90th Anniversary Celebration - No One is Crying, "Wolf!"

We should fill this house with a sound of rejoicing and celebration today. We should fill this house with a sound of praises today. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

Jesus, we praise you today according to your excellent greatness. We praise you for your mighty acts. We praise you the firmament of your power because we have breath today. Because we're breathing, Lord, we give you praise.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Oh, praise God. Praise God.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Praise God.

Praise God. I choose to be in your midst. But you Choose to accept that presence and your possible love, great power, overreng over the greatest obstacles. My pres.

Do that. Do that. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. We better never get over the wonder of being in the presence of the King of Kings.

We better never let that become common to us, folks. Jesus. Oh, thank God. Thank God.

Thank God. I I I really wonder sometimes if if the Lord Jesus doesn't get more excited about Sunday than we do. Not that you don't, but just He died for this. He bled and died for this so we could do this.

And I for the joy set before him. He The church doesn't even really exist for us. I'm sorry. He he he he said he would present it to himself.

A glorious church. The church is his gift to himself. You are his gift to himself. It's a wonderful thing.

Man, it's a great day to be present with you today. We feel so blessed. Michelle and I feel so blessed. You I hope you can understand that um your church, you birthed us.

No, I was never a part of this congregation, but the church that I that we've been a part of now for 32 years, the sanctuary came out of this. It's one of the 24 churches. Um, and everything that God's graced us to be able to do is is your your giving and your work and your vision and practice. My my children were baptized in a church that you did.

My daughter was dedicated in a church that you is is your is what you did. I'm in your debt more than I could possibly tell you. And I thank you for the high honor to get to be here today. Words I don't know if I ever really thought I would say when my son and your pastor were causing chaos as teenagers.

I don't know if I ever thought I would say, "Pastor Dong, thank you so much for the privilege to be here today." But uh I do thank you and I honor you highly. It's a one he's a wonderful man. You're blessed. You're a blessed blessed congregation and I thank God for him.

Amen. Amen. Two two individuals in this room who were my boss for a season of time. Of course, brother Reaver was my my boss for a couple years at when we were at what was then known as the general youth division back when men were men.

And um brother Willford was my boss for was it three years I think a superintendent when I was the secretary in the district and he was the superintendent. Uh so I both these don't you get any ideas but no I was just actually for today you're my boss. I you do you anything you say is what I would do today. Absolutely.

Absolutely. Let me direct your attention today to Revelation chapter 22. We will jump to the end of the book. Some folks, you've heard folks, he preached everything from Genesis to Revelation.

I'm not. I'm just going to preach Revelation. I'm going right to the end. Revelation 22 and verse number 16.

Amen. Revelation 22 and verse 16 says this. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David and the bright and morning star.

And the spirit and the bride say come. And let him that heareth say come. And let him that is a thirst come. And whosoever will, aren't you glad that net is so broad?

Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book. If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. You don't want that.

And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. You don't want that either. He wraps up the story. 66 books as we know it, all the thousands of pages and tens of thousands of words.

And he wraps it up with this. He which testified these things saith, surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so come, Lord Jesus.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. I'm going to preach today on this subject. No one is crying wolf.

No one is crying wolf. You can be seated. God bless you today. The years are rolling by.

It was so gracious of your pastor to talk about how young we all are. But I marvel as the candles melt up on my cake how quickly it seems to me at least that time is passing by. Seems like only yesterday that we had to adjust to saying 2024 and now we're well past a quarter of the way into 25. It is no doubt a function of advancing age, but time just seems to be hasting at an everinccreasing pace.

I read a psychologist who suggested that the reason that is true is because when you're 10, a year is a tenth of your life, but by the time you're 50, it's only 2%. And so, because it's such a smaller percentage of your overall life, it feels like it go I don't know if that's the reason or not. I just know it's happening. The message I preach today is nothing new.

In fact, it is a message which has been heralded since the inception of the church. And that very fact makes it a dangerous and a difficult message to convey. It's not hard to say it. It's not hard to comprehend it.

It's just difficult for the magnitude of it to fully impact us because we've all heard it so many times before. But I take it upon myself to be brave today and try anyway and declare this to you. Jesus is coming soon. Now, this message is hard to receive completely because of a little boy who watched sheep.

He got bored out on a hill one day. Nothing to do but watch the lazy sheep move from one patch of grass to the next. And then an idea hit him. He went running down into the village yelling, "Wolf!

Wolf! There's a wolf attacking the sheep." Ah! The men of the village rose up. They grabbed pitchforks and clubs and spears and whatever they had and they went running madly out into the pasture to defend their livestock investment.

Oh, that young boy laughed and laughed. It was all quite humorous to him to see them arrive. And that look on their face when they realized there was no wolf there broke the monotony of the day. What a great prank to pull.

