Pre-communion:
What are u afraid of today? Jesus has saved us to the uttermost. Look to Jesus. Those who trust in Him will not be put to shame. He is your help and strength today. Look to Him. After all that Christ has done for us, we no longer let fear rule our lives. If there is anything bad in our lives right now it will turn around for His glory.
God is with you and He is for you no matter what you are going through.
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Sermon:
We are a family and families spend time with each other. Get to know your church – not just a place u come to be fed and then walk away. The church is not just a building made of bricks. A church is God’s dream and a plan in His heart that He hid
A mystery- a secret once but now is being revealed.
God has been dealing with Israel and when Jesus came, He approached Israel first. Wanted to bless the world from Jerusalem but they rejected Him. And all the prophecies in the bible are about Israel and nations of the world. Church is not a prophecy.
Second coming of Christ is when Christ comes to defend Israel from the destruction of the anti-Christ and He will destroy him and establish a kingdom of beauty, glory, health and life- king who has nothing but kindness and righteousness in His heart.
There are two aspects of Second Coming…
1) Jesus will be in the air and we will be raptured and meet Him there. We will receive a renewed and rejuvenated body that transcends time and space.
A body of matter that can transcend matter. Our body will be like His body.
Rapture- He will shout and we will be caught up
2) Second coming-
HS dwells in our body right now and the only thing holding back the corruption of this world. But when the church is removed, darkness and corruption will happen. Tribulation. Antichrist will rule and subject of persecution will be Israel. Jesus will return and destroy the antichrist with just one word from His mouth.
So two aspects of the second coming- the first one that is in secret which Hollywood has already an explanation for it.
Don’t predict names. Stick to the bible. Don’t give dates either. Rapture can happen anytime. Imminent. We don’t know. But God has hidden in His Word about the season- like we know we are in the season of the End Times.
Imagine a place with love and no bitterness, a place where our children will not fall sick, able to travel the universes… Most
importantly, heaven is not heaven with our Lord Jesus.
Ps has a 2D map and he will show Justin about places. Not drill. Just tell once and he knows where it is next time. Ps took a video of Justin naming all the places correctly. (amazing!!!! He named sooo many places correctly, joyfully and so quickly!!!)
Some people feel they have so much at stake in this world. A man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of things they own. Roots tied up in this world. But if you love Jesus, u will look forward to His coming. We do all that we are responsible for as we should but we must know it is temporal. The only time we can serve Him is during this time on this Earth.
We will all stand before the Bema seat of Christ during the rapture. All that we are inside will be reflected outside. We will receive rewards- some will have more or less for being faithful and for serving.
We flow in the gifts we have been given, and do life with it in the house of God.
The bridegroom is coming for His bride. Not a judge.
Husbands love our wives the way the LORD loves the church.
All the signs show the LORD is coming soon. Church and rapture are hidden truth.
There are those who say the rapture is a figment of someone’s imagination in 1800s. Matthew Henry who lived before 1800s spoke about the rapture.
Devil doesn’t want us to believe in the rapture because we will cut ourselves from the world. Make sure u are in control of the water and not the water be in control of you. Handle the things of this world not other way around.
George Muller- what spurred him to action is when he found out about the rapture. Makes you concerned for those who are still lost.
2 Pe 3:3-9
The bible even predicts the v word they use in their scoffing. Some say they have heard of the second coming since they were kids but where is He?
U can tell how powerful a teaching is by the level of antagonism the devil gives it.
We are not ungodly man. We are not without God. V7
We are in V8- Beloved.
1 day is like a 1000 years
Why is God delaying? Not willing that any of us will perish.
God is a God of righteousness and holiness so He has to punish sin.
God is holy but He also has to judge because God is love.
For love’s sake there must be justice
God’s solution?
John 3:16
Hell prepared for devil and fallen angels. Not meant for men actually.
