Good evening and welcome to this beautiful auditorium 00:00:18.97\00:00:23.53 here in Thompsonville, Illinois. 00:00:23.73\00:00:26.58 And it's the Three Angels Broadcasting Worship Center. 00:00:26.61\00:00:31.57 And it's a place that 00:00:31.77\00:00:32.93 those of us who live in this 00:00:33.03\00:00:34.32 area love very much. 00:00:34.42\00:00:35.96 And we enjoy the programs 00:00:36.16\00:00:38.39 that are produced here. 00:00:38.49\00:00:39.76 And we are especially enjoying this series 00:00:39.96\00:00:42.80 with Pastor Kenneth Cox 00:00:43.01\00:00:45.27 entitled Give Me The Bible. 00:00:45.47\00:00:48.97 What a... what a great theme that is! 00:00:49.17\00:00:53.07 And tonight he continues his... this series 00:00:53.27\00:00:57.54 which is five nights on the second coming of Christ. 00:00:57.74\00:01:00.64 And the title of the service tonight is "The Night Watch. " 00:01:00.84\00:01:04.70 I urge you to stay tuned 00:01:04.90\00:01:08.36 and to listen to this program 00:01:08.56\00:01:10.85 because he's going to answer a question that you find 00:01:11.05\00:01:15.50 in Isaiah where the Bible speaks of the 00:01:15.70\00:01:19.95 morning and the night coming at the same time. 00:01:20.05\00:01:24.78 A lot of Bible scholars through the years have said: 00:01:24.98\00:01:27.24 "How can this be? How can it be morning 00:01:27.37\00:01:29.72 and how can it be night? " 00:01:29.82\00:01:31.21 And Pastor Cox is going to answer that question tonight. 00:01:31.41\00:01:35.05 So you will be sure that you stay by and call your friends 00:01:35.25\00:01:39.98 and invite them to join this telecast this evening. 00:01:40.18\00:01:44.03 But before Pastor Cox comes, 00:01:44.23\00:01:46.88 Dona Klein is going to play for us 00:01:47.08\00:01:49.93 that fantastic spiritual "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. " 00:01:50.13\00:01:55.55 Amen! Thank you, Dona Klein. 00:03:43.89\00:03:47.20 I appreciate that very much! 00:03:47.50\00:03:50.15 Well, good evening to each of you. 00:03:51.09\00:03:52.72 Very happy to welcome you back again tonight 00:03:52.92\00:03:55.50 to Give Me The Bible. 00:03:55.70\00:03:57.36 And we hope that as we've taken a look at the second coming 00:03:57.56\00:04:01.18 of Christ during this season... series, 00:04:01.38\00:04:04.30 we hope that it has helped you 00:04:04.50\00:04:06.55 get a sense of the urgency 00:04:06.75\00:04:09.13 of the hour and that 00:04:09.24\00:04:10.86 Jesus is coming back. 00:04:10.96\00:04:12.77 And that each of us need to be ready. 00:04:12.97\00:04:15.17 Little poem that we mention from night to night: 00:04:15.37\00:04:18.60 What says the Bible, the blessed Bible? 00:04:18.80\00:04:21.60 This my only question be. 00:04:21.80\00:04:24.17 The signs of Christ's coming are now all around us, 00:04:24.37\00:04:28.84 what says the Bible to me? 00:04:29.04\00:04:30.58 That's what we want to know. 00:04:30.78\00:04:31.90 And so tonight, as we take a look at the scripture 00:04:32.10\00:04:36.47 and what it has to say, we want to take a look 00:04:36.67\00:04:39.58 at where we are in a subject entitled "The Night Watch. " 00:04:39.78\00:04:43.89 What does the scripture say about it? 00:04:46.13\00:04:47.77 And how that that affects you and me. 00:04:47.97\00:04:50.99 Are we to be watching? 00:04:51.19\00:04:53.20 What is it talking about? 00:04:53.40\00:04:54.90 What does the scripture tell us? 00:04:55.00\00:04:56.08 That's what we're going to be looking at. 00:04:56.18\00:04:57.68 And then we just wanted to say a word to you about 00:04:57.71\00:04:59.96 our coming series next month. 00:05:00.06\00:05:03.45 Next month we're going to be talking about the Holy Spirit. 00:05:03.66\00:05:06.98 Going to be dealing with the Holy Spirit. 00:05:07.18\00:05:09.63 We'll have five nights on the Holy Spirit. 00:05:09.83\00:05:12.70 Our first night will be The Promise of the Holy Spirit. 00:05:12.80\00:05:16.81 Promise that's given there of the Holy Spirit. 00:05:17.01\00:05:19.39 And then after that we'll be looking at why 00:05:19.59\00:05:22.66 some people don't receive any benefit from the Holy Spirit. 00:05:22.79\00:05:27.92 Why there's people who, uh, pray for it and all 00:05:28.22\00:05:32.11 but they never receive any benefit from the Holy Spirit. 00:05:32.24\00:05:34.24 Why not? 00:05:34.34\00:05:35.35 And then we're going to take a look at the 00:05:35.55\00:05:36.96 Fruits of the Spirit. 00:05:37.06\00:05:38.09 What does the scripture talk about that? 00:05:38.29\00:05:40.00 The Gifts of the Spirit, and then we're going to close up 00:05:40.20\00:05:43.26 with a subject on The Latter Rain. 00:05:43.46\00:05:45.56 That will be what we'll be looking at on the Holy Spirit. 00:05:45.76\00:05:48.47 So we hope that you can be sure and join us 00:05:48.67\00:05:52.36 as we take a look at the subject of the Holy Spirit. 00:05:52.56\00:05:55.39 Tonight we look at this question of The Night Watch. 00:05:55.59\00:05:58.91 What you and I need to ask ourselves is: 00:05:59.11\00:06:03.18 "How do we stand? " 00:06:03.31\00:06:05.75 How do we stand concerning the coming of Jesus Christ? 00:06:05.95\00:06:09.36 Where are we? What's our situation, 00:06:09.56\00:06:12.16 and what does the Lord expect from you and from me? 00:06:12.36\00:06:16.41 So we're glad that you're here. 00:06:16.61\00:06:18.42 God bless you. We've enjoyed so much 00:06:18.62\00:06:21.29 having Walter Arties with us during this series. 00:06:21.49\00:06:25.29 Great, great friend... 00:06:25.50\00:06:26.93 and we always are blessed by his music. 00:06:27.13\00:06:30.17 He's going to sing for us a song entitled 00:06:30.38\00:06:32.88 "Lord, I'm Coming Home. " 00:06:33.08\00:06:34.97 I've wandered far 00:06:44.61\00:06:48.56 away from God, 00:06:48.76\00:06:53.05 Now I'm coming home; 00:06:53.35\00:06:59.26 The paths of sin 00:07:00.92\00:07:03.58 so long I've trod, 00:07:03.78\00:07:08.16 Lord, I'm coming 00:07:08.46\00:07:11.69 home. 00:07:11.89\00:07:15.51 Coming home, 00:07:16.03\00:07:19.60 coming home, 00:07:19.90\00:07:22.76 Nevermore 00:07:22.96\00:07:26.28 to roam, 00:07:26.48\00:07:30.83 Open wide Thine arms 00:07:31.03\00:07:36.74 of love, 00:07:36.84\00:07:38.78 Lord, I'm coming home. 00:07:38.98\00:07:44.92 I've wasted many 00:07:46.45\00:07:49.50 precious years, 00:07:49.70\00:07:53.49 Lord, I'm coming home; 00:07:53.69\00:07:59.67 I now repent 00:08:01.32\00:08:04.68 with bitter tears, 00:08:04.88\00:08:08.84 Lord, I'm coming home. 00:08:09.24\00:08:15.16 Coming home, 00:08:16.01\00:08:19.50 coming home, 00:08:19.70\00:08:22.53 Nevermore to roam, 00:08:22.83\00:08:28.81 Open wide 00:08:28.91\00:08:34.14 Thine arms of love, 00:08:34.34\00:08:38.10 Lord, I'm 00:08:38.50\00:08:41.79 coming 00:08:41.99\00:08:45.28 home. 00:08:45.49\00:08:51.43 Amen. 00:08:57.63\00:08:58.79 Father in Heaven, 00:09:10.12\00:09:11.35 we look forward to the day when You're coming back. 00:09:13.42\00:09:16.09 The day when we can go home. 00:09:16.49\00:09:19.61 Certainly when you get a glimpse 00:09:20.01\00:09:24.48 of heaven, a taste of the good things 00:09:24.68\00:09:30.55 that You offer to each of us, 00:09:30.69\00:09:32.10 we become pilgrims in this old world. 