All right, good morning and welcome to our first service on Sunday morning. We have two services, the first of which is the Bible Prophecy Update that we do weekly. And then our second service is actually the sermon, which is a verse by verse study through the Word of God. We're currently in the book of Hebrews and today we're in chapter 12. We left off last week in verse 17. We're going to pick it up in verse 18 and Lord willing make it through to verse 24. And We're going to look at the dangers of legalism, specifically as it relates to the reasons that there's actually a temptation and even a seduction to go backwards into it. And this is what the writer of Hebrews is writing about in our text today. And that will be live streamed at 11 15 a.m. Hawaii time today. Also, for those of you that are watching by way of YouTube or Facebook, we want to encourage you to go directly to JDFarag.org. There you will find the uncensored and uninterrupted entirety of today's update. So with that, let's get right to it. I want to talk with you today about how it is and why it is that the handwriting is on the wall, which is actually a biblical idiom, specifically concerning that which is now seemingly imminent prophetically. Actually, it's kind of interesting. the secular world, as they've been known to do, has hijacked this from the Word of God. I know Arabs shouldn't use the word hijacked, but for lack of a better one, if you prefer stolen. So many things that the world takes from the Word of God, and this is one of them. They completely took this idiom and define it as a sign that something catastrophic is imminent. So when you hear that expression, the handwriting is on the wall. You know what's coming. The origin of this is from the Book of Daniel. And it's the account that we have recorded for us in Daniel chapter five, when King Belshazzar, has this great feast there in Babylon. And he ends up blaspheming God by using the vessels that they had taken from the temple in Jerusalem when they had taken the Jews captive into Babylon. So picture the scene with me here in Daniel five. There they are. This is a huge feast. In fact, some of the archeological digs there in ancient Babylon have uncovered these huge, I mean enormous banquet halls that could facilitate literally thousands of people. And this was one of those places. And they are partying, They are getting drunk. I don't mean to get graphic, but certainly their partying and drinking was riddled with debauchery and sexual immorality. And we're told in the account that as they're drinking their wine, they're also praising their gods. And we have those gods listed for us. They're the false gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone. And here they are drinking and getting very drunk and partying and all kinds of debauchery. Then all of a sudden, again, picture this scene with me. Out of nowhere, fingers of a hand appear. Boy, that'll kill a party right there. Yeah. They all watch this now, of course, as you might imagine. And this hand begins writing on the wall opposite where the lamp stand was, so that it's well lit. And interesting, we're told this detail in the narrative that King Belshazzar became so fearful that his knees literally began to knock against each other. That's how much fear filled him. So what does he do? Well, he calls for his astrologers and soothsayers and shows them this handwriting on the wall, but they're unable to understand it, let alone interpret it. When the queen hears about this, she goes to King Belshazzar and tells him to call on Daniel. And then she says this about him, listen to this, in whom is the spirit of the Holy God, O would to God, that we would be numbered amongst those of whom it could be said, in them is the Spirit of the Holy God. There's a fascinating account in Acts chapter 14 where Peter and John are speaking boldly with authority, teaching the Scriptures. And everybody there is just blown away. And they marveled and they're puzzled, because these are just ordinary men. They're not learned in the Scriptures and yet listen to what they're saying. And then we're told in the text that then they realized that these men had been with Jesus. Oh, would to God. that we would also be numbered amongst those of whom it would be said, these men, these people have been with Jesus. Well, they go and get Daniel. He's brought before the king, but he doesn't interpret it right away. He first, and rightfully so, tells the king that he's guilty of exalting himself, lifting himself up against the Lord of heaven in using these vessels from the temple of the Lord. And then he goes on to tell him that he has not glorified the God who, get this, and I love this, holds his very breath in his hand. Think about that. Here's this king that has exalted himself and the God that holds that next breath. Everybody breathe right now, because right now I just stopped breathing by default. That very next breath you're going to take, guess who holds that breath in his hand? God does. And this God that holds your next breath in your hand, King, you have not glorified Him. Truth be made known, you've blasphemed Him. And then he proceeds to interpret the handwriting on the wall. And we pick it up in verse 25 of Daniel five. And this is the inscription that was written, Many, many tekel ufarsin. This, verse 26, is the interpretation of each word. Many. God has numbered your kingdom and finished it. Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting. Peres, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.' Then we're told Belshazzar gave the command and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom, which Daniel had already said he was not interested in. It's verse 30 that I want to draw your attention to, because it's going to be germane to our understanding. That very night, that very night, Belshazzar King of the Chaldeans was slain, and Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about 62 years old. Okay, why do I want to start out this way? Because the parallels of this account are eerily similar to what's happening in the world today. I'll even take it a step further and say, in some ways it's exactly what's happening today. Namely, that of God numbering this final evil kingdom of man and finishing it by virtue of how this world has been weighed in the balances and found wanting. And as such, the world is now divided, like never before, I might add. And like with Belshazzar, who was slain that very night, So too is Jesus coming as a thief in the night. If you'll kindly allow me to, I want to, for the remainder of our time together today, expound on how it is that the handwriting is on the wall. And now it's just a matter of time. We'll at this time go ahead and end the live stream on YouTube and Facebook and redirect you to the website. So what follows are just four. There are more, but four reasons that it's just a matter of time now. The handwriting is on the wall. given the swiftness with which everything is happening in the world today. First, the handwriting is on the wall concerning the imminent collapse of the world's economies, so as to usher in a digital cashless system. And one need not be an economist, or a financial expert to see that what we are witnessing is a controlled demolition. And I use those two words for a reason. It is a controlled demolition of the world's economies. And it is in full force in order to get to what the World Economic Forum has dubbed the Great Reset. For those who are interested, we did an update on this titled The Great Set Up. For the Great Reset, all of which is, I mean, this is really an understatement. It is exactly, precisely what the Bible says will happen, it's happening. And we're witnessing it in real time, right before our very eyes. If you're anything like me, and I believe that you are, I mean, you're seeing the same propaganda as I am. Right? You want to keep those inflation numbers on the screen. You know, bacon, I take that very seriously. It's like 39% higher than, I'm sorry for the levity. If I don't try to laugh, I'm just going to break down and cry. It's all deliberate. It's all by design. How are you going to bring about a cashless one world economy vis-a-vis this great reset. Well, we've got to demolish, destroy, dismantle, collapse the existing one. Well, how are we going to do that? Oh, I know. We need a phony baloney crisis. What do you mean? Well, according to those, you'll forgive me for bringing this up. But those great theologians, the Simpsons, I'm just going to leave that one right there. I find it very interesting that we talked about this in an update concerning predictive programming. I mean, it goes back decades. But they had this one episode, very interesting, chilling actually, where they have this meeting with all of the major networks. I mean, Fox is there too. So, so you know. In fact, I think their helicopter was there. So they have to come up with this crisis and they call this emergency meeting. We need a phony baloney crisis. I know, let's come up with a virus. And then we'll have this vaccine. And then they already have the vaccine. And this is a cartoon. the Simpsons. It's an episode. You can find it. Well, they probably buried it. If not, they've probably already scrubbed it. But this was from many years ago. So they call over NBC. Yeah, bring NBC over. So the guy from NBC comes over and they jab him and he falls and he drops dead right there on the spot. How do they know? Hmm. That sounds very similar to what's happening now. So that's the mechanism. That's the, again, phony baloney crisis that they've created. Because again, I hope you know, that the vaccine, so called, it's not a vaccine, was not created for COVID. COVID was the crisis that was created for this so called vaccine. And this actually ties into number two, which is that the handwriting is on the wall concerning the imminent implementation of a global social credit score system. in order to buy and sell. Actually, it's already beginning to come to pass. These so-called again, vaccine passports have nothing to do with your health. They have everything to do with your data, to be able to track you and trace you and control you. Control what you're able to do, where you're able to go, what you're able to buy. And this is exactly, again I'm using this word, it's an understatement, forgive me for raising my voice, but it's exactly what the book of Revelation says will happen. During the seven year tribulation, there will be a system in place, already here, And this system will be such that what will decide and determine your ability to buy and sell, you'll have to have some kind of a digital biometric ID mark on your forehand or forehead. And your ability to function in society already, those who are unvaccinated cannot participate in society. And it's coming soon to an island