Give Me the Bible

We Have This Hope

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Kenneth Cox

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Series Code: GMTB

Program Code: GMTB000006


00:20 Well good evening, and we welcome you
00:23 to Give Me The Bible.
00:25 And we're coming to you live
00:27 from the 3ABN Worship Center
00:29 right here in Thompsonville,
00:31 Illinois.
00:32 Tonight we begin a series that will last for five programs
00:37 on the second coming of Jesus Christ.
00:39 And we are going to be looking at the promise of His coming
00:43 tonight with a message entitled We Have This Hope.
00:47 Pastor Kenneth Cox is presenting this series.
00:50 Pastor Cox has preached all over this world
00:54 on every continent of this planet on which we live.
00:59 And he's a man who not only is a theologian
01:03 and a student of God's Word
01:05 but he is also a historian.
01:08 And he understands history and the different events
01:12 that we are facing and how they fit into history
01:15 and how the Bible and history go together.
01:19 So we are going to really enjoy this series this weekend,
01:24 and especially tonight's subject.
01:27 Before we listen to Pastor Cox,
01:29 we are going to have the pleasure of listening to
01:32 Walter Arties.
01:34 The first time I heard Walter Arties
01:36 he was singing for Billy Graham.
01:39 Since then he has sung for people like C.D. Brooks.
01:43 He was the founder, Walter Arties was,
01:46 of the Breath of Life television program.
01:49 And I had the pleasure of working with him at the
01:53 Voice of Prophecy where he was the manager
01:55 of the Voice of Prophecy.
01:57 And through all of that experience
01:59 he continued to sing and to uplift Jesus Christ.
02:04 He's been associated with Pastor Kenneth Cox
02:07 for many years, and we welcome Walter Arties
02:11 who is going to sing for us Amazing Grace.
02:48 Amazing grace
02:52 will always be
02:56 my song of praise.
03:00 For it was grace
03:07 that bought my liberty.
03:15 I do not know
03:22 just why Christ came
03:25 to love me so.
03:31 He looked beyond
03:36 my fault
03:39 and saw my need.
03:45 I shall forever
03:51 lift my eyes
03:55 to Calvary,
04:00 to view the Cross
04:05 where Jesus died
04:10 for me,
04:14 How marvelous
04:21 this grace that bought
04:25 my falling soul.
04:31 He looked beyond
04:34 my fault
04:37 and saw my need.
04:46 I shall
04:48 forever
04:53 lift my eyes
04:56 to Calvary,
05:01 to view the Cross
05:07 where Jesus died
05:11 for me,
05:16 How marvelous
05:23 this grace that bought
05:28 my falling soul.
05:37 He looked beyond
05:41 my fault
05:45 and saw my need.
05:53 What
05:56 amazing grace,
06:01 God's
06:05 amazing grace.
06:18 He
06:22 saw
06:26 my need.
06:43 Amen.
06:47 Thank you, Walter. Thank you very, very much.
06:50 Marvelous. God's grace.
06:53 What He gives to each one of us, how wonderful it is!
06:57 Welcome. Welcome to Give Me The Bible.
07:01 This is a series in which we
07:05 spend five presentations
07:09 on a particular subject.
07:10 Like this one, we're spending it on the second coming of Christ.
07:15 What does the Bible say about the second coming of Christ?
07:19 What says the Bible, the blessed Bible?
07:22 This my only question be.
07:25 The signs of Christ's coming are now taking place
07:29 all around us. What says the Bible to me?
07:33 That's what we want to find out.
07:34 What does God's Word say about the coming of Jesus Christ?
07:38 And so we hope that you'll tune in and be with us.
07:42 Those of you in the television audience or that are listening
07:45 by radio, we hope you'll tune in as we go through these subjects
07:49 and cover them each time and talk about different ones.
07:53 Tonight we're talking about We Have This Hope.
07:57 We have this hope... the promise, what the scripture says
08:01 about the coming of Jesus Christ.
08:03 Tomorrow night, or the next presentation I should say...
08:07 is on the Signs of the End of Time.
08:12 Christ gave us specific signs telling us where we were
08:18 in the stream of time.
08:20 And you and I need to look at those and see what the Bible
08:23 tells us about that and what is taking place.
08:26 So that's what our subject will be... our next one:
08:28 Signs of the End of Time.
08:32 But tonight we're looking at We Have This Hope.
08:36 We Have This Hope.
08:38 What are you looking for?