00:09:32.30\00:09:35.69 We ask Lord tonight as we take a look 00:09:36.61\00:09:39.91 at the admonition that You have given us, 00:09:40.11\00:09:43.32 the counsel concerning Your coming, 00:09:43.52\00:09:46.98 may we take it to heart 00:09:47.18\00:09:49.11 and may our lives be placed in Your hands. 00:09:49.31\00:09:53.14 May we each walk as You lead us. 00:09:53.34\00:09:57.23 For this we pray in Christ's name, Amen. 00:09:57.43\00:10:01.74 Probably without any doubt 00:10:07.52\00:10:11.33 you and I are living in probably one of the darkest periods 00:10:11.53\00:10:17.06 of earth's history: 00:10:17.16\00:10:18.79 the midnight hour. 00:10:18.99\00:10:20.83 And the Bible says that Christ 00:10:21.03\00:10:23.94 will come at the midnight hour. 00:10:24.15\00:10:27.25 That doesn't necessarily mean 00:10:27.35\00:10:28.88 physically, but it will be 00:10:29.08\00:10:31.07 a time of darkness as far as the earth is concerned. 00:10:31.27\00:10:33.96 And you remember the statement that says that at midnight... 00:10:34.16\00:10:37.08 Certainly, morally, it's midnight. 00:10:42.91\00:10:47.70 Across the earth, morality has sunk 00:10:48.79\00:10:51.55 to a great low. 00:10:51.65\00:10:55.15 Mankind today is... doesn't seem to have anything 00:10:55.36\00:10:59.92 that gives them guidance or direction in their life and all. 00:11:00.02\00:11:04.18 When you take a look as we did the other night 00:11:04.38\00:11:06.54 to the resources as far as the world is concerned, 00:11:06.75\00:11:10.28 and some of the things that are absolutely necessary for life 00:11:10.31\00:11:13.70 we're running out of. 00:11:13.90\00:11:15.07 And so we've reached the very, very low period or dark period 00:11:15.27\00:11:21.03 in earth's history. 00:11:21.23\00:11:22.45 And it says that He will come back at midnight, 00:11:22.65\00:11:25.38 and it speaks of the watchman, 00:11:25.58\00:11:27.40 the watchman giving the call. And they ask him the question 00:11:27.60\00:11:31.53 What... what is about the night? 00:11:37.20\00:11:40.42 And it gives a rather strange answer. Listen to this: 00:11:40.55\00:11:43.75 "The morning comes, and also the night. " 00:11:49.58\00:11:52.84 How can you have morning and night 00:11:53.04\00:11:56.35 both coming at the same time? 00:11:56.55\00:11:59.82 Cause that's what he says. 00:12:00.02\00:12:01.62 "The morning comes, and also the night. " 00:12:01.82\00:12:03.67 Both of them come at the same time. 00:12:03.87\00:12:06.44 Well it happens simply this way, folks. 00:12:06.64\00:12:09.20 At the coming of Jesus, 00:12:09.40\00:12:11.60 it's the dawning of eternal day for the saved 00:12:11.80\00:12:18.05 and it's the settling in of eternal night for the lost. 00:12:18.25\00:12:22.99 All happen at the same time here. 00:12:23.19\00:12:27.25 So: "Watchman, what of the night" 00:12:27.45\00:12:29.27 that Jesus Christ is coming back? 00:12:29.47\00:12:31.51 It's going to dawn to eternal day 00:12:31.71\00:12:34.36 Never again, never again to face 00:12:34.56\00:12:37.99 what we have faced on this old earth for 6,000 years. 00:12:38.19\00:12:41.74 Never again will that happen. 00:12:41.95\00:12:43.61 But He's coming to set up His kingdom that will last forever. 00:12:43.81\00:12:48.90 The thing that bothers me... 00:12:49.10\00:12:50.35 the thing that I guess disturbs me as much as anything... 00:12:51.88\00:12:55.85 is I hear people say 00:12:56.05\00:12:57.80 "Oh, we don't know when the Lord's coming back. 00:12:58.00\00:13:00.53 Why it could be a thousand years from now. " 00:13:00.73\00:13:04.96 Or they'll say: "Oh, don't you know that the 00:13:05.79\00:13:08.82 Lord's going to come back like a thief in the night? " 00:13:08.95\00:13:11.69 Well, let me tell you something 00:13:11.89\00:13:14.51 and you can write this down; you can put it in your book. 00:13:14.71\00:13:17.64 If Christ comes back as a thief in the night 00:13:18.79\00:13:22.19 to you or to me, you're lost. 00:13:22.39\00:13:25.85 You're lost. 00:13:26.15\00:13:28.27 I want you to listen clearly to what the scripture says 00:13:28.47\00:13:31.71 about this: 00:13:31.81\00:13:32.82 Now Paul is writing out, and he says here... 00:13:38.95\00:13:40.97 in I Thessalonians 5 he said: 00:13:41.17\00:13:43.53 "Concerning the times and the seasons, I really don't 00:13:43.73\00:13:47.03 need to write to you about this. " 00:13:47.13\00:13:49.38 Because listen to his admonition as he continues: 00:13:49.58\00:13:52.64 And I have people say: "See! Right there it says 00:14:00.72\00:14:04.27 that He's coming back as a thief in the night. 00:14:04.41\00:14:06.68 That's what it says right there! " 00:14:06.88\00:14:08.51 The problem is: that's where they quit reading. 00:14:08.71\00:14:11.71 You've got to read on. 00:14:13.03\00:14:14.37 Listen to what it has to say: 00:14:14.57\00:14:16.22 Said: "It's going to come. 00:14:26.05\00:14:28.27 They won't... won't be expected 00:14:28.30\00:14:30.38 but it's going to come up on them 00:14:30.58\00:14:31.85 when they are least expecting it. " 00:14:32.06\00:14:33.87 And then Paul says: 00:14:34.07\00:14:36.00 Paul said: "No! You're not in darkness. That day's not 00:14:43.22\00:14:47.56 to come upon you as a thief in the night. " 00:14:47.76\00:14:50.72 Listen: 00:14:50.92\00:14:52.28 That's not where we are. 00:14:58.70\00:14:59.98 That's not to come upon you or me. 00:15:00.08\00:15:02.79 So when the admonition is given 00:15:02.99\00:15:04.80 that you and I are to watch, we are to wait... 00:15:05.00\00:15:08.64 I can tell you for sure 00:15:08.84\00:15:10.09 if a thief is coming to my house 00:15:10.29\00:15:12.75 you'd better believe I'm going to be waiting and watching. 00:15:12.95\00:15:16.93 See? And that's what you and I are supposed to be doing 00:15:17.13\00:15:20.21 concerning the coming of the Lord. 00:15:20.41\00:15:21.74 We are supposed to be waiting, 00:15:21.94\00:15:23.70 and we're supposed to be watching 00:15:23.90\00:15:25.31 for the coming of the Lord. 00:15:25.41\00:15:26.81 In other words, I need to spend time in this book. 00:15:35.56\00:15:40.45 I need to be watching what's taking place. 00:15:41.61\00:15:45.87 Dear friends, let me tell you something. 