Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox
Series Code: GMTB
Program Code: GMTB000055
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00:18 Well good evening and welcome to Give Me The Bible
00:22 with Pastor Kenneth Cox. 00:24 And it's so good to see those of you that are here 00:27 in the auditorium in Thompsonville, Illinois. 00:30 We are at the 3ABN Worship Center, 00:33 and we've been here now for five meetings in a row 00:36 where Pastor Cox has been covering the series 00:40 The Apple of God's Eye... 00:42 which is talking about the church of Jesus Christ. 00:46 You know, it is the apple of God's eye. 00:48 He gave His son Jesus Christ to die for the church. 00:52 That's who He died for: you and me... 00:55 and we make up that church: 00:56 the believers, those who accept Him and receive Him. 00:59 And He is going to come for His church one of these days. 01:03 The Bible teaches that so clearly. 01:07 In fact, The Church Victorious 01:10 is the subject that we are looking at this evening. 01:15 Jesus coming for the church victorious. 01:20 Now this series... this is the last of the five on 01:24 the subject The Apple of God's Eye. 01:27 Next month will be the series 01:30 No Other Name Like Jesus. 01:33 Just talking to Pastor Cox, and 01:36 he said: "I want to end this series this year 01:40 with the plea 01:43 to really have a relationship with Jesus Christ. " 01:46 Just no other name like Jesus. 01:50 So we'll be looking forward to that series 01:53 which will be next month. 01:55 Now, tonight before Pastor Cox comes 01:58 it's our pleasure to really enjoy 02:02 an old favorite song. First song I remember 02:06 from going to church as a little boy 02:08 going into the Sabbath School room and singing 02:12 Jesus loves me... this I know. 02:16 Pam and Jim Rhodes. 02:29 Jesus loves me, 02:33 Jesus loves me, 02:36 loves me... this I know. 02:42 Gave Himself to die for me 02:49 because He loved me so. 02:55 How often have I 02:59 failed Him? 03:02 Stumbling here below... 03:09 How often have I 03:12 stumbled 03:15 in my distress and woe? 03:22 I know that He will take me 03:28 in His arms again 03:35 and never shall forsake me 03:42 in my alarm or pain. 03:47 How often have I failed my Lord 03:51 along my journey? 03:54 How often have I stumbled 03:56 in my struggles in this life here below? 04:00 And yet I know He'll take me 04:03 in His arms again and not forsake me in my alarm or pain 04:08 because He loves me... oh, yes, He loves me so! 04:13 How often have I failed my Lord 04:17 along my journey? 04:20 How often have I stumbled 04:22 in my struggles in this life here below? 04:27 And yet I know He'll take me 04:29 in His arms again and not forsake me 04:32 in my alarm or pain because He loves me... 04:35 oh, yes, He loves me so! 04:42 Amen! 04:44 Thank you! Thank you, Pam and Jim. 04:47 Well, that's a little different version of Jesus Loves Me 04:50 than I think that Pastor Gilley was thinking about! 04:53 But I hope you enjoyed that. 04:55 I did very, very much. 04:57 We're very happy to welcome all of you here tonight. 05:01 Appreciate you being here. 05:02 And all of you that are joining us by television 05:04 or listening to it on the radio 05:07 we welcome you as we're continuing with this series 05:10 entitled The Apple of God's Eye. 05:14 The Apple of God's Eye. 05:17 And tonight we're taking a look at The Church Victorious. 05:22 Now, we've talked about the church... 05:25 You know, we've talked about Why A Church? 05:28 Why God set up the church and so forth. 05:31 We talked about how that Jesus said He was the door 05:35 and that you and I come in through the door: Jesus Christ. 05:39 And so we took a look at that. 05:41 Then we looked at The Back Door of the Church 05:44 and how that as members of the family of God 05:48 that you and I are to go out the back door as He said 05:53 "in and out the back door to find pasture" 05:56 and we go out to work for the Lord. 05:59 That's what He calls us to do, 06:00 and that's what the back door of the church is for. 06:03 And then we looked at supporting the church. 06:06 How that God expects us to care for His church. 06:10 And then tonight we're going to bring it to a head 06:13 and talk about The Church Victorious. 06:16 At the end... what's going to happen. 06:18 And so we hope this series has been helpful to you 06:21 as we've gone through it. 06:23 Uh, our next series is entitled No Other Name Like Jesus. 06:32 And we're going to start out and talk about 06:36 Who Is Jesus? 06:38 Just have a talk... a sermon on Who Is Jesus. 06:42 And then we'll do one on Why Believe in Jesus Christ? 06:47 Why should I believe in Him? 06:49 And then we'll do another one entitled 06:52 What Makes Christ Different? 06:54 What... why is He different than Buddha, Mohammad? 