near you, by the way. It's coming to a head, literally. See, when your cell phone is on you, they got you. They want to take now what is in this and put it in you. So they can connect you to what is known as the internet of things, which is now being called the internet of bodies. So we're all connect, not we, we're not here. They will all be connected by way of blockchain technology, which all blockchain technology is, in its simplest form, is a verification system. Once a transaction, typically in cryptocurrency, has been verified, authenticated and validated, the block is completed and added to the chain. It's only verification. And so using blockchain technology, this digital biometric ID system, will be in you and you'll be connected. And your ability to participate in society will be predicated upon you being vaccinated. And I'm not standing up here as is my privilege to every week. And I mean that when I say that. It's not hyperbole. I am profoundly privileged to be the pastor of this amazing church and do what God's called me to do. But I'm not standing up here before you today saying this is what is coming. I am saying today it's already here. It's already in place. It's just a matter of time. The handwriting is on the wall. This is imminent. It is imminent. Just a matter of time. Again, for those who would be interested, we did an update on this titled Coming to Ahead. The links are there on the website, but we did a deep dive into what's known as this social credit score system. One last thing on this one. It's similar to your credit score that determines your ability to borrow. If you want to get a loan, they'll check your credit score. And if it's high enough, then you're going to get that loan. But if you have a poor credit score, they will deny you the loan. Do you see the connection there? So this isn't your credit score. This is your social credit score that changes everything, changes the whole complexion of it. Social meaning you have to comply with social distancing, social credit score, social coming from the word society. You have to be in compliance. And that will drive your social credit score up or bring your social credit score down depending on how you behave. You post something on social media that goes against the narrative, boom, down that thing goes. Again, it's already here. Well, number three, the handwriting is on the wall concerning the imminent Antichrist's revelation and commencement of the seven year tribulation. And one need look no further than to the aforementioned great setup for the great reset to see that the prophetic stage is being set up for the Antichrist. Nowhere will you read in Bible prophecy that the Antichrist is a part of setting it all up. All he does when he arrives on the scene and is revealed as the Savior, all he does, it's already been set up. All he does is turn the switch on because it's already been set up. So he just pushes the reset button because all the wiring has been done. All the computers are in place. All the technology is in place. The system is already in place. We have the, we've already crashed the economy. Not too bad. You've got to, you've got to give them that. This is, they're pretty thorough and it's working. And it's met with, and you'll forgive me for saying it like this, but it's met with a satanic success, because that's what it is. This is satanic. In the Book of Daniel and in the Book of Revelation, we have this description of this beast. And the imagery is terrifying. concerning this specific prophecy. If I could trouble you to join me again in Daniel, this time chapter seven. I want to begin reading in verse two. Daniel spoke, saying, I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And, verse three, four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. The first was like a lion and had eagle's wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it. And suddenly another beast, a second, verse five, like a bear, it was raised up on one side and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it, Arise, devour much flesh, After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. After this, verse 7, I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong, It had huge iron teeth. It was devouring, breaking in pieces and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it. And it had 10 horns. I was considering the horns, verse 8, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, hang on to that one, and a mouth speaking pompous words. go to Revelation chapter 13. I want to begin reading in verse one. John, by the Holy Spirit, is writing this vision, this revelation. Then I stood on the sand of the sea, And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, Having seven heads and 10 horns, And on his horns 10 crowns, And on his heads a blasphemous name. Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, His feet were like the feet of a bear, And his mouth like the mouth of a lion. the dragon, this is satan, gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. And, verse three, I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. So, verse four, They worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast saying, who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him? And, verse five, he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. and he was given authority to continue for 42 months. That's 3.5 years. Then, verse 6, he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. Oh, you might want to ask Bill Schauser about that one. It was granted to him, verse seven, to make war with the saints. We affectionately refer to them as the tribulation saints, and to overcome them. And authority was given him over, and I want you to listen very carefully to this, every tribe, tongue, and nation, every nation, all the nations. All who dwell on the earth will worship Him whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Okay, bear with me please. I'm going to show you an image on the screen that came from a member. I received several emails about this. But before I do, I just, I want to pray. Would you join with me? And can we just pray, please? Father in heaven, just the heavy intensity of that which we're looking at today in this prophecy update is such that we just have to stop and come to You and ask of You as only You can by the power of the Holy Spirit to comfort us, encourage us and strengthen us. Lord, I pray that what I'm about to share will have the much needed effect of not terrifying us, but really drawing us closer to You. As James said, if we draw near to You, You draw near to us. We want it said of us that in him, in her, is the Spirit of the Holy God of heaven. We want it said of us. There's nothing extraordinary about them. Oh, I know why. It's because they've been with Jesus. Jesus, if there was ever a time that we needed You, that time is now. because I know that the enemy is all about giving us a spirit of fear. But you've not given us a spirit of fear, but of love and of a, and power, the power of the Holy Spirit, and of a sound mind, a disciplined mind. So Lord, we would just ask that for all that are here today, and I include myself in this, and all of those that are watching online, that You would just go before us. Because we know that if You are for us, Romans 8, no thing or no one can be against us. So Lord, thank You for that. Greater is He that is in us. than he that is in the world. So Lord, thank You that we have that and we have You, as we see evil waxing worse seemingly with each passing day. Thank You, Jesus. It's in Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Okay, maybe some of you have heard about this or seen this. I do want to warn you, though, it's pretty intense. I'm going to show you an image. It's a photo of a statue that was recently erected at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Note how that the feet look like that of a bear and its mouth like that of a lion, and also that it looks like a dragon and has what appears to be, as Daniel writes, the eyes of a man. This is a beast, a sculpture of a beast that they have placed in of all places, the headquarters of the United Nations, all nations. I first heard about it when a member in South Australia of all places sent it to me last week. She writes, Hi Pastor JD. I'm Pamela from South Australia and watch you online every week with my daughter Angeline. It is because of your ABCs of salvation. She too is now born again at 18 years of age. I praise the Lord for that. Anyway, I'm sending some pics that I believe show that we are another step closer to going home. As the UN headquarters at the Plaza Visitors Center has this huge statue, it's like it's in our faces. The words of peace and security also mentioned. Looking forward to your next service. That's this one. Lord willing, also praying for you and your family. God bless you and keep looking up. And boy am I. Picture here is a post on Twitter. This comes from the United Nations with a photo of this beast. And here's a quote. A guardian for international peace and security. Peace and security sits on the visitors plaza outside, hashtag UN headquarters. If that sounds a little bit like first Thessalonians, that's because it's first Thessalonians. I'm not trying to be cute, but this is chapter five verses one through three. Apostle Paul is writing to this church at Thessalonica. And he says, now brothers and sisters, about times and dates, we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, peace and security Some of your translations render it safety. It's the same word in the Greek asphalia, which can be translated safety or security. In other words, the Lord's going to come as a thief in the night while people, while they are saying two specific words, peace and security. So what's going to happen? While they're saying those two words, peace and security. I'm so glad you asked, because he answers it. He says, while people are saying peace and security, destruction will come on them suddenly. This is what's known as sudden destruction. Here's the thing about sudden destruction. I know this is again very, very profound. It's very sudden, sudden destruction. The destruction will come on them, not we, them suddenly while they're erecting peace and security statues in front of the United Nations headquarters that eerily resembles the beast described in the Book of Daniel and in the Book of Revelation. as a preview of coming attractions, if I can say it like that. They're just setting everything up. It's almost like an announcement. The beast is here. I hope you know that, by the way. I mean, the system is getting set up, right? You know that the Antichrist is alive and well. He just hasn't been revealed yet. And he cannot be revealed until we are removed. getting ahead of myself. I want to come back to that. So while