Anchors of Truth

Anchored In The Truth About The Second Coming

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Ron Halvorsen

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Series Code: AOT

Program Code: AOT000050


00:12 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:16 The Truth As It Is In Jesus with Ron Halvorsen.
00:21 Hello friends, and once again welcome to the
00:24 3ABN Worship Center.
00:25 Also the Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:28 If you've been tuning in over the last four days, you know
00:31 that we have been blessed tremendously.
00:32 Can we all say amen to that?
00:34 Pastor Halvorsen has really been the conduit through which
00:38 God has sent us a heaven born message.
00:41 Our hearts have been renewed.
00:43 Our vision of the Father as we were so blessed last night.
00:47 This morning, a fresh message and revelation of God's grace;
00:51 the only means where by we are saved.
00:53 And this afternoon, we are going to be blessed once again
00:56 as we continue our series.
00:58 Actually, the final meeting; The Truth As It Is In Jesus.
01:02 Particularly, The Truth As It Is In Jesus:
01:05 About His Second Coming.
01:07 And whether you know it or not, Jesus is coming again.
01:10 It's the greatest event of all the ages yet to transpire
01:14 before our eyes.
01:15 And it is imperative and urgent that we get ready
01:19 for that glorious event.
01:21 And so we're praying that your heart will be opened.
01:24 If you have friends that are running around right now,
01:25 if you're at church or if you're at home,
01:27 call your neighbors to sit down with you.
01:28 Because you don't want to miss this Spirit filled message.
01:33 If you don't know who Pastor Ron Halvorsen is,
01:35 maybe you're tuning in for the very first time,
01:37 he's a preacher from Brooklyn, New York.
01:40 A man raised on the tough streets of New York City.
01:42 But when the Lord got a hold of his heart, he went from
01:46 boxing in the ring to fighting in the army of the Lord.
01:51 And I would say, for the last 54 years, 53 or 54 years of
01:54 ministry, God has been leading souls to the cross
01:57 through this humble servant who knows what it means
02:00 to be in a battle for his life.
02:03 The Lord has taken him to many places around the world.
02:06 He's a pastor, he has pastored many churches.
02:09 He has taught how to preach, and he has preached
02:13 many, many sermons.
02:14 As a matter of fact, he's still noted as one of the largest
02:17 Wednesday night prayer meetings ever held;
02:18 more than 1500 people.
02:20 And if you've heard him speak, you understand why.
02:23 When Jesus is the center, the beginning, and the end
02:27 of the message, people need to be at the foot of the cross.
02:30 And Pastor Halvorsen, in more than 159 major evangelistic
02:35 series, has made Jesus real to those who have sat before him.
02:39 And so after 53 years of ministry, 54 years of marriage,
02:43 we are here today.
02:44 And if you have been listening to the messages,
02:46 I've been writing down some of his sayings.
02:48 Have you noticed some of those?
02:50 For example, he says, "We don't all sin alike,
02:55 but we all like sin."
02:56 Remember that one?
02:58 Another one, "David was not only the man after God's own heart,
03:01 he was a man after a few other things."
03:04 As he can say it best.
03:06 But the one thing that he brought to our hearts
03:08 this morning was, that the grace that the Lord has made
03:12 available to every one of us is a grace that never stops
03:15 bringing us to the foot of the cross.
03:18 And so for this next hour, God has a message for you.
03:23 Before we go to the message and before we go to the song,
03:26 let us invite the presence of the Lord to continue with us.
03:29 Let's bow our heads together.
03:31 Our gracious Father in heaven, what a blessing it is to know
03:34 that one day it is all going to be finished.
03:38 When You created the world, at the end of creation week
03:41 You said, "It is finished."
03:44 When You bowed Your head on the cross as You paid the price
03:48 for our redemption, You said, "It is finished."
03:52 And Father, we were not in the garden,
03:55 we were not there at the cross.
03:57 But Lord, may it be our privilege to be there in the
03:59 future when sin and sinners are forever removed,
04:05 and the entire great controversy closes with those words,
04:09 "It is finished."
04:10 Bless Your man servant, Pastor Halvorsen.
04:13 Open our hearts that we may receive, that our great desire
04:17 will be to be there that day when Jesus comes again.
04:21 In Jesus' name we ask, amen.
04:40 There's a line that's been drawn through the ages;
04:48 on that line stands an old rugged cross.
04:57 On the cross, a battle is raging;
05:05 for the gain of man's soul, or its loss.
05:14 On one side stands the forces of evil;
05:22 all the demons and devils of hell.
05:31 But on the other, the angels of glory;
05:39 as they meet on Golgotha's hill.
05:48 And the earth shakes with the force of the conflict;
05:56 and the sun refuses to shine.
06:05 For there hangs God's Son in the balance;
06:13 and then through the darkness He cries.
06:22 It is finished, the battle is over.
06:30 It is finished, there'll be no more war.
06:39 It is finished, the end of the conflict.
06:47 It is finished, and Jesus is Lord.
07:00 Yet in my heart, a battle still rages;
07:10 not all the prisoners of war have come home.
07:20 There are battles of my own making;
07:28 for I didn't know that the war had been won.
07:36 Then I heard that the King of the ages
07:46 had fought all my battles for me.
07:54 And now the victory is mine for the claiming;
08:02 and now praise God I am free.
08:11 It is finished, the battle is over.
08:19 It is finished, and there'll be no more war.
08:28 It is finished, it's the end of the conflict.
08:36 Oh, it is finished, and my Jesus is Lord.
08:45 Yes it is finished,
08:48 and my Jesus is Lord.
09:06 Amen.
09:09 Amen.
09:14 Thank you, John.
09:16 He comes from Brooklyn, I come from Brooklyn.
09:18 Why can't I sing like that?
09:24 When I hold evangelistic meetings, I usually
09:28 take one night to sing.
09:29 And I tell the people a few weeks ahead of time
09:31 so they can stay home that night.
