Participants: Kenneth Cox
Series Code: GMTB
Program Code: GMTB000009
|
00:19 Good evening and welcome to the 3ABN Worship Center
00:24 in Thompson, Illinois. 00:26 From this place, Thompsonville, 00:28 Illinois. I left the ville off! 00:31 But from this place, this message goes around the world. 00:37 Eleven satellites will be carrying Pastor Kenneth Cox's 00:41 message tonight to every part of this world. 00:45 And that fulfills one of his dreams, because 00:49 one of his dreams was to be a part of spreading the gospel 00:53 to this whole place. 00:55 The Gospel Commission has been a commission that he has taken 00:59 seriously: "For this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached 01:03 in all the world, and then the end shall come. " 01:07 And tonight he's going to be talking about 01:11 the signs of Christ's coming. 01:14 But not only the signs... the manner of His coming. 01:18 A lot of confusion in the world tonight 01:20 about the manner of Christ's coming. 01:22 How will He come? 01:24 And we believe the Bible is very clear on that, 01:27 and Pastor Cox is going to be presenting 01:31 a message on the manner of the coming of Jesus Christ. 01:35 But before he comes, we're going to listen as Walter Arties 01:40 sings for us that spiritual No Hiding Place. 02:13 There's no hiding place 02:15 down here, 02:17 There's no hiding place down here, 02:22 Oh I went to the rocks to hide my face 02:24 the rocks cried out no hiding place, 02:27 no hiding place down here. 02:30 There's no hiding place down here, 02:34 there's no hiding place down here, 02:39 Oh I went to the rocks to hide my face 02:42 the rocks cried out no hiding place, 02:44 No hiding place down here. 02:47 Oh sinner man, you'd better repent. 02:52 Oh sinner man, you'd better repent. 02:56 Oh sinner man, you'd better repent 02:59 'cause God's going to judge in the judgment day, 03:02 No hiding place down here. 03:05 There is no hiding place down here, 03:10 there's no hiding place down here, 03:14 Oh I went to the rocks to hide my face 03:18 the rocks cried out no hiding place, 03:20 No hiding place down here. 03:24 Oh the rich man, he gambled and he fell, 03:29 Oh the rich man, he gambled and fell, 03:33 Oh the rich man, he gambled and fell 03:36 he wanted to go to heaven, he had to go to... well... 03:39 No hiding place down here. 03:42 There is no hiding place down here, 03:47 there's no hiding place down here, 03:51 Oh I went to the rocks to hide my face 03:54 the rocks cried out no hiding place, 03:56 There's no hiding place down here. 03:59 There's no hiding place down here, 04:04 there's no hiding place down here, 04:08 Oh I went to the rocks to hide my face 04:11 the rocks cried out 04:13 no hiding 04:19 place, 04:23 There's no hiding place 04:27 down here. 04:47 Amen. 04:52 No hiding place down here. 04:54 Marvelous! Pastor Walter Arties. 04:57 Great, great voice. Great friend. 05:01 Known him for a number of years. 05:03 We appreciate very much Walter and what he does for us... 05:07 he and his wife Beverly. 05:09 It's just been a great blessing to us over the years 05:13 as he's sung for us 05:14 from place to place. 05:15 Good evening to each of you. 05:17 I'm very happy that you're here this evening. 05:19 And we hope that as we're going through this series 05:23 on the second coming of Christ 05:26 I hope that you're beginning to get a sense 05:28 of the times in which we are living in and the promise 05:32 that God gives that Jesus is coming back 05:35 and that each one of us need to be looking, waiting, 05:39 watching for the coming of the Lord. 05:42 Something that all of us need to desire, 05:45 and we need really, folks, to plan our lives 05:49 around the fact that we want to be in God's kingdom. 05:52 That is something that we should long for and look for. 05:56 And so we hope it's a blessing to you as we talk about 06:00 the coming of Jesus Christ. 06:02 What does the Bible tell us? 06:04 What does it say about the coming of Jesus? 06:06 What says the Bible, the blessed Bible? 06:09 This my only question be. 06:12 The signs of Christ's coming are now all around us. 06:16 What says the Bible to me? 06:19 That's what we want to find out. 06:21 Tonight we're talking about the manner of Christ's return. 06:26 How is He coming back? The manner of His return. 06:29 Tomorrow evening we're going to be talking about the subject 06:34 The Night Watch. 06:35 The Night Watch. 06:36 There's a text in the Bible that says: 06:39 "What about the night? " 06:40 Ask the watchman, "what about the night? " 06:43 We are going to look at that. 06:44 What about the time in which we are living in? 06:47 How do I relate to these things? 