The Second Coming of Christ

June 05, 2024 00:38:31
The Second Coming of Christ
Luis Palau Legacy Library
The Second Coming of Christ

Jun 05 2024 | 00:38:31

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Show Notes

Luis teaches through 2 Timothy 3, arming us to navigate the battleground between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. His experiential wisdom and personal testimonies help to uncover the true nature of these kingdoms and the essential need to stand firm in faith amidst persecution. We enter the kingdom of God through repentance and overcome worldly influences with unwavering faith. This sermon illuminates the path to spiritual renewal and victory. Listen along and fortify your faith, embracing the triumph of the kingdom of God.

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Episode Transcript

Well, good evening, everybody. I want to talk tonight about a theme that always I love. And always I'm intrigued by myself, and that is the second coming of Jesus Christ. And what happens when a believer dies? What actually where do they go? And how does it all work out and so on. You know, a few years ago, we had one of these festivals right here. One Saturday night, we had the festival, and I had gone to bed. And suddenly, late at night, one of my team members called me up and said, Louise, something horrible happened at 11 o'clock tonight, they're a couple and their two teenage girls, 15 and 16. Were responsible to keep the beach clean, so that there will be no problems the next day with the city and we promised the city to keep it clean. They finished their job about 11 o'clock, they jumped in their car to go just six miles from the beach to their home, outside of Santa Cruz. And a woman who was drunk in her SUV, with three little children in the back of the SUV ran a stop sign, smashed into the little car. And the two girls were killed on the spot. They were the only children. And then the husband was badly beaten up because the SUV hit his side of the car. And Mrs. was badly hurt, but not so dramatically. So the next morning, we went early to the hospital to see them and pray and so on. And when I went the nurses said, well, the girls died. But the husband has you know, terrible, his head is almost double his size. He won't be able to talk to you. The mother may be yes. So they told me where to go. I went over to her bed and touched her hand. And she said Louise, did you hear what happened last night? And I said, Yes, that's why I'm here. And she said, think of this release. The girls last night, saw the face of Jesus for the first time in their life. And I thought, Wow, what a tremendous view of a horrendous situation, that a mother would be thinking about the eternity of those two beautiful little girls, the woman who was drunk went to jail and one of the penitentiaries in California, Salvation Army woman from Fresno, I think went and letter to Christ. But about two years later, or so they finally went to the pen and saw this woman, and they forgave her and they were reconciled. A few years later, she was led out of the penitentiary. And the mother and this lady have traveled together to churches and other encounters, to tell what Jesus Christ did. Not only the assurance that their two beautiful girls are in heaven, but that they forgave each other reconciled with each other, and were able to be friends because of Jesus Christ. And you know, that, to me is one of the thoughts that I have for you tonight that we're gonna get it out of Second Timothy, chapter four. But I want to tell you this, these days, I've been thinking a lot about eternity, and the second coming. And what happens when a believer dies. We're all getting old and the day is getting closer. And one of these days, it'll be me and all and you can't help but think about it. And then I was thinking about when my wife came down with cancer in 1982. We were having her campaign in in Glasgow, Scotland, and she came for the last week and she had a somber look. And finally, I thought she's mad at me for something, you know, I'd been gone for six weeks, and she had a right to be mad at me. I said, Baby, what's going on, as you said, touch here, and I put my finger there was a lump and soon as we got home to Portland, went to see the doctor the doctor said took up whatever it is a sample of something, and said serious stuff. Hospital Sunday surgery Monday. And we went home stunned. You know, as we were going home, I had said to me, well, babe, this is the end. And I said no, it's not the end, you know, trying to create faith in myself. I didn't hear that it was on the end, I said we got the four boys the raise, the Lord is not gonna allow it. I'm not sure why she would have cancer. But anyway, they did the surgery we call the elders before they lay their hands on or they anointed with oil. She wanted the surgery. And that was like 30 Some years ago. But you know, you think about these things. You think about major tragedies, you think about physical problems. You think about death, and you think about eternity. And intelligent people do think about it. And you know one interesting thing that I have found and I've been around now for a few years, okay. Many pastors are often afraid of talking as much about the second coming of Christ, about death and so on because it seems are we trying to frighten people into the kingdom of God or what are we trying to do here? But you know what I have found that whereas some theologians and people in the church are nervous about the details of the Second Coming. unbelievers are very interested in knowing Do you know what the future holds? I've talked with presidents and prime ministers and military people, left wing, right wing, communists, whatever, have all sorts of backgrounds. And when you have a time, and you give them though, one of the main questions asked, Do you think the end of the world is here? Some of them, we've read about that second coming bunch of books, you remember that were bestsellers a few years ago? Do you think Armageddon is around the corner, but these are the unbelievers. And we are sometimes nervous to talk about it. The Bible has over 400 references, or so they tell us just the New Testament about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. So it's a major issue. And