09:33 But I can't wait to get to the kingdom of heaven
09:36 so I can sing.
09:37 It's going to be great to sing in the choir.
09:40 And I hope they put me next to two good bases in that choir
09:44 so I can get along.
09:46 I'm happy to be here.
09:47 This is the fifth in the series, and time flies.
09:51 But we've been talking about anchored;
09:55 anchored in the truth as it is in Jesus.
09:59 And I think there's no better place to end this series
10:03 than at the second coming of Christ.
10:06 Anchored in the Truth as it is in the Coming King.
10:10 Jesus Christ, the coming King.
10:13 But you know, whenever I deal with a difficult theological
10:17 subject and doctrinal subject like the second coming of Jesus,
10:20 and there are so many different concepts and ideas.
10:23 You know, we have pre-trib, post-trib, mid-trib,
10:25 this trib, that trib.
10:26 Everybody gets all mixed.
10:28 I feel like the mother who had seven children.
10:31 And she was going to the store and these seven children,
10:33 they were all in a circle.
10:35 In one circle looking into the circle.
10:36 Now, mother was overwhelmed.
10:38 I mean, all the kids together like that and their
10:41 attention is at the circle.
10:43 So she went to the store, came back, and they were still there.
10:47 So finally she was getting nervous and she walked over
10:49 and looked into the circle.
10:50 And there in the middle of the circle was a
10:51 bunch of baby skunks.
10:55 Now mama didn't know what to do.
10:56 Finally she said, "Kids, run."
10:58 And they each grabbed a skunk and ran.
11:01 Well, I never know what's going to happen in this.
11:03 But I want us to put away our theological concepts
11:08 and let's look at Jesus who is the author
11:10 and the finisher of our faith.
11:12 This great Bible, which I hold in my hand
11:15 and in my head and in my heart, ends in the book of Revelation.
11:22 This is the final message.
11:24 And by the way, the amazing thing about it,
11:26 it's not a message of doom and gloom.
11:30 But of hope.
11:31 For in these blood soaked pages of the book of Revelation,
11:34 the prisoner, the old man at Patmos, John,
11:37 dips his pen in the red blood ink of Calvary
11:40 and he drops his new found faith like golden pollen
11:44 from stems of shaking lilies, and they sweeten the lives
11:46 of men and women in every age.
11:48 John writes from Patmos.
11:51 He writes faithful and truthful about end of all things.
11:58 This is the climax, Revelation, of earth's history.
12:03 This is the climax of all that Jesus came for
12:08 and will come for.
12:10 The return of Christ, His second coming; the King.
12:17 Now this is where he ends, in this book.
12:19 Not with sadness and crying, but rather with
12:22 singing and rejoicing.
12:23 I mean, he ends not with emptiness, but with fullness.
12:27 I mean, he ends not with death, but he ends with life;
12:30 this eternal life.
12:31 He ends in hope, the beginning of a new and glorious world.
12:35 And this event, the second coming of Jesus,
12:38 is the greatest event of all time in all history.
12:43 John introduces us to the second coming with these
12:46 majestic words found in the book of Revelation
12:48 and found in the first chapter, and looking at verse 7.
12:52 The Bible says:
13:05 He describes this event as a majestic event;
13:08 the coronation of King Jesus.
13:12 A magnificent and majestic parade with banners flying and
13:16 trumpets blaring and sounds of mighty hoof beats
13:19 of heaven's horses.
13:21 I mean, this is the final coronation of Jesus Christ.
13:24 The second coming of Jesus is not casual.
13:27 It's not an unimportant event in the list of other events
13:30 in the Word of God.
13:31 It is climaxed of all that has gone before Him.
13:34 It is the glorious event.
13:36 Everything we believe about Christ;
13:38 the crib and the incarnation, the cross and salvation,
13:43 the resurrection and our hope, is founded and is satisfied
13:48 in the coronation of Jesus in His coming.
13:51 This event is one event, not one of many events.
13:56 It is an open event.
13:57 All men will see Him, all women will see Him.
14:00 Not some secret event as some would suggest.
14:03 Why would you hide a parade?
14:07 It's glorious to the eye, the parade.
14:10 I mean, it's glorious to the ear.
14:12 It's glorious to the senses.
14:15 It is a visible return.
14:17 As I read in Revelation 1:7
14:23 That's a glorious event.
14:27 Not only the righteous will see Him, but they which
14:29 pierced Him will see Him.
14:36 Jesus Christ, when He told His disciples about His return,
14:40 the coronation of Jesus, He tells us in Matthew 24
14:44 and verse 27 and verse 30, look at these words.
15:07 The coming of Jesus is visible, according to Jesus
15:11 in the book of Matthew.
15:13 But it's also audible.
15:15 Every ear will hear Him.
15:17 In Matthew 24 verse 31, look at the Word of God with me.
15:20 The Bible says:
15:30 The Bible tells us when we blow a trumpet, if I were to
15:32 blow a trumpet downtown, that every ear would hear it.
15:36 The wicked would hear it and the righteous would hear it.
15:38 But for the righteous it's a day of glory, it's a day of victory,
15:42 it's a day of the coronation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
15:46 And so it's visible to the eye, the parade
15:51 of the coronation of Jesus.
15:53 It's audible to the ear.
15:55 1 Thessalonians 4:16 tells us that.
15:58 There the apostle Paul writing, he says:
16:09 Notice that.
16:10 That's the Word of God here in the Bible in 1 Thessalonians.
16:15 But it's also literal.
16:17 The real Jesus is coming back, not an apparition.
16:21 It's the real Jesus.
16:22 Notice Acts chapter 1, the Bible tells us clearly and
16:26 plainly that it's Jesus Christ who comes back literally.
16:29 That's Acts 1 and verse 11.
16:33 The Bible says, let me turn over here in the Word of God
16:35 and let me read it for you.
16:37 Acts the first chapter, and I'm reading these words here.
16:42 Notice what the Bible says.
16:44 And he says this in chapter 1 verse 11.