06:49 What admonitions do the scriptures give us 06:52 concerning the coming of Jesus Christ? 06:54 And so we hope you'll be sure and tune in if you're watching 06:58 by television or by listening on the radio. 07:02 Be sure and tune in to that next presentation on 07:04 The Night Watch. 07:06 Hope it'll bless you. 07:07 What are you looking for in tonight's presentation: 07:11 The Coming of Jesus Christ? 07:15 We are really dealing with the manner of Christ's coming. 07:19 How is He coming? 07:21 Christ makes four very, very clear emphatic statements 07:26 concerning His coming that tells you and I 07:30 how He's coming back, and that's what we're looking at tonight. 07:33 And we hope that that will help you and I 07:36 see the way Christ is coming and how it will take place 07:41 when He comes. So follow carefully 07:44 as we take a look at the subject of the coming 07:46 of Jesus Christ. 07:48 As we read the scripture, many times 07:53 we plied because it says, you know, 07:57 "Watchman, what of the night? " 07:58 And it says "the bridegroom came at midnight" and so forth. 08:02 But Walter's going to sing for us a song 08:05 that pictures the coming of Jesus Christ. 08:10 It's entitled: It May Be At Morn. 08:32 It may be at morn, 08:39 when the day is 08:42 awaking. 08:46 When sunlight through darkness 08:52 and shadow is breaking, 08:58 That Jesus will come 09:03 in the fullness of glory 09:08 To receive from the world 09:14 His own. 09:20 O Lord Jesus, 09:25 how long, 09:27 how long 09:30 Ere we shout 09:33 the glad song? 09:35 Christ returneth, 09:38 Hallelujah! 09:41 hallelujah! Amen, 09:46 Hallelujah! 09:49 Amen. 10:08 It may be at 10:13 midday, 10:18 it may be 10:20 at twilight, 10:25 It may be, perchance, 10:30 that the blackness 10:33 of midnight 10:39 Will burst into light 10:46 in the blaze of His glory, 10:52 When Jesus receives 10:57 His own. 11:02 O Lord Jesus, 11:07 how long, how long 11:12 Ere we shout 11:15 the glad song? 11:17 Christ returneth, 11:20 Hallelujah! 11:23 hallelujah! Amen, 11:28 Hallelujah! 11:32 Amen. 11:58 Amen. 12:12 Most Gracious Heavenly Father, 12:16 we come to You this evening 12:18 beseeching Your presence. 12:24 Asking that each of us 12:26 may have eyes that are open, 12:31 ears that are listening. 12:33 That the Holy Spirit may quicken us 12:37 and that we may see and prepare for Your coming. 12:43 Give us understanding 12:45 as we open Your Word this evening we pray. 12:48 In Christ's name, Amen. 12:58 Have you ever been deceived? 13:03 Have you ever got involved in something... 13:08 you thought it was right, you know, in every way 13:11 and then found out that you had been conned 13:15 and it wasn't right at all? 13:18 Have you ever stood and watched a shell game? 13:20 Have you ever been involved 13:22 in one of those things you know 13:23 where they take those shells 13:24 and move them around and you're supposed to guess 13:27 and just been, you know, deceived, 13:31 just outright deceived about it? 13:33 I just finished reading a book on Houdini. 13:37 I don't know if you know who Houdini was, but 13:40 he was a magician or a slight-of-hand artist 13:45 and so forth. Uh, he... he made no bones about it. 13:50 I mean, that's what he was there to do is to deceive you. 13:54 In fact, as I was reading the book 13:56 he had done some slight-of-hand stuff 13:59 and President Teddy Roosevelt was there in the room 14:04 and he actually did what he did with the president. 14:08 And after it was over, the president asked him. 14:12 He said: "Now, did you do that by some supernatural means? " 14:16 And Houdini said: "Sir, that wasn't anything 14:20 but hocus-pocus. 14:22 That's all it was. " He was just outright deceived. 14:26 Probably one of the greatest deceptions 14:29 that's going on in the world today 14:32 is the deception concerning the coming of Jesus Christ. 14:37 When Christ's disciples came to Him 14:42 when He was there on the Mount of Olives, 14:44 and they asked Him those questions 14:46 that we talked about the other night: 14:47 "When shall these things be? " 14:49 "What shall be the sign of Your coming 14:51 and the end of the world? " 14:53 They asked Him that. The very first thing that Jesus 14:58 said to them after they asked that question was this: 15:08 That was the very first thing He said to them. 15:10 He said: "Now watch out! 15:11 Be careful. Make sure nobody deceives you 15:16 concerning the coming of Jesus Christ. " 15:20 In fact, Paul went on and he admonished the people. 15:24 He said: 15:32 He said: "Just don't be deceived 15:35 concerning the coming of Jesus Christ. " 15:37 So tonight we want to look and see what does the Bible say? 15:42 What does it say about the coming of Jesus Christ? 