Participants: Pr. C.A. Murray
Series Code: HHR
Program Code: HHR000013
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00:24 The title of our message tonight is
00:27 To Be Announced. 00:29 And as we have said before, 00:32 that is not what's going to happen, that is the title. 00:36 The title is To Be Announced. 00:38 There were those who thought that we didn't have a title 00:41 till I explained to them that the title was indeed 00:43 To Be Announced. 00:46 Earlier today we had a baptism. 00:51 Um, we are happy that there are a number of people here 00:55 in Chicago who have made their stand or taken their stand 01:01 to serve the Lord. 01:02 Some of them were not quite ready for baptism today. 01:06 They are in classes; they are studying... 01:09 but they have taken their stand during these meetings. 01:12 As I have said before, only the last couple of nights 01:15 we've had seven here. But we had two young people 01:18 who wanted to be baptized today. 01:21 They wanted to give their life to the Lord 01:23 and let the world know that today was their birthday 01:28 as it were... their new birthday. 01:30 They wanted to be baptized during the meetings. 01:33 They wanted to do it today, and so we accommodated them 01:35 just a couple of hours ago. Pastor Famous Murray brought 01:39 two of his young people over who wanted to be baptized. 01:42 And we taped that, and we'd like you to take a look at 01:44 that just now. 02:00 It is my pleasure to be standing in the baptismal pool 02:04 with Pastor Famous Murray. Pastor, good to have you here. 02:07 Good to be here. The Shiloh Church has been 02:10 downlinking our meetings right across town 02:13 and has had good attendance each night. 02:16 And we have some young people who have chosen, 02:20 Pastor, to give their heart to the Lord 02:21 and seal that with baptism today. Yes. 02:24 As a matter of fact they are two young persons from our school. 02:28 This is their first year attending the Chicago-area 02:32 school. And as a result of their attending school and church 02:36 they are here for baptism. Praise the Lord! 02:38 We are happy that this meeting helped encourage them. 02:41 By the look of them, they were about the age that I was 02:43 Pastor when I joined the church. 02:45 I got baptized at nine and have not regretted it. 02:49 You know we are happy because during the last couple of days 02:53 we have had seven individuals 02:56 give their hearts to the Lord and are now preparing 02:59 for baptism. We are really, really excited because 03:02 God gave us a perfect number. We have four on last evening 03:05 and another three this morning in this morning's meeting. 03:07 So we know we have seven souls from this very church 03:10 that will be giving their hearts to the Lord 03:12 and in the baptismal pool very soon. 03:13 Isn't that beautiful? 03:15 As a matter of fact, we have several more 03:17 who are prepared for baptism. As a matter of fact, 03:21 the mother who is sitting out there with us tonight 03:24 of these young people... she is preparing for baptism 03:27 and others who we could not get ready for tonight. 03:30 We're excited because young people kind of lead the way 03:33 sometimes, you know. And these two young people 03:36 really wanted to this... to make their statement for the world 03:40 that they are giving their lives to Jesus. 03:42 So it's a very exciting thing, Pastor Murray. 03:43 I'm good to be in the water with you... 03:45 good to be in the water with you. Great! 03:47 Let's have a word of prayer. 03:48 If you would just lead out in prayer. Let us pray. 03:50 Father in Heaven, we will ourselves anew to You 03:54 at this moment. We place this pool, this baptismal service, 03:59 in Your hands, asking that Your Holy Spirit will anoint 04:02 the waters, this service, and especially these two 04:06 young people who shall be buried in the watery grave 04:10 of baptism tonight. And, Lord, there are others 04:13 in other churches, other areas, other countries, 04:16 other cites, other states, who are planning to do likewise. 04:19 We pray Your blessings upon them. 04:22 Seal that decision until Jesus comes. 04:25 This is our prayer in Christ's name, Amen. 04:27 Amen. You know, while you were mentioning... 04:30 or while you were praying, rather, you mentioned 04:31 other countries. It reminded me, we got a very nice letter 04:34 from the Philippines. There are a fairly large group of 04:37 young people also there in the Philippines 04:39 who have given their hearts to the Lord 04:41 and any day now will be joining the family of God 04:45 in baptism. And so we are excited about that. 04:47 All around the world, young people are standing up for Jesus 04:51 and making this commitment to Him. 04:53 Pastor C.A., this is what it's all about. 04:55 You haven't been preaching out here for the past 15 nights 04:59 just to sweat! 