17:01 The real Jesus.
17:02 The Jesus that touched lame legs and men stood
17:04 and praise God in their joy.
17:06 The same Jesus that came to blind men and touched
17:09 their eyes and they saw.
17:10 The same Jesus that called forth Lazarus from the dead.
17:13 The same Jesus that wept over Jerusalem.
17:16 The same Jesus that felt the nails in His hands
17:18 and the crown of thorns upon His brow and blood in His eyes.
17:22 This same Jesus which came forth in resurrection
17:25 shall come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.
17:29 Listen to me.
17:31 That's a wonderful thing to think about.
17:33 That's a wonderful and glorious thing when we think of
17:35 Jesus and His return.
17:37 But the point in Matthew, the point in the apostles,
17:41 is that we are to be ready for that coming.
17:44 Readiness is the all important thing.
17:46 My text is taken from the book of Hebrews.
17:49 Notice in the book of Hebrews chapter 10.
17:55 He says, "Have confidence in what I say."
18:10 In other words, He says, "I made a promise.
18:12 I'm going to fulfill that promise."
18:14 And He says, "It'll be a little while."
18:17 And for these many years since I first received Jesus Christ
18:20 into my life, I believed in the second coming of Christ.
18:23 I believe He's coming, and I believe He's coming soon.
18:26 And I hold that dearly in my heart.
18:28 And I'm looking forward to that great Day when I, with the
18:31 people of God, the saints of God, be caught up together
18:34 to be with Jesus.
18:36 This afternoon, we must come to grips with this great theme.
18:40 We've got to look at it.
18:41 We must come to grips with it.
18:43 I mean, we must respond to its final appeal.
18:46 It may be the final appeal for one of you listening
18:49 right now to this program.
18:52 Every time the coming of Christ is mentioned in scripture,
18:55 it's used as the basis for the Creator to say to His creation,
18:59 "Prepare to meet God."
19:01 Instinctively, man has always expected a meeting with God.
19:06 Dreaded or welcomed, but a meeting.
19:08 Two days before the trial and crucifixion of our Lord,
19:11 the disciples asked Him about the second coming.
19:14 "What will it be like?"
19:15 I mean, the ultimate reunion with God.
19:18 In Matthew 24 verse 3, He tells us about this.
19:32 The apostles believed the coming of Christ would end the world
19:35 as we know it now.
19:36 The disciples wanted to know.
19:38 I think every believer should want to know.
19:40 Don't you?
19:41 I think every believer in Christ should want to know
19:44 about His coming, because that is the final moment
19:47 of the reunion with Jesus.
19:48 All that we look for, all that we long for;
19:51 to be with Jesus.
19:53 To be with Jesus.
19:56 They wanted to know the end of human woe,
20:00 the end of human heartache.
20:02 They wanted to know the end of human fear,
20:05 the end of human pain.
20:06 They wanted to know.
20:07 They wanted to know when death would dissolve into life again.
20:10 And His answer was a 94 verse résumé.
20:14 In this 94 verse résumé are the signs which would proceed
20:18 His return, signs of the times; Matthew 24.
20:21 And they go into Matthew 25 with the bridegroom,
20:25 and the story of the bridegroom and the virgins.
20:28 There are general signs and then there are specific signs.
20:34 And there were secular and there were religious.
20:37 But the hub of the whole treatise is Matthew 24 verse 44.
20:41 The hub, everything circles around it.
20:44 It's the hub of the whole treatise.
20:53 Be ready, He's coming.
20:55 Readiness is the key word.
20:58 And it occurs, by the way, several times in scripture;
21:01 this readiness.
21:02 Example, Peter says about readiness, he says this,
21:05 "He stands ready to pass judgment on the living
21:08 and the dead."
21:09 James says, "The Judge standeth at the door."
21:13 It is the grand finale.
21:15 I mean, it is the final act.
21:17 It is the glorious appearing of Jesus.
21:19 King of glory is coming back again.
21:22 I read, "All things are ready."
21:26 People come to me, they're looking at the signs.
21:28 People are always wondering when this is going to happen.
21:31 When is Revelation 13 going to be fulfilled?
21:34 When is this going to be fulfilled?
21:35 Jesus Christ is a heartbeat away.
21:37 You must live for Jesus Christ every day.
21:40 Does it matter what's coming down the road?
21:42 It matters what happens to you here and now
21:44 at this very moment.
21:48 He's a heartbeat away.
21:50 All things are ready.
21:52 The believer is always to look with expectation.
21:55 We who accepted Christ, we who believe in Christ,
21:58 we who have given our hearts to Christ,
22:00 we need to live for Him, for His coming, for the coming King.
22:04 We are to live perpetually in readiness.
22:07 Readiness.
22:08 He is only a heartbeat away.
22:12 We are to live in perpetual readiness.
22:14 And that's the meaning of the heavenly bridegroom.
22:16 That's the meaning of the ten virgins.
22:17 I mean, Paul writing to this marvelous event says
22:20 in 2 Timothy 4 verse 1 and verse 8, he says these words.
22:27 This is a charge from heaven.
22:29 This is God's charge to His people.
22:31 This is God's charge to His children in the last days.
22:54 And sandwiched between the avow is, "I'm ready."
22:59 My dear brother and sister, because of the grace of God
23:01 we talked about this morning, I'm ready to fly.
23:03 I don't know about you, I'm ready to fly.
23:06 The sooner the better.
23:09 The sooner the better.
23:10 Now there are four distinct things about the
23:12 coming of Jesus in the evident of the reading of the passages.
23:16 First of all, the coming of Christ is imperative.
23:20 Secondly, the coming of Christ is immutable.
23:24 Thirdly, the coming of Christ is Immanuel.
23:28 And finally, it's imminent.
23:31 First of all, the coming of Jesus Christ is imperative.
23:36 Listen to me.
23:39 I don't know if you recognize the terrifying and scary things
23:43 that are happening in the world out there.
23:46 Millions are facing a future in fear.