15:46 That's what we want to find out; that's what we want to know. 15:49 Does the Bible? 15:54 What says the Bible, the blessed Bible? 15:58 This my only question be. 16:00 The teachings of men 16:03 so often mislead us. 16:05 What says the Bible to me? 16:08 That's what we want to find out this evening. 16:10 Find that when Jesus left, 16:15 went back to heaven, 16:16 it says that He sent a couple angels to help us know. 16:19 It says: 16:22 This was when He was ascending to heaven... 16:30 Being taken to heaven. 16:48 This what? 16:51 That meant that the coming of Jesus Christ 16:55 is going to be visible, it's going to be personal. 17:08 Here these angels are telling these disciples 17:11 that He's coming back just like He went into heaven. 17:15 They saw Him go into heaven. 17:17 He's coming back the same way. 17:20 Goes on and tells us here in I John 3 and verse 2: 17:41 So the coming of Christ is going to be a visible coming. 17:44 It's going to be a physical coming. 17:46 It's going to be something that you and I can see. 17:49 It's not going to be taking place where we don't know 17:54 that it's happening, folks. 17:56 That the scripture is clear on. 17:58 It's a physical, literal coming of Jesus Christ. 18:04 Four times... four times in scripture 18:08 Jesus said these words: 18:16 Now write it down. 18:17 We're talking about the coming, 18:19 and these are Christ's own words. 18:21 And He says: "So will the coming of the Son of Man be. " 18:25 He's saying: "My coming is going to be just exactly like this. 18:29 That's the way My coming's going to be. " 18:31 So let's take a look at those verses 18:34 and see what the coming of Jesus Christ is going to be like. 18:38 Matthew 24:27. 18:41 That chapter He's talking about His coming. He says: 18:51 He said: "As lightning comes out of the east 18:54 and flashes clear across the sky to the west, 18:57 so the coming of the Son of Man will be. " 19:02 As I told you, I grew up in Oklahoma. 19:04 My father was very, very fond of hunting and fishing. 19:09 And so I can remember 19:11 he came home from work one day 19:14 and he told me. He said: "When you come home from school 19:16 tomorrow, " he said, "if you'll get all the fishing gear ready 19:20 when I come home from work we'll pack up the car 19:24 and I'll have your mother fix us a lunch and all, 19:27 and we'll go out and spend the night on the river fishing. " 19:30 Well, of course, to a 10-year-old boy, 19:32 that was music to my ears, you know. Anxious to do that. 19:36 So when I got home, I got all the fishing gear all fixed up 19:39 and mother had us a meal or a lunch all packed and everything. 19:43 And we loaded the car up and drove out to what is called 19:46 the Kiamichi River. 19:48 And we got out there and fixed us a place there 19:52 and I can remember we put out the poles and started fishing. 19:56 And dad went up on the bank there, and he took a hatchet 20:00 and he cut down what we called post oak runners. 20:04 Now post oaks are little trees that they make posts out of. 20:08 And anyhow, he cut these down 20:11 and he made a lean-to. And he took a blanket 20:14 and spread it out under this lean-to and told me... 20:16 He said: "Now if you get tired, you can come up here 20:18 and lay down and take a nap if you want to. " 20:20 Well, I went down and started fishing... 20:24 but the fish weren't biting 20:26 and it wasn't too long until I was bored. 20:29 And so I went up and sat down on this blanket 20:33 under this lean-to. 20:35 Hadn't been sittin' there long until off in the distance 20:39 on the horizon I could see the flash of lightning, 20:42 you know, and didn't think much about it. 20:46 But as I was sitting there it wasn't too long until 20:49 I could begin to hear the rumble of thunder. 20:52 Now, if you've ever lived in Oklahoma, 20:55 you know a storm can develop quite rapidly there. 20:59 And so I'm sitting there on the blanket 21:02 and that storm's getting closer and closer and closer 21:07 and the lightning is getting brighter and brighter 21:10 and the thunder is getting stronger, and I mean 21:13 it's getting really bad. 21:15 And I guess my father got concerned about me 21:19 because he came up and had a seat beside me 21:22 there under that lean-to. 21:23 And I can remember that storm passed right over us 21:28 and I to this day have not forgotten. 21:31 The thunder was so loud, folks, it shook the ground. 21:36 And I... I closed my eyes. 21:39 And as a kid I can remember closing my eyes 21:41 and I could still see the lightning. 21:44 Now when lightning comes out of the east 21:46 shines clear to the west 21:48 you'd better believe you can see that! 21:50 That's not something that's quiet. 