Second Coming 10.20.21 (Raymond Sloan)

if you have your bible we will continue our lesson uh here the month of october let me back up while you're getting your bible out everybody opening up your bible you may be doing thumbs bible okay um we every month we've had a topic that we have talked about and this month the month of october we are looking into the second coming of the lord somebody say rapture somebody say going home anybody want to go to heaven huh are you sure all right then you better make plans that's a good idea right we talked a couple weeks ago first of all about genesis to revelation that is god's plan okay can't add to it can't take away from it what we can do is study it try to figure it out try to comprehend spiritually let those let the voice of god speak to us and and give us understanding okay there's a lot of uh people today that believe a lot of different things but i'm here to tell you the word of god will confirm itself signs will follow those who are following the word amen revelation will happen understanding will come comprehension will what the spirit will speak amen then last week if you'll recall we talked about the birth of christ and how that he came to fulfill all that was spoken of old testament and then to shed light on salvation and then to be the spotless lamb to take away the sins of the world how many is thankful for the blood of jesus yeah it is through that salvation plan that you and i no longer have to drag goats and sheep and doves and cows and stuff to church somebody say amen yeah so here we are tonight we are now going to look into we're going to first thessalonians this is one that that speaks it's one of the mentions if you will of heaven or of the return of christ let's start there first thessalonians chapter 4 uh verse number 13. now we're going to read several verses here because we have to set up everybody got your bible out some of you don't because you're looking at me oh you're looking up there gotcha i'm with you over there man all right let's go first thessalonians 4 13 but i would not have you ignorant brethren concerning them which are asleep that you sorrow not even as others which have no hope for if we believe that jesus died and rose again even so them also which asleep which sleep in jesus will god bring with him for this we say unto you by the word of the lord that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the lord shall not prevent them which are asleep verse 16 notice this for the lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel with the trump of god and the dead in christ shall rise first seventeen then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the lord notice what it ends here in this particular verse wherefore comfort one another with these words ask your neighbor are you comfortable that's not what it didn't say make each other comfortable and said comfort encourage help one another now stay with me as we look at this second coming of the lord as apostolics we need to understand that if if it's in the word of god it will happen okay many times when it when it's concerning the promises that are in the word if it doesn't happen on our clock or when we think it should happen we become discouraged how many have prayed for something for a long time and it hasn't come to fruition you understand what i'm talking about how many pray for something and god answer immediately we understand it is his timing and his clock agreed now with that said we we read together in the word of the lord how that paul when he wrote to the churches he was very specific in his teaching he he taught we did this study a few months ago if you'll recall he taught the people because they were growing the churches were new he was going about to these churches that had been established he himself had helped establish some of them and then he left them and put somebody over them and then he would go through people would ask him to come he would write letters he would send them they would read it to the folk and then they'd pass it to another church okay you get this is paul's way of communicating with the church body when we look at this we know that when you get to the new testament all of the instruction that we have comes from the hands of letters a letter is written a hand picks it up and carries it and then it's read to somebody are you with me that said when we looked for tonight for an example at first thessalonians that was a letter that was written by the hand of of the apostle paul and he was helping the churches to understand salvation we're going to start there because i have no doubt that as paul went to thessalonica and began to minister there there was a lot of questions you're you've come and you're you're telling us of all these really anybody ever read first thessalonians second thessalonians those letters you're telling us about how we should conduct ourselves how we should interact with people the power the things that we should we should expect because we believe in the risen savior and i have no doubt that when they were talking about eternity eternal things nobody had gone into eternity and come back and relay to them what it was going to be like and so naturally they're scratching heads saying now wait wait wait wait you're bringing to us this doctrine this teaching that jesus christ came born in a manger announced by the angels and then he died on a cross went into a tomb and then third day their stone pushed back he comes out victorious and then you're saying he spent time with his followers and instructed them and there were there was a lot of infallible undeniable proofs that it was jesus and that he was doing powerful things and now you're telling us this is now the plan that we must follow and paul of course is saying that that's that's you got it naturally one of their first questions would be what what about my grandmother or what about my aunt cutie pie what about old sludge down there at the five and dime y'all may not know a sludge but anyway other people that were born and died we