I want to turn to Zechariah chapter 14.
Zechariah chapter 14, there are
number of passages that refer to the second
coming of Christ in the Old Testament and
when we read the newspapers and see what
is happening in the world around us, we
see how relevant the Bible is to our
time and how prophetic these words are and
how we are to be prepared in this
day and age.
It says in verse 2 that, I will
gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle
and the city will be captured and so
on and then the Lord will go forth,
verse 3, and fight against those nations when
He fights on the day of battle and
in that day His feet will stand on
the Mount of Olives.
You know, it was from the Mount of
Olives that Jesus ascended up into heaven and
when He was ascending up to heaven, two
men stood there and told His disciples, why
do you stand looking up there?
In the same way that you saw Him
go up, He will come back.
It's exactly going to be the same place
from which His feet lifted off and went
up to heaven.
To the same spot, He's going to return.
That's what it says here, in that day
His feet will stand on the Mount of
Olives and the Mount of Olives will be
split into two.
The time immediately before the coming of Christ
is going to be a time of a
lot of violence and war.
When Jesus said, there are going to be
wars, I personally can't pray for peace when
He said there will be wars.
When I see the wars, I think there
will be more wars.
He said the last days will be like
the days of Noah, a time when it
was full of sexual evil and violence.
I'm not going to pray that the world
will become pure, because I know it's not
going to be pure.
I only pray that church will become pure
in the midst of a world which is
going to become corrupt.
I don't know whether you're aware, but among
born again Christians, there are some people who
feel that the calling of the church is
to make the world better.
They feel that the church has failed in
doing that for so many years, but that
they're going to do it now.
Personally, I don't believe that, because the Bible
says that as we approach the end of
time, evil men will become worse and worse.
See, 2nd Timothy chapter 3 and verse 13,
the world is going to go from bad
to worse.
If it's bad now, it'll be worse in
the days to come.
Worse morally, there's not going to be less
terrorism, but more.
2nd Timothy 3 and verse 13, evil men
and imposters will proceed from bad to worse,
deceiving and being deceived.
Now, this is chapter 3, the first verse.
You must see the context.
It's particularly speaking about the last days.
In the last days, difficult times will come.
Or as I think the living Bible says,
it's going to be difficult to be a
Christian.
It's going to be difficult to be a
Christian because on one side, Christians are going
to be persecuted, and on the other side,
you have a whole lot of people who
compromise the standards of Christianity, so it's going
to be very difficult to stand up against
this type of compromise.
Most people would like to seek to be
popular.
And in this last days, it says evil
men and deceivers will proceed from bad to
worse.
So, we can't expect things to become better
in India or in Bangalore or in the
world around us.
We're not going to expect great multitudes to
be saved.
And I'll tell you why.
Because Jesus said, the way to life is
narrow and few there be that find it.
I believe the words of Jesus Christ, that
there are very few who find the way
to life.
I mean, even among those who have been
believers for so many years, it's very difficult
to find believers who can say, I have
a very satisfying relationship with Jesus Christ, and
he delivers me from sin, and anger, and
bitterness, and lust, and a lot of money.
There are very, very few around the world
who can honestly testify to that, which proves
that most, even so-called believers, are not
very serious about living a wholehearted life.
And so, I've seen that everywhere.
And so, I believe what Jesus said is
true.
There are very few who will find that
way to life.
And the purpose of our preaching here is
to make sure that those who want to
be in that few, will be challenged in
this church to be among that few who
will be ready for the coming of Christ.
There are two places on earth particularly mentioned
in relation to the last days.
One is Jerusalem.
We saw that in the book of Zechariah.
And just turn back there for a moment,
Zechariah 14, it says about that war, the
final day just before the coming of Christ.
It's a statement here which is very difficult
to understand.
Zechariah 14, it says, in that war, there
will be such a terrible situation among the
people, that it says in the middle of
verse 12, Zechariah 14, 12, People, while they
are standing on their feet, their flesh will
rot, and their eyes will rot in their
sockets when they are standing on their feet.
Now, we know when people die, their flesh
rots, their eyes rot in their sockets, and
their tongue rots in their mouth.
But this is when they are alive, when
they are standing in that final war, these
soldiers who are standing there, they are people,
their eyes are going to rot in their
sockets, and the flesh is going to melt
while they are standing.
In my understanding, that seems to describe a
nuclear war.
That's the type of thing that happens when
an atom bomb is dropped somewhere, where people
standing and their flesh begins to melt, and
their eyes rot in their sockets.