21:52 It's something that's happening. 21:54 Christ said: "My coming is going to be like this. 21:57 Like lightning coming out of the east shining clear to the west 22:01 so will the coming of the Son of Man be. " 22:05 That's a promise given to us. 22:06 Says: 22:20 It says: "Behold, He is coming with clouds. " 22:36 Ever wondered why as you read through the scripture 22:39 so many times it says that He's coming with clouds? 22:44 You know? What are those clouds 22:46 coming back with? It says: "Behold He cometh 22:49 with clouds. " What are they? 22:51 I can remember years ago... I'm sure some of you remember, 22:56 seems like it's probably - I don't know - 22:58 30, 40 years ago now... 22:59 that when we had this great big to-do about flying saucers 23:05 and UFOs? You remember that? 23:07 Well when that took place, I really got interested 23:11 in UFOs and flying saucers, and I got my hands on every book 23:16 I could get them on and read all about flying saucers 23:20 and all that. I can't really say I learned very much. 23:24 But one thing I did learn 23:27 is there's a religion connected with that. 23:29 And they believe that Jesus came on a flying saucer. 23:34 They believe He's going back to heaven on a flying saucer. 23:38 They believe that that cloud that led the children of Israel 23:41 was a flying saucer and all that. 23:43 I want to read to you what the scripture tells you they are. 23:46 If you've got a Bible, you can take and look at it 23:48 if you want to with me. 23:50 But if you'll turn to the 104th Psalm... 23:53 104th Psalm and verse 3. 23:58 It says here: "He lays the beams of His upper chambers 24:03 in the waters who makes the clouds His chariots, 24:08 who walks on the wings of the wind. " 24:12 So it says that God makes the clouds His chariots. 24:17 That's what they are. 24:19 What are those chariots? 24:21 Well, if you turn on back over here to the 68th Psalm, 24:27 and look at verse 17, 24:30 it says this: "The chariots of God 24:33 are 20,000... even thousands of angels. 24:39 The Lord is among them as in Sinai in the holy place. " 24:44 So when it says that He comes with clouds 24:46 that's talking about all the angels that come with Him. 24:50 They're coming back with the Lord. 24:52 The great angelic host will come with Christ. 24:56 OK. And it says: 25:11 All the angels coming with Jesus. 25:16 Ever wondered about that? 25:18 Did you know that you have an angel? 25:21 Hmmm? 25:23 That every one of us have an angel that was given to you 25:27 at birth that goes with you throughout your entire life? 25:33 Did you know that the scripture says 25:36 that you should be very, very careful how you treat children? 25:43 Did you know that? 25:44 That one of the reasons it tells you that is because it says 25:48 that their angel looks on the face of God. 25:53 What it says. 25:55 Their angel looks on the face of God. 25:58 So that you and I should be very careful how we treat children. 26:04 You have an angel, and that angel goes with you 26:07 throughout your life. 26:08 Do you remember the time there in Acts 12 26:11 when Herod had had James beheaded? 26:15 And it brought so much favor to him from the Jews 26:20 that he decided he would behead Peter also. 26:23 Had Peter arrested, 26:25 and he was put down in solitary confinement. 26:30 In fact, behind steel doors 26:33 and was chained to guards. 26:36 Wanted to make sure that Peter 26:38 was there, you see? 26:40 Let me tell you something. 26:42 Did you know that angels have keys to every prison? 26:48 They do! 26:50 And it says that he was going to behead Peter the next day. 26:55 You know what Peter was doing? 26:58 Sleeping. 27:01 How many of you would be asleep 27:03 if you knew your head was coming off the next day? 27:05 But here he is sleeping, and he is sleeping so soundly 27:10 that this angel comes in there 27:12 and speaks to him, and it doesn't even disturb him. 27:16 And finally the angel had to shake him. 27:20 Said: "Wake up, Peter. " 27:21 And Peter... Peter thinks he's dreaming, see. 27:27 And the angel said: "Come on Peter, get up. 27:29 Get dressed. " And I guess Peter wasn't moving very fast 27:34 and the angel said: "Come on Peter, put your shoes on. " 27:37 And Peter put his shoes on 27:39 And it says Peter and that angel 27:41 walked through those steel doors. 27:46 They opened and closed, went right past the guards... 27:51 Nobody knew anything. 27:54 Walked out into the street 27:57 and the angel left. 28:00 And all of a sudden Peter realized he wasn't dreaming. 28:02 That he was out there in that street by himself. 