In fact, it was so much fun that just a few days later on another particularly lazy afternoon, he decided to try it again. Wolf, wolf, he shouted. There's a wolf in with a sheep. And oh, here they came again.

The baker and the constable and the blacksmith and the merchant. All of them in a dither. All of them running, ready to do battle. Ah.

The child laughed and laughed at the looks on their faces when once again they realized they had been duped. I mean, after all, it was great fun. It made for great theater. No one was harmed.

until until the day came not a week later when the young boy looked up to see that his foolishness had become prophetic. And there was in fact on that day a ravenous wolf creeping into the pasture. He knew he couldn't fight that wolf by himself. And so off to the village he ran.

Frantically he shouted this time in desperation and in honesty, "Wolf! Wolf! There's a wolf in the pasture." But of course this time no one came. No one would pay him any heed.

No one came running. No weapons were gathered. no plans were made. His previous lies had made them ignore his genuine announcement.

Now, the primary lesson to be learned, of course, in this ancient fable is that falsehood can cause people not to believe you when you really need them. But the other lesson that I would say today is for the town's people, and that is this, that just because it wasn't true before doesn't mean it's not true now. You see, when it comes to the return of Christ, men have been crying wolf since shortly after his ascension. I researched it the best I could and found people setting dates for the return of Christ or claiming to be the returned Christ all the way back to 44 AD.

There have been hundreds of these events. I'm going to run through a few today and we will see how old you are by when you start going uh at the year 1000. I don't anticipate anybody's going to respond to that one. At the year 1000, there were reports that people were terrified because of the significance of the year flipping to four digits.

Now, the common man may not have known, but those of some learning, particularly one French monk, made dire predictions of what was going to happen on January 1st, the year 1000. You know what happened January second? A man named William Miller set the date in 1844. Again, I'm not anticipating anybody remembering that one.

He said the Lord was coming on May 21st, 1844. And of course, what happened was May 22nd. And then because he realized he missed it, he tried again. Set it as October 22nd, 1844.

And of course, that didn't happen either. In more recent times in 1982, all nine of the planets aligned on one side of the sun. They're only in the half of the of their orbits. They're all only on one side of the sun once every 179 years.

But on that particular year, all nine, there were nine then. Pluto had not yet gotten demoted. All nine planets aligned in a perfectly straight line. There were forecasts of earthquakes and floods and disasters and of course none of that happened.

Now it will start. The knowing looks will begin. 1988 the book that prompted many a prayer meeting. 88 reasons the Lord is coming in 88.

All you young people are going I don't know what you're talking about. Yeah, there was a book came out. dude published a book, 88 Reasons the Lord's Coming in 88. Now, he, this guy, gave himself a three-day window.

He said it was somewhere between September 11th, September 13th. Nothing happened. So, he wrote a sequel. He did 89 reasons the Lord's coming at 89.

You say, "I don't remember that one." Well, it didn't sell quite as well as the first one did as you might imagine. Who? Uhhuh. What?

Y 2K. See? See? See?

You see what's happening? Everybody. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Y 2K. For those of you still too young, someone failed to program computers to handle the fourdigit date. They only had two slots for the year, you know, 93, 94, 95. And folks were concerned that when it hit oughtu ought dire things.

You remember don't you? Oh my goodness. The power grid was going to collapse. Planes were going to drop out of the sky.

The banking industry was going down. The hall of society was going to crash as though God was somehow being dictated to by a programmer at Microsoft. May 21st, 2011, a man named Harold Camping, he was on 50 radio stations and rented over 6,000 billboards to announce that on May 21st the Lord was coming. May 22nd happened.

Then the Mayan calendar ran out. Remember that one? Yeah. The Mayans, the ancient Mayans had a very accurate calendar, but it apparently the last date they'd ever had was December 21st, 2012.

And so people were convinced that the Mayan somehow in the inside track and the world was going to end. And that didn't happen either. I have news for you. No ms the hour either.

But the danger is in letting all those false prophets dull our senses to what is true. And what is true is this. Jesus is coming. I realize that men far more eloquent than I have declared it through the generations.

But it does not make me back up from standing in this place on this morning and say when I look around and see the chaos in this world, something inside my spirit says, "You better get ready. Jesus is coming. I was sitting here this morning thinking, man, 10 years they're going to have a big party. And then I got to thinking way before 10 years, we may have a bigger party cuz Jesus is coming.

I remember at camp meeting service when I was a child when that man preached the coming of the Lord so passionately, I was convinced I would never graduate from high school. Multiple generations have gone to their grave never believing they would do so for surely his coming would be before that day. My grandfather preached it. His son preached it.