It's amazing, there's never been in the history
of humanity, any bomb or anything that could
ever produce that result.
It's amazing how accurate scripture is.
So, I personally believe that we are going
to end with a nuclear war, according to
that verse.
Turn to Luke chapter 21.
I'm just trying to show you how relevant
the Bible is to the time in which
we live.
Jerusalem is going to be surrounded with armies,
and that's going to be one place where
there's going to be a lot of battle.
He says here in Luke 21.20, when
you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you
know that desolation is at hand.
And he goes on to say, verse 24,
Jerusalem will be trampled on the foot by
the non-Jewish nations until the times of
the Gentiles is fulfilled.
And we know that Jerusalem was ruled by
the Gentiles for many years, and it's only
recently that it came back into the hands
of Israel.
The other place that's mentioned in the book
of Revelation, in relation to war in the
last days, is Revelation chapter 9.
You read about the judgments of the trumpets,
and if you read 1 Thessalonians 4, it
says that the last trumpet, Christ will come.
Maybe you should see that first if you're
not sure of it.
1 Thessalonians 4, let's look at that before
we go to Revelation 9.
In 1 Thessalonians 4, it says, in verse
16, the Lord himself will descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and
the dead in Christ shall rise first.
In 1 Corinthians 15, if you turn to
1 Corinthians 15, also it speaks there about
that trumpet, in 1 Corinthians 15, in verse
52, in a moment, in the twinkling of
an eye, at the last trumpet, the trumpet
will sound, and the dead will be raised
imperishable, and we shall be changed.
There are going to be a number of
trumpets, at the last trumpet, the Lord will
come.
And that's what we read in 1 Thessalonians
4 too, the trumpet will sound.
So now we go to Revelation chapter 9,
where we read about seven trumpets.
So obviously, it's at the seventh trumpet that
the Lord will come, but before the seventh
trumpet, you read about the sixth trumpet being
blown.
It's all picture language, but it has some
significance.
It says here, the sixth trumpet, verse 14,
Revelation 9, 14, saying to the sixth angel
who had the trumpet, release the four angels,
or demons actually, evil angels, who are bound
at the great river Euphrates.
How many of you know where the river
Euphrates is, in which country?
Iraq.
So, there are two places mentioned in relation
to the last days, one is Jerusalem, and
the other is Iraq.
And it says here, there are some demons
bound up there, in the river Euphrates, who
are going to be released when the sixth
trumpet sounds.
And they have been prepared for a certain
day, and month, and year.
And then, the number of armies around there
is going to be 200 million.
It's going to be a fantastic number of
people fighting together against each other.
And then in chapter 16, you read about
it again, where you read about the seven
vials of judgment.
And then, when the sixth angel, Revelation 16,
verse 12, poured out the bowl upon the
great river, the Euphrates, its water was dried
up, so that the way may be prepared
for the kings of the east.
That means people from the east of Iraq,
which is Iran, is going to come forward
and fight.
So, there's so much of warning there in
scripture, about some of the battles in the
last days.
One other passage, let me show you, where
some names of countries are mentioned.
Ezekiel, in chapter 38, it speaks about a
time when the Lord has gathered, Ezekiel 38,
verse 8, after many days, in the latter
years, it speaks about people, these Israelites.
It refers to the Israelites, in verse 8,
whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations
to the mountains of Israel.
See, that's what happened from 1948 onwards.
The people of Israel gathered from many, many
nations.
They were scattered for 2,000 years as
a punishment, because they crucified Christ.
Forty years after Jesus was crucified, God sent
the Roman armies to destroy the nation of
Israel, and they were scattered to all the
nations of the earth.
Now, most people, when they get scattered to
the nations of the earth, get absorbed into
those nations.
We know a lot of Indians who've gone
to the United States, or England, or Australia.
I mean, in three or four generations, they
become part of that country.
In 100 years, 150 years, I mean, they
may look like Indians still, but their attachment
is no longer to India.
They've settled down in that country.
The same thing has happened to, say, Africans
who go to other countries, or Chinese people
who go to the United States.
They settle down there and become part of
that country, but not the Jewish people.
They were scattered all over the world for
2,000 years, and then they came back.
That was God who gathered them from many
nations to the mountains of Israel, and against
that nation, at that time, a number of
armies are going to come against them, and
one of them is Persia, verse 5.
Persia will come with all its troops.
So it says here that Iran, Persia, by
the way, is the old name for Iran,
is going to fight against Israel.