therefore I want to touch on it on the last night that we are together, just to encourage you, for those of you who haven't heard much about it to enlighten you, and so that you can study it in a fresh way, and be very serious. And now, both in the illnesses, the sometimes deformities, the strokes, the cancer, we sometimes wonder what God is trying to do. There's a famous quotation from CS Lewis, he said, God whispers to us in our pleasures, He speaks to us in our conscience. But he shouts in our pains, it is his megaphone to a deaf world, as a very insightful situation that, and I really believe that there's a lot of truth to it. Okay, with that background, now, you're ready to read just a section of Second Timothy chapter four. This is the last lines that we know of that the apostle Paul ever wrote, according to the theologians, and at least it's the last chapter that he ever wrote that was put into scripture, as inspired by the Holy Spirit. So it's a very important thing. And you will notice as we read it, that the apostle Paul really is getting ready for going home to heaven. And so I've divided the verses in only two sections, one through six, I've called it, passing the baton to Timothy, passing the baton to Timothy, you remember the first day we talked about the fact that he's saying Timothy revived the fire, revive the fire. The second night, if you remember, we talked about service, and now he's reminding Timothy, don't be ashamed of our Savior. Don't be ashamed to witness. Don't be ashamed of me. And we talked about 10 things that we're supposed to see ourselves in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. And then last night, we talked about other Another major issue in chapter three, the state of the world before Jesus Christ returns. And it's not a pretty sight, if you remember last slide 35 negative comments about the world just before Jesus returns. And tonight Now, Paul is passing the baton. So to speak to Timothy, though I'm sure he talked to him before this, but now he's reminding him, so verses one through six, passing the baton to Timothy, and then verses seven to 18. I've called it ready for the second coming, ready for the second coming. There's a song that we sometimes sing that some of the words are when he returns, or calls me home. Here in the love of Christ, I stand when he returns, or calls me home. Here in the love of Christ. I stand and the Apostle Paul is talking about both things, the Second Coming, or he gets called home, as we know now, historically, he was called home because Jesus hasn't returned yet, but he was ready for both. Okay, are you ready for a start with verse one, it says, in the presence of God, and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living under dead, and in view of his appearing, here we go, and his kingdom, I give you this charge, preach the Word, be prepared in season and out of season. correct, rebuke, and encourage, with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires. They will gather around themselves a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside two myths. But you keep your head in all situations and your hardship. Do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. So just a brief comment because I want to go to the second section. Paul is basically saying to Timothy, Timothy, I'm ready to go the endless gum. The Lord is calling me home. You'll see it in a second. I'm passing the baton on to you do the right thing. Jesus is coming back. The urgency is real. The time is short, even if we live to be 100 is still nothing in the light of eternity. So make the most of it, Timothy, do the right thing, preach the word preach the Word. And that's the basic element that he leaves with Timothy as the light last exhortation. Now, Timothy presumably did go to Rome, they talked about it some more, but in writing, this is it. So Timothy now has a responsibility. And you know, brothers and sisters, this isn't just for preachers or missionaries or theologians. This is for every believer, I wish we could get rid of the concept about clergy and laity. It's not a biblical concept. We're all on the same plane in the eyes of the Lord, men and women. We are priests I said last night or the night before, Christians don't have priests, we all are priests. Sometimes when people talk about priesthood, they're really referring to running the local church. But it's a big mistake to be at stake to do things every woman here who knows Jesus Christ, lady, you are a priest. Most of you are not very excited about it. I know it's hard. But hey, every woman here is a priest if you're a Christian. Yes, and every man here, Amen. That's right. You know, you're a priest means you have access to God, and freedom to intercede for other people. And a priest means that you also have authority to bless those around you wherever God takes you. Tremendous reality. You are a priest. We don't have priests, we are priests. I love to shout that. Anyway. Second reading. Okay, Paul, speaking about the end of his Korea. Look at it, verse seven, six, excuse me, I am already being poured out like a drink offering. And the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now, there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will award to me on that day. And not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. Again, I love the King James here. It says all those who have loved His appearing, let meaning is basically they'll say but I love the idea. loved His appearing. You know when you love Jesus Christ, and you think that he could show up tonight? I mean, he really could you know, you believe that. He could point out most of you okay, but I do. He could show up tonight. And if you love is appearing, you can't wait for him to come back. Do you love His appearing? Good. You don't have to answer out loud that ask you sir. Do I love his appearing? I think so. I do. So then he goes on to say to Tim, Tim have a do your best to come to me quickly. Dimas has left me loving this world and has gone to Thessalonica crescents has gone to Galatia Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Please get mark and bring him with you. Because he is helpful to me in my ministry. I send Tychicus to Ephesus. And when you come bring the cloak that I left with carprousa Troas