Lord, we thank you for your saving hope, Lord. The only thing that can give us peace, Lord, is we look around us, things are getting worse, and we just thank you, Lord. Thank you that we have you, Lord, and we lift up those who don't. Lord, would you call them to you, Lord? I pray that somebody would be that light, Lord, and share the truth, the gospel, the good news to somebody today. Let us not waste any more time, Lord. Thank You for the teaching. Thank You for Pastor. Lord, would You protect him and his family, Lord. Continue to give and provide him with strength, Lord, to teach Your Word. So bless us this morning. Give us ears to hear. In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. Amen. Good morning and welcome. You can be seated now. Thank you. I want to welcome those of you that are joining us online. We're so glad that you are. I want to start by letting you know that I'll be providing you with an update shortly on our ongoing relief efforts for the people on the island of Maui. I say shortly because we cannot include the censorship sensitive material on social media platforms. And the reason for that is because government agencies are confiscating containers and blocking supplies from getting to the people. It's for this reason that we're encouraging people not to post photos of containers or the number of containers because of the number on the containers. For now, though, please know that God, as only He can, has His people positioned for such a time as this, and as such is granting us success in getting the supplies to the people using alternative measures. That's all I'm going to say for now. We have two services on Sunday morning. The first is the Prophecy Update. We've been doing this weekly for years. The second is our verse by verse teaching through God's Word. And we're currently in first John and Lord willing, we'll finish the third chapter today. Our text being verses 19 through 24. What we're going to do is look at how it is that we can know we belong to the truth. And as such, set our hearts at rest. And if you're anything like me, and I suspect that you are, if there was ever a time that we needed to have our hearts at rest, that time is now like never before. So that'll be live streamed, by the way, at 11 15. a.m hawaii standard time and those of you that are on facebook or youtube i do want to by way of a friendly reminder let you know that you may wish to go directly to the website at JDFarag.org there you'll find the uncensored and uninterrupted entirety of today's update so with that let's get started We spent a lot of time in prayer this last week, as I'm sure many of you did concerning all that is happening. And in my personal time with the Lord and in His Word, He directed me to and has been ministering to me out of Psalm 37, a psalm that's a favorite for many. And this is what I want to talk about today, specifically as it relates to the futility of fretting over evildoers and workers of iniquity, which is now really the likes of which we've never before seen, especially on the heels of the numerous and voluminous reports concerning what's really happening on and to the island of Maui. Would you join me in Psalm 37? I want to read just the first part, verses one through 13. Of course, we're told it's a Psalm of David, the sweet psalmist of Israel. And he begins in verse one, saying do not fret. Now he's going to say that no less than three times. And it's important that we understand that this word fret is maybe not necessarily the way that we understand the word fret in our day. It doesn't mean to stress or worry or fret. No, it has more the idea of to fume, get angry, Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. And here's why verse two, For they shall soon be cut down like grass, And wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, verse three. So this is what we should not do and why we should not do it. Now here's what we need to do instead, beginning in verse three. Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land, and I like this, and feed on His faithfulness. And then verse four, again, a favorite to many, committed to memory by many, I would venture to say, delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. As a new believer, I misunderstood that verse and thought, wow, cool. whatever I desire, the Lord is going to give me the desire of my heart. Not exactly. What that means is God is going to put the desire on your heart that then you will delight in. And then when you delight in that desire that He has put in your heart, then He's going to give you the desire of your heart that you delight in, in your heart. I sure hope you got that because that's the best I got. It's still early. It gets better. Verse five, this is still now what we are to do instead of fretting over the evil, waxing seemingly worse with each passing day. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass. What's He going to bring to pass? Verse six, He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noonday. Can't wait. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. And here it is again, do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger and forsake wrath. Do not fret. It only causes harm. And here's why again, verse nine, for evildoers shall be cut off. But those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth for yet a little while, verse 10, and the wicked shall be no more. Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more. But the meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked plots against the just and gnashes at him with his teeth. And I love verse 13. I love verse 13. I love verse 13. Did I tell you that I love verse 13? The Lord laughs at him, for he sees that his day is coming. Man, that settles me right there. Here's why I'm starting out this way. this song is for us today, such that the Lord laughs at evildoers seeing their soon coming day. Oh, what I would give to hear what the Lord's laugh sounds like. I mean, I won't take it too far, but just I use my God given imagination. Can you imagine how laughable this is for God? He's looking down and seeing the wickedness, the gnashing of the teeth of the evil and the wicked against the righteous. I wonder, you'll forgive me. Can I just give you maybe just a thought as far as what the laugh might sound like. Maybe I don't need to now. Like that, like This is why it does no good to fret or fume over the evil of their wicked schemes, because God's going to cut them off, and they will be no more. Instead of getting angry at the evildoer, trust in the Lord. He'll take care of the evildoer. Do good. Feed on His faithfulness as you delight yourself in the Lord. You probably know where I'm going, so I'll just get to the point for a change and just say that what we are witnessing today is pure evil. I know that's an oxymoron. It is pure evil. And by the way, it's not just Maui. It's all over the world. Uh, for lack of a better way of saying it, Hawaii is kind of late to the party on this one, if I can call it that. I mean, it's not just Maui. It's all over the world. And it's not just what's happening today. It's started happening long before today. But God, but God, Yes, this is meant for evil, but God turns the evil for good. What good does He bring vis-a-vis the evil Oh, this is meant for evil. But God takes the evil and turns the evil for good, bringing Jesus to people and people to Jesus that would not have otherwise come to Jesus had it not been for said evil. And only God can do that. And this is what God is doing. If you'll kindly allow me to, I'll do my best to sort through and sort of organize the plethora of information and reports concerning Maui. And I hope that you'll just kind of hang in there with me to the end, because this is good. Why is this good? Because God is good. One of the things I'm learning in my walk with the Lord is that no matter how bad it is, it can never change how good God is. But we're going to have to end the live stream at this time on YouTube and Facebook. Told you at the beginning, I told you. First things first, I think it would be incumbent upon me to apprise you of the status of what we're doing as a church. And by the way, we're just one small part of what God is doing. And it is a profound privilege to play a small part in what God is doing in the face of such evil. Brother Mike Lau has kept me updated on the Maui donations and containers that we talked about last week. They were loaded at Pier 1 last Saturday with Pasha Hawaii Stevedores. By the way, I want to give a shout out to the Stevedores and the Longshoremen and the brothers there, many of whom love the Lord, by the way. and serve the Lord. And God is using them for such a time as this. There has been and continues to be an outpouring of continuous goods and supplies. And it's been shown from the love of the people of Hawaii and really all over the world, even the uttermost parts of the earth. I want to share with you some of what Brother Mike shared with me in a text. Pastor JD, I did speak to Pastor Leitu because of the concerns with the goods and essentials not getting to the people as it should. As you may now know, the War Memorial Gymnasium is no longer a drop off point. I spoke with a company manager and he assured me that the essential supplies will be getting to the people. There are 2,100 hotel employees as of this text that were displaced from Lahaina, Kula and upcountry Maui. They are lodging at these various hotels and the products received will be packed into personal box trucks and taken directly to hotels and churches with our people standing by to ensure that everyone will be given whatever is on hand. There is an enormous amount of goods and supplies to be given to the displaced people of Maui. Our utmost goal is to try to provide anything and everything that is needed. That's the immediate need and to continue to serve them for the long haul. Above all, we give the Lord full authority over the services we provide. We know this will be an ongoing task, and we have enough supplies that could stretch for some time. We are trying to keep these donations of goods