So, all these verses seem to indicate certain
things happening around the Middle East, particularly around
Iran and Jerusalem, that the center of wars
and activities, although there will be wars all
over the world, the center of it is
going to be around that place.
So, when we read these things in the
newspapers, what should we be doing?
Let's turn to Luke's Gospel in chapter 21.
In Luke 21, it even speaks about the
tsunami, in verse 25.
It says here in verse 25, in the
last part, this is referring to the last
days again, there will be a roaring of
the sea and the waves, not just the
ordinary roaring of sea and waves, but to
such an extent that people are going to
faint from fear when they hear of these
things happening.
And then, soon after all that happens, the
Son of Man will come in a cloud.
Then it says in verse 28, here's what
it says we should do.
When these things begin to take place, straighten
up and lift up your head, because your
redemption is drawing near.
So, that should be our attitude if you
believe all these scriptures, as I do.
I want to straighten up, lift up my
head, I don't want to hang my head
down in shame, with guilt and unconfessed sin,
in depression and gloom, like a lot of
Christians are.
No, it says you've got to lift your
head up, because Jesus is going to come.
Your redemption, your total redemption from the world
is going to come very soon.
But Jesus said that the new heavens and
new earth that are going to be born,
it's like a baby being born.
And in Matthew 24, I don't have time
to show it to you, he said, these
are the beginning of birth pains.
When a baby is born, a mother goes
through a lot of pain, and then the
baby is born.
So, what Jesus was referring to there was
that just before his coming, when the new
birth is going to take place for this
earth, it's going to go through a period
of intense pain, and Christians must be ready
for that time.
And he also went on to say in
verse 34, be on guard, that your hearts
are not weighted down at that time, with
dissipation and drunkenness.
Now, this is not speaking about physical drunkenness.
It's not saying, I fill my stomach with
alcohol.
It's talking about the heart getting drunk.
How does the heart get drunk?
We can take a picture from a man
getting drunk.
Why do people get drunk?
Why do they go for drink?
Mainly, it is to forget their sorrows.
They have problems in life and they want
to forget about it all.
They say, well, if I have a good
drink or a few drinks, I can just
forget about all that.
In other words, for a little while, while
the effect of that drink is upon him,
he lives in a world of unreality, imagining
that all his problems are solved.
Nothing is solved, but he can forget about
all that.
Now, Jesus said, don't let something like that
happen to your heart, where you forget about
the real world of eternity, the real world
of heaven, and get drunk.
It says here, with the worries of this
life, the cares of this life.
Now, we have to take care of so
many things for our children.
We need to provide for them.
We got to go to work.
We got to earn our living.
Living in a rented house, sometimes you got
to move from that house to another house.
Life on earth is not at all easy.
It's not just for believers.
Look at all the poor unbelievers in Bangalore.
Life's not easy for them.
Life's not easy for all these laborers who
work in such tremendous poverty and go back
to the slums where their husbands get drunk.
Life is not easy.
And life's not easy for believers.
Sometimes we believers think that we are the
ones who are having the greatest difficulty.
I remember once, one couple came to me
many years ago and told me what a
lot of problems they had.
I said, just go down to those slums
and take a walk there for half an
hour and come back and tell me what
problems you have.
They had no more problems.
We think, and the devil wants to make
us think, that we are suffering so much.
And the more he makes you think like
that, the more he makes you feel sorry
for yourself, which is an evil, sinful thing.
You want other people to feel sorry for
you.
No, we're supposed to lift up our heads
and say, I'm okay.
God's on the throne.
It's like when Jesus was beaten and whipped
and blood was flowing down His body and
He was carrying the cross and all the
women were weeping for Him.
He said, don't weep for me, I'm okay.
God is in Jerusalem, He said in Luke
23, don't weep for me, I'm okay.
My body is beaten, some blood is flowing
and all, but I'm okay.
I'm in the center of God's will.
What does it matter if I'm suffering a
little?
Weep for yourself, He said.
Weep for your children.
I wish we had more believers like that
in our day, who can say to people
around me, around them, don't weep for me,
I'm okay.
I'm perfectly okay.
I may be going through some trials and
difficulties, but I'm in the center of God's
will.
I'm sorry to say, very few believers are
like that.
Lot of believers are full of old whips,
getting people to feel sorry for them, for
this problem, that problem.
They never seem to get out of it.
You see them 20 years later, they're still
the same old wretched frame of mind.
About this problem, that problem.
And that's exactly what the devil wants you
to be occupied with.
The worries of this life, get drunk with
it, and get so drunk with it, that
you can't rejoice in the Lord, so frequently
in bad moods, and etc, etc.