didn't hear them speak in tongues we know that they had some kind of something going on because they're the ones that shared it with us but what's going to happen to them and so paul begins to explain to them listen don't worry about that the same power that you believe quicken the body of jesus is the same power that's going to quicken your body now the question that i've been rumbling over and over for the last several weeks in my brain i've been trying to get a hold of is guys when we study the old testament we we hear the the voice of god speak to a prophet a judge revealed itself to those that are rulers are in charge and the armies begin to move things begin to happen prophets begin to respond and react and people begin to die and the mountains come up and the valleys all these things we see the story and we can figuratively see it in our mind although we did not live there agreed we get to the new testament we only have matthew mark luke and john the gospels of jesus in which we can see the good news of salvation coming to the world but he talks about this such as the kingdom of heaven and then he says if you believe if you'll have the faith if you'll trust if you'll reach out if you'll call on jesus is now instructing but we we don't really have any indication in those letter of the gospels of matthew mark luke and john exactly what heaven is about technically speaking there's ideas that are mentioned this is the kingdom of heaven such as the kingdom of heaven but paul who did not walk with jesus he writes in his letters about what's going to happen to get to heaven and so in my little mind here because i'm slow a lot of times and i'm sitting there scratching my head brother gibson i'm saying so how did paul have enough confidence to sit in a jail cell many times and write words about a place that somebody else talked about that he had no first-hand knowledge of how did paul know what heaven was going to be how we were going to get from point a to point b is that ever we just assume paul just knew but how see everything in the old testament we can follow the line we can follow the trace to get to the new testament jesus comes on the scene you've got these disciples coming things are happening all you know for an example here i'll put this one out jesus dies putting the ground he comes out and the bible says 40 days he was with them what did he talk about with those followers what conversations were there there in flesh he's glorified and he's spending over a month with them and then he says okay guys follow me we're going now to this place on the side of this hill and we're going to talk and so they go big crowd goes up there 500 or so jesus is talking and all of a sudden go wait angel site what are you doing why are you standing here go look the promise is coming he's not going to leave you by yourself but he's coming back and so they're all standing there looking up in the heaven as jesus ascends everybody know this story yeah he's gone they're standing look at one another we were around him for 40 days he instructed us he he taught us he we don't even have words to the bible says that the world couldn't contain the volumes of information that could have been written so we have no access to that say with me so jesus goes away these guys make their way to jerusalem and how many made it to the upper room how many 120 the bible says somewhere in the journey somewhere in the transition days whatever went by journey got long whatever you want to look at that there was only 120 of them that agreed to go into an upper chamber and celebrate with them now here's a question many times i've preached you've heard talk you've taught maybe you've you've researched many times it's like well the upper room would only hold 120 all the rest were left out on the street could it be many were added to church on the day of pentecost besides the 120. how many thousand so you got all this stay with me believe it or not we're talking about the second coming you got all these activities going on guys the first mention of saul at that time is a christian killer he's persecuting he's going about he has a letter from the law that says if i find anybody that's worshipping somebody besides what the government says i have the right to stop them disband them kill them throw them in jail disrupt everything they're doing i am going to stop all this foolishness that's the first mention we have of saul he is even standing at one of the young preachers grave site when stephen was stoned he was standing there doing what he was watching the jackets i don't know if he went through the pockets looking for mints i don't know that's what y'all do right coupons oh sorry no no cars back then anyway and he watches steven die and he notices something about this guy man look at the countenance of this fella look at how he's just he's holding his demeanor how he's how he's interacting with what's happening to him how many of you would enjoy a good stoning nothing like a big rock chucking huh with you at the target nobody dylan you good for that seth you up for tyler how about you come on we're men logan could you handle it hang on to me saul is standing here watching this stephen dies saul walks away he is on a journey he is now on the road to damascus and the light comes blinds him hits the ground dismounts and now his question is who art thou lord the voice comes and says what are you doing you're kicking against the pricks i'm poking at you trying to get your attention and you're you're pushing back at it stay with me it is that same guy who didn't come along to almost the middle of the book of acts this guy comes on the scene as all of that in a box of cracker jacks now his name's paul he was blind prophet cain prayed for him the scales fell off and now he's learning he's he's wow cool all the stuff that's going on this guy comes along now how is it that he can write letters to the churches that we still have possession of today in 2021 telling them about listen there's some that are asleep but don't worry about them those