The Last Sermon Before The Rapture | KidzQuest Pastor Nolan Carpenter
by Nolan Carpenter
First Apostolic Church of Maryville (Maryville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Revelation 3:20-22, Revelation 4:1, Genesis 6:11-16, Hebrews 11:7, Revelation 22:20, John 14:6, Matthew 20:28, Hebrews 12:14, Matthew 24:37-38, Revelation 3:20-22, Revelation 4:1, Revelation 3:14, Revelation 3:15-16, Revelation 3:17-19, Revelation 22:7

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/nolan-carpenter--the-last-sermon-before-the-rapture
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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you may be seated for just a moment before we go into the reading of the word of the lord this evening i do want to say it is so good to see pastor erickson in the house this evening god knows that he was on him this morning and he wants me to say thank you for all the text and all everything all the calls all the text he is feeling great this evening and god definitely had his hand in this morning's service if you believe that would you say amen he also wanted me to say thank you to his tag team preacher brother john fowler way to be instant in season and out of season how do you love brother john fowler i know i do his testimony a few weeks ago in that song and i don't know if this is prophetic or just common sense but i don't believe god's done with brother john fowler how many believe that i believe that amen and amen pastor carpenter and sister carpenter send their greetings this evening they are preaching in chile and santia uh chile and they will be back i believe tuesday tuesday all i know is pastor said doesn't matter when they get back but all you need to know is they're going to be here wednesday night for for bible study here at first apostolic church and we're excited about that i'm excited to get our pastor and first lady home amen i know they are having a wonderful time and i do believe they get in on tuesday and they will be here for our mid-week our mid-week bible study you'd be so kind to stand with me this evening in honor of the reading of the word of the lord it's such an honor to stand before you tonight to preach to the greatest group of people in all the world i consider it the highest honor this pulpit that i'm standing uh behind tonight uh is a very coveted pulpit by many preachers and to have the ability and the honor to stand before here tonight and preach to you is one of the highest honors and uh and that's not because of beautiful building it's not because of anything that has to do but it has to do with you great people and preachers love to preach to people who respond to the word of god and that's exactly what you do so i give you honor tonight if you would turn your bibles with me to revelation 3 and 20 revelation 3 and 20 while you're turning there you can look to your neighbor and you're you can say spooky stuff look to your other neighbor and say wait till you see his title yeah you'll see it just a moment amen revelation 3 and 20 says behold i stand at the door and knock if any man hear my voice and open the door i will come into him and will sup with him and he with me to him that overcometh will i grant to sit with me and my throne even as i also overcame and am set down with my father in his throne he that hath an ear let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches the next verse revelation 4 it's the next verse the next chapter revelation 4 it says after this it's speaking of what was just said after this and behold a door was open after this i looked and behold a door was open in heaven and the first voice which i heard was was as it were a trumpet talking with me which said come up hither and i will show thee the things which must be here after and immediately i was in the spirit and beheld the throne was set in heaven and one sat on the throne in prayer for this sermon this evening i feel a tremendous burden from god to preach to you and i hope this title makes sense in just a moment i want to preach on the last sermon before the rapture the last sermon before the rapture this sounds gloom and doom but if you're living right it's not it's going to be one of the best moments in your life when we are raptured up in the sky to be with god the ultimate healing that we'll receive is when we're raptured up if you're weak in body tonight the ultimate healing that we will receive is one day when you put on that heavenly body there'll be no more eggs there'll be no more pain because we'll be raptured up with jesus in jesus name if you would pray with me right now god we thank you for this day we thank you for the opportunity to god to come in your house lord and to worship you lord i pray you would speak through me tonight lord god i pray just as i believe you have given me this for these people tonight lord i pray god you would prepare our hearts to receive the word god god your word is already anointed but god would you anoint me tonight god anoint my mind lord i i want to come humbly before you tonight and ask that you would speak through me tonight lord anoint someone to hear to receive and respond and change to the word tonight we do everything in the name of jesus can someone say in jesus name now let's clap our hands in this place for what we feel thank you lord thank you jesus you may you may be seated some of you moms and dads who have kids in apostolic christian academy and then specifically uh kids in elementary school maybe you heard your kids come home and talk about a subject like this being preached last thursday at apostolic christian academy junior rush hour and as i opened up that sermon i i asked a question and usually when i ask a question the kids i'm i'm looking for a specific answer and and it makes it seem kind of cool because i don't stop till i get that certain answer but in this time i asked i i said i want to know what the first bible story you ever learned what was the first bible story that was ever taught to you as far back as you can remember what what do you remember being the first bible story that you learned hands shot up all across that room hands were lifted so fast and you could tell they knew if they're quiet then they would get an opportunity to speak out and as a hand and this hand flew up they were so eager to shout out their answer and an overwhelmingly majority of them said noah and the ark this was the answer and maybe that is the same way with you this was the answer that i was looking for me too i i remember the first bible story i was taught was about noah and the ark this seems to be sort of a a common theme throughout churches because you could go to different churches and maybe uh drop your your baby off in a nursery or or drop your child off in a sunday school classroom and and you will see sometimes a cute uh mural painted of noah in the ark on the wall has anybody ever seen that has anybody ever seen just a beautiful you have the waters and you have the ark and you have the cute giraffe sticking its head out the window