05:00 But you're trying to bring men, women, boys, and girls 05:04 into a living relationship with Jesus Christ 05:07 because we know that He's soon to come. 05:09 Amen. And we all want to be ready to meet Him in peace 05:11 and we want to help others to get ready to meet Him. 05:15 You've got a couple preachers in the baptismal pool, 05:17 so you have to forgive us 05:18 because any preacher will tell you that baptizing is the most 05:23 fun part, I can say, of ministry: 05:26 seeing young and old, rich and poor, 05:28 give their hearts to the Lord and seal that with baptism. 05:31 Yeah. That's beautiful, beautiful. All right, praise 05:33 God, praise God! Who do we have? 05:38 All right... Jasmine. 06:16 Now, Jasmine, before you... before we 06:18 do this great thing, is there anything you want to say? 06:20 You want to talk in the microphone? Just say anything? 06:22 Nah... We kind of put you on the spot? 06:27 That's all right because she's made her decision. 06:30 She said all the right things so we're happy for her. 06:45 And so, Jasmine, because you love Jesus 06:49 you decided in your young years 06:52 to give your life, your heart, your soul to Him 06:57 it gives us GREAT pleasure 07:00 to baptize you in the name of the Father, 07:02 and in the name of the Son, 07:04 and in the name of the Holy Ghost. 07:07 Be faithful unto death, and Jesus will give you 07:11 a crown of life. 07:13 Amen! 07:58 This water is worrying him just a little bit. 08:00 And the Pastor is assuring him that I've got good hold of you, 08:03 I'll take care of you. 08:37 Xavius, because of your love for Jesus 08:41 and your commitment to do His will as a young boy 08:46 I can assure you that you will be blessed; 08:50 your family will be blessed; 08:52 the community will be blessed; your church will be blessed 08:56 to have you as a fine young man serving the Lord. 09:00 Growing up in your community, in your home, 09:03 in your church, and in your school. 09:06 Because of your love for Jesus 09:08 we baptize you in the name of the Father, 09:12 and of His Son, 09:14 and of the Holy Spirit. Amen! 09:36 Praise God... he's a little worked up. 09:38 Very exciting day. 09:40 It is a most exciting day 09:41 when you give your heart to the Lord. 09:43 I can remember my first baptism so many, many years ago. 09:47 It's something you don't forget; something you treasure 09:50 because it is the start of a walk that will lead to glory 09:54 as long as we keep our hand in the hand of Jesus. 09:57 And I'm happy that two young people led out. 09:59 The Bible says that "a child shall lead them. " 10:03 Many times it is young people who lead the way. 10:05 We are happy for the seven individuals 10:07 who have taken their stand here. And as Pastor said, 10:11 there are several more at his church 10:13 and we know several more around the world. 10:16 And so these two precious young people join literally 10:19 thousands of others who have sealed their determination 10:23 and their faith and have said to the world 10:26 and to our God above "I will walk with You 10:29 starting this day throughout all eternity. " 10:32 Want you to keep them in prayer 10:34 and those who have taken their stand 10:36 who have stood up for Jesus here over the last couple of days. 10:39 We want to remember them in prayer also. 10:41 And certainly the members at Shiloh will be remembering 10:44 those individuals who also have given their hearts to the Lord 10:48 at the Shiloh Church. 10:49 Pray for those around the world 10:51 who are in the valley of decision. 10:52 You know, when you want to give your heart to Jesus 10:54 there's always an enemy who wants to distract you 10:58 or discourage you or in some way turn you around. 11:02 But let us pray that what has begun here will continue. 11:05 That Christ will keep that which we now commit to His hands 11:09 until the day that Jesus comes to take us home. 11:11 We have a promise that we are on the winning team, 11:15 the victorious side. We know who's going to win. 11:18 We know heaven is coming. 11:21 The only question left in the whole universe is: 11:24 how shall you stand in that great day? 11:27 It is my prayer that each of us here 11:29 along with all of you who are watching across the world 11:32 will be watching to see Christ coming in the clouds 11:36 on that great day. Because the promise IS 11:38 that day is not far in the future. 11:41 "Be ye also ready. " 11:44 God bless you. 11:46 Amen. 11:52 Amen. Wasn't that precious? 11:54 Amen. That young man really wanted to get baptized. 11:58 I don't recall ever seeing 12:00 a response like that. He was 12:02 crying and smiling at the 12:03 same time. And when his foot 12:05 hit that water, he said: 12:07 "I don't know. I want to go 12:09 but this water's a little chilly. " 12:11 But his heart was right, and he was happy that 12:14 he made a stand for the Lord. 12:17 So keep them in your prayers. 12:20 The subject: To Be Announced. 12:22 Our text to begin: John chapter 14 verses 1-3. 12:28 I am quite sure you know this by heart. 12:31 But I want you to turn to the Word of God with me. 12:33 Let's read the Word of God together 12:35 after we talk to the Lord in prayer. 