that are asleep they'll rise and then thus the we that remain will be caught up together to meet them in the air the indication here of this first thessalonians letter is jesus is coming we will the us we we that are alive meaning right now this is about to happen but here we are again 2021 guess what it still hasn't happened but the present tense is it will happen we which are here we will see this how did paul know that in my mind i'm sitting there going this is so intriguing how that god would allow paul to write to his churches to god's churches and tell them there's coming a day there's coming today god's plan his way with his people so when you look at the life of christ you find that all the things that came together he was here connecting the dots the points of interest for those disciples followers who are coming after him and it just so happens he goes off the scene he leaves the ministry with those disciples and goes away and then paul comes on the scene he's the one who wrote about the coming of the lord so how did paul know what he was talking about he did not have any commentaries he didn't have google he didn't have logos bible program he didn't have the reign of a letter version he didn't have the english standard he didn't have the kjv he didn't have the vvv or none of those he was living a life according to what god was leading him to do notice something here second corinthians i i think i may have found an answer and it ought to thrill every single one of us listening to this tonight second corinthians chapter number 12. second corinthians again this is another letter that paul wrote notice something here verse number one it is not expedient for me to doubtless me doubtless to glory i will come to visions and revelations of the lord verse two this is this is one of those portions of scripture that all of us read and we're like oh not that's good and we just kind of pass it over i knew a man in christ above 14 years ago now the translators took what was written to the church at corinth and they put this in parenthesis so that they could explain who was talking whether in the body i cannot tell whether out of the body i cannot tell god knoweth close it you with me this is him writing to the church at corinth such and one talking about this in the body out of the body he don't know such in one caught up in caught up to the third heaven verse three and i knew such a man notice again the translators whether in the body or out of the body i cannot tell god knows verse four how that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter of such and one will i glory yet of myself i will not glory but in mine affirm infirmities did you did you notice paul revealing to the church at corinth listen to this carefully this is so cool he says i don't know if i was in my right mind in my flesh i don't know if all i know about 14 years ago this experience happened and it begins to pen those words the the the memory that he had he called it a third heaven why would he call it a third heaven there's a whole lot of commentaries out there if you want to go study it it's good for you the third heaven meaning that he understood where he was at time he could sit in heavenly places how many notice like to sit in heavenly places but then he he knows also that jesus instructed and through the disciples told them there's such as the kingdom of heaven he understood that so he wasn't sure if he was on the one or the two instead he said i know that i was above that because i was seeing something and he called it the third hang on to this now he says this the things that i learned were unspeakable so when we see the hand of paul writing about the second coming of the lord in my mind i'm like how can somebody know those things if they didn't know jesus nor hear his word paul explains it to the corinthians and he tells them i i'm gonna write something because 14 years ago now i don't know if i was in or out i'm not i'm not sure if i was up or down all i know is i i got i got a story to tell and this story that i'm going to tell you is that i saw when i was caught up in that place in the paradise a place of peace and and refuge and strength and and and glory if you will that i heard unspeakable words and it's the fact of the matter is it is unlawful for me to even talk about them it is not lawful for man to utter paul the accuser of the brethren if you will saw change to paul becomes the one that communicates god's plan to humanity to the churches that are being established at corinth and thessalonica and philippi and colossae and all of these churches he's writing to them and you know what he's telling them i've been with the lord and the lord told me he's going to come get his church he's going to come get his body of believers he's not going to leave them by themselves somebody ought to get excited this is the spirit of the lord talking to a man about what was to happen out there paul did not forget that because when he wrote to the church at the thessalonians we find here that he's telling don't be worried about those that are asleep this is how it's going to happen hang on to me when we talk about the second coming it ought to thrill us to death to know that god put it into existence from the plan in genesis and all the way through the scripture we find that god's purpose is worked out detail upon detail nothing left to the imagination so when we read about thirst first thessalonians when somebody at your a co-worker at work or family member says explain to me this catching away because rapture's not in your bible you know that right the word it is the catching away how is that even a possibility that you that are alive can be caught up to meet dead folk in the air when the lord's standing there with his angels anybody else think this odd here's the thing stay with me when we talk about the second coming of the lord there's not one of us that was there in the manger when he was born if you if you were raise your hand but we know and we preach and we teach it happened we'll even go so far as to