Give Me the Bible

Church Victorious

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox

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Series Code: GMTB

Program Code: GMTB000055


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.


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Revised 2014-12-17