pray. Amen. And if that was you
today, I want to congratulate you
because that is the greatest
decision that you could ever make
with your life to place your
faith, your trust and follow
Jesus. But please do not change
the channel. Please do not
turn this video off without
letting us know, because we want
to reach out to you and pray for
you by name and give you
resources to help you grow in
your faith. So if you made that
decision today, please go to
website and fill out the digital
connect card. If you're watching
online, it's the post above or
the comments below Jesus loves
you. And he is for you and we
love you. And we are for you. And
we want you to be a part of our
family here. Now at the end of
every service, we dedicate time
to worship and prayer, and today
is no different. Maybe you're
watching and you've got something
going on in your life. And you
would say, Jason, I just need
somebody to pray for me. Pray
with me. It would be our honor
and privilege to do just that. If
you feel comfortable, you can
post your prayer requests in the
comments below, or you can go to
our website and fill out our
prayer card online. And we would
love to be praying for you. I'll
also want to share with you that
over the next few weeks, as we
prepare for Easter, our prayer
team and our staff is going to be
praying for anyone in your life
that needs to give their lives to
Jesus. And so we want to pray
with you on that point. And so if
you have people in your family,
people
in your workplace and they don't
know Jesus, and you would like
for us to pray for them, I invite
you to email their first names
only to
online@fondrefugehere.com. And it
would be our honor and privilege
to pray over each other. Every
one of those nights, let's
worship. And let's pray together
this morning. Jesus. We love you.
And we thank you, God that even
though we don't know everything,
that's going to happen in the
future at Jesus. We know the one
who holds the future in his hands
and Jesus, we say, we trust you.
We love you. We adore you. And we
worship you and father today. I
know that there are so many
people that are going through
tough times. They're going
through difficult circumstances
and father. I thank you in
advance that you are aware of
what is going on. That nothing
has taken you by surprise and God
that you have grace set aside for
each and every person and each
and every situation. And so God I
ask you today, would you meet
people where they're at in this
moment? And God, would you give
them everything they need
spiritually, emotionally God, to
make it through father of people,
situations need to change. God, I
pray that you would change him.
God, maybe it's not the situation
that needs to change. Maybe it's
them. Maybe it's an attitude.
Maybe it's a belief about you.
God, I pray that you would just
transform
us and make us more like you, Oh
God, would you pour out peace and
joy and the love into our hearts?
May we be everything that you
have created and call us to be
Jesus? And it is in your name. We
pray. Amen.