I preach it here tonight. But you know what? If it was true two generations ago and it was true in my daddy's generation, then I say to you today, the church better lift up our eyes and start looking toward the east cuz Jesus is We better never let the ignorance of this world around us or the busyiness of the life we live or the doubting of skeptics or the confusion of heretics cloud our minds for even one moment. Hey church, lift up your head.

Jesus is coming. Jesus is coming. We uh see see you need to get up in the morning and say I may not have to live through another day of trial. Jesus is coming.

When you take your prescriptions tomorrow morning, say to yourself, this may be the last day I ever take this pill. Jesus is coming. When hell starts fighting you, throw your head back and say, "It's going to be okay. Jesus is coming.

I know the question is when is he coming? I'm going to give you that answer today. No, I'm not going to set a date. That's silly.

And it leads to exactly what I've described earlier. In fact, we're not even supposed to know the date. You know, human nature well enough to know how folks would live if they knew the day he was coming. They'd live like the devil and then try to get in the altar the day before.

That's not a relationship and that's never what Jesus intended. But we are certainly encouraged to watch for signs of the end. We are to be aware of trends and prophetic fulfillments that point to his coming. But God never intended us to know the exact day.

Matthew 24:36, "But of that day and hour, knoweth no man, not the angels in heaven, but my father only." Not here to set a date for you, but I will tell you when he's coming. Because after that, it went on in Matthew to describe the the days of Noah. Hundred years passed roughly from the time that prophecy came until that ark was done. He got a hundred-year construction project going on.

You would think I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I'm pretty sure if I look out my back window and I see two arvarks, followed by two Bengal tigers followed by two gazels chasing the tigers. I might say to myself and and honey, something's up. That's easy to laugh at, but the Bible tells me what they did. They were just marrying, eating, drinking, going through life, going through motions, they got so comfortable, even with everything going on around them that they convinced themselves there wasn't anything prophetic on the horizon.

When I look around and see a world that can't even figure out, Jesus, help us. When I see the morals of our society decay like it is, when I see chaos in the Middle East, when I see Russia and China and Iran and everybody else talking about wiping out the people of Israel, something down in my spirit says it might be time for the church to shake itself and say something's going on. Something's going on. It's not the time to get so busy with life that we lose track of what's happening.

I'll tell you what's happening. Jesus is coming. Woo! Jesus is coming.

Some service is going to be our last service. Some worship time going to be the last one. Sometime that choir is going to sing. It's going to be the last chance I get to worship here.

Some tear is going to be the last tear. Some funeral is going to be the last funeral. Hey somebody, Jesus is coming. So he said, this is when Jesus said he would come.

Matthew 24:44, "Therefore, be also ready, for in such an hour as you think not, the Son of Man cometh." Just I know when he's coming, just when the world has decided he won't. Just when everybody's gotten so comfortable they don't pay any attention to it anymore. Just when people decide it's a myth, just when folks have written it off and said, "You still believe that book of fairy tales?" Let me tell you what's going to happen. The skies are going to part.

The trumpet's going to sound. Jesus will descend. The Lord is coming again. I I I hope you can receive what I'm about to say, but I get a little concerned.

We've gotten too comfortable here. I am a little worried about that. We just get too comfortable here. Uh, you know, I'm getting old.

I know some of you go, "You're not old." And others are like, "Yes, he is." That's all perspective. I know that. that uh I remember when you couldn't turn 10 pages in the old hymn book without hitting a song about heaven page two oh I want to see him you couldn't go you couldn't go half a dozen I mean you turn 10 or 12 pages and you'd hit won't it be wonderful there and they'll be shouting on the hills of glory and won't we have a time we get over yonder and heaven's jubilee and that oh I'll fly away you hear I when I walk up the streets of gold I could go on and on and on and on with songs you young people don't know, right? You look, you go and you you download any list of new of new music.

You don't have many songs about heaven. Think about it. I love your songs. I knew all of them you sang this morning.

We don't sing many songs about heaven anymore. I think the reason is when it was the Great Depression and you didn't know if you're going to have two potatoes to eat for dinner tomorrow, getting out of here sounded pretty good. I don't figure there's anybody here this morning. Maybe, but very few folks are worrying about if you're going to eat after service.

You're just trying to figure out how big the argument is going to be about where you eat after service. You've gotten kind of comfortable. We live in nice houses. I like air conditioning.

People say, "I wish I lived in the days of the apostles." I wish you did, too. I like indoor plumbing. Personally, I'm perfectly happy right here. But there's a danger in that.

We got pretty comfortable here. God, help us to lift up our eyes and understand this is not our home. This is not our home. This is not our home.

We are just passing through here. We're heading someplace else. This is not home. At the very end of his word, the Lord felt to testify to one fact above all others.