00:15:46.07\00:15:48.28 Get into the prophecies of God's Word. 00:15:48.48\00:15:51.14 Get into this and find out about those prophecies 00:15:51.34\00:15:54.72 and get them in your mind and in your heart 00:15:54.82\00:15:57.75 so you know what is happening. 00:15:57.95\00:16:00.30 In fact, I'll assure you if you'll spend time in the book 00:16:00.50\00:16:04.19 and particularly in the prophecies, 00:16:04.39\00:16:06.33 it should be like you watching a play take place. 00:16:06.63\00:16:12.61 And you should know every actor 00:16:12.81\00:16:14.86 and exactly what's going to happen 00:16:15.06\00:16:17.02 so that as it goes on you know exactly what's taking place. 00:16:17.22\00:16:20.71 And you can do that by understanding the prophecies 00:16:20.92\00:16:23.96 of God's Word. 00:16:24.06\00:16:25.42 You can know where we are. 00:16:25.62\00:16:26.77 You can know what's happening and what's taking place that we 00:16:26.87\00:16:30.12 should watch and be ready for the coming of the Lord. 00:16:30.26\00:16:34.83 It's not! Not to come upon you or to me 00:16:35.03\00:16:39.84 as a thief in the night. 00:16:40.04\00:16:42.13 We are children of light and of day, 00:16:42.34\00:16:45.21 and we are to know what is happening, taking place. 00:16:45.41\00:16:48.61 No, we don't know that. 00:16:55.88\00:16:57.31 We don't know when He's coming back. 00:16:57.51\00:16:59.21 We don't know, as it says here: 00:16:59.41\00:17:01.43 We... we don't know when He's going to come. 00:17:07.76\00:17:11.07 Don't know the day; we don't know the hour. 00:17:11.20\00:17:15.71 But dear friend, that doesn't mean that you and I 00:17:15.91\00:17:20.44 are not to know that it is near... 00:17:20.64\00:17:23.33 even at the door. 00:17:23.63\00:17:26.79 THAT we are to know. 00:17:27.00\00:17:28.25 I don't know the day; I don't know the hour. 00:17:28.35\00:17:30.41 But I should know that it's near... even at the door, 00:17:30.61\00:17:33.57 Be ready. Be looking for the coming of the Lord. 00:17:42.22\00:17:45.49 Watching and waiting for Him to come back. 00:17:45.69\00:17:50.22 That's what we're supposed to be doing. 00:17:50.42\00:17:51.79 The problem is... too many people aren't watching. 00:17:51.99\00:17:56.85 Too many people are going about their daily activities 00:17:57.06\00:18:01.36 really not... not concerned with what's taking place 00:18:01.56\00:18:07.34 in the world. 00:18:07.54\00:18:09.16 OK? He's fought it and said: "Well, he's not coming back. " 00:18:30.81\00:18:35.28 But the master shows up when he's not looking for him. 00:18:35.48\00:18:39.06 Now listen carefully because there's some admonition 00:18:45.86\00:18:49.03 here that applies to you and to me. 00:18:49.13\00:18:51.89 Do you know what God's will is? 00:19:13.28\00:19:14.98 Do you know what God's will is? 00:19:16.86\00:19:18.94 You should! 00:19:20.10\00:19:21.25 I mean, that's not something you can't know. 00:19:21.28\00:19:24.27 God's will, dear friend, is that you're in His kingdom. 00:19:24.57\00:19:27.96 God's will is that... you to be saved. 00:19:28.16\00:19:32.04 That's what God wants. 00:19:32.14\00:19:33.55 That's what Christ came to do. 00:19:33.75\00:19:35.36 So you and I can know God's will 00:19:35.56\00:19:38.77 for His will is that we're saved. 00:19:38.97\00:19:41.33 His will is also that you share... 00:19:41.53\00:19:45.94 that you share what you have. 00:19:46.24\00:19:49.05 That's God's will that you tell somebody else. 00:19:49.25\00:19:52.09 That you and I are witnesses of His grace. 00:19:52.29\00:19:56.75 And therefore, God's will is that we share with other people. 00:19:56.95\00:20:00.97 That's God's will. 00:20:01.18\00:20:02.21 And it says that you and I are to do His will. 00:20:02.51\00:20:08.42 Now listen as it goes on here: 00:20:08.62\00:20:10.04 Person who didn't know, 00:20:23.12\00:20:25.32 didn't understand, 00:20:25.52\00:20:27.12 says he'll be beaten with few stripes. 00:20:27.33\00:20:30.30 Do you understand? 00:20:53.31\00:20:55.94 Do you understand that you have a knowledge 00:20:58.54\00:21:04.00 concerning this book 00:21:04.21\00:21:05.86 that other people don't? 00:21:06.06\00:21:07.72 And that as Christians you and I have the responsibility 00:21:08.58\00:21:13.51 of sharing that with other people? 00:21:13.71\00:21:15.49 That's what it's talking about. 00:21:16.74\00:21:18.15 And since you have a knowledge of that, 00:21:18.35\00:21:22.11 God will hold you accountable for that... 00:21:22.31\00:21:25.13 because you knew and you didn't share. 00:21:25.33\00:21:30.12 Tonight I'd just like to say a word. 00:21:31.56\00:21:33.09 There, out here in the 00:21:33.29\00:21:36.53 television audience, 00:21:36.63\00:21:38.33 people that are watching by television 00:21:38.53\00:21:41.72 or maybe listening over the radio, 00:21:41.86\00:21:43.67 there may be some ministers out there - 00:21:43.88\00:21:48.45 men who studied God's Word, 00:21:48.65\00:21:52.98 men who were called to the ministry 00:21:53.18\00:21:58.75 and they know they were called to the ministry - 00:21:58.95\00:22:00.76 and they've spent time studying God's Word 00:22:00.96\00:22:03.69 and they have left the ministry. 00:22:03.89\00:22:06.26 And they're gone out and they're making a living some other way. 00:22:06.46\00:22:11.65 They're more concerned about making money than they are 00:22:11.85\00:22:14.87 preaching the Word. 00:22:14.97\00:22:16.05 I'd just like to tell you... 00:22:16.97\00:22:18.40 Dear friend, you have a heavy responsibility upon you 00:22:18.61\00:22:22.28 because you KNOW what the book says. 00:22:22.48\00:22:25.29 And God has called you to do that, 00:22:25.49\00:22:28.54 and you need to be back in preaching God's Word. 00:22:28.64\00:22:32.19 We're down at the time when the Lord's coming back, 00:22:32.39\00:22:34.60 and we need to be prepared for the coming of the Lord. 00:22:34.81\00:22:37.40 And dear friend, you're responsible for that. 00:22:37.43\00:22:40.71 I'll take it a step farther. 00:22:40.91\00:22:43.14 There may be some Bible teachers out there... 00:22:44.26\00:22:47.01 teachers that have taught God's Word, maybe in a college 00:22:47.51\00:22:53.48 or in some school and you've done that and you've left that 00:22:53.58\00:22:56.89 and you're not teaching God's Word any more. 00:22:57.09\00:22:59.34 Dear friend, God has called you to teach God's Word. 00:22:59.54\00:23:03.18 You cannot just pass it up. 00:23:03.38\00:23:05.62 You have been given much, 00:23:05.82\00:23:07.42 and much of you will be required. 00:23:07.62\00:23:10.76 And you and I need to come back and follow the book 00:23:10.96\00:23:14.24 and preach it and prepare for the coming of the Lord. 00:23:14.45\00:23:17.26 What God called us to do. 00:23:17.46\00:23:19.89 And I'll take this farther. 