Participants: Lonnie Melashenko
Series Code: VOPS
Program Code: VOPS000001
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00:32 Good evening ladies and gentlemen.
00:34 What in heaven's name 00:36 is happening to Planet Earth tonight? 00:40 For five weeks, millions of us 00:42 have been glued to our television sets in shock 00:45 and awe watching blitzkrieg over Baghdad. 00:49 Tomahawk Cruise missiles, tanks, harriers, 00:53 B-52s, stealth bombers, 00:55 the most devastating war machine 00:57 assembled on earth ever. 00:59 All fixating their cross-hairs on one place, 01:03 Saddam Hussein's bedroom. 01:06 And understandably, 01:07 people everywhere are wondering what's next? 01:11 The end? Is this the final showdown? 01:14 Are today's headlines foretold in scripture? 01:17 I don't need to tell you 01:18 that the internet is buzzing with questions. 01:21 And in fact the fine print will tell you, 01:23 that you'll find out what's happening 01:25 if you will pay and subscribe to the, 01:27 "Left Behind Prophecy Club." You just click right here 01:30 and your questions to be answered. 01:32 In fact, here is a full page ad magazine 01:35 that I personally tour out. 01:36 It says "This Spring, No One Will Escape Armageddon." 01:41 Well, say ladies and gentlemen, 01:43 we're in the middle of spring, 01:44 summer is coming in just a few weeks away. 01:46 Hey! Does this mean, we're almost in for it? 01:50 Maybe you've seen, 01:51 Tim LaHaye's and Jerry Jenkins', 01:53 brand new book that was just released. 01:55 I was the first one in line 01:56 at Casco in Southern California. 01:58 This is the eleventh in the series 02:00 of Left Behind religious fiction about end time events. 02:05 By the way, Tyndale Publishing House, 02:07 spent a whopping $5 million advertising 02:11 our opening nights meetings tonight, 02:12 what do you think? 02:14 But people are gobbling this up, 02:17 not because of the public's red-hot interest, 02:20 in the war in the Middle East. 02:22 But people are concerned 02:24 if this is Bible prophecy talking. 02:28 People want to know then what lies ahead. 02:31 What's coming next? 02:34 When terrorist destroyed the, World Trade Center, 02:37 interest in Bible prophecy zoomed 02:39 and it has hit fever pitch, 02:41 fuelling even greater speculation about 02:44 how this world might end. 02:47 A few Sunday evenings ago, the CBS Evening News, 02:50 there was the man in Fort Worth, Texas, 02:51 I happen to see this happen. 02:52 He leaned into the microphone and he wailed 02:55 "The economy, Iraq, now the Space Shuttle. 03:00 What's next? What is next? 03:05 You know, even in the secular world, 03:08 the word Armageddon, is a hot button. 03:12 Even irreligious, Ted Turner is using the term, 03:17 Armageddon, on CNN. 03:20 Los Angeles television station 03:21 KCET Channel 28 ran a PBS series 03:25 special from Monday to Thursday all of last week, 03:28 I saw part of it on primetime hosted by Walter Cronkite, 03:32 two hours every night from 9 to 11 pm called 03:36 "Avoiding Armageddon." 03:39 So ladies and gentlemen 03:40 wherever you're listening tonight 03:42 from Australia in the Pacific Rim to South America, 03:45 you know it doesn't take a rocket scientist 03:48 to look at today's headlines 03:49 and realize that the speed with 03:51 which our world is tobogganing into the Apocalypse 03:54 takes ones breadth away. 03:56 People are worried, prominent world leaders 04:00 are voicing serious concern about what lies ahead. 04:04 Former Vice President Al Gore said, 04:06 and I quote, "Two world wars, the Holocaust, 04:10 the invention of nuclear weapons, 04:13 and now the environmental crisis 04:14 have led many of us to wonder if survival is possible." 04:20 I believe Al Gore was absolutely right. 04:24 In fact many serious leaders like Giscard d'Estaing, 04:29 former French President wonder, 04:31 if our world isn't just headed for disaster. 04:35 You know, the Los Angeles Times says, 04:37 that Tim La Haye's book is rattling 04:40 the gates everywhere. 04:42 Millions say prophecy is being fulfilled in Iraq. Is it? 04:48 Well, the British Press and the BBC saying, 04:51 no those Americans are all going 04:52 after some strange fiction. 04:54 But perhaps, Time magazine's fiery cover said it all. 04:59 The Bible and the Apocalypse, the end of the world? 05:05 Now the Apocalypse 05:06 is just another name for the word Revelation 05:09 which happens to be the last book in the Bible 05:12 where we read about this term called Armageddon. 05:17 You know, folks I think one lesson 05:18 that we need to prayerfully learn 05:20 and maybe just in these past few weeks, 05:23 we already have learned it, is how humble 05:25 we need to be about interpreting 05:27 Bible prophecies. Amen. 05:29 Because I think we'll all agree 05:31 tonight that clearly the recent conflict 05:33 in Iraq was not Armageddon? 05:37 I mean there was bloodshed, 05:39 there were black hawk helicopters, 05:41 there was all kinds of thinking's taking place, 05:43 but in three short weeks 05:44 the worst was already over, wasn't it. 05:47 And it was not a global conflict. 