Praise God. You know, I am Irish, for those who are not aware of it. If you had been to Kilkee or Toboggan or any of those places, you would understand. I labored a great deal to prove my lineage. My great, great grandparents left Ireland in the 1850s on separate ships And the ships landed in a place called New Brunswick, Canada, and they met there. And my grandfather or grandmother, one was from County Cork and the other was from County Clare. and they met in New Brunswick, and they married, and one of my cousins did the family lineage, and it was pure up to my father. He married a French girl, unfortunately. Well, unfortunately, I guess, but I mean. Sorry, Mom. She's already up there, so that was a faux pas, I'm sure. That's French, by the way, faux pas, you know? And so the lineage got tainted, but nevertheless, I am Irish, and I remember the first time I came here about 23 years ago now, I think, and I remember the strange feeling of being home. It's amazing. You know how your great-grandparents leave under famine conditions at that time to a foreign nation, and you see all the children and the offspring that are born, and then one of your great, great, great grandchild who comes back to Ireland to preach the gospel. It's just amazing how good God is, how incredibly powerful God is, how merciful God is. They would never know in the sense that from their lineage would come somebody who would preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and come back to this country. And what a pleasure it's been for Teresa and myself and others to have been here to see The growth here has been amazing. And you know, Pastor Mike, there was a day that you didn't know any Christians, and all they could do is pray, the few that were here, and believe that a day like this would happen. And you've lived to see it, thank God. And we honor the pioneers of the gospel. We honor you. There's so many hallmarks. Pastor Teresa and I will be sharing our 47th anniversary coming up in December. She was 18 and I was 19 when she walked through the door of a fellowship in college. It was the first time I'd ever prayed. I saw her and I went, oh God, when I saw her. Hey, you know God answered it. All right, just don't make fun of my prayer. God answered my prayer I Want that I want that I'll never ask for anything again if you give me that like and anyhow, he answered the cry of my heart and it's been 47 years and What a journey it's been together. It's been an amazing journey and the faithfulness of God faithful to us as a couple, faithful to our family, faithful to his own name and his own promises. He promises that in Christ we become new creations. And that's been true. The old things have passed away. Old attitudes, old habits, old whatever. And all things do become new. And I thank God for that with all my heart. And I can speak for both of us, I think, today, that we love each other more now than we ever have in our lifetime. With a deep, you see, the initial love is an infatuation. You know, you're looking and you love somebody the way they look, you love their laugh, you love the initial things that you see. But when you get older, it's a mature love. It's a formed love, it's an informed love. You've been through flood and fire and trial, and there's a deeper love there than just infatuation. And so, make sure the person you marry is somebody who's gonna be your best friend for life. Thank God for that, thank God. Get the companion app. Can you put that up there? Can you put that on the screen, the companion app? No, you don't have it? Okay, there. Look, look with me. They say it's not a dating app, but you can see wifey and John, wifey and John right there. So wrong, just so wrong. Our ponies do not look like that. But we do, but we do. All right, you can take that down now. Praise God, praise God. I look forward to the reunion. I think we'll sing the tent right off the ground, I really do. If we get a chance to go back after all these years, and everybody who's ever been there, just make the effort to come out and celebrate the goodness of God. It's been a long, long journey together, and we just thank God for it. Now, I want to speak to you, one final message today, which I would call the final witness. The final witness, there will be a final witness in the earth before Christ returns. One last testimony of his glory, his grace, his salvation, his keeping power of who he is, the fact that he was raised from the dead, the fact that he is willing to infuse supernatural life into those who are called by the name of Christ. And as I always say to our Bible students that the Christian life is a supernatural life. Don't ever let it become natural. We are infused with a power greater than ourselves. We are given abilities to do things we could never do on our own, given giftings of God. Remember the scripture says when he was raised from the dead, he took captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. So there's abilities given of the Spirit of God and gifts of administration. There are spiritual gifts. There are things that are given. As Pastor Tresa said, we're given a lane to swim in as it is, you know. That's God's plan for each one of our lives, and we're given abilities to do what God calls us to do. Sometimes it's the ability to endure certain things, and that in itself becomes a witness and a testimony. So Father, I just thank you again today, Lord. We have just loved your presence here. It's been amazing to be able to worship together. And Father, we thank you, Lord, that all over the world, it's the same Holy Spirit speaking the same messages into so many people's hearts. Lord, you are indeed coming soon. But before you do, there will be a final witness in the earth. Before it is all wrapped up, before you fold up the heavens and the earth and recreate them, God, there will be a final witness. So Lord Jesus Christ, help us to understand the hour we're living in. and give us the grace, Lord, to be the people you've called us to be. Give me the ability to speak this, Lord. For I recognize today, as I always