Participants:
Series Code: SCM
Program Code: SCM250002S
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00:01 The hour is urgent, as darkness is dispelled by the light of
00:07 God's Word, a new day begins. 00:10 Jesus, the light of the world is shining. 00:14 Prepare your hearts to proclaim the final cry. 00:18 This is 3ABN Summer Camp Meeting. 00:24 Praise the Lord everyone. 00:26 So we have been praising the Lord together, sharing our 00:30 testimonies back and forth. 00:31 Hasn't it been good? 00:33 Well, the Bible says it is a good thing to give thanks unto 00:36 the Lord and to sing praises unto thy name most high. 00:40 So it has been wonderful to be here with you doing that. 00:43 I am Pastor Ryan Johnson, and it is my privilege to introduce 00:48 our next speaker. 00:50 Our speaker is Christopher Hudson. 00:53 He's a preacher. 00:55 He is a filmmaker. 00:57 He is a historian, among other things, and he is probably most 01:02 known for his ministry called the Forerunner Chronicles. 01:05 Has anyone ever seen that before? 01:07 It's amazing, isn't it? 01:09 I remember the first time that I saw it. 01:11 This ministry fearlessly addresses controversial and 01:16 challenging issues around prophecy and second coming 01:19 readiness. 01:20 Amen. 01:21 Now one of his most acclaimed works is called the Leopard 01:26 Vision. 01:27 Leopard Vision. 01:28 And it gives a modern biblical explanation and exploration of 01:33 Revelation Chapter 13. 01:35 So you want to make sure that you go and check that out and 01:38 be blessed in the name of the Lord. 01:40 And he is part of our 3ABN family. 01:43 By God's grace, he has blessed us with his messages and 01:46 ministry many times before. 01:48 And tonight's message is titled, and I like this, Wake 01:52 Up! 01:54 The hour is urgent. 01:57 Wake up! 01:58 The hour is urgent. 02:00 So after a lovely message in song brought by Brother Reggie 02:05 and Lady Love, the next voice that you will hear will be that 02:09 of Brother Christopher Hudson. 02:11 God be with you. 02:24 I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus. 02:32 I have found a friend so kind and love as he. 02:39 I would tell you how he changed my life completely. 02:48 He did something that no other friend could do. 03:04 There for me, like Jesus, there is no other friend so kind as 03:20 he. 03:24 No one else could take the sin and darkness from me. 03:37 Oh, how much he cares for me. 03:49 All my life was full of sin when Jesus found me. 04:00 And all my heart was full of misery and woe. 04:13 But Jesus placed his strong and loving arms around me. 04:25 And he led me in the way I ought to go. 04:37 And every day he comes to me with a new assurance. 04:48 And more and more I understand his words of love. 05:01 But I'll never know just why he came to save me. 05:13 Till that day I see his blessed face above. 05:30 For me, like Jesus, there is no other friend so kind as he. 05:49 No one else could take the sin and darkness from me. 06:04 Oh, how much he cares for me. 06:15 Oh, how much he cares for me. 06:42 Good evening. 06:44 Good evening. 06:47 It's a blessing to be here with you for 3ABN Summer Camp 06:51 Meeting 2025. 06:52 And I'm looking forward to the way that the Lord is going to 06:56 bless us as we spend time together delving into his word. 07:01 But because I have much to get to in the word of God with you, 07:05 this evening I'm not going to waste too much time. 07:08 I want to get right to business, so to say. 07:11 So as it is my tradition, I want to encourage everyone to 07:14 do two things. 07:15 Number one, please pray for yourself. 07:17 I fully believe that every time the scriptures are open, it is 07:20 God's desire to impart his Holy Spirit unto us. 07:24 The word of God tells us in the book of John chapter 16 and 07:28 verse 13, how be it when he, the spirit of truth, is come. 07:32 He will guide you not into some but all truth. 07:36 We're so dependent on God's presence to illuminate our 07:39 darkened understanding and guide us in the way of 07:42 righteousness. 07:47 of God independent of God's assistance. 07:50 And so I encourage you pray and say, Lord, teach me what you 07:53 want me to hear. 07:54 Cause me to understand what is necessary for my character 07:58 development so that I can stand in the hour that is right 08:01 before all of mankind. 08:03 And please pray for myself as well because I'm fully aware of 08:06 the fact that I am a very fragile man and without God I 08:09 can do nothing. 08:10 So as it is my tradition, I'm going to kneel to pray at this 08:13 time. 08:16 invite you to kneel with me. 08:17 But if you don't have the ability to do that, would you 08:20 just bow your head and close your eyes? 08:22 And just for the next 60 seconds, I'm making a simple 08:26 request. 08:31 Holy Spirit to move on all of our minds to teach us his will 08:35 and his way. 08:36 And when you hear my voice, I'll close this out in Let's 08:39 pray. 09:09 It is in humility. 09:10 I bow before thy throne and by faith, I approach you not by 09:13 myself, but with all these your children. 09:18 And I come presenting the merits of Jesus. 09:23 And I'm asking you, O God, that you would hear my simple 09:27 request that first and foremost, you would cleanse me 09:31 thoroughly of all sin and do that for all of us that are 09:34 here and all that are watching. 