And just say it, and we can listen
to a lot of messages, and may not
change us.
The Lord said, be careful.
Keep on the alert.
If you really believe that Christ is coming
soon, and that all that you see around
you is going to pass away.
Think of Noah, when he knew that God
had told him, I've given this earth only
120 years.
Now 120 years was a short time in
those days, because people lived up to 900
years.
So, 120 years was about one-eighth of
their lifetime, which means like, say, 10 years
today.
Something like that.
It sounds a long time when we say
120 years now.
But let me repeat, they live up to
960 years, and we live up to 80
years today.
It's only 10 years.
It's like, supposing the Lord were to say,
I've given this earth 10 more years, then
I'm going to come.
How are you going to live those 10
years?
How did Noah live in those 10 years,
120 years?
He lived only for one thing.
There are a lot of things, maybe in
the world, which are attractive.
He said, no, I don't have time for
it.
I don't have time for a lot of
stuff that goes on.
I want to warn you, my dear brothers
and sisters, you young people, and all of
you, be careful that your heart is not
weighted down, and your spiritual sharpness and
alertness goes.
Because you spend your time watching television and
movies, and you can say, well, it's not
dirty, it's clean, okay, but think of the
sharpness that goes from your life.
Time that you could have spent, I'm not
saying we don't need relaxation and entertainment and
all that, but I believe we live in
a day when it has become too much.
It's become far too much.
And I remember the days when we never
had television and we'd pray a lot more.
I wonder if a certain drunkenness has come
upon some of you.
Think of it.
Jesus said, be alert, be alert.
There was no man who worked under such
pressure as Jesus did.
Remember, he came in the flesh, he's like
us and he's told us to follow him.
He worked under such tremendous pressure.
What sort of entertainment did he find relaxation
in, in the time of pressure?
Don't let the devil fool you that you
need a lot of entertainment because you're under
such pressure and all that.
There's fullness of joy in the presence of
God.
At his right hand there are pleasures forevermore.
Be careful that you don't get weighted down
with the cares and worries of this world.
Do what is necessary, yes, but don't let
your mind get taken up with everything that
is on this world.
Because the Bible says the world is passing
away in all its lusts and all its
passions.
And he who does the will of God
will abide forever.
So I want to encourage all of you.
Say, Lord, in the years that are left,
I want to do your will.
I don't know what it is, I want
to do your will.
And if you want to do his will,
seek fellowship with people who are also interested
in doing his will.
Don't waste your time fooling around with people
who are not serious about doing his will.
Be alert at all times.
Read further in verse 36, Luke 21, 36.
Keep on the alert.
You know that word in the King James
Version, it says watch.
Watch means keep alert, keep awake, spiritually awake.
That means I'm always spiritually awake to what's
happening around me.
Spiritually, I may be physically asleep and I
need that, but spiritually I'm awake.
When I see things happening around me, when
I see things happening in the world, I'm
awake.
Yeah, that indicates this, this indicates that.
I'm awake, alert.
And praying, this is what he said often,
watch and pray.
He kept the two together, keep on the
alert and pray.
I see it like this, keep on the
alert means, if you read the newspaper or
you hear the news somewhere, be on the
alert and say, what does that indicate?
And pray.
Keep on the alert when you see these
things happening and pray.
So that you may have the strength to
escape these things that are about to take
place and to stand before the Son of
Man.
So in other words, if I don't keep
on the alert when I see these things
happening around me and I don't pray, I
will not have the strength.
You can listen to all the messages you
want, but you will not have the strength
to be able to face the times to
come.
And I'll tell you something, we have to
prepare now.
We used to have a saying in the
military, the more you sweat in peace, the
less you bleed in war.
The more you sweat in peace, the less
you bleed in war.
Meaning that when times are peaceful, if we
really work hard, then we'll be victorious when
the war comes.
I believe that has an application for us
as believers.
Our temptation is, when everything is peaceful, to
relax.
That's the time we should be preparing.
And it's because people don't prepare, that suddenly
a temptation comes, a war comes and they
fall.
Jesus was tempted exactly like us.
Why is it when the Roman soldiers came,
he said, here I am, take me.
Whereas Peter took out his sword and chopped
off somebody's ear.
You know why?
Both had the same flesh, but Jesus prayed
and Peter slept.
That was the reason.
Jesus knew that in his flesh he needed
to pray if he wanted to be strong.
He prayed.
And he told his disciples, watch and pray.
The flesh is weak, the spirit is willing,
the flesh is weak.
