The Clock Keeps Ticking by Kevin Allen June 26, 2022 · Centerpointe Apostolic Church (Murfreesboro, TN) Kind: sermon Scripture: Revelation 12:7-12, Revelation 12:17, Galatians 3:29, Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 14:12, Revelation 2:9, 2 Thessalonians 2, Matthew 7, Revelation 16, 1 Timothy 4, Matthew 24, 2 Timothy 3, 2 Corinthians 11, Luke 10:17-20, John 12:31-32 Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/kevin-allen--the-clock-keeps-ticking Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page. Free to copy and share with attribution. ------------------------------------------------------------ Gonna go to the book of Revelations chapter 12. And for some of you, as soon as I say we're going to Revelations, you get nervous. It's all right. God gave us that word too. Amen. Revelations chapter 12 — I'll talk a little bit about things that are to come. Save my title for just a second. But Revelations chapter 12, verse number 7, it says: And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not. But we should shout right there: prevailed not. Neither was there a place found anymore in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. He was cast out into the earth, and his angels are cast out with him. Then John pens these words: I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ, for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and love not their lives unto death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. Skip into verse 17: And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with a remnant of her seed, which keepeth the commandments of God, and half the testimony of Jesus Christ. And for just one more verse, over in the book of Galatians, chapter 3, verse 29, says: If ye be Christ, then you're Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. And for a little while, I wan — and I got me a little sermon prop. Don't you like it when the man of God brings us herman prop? Got a little sermon prop here. I want to make sure we're good to go, and I'm going to preach for just a little while. The clock keeps ticking. The clock keeps ticking. You know, the culture of the day and the spirit that we fight against has led many in our world, specifically here in America, to where very few actually believe in a literal devil anymore. The Barna Group, which is the group who studies in religious movements and church research, found that in their latest survey, only 40 of Americans believe Satan is an actual being. Now that's as a whole. It's little better in the church, because when they polled the church, where 69 of Catholics and 65 percent of Protestants believe the notion of Satan is only simply symbolic of evil. Now this begs me to ask questions. If Satan is not an actual person, then we have little use for the Bible, because God's word centers around an ongoing conflict between God and Lucifer. Revelation 12 that I just read to you to begin this message here today is John reaching back in time to emphasize two monumental events that took place in history that eventually lead to the conflict between good and evil at the end of tribulation. He talked about the humiliation of Satan, the dragon that was cast out of heaven with his followers, those angels, and then the birth of the man child, Jesus, by a woman, and their persecution by him. Mankind became involved in this conflict in the garden of Eden, when they became the unwitting pawns of the devil's revenge upon God. You see, Satan had a choice to serve God, but refused. It was his jealousy of mankind's choice, that you and I, we have an opportunity, we have a chance, we have hope, because we can repent. But he wants to ensure that we refuse that option also. The greatest thing that God gave us outside of salvation was the freedom of choice and the opportunity for you and I to repent, because the devil doesn't get that option. Therefore he has denied what you and I have, a gift called hope. For regardless of how dark the hour is, or decisions that I may have made, or consequences that have been visited upon me, I still have there an underlying hope, by which God purchased for me at Calvary. Satan was successful in leading Adam and Eve and to sin. But God intervened in a redemptive act and spoke this promise in Genesis 3:15: I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. And it was from that very moment things begin to move forward. And Satan began to work non-stop on his plans to, to, to launch a preemptive strike against God, by aborting the line through which man child was to come. He wanted to stop God's people at all costs. And he did so by lying, deceiving, by cheating, by taking the very words of God and rearranging the order, to make you and I question whether or not God could be trusted. He wanted to stop God's people at all cost. We see it from the very beginning, because he filled Cain with enough hatred to murders, to murder his own brother. But even when that happened, God raised up Seth. He led mankind into enough wickedness that God destroyed the world by flood. But in that process, God raised up a Noah. He deceived men with false religions that worship gods of nature. But in the middle of all that, God raised up an Abraham. He caused Pharaoh to issue death warrant for all Hebrew babies. But God spoiled that plan through Pharaoh's own daughter, in some well-timed tears, a little baby called Moses. He tempted Israel into lustful debaucheries before a golden calf. But God raised up the sons of Levi. He bribed the prophets of Balaam to curse the nation of Israel. But God took control of Balaam's donkey, and God took