have, that without your Holy Spirit, I don't have anything to say. And the words that I speak, they will fall to the floor, but your words can penetrate the heart. Your words can give life. Your words can create a universe. Mine are limited. So, Father, I thank you, Lord, that I can make an exchange of my thoughts for yours and my strength for yours. Whatever it is that you've given me, God, I thank you that you'll give me the enablement to deliver it. and give us the ears to hear. As you would quite often say in the book of Revelation, whoever has the ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit is speaking to the churches. So give us hearing ears today, God, and give us great grace. In Jesus' name, amen. Matthew chapter 24, verse three. Now as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. saying, tell us, when will these things be? Now these things, he was saying, there's a day coming when everything you've trusted in, the stones of the temple were the example, will be thrown down. Everything of this world will collapse and there'll not be one thing left standing upon another. When will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming? and the end of the age. So the disciples are saying, what should we be looking for that would tell us that you are coming and this world as we have known it and the things that we have trusted in are coming to an end? And Jesus answered and said to them, take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name saying I am the Christ and will deceive many. Now I see that in different ways. There will be those who claim to be the Messiah and they should be pretty obvious to spot. But there'll be others that will stand and say, this is what Jesus looks like. They will claim that they are an expression of who Christ is. If you're looking at my life, you're looking at what Jesus Christ is, what he does, but their whole Christ, as we talked about this morning, is on a false foundation. It's built with wood, hay, and stubble. It's not the Christ of the Bible, and they will deceive many. and you'll hear wars and rumors of wars, and see that you be not troubled. What are we listening to today in our world? Wars and rumors of wars, and it is escalating, and no doubt it's gonna get worse before it gets better. There's very little doubt about that. See that you're not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. So all these things will happen. There'll be difficulties and trials and wars. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. And realistically in the Greek, it's ethnos versus ethnos. Ethnic cultures will rise against ethnic cultures in the last days. There'll be famines, pestilences, COVID, for example. Earthquakes in various places all these are the beginning of sorrows the the beginning of birth pangs the the signs that something Incredible is about to happen and in this case. It's the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you you'll be hated by all nations for my namesake and I don't know about you folks, but I see that starting now and And I know there's an application to the Jews. I know how this has been interpreted. But Jesus Christ often speaks on a multilevel. It's a multilevel speaking. It can apply to different times throughout history and different seasons. And I'm seeing a moment now where Christians are being vilified as unnecessary. We're being vilified as out of touch, a detriment to society. One politician in America went so far to say that we'd be better off, the country would be better off without these believers in Jesus Christ. And then many will be offended and will betray one another and will hate one another. then many false prophets will arise and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. If you notice lately how easy it is to be drawn into the hatred of this season we're now living, the vilification of one another, the hatred of lifestyles, the hatred of opinions on anything and everything, and there's a lawlessness abounding. And the love of many for the souls of men, just the way I say it, will grow cold for the work of God. May it never happen to us. God, give us the grace. I don't care if it's men wearing dresses. I don't care what it is. God, give me a love for people that can reach out to them in the condition and place that they're in and tell them there is a Savior that died for their sin. There's a hope of eternity with God. There's a promise of new life, an everlasting life. God, may I not withdraw from this generation who are captivated by lawlessness and captivated by sin. But he who endures to the end will be saved. Or may I put it this way, he who is saved will be given the endurance to the end. He who is saved will be given the power not to grow cold, will be given the power to stay on point as it is, to do the work that God has called us to do in the earth. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations and then the end will come. So this gospel will be preached as a witness as a witness of the keeping power of God. This gospel will be preached. I don't know, it's not just gonna be words. You and I will be given the power of God to stand when others can't. We'll be given the power to endure. That's a supernatural power. It's not something that can come from even the strongest among us. We'll be given the power to speak when others are going to cower and hide in their rooms. There'll be something of God that comes into our lives. Those who are of Christ, will stand up as lights in the world. You are the light of the world, Jesus said. A city that is set upon a hill that's not meant to be hidden. We're not meant to be hidden under a bed. We're meant to be put on a candlestick and give light everywhere we go. And we will be given by God. This is the promise I feel in my heart. There will be an end time church that is empowered by the Holy Spirit. We will have the same power they had on the day of Acts chapter two. We'll be able to come out of whatever prayer room we've been in and we'll be able to stand in the marketplace. We'll be able to stand in the