Watch and pray, otherwise you'll fall in temptation.
And those guys said, oh no, we're okay.
It's just like today.
A lot of Christians, they read that word,
watch and pray, so that you can have
the strength to escape all these things.
I mean, the little, little temptations.
Think of the little temptations that come in
your home and you get upset and irritated.
What does it indicate?
It indicates that you have not watched and
prayed, you've not been alert.
And that's why you fall.
And of course, we can take it lightly
and say, oh well, I'm sorry I slipped
up.
Nobody is perfect.
We can't get total victory in this life.
None of us have become like Jesus.
We've got all these excuses for our defeated
life.
What does it mean to be an overcomer?
What does it mean to be more than
a conqueror?
What does it mean to lift up our
heads and stand?
What does it mean when it says, when
we are in our fight against the devil,
it says in Ephesians 6, these words, Put
on the armor of God.
Be strong in the Lord, Ephesians 6, 10.
The strength of His might.
And for our struggle is not against flesh
and blood, but against rulers.
And then it says in verse 13, Take
up the full armor of God, Ephesians 6,
13, so that you may be able to
resist in the evil day and having done
everything, finally to stand firm.
That means, having overcome everything, finally I'm standing
upright.
I'm not knocked down.
I'm upright.
That's how God wants us to be.
When that evil day comes, if you want
to stand firm, now is the time to
be alert.
To give up a whole lot of...
If you're a serious Christian, to give up
a whole lot of unnecessary things, which we
have as baggage in our life, which makes
it difficult for us to run this race.
Can you imagine a man coming to run
in a marathon race with a suitcase and
suit and tie and all those type of
stuff?
Where is he going?
I mean, he's not serious.
He's going for a picnic.
He's not going for a marathon race.
Man comes to a marathon race, he's going
to get rid of all unnecessary things, and
say, I've got to run.
You need to decide, whether you've got a
lot of baggage that's hindering you from being
ready for the coming of the Lord, being
ready to do all that God wants you
to do, before He comes, to accomplish all
that He wants you to accomplish.
I think of, what is the Lord supposed,
wanting us to accomplish as a church, before
He comes?
Lord, it must be done.
Is there some people we are supposed to
contact?
Is there some ministry we're supposed to fulfill?
Is there something we've got to stand for?
Lord, we want to do that.
Whatever it is, we want to be totally
available.
We don't have bright ideas, as to what
we do, but we just say, Lord, we're
available, if you will take us weak people
as we are, and do your work through
us.
I believe the Lord will prepare us, to
stand true in that day when He comes.
You know, the Lord also said, in Matthew
24, in relation to the coming of the
Lord, His own coming, He said these words,
in relation to being alert.
Be alert, and pray.
Then He said here also, in Matthew 24
verse 42, Be alert, for you don't know
on which day your Lord is coming.
But be sure of this, that if the
head of the house had known, at what
time of the night the thief was coming,
he would have been on the alert.
And he would not have allowed his house
to be broken into.
For this reason, you be ready also, for
the Son of Man is coming at an
hour, when you don't think He will.
You know, Jesus spoke about His coming like,
being like a thief in the night.
And you know, no thief tells you in
advance, I'm coming on such and such a
day, at such and such a time.
Because if He did, then of course it
wouldn't be a surprise.
And so, when He said, He's going to
come like a thief in the night, He's
going to take a lot of people by
surprise.
But, those who have studied the word, and
those who look around, and see what is
happening in the world around, and who are
alert, and who study the scriptures, they will
not know the exact day, or the exact
hour, when Christ is coming.
That is so clear.
He said that in verse 42.
You do not know the day, your Lord
is coming.
And the hour, verse 44, the Son of
Man is coming at an hour, when you
don't think He will.
So the day, and the hour, we don't
know.
We don't know which date He is coming,
or what time He is coming.
Morning, noon, night, I don't know.
But, I can know when He is near.
That I can know.
He said that in verse 33.
When you see all these things happening, recognize
that He is near, and He is right
at the door.
When you see these things happening, some of
these things I just spoke about.
You know, He spoke about, many times Jesus
spoke about Himself as a a king who
had gone on a long journey, and then
He was going to come back.
There were parables like that.
So here is the Lord having gone on
a long journey for two thousand years, and
He says at a particular time, at a
particular time in history, you will know that
He is almost near the door now.
That means He is gone, and He has
come back.
He is near the door now, and any
moment He may open the door.
So that's what He said.