08:39 What do you want to see in this subject?
08:41 Well, you certainly want to see the promises that God gives.
08:47 God gives us promises of His return.
08:50 We need to look at those promises.
08:52 What assurance is there of these promises?
08:56 You want to look for that,
08:57 and how have other people related to those promises?
09:01 That's what you're looking at in tonight's subject.
09:04 So we hope you can follow along as we take a look at it
09:07 and see what the scripture tells us about the promises
09:11 that Christ has given us that He's coming back.
09:14 That you and I may be ready for that.
09:19 That we each are prepared for His coming.
09:22 I'm going to ask Walter to come back and sing for us
09:26 the beautiful song entitled
09:28 "Shall We or Shall I? "
09:30 "Shall You, Shall I? "
09:46 Someone will enter
09:50 the pearly gate
09:56 By and by,
10:01 by and by.
10:06 Taste of the glories
10:10 that there await,
10:16 Shall you? Shall I?
10:21 Shall you? Shall I?
10:27 Someone will travel
10:32 the streets of gold,
10:37 beautiful visions
10:42 will there behold,
10:48 Feast on the pleasures
10:53 so long foretold:
10:58 Shall you? Shall I?
11:03 Shall you? Shall I?
11:21 Someone will gladly
11:25 His cross lay down
11:31 By and by,
11:37 by and by.
11:41 Faithful, approved,
11:45 will receive a crown,
11:51 Shall you? Shall I?
11:57 Shall you? Shall I?
12:03 Someone the glorious King
12:09 will see,
12:12 Ever from sorrow
12:16 of earth be free,
12:22 Happy with Him thro'
12:27 eternity:
12:33 Shall you? Shall I?
12:37 Shall you?
12:41 Shall I?
12:54 Amen.
13:08 Heavenly Father,
13:10 tonight as we look at the promises
13:14 that You have given of the return of Your Son,
13:17 Jesus Christ, I pray that You would give us understanding.
13:23 May we see and may we know
13:27 the assurance of Your Word.
13:29 May we reach out in faith,
13:32 take hold of those promises,
13:34 and prepare for Thy soon return.
13:37 For this we ask in Christ's name, Amen.
13:47 The word advent is a word that is used
13:52 to denote the coming of Christ.
13:56 People that believe in the
14:00 coming of Jesus Christ
14:01 are called Adventist.
14:03 That's what it means:
14:05 they believe in the return of Jesus Christ
14:08 and so they are called Adventist.
14:11 Are you an Adventist tonight?
14:13 Do you believe in the coming of Jesus Christ?
14:16 Do you believe He's coming back?
14:18 The Bible says that is one of the glorious promises
14:22 of God's Word.
14:32 "Glorious appearing; the Blessed Hope... "
14:35 the hope that Jesus Christ is coming back.
14:39 That's a promise that you and I should be looking for
14:43 and expecting as we look at the Word of God.
14:47 If you pick up your Bible and you begin to read through it,
14:51 you'll find the promise
14:52 concerning Christ's first coming.
14:55 You read through it you'll find that Micah in the Old Testament
15:00 foretold the very place that Christ would be born.
15:04 Daniel in his prophecies told the time... the exact time...
15:10 when the Savior would appear,
15:12 and yet they weren't ready.
15:14 When the prophetic clock struck the hour,
15:17 He was born right on time.
15:21 When the prophetic clock strikes the midnight hour,
15:26 Jesus Christ will come back right on time.
15:30 Those are promises that are given to us in God's Word.
15:35 And it says: "Nevertheless, we according to His" what?
15:39 Promise.
15:42 A promise that God has given to you and to me.
15:46 So tonight we need to ask ourselves:
15:49 What did God promise?
15:54 Are they things that I can believe?
15:57 And the things that He promised, did they happen?
16:01 Did they take place?
16:03 And so let's take a look at a few of the promises
16:07 that He gave.
16:08 Hebrews. Hebrews the 11th chapter
16:11 verse 7 it speaks of one of the promises.
16:30 This was a promise that God gave to Noah
16:34 saying that the earth was going to be destroyed by water.
16:41 Gave that promise to Noah.
16:43 How long was it before that promise was fulfilled?
16:49 Hmmm?
16:50 120 years.
16:53 Gave him the promise; 120 years later
16:57 that promise was fulfilled just as God said it would be.
17:01 Gave another promise. Here in Galatians it says:
17:10 Isaac was a child of promise.