05:50 And so many of us Christians 05:52 who often tend to look at the headlines 05:53 and want to say, oh, this is it, 05:55 now for sure we're facing final Armageddon. 05:57 We have to remember that leaders and preachers, 05:59 both camps have played that card for major wars 06:04 and minor discrepancies all over the globe for centuries. 06:07 Oh, this is Armageddon. 06:09 Sir Winston Churchill did it, 06:10 so did General Douglas MacArthur, 06:12 Dwight Eisenhower, Ronal Ragan. 06:15 And Armageddon simply hasn't happened yet. 06:20 So my question tonight is, how do we sort it all out? 06:25 Well with all of the interest in prophecy, I say, 06:28 why don't we go to the source that the Los Angeles Times, 06:31 refers to for all reliable prophecy. 06:35 Why not go to the source that our radio ministry, 06:37 Voice of Prophecy, has relayed on for 74 years. 06:41 Why not go to directly, 06:43 where we ought to go to learn about the future. 06:46 And if you're at home tonight watching on satellite 06:48 or you are listening on the radio right now, 06:50 I invite you wherever you are to go and get your Bible, 06:54 right now go ahead and turn with me to the very last 06:56 book of the amazing Book of Revelation Chapter one. 07:02 Now before we read anything about Armageddon, 07:06 I want it all like a big class 07:08 and we will have it on the screen, 07:09 so you can read it with me. 07:11 I want us to read together out loud 07:12 wherever you are seated, 07:13 whatever location on this planet. 07:16 I want us to read verse three, okay everyone. 07:18 This is going to be our hallmark. 07:20 This will be the cornerstone, the benchmark foundation 07:23 that I'm gonna build on tonight and tomorrow night 07:25 and every night during these presentations. 07:28 Are we ready? 07:28 Everyone read together out loud all together 07:31 "cursed is he" oh did I say something wrong? 07:36 You better keep an eye on me. What did your Bible say? 07:40 All right, let's read together. 07:42 "Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, 07:47 and blessed are those who hear it 07:49 and take to heart 07:51 what is written in it because" what? 07:53 "The time is near." 07:57 This book the Apocalypse, about Armageddon folks 08:01 isn't just a sci-fi thriller chiller. 08:04 No need to get scared when we read this book. 08:07 If we read and we hear and we listen to this book. 08:11 In other words if we take it seriously, 08:13 what does the Bible say we receive a blessing. 08:16 Do you believe that? Let's hear it. 08:19 Okay, then let's plunge right 08:21 into the heart of Revelation Chapter 16. 08:24 Oh, but you maybe surprised to discover 08:27 that the word Armageddon 08:29 only appears in the Bible one time. 08:33 That's right, just one solitary time 08:36 in the entire Book of Revelation. 08:37 You know, perhaps that's why there are 08:39 so many different interpretations 08:40 and theories about what Armageddon is all about. 08:43 No two prophecy experts seem to agree. 08:46 And you know that's right 08:48 where the big problem about Armageddon hinges. 08:51 You see the problem about Armageddon 08:54 and the fiction about Armageddon 08:56 isn't with the Bible prophecies. 08:58 The problem is with our human interpretations, 09:02 our speculations about them. 09:04 But the very first thing 09:06 that Revelation Chapter one tells us 09:07 that we just read about 09:09 is that Revelation is a book we can count on. 09:13 Learn, stay cool, God's in control, 09:16 get into more details from the Bible. 09:20 But someone says, wait a minute 09:21 what about Revelation Chapter 16's 09:23 comment that the Euphrates River. 09:25 You know, that river that troops 09:27 where hunkered down by for the last six weeks. 09:29 That river headlined every night in the news. 09:33 Doesn't that play a role, 09:34 a major role in these final events? 09:36 Well, let's go to the Bible 09:38 and let's let this passage in Revelation 16 09:40 speak for itself beginning at verse 12. 09:45 Now this is talking about the seven last plaques 09:46 and it says this, "The sixth angel poured out 09:50 his bowl on the great river Euphrates, 09:53 and its water was dried up 09:56 to prepare the way for the kings of the East." 09:59 Oh, bingo say many books see that means that various kings 10:04 and statesman and maybe even Tony Blair, 10:06 he's a king or almost will move their armies up 10:08 through the Euphrates Valley en-route to Har Magedon 10:12 or Armageddon up there in northern Israel. 10:15 And then they quote Revelation 9:14 and they said, 10:18 "Look out God's going to release the four angels 10:20 who were bound at the great river Euphrates 10:23 and the angels purportedly unleashed anthrax 10:26 and nerve gas and chemical warfare 10:29 and that mysterious new flu like SARS disease. 10:32 Agents of death and then they flip over to Revelation 9:15. 10:35 These agents that have been kept ready for this very hour 10:38 and day and month and year 10:40 were released to kill a third of mankind. 10:45 Los Angeles Times says, 10:47 that then these prophecy doomsayer say, 10:50 aha, now if you turn over to the Revelation 9:11. 