28:05 And he said: "You know, what am I going to do? " 28:09 So he decided to go to the home of John Mark. 28:14 Gets over there. You know what they're doing 28:16 at John Mark's home, don't you? 28:17 Well, they're having a prayer meeting. 28:19 Yeah. They're having prayer meeting 28:21 and they're praying for Peter. See? 28:25 Praying that something will happen for Peter. 28:27 And so here Peter is knocking at the door. 28:31 And a young lady by the name of Rhoda 28:34 went to the door to see who it was, and 28:37 she looked out... evidently there was a 28:38 peephole or something there... 28:40 and she looked out and there was Peter. 28:42 And she gets so excited she didn't even open the door. 28:46 She runs back in and tells them 28:48 "Peter's at the door! Peter's at the door! " 28:50 And they said: "No he's not. " 28:53 And she said: "Peter's at the door. " 28:55 And they said: "Rhoda, are you OK? 28:57 Are you all right? " 29:00 I want to ask you: is that the way your prayer meetings are? 29:04 Is that the way you pray? You know? 29:07 And she said: "No, Peter's at the door. " 29:10 And they said: "Rhoda, it's his angel. " 29:16 You can read it there in Acts 12. 29:18 That "It's his angel. " 29:20 You see, each one of us have an angel. 29:23 And when Jesus comes back it'll be that angel 29:27 that will come and get you 29:30 and take you and present you to Jesus Christ. 29:33 Angel that knows you better than anybody else. 29:36 That angel will come and present you to the Lord. 29:41 Well it says... We looked at one; here's the second one: 29:52 He said if you really want to know 29:55 what the coming of Christ is going to be like, 29:58 well it's going to be like as in the days of Noah. 30:03 OK? I want to ask you something. 30:07 Did those people in the days of Noah... 30:10 did they know it was raining? 30:14 Hmmm? 30:16 You better believe they knew when it started raining. 30:19 There was no question they knew it was raining. 30:23 There's going to be no question that you're going to know 30:26 when Jesus is coming. 30:27 This is not going to be something that's going to be 30:30 snuck up on. 30:31 It's going to be something you will be very much aware of. 30:35 And it says: "As it was in the days of Noah... " 30:47 Said they were going on. 30:50 Noah had preached to them 30:52 for 120 years. 30:57 120 years... and they had tuned him out. 31:03 As far as they were concerned, he was some crazy old man 31:08 over here building a monstrosity, if you please. 31:13 That never, never would it be possible 31:18 for it to rain enough to take care of that. 31:22 They had tuned him out. 31:26 And so you live in an age where people tuned out 31:31 the coming of Jesus Christ. 31:34 Going about life just like there was no urgency. 31:39 They didn't need to worry about it... 31:41 just continuing on day by day like they always had. 32:01 Said: "Watch out, because it may come upon you 32:05 when you don't in the least expect it... 32:10 Jesus will come. " 32:12 We need to be watching, waiting for the coming 32:16 because it will take place. 32:18 The third one: 32:30 OK? 32:36 As it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, 32:40 so it will be in the day in which Christ comes back. 32:46 In which is rained fire and brimstone down and destroyed 32:52 those cities on the plain. 32:55 Got rid of all of them. 32:57 So will the coming of the Son of Man be. 33:00 Watch as the scripture pictures very clearly 33:05 what the reaction will be. 33:18 Can you just imagine? 33:20 What happens if you walk out here and all of a sudden 33:24 the sky just starts rolling back like a scroll? 33:28 Do you think you'd know something was going on? 33:33 Yeah. If mountains and islands were moved out of their place? 33:39 This is talking about the coming of Christ. 33:43 The heavens will part as a scroll. 33:46 The mountains are going to be moved out of place... 34:10 They are very much aware that something's happening, folks. 34:15 It says this is the way the coming of Christ is going to be. 34:18 They're going to be aware of something. 34:21 They're going to be aware. And it says: 34:24 "to hide them from the wrath of the Lamb, " 34:33 So the coming of Christ is not going to be 34:37 something that will be quiet, something they will not be 34:40 aware of, but it's something that we will know... 34:43 know what's going to happen. 34:59 There would be a great earthquake. 35:03 We talked a little bit about earthquakes. 35:06 We see more of them; the intensity of them is greater. 