i'm not sure if that's in the scripture or not but we painted on those murals because it's cute and then you have the you know sometimes there's a an upper deck to the ark and some murals that are saw it's the party deck and all the animals are so cute and they're having a good old time on the ark and in no way and is there sometimes painted with the animals and maybe some dolphins swimming out of the water i i've seen it all and i was going to show you some pictures but uh we we know what that is and we know what that looks like we know that this noah in the ark story is is portrayed as a cute story uh especially we portray it to our children you will see these cute animals having just a wonderful time on the ark but i've yet to see one mural painted in a nursery or one mural painted in a sunday school class that paints the pictures of the people drowning in the water you just don't see that you it's it's a it's a happy story that god would save eight people by water it's a happy story that god would save two animals of each kind and when i get to heaven i'll ask noah why he saved certain animals such as snakes and why he saved certain animals and you can close your ears if you have a cat but why he saved a cat we'll never know till we get there all right me being a dog lover if you if you can unclog your ears now if you have a cat so just want to ask him those questions but lest we not forget about the purpose of noah in the ark the purpose was of this story that god judged the whole world for the evil that they were living in noah was given a commandment and got to by god to build an ark it's found in genesis 6 11 the earth also was corrupt before god and the earth was filled with the vi with violence and god looked upon the earth and behold it was corrupt for all flesh had corrupted his ways upon the earth and god said unto noah the end of all flesh has come before me for the earth is filled with violence through them and behold i will destroy them with the earth make thee an ark a gopher wood rooms shalt be thou and make in the ark and shall pitch it within and without with pitch and this is the fashion which thou shall make it of the length of the ark shall be 300 cubits the breadth of uh of it 50 cubits in the height of it 30 cubits and the window shall thou make it to the ark make to the ark and then cube it thou shalt finish it above and the door of the ark shall thou set in the side thereof with the lower second and third stories thou shall make it two things he begin to do noah we begin to build the ark and he would begin to preach about the incoming judgment the bible says that noah was a preacher of righteousness we don't read it in genesis 6 about noah giving people an opportunity to join the ark but we know that god has given everyone a chance to hear righteous preaching and preaching of righteousness god has given everyone a chance it says that noah was a preacher of righteousness he he did not know when the judgment was coming but he did know one thing that judgment was to come he didn't know when he didn't know how long but he knew one thing there will be a day where judgment will reign upon the earth you cannot get away with evil and not be judged by god there would be one day that judgment would come imagine this picture this with me as noah is building this big ark and and people would walk by because there were no boats to as large as the ark maybe there were boats that would cross the sea and in the sea and land and stuff like that but to this point in scripture it had never rained upon the earth so not only is noah building this ark not only is he preaching about a flood that was to come but he was talking about something that would come that has never happened before imagine with me noah what are you doing noah what do you do have you lost your mind you're building an ark are you are you doomsday preppers what are you doing are you preparing just just to make everyone feel bad are you trying to preach to us because you feel that you're better than anyone else and that's not why noah would be building this ark but he was giving them an opportunity to be saved from the upcoming judgment we could we could we could picture in our mind and we could see them asking all sorts of questions all all sorts of making fun and maybe a couple years have gone by and and maybe they're getting a little bit done with the ark and in years and years and years of preaching that noah noah would be preaching that the the flood was to come and and people would begin to say noah you've been saying that for a long long time you've been saying that for far too long do you think that you misheard god do you think that god has changed his mind you're talking about repenting and righteousness and and this flood to come do you think god has changed its mind but through ridicule noah knew that judgment was coming it's incomprehensible to think what was going to happen but it indeed would happen noah has been preaching and building uh he was he has been preaching about judgment to come he's been building and preparing an ark he's been doing this for the last 120 years i can hear the sound of men's voices that would say you've lost your mind if it's taken this long maybe god you just misheard god but one day god spoke to noah and noah and god spoke to noah and said it's time for you and your family to go into the ark what a day that must have been that noah had been preparing for this moment for so long and so the only people that he could get into the ark with him was him and seven others and a bunch of stinky animals that's all his preaching amounted up to but it was the people that he was responsible for saving that was the most important people that he brought into that ark with him for the last 120 years noah you've been preparing for this moment you've tried to get people to come into the ark to listen to you about what god is fixing to do then the bible records the unthinkable happening and that his judgment rained upon the earth for the first time the skies were filled with a dark cloud one sunny day it was the beautiful sun was shining and there was no cloud in the sky but as dark clouds begin to feel the sky in which those people who mocked noah would look up and they would say this is it's a little bit different nothing to be worried about just a just a dark cloud maybe to give us some shade so we can do our own thing and then they they begin to felt a shaking underneath their feet and they begin to to feel something happening in the ground and that was the bible records that the waters from the deep would begin breaking and it began to rain i'm sure as those that water would come around their feet and they would they would think all right we've never seen this before but it's not like noah said we're still here it's just maybe this will quit in a moment i could see maybe as the the waters began to rise and it got around their knees and they thought this is something something's happening here and and maybe by the time it's around their waist and shoulders they