06:59 And we'll take a look at that. 07:01 And then we're going to look at 07:02 Jesus: Prophet, Priest, and King. 07:06 And then we're going to close it out with a presentation 07:11 entitled Unto You A Savior. 07:16 So those will be the presentations we'll do on 07:19 the life of Christ. We hope it will bless you 07:22 as we take a look at it. 07:24 We thank you for being with us as we've gone month by month 07:28 through these many different series 07:31 and taken a look at what the Bible says. 07:33 What says the Bible? 07:34 This my only question be. 07:38 The teachings of men so often mislead us. 07:42 What says the Word of God to me? 07:45 That's what we want to know; that's what we want to find out. 07:48 So thank you for being here 07:51 and for watching and for staying tuned in 07:55 month after month as we have gone through this series. 08:00 Tonight Pam's going to sing for us 08:03 a beautiful song entitled 08:06 All He Wants Is You. 08:30 Something more than gold for 08:35 the Master; 08:39 Something more than gifts to 08:43 appease. 08:47 There is only one thing 08:51 that you alone can bring. 08:55 There is only one gift 08:58 that will please. 09:07 All He wants 09:11 is you, 09:16 No one else 09:20 will do. 09:24 Not just a part, 09:28 He wants all of your heart. 09:33 All He wants 09:36 is all of you. 09:41 All He wants 09:45 is you. 09:54 Nothing less than this can 09:58 you offer; 10:02 Nothing less than this can 10:07 you bring. 10:10 It is not just your songs, 10:15 But for you alone He longs. 10:19 Nothing less can you give 10:23 to your King. 10:28 All He wants 10:32 is you. 10:36 No one else 10:40 will do. 10:45 Not just a part, 10:48 He wants all of your heart. 10:53 Al He wants 10:57 is all of you. 11:02 All He wants 11:05 is you. 11:10 All He wants 11:15 is you. 11:19 No one else 11:23 will do. 11:27 Not just a part, 11:31 He wants all of your heart. 11:36 All He wants 11:40 is all of you. 11:46 All He wants 11:52 is you. 12:21 Our Heavenly Father, 12:24 we come to You this evening, 12:27 Lord, asking that You would send Your Spirit 12:30 to be among us. 12:32 May our hearts be open and receptive. 12:37 May we see and understand Your Word. 12:42 Give us, Lord, insight. 12:46 May we comprehend spiritually 12:50 the things that You have for us. 12:52 And may we see Your hand 12:55 as it has guided, led, directed 12:59 in Your church down through the ages. 13:02 For this we ask in Christ's name, Amen. 13:11 Well tonight I'm going to begin with a scripture 13:16 that I have never used in a sermon. 13:19 In 50 years I have never used this text before. 13:24 And yet, it's a text that has great, great meaning. 13:28 It's found in Jeremiah and it says: 13:44 Uh, this text on the speckled bird 13:49 a pastor by the name of Guy Smith 13:52 back in the early 1930s 13:56 wrote a song about it. 13:59 And that song was known as The Great Speckled Bird. 14:05 Uh, in 1936 14:08 a country music singer by the name of Roy Acuff 14:13 recorded this song 14:15 and it became a hit across all the country. 14:19 But if you read the words written in that song, 14:24 it's about God's church. 14:26 That's what it says. 14:27 And as you'll notice the words here on the screen, it says: 14:52 So it's talking about God's church. 14:55 And many people have heard that song over the years 14:58 and didn't know what it was talking about. 15:00 Didn't understand it. 15:01 But it's talking about God's church. 15:04 And so this evening I have asked 15:07 Joe Pearles to sing that song for you... 15:11 The Great Speckled Bird. 15:22 What a beautiful thought 15:26 I am thinking 15:31 concerning a great 15:35 speckled bird. 15:39 Remember her name 15:44 is recorded 15:48 on the pages of God's 15:52 Holy Word. 15:57 Desiring to lower her standards 16:05 they watch every move 16:10 that she makes. 16:14 They long to find fault 16:18 with her teachings 16:23 but really they find 16:27 no mistake. 16:40 I am glad I have learned 16:45 of her meekness. 16:49 I'm proud that my name 16:53 is in the book. 16:57 For I want to be one 17:01 never fearing 17:06 the face of my Savior 17:11 to look. 17:14 When He cometh 17:17 descending from heaven 17:23 on the clouds as He writes 17:27 in His Word, 17:31 I'll be joyfully 17:35 carried to meet Him 17:40 on the wings of a great 17:44 speckled bird. 17:59 Amen! 18:01 Thank you, Joe. Thank you very much! 18:05 God takes His church and presents it 18:08 all the way through His Word. 18:10 And in Revelation the 12th chapter 18:12 it pictures His church as a woman. 18:16 But what it want you to watch is as we go through this 18:20 I want you to see the connection that it makes 18:22 with this text in Jeremiah... 18:25 because some people never tie those together. 