00:23:21.04\00:23:23.75 There are some laymen who are very, very qualified 00:23:24.74\00:23:30.66 to be out and witnessing concerning God's Word 00:23:30.96\00:23:35.54 that are not doing it. 00:23:35.74\00:23:37.96 And dear friend, you have been given much 00:23:38.16\00:23:41.09 and much will be required of you. 00:23:41.19\00:23:43.60 You need to be proclaiming God's Word. 00:23:43.80\00:23:46.88 That is a responsibility that you and I have 00:23:47.08\00:23:50.16 to tell people about the coming of Jesus Christ 00:23:50.37\00:23:53.69 and prepare them for that day. 00:23:53.89\00:23:56.56 The Bible talks about ten virgins. 00:23:57.96\00:24:01.75 Those ten virgins are there to meet the Lord... 00:24:04.02\00:24:09.93 to meet the bridegroom. 00:24:10.13\00:24:11.71 Gone out to meet the bridegroom. 00:24:19.86\00:24:23.23 And there's a lot of people, folks, that they're in this 00:24:23.43\00:24:27.19 very situation. They came in, and they 00:24:27.30\00:24:31.40 found the truth of God's Word, and they opened up their hearts 00:24:31.60\00:24:35.09 and they saw things they had never seen before in God's Word. 00:24:35.19\00:24:38.47 And the truth warmed their heart, and they rejoiced in it 00:24:38.67\00:24:41.92 and they accepted it and they were telling everybody 00:24:42.12\00:24:46.02 about what they heard and what they learned, 00:24:46.22\00:24:48.55 and rejoicing in it. And then it says: 00:24:48.75\00:24:51.96 Now you have to get some things clear here. 00:25:08.20\00:25:10.80 We're not talking about... weren't talking about 00:25:11.00\00:25:13.96 five wise and five foolish. 00:25:14.17\00:25:16.09 We're not talking about five church members 00:25:16.29\00:25:19.11 and five non-believers. 00:25:19.31\00:25:21.03 We're not talking about that. 00:25:22.25\00:25:24.42 These are all believers. 00:25:24.62\00:25:26.53 These are all people who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:25:26.73\00:25:31.36 These are all people who believe God's Word. 00:25:31.56\00:25:34.36 These are not people that haven't done that. 00:25:34.56\00:25:38.08 They've done those things, 00:25:38.29\00:25:39.72 but five of them didn't take any oil in their lamp. 00:25:40.02\00:25:44.08 While the bridegroom was what? Delayed... 00:25:45.73\00:25:49.72 Now, you see, they came in. 00:25:49.82\00:25:51.62 They accepted the message; they were excited. 00:25:51.82\00:25:54.52 They believed it; they were sharing it with everybody. 00:25:54.62\00:25:57.28 But the bridegroom delayed his coming and they got discouraged. 00:25:57.48\00:26:01.60 And so they slumbered and they slept. 00:26:02.69\00:26:08.54 Slumbered and they slept. 00:26:10.99\00:26:14.07 Uh, just ask yourself: 00:26:14.27\00:26:18.97 where are you in that picture? 00:26:19.17\00:26:22.46 Are you slumbering and sleeping? 00:26:25.12\00:26:28.00 Or am I ready for the Lord to come? 00:26:29.81\00:26:34.16 What I am telling you this evening 00:26:34.36\00:26:36.74 is you are living in the 00:26:36.94\00:26:40.28 midnight hour. 00:26:40.38\00:26:42.18 That I am telling you. 00:26:42.58\00:26:44.84 You're living in the midnight hour. 00:26:45.04\00:26:47.03 You're living at the time when the Lord is going to come, 00:26:47.13\00:26:50.99 and you and I should be actively prepared for His coming. 00:26:51.19\00:26:57.06 I ask you: how can the signs of the times be shouting 00:27:02.04\00:27:06.81 any louder than they are today? 00:27:07.01\00:27:10.15 How can that take place? 00:27:11.33\00:27:12.92 Telling us that the Lord's coming! 00:27:13.12\00:27:15.76 We need to be telling people about it. 00:27:15.96\00:27:18.24 We need to be preaching it. 00:27:18.44\00:27:20.07 We need to be witnessing concerning the Lord. 00:27:20.27\00:27:22.43 All ten of these virgins went out to meet him. 00:27:22.93\00:27:28.67 All ten of them did. 00:27:28.87\00:27:31.27 All ten of them did. 00:27:39.17\00:27:40.20 Not just five... 00:27:40.40\00:27:42.99 all ten of them went out to meet him. 00:27:43.19\00:27:47.25 You see, dear friend, nobody can do it for you. 00:28:12.44\00:28:18.40 Your wife is not going to get you into the kingdom. 00:28:20.06\00:28:23.98 Or your husband 00:28:24.96\00:28:26.65 is not going to get you into the kingdom. 00:28:26.85\00:28:28.53 You gotta do it yourself. 00:28:28.73\00:28:31.76 Yourself. 00:28:31.96\00:28:33.25 "Go and buy for yourself. " 00:28:33.45\00:28:35.55 Of course we know that the oil referred to here 00:28:35.75\00:28:39.14 is the Holy Spirit. 00:28:39.17\00:28:42.29 And our next series we're going to be talking about 00:28:42.49\00:28:45.15 the Holy Spirit. 00:28:45.25\00:28:46.45 How that fits in there, and I'll be sharing with you 00:28:46.65\00:28:49.11 some things on this very point here in the next series. 00:28:49.21\00:28:53.48 But dear friend, they didn't have the Holy Spirit. 00:28:53.68\00:28:57.58 Oh, they were believers. 00:28:57.79\00:28:59.44 They had accepted Christ. 00:28:59.64\00:29:01.20 They attended church. 00:29:01.40\00:29:02.97 They went out to meet the bridegroom. 00:29:03.17\00:29:04.95 They did all those things, 00:29:05.15\00:29:06.61 but they didn't have enough oil. 00:29:06.81\00:29:10.60 They didn't have enough oil. 00:29:10.80\00:29:13.41 And that is a real problem; we'll talk about that 00:29:13.61\00:29:17.80 when we talk about the Holy Spirit... 00:29:18.00\00:29:20.83 the series on it. 00:29:20.93\00:29:21.96 While they went to buy the bridegroom came. 00:29:32.66\00:29:38.60 I hope that you won't find yourself short. 00:29:41.20\00:29:46.50 I hope you won't say: "Uh, I missed it. " 00:29:46.90\00:29:51.74 You see what's happened here, folks, 00:29:51.94\00:29:53.64 is these five foolish virgins... 00:29:53.84\00:29:56.53 their religious experience was superficial. 00:29:56.73\00:29:59.55 That's the problem. 00:29:59.75\00:30:02.01 It was superficial. 00:30:02.21\00:30:03.70 It wasn't deep; 00:30:03.90\00:30:05.75 it didn't have the anointing of the Holy Spirit. 00:30:05.96\00:30:08.35 It didn't have the oil, and they missed it. 00:30:08.55\00:30:11.67 While they were out trying to find this, 00:30:11.87\00:30:14.74 the bridegroom came and those five wise virgins went in. 00:30:14.94\00:30:20.31 Open the door; let us in. 00:30:27.02\00:30:29.05 Most terrible words in scripture, folks... 00:30:29.45\00:30:33.68 I do not know of any words worse than the next ones... 00:30:33.89\00:30:38.87 "I do not know you. " 00:30:45.47\00:30:48.24 The door was not opened; they were not allowed in. 00:30:50.05\00:30:54.36 You and I, folks, I plead with you. 00:30:55.40\00:30:59.32 Now is the time... now is the time to get serious 00:30:59.52\00:31:04.76 about the coming of Jesus Christ. 