begin to think that noah that crazy old-fashioned preacher he was right about something he was right about something and i can just imagine i don't mean to scare anybody tonight but i can just imagine as they begin to run over try to to hang on to anything that would stay above the water to get to the ark and that door was shut they realized in their moment they realized it was too late they realized that that old man that old man that has been preaching about upcoming judgment for over 120 years we mocked him we ridiculed him we called him old-fashioned we called him outdated we called him out of touch out of step that old man that was preaching about repentance and judgment he is right he is right but the sad reality is they realized it too too late they found out too late that that old-fashioned outdated unpopular man was right about upcoming judgment was he right of a judgment that has never been seen before hebrews 11 and 7 says by faith noah being warned of god of things not seen as of yet he moved with fear prepared an ark to the saving of his house by which he he condemned the world he was right that a judgment that the people have never seen before they finally saw what he was preaching about of course you know exactly where i'm going i want to preach to you tonight that there is a judgment coming and it's called the rapture of the church is it old-fashioned you better believe it is is it a popular message it absolutely ain't a popular message but is it coming it is coming i don't care how many more years we are preaching about the rapture i don't care how much longer we preach about the rapture i don't care if god tarries this coming for another hundred years that doesn't negate the fact that god is coming for his church god is going to rapture his church he's going to rapture his church this would be we love to preach about jesus just just being this merciful and this graceful god a matter of fact the last words in revelation that jesus would speak in revelation 22 and 20 he which testifies these things saith surely i come quickly surely i come quickly and i want to preach to someone tonight where you're straddling the line of in in church and out of church and one one week you're living for god in the next week you're doing whatever you please i want to plead with you tonight and please hear my burden for you we don't have time to mess around we don't have time to to patty cake with god we don't have time to to see how many services we can miss and still be right with god we don't have time to see how long we can go without prayer and see if we still feel god but it's time for us to sell out it's time for us to give it all we got it's not time it's not starting it's not the time to start slacking it's not the time to just sit there but it's time to give it oh we have all we have because he comes quickly he comes quickly i know we preach about and sing we love it we love to sing about being a merciful god that is exactly right god is merciful tonight you can find mercy in god but there will be a moment where that mercy turns into judgment the scriptures that talk about his love being everlasting and his mercy lasting forever and that's all well and good but there is a time where there's going to be no longer any mercy for you because god gave you all the mercy you deserve throughout your life but that mercy is going to turn into judgment and i know this is not popular but this is exactly what we need to hear tonight because he comes quickly he comes quickly there will be a moment where mercy turns into judgment and in that moment those who are living right those that have done right according to scripture will be raptured up with god but in that same moment people are going to look around and they're going to realize that crazy old-fashioned rapture message was absolutely the truth it's outdated sure it is is it popular no it's not but it's the absolute truth that he's coming it's the i i want to preach to someone tonight and please hear me please hear me don't don't don't plug your ears don't don't tune me out tonight i want to preach to you tonight if you're bound in sin you are not going to make it in the rapture i mean i want to be bold because i feel like god is speaking to us tonight you must be ready for him i know we want to preach about a god you may be seated that will allow everyone into heaven and that would be perfect if it was up to us but it's not up to us it's up to god in his holy word if you live according to this right here you will be ready for the rapture of the church that mercy will eventually turn in to judgment so how do we escape our coming judgment that ark was the protection from the judgment that ark was the protection of the coming judgment for just eight souls whoever was in that ark would be saved from the flood whoever made their way into that ark and waited for the judgment to come would be saved from the judgment that would kill everyone else let me tell you about this ark this ark is symbolic of the church this ark is symbolized of it's it's symbolic it's a type and shadow of the church because if you are in the church not this building but spiritually speaking then you'll have protection from the judgment for just for a moment allow me to tell you some things about the ark it's interesting that the ark had three stories but it was one arc i think that's funny how that says that at the end it says hey i want you to build the first story the second story and the third story but noah you're just gonna build you're going to build one ark i think that sounds a little bit familiar but god had three in one god was a father but he was revealed himself as jesus god was a son and his name was jesus god is a spirit and we have him inside of us today the ark had one door had one entrance there wasn't any way else to get inside of this ark john 4 14 and 6 says jesus said i am the way the truth and the life no man cometh unto the father but by me the bible says that eight souls were saved by water you have to be baptized in jesus name to escape the coming judgment and i don't mean to be mean to anybody else i'm so glad that [name redacted] is going down in the mighty name of jesus christ what is she doing she's escaping the upcoming judgment she's escaping when god is coming back for the church that he died for she's escaping the judgment that god gave his life for us for us to be inside of the ark noah was to pitch it in and pitch it without if you look up the script the the word for this uh this uh the hebrew word for this uh word pitch pitch was a substance that would keep things in that needed to stay in and it would keep things out that needed to stay out another word for pitch would be ransom i was reading that today i said dear lord what what is ransom has to do with anything like a a gluey type substance that you would put upon the ark and it's the truth you can look it up that pitch there's another word you could use for this and it was ransom i think that fits so beautifully with matthew 20 28 even as the son of man came