18:42 So He takes this woman and says 18:43 here this woman is standing on the moon. 18:47 Says that she is clothed with the sun. 18:50 On her head is a crown or a garland of 12 stars. 18:54 This represents the church. 18:56 She is standing on the moon. 18:59 That represented the Old Testament period 19:02 she was coming out of. 19:03 It says she is clothed with the sun 19:05 which represents the gospel as it had been portrayed 19:08 in Christ Jesus. 19:10 And the crown of 12 stars on her head represented 19:12 the 12 disciples that God had given the message 19:15 to go forth with. 19:17 And so it pictures her as a woman. 19:19 And as it continues to say here in II Corinthians 11 and verse 2 19:33 This is the church He pictures as a woman... 19:44 Still talking about His church. 19:46 Paul continues and says here in Ephesians: 19:54 So you have the picture of this woman 19:57 that represents His church. 19:58 Watch as Revelation 12 takes us step by step 20:03 with the church down through the ages 20:06 clear to the coming of our Lord. 20:09 Revelation 12 verse 3: 20:21 Now folks, you've got to understand 20:23 that this is God's church when it talks about the woman. 20:26 But there is another side here, 20:30 and we've got to see what happens concerning God's Word 20:35 and the church and His people as we go down through time. 20:38 So we have the dragon here, and it says: 20:53 So this woman is pregnant. 20:54 She's about to give birth to a child. 21:07 So we have a picture here. This woman who is pregnant 21:11 about to give birth to this child 21:14 and here this great red dragon is standing before this woman 21:19 ready to devour that child as soon as it is born. 21:23 Now all of you here remember the Christmas story 21:28 well enough... because you remember what it tells about it. 21:31 The only child... the only child that has ever been born 21:36 that was caught up to God and to His throne 21:40 and is to rule the nations with a rod of iron 21:43 was Jesus Christ. 21:45 So when it talks about this child 21:47 it's talking about Jesus Christ. 21:50 And you remember... He was born. 21:52 You remember the wise men that came looking for Jesus? 21:56 And it says that they got as far as Jerusalem 22:00 and the star stopped there. 22:03 And they went into the city and began to inquire 22:06 about the child. In fact, the scripture says 22:09 that it upset the whole city. So much so 22:11 that Herod called them in... 22:13 asked them who they were looking for. 22:15 And they said: "Well, we're looking for this child 22:17 that's to be born a king. " 22:18 And Herod called in the scribes and said: 22:21 "Where is He to be born? " 22:22 They said: "Oh, He's to be born down in Bethlehem. " 22:25 And those wise men went out, and you remember they 22:29 found that star that had led them all this way 22:32 was there and it took them to Bethlehem. 22:35 And there in Bethlehem they found the child. 22:39 And you remember they worshiped Him. 22:41 They offered their gold and their myrrh 22:44 and their frankincense to the child. 22:46 And so you remember that Herod had told them 22:49 that when they found the child they were to come back 22:52 and tell him that he might go and worship Him also. 22:58 And God in a dream told those wise men 23:01 "You go back a different way. " 23:03 They went back a different way, and when Herod found out 23:06 they had not told him, he had all the male children 23:10 two years of age and under slain. 23:14 But here the dragon was endeavoring to 23:17 take the life of the child. 23:19 Now, since the devil was not successful 23:24 in destroying Christ, then you find the scripture says that 23:29 now he turns his anger upon the woman... 23:33 upon the church. 23:44 Turns his wrath upon the church, 23:48 and thus you find in history that this is exactly what 23:51 happened. The pagan Roman Empire 23:54 turned its wrath upon the church 23:57 and began to destroy it in every way that it could. 24:02 Persecuting the people. Killing them. 24:06 They were hunted. 24:07 They were accused of things that didn't take place. 24:11 They were persecuted to great ends. 24:14 What... what was wrong here? 24:17 You see, Rome was a pagan nation. 24:21 Rome... Rome didn't care, folks, who you worshiped. 24:27 Rome was polytheistic. 24:28 They worshiped all kinds of gods. 24:30 What Rome was concerned about was your allegiance to Rome, 24:35 and so Rome had their own god. 24:39 And once a year all that was required of you 24:44 was to come before the magistrate, 24:47 take a few pieces of incense, 24:51 and drop it in before this pagan god 24:55 and say "Roma" - referring to their god. 25:01 And they would give you a certificate 25:04 and then you could go out and worship anybody you wanted to. 25:07 But the Christians would not do that. 25:10 They wouldn't worship any other god, 25:13 and because of that they were greatly persecuted. 