put a bathrobe on a kid at christmas and say stand there you're now joseph that's how much we believe it we'll take the newest born baby and say you're gonna have to play the baby in demanger this time is he fed he ain't gonna spuke or throw up for 15 minutes okay get in the danger and there's poor kids in there right we believe it that much we wrap a whole holiday time around it the birth of jesus but when it comes to the second coming come on go on your internet search it you know what about the rapture what about the second coming and there's multitude upon multitude of naysayers and and people out there that say nothing will happen why because paul wrote about it and paul wasn't there when jesus was there i've come to tell somebody that as much as i believe in the beginning god created i believe there is a place called hell and i believe there's a place called heaven i don't think jesus i'm teaching y'all i don't think jesus went to prepare a place for nobody but it's a place prepared for those who make themselves ready so the way that paul could know these things is the spirit of the lord speaking to him showing to him something that was still to come you know why that i'm on this vein tonight i'm watching my clock i've got plenty of time you know why that the lord leading me to this place because there's a whole lot going on in our world in this generation there's a lot of doubters and there's a lot of fear that's swirling around the churches and the body of christ those in the church out of the church in the world upside down confusion and questions and wondering what's happening even the folk that don't even know anything about god are scratching their heads saying something's got to give something's got to happen professors at school they're saying well this is what we think it is and you got lawyers saying well this is what the law says and you've got doctors saying well this is how this works and you got the judge is saying well i'm not really sure you got all this stuff going on hang on to me you got folk that are shutting down their businesses because they're so confused don't know what to do i'm not talking covet stuff i'm talking about just the fact that life has changed on planet earth don't think it's ever going to go back the way it was come on watch any news outlet read any document you'll find what they're saying now is the job force you know i read an article today that said 55 percent of the job force will not go back to the office nor to a place to work they have decided being at home is what they prefer therefore they will not darken where they work any longer and if that company doesn't like it they can lump it because there's other companies that are hiring now listen to me minimum wage jobs at 12 15 20 bucks an hour they're not interested in that because they're not going to go into a restaurant and flip a burger that's why i have to eat before two o'clock in the afternoon because they're closing down anybody feel the dilemma that i'm in yeah listen to me you know the way i was raised the way my dad my grandfather she got up in the morning you put in a hard day's labor you got paid for that and you came home you laid your head on the pillow you knew that god was there you but you spent time with your family you washed behind your ears and you wore a clean shirt pulled up your pants and made sure the hair was in place you're with me we live in a society today that's what that sounds like to them is it wrong right good bad ugly i don't know i do know this guys in the midst of all this chopped salad and all the things that are flipping upside down we could so carefully and easily let the second coming of the lord slip by because it's no longer talked about or we don't see it in our mind's eye i've come to declare to this congregation and anybody watching online you need to know something the day is coming just like paul talked about and i'm putting and i'm staking my whole future on it i may not hear that trumpet sound standing upright it might be that i have to go by way of the grave but i've come to tell you if in the beginning god created there is a place called heaven and that's where i want to go are you with me so i'm teaching second coming we better understand now more than ever before if we don't truly fall in love with this plan and this purpose that god has put into place then you and i are going to be most miserable trying to sustain our lives on planet earth come on we're all going to be forced into a corner and you're going to have to decide i'm not saying decide to get the poke or the backs or the jack or whatever they're calling or put the mask on and so i saw i saw today some school the teacher was so mad at her students because she kept pulling her mask down she taped it to her head anybody see that now there's a lawsuit how cool is that huh huh you know what the code i'll be like come on put that tape on my head oh you don't even know you even know it's about to happen we get all righteously indignant you know like i'm gonna tell my mom on you stay with me stay with me our world is looking for answers listen to me friend and you're caught in the middle of it because you're in their schools you're in their workplaces you're out on the street you're picking up their news feeds and all that stuff the fact of the matter is the church should not ever worry about what's going on on planet earth this world is not your home now do do we have to work and occupy yes we do old timers called an occupying that's right that means you're busy you're doing you're working you're providing are you with me here's the question for 2021. can i ask a very forward question you don't have to answer you don't have to act like you heard me but what's going to happen in this generation if men are no longer men and women are no longer women and we don't understand the purpose of that and all of a sudden we're put thrown into this deep well of chaos and all this stuff swirling around who's going to stand up and defend are you with me i i i i tell anybody don't don't you