09:36 And please, O Lord, be so gracious as to impart unto us 09:41 the comforter, the spirit of truth, thy Holy Spirit, that he 09:47 might enlighten our dark, enlighten our darkened minds 09:50 and cause us to understand the urgency of the times in which 09:56 we are now living. 09:58 And as I love to claim your promise in Jeremiah 33 and 10:01 verse three, I claim it yet one more time this evening. 10:05 For you said, call upon me and I will answer thee, and I will 10:10 show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. 10:14 O Lord, you know my knowledge is extremely limited. 10:17 I know nothing as I ought to, but I'm simply requesting that 10:21 you would purge me of all my pride, my self-trust, my self 10:25 -righteousness, and that you would take me in hand and use 10:27 me as an instrument that your name might be glorified. 10:31 Thank you for listening to my humble prayer. 10:35 For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory 10:38 forever. 10:39 In the matchless name of King Jesus, we all do pray. 10:42 Amen. 10:44 I hope you have Bibles with you because we will be using the 10:48 Bible. 10:49 And I'd like you to turn your attention with me, if you will, 10:51 to the book of Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes chapter three, and 10:57 we are going to begin at the 16th verse. 11:02 Once again, we're looking at Ecclesiastes chapter three, and 11:07 we're going to begin at the 16th verse. 11:11 The Bible tells us there, Moreover I saw under the sun 11:15 the place of judgment, that wickedness was there, and the 11:20 place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. 11:26 Now Solomon, the wise man, the preacher of righteousness, when 11:29 he declares that he saw these things under the sun, he's 11:32 simply informing us that he's observing things that are 11:35 taking place on the face of planet earth, because the 11:38 events that take place under the sun are those events that 11:41 take place in this world in which we are inhabiting. 11:44 And the Bible lets us know that as he surveys mankind, his 11:49 attention is fixed on two particular venues. 11:52 Venue number one, the place of judgment. 11:56 Venue number two, the place of righteousness. 12:00 Now the place of judgment is simply dealing with civil 12:04 judgment courts, governments. 12:09 He's looking at these bodies and the individuals that occupy 12:13 them that are responsible for making rules, for making 12:17 judgments, for going through litigation, individuals whose 12:22 responsibility it is to advance justice and uphold that which 12:27 is right. 12:29 But instead of seeing men and women of high moral fiber of 12:35 integrity, the word of God tells us that he saw there 12:41 wickedness. 12:42 In these systems that were put in place for the singular 12:47 purpose of advancing justice and upholding fairness, 12:53 embedded was corruption and systemic injustice of every hue 12:59 imaginable. 13:00 If you're following, say amen. 13:02 And I can imagine that he was, I can imagine that he was quite 13:06 disturbed by those things that he saw. 13:11 And so he switches his attention from the places of 13:16 judgment to the place of righteousness. 13:19 Now what do you think the place of righteousness is? 13:23 Well let's take some time to consider. 13:25 What does the Bible define as righteousness? 13:27 Would you turn your Bibles with me, if you will, to the book of 13:30 Psalm 119 and verse 172. 13:32 And there we'll begin to come to an understanding of what God 13:37 defines righteousness as. 13:40 In the book of Psalms, the 119th division, looking at 13:43 verse 172, the Bible simply states, my tongue shall speak 13:48 of thy word for all thy commandments are righteousness. 13:53 God's commandments are his universal standard of right 13:58 doing, that which is acceptable in the sight of the most holy 14:01 God and that which is detestable and abhorrent. 14:04 These things are made clear to us as we look at the decalogue, 14:08 the commandments of the living God. 14:11 And these commandments, which are defined as righteousness, 14:14 the Bible goes on to tell us in Psalm 119 and verse 152, thou 14:22 art near, O Lord, and all thy commandments are truth. 14:28 So whatever the place of righteousness is, it must be an 14:34 institution. 14:36 It must be a place where God's truth is supposed to be 14:40 exalted, where his righteousness is supposed to be 14:43 made manifest, where right doing is proclaimed and made 14:47 known to all mankind. 14:48 If you're following, just say amen. 14:51 And not only is the righteousness of God's law made 14:55 known to men and his truth that is acceptable declared from the 14:59 place of righteousness, not just the theory of these 15:02 things, but the Bible tells us, Jesus himself declared in John 15:06 14 and verse 6, I am the way, 15:13 the is the living embodiment of truth. 15:17 And this very same Jesus in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 1 15:22 and verse 30, the word of God tells us, but of him are ye in 15:27 Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, 15:32 righteousness, sanctification and redemption. 15:38 Jesus is the source of all righteousness. 15:41 If you believe that, say amen. 15:43 Jesus is the living embodiment of the truth. 