12:37 Father God, we take now the time allotted to us 12:40 to talk about Jesus 12:43 and what He has prepared for us, 12:46 where we are going, 12:48 and where it will all end if we are faithful. 12:51 So again this night we ask for you to be our teacher, 12:56 our guide, and to show us marvelous things 13:00 of the world to come. 13:01 And we thank you in advance for Your presence 13:05 and Your power. In Jesus' name, Amen. 13:09 To Be Announced. I'm sure we will not have gone far 13:12 before you become aware of what we are talking about. 13:16 The book is John. What book did I say? 13:19 I'm in John the 14th chapter and we will read 13:23 verses 1 through 3. 13:25 The Word of God says in John 14: 14:00 "Let not your heart be troubled. 14:05 Don't fear; don't be afraid. 14:09 Don't get weak in the knee 14:12 because something is coming 14:15 and it's going to be worth the wait, " Jesus said. 14:19 I want you to do me a favor. I want you to close your eyes 14:23 and think about heaven... 14:26 just for 10 seconds. 14:28 Think about heaven. Now open them again. 14:32 It occurs to me that that is a difficult request, 14:37 isn't it? It really is. 14:40 To try to think about a place that you've never been to... 14:44 particularly in the light of I Corinthians chapter 2 14:48 and verse 9. What book did I say? 14:50 I Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 9. 14:53 Let's read from the Word of God: 15:10 In other words, when somebody asks you to think about heaven 15:14 it's a very difficult request 15:17 because the Bible itself says 15:19 we can't even imagine what heaven is going to be like. 15:24 We can't even conjecture in our minds. 15:28 In our wildest imaginations we cannot really 15:32 grasp what heaven is going to be like. 15:36 So then, we are much more comfortable 15:40 thinking about heaven in terms of 15:44 what will NOT be there because we have no measuring stick. 15:49 We have no way to evaluate or assess or envision heaven 15:54 because there's nothing down here like heaven. 15:57 You take your best day... that's not heaven. 16:02 You take the best time you've had... 16:06 that's not heaven. 16:07 You take the most expensive house you've ever been in... 16:11 that's not heaven. 16:13 God is saying: "Your best thoughts, 16:17 your wildest dreams 16:19 fall short of what heaven will be like. " 16:23 That is why when we discuss heaven 16:26 we tend to be far more comfortable in discussing heaven 16:30 in terms of what won't be there. 16:33 What will NOT be there. 16:36 We feel a little better doing it that way 16:38 because we just are not sure what WILL be there. 16:43 In heaven I won't have a barber 16:48 but I will have hair. 16:50 Amen! 16:53 In heaven I won't have contact lenses 16:56 but I will have sight. 16:58 In heaven I won't have frowns but I will have smiles. 17:03 In heaven I won't have war but I will have peace. 17:07 In heaven I won't have anger but I will have laughter. 17:11 In heaven I won't be a subject 17:15 but I will have a King. 17:16 In heaven I won't get sunburned 17:19 but I will have sun. 17:21 In heaven I won't have an electrical bill 17:24 but I will have light. 17:26 In heaven I won't take vitamins 17:29 but I'll never get tired. 17:31 In heaven I won't eat meat 17:38 but I will have food. Amen! 17:40 In heaven I won't have a job 17:43 but I will work. 17:45 In heaven I won't have a mortgage 17:48 but I will have a home. Amen! 17:50 In heaven I won't be a slave 17:52 but I will have a Master. 17:54 In heaven I won't burn gas but I will have fuel. 17:58 In heaven I won't have a farm but I will have a garden. 18:02 In heaven I won't have any enemies 18:05 but I will have friends. 18:07 In heaven there will be no hate 18:10 but I will have love. 18:12 In heaven there'll be no devil but we will have Jesus. 18:17 No more death! 18:20 No more pain! 18:22 No more dying! 18:24 No more sorrow! 18:26 No more arthritis. 18:29 No more heart disease. 18:31 No more eyeglasses. 18:33 No more war. 18:35 No more guns. 18:37 No more suicide bombers. 18:40 No more drive-by shootings. 18:42 No more burglar alarms. 18:47 No more IRS. 18:50 Amen! 18:53 No more INS. 18:56 No more STD. 18:59 No more PCB. 19:01 No more DDT. 19:03 No more TNT. 19:06 No more RPG. 19:08 No more GNP. 19:10 No more GBB, no more PVC. 19:16 No more terrorism. 19:18 No more taxes. 19:19 No more car notes, no more locked doors. 19:23 No more adultery. 19:25 No more divorce. 19:27 No more trains, planes, unmanned missions to Mars. 19:31 No more nightly news or TV views. 19:35 No Dancing With the Stars. 19:37 No more busses, trucks, or cars. 19:41 No more New York, Los Angeles, or Las Vegas, 19:44 or gambling on sports. 19:46 No more Coors, Bud Light, Dos Equis, alcohol, 19:50 responsible drinking, or anything of that sort. 19:54 No more racists. No more arsonists. 19:57 No more extortionists. No more contortionists. 20:00 No rap, no rock, no reggae, no rhythm and blues, 20:04 and no country! 20:06 Um-hmm. 20:08 No more shooters. No more Hooters. 20:10 No more looters. No more scooters. 20:12 No more tooters. 20:17 No more headache. No more backache. 