Jesus endured all God’s wrath and was punished in our stead for our sins. Today God can’t punish us anymore for our sins if not it is a miscarriage of justice. The Cross is the basis of the judicial right not to call us condemned. Today we have a right to say we are no longer condemned in Christ and we come boldly to God because we honour His finished work on the Christ. Righteous foundation.
So that sin must die, Christ died. God’s work is fulfilled, God’s love is manifested and God is glorified.
You are a grace men. Grace message is the gospel of grace. Got us saved.
Throughout the four corners of the earth today, hardly heard the message of grace. Today grace churches are popping up everywhere.
Pastor’s book has just been translated into German and Ps Ben is overseas now at a seminar teaching people about the grace of Jesus.
Ps book is also in Hebrew, Portugese and Estonian. Mandarin is taking a while.
Some preachers avoid preaching about rapture or even hell. It’s not figurative. It exists.
Jesus spoke about Hell too.
It’s like if ur friend’s house is on fire u will go there and yell your house is on fire. You won’t go there and say, “Do u feel anything different? Warmer? No ah. Ok. Let me see you one more time. Ok. Good night. Go back to sleep.”
Whoever believes in Jesus is saved & those who believe not are not saved. Not ‘everyone is saved’ aka universalism.
God took the most wicked act of men and translate it to the greatest act of His love for us. He who doesn’t have Jesus doesn’t have life.
God is slow to send Jesus back coz not willing that any should perish. There will be people who will perish. It will happen even if not His will because of free choice. Eg. God told Adam not to eat forbidden fruit. Not His will but it still happened. Free choice.
When God teaches directly from His Word, it strengthens your heart.
Enoch had a son- Methuselah (when he dies it – the flood/ judgment- will come) and God made him the longest living man on Earth because God is long suffering.
End times taking its time to happen because He wants to save one more life.
God has a right timing so that we can see His glory.
God hides things in His Word- God breathed words.
2Pe3:8
From the time of Christ until our time- 2014 years. BC is divided by Christ coming. History divides human history with His story.
We are the third day generation. We are early in the morning on the third day. 1000y = a day. We just crossed the 2000y mark.
Look for the two days.
God hides truths in names and numbers
Hosea 6:2
After two days He will revive us
On the third day He will raise us up that we may live in a His sight.
Miracles in gospel of John= signs
A sign always points to something real- a truth or a person.
John 2:1-2
Third day- wedding. And v2, Jesus and all of His disciples were invited to the wedding.
Wedding takes place on the third day.
John emphasises His deity. Jesus is the LORD of time. To get wine from grapes takes a lot of time. Have to wait several years to get wine grapes but must wait 6-7y for grapes that can make wine. For good wine, it takes even longer. Jesus compressed time when he turned water to wine.
Some days seem full and long and some days feel wasted. Accelerated time but He can redeem the wasted years. Can reach into time to heal your heart from when U were young.
Heresy going on-
Teaching that Jesus can sin. Some say Jesus has a body like us so expc stirring of sin that we feel too.
NO! Christ cannot sin. Not that He would not. He can’t.
Tempted – means tested. Not tempted.
We are of a fallen nature but Jesus is only made in the likeness of sinful flesh but was not of sinful flesh.
Who sent Jesus to be tempted- the Father drove Him into the desert to be tested.
If I tell u I have a solid bar of gold- the purest. And u say it doesn’t look like it. I say ok go test it. Check w the experts. Here have it for one week. The gold went in gold came out gold. Tested it because we wouldn’t believe otherwise.
Jesus – God in the body of man. We now have God in the form of man representing us in Heaven.
Ephesus – Nikolaitus (conquerer)- one man controlling an entire denomination.
Laodicea- People’s rights (7th day)- say they are rich but poor, say can see but are blind. Naked.
Spirit of end time is people’s right- my right is my right. Every man doing what is right in his own eye.
Church of Philadelphia- existed at the same time as Laodicea. Jesus at the centre of this church. Let us be like church of Philadelphia.