ongoing, so we are formulating a plan of how, when, and where. Of course, In everything trying to be done for the good, we have evil adversaries trying to control or not allow passage. There is definitely evil that we have to overcome. But knowing we are here to serve the people with a servant's heart for God, with God, all things are possible. There have been too many complaints already in the week following this horrific disaster and outcry from the islanders that they are not receiving goods and supplies. The locals already have spotted numerous full containers just sitting behind a hotel parked along the side of the road at various locations. They're being blocked. These reports were confirmed by some news and media. Please continue to pray for us that we are able to get the substantial amounts of goods and supplies because the people in Maui really need all the help they can receive. The oversight from FEMA and other organizations is making it very difficult to get goods to the people of Maui. Lastly, please pray that these people find hope and a new life in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. I want to come back to that in just a moment. Actually, it's Mike's last comment that really encourages me, because I believe by faith that this is exactly what God is doing and will continue to do. Again, what's happening there is meant for evil, but God means it for good to bring Jesus to people and people to Jesus. However, oftentimes it takes this kind of evil. Specifically, I mean, how evil is this? You've got urgent needs, immediate needs, For example, for things like diapers for babies, clean drinking water, just basic food, sustenance. And it's been sent and it's sitting there in a container and they won't get it to the people. That's evil. And then add on top of that, not just the evil of supplies not getting to the people, the truth is not being reported to the world. But wait, sometimes that's what it takes. What do you mean? Sometimes it takes the evil of supplies, not getting to the people and truth, not being reported to the world, to bring Jesus, who is the truth, to the people in the world. And that's what He's doing in ways that you would have never imagined, ways that could have never otherwise happened. In other words, it took this for God to do what He's doing. as only He can. And He is. We may never know, likely we will not know this side of glory. All of the good reports, the miracles taking place of how God has rerouted a container, blinded the eyes of the evil FEMA government authorities, and opened up those doors and got those supplies to those people in desperate need, as only God can and is. Well, I have to get real with you, and I have to speak truth to you. This is the why behind the what. I'm just going to present this to you. I'm going to fill in some blanks. I'm going to connect some dots. And then I'm just going to kindly, humbly ask that you take this to the Lord. You petition the throne. Okay? Remove me from the equation. If you don't agree with me, you don't like me. I mean, if you don't like me, wait, why are you here? Never mind, scratch that. I don't know why I even said that. I'm just going to speak the truth. Okay. There has been an evil plot afoot concerning the island of Maui being the target for what's arguably been many years now. And again, Maui, because it's close to home quite literally, and because it's Maui more recently. This is at the forefront, but this has been going on for a long, long time. Again, please know that Maui, though close to home, is just one example of the evildoers plan for the whole world, fueled by Satan himself. because as Jesus said, the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. For our purposes today, we'll focus only on Maui for what I think would be deemed obvious reasons. So what follows is really, it is an abbreviated explanation with links. There was so much more, but time does not permit. So I did sort of condense it, but it's a brief explanation. We provided the links to the original source documentation that Maui, specifically Lahaina, has been marked, I choose that word deliberately, as a smart city. And here's what's sad. This is textbook. The evil crisis is created, the reaction is controlled, and then the final evil solution is executed. Again, I choose that wording for a reason. I'm choosing and using this wording by virtue of the fact, the truth, that this is a deliberate targeted attack using geoengineering and a directed energy weapon, aka DO. Did you know that there are two sites in the U.S.? ? that have these directed energy weapons. One is Nevada and the other is Maui. Let's start with this Directed Energy Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Amos site located on the island of Maui. May I quote from the website? Listen to this. Directed energy harnesses the power of the electromagnetic spectrum to enable airmen to effectively and affordably strike critical targets at the speed of light. Question. Why Maui? Answer. It's a new smart grid in Hawaii dubbed the quote Jump Smart Maui Project. This