20:20 No more toothache. No more heartache. 20:23 No more loneliness. No more vileness. 20:26 No more pettiness. No more childishness. 20:29 No more meanness. No more slothfulness. 20:32 No more rudeness. No more vindictiveness. 20:34 No more callousness. No more ruthlessness. 20:37 No more evilness. No more heartlessness. 20:40 No more deceptiveness. 20:41 No vanity, no insanity, 20:43 no pornography, no profanity. 20:46 No insincerity. No insecurity. 20:48 No lack of integrity. No insensitivity. 20:51 No incongruity. 20:53 Amen! 20:56 The truth is: most of that which is in this world 21:01 won't be in heaven. 21:03 Amen! 21:05 That's why when you say "think of heaven, " 21:07 we can't really do it 21:10 because we just don't know what will be there 21:14 but we've kinda got a good idea what won't be there. 21:18 Can you say Amen? Amen! 21:21 Most of the things that are very common to us 21:24 won't be in heaven. 21:26 No more talk shows. 21:32 No more TV. 21:35 Praise the Lord! 21:38 Except for 3ABN, of course. 21:44 You will know heaven by the love and trust 21:50 and peace under the government of God. 21:56 By the way, no more election campaigns. 22:03 We've got one King... we won't need another. 22:09 Let's go to the book of Hebrews. What book did I say? 22:11 Hebrews chapter 11 verse 16. 22:14 I'll turn to it with you. 22:16 Hebrews 11:16. 22:19 The Word of God says... Hebrews 11:16: 22:37 Can you say Amen? 22:39 Our God is making a home for us. 22:41 It is a real city... not an illusion. 22:45 There are some theologians who try to teach us 22:47 that heaven is a state of mind. 22:50 I read something the other day... they're saying: 22:51 "All the heaven you're going to get you've got now... 22:55 so you'd better think positive. " 22:56 God says: "Oh, no. " God is building a real city 23:00 for real people. Can you say Amen? 23:02 And it's coming real, real soon. 23:04 Well... where is heaven? 23:07 Where is it now? Let's go to the book of Revelation. 23:10 What book did I say? 23:11 Revelation chapter 21. Going to do a little Bible 23:14 hopping tonight. Revelation chapter 21 23:16 and look at verse 2. Revelation 21:2: 23:32 And so our dwelling place will be the New Jerusalem. 23:36 Where is it now? In heaven. 23:38 Where's it gonna be? Down here on earth. 23:41 We will inherit the earth. 23:43 Let's go back to the Old Testament for just a moment. 23:45 I'm in the book of I Kings. What book did I say? 23:47 You're all the way from Revelation back to I Kings. 23:51 Solomon is doing something here. 23:54 He is blessing the temple at its inauguration. 23:57 I Kings chapter 8, picking up the story at verse 28. 24:47 This is a marvelous prayer. This is a sermon in itself. 24:50 Solomon at the beginning of the temple said: "Lord, 24:53 I want You to make me a promise. 24:54 I want you to make it from heaven 24:56 that whenever someone comes to this place to pray 24:59 I want you to guarantee me that You will hear. " 25:03 Solomon asked that of the Lord; the Lord said: "OK. 25:06 Anybody prays from this place I'll hear it. " 25:08 Then he even said: "Lord, I want You to promise 25:11 that even if they can't get here and they think about this place 25:17 You'll answer their prayer. " 25:19 The Lord said: "OK. " 25:22 "Lord, if something is wrong, 25:26 if they just turn in the direction of this place... 25:29 just face towards the place... 25:31 I want you to guarantee me that You will hear. " 25:34 The Lord said: "OK. 25:36 I love you that much; I'll make that guarantee. 25:38 I'll hear from heaven and grant it on earth. " 25:42 So God is in heaven. 25:46 The city is in heaven but one day it's going to be here. 25:51 Now let's talk about the dimensions. 25:52 Let's see if it's a real town. 25:53 I'm in Revelation 21 verse 16. 25:56 Revelation 21 verse 16: let's prove our point. 26:20 Did a little math earlier on. 26:28 A cubit is roughly 18 inches. 26:31 There were different kinds of cubits. 26:33 The Hebrews had cubits, Greeks had cubits. 26:35 Roughly the length from the tip of your finger 26:38 down to your elbow is a cubit. 26:39 About 18 inches for the average-sized man. 26:42 For some, a little bit longer. 26:44 But the text tells us it's 12,000 furlongs. 26:49 1,500 miles... approximately 375 miles on each side. 26:55 Big town, isn't it? 26:57 You there? 27:01 You're just shocked... I know what that is. 27:03 375 miles on a side. 27:06 That's roughly the distance from New York City to Buffalo. 27:10 The state of New York and about half of Pennsylvania. 27:12 That's a big town. I think it would be able to hold everybody 27:15 don't you think? 27:17 375 miles on a side and big and tall and square. 27:22 It's a wonderful city that God has prepared. 27:26 When we read Revelation 21 verse 2 27:29 we see something else. 27:30 Um, John again gives us the understanding that 27:34 it's a real city. 27:35 Now let's look at the walls of the city. 27:38 I'm in Revelation 21 verse 18. 27:51 When I read that, I have a hard time imagining 27:55 what that is. 27:58 Pure gold... like glass. 