and my scrolls, especially the parchments Alexander the metal worker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. You do should be on your guard against him because he strongly opposed our message. At my first defense, no one came to my side, but everyone deserted me, May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood by my side and gave me strength. So that threw me. The message might be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles might hear it, and I was delivered from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack, and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Amen. Read that one over for yourself in various translations is a great way of seeing how a man of God who loved Jesus Christ and serve them all his life where he was thrown in jail, he was stoned with stones. He was beaten up three times. He was adrift on the oceans three times. He was chased out of town. He was treated like a dog just like his Savior, and yet he was faithful to the end. It was such a pathetic reading at the end there what he says at my first judging, everybody abandoned me. Nobody stood by my side. Can you imagine the great Apostle Paul, all by himself in Rome, everybody abandoned him? I left him alone. But he says, But the Lord stood by my side, man, what would we do without the Lord hmm. And you know, when the last moment comes in life, it's the Lord that stands by our side, your family may hold your hand and touch you and say, We love you, Daddy, and all the rest of it is fine. But a workout says Jesus is there to take us home. I want to just mention that reality to you. You know, when you really know the Scriptures, and you really know what it teaches about death, and what happens after death, and about eternal life. And about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, it becomes so less painful. And you know, in First Thessalonians chapter four, the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul tells us what it's really going to be like when he come back in the clouds of the air. Some years ago, we were having an Easter rally in Portland, Oregon, and a woman had been in a crash that happened but to do 740 sevens in Tenerife, one of the islands of Spain in the Atlantic Ocean, some of you old timers, might remember was the biggest crash, where most Pete more people than ever have ever been killed in plane crashes on the island of Tenerife. And they were, they were on the runway, one was on the runway, the other one crashed into a KLM. And Pan American in the old days, and she was one of them. 61 only survived out of 644 that were on those two planes. And this woman told the story at the rally in Portland on Easter, she said that when she saw the crash, and she heard the explosion, and fire envelope the plane, she was on the wing, and the plane just cracked in the middle on the wing. So what did she do? She grabbed her purse, that was the first thought or no mind. And she jumped on the wing, and the fire was burning her legs and she fell off. You know, falling off at 747 is like three storeys high. It isn't just like falling off here. I mean, it's a big vault. And as she was going down, she said, Jesus, I'll see you in a minute. You know, she thought I'm off to have a baby. But she woke up about two hours later, she was on the grass in Tenerife. And she thought there was Oh, I thought I was going to heaven, her purse was still in her hand. That's what I would do. I don't my purse, my briefcase. That's what I would grab, even though they say you shouldn't grab anything, just jump out. I know, I will go with my briefcase. But anyway, I thought what a beautiful thing for her. Just like the lady, the girls saw the face of Jesus for the first time last night. And this lady from the state of Washington, Jesus, I'll see you in a minute. But the you know, that's reality. And you know, my dear brothers and sisters, it's important to have it clear in our heads, you know, because there's so much difference of opinion on the details about the Second Coming. We tend never to talk about it. But that's childish. You know, of course, there are details that the Bible doesn't give us. But the basic truths of the Bible does teach are very real. Let's read verses allodial chapter four, I'll read it for you, verses 13 to 17. So you have clear what it says about the immediate coming of Jesus Christ, First Thessalonians 430. Listen to the word of the Lord. This is St. Paul speaking, anointed by the Holy Spirit. He says, Brothers, we don't want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep. That's how the Bible often calls, dying for a Christian falling asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again. And we believe that God will bring with Jesus, those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you, that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep, For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, with a trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive on our left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore, encourage one another with these words, has wonderful promise, you know, and in John 14, Jesus says the famous words that all of us should know off by heart, don't let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me, In my Father's house, there are many mansions if it went on, so would I have told you that I'm going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself. So that where I am there you may be also First Corinthians 15. They're almost the same thing. It's a long passage, so I won't quote it first. I don't have it memorized. And secondly, it's a bit long to read, but it's the same truth. Jesus Christ. We're supposed to expect them every day. We can wait up every morning and say, perhaps today, perhaps today, and we live the day with more fruitfulness and confidence and hope and reality, when we know it could happen today. Some people mock those who believe in the Second Coming, which is pathetic, because as I said, at least 300 references and probably 400 in the New Testament, about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is like the Lord said, Hey, this is important. I'm repeating it over and over. And yet we tend to despise it. Some people say, Oh Ha, ha, you people who believe the Bible, you believe in