try to come against my wife and my kids i might be a little guy but i'm a gray-head little guy i'm saying and i learned what my daddy told me at his ripe young age he said i don't fight fair he told me when he looked at me at that young age he put me on the floor if you ever think of hitting me you better make sure you kill me because if i come off that floor i'm coming at you with something i don't fight fair and i'm standing looking at him he reaches over and grabs a stick or something like got it got it we're good i got it hallelujah why listen to me that's that's when i married her that's what was my responsibility but you wanna know something else i'm not gonna let happen i'm not going to let the enemy come in and lie to her a lot of my kids that's why in the morning when i get up i lord take care of my wife today i have no idea what she's going to face or honor her give her strength give her courage god bless the work of her hands and where she walks today give her wisdom lord protect her health today lord bless my children god be with them today listen you know why i do that because i still believe the power of the cross of calvary come on when i pray for you and your families i'm pleading the blood of jesus god anoint them i don't know what they're going through but lord help them not to get their eyes off the prize second coming when paul talks about this he's referring to the place called heaven remember that word heaven next week we're going to look at what john talked about who that said i had to back i had to hit backspaces i was ready to get into it tonight but i can't my time i knew it would run out paul mentions the second coming to the churches in such clarity because he knew whether he got the word when he was up in the third heaven or whether he got there got his he couldn't utter the words didn't know how to tell the words that know how to repeat what he had just seen so that's why it's 14 years later he comes out he says listen to me it's as if it was yesterday as clear as the image was those who are dead and in the grave they're going to go first but we which are alive and remain we're going to be caught up to meet the lord we're in the air we're going to meet him in the air we're going to go here we go we're you know i don't in movies there's movies about the rapture it's where my mind starts wandering i wonder how they got that info huh you ever wonder about that you know some some of those movies i i i i've i watched portion of the passion i don't know how did they get that information that was so interesting intriguing i know i know how because they have 150 000 guys or ladies sitting there reading the scripture saying well this is what it says and now let's go research over here you see they they didn't pull that out of somewhere else they got that out of the bible which they called just a good book how can they write or or do a movie on something that one that's intriguing to me is two witnesses that's that's revelation stuff and danielle stuff who's that who's that gonna be see we're not getting into prophecy y'all quit asking these questions what i'm talking about here is there are things that's going on and it's intriguing the mind of of the folk in our world because they don't get it because the spirit is not expressly speaking to them but friend of mine if you're full of the holy ghost and you've been baptized in that name jesus you get in your prayer closet and god will reveal to you what this means he'll talk to you he'll confirm it with you he'll let you know the joy you're feeling is okay in the midst of your sorrow and your loss he'll let you know in the midst of not having two diamonds to rub it together you can still stand up and say i own a cattle on a thousand hill why because in the spirit because in the spirit you can be the richest man alive thessalonians mentions the dead because they were concerned about where are these other guys man they they were so strong in the faith they they were they were martyred they were killed they were destroyed what what's going to happen what about those who didn't no or those who who don't have an understanding you know i've often wondered and maybe maybe this is getting into another and i may have to do another series on it but what happened to all the folk that died from the old testament or all the folk that died before jesus went to the cross any theologians care to well i can tell you this brother so-and-so used to say this about that elder such-and-such he mentioned that a few times this is what he said well where do you think they got that you know brother tinney tf10 used to blow my mind some of the things he would say and i'm sitting there going that was so simple but i can tell where he got it in a prayer room the mind of christ seeking looking after that i know that's how he got some of that because i made a mistake one time in louisiana campground tioga going in the prayer chapel finding my little corner while we were on deputation and the door opening i was scared to death to look up because i thought it might be a ghost or so i don't know and i hear his feet shuffle across the floor sit down i kind of did that when i look over and it was a white-headed old fellow named brother tf teeny and i'm laying and said lord i'm going to be quiet for a minute because i don't want to pray something dumb moreover i want to hear what he's saying yes jesus do it long i mean i mean you know what it's like to pray somebody else's prayer i mean you're in the prayer you know where to get the prayer chain going or we're in the monday night prayer or everybody pray lord jesus i pray and then you all say yeah lord do that and you're like wait whoa you stalking me go and get your own prayer plenty of room huh i've had people do that some of y'all have done that yes lord i don't even know they were sick i'm right there you hear that lord yeah oh lord he's praying details i'm gonna be quiet a minute hmm i knew it asked my wife when she comes home and i think we need to pray for someone so i said why you got any details