15:47 And so with this understanding in mind, the place of 15:51 righteousness must be a place not only where the truth, the 15:55 theory of truth is promoted, but Jesus Christ and his 15:58 righteousness is exalted and is made known by the lives of 16:03 those that occupy, if you are with me friends, and we know 16:10 that there is only one place that fits this character, and 16:14 that is the church. 16:16 The church and all of its auxiliary institutions, whether 16:19 it be centers of learning or places of healing, they've all 16:23 been put in place for one specific goal to accomplish one 16:28 specific agenda, and that is to make Christ and his truth known 16:31 to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. 16:35 But can you imagine as Solomon turns his attention from the 16:40 civil judgment halls of his time and fixes his attention on 16:44 the church, the people of God and every institution connected 16:48 to it, instead of beholding righteousness, he observes 16:53 iniquity. 16:55 Men and women engaged in habitual sin. 17:02 And the most disturbing thing about what Solomon observed in 17:06 his time is that we can clearly observe it in ours as well. 17:13 Ladies and gentlemen, it seems as though it has become 17:16 fashionable to place men and women in the highest positions 17:20 of government today that have questionable characters. 17:27 Seems as though these individuals have no moral 17:30 compass whatsoever. 17:33 And unfortunately, if we're going to be honest, we can look 17:36 at Christendom, we can look at the church from administrators 17:41 to pastors to members. 17:43 Unfortunately, instead of seeing Jesus lifted up as he 17:47 ought to be, iniquity is prevalent in every phase, every 17:58 sector of the church of the living God. 18:03 And I can imagine that as Solomon beheld these things, he 18:07 might have been a bit taken back. 18:09 I'm using very kind language. 18:13 And of course, these types of things are disturbing, but I 18:17 love the way that Solomon responds to what he observed. 18:20 It's very clear to me that Solomon's response to what he 18:25 observed was directly as a result of him giving heed to 18:29 the counsel of his father, David, which we can find in the 18:33 Bible. 18:35 In Psalms 146, and we're going to look at the third verse, 18:40 Psalm 146, looking at verse 3, the word of God declares to us, 18:45 put not thy trust in princes, neither in the son of man in 18:50 whom there is no help. 18:52 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth, and in 18:55 that very day his thoughts perish. 19:00 What the word of God is simply informing us here is the fact 19:03 that men and women, no matter what their position in society 19:07 may be, all men are mortal. 19:12 All men are subject to death. 19:15 Even the strongest amongst us are fragile and finite. 19:21 And any day that a man does not make the conscious decision to 19:27 yield their heart to the service of God, that they might 19:31 be empowered by the presence of his spirit, to live lives of 19:35 holiness, any day that a human being does not make that 19:40 decision in their fallen state, they can only accomplish one 19:45 thing, and that is practice sin. 19:49 The point here is all men are fallible, all men are finite, 19:56 all men are mortal, no matter what position they hold in 20:01 society, whether they are leaders of government, and yes, 20:04 whether they are leaders in the church. 20:07 And so instead of keeping his mind fixed on what's going on 20:13 in the world, whether it be in the government or in the 20:16 leadership of the church, and by the way, it's clear that he 20:21 didn't remain silent on the issue because he's the one 20:24 informing us that he beheld wickedness in the places of 20:28 judgment, and he beheld iniquity in the place of 20:31 righteousness, the church. 20:33 But instead of making a YouTube video about it, 20:40 in Ecclesiastes chapter 3 and verse 17, will you turn your 20:43 Bibles there with me? 20:44 Look at how he responds. 20:47 The word of God declares to us, and I said in my heart, God 20:51 shall judge the righteous and the wicked, for there's a time 20:56 there for every purpose and for every work. 21:01 Ladies and gentlemen, though men are imperfect, fallible, 21:06 and prone to sin, there is one that is above reproach, there 21:12 is one that is infallible, there is one that is sinless, 21:17 there is no darkness in him, and therefore Solomon, he turns 21:23 his attention from the seats of government in this earth, and 21:26 he fixes his attention on the everlasting throne that is 21:29 established in heaven. 21:31 And he says, God, the supreme judge, God who is the final 21:35 arbiter, God who will have the last say, God will judge both 21:40 the righteous and the wicked. 21:43 And the judgment of God is not arbitrary because the word of 21:47 God informs us, for there is a time there in the courts of 21:50 heaven for every purpose and for every work, and that 21:54 includes judgment. 21:58 And the word of God has something very clear to speak 22:01 on this subject. 22:03 Go with me to the book of Revelation, chapter 14, if you 22:05 will, and start with me at verse 6. 22:08 You should know this one by heart, I pray you do. 22:11 When the word of God tells us there, I saw another angel 22:14 flying in the midst of heaven, having the what? 22:18 Everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell upon the earth, 22:21 and to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, saying with 22:27 a loud voice, fear God, and give glory to what? 22:31 To him, for the hour of his judgment is come, and worship 22:36 him that made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the 22:39 mountains of water. 