25:18 They were taken to arenas 25:20 and they were fed to lions... 25:22 and crucified. All kinds of things took place 25:28 in which they were persecuted greatly. 25:31 And today you can visit Rome 25:33 and you can go underneath Rome and visit the catacombs... 25:39 what you're looking at there. 25:40 I have walked through these rooms. 25:42 You see those arches? 25:45 There are rooms down there, folks, 25:48 back in those arches 25:50 that are totally and completely full of skulls. 25:54 I mean, all the people that died 25:59 in those catacombs down through the years. 26:02 And so the church was so persecuted 26:05 that she basically had to flee. Listen: 26:09 "And the woman was given two wings of a... " what? 26:14 Did you make the connection with the great speckled bird? 26:20 You see, here's the connection the scripture puts with it. 26:33 The devil had cast out such a flood of persecution 26:38 that it looked like it was going to wipe the church out 26:41 and so she had to flee into the wilderness 26:45 to get away from the persecution. 26:47 And she fled into the wilderness 26:49 and you find that those people went up into the Alps. 26:52 They went into different parts of the world, 26:55 and they set up their livelihood there and they worshiped God 26:59 in those mountains all across northern Italy 27:03 and southern France and those areas. 27:07 But the devil wasn't happy 27:10 because there they were and they were worshiping God 27:14 unmolested... continuing to follow the Lord 27:18 and do what He wanted them. And they were sending 27:20 out their people into the cities 27:24 and talking to people about the Word of God. 27:26 And the devil was not happy with this. 27:29 "So the serpent... " That's the devil... 27:41 Spewed out of his mouth such a flood of persecution 27:45 that it looked like the church 27:47 was going to be wiped off the earth. 27:49 And what he did is he took 27:55 part of the church and he brought it to favor 28:01 and it was accepted by the state. 28:05 And now you find that the church - 28:09 the recognized church - begins to persecute God's people. 28:15 And thus you have the rise of what is known in history 28:20 as papal Rome. 28:22 And papal Rome turned her wrath upon these people 28:28 like the Waldensian people, like the Huguenots, 28:31 like the... oh... 28:36 trying think of some of the others there that 28:39 they worshiped God and followed Him. 28:42 And these were the people that followed the Lord 28:44 and walked with Him, and he turned his wrath against them. 28:48 Uh, people were told that they were too ignorant 28:52 to read the Bible, and the Bible was taken away from them. 28:57 I told you one night when I spoke about the Bible... 29:01 Listen to me, folks. In 500 AD 29:05 the Bible, the New Testament and that part, had been 29:10 translated into over 500 different languages. 29:17 I mean, the Word of God had spread with rapidity 29:21 across the whole country 29:23 and literally thousands upon thousands of people 29:26 so by the time you reach 350 AD 29:31 half the Roman Empire is Christian. 29:35 It had spread tremendously 29:38 and been translated into one language after another 29:41 and people had access to the Word of God. 29:47 The church was recognized as a state. 29:52 The church... 538 AD. 30:00 By 600 AD 30:05 you could only find the Bible anywhere 30:09 in the language of Latin. 30:12 All the other translations had been taken away. 30:16 And the people, unless you could read Latin, 30:20 you couldn't read the Word of God. 30:22 And they were told that they were too ignorant to read it 30:26 and it was taken away from them. 30:29 And there was a great effort made 30:33 to persecute the church of God. 30:45 Now all this had happened and, therefore years... 30:49 hundreds of years... the Word of God was suppressed 30:55 but God cared for it. 30:58 By the time you reach 1500 AD 31:02 on the scene of action came some people like... 31:05 Even before 1500, in 1300 AD you have Hus and Jerome 31:10 coming on the scene of action. 31:12 1500 AD you have Martin Luther, 31:15 and Martin Luther has nailed his 95 Theses to the door 31:19 of the church of Wittenberg and has told the people 31:22 that they should believe in the Word of God and follow it. 31:25 And the people were told that they should understand and read 31:28 the Word of God. And an effort is now being made 31:31 to make the Word of God available to the people. 31:35 And all of a sudden a change begins to take place. 31:39 Listen: 31:55 The old serpent who cast out a spew, a flood of persecution 32:00 on the church... he was cast down. Watch what happens: 32:13 These reformers went out and they preached the Word of God. 32:17 And they told them that they had salvation 32:19 by the blood of Jesus Christ and by His righteousness 32:22 and in Him they could believe and have hope... 32:25 and the whole thing began to change. 