because the state of Hawaii's goal is to obtain 40% of its electric power generation from renewable energy sources by 2030. Did you know that? It should be noted that this is, and I quote, a Japan and U.S. collaborative smart grid demonstration project on Maui Island of Hawaii State, a case study, close quote. Pictured here is a downloadable PDF file stating, again, quoting, During the period between 2011 and 2016, there had been a smart community project called Jump Smart Maui, JSM, held on the island of Maui, Hawaii, U.S. The objective of effective utilization of renewable energy on a larger scale and widespread deployment of a smart community was constructed by Hawaiian and Japanese stakeholders. You ready for this one? This is interesting. five years ago to the day, August 20th, 2018. None other than the World Economic Forum published an article about, quote, how Hawaii plans to be the first U.S. state to run entirely on clean energy. Here's an excerpt from the World Economic Forum Post. Again, five years to the date, August 20th, 2018. Quote, in a significant move, four mayors from across the state have signed an agreement to run Hawaii's public transport system using only clean energy. Making the announcement aboard a traditional Hawaiian voyaging canoe, Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa said, quote, the goals we are setting today are not only desirable but attainable and helped send a message that Maui County and Hawaii are open for innovation to help ensure the greater health of our communities and the planet as a whole. I'm going to show you a screenshot here. We'll have the guys put it up for those of you online. I want to draw your attention to the fine print at the bottom left hand corner of the image. I almost missed this. Here's what it says, quote, The Hawaiian government launched their clean energy initiative in 2008. Isn't that 15 years ago? Fast forward to next month. And this Hawaii Digital Government Summit Honolulu. It's scheduled for Monday, September 25th. I don't know if you're available that day. I actually am hoping I will not be available that day. No, I'm actually being serious right now because I, let me rephrase. we may very well be raptured before Monday, September 25th. And the Lord knows my heart when I say that. I'm not, oh, here we go. Here goes the, yeah, that's why I bring it on. I don't care. I don't care. Actually, I do have a, indulge me for just a moment. I want to mention something. I've been thinking and pondering, musing about this as of late. Two words. What if? What if? Um, you can say what you want, but it seems to me like they're making a pretty big deal about 2030. And 2030 minus seven is 2023. So actually, I'm not going to be, in fact, you know what? By faith, I'm not going to be available Monday, September 25th. And you won't be either. For real. I truly believe with all my heart that the rapture can happen before Monday, September 25th. Okay, go ahead. Start sending the emails. Go ahead. So here's a screenshot of this Hawaii Digital Government Summit Honolulu scheduled for when we're not available, Monday, September 25th. Now I took this screenshot of the homepage on Monday of this week, okay, because that's usually when I start. I have to, just so much information to go through. So I actually start Sunday night, don't tell anybody. And then I have the most amazing family, by the way, and the most amazing wife a husband could ever want or hope to have. So Monday morning rolls around. And of course, I'm just getting inundated with all this information. I got to vet all of it. And this thing, all of us. I had heard about it, but I hadn't made the connection yet. So I thought, you know what, I'm going to get a screenshot of this now, because I've learned the hard way and I've got the scars to prove it. If you don't get a screenshot at that time, you may not be able to at a later time. And sure enough, I'm so glad I did. I have proof. This screenshot was Monday. Then I go back on Wednesday to start, you know, getting some quotes. And what do I find? A post highlighted in yellow. You want to know what it says? You can't read that font, that small, can you? That's okay. I'll read it for you. Note, this is a quote, note, misleading social media posts have been circulating falsely asserting that the Hawaii Digital Government Summit, which is held in Honolulu each year, is aimed at transforming Maui into the first smart island. These claims are incorrect and do not align with the summit's annual focus. The event is designed to facilitate collaboration among public and private sector IT professionals, encouraging the exchange of best practices and innovative solutions to enhance the support and services provided to the constituents they serve. Oh, my bad. I'm so sorry because I was just going off of what you posted 15 years ago. You know what this reminds me of? That famous line in the William Shakespeare play Hamlet, The lady doth protesteth too much, methinks. It's spoken by Queen Gertrude in response to the insincere overacting of a character in the