28:02 Now I've seen gold and I've seen glass, 28:07 but I haven't seen golden glass or glassy gold. 28:12 And the Bible says it's pure gold like glass. 28:18 So it must be transparent gold, 28:21 and I've never seen transparent gold. 28:24 But I want to... how about you? 28:27 216 feet high walls... 144 cubits. 28:33 An incredibly large city. 28:36 An incredibly wonderful city. 28:38 An incredible gift for God's people who love Him. 28:42 I'm in Revelation 21... you're still there... 28:44 verses 12 and 13. Let's look a little bit more: 29:10 Twelve gates... so there's not going to be any traffic jam 29:13 going in and out like there are going in and out of Chicago. 29:17 Can you say Amen? Amen! 29:20 Three gates on each side. 29:22 Names of the twelve tribes on the gates. 29:24 And someone said to me... I haven't really 29:26 searched this out... someone said that each of us 29:29 has a lineage or a linkage to a particular tribe. 29:32 And we're going to go in through that particular gate 29:35 under the banner of that particular tribe. 29:39 Now I don't know if that's true or not, 29:40 but I sure would like to do it. How about you? 29:43 And the thing about heaven is 29:45 if you don't get to go in the East gate, 29:47 you won't mind going in the West gate. 29:49 And if you get to go in the North gate, 29:52 you won't mind getting in the South gate. 29:54 You're just going to be so glad that you got in! 29:57 Amen? Amen. 29:59 You're not going to mind going in the other gate. 30:01 It's like now you go to potluck 30:03 and you're looking on somebody else's plate 30:05 to see if they got more than you. 30:06 Not going to happen in heaven... 30:08 'cause you'll be so glad you got in 30:10 you won't care. You're just praising God that you're in! 30:12 Amen? And Amen. 30:14 The city has twelve complete foundations. 30:16 Revelation 21:21. Let's go to Revelation 21:21. 30:27 Now that's... that's... I don't even know how to imagine that: 30:30 a whole gate of pearl. 30:37 Doesn't that just tickle your fancy? 30:40 Transparent gold... and you're walking on it. 30:43 You know when we go home 30:45 we take off our shoes 'cause we've got light-colored carpet 30:47 and we don't want to get dirt on it. 30:49 But transparent gold that's used for paving stones. 30:53 Incredible! God's going to pave the city with transparent gold! 30:58 I can't wait to get there. What about you? 31:00 Praise God for a wonderful city. 31:03 For a wonderful, wonderful city. 31:06 I'm in Matthew 5:5. 31:07 Matthew 5:5. 31:19 You see, when we read Revelation chapter 20 we find 31:22 that we're not just going to stay up there in the ethereal 31:27 forever... but this city is coming back down here 31:31 to planet earth. We're going to inherit the earth. 31:35 And that's a whole sermon in itself how it's going to happen. 31:37 But praise God it's going to happen. 31:39 Eventually we're going to be right back down here 31:42 where it all started. 31:44 But it's not going to be the same earth that you see 31:46 when you look out your windows in the morning. 31:48 Amen? Going to be a brand new earth 31:51 because we're going to be brand new people! 31:53 Can you say Amen? Amen! 31:55 You know, we have some scholarship that says 31:58 Adam and Eve, before sin... 32:01 they estimate - the scholars and theologians - that 32:04 Adam was about 16 ft. tall, 32:07 about 2,000 pounds. 32:09 That's a big guy! 32:11 And Eve? A little bit shorter... maybe about 10-12 ft. 32:15 Little bit lighter... maybe 800-900 pounds. 32:18 And perfect in symmetry. 32:21 Amen? I can't wait to get 16 ft. 2,000 pounds. 32:27 That's about 10 ft. more than I am now 32:30 and about 10 times the weight. 32:32 But I can't wait. 32:33 I'm 2,000 pounds, 16 ft. 32:36 Little Irma just barely 5 ft. 32:38 and I'm not going to say the weight because 32:40 I'm not going to do that. 32:43 But she's going to be 10 ft., 11 ft. - 32:46 1,000 pounds, BooBoo... and that'll be all right. 32:49 Amen. Praise the Lord! 32:53 Can't wait. It tickles the fancy just to think about it, 32:56 doesn't it? The idea that there's no more pain, 33:00 no more ache, no more sorrow, no more sadness. 33:03 No more tiredness; no more fatigue! 33:05 We're going to be strong. Eternally young and healthy 33:08 and vibrant and joyous in the city called heaven. 33:13 Proverbs chapter 11 verse 31. 33:14 I'm in the book of Proverbs chapter 11 33:16 and verse 31. Let's read a little bit more: 33:27 So judgment is going to take place down here 33:30 and the righteous will get their reward ultimately where? 33:34 Right here on the earth. 33:36 This earth was made for man's habitation. 33:39 And though we've destroyed it, we've polluted it, 33:42 we've torn it apart, ultimately God is going to 33:45 refurbish it and give it right back to righteous man. 33:48 Can you say Amen? Amen! All right, 33:50 let's go to Malachi. The book is Malachi chapter 4 33:52 and verse 1. I'm in Malachi chapter 4 and verse 1: 34:14 Now this text serves two purposes. 34:16 One: it puts a pin in the mistaken idea that 34:20 mankind will burn forever 34:21 because the Bible says they're going to be burned up 34:25 leaving them neither root nor branch. 