people are saying peace and security, destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. Now, why do I emphasize and underscore and highlight the word they and them? Because The inference is there's a delineation between the they and the we. That's they, not we. They will not escape. this sudden destruction that's coming down on them while they are proclaiming peace and security. Sudden destruction comes down on them. They will not escape, but we will. Come on, you know what I'm talking about, right? Have you not had well intentioned Christian friends, maybe even non-Christians? refer to the rapture as the great escape. In fact, sometimes it's couched in terms of, you just want to escape. I'm like, and you don't? What? The great escape. We who are alive and remain will escape. They will not escape. the sudden destruction. I know I've said this. I'm not dogmatic about this. And I hope you don't tire of me saying this, but I'm going to say it nonetheless. I am becoming increasingly convinced that when sudden destruction comes down on them, Jesus comes back for us. this comes down, we go up. So I'm like, yeah, bring it. I mean, that thing is hideous and evil and demonic. But put up as many as you want, because that means Jesus is coming to take me out of here. We will escape the wrath that is coming. Well, this brings me to the fourth one. The handwriting is on the wall concerning the imminent rapture of the church of Jesus Christ prior to the commencement of the seven year tribulation. Now, please hear me out when I say this. It's really important. By the way, the enemy doesn't want you to hear this, for what I think would be deemed obvious reasons. But if you were to ask me what I thought was one of the most important truths for Christians to be settled on doctrinally, this would be it. We live in a world now that is most unforgiving of being wishy washy concerning the sound doctrine of the pre tribulation rapture. I said that one time when a member emailed and said, I'm not wishy washy. I'm watchy watchy. I like that. Watchy watchy. But this is no time to be back and forth, unsure. I sure hope it is. And I want to talk more about that in a moment. But this is sound doctrine. This is sound, this is truth. The rapture of the church of Jesus Christ has to happen before the seven year tribulation. And again, we devoted an update to this. We have the link for it. There's also a downloadable PDF file where we go through seven reasons that the rapture has to happen. before the seven year tribulation. And in fact, they're in the form of an acronym spelling the word rapture. There's seven letters in the word rapture. How clever is that? I didn't come up with it, but I'm not that clever. But seven reasons why the rapture has to be before the seven year tribulation. One last thing on this. I if this is an issue for you, please know that that's okay. That's good. If you're needing to kind of bring this sound doctrine back onto the table and blow the dust off it and revisit it, you need to do that. Now is the time to do that. Because if you have any doubts, then you might as well write a blank check and sign it and give it to the enemy. I'll explain why I say that. Doubtless, you've heard that saying ignorance is bliss. By the way, that comes out of the Bible too. They totally stole. They need to get their own material. That comes out of Ecclesiastes, by the way. With much knowledge comes much sorrow and grief. Ignorance is bliss, the world says. Think about this. When it comes to ignorance of Bible prophecy, ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance can be torment. And here's how I get there. If one is ignorant of Bible prophecy in these last days, in this world, at this time, with everything that's happening, fear and torment can set in. And make no mistake about it, the enemy is going to hand it to you a thousand times a day on a silver platter. If you're ignorant of Bible prophecy, I mean, why do you think it is? that well nigh one third of the pages of Holy Writ, the entirety of the Bible, is prophecy. Because God does not want us to be ignorant concerning Bible prophecy. In fact, throughout the epistles, time and time again, don't be ignorant. Be not ignorant. God wants us to know, because He knows that if we don't know, we have this propensity to be given over to fear and despair concerning the future. But when you do know, let me flip it around the other side, when you do know how this ends, and you do know sound doctrine, that the rapture happens before the seven year tribulation, you sleep a lot better at night. I know I do. Man, I, if I, this is why I have notes, by the way, because that's as far as I get. If I, and then I don't have any notes, so I just don't say anything. Well, this last week the Lord really ministered to me out of the Gospel of John. Can I draw your attention to the 14th chapter verses 1 through 4. Now let me just kind of give you the back story here. I think it's so apropos to us today. Jesus has just basically got done telling them that this is the end. This is how it ends. I'm leaving you and I'm going to be handed over to the Son of Man. I'm going to be crucified. I will be resurrected. And they are freaking out because He has just basically proclaimed. He gave them a prophecy update, basically concerning His crucifixion, burial and resurrection. And they're really struggling with it. They're having a really hard time