35:12 But let me tell you, friends, 35:14 there'll never be an earthquake like this one! 35:17 This will be it. I get amused, particularly when I'm out 35:21 in California, you know, and they have earthquakes 35:24 every so often. And there'll be an earthquake that will 35:28 shake things and all, and 35:29 you'll tune in on the television 35:32 that evening and the news 35:35 that evening almost invariably the news commentator will 35:39 say: "Well, this wasn't the big one. " 35:42 Well let me tell you, THIS is the big one right here. 35:46 This is the big one! Never been an earthquake like that. 35:49 I can tell you, it will be off the Richter scale. 35:52 Describing what's going to happen when Jesus comes. 35:57 "As it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, 36:00 so it will be when Jesus Christ comes back. " 36:19 They didn't know. 36:21 "So also will the coming of the Son of Man be. " 36:27 You know, Paul talks about it. 36:31 He says that you and I are to be children of light. 36:38 He says we're not children of darkness 36:41 that that day should come upon us unaware 36:45 but that we are children of light. 36:49 There is no reason for you and for me 36:53 not to understand where we are 36:57 that that day would come upon us unaware. 37:01 There's no reason for that. 37:03 We need to be into God's Word. 37:06 We need to be reading it; we need to be studying it. 37:08 We need to be preparing for the coming of the Lord. 37:12 That we need to be doing. 37:14 In fact, Jesus... talking about the Jewish people 37:20 in the time when He was here, 37:21 said this about them. 37:23 Speaking of Jerusalem: 37:42 Terrible. Told them there won't be one stone 37:46 left on top of another because you didn't know the time 37:51 of your visitation. And when He told them that, 37:55 I mean in broad day and clear terms, 37:58 they laughed at it. 38:00 You see, there were stones in that temple 38:06 in that wall that were 30 feet long. 38:13 Some of them were as wide as four feet 38:18 laid on top of one another... perfectly laid. 38:22 And for Him to make a statement like that 38:25 that there wouldn't be one stone left on top of another... 38:30 But true to His word, 38:34 when that temple caught on fire 38:37 and began to burn, and the gold melted and ran down 38:43 into the rocks and into the creeks and the crevices 38:46 and the cracks of those rocks. 38:48 After that was over, the people came in there and they pried 38:54 every last one of those stones off the other 38:58 to gather the gold. 38:59 Just exactly as He said 39:01 because they did not know the time of their visitation. 39:07 You and I need to know where we are... 39:11 we need to understand the time of visitation 39:14 very, very clearly. 39:16 But let me tell you something, 39:18 there won't be anything like the coming of Jesus Christ. 39:24 There will be a glory connected with the coming of Christ 39:27 like this world has never seen 39:30 I can assure you. Don't let anybody ever tell you 39:35 that people won't be aware that it's going on 39:38 because when I'm through with the next few points 39:40 you'll understand that EVERYBODY WILL KNOW. 39:45 There will be no question. 39:47 Listen to what the scripture says about this: 39:59 Says when He comes back He's not going to come secretly. 40:03 He's not going to come quietly. 40:04 He's going to come back with power and GREAT GLORY. 40:08 That's how He's coming. 40:23 Now the glory that is there... it says it will be as a 40:27 consuming fire. 40:30 And He will destroy with the brightness of His coming. 40:33 So let's take a look this evening at this glory 40:36 that it talks about, what it's going to be like. 40:39 The glory of the Lord... 40:56 So it says He's coming back in His glory, 41:01 He's coming back in His Father's glory, 41:05 and He's coming back in the glory of the holy angels. 41:09 Have you ever looked at that 41:12 to see what that's like when it says He's going to come back 41:16 in His Father's glory? 41:17 What was the glory of the Father like? 41:21 Going to come back in His Father's glory. 41:24 Well you remember, God had told Moses 41:28 to come up into the mountain. 41:30 And Moses went up in the mountain, 41:33 and he spent 40 days there. 41:37 One of the things that Moses asked 41:40 when he was there, he said: "Lord, show me Your glory. " 41:44 Asked for that. 41:46 And the Lord said: "OK, Moses. " 41:49 And He put Moses in a cleft of a rock. 41:52 The scripture says He put his hand over it and He passed by 41:57 and He let Moses see His back. 42:00 And Moses saw the glory of God. 42:05 Now folks, watch this: 42:28 Now get a picture... Moses is not aware of this. 42:43 Now I want to ask you something. 