midst of a hostile crowd. We'll be given the ability to do things and say things in a way that those watching the church of Jesus Christ will say only God could be giving them this ability because they wouldn't have it naturally without the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. This gospel will be preached as a witness. A witness to the truth and the power of God. A witness to the keeping power. A witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. A witness to the fact that what we preach is not just an opinion. It's a living reality. Where we are saved, we are brought into fellowship with God. The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, invades in a sense and dwells in our physical bodies. And we're taken from image to image and glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of God. given giftings, abilities, given a song. As David the Psalmist once said, that this world can't give, this world doesn't know anything about it. The ability to praise God when we should be singing the blues with the rest of the world. And people will look and say, there's a witness of the reality that God, there is a God, and he is able to keep those who've entrusted their futures into his hands. Paul says in 2 Timothy 3 verse 5, he says, one of the characterizations of the last days that there be another form of religion, another type of religion, that's all form and without power. In other words, this religion that just embraces the exterior trappings of taste not, touch not, handle not, whatever the religion is, it will profess to know Christ, but it has no power of Christ within it. This religion of form without power won't be able to go against the flow, the prevailing flow of society. A society that will say, and is saying now, you will act like us, you will think like us, you will walk like us, you will talk like us, you will agree with us. This form without power will not be able to stand against this. And as a matter of fact, they will actually come up alongside this last day godlessness, this last day lawlessness, and become friends with it. and join itself, what I believe, in the last days to a one-world religion that will attach itself to a system of lawlessness and godlessness that's whole purpose is to stand against the lordship of Jesus Christ. I don't know about you, but I'm not willing to settle for form without power. Forget that. I want to see, morning by morning, I want to see new mercies in my life. I want new vision, I want fresh words, I want a fresh heart. I'm asking God, quicken me, quicken me, quicken me every day. Keep me alive in Christ. Give me what I can't naturally possess and take me where I can't naturally go. Interestingly enough, the doors have suddenly opened to some of our elite universities across the country. It's just absolutely amazing what God is doing. Bastions of godlessness for years, denying the reality of God, mocking anybody who had any measure of faith. and suddenly the doors are opening wide, and we're being invited in, and the students are coming out, three, 400, sometimes we had 1,000 at Yale University the first year, coming out to say, talk to us about God. We've heard there might be a God, and to see the response, to see them coming forward and yielding their lives to Jesus Christ, it's absolutely amazing. But you see, they don't want a lecture about God, they're saying to you and I, show us if it works. And does it work for you? What is it you believe and how has it transformed your life? And all I have been doing is sharing my testimony. And I shared my testimony at Cornell last year and about two of 400 students came forward. They got on their knees, they wept, they cried like babies. Some were in a fetal position. Then they stood up and they started confessing sin. I never told them to do that, they just started confessing it. Then they started leaping and dancing and singing and praising God. And they want us back for two nights now, not just one night, they want us there for two nights this year. One of the students that gave his life to Christ, I'm told that night, has been running all over Cornell's campus. Now this is schools, the tuition is $85,000 a year, you understand. It's supposed to be the best and brightest in the country. And he's been running all over the campus saying, when these folks come back next year, you gotta come. Best concert I've ever been to in my life. You had no idea. You know, and this one young man, there's a lot of athletes came out to this meeting at Cornell, and the young man came forward, he had a hockey sweater on, and he said to me, I came in here in agnostic, what do I do now? And you know, they don't know anything about God. Folks, I'm telling you, they've been raised absolutely in a vacuum. I said, well, Jesus had a really good friend, his name was John, and he didn't make an app, but he wrote a story about the life of, and I said, you can go online, and it's called The Gospel of John, and that was a friend of Jesus, and you can read that, and you'll get the whole story. I said, but before you read it, pray and say, God, just show me truth that I can apply to my life. And he said, okay, I'll do that, I'll do that. Amazing what God is doing. God is opening doors. that only He can, because He loves these kids, you understand, He loves these. They're raised without God, they have a lot of opinions, mind you, and when they started confessing sin, it was like, whew, and it's public. They don't care. Folks, when they start coming to your churches, they won't just confess their sin, they're gonna confess yours as well, I promise you. So you better get ready for this when they start coming. It's almost like the 60s in America. The churches weren't ready when the hippies started turning to Christ. I don't think a lot of churches are ready for what's about to come. These kids come in and they're thinkers and they want reality. They don't want form. They want Jesus. They want a Jesus with legs, may I put it this way. A Jesus that walks, a Jesus that talks, a Jesus that has a direct application to their