with it. And Jesus is trying to reassure them concerning Him leaving. Because basically what He says to them is, instead of having God with you, I'm going to send you the Holy Spirit so God will be in you. So the question is, would you rather have God with you or God in you? I'll take both, by the way. Is that greedy? Well, we do have both. It's actually even more. There's actually three. God's alongside of us, with us, para. God, the Holy Spirit indwells us in, and God is poured out upon us, epi. to overflowing so that our lives become torrents of living water. Those three pronouns in the original language describing the work of the Holy Spirit. So Jesus is trying to encourage them. Listen, I have to go. By the way, you want me to go. Because if I don't go, I can't send you the Holy Spirit to indwell you. And believe you me, you want the Holy Spirit indwelling you. But I have to go. And by the way, I'm coming back. I go, but I'm going because I'm going to go prepare a place for you in my father's house. And so he says to them, verse one, let not your heart be troubled. Now, why would Jesus say that? Because their hearts were troubled. Whenever you read in the Scriptures, be not afraid. Why do you read that in the Scriptures? Because they were afraid. Why does Jesus say, let not your heart be troubled? Because their hearts were troubled. They were in deep distress. They didn't want Him to go. He says, no, you need Me to go. I know you don't want Me to go, but you need Me to go. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there in the Father's house, there you may be also, and where I go you know, and the way you know. No way. Way. And you know the way. I know it's a play on words, but I think you get the point. You know what Jesus is doing here? He's speaking to them about the rapture. Now come on pastor, How do you get the rapture out of that? Because this is a bridegroom speaking to his bride, to whom he has just been betrothed. They're going to get married now they're engaged. And what does the bridegroom do? He goes to his father's house and he constructs a room addition, a bridal chamber. And then the bridegroom will come at an hour that no man knows. It was really hard when it came to wedding invitations. Date, don't know. Hour, don't know. No man knows. But when he was completed and the father would say, okay, go get your bride. Go abduct your bride as a thief in the night. the best man would sound the shofar, the trumpet, announcing, the bridegroom is coming, the bridegroom is coming. And the bride, oh get this, always had to be ready for when her bridegroom came. So when the bridegroom comes, what happens? Oh, I did not learn this until that documentary Before the Wrath, which actually is going to be in the But God Testimony here in a moment. They have found in these archeological finds that they would have these mats in the Galilee region that when the bridegroom would come, they would lift up the bride off the ground in the air to meet her bridegroom. That's the rapture. Because see, Jesus doesn't come to earth. That's the second coming. It's been said that at the rapture, Jesus comes for us. At the second coming, Jesus comes with us. So here comes the bridegroom, trumpet sounds. They take and they lift up into the air the bride to meet her groom in the air. I mean, chicken skin or what? And he takes her, abducts her, catches her away, takes her away. to that place he prepared. Oh, by the way, they would have known what he was talking about. Oh, he's talking like a bridegroom. That's the point. I'm going to come back for you. We are now betrothed. We're going to be wed. I'm going to go prepare our bridal chamber where in that tradition, in that day, they would celebrate and consummate their marriage for a period of seven. And then after the seven days of celebrating in that bridal chamber and consummating in that bridal chamber, they would emerge from that bridal chamber at the end of the seven, the number of completion. And they would have a huge feast. And I mean huge. Oh, I think, you know, this is referring to the wedding feast of the Lamb, which by the way, brings me great hope and comfort, because that means there's food in heaven. I mean, I'm just saying. You know, every time we partake together of communion, Luke's Gospel records it no less than two times. Jesus says, I eagerly await, fervently desire, because this is the last time we're going to be doing this together. Here, the next time we do this, it's going to be when it finds its fulfillment in My kingdom. That's the wedding feast of the Lamb. Try to wrap your mind around that. We're going to be seated as His bride by His side. at this wedding feast after having celebrated for a period of seven. One aptly said it like this, while the world is tribulating, we are celebrating. I'll take the celebrating. Thank you very much. You know what's sad to me? This isn't in my notes either, so just bear with me. How many Christians don't know this, don't live their lives for this? No wonder they're in such fear and turmoil and despair unnecessarily, needlessly, needlessly, needlessly. This is our blessed hope. This is our only hope. We have in the Bible these prophecies that tell us what the world is going to look like at the time of the end. And I think you would agree with me that as you look around at the world, it's exactly like we're told. I mean, down to the words that will be used, as