17:14 God appeared to Abraham and said: "Abraham,
17:17 I'm going to give you a son. "
17:21 Abraham said: "Lord, I've always wanted a son. "
17:24 He said: "Well, just go out here and look at the stars,
17:28 and your offspring will be as the stars of heaven
17:32 and as the sands of the sea. "
17:33 And Abraham said: "This is wonderful, Lord. "
17:36 How long was it before that promise was carried out?
17:45 Twenty-five years.
17:49 Twenty-five years from the time God gave him that promise
17:53 until it was fulfilled...
17:54 took place.
17:56 And God also gave Abraham another promise.
18:05 Now it says Abraham dwelt in a land of promise.
18:08 God said "Abraham, I'm going to give to you and your descendants
18:12 this land... "
18:22 This was a promise that God had given to Abraham,
18:24 to Isaac, to Jacob... and they lived in that promise.
18:27 Did you know that when God gave Abraham that promise
18:31 He told him how long it would be before it would be fulfilled?
18:36 Yeah, you can read it there in Genesis 15.
18:38 Gave him the promise and said it would be...
18:44 four hundred years.
18:48 The scripture is most interesting here
18:50 because it says this:
19:01 The time of the promise drew near.
19:04 He had told Abraham it's going to be 400 years.
19:07 Four hundred years has passed and the...
19:16 I hope you are beginning to understand
19:18 that God gives promises, folks.
19:21 But the fulfillment of those promises is not based
19:27 on your timetable or mine.
19:29 It's based on God's timetable.
19:33 He fulfills it, and He doesn't fail.
19:37 But He gives the promise and says: "This is going to happen;
19:41 this is going to take place. "
19:51 When did God give a promise that there would come a Savior?
19:57 Way, way back in the beginning.
20:01 Genesis 3 verse 15 gives the promise of a Savior.
20:05 And here it was 4,000 years later
20:09 before the promise was fulfilled.
20:13 The Savior appeared. But He appeared, folks.
20:16 Came just exactly as the scripture said.
20:35 God gave a promise here, and Jesus told the disciples
20:39 He said: "It is expedient for you that I go away
20:43 because if I don't go away the Comforter will not come. "
20:46 Gave them the promise.
20:47 How long was it before it was fulfilled?
20:51 Fifty days.
20:54 It wasn't long on that one.
20:56 Gave the promise of the Holy Spirit.
20:58 Fifty days later it was poured out.
21:01 Promise given to them.
21:03 But He also gave us a promise of something else.
21:16 He's promised to you and to me eternal life.
21:21 Now I want to ask you something.
21:24 If all these promises that God made -
21:26 and we've looked at them and every one of 'em
21:29 has been fulfilled just exactly as God said,
21:33 do you believe this one about eternal life will be fulfilled?
21:36 Absolutely folks, no question about it.
21:40 That will be fulfilled.
21:44 And it will be fulfilled in which we will be given
21:48 immortality that we will receive eternal life...
21:54 never to die. That will be given when Jesus comes.
22:19 There is the promise!
22:27 He's given us that promise that He's going to come back.
22:32 That's the promise.
22:34 All these promises He's given have been fulfilled as He said.
22:39 And even when He left and those disciples were standing there
22:44 on the mount looking up into the clouds of heaven
22:48 He gave them the assurance and the promise
22:51 that He was coming back because He said:
23:05 That very same Jesus that they had spent 3-1/2 years with
23:09 had listened to Him, walked with Him, talked with Him,
23:12 ate with Him, had watched Him as He healed the sick,
23:15 as He cared for the children,
23:16 that very same Jesus was coming back.
23:20 And He gave them the promise.
23:22 They said "Look for Him, He'll come back in like manner
23:25 as you have seen Him go into heaven. "
23:27 So you and I have the promise that He's coming back.
23:32 Says:
23:42 He's going to come back a second time
23:45 and, dear friend, when He comes back that second time
23:48 He's coming back for you.
23:51 That's what He's coming back for...
23:52 He's coming back for you and for me.
23:54 The promise that He gives to us.
23:56 So if I have these promises,
23:58 and really, that's what prophecies are in many respects
24:03 are promises. Prophesied that this is going to happen,
24:07 it's a promise that's going to take place.
24:09 Said:
24:13 What does it mean confirmed?
24:17 Means it's sure... can't fail.
24:27 It says if there's anything that is sure,
24:31 it's the prophetic word.
24:33 And God said this is going to happen:
24:36 Jesus Christ is coming back.