not to be ministered unto but to be ministered to and to give his life a ransom for many how you escape the coming judgment is you got to have jesus in you and you got to have jesus on the outside of you it's that simple you've got to have the spirit of god and the holy ghost inside of you by the evidence of speaking in other tongues and i got news for you you shouldn't wait any longer because the holy ghost is alive and well in this place tonight here in a few moments if you've never received a gift to the holy ghost you just need to lift your hands and you ask god to fill you with that spirit because it's a gift you don't have to beg for it it's something that he wants you to leave here tonight why does god want you to leave with his gift of the holy ghost tonight because he wants you to be inside of the ark he wants you to be inside of the church that will escape the judgment coming we better have another thing for this might be unpopular but one of the things that kept the ark afloat is what it had on the outside not my opinion that's just scripture something that kept that ark afloat the difference between it the ark and everything else that didn't float was because the ark had something on the inside it had something on the outside so god was saying another what you have on the outside it does matter it does matter and this is not my opinion this is the scripture what you have on the outside does matter if you want to escape the judgment that is coming we've got to have holiness on the inside and we've got to have holiness on the outside i know this is outdated i know this is old-fashioned but judgment is coming and i want to preach to you tonight you've got to have holiness on the inside and holiness on the outside because hebrews 12 and 4 says without holiness no man shall see the lord if you want to escape the coming judgment you've got to have holiness in your life if you want to escape the judgment that's coming you better believe and know that there is one god and his name is jesus if you want to escape the judgment that is coming you better be baptized in the name of jesus christ for the remission of your sins if you want to escape the judgment that is coming you got to have jesus on the outside and jesus on the inside if you oh come on somebody if you want to be escaped from the coming judgment we have to have holiness inward and outward matthew 24 37 but as the days of noah were so shall it be shall also the coming of the son of man be for as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage until the day that noah entered into the ark we know the world was evil we know the world was exceedingly evil every day there would be more evil and evil that they could think of doing they were giving in in marriage they were marrying whoever they were drunkards they were seducers marriage didn't have any meaning to them because they would grow more wicked and more wicked we know that scripture is speaking of that we know that scripture is saying that they're they were eating they were drinking they were given in marriage or marrying and given in marriage the day that noah entered into the ark the scripture means all those things but it also means that life was normal when judgment came they were doing everything they did every single normal day something didn't happen all they had to know judgment was coming was an old-fashioned preacher that was preaching at the end that god was judging very soon that something would happen that had has never happened before talking about rain from the sky no you're crazy it's never happened before in the same way it's just going to be a normal day you're not going to think anything different of that day because it's just going to be a normal day but let me tell you something something is going to happen that has never happened before i don't care how many movies picture this moment i don't care how many end time movies you can get your hands off it's going to be like nothing you've ever seen before one moment you're going to be here on earth one moment you're just going to be going about your day but then the trumpet is going to sound and those who are living right according to the word of god those who have followed the plan of salvation you will be raptured up to be with jesus for eternity and that's a moment that we look forward to that's a moment when we walk on streets of gold when we could go and worship around the throne of jesus christ that's a moment that we look forward to because we're ready for judgment probably everyone would be saved if if there would be something right before right before noah and the flood right right before god chooses to flood the earth god if you can just give them one big sign and that's their time to to get ready that's not how it's gonna work it's gonna be a normal day as it was in the days of noah so shall it be when the son of man is revealed it's going to be a day where you probably go to work it's going to be just a normal ordinary day but that is something on god's calendar that is not an ordinary day that is the day that the rapture would come that's why we have to be ready that's why we have to be pure that's why we have to be holy that's how that's why we have to be a witness to witness to everybody hey get in the church get in the church you don't have time to waste if if if someone here tonight get in this thing don't waste your time tonight don't tune me out get in the church get sold out it's not time for you to be slacking as the days are approaching he is coming quickly you don't have time to waste i would make a decision tonight to live for god with all of your might all of your soul and all of your strength you don't have time to waste because he comes it comes quickly he comes quickly the end of revelation 3 let revelation 3 and verse 20. behold i stand at the door and knock if any man hear my voice and open the door i will come to him and will sup with him and he with me to him that overcometh will i grant to sit with me and my throne even as i also overcame and sat down with my father and his throne chapter 4 speaking of john is saying after this i am behold i looked after this and behold a door was open in heaven and the first voice which i heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me which said come help hither i will show thee the things which must be hereafter john says here after this i looked and something was calling me to go up into heaven i looked and a door was opened a door was open in heaven and he describes a trumpet talking with him and calling him to come up hither this is my friends the rapture of the church there's several reasons we know this because church is no longer mentioned after chapter three church is no longer mentioned there is no need of a church because now we are the bride of christ there are several mentions of the word bride but church is not mentioned after chapter three and chapter four it begins with john looking up to a door and a trumpet calling him to come up this is where i get my title from tonight my sermon