Don’t define yourself by how much money u have in the bank. Serve the LORD, not money.
Lk10:29-37
If u believe the bible is God breathed, u know every detail and every nuance has meaning. Story of Good Samaritan has deep meaning.
Whenever u leave the city of God to the place of curse, u go down. Geographically, Jerusalem is higher than Jericho.
Devil is a thieve and joy/time/health stealer.
A certain man- mankind (all half dead)
Thieves – devil
Hurt people hurt people. Abused children abuse others. Find a way to help. Scream loudly coz of hurt they feel.
V31,32- religious people who are supposed to know God and are holy. Both work in the temple.
Religion cannot help men who are half dead.
A certain Samaritan- He came to where I was. Christianity is not a religion- we can’t reach God’s standard unless He comes to where we are.
Jews and Samaritans of old are like Jews and Palestinians today.
Jesus likened himself to Samaritan- rejected stranger
He had compassion on him. Jesus has compassion for us.
V34- half dead man did nothing but the LORD did everything. My position I give u and ur position I take (placed him on his own animal)
V35- inn= church. Samaritan took out two denarii (one denarii is a day’s wage). God has given caregivers all the resources u need and will give u more if u need.
V36- many of us see question as which of the three love the sick man as a neighbour.
Love your neighbour…
No. Question: Which of the neighbour should u love?
Lawyer- self righteous.
The question Jesus asked him is to remove his self- righteousness.
Prophet of Jonah- whenever u leave God, u go down.
Sea- gentile nations. Jonah- Israel. Mariners- us.
Jonah asked them to throw him overboard into the sea to experience a perfect calm.
Mariners all blv God when the calm happened.
Joshua in covenant relationship w Gentiles (G??nites). Joshua means YESHUA. Fought against the gentile kings when the G??nites called on him for help. Was winning but sun setting and momentum of war would be lost if Sun sets. He commanded Sun to stand still and the moon to not rise so he had another day. Two days. The day where the Sun shone all day – day like no other.
God’s delay is so that the Son will keep shining because He is not willing that any should perish.
Ps met the brother of Samaritan high priest.
In bible times>> Religion would say of Samaria- once u go there u are defiled.
God keeps things simple. Religion complicates things.
Jesus ended to go through Samaria. John 4:3-7
6th hr- 12noon
“Give me a drink”
At the museum that the High Priest’s brother brought him to had a scroll with the names of all the high priests’ name.
Pastor asked which High Priest was here when Jesus was at the well. The man checked- JONATHAN (gift of God)
Maybe her high priest rejected her… Jesus told her if you know the TRUE gift of God.
Jesus is gentle. To feel loved, must know the person knows everything about u. So he had to tell her the truth and found time to look for her and talk to her and love her. Jesus found her in broad daylight. Nicodemus sought Jesus at night, never heard Jesus reveal his true identity as saviour. Jesus revealed that truth to the woman at the well. We think religious leaders should know about Jesus but they don’t. Reveals to those who he him.
John 4:40- 2 days
Spent time w Gentiles- 2 days. Every mountain brought low and valley raised – equalised in Jesus.
Left them to go to Galilee- left Gentiles to go back to the Jews to help them.
Canna to Capernum- man with son who was sick sought Jesus healing.
Jesus spent one more night in Canna- result of the LORD’s delay? So the man would believe. V53-54
First miracle in Canna- To show LORD of time.
Second miracle in Canna- To show LORD of space.
Today’s ministry is the Word.
The sign in v54 –> religious leaders rejected Jesus during first coming… but this second coming, religious leaders (rept by this man with the sick son) will lead the people back to believe in Jesus.
Religious leader died recently. Chief rabbi of a v big denomination. Before he died, said the messiah revealed His name to him.’Wrote the name on a piece of paper and said to his people to open up one year later. They did and the name on the paper was YESHUA.