22:41 My friends, whether we are not knowledgeable of this reality, 22:48 or whether we are not consciously living our lives 22:53 with this truth ever at the forefront of our minds, it is 22:57 my burden this evening to once again stir you up to the 23:05 realization that the work of judgment is not some event that 23:09 is going to happen in the far -off, distant future. 23:12 The reality is the judgment is now. 23:17 The work of judgment has been going forward in the most holy 23:21 place of the heavenly sanctuary since 1844, October 22, if you 23:26 want to be exact. 23:29 And in this work of judgment, as the father and the son 23:33 inhabit the throne together, Jesus sitting as the 23:37 representative of the human family, standing seated as our 23:42 great high priest, pleading his blood for our salvation in this 23:46 work, names are being accepted and names are being rejected. 23:54 And contrary to popular misconception, I should say it 23:57 that way, the work of judgment isn't all about the eyes of the 24:03 Lord roaming to and fro throughout the earth to show 24:06 himself mighty to destroy men. 24:09 Are you following, friends? 24:10 The work of judgment has everything to do with God 24:16 employing all of his divine resources for the purpose of 24:21 saving men and women like you and me. 24:25 Brothers and sisters, just imagine a person that spends 24:29 money and time to plant a vineyard and then one faithful 24:34 day they go out into their vineyard and then they come 24:37 back and tell the inhabitants of their home, today I went out 24:40 into my vineyard and I found 99 vines that were worth nothing, 24:48 fit for destruction, but found one good vine. 24:51 And he says this with great joy and glee. 24:55 Would such a thing happen? 24:56 Doesn't even make sense, does it? 24:59 What makes sense is that an individual that would take such 25:02 time, make such effort, employ such resources to plant a 25:10 vineyard when they go out, if they're able to come back in 25:15 and say, today I went out. 25:17 And I found 99 vines. 25:23 The fruit was lush, beautiful, ripe, ready for harvesting. 25:29 But unfortunately I found one vine and it doesn't look good 25:33 so I'm going to do everything possible to try to save it. 25:40 That's exactly what's going on in the work of judgment, 25:44 brothers and sisters. 25:45 All of heaven's resources are being employed for the 25:49 salvation of souls, men and women like you and me. 25:53 The Bible tells us in the book of Hebrews chapter 1, I'll just 25:56 open your Bible there, I want you to see this. 25:58 In Hebrews chapter 1, in Hebrews the first chapter, 26:02 looking at verse 14, speaking of the holy angels, the word of 26:06 God says, are they not ministering spirits sent forth 26:09 to minister unto them which shall be heirs of salvation? 26:13 The angels are working tirelessly for the salvation of 26:17 men and women like us which according to Hebrews chapter 2 26:22 and verse 7, we were made a little lower than them. 26:26 But they're working for our salvation. 26:30 The Holy Spirit, Jesus declared to the disciples in John 26:35 chapter 16, he said, it's expedient for you that I go 26:39 away. 26:41 Because if I don't go away, the Comforter cannot come unto you, 26:46 but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 26:48 And when he has come, he will approve the world of sin and of 26:52 righteousness and of judgment. 26:54 John chapter 16 verses 7 and 8, and brothers and sisters, when 26:58 the Comforter comes, his work according to John 16 and verse 27:02 13 is to lead us into all truth, to give us an 27:05 intellectual understanding of what the will of God is, and to 27:09 empower us to perform his good pleasure. 27:13 Jesus himself spilled his blood. 27:16 He became as one of us, tempted in all points as we are, yet 27:20 without sin, so that he might be a faithful high priest. 27:24 And God the Father is working above all and through all. 27:28 All heaven is employed at this time for our salvation. 27:34 That's what's going on in this work of judgment. 27:38 But for some reason, we, whom heaven's affections are fixated 27:47 on, are living our lives oblivious to this awesome and 27:55 life -changing reality. 27:59 The Bible tells us, will you go with me to the book of 28:01 Jeremiah? 28:03 Jeremiah chapter 8. 28:05 In Jeremiah the 8th chapter, looking at verse 7, the words 28:10 of scripture here are quite profound to me. 28:13 In Jeremiah 8 and verse 7, the Bible says to us that the stork 28:18 in the heavens north her appointed times, and the turtle 28:23 and the crane and the swallow observed the time of their 28:28 coming, but my people know not the judgment of the Lord. 28:32 Can you imagine the word of God informs us that these animals, 28:38 matter of fact for all purpose and intention, these bird 28:42 -brained creatures instinctively observe the signs 28:49 within their environment. 28:52 And upon observing the signs in their environment, they are 28:56 able to ascertain, they are able to conclude that there is 29:00 a change going on. 29:04 There is a change going on in the seasons, and now it is time 29:09 for us to become active and make a move. 29:13 Because if we remain with our wings folded, and we don't 29:20 actively do something, it will be to our own detriment. 