here tonight is about the last words or the last sermon that jesus would preach right before the rapture jesus would address the seven churches he would address the church in ephesus he would address the church in smyrna the church in pergamos the church in thyroti the church in sardis the church in philadelphia then the church of lao decia there is was great reason that he saved for the save the church the lay of the sea in church for the last church he would address this is where i would get my preaching from tonight because i want to preach about the laodicean church according to henry morris who wrote the revelation record in 1983 morris says that each church would be a different age that the church would go through and the things that jesus would address were issues that the different church ages we're facing ephesus is the apostolic age this is before ad100 smyrna the age of persecution 8100 to 313. pergamos imperial church age 313-590 and this is from his book thyratara age uh uh of papacy 590 to 1517 that is very interesting and uh because how he addresses that church and what that church would represent because he gave him space to repent it's interesting how that church would align with that age the sardis reformation age uh 1517 to 730 philadelphia missionary age from 7 13 1730 to 1900's in the laodicean age 1900s till the rapture i don't know if that book is true there's a lot of evidence and a lot of good points throughout scripture that would point to that it is true but we do know for sure that a spirit of the laodiceans will be present right before the judgment comes for the rest of my time i want to preach to you about the sermon that jesus would preach right before the rapture first we can start with how he addresses this church at laodicea in revelation 3 14 and unto the angel of the church of the lao the sins right it's interesting and noteworthy right here how jesus addresses this church every other church he would say to the the church of ephesus or the church in smyrna or the church in sardis but here lies a huge issue in that the church of laodicea how jesus addresses them he addresses them as the church of the lao descends the church of it's the church of the laodiceans this is speaking of this is talking of ownership meaning it's owned and operated by them it's their church the church in ephesus the church of ephesus but jesus says to them the church of the lao the sins this is speaking that it is owned and operated by them we can confirm this by looking at the meaning of laodicean it means rule of the people that wasn't god's church it was their church it was filled with men's ideas it was filled with men's opinions and not the infallible word of god because jesus would continue down this theme in his introduction he would introduce himself in verse number one to the laodiceans as these things which saith the a man the faithful and true witness the beginning of the creation of god he would reduce introduce himself as the amen which means he has the final say apparently the church of laodicea was filled with opinions and it was filled of their ideas but jesus addresses them it said it doesn't matter what you think what you think about spiritual things it all matters what the a man says not tradition not the opinions of men not the things which have been passed down no no no jesus said i am the amen i am the final say you will not be judged on men's opinions you will not be judged on traditions but you will be judged according to the word of god the laodicean church did not value the word of god he would introduce himself as the amen which means the final say i know this is not popular but this is the sermon that he would preach to the laodiceans you cannot make up your own rules and get into heaven that's what god is saying in your church you might feel like you're all right but in god's church there are some things you have to follow in the church of the flesh you might be able to come whenever you want to whenever it's convenient but in god's church it's important that you're here every opportunity you can be in the church in the church of the flesh the church is sitting around your schedule but in god's church your schedule should be centered around the church in the church of the flesh you can wear whatever you want because you rule your own life but in god's church there is a holy dress code that we must abide by amen it's not our opinion it's the word of god in the church of the flesh you can you can say well pastor we pastor carpenter and pastor eric pastor erickson hester hammond too you guys got to calm down we've got got some guests here tonight we and brother guys can we uh hate to ask such a sensitive thing but brother ben lee if you can tonight don't please don't run the house we have some gas this is the church of the flesh we we try to make everything we have it all together god would not be pleased with someone running around we want to everyone to look like we have it all together but that's not how god's church works that's the church of the flesh don't let a service go by where there's not so oh my god there's not somebody lifting up their hands and clapping their hands and shouting with the voice of triumph why because this church is not meant to please your flesh but this church is meant to please god our worship is pleasing to god us jumping up and down is pleasing to god a shouting with the voice of triumph is pleasing to god when a brother would run the aisles it is pleasing to god you think david would sit down because of men's opinions no he wouldn't we should dance like david dance that that means you don't care what anybody else is looking at your life that guy's lost his mind you better believe he's lost his mind he is a new creature in christ jesus i don't know about you but my flesh has never done anything good for me my flesh has led me down roads i regret my flesh has led me down the roads i wish i could do anything not to go down that road but god has never let me wrong every time i've trusted in god he's led and he's worth praising he's worth shouting for he's worth clapping oh lord don't let there be a service at first apostolic where someone doesn't lift their voice don't let there be a service because we're pleasing our flesh we're pleasing our flesh don't let there be a service where someone doesn't lift our hands and say god i love you god i love you hallelujah because this is not the church filled with opinions but this is this is the this is god's church this is god's church this is god's church popular opinion says that you can live however you want to and still be fine you can live however you please and still be all right with god it says god's church the church of the flesh the church of the flesh thinks it could get a lot uh it could get away with a lot of things but not god's church now it's god's church the church of the flesh will lead you astray the church of the flesh god says that you are luke warm you are lukewarm and i will spew you out of my mouth here's a new one here's a new one if