24:38 You and I can count on that.
24:41 We can depend on that.
24:43 If you've got your Bible, take your Bible.
24:46 If you're at home watching, well go get your Bible.
24:49 I want you to look at something with me.
24:52 Prophecies given here in the book of Revelation.
24:56 I want you to look at what's happening, what's taking place
25:00 here in this book
25:01 and turn over in the book of Revelation with me.
25:06 If you take a look at the first chapter
25:10 of the book of Revelation, that first chapter is a description
25:15 of Jesus.
25:17 That's what it is. Tells what He looks like.
25:20 Describes Him as walking among the candlesticks and so forth.
25:25 The second and third chapter of Revelation
25:28 is about the seven churches.
25:31 That's what it's talking about: the seven churches.
25:33 And when you study the seven churches,
25:37 and they talk about those churches in sense of periods
25:40 of time, where are we?
25:44 Well, we're down to the seventh church.
25:47 That's where we are. So basically,
25:49 the second and third chapters of Revelation are fulfilled
25:53 because we're into the seventh church.
25:56 The fourth and fifth chapter of Revelation
26:00 are pictures of the throne room in heaven.
26:04 And all the prophecies in the book of Revelation...
26:07 all of them... come out of the throne room.
26:10 As you read them, if you'll look for it
26:12 in every case they are in the setting of the throne room.
26:16 All the prophecies come out of there...
26:18 that's the fourth and fifth chapters of Revelation.
26:21 When you get over to the sixth,
26:24 and basically the sixth and seventh chapter of Revelation,
26:29 it's talking about what?
26:31 Well it's talking about the seven seals.
26:34 Now if you start studying through the seven seals,
26:38 you'll find that the sixth seal, we'll be talking about this
26:43 in another presentation,
26:44 you'll find out the sixth seal has already been fulfilled.
26:48 The seventh seal deals with the coming of Jesus Christ.
26:54 So basically, if you want to take a look at it,
26:56 we're through the sixth and seventh chapters of Revelation
26:59 because that's what it's talking about: the coming of Christ.
27:03 We're down to that point.
27:05 Talks about His people in chapter seven and what they do.
27:10 But when you get to chapter eight and nine
27:12 it talks about the trumpets.
27:15 Trumpets. If you read those trumpets carefully,
27:19 you'll find that those trumpets are put with the plagues
27:24 and they come with the plagues.
27:27 That takes place, folks, right just before Jesus comes.
27:32 That's when that takes place.
27:34 So you get the eighth and ninth chapter of Revelation
27:39 that deals with the trumpets there.
27:42 When you get over to the tenth chapter of Revelation,
27:45 the tenth chapter deals with the little book and God's people
27:49 and the message they have been given
27:51 and how they are to proclaim it.
27:53 Chapter eleven deals with
27:57 the country of France
28:00 and the rise of atheism
28:02 and what there. And that's past already.
28:05 You get to the twelfth chapter of Revelation,
28:07 and the twelfth chapter of Revelation talks about
28:10 pagan Rome and its influence and what it did and so forth.
28:14 And we're past that period of time.
28:16 You get to the thirteenth chapter of Revelation
28:19 and its talking about papal Rome and the United States.
28:23 And basically, the prophecies given about those two bring us
28:27 clear down to the end of that chapter.
28:29 The last few things that are to take place there.
28:32 The fourteenth chapter of Revelation again deals with
28:36 God's people and a message that they have
28:39 and what they are to do at the end of time.
28:42 Chapter fifteen and sixteen
28:45 deal with the seven last plagues.
28:49 Those happen just before Jesus comes.
28:54 OK? The seventeenth and eighteenth chapter
28:58 I'm going to have you hold that for a minute
29:01 because I want to go on to the nineteenth chapter.
29:04 The nineteenth chapter of Revelation deals with the
29:07 marriage supper of the Lamb.
29:09 That has to do with the coming of Christ.
29:13 The twentieth chapter of Revelation
29:17 deals with the millennium...
29:19 the thousand years after the coming of Christ.
29:22 And chapter twenty-one and twenty-two deal with the
29:25 new earth and heaven.
29:26 So what I'm trying to get across to you this evening
29:29 is we're down to the seventeenth and eighteenth chapter
29:34 of Revelation.
29:35 That's where we're at.
29:37 That is what those chapters are dealing with
29:39 is the time in which we are living today.
29:42 That's where we stand.