One thing he wanted us to remember. He did not end his book by saying, "Surely I am one." Even though that's true. He didn't end his book by saying, "Surely you must be born again." Even though that's true. The thing he chose to leave us with the du mole of his book, the last thing he was going to hand us was, "Behold, I come quickly." If you're going to hang your relationship with me on one thing as you march through life, keep it in mind that I'm coming soon.

You say, "Well, that's been 2,000 years ago." I accept that. All that means is his coming is 2,000 years closer than when Jesus himself said, "Behold, I come quickly." Now, I'm going to do my best to encourage you today. I want you to know the news that he's coming thrills my soul. Luke 21 and 28.

I know we think about you, preacher, about the coming of the Lord, but I get scared. I don't live scared. I'm going to heaven when he comes. Luke 21 and 28.

And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads for your redemption drawth nigh. Folks, the fact that he's coming is wonderful news to me. Anybody besides me, the older I get, the less I feel at home here. This place is getting stranger and stranger.

I don't mean this place, but this world's getting crazy. I I feel less at home here all the time. Few years ago, I made a trip to South Korea. I preached their camp meeting.

It was a wonderful, wonderful experience. But I got to tell you, I have never felt more foreign. I've been around the world, a lot of places. I've never felt more foreign than I did in South Korea.

I'm sorry, brother Bernard. I know it's your country and you love it, but I folks, I stood out. I know that comes as a shock to you. Not a lot of Koreans.

I'm tall over there. Tall and and white and uh uh and they don't they don't dress like me. They they I I I go other places in the world. I may not know what the word is, but I can't re read the letters.

Not there. They ain't never heard of ABC. They've got these weird things. I couldn't even read what the sign I mean I couldn't nothing.

I And what they ate. Oh. Oh, I'm sorry, brother Bernard. My dear brothers and sisters, I I was at their camp and the first day they served me curried octopus.

Well, that's what I thought. I thought it was bad, but it wasn't because the second day I was asking if they had leftovers because the second day they served me pickled jellyfish. That's what I said. It was I cannot describe to you.

It was horrific. I mean, it was if if you if you laid a dead bass on the sidewalk in summer in St. Louis for about eight hours and that smell that you would expect as you stepped over it, if you take that smell, soak it in vinegar, and make it gelatinous. All I'm saying to you is this.

I wasn't going to miss my flight. You hear me? I'm going home. I'm going home.

Ain't nothing going to tempt me to stay there. I got a flight coming up. It's going to take me home. You want to know how I live through this life?

I'm going home. I'm going home. Jesus is coming. He's going to get me out of here.

The longer I live, they don't I don't dress like them. I don't eat what they eat. I don't think like they think. But I'm going home.

I'm going home. Jesus is coming. I'm going home. I just want the church to lift up your head and say, "It's going to be okay.

I can make it. I'm going home. I'm not going to miss this flight. I'm going home." Lift up your head.

Jesus is coming. I know everybody's worried about the national debt and the fiscal cliff and tariffs, but lift up your head. The Lord is coming. People are concerned about China and Russia and Iran, and I reference them, but lift up your head.

The Lord is coming. people uncertain about the future, worried about the, you know, president this and the congress that. Hey folks, that's not my king in the first place. I'm not even a citizen here.

I'm going home. Jesus is coming. I know you got problems and challenges and sickness and pressure, but lift up your head, folks. We're not staying here.

Jesus is coming. I hope I can make this make sense, but those are not just words. The one who died for me, I'm going to see him. I'm going to bow in his presence.

I'm going to see him face to face. I'm going to take the crown off my head, throw it at his feet. I'm going to worship and praise him, not in the frailty of a human body, but in a glorified body. Let Let me try this.

I I know what I'm about to read to you are familiar words. I get it. But can you for just a moment pretend you did not know this was going to happen? Could you for just a moment pretend you're still dripping from the baptistry and you don't know he's coming back.

Ain't nobody ever told you that and you're going through tough stuff down here and you heard a preacher read this for the first time. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not even as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also 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 under the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

Why, preacher, what's going to happen? For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven. What? Yeah, he is.

He's going to descend from heaven with a shout, with a voice of the archangel, with a trump of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. If you never heard it, how would you respond? Then we which are alive and remain.

We're going to be we're going to 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 Jesus is coming. Jesus is coming. Oh, hallelujah.

Hallelujah. One day and it won't be very long. Life will just be going on. You may be in school.

The office may be going through its routines. You may be laboring on the job site or in the field. You'll be cleaning house. You'll be at Walgreens getting toothpaste.

You'll be stuck in traffic on 270. And then it will happen. Your ears are going to hear the piercing tone of one golden trumpet. And a shout is going to ren the heavens from one side to the other.