29:26 These bird-brained creatures are able to make conclusions, 29:31 but we that have been made in the image of the living God, to 29:39 whom God has committed his lively oracles, the holy 29:43 scriptures, we whom the Lord is investing his intention in, it 29:50 is as if we do not have the sense to look at the clear 29:57 signs that are unfolding in our environment that inform us that 30:02 we are living in a time that calls for activity like never 30:06 before. 30:08 That it is now time for us to awake and move with rapidity 30:14 because if we do not do so, it will not only be to our 30:17 detriment, it will be to the loss of many souls. 30:22 And then someone says, well, how can we be certain of the 30:27 time? 30:28 Well, let's see what the Bible says. 30:29 Will you go with me to 2nd Peter chapter 3? 30:32 In 2nd Peter chapter 3, beginning at the third verse, 30:39 the Bible tells us there, in 2nd Peter chapter 3, are you 30:46 there in your Bibles with me? 30:48 Good. 30:53 says, knowing this first, that there shall come when? 30:57 In the last day scoffers walking after their own lusts 31:03 and saying, wherein is the sign of his coming? 31:05 For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as 31:09 they were from the beginning of creation. 31:12 The Word of God tells us that in the last days, men and women 31:17 of intellect, men and women that are academics, men and 31:24 women that are professed scientists, men and women 31:27 throughout the world will begin to scoff and mock at the truth 31:32 of the Word of God. 31:34 Are we not living in a time where the Word of God is the 31:40 punchline of every joke? 31:44 We see the name of Jesus and God's word held in derision in 31:49 almost all the television programs, all the movies, all 31:54 the music, Jesus is the punchline. 32:00 Friends, you don't know what time you're living in? 32:04 The Word of God made it clear to us that these things would 32:07 be prevalent in the last days. 32:10 If you're following, say amen. 32:12 What time are we living in? 32:15 The Bible tells us again, go with me to the book of Timothy. 32:19 Where are we going? 32:20 If you look with me in the book of 2 Timothy, 2 Timothy chapter 32:25 3, in 2 Timothy chapter 3, and we're going to start at verse 32:30 1, 2 Timothy chapter 3, beginning at verse 1, the Bible 32:35 informs us, This know also that in the last days, perilous 32:39 times shall come, fierce times, dangerous times, because men 32:44 shall be lovers of them own selves. 32:48 We're living in a time where people get angry if you don't 32:51 like their posts on Instagram. 32:53 People want to fight? 32:56 Perilous times will come. 32:58 Why? 33:03 self, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient 33:11 to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection. 33:15 Do I need to expound on that? 33:19 Without natural affection, truth-breakers, false accusers, 33:22 incontinent, lacking self -control. 33:26 People just burst into rage, ready to fight on the road. 33:31 People have no control over their physical beings. 33:36 Incontinent have mercy. 33:42 Fierce despisers of those that are good. 33:47 Traders, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than 33:50 lovers of God. 33:52 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, from 34:00 such the word of God says, turn away. 34:03 Brothers and sisters, as you look at all of these 34:05 characteristic traits that the Lord informs us, will be the 34:10 color of society prior to his second coming. 34:15 It's made clear to us that these things would not only be 34:18 found in the world, they would clearly be found in the church. 34:23 Because it's not the world that has a form of godliness, it's 34:26 those of us that profess that we love Jesus. 34:30 Making high professions, but denying the power that enables 34:34 us to live out those professions, and that is the 34:37 work of the Spirit in our lives. 34:39 For the word of God tells us in Acts chapter 1 and verse 8, and 34:43 ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come 34:46 upon you, and ye shall be my witnesses. 34:50 But we're living our lives powerlessly, in perilous times, 34:58 comforting ourselves with the facade of Christianity. 35:03 It's time to wake up. 35:06 The time is now. 35:10 Brothers and sisters, ladies and gentlemen, we cannot 35:15 continue in this vein. 35:17 It is dangerous for us to continue down this path. 35:23 If we remain indolent, it will be to our own destruction. 35:30 What time are we living in? 35:34 The word of God tells us once again, go with me to the book 35:37 of 1st Timothy now. 35:39 In 1st Timothy chapter 4. 35:43 In 1st Timothy chapter 4, if you look with me starting at 35:49 verse 1, the Bible says this, no also. 35:56 No, it says, now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the 36:01 latter times, in the last days, in the final hours prior to the 36:06 second coming of Christ, in the latter times, some shall depart 36:11 from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and the 36:17 doctrine of devils. 36:20 Brothers and sisters, the word of God tells us that the Spirit 36:24 is speaking expressly on this issue. 36:28 And when you look at the original language, it means 36:30 that the Spirit of God is being outspoken. 