10:55 That's right 9:11, John says that, 11:01 "The leader of an army of locusts 11:02 released to a five humans and his name is Abaddon 11:06 and in Greek that's in Hebrew Abaddon, Apollyon in Greek. 11:11 But both of those names mean destroyer 11:14 which hold on to your seats, 11:17 folks is one of the meanings for the name Saddam. 11:24 Wow, isn't that impressive? 11:26 Well, then there is a certain gentleman 11:27 by the name of Irvin Baxter. 11:28 He's the founder of what's called Endtime magazine, 11:31 some of you may subscribe to it. 11:33 He's pastor of the Oak Park Church in Richmond Indiana. 11:36 He predicts that then, 11:38 "There's going to be a nuclear holocaust 11:40 that takes the lives of two billion people." 11:42 The one-third of mankind 11:44 that we just quoted back up there in Revelation. 11:47 You know, on and on and on it goes. 11:50 Where does it end? Who do you believe? 11:53 Do we believe what's behind door number one, 11:55 or door number two or behind what's door number three, 11:57 or maybe behind what's door number four. 12:00 Now let's watch out folks. 12:02 Before you and I jump to conclusion 12:04 that could get us into real trouble, 12:06 I mean really deep dead end trouble. 12:10 Why don't we let the Bible do 12:11 what Paul Harvey says 12:12 and let it tell us the rest of the story? 12:15 Amen. The whole story. 12:18 See its very risky to takes statements 12:21 from different parts of the Bible out of context 12:24 especially parts that are highly symbolic 12:28 and force them to support 12:29 something that they really don't say. 12:33 Because listen Revelation is a book 12:34 that is full of symbols, it's highly symbolic, 12:39 a highly think figurative book. 12:41 I want you to look with me 12:42 at the next verse here in this passage 12:44 in Revelation Chapter 16, verse 13. 12:46 And you tell me how literal 12:50 and how real is this language of the Apocalypse. 12:55 "Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs, 13:01 they came out of the mouth of the dragon, 13:03 and out of the mouth of the beast 13:05 and out of the mouth of the false prophet." 13:08 When I was Armageddon, 13:10 they battled featuring real frogs and real dragons, 13:17 or are we possibly dealing with some symbols here, 13:21 obviously symbols. 13:23 Well who are these evil spirits? 13:25 Good question I'm glad you asked. 13:28 Let's let the Bible answer again. 13:30 We don't want speculation, 13:31 we don't want some wild guesses. 13:33 We want an answer and the Bible gives it clearly, 13:35 in fact that's the only way we can draw conclusions, 13:38 what do you say? Amen. 13:39 the next verse says, 13:42 "They are the spirits of demons." 13:45 Who are these evil spirits? The spirits of demons. 13:50 Well, now we know that, demons are Satan's stooges. 13:54 Evil angels who with Satan rebelled against God 13:58 and tried to stage a coup up in heaven 13:59 a kind of cosmic stuff talk about celestial Star Wars. 14:05 We'll discover another night by way 14:06 that the Bible clearly says in Revelation 12, 14:10 that the coup of this axis of evil up there failed 14:14 and Satan and his cronies were cast out of heaven. 14:17 He came down to this world 14:18 where he works subtlety to manipulate 14:20 people to reject truth about God. 14:22 But I want you to notice now Revelation 16:14 to 16. 14:26 Who is it that leads the entire world into final conflict? 14:34 It isn't Antichrist, 14:36 it isn't Saddam or Osama Bin Laden, 14:40 its Satan and his evil angels. 14:43 And look it's not at all a war 14:45 that confined just to the Middle East. 14:48 It says "Performing miraculous signs 14:51 and they go out to the kings" 14:53 of what "the whole world to gather them 14:57 for the battle of the great day of God Almighty." 14:59 Where do they go? 15:00 Just to Saddam Hussein's bedroom 15:02 over there in the Euphrates valley. 15:04 No, they go out to the whole world. 15:09 So you help me out now, 15:11 what's already very clear here. 15:13 Revelation 16 says that this is final mother of all battles 15:20 between God Almighty and the spirits of demons, 15:24 let me restate this, this ultimate Star Wars 15:27 is a showdown between God and Satan. 15:33 But that isn't all, hold on. 15:36 It says "For they are the spirits of demons 15:39 performing signs which go out to the kings of earth 15:42 and of the whole world to gather them 15:44 to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 15:47 Behold I'm coming as a thief 15:50 and they gathered them together in the place 15:53 called in the Hebrew, Armageddon." 15:56 And notice with me already 15:57 these careful crystal clear points 15:59 about Armageddon from your Bible 16:01 that we've learned tonight. 16:03 What is it? When is it? Where is it? 16:06 Not what Lonnie thinks? What your Bible says? 16:11 The battle of Armageddon 16:12 is called the battle of the great day of God Almighty. 16:17 That's verse 14. 16:18 What is this battle called? Come on? 16:21 Battle of the great day of God almighty. 16:24 Speak right up after me the next verse. 16:27 The battle of Armageddon occurs 16:28 just before Jesus comes as a thief verse 15. 16:33 When does this battle occur? 