32:27 Men like Luther and Knox and Zwingli and Calvin. 32:32 Luther translated the Word of God 32:36 from Greek and Hebrew into German 32:39 so the people could pick it up and read it 32:42 in their own language. 32:44 And then other great men came along like Knox - 32:46 great Scottish reformer - and he preached the Word of God. 32:50 And John Calvin in Geneva, France... 32:55 those different places, preached the Word of God to people 32:59 and they responded. And, folks, the Reformation 33:02 moved across Europe like you can't believe. 33:10 History tells us that through the preaching of John Calvin 33:16 500,000... 33:21 500,000 Frenchmen accepted Jesus Christ 33:26 through his preaching. And so the church of God moved. 33:31 But dear friend, never does it happen... 33:34 Never does it happen that the church of God moves 33:38 and men and women respond 33:40 that the devil doesn't do something to stop it. 33:43 Always does. 33:45 We come to 1798 AD. 33:48 The Reformation has had such a fantastic effect 33:52 upon the whole world and upon Europe 33:56 that the princes of Europe have stood up and they have said 34:00 "We will no longer be dictated to. 34:02 Our conscience will be free. " 34:05 And you find that Napoleon has come in and sent his general 34:10 Berthier into Rome and he has taken the pope prisoner. 34:14 And papal Rome's persecution has come to an end. 34:27 Now it looked like that the Reformation had made it. 34:32 It looked like that God has blessed and it had moved 34:36 and the Reformation was moving ahead with great power 34:40 and authority and the Word of God was being proclaimed. 34:43 But oh, something was happening. 34:48 Over in Europe it says in Revelation the 11th chapter: 35:05 The two witnesses... they had preached. 35:11 That referred to the Reformation. 35:14 And through the preaching of God's Word like Luther and Knox 35:18 and Zwingli and those men 35:20 had given the people the Word of God. 35:22 It says when the Word of God had finished its testimony 35:27 the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit 35:31 would kill them. 35:33 And you find that something is happening. 35:37 A man by the name of Thomas Paine 35:40 has written a book called The Age of Reason. 35:45 This has spread across Europe, 35:50 and people have read this book. 35:53 And as a result of the writing of Thomas Paine 35:57 they have taken and cast the Bible aside. 36:03 And into mankind ushers a period that the world went through 36:09 called rationalism. 36:11 And they said: "We will no longer follow the Word of God. 36:15 We will live in an age of reason, 36:18 and we will follow this and do things on the basis 36:22 of intellect and reason. " 36:24 And thus the scripture reads: 36:28 that on January the 21st, 1793, 36:36 the French Assembly voted to throw the Bible out. 36:42 Get rid of it. In fact, they burned it 36:46 in the street. Listen to what happened: 37:13 It says that it would lie in the street 37:17 for 3-1/2 days. And in Bible prophecy 37:21 we find that a day simply represents a year. 37:25 And so it said the Word of God would lie in the street 37:29 for 3-1/2 days... or prophetic years... 37:34 and it would not be allowed to be put in the grave. 37:39 Because something happens. You see, France - 37:43 and by the way, folks, France did this, but you find 37:46 nation after nation across Europe that joined them 37:50 and sent them notes and said how marvelous they were 37:53 and how smart they were and intelligent they were 37:56 in what they were doing. 38:02 See what I'm telling you? 38:12 They said: "My, how brilliant you are! " 38:14 The age of rationalism. 38:18 After 3-1/2 years, France has sunk so low... 38:24 She has sunk so low intellectually, 38:29 so low morally, that she realizes that her nation 38:35 is falling apart and is becoming totally useless. 38:40 And so the French Assembly decided to vote back in 38:45 the Word of God. Exactly as the scripture had prophesied, 38:48 for 3-1/2 years it lay dead in the street. 38:51 But after 3-1/2 years they voted it back in. 39:03 Find that the Bible was reinstated 39:07 and the people began to have the Word of God made available 39:11 to them and they began to be able to read it for themselves. 39:15 Now watch what happens. 39:17 We're looking at the folks right at the end of the 1700s, 39:22 the beginning of the 1800s. 39:32 And it states... speaking of the Word of God... 39:34 said: "Come up here. " Said: "their enemies saw them. " 39:38 It said that two things would happen. 39:41 It says that the earth opened its mouth 39:45 and swallowed up the flood of persecution 39:48 that the devil cast out of his mouth. 39:51 One way that the earth opened up its mouth 39:54 and swallowed that was the Reformation. 