36:33 To me, that means a lot. 36:35 Because when I am clear on the fact that it is the 36:39 responsibility of the Spirit of God to lead us into all truth, 36:44 and then he comes to me, he comes to you with a message, 36:48 and with this particular message, he's not just 36:51 whispering it, he's being outspoken on that issue. 36:55 It means that I need to sit on the edge of my seat and pay 36:58 attention. 36:59 Because when somebody's being outspoken, they think they have 37:03 something of importance that you need to know. 37:07 And what issue is the Spirit of God being outspoken on? 37:11 That the fact that in these last days, some will be 37:15 departing from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits 37:18 and the doctrine of devils. 37:20 And to depart from the faith simply means that people are 37:23 departing from the plain statements of the word of God. 37:26 How do we know this? 37:28 Because Romans chapter 10, open your Bibles, look at these 37:31 things with me, Romans chapter 10. 37:33 In Romans chapter 10, if you look with me at verse 17, the 37:38 word of God informs us that there is only one foundation 37:43 for true acceptable faith. 37:46 If you're following, say amen. 37:48 And the word of God says, so then faith cometh by hearing, 37:52 and hearing by the word of God. 37:54 So if people are departing from the faith, what are they 37:57 departing from? 37:58 The plain statements of the word of God. 38:00 And they're departing from the faith because they're being a 38:03 Lord by seducing spirits and the doctrine of devils. 38:09 And you know what these seducing spirits and the 38:11 doctrine of devils are like? 38:14 Well, in our Bibles, in 2 Corinthians 11, and verse 3, 38:21 Paul declares, but I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent 38:28 beguiled Eve through his subtlety. 38:31 So your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity 38:35 that is in Christ. 38:37 Do you remember when the serpent came to Eve in the 38:39 Garden of Eden, and he suggested to her that if she 38:43 disobeyed God's clear commandment, she could enter a 38:48 higher sphere of existence, a sphere of existence that 38:52 paralleled the existence of God himself. 38:55 That was a feel-good message. 38:57 He told her just cast behind you the restraints of God's 39:01 commandments. 39:06 You know, brothers and sisters, I find consistently that as 39:10 people begin to step off the platform of the three angels' 39:13 messages, one thing that they always have to say is, I feel 39:16 so free now. 39:21 I've never felt so free. 39:24 Do you know that when Eve first listened to the suggestion of 39:28 the enemy and partook of that fruit for a space of time, she 39:33 felt as though she entered into a higher sphere of existence. 39:36 Key phrase, space of time. 39:41 Then she not only realized the folly of her action, it took 39:45 her lower than anything that she could imagine. 39:53 The Word of God told us, friends, in 2 Timothy 4, 39:59 beginning at verse 1, I charge thee before God and the Lord 40:05 Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead at his 40:08 appearing and coming. 40:10 Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season, reprove, 40:15 rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 40:18 Why? 40:25 But after the lust of their hearts, seeking to satisfy what 40:30 makes them feel good, seeking to embrace a message where they 40:36 still get to feel as though they have Christ Jesus, but 40:39 they no longer have to subject themselves wholly to the will 40:42 of God that is calling them up to a higher standard and that 40:46 is purity in Christ. 40:49 It says they will heap to themselves teachers having 40:52 itching ears and will turn away their ears from the truth and 40:57 will be turned unto fables. 40:59 And this is happening with administrators, pastors, 41:04 members departing from the faith. 41:08 There is a studied attack of the enemy that is directed on 41:13 the Church of God today. 41:14 How do we know this? 41:15 Because the objective is to cause people to depart from the 41:18 faith and you can't depart from the faith unless you're first 41:21 in the faith. 41:24 He wants to ensnare us and remove us from Christ. 41:30 Don't let any man spoil you now. 41:32 This is not the time. 41:36 Brothers and sisters, it is the time for us to wake up. 41:41 So the Word of God tells us in Romans chapter 13. 41:44 Will you go there with me? 41:45 Romans 13, looking at verse 11, the Scriptures simply state and 41:51 that knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of 41:58 sleep. 41:59 For now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 42:04 And what I love about that verse is that when it says it's 42:08 high time, it literally means now is the hour that we awake 42:13 out of sleep. 42:17 Because the hour of his judgment is come. 42:22 Brothers and sisters, if we do not awake out of sleep now, 42:28 it's not only going to be to the loss of our salvation, but 42:32 friends, it will be to the loss of many others. 42:40 Paul under the inspiration of the Spirit of God in Romans 42:43 chapter 15. 42:44 Will you turn your Bibles there with me? 42:46 Not Romans, forgive me. 42:48 First Corinthians chapter 15. 42:52 In First Corinthians chapter 15, if you look with me, 42:58 sometimes first 34, it says awake to righteousness and sin 43:05 not. 43:06 For some have not a knowledge of God. 43:09 And I speak this to your shame. 