you think that pastor will tone it down and not preach against certain lifestyles because we do it for the guests we do it for the visitors and and to every guest i thank you for coming tonight uh come wednesday night and hear my dad preach he's a phenomenal preacher he's one of the funniest guys i know and i absolutely love him but you're here tonight i'm preaching i'm sorry if you just tone it down the gaster we don't want our preaching to offend their lifestyle here's a news flash for us they came here to church they want something that we have they notice that there's something different about the apostolics it's because this church is not a church of opinions we don't get it up here and say hey what can we do to make the people feel good no we open up our bible and god talks through his holy word if he talks about holiness through his word it's because we need to hear holy preaching if he talks about us staying away from a sinful lifestyle it's because we need that type of preaching it's not opinion it's god's word if people were to listen to opinion they were to listen to noah you are absolutely insane but if they were to listen to god's word you would have known there was a flood coming and the only way you're saved from the flood is to get inside the ark please hear me tonight don't listen to man's opinion god is coming back god is coming back for his church and we must be ready we must be ready he may be seated but in god's church he is the amen he's the final say you will not make it if it's your church if you will not make sometimes this church is not going to please your flesh this church is going to challenge you here's why because this is god's church this is god's church you won't make it in the church of the flesh but you'll make it if you're in god's church i know thy works that thou art neither hot cold nor hot i would that thou art hot or cold cold or hot so then because thou art lukewarm because you're lukewarm and neither cold nor hot i will spew you out of my mouth out of my mouth several things that come to me in this scripture we know that hot water and cold water two things here we know that they have purpose have purpose hot water heals hot water if you need to stick a needle in something in your skin especially probably not doctor recommended but you go boil some water you go boil some water and you stick that needle in there and why because it it purifies that needle it takes away germs hot water has a purpose cold water refreshes you've been working hard on a a hot day you want some cold water it refreshes you but lukewarm water has no you it's lukewarm water is useless and without purpose and god says to the laodiceans jesus says to them you are lukewarm i wish you were one or the other what he's saying here one of the meanings is is you don't have a purpose you don't have a purpose in the kingdom of god if you don't want to be lukewarm you have to have some type of purpose in the church hear me tonight if you don't want to be lukewarm find a purpose in this church find somewhere to serve find somewhere to be a greeter that's how you stay hot that's how you stay hot for god because the flesh could easily deceive us to think no one's missing me at that church no one no one has called me no one no i've been gone for three sundays well if you were serving in some area of this church we would know that you're not here we would know so find a way to serve in this church have a purpose in this church the reason that jesus would use this type of wording this lukewarm is is it because it's because it's related to the city in which they lived in their main water supply came on a six mile channel from the hot springs of aeropolis aeropolis because the water came from a hot springs and it had to try travel six miles to get to the church or the city of laodicea it has now went from a hot water spring water from the hot springs of aeropolis to a lukewarm water in which they were used to they were used to lukewarm water it's because they were getting their water they were getting their water secondhand they did not have a fresh place to get water their water had to be channeled in from six miles away and it was hot somebody else was getting it for them and by the time it got to the people of laodicea it was a lukewarm water the big problem here was the laodiceans were getting their water from another source water symbolizes the spirit of god don't let it be said of us that the only times we get the spirit of god is when we are at church you are getting a secondhand source of water that's a lukewarm water but let it be said that every time we get on our knees monday through saturday that we feel the spirit of god in our prayers the only times we feel god's presence should not be just in this sanctuary but it should be felt at home it should be felt anywhere you create the presence of god anywhere you begin to call on his name because we must have fresh water this lukewarm this jesus says i would rather you be cold and hot i would rather you be hot i would rather you be cold or hot not lukewarm it's because jesus would do something with cold or hot people usually we see cold as being a negative on somebody if someone's cold on their walk with god then obviously they're not living or pleasing to god and and that that is true but that's why it was easier for a harlot to be moved by god and for judas to be moved by god that's why it's easier for a christian killer to fall on his face and to be woke up by god than someone who is lukewarm that's why it's easier for someone who is a christian killer to be moved on by god and the scribes and pharisees thought they were spiritual the scribes and pharisees were lukewarm the reason we could not be feeling conviction is not because you're hot or cold but it's because we are luke warm lukewarm christians has enough to enough jesus to satisfy a craving for spirituality but not enough for eternal salvation the lukewarm christian has just enough of jesus to keep his soul satisfied but just enough of the world to satisfy his flesh they have too much world to be happy in jesus but too much of jesus to be happy in the world it's not hot it's not cold but it's luke warm one of the biggest problems in laodicea was this poor water supply this made the laodiceans very vulnerable to an attack from an enemy from an adversary if an enemy would an enemy army surrounded the city they had insufficient water supplies as to begin with but they had insufficient water supplies in the city and the supplies coming to the city could be easily cut off therefore the leaders of laodicea and i love this the leaders of laodicea when they were under attack from an enemy they would go to those enemies instead of trying to fight they would try to reach a compromise and negotiate a deal because it was so easy for an enemy to attack the laodiceans all they had to do was cut off that water and instead of fighting the laodicean leadership would go to those people and they would begin to negotiate and compromise instead of fight instead of fighting