34:27 But also it says that God is going to go... take this earth 34:31 through a cleansing process 34:34 to make it fit habitation for brand new people 34:37 and a brand new city. Can you say Amen? 34:40 God is going to do something spectacular 34:43 to clean this earth up and make it fit habitation 34:47 for His saints for all eternity. 34:51 Revelation chapter 20 verse 9. 34:53 We're doing a lot of hopping. Revelation 20 verse 9. 34:56 You were in the last book of the Old Testament; 34:58 now you're in the last book of the Bible. 34:59 I'm in Revelation chapter 20 and verse 9. 35:01 Let's read the Word of God: 35:12 And so the city is coming down 35:14 and God is going to destroy the wicked once and for all. 35:19 Because God is not going to allow pollution 35:22 to come back a second time. 35:24 And I'm so glad that when I make it through this time 35:28 I'll never have to worry about it again, 35:32 ladies and gentlemen. Once we get over, 35:34 once Christ comes to take us home, 35:36 iniquity, pollution, sin will not rise a second time. 35:41 This is it for sin! 35:44 Amen! 35:46 And all we have to do is hold on to the unchanging hand of Jesus. 35:50 In a little while it will all be over 35:55 and we'll be with Jesus forever. Can you say Amen? 35:58 Amen! Let's go to II Peter chapter 3 verse 10. 36:02 II Peter chapter 3 verse 10. 36:22 God is going to clean this old earth away. 36:25 Now this text establishes a number of things. 36:27 The Bible says Jesus' coming is like a thief in the night. 36:33 There are some who think that means Jesus is going to 36:37 sneak in here. 36:39 No! No! The Bible says there's going to be 36:42 a great noise. 36:46 Not going to sneak in. 36:48 You see, most thieves don't announce their coming, do they? 36:52 No! You don't have a fellow walking down the street with a 36:56 bullhorn saying "I'm going to break into your house tonight. " 37:01 So what the text is saying 37:03 is that Christ's coming is going to be sudden... 37:06 not silent. Amen? 37:09 It's going to be sudden. 37:10 Men are going to be going about their lives 37:12 doing what they always do and... Jesus is here! 37:16 So it's not going to slip in... He's giving us a lot of warning 37:20 and He will come with a trumpet sound. 37:22 But we've got to be ready 37:24 because we just don't know the day. 37:27 But it is coming and it is coming soon. 37:29 And soon thereafter God is going to clean up this earth 37:33 and make it fit habitation for His saints. 37:39 Isaiah chapter 40 verse 31. 37:42 Isaiah 40 verse 31. 37:45 This text I put in simply because I love this text. 37:51 I just love this text. 38:08 So God is saying once you hold onto Him, 38:11 once you stand by Him, 38:13 once you clasp hands with Him, 38:15 you'll be able to run this race to heaven with patience. 38:18 You don't have to fatigue. 38:19 You don't have to fall by the wayside. 38:21 You won't have to drop out of the race 38:23 but God will give you the strength to run the race 38:26 unto completion. Can you say Amen? 38:29 And you don't have to run much longer, ladies and gentlemen, 38:31 because Jesus is coming soon. 38:37 We know where it is. We know what it is. 38:40 We know who's building it. 38:43 The only question left is: 38:46 how do I get real estate there? 38:49 Amen? 38:51 How do I get a passport? How do I get my visa? 38:55 How do I get in? 38:57 I Corinthians chapter 15 39:01 and verse 50. 39:03 I Corinthians 15:50. 39:18 Now flesh and blood He means those who are living 39:21 in the flesh can't get in. 39:23 If you want to get a passport to heaven, 39:27 all you've got to do is ask Jesus for faith, 39:31 exercise that faith, and your passport is in the mail. 39:36 Can you say Amen? Amen. 39:38 In fact, the Holy Spirit was delivered to your home 39:40 and your heart personally. 39:41 Praise God! 39:44 II Corinthians chapter 10 verses 3-5. 39:47 II Corinthians 10:3-5. 39:50 God a lot of texts, a lot of things to get through. 40:16 So how do we get in? We fight our way in. 40:18 But we don't use guns or knives or carnal weapons. 40:22 Our weapon is the Holy Spirit. 40:25 Our weapon is the Word of God. 40:28 Our weapon is a relationship with Jesus Christ. 40:31 Remember I said the other night there's nothing about you 40:33 that the devil fears. He doesn't fear your name. 40:36 He doesn't fear your bank account. 40:38 He doesn't fear your strength. 40:39 He doesn't fear your ability. 40:41 He doesn't fear your ability to talk. 40:43 There's nothing about you that the devil fears. 40:45 The devil fears but one thing... 40:47 he fears your Boss... your Employer. 40:51 So when the devil comes, you don't try to shadow box 40:55 the devil. You say: 40:57 "Wait a minute, I'm going to get Jesus. " 41:00 Amen? Yeah. when I was in the 6th grade 41:02 Francine Craig gave me a good whooping. 41:06 She was bigger than I was. 41:07 I was a little fellow till I got about 8th grade 41:09 and Francine Craig... she pounded me something fierce. 