control of Balaam's tongue. He frightened the spies with giants in the land. But God raised up a Joshua and a Caleb who said, we can take it. He tried to starve the nation through raids of the Midianites. But God raised up a little man named Gideon who was willing to follow after Him. He bound the strong man Samson with cords of lust that he could not break, and handed him over to the Philistines, who poked his eyes out, and for him to rot in prison. But God gave Samson his greatest victory when he repented in his lowest moment. He polluted the priesthood of Israel through the wickedness of Eli's son. But in the middle of that, God raised up a Samuel. He snared King Saul with the sin of pride. But God raised up a man after His own heart named David. The queen Athaliah tried to kill the royal seed. But the priesthood hid little Joe Ash in the closet in the church. He helped Haman hatch his plot of genocide against the Jews. But God raised up a queen Esther who was not afraid to appear before the king and plead her calls. Satan tried to tempt Jesus in the desert, but he whipped up a storm trying to drown Him when He was sleeping. He incited the angry townspeople to try to throw Him off a cliff. He stirred up the hatred of the Pharisees and the chief priests, until they were successful at orchestrating the crucifixion. He even infiltrated the famous twelve through a man named Judas. But in the, in the middle of all that, God still had a plan. And there was a resurrection that fold everything the enemy had going. And the resurrection changed everything. And now you and I have a promise. We have an everlasting covenant to spend eternity with Jesus in heaven. We have a hope. We have a victory. We have a final blow, and the devil cannot overcome that. The devil is on a deadline, and he's fighting tooth and nail, because he's very aware that the clock keeps Ticking. He knows his fate. He knows what lies for him, that he has no hope. And with everything in him, he's trying to fight what God is trying to do through you and I. Isaiah 14:12 says: Howard thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, sun in the morning. How they are cut down to the ground, which did us weaken the nations. I don't know if you ever studied this out, or spending any time specifically directing your attention towards this, but here's the truth. There are no recorded cases of demon possession in the Old Testament, but you'll find it rampant in the New. It's because there was a war that was being waged between God and the devil, and it's a spiritual conflict for our very soul. You see, Israel in the Old Testament had a physical covenant, but we in the New have a spiritual one. And, and by going into that spiritual covenant, you and I enter into spiritual blessings, but we also enter into spiritual battles. You see, ladies and gentlemen, the warfare moved from heaven to earth into incarnation. And we're still fighting a ground warfare every day of our life. See, somewhere along the way — and especially in our culture, and here in America, and I'm thankful to be an American, I'm thankful for our country, and I'm thankful that I'm here, and I'm blessed, and that we can still meet like this today and have the freedom and liberties afforded to us — but somewhere along the way, this entitlement mentality has crept its way into the church. And if we're not careful, it will skew the very Word of God and cause us to believe something that is not true. So if you give me just a minute to unpack that. Somewhere along the way, we have convinced ourselves that if I can be obedient to God's word and live according to His plan and purpose, that no bad thing should ever happen to me. I don't know where we got that mindset, that if I'm doing, and I'm being obedient, then I should never have a problem. I should never incur any, any issues. There should never be something that shouldn't go the way that I want it to go. And we, we live in a world where everybody gets a trophy. And, and we, we can simply just show up and participate, and it's okay, we're included in the bunch. And, and that stuff's being force-fed upon us, that we have a right to certain things, and, and there are certain entitlements that are just a part. And this is not a political message. Please don't turn it into a political message. I rebuke that in Jesus' name. I'm talking about a spirit in the day that has an agenda, because the enemy knows the clock is ticking, and he's doing everything he can to cause you and I to stumble into deception, to, to, to be hidden from the promises that God's word has for us. And, and we have a book full of promises, but the promises are if-then promises. That if My people, which are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven. I will pour out. It's an if-then promise. It didn't just — if I show up at the house of God from time to time, that if I participate in a few things, that it guarantees me an easy life, where I never incur anything that's outside of what I feel like it should be. I'm here to tell you something. Bad things happen to good people. And whether you like it or not, it's a simple truth. Sin is in the world, and it is running rampant. And sin leaves destructive paths everywhere it goes. It does not negate the truth that you and I have hope in this world, that this is not the best it's going to be. I'm here to tell you, if you're satisfied living here, you're never, ever going to make it to heaven, because this is not my home. I like my conveniences. I like things to go my way. But it doesn't always work out exactly the way I want it to. It's okay. I still am