00:31:04.96\00:31:07.50 You and I need to realize that the things that we see 00:31:08.63\00:31:12.67 happening all around us 00:31:12.87\00:31:15.65 are shouting out that Jesus is coming back. 00:31:15.95\00:31:19.25 We need to prepare... be prepared. 00:31:19.45\00:31:22.04 I said to you the other night. It says: 00:31:22.24\00:31:25.16 You don't know when He's coming back. 00:31:32.57\00:31:34.74 We're not told that; we'll never know that. 00:31:34.94\00:31:37.72 But I need to be ready; I need to be watching... 00:31:37.92\00:31:42.30 looking for Him to come. 00:31:42.50\00:31:44.77 As I said to you the other night, how can you know... 00:31:44.97\00:31:47.03 How... how can I know that? 00:31:53.08\00:31:54.44 Well, I shared something with you. I told you: 00:31:54.64\00:31:56.53 OK? If you're right with the Lord right now, 00:32:03.88\00:32:07.33 then you're ready for Christ to come if He'd come today. 00:32:07.53\00:32:12.24 But I ask you, what about your neighbor next door? 00:32:13.68\00:32:18.52 Have you talked to them? 00:32:20.80\00:32:22.39 Do you even know their name? 00:32:22.59\00:32:26.06 I mean, you have a responsibility 00:32:29.29\00:32:31.67 to talk to them, to say something to them, 00:32:33.37\00:32:35.17 to invite them. 00:32:35.27\00:32:36.30 That's the responsibility that you and I have. 00:32:36.50\00:32:40.05 How? How can I be ready 00:32:40.25\00:32:44.56 for Jesus to come? 00:32:45.77\00:32:47.34 I'd like to share with you how you can be ready. 00:32:47.54\00:32:51.04 Jesus said: 00:32:52.43\00:32:53.89 That's very, very comforting, folks, 00:32:55.77\00:32:58.66 when Christ says: "Don't let your heart be troubled. " 00:32:58.76\00:33:02.38 So if you want to be ready for Christ to come, 00:33:07.30\00:33:11.29 then you must believe in Christ and accept Him. 00:33:11.32\00:33:14.39 I must accept Him as my personal Savior. 00:33:14.59\00:33:18.74 And... and let me tell you, that's not difficult. 00:33:19.04\00:33:23.91 That's not hard to do. 00:33:24.11\00:33:26.45 God's not asking you to climb some mountain. 00:33:26.65\00:33:29.85 He's not asking you to go to the moon. 00:33:30.05\00:33:32.89 All that you and I have to do is come to Him. 00:33:33.09\00:33:36.92 In fact, this is what the scripture says. 00:33:37.12\00:33:39.14 How difficult is that 00:33:44.86\00:33:46.49 to call on the name of the Lord? 00:33:46.69\00:33:49.35 If tonight you know that you're lost, 00:33:49.55\00:33:52.97 you know that if Jesus was to come right now 00:33:53.17\00:33:56.54 you would not make it into God's kingdom, 00:33:56.74\00:33:59.80 you would be lost, then I ask you: 00:34:00.00\00:34:02.32 CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD. 00:34:02.52\00:34:04.47 You remember Peter, 00:34:06.62\00:34:09.72 out there trying to walk on the water. 00:34:09.92\00:34:13.30 Doing pretty good 00:34:14.58\00:34:16.52 until he took his eyes off the Lord 00:34:16.72\00:34:19.73 and he began to look at the waves. 00:34:19.93\00:34:23.09 And by the way, waves can get very, very high on the 00:34:23.19\00:34:27.64 Sea of Galilee. 00:34:27.74\00:34:29.10 In fact, waves can get as high as 14 feet 00:34:29.30\00:34:34.40 on the Sea of Galilee. 00:34:34.60\00:34:36.64 So it was in the midst of a storm 00:34:36.84\00:34:39.84 that Peter was walking on the water. 00:34:40.04\00:34:42.51 And it says this: 00:34:42.71\00:34:44.09 And what did Jesus do? 00:34:57.77\00:34:59.47 Reached down and got him by the hand and picked him up. 00:34:59.67\00:35:04.17 You see, the Lord's wanting to save you. 00:35:04.37\00:35:07.24 He's not wanting to keep you out of God's kingdom. 00:35:07.44\00:35:10.07 Who? Why do we come up with these terrible ideas 00:35:10.27\00:35:14.21 that God's trying to keep people out of His kingdom? 00:35:14.42\00:35:16.70 No, He's not trying to do that! 00:35:16.90\00:35:18.83 He's trying to get you in. 00:35:19.03\00:35:20.26 He's trying to invite you and say come. 00:35:20.46\00:35:22.79 And it says that if you and I will call on the Lord, 00:35:22.99\00:35:26.12 then He'll save us. 00:35:26.32\00:35:28.80 And so tonight if you want to be ready for the coming 00:35:29.00\00:35:32.85 of Jesus Christ, then - dear friend - 00:35:32.95\00:35:35.23 CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD. 00:35:35.43\00:35:37.18 Reach out in faith; take hold 00:35:37.38\00:35:40.22 of the promise that's given 00:35:40.42\00:35:42.99 and it says you'll be saved. 00:35:43.19\00:35:44.99 Secondly, if you want to be saved, 00:35:45.19\00:35:50.49 then surrender your life to Christ each day. 00:35:50.69\00:35:54.17 You see, I need to surrender my life 00:36:08.23\00:36:13.33 to Christ every day. 00:36:13.53\00:36:16.70 When I get up in the morning, right then and there 00:36:18.74\00:36:21.99 I need to commit my life to the Lord. 00:36:22.19\00:36:24.94 Sure, you've accepted Him as your personal Savior... 00:36:25.15\00:36:28.99 but I need to walk with Him day by day, dear friend. 00:36:29.19\00:36:32.31 And I need to surrender my life to Him 00:36:32.51\00:36:35.71 so the Holy Spirit can do its work in my life. 00:36:35.74\00:36:39.15 That's necessary. 00:36:40.27\00:36:42.01 There is no such thing 00:36:42.31\00:36:45.83 as somebody surrendering their life to the Lord 00:36:46.03\00:36:50.11 each day and missing heaven. 00:36:50.31\00:36:52.44 That is not... doesn't work that way, dear friend. 00:36:54.05\00:36:57.17 That person who commits his life to the Lord 00:36:57.38\00:36:59.83 every day will be in heaven. 00:37:00.03\00:37:02.88 See? And you and I need to do that. 00:37:04.52\00:37:06.67 People say to me: "Well, Brother Cox, 00:37:06.87\00:37:08.15 how do you surrender? 00:37:08.35\00:37:10.13 How do you surrender? 00:37:10.33\00:37:12.18 What do you mean when you say 00:37:12.28\00:37:13.46 surrender? " 00:37:13.56\00:37:14.62 Well, there's an excellent example in the Bible 00:37:14.82\00:37:17.94 of what surrender is. 00:37:18.14\00:37:19.82 There was a king of Israel - 00:37:20.95\00:37:22.65 not a good king, 00:37:22.85\00:37:24.81 probably one of the worst. 00:37:25.01\00:37:26.33 His name was Ahab. 00:37:26.53\00:37:28.70 He wasn't a good king. 00:37:29.99\00:37:31.43 And because he did not follow the Lord, 00:37:31.63\00:37:35.15 he didn't have the Lord's protection. 00:37:35.35\00:37:37.78 And the king of Syria, Ben-Hadad, 00:37:37.98\00:37:42.27 came down to overthrow the country of Israel. 00:37:42.47\00:37:48.11 And it says this: 00:37:48.31\00:37:50.11 now listen... 00:38:02.32\00:38:03.52 Quite a letter! 00:38:14.55\00:38:15.72 Wrote a letter and said: 00:38:15.92\00:38:17.35 "Everything you have belongs to me, is mine. " 00:38:17.55\00:38:21.88 That is surrender. 