When you see these things, you recognize that
He is near, right at the door, but
you still don't know the day, or the
hour, when He will open the door and
come through.
But we can know when He is near.
And, in 1 Thessalonians 5, He says this,
1 Thessalonians 5, verse 2, You know very
well, brethren, that the day of the Lord
will come like a thief in the night.
Paul says the same thing that Jesus said.
Like a thief in the night.
Do you know whether a thief is going
to come tonight?
I don't know.
He will come like a thief in the
night, when everybody around is saying peace and
safety.
People are talking about peace and safety, and
there is a lot of talk about peace
and safety going on in the world.
Destruction will suddenly come like birth pains upon
a woman with child.
It's more than one place in scripture where
the last days, the period of suffering just
before the Lord's coming is compared to the
last birth pains a woman goes through.
Such intense pain, and then the child is
born.
That's the new earth.
And then, but, now listen to this.
This is the verse I want you to
know.
If you are born again, you brethren, are
not in darkness that that day should overtake
you like a thief.
You know that we are not supposed to
be finding the Lord coming like a thief
in the night.
That is for the unbeliever.
The Lord coming like a thief in the
night is not for a believer.
So if you think the Lord is going
to come like a thief in the night
for you, then you must be an unbeliever.
But He says, you believers in Thessalonica, you
are not in darkness that that day should
come to you like a thief in the
night.
The thieves don't come during the day time,
they come in the middle of the night.
And He says, you are not in the
night, are you?
You are not walking in darkness, then how
can you be here in the light?
So how can the Lord come as a
thief for you in the night?
You are sons of light.
Sons of day, we are not of night,
we are not of darkness.
Therefore, let us not sleep as others, but
let's be sober.
And those who sleep, do their sleeping at
night.
And those who get drunk, get drunk at
night.
But we are of the day.
So we are alert all the time.
What does it mean to say that the
Lord's coming is not like a thief in
the night for me?
That means I am always ready for the
coming of the Lord, right now.
I can say that.
If Jesus were to come this moment, I
am absolutely ready.
My sins are all confessed and forgiven.
I don't have a single sin that I
have not confessed and cleansed in the blood
of Christ.
I have no conflict with anybody in the
world for which I am responsible.
And other people may have a conflict with
me.
Like the Pharisees had a conflict with Jesus.
But I have not hurt anybody whom I
have not apologized.
I don't have to ask forgiveness from my
wife for any word I have spoken to
her, which is not said right, or any
human being.
I don't owe anybody any money.
I am ready, right now, if the Lord
were to come.
That's what I mean when I say, He
is not going to come like a thief
in the night for me.
He is not going to surprise me.
We must always be ready.
That's why I say, as soon as you
sin, confess it.
I have often said this, that I am
not worried.
It doesn't disturb me that people fall into
sin.
But it does disturb me as to what
they do after they fall into sin.
I would like to know what they do
after they fall.
If they can take it lightly, then they
are not ready.
If you can speak a rude, hurting word
to somebody, your wife, or your husband, or
a brother, or sister, there are some people
that nature is like that.
They can say a word, it just sounds
so sweet and all that, but there is
a sting in it.
And they never seem to get out of
that habit.
That speech never seems to become sweet.
It's always with a sting.
I have noticed that with certain human beings,
even believers, they just like to hurt other
people with a little sting.
Either it's because they are jealous of those
other people, or they are unhappy with something,
and that unhappiness finally comes forth in a
stinging word.
I'll tell you this, you are going to
get a surprise when Christ comes, if you
don't cleanse yourself from all that before he
comes.
There is not much time left.
You better get rid of all that.
Get rid of it.
Because the Bible says, if a man cannot
control his tongue, his Christianity is worth zero.
James 1.26 And you will shrink away
from Christ with shame when he comes.
Turn to Luke chapter 17, where Jesus spoke
about his coming also.
He said his coming is going to be
so sudden, like in the day that Lot
verse 29 went from Sodom.
Suddenly the angel came and said to Lot
and his wife and daughters, get out of
here!
Pull them out of Sodom!
And that's how the church is going to
be raptured.
But we got to be ready for it.
And he says, on that day when the
Lord comes, verse 31, Luke 17 verse 31,
on that day when Christ comes, don't let
someone who's on the housetop, whose goods are
in the house go down to take them
away.
In other words, we should not have an
attachment to anything down here in this house.
There must be nothing I'm attached to on
earth.
If I'm on the housetop, I'm ready to
go from there, because there's nothing downstairs in
the house that I'm attached to.