39:58 The other way the earth opened up its mouth 40:02 and swallowed it was the discovery of the United States. 40:05 You see, that's what our fore- fathers came over here for. 40:09 They came over here because they were wanting freedom. 40:14 They wanted to be able to worship as they wanted to. 40:17 To not be told how to worship. 40:19 They said: "We want a country without a king. 40:21 We want a church without a pope. " 40:23 They said: "We want to worship like we want to. " 40:26 And so they came over here. But let me say this, folks: 40:30 when the devil does this like establishing this 40:34 age of rationalism and all of Europe turning away from God, 40:38 God again opens up a way 40:42 for His Word to be preached and proclaimed. 40:46 And if you don't understand it 40:49 that's what the discovery of this country had to do with. 40:52 If you don't understand that, 40:54 you need to read a book called The Light and the Glory 40:57 by Peter Marshall Jr. 40:59 Let me tell you something... that will show you how God led 41:03 in the discovery of this country and what its purpose was. 41:06 And these people that came over here - the pilgrims 41:09 that came over here - they were called to follow the Lord 41:12 and to do His bidding. 41:15 And I want you to listen, because there on the ship 41:18 they're ready to leave and come over to this country 41:22 and their pastor - who can't go with them... 41:26 John Robinson can't go with them - but he says 41:29 these words to them. And I want you to listen to what 41:31 he said to them: 41:46 He said: "We make a covenant with God 41:48 that we are going to follow the Word of God. 41:52 And whatever truth we find in God's Word 41:56 we'll follow that. " 41:57 As those people that came over to this country... 42:01 that's what God called them to do 42:03 was to follow the Word of God and walk with Him 42:06 and be obedient to His Word. 42:08 They came over here to this country, 42:12 and that's why... that's why the United States 42:14 has had such a fantastic heritage of religious belief 42:20 is because what those forefathers believed and taught 42:23 and stood for. 42:25 I run onto these people that want to stand up and say 42:28 "Well, our leaders like Jefferson and all these 42:31 they weren't very religious. " 42:33 They may not have been. I'm not arguing that. 42:34 I'm saying tonight they might not have been, 42:36 but the people were! 42:39 They were very religious 42:41 and they followed the Lord and they desired to follow Him. 42:44 And as they came into this country, 42:47 you find that a great revival took place. 42:50 It was called The Great Awakening. 42:53 And under George Whitfield The Great Awakening took place. 42:57 And he preached across this country... 42:59 and there was a tremendous revival that took place. 43:02 And then you have John Wesley and the Wesleyan movement 43:05 or the Methodist movement 43:07 in which the people came back and said: 43:09 "We will follow the Word of God and walk with Him. " 43:12 And there was a great, great revival across the country. 43:17 Did you notice? 43:21 He said: "Come up here... " and all of a sudden you find 43:25 people who had never had an opportunity to get God's Word 43:29 1804 the British Bible Society 43:34 1816 the American Bible Society 43:38 and all of a sudden people were able to get a Bible 43:43 and to read it for themselves. 43:45 And with this, folks, there was such a revival 43:48 to God's Word and a movement that all of a sudden 43:51 you had missionaries going all over the country. 43:55 And then you have people like William Miller. 43:58 The Midnight Cry. 44:01 And then you find God calling - now listen to me carefully - 44:04 God calling the people of this country... 44:08 I'm talking about the United States... 44:10 calling the people of this country back to His Word. 44:14 To following what it says; to following Him. 44:18 Being obedient to His commandments. 44:20 Keeping the Sabbath. 44:21 God was calling the people of this nation 44:24 to stand up and say "We will follow the Word of God. " 44:27 That's what God was calling them to do. 44:30 And He was making this country a place... a safe haven... 44:34 where the Word of God could be preached. 44:37 And it went out from here. 44:39 You'll find people like Judson went to Burma 44:41 and Carey to India, and Morrison to China. 44:44 Moffat and Livingstone to Africa. 44:46 And missionaries began to go 44:47 all over the world 44:48 and they were calling people back to the Word of God 44:51 and standing on the Word of God and following it. 44:54 This is what they were being called to do. 44:58 But the dragon... the dragon was enraged... 45:05 enraged with the church 45:07 that the Word of God was being spread 45:10 and men and women were responding. 