going to be obedient to God, even when things don't go my way, even when I don't understand why this happened to me, or why that happened to somebody that I love. Why did a terrible incident, or situation, or circumstances — I can't explain everything that goes on. But it doesn't negate the fact our God is good, and He is faithful, and He is true. And the enemy loves planting seeds of offense everywhere he goes, because if he can get you offended, he has you defeated. He knows the clock is ticking. He knows the clock is ticking. He knows his time is short. And he's doing everything he can. He's pulling out all the punches to make sure that you stumble over something. Because if he can keep you second guessing, if God's really good, he knows he keeps you from the very thing he can never have, which is hope. He has no new tricks. He's been doing the same things from the beginning, to cause you to second guess, can God be trusted? The same ploy, the same tricks, the same things are happening today in our world. Because we are fighting a spiritual battle, and the only way you can become spiritually victorious is you got to fight in the spirit. This isn't a fleshly thing. This isn't something you can physically do. You or I, are the strongest one of us in this room, if we all combine together, we're not physically strong enough to overcome a spiritual battle. But the smallest, most weakest, feeble one of us in the room can be activated in the spirit, and you become a giant that the enemy is afraid of. He's afraid you'll understand your potential. He's afraid that you'll take the Word of God for what it means, that you can do all things through Christ. You don't have to take a back seat. You don't have to step back. Maybe it's not going the right way right now. Maybe you've stumbled and falled. But I'm here to tell you, get back up one more time, because you are guaranteed a victory in Him. We're not fighting flesh and blood. Satan is the master of falsehood. He loves to deceive with his lies. Revelations 2 and 9 talks about that. He has a synagogue in people. Second Thessalonians 2 says he has power and signs and wonders. Revelations 12 and 9 says he deceives the whole world. We read that verse already. Matthew 7, he uses sinners to prophesy and cast out devils and do wonderful works. Revelation 16, he works miracles. First Timothy 4, he has his own doctrine. Timothy called our — Depaul called it to Timothy — the doctrine of demons. He uses false prophets and false Christs and evil men and seducers, according to Matthew 24 and 2 Timothy 3. He disguises himself as an angel of light, according to Second Corinthians 11. He has so many tactics that he uses to come after you and I, to try to overcome and overrun the church. He accuses. He is the accuser of the brethren. He condemns. How many of us have faced that condemnation? He tries to spew at us. He, he devours. He imprisons. He ensnares. He takes advantage. He steals the word away. He is powerful. He is a worthy opponent, opponent. But he labors under one crippling fact: his dreaded sentence of eternal imprisonment, without possibility of parole. He lives with every day, and he knows the clock won't stop ticking. Every minute of every hour, he hears that clock ticking. God inserted time in eternity. When He did, you put the devil on notice. The clock keeps ticking. His goal is to rob you of the thing that you and I have, that is hope. And he works under the terrifying reality that every moment, you have an opportunity to buy in to truth. You have that, and he does not. Luke chapter 10, verse 17: And the 70 returned again With joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject to us through Thy name. Jesus responded. He said to them: I beheld Satan as lightning falling from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. And nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding — listen to these words — notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. Your names are written in heaven. Things may not be going the way you want them to, but I promise you, if you'll stay obedient to His word — if you want to allow the events that take place here in this world to spoil you, to cause you to be offended, to cause you to stumble — if you'll stay true to His word, there's coming a day when He's coming back for somebody that is called a bride, called by His name, for those whose names are written in the Lamb's book. That's what you need to rejoice in, is that you have the ability to overcome anything the enemy can throw at you. I want you to notice that Jesus ties Satan fall not only to His victory on Calvary, but also to the achievements done by His disciples. You and I have something to do. The King has kingdom work for you and I to do. Every time we take authority over the devil, he is cast down again. We have that ability. But you can't just do it in the flesh. You can't just do it in the flesh. And it's not just saying you want it done in Jesus' name. Now we believe, in doing everything we do, we do it in that name. Whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of Jesus. We know that. But there's a difference in somebody who says in Jesus' name in the flesh, and somebody who's in the spirit when they activate that holy name. We're in a spiritual fight, ladies and gentlemen. I'm asking you, what are you taking authority over today? What are you taking authority over today? The enemy's fighting you. He hears the clock, and the clock doesn't stop. The clock keeps ticking. But I want to know what you're taking authority over in your life. Some of you are facing some stuff, and