lives. Thank God for this moment we're now living in. Now the days we're entering into are gonna be hallmarked by coercion. By coercion, I mean there's going to be a prevailing spirit in society that says, you will think like we think, and you will do what we do, or you will face severe consequences. I'm sure that's happening in Ireland right now. You will say what we say, you will think what we think, and you will do what we do. And that's exactly what happened in the book of Daniel, chapter 3. When Nebuchadnezzar got it in his head to build an image of man or of himself, that he wanted people to worship. It's amazing, nothing ever changes. History always repeats itself. So he built this image of himself, this huge, and he said, I'm gonna bring out the musicians. It's false worship. I'm gonna bring out all the stringed instruments. And they said, folks, when you hear the music, you bow down. And if you don't bow down, it's gonna get really hot for you. You either bow or burn. And those are the two options given by a lawless society, and that's what we're living in today. You either bow or it's gonna get hot. In the workplace, many of you are like that. You can't even discuss a biblical opinion. Or you could be sabotaged, or they will raise up reports, or they'll falsely accuse you just because you hold to a biblical worldview on marriage, for example, between one man and one woman. It's almost like you dare not say it, and they say, if you dare to say these things, you're gonna burn. It's gonna get really hot for you right now. But thank God. Now, there were many people that did bow. When the music played, they bowed, and they would say, well, God understands, God knows. But there were three that didn't bow. There were three young boys that said, no, we don't care if you play your music and we don't care if you erect your statue. We will not serve your gods and we will not bow. We will only serve the living God. And so the authority of that time became exceedingly angry, heated the furnace many times hotter than it was used to being heated, and threw them in to the furnace. And I love the rest of the story because it threw them in bound, like threw them on the floor in a sense, into the furnace. But the king stood up at that time, he said, did we not throw three in the furnace? And they said, yes sir, we did. He said, but I see a fourth in with them. And they're walking. They're not laying on the floor of the furnace bemoaning their difficult times. Do you understand? We can do that. Oh, they're so mean to me at work. Oh, they've lied about me. Well, get used to it, folks. If you're gonna stand for Christ, you're gonna be lied about everywhere you go. So just get used to it. It's not gonna get any better. They're not gonna speak truth about you because the lawlessness in the human heart hates Christ and hates the truth. and you're gonna be called to stand and you're going to be slandered. No, they didn't lay down in the midst of the fire, they stood up. And it says they were walking, and I just believe they were praising God. And it's my personal opinion, so you can reject it, but I'm of the opinion they didn't see the fourth man in the fire. I'm of the opinion it's Nebuchadnezzar and those with him who saw the fourth man. And when you're standing in a place where people know they couldn't stand, they see a strength in you that's not visible, in a sense, in their own lives. They see the presence of God, they see the power of God. When the early church stepped out of the upper room, there was no visible Jesus with them at that moment, but they were given abilities to do things that caused the people passing by to actually see God emanating or through each of their lives. And that's what it will be for you and I in the future when we choose to praise him in the midst of our own fires. We choose to praise Him in the midst of our own struggles, our own trials, people passing by in the workplace, in the neighborhood, and they look and they say, how does that person stand? I know their life, I know what's going on. How do they stand? Where do they get this song from? I see something in their lives that is not available in my life. I don't have it in my life, but I see something in their lives. And Nebuchadnezzar saw the fourth man in the fire, and he called them out. And because they chose to stand, it changed laws and it changed futures. in their society of that day. Laws are not changed by those who bend with the prevailing ideologies of the day, but laws are changed by those who make a stand for Christ. They choose to stand in the midst of it all, and they become the final, last day's witness of the keeping power of God. In the book of Acts chapter 27, the Apostle Paul, and this is gonna lead us to a moment of communion together in this sanctuary, the Apostle Paul, was called by God to undertake a journey. And he knew the journey was not going to be easy, and he was given some off-ramps. If you go to Acts 27, you'll see in verse three, it says, the next day we landed at Sidon, and Julius, that was the centurion in charge of the prisoners, gave him liberty to go to his friends and receive care. It's almost like God gave Paul an off-ramp from the journey that was ahead of him. In other words, Paul, you don't have to take this journey. You'll still belong to me. Heaven will still be your home. And let me say that to you. There's a journey that God's prescribed for every one of us here today. And you don't have to take it. If you don't take it, it doesn't mean you'll go to hell. What it means is others will. heaven will still be your home. But the lives that you and I could have affected, the lives that you and I could have brought into the kingdom of God, we'll miss out on their eternity because we chose to take an off ramp. And Paul, I can just see Paul, he's given the liberty by the centurion who's got him as a slave and a captive in the ship. He says, you go ahead and see your friends. I personally think this intern was hoping he wouldn't come back. He saw him as a virtuous man, and he knew this was going to be