23:51 Men's hearts failing them for fear.
23:53 I see the fulfillment of that scripture wherever I go
23:55 around the world.
23:56 I see it in the big cities, I see it in the country,
23:58 I see it wherever people are gathered.
24:00 The fear, the fear of the future.
24:02 Look around you.
24:03 There are powerful forces swirling around mankind.
24:07 Forces destined to bring about a profound change in both
24:11 physical world and spiritual world.
24:14 There are a number of malignant forces, dark forces
24:17 opposing God, opposing His Word, and opposing
24:20 the kingdom of Christ.
24:21 Think of it.
24:22 We entered last century, the 20th century, on horseback.
24:26 He left it in SUV's.
24:30 We lost, in the 20th century, influenza, outhouses thank God,
24:37 lanterns.
24:39 We left with wrist watches, atomic weapons,
24:42 and too much weight.
24:46 We arrived in the 20th century steeped in agriculture,
24:49 working the fields.
24:50 And we left it in the laboratory working the computer.
24:53 I mean, we arrived money poor in the 20th century.
24:56 We left it money rich.
24:59 We entered the 20th century spiritually rich
25:02 and we left it spiritually poor.
25:07 Judgment is at the door.
25:10 Now I know you like pretty little sermons with
25:12 bubbling brooks, but judgment is at the door.
25:15 If we have conquered anything, it's time.
25:17 We entered the 20th century with a life expectance of 43.3 years.
25:22 Now it's 80 years.
25:25 I don't even like to talk about that when you get my age.
25:31 If we've conquered anything, it's time.
25:32 24 hour news casts.
25:34 I mean fast food, instant cash, atm.
25:36 I mean, your grandparents would turn over in their...
25:39 They would be shocked.
25:41 Cell phones, iPhones, iPads, this pad, that pad.
25:46 Listen to me, fax machines.
25:48 All things, it unshackled us, they said.
25:51 I mean, gives us more time for leisure.
25:53 That's a joke. Do you have any more time?
25:59 Technology has not made life easier.
26:05 We're caught in a whirlwind.
26:08 And these forces seized upon science and technology
26:12 as prime tools for the exploration
26:14 and conquest of the soul.
26:17 Laser particle beams, biological chemical weapons,
26:22 high-tech surveillance.
26:23 You can't hide.
26:25 You can't even hide out here in West Frankfort.
26:28 I can hardly find you.
26:32 But the time of trouble, I'm going to run to Brooklyn.
26:34 At least there will be a lot of bodies around me,
26:36 so it'll be harder for them to get me.
26:39 High-tech surveillance.
26:40 They can get a heartbeat from the universe.
26:45 Genetic engineering, robots.
26:48 Conflict in the Middle East.
26:50 Death of the planet, pollution.
26:52 Just think of the world of technology.
26:54 We're in a high-tech age.
26:57 I mean, the age of high-tech has arrived magnum force.
26:59 Computers, telecommunication, satellites.
27:03 Recent achievements in outer space by our astronauts.
27:05 Lasers and artificial life.
27:08 Mind boggling achievements in the era of technology.
27:11 And that's why Daniel in chapter 12 verse 1,
27:13 when he looked down the span of time with prophetic eyes,
27:16 he saw this and he said:
27:27 And then he talks about running to and fro upon the
27:31 face of the earth and knowledge shall be increased.
27:35 A Chief Executive Officer of one of America's large
27:38 computer corporations said this,
27:39 "We're going through a time warp."
27:44 The book, "The Intimate Machine: Close Encounters
27:46 With Computers and Robots" said, listen to this, "We shall have
27:50 robots as companions, even sex partners."
27:53 Jesus needs to come.
27:56 It's imperative that He come.
27:58 Bowing God out and bowing man in,
28:00 there is no limit to their perversion.
28:03 In the area of robotics, there's material similar
28:05 to human flesh now.
28:06 Did you know that?
28:07 In fact, they've manufactured organic brain.
28:11 Maybe that's what I need, a brain transplant.
28:14 I think some of my teachers thought that.
28:18 They already have biological computer units.
28:22 This is not science fiction malarkey.
28:24 I mean, it's reality.
28:25 Talking about artificial eyes, artificial noses.
28:28 By the way, the artificial nose distinguishes between
28:31 dozens of flower smells.
28:37 Bert Valley, past head of the Harvard seven member team of
28:41 researchers, has successfully cloned, listen, a molecule
28:45 which triggers the growth of body cells;
28:48 the generation of organs.
28:50 In the Hebrew University in Jerusalem,
28:53 biotechnologists have also been successful in another realm.
28:56 They have successfully manipulated, listen to this,
28:59 DNA chemicals to change aged mouse cells
29:03 back into young mouse cells.
29:06 Immortality.
29:10 It's imperative that Jesus Christ comes.
29:14 On the other hand, violent crime is on the increase.
29:19 We talk about brotherhood; there are more hoods.
29:21 Millions in our prisons.
29:23 650,000 babies are born addicted to drugs in the womb in America.
29:29 It's imperative that Jesus Christ comes.
29:32 H.G. Wells despaired, "We are at the end of the rope."
29:35 Now this is not some fanatical preacher.
29:37 This is not some evangelist.
29:38 This is H. G. Wells, "We're at the end of the rope.
29:41 The end of everything we call life is close at hand."
29:45 Listen, Albert Einstein said this, "In the end, there beckons
29:49 more and more clearly general annihilation."
29:51 What a picture.
29:53 Chancellor of Chicago University, the past president,
29:56 the first atomic bomb was developed and he said,
29:58 "I cannot see any future for our known world."
30:00 I mean, the former president of Columbia University said,
30:03 "The end cannot be far distant."
30:06 These are not preachers.
30:09 No hell fire and brimstone.
30:11 This is reality.
30:13 I mean, the planet is swinging through space;
30:16 doomed, damned, crushed, bound for hell.
30:20 And it's imperative that Jesus Christ interrupt man's pursuit.