16:36 Just before Jesus comes. 16:38 And the Bible says 16:39 "Then they gathered together in a place 16:41 in the Hebrew tongue called Armageddon." 16:45 Where is this battle fought? Armageddon. 16:49 Now let me interject something very, very important. 16:53 We must not miss this point here. 16:55 We must not leap frog from verse 14 and over 15 16:59 to get to the good part of the Armageddon in verse 16. 17:02 In fact Jesus himself injected right here 17:05 at verse 15 at this point, 17:07 so that we won't get mixed up. So that we won't get 17:10 so caught up in lot of these deceptive fiction, 17:13 that all of the evil angels and the violence 17:14 and by the way I read that book, 17:15 it's got some interesting good things. 17:18 But He is-- He doesn't want us 17:19 to get mixed up in all of the gathering of armies 17:21 in final cosmic spectacular, 17:24 so that we lose the perspective 17:25 and miss the point. 17:28 That this whole stirring, 17:29 frightening picture is just a prelude 17:33 to the very coming of Jesus. 17:36 Unmistakably clear in verse 15. 17:39 Remember Jesus Himself is speaking here. 17:41 "Behold I come as a thief. 17:44 Blessed is he who stays awake 17:47 and keeps his clothes with him. 17:48 So he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed." 17:53 Now listen folks in dealing with Armageddon, 17:56 here is the good news tonight. 17:58 The Book of Revelation turns the spotlight 18:01 when we're looking at Armageddon, 18:02 the spotlight is turned on Jesus, 18:05 on His righteousness, on His grace, 18:07 on His gift of life, that's what the Bible means, 18:10 when it talks about a person keeping his clothes with him. 18:14 Armageddon speaks of victory, not victims. 18:18 It speaks of deliverance not doom, 18:21 it speaks of hope, not hopelessness. 18:24 It speaks of Satan's final futile attempts to unite 18:27 all the forces of hell against God and his people. 18:30 Question is tonight are you ready for this? 18:34 Or you can be? Bible says without it, 18:39 you're exposed naked and what does that mean. 18:44 It isn't talking about streakers, 18:46 trying to get attention. 18:48 No, it's pointing out serious spiritual emptiness 18:51 and a very real possibility 18:53 that some good people will not survive Armageddon, 18:57 it's just that vital. 18:59 But thank God, you can have assurance. 19:03 You don't need Lon, 19:04 to be blown away if you stay awake. 19:07 If you find Jesus as your friend 19:09 and wear the clothing He has for you, 19:11 you can have life that lasts forever. 19:14 What God is telling us here is, 19:17 He's not someone to be afraid of. 19:20 He's someone to be a friend of. 19:22 In fact, He's on our side. 19:25 And I want that to stand out as clear as a beacon 19:27 in this seminar study series on the Bible. 19:30 God friend wants to be your best friend. 19:35 You know, after 9/11 Americans particularly learned 19:39 what it really means to be afraid. 19:42 Terrorists cell groups 19:44 continue to hide in our shadows. 19:46 Snipers are out there. 19:48 Economy is looking like its careening downhill faster, 19:51 and faster everyday. 19:53 And do you know what else the Bible says, 19:55 the Bible itself in the mysterious book of Daniel 19:59 seems to describe an enormous stone 20:02 hurdling through deep space 20:03 and blowing this planet into oblivion. 20:05 Does that sound like good news, 20:08 or the greatest cosmic terrorist attack of all time? 20:12 Well, tomorrow night here's our topic, 20:15 what's next signs you can't ignore. 20:20 We'll learn about Bible prophecies 20:22 being fulfilled right now in 2003. 20:25 And I hope every one of you will decide, 20:27 I'm gonna be here to this satellite seminar location 20:30 with my own Bible under my arm. 20:32 And I'm gonna bring a piece of paper and take some notes. 20:34 And now back to the final cosmic battle of the ages. 20:39 Where and when does this take place? 20:44 Lets look now to Revelation 16, verse 16. 20:46 It says, "Then they gathered the kings 20:49 together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon." 20:55 Another question for you to speak right out loud. 20:57 Does it say that this is going to happen this spring? 21:01 Does the text say that? No. Does it say, 21:04 maybe it will happen in the next few weeks? 21:06 No. Doesn't say that either. 21:08 What does the Bible actually say? 21:09 It says, "Then, then there is a spiritual showdown 21:17 coming between the forces of right forces of wrong." 21:20 Well someone asks Lon, 21:22 does this eliminate the possibility 21:24 of some earth-shaking physical military conflict 21:27 somewhere on this planet. 21:28 No. In fact, I like to suggest 21:31 that its unimaginable human nature being what it is. 21:35 That there won't be fierce military carnages 21:39 humanity reaches its final chapter. 21:42 After all in the last century alone an estimated 21:44 221 million human beings were murdered or killed. 21:50 You know, as these sands of time here run out. 21:55 Ladies and gentlemen, 21:56 I don't think things in this world are going to improve. 