00:38:35.49\00:38:37.56 That's surrender. 00:38:37.76\00:38:40.25 When I will take and surrender everything that I have 00:38:40.45\00:38:44.86 to the Lord. 00:38:45.06\00:38:46.55 And I must do that, folks. 00:38:46.75\00:38:49.30 Each morning I must surrender to Him and say: "Here, 00:38:49.51\00:38:53.88 it's Yours. 00:38:54.08\00:38:56.94 Give me guidance, give me direction today. " 00:38:57.15\00:39:01.01 And I'm talking to you about how to be ready 00:39:01.21\00:39:06.11 to meet the Lord. 00:39:06.31\00:39:08.47 Let me tell you a little secret. 00:39:09.70\00:39:11.50 Five minutes of prayer in the morning 00:39:13.37\00:39:17.65 will save 1/2 hour of confession at night. 00:39:17.85\00:39:21.21 So take the time in the morning to talk to the Lord. 00:39:21.61\00:39:26.75 Pray to Him. And then when you get up and start through the day 00:39:26.95\00:39:32.88 the scripture gives you this counsel: 00:39:33.08\00:39:35.35 It says that you and I 00:39:52.52\00:39:56.19 must walk as He walked. 00:39:56.39\00:39:58.63 So I must walk as Christ walked. 00:40:05.82\00:40:10.37 I must follow His steps. 00:40:10.57\00:40:13.84 That means that sometimes that's not an easy way to go. 00:40:17.07\00:40:21.89 Sometimes that's hard... 00:40:23.40\00:40:24.97 but I have to trust Him; I have to believe in Him; 00:40:26.08\00:40:30.07 I have to follow Him. 00:40:30.27\00:40:31.77 And if I do that, He will lead me and guide me. 00:40:31.97\00:40:35.47 But dear friends, you have been given much! 00:40:35.67\00:40:38.77 Therefore, much will be required of you. 00:40:40.74\00:40:44.96 And therefore walk with Him, 00:40:45.16\00:40:48.70 follow Him day by day. 00:40:49.00\00:40:51.74 And then it just simply says: 00:40:52.99\00:40:54.85 You see, I must learn 00:41:09.37\00:41:13.03 to walk by faith. 00:41:13.23\00:41:16.70 I must learn to walk day by day 00:41:28.83\00:41:33.54 by faith. 00:41:33.74\00:41:35.24 And faith requires me to move out 00:41:36.41\00:41:40.21 in areas where I am uncomfortable. 00:41:40.41\00:41:45.29 Rather interesting. I was flying on a plane... 00:41:45.60\00:41:48.55 Southwest. And if you remember, Southwest right at the front 00:41:48.75\00:41:54.22 has some seats that face each other if you've ever flown. 00:41:54.42\00:41:57.58 And I happened to be sitting in one of those, and 00:41:57.78\00:42:00.37 so there was two people on each side of me 00:42:00.47\00:42:02.49 and three across right in front of me. 00:42:02.69\00:42:04.50 And when I sat down, this man... he was talking about 00:42:04.70\00:42:09.88 a book he had just read. 00:42:09.98\00:42:11.23 I mean, he was all excited about this book he had read, 00:42:11.43\00:42:15.63 and he was going on about what a wonderful book it was. 00:42:15.83\00:42:18.43 And the title of the book was Who Stole My Cheese. 00:42:18.63\00:42:22.55 That was the name of it. 00:42:22.75\00:42:23.86 And he pulled out the book, and it wasn't very big... 00:42:24.06\00:42:27.15 just a little book. 00:42:27.35\00:42:28.88 And he went on raving about how wonderful it was. 00:42:29.08\00:42:32.66 And I don't know why he turned to me, but he said: 00:42:32.86\00:42:35.13 "Would you like to read it? " 00:42:35.33\00:42:36.47 Handed it to me, and the flight was a couple hour flight... 00:42:36.67\00:42:39.62 and I said: "Sure. " 00:42:39.82\00:42:41.16 And so he handed me the book and so I read it. 00:42:41.36\00:42:44.03 And when I finished I gave it back to him 00:42:44.24\00:42:48.61 and said I really enjoyed it. 00:42:48.81\00:42:50.23 And what the book was about, folks, 00:42:50.43\00:42:52.69 was about stepping out of your comfort zone. 00:42:52.89\00:42:55.86 You know, not being in your comfort zone and how 00:42:56.06\00:42:59.38 it's necessary for you to step out of your comfort zone 00:42:59.41\00:43:02.17 in order to grow. See? 00:43:02.27\00:43:04.45 And I said: "Fine, I really enjoyed it. " 00:43:04.55\00:43:06.93 It was a good book. And I reached into my attaché case 00:43:07.13\00:43:11.05 and picked up a book on scripture... on prophecy. 00:43:11.25\00:43:15.58 And I turned to him and I said: "Here's a little book I think 00:43:15.78\00:43:18.09 you'd enjoy. " He said: "Oh, no. No, no. " 00:43:18.19\00:43:20.71 And he absolutely would not take that book, folks. 00:43:20.91\00:43:23.94 You see, he read that book and it did him no good 00:43:24.14\00:43:27.51 because he was not willing to come out of his comfort zone 00:43:27.71\00:43:31.05 at all. See? No! Just drew the line. 00:43:31.25\00:43:34.65 You see, you and I by faith must be willing to get out 00:43:34.85\00:43:39.11 of the comfort zone. 00:43:39.31\00:43:40.61 I must walk by faith. That's required. 00:43:40.81\00:43:44.59 And if I do that, God will lead in a special way. 00:43:44.79\00:43:47.88 Christ had just walked into the city of 00:43:48.18\00:43:54.11 Capernaeum. And as He walked into the city of Capernaeum, 00:43:54.31\00:43:58.00 He was met by a soldier... a centurion. 00:43:58.20\00:44:01.83 And this centurion soldier was pleading with Him. 00:44:02.03\00:44:05.25 He said: "My servant's sick. 00:44:05.45\00:44:07.92 He's paralyzed; he's dying. 00:44:08.12\00:44:11.06 Would You heal him? " 00:44:12.90\00:44:14.86 And Jesus said: "Come. " Said: "Let's go to your house 00:44:15.07\00:44:19.04 and I'll heal him. " That's what Christ said to him. 00:44:19.24\00:44:21.45 And the centurion said to Him, said: 00:44:21.65\00:44:24.08 "Sir, that's not necessary. " 00:44:24.18\00:44:26.76 He said: "I'm a solider under authority. " 00:44:28.01\00:44:30.38 He said: "I have servants under me. " 00:44:30.68\00:44:33.53 And he said: "I tell them where to go, and they go. 00:44:33.73\00:44:37.02 And I tell them when to come, and they come. " 00:44:37.22\00:44:40.21 And he said: "All you need to do is speak the word 00:44:40.41\00:44:45.37 and my servant will be healed. " 00:44:45.57\00:44:48.70 Jesus looked at the crowd and said: 00:44:49.93\00:44:52.59 "I haven't seen faith like this in Israel. " 00:44:53.68\00:44:56.37 And it says: 00:44:56.77\00:44:57.92 The servant was healed that same hour. 00:45:11.73\00:45:14.57 You see, when you walk by faith 00:45:14.77\00:45:17.99 then God can do special things for you. 00:45:18.19\00:45:23.09 Did you know that? 00:45:23.19\00:45:24.29 If you don't walk by faith, God can't do that. 00:45:24.49\00:45:27.91 But if you walk by faith, He can do special things for you. 00:45:28.01\00:45:30.91 We had... when the Iron Curtain came down 00:45:32.59\00:45:35.79 and all we had an opportunity to go to Russia. 00:45:35.99\00:45:41.45 over to a place called Vladivostok. 00:45:41.65\00:45:46.30 I had never been to Russia. 