41:12 And I went home with my shirt torn and my lip bloody. 41:16 And my sister was 18 months older than me. 41:20 And she said: "What happened to you? " 41:22 I said: "Francine Craig beat me up. " 41:25 She said: "Come with me. " 41:27 So we went back to school 41:29 and my sister said: "Did you beat up my brother? " 41:32 And she said: "Yeah. " 41:34 Said: "Beat him up now. 41:37 With me standing here... beat him up. " 41:39 She said: Nah, I don't want to. " 41:42 She said: "No, hit him! " 41:43 Said: "No, I don't think... I don't want to do that. " 41:47 That's the way with Jesus. 41:49 Why stand there and get pummeled by the devil? 41:52 Huh? When the devil comes, tell the devil 41:56 "Give me one second, " 41:58 and then you run and get Jesus. 42:00 Huh? And then say to the devil: 42:03 "Hit me now with Jesus standing right here. " 42:08 The Bible says: "Resist the devil and he will...? " 42:12 But the only way you can resist the devil is by having 42:15 a relationship with Jesus Christ. 42:17 Christ says: "Abide in me and I in you. " 42:20 So as long as you've got Jesus you've got protection 42:23 from the enemy. Can you say Amen? 42:25 And the devil can't touch you 42:26 as long as you are hid in Christ Jesus. 42:29 Romans chapter 8 verses 1-8. 42:31 This is a long one. This is also one that I love. 42:33 Romans 8:1-8. 42:36 Let's read the Word of God: 42:48 Praise God! 43:00 Can't do it in your flesh. 43:06 Praise God! 43:09 And so the Bible is saying plainly here 43:12 "There's no condemnation once you're in Christ Jesus. " 43:14 The devil can't point his finger at you 43:16 while you're in Christ Jesus. 43:18 Uh, let me finish: 44:01 So if you want to fight a successful battle, 44:06 the first thing you've got to do is step out of your flesh 44:09 and step into Jesus. 44:11 Is to let your heart open up and be filled with the Spirit 44:16 of God, and the Spirit of God will fight for you 44:21 and through you - Can you say Amen? - 44:24 and you will be victorious. 44:27 Amen and Amen. I Corinthians chapter 6. 44:30 I Corinthians chapter 6:9-11. 44:34 Real fast: 44:55 We used to be like that. 44:56 "But... " praise God for the but... 45:08 Hey, that is the salvation experience! 45:10 God is saying it doesn't matter what we used to be. 45:14 Who cares what you used to be? 45:16 You know, listen. I say this all the time. 45:20 I got stuff... you got stuff... 45:24 all God's children got stuff. 45:28 Amen? I've got some things I'm proud to talk about. 45:32 I've got some things in my life I'm not proud to talk about. 45:36 Now we could come to church and I pull out my stuff 45:39 and you pull out your stuff 45:42 and we could sit around and discuss each other's stuff... 45:45 and then get depressed because I can't help you with your stuff. 45:49 You can't help me with my stuff. 45:51 I'm too busy dealing with my stuff 45:54 to deal with your stuff. 45:55 So we need to all take our stuff to Jesus 45:59 who is the answer to all of our stuff. 46:01 Amen? It doesn't matter what you've got. 46:05 Doesn't matter what you've done. 46:07 Doesn't matter where you came from. 46:09 Doesn't matter what mess you've come out of. 46:12 The Bible says you were washed, you were justified, 46:17 you are sanctified... so that old stuff doesn't matter. 46:21 Like my roommate used to say: 46:24 "Forget that stuff! " 46:25 Your mind is now on Jesus 46:28 and your heart is now in heaven, 46:30 and your soul is locked in with Christ. 46:33 So don't worry about your stuff, just worry about God. 46:37 Amen! And keep your hand in the hand of the Lord. 46:41 Amen and Amen. 46:43 I Corinthians 13:12. 46:45 I Corinthians 13:12. 46:48 Here we go. The Word of God says: 47:03 You see, we don't know it now 47:06 but it's to be announced. 47:07 We're going to know it one day soon. Can you say Amen? 47:10 Doesn't matter what we've done, who we are, 47:13 what we've gone through. 47:14 It's not our past that counts with the Lord... 47:17 it's all about our future. Can you say Amen? 47:20 And we've got a bright and glorious future 47:22 through Jesus Christ. Let's go back to the Old Testament. 47:25 I know we're doing a lot of Bible hopping. 47:26 Isaiah chapter 65 verses 21 and 22. 47:29 Isaiah 65:21 and 22. I like this! 47:57 Isn't that a nice text? 47:59 That says to me: when I build it it's going to be mine. 48:04 Amen! 48:06 You see you can live in a house now 48:09 and forget to pay taxes... 48:11 and the government says: "That's not your house any more. 48:14 That's our house. " 48:16 Told you the other day about a church I know 48:19 that forgot to pay something to the city, 48:21 and the city put a whole church up for auction. 48:23 And a lady walked in and bought a whole church for $25,000 48:26 and changed the locks. So when the congregation came 48:28 the next day, couldn't get in their own church... 48:30 because they forgot to pay. They forgot to sign a little 48:33 thing with the government 48:34 and the government put their church up on auction. 48:36 The Bible says when you build your house in heaven 48:39 it's going to be your house. 