honey i said well babe i know how to pray i don't want to pray a miss stay hang on to me hang on to me no doubt in the scripture when we read the letters that paul wrote they were very interested do you guys help me let's get sidetracked the book of acts is very specific about the outpouring of the holy ghost is it not in chapter number two this this the celebrations going on this glory falls holy ghost blows in they come out the streets are filled with folk that are now receiving the gift of the holy ghost is that right and so this thing just blows up you got all these tribes and and peoples and and and groups of people that are there and they're hearing speaking in tongues and glorifying god there were some 17 languages mentioned in acts 2. wait they're not from my place how do they know that language they're not from my how do they know but yet they're glorifying god are you with me and then at the end of chapter 2 what does the bible say that they did they sold goods possessions and did what brought it to the apostles brought it to those that were doing the work of god and said what we've sold possessions doesn't say what all they sold it just says they sold possessions and they brought and get and then they distributed to those who had need is that right do you know why they went and did that because in their mind he's coming right back and they weren't going to need it anyway little did they realize it's the same thing that you and i realize today when i sacrificially give something unto the work of god guess what god blesses it they don't miss it they am i dying i'm back sorry i had to go wait a minute why was it that the prophet or the the apostle sitting there and and this this man comes in and says we sold a possession and here's what we got and he went really the spirit spoke to me and said that ain't true you may remember the story what happened dropped dead and then full of fire comes in sorry sapphire comes in and she comes in to check on her husband who hasn't come out yet she's thinking something happened to him or maybe he got elevated and promoted to some because of the i mean what was going through her mind she walks in and no doubt she's shashaying in there i'll come in here to look for my husband he said well we'll have a question for you why did you make this up about this thing that you did and what you thought you were giving and boat he hits the ground what do you think was happening at that time people's heart was being checked because of their motive jesus had already instructed the disciples standing there that day and saying look you see all these guys giving they didn't give nothing like she did they're understanding this hang on to me hang on till my second coming and so now you've got these churches growing they're trying to comprehend exactly what's taking place why because nobody else ever in the history of man has ever talked about leaving planet earth no one had ever said there's a better place there's another place they simply were born given a name made to be who they were and they died and it was over they put them in the ground but to you and i in our generation we understand what the scripture says by the hand of paul these new testament letters that there's coming a day when those who have done what the word of god told them to do and now he's coming to take him home and so all of those from the days of old what happens to them who all the way up to the new testament i mean we talk we sing about we talk about that don't we when we when we get to heaven we want to we want to have a discussion with abraham or or or one of these other patriarchs anybody think of that or hear somebody talk about that anybody or is that just just me anybody interested in that what would you ask them what would you ask a moses huh say did your feet hurt you got one question that's what you're gonna ask me i mean you're walking a lot and he's just walking sorry abraham i got a question how did you get her to call you lord somebody i don't know your bible if you knew your bible you'd be laughing because you know she was sorry here's the thing though what we do know is this there are some because again at the hand of the author new testament letter what does he talk about great cloud of witnesses he speaks of them does he not what does he say about them we are surrounded by them they are seeing what's transpiring in other words we will leave that to god's mercy and grace and not to ours we will say the lord jesus christ came was born in a manger lived on planet earth changed the entire world if you will and now he stands in authority saying it won't be long but i've prepared a place for those who will follow me and my spirit when i draw it out of the world that's you and i in the second coming 2021 we should be so excited and thrilled about the possibilities of what is being what has been prepared for us do you realize friend of mine that paul wrote a letter to the churches that same anointing and glory is in this place tonight that's right hang on and so some of you might say well then how come we don't see her we don't say because i said that saying glory and anointing is in this past what is not or what is missing many times is that same conviction is not in this house because if we were convinced and convicted about the true power of the cross of calvary what would we do we couldn't be quiet about it we'd be looking for a stage somewhere let me tell you who jesus is he's the rock of all i'm sorry if you were to go again i'm bringing down the landing gear is coming out now i have to circle a few times but stay with me john half brother of jesus writes the account in the book of revelation about what is to come okay he was such a loud mouth he was such a pusher he was very very outward in his preaching one one theologian says according to history they even boiled him in oil but the oil did not affect him so they had to take him out of the pot how cool would that be no but then he decides the king of the days decides the ruler of the hour says you know what we need to