play, within a play created by Prince Hamlet to prove his uncle's guilt in the murder of his father, the King of Denmark. This famous line, The lady doth protesteth too much, methinks. has come to be known as a cynical, ironic, and even sarcastic comment directed at someone who seems to overdo and overreact to a situation or accusation so as to appear innocent, when in fact they are guilty of murder. I'll say it this way, and I'm leaving time at the end for a reason. So just again, if you would please hang in there with me to the end. I know that they go by other labels and people call them the elite, the globalists, et al. I've chosen to call these evil people demon possessed conspirators, because that's what they are. They are literally possessed demonically in this satanic conspiracy. Notice I didn't use the word theory. Why don't I use the word theory in the same sentence as conspiracy? Because that's what the CIA wants you to use with the word conspiracy, because they dubbed the phrase conspiracy theory to cover up the conspiracy so they could dismiss it. Oh, it's just a conspiracy theory. Actually, It's a conspiracy. They have conspired together, plotted together this evil, satanic, demonic plot. And they're trying to appear innocent when in fact they are guilty. but God. I'm going to circle back and just say that God is even now having the aforementioned last laugh in Psalm 37, and will in the end also have the final word. Uh, wait for the Lord. We sing, we say wait on the Lord. In fact, there's an interesting meaning in the Old Testament. It's kind of a double meaning. It's not just wait on the Lord. It's wait on the Lord like you would serve the Lord. You're serving the Lord, waiting on the Lord. But what if I say it like this? How about wait for the Lord? Because right now it looks like evil is prospering, evil is succeeding. Just wait for God. Yeah, but why is He letting them get away with it? Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Did you catch the word in Psalm 37 verse 13, the word soon? Do you know what the word soon means in the original? soon. This is probably as good of a time as any to clear up a horrible mistake that I made last week. And I would just humble myself and ask for your forgiveness. In First Corinthians 10, 13, I should have gone, I cut corners. I didn't have the time. I was short on time, so I didn't take the time to go into the original Greek, just to confirm that the word tribulation was the Greek word philipsis in first Corinthians 10, 13. It's not. And here I am at philipsis, philipsis, you know, crushing, weight, tribulation. That's the word Jesus used in John 16, 33, when He said, in this world you will have tribulation, trials, flipses, crushing pressure and weight. So here last week I'm screaming and spitting on everybody in the front row. It wasn't the right word. And so I'm very sorry. Would you forgive me? You have to, by the way. It still means a trial or a test, tribulation. Um, just wait for the Lord. He's laughing because He knows the day is coming soon. The day is coming soon. where he'll have the last word, the last laugh, as we say. Oh, it doesn't seem like it now. I mean, I'll speak for myself because I'm just as guilty as the next guy, probably the chief of sinners when it comes to this, fuming over evildoers. When I hear what they're doing, blocking people from getting to their properties, trying to steal their properties from them, blocking the supplies from getting to them. Psalm 37. It's just again, it's like God's saying, JD, cease from anger. It only brings harm. And by the way, You're harming yourself. You know what anger does to your body physically, physiologically, psychologically, your digestive system, your cardiovascular system. I mean, you're hurting yourself by being angry. I'm not angry. I'm actually laughing because I know what is soon coming. I got this. Yeah, my God. No, no, no, no. You'll see, just wait. I'm going to do something here, not in my notes. This is always dangerous, but by faith, help me. Psalm 37, Psalm 73. Let's flip it around. Great Psalm. In your time in God's Word, I would really encourage you to read this Psalm of Asaph. Here's a guy that I mean, he's watching FEMA let supplies rot in containers behind hotels on the island of Maui, and he's freaking out. Like God, why are you allowing evil to prosper? And it messed him up, and it freaked him out. And he starts having a crisis of faith. In fact, it gets so bad that he said, I wouldn't even talk to my brothers and sisters in Christ. I'm, of course, bringing it in a modern day terms because I didn't want to stumble them because they knew me. And I'm really struggling with why God is allowing the evil to continue, why He's allowing this to happen. And it really messed me up. Until Oh, you've got to get to the end of the psalm. He said, until I went to the sanctuary of the Lord. That's always a good place to go. I went to church and I heard the Word and God brought me back to my senses. How did God bring you back to your senses? Oh, He showed me their end. and it settled me. In