a difficult journey ahead of him, and he just said, just go see your friends and be refreshed. And it wouldn't have bothered him. He would have just said, well, the prisoner escaped. But Paul came back willfully to the ship because you see, the true Christian life find its deepest expression in living for the sake of others. Paul knew there's something in this journey that's gonna be a blessing to so many people. He knew that his journey was gonna send him to jail. He knew that there was difficulty ahead for him. When he came back eventually to one of the ships a little farther down the road, he warned them. He said, I perceive, men, that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo, but also our lives. So he included his own life in that. If you undertake this, it's gonna bring hardship upon us, and there's gonna be calamity, and people are gonna lose their lives, but they weren't interested. You ever notice when people are in a position of disregarding the voice of God, they don't really care what people say. They don't care what preachers say. They don't care if we're speaking for God. They just, yeah, sure, sure, go down in the belly of the ship where you belong. And so they headed off on their journey, and the scripture tells us they were caught in a storm that was so powerful that they couldn't even drive into the headwind, so they let the storm begin to drive them. We are there now in the Western world. We're being driven by forces beyond us. You know it, I know it. You know what's happened. It seems like since COVID, all hell has been unleashed in so many societies, and evil is beginning to prosper. I can't even fathom deliberately gender confusing our children in the schools and such like. I don't know if that's happening here. It's happening in America. It's just tragic how evil is being paraded as good and good is being espoused as evil. And then, of course, they began to throw the ships tackling overboard with their own hands. And finally, it came to the place of Acts 27, 20. It says, when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up. And this society is rapidly coming there, rapidly coming to a place where all hope of being saved is going to be lost in many, many people's hearts, in many, many people's homes. I love this moment though. I don't know who said it, but somebody on that ship said, where is that man? that said he had a word from God about this journey. And I have a chapter in a book that I wrote called Fear Not, and it's called From Captive to Captain. Paul goes from captive to captain in about 10 minutes. He goes from relegated among the prisoners and slaves in the belly of the ship to giving all the orders for the future. But Paul, he hadn't embraced the spirit of the age around him. You can see all of the prisoners and slaves that were probably talking about vengeance, So many people are talking about vengeance now, aren't they? Everybody wants revenge against somebody else, and everybody is a threat to democracy, and everybody is bringing down our society, and as Christians, it can be so easy to get caught in one of those swirls, but Paul didn't get caught there. He just spent his time in prayer, and his prayer was simple. God, what do you have for my life? What is my future? And God told Paul, he sent him a messenger and says, you don't have to be afraid, Paul. There's a destiny ahead of you. And you've got a calling on your life. You're going to stand before Caesar. I mean, that was not exactly a trip to Hawaii, folks. You've got to understand. Caesar was highly immoral and he was a nut. He thought he was God. And Paul's being sent to stand before Caesar to say, I got bad news for you, Caesar, you're not God, there is only one God. I know who he is, I know his name, I've met him personally. And that was his charge in life. But what all hope was given, the scripture says, after a long abstinence from food, Paul stood in the midst of them and said, you should have listened to me and not sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. But now I urge you to take heart, for there'll be no loss of life among you but only of the ship. For there stood by me this night an angel of God, whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, do not be afraid, Paul. You must indeed be brought before Caesar, and God has granted you all those who sail with you. Therefore, take heart, men. I believe, God, that it will be just as it was told me, although we're going to run aground on a certain island. It's absolutely amazing. Here's one man as a witness of the keeping power of God, standing on the deck of a sinking ship, and his heart is filled with hope. and he's able to lead other people around who've lost all hope into a place of encouragement, a place of understanding that God has a word, God has a place of provision, God has a way to safety. If we will listen to the word of God, if we will listen to the salvation, in this case it was the saving of their physical lives so they could consider their spiritual condition, I'm sure, in eventuality. Paul told them, if you don't stay with the ship, you cannot be saved. And as the day was about to dawn, Paul implored them all to take food, saying, this is the 14th day you've waited and continued without food and eaten nothing. Therefore, I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival, since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you. And when he had said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all, and when he had broken it, he began to eat. How do you have a communion service in a place like that? The ship is sinking. It's going to be broken apart. We're going to be thrust into an ocean with waves probably 20 feet high, 15, 20 feet high. They had to be huge, probably the height of this balcony to break a ship that could carry 275 people plus livestock, plus all the cargo. If you've ever been near an ocean, which of course many of you are or have, you understand that with waves that high, the odds of getting to shore, even in a boat, are almost zero. The undertow is so strong, pulling