29:44 So what I'm trying to get across tonight, folks,
29:47 is there's not a lot of time left.
29:51 We're down to the end...
29:53 seventeenth and eighteenth chapter of Revelation.
29:56 Now, the thing that's interesting and what you've
30:00 got to look at is this:
30:01 When you get to the twenty- second chapter of Revelation,
30:07 down to the last chapter of the Bible,
30:09 I want you to watch what the Lord does.
30:12 Revelation 22 verse 7.
30:16 Now He's talking about the prophecies in the book of
30:19 Revelation and He says: "When these are done,
30:23 behold I come... " what?
30:27 Now we're down to the end of the book
30:29 and He says when these prophecies are done
30:32 it's not going to be a long period of time.
30:35 I'm going to come quickly.
30:37 Let's look at the twenty-second chapter again.
30:40 Verse 12 says:
30:47 Twice He says "When we're down to the end of this,
30:52 it won't be a long period of time.
30:54 I'm going to come quickly. "
30:55 Let's go back to the 22nd chapter.
30:58 Verse 20:
31:06 So dear friend, what I'm trying to tell you tonight
31:09 is it's not a long time till the coming of Jesus Christ.
31:13 He says that when these things are fulfilled
31:16 "Behold, I am coming quickly. "
31:20 You and I can depend on it.
31:22 Marvelous statement.
31:24 Marvelous statement.
31:32 Not one has failed.
31:35 So if none of them have failed,
31:37 can you live in confidence and in hope
31:40 that Jesus Christ is coming back?
31:43 We sure can!
31:44 No question about it.
31:46 Not one of His promises has failed.
31:49 Do you believe the promises?
31:50 Do you believe them?
31:53 If you believe them,
31:59 then it has to change your life.
32:03 If you believe it,
32:05 it has to change the way you approach life.
32:11 Just has to.
32:24 We have a lot of scoffers today.
32:27 Saying: "Oh, I've heard this for years. "
32:31 Scoffers... we run into them all the time.
32:35 They'll say: "Oh, I've heard that all my life. "
32:37 In fact, I can remember talking to this old minister.
32:41 And I had preached a sermon on the coming of Jesus Christ
32:44 and he came up to me after it was over and he said to me...
32:47 he said: "I've heard that all my life. "
32:49 He said: "In fact, when I gave my heart to the Lord, "
32:52 he said, "I didn't think there would be time
32:54 for me to go to school. "
32:56 He said: "I didn't think I'd make it through school. "
32:58 He said: "I went to school and then I thought
33:01 well if I get out of school I won't have any time
33:03 to work in the ministry... The Lord will come. "
33:05 And he said: "I got out of school and I got in the ministry
33:08 and I've worked all these years
33:10 and I've retired now, and Jesus hasn't come. "
33:16 And I said to him: "The fact that you believed
33:21 that Jesus was coming
33:24 and you believed that it was soon and all.
33:28 Did that hurt you?
33:32 Did that do something to you that hurt you any way? "
33:36 And he thought a while and he said:
33:40 "No, I can't think of any way it hurt me. "
33:43 No dear friend. You and I need to live in the expectancy
33:48 of the coming of the Lord. Amen.
33:51 We live in a time, unfortunately,
33:56 in which people don't believe.
34:00 Unfortunately, we live in a country
34:02 that doesn't believe.
34:05 You know, true enough we claim that we are a Christian country.
34:11 But that's just in talk, folks.
34:14 I mean, our universities teach that there is no God.
34:19 They teach evolution.
34:21 They teach everything contrary to it.
34:24 So we live in a world full of scoffers that don't believe.
34:29 But you and I... WE MUST BELIEVE.
34:33 We must hang on and believe the promises of God's Word
34:38 that Jesus Christ IS coming back.
34:40 Hebrews 11 verse 13:
34:43 wonderful text.
34:59 Moses died without receiving the promise.
35:06 David died without receiving the promises.
35:13 Mary died without receiving the promises.
35:18 Samuel died without receiving the promises.
35:22 All these believed,
35:27 died in faith, not having received the promises.
35:31 Listen to what it says about it:
35:48 I ask you this evening, have you seen them afar off?
35:54 Have you seen those promises that God has given
35:56 maybe afar off? Are you assured of them tonight?
36:00 They were!
36:02 They died hoping, believing, in the promises of God.
36:07 Will that promise be fulfilled to them?
36:11 Absolutely.
36:12 It will be fulfilled to each one of them.