fact, so much so, watch this, I went from being angry at them to actually feeling sorry for them, when I saw the end that is in store for them. Apparently God showed him, hey listen, I'm going to let you in on what I'm going to do at the end, because I'm going to have the last laugh and the final word, and it ain't going to be pretty. And I know you're upset. I know you're actually upset with me for letting them continue to do this evil. And you're fretting and fuming over the evildoers and the workers of iniquity. And it's really getting to you and it's stumbling you. And you're having a crisis of faith. And you're looking at me going, God, why are you letting them get away with this? Sit down, Paul. Let me show you. Let me show you how this ends for them. Did you imagine I'm sorry for the illustration. If you've got a better one, let me know. But God sits Asif down and says, okay, just here's some popcorn. Just sit there. Okay, start. Roll it. Shows him the video. And here's Asif getting ready to put popcorn in his mouth. Go on. Oh, because he's local. Can I take it one step further? The devil, D-E-V-I-L, devil, E-V-I-L-L-I-V-E backwards. The devil is God's devil. Does that mess you up? Stay with me. He's a created being. He's not God's opposite. He is not omniscient. He is not omnipresent. He is not omnipotent. He's a created being who is limited by Almighty God. And he can do no thing unless God allows him to. And God will never allow the devil He created to do anything unless in the end it fulfills His purpose for His glory and our good. Ask Job. ask Peter for that matter. You know the account when Jesus calls Peter over and says, hey Peter, come here. So we need to talk. Satan came out to me and asked for permission to sift you as wheat. If I'm Peter, I'm like, you told him no, right? No, actually I gave him permission. Why? Because I knew that in the end it would be for your good and my glory. Interesting with Job, I don't want to take it too far, but interesting with Job, right? Just the first chapter, right out of the chute, you'll learn a lot about how limited the devil is. Okay, you can, you can do that, but no more. And God, and He does. Why did God allow the devil to do that to Job? because he knew in the end it would glorify God and be good for Job. In other words, how do I say this? The eviler the evil is, the gooder the good will be. Is that not proper English? It probably isn't. God takes the bad and makes good. and proportionate to the evil is the good. This is Genesis 50 20 textbook. Joseph's dad and his brothers, Jacob has just died. The brothers are freaking out. Uh oh, dad's gone. Joseph is going to kill us, man, after what we did to him, the evil we did to him. The only reason he hasn't killed us yet is because Dad was alive. In fact, I wonder they were thinking to themselves, Dad, please don't die yet. Please don't die yet, because when you die, we're dead. Well, he dies. They go to Joseph. Hey, bro, Joe, love you, man. They were afraid because Joseph could have just said, okay, dad's gone. That's it. But he doesn't. Instead he says to them, what you did, you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good in order to bring it about the salvation of many this day. In other words, the evil that you meant for me, God used that evil. Absent that evil, I wouldn't have been in Egypt. Now think about it. If you had not sold me into slavery, left me for dead, and I didn't end up in Egypt, and I didn't end up being falsely accused by my boss's wife, and thrown into a dungeon of a prison. All of that. If that never happened, I would not have been here, and you would not be here either. It was all evil, but God orchestrated it. He choreographed every step with precision perfection. And then the time came, In other words, you don't have the salvation of many absent the evil of some. I'm trying to put it into perspective here, because if you try to wrap your mind around it, absent that understanding, you will write your own Psalm 73. I would much rather my life be a Psalm 37. than a Psalm 73. And I would venture to say for some it's more like a 73 than a 37. It's for this reason that instead of fretting and fuming over the evildoer, we can trust in the Lord Jesus. He's going to save many, that which was meant for evil, He's going to mean it for good. Maybe I could just couch it in a question. When you came to Christ, what was it that brought you to Jesus? Just think back. Something happened, huh? Aren't you glad? Let me ask you this question. What if what happened didn't happen? Do you think you would have come to Jesus? Hmm. Let me try to bring this to its intended end. Like back in 2020, people are walking with Jesus Christ, born again of the Spirit of God, because of the evil that was perpetrated on mankind that would not have otherwise come to Jesus Christ had that not happened. And so too is this true today on these islands. I believe with all of my heart, because that's who God is. That's how God is. It's consistent with the character of God. It's not God's will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and