the reason you're going through is because you've stopped taking authority in Jesus' name over those things. You have the right, as a child of the King, to go boldly into the throne room every opportunity you want, and, and take authority over those things that are coming against you, that are coming against your family, that are coming against your body, that are coming against your friends, that are coming against your workplace. I'm speaking somebody today, to tell you there's a lot of stuff you're putting up with that you don't have to put up with. You don't have to accept that this is how it's going to be. I'll refute. That's a lie from the pit of hell. You are a child of the King. It's time for you to engage in the spirit, and start standing on the Word of God, and take authority over your family, in Jesus' name. Take authority over your home, in Jesus' name. Take authority over your body, in Jesus' name. Take authority over your workplace, in the name of Jesus. You have that right. The clock keeps ticking. Don't be ignorant of his devices. Don't you get caught up in the devil's deadline. Listen to me. He's got a deadline. He knows, and he knows this time is drawing close. If anything, can't you see that things are lining themselves up for the end? Can't you see, just the events of the past week got to let you know, God's doing something. God's doing something. The Spirit is moving, and it's fighting. It's at war with the spirit of the world. And I tell you, like I said at the beginning, this message — this is the church's finest hour. It's not time for us to become complacent. It's not time for us to become lukewarm. It's time for us to be on fire, and understand, if there's ever a time to take up the authority in the name of Jesus, if there's ever a time to grab your sword and fight, ladies and gentlemen, it's right now. John chapter 12: Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And if I be lifted up from earth, I will draw oh man unto Me. The devil knows, beyond any shadow of a doubt, this time is short. Prophetically, this is beyond question, according to the prophecies of the Word of God. Satan is feverishly working to do all he can to try to spoil. He's working on large-scale plots, to try to get people to live in the shadows of what is there, to stay veiled to the truth. And God's revealing Himself. There are some things I know that many of you are struggling. Why can't people understand what's going on? Why can't they see God moving? Well, the Word of God explain that. Let's go to Second Corinthians chapter four a little bit later today, and read it for yourselves. Some things are veiled. They can only be revealed to you in the spirit. That's why, church, I got to stand up here as your pastor and tell you, this isn't time to be skipping prayer time. This isn't time to be skipping on reading the Word of God. This isn't time for you to be lulled to sleep by all the, by all the conveniences that the world has for us. This isn't time for you to continually be binge watching all these things, to — so there's a constant bombardment of not mind numbing entertainment in your, in your mind, because the enemy is going to lull you to sleep by doing that. This is time for you to be engaging in the spirit. Listen to me. I'm standing on the wall as a watchman, and I'm crying out, telling you, because so many of you are sleeping right now, and you're comfortable where you are. And it's in that moment that the enemy has slept — it has snuck into the back door of your home, that snuck into the back door of your family. He snuck into the back door of your mind, and he's planting seeds of doubt, and seeds of offense, and seeds of hurt, and seeds of pain. And I'm telling you, you need to activate the Holy Ghost inside of you, so that it will illuminate those things in your life, so that you can tear those weeds out before they take a hold of you. Because I'm telling you, if you're not careful, it will grab ahold of you. And an offended, wounded spirit is so hard to overcome. Oh, you can't play around with this. Because you sit long enough — you've set long enough in this — and before long, there will be a delusion coming your way. And it'll feel like the presence of God, and you will believe a lie, and you will stand and defend it. And the enemy's got you. Because he will rob you of your hope, of everything. He can't have — he can't steal that from you and tape it for himself. But he can rob you from ever experiencing it yourself. That's his mission, is to take it from you. He's good. He's a good devil. Understand what I just said. He's good at what he does. He knows he's on a deadline. He also knows he's on a deadline with you. When you come in trying to make a fresh commitment to God, you become a threat to his kingdom. There's no doubt in my mind, the devil still has nightmares about the Apostle Paul. See, we discount how impactful and powerful we can be in our lives. We, we, we discount. He's, he's on a deadline. That the clock doesn't stop. It just keeps ticking. And he knows his time is short. Now listen to me, okay? I, I feel to revisit this. For just a minute in my spirit. I wish so bad that I could accurately and adequately describe why bad things happen to good people, but I can't. To say that there's sin in the world is the true statement. It is. And, and humanity is broken by sin, and it causes people to do things, unspeakable things, to hurt people in ways they should have never been hurt. Excuse me. I wish I had a better way to give you an answer to that. But, but let me ask you, why do you think you can live life without