42:44 If the reflected glory of God is so bright 42:50 that these people didn't even want to come near Moses, 42:55 what must the glory of God be like? 42:59 See? And Jesus said: "I'm going to come back 43:02 in My Father's glory. " 43:04 And here the reflected glory of God was so bright 43:08 the people couldn't stand to look at it. 43:10 Not only that, He said He was going to come in His own glory. 43:16 Come back in HIS glory. 43:19 What was the glory of Christ like? 43:22 Well, we have an example in the scriptures. 43:25 Jesus has taken Peter, James, and John 43:30 with him up on the Mount of Transfiguration. 43:33 And there He meets with Moses and Elijah. 43:39 And Christ is transfigured there 43:41 and the scripture describes it with these words: 44:04 And it says in scripture that they could not stand to look 44:08 upon it because of the brightness. 44:10 So here we have the divinity of Christ 44:14 shining forth with such brightness 44:17 they couldn't even stand to look upon it. 44:20 And Jesus said He's coming back in His glory. 44:25 So He's not just coming in the Father's glory, 44:27 He's coming in His glory also. 44:30 And He said He's going to come in the glory of the angels. 44:37 What's the glory of an angel like? 44:40 Well, Christ has died. They've placed him in the tomb. 44:47 They have put 100 soldiers 44:53 guarding the tomb. 44:55 A centurion has 100 soldiers under him guarding the tomb. 45:00 Make sure it's not disturbed. 45:04 And it says that an angel came. Listen: 45:20 Can you picture it? 45:22 One angel. I'm not talking about 100 angels. 45:27 Talking about one lone angel 45:31 came and rolled back the stone 45:36 and sat on it. 45:48 One angel comes... 45:51 his countenance is like lightning. 45:55 Watch! These are soldiers; 45:58 these are trained men to fight 46:04 anything... 46:15 I mean those soldiers fell to the ground like dead men 46:20 the countenance of one angel. Oh, the glory! 46:26 It says He's coming back in the glory of the angels. 46:29 How many angels are there? 46:34 Hmmm? 46:36 When the Son of Man comes... 46:42 listen to that... 46:51 So the scripture tells us that He's coming back with 46:54 ALL THE ANGELS. 46:57 All of them! 46:59 Well the scripture never, never, never 47:04 numbers angels. 47:07 You can't find it anywhere in here 47:08 where it talks numbers of angels. 47:10 It just doesn't number them. 47:11 Not there. 47:13 It talks about innumerable company of angels. 47:16 It does say this: 47:33 Do you know what ten thousand times ten thousand is? 47:38 Well that's 100 million. 47:41 Just saying there will be an innumerable company of angels 47:45 and they're going to come. When 100,000,00 angels come 47:48 and each one of them's countenance is like lightning, 47:51 are you trying to tell me that's something that can't be seen? 47:57 You'd better believe you'll see that and know 48:00 when Jesus is coming. Amen! 48:02 You and I, fortunately, we have the assurance 48:08 that God is there and caring for us... loves us. 48:13 Have that assurance. 48:23 He's going to come. He's going to shout. 48:25 His voice is going to roll through this earth 48:27 like peals of thunder. 48:39 What's going to happen? 48:40 They're going to be resurrected from the grave. 48:55 Just think! When He comes in all the glory of those angels 48:59 and His own glory and the Father's glory, 49:01 and He's going to shout. 49:02 And His words are going to roll through this earth 49:05 and the dead that are in the ground 49:09 are going to hear that voice and they're going to come forth! 49:12 Marvelous! 49:14 I've had a lot of people tell me: 49:16 "Well, I just hope I can live to see the Lord come. " 49:18 I'm not sure I want to. 49:21 I'm really not. 49:24 I'm not sure, folks, 49:27 that I want to miss the resurrection. 49:29 Think of what that will be! 49:31 Just think... when He comes and He shouts 49:35 and the graves open 49:37 and the saints come out of the graves 49:39 how wonderful that will be. Marvelous experience! 49:43 The resurrection! 49:54 We'll be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. 49:57 All the people will come back. 50:00 You see, the Bible not only tells you that Jesus is coming 50:04 it even tells you what the Lord is going to say when He shouts. 50:09 Tells you that here in Isaiah. Says: 50:16 And then Jesus is going to shout out across this whole earth... 50:29 Going to come... He's going to shout out 50:32 across this whole earth: "AWAKE AND SING! " 50:36 And all the dead in the grave are going to come up 50:39 out of that grave, and they're going to come out 50:41 of that grave singing: OH DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING? 50:48 as they come out singing 50:50 that God has raised them from the dead. 50:53 Dear friend, marvelous will be the resurrection that will 50:57 take place at the coming of Jesus Christ. 