36:15 They died in the faith
36:17 not receiving the promises but they WILL receive them.
36:20 And so you will receive the promises of God...
36:25 the promise that God gave you that He's coming back.
36:45 So He is saying: "Just don't give up.
36:49 You're in need of endurance.
36:52 Hang on. The promise is given.
36:54 Don't weary. Hang on; believe.
36:58 The promise is there. Jesus Christ IS COMING BACK. "
37:03 An assurance is given to all of us.
37:18 I guess of all the things in scripture, that probably
37:23 worries me the most
37:25 where it says there: "Be careful, take heed. "
37:29 I'm not too worried about, oh, carousing and drunkenness.
37:36 That certainly will keep you away from the Lord,
37:39 no question about it. But what I'm concerned about
37:42 is the cares of this life.
37:45 That we get so wrapped up,
37:49 so involved with the things of this life,
37:53 that we get distracted.
37:57 We get our attention pulled away from it.
38:00 We don't take the time...
38:03 We don't take the time to prepare our own hearts
38:07 and our own souls for the coming of Jesus Christ.
38:11 We get distracted. Too concerned about making a living
38:18 rather than making sure that I'm right with the Lord
38:22 and I'm prepared for His coming.
38:40 In Noah's day they were eating, drinking, marrying.
38:46 Going on... life was just going on as usual.
38:50 It says it will be exactly that way when Jesus comes back.
38:59 You and I need to make absolutely sure
39:04 that I don't permit the things of this life
39:10 to cause me to be distracted,
39:13 to cause me to not spend the time that I need to
39:17 to prepare for the coming of the Lord.
39:19 What is your purpose in life?
39:22 You ever thought about it?
39:26 What is your purpose in life? To make money?
39:32 Make sure you have a good home?
39:36 Make sure you have a nice car?
39:38 Make sure you have all the toys that they talk about?
39:44 Is that your purpose in life?
39:47 You see, if I believe the promise,
39:50 then it's definitely going to affect my purpose in life.
39:55 If my purpose in life is to make sure above everything else
40:00 that I'm right with the Lord,
40:03 then that makes a great,
40:06 great difference what my purpose
40:09 in life is. What am I doing?
40:11 What... what am I planning to do with my life?
40:18 When we became Christians, I was just a teenager...
40:25 young teenager.
40:28 Uh, my mother would make me,
40:34 actually, sit down and read to her out of the Bible.
40:39 She just had me sit down and read to her out of the Bible.
40:42 I didn't like doing that.
40:45 I mean I didn't like it at all!
40:47 And I would... I would pick up the Bible where she wanted me
40:51 to read, and I would read it just as fast as I could read it.
40:54 You know? But you know, something rather strange
40:58 happened. All those scriptures that she made me read
41:05 they just stuck in my memory.
41:09 And as I got older, they just come flooding back all the time.
41:14 The things that she taught me and had me do,
41:17 they stayed there all my life.
41:19 There was a great preacher of the past...
41:27 Charles Finney.
41:28 Charles Finney, if you read his story,
41:32 his mother made him do that same thing...
41:34 made him read to her.
41:36 And he didn't like it any better than I did.
41:38 But the scriptures stuck in his mind.
41:43 And the first opportunity he got to get out of the home
41:48 he got... he got out of there.
41:50 And he decided that he was going to become a lawyer,
41:53 and he went away to law school.
41:56 And he was sitting in his room studying.
41:59 And as he was sitting in the room studying,
42:02 a voice just seemed to say to him:
42:09 "Charles Finney, what are you going to do with your life? "
42:15 He said: "Well, I'm going to become a lawyer.
42:20 That's what I'm going to do. "
42:23 And the voice said: "What then? "
42:28 And he said: "Well, uh, I hope to practice law.
42:34 Set up a practice somewhere and practice law
42:37 as I'm going to school for. "
42:39 And the voice said: "What then? "
42:44 He said: "Well, I hope I can get married and have a family. "
42:49 And the voice said: "What then? "
42:56 He said: "Well, I hope that I'll make a contribution
43:00 to the community and do something to be helpful
43:03 to mankind and the community and work that way. "
43:08 And the voice said: "What then? "
43:11 Said: "Well, I guess I'll die. "
43:17 And the voice said: "What then? "
43:21 And those scriptures come rolling back through his mind.
43:25 He got on his knees and gave his heart to the Lord.
43:30 Let me tell you, friend, the most important thing
43:32 that you can do in life is to make sure you're ready
43:36 to meet the Lord.