30:29 But all this forward moving technology
30:31 has not helped us really.
30:33 We're going backwards.
30:34 The explosion of the single parent families.
30:38 The declining influence of religion,
30:40 even in Christian homes.
30:43 Increasing hedonistic culture fueled by drugs, sex, and
30:47 a lost sense of shame.
30:49 They don't even blush.
30:51 Filthy mouths, unbridled tongues, talk trash,
30:56 and wonder why their life is trash.
30:59 Our greatest challenge is not conquering disease or poverty,
31:03 but conquering our own personal weaknesses.
31:06 We've met the enemy, and he is us.
31:10 He is us.
31:11 The clock is about to strike midnight.
31:15 Are you ready?
31:17 The coming of Jesus Christ is imperative.
31:19 Secondly, the coming of Christ is immutable.
31:21 It's a changeless fact.
31:23 The Bible tells us, Paul writing to the Hebrews,
31:25 in chapter 6 and verses 18 and 19:
31:47 He says, "Look, it is immutable. It's changeless."
31:53 One columnist writing about our times
31:55 and the uncertainty of our times commented,
31:58 "The very best our leaders, political leaders, could do
32:01 is sophisticate their actions in such a way as to ensure
32:05 the way to international hell is paved with good intentions."
32:11 A sales clerk holding up a toy, a gadget, she says,
32:15 "Here's an educational toy designed to adjust your child
32:19 to live in the world today.
32:20 Anyway he puts it together, it's wrong."
32:26 Readers Digest commented, "If all economists were laid
32:29 end to end, they'd all point in a different direction."
32:35 You heard about the business man who was always getting lost.
32:39 And his birthday came up.
32:41 And he'd get lost and come back on Tuesday instead of a Monday.
32:44 And kept getting lost in the woods,
32:46 but he loved to go hunting.
32:48 So it came his birthday.
32:50 So they all chipped in and bought him a compass.
32:54 So they handed him the compass and he said,
32:55 "I'm going hunting this weekend. I'll be back on Monday."
32:59 And so, well, they gave him a compass.
33:00 They thought this was enough.
33:03 And so he went out in the woods, and come Monday he wasn't there.
33:07 It came Tuesday, he wasn't there.
33:08 Finally he showed up on Wednesday.
33:10 And they said, "But what happened?
33:11 We gave you a compass."
33:13 He said, "I know."
33:14 He said, "I went in the direction of north,
33:19 but the compass kept pointing to the southeast."
33:27 The believer accepts the promise.
33:29 It's immutable.
33:31 Jesus said it, I believe it. That seals it.
33:35 His birth, His life, His death, His resurrection; unchanging.
33:39 "I will come again."
33:43 But thirdly, the coming of Jesus Christ is Immanuel.
33:51 John 1, the Bible tells us that this is God with us.
33:57 John 1 and verse 14, he says:
34:17 The coming of Jesus will be Immanuel, will be personal.
34:20 Just as the incarnation was personal.
34:23 Just as Jesus put flesh on so that we might touch Him,
34:26 that we might feel Him, that we might see Him in action.
34:29 He lived that perfect life that we too might understand
34:33 fully the grace of Jesus Christ, the glory of God.
34:40 You see, the first advent, the first time He came,
34:43 He enters through a woman's womb.
34:46 And no one saw Him enter.
34:49 The second time He comes and every eye will see Him.
34:53 You see, the first coming, He came as the Lamb of God.
34:56 The second coming, He comes as the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
35:01 The first time He came, He came to redeem us.
35:03 The second time He comes, He comes to reign over us.
35:07 The first coming, the first time,
35:08 He came as the King of the Jews.
35:10 The second time, He comes as King of kings and Lord of lords.
35:16 The first time, He comes to receive a crown of thorns.
35:22 The second time, He comes to receive a crown
35:25 of righteousness.
35:26 He will come, Jesus Christ.
35:28 The first time, He came in the weakness of a baby.
35:31 The second time, He'll come in the power of God; God Almighty.
35:34 The outlook for our world is dark.
35:36 But the up look is bright.
35:40 He's coming literally to this earth.
35:43 A dad asked his son, "What do you want for Christmas, son?"
35:47 The boy looked for a little while and he scratched his head.
35:52 I guess he had a big list in his head.
35:54 And so he had to narrow it down.
35:56 "What do you want?"
35:57 And so he finally said, "I want a horse."
36:01 "Oh, you want a horse."
36:03 "Do you want a wooden horse?" "No."
36:07 "Do you want an iron horse?" "No."
36:11 "You want a plastic horse?"
36:12 "No, I want a horse made of horse."
36:16 That's the real thing; horse made of horse.
36:19 Come on, the real thing is coming back.
36:21 Come on, He's coming back in glory, this real thing.
36:23 I mean, this Jesus.
36:25 This Jesus, no apparition.
36:30 No mystery.
36:32 Jesus Christ, the real.
36:35 This same Jesus which is taken up from you in heaven
36:37 shall come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.
36:43 So the coming of Jesus Christ, my dear friend,
36:46 is a glorious event.
36:48 As earth's history comes to its conclusion,
36:51 as the battle goes on between man and between God and Satan,
36:55 as the battle goes on...
36:56 In my book, "Prayer Warriors," I talk about
36:58 the spiritual battle between Christ and Satan,
37:01 the great controversy.
37:02 But that battle is not only about Jesus and Satan.
37:05 That battle is you and Satan.
37:09 And that struggle is going on.
37:11 And so Jesus says, "I need to come.
37:14 It's imperative that I come back again.
37:15 Because if We let the world go as it's going,
37:18 man will destroy himself."
37:23 And so He says it's immutable.
37:25 "I made up my mind. In eternity, I made up my mind."
37:29 Long before light ever touched this earth,
37:31 long before the green grass sprouted, and little flowers
37:33 blossomed, and pine trees pointed its fingers to the sky,
37:35 and the oaks spread out it's arms, and lakes curled down
37:38 in the huddles of the glen, and rivers ran down to the sea.