we just read. All the nations, Let not your heart be troubled. Don't let the enemy get away with that. He's given you a sound mind. You know, you have a God given intellect. I don't know what it is about Christians that we think that we have to assassinate our God given intellect when we come to Christ. Our faith is an intelligent faith. God's given us a sound mind. He's given us an intellect. Well, I say it every week, but I'll say it again this week. Although there's coming a week where I will not say it, because I won't be here to say it. You better not be here either. But now, like never before, is the time. We must, must, must. as many as we can, as fast as we can, get Jesus to people and people to Jesus. Time's running out. This is why we do these updates. This is why we end with the gospel. This is why we do the ABC's of salvation, which is just a simple childlike explanation of salvation. What's the gospel? First Corinthians chapter 15, the first four verses, the Apostle Paul writing to the church of Corinth, says the gospel is that Jesus came, He died, He was buried, and He rose again on the third day. The very first time he writes about the gospels to the church in Thessalonica, first Thessalonians. And he says the gospel is that Jesus was crucified, buried, rose again on the third day, and is coming back again one day. That's the good news, the gospel of salvation found in the person of Jesus Christ. What are the ABC's? Again, just a very simple template, for lack of a better word, that we can use to share the gospel with people. And it's so simple. It's actually simpler than ABC. It's actually just as simple as B, just believe. Actually, for those of you that are going to join us for second service, I'm going to talk a little bit about this. Beware of legalism. There is nothing we have to do. He did it. It's done. We're saved by grace, through faith, not of works. It's the gift of God, lest any man should boast. There's nothing you and I can do to merit salvation, to earn salvation. It's already been done. See, that's what legalism says. Forgive me for preaching the sermon, second service. But legalism says, do, do, do. Grace says, done, done, done. It is finished. And that's the good news. Well, the A is for admit or acknowledge that you are a sinner. Because unless and until you do, why would you be interested in the Savior if you're not a sinner? Romans 3 10 says there is no one righteous, not even one. And Romans 3 23 tells us why. It's because all, and I want you to hang on to that word all, all, which means by the way, again, I know deeply profound, all have sinned. and fall short of the glory of God. We were all born sinners, which is why we must all be born again in order to enter the kingdom of heaven, Jesus said. Now Romans 6 23 is really key because it starts with the bad news first. And then once the bad news is given, then the good news is given. What's the bad news? Sin carries with it a penalty. And that penalty is the death penalty, because the wages of sin is death. That's the bad news. We've all broken God's law. We've all fallen short. We've all missed the mark of His perfect standard of righteousness. So we've all sinned. We've all transgressed. Now we have to enter the sentencing phase, and it's the death sentence. And that's the bad news. But then here's the good news. The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. How does that work? Well, this time of year, can you believe how? I don't want to talk about that. crazy how fast it's going, right? But at this time of year we give people gifts, right? What do you do when you get a gift? Besides re-gift, what do you do when you get a gift? You receive it, right? And you don't try to pay for it. Because if you pay for it now, it's no longer a gift, it's a purchase. He already purchased the price. We are purchased by Him. He purchased us. And He paid in full with His bloodshed in our stead. What price did He pay? Oh, He paid with His death in my stead. So it's finished. The debt's been paid. You've been sentenced to death. I'll take care of it for you. I got you covered. I'll go to my death in your place. Good news. That's what the word gospel means. Good news. You're free to go. Your debt has been paid. That's what the word gospel means. Well, the A leads to the B, which is central. Again, so simple. Believe in your heart. Just believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. And as Romans 10, 9 and 10 says, if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. And then this brings one to the sea. This is the expression of, that comes out when one believes in the Lord. You call upon the name of the Lord, the only name given among men whereby we must be saved. This is what Romans 10, 9 and 10 also says. If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, And believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. You will be saved for it is with your heart that you believe and are justified. And it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. And lastly, Romans 10, 13, and pull that word all back out of your hip pocket. All have sinned. So all who call, upon the name of the Lord will, will, will be saved. The jury's not out. The verdict is in. You're justified. It's justified, never sinned, because that sin has been paid for. And your debt, it's stamped in His blood, paid in full. Good news, your debt's paid. You have no outstanding