Texas Roadhouse, they sell alcohol, but it's a restaurant. But that was a sin back in the 70s. I don't know what changed, you know. Like the Mormons, the prophet got a word and something changed, you know. In the 70s, you weren't supposed to shop a Kroger if they sold alcohol. We could go to a Kroger in Wheelersburg where I grew up because they were dry. But you couldn't go to the Kroger and Portsmouth because they sold booze. You see what I'm saying? And it makes people doubt the other things you believe when you're constantly having to admit that you were adding things to God's word. So I always say, let's stick to just what God's word says. I don't think God messed up. I think if he wanted things to be more strict, he would have made them more strict. So this would apply to any substance ingested in any manner that would affect soberness. I know people who can't drink caffeine. I know people, of course we've talked about medications. Psych meds will do that to you, but even meds that aren't psych meds can make you kind of like high, like people think you're smoking pot. You know, it's just your medicine gets you just kind of like dizzy, slurry, dizzy a little bit, you know. Well, it doesn't matter what it is. You should pay attention to yourself. And if it's making you fall into a condition where you're not sober minded, you need to go to your doctor and say, I'm not taking that stuff anymore. And then if you do have to take it, it's like a have to thing, then you shouldn't be out and about. You should stay home when you're on it. That's just what it says. Drunkenness or being high is a form of madness. People get drunk and they think they're funnier sometimes. They also call it liquid courage. Guy gets drunk, thinks he can just whoop everybody. Take a video of him trying to fight somebody. He wakes up the next day with two black eyes, a busted nose, busted ribs and everything. He said, you want to see why you look like that? That's what that liquid courage did to you. So that's the contrast between madness and soberness. Acts 26, 25. But he said, I'm not mad, most noble Festus, but speak forth the words of truth and what? Soberness. Soberness. Contrast being mad, insane, with soberness. And I made that same connection there in my Bible. That's how it looks like. The sober Christian suits up for battle. Look what it says there. Verse 8. Read that with me. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, for in helmet the hope of salvation. You're suiting up. Now, this points us to the whole armor of God in Ephesians 6, 10-18. And we're not going to repeat all that. But we'll refer you to our study. We did 8 hours of study on the whole armor of God. We started in Ephesians 6, 10-11, Be strong in the Lord. Verse 12, For we wrestle not against flesh and blood. That's back in May of 2017. Gird about with truth, Ephesians 6, 13, 14, the first part of the verse. The breastplate of righteousness, Ephesians 6, 14. The shield of faith, Ephesians 6, 16. The helmet of salvation, Ephesians 6, 17. The sword of the spirit, also verse 17. Then praying and watching, verse 18. Free of charge, go verse by verse through Ephesians here and learn something. And we're given this encouragement to be sober and armed for battle. In verse 9, 4. So he said, but let us do what? Put on the armor of God. Why? Verse 9 says, 4, read that with me. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. That's your encouragement. And we don't forget that this is in the context of the pre-Trib imminent rapture of chapter 4, verses 13-18. That's the larger context. He's told us all about how you don't have to mourn sorrow as those who have no hope. The dead are with Jesus. He's gonna bring them with him. They'll rise first when the voice of the archangel and the trump of God calls us up. They go first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the air. And so shall we ever be of the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. That's the context. Then we come down in verse five. And he's saying again, he's giving you that promise Charlie mentioned in his prayer. The promises of God for God hath not appointed us to wrath. And that's referring to the rapture text there. 10 times the book of Revelation refers to the tribulation as God's wrath. 10 times. Let's look it up. Let's take a minute and run the references. Revelation chapter six and verse 16. Get that microphone ready. I'm going to line people up there. I'm going to have Olivia read the first one because I think she's there. Revelation 6, 16, 17. and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of his wrath has come, and who shall be able to stand? And it's talking about the great tribulation, and twice it calls it the wrath, the wrath of the Lamb, and the day of his wrath, both times. We are not appointed to that. How can you teach that we go through the tribulation, the church that Paul said is not appointed to wrath? Amen. Darren, you got chapter 11, verse 18? The nations were come angry, and thy wrath has come. In the time of the dead, that they should be judged. and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants, the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great, and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. That's the environmentalist movement, the animal rights movement, and all these crazy left-wing Marxist causes. But look at verse 18, and the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come. We're not appointed to that. So you ask, what is it? The tribulation. We're not appointed to that. Let's keep going, it's fun. Kim, will you read verse 10? Revelation 14 verse 10. And thus shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into a cup of his indignation. And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the lamb. The wine of the wrath of God. And it's just, uh, and then going over to verse 19, if you would. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. Over and over. Johnny, are you there? Chapter 15? Chapter 15, verse 1, and go ahead and read verse 7. Verse 1 and then verse 7. And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them is filled up the wrath of God. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth forever and ever. So this is referencing the vials. You'll hear those called the bold judgments. The Bible calls them vials. They're all called the wrath of God. That's the tribulation. 16.1. Doug, do you have that? And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, go ye ways and pour out the vials and the wrath of God upon the earth. The vials of the wrath of God. That's the seven vile judgments. Mary, do you have verse 19? And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon came in remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. That's all during the Great Tribulation. And Janie, if you've got 1915, have Janie read that. and out of his mouth goeth the sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron. And he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. So there you go, 10 times referencing to the whole or parts of the tribulation period. In every case called the wrath of God, the wrath of Islam, his wrath, you saw the different ways. It makes it clear that the tribulation period is about, it's not about persecution. And you'll have these people say, oh, you people think you're special or something. You're not gonna be persecuted like the rest of the church. No, it's not about persecution. We are being persecuted now. Christians all over the world are being killed, being imprisoned, being beaten to death or just beaten up. They're losing their jobs. They're being slandered. They're being shunned. Some of us don't even get to see some of our grandchildren because our children are full of the devil and they've gone to the other side and we're being persecuted because we won't go with them. Don't tell me that I don't believe we're gonna be persecuted, but what I do believe is that we are not appointed to the wrath of God. And that's why we believe the rapture happens before that. And then we read this Sunday, Revelation 3.10, the Philadelphian church, all the Christians that'll be raptured at the end are Philadelphian believers. Those who are left behind, the professing Christians who aren't really saved, they're Laodiceans. Jesus is on the outside knocking to get in that church. The Philadelphians are promised in Revelation 3.10, because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth. That's a reference to that wrath and all the seals, vials, and trumpet judgments, 21 in total, seven of each, that are going to be poured out on this earth during that seven year tribulation period. What a lot of people try to do is cram it into the last three and a half, some even to the last like six months. And there's no indication biblically. We studied verse-by-verse through Revelation. The only way you get that and get people to buy that is not teach verse-by-verse through the book of Revelation. You go and teach a bunch of topicals, this and that, and hopscotch, you know, through the Bible. Treat it like a cookbook. But if you go through it verse-by-verse and just what it says, there's no way that that is all crammed into one portion of the seven years. As a matter of fact, we've emphasized this because so few people seem to have been taught this. The rapture is the beginning of the day of the Lord, the beginning of the judgment of God. That moment after the rapture is the beginning of judgment. The moment after the rapture would be worse than the moment after a nuclear bomb going off. When you realize you've been left behind, there's not a single believer left on the planet. It'll be the darkest moment in human history since the fall. And everybody, I think it's going to be palpable, as they say. People, immediately after the rapture, there's going to be a feeling of darkness over everybody. The judgment has begun. John? Actually, when you look at it that way, Yeah, that's what I'm saying. That's where it begins. And they try to act like it's no big deal and three and a half years in before the wrath begins. Have you ever had one of those dreams when I was first saved and I was not sure of my salvation? You know there's a lot of people who are saved and don't know it. Saved and not sure of it. And when I was first saved and battling with the assurance of my salvation, I had a dream where I was left behind. And in this dream, all the people I loved and I knew were Christians were gone. And I'm running around in my dream. Can you imagine what my sheets look like on my bed? I mean, in my dream, I'm running one house to another, yelling for everybody. And my mom's gone. My dad's gone. I hate to tell you, brother, but you were still there. My brother's list is this. My grandma was gone. A bunch of, all these people were gone. And I woke up and I could feel the darkness that would be there if I had actually been left behind. You talk about happy when I realized that was a dream. It took me a while to shake it off, but once I got a cup of coffee and a little breakfast and started thinking, wow. I didn't miss it. And then, sometime after that, I got assurance of my salvation. I never had that dream anymore. So that leads us then to verse 10. Verse 9 ends, but to obtain salvation. That's what we're appointed to. To obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. Read