37:40 Long before Adam breathed the first breath,
37:43 and Eve was taken from the rib of man to become prime rib.
37:50 "I'm on my way."
37:52 Long centuries before Noah picked up the hammer
37:55 and God put down His grace.
37:58 Long centuries before.
37:59 Long centuries before Abraham took the long journey.
38:01 Long centuries before Moses stood before the mountain
38:04 and before the Law of God.
38:05 Long centuries before the Israelites came out of Egypt.
38:09 Long centuries before, He was on His way.
38:12 He had made a promise.
38:13 He had said, "I will come again."
38:15 It's changeless.
38:19 The armies of the Philistines could not change it.
38:21 The great enemies of the early church could not change it.
38:26 The dark ages and the enemy of the church could not change it.
38:29 Revelation says the antichrist will not be able to change it.
38:33 Again and again, the Bible says, "I will come again."
38:36 And He says, that will be a prophetic event.
38:39 And there's no prophetic event after that.
38:42 There's no prophetic chart after that.
38:45 There's no historical event that awaits to be
38:47 fulfilled after that.
38:49 Prior to His coming for His church, all the New Testament
38:52 writers exhort us to do is to watch.
38:54 Watching, waiting, looking, praying.
39:00 And expecting at any moment His return.
39:05 That's a beautiful thing.
39:07 That's a marvelous thing.
39:09 To be waiting for the return of Christ to the earth.
39:14 Be ready.
39:15 I was once, when I was a young preacher...
39:17 That was many years ago.
39:18 But at one time I was a young preacher.
39:21 And, you know, I was ready for bear.
39:24 You know, I like to debate.
39:25 You know, I like to come in conflict with other theologians
39:30 and discuss things.
39:32 And I was invited to go to a seminary
39:36 and let the seminary know what I believed as a Christian,
39:38 as a Seventh-day Adventist Christian.
39:41 So I got all ready for this and got to this ivy league seminary.
39:47 They brought me up in this high pulpit and
39:50 very distinguished place.
39:52 A well known seminary.
39:53 There I was just a young preacher and just starting out.
39:57 And I was a little nervous, I have to admit.
40:00 But I had my Bible.
40:02 And I stood up there and I said, "I believe that the Word of God
40:05 is the infallible Word of God, that it's God inspired."
40:10 And I talked about the Word and how important the
40:13 Bible was to me as a preacher, and how important it
40:15 was to the people of God.
40:17 And this Book was written under the direction of God.
40:20 They tried to burn it, they tried to destroy it,
40:23 they tried to kill those who wrote it.
40:25 But it lives on, the Word lives on.
40:27 I told about the belief in the Bible.
40:30 I spoke about the creation, how God spoke things into creation.
40:33 If I reject Genesis 1, I might as well reject Matthew 1.
40:37 If I reject Genesis 2, I might as well reject Revelation 2.
40:41 I mean, they come together.
40:43 They are one together.
40:45 I spoke about the creation, the God who spoke
40:47 things into existence.
40:49 I'm amazed that we can create a child in 9 months,
40:52 but we can't believe that God could create a day in one day.
40:57 He's God, isn't He?
40:58 How big is your God?
41:00 Anyway, I spoke about the creation.
41:02 I went on through.
41:03 I talked about some of those great themes in the Bible.
41:06 I talked about salvation that came through faith in Christ
41:08 by the grace of God.
41:10 I talked about grace.
41:11 You know I love to preach about grace and about faith.
41:14 I talked about a living faith.
41:16 I talked about the cross and at that moment, Christ
41:19 at that moment satisfied the broken law.
41:23 At the moment, my Christ died for my sins.
41:28 I talked of the resurrection.
41:31 I talked about the great themes of judgment and
41:33 took them through the great prophecies of judgment.
41:36 And I went on and I got to many of the great things;
41:39 the baptism by emersion and some of these great things
41:43 we believe as Bible believers.
41:46 And I saved the best for last.
41:52 I said, "I believe in the imminent return of Christ
41:55 to the earth a second time."
41:59 Now remember, I had taken them through the Bible.
42:01 I had taken them through the great themes of the Bible.
42:03 And now I said, "But now, here is the capstone.
42:08 I believe that Jesus Christ is coming back visibly, audibly,
42:12 literally to the earth for His children.
42:16 And that coming is imminent."
42:20 And I finished.
42:22 Then it was time for questions.
42:23 Now I'm always good at questions.
42:26 I'm not so great at the answers.
42:27 So now I'm really nervous.
42:30 This high brow seminary.
42:33 And as I stood there, after saying I believe in the
42:36 imminent return of Christ, the first question
42:39 one of the professors stood in the back and they all looked.
42:44 And they listened for his profound ideas.
42:52 And he said, "Young man..."
42:55 And I was a young man.
42:57 He said, "Young man..." And he introduced himself.
43:00 Dr. so and so, PhD, ThD, DDT. I don't know, but anyway.
43:10 As if he could impress me.
43:13 I've been taught at the feet of Jesus.
43:16 And he's going to impress me with his degrees?
43:22 And he said, "Young man, that could be
43:25 a thousand years from now."
43:33 A thousand years from now?
43:35 I said, "Mister, put your hand on your heart.
43:41 For you, it's not a thousand years from now.
43:43 Be ye therefore ready."
43:46 He got the drift.
43:52 I want Him to come.
43:56 I'm tired of all this chaos, this unrest, this uncertainty.
44:00 I tired of laying people that I love to rest.
44:04 I'm tired of seeing the ones that I love the most and they
44:06 have to be laid to rest because He hasn't come.
44:12 I tell people when I preach, I say, "I hope I'm in
44:14 Brooklyn when Jesus comes."
44:17 And I'll go from Brooklyn to Long Island.
44:19 But I want to be in Brooklyn.
44:23 I remember my grandmother, my little Norwegian grandmother.