And the voice of the archangel is going to cry, "Come home. Come home. Come home. And my dear brothers and sisters, we're going to leave behind every trial and every pressure and every problem and every battle and every weary mile.

It makes me say even so come Lord Jesus. Marinath. Oh Lord come. But watch this then from the sea and from the land and from graves long since forgotten and from graves lovingly attended shall burst forth the dead in Christ.

Every year we've had to say farewell to loved ones, but the message of next Sunday assures us it's not goodbye because of this hope. I hope you don't think I'm just playing to your emotions, but since I'm in this church, let me give you some assurance. Brother Phil Black is going to rise. Sister Glattis Plank is going to rise.

Brother Clement Reaver is going to rise. Sister Betty Rever is going to rise. Brother Duke Brady is going to rise. Sister Hazel, well, this is not a dream.

This is real. With an innumerable host of others, all our loved ones through the years are going to burst out of the ground and rocket skyward with shouts of rejoicing. Jesus is coming. That is not just a mental gymnastic we play.

and utilize at funerals as a coping mechanism for grief. That is more real than the floor you stand on. This is not a fairy tale. It's real.

They're going to go shouting into the sky. But just one fraction of one sliver of one twinkling of an eye later, gravity is going to lose its hold on us. And from every nation and every kindred and every tribe and every tongue, the redeemed bride of Christ is going to shoot out of this world into the next world with a new body and a new song and a new home. Hey somebody, sickness will be no more.

Death will be no more. Tears will be no more. Weeping may endure for the night, but take heart, my friends. Joy is coming in the morning.

Every pressure and every hurt and every pain and every weariness is going to fade away when I see him face to face. I'm so excited to tell you Jesus is coming. I I I don't know if it'll be 2025 or not. I can't tell you that.

But I can tell you some glad morning we shall see Jesus in the air. Oh, what singing? Oh, what shouting on that happy morning. We're going to rise, folks.

This is real. This is real. This is real. He's coming.

He's coming. He's coming. He's coming. So, when I preach about the coming of the Lord, let your spirits arise.

Romans 8:18. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the joy, with the glory which shall be revealed in us. When we get I I've heard people say, "When I get there, I'm gonna ask him a few questions." No, you're not. No, you're not.

I I know. I get it. I love some of those old songs we sing. I think we'll understand it better by I don't know if we will.

I don't know that God's going to give me an answer to everything I've gone through down here. He sure didn't with Job. He never told Job why. Here's what I know.

When we get there, we won't care. Angel says, "Was it tough getting here?" I don't even remember what I went through down there isn't even worthy to be compared with what I'm enjoying up here. You hearing me? I I'm not minimizing your struggle.

I hurt for your hurt. But I got good news for you. Just one sound of a trumpet's going to make it all right. It's going to be okay.

It's going to be okay. When we stand there and oper one second when we complain is all worth it to get there. So the sing of the coming of the Lord certainly encourages me. It makes my heart leap.

I I'm anxious for his coming. But the news of his coming also has to bring some introspection. I I I can't do this sub subject justice by merely preaching that exciting part of it that that he's coming and we're going to get out of here because as excited as I am about his coming, I must also be challenged by it. For the ones that I've read to you today are not the only passages about his coming.

Also read of the fact that not everyone who says Lord Lord will be saved. I I read about two grinding at the mill and one is taken and the other left. Two working in the field and one is taken the other left. Two in a bed and one is taken and one is left.

I I want him to come. If you can't amen anything else, I hope you can amen this. I want to be ready. I I want to be ready.

So I'm saying whatever I've got to repent of, I want to be ready. Whatever I've got to change, I want to be ready. Whatever I've got to crucify, I want to be ready. Whatever I've got to lay down, I want to be ready.

Whatever I've got to pick up, I want to be ready. Makes me want to do some introspection to be sure I'm walking in manners that please him. Jesus is coming. My opinions don't matter.

Jesus is coming. Public opinion doesn't matter. Jesus is coming. Entertainment doesn't matter.

Jesus is coming. Societal trends don't matter. Jesus is coming. Only one thing matters.

2 Peter 3:14, "Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you look for such things, be diligent that you may be found in him without in peace, without spot, and blameless." That's all I want. That must be the response to his coming. I want to be right. See, because I pondered something about Korea.

I wonder how long I'd have to live there before I developed a taste for pickled octopus. I wonder how long I'd have to be there before what sickened me became acceptable to me. How long would I have to live there before I started dressing like they dress, talking like they talk, enjoying what they enjoy? I'm sorry.

Is that uncomfortable? Good. Because we've lived here a while and I want to be real sure that I don't look more like this culture than that culture. I want to be sure I don't think more like this culture than I think like that culture.