22:00 Because when it all finally does end 22:02 the final approach on the runway of time, 22:04 it will be God Himself stepping in, 22:07 awesome empower and majesty, 22:09 you talk about shock and all, 22:12 but then the Bible says and not till then. 22:15 Remember something important Jesus says here. 22:18 He says, you disciples will see a lot of these events, 22:20 you'll see the carnage, you'll see the famines, 22:22 you'll see the disaster and you'll think, okay. 22:26 This is got to be it. This is Armageddon, 22:29 but Jesus says no, not yet, not yet. 22:34 First he says "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, 22:40 but see to it that you are not alarmed. 22:43 Such things must happen." 22:45 But what? "The end is still to come." 22:51 Jesus says Lon, "Hang loose! Stay cool!" 22:53 We might think Iraq is the trigger for Armageddon. 22:56 But Mathew 24 verse 8 says all these things 22:59 are the beginning of birth pains. 23:04 We got a staff member 23:05 that's on a deliver room table right now. 23:08 And I'll be honest with you I'll confess 23:09 I've never experienced birth pains myself personally. 23:14 But you who are mothers you certainly know 23:17 how the increase in frequency 23:19 and intensity they put you on noticed, on alert. 23:25 They keep you on your toes, something is going to happen. 23:28 Yes sir, it's going to happen. 23:30 So the Bible says, something is going to happen, when? 23:35 Okay, now the question is where? 23:39 Revelation 16:16, "And he gathered them together 23:42 into a place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon." 23:49 I want you to look this way 23:50 and I want you to listen very carefully. 23:52 You can go home, 23:53 you can get your Rand McNally atlases out 23:56 or you can get your national geographic maps. 23:59 You can search the face of the earth 24:00 and you'll not find any place called Armageddon. 24:05 There is no such place. 24:07 But this scripture gives us a little hint. 24:10 It offers some suggestions 24:12 and says that these word Armageddon 24:14 comes from a Hebrew word. I took Hebrew, 24:17 I can't remember very much about it, 24:18 but I know this much 24:20 that this word Armageddon is really 24:21 the combination of two words 24:23 Har meaning mountain and Magedon 24:29 which doesn't have any real definition 24:32 but it appears to us to link 24:35 with a place there in Israel called Megiddo. 24:39 The name Armageddon could literally mean 24:42 mountain or "Mountains of Megiddo." 24:46 All right this gives us something to work with, 24:48 but do you know what, I've stood over there. 24:51 I have some of you have too 24:52 over there in Northern Israel. 24:54 At Megiddo, you know what it is? 24:57 It's a valley. It's a plain, 25:00 usually called the Plain of Esdraelon 25:02 but with Zechariah Chapter 12:11 calls Megiddo. 25:05 It's a triangular shaped swamp 25:08 basically about 20 miles on a side, 25:11 about two-third the size of Lake Tahoe 25:14 there in Northern California, 25:15 where my parents are watching tonight. 25:17 It's just a little north of Jerusalem. 25:19 That is the closest thing that scholars can come up 25:23 with that might resemble "Har Magedon." Megiddo. 25:28 In fact I remember there is a tourist sign there, 25:31 that says Armageddon. 25:34 Not very impressive, not a very big place, 25:37 in fact it's so small our Israeli guide pointed out 25:40 that if you're thinking this is Armageddon, 25:42 two Israeli jets couldn't even turn around 25:44 in the skies above that valley. 25:47 Oh, granted some impressive battles 25:50 were fought there long, long ago 25:51 but it obviously does not offer 25:53 much room for modern armies or the kings 25:56 of the whole world to assemble there. 25:59 But hold on to your seat, because now the plot thickens. 26:03 You see, unfortunately it doesn't make sense 26:06 for Revelation 16 to call Megiddo a mountain. 26:11 Har Magedon, Megiddo isn't a mountain at all, 26:16 it's a flat marshy valley. 26:19 So it's what we call an oxymoron 26:21 to call Megiddo a mountain. 26:23 It's kind of like for you folks watching tonight 26:25 over there in Omaha, Nebraska. 26:27 It's like calling Omaha 26:29 on the flat plains of Nebraska, mount Omaha. 26:34 No, it doesn't fit, 26:35 doesn't work, seems confusing. 26:38 But let's patiently and prayerfully 26:39 look for an answer tonight, what would you say. 26:42 The whole context of Armageddon 26:45 in the Book of Revelation is that there is a situation 26:50 in which a divided world reaches 26:53 its final mountain top summit against the mountain of God. 27:01 The battle of Armageddon, 27:02 Revelation 16 speaks of a God on His mountain 27:06 who is powerful enough, a God who is strong enough, 27:10 a God who is mighty in battle, 27:11 a God who has never lost to Satan yet 27:13 and He won't now either. 27:15 Which leads to question tonight, 27:17 what kind of a battle are you facing 27:19 ladies and gentlemen. 27:20 Are you perhaps tonight facing a battle with disease? 27:24 It seems to be getting the best of you. 27:27 Are you going to win that battle? 27:29 Well, the Bible says you are. 27:31 What kind of a battle are you facing tonight? 