debt. You're free to go. And whom the sun sets free is free indeed. If you'll just give me a couple more minutes, I want to share with you a but God testimony. This comes from Jamie Upwell. Again, I hope I'm pronouncing his name right. He writes, hello Pastor JD, just another but God story for your archives. But this one I really like for obvious reasons. For the last 11 years, I have worked as an electrician at a large hospital in central Massachusetts. I figured it was only a matter of time. The handwriting on the wall. before I can run no more and have to decide between the job and my job. This has been very worrisome as both my wife and I worked in the health care setting. And the thought of losing both of our incomes is not a pleasant one. She works as an RN in a long-term facility and got an exemption. I not so. Exemption denied. When I came to the conclusion that I would have to make a decision, I'm ashamed to admit, I actually thought about it for maybe about five minutes. But I came back to my senses pretty soon thereafter. I decided to take some time off and use some saved vacation time before I was axed, not vaxxed, axed, fired. And that's where things got really interesting. I unexpectedly received a call from a vocational school principal, and he was interested in interviewing me as an electrical instructor for freshman and sophomore high school students. More details as to how he got my name and number at the end. After speaking with him, he assured me he never required the jab and felt it was a personal decision. Hopefully the state doesn't intervene. Just don't move to Hawaii. He walked me around and we had a chance to speak. And he asked me if it was something I was interested in. And I tried to keep a straight face, but in my head I'm thinking, hmm, seven hour work days, a larger salary than the hospital, vacations every time the students have one, which is like all the time. No more driving to work on snowy days. This is Massachusetts. And oh yeah, only work 183 days a year, summers off. Ha ha, Satan. Nice try, but God. I love it when God does that. It gets better. The kicker of the whole story is the person that referred me is a man that I was working with at the hospital, that I was able to bring to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. He had left the hospital two months prior to teach heating, ventilation, and air conditioning at the school, and had thought of me when the electrical position had become open. You see, the hospital had thought, I went there to keep the lights on. But the truth is, my real interest was to bring Jesus and the gospel to anyone who would listen. Yeah, praise the Lord. They jokingly referred to me as the hospital pastor, but I wore that badge with honor. And the truth is, I just wanted to get as many people to the saving knowledge of Jesus as possible. And by the way, let me parenthetically say, God honors that. God honors that. I hope this story brings a smile to your face. It absolutely did, and countless others. We're almost there. I believe that. By the way, Before the Wrath, that's that documentary about the rapture, has been an excellent tool to use to teach unbelievers about the gospel and the purpose of life, and why we're here, and the urgency for which they live. Amen. Thank you for all you do. God bless, Jamie. Praise the Lord. Why don't you stand? We'll have the worship team come up. Appreciate your patience again. God is so good. God is so good. You're so good, Lord. You're so good. Thank You, Lord. Loving Heavenly Father, we're I don't know the word, but for lack of a better one, we're just kind of stunned really by the accuracy of Bible prophecy. I mean, we're watching it with precision accuracy take place exactly as you said it would, prior to that time when you would come to take us out of this world. And Lord, we truly believe with all of our hearts that the proverbial handwriting is on the wall. And now it's just a matter of time. It is imminent. And so Lord, I pray if there's anyone here today in this church or watching online that is not ready for You and needs to get right with You, I pray that today, today, would be the day of their salvation, that they would not delay the most important decision of their life for eternal life. And one last prayer, Lord, and I just sense that this is for so many people. After our prayer meeting on Tuesday night, I just was once again reminded of how so many are just so hurting right now. And so Lord, I pray for anyone that's just really struggling and hurting and even fearful, that You would settle their hearts, that You would comfort them by the Holy Spirit, that You would just fill them afresh with the Holy Spirit, baptize them anew, encourage and strengthen their hearts. And just remind them, not much longer, not much longer. Hold on, as you wrote to the church of Philadelphia. Just hold on, not much longer. I'm coming. I'm coming quickly. Thank You, Jesus, in Jesus' name, Amen. This is the day, so I will lift my voice to give you praise. This is the day, so I will lift my voice to give you praise. You are worthy. You are worthy You are worthy You are worthy Lord when you are glorified My heart is satisfied to know And when all creation sings To You the King of kings, we know All praise and honor are Yours Lord, when You are glorified My heart is satisfied to know All praise and honor are Yours And when all creation sings God bless you folks.