I want to be real sure that I don't blend in here as much as I blend in up there. I want to be right. I I pastored for 15 years. I'm a recovering pastor.

And uh on my pastoral list of pet peeves, number 32, copies are available in the lobby. Number 32 was this question drove me. This this this is like fingernails on a blackboard to pastor. Goes like this.

Can you prove to me that's a heaven and hell issue? I never I never said it. I but I thought it more than once. No, that may not be.

But my desire to slap you probably is. Hope nobody from the sanctuary tunes in and hears that. I never said it, but did flip through my mind in carnal moments. Is it a heaven or hell issue?

Let's think about that question. That would be akin. You see this vision of loveliness sitting on the front row? Can you believe she said yes when I asked?

Man, it would be like me walking up to her and saying, "I love you. Oh, I love you. I I love you." Now, I want to know what the line is of how bad I can treat you before you go file for divorce. Tell me, because I'm going to live right there.

I love you. But how close can I get to the line where you are ready to get rid of me? I'm thinking it won't be long before I look at her and say, "I love you." And she's going to go, "Uh-huh." Then why, oh, see, it's going to get ugly. Why do we think we can walk in here on Sunday, I love you, Prove to me that's a heaven and hell issue.

How close can I get? I want to All I'm in this for is to miss hell. God help us. Don't worry, your pastor will be back next Sunday.

It'll be all right. God, help us to stop trying to live like that. That's not a relationship. That's religion.

I don't want religion. I want a relationship. I want to look at him and say, "All I want to do is live whatever makes you happy. I want to put a smile on your face because I love you." So, pastor, you don't have to prove to me it'll send me to hell.

Just tell me what makes him happy. If dressing like this makes him happy, that's good enough for me. If talking like this makes him happy, that's good enough for me. All I want to know is how do I please this one who's coming back for me?

Okay, watch watch. I I I I've actually got Bible for this. I really do. The first glimpse we have of the rapture in the Bible is Enoch.

It's first image we have. Enoch was not for God took him. He just took him. You want to know why?

I can show you why. Genesis 5:24 says Enoch walked with God. Was not for God took him. Here's why.

Hebrews 11:5 by faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death and was not found because God had translated him. Why? For before his translation, he had this testimony that he pleased God. When Adam and Eve displeased God, they were pushed out of his presence.

When Enoch pleased God, he was ushered into his presence. When the Lord comes, I don't want there to be any question about my life. I want him to look at me and said, "That boy has been pleasing me. That boy has been putting a smile on my face." That is the question we've got to have.

Are we ready for his coming? Second Peter 3:11, seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved. talking about this earth. What manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation and godliness looking for and hasting under the coming in the day of God when the heavens being on fire be dissolved in the elements shall melt with fervent heat that same message that he's coming that makes us go yeah ought to make us look inside and say am I pleasing him and then I'll I'll finish quickly but the the third thing I would tell you is that news of his coming ought to bring some urgency in us in addition to giving us hope to go forward and causing us to carefully look inward.

There ought to be something that gets down in our spirit that says, "Whatever I'm going to do, I got to do. He's coming." I can't tell you how much time we have left. I can't tell you how many more altar calls you're going to have. I can't tell you how many more services you're going to get to enjoy.

There are signs all around the world. Iniquity abounds. Godliness pre godlessness prevails more and more in our culture. The sabers never seem to be r cease rattling in the Middle East.

What's it all mean? I the Lord's coming and so I've got to do what I'm going to do now. I would today that his church would echo his sentiments from John 9:4. I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day for the night cometh when no man can work.

I just got to tell you, our chances to witness are going to stop at the trumpet. Our chance to teach a Bible study to our neighbors are going to stop at the trumpet. Our chance to pray with our children is going to stop at the trumpet. Our chance to get involved in the church is going to stop at the trumpet.

Our chance to come to the altar is going to stop at the trumpet. My chance to impact the world is going to stop at the trumpet. Anything I'm going to do, I've got to do now. Got to do now.

I don't get another chance. There's no time to defer. There's no time to delay. There's no time to put it off because I don't know when this offer is going to expire.

You know, you'll see an ad in the paper, some some something some product, some special, you know, limited time offer. And then when the time runs out, they extend the offer. This is a limited time offer. I cannot tell you how long it will go.

And so it would be wise for every one of us to make our calling and election sure this morning. You know what's the greatest tribute you could pay to Harry S. Branding and Winterford Black? It's for everybody in this house to be ready at the rapture.

See that whole Left Behind book series, and if you love those and have them all on your shelf, I'm not condemning you. I'm really not. There's a damnable lie in that book. I mean, they they they they made a fortune on those books.

There's a damnable lie in those books because they got people who missed the rapture getting saved thereafter. I'm sorry. Sorry. Well, I'll die for him.