43:38 Not anything more important than that:
43:41 that you are ready to meet the Lord when He comes.
43:46 So what is your purpose in life?
43:49 What are you going to do with your life?
44:06 No, the Lord's not slack concerning that promise, folks.
44:10 He's longsuffering. He's doing everything He can
44:13 to see that every soul is saved in His kingdom.
44:17 Longsuffering... but don't be fooled.
44:23 Rest assured that God knows what He is doing.
44:28 Rest assured of that.
44:45 This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world
44:49 and then the end is come.
44:52 And, folks, we're to that place today.
44:56 Technically... technologically
45:00 there's nothing really standing
45:03 without taking the gospel to all the world.
45:06 That can happen. That can happen quickly.
45:09 That's not the point.
45:13 When that happens, the end will come.
45:17 God's more concerned... more concerned that you
45:22 and that I and each person is ready to meet Him.
45:27 He's longsuffering, not wantin' anybody to perish...
45:33 that we will all be saved in His kingdom.
45:37 But let me assure you, I've run onto people that seem to think
45:42 that God doesn't know what He's doing.
45:45 You know, I talk to people that seem to think
45:48 that God doesn't know what He's doing.
45:50 This book tells me that God has done everything right on time.
45:55 I mean everything. When it came to the first
46:00 coming of Jesus Christ it says in scripture:
46:02 "When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son,
46:07 born of a woman. "
46:08 It was right on time.
46:11 When it comes to the second coming of Jesus,
46:14 it will be right on time. It says here in Daniel 8:19:
46:27 "At the appointed time the end shall be. "
46:29 It's going to come, and it'll going to come right on time
46:34 according to God's timetable.
46:38 Not yours, not mine... but God's.
46:41 But folks, that doesn't change the promise, does it?
46:46 The timetable doesn't change the promise at all.
46:49 The promise is sure.
46:51 It's going to happen; it's going to take place.
46:55 God promises that to you and to me.
46:58 And so Daniel, who walked with the Lord,
47:05 followed the Lord,
47:07 comes down to the end of his life
47:10 and God simply says this to him:
47:26 He said: "Daniel, you've been faithful.
47:28 You've served the Lord.
47:30 You're going to rest now,
47:32 and you're going to rest until the end...
47:37 the end of days and then you will arise,
47:40 you'll come forth to your inheritance. "
47:43 Promise that He gives to Daniel of old.
47:46 So that promise is given to you and to me.
47:49 The same one.
47:52 Christ is going to come back.
47:54 Therefore what?
47:59 Don't give up. Continue... hang on.
48:07 Be patient... wait.
48:15 And so to you tonight I would say BE PATIENT
48:21 because the prophecies all tell us
48:24 that the coming of the Lord is at hand.
48:29 You and I have the privilege
48:32 of living in a time that the prophets talked about.
48:37 We have the privilege of living in a time
48:40 in which they looked forward to.. the time when the promise
48:43 will be fulfilled and Jesus will come back.
48:46 You and I are living in that time.
48:49 "Therefore, be patient. "
48:51 God will fulfill His promise.
48:54 He won't fail.
48:57 People say to me: "Well, Brother Cox,
49:00 How? How can I know that I'm ready for Jesus to come?
49:08 How can I know that if Christ was to come right now
49:11 I'd be ready to meet him?
49:14 How can I know that?
49:16 Well let me tell you how to know that.
49:30 Say that to you again.
49:31 If your heart is right with God today,
49:35 you are ready if Christ should come today.
49:40 So the question is:
49:43 if you have any doubts, make sure your
49:45 heart's right with God.
49:47 And by the way, folks, that doesn't take
49:50 beating your back.
49:52 That doesn't take that.
49:54 That just takes coming to Him
49:56 and surrendering your heart
49:57 and soul to Him
49:59 that you and I can be ready
50:01 to meet the Lord.
50:03 That He will be coming back.
50:12 And I hope tonight that's true of you.
50:14 That you desire something better.
50:23 He's prepared a special place for you;
50:26 He's going to come back.
50:29 He's going to come back and He's going to gather His people,
50:33 take them home.
50:34 You and I have the assurance that He's coming back.
50:41 With the death of Jesus, all the ambition,
50:46 all the hopes, all the things that those disciples believed in
50:51 and hoped for died.
50:55 Disappointed.
50:58 The one that they believed to be the Messiah,
51:00 the one they believed that was going to deliver them,
51:02 was dead.