ever experiencing pain? See, that's what the enemy tries to do, is he tries to visit you and say, if God really loves you, He would never have allowed that to happen to you. And he sits and he talks to us in the quiet time at night, and when we're alone and by ourself. And, and once that moment starts, where he has tipped it over for you to start doubting, he, he just continues to pour on: nobody cares, nobody loves, nobody's ever been there like that. And he just keeps putting more and more on there, until he convinces you that you should have never had to go through what you've went through. Now please, no, I'm not justifying what people do, okay? This is not a justification that people can do bad things and God's just okay with it. God is never okay with sin. Never okay with sin. But for you to think that you can simply live this life and make it to the sunny banks of deliverance, and you have come through, and you've never been charred or burnt or hit or scarred — you, you are on a fool's errand. Life will hurt you. People will hurt you. You will be disappointed in this world. It's just a part of life. But if you allow yourself to be identified in that hurt and in that pain, the enemy will wrap you up in a nice little bowl, and he'll watch you go to hell, because you refuse to get over the fence. And Pastor Kevin, you're being really hard. It's because I'm standing on a wall, and I'm watching some of you set yourself on fire. And you know what God's word says. And you say — you end up finding yourself sitting on the opposite side of the fence, trying to defend a lie that this world has pushed on you. You don't have to live in a fence. You don't have to live in that area. You choose to live over there. That's easy for you to say, Pastor Kevin. You've never been hurt. You don't know what I've been through in my life. Just because there are some things that I don't talk about doesn't mean that I have not been abused myself, because I have. I have. Things have been done to me by people that should have known better, but they did it. Just because I don't talk about it doesn't mean I can't relate to you and your situation. The difference is, I turned it over to God, and that's not my identity. I am His child. He purchased me on Calvary, and I refuse to be identified with a hurt or an offense. And if you don't believe me, then maybe you and I can talk one-on-one. And if I feel the Holy Ghost move, then maybe I'll tell you what was done to me. I don't set up here in judgment. I sit up here preaching my guts out, trying to make sure you make it to heaven. You don't have to like me. You don't even have to be my friend. But if you live in your fence, you'll live in your offense. Because you stepped over me reaching for you. He's on a deadline, but so are you. He hears that clock ticking. But for some of you, you've muted it. You don't hear it anymore. You've gotten so wrapped up into what you think is right, and what you think you deserve. And I'll tell you what. We all deserve a whole lot. But He went to Calvary and took care of all that. He took care of that. Now the enemy is going to fight you with everything he has, because he wants to take hope from you. And the moment he gets you in a hopeless state, he's got you. But the entire time, there's a God who's standing there saying, My arms are still open for you. And people may hurt you, but I'll never hurt you. Family may hurt you, but I'll never hurt you. I'll never hurt you. He stands there as a perfect gentleman on the sidelines, saying, just turn to Me. Just turn to Me. I'm here. I'm here. And He'll meet you where you are. I don't know where you are. I don't know everybody's story in this room. I just know, I just know that one day it will stop. One day it will not tick anymore. Where will you be? Where will you be when you stand before Him? Excuses won't work, for He knows all. He knows what has been done. He knows where you are. And He knows what He has done to reach you, and what you have rejected. One day it will stop. The enemy knows this, and he is fighting with everything he has to rob you of hope, to steal your joy. But are you hearing the clock too? Because one day it will stop. Where will you be? It's not time to pretend everything's all. It's right time. He's coming. Where will you be? Jesus. Oh God, I delivered my heart today to Your church. And I know You're coming back for a bride called by Your name. Lord, I know in this room I can feel the pain and the hurt that is here. And the enemy has worked so hard to rob joy and hope. God, I pray right now, and the authority that is in the name of Jesus, that there would be a release in the spirit right now, that every heavy weight and oppression would be gone from this room right now. Lord, that there would be the ability to worship freely in this room. This altar is open. The clock will stop. Where will you be? Where will you be? Where will you? I think it's time to do some self-evaluation. I invite you to come. Invite you to an altar. You and God can do a little assessing of where you are. Listen to me. Only have so many opportunities. It's your choice today. You can sit. You can leave. You don't have to act. You don't have to engage. It's your choice. But just know, when the clock stops ticking, where you go is your choice. You will have decided, and you will have no one to blame. I wouldn't take those chances. Pastor Kevin, you're preaching a hard message. It's a hard message, yes, because we're fighting against a hard enemy, and he knows that time will run out soon for him, and he's fighting. It's prayer time. It's prayer time, church.