44:26 She was a faithful Christian long before I ever found Christ,
44:29 long before my family ever knew Christ.
44:31 She was a godly Christian woman.
44:33 And I want to be there when she comes up.
44:36 And she's going to see me.
44:38 And she's going to say, "Good boy."
44:40 She always called me a good boy even when I was a bad boy.
44:42 Now, if a grandmother could see a good boy in me,
44:44 surely God can see a good girl and good boy in you.
44:47 Don't you see that?
44:50 I want to be in Brooklyn.
44:53 Then I want to go to a place in Long Island.
45:01 I want to go.
45:04 In Brooklyn, I want to see my mom and dad I led to Christ.
45:08 I had the privilege of seeing them baptized
45:10 in the kingdom of God.
45:14 I want to see them lifted up, raised up.
45:17 You think you can shake me out of my faith?
45:21 That I would lose such an important event?
45:26 Do you think for a moment that I'd let go and
45:29 miss that important reunion?
45:33 I'm tired of this old chaos.
45:35 I'm tired of laying to rest people I love.
45:40 I'm tired of all the pain.
45:43 I'm tired of the suffering.
45:47 The death in this old world.
45:48 I'm tired of the hurt and the sorrow and the emotional pain.
45:50 I'm tired to know that two-thirds of the world's
45:53 population are under nourished in this world.
45:55 I'm tired, I'm sick of crime and rape and murder and mayhem.
45:59 I'm tired, aren't you?
46:03 Don't you want something better for your life?
46:07 For your family?
46:08 And I want for mine.
46:11 For your children?
46:13 For your children?
46:16 This King is coming back.
46:21 And He talks about readiness in Matthew 24:44.
46:25 The King, listen, my King.
46:29 The Bible says my King is King of the Jews.
46:31 The Bible says my King is King of Israel.
46:34 The Bible says my King is King of righteousness.
46:36 The Bible says my King is the King of the ages,
46:39 the King of heaven.
46:40 My King is King of glory.
46:43 I want Him back.
46:46 I wonder tonight if you know my King.
46:50 The Bible says my King is sovereign God.
46:53 My King is the sovereign King.
46:55 No means or measure can define His limitless love.
46:58 He's enduringly strong, entirely sincere.
47:01 The Bible says He is steadfast, my King.
47:03 He's immortally graceful, my King.
47:06 He's impartially powerful. He is impartially merciful.
47:10 Do you know my King?
47:11 The Bible says He is the greatest phenomena that has
47:14 ever crossed the horizon of this world.
47:16 The Bible says my King is God's Son.
47:19 The Bible says He is the sinner's Savior.
47:21 He is the centerpiece of civilization.
47:23 He is unparalleled, He is unprecedented.
47:27 He is the loftiest idea of literature.
47:29 He is the highest personality of philosophy.
47:32 He is the fundamental doctrine of true theology.
47:34 I hear wild eyed preachers trying to tell us
47:37 who the king of the north is, who the king of the south is.
47:40 I want to know who the King of heaven is.
47:46 He is the only one qualified...
47:51 ...to be all sufficient Savior.
47:54 I wonder if you know Him.
47:57 The Bible says that my King, He supplies strength
48:00 in our weakness.
48:02 He is available for the tempted and the tried.
48:05 You are not alone, friend.
48:06 When the devil comes up against you, call upon
48:09 the name of Jesus.
48:10 You are not alone in your temptation.
48:12 You are not alone in your fall.
48:14 He is there to lift you up, to pick you up.
48:17 Don't you see that in God?
48:19 When my boy was born, my little boy,
48:22 he was just a little thing.
48:23 He's six foot eight now, but he was a little thing.
48:26 And I bought him a baseball glove.
48:28 I figured he'd be out playing ball in a few weeks.
48:35 And I remember how...
48:36 You know how it is parents.
48:38 You talk in another language. Come on, you talk in tongues.
48:43 You know.
48:45 And he's getting up there, little skinny legs.
48:49 My wife was holding him over there in the chair and
48:52 I was sitting across the room.
48:53 She was holding his hands and his legs are wobbling.
48:57 Finally I said, "Come to daddy."
49:00 Spoken in that unknown tongue only parents know.
49:05 And that kid took two steps and fell flat on his face.
49:08 What did I say? "Dumb kid fell on his face."
49:11 No, I said, "Honey, he's walking."
49:14 Don't you see this almighty God, the God of heaven,
49:17 looks down upon this earth.
49:18 When He sees His children on wobbly knees falling down,
49:21 He doesn't say, "Ha, fallen."
49:24 He says, "Whoa, he took a step."
49:30 My King.
49:32 My King.
49:34 He strengthens and sustains.
49:36 He guards and He guides.
49:38 He heals the sick, He cleanses the leper.
49:41 I mean, my King.
49:43 The Bible says that my King, He forgives sinners.
49:46 He delivers captives.
49:47 He helps the helpless.
49:48 He defends the feeble.
49:50 Blesses and serves the unfortunate.
49:52 He rewards the diligent.
49:54 My King is your King.
49:56 My King.
49:57 He is the key of knowledge, my King.
49:58 He is the wellspring of wisdom, my King.
50:01 He is the doorway to deliverance, my King.
50:04 And our problem; we know all doctrine but we
50:06 don't know deliverance.
50:12 He is the pathway to peace.
50:16 Is He your King?
50:19 This is the King that's coming with an army of angels.
50:23 10,000 upon 10,000 upon 10,000 upon 10,000 of angels.
50:28 And they'll descend from heaven with a shout,
50:30 with the voice the archangel.
50:31 And that voice will pierce the graves in Brooklyn,
50:35 and they will come forth.
50:36 He'll pierce the graves on Long Island and they'll come forth.
50:39 He'll pierce the graves in England and Europe
50:44 and around the world, and Australia and New Zealand,
50:47 and they'll come forth.
50:49 Our King.
50:52 And we will be with Him.
50:55 We will be with Him forever.
51:02 Is He your King?