verse 10 with me. Who died for us that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. I'm going to let you get there. I want you to read it with me. Verse nine ends, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. Now read verse 10, who died for us that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Isn't that something to know that Jesus wants us to live with him? And you don't have any favorites. Every single one of us. He loves us the same. and he wants every one of us to live with him. You know what? I mean, Jesus could say, you know what? I'm gonna save you from hell. I got this little planet over here called Kolob. That's what the Mormons teach. And you're gonna live on that planet. I'll see you once in a while. Or once every million years or whatever. He wants us to be with him. He's made a special city. He said in John 14, 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 unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also." Where I am there ye may be also. He wants to be with us. Now, he has made sure that we will be glorified, no longer have all our hang-ups and all our sins. So, you hear people, be your best you, you know? You'll be your glorified you in his presence. So, you know, the apostles got under his skin. They're not getting under his skin anymore. See my point? When Jesus was on earth, he was going away all the time by himself. He doesn't have to do that in heaven anymore. So whether we're living or we die, we will not see God's wrath. No see, but we see Jesus. You know, we talk about this, it's just something, because we can't really even fathom. But what we can do is what verse 11 says. Wherefore, comfort yourselves together and edify one another, even as also you do. God's telling us 100% sure. He's promised it. We're going to be with Him. It could happen any moment. And we're going to be glorified. We'll be as He is. We'll be with Him. Forever. Knowing that. If you really believe that and you allow that to become a part of what you are, who you are, your purpose in life, then you can fulfill verse 11. Wherefore, comfort yourselves together and edify one another, even as also you do. If you're carnal, if you're getting pulled off into sin, if you're not spending time with the Lord and His Word and prayer, If you're in the dumps all the time, if you're always thinking about me, me, me, me, you know, this poor little me, I don't have as much as those other people over there, go to Africa for a while. But more than that, get your head straight. Get your heart right. Get your priorities straight. And you'll be able to be a comfort to people instead of people running from you because they don't want to be dragged down. Amen. I have to preach this to myself a lot. This world is so broken and can drive me crazy. And trying to get the Lord's work done, I'm always banging my head against the wall trying to get the computer software to work and the internet websites. Somebody turns off your power strip. And I just... I mean, I make those noises. Just ask her. You can get a witness there. And I just have to let it go and think about it. And think about it. And realize, you know what? The Lord knows what I'm going through. And He knows I'm trying my best. He knows you're trying your... If you're trying your best, He knows you're trying your best. He's only asked us to do what we can do. And don't... you know, get ahead of yourself there. All the frustrations of life, don't let them discourage you. Because not only will it discourage you, but you won't be able to fulfill verse 11 and you can't comfort others. It's that important for you to understand. It's not just about you not allowing you to get bogged down, but also you will miss opportunities to be used of God to comfort others if you're bogged down. So don't let it get to you. And what better comfort is there, amen? What better comfort than to know that we're not appointed to wrath, we could be raptured out of here at any moment, we're gonna be as He is, we're gonna be with Him forever, He's prepared a city called New Jerusalem, and I hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor the mind of man imagined what God has in store for those who love Him. Father, we thank you, Lord, for this time in your word. We do thank you for the encouragement we receive from it. May the Holy Spirit help us to lodge this in our minds and hearts, to live by this, and to let it affect our lives so that we might affect others, that we might be useful to you for your glory. In Jesus' name, amen. ♪ All hail King Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail Emmanuel ♪ ♪ King of kings ♪ ♪ Lord of lords ♪ ♪ Bright morning star ♪ ♪ And throughout eternity ♪ And forevermore I will reign with Him. All hail King Jesus! All hail Emmanuel! King of kings, Lord of lords, bright morning star. And throughout eternity, I'll sing His praises. And forevermore, I will reign with Him. He is Lord. He is Lord. He is risen from the dead, and He is Lord. Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord. He is Lord. He is Lord. He is risen from the dead, and He is Lord. Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord. All hail King Jesus, all hail Emmanuel, King of kings, Lord of lords. And throughout eternity, I'll sing His praises. And forevermore, I'll sing His praise. I will reign with Him. One more time to get it stuck in your head. All hail King Jesus. All hail Emmanuel. King of kings, Lord of lords, bright morning star. And throughout eternity, I'll sing His praises. And forevermore, I will reign with Him. Can you say, all hail King Jesus? All hail King Jesus. Amen. All right. Amen. Be seated.