do we need to find a place to put him where he can't talk to anyone and so they put him on a greek island called patmos it's 10 miles long six miles at its widest point there is no vegetation it is one large rock and they say to him you're going there hello hello hello hello anybody here here here he's by himself by nothing to do but simply preach to himself and it is in that place of exile on patmos no occupants nobody to occupy take up his time no distractions on that rocky land he received from god the explanation of what was to come how can it be that an angel would come down and say come here buddy i want to show you something john's response was what he understood deity and royalty he fell at his feet what do the angels say come here come here no i'm like you buddy come up here come on i'll show you something and he begins to demonstrate and show him now hang on oh lord help me the book of revelation was written anybody know the year 96 a.d he was put on the island 95-ish 96 he penned the words that he could find trying to understand somehow here's my question was there a staples where'd he get paper and pen oh some of you are like how did you think of that okay study it study it on that island he talks about what is to come now you and i read revelation and how many of you really understand the book of revelation when it says church as we say yeah we know what that is but you know when it says a white horse a black horse a tan horse a pale horse you know when it talks about horses or when it talks about the dragon or when it talks about the harlot that's on the dragon and the blood when it talks about all these things that's come when it talks about the vials that are going to be broken and those when it talks about all those things it talks about the actual heaven talks about the 12 foundations of 12 gates you know what i'm saying when it talks about that stuff we sit here and we just gloss over somehow i lost you about 16 words ago lord jesus thank you for this food bless it in jesus name amen you know that's as far as we get the truth of the matter is simply this in the beginning god god had a plan and it's for a second coming to those who are ready that they will leave and they will go to the place that he demonstrated and showed to somebody so that the words could be written down so you and i can read them today you would have thought i would have thought we would have thought logically logically that when the translators began to put in order the way they put them in order the 66 books of the bible we talked about that several months ago too right when those things were that's not it's it's not in sequence you understand that right it's not it's written and they put them together in an order per the author and how it was going to affect the entire book get that so when we see that you i would have thought that when they came across these manuscripts these writings written from a stone rocky place that were somehow protected and preserved and they come down and you've got these guys that are reading it they're saying smiles remember this is in greek and the voice is all greek to me i'm uh they're reading through they're saying man this is talking about something to come if they is smart they would have went to the king and said hey look at this this guy's talking all ghosty and all loopy we might not ought to put this in there no doubt the king said what oh it ain't gonna mean nothing but you and i in 2021 we read that and there's hope there's tell me that this is an accident you tell me this just kind of happened no friend i'm telling you in the beginning god at the end god and when we are leaving this place and those that are dead with those that are alive or we're caught up and we're going for that second coming you better know friend i've said this a thousand times ready thousand and one you're not just gonna show up there it's gonna be because you're listening for the sounding of the archangel's trumpet because as soon as that blast happens you're gone you got no time to go prepare you got no time to go turn on the turn off the coffee pot you got no time to go make sure that bill was paid it is done over over over over it's called the second coming when i read about the life of christ it thrills my heart to know that the god of all creation would take his word put it in flesh let it come to earth so that you and i can go down in a watery grave and come up as a new creature he can breathe into us his spirit and we have the evidence because we speak in a heavenly language as that spirit's giving utterance i'm almost done anybody here know what a balloon is we know what a balloon is you ever blow up a balloon and it's like this big right you got all your air going into it and you get that air you get blown in there and all that big things then you now my grandpa showed me how to take it and go we we anyway so you hold it do you ever hold the balloon and with that air let the top go don't let it fly just hold it what does it do what's it do stays what in your hand but what noise do you hear it doesn't pop because you took your finger off it hear that it's the noise of what the air coming out of the balloon and taking the nozzle of the balloon and flipping it now you know the evidence is you heard it and the air is gone reverse that procedure when you receive the holy ghost there's a noise will be made because it's the birth of a new soul and when you're born there will be tongues it'll happen that's why it's called stammering lips another tongue it will happen don't deny it friend listen to me carefully and i'm done stand with me 2021 paul writes to the church on the how john writes to the church about the where and you and i today have the ability to make our preparations for the second coming and you can tell anybody about it and they too can ready themselves for the second coming this is one of the greatest things that you and i have as members of the church part of the body of christ guys if this were all there was about it we would be so miserable but because we have