51:04 And the women had gone out to the tomb early that morning, and
51:10 when they got out there they found the stone rolled away.
51:16 And they went running to tell the disciples.
51:20 And they told the disciples, and Peter and John went running
51:26 to the tomb.
51:28 Uh, John is younger... and he outrun Peter.
51:34 Got to the tomb but for some reason he didn't go in...
51:37 he waited on Peter to come.
51:38 And this is rather a strange scripture, folks.
51:42 Listen very carefully:
51:52 He got there, got in the tomb, and here these cloths were
51:55 laying there...
52:08 Strange!
52:10 Why would the scripture pick up that incident
52:12 and talk about that?
52:14 That that handkerchief was there, folded,
52:18 when the rest of the grave clothes were throw to the side?
52:24 But you see, Jewish custom knew that
52:29 if the master came home
52:32 and the servant had prepared a meal for him,
52:35 the master sat down and ate
52:38 and the servant knew he was not to be disturbed.
52:42 But when the master had finished eating,
52:45 if he got up and took the napkin
52:50 and wiped his mouth, threw it there on the table
52:54 and left, then the servant knew that he could go in and
52:58 clean up the table and take up the dishes and so forth.
53:02 But if the master got up and took that napkin
53:06 and folded it and laid it beside his plate,
53:11 the servant knew he was not to touch anything
53:14 because the master was coming back.
53:17 So Jesus when He left, He left those disciples
53:22 a message. He left a message to you and to me
53:25 that He's coming back.
53:36 We have this hope
53:39 that burns within our hearts,
53:45 Hope in the coming
53:48 of the Lord.
53:53 We have this faith that
53:58 Christ alone imparts,
54:01 Faith in the promise
54:05 of His Word.
54:10 We believe the time is here,
54:14 When the nations far and near
54:18 Shall awake, and shout, and sing
54:23 Hallelujah!
54:26 Christ is King!
54:31 We have this hope
54:35 that burns within our
54:38 hearts,
54:41 Hope in the coming
54:46 of the Lord.
54:59 Let us pray.
55:00 Father in Heaven,
55:02 we thank you for the assurance
55:03 that Jesus Christ is coming back.
55:06 May we each one reach out in faith
55:11 and claim those promises. May our hearts be surrendered.
55:15 May we each one be prepared for the soon return of our
55:20 Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
55:23 This we ask in His name, Amen.
55:27 Hang on. Jesus is coming.
55:30 It won't be long.
55:37 More than 2,000 years have passed
55:40 since Jesus promised to return.
55:42 And through the centuries, the hearts of His faithful ones
55:45 have clung to those precious words.
55:47 But His promise has not yet been fulfilled.
55:50 The Life giver's voice has not yet called the sleeping saints
55:54 from their graves.
55:56 Each day many more Christians fall asleep in Jesus
56:00 clinging to the Blessed Hope
56:02 and believing that the next thing they'll see
56:05 is their Savior coming as He promised
56:08 in the clouds of glory.
56:10 But my friends, there are so many who do not have
56:14 this Blessed Hope. And many of them would
56:17 if they just had the opportunity to hear about Jesus.
56:23 That is why we are producing these programs.
56:26 We want to tell them about God's amazing love.
56:29 About our Savior, Jesus Christ.
56:31 About His second coming.
56:33 We want to give each one of them that Blessed Hope.
56:36 Think of it. Even now all of heaven's astir
56:40 preparing for that great day.
56:42 The Lord is waiting for us
56:44 to join Him in spreading the good news.
56:47 Praise God! The time of waiting is almost over.
56:50 Light is gleaming upon the clouds above the mountaintops.
56:54 Soon there will be a revealing of His glory.
56:57 The Son of Righteousness is about to shine forth.
57:00 NOW is the time to prepare for the coming of the Lord.
57:04 Readiness to meet Him cannot be attained
57:08 in a moment's time.
57:09 Each member of our ministry team has focused on doing all we can
57:14 to spread the good news,
57:15 but we cannot do it alone.
57:18 We need your help.
57:19 Each of us must prepare, watch, and wait.
57:23 But we also must work earnestly
57:26 for the salvation of souls.
57:27 Please consider what you can do
57:29 for those who still don't know about Jesus.
57:32 As the Holy Spirit impresses,
57:34 you may send your tax-deductible gifts to:
57:48 Thank you for helping us to bring the Blessed Hope
57:51 to millions all around the world.


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Revised 2014-12-17