salvation in Jesus Christ, whatever it takes. And if it takes something like this, so be it Lord, so be it Lord. Yeah, but Pastor JD, what about those people that died in that horrific fire. They were trapped in their cars. I don't want to get too graphic. The Lord knows. We're going to talk about that, by the way, second service. Settle your heart. The Lord knows. The Lord knows. Do you know how many people are going to get saved because of this? God's going to bring them to Himself because of something as evil as this. It is my hope and prayer that this will be that which brings people to Jesus, or if need be, how about this, back to Jesus. You know, sometimes it takes something like this to bring us back to the Lord, because we've wandered, we've strayed, we've backslidden. I want to make one more comment related to the real possibility of the rapture happening, who knows, maybe within weeks. Could it be that things like what's happening on Maui and all over the world, by the way. I mean, there's a list. It's quite lengthy. As we speak, the things that are happening right now. Could it be that God is allowing it to happen because the rapture is going to happen? And He wants as many people saved before the rapture, because that's His heart and that's His will. Maybe it's a personal trial in your life. Maybe it's problems in your marriage, problems in your family, problems with your Children, financial problems, problems at work. I mean, you're going through maybe one of the most difficult times you've ever gone through in your life. Could it be that God is saying, I'm coming to take you. You're not going to be available Monday, September 25th. So I'm allowing this to happen so that when I do come, before Monday, September 25th, okay that was the last time, you'll have already let go. I wonder sometimes, we talked about this on Thursday night in our study through Ezekiel, those things in our lives that become idols. An idol is something or someone that becomes more important than Jesus. It's the object of our devotion and affection in our time. And here we are at the end of time, and we're holding on. It's not to say don't have plans, just don't let those plans have you. Hold on loosely to them, because you don't know. Maybe God's saying, hello, Hello, hello, hello. These kinds of things have a way of, oh, I've got to share this with you. Good thing I left time. Don't look at your watches. We're good. I couldn't have been probably more than eight or nine years old. And that was back in the newspaper days. You young people, it's actually a very thin paper, big. They fold them. They would deliver them to the, anyway. The sunset the night before was one of the most spectacular, almost eerie sunsets that we had ever seen. I'm just a little boy and I remember my mom looking at that sunset and thinking to herself, wow, maybe the Lord's coming back. The next day in that newspaper again, they're very small, big, thin, anyway, headline, front page, big picture of the sunset, headline, Sunset Looks Like Second Coming of Christ. You see what I'm trying to communicate here. Do you think God's not going to take every opportunity, all of the evil of man to get us to look up, because He's about ready to take us up? I believe so. I know in my own life, the struggles, the difficulties, the trials, as a pastor, as a father, as a husband, and your lives. And then you just take it out of the realm of the personal, and you go to the realm of the global, and you look at what's happening in the world, and you start putting the pieces together. The puzzle pieces are a picture. of the rapture. Jesus is coming. And that's what all of this points to. God is readying us for that trumpet to sound. The good news is, is that there's still time to make the most important decision of your life for eternal life. It's the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ, salvation found in the person of Jesus Christ, the name of Jesus, the only name given among men whereby we must be saved. That's what the word gospel means. Good news, your debt has been paid, the penalty satisfied, you're free to go, brah. Had to add that. What penalty? Oh, the death penalty. That's why we do the ABCs. It's just a simple tool to equip you with, should the Lord ever present you with the profound privilege of sharing Jesus Christ with somebody and giving to someone that answer of that hope that lies within you. What's your hope? That blessed hope, the hope that soon and very soon Jesus is coming to take me out of this evil, Christ rejecting world, a world that I've long overstayed my welcome in. So the A is just for admit or acknowledge I've sinned against God, because until and unless I acknowledge I'm a sinner, why would I be interested in a Savior? Romans 3 10 says there is no one righteous, not even one. No one's good. You might be good. You'll never be good enough. And Romans 3 23 tells us why. It's because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That's what the word sin means. You missed the mark. It's an archery term. You