hope of a place called heaven we ought to be the most excited we are we ought to be thrilled at the opportunity to know the name jesus to be able to call on the name jesus and for somebody at your work or somebody in your family or somebody in your class or whoever's close to you lean over and say what'd you just say i said jesus and then say mama i felt something when you said jesus come on they may not understand it but that name jesus is what's the sound that our lives ought to be hungry for anybody getting ready for heaven it's called the catching away it's called the second coming of the lord we ought to thank him and love him right now jesus we believe in heaven we believe you're coming back for the church you're not leaving us you haven't left us comfortless but you have come to us and one of these days we're gonna go be with you now i realize when you talk about heaven a lot of us can can can begin to get that far away look in our eyes there's some folk that i know that i know once we're past judgment they will be there because of the lives they lived here and the word they followed here i won't run over to abraham i won't run over to moses i won't run over to one of these other guys i'm gonna go find some family members i'm gonna go see my dad where he's at if he still got that table reserved for me come on that that's what i said when i leaned over his casket kicked kissed him on the forehead daddy saved me a table for four i wasn't married then but i prayed i said lord you're gonna help me we were engaged we were married a month later she and i this lady right here and in my heart my mind i knew god was gonna help us have two kids because of her and me um and i said daddy save me a table for four so then when my son got married first thing i told my daughter-in-law was baby i want you to know something i had to pray a prayer today what was that i prayed i didn't pray to god i said daddy if you're up there save me a table for five now and every time that my god i need that come on dad don't let me down now no no let me down there my mom's trying to be 82. she's talking a whole lot lately i don't know why she's talking a whole lot lately about heaven she's talking a whole lot about you know i'm tired and i said mommy i know she said you know what i i know the other night i had a dream about him and and i said mom maybe god's getting you closer to it i want you to know i think of it often as well i think of it often as well and my grandma this tall i don't know what she's doing now as a family sometimes we wonder if she's just worrying a snot out of him now now you know that this is nothing you need to you need to listen to me and we're gonna you know jesus is like whoa back this lady up but you know about a prayer warrior she would not at all afraid of the fragrance of jesus she's the one who would come look at me brother gibson that's how i'm praying for you and you better keep seeking if you're not seeking the face of god you're going to lose it you're going to miss out you better seek him more if you seek anything else you better turn loose to the things of this world and grab a hold of things of heaven she talked to me about the second coming come on she talked to me about a sec you know why because i have to prepare myself you got to prepare yourself tonight before you go home i wonder could you take a few moments and just love the lord realign your thinking lord i know that there's a place for me come on somebody lord i know that you are you are making a difference in our world and although it's chaotic and crazy in this hour i am believing that heaven is still true i'm believing lord god there are streets of gold there are gates of pearl there are lord jesus the saints of the most high gathering there oh that's right don't ever lose sight of it friend don't ever take your eyes off of it jesus is coming jesus is coming jesus is coming jesus is coming i'll say jesus is coming don't you forget that that ought to be ringing you ought to be fine-tuning your hearing for the day that trumpet sounds help me lord to hear you hear you help me lord to hear what you help me lord god i want to hear it i want to hear it i don't want to be distracted lord some of us maybe it's time we start lifting our head a little off more often and quit walking around like this no i didn't just say that quit walking around in the mully grubs as they used to call it you might have to look up once in a while could this be the day is that the cloud is that what i've been looking for is he coming back now because it's going to happen just as sure as this world is here it's going to happen pray with me right now lord we are so thankful for the word of god thankful for the promises that are in that word we look to them lord and our spirits begin to soar we begin to connect with you jesus in the promises you made how that your spirit spoke to men and men revealed it to other men and here we are lord in our generation the word still stands true it is still right heaven is still in view it is still eternity for us we believe there's a heaven to gain and a hell to shun we believe lord in the blessings of a place called heaven for eternity and eternity and eternity on end we're trusting you for that lord i pray for the church help us god in this hour give us the wisdom the knowledge and the understanding that we need lord to continue to move forward in you with joy with joy to know god you are leading us every step of the way anoint us lord as we leave this place we're going to come back lord rejoicing and loving you help us dear god to reach somebody lord and just share a smile with them share the word with them lord share with them a kind word in the name of jesus i plead your blood lord over the church help us god in this hour lord be found doing your will in jesus wonderful name we pray can you give him praise before you leave here tonight come on lift your voice to the lord he's a mighty good god he's a mighty good god yes he is he's a holy god he's a holy god yes yes yes he is somebody say in jesus name