48:41 Amen? Nobody's going to come and take it away from you. 48:43 Nobody's going to sell it for taxes. 48:46 Praise God! When you build it, gonna be yours! 48:49 And you don't have to put locks on your doors. 48:52 Now we live way out in the country 48:54 and people keep telling me: "Why do you lock your door? 48:57 No one's going to bother you. " But I've been in New York City 48:59 thirty years. I lock my, I double lock, I triple... 49:02 I lock my doors all the time. 49:05 When we left to come up here, 49:06 the first thing I said: "Irma, did you lock the door? " 49:10 You know, we lock the back door. We lock the front door. 49:12 We push the windows down. 49:14 We put the locks on them... you know. 49:15 And the truth is, if somebody really wanted to get in our 49:17 house, they could get in. 49:19 Amen? They could. 49:20 Houses are not that tough to get into. 49:21 Anything with glass, you can get 49:22 into. But it's just in my 49:24 mindset: lock your doors. 49:26 And I told you, I've had one, 49:28 two, three, four cars stolen 49:31 in the thirty years in New York City. 49:33 Alarms, clubs, foot locks, kill switches. 49:38 If they want it, they're going to get it. 49:40 Amen? Or get part of it. 49:42 President of our conference, bless his heart, 49:44 bought a brand new Oldsmobile. 49:46 Went upstairs. Parked it one night. 49:47 Came down. All four doors gone off the car. 49:50 Somebody needed doors... they came and took his doors. 49:52 He went upstairs and began to play "Oh, How I Love Jesus" 49:55 on the piano. 49:59 The Bible says you ought to wear this earth 50:02 like a loose garment... because if they want it 50:05 they're going to get it. 50:06 You can lock it up, bolt it down, 50:08 tie it down, stand guard over it... 50:11 and if they want it, they are going to get it. 50:16 You can't take it with you, so don't fret. 50:19 The only thing you really need is Jesus. 50:23 Amen? And Jesus... they can't take away. 50:26 The Bible says nobody can take you 50:28 out of the hands of the Lord. 50:30 When you're in you're in as long as you want to be in 50:33 and no one can pluck you from His hands. 50:35 Everything else... it comes and goes. 50:37 It comes and goes; it comes and goes; 50:40 it comes and goes. 50:41 Revelation 21 verse 1. 50:45 Revelation 21 verse 1. 51:05 A brand new earth is coming ladies and gentlemen, 51:07 and aren't you glad that it's not much longer? 51:10 My final text. This is a text I didn't get a chance to use 51:14 the other night but it is a great text. 51:16 It is Revelation 22 and verse 12. 51:19 Revelation 22 and verse 12. 51:23 I want to read it from the Word of God. 51:25 Jesus says: 51:41 Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, 51:43 at the end of Ecclesiastes said this: 51:46 "Fear God and keep His commandments. 51:52 This is the whole duty of man. " 51:57 And Christ ends His words by saying: 52:00 "I'm coming quickly and I'm bringing My reward. " 52:05 Ladies and gentlemen, how sad it would be 52:09 to feel what you felt these past several nights - 52:12 to come to church and feel the Spirit of God 52:16 tugging at the strings of your heart - 52:19 to go through life living your life 52:23 and get down to Judgment Day 52:26 and have Jesus say: "Depart from Me... 52:30 I know you not. " 52:32 And you say: "Lord, I spent so much time in church. 52:35 I gave so much money. I did so many things. 52:38 I denied myself things, " 52:40 and have Christ say: "Yeah, but you never really knew Me. " 52:44 And somewhere along the path you determined 52:49 "I'm going to go this far and no further. 52:52 And I kept on walking, and we lost sight of each other. " 52:58 How sad that would be. 53:01 Wouldn't that be sad? 53:03 Doesn't have to be. 53:06 My old professor in college said: "You know, 53:09 this coming of the Lord is a great and awful day. " 53:13 It can be an awfully great day 53:16 or a great and awful day. 53:18 It all depends on you. 53:21 The race has been run. The victory has been won. 53:27 And all you've got to do is take hold of the hand of Jesus 53:31 and He will walk you through the gates and into that city. 53:38 How many want to be there? 53:40 Bow your heads with me if you will. 53:42 Father God, Lord Jesus we want to go home. 53:46 We look at this tired, crowded, sin-sick world. 53:52 There's no one we can trust. 53:54 We're not safe... even in our own homes. 53:57 We know the only thing that's keeping us alive 54:02 is the power of the Living God. 54:05 We dare not turn our backs on You. 54:09 We dare not turn aside from walking in Your footsteps. 54:13 We ask only, dear Jesus, 54:17 that you will keep us in the way that we're going. 54:20 Don't let us turn to the right or to the left. 54:25 Help us, God, to set our sights on heaven 54:31 and determine in our hearts, in our minds, 54:35 though 10,000 fall at our right 54:38 and 1,000 at our left 54:40 we will walk with Jesus. 54:44 Give us Your power, give us Your mercy, 54:47 give us Your grace, give us Your Holy Spirit. |
Revised 2014-12-17