45:13 "Was enraged with the woman and went to make war 45:17 with... " what? 45:18 "The rest of her seed. " Do you know what that means? 45:23 It means the devil is mad at you. 45:26 That's what it means. 45:28 It means he's mad at you. 45:31 And particularly... listen: "with the rest of her offspring 45:35 who keep the commandments of God 45:38 and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. " 45:40 He said: "No! I don't want people... I don't want people 45:45 keeping the commandments of God. " 45:47 "I don't want them following the Lord Jesus Christ. " 45:51 "I don't want them becoming like Jesus. " 45:55 And thus the devil is enraged and mad today 45:59 because men and women today are stepping out 46:02 and saying: "Yes! I'll follow the Lord. 46:05 I'll be obedient to Him. 46:07 I'll walk with Him. I'll give my heart to Christ 46:10 and I'll let Him change me 46:12 and make me what He wants me to be. " 46:15 This is what He's called us to do and to be. 46:44 He has but a short time. 46:46 He's run out. He knows there's not much time left. 46:51 Dear friend, there's not much time left. 46:53 You and I are down to the end. 46:56 And sure the devil's angry. 46:59 Mad. He doesn't want the Word of God spread. 47:04 But the church... the church, folks, 47:08 over the years in spite of situations 47:11 where you have had one thing come up after another 47:15 to try to stop the progress of the church 47:17 God has blessed and it's gone forward. 47:20 Oh, yes, we are living in an age of secularism, 47:27 humanism. 47:29 Today we live in an age where people 47:31 don't think they need the Lord. 47:34 They say: "Oh well, we can... we can do this. " 47:37 We see this across the whole country 47:40 where they're going to teach across the country 47:42 "Oh, you don't need God. " 47:44 That God, you know... that this earth evolved. 47:51 They deny the Creator. 47:53 But God is calling His people and saying 47:57 "Be faithful, be faithful. " 48:00 It will take place. God says it will come. 48:06 And today we stand at The Midnight Cry. 48:11 That's where we are. 48:21 John Wesley's father - Samuel Wesley - 48:26 said to his son John... 48:30 He said: "There will be a revival 48:36 in this kingdom" - referring to England. 48:39 He said: "I'll never see it 48:44 but you will. " 48:47 Years later John Wesley came back 48:53 to that church and they would not let him preach 48:59 in his father's church. 49:02 They denied that to him. 49:05 And so he went out and he stood 49:10 on the flat tombstone of his father's grave 49:14 and preached to a multitude of people. 49:17 And a great revival began to take place 49:22 across England where men and women came back to God 49:25 and said: "Yes, we're going to follow the Lord 49:28 and walk with Him. " Dear friend that revival is coming today! 49:32 I can see the beginning of it. 49:35 I can see the turn in which the revival's going to come 49:40 and it will usher in the coming of the Lord. 49:42 The Midnight Cry saying "Behold, the bridegroom cometh. 49:46 Go ye out to meet Him. " 49:48 It's breaking like the dawn of the morning, 49:52 and you and I need to be faithful to the message 49:54 that we've learned. We need to preach it; 49:57 we need to proclaim it. 49:58 We need to be telling it to men and women everywhere 50:01 that Jesus is coming back! 50:03 We need to get ready for the coming of the Lord. 50:08 The church... the church without question 50:12 will be victorious. 50:15 The question you and I need to ask ourselves 50:19 is will you be among it? 50:22 Will you be part of it? 50:24 Will you stand faithful and say: "Yes, 50:27 I'm going to follow the Lord. I'm going to walk with Him. 50:31 I'm going to do His will. " 50:32 Because the Bible says it will here in Song of Solomon. 50:36 In the 6th chapter and verse 10 it says: 50:48 This is the church. 50:51 Fair as the morning. 50:53 Awesome as an army with banners 50:56 the church is to go forth. 50:59 And God says that He will bless 51:01 and that it will be His people and His church. 51:05 And dear friend, I'll assure you 51:08 history shows that time after time 51:12 when the devil has done all that he can do 51:15 to suppress the church 51:17 it has come out and prospered and gone forth 51:21 as an army with banners. 51:23 What a difference it makes. 51:25 The church... the church, indeed, has one foundation. 51:31 Mid toil and tribulation 51:34 and tumult of her war, 51:37 she waits the consummation 51:40 of peace forevermore. 51:43 Till with the vision glorious 51:46 her longing eyes are blessed. 51:49 The great church victorious 51:52 shall be the church at rest. 51:55 That's God's church. 