27:32 Are you facing a battle 27:35 perhaps with discouragement? 27:37 Well, hey friend you and God are gonna win, 27:40 if Jesus is in your life. 27:42 Are you facing a battle 27:43 with some habit or attitude in your life 27:46 that you just wish you could give up? 27:48 Good news, as you and God are gonna win. 27:51 Are you facing some battle with temptation? 27:53 You and God are going to win. 27:56 Oh, yes, at end time the battle will be fierce. 27:59 The dragon will roar, the beast will oppress, 28:02 the antichrist will persecute, 28:04 but Jesus Christ enters the battle 28:06 and He is triumphant 28:08 and you will be triumphant too. Amen. 28:11 So my question tonight is this, 28:14 was General Douglas MacArthur right? 28:18 Some of you honored veterans of war. 28:24 Was he right when he stood on the deck of the battleship 28:26 Missouri on September 02, 1945, 28:29 after we dropped the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki 28:33 to end the most terrible war in the history of mankind? 28:36 Was McCarthy right to warn the world, 28:39 "We have had our last chance." 28:43 If we do not device some greater 28:46 and more equitable system, 28:48 Armageddon will be at our door. 28:53 Perhaps he was more right than we realized. 28:57 Because let me say again very clearly, 28:59 the final struggle between good and evil, 29:03 the Armageddon battle for planet earth 29:05 is going to be the mother of all battles. 29:09 Spiritually, morally, physically, militarily 29:13 and it will not take place 29:14 only in a Northern Israeli swamp no. 29:18 Armageddon will take place all over planet earth, 29:23 but right in the middle of this chaos. 29:25 Notice what Jesus said in Mathew 24 verse 30, 29:29 He said "Then the sign of the Son of Man 29:32 will appear in the heaven, 29:33 and all the tribes of the earth will mourn 29:35 and they will see 29:36 the son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven 29:39 with power and great glory." 29:42 Revelation 19:11 says, Armageddon finally comes 29:46 to its climax at the coming of Jesus. 29:49 Notice what it says, "I saw heaven standing open 29:52 and there before me was a white horse, 29:55 whose rider is called Faithful and True. 29:57 The armies of heaven were following him, 29:59 riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, 30:02 white and clean. 30:03 Now who is this one riding on the white horse 30:06 and leading the armies of heaven? 30:08 Come on, Jesus, 30:10 right none other than Jesus Himself. 30:12 Revelation 19:16, "On His robe 30:15 and on His thigh He has this name written, 30:17 King of Kings and Lord of Lords." 30:20 I mean there is no mistaking who this is, 30:22 it's Jesus Himself and why does He come. 30:26 To deliver His saints in tribulation. 30:29 Jesus wins, that is the message 30:34 underlined in the Book of Revelation 30:35 and impressed in our minds with triple exclamation points. 30:39 And we who accept Him, win with Him. 30:44 Revelation 19:20 says, "But the beast was captured 30:47 and with him the false prophet 30:49 who performed the miraculous signs on his behalf." 30:53 Ladies and gentlemen, 30:55 the cosmic battle of the ages will be the biggest 31:01 cliffhanger battle of them all. 31:03 Because you see Armageddon, is about two camps, 31:08 two different universe systems, 31:10 the final showdown. 31:13 Once those two are unequivocally differentiated, 31:16 there is no reason for further delay. 31:18 The battle lines will be drawn. 31:20 There is nothing more that God can do, 31:22 to save the wicked 31:23 and nothing more He needs to do for the righteous, 31:25 except deliver them. 31:27 This is the moment of truth. Amen. 31:31 More than an ultimatum 31:32 from President George Bush or Tony Blair's date on. 31:38 Revelation says, the way is paid 31:40 by God for Jesus to return. 31:44 Satan over here has his access of evil 31:47 the triple alliance of the dragon 31:49 and the beast and the false prophet. 31:51 But Jesus warned in Mathew 24 verses 3 and 4 31:54 "Take heed lawn that no one deceives you." 31:57 Mathew 24:24, "For false christs, 32:01 and false prophets will rise and show great signs 32:04 and wonder to deceive if possible, even the elect." 32:08 There will be a miracle mania 32:10 that will overwhelm people on TV 32:12 and in the state of religion. Signs and wonders, wow! 32:16 So scientific and stunning 32:17 they almost deceive even the very elect. 32:20 False christs, false prophets, 32:23 plus Satan's biggest lie set 32:26 the stage for the final showdown. 32:29 I won't be at all surprised perhaps to discover 32:31 that one of his demons impersonating 32:34 an angel of light will appear to resurrect a dead person. 32:38 I won't be all surprised one day to look 32:40 and see someone talking on television 32:42 to Lady Diana or Mother Theresa. 32:46 Satan's final delusions to deceive and mislead. 32:51 We're gonna to be talking a lot about 32:52 some of these things in coming night. 