51:01 Jesus will have come back. 51:03 He will have set up His kingdom. 51:25 He's going to come back, 51:28 and He's going to set up His kingdom. 51:29 And praise God, that kingdom will last for how long? 51:34 Forever! 51:35 Never again, never again throughout all time 51:39 will there be war. 51:41 Never again will there be starvation. 51:43 Never again will there be any of the problems that we face today. 51:47 That will all be gone! 51:49 And all those people that are resurrected from the grave 51:55 and they'll come out and they will sing 51:58 and they will say: 52:03 Here's all the righteous... a great multitude... 52:16 Sin is no more; it's come to an end. 52:20 Jesus has come back; He's set up His kingdom, 52:23 and the righteous now down through time 52:27 will be able to rejoice with Him. 52:29 Oh, dear friend, that's the glorious news: 52:32 that Jesus Christ is coming back and that you and I can be 52:37 waiting, watching for Him to come. 52:41 We don't have to worry. 52:44 The only thing that you and I need to be, make sure of, 52:48 is that we're ready for the coming of Jesus. 52:51 That He's coming back for you and for me 52:54 and we just need to make sure that our hearts are ready 52:57 for His return. It's almost time! 53:01 Almost time, friend, for the Lord to come. 53:05 'Tis almost time 53:11 for the Lord to come, 53:17 I hear the people 53:23 say; 53:26 The stars of heaven 53:31 are growing dim, 53:37 It must be the 53:41 breaking of 53:44 the day. 53:49 O it must 53:54 be the breaking of the day! 54:00 O it must be 54:03 the breaking of the day! 54:10 The night is almost 54:14 gone, 54:17 The day is coming 54:21 on; 54:25 O it must be 54:30 the breaking 54:33 of the 54:37 day! 54:46 Let us pray. 54:48 Heavenly Father, Thank you Lord... 54:52 thank you for the assurance of Your Word. 54:56 Thank you for the promises that You're coming back. 55:01 For the instruction that helps us each to know 55:05 what to look for and to plan 55:08 and to prepare for Your return. 55:11 May each one that is listening by television... 55:17 watching on television or listening by radio 55:19 or here in the auditorium... 55:21 may their hearts be full and may they have the assurance 55:25 that they are looking and waiting 55:28 and preparing for the coming of their Lord and Savior 55:32 Jesus Christ. 55:33 May our lives be surrendered to You in all that we do. 55:37 We pray in Christ's name, Amen. 55:41 Our next presentation is entitled "The Night Watch. " 55:46 And so you want to be sure and tune in for that. 55:49 God bless you. 55:52 More than 2,000 years have passed 55:55 since Jesus promised to return. 55:58 And through the centuries, the hearts of His faithful ones 56:01 have clung to those precious words. 56:03 But His promise has not yet been fulfilled. 56:06 The Lifegiver's voice has not yet called the sleeping saints 56:10 from their graves. 56:12 Each day many more Christians fall asleep in Jesus 56:16 clinging to the Blessed Hope 56:18 and believing that the next thing they'll see 56:20 is their Savior coming as He promised 56:23 in the clouds of glory. 56:26 But my friends, there are so many who do not have 56:29 this Blessed Hope. And many of them would 56:33 if they just had the opportunity to hear about Jesus. 56:39 That is why we are producing these programs. 56:42 We want to tell them about God's amazing love. 56:45 About our Savior, Jesus Christ. 56:47 About His second coming. 56:49 We want to give each one of them that Blessed Hope. 56:52 Think of it. Even now all of heaven's astir 56:56 preparing for that great day. 56:58 The Lord is waiting for us 57:00 to join Him in spreading the good news. 57:02 Praise God! The time of waiting is almost over. 57:06 Light is gleaming upon the clouds above the mountaintops. 57:10 Soon there will be a revealing of His glory. 57:13 The Son of Righteousness is about to shine forth. 57:16 NOW is the time to prepare for the coming of the Lord. 57:20 Readiness to meet Him cannot be attained 57:23 in a moment's time. 57:25 Each member of our ministry team has focused on doing all we can 57:30 to spread the good news, 57:31 but we cannot do it alone. 57:34 We need your help. 57:35 Each of us must prepare, watch, and wait. 57:38 But we also must work earnestly 57:41 for the salvation of souls. 57:44 Please consider what you can do 57:45 for those who still don't know about Jesus. 57:48 As the Holy Spirit impresses, 57:50 you may send your tax-deductible gifts to: 58:04 Thank you for helping us to bring the Blessed Hope 58:07 to millions all around the world. |
Revised 2014-12-17