00:45:46.71\00:45:49.34 I can't speak the language. 00:45:49.54\00:45:53.25 I didn't know a soul in Vladivostok, 00:45:53.28\00:45:57.76 but the invitation was there to go do something. 00:45:57.96\00:46:02.31 It was even given by some people outside of Russia... 00:46:02.51\00:46:05.45 not in Russia and all. 00:46:05.65\00:46:08.10 And so a friend of mine by the name of Steve Gifford and I 00:46:08.31\00:46:11.77 decided we would go over to Vladivostok... 00:46:11.97\00:46:14.59 see what we could do. We felt the Lord had opened the door 00:46:14.79\00:46:18.96 that we ought to go. 00:46:19.16\00:46:20.20 And so we got on the plane... 00:46:20.41\00:46:22.29 flew to Vladivostok. 00:46:22.49\00:46:25.02 Got off the plane; didn't know a soul. 00:46:25.22\00:46:29.46 Couldn't speak a word of Russian. 00:46:30.97\00:46:33.75 And we just began to inquire around there and uh... 00:46:34.75\00:46:38.14 and uh, finally we found a fellow 00:46:38.27\00:46:41.54 who could speak some English. 00:46:41.74\00:46:43.09 And we told him what we were needing, and 00:46:43.29\00:46:46.71 he was able to get a taxi cab lined up for us. 00:46:46.91\00:46:50.04 And we told him we would like to go to the 00:46:50.24\00:46:52.10 Seventh-day Adventist church. 00:46:52.20\00:46:53.62 Fortunately, the taxi cab driver knew where it was. 00:46:54.59\00:46:57.43 And we got in the cab and went to the church. 00:46:58.34\00:47:03.37 Got there and it was closed. 00:47:03.58\00:47:05.18 Wasn't anybody there. 00:47:05.38\00:47:07.16 But there was a sign up which this interpreter read for us, 00:47:07.36\00:47:11.81 and it said that the Adventist church met there 00:47:11.94\00:47:14.36 and also the Baptist church met there. 00:47:14.56\00:47:16.91 And it said the Baptists were going to have a meeting 00:47:17.11\00:47:19.02 that night... and so Steve and I went. 00:47:19.12\00:47:22.71 And we got there, and nobody could speak to us. 00:47:22.91\00:47:27.06 In fact, you know, they hadn't seen anybody from the 00:47:27.26\00:47:30.29 United States. They had some real questions about us. 00:47:30.39\00:47:33.73 Who we were and why we were there 00:47:33.93\00:47:35.79 and all that kind of stuff. 00:47:35.89\00:47:36.96 And anyhow, we inquired about it and we found out that 00:47:37.16\00:47:40.97 the Adventist church had a meeting the next night. 00:47:41.17\00:47:43.65 But the caretaker of the church who was a member of the 00:47:43.85\00:47:46.60 Adventist church was there, 00:47:46.70\00:47:48.00 and we visited with him a little bit. 00:47:48.20\00:47:49.81 And much to our sorrow 00:47:50.01\00:47:52.68 we found out that the pastor of the church was gone 00:47:52.88\00:47:56.65 and would be gone for 30 days. 00:47:56.85\00:47:59.75 And that was not good news to us at all. 00:47:59.95\00:48:03.28 Anyhow, we went back the next night. 00:48:03.48\00:48:07.33 Got there. There was 120 people there in church. 00:48:07.53\00:48:12.96 All of them was gray-headed. 00:48:13.16\00:48:17.32 Every one of them! 00:48:17.62\00:48:19.27 All of them... gray-headed. 00:48:19.47\00:48:21.35 Nobody... I mean, not one of them spoke English. 00:48:21.45\00:48:25.01 Not a one. And we tried to talk to them and all. 00:48:25.21\00:48:29.28 We just didn't get anywhere, you know? 00:48:29.31\00:48:32.08 And we finally found out that the pastor's wife 00:48:32.28\00:48:36.73 was still there, and so a couple 00:48:36.83\00:48:40.62 offered to take us over to her house. 00:48:40.72\00:48:42.48 And we went over to visit with her 00:48:42.69\00:48:44.16 and see what we could find out. 00:48:44.26\00:48:45.62 Got there, and she couldn't speak any English either. 00:48:45.82\00:48:48.07 And so the door was closed every way we turned. 00:48:48.27\00:48:52.40 And I mean just couldn't get anywhere. 00:48:52.60\00:48:54.80 And we went back and was at the hotel 00:48:55.10\00:49:01.08 where we were staying and I told Steve. I said: 00:49:01.29\00:49:04.78 "Steve, there's only two planes out of here. 00:49:04.98\00:49:07.73 There's one on Sunday and there's one on Wednesday. " 00:49:07.93\00:49:10.77 And I said: "I know we're scheduled to take the one on 00:49:10.97\00:49:15.43 Wednesday but I think we ought to see if we can get the one out 00:49:15.64\00:49:17.80 on Sunday 'cause we're not getting anywhere here. 00:49:18.00\00:49:20.24 We're not gaining anything. " 00:49:20.44\00:49:21.73 And he said: "Yeah, you're probably right. " 00:49:21.93\00:49:24.06 So, come... that was Friday night 00:49:24.26\00:49:28.30 we visited and all, and talked about it. 00:49:28.50\00:49:32.90 I went to bed that night and I had a dream. 00:49:33.10\00:49:37.09 And in the dream I saw this young man, 00:49:37.29\00:49:41.52 black-headed with Italian features. 00:49:41.72\00:49:44.98 And all it said in the dream was "He speaks English. " 00:49:45.18\00:49:49.30 That's all it said. 00:49:49.60\00:49:51.19 Yeah, I didn't think anything about it. 00:49:51.39\00:49:53.40 I got up the next morning, we were eating breakfast. 00:49:53.50\00:49:55.37 I told Steve about it; we both kind of laughed. 00:49:55.57\00:49:57.53 I said: "I guess I ate too much last night, " anyhow... 00:49:57.73\00:50:00.62 and just passed it off that way. 00:50:00.72\00:50:04.21 Anyhow, we went to church Sabbath. Got there... 00:50:04.41\00:50:09.07 same 120 people; nobody spoke any English. 00:50:09.27\00:50:13.36 And there we sat; couldn't understand a thing 00:50:13.56\00:50:16.24 that was going on all the way through Sabbath School. 00:50:16.34\00:50:19.34 Church started; we were just sitting there. 00:50:19.55\00:50:22.88 The door opened and in came a young man, 00:50:23.08\00:50:28.82 black-headed, with Italian features... 00:50:29.02\00:50:32.09 the exact one I had seen in the dream. 00:50:32.29\00:50:34.93 I poked Steve and I said: "Steve, there he is. " 00:50:35.13\00:50:38.25 And he went over and sat down. 00:50:38.45\00:50:40.93 In a little bit this Russian woman went over and spoke to him 00:50:41.13\00:50:46.03 and he came over and talked to us and spoke to us in English. 00:50:46.23\00:50:49.70 And I said: "Let's go outside. " 00:50:49.91\00:50:53.11 And we went outside, and I introduced myself 00:50:53.31\00:50:56.72 and he introduced himself. 00:50:56.92\00:50:58.06 And I said: "What are you doing here? " 00:50:58.26\00:51:02.66 And he said: "I don't know what I'm doing here! " 00:51:02.86\00:51:05.48 And I said: "Well, why are you here? " 00:51:05.68\00:51:07.70 He said: "I don't know why I'm here. " 00:51:07.90\00:51:09.07 He said: "I don't go to church here. " 00:51:09.17\00:51:10.47 Said: "I go to church across town... 00:51:10.67\00:51:13.06 clear on the other side of town. " 00:51:13.26\00:51:15.23 He said: "I just felt like I should be here. " 00:51:15.44\00:51:18.06 And he said: "We have a whole group of young people 00:51:18.26\00:51:21.21 that meet over there. " 00:51:21.31\00:51:22.40 Dear friend, we went with him back over, and 00:51:22.60\00:51:25.91 met with this group of young people. 