That's the meaning of that passage, that if
you're attached to something on this earth, that'll
hold you down and prevent you from being
taken up when Christ comes.
I don't want to be attached to anything.
You can have a lot of things, but
don't get attached to any of them.
Don't get stuck to them.
Hold everything loosely.
Everything that you have, when these things possess
your heart, that you have a problem.
If you have your house, and that house
is outside of you, that's fine.
But if your house gets inside your heart,
that's a problem.
If your money is in the bank, that's
okay.
But when your money gets into your heart,
then you're attached to it.
It's not a question of how much money
you have.
It's a question of where it is.
Is it in the bank or is it
in your heart?
Where a man's treasure is, there will his
heart be also.
So, he speaks here about not being attached
to things.
And likewise, it says in verse 31, let
not the one who is in the field
turn back.
Today we would say an office.
Those days people worked in a field and
today you go to work in an office.
If you're working in an office and the
Lord suddenly comes, do you have to say,
hang on Lord, I didn't settle things with
my wife before I left this morning.
You shouldn't have to say that.
You should have settled things with your wife
before you left for the office or the
field.
There's no need to turn back.
Always ready for the coming of Christ.
We may slip up, but we settle the
matter before we move on.
To me, sin is like getting a thorn
in your foot.
If you get a thorn in your foot,
when do you take it off?
You don't wait till the evening to remove
all your thorns.
I don't know about you, I remove it
immediately.
I do the same with sin.
Exactly the same.
Sin is worse than a thorn.
And I say, I want to remove it
immediately.
I want to be ready.
Whatever I do, I want to settle it
immediately.
I want to clear all my debts and
I want to ask forgiveness from all those
whom I have to ask forgiveness from.
I want to be absolutely clear.
I don't want to be attached to anything
on this earth.
Though I may have many things, attached to
nothing.
But ready.
Holding everything loosely, so that when Christ comes,
we are ready to go.
And then he said in verse 32, Remember
Lot's wife.
She was pulled out of Sodom.
God loved her, pulled her out, but she
was still lost.
Only because of one reason.
Her body was out of Sodom, but her
heart was in Sodom.
She thought of all the saris she left
behind.
She thought of her lovely garden that's burnt.
She didn't have time to pick up all
her ornaments.
How sad.
Instead of being thankful, she escaped the judgment.
So the Lord said, Remember Lot's wife.
Don't be like that.
So, if I don't want to find the
Lord coming like a thief in the night,
it's very simple.
Keep your conscience absolutely clear.
At all times.
Immediately.
Do your best to settle everything with God
and with man.
Don't get attached to anything.
If the Lord multiplies your goods, don't get
attached to it.
If the Lord increases your salary, that's fine.
Praise the Lord.
But don't get attached to it.
Don't get clingy to the things of earth.
Otherwise our heart can be weighed down.
And we can get drunk with the things
of this life.
Now I want to also show you another
passage in relation to the second coming of
Christ, the second Thessalonians.
In chapter 2, where it speaks about the
Antichrist coming up in the last days.
And before that it says here there's going
to be in those days a tremendous activity
of Satan.
And this activity of Satan, second Thessalonians 2
verse 9, there's a phrase there called the
activity of Satan, that the devil is going
to be very active.
And it's not just in persecution.
The devil is active in persecution, I know.
But there's another way he leads people astray
and destroys Christians.
That is by deception.
When he comes in persecution he comes like
a lion.
The Bible says, devil is like a roaring
lion waiting to devour people.
And when he comes with deception he's like
a snake.
More subtle.
There's a difference between a snake and a
lion.
A lion terrifies you, but a snake is
very subtle.
And the devil comes with persecution, but he
comes with deception.
And one of the ways, and in the
last days it's speaking about deception.
Deception through false signs and wonders.
That means signs and wonders done in Jesus'
name, apparently, but which are not drawing people
to Christ, but maybe to a healer or
to a preacher.
it's not leading people to godliness or holiness.
The healing becomes an end in itself.
And there can be deception there, because you
know, it's unfortunate when we think that everything
supernatural is from God.
No.
Everything supernatural is not from God.
Everything done in Jesus' name is not necessarily
from God.
Jesus said that in Matthew 7.22 Many
will come to me in the last day
and say, Lord, we did miracles in your
name.
And you'll say, get away, I never knew
you.
You who work iniquity.
You who live in sin.
You who practice sin.
You who never led anybody to holiness.
You are only interested in your sinful life.
So, that's the other thing mentioned here, in
verse 9.
The activity of Satan with power and signs
and lying, false wonders.