If you can't live for him with the Holy Ghost in the world, you ain't going to die for him with the Holy Ghost out of the world. That's why the Bible says now is the accepted time. And this is the day of salvation. Our chance to come to the altar ends at the rapture.

Our chance to repent ends at the rapture. Our chance to get right with God ends at the rapture. If you're going to repent, the soon coming of the Lord says you better do it today. If there's anything in your life that needs to clean up, the soon coming the Lord says you better do it today.

If there's anything you're going to reconcile with somebody, you better do it with the Lord's coming. The Lord's coming. The Lord's coming. The Lord's coming.

I cannot reiterate that enough. If you're going to run to this altar, the soon coming. The Lord says you better not wait another day to do it. This year has got to be the greatest year in APC's history.

You know why? Cuz the Lord's coming. You need to teach more Bible studies this year you've ever taught in your history. You know why the Lord's coming.

Need to baptize more people you ever baptized the past. You know why the Lord's coming. needs to go from 24 to 25 churches this year. You know why?

Cuz the Lord's coming. We don't have time to play around, folks. We've got to get after it. Got to reach my kids now.

I got to reach my neighbors now. I got to pray intercessory prayers now. The night is coming when no man can work. And just because some people have cried wolf, don't let it dull your senses.

Some service will be our last service. Some altar call will be the last one. And if you're willing to play Russian roulette with your soul and say, "Well, I'd rather beat the crowd at the restaurant. You've already preached too long." and I have then I guess that's your call.

But I feel such an urgency in my spirit this morning. I awakened early this morning laying in bed. I was praying for you and I had this urgency in my spirit that I had to come and confront you with the fact that Jesus is coming. Stand with me.

He's coming. Now, that should bring great encouragement to you. Whatever your medical issues you're dealing with, you've been praying for healing, you're going to get it. You're going to get it.

You you you'll leave all those medications behind when he comes. You're going to be healed. Maybe not here, but you're going to be healed. Your financial pressures, don't worry about it.

We're going where they use gold for asphalt. It's going to be okay. It's going to be all right. Whatever pressures and challenge you have in life, those things are going to get swallowed up in perfect peace one day.

It's going to be okay. But we've got to be ready. Young people, you got to be ready. I know when you when you're when you're when you're your age, you can't even think about not having 70 years ahead of you.

I get that, but some generation of young people, it's going to be the last generation of young people. What if it's you? Are you ready? Well, I'm I'm I'm I'm going to get around to invite my neighbor to church.

Yeah. Really? Okay, do it. He's coming.

I'm going to get serious about my walk with God. Really? Yeah. Good.

Okay. better do it today. He's coming. I see I I don't I don't think principally the coming of the Lord should be a threat to us.

It should be an encouragement to us, but it has to grip our heart and say, "I know he's coming. That's a given. My being ready, that's an option. And I have to choose wisely." Before we even move, I wonder if all across this house, I know nobody's jumping and hanging from the lights right now.

I'm I'm okay with that. I I'm way past the point in life where I have to have that to know I'm doing the will of God. I wonder if everybody in this house right now would just throw your hands up and begin to talk to him right where you stand. Let your voice come up out of your mouth for just a minute.

Let the prayer meeting begin where you are. Because under the sound of my voice today, there are eternities that need to be shaped. Under the sound of my voice, go ahead. Go ahead.

Go ahead. Go ahead. under the sound of my voice today. There are people and if you'd be honest with yourself, you've gotten too comfortable here.

You've just kind of settled in and the coming of the Lord has not been on your mind much lately because life is busy and things are good. And I just feel an urgency in the spirit to plead with this church on the occasion of your 90th anniversary. Can you reach back to what old brother Branding, he preached about the coming of the Lord? I know he did.

Oh, brother Black, he preached about the coming of the Lord. Brother Wilford told you he's coming. And you say, "Well, it hadn't happened yet." I know. But all those godly men only bring us closer to that moment.

Hey, he's coming. Ah, go ahead. Go ahead. Please pray just a moment where you are.

I'm just trying to set the tone for a moment here today. Would you would you just seek him for a moment? Ready yourself for the coming of the Lord. Ah, be encouraged, dear sister.

You're going to make it. I know you're lonely right now, but you're going to see your husband again. It's going to be okay. I know it's hard right now, but just stay steadfast.

Jesus is coming. You miss your mama. You miss your daddy. I know, but you're going to see him again.

Jesus is coming. It's going to be all right. I can't fix your medical problems today. I can pray for you, but heal.

It's coming. It's going to be okay. But somebody has got to give this urgency that says, I'm going to be a worshipper like I've never been before. Jesus is coming.