you back into the ocean. But Paul says, no, nobody's going to perish. The chip is gonna break apart, and all you gotta do is grab a piece of wood. The cross still floats, folks. All you gotta do is hang on to a piece of wood, and you're gonna make it to shore. That will be our last day message. There is a cross, there is a Savior, there is a victory, there's a resurrection, there's a Holy Spirit, there's protection, there's provision, there's power, there's purpose in God. Grab a hold of the cross, it still floats, and it will take you from where you are to the place where you need to be at this moment to be able to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. And then Paul does almost the unthinkable. It is the greatest communion service next to the Last Supper with Jesus Christ himself and his disciples. The apostle Paul takes a loaf of bread. I had a Disney artist actually paint me a painting of this which hangs on my wall at our home in the USA. And it's an amazing thing. He's on the deck of the ship. He's been a prisoner. He's been a slave. He's a bit disheveled looking. And it had to stink down there. During this, you understand, people are throwing up. There's everything going on in the belly of that ship. It had to be pretty bad. His hair is all matted. He's up there and he takes a loaf of bread and he breaks it and gives thanks to God. What was he doing? What kind of a communion service was that? It was, God, thank you for your mercy. Thank you for sending me on this journey with these people, because if I wasn't here, they would all drown and spend an eternity in hell. You see, Paul was living for a higher purpose than preserving his own life and his own safety. He had been given an off ramp, but he didn't take it. He went back on the ship. There's things in life more important than our own comforts. Things in life more important than our own freedom. Things in life more important than just preserving ourselves or our sense of identity or our sense of importance or whatever it is that we think life is all about. I want to join that man. I just have this picture on my wall now, but I have this picture in my heart of this man just breaking bread saying, thank you God. that we're all gonna make it to shore. Thank you, Lord, that you have chosen to have me here. As Pastor Tree said, this is my lane that you want me to swim in. These are my boundaries, this is what you've given me to do, and you've given me 275 souls. Just one day, you've given me 275 souls. Praise be to God. And he gave thanks. Can you imagine? This gospel will be preached as a witness before the ends come. This gospel will be preached. Not just words, but lives behind those words. Lives of trust, lives of confidence in God, lives empowered by the Holy Spirit, lives given ability to do things that just ordinary people can't do. You know, and the scripture says everybody on the boat after that communion service took courage, can you imagine? Because they saw something of God. And the words he was speaking got into their hearts because of it. And even though the sea looked like an impossibility, suddenly every man, every woman believed, every soldier believed we can make it to land. In spite of the fact the ship is gonna break apart, that the storms are insurmountable, we're gonna make it to land. And by God's grace, by God's grace, we're going to become, I think, hopefully many of them came to Christ. I mean, they'd be fools if they didn't after all of this. And God says, well, just in case you think it was a fluke, I'm gonna have a poisonous snake bite Paul's hand. I don't know about you, but he's serving still. He's just putting wood on the fire and a snake. A poisonous snake latches onto his hand. I don't know about you, but I'd be inclined to look up and say, okay, enough already, enough already, okay? Enough, I mean, we did the ship, we did the communion, we did the, like, really, the snake? But if anybody had any doubt that his life was supernaturally empowered, the doubt went away when he shook that thing in the fire. And from the same hand that the devil tried to bite, I believe it was the devil, healing started to flow. and they started to see the power of God. You know, when you and I choose to forgive, when you and I choose not to become bitter, when you and I choose to say, I don't want, I don't want the evil of this society clinging itself to me, healing starts to flow. Marriages start to be healed. Minds start to be set in order. God starts doing things that only God can do when we choose to shake it off. And then I believe that the hand that the snake bit was the hand that was gonna hold a quill and start in jail to write letters to friends. Timothy writing letters to some of the churches that he had founded. Letters that Paul could have no way of knowing were going to become the theological guiding principles for hundreds of millions of people for many, many years to come. He would have no way of knowing that. But he did know one thing. All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. All things, the things I like, the things I don't, the things that come into my life where I need God, I need the power of God, the places that God has placed me, the home I'm in, the marriage I'm in, the neighborhood I live in, the job I'm on. You know, so many people here would say, oh God, just get me out of that job and I will so serve you. The Lord says, no, you serve me there. How will they know without a preacher? How will they know? There's other dishwashers there. You're not the only one. There's other people with brooms on that job. There's other people on the machines in this factory. How will they know? If there's no Paul there, how will they know? If there's nobody there that has to be sustained by the power of God, how will they know without a preacher? And how will they preach unless they be sent? And God says, do you not realize I sent you there? You don't by fluke live in your neighborhood, God put you there. It's not a fluke that you're on your job, God put you there. It's not a fluke that you're in your