43:13 The reason why there are so many in our world today that 43:18 are ignorant of who God is, the love that he possesses for us, 43:22 and what he desires and can accomplish in our lives if we 43:27 simply yield our persons into his hand. 43:32 The reason why many are ignorant of this truth is 43:36 because the majority of us are fast asleep in a coma of sin. 43:48 I'm going to share with you a testimony and then I'm going to 43:50 close. 43:52 When I got married, my wife and I, as newlyweds, we moved into 43:57 a quaint little apartment in New York, quaint meaning small. 44:02 And I was living in a community nearby one of the church 44:05 sisters. 44:06 And when she knew that we moved into that area, she asked if I 44:11 might host some Bible studies for her children and their 44:14 friends in the community on Friday nights. 44:16 And I was happy to do it. 44:17 And Friday night after Friday night, I would go there and we 44:19 would study the Bible and it was a blessing. 44:22 And one Friday evening as we were studying, we went into 44:24 Daniel chapter two and it was the perfect time appointed by 44:28 the Lord because apparently the young people had just studied 44:31 some of this history in school. 44:32 So as we were going through the rise and fall of the kingdoms, 44:35 they were familiar with the information. 44:37 And it was so impressive to them that I remember one Hindu 44:39 young boy was there and he said the Bible is true. 44:43 And as we came to the conclusion of this Bible study, 44:46 we would pray traditionally. 44:48 But as I finished praying, the lady, this church sister that 44:53 hosted the Bible study in her home, she prayed this very 44:57 fervent, earnest prayer, to be honest, that terrified me. 45:00 Because I'd never heard this woman pray like this before. 45:03 And she was praying this type of prayer, Lord, cover Chris, 45:07 protect him, don't let the devil kill him. 45:09 And I'm thinking, what in the world is getting ready to 45:11 happen to me? 45:15 Because her apartment complex was located in an area that had 45:19 high gang activity. 45:21 And so I'm thinking to myself, when I leave this house this 45:24 evening, I'm not going to make it safely to my car. 45:29 And so as I leave the apartment rather, as I leave the 45:32 apartment, I'm walking cautiously around every bush in 45:35 every corner. 45:36 I make it to my vehicle without any incident. 45:39 I'm still not safe until I get home. 45:42 And as soon as I arrived at home, I let out a deep sigh and 45:45 said, okay, everything went well. 45:47 So I got out of my vehicle with Bible in hand and walked up the 45:51 driveway and turned the corner to go to the short flight of 45:54 stairs that led to my apartment. 45:56 And as I turned the corner, I saw a large dog, specifically a 46:00 Rottweiler, seated right in front of my steps. 46:04 At this point, I ran as fast as I could back to my car. 46:07 I closed the doors and I locked the, I unlocked them for good 46:12 measure. 46:13 Better safe than sorry. 46:15 And there I am sitting in the car and now I start flashing 46:19 the high beams at the dog. 46:21 I'm beeping my horn. 46:22 I'm doing everything to try to irritate it and cause it to 46:26 move. 46:31 And it was at this point, I made an executive decision. 46:34 I'm going to sleep in the car tonight. 46:37 And so as I went back in the car and I start getting myself 46:40 comfortable, my landlady drove up and she had two young people 46:44 in the back of her car that were actually my next door 46:47 neighbors. 46:48 And she drove into the driveway. 46:50 She saw the dog as well and she proceeded to do everything that 46:53 I had previously done. 46:55 She's flashing the high beams, she's honking the horn and I'm 46:58 watching all of this taking place and I begin to talk to 47:01 the Lord and I say, God, what is this all about? 47:04 And I was just convicted by the spirit. 47:06 In that moment, it's for my glory. 47:09 And I said, it's for your glory. 47:12 And then the conviction came back, it's for my glory. 47:15 And I said, Lord, what do you mean it's for your glory? 47:17 And then I said, God, I'm not going out there. 47:20 I said, God, I'm not going out there. 47:23 And I said, Lord, I'm not going out there. 47:25 And then I said, God, if I go out there, you have to go with 47:28 me because I'm not going by myself. 47:32 And when I knew what the course of action was to be, I zipped 47:38 up my parkour all the way to the top. 47:40 I took my Bible. 47:41 It's no longer a Bible. 47:41 It is the sword now. 47:43 Are you following? 47:44 And I'm starting down the driveway. 47:46 And as I'm starting down the drive, I'm thinking to myself, 47:48 you know, maybe it's one of those big dogs, you know, big 47:50 no bark. 47:51 I'm probably making too much of this. 47:54 Well, that thought quickly went out of my mind. 47:56 As soon as I went around the corner, the dog got up and 47:58 aggressively began to run towards me. 48:01 And my landlady has her window open on her car and she screams 48:06 out, Chris, get out of there. 48:09 He's going to kill you. 48:11 And then I prayed. 48:13 And my prayer was like this, Lord, you shut the mouth of the 48:19 lions for Daniel in the name of Jesus. 