51:57 You and I have the privilege of being part of that. 52:03 To stand... stand firm. 52:07 Don't give up. Look up and say: 52:11 "This is our God. 52:12 He will be with us. 52:14 He will care for us. 52:16 We will stand with Him 52:18 as we look for His coming. " 52:20 Let us pray. 52:23 Father in Heaven, 52:26 as we have looked at Your church 52:29 down through the ages 52:32 how time after time 52:36 effort has been made to close it out, 52:41 to put it down, 52:44 to bring an end to it. 52:46 But, Lord, through Your Word - 52:51 through the Word of God - 52:55 you have spoken to the hearts of men and women 52:58 and have raised up mighty men and women 53:02 of God who loved not their lives unto the death, Lord, 53:08 but stood firm with You. 53:10 As we who stand here in these last days 53:14 in which the devil is angry, 53:20 may we be faithful. 53:24 Help us, Lord, to not give up 53:27 but to hang on and to go forth 53:31 and to proclaim the soon return of our Lord and Savior. 53:36 For Your wonderful, marvelous blessings 53:40 and for the presence of Your Spirit 53:43 we thank you in Christ's name, Amen. 53:50 Well, the church... without question... 53:56 will go through. 53:59 But dear friend, it's not 54:04 so much what you know 54:07 as who you know. 54:09 And so our next series is about No Other Name Like Jesus. 54:15 Because if you know Him personally 54:19 and you have a relationship with Him 54:21 nothing else matters 54:23 and you'll be right there when Jesus comes. 54:27 So be with us as we go into this next series. God bless you. 54:31 There's a popular movie that depicts the complete 54:36 annihilation of the world through earthquakes, 54:38 fires, tsunamis, and floods 54:40 in the year 2012 AD. 54:43 Jesus warns us against setting dates in Matthew 24:36. 54:48 "But of that day and hour, no one knows... 54:51 not even the angels of heaven 54:53 but My Father only. " 54:55 While this film may be entertaining, 54:58 it has done nothing but heighten the fear 55:00 of the people of this world. 55:02 For many years now, we have seen the signs of a world 55:06 in a state of collapse. 55:08 And even unbelievers are increasingly uncomfortable 55:11 with the way things are going. 55:13 Truly we stand on the very edge 55:16 of earth's history. And believe me, 55:19 the $250,000,000 spent on special effects for this film 55:23 don't even come close 55:25 to what is about to be unleashed upon mankind. 55:29 The Bible warns of wars, 55:31 famines, pestilence, and earthquakes 55:34 culminating in the most spectacular upheaval 55:38 this world has ever seen. 55:40 Just listen to this description 55:42 found in Revelation the sixth chapter. 55:45 "And behold, there was a great earthquake 55:47 and the sun became black as the sackcloth of hair 55:50 and the moon became like blood. 55:53 And the stars of the heaven fell to the earth 55:55 as a fig tree drops its late figs 55:58 when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 56:01 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up 56:04 and every mountain and island were moved out of its place. " 56:09 Friends, this will not be a Hollywood movie. 56:13 These events will surely take place, 56:16 and we must warn the world as quickly as possible. 56:19 You see, there will be no secret rapture. 56:24 Every human being alive at the time will be affected 56:28 whether they are wicked or righteous. 56:30 But while the fear that has gripped the hearts of the wicked 56:33 will cause them to beg for rocks to fall on them, 56:37 those who are righteous will welcome these events 56:40 as signs of Christ's coming. 56:43 They will say: "Behold! This is our God. 56:45 We have waited for Him, and He will save us. " 56:49 Listen to these glorious words 56:51 from I Thessalonians 4: 56:53 "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout 56:58 with the voice of the archangel 57:00 and with the trumpet of God, 57:02 and the dead in Christ will rise first. 57:04 Then we who are alive and remain 57:07 shall be caught up together with them in the clouds 57:09 to meet the Lord in the air. 57:11 And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 57:14 Wherefore, comfort one another with these words. " 57:18 Oh friends, our burden is to share this good news. 57:22 To bring comfort to those who are living in fear. 57:25 That's why we continue to preach the gospel of salvation 57:28 through Jesus Christ to anyone who will listen. 57:32 To see a soul come to Jesus and be saved is worth any cost 57:36 and all efforts. That's why this ministry exists. 57:40 Won't you help us? 57:42 Please consider what you can do 57:43 for those who still don't know about Jesus. 57:46 As the Holy Spirit impresses, 57:48 please send your tax-deductible gifts to: 58:02 Thank you for helping us spread the light of God's Word 58:05 through television and radio. 58:06 Your gifts help bring the blessed hope of salvation 58:09 to millions around the world. |
Revised 2014-12-17