how we conquer the spirit of the laodiceans how we conquer the spirit of being lukewarm is to fight with everything we have fight against the spirit of false doctrine fight against the spirit of the opinions of man to fight against immorality in an evil day in an evil time to fight against the winds of this world it's not the time to try to reach a deal it's not the time to compromise but it's time to fight you know how you battle those thoughts in your mind does this really matter does this really have importance in my life is this really going to keep me safe you fight those thoughts you fight that spirit that's trying to infiltrate your mind you fight that spirit that's trying to speak to you that this does not matter because that's the spirit of the laodiceans it's the spirit of their own rule it's the spirit of their own opinions but god says i am the amen you may think you're all right but i am the amen you're going to be judged by god's word not your opinions of the word of god the problem the problem with being lukewarm the problem with being lukewarm is you're lost and you don't even know it you think you're all right because you're living to your own opinions and i don't mean to be crude and i don't mean to be rude to someone i don't want to sound inconsiderate and mean but i do want to warn somebody you're not going to be judged on your own opinions of god but you're going to be judged by this infallible word of god a lukewarm christian thinks they're all right a lukewarm person thinks they're okay they're just trying to get away with this and still be pleasing to god they're trying to see how far they can get in the middle and still be pleasing to god still love to do what they want to do and still be pleasing to god it's lukewarm you're lost and you don't even know it you think you're all right but you're far from all right god said i'd rather you be a complete backslider i would rather you be someone who's cold you you may even deny that i exist i'd rather you be cold than lukewarm because god can do some pretty great things and get a hold of some sinners we read about that all throughout scripture but the people he would be fighting against the most of his ministry would be people that thought they were spiritual the scribes and the pharisees problems you don't remember anything tonight just remember the problem with being lukewarm is you're lost you don't even know it because jesus says in verse 17 because thou sayest i am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing and knoweth not that thou art wretched you have no clue that you're miserable you have this false perception in your mind that you're rich but really you're poor you have this false reality that you have everything but you're blind and naked jesus said i counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire that thou mayest be rich and white raiment and thou mayest be clothed in that the shame of thy nakedness does not appear anoint thine eyes without salve and that thou mayest see as many as i love i rebuke and chasten be zealous therefore and repent repent tonight the altar called is quite simple we're just going to make sure that we're not lukewarm we're going to make sure that we're not living to our own opinions the ideas of the word of god we're going to make sure that our life aligns tonight maybe you found find yourself sitting in a situation that you realize that some time time ago you reached a compromise you reached a compromise in your life and you aren't you're not living the way that you used to live you you thought that this thing is not important so i'm gonna give this area up i'm gonna i'm just not gonna do that anymore i i'm here to tell you've deceived yourself you're lukewarm tonight repent god says because jesus says in revelation 22 and 7 behold i come quickly right after he addresses the lukewarm people he says behold i stand in the door and knock if any man hears my voice and open the door i will come to him and will sup with him and he with he with me you'd be so kind to stand with me and sister erickson just come to the piano tonight and this is not an altar call for one this is not an altar call for just 10 or 15 but this is an altar call for every one of the sound of my voice tonight because we can all be deceived to think we're doing just fine but in all reality we're as lost as anybody else we're just lost in the house we just have to see their own self that we're fine but those laodiceans thought they had it all together but jesus says really really you're blind you're naked you're wretched you're lost as anyone else if you would just be zealous and repent tonight that's all you got to do if you reached a compromise years ago all you got to do is come to an altar tonight and repent because there is a judgment coming i'm not trying to scare anyone tonight but we all have to realize that there is judgment coming one day the trumpet is going to sound one day the trumpet is going to sound it's going to be something that we've never seen before but those who are alive and well and living hot according to the word of god you will be raptured up but those who are lukewarm you think tonight i feel the holy ghost in this place you think tonight that you have it all together but god said you're naked you're wretched you're poor you're blind you you don't see it you're lost in the house you're lukewarm in the house you have no purpose you're useless i will spew you out of my mouth come on if you need the gift of the holy ghost tonight you've never received that gift you can receive it tonight if you would lift your hands and and someone's going to help you pray but right now let's just repent let's repent god help us not to be lukewarm god help us not to reach compromise help us not to be self-reliant help us to not be full of pride because god you come quickly god you come quickly god i don't want to be filled of my own opinions god i don't want to be filled with the traditions of men but god i want to be found in your word i want to be fell right to your word tonight jesus come on if you want to be in that ark there's only one way in that's an entrance to be saved from judgment you've got to have the spirit of god in your life you just lift your hands tell someone around you that you need the holy ghost god god will help you pray god will fill you tonight with it he doesn't want you to leave without his spirit in your life because that same spirit that quicketh christ jesus that raised christ jesus from the grave will raise us up one day with the rapture the thing that will raise us up is the spirit of god the spirit of god god i don't want to be lukewarm god forgive me lord if i've reached compromises god forgive me if my flesh has been in control lord god because you come quickly you come quickly men are given in marriage women are given in marriage there are drunkards there are seducers men are becoming evil by the day men are becoming more evil by the moment in the day they're doing whatever they want they're doing whatever seems right to