48:22 Sit this dog down. 48:24 And my friends, when I said, sit this dog down, all of a 48:28 sudden the dog stopped and it started whimpering as it 48:33 backpedaled as if someone hit it. 48:35 And then he sat down on his hind legs. 48:38 Now you think you're excited. 48:41 My faith and courage was out the building. 48:43 I was now pointing at this dog in the name of Jesus. 48:49 Are you with me? 48:50 Sit down. 48:52 And my landlady is watching all of this take place and she 48:58 shouts out to me, Chris, is it okay? 49:01 And I shout back, it's okay. 49:04 God's got the dog. 49:07 And the children jumped out of the vehicle and ran into their 49:10 home and I ran into the house and my wife was sleeping and I 49:13 told her everything that happened for that entire 49:16 evening in 10 seconds. 49:17 And I just said, just look out the window. 49:19 And she looked out the window and she said, that's a big dog. 49:24 The very next day, through the thin walls of our apartment, I 49:30 heard my landlady on the phone talking to one of her 49:33 girlfriends and point by point she detailed the accounts of 49:38 the previous night and she said, you won't believe it. 49:43 He said, Lord and the dog, Lord, sit the dog down and the 49:47 dog sat down. 49:49 That woman knew that I was a Seventh-day Adventist. 49:52 She knew that I was a Christian. 49:55 Here's the sad story. 49:56 The home that the children went into, it was the home of 49:59 Seventh -day Adventists but they played the loudest secular 50:02 music on the street. 50:05 And she was just saying, I'd never seen anything like this 50:09 before and God allowed me to hear that conversation because 50:13 in truth, it was for his glory. 50:19 Just a few short months thereafter, my wife and I 50:22 decided that we were going to move from that location. 50:25 And as we were packing our things up, my landlady knocked 50:29 on the door and she told me that our next door neighbor 50:33 across the street would like to speak to me. 50:35 Now I didn't know why because I had never talked to this woman 50:38 before but this woman was the self-appointed neighborhood 50:42 watch. 50:43 She's the one that knows everything that's going on 50:46 without even opening a window. 50:49 You know which woman I'm talking about. 50:52 And I think I might have said hi to her once or twice. 50:58 I remember coming out of my apartment and as I started 51:03 across the street, there she was coming across the street to 51:06 meet me and as we got closer, she opened her arms to embrace 51:11 me. 51:12 And it startled me but I thought I might as well return 51:16 the hug so I embraced her as well. 51:22 And then she said to me something that deeply impressed 51:25 me. 51:29 there for a year. 51:30 She said over the last year, I've been watching your wife 51:34 and you and you all have grown so much. 51:39 And I'm thinking to myself, what in the world could this 51:42 woman have seen to bring her to the conclusion that we grew so 51:46 much? 51:48 We don't have cookouts. 51:49 We go from the car to the apartment. 51:53 But then she told me something that floored me. 51:57 She said I used to be a seven -day Adventist. 52:02 And she told me what church she went to. 52:04 It was a sister church of the church that I grew up in. 52:08 And she said, you know what? 52:12 I'm thinking now I'm going to go back to church. 52:19 Brothers and sisters, if this world is going to be moved by 52:29 what Jesus has done for us, if this everlasting gospel is 52:34 going to make a lasting, enduring, transformative impact 52:38 on men and women such as ourselves, something more 52:47 than a theoretical exposition of what truth is must be given. 52:55 People need to see a revelation of Jesus in us. 53:05 That is what is going to draw them. 53:08 To the Savior. 53:14 It is time for us to awake to righteousness, to turn our 53:22 backs on our coveted sins, our cherished idols, the vices that 53:30 we indulge ourselves in that are holding us in captivity. 53:36 It is time for us to fix our eyes on the Savior so that the 53:45 Lamb of God might purge us thoroughly from our sins. 53:53 We don't have to do the work for ourselves. 53:57 God has promised us that it is He that will work in us both to 54:04 will and to do of His good pleasure. 54:07 Amen. 54:08 Children of the Most High God, will you awake? 54:15 If it is your desire this evening, whether you're sitting 54:19 at home or you're here with me in this wonderful worship 54:23 center, if it is your desire this evening to say, Lord, it 54:28 is my desire to be awake. 54:32 It is my desire to turn my back on my coveted sins and to live 54:43 my life wholly dedicated to the Savior. 54:48 Would you raise your hand? 54:53 Let me pray for you. 54:56 Heavenly Father, Lord, we know what time it is. 55:01 The signs are clear that we are living in the last days and the 55:08 final crisis before Jesus steps out of the most holy place is 55:15 on the horizon. 55:17 But now as mercy pleads, as the doors of salvation are open 55:23 wide to us, Lord, we dedicate our lives anew to thy service. 55:28 Fill us with your Spirit and keep us, O God, until the day 55:33 that you come to redeem us out of this sin-cursed world. 55:37 For we pray this blessing in Jesus' name. 55:41 Amen. 55:42 May God keep you. 55:44 May God strengthen you. 55:46 May he establish you in the faith and keep you awake 55:50 because the King is coming. 55:53 Amen. |
Revised 2025-06-05