32:55 So the question is what's next, 32:57 Revelation 7:1 to 3 says, 32:59 "After this I saw four angels standing 33:03 at the four corners of the earth, 33:05 holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent 33:08 any wind from blowing on the land 33:10 or on the sea or any tree. 33:12 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, 33:16 having the seal of the living God. 33:19 And he called out with 33:20 a loud voice to the four angels 33:21 who had been given power to harm the land and the sea. 33:24 "Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees 33:26 until we put a seal 33:29 on the foreheads of the servants of our God." 33:34 You see in mercy tonight 33:36 God says hold on just a little bit longer, 33:40 don't let the curtain of time ring down 33:42 yet or the hour is now at the sand in the hourglass, 33:45 because there are still people there on planet earth, 33:47 still responding to me. 33:49 God wants something else to happen 33:51 before the final winds of Armageddon 33:54 theory blow in all of their force on this planet. 33:57 Jesus himself said, 33:59 this final thing is the biggest sign of all, 34:03 but He's just about to return. 34:05 One of my favorite text Mathew 24, verse 14. 34:08 He said first, "This gospel of the kingdom 34:12 must be preached in all the world 34:13 as a testimony to all nations, 34:15 and then the end will come." Amen. 34:19 Well, now that doesn't mean 34:20 we can sit back tonight and say well, 34:22 preacher you just made feel a whole lot better. 34:24 No need to get all concerned about Armageddon, 34:27 because I happen to know 34:28 that gospel hasn't gone to the whole world yet. 34:31 Because friend, the gospel is making amazing advances 34:35 throughout the world 34:36 in Africa and Asia and India and every where. 34:40 I was reading from the New York Times, 34:43 it says that even in China tonight 34:46 with foreign missionaries banned 34:48 and underground churches persecuted, 34:50 the New York Times says, 34:52 Christianity is flourishing with 34:55 tens of millions of believers. 34:58 Never in history that been more 34:59 overwhelming globing circling proclamation of the gospel 35:03 in corresponding response. 35:05 It's on the internet, on TV, on worldwide radio. 35:10 It's bouncing off satellites tonight in South America 35:12 and New Guinea, Australia and Pacific Rim. 35:15 And this summer we'll be over there 35:16 in Africa and Europe and Asia thereafter. 35:19 See people are getting the message about Jesus' 35:21 warning in Mathew 24:42 and 44. 35:24 Lon "Watch therefore, 35:27 for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 35:31 So you also must be ready, 35:36 because the Son of Man is coming at an hour 35:38 when you do not expect Him." 35:42 For the past six weeks, 35:43 we've all had front row seats, a war in your face. 35:49 Five hundred embedded news reporters 35:51 with live television pictures of capture, 35:54 torture of prisoners, 35:56 parading some of the most grotesque 35:57 and gruesome violations of the Geneva Convention. 36:01 We've had Ted Koppel from "Nightline" 36:03 news writing in his Humvee Wolfe Blitzer from CNN 36:05 and even CBS's Diane Sawyer 36:08 donning her gas mask and scrambling for cover, 36:11 I remember during one of those air raids in Kuwait. 36:13 But do you know, all of these terrible things 36:16 just introduced God's finest hour. 36:20 Folks, God is not up there tonight ringing His hands. 36:24 The best is yet to come, 36:26 the best days for God are just ahead. 36:29 Yes, we maybe afraid, yes, we've had 9/11 36:33 and the world is more dangerous place to live. 36:35 Yes, we may not know what's ahead, 36:38 but should we led fear paralyze us. 36:41 No, Revelation tells us 36:42 Armageddon isn't the message of doom and gloom, 36:44 it's a message of hope. 36:46 God's people don't need to live in fear. 36:48 They can live in faith. 36:50 Fear paralyses, fear cripples, faith inspires hope. 36:55 Faith lifts our spirits, faith encourages our hearts. 37:00 Luke 21:26, says that this very time when, 37:02 "Men's hearts are failing them for fear, 37:04 and for looking after those things 37:06 which are coming on the earth." 37:08 God's people react differently, 37:10 Second Timothy 1:7. 37:12 "God has not given us the spirit of fear, 37:14 but of power and of love and of a sound mind." Amen. 37:19 As we go into our homes in just a moment 37:20 tonight Jesus to us Lonnie, 37:24 you tell them Luke 19:13 to "Occupy till I come." 37:30 Go out there and stay on track. 37:32 Don't lose your head. Don't give up your day job. 37:36 Don't throw in the towel. Don't be overcome with fear. 37:38 Yes, Luke 21:25 to 28 says, 37:41 "There will be signs in the sun and moon and the stars, 37:43 and on the earth, nations will be in anguish 37:45 and men will faint from terror, 37:47 apprehensive of what is coming on the world." 37:49 When these things begin to take place, 37:51 it says Lon, stand up lift up your heads" 37:53 because what "your redemption is drawing near." 37:58 Not a time to cower, not a time to fear, 38:00 not a time to crawl in a hole 38:01 and put a color tape over our eyes. 38:03 It's not a time for pessimism, 38:05 no its time to lift up your head and shout, 38:08 praise the Lord, Jesus is coming. 