I'm going to pray like I've never prayed before. Jesus is coming. Please just continue for a moment where you are. But I want to open this altar today to anybody that wants to come down front.

Come and make a covenant with God. Make a commitment to him and say, "Lord, I purpose. I'm going to be about your kingdom more than I've ever been before. You're coming.

I'm going to be more faithful. I'm going to be more consecrated. I'm going to live more godly. I'm going to please you.

It's not about what sends me to hell. It's about what makes you happy. I plead with you to come before you go to the way to the restaurant. Could you just come take a moment and acknowledge the soon coming of the Lord and ready your heart for that most important moment that looms on the horizon today.

Build you an altar up here, back there, I don't care. Build you an altar for just a moment and let the spirit of God do some surgery on your thinking today. What do you have to offer him? What are you going to give him?

How you going to live? Don't get comfortable here. We're not supposed to fit in here. Jesus.

Jesus is coming. Jesus is coming. They're already singing. Holy, holy, holy are you, Lord.

Just to bow down before your throne. See your face, I'll cry out because you're holy. Holy, holy are you, Lord. I can't wait for eternity.

Join the song. They're already singing. Holy, holy, holy are you, Lord. Just to bow down before your throne.

see your face. I'll cry out because you're holy. Holy, holy are you, Lord. Jesus, King of Kings.

Jesus majesty. Jesus king of kings. Jesus majesty. If you knew Jesus was coming at 5:00 this afternoon, would you be satisfied with this?

I'm not criticizing you to do some introspection. If you knew Jesus was coming at 502 this afternoon, would you would you be okay? Would you just go your way or would you feel an urgency to pray for just a moment and kind of search some things out? I I don't know that he's coming, but I don't know that he's not.

And so in this moment before I put this mic down and walk away, I'd like to ask you just for a moment to just pray a prayer like you would pray if you knew without fail that Jesus was coming at 502 this afternoon. What kind of prayer would you pray right now? What kind of commitment would you make to God? How would you reorder your steps?

What would you do different? How would you worship? What would you do? That's what I'm pleading with you for just a moment to give God what you would give if you knew he was coming this afternoon.

Jesus, King of Kings. Jesus, Majesty. We're not crying to you, Lord. Jesus, king of We need you, Jesus.

We need you, Jesus. Jesus, yes. We call on your name, God. We need you, Jesus.

We need you, Jesus, in the forefront of our life. We need you in our vision, God. Be our vision today. Be our vision today.

We're looking to you, God. We're looking to you, God. Say, Jesus. Jesus.

King. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Jesus.

I can't wait for eternity. Join the song there already. Singing holy, holy, holy are you, Lord. us to bow out before your throne.

See your face I'll cry out because you're holy, holy, holy are you, Lord. We cry to you, Lord. Jesus, King of Kings. You're King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Jesus. Yes. We cry, Lord. We cry to you.

Jesus, King of Lord today. Yes. Jesus. This will be our testimony.

standing with those who have heard well done. Proclaiming forever that you're the one who's faithful, faithful, faithful are you, Lord. What can we give you right in this place for as we shout your name is Jesus Jesus Jesus you are Lord Jesus Jesus Majesty Jesus King. Jesus Majesty.

And we give you our lives because this is truth. Worthy, worthy, worthy Lord. Another glimpse of glory. Sing once more.

Worthy, worthy, worthy, Lord. Forever. Forever. Sing it again.

Sing it again. Worthy. Worthy. Worthy Lord.

Another glimpse of glory. We'll sing once more. Worthy, worthy, worthy Lord forever. Forever.

Worthy, worthy, worthy, Lord. Another glimpse of glory. Sing once more. Worthy, worthy, worthy Lord forever.

Forever worthy, worthy, worthy Lord of the Lord. He was worthy, worthy, worthy of Jesus. Jesus, you're worship. Yes.

Yes. Jesus, King of Kings. Jesus, Majesty. Jesus, I can't wait for eternity.

Oh, it'll all be good over there. Join the song. They're already singing. Holy, holy, holy are you, Lord.

This is what we're going to do, Lord. Just to bow down before your throne. See your face. I'll cry out because you're holy are you Lord Jesus King of Jesus.

We praise you today. We fix our eyes on you today. Jesus, you're coming. You're coming, God.

Yes, we sing Jesus. Jesus, King of Kings. Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.

Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.

Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.

Wonder if you just stretch your hands to heaven right now and just do everything you can, whatever it sounds like, whatever words you need to use just to make sure. I know some of you already prayed and you've gotten to the point where you feel at peace, but would you just take another step and say, "Lord, if there's anything else you need to do in me, oh, I've given you a measure of time, but I'm going to ask again, oh God, if there's anything else I need to change, there's anything else I need to do, Lord. If there's anything that needs to die in me or I need to leave at an altar."