And with all the deception of wickedness.
Now, who are the people who are going
to be deceived by this?
It's only one category of people that will
be deceived.
Those, verse 10, who don't receive the love
of the truth, so as to be saved.
Dear brothers and sisters, please listen to this
word of exhortation.
Love the truth about yourself in order to
be saved.
Saved from what?
I'll tell you honestly, I'm a thousand times
more interested in being saved from the wretched
nature of Adam that I've got, than in
being saved from hell.
Most Christians only want to be saved from
hell.
I'll tell you what I want to be
saved from.
I want to be saved from all the
wretched habits that the Adamic nature has given
me.
All the selfishness and pride and every other
type of evil there is.
I want to be saved from that.
If you don't love the truth about yourself
to be saved.
In other words, when the Holy Spirit tells
you something about yourself in a particular situation.
I've been in situations where the Spirit of
God has told me that was downright selfish
of you to behave like that.
What do I do when the Spirit of
God tells me that was downright selfish of
you to behave like that or to talk
like that to that person?
I can only weep.
Lord, it's true.
I'm sorry.
I'm really sorry that I want to be
free from to be free from selfishness like
climbing a mountain.
To be free from pride and spiritual pride
is like climbing a mountain.
Are you determined to get to the top
of that mountain of humility and totally free
from selfishness?
Are you determined to climb that?
That means every time the Spirit of God
shows you something nobody else may have known
about it but you know and you love
the truth about yourself and say, I want
to be saved.
Not just from hell.
I want to be saved from every wretched
thing the devil gave me through my Adamic
nature.
If I'm not like that the Bible says
the Lord I believe the Lord allows all
these things to happen.
To see who all are interested in His
nature.
One of the things I have seen is
how the Lord allows wicked people to prosper.
It would be very easy for the Lord
to make wicked people suffer.
But when wicked people prosper and they live
long healthy lives, it makes some people feel
well I suppose it's not too serious then,
being a little wicked.
And immediately the Lord has found out who
is really interested in holiness and who is
not.
The Lord allows many people who are outright
compromisers apparently for their ministry to be successful.
They have contacts and in fact most of
the Christian preachers I see on Christian television
I'll tell you honestly I don't have any
respect for any of them.
Maybe you do.
I have to tell you honestly I don't.
Because I don't see Christ in them.
I don't see the humility of Christ in
them.
I don't see their attitude to money as
the attitude of Jesus Christ.
That's what disturbs me.
So I don't have any respect for them.
I don't see the humility and meekness of
Christ.
But a lot of people are taken up
with that.
Oh, look at the millions that are listening.
Ok, ok, go ahead.
But I will not be deceived.
I will not be deceived by numbers.
I mean if you are going to be
taken up by numbers you could join Islam.
They've got one billion people too in the
world.
And they go more regularly to their prayers
than Christians do.
No, I'm not impressed by numbers.
The Jehovah's Witnesses have got numbers.
The Mormons have got numbers.
The cults have got numbers.
No.
To those who don't love the truth God
allows them to be deceived.
Deceived into false cults.
Deceived by all these so called healers who
apparently are doing something for the Lord.
You'll be deceived.
I'll tell you you'll be deceived.
But if you love the truth about yourself
you will not be deceived.
Say, Lord, I want to be saved.
So that's the other thing the Lord speaks
about in relation to the last days.
So I pray that the Lord will help
us to be alert in these days.
Particularly as we live in very exciting times.
And we read the newspapers and tsunamis and
war in Jerusalem and war in Iraq and
everything brings a...
the lights begin to sparkle.
Hey, things are beginning to happen.
We're coming closer to the coming of Jesus.
I mean supposing you were a bride and
you heard that you're the one you're going
to get married to has come pretty close.
Your marriage day is coming soon.
Are you excited?
Or do you sit like many of us?
Yeah, I think I'm getting married one of
these days.
Christ is coming.
There's going to be a wedding.
I'm looking forward to it.
Let's pray.
Let's bow our heads before God.
The Lord wants you to live an exciting
life in these days.
Christian life is meant to be exciting.
Heavenly Father, help us, we pray, not just
to be stirred temporarily by what we hear
for a moment, but to be permanently challenged.
As we look around in the world to
be alert, to be alert, to know your
word so that we can discern what is
spiritual and what is soulish.
Help us in these days of tremendous deception
to love the truth so that we will
not be deceived, to be saved from all
the wretched things of the nature of Adam
that you died to save us from.
Help us, we pray.
In Jesus' name, Amen.