51:05 Why not say, "Be my King."
51:09 The best time is right now.
51:11 Don't you want to see Him with your eyes?
51:15 Don't you want to touch Him with your hands?
51:18 Don't give up now, you're that close to the kingdom.
51:20 Don't give up now.
51:24 He's near, even at the door.
51:26 And the Bible says, "Be ready."
51:29 When my children were young, we use to travel a lot.
51:33 And every now and then, I had to leave them behind.
51:35 And that's the hardest thing.
51:38 And one time, my wife and I were called out to put on a seminar
51:41 in California, a minister's seminar.
51:44 I had to go, and my children were teenagers then.
51:47 I was the pastor of the college church and my boy was in
51:50 high school, and my girl.
51:53 And so, we had to get ready and we had to tell them that
51:57 they had to do those things they had to do.
52:00 You know how 10 commandments become 250 when you leave home.
52:03 Have you noticed that?
52:04 Isn't that amazing?
52:08 Moses had the 10 commandments, the Israelites made 250.
52:12 Some of us have made 310.
52:16 But anyway.
52:17 And I put it right where you should put it;
52:19 on the refrigerator.
52:22 And I told my son... I made this mistake.
52:24 I said, "Son, you're the oldest."
52:26 He was a year and a half older.
52:29 Well, close enough.
52:31 I said, "You're in charge."
52:33 Never do that.
52:36 He was like Saint Simon the Greek.
52:38 Boom, he was the boss when we left.
52:41 So my daughter had to move out and move
52:43 over to a friend's house.
52:45 But anyway.
52:46 He ruled the roost.
52:48 And so I told them just before I left, I said,
52:50 "Children, I'm going to be back on Thursday.
52:52 Thursday night.
52:54 I want you to be ready. I want things to be ready."
52:58 So we flew off to California and got to the auditorium
53:02 where we were suppose to give our lectures and our talk.
53:05 And I took the program and I noticed,
53:07 "Wow, I'm done on Wednesday."
53:11 I said, "Wow."
53:13 I said, "Honey, look at this.
53:15 I'm getting done a day and a half, or a day, early.
53:23 Let's fly back and surprise the kids."
53:27 She looked at me.
53:29 You can see who has the brains in this house.
53:31 She looked at me.
53:32 She shook her head and said, "Honey, I don't
53:34 think that's a good idea."
53:35 I said, "Oh honey, I really think that's a wonderful idea."
53:39 I said, "We'll just surprise the kids."
53:41 She said, "I don't know."
53:43 I said, "Oh, come on."
53:46 So in those days you just change your ticket.
53:48 You know, nowadays they pick your pocket
53:50 on the way to the gate.
53:53 And so, I got to the airport in LA, and my wife,
53:58 and flew back to Dallas, Texas.
54:01 We got there and it was late at night.
54:04 She said, "Let's call the kids."
54:05 I said, "Oh no, we're going to surprise them.
54:09 We don't want to call them. We going to surprise them"
54:11 She said, "I don't know if that's a good idea."
54:13 And so I called my deacon, one of my deacons.
54:15 I said, "Deacon, we're here at the airport and I was wondering
54:17 if you'd come pick us up."
54:18 He said, "What about your son?"
54:19 I said, "Oh no. You see, we're here a day early.
54:21 We're going to surprise them."
54:23 There was silence for the space of a half hour.
54:27 He's figuring what had gone wrong with the pastor.
54:30 He said, "Well, I'll come, but..."
54:32 "No," I said, "I'm going to surprise them."
54:33 So he drove out and picked us up and we drove into Keene,
54:36 into that little Christian community.
54:39 The saints had said their prayers, gone to bed.
54:42 We drove in, it was quiet and nice.
54:45 Drove up to our house and the lights were out.
54:49 Looking around, it looks beautiful.
54:50 I said, "Honey, look."
54:51 Got to the doorbell, she said, "Well, let's ring the doorbell."
54:54 I said, "Oh no, we're going to surprise them, honey.
54:56 We're this close."
54:59 And so I took the key out and I unlocked the door.
55:03 Opened the door and walked in and turned on the
55:05 light to the living room and looked.
55:07 That wasn't my living room.
55:08 That couldn't have been my living room.
55:09 I mean, there were sweatshirts and underwear and footballs
55:14 and a basketball.
55:15 I mean, I had to pull things off to see it was my couch.
55:21 Went into the kitchen.
55:23 I'm amazed.
55:28 The dishes were piled to the ceiling.
55:32 Pots and pans.
55:34 For peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?
55:36 Come on, give me a break here.
55:39 Oh no.
55:41 So what I did...
55:42 I quietly walked down the hall to my son's room.
55:50 I pulled open the door, flipped on the light.
55:52 My son sat up rubbing sleep out of his eyes.
55:54 He said, "Daddy, you're suppose to come tomorrow."
55:56 I said, "Be ye ready."
56:00 Be ye ready.
56:05 My Bible tells me for us to look with great longing,
56:11 expectancy, for His return.
56:16 Don't get weary because of the delay.
56:21 The only reason for the delay is, He wants so many more
56:26 to enjoy the kingdom.
56:29 And so, wait and watch and trust.
56:35 When you go to work in the morning, look up.
56:39 When you go socializing, look up.
56:43 When you come home, look up.
56:46 When you wake up, look up.
56:47 Because He that said He would come will come
56:50 in the clouds of glory.
56:51 And out of the eastern sky, a tiny pinpoint of light.
56:53 And it will grow brighter and brighter and brighter.
56:57 And men will turn their cameras to the heavens
56:59 and there He will come with 10,000 upon 10,000
57:03 upon thousands of angels.
57:05 He will come in glory, this Christ.
57:07 For He is my King and He is your King.
57:10 And the parade will cross the heavens and men will look.
57:13 Too late, sinner.
57:18 "Welcome home, My children.
57:23 Welcome home."
57:25 Is He your King tonight?
57:28 He can be, He should be.


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Revised 2014-12-17