their mind they're doing whatever they want to with their own lives but you come quickly you come quickly as it was in the days of noah so shall it be when the son of man is revealed that's the same day it's going to be an hour that you think not it's going to be an hour it's going to be a normal day in your life it's going to be a day where you go to work and you think everything's normal but that day is not normal because it's destined by god for the rapture to take place behold i stand at the door i'm from the holy ghost to this place come on let's just have a spirit of repentance in this house repentance means to just turn away to burn the ships and what you came in on and turn away to repent hallelujah dads maybe you walked away with a relationship from god tonight is an opportunity just just to simply repent to simply repent to lead your family into that ark noah had one thing going he didn't bring anybody else but he brought his family with him just repent because he comes quickly he comes quickly hallelujah maybe it's been a while since you lift your hands and you spoke in that heavenly language be a good time tonight just trying to help us not to become lukewarm don't become lukewarm don't deceive yourselves they thought they had it all together they thought they were fine they thought but really god says you're just you're disgusting you're you you're lukewarm i'm gonna spew you out of my mouth you've reached a compromise with your flesh you've reached a negotiation deal with your flesh and i'm gonna spew you out but it's time for someone to fight it's time for someone to fight in the spirit tonight to pray to god and ask you ask him to help you ask him to rep i repent of everything in my life jesus jesus and holy spirit lead us to your heart oh jesus there you're the one we're living for and holy spirit lead us to your heart oh jesus there is nothing we want more we want more we want more lord we need more god we church we heard from heaven tonight and whether you'd rather push it to the back of your mind or you actually want to think about it tonight god's coming back and the message to the church is the test of the door because just a few verses apart he says i stand at the door and knock can anybody hear my voice could you respond to a message tonight that's just simply a knocking but you see just a few verses later he said there's a door that's shut that no man will open and when the door of the ark closes that's not up to noah that's not up to you that's not up to shem ham or japheth it's going to close so the message tonight is while he's knocking will you pass the test of the door because we've got something that noah never had and that's we've felt it rain before we've got a water test tonight you know noah never knew whether or not that boat would hold water he didn't know he just did what he was told to do we've read the back of the book noah didn't know the end of the story guess what god said i'm going to pour out my spirit will your vessel hold water tonight will your spirit have you prayed till you prayed in another language have you prayed to your spoken tongues will your vessel hold water tonight noah didn't have that opportunity he said the same spirit that you're gonna speak in when the spirit gives utterance is the same spirit that's gonna quicken your mortal body you have a test tonight you have the ability to have confidence to be comforted that the rain's coming to be comforted that there's a rapture coming to be comforted that i have a test he's knocking tonight i wish you'd lift your hands across this place i wish that he'd stir up the spirit within us right now come on brother knowledge preach the word of the lord church we can't be lukewarm we can't just come in and think because we're here in the in the boat and everything oh we've got a spirit within us it's got to be stirred up right now come on lift up your voice i pray that every person in this place will pray to you speaking another tongue right now why i need to make sure this vessel will float come on young person come on young person don't shake it off right now come on no shake it off don't put it on the devil will try to get you to delay it you need a move of god right now every father in this place every mother in this place every young person we've got to be ready come on that's it come on that's it raise the voice come on raise the level in this place right now come on he's knocking he's knocking church that's it right now come on continue to pray come on continue to pray right now somebody needs a refilling of the holy ghost in this place come on somebody needs to be renewed in the holy ghost right now church this is a very very special moment for this young lady i cannot tell you how many conversations that we have had and i have seen god change her life in such a i it's a polar opposite to see the joy and just how proud she is to have the presence of god and to have the favor of god i'm excited with her tonight and i wish you'd reach your hand this way and begin to pray as we baptize [name redacted] come on church would you help me pray god i thank you god for the word tonight god i thank you for what we've heard god is what we're about to practice right now god that we've got to pitch it within and without god we've got to be a vessel god that can hold your presence god i thank you that tonight god as we go down in the name of jesus that we take upon the truth god that removes us from the spirit of laodicea god as we go down in the name of jesus for the remission of sins that you remove it as far as the east is from the west oh god god i thank you for the opportunity of baptism tonight in jesus name we pray [name redacted] upon the profession of your faith in obedience to the word of god i now indeed baptize you in the name of jesus christ for the remission of your sins in jesus name come on let's celebrate with [name redacted] right now thank you jesus she's already received the holy ghost the spirit of god already is inside of her thank you lord she's been remitted every sin everything in her past is gone we celebrate tonight lord the decision lord god that's gonna affect and change the rest of her life oh lord she's baptized in your name covered by your blood oh thank you jesus thank you jesus thank you jesus thank you jesus oh hallelujah we rejoice with you [name redacted] thank you jesus we celebrate with you [name redacted] oh forever and ever name has been written in the lamb's book of life come on church family one more time just lift up your hands let's bless the law with our lips come on with our voices we respond to the word of god we heard tonight the powerful word we've heard tonight lord whatever lord god whatever it takes i must be ready lord god when the eastern sky splits open lord god when the trumpet sounds oh lord god when you come for your bride i want to be ready i'm going to be in the bride i'm going to be a part of the bride i'm gonna be ready for you to return jesus oh thank you jesus thank you jesus thank you jesus oh thank you father