38:11 Good news tonight Jesus promises 38:13 is just nine words long. 38:17 "But he who endures to the end shall be saved." 38:25 How you are doing in the endurance department tonight. 38:28 You're still holding on. 38:30 Let me tell you a brief 38:31 and incredible story of someone 38:32 who endured and was saved on 9/11, 38:35 trapped inside those World Center Trade Towers, 38:38 when the planes hit. 38:39 True story I want you to meet, Genelle Guzman-McMillan. 38:42 On the morning of 9/11 38:44 Genelle was on the 64th floor of the North Tower 38:46 and suddenly of course there was big jolt there 38:49 that sent everyone scrambling. 38:50 State puts at the authorities and she did for a while. 38:54 But finally she realized she had to go down, down, 38:56 down the circular staircase. 38:57 She ran past floor after floor 40th floor, 30th floor 39:01 when she got to the 13th floor 39:02 suddenly all hell seem to break loose 39:04 and Genelle found herself entombed with her legs pinned, 39:07 her head trapped between concrete slabs. 39:11 Somewhere nearby a man cried pitifully for short while 39:14 but then he stopped and Genelle was all alone. 39:17 Alone with her thoughts, 39:20 but you know, someone else was there, 39:23 God was there. 39:25 Now Genelle, knew something about the Lord, 39:27 she was convicted of her sin and of Gods grace 39:29 she had gone to church a few times. 39:30 That she hadn't really been willing to give up 39:32 some things like inappropriate, 39:34 inappropriate romantic relationship. 39:36 She was living with her boyfriend. 39:38 Then came 9/11 and everything changed. 39:41 Buried there in that twisted steel, 39:43 Genelle thought about her hardened heart, 39:45 and twisted wayward life. 39:47 Was she really ready to die? 39:48 No way, she knew her life was buried in confusion 39:51 and lack purpose and she was dying. 39:53 She was trapped and feeling utterly hopeless. 39:56 Genelle drifted off to sleep 39:58 and she was awaken by a little sliver of light 40:02 with the morning sun, 40:03 somehow penetrating those tones and tones of rubble. 40:06 Light, she thought of Jesus, 40:08 who lights the world with grace and she was asking herself. 40:12 Am I finally willing now to follow that light, 40:14 which she accept the death 40:15 and resurrection of Jesus as God's salvation for her sin. 40:19 And this time the answer was yes 40:22 and right then and there buried beneath 40:24 the rubble with nothing to lose Genelle accepted Jesus. 40:27 Whether she lived or died she was now the Lords. 40:31 Her body was still trapped there in that horrifying tomb, 40:33 but her spirit found sweet peace 40:35 in God's forgiveness and acceptance. 40:37 And after laying there a long while 40:39 she was buried in that rubble for 26 hours. 40:42 She heard noises, rescuers searching for survivors. 40:47 And Genelle called up I'm here, I'm right here. 40:50 Do you see any light they asked her? 40:53 Not realizing the spiritual significance 40:55 to that question to Genelle. 40:57 She stretched out her hand believe it or not 40:59 through a little tiny crack in her concrete tomb 41:01 and one of those incredible New York firefighters 41:04 reached out and grabbed and he said I've got you 41:06 and indeed he did and he wouldn't let her go. 41:08 And everybody cheered as the rescuers 41:10 there sent her off to the hospital. 41:12 She was dehydrated, 41:13 she was injured, she was bruised, 41:15 but Genelle received 41:16 God's healing touch not only in her body, 41:18 but in the deeper sense in her life. 41:20 She is thankful for that terrifying wake up call on 9/11. 41:24 She says, you know, I'll never go back 41:26 to that life I lived before. Amen. 41:28 And people tell me I'm lucky I respond, 41:30 God has nothing to do with it God had a plan. 41:34 And tonight right now 41:36 we're gonna bring Genelle on this station, 41:38 but she has gotten married to that young man. 41:40 She has accepted the Lord, 41:41 she has been baptized and she is pregnant. 41:43 And her doctor said she couldn't be here this moment. 41:46 But friend, when there seems no way out for you, 41:49 God has a plan. 41:52 Listen to this song by Joey Draper. 42:01 I don't understand why some people must suffer 42:07 Or why children or young people die 42:13 I don't understand why some people have plenty 42:19 While other just barely get pride 42:25 Why the new waves of trouble keep pounding around us 42:31 Before yesterday's ways ebb away 42:38 But at moments like these 42:41 when my hearts starts to falter 42:44 God's Spirit will tenderly whisper and say 42:53 There's a reason, there's a plan 43:00 There's a purpose and there's a goal 43:07 And Jesus who loves us more than anyone can 43:15 Is still very much in control 43:25 Yes, He's still very much, very much, in control 43:43 Let us pray together. 43:45 Wonderful Savior, thank you for Your wonderful plan. 43:49 And tomorrow night bring us 43:50 back to discover signs we can't ignore. 43:54 Keep us in Your heart of love until we meet again, 43:56 in Your wonderful name we pray and the church said, amen. 44:01 Good night remember friend, God really does love you. |
Revised 2015-02-05