marriage, you're in, God put you there. Or the family that you're part of, God put you there. Don't live your life trying to get out of where God put you. He put you there for a reason, because in the last days, there's going to be a witness. When all hell breaks out on this earth, all heaven is gonna break out on the people of God. There's going to be a witness in the last days. And I want to be found exactly where God wants me to be. I want to be doing what he wants me to do, speaking what he's given me to speak, and going to the people he's sent me to to go to, because how will they know without a preacher? How will they know? You know, we make a tragic mistake as believers in Christ when we live our whole life to escape where God has put us. You know, it's amazing. Half of our preaching is escapism. It's just get me out of this, and get me out of that, and get me out of this. And everything, every altar call is get me out of this, and get me out of there. And God says, have you ever considered that I might have put you there? Paul could've prayed, he could've been on his knees on the deck of the ship and saying, get me out of this, and I'll serve you for the rest of my life. No, instead, he's breaking bread and saying, thank you for putting me where I am. I don't know, just there's something about my heart that feels so mediocre in the sight of Paul. I'd be almost embarrassed to talk to him when I get to heaven and say, God, give me a thankful heart. Give me the ability to praise you where I am. Help me, Lord, to bloom where I'm planted and to bring glory to your name. You know, we are salt and light, which means that we're supposed to be scattered throughout the society. Have you ever considered that as believers? If we all stayed in one place, what kind of a testament would you imagine? Like, today's church, if they were in the upper room, they would have strategies of how to expand the upper room and get more people in the upper room and how to increase our worship in the upper room. Everything would be about the upper room. It's about getting the people to come where we are. No, they went where the people were. They went out, and we're called as the Church of Jesus Christ to be scattered throughout this society. We're called to be in every neighborhood. We're called to be in every workplace. That is our job. That is, Pastor Teresa, that's our lane to swim in. We're not called to be out of the, I'll just tell you one story. Years ago, when I was a police officer, life got pretty tough for me, because I was a very vocal Christian, okay, so I was threatened, and it was tough, it was really tough, and there was rumors abounding and stuff, and I was just happy, and people don't seem to like that, I guess, for some reason. I was honest, and they had a problem with that, I don't know. Some people wouldn't work with me, because they knew I wouldn't lie under oath. It's sad to say. but that was the truth of it all, and I was threatened. I was even publicly threatened in an office one time by one of the commanding officers. He walked in and pointed right at me, said, we're going to get you, and they tried. There's no doubt about it, but God protected me. Praise God. So I got transferred out of this. I had a really nice job, and I got transferred out of there down to almost like a demotion, a place where almost you're starting all over again, and so I'm down on this platoon, and I'm thinking, oh, God, Did I do something wrong? Have I displeased you? Is this gonna be my lot in life? And why did you put me down here? And then on top of that, they assigned me to one of the worst sections of the city, alone on top of that, which is not good, because generally the things that went on, it was one versus eight kind of thing. And so I'm on, where they call it parade, where you line up at the beginning and they inspect your uniform and give you your instructions for the day. And I wanted just to draw back. Ever been there? I just don't want to be the source of controversy anymore. I just want to draw back and be one of the guys and just kind of melt in and not stand out. And so, And there was this one guy that he was huge, number one, and he was mean, number two. And he was obnoxious, number three. And he would tell anybody where to go, it didn't matter who they were, at any time. And that was the one guy I felt I needed to stay away from this guy. So I'm driving, it was only the first week or two, I'm driving in my patrol area and I see him parked in an alleyway of a hospital building that was abandoned. And the Holy Spirit spoke to me. I said, buy him a coffee and go and talk to him. And so I thought, well, I'll go around the block and I'll buy a cup and I'm just hoping he's gonna be gone, I really am. So I went around the block and I bought two coffees and I pulled up next to his car and I handed him a coffee and he just looks at me and he just kind of grunts. This guy didn't talk, he just, you know, just kind of growls at you. And then I said something by mistake. Maybe it wasn't a mistake. I said, I'm a Christian. And he just looks at me and I said, and the Lord told me you need to talk to me. But I was trying to say the Lord told me I need to talk to you, but I got it backwards. And after I've said it, I think, well, that didn't come out right. And when I said it, he put his head down. He said, I'm an alcoholic. I've lost my wife. My wife's leaving me. I have no reason to live. I'm sitting here with my gun in my hand, and I'm thinking about taking my life. And so right then and there, I shared Christ with him and led him to Christ, right there. And he became a very avid Christian, a very strong believer in Christ. He left the department not long after that. And the last time I heard from him, he called me and he said, I never thanked you the way I should have for what you did that night. He said, I'm down in Florida and I'm in prison ministry now. I'm going into prisons. This guy that hated everybody is going into prisons and telling prisoners that they can have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Now, as