missed the bullseye. You sinned. Romans 6 23, it's like a courtroom analogy. You're entering the sentencing phase. You've been found guilty. You plead guilty. What's the sentence? Death. The wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. He purchased that gift for you. He paid in full when He died for you on the cross. He was buried. He rose again on the third day, defeating death. And He's coming back again one day. And there will be, I believe, those of us here who are alive and remain that will not see death, that will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air when the dead in Christ rise first. the B is for believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord. This is so central. It's so simple. Romans 10, 9 says, if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. John 3, 16, we can all quote this verse. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever would believe, would not perish, but have everlasting life, and to see lastly. This is the expression, this is what comes as a result of believing in your heart. It's a confessing with your mouth or a calling upon the name of the Lord. Romans 10, 9 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. And Romans 10, 13 lastly says, all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. It's that simple. If you're here today or watching online and you've never called upon the name of the Lord, I implore you, I implore you, while there's still time, believe in your heart. Today is the day of salvation. Tomorrow's not guaranteed. Well, I wish I would have saved more time because today's But God Testimony is, I selected it for a reason. I think you'll see why. It's more of a response to last week's update. It comes from Janelle Perez, who writes, Hello, Pastor. I thought I would write you after your August 13th update, our only way out. My husband and I lost our eight-month-old son, Lucas, to a brain tumor in 2012. Grieving and seeing his empty nursery every day was just too much, so we moved and bought our first home in a little town called Paradise, California. Fast forward to 2018, and we are the proud parents of our second son, Tyson, who was four years old and in daycare. He was at daycare, in fact, when the fire swept in the morning of November 8th and destroyed the town of Paradise. Direct energy weapon. Come on. Everything is disintegrated, melted, and there's a tree still standing untouched. Come on. Me and my husband and Tyson barely escaped the flames as we prayed to not be burned alive inside our car as we blindly drove forward. So strange to be surrounded on all sides by fire and yet not being able to see a thing. I truly thought we were goners until suddenly we were surrounded by daylight. I looked back at the wall of gray black smoke we had just driven through and I was dumbstruck. How had we made it out? An emotional numbness came soon after. I couldn't feel anything but a crushing depression. Losing my first born son and then now our home was all consuming. So here we are today. Lahaina burning is a punch to the gut. How can a town I've never been to feel like losing everything all over again. My heart aches for both the survivors and the victims. I was actually planning our family's first ever Maui vacation for next summer, researching all the best restaurants in Lahaina and the surrounding tourist sites. I was literally envisioning myself sitting in the sand at sunset and thinking, this is where I'll finally find the peace my soul is so desperately seeking. I should have known better. and listen to what she says. There is no location on this earth where we can find true peace. I couldn't find it in a town called Paradise, and I wouldn't find it in a paradise called Maui. Isn't there that saying, no Jesus, no peace, but no Jesus, K-N-O, no peace. We cannot forget that God placed eternity in our hearts. I feel it every moment of every day. And if you know Him, know that He is preparing, I like this, a place for you, a home that's fireproof. Yeah. Marilyn Arthur, God bless you, J.D., as well as your family, congregation, and community. Sincerely, Janelle Perez. Come on up, Kapono, and stand up, please. clothes and prayer and song. If that's what it takes, there will be no peace on earth until the Prince of Peace rules and reigns. And sometimes it takes our worlds to be completely shaken to the core. to get us to wake up and to look up. And I pray that we would do that today. Father, thank You so much. We love You so much. We grieve so much, Lord, for our brothers and sisters in Ohana on the island of Maui that are enduring unspeakable suffering and Lord, our only consolation and solace is knowing that You know, and You care, and You see everything. You don't just know and see and care, You do. And You are doing that which only You can. So Lord, thank You that we can play such a small part in what You're doing there. Ultimately, Lord, we pray for the salvation of many to come because of that which was meant for such evil as this. Thank You so much, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.