00:51:26.05\00:51:27.89 Were able to go back and train 00:51:28.09\00:51:31.32 ten different groups of young people 00:51:31.52\00:51:33.99 to share the gospel there in Vladivostok. 00:51:34.19\00:51:37.12 You see, but what I'm trying to get across to you, folks, 00:51:37.33\00:51:40.13 is you've got to step out in faith. 00:51:40.33\00:51:43.11 You cannot stay in your comfort zone all the time and make it. 00:51:43.31\00:51:48.68 It's required that you and I 00:51:48.88\00:51:50.90 by faith walk with Him, and as we are coming down 00:51:51.10\00:51:54.61 to the coming of Jesus Christ, 00:51:54.81\00:51:56.44 it's going to require that you and I MORE AND MORE 00:51:56.64\00:52:00.31 step out in faith. 00:52:00.51\00:52:02.17 That we have to witness; we have to proclaim 00:52:02.37\00:52:06.09 that Jesus Christ IS COMING BACK. 00:52:06.29\00:52:09.27 And we need to be telling men and women to prepare 00:52:09.47\00:52:12.32 for that coming... to get their lives ready 00:52:12.42\00:52:15.07 because Christ IS coming. 00:52:15.27\00:52:17.84 And so... you want to be right with the Lord? 00:52:18.04\00:52:22.26 Believe in Jesus Christ. 00:52:22.46\00:52:25.19 Give Him your heart. 00:52:26.38\00:52:27.61 Accept Him as your Savior. 00:52:27.81\00:52:29.28 Surrender your life to Him. 00:52:29.48\00:52:31.94 Day by day put it in His hands. 00:52:33.09\00:52:36.43 Walk with Him. 00:52:37.30\00:52:38.70 Walk with Him; follow Him. 00:52:38.90\00:52:41.15 And then, dear friend, follow Him by faith, 00:52:41.35\00:52:45.32 and you and I will have the privilege of walking 00:52:45.52\00:52:50.76 with Him into His kingdom. 00:52:50.96\00:52:53.32 So tonight, are you ready for Jesus to come? 00:52:53.53\00:52:58.08 Are you ready 00:52:59.44\00:53:03.50 for Jesus 00:53:03.70\00:53:06.88 to come? 00:53:07.09\00:53:11.64 Are you faithful 00:53:11.94\00:53:15.42 in all that you do? 00:53:15.62\00:53:21.54 Have you fought a good fight? 00:53:23.46\00:53:29.02 Have you stood for the right? 00:53:29.32\00:53:34.70 Can others 00:53:35.01\00:53:38.80 see Jesus 00:53:39.01\00:53:42.10 in you? 00:53:42.30\00:53:46.76 Are you ready to stand 00:53:47.76\00:53:52.09 in your place? 00:53:52.29\00:53:58.30 Are you ready to 00:53:58.44\00:54:02.05 look on 00:54:02.25\00:54:05.02 His face? 00:54:05.22\00:54:09.96 Can you look up 00:54:10.26\00:54:13.63 and say 00:54:13.73\00:54:17.67 "THIS IS MY LORD! " 00:54:17.87\00:54:24.68 Are you ready 00:54:26.81\00:54:30.60 for Jesus 00:54:30.80\00:54:35.53 to come? 00:54:35.84\00:54:41.75 Let us pray. 00:54:48.69\00:54:49.85 Heavenly Father, please come soon. 00:54:50.06\00:54:54.23 May each one of us here tonight 00:54:54.43\00:54:57.45 whether we're watching by television 00:54:57.65\00:55:01.47 or listening on the radio 00:55:01.67\00:55:04.06 or here in the auditorium, 00:55:04.26\00:55:06.39 may our hearts be surrendered to You. 00:55:06.59\00:55:10.75 Help us to be aware of Your soon return. 00:55:10.95\00:55:15.34 May we each, day by day, stay surrendered. 00:55:15.64\00:55:21.63 We're thankful for the promise that You WILL COME BACK 00:55:22.39\00:55:26.31 and that You're coming back quickly. 00:55:26.51\00:55:29.17 Grant to us that each of us may be in Your kingdom 00:55:29.37\00:55:33.20 with our families. 00:55:33.30\00:55:34.58 For this we ask in Christ's name, Amen. 00:55:34.78\00:55:39.65 May God bless you. 00:55:39.85\00:55:41.26 Keep your eyes upon the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:55:41.46\00:55:44.34 Be ready for His return. 00:55:44.54\00:55:46.88 More than 2,000 years have passed 00:55:49.35\00:55:51.85 since Jesus promised to return. 00:55:52.21\00:55:54.64 And through the centuries, the hearts of His faithful ones 00:55:54.77\00:55:57.53 have clung to those precious words. 00:55:57.68\00:55:59.89 But His promise has not yet been fulfilled. 00:56:00.14\00:56:03.03 The Lifegiver's voice has not yet called the sleeping saints 00:56:03.22\00:56:06.50 from their graves. 00:56:06.71\00:56:08.39 Each day many more Christians fall asleep in Jesus 00:56:08.66\00:56:12.67 clinging to the Blessed Hope 00:56:12.80\00:56:14.69 and believing that the next thing they'll see 00:56:14.87\00:56:17.55 is their Savior coming as He promised 00:56:17.77\00:56:20.33 in the clouds of glory. 00:56:20.60\00:56:22.51 But my friends, there are so many who do not have 00:56:22.67\00:56:26.37 this Blessed Hope. And many of them would 00:56:26.58\00:56:29.49 if they just had the opportunity to hear about Jesus. 00:56:29.68\00:56:33.80 That is why we are producing these programs. 00:56:35.73\00:56:38.27 We want to tell them about God's amazing love. 00:56:38.56\00:56:41.65 About our Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:56:41.94\00:56:43.85 About His second coming. 00:56:44.14\00:56:45.67 We want to give each one of them that Blessed Hope. 00:56:45.82\00:56:49.09 Think of it. Even now all of heaven's astir 00:56:49.31\00:56:52.74 preparing for that great day. 00:56:52.91\00:56:54.66 The Lord is waiting for us 00:56:54.86\00:56:56.53 to join Him in spreading the good news. 00:56:56.65\00:56:59.36 Praise God! The time of waiting is almost over. 00:56:59.54\00:57:03.34 Light is gleaming upon the clouds above the mountaintops. 00:57:03.50\00:57:06.74 Soon there will be a revealing of His glory. 00:57:06.93\00:57:09.92 The Son of Righteousness is about to shine forth. 00:57:10.14\00:57:12.74 NOW is the time to prepare for the coming of the Lord. 00:57:12.97\00:57:17.05 Readiness to meet Him cannot be attained 00:57:17.30\00:57:20.30 in a moment's time. 00:57:20.49\00:57:21.93 Each member of our ministry team has focused on doing all we can 00:57:22.13\00:57:26.38 to spread the good news, 00:57:26.52\00:57:28.10 but we cannot do it alone. 00:57:28.28\00:57:30.32 We need your help. 00:57:30.54\00:57:31.84 Each of us must prepare, watch, and wait. 00:57:31.98\00:57:35.31 But we also must work earnestly 00:57:35.52\00:57:38.14 for the salvation of souls. 00:57:38.28\00:57:40.32 Please consider what you can do 00:57:40.53\00:57:41.92 for those who still don't know about Jesus. 00:57:42.13\00:57:44.49 As the Holy Spirit impresses, 00:57:44.65\00:57:46.63 you may send your tax-deductible gifts to: 00:57:46.83\00:57:49.08 Thank you for helping us to bring the Blessed Hope 00:58:01.60\00:58:03.90 to millions all around the world. 00:58:04.03\00:58:06.80