soon as I led him to the Lord, I got transferred back. Isn't it amazing? I could have spent my whole time lamenting, why am I here? Why has God put me here? There's a guy about to take his life, and God knew it. You see, it puts us where we need to be, not where we'd like to be. It puts us on the job where we need to be, because he knows who's crying on the edge of their bed at night. He knows which single mom can't feed her kids. You understand? It's saying God is their hope for my life, is their hope for my children, is their hope for my family. And He takes you and He takes me and He puts us in these places. And as He does so, I believe He's preparing us to be an end time witness for Him, for who Christ is. You don't go from zero to a thousand, you understand? You don't start from one place and end up in the fullness of what God has for your life. You go there by taking step upon step and acknowledging and believing, God, that where I am is where I need to be. I'm in the classroom I need to be, I'm in the school I need to be, I'm in the neighborhood I need to be, I'm in the marriage I need to be, I'm on the job I need to be, or I'm on the unemployment line I need to be because somebody in front of me or behind me is going to take their life. Do you understand? We need a bigger perspective as believers in Christ in preserving ourselves. And these are the people throughout history that have always been used of God to change laws, to change hearts, to change homes, to change families. It's three boys that won't bow down but go into a furnace instead of bending their knee to a false god to preserve themselves. all throughout history. It's Esther who takes a chance on defeating a very powerful enemy by creating a banquet and just following the plans of God because he put her there for that particular season. Even though that may not have been her first choice, that was the season and God foreknew it and put her where she needed to be. He put Moses on the backside of the desert, preparing him for years and years and years for just a short season in his life where he's gonna bring millions of people out of captivity. He has you where you need to be because we're coming in to a very, very dark time in this world. And He has you now where you need to be. so that you can stand in the coming days and be part of a last day's witness because you've settled it in your heart. I'm not living to preserve myself any longer. I'm living for the sake of others. I'm living, as I often say, for the glory of God and for the souls of men. That's why I'm living my life. And oh God, give me the courage to accept where I am. Give me the courage to go where I need to go. Give me the courage and ability to do what you've called me to do when I get there. Don't let me live just to preserve by my own ideas and my own thoughts and my own crafting of what my life should look like. You have a bigger plan, and one day, yeah, you might have to walk through the valley of the shadow of death for a lot of years, but one day, one day, I promise you, you'll stand before the only one that can praise you, the only one that can give you thanks, and he'll look you in the eye and say, well done, good and faithful servant. You've been faithful in a few things. Well done. Well done. I want to be there to witness you coming to the throne of God where he looks at you and says, well done, church in Ireland. Well done, young person. Well done, older person. Well done. You did with all your heart what I gave you to do. You didn't question it. You trusted me and you learned to break bread in the midst of your struggle and trial. You learned to give me thanks no matter where you were. It's Jesus Christ who initiated communion. On the night he was betrayed, can you imagine? On the night, it wasn't like on the night when the banners were flying and the fireworks were going off. On the night he was betrayed. He took bread and broke it and said, take, eat. This is my body which is broken for you. And I wonder sometimes, can the Lord look down at us and say to people who are outside the kingdom of God, this is my body which is broken for you. This is my body which gave up her plans of what she thought was success. This is my body which gave up her dreams and ambitions for you. This is my body. This is my church. And he tells us as often as you eat this, in a sense you, and partake of the pouring out of his blood on the cross, you bring the sacrifice of Christ, may I call it that way, into view to people all around you. Proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. So Father, I just thank you, Lord, as we come to the communion table to end this day. God, we want a spirit of thankfulness. In our hearts, Lord, we're not looking to get out of where we are. We're looking to find you where we are. We're looking to find your purpose where we are. We're looking to find victory where we are. God Almighty, I ask you in Jesus' name that this be a communion service like none other. God, would you allow us even to have that vision of Paul giving thanks on the deck of a sinking ship where he's been neglected, he stinks, he's had to endure hardship. God Almighty, but here he is breaking bread and giving thanks. I often feel so mediocre in the sight of that picture. But God, you can help us, you can help me, Lord, to be thankful in every place where you have called me to be. Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ. I pray for a victory here today that can only come from heaven. A shout of victory in spite of the circumstances, that we've found victory in our circumstance. We've found the reason in our circumstance, or at least found an understanding of why we're there. God, as we partake of communion this afternoon, Jesus Christ, we ask you, God, for a spirit of thankfulness. We'll not be saying, get me out and I'll serve you anymore. We'll be saying, God, give me your word. Show me what you want me to do and give me the power for the sake of others to do it. Father, we just say thank you. We say thank you and praise you in Jesus' name. Amen and amen.