a pie in the sky in the street, Buy and buy, and those who are so heavenly minded that no earthly good. I've been around for 65 years consciously in the church, I find that the people who most are convinced about the second coming of Christ are the most mature Christians, the most balanced Christians, and the most fruitful Christians that I have ever known. They are not pie in the sky and the sweet biomass. Although I tend to respond to that by saying, You better believe it, that there's a pie in the sky, and I'm nibbling on it. And it tastes mighty good. It is mighty good. And that's the truth, this marking don't you let markers put you off from the reality. Jesus said, I will come again. What are you going to do when you come again, I'll take you to myself. What for so that where I am, there you may be also. And when you get it, every beige, you read in the Bible, lo and behold, it's all over the place. The other day, I think I mentioned that about the indwelling Christ, when you come to realize that Christ lives in you, and that you are the temple of the living God, and that the power of the resurrection is in your soul. You read it and you find it everywhere, because it is everywhere. That's what eternal life is the life of God in the soul of man, Christ living in me, not I but him. The same is true about the Second Coming. You see it everywhere, you know, a little sudden verses that show up. You know, in first John three, for instance, it pops into my head, where it says, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. So when he comes, we will see the Lord and we will be transformed into His likeness, we shall be like Him. When He comes back. Right here we are full of troubles and physical ailments and problems and confrontations. But when He comes, everything will be finished. And you know, the plan of God goes all the way back to creation. And when you read the end of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, it tells you what eternity will be like, Sure, there are details that aren't there. We'll figure it out when we get there. We'll be surprised at some of them, I'm sure. And the disagreements among us often about what comes first, what comes second. And what happens here. The Bible divides the world prophetically into three major divisions, the Jews, the Gentiles, and the Church of God. And when you study prophecy, keep in your mind, for instance, Romans 910, and 11, which is the Prophetic division of the book of Romans. It shows you basically what God is doing with the nation of Israel is not really dealing with the church. If you confuse the two, you get really confused. So when you study prophecy, always remember, is this referred to the Jews, or to the Gentiles, which means all the nations except the Israelites, or to the Church of God. And for each one, there are prophecies for each one of those divisions. And it's very exciting to know it and understand it. And then you look at the newspaper and the news, what's happening in Israel, what's happening in the Middle East? What about the threats on Jerusalem at all the idea that when you study what the Bible says, you begin to say, Wow, I'm beginning to see things happening, that the Bible talks about how things become concentrated more and more in the Middle East. And the Bible says that when Jesus Christ comes to rain, later on with us coming to rain with him, some are gonna be serious, but real way, Jerusalem will be the center of his rule of the nations for at least a very long period of time, until the new heavens and new earth, whatever thing comes under his control, that when you read the paper, and you see Putin says in 1947, Israel became a nation again, before then it appeared that it would never happen. People who were cynical about prophecy, including one grandpa of mine, my maternal grandpa, he always used to make fun, you know, and say I look at the Israelites will never go back to Israel, what the Bible says about Jerusalem, becoming the capital of the world and all that died. It's just a bunch of look at what's happened since 47. Israel is a nation again, and they're strong. I mean, that is the power of God when He says one celled shell Chase 1000 and another 110 1000. You know, when you read it, and you know even a little bit about prophecy, the best way to learn about prophecy has read the Bible. Read it again. And again and again and again. And as events develop, you begin to get Did I get very excited because it is a glorious thing. My father died when I was 10 years old. In Argentina, he was a businessman. He was converted at age 24, thanks to what Michelle era. And he was a businessman. The missionary actually supported himself working for Shell Oil Company. And he was one of the top executives and led my mom to Christ, my grandmother and my dad. Every summer, they would go to villages and towns around gradable outsiders, pick a town that had no Bible preaching church and plant a church. They will have street meetings and we as little kids would go pass out literature stand in a corner. They had a little instrument, a little pebble little harmonium. They called it my mom was the peddler and the players. She was a terrible singer, which drew a lot of people just to hear who was this person singing you can sing, and the people would come and then my dad would give his story. And Mr. Rogers, the missionary would give a little Bible passage, invite people to receive Jesus. People were converted every summer, my dad was a builder. And every summer they built a new church and planted a new church. My dad built a chapel and a Baptist street where you could baptize people and an outhouse. That was it. And nine years, they planted nine churches. And then December 1944, my dad suddenly got sick. And in 90 days, the Lord was ready to take him home. I was in British boarding school, he sent me to learn English and something and a few other things. I my Grandma called me up and say, go quickly do home because your dad, he's very sick. And when I arrived, he had just gone to be with the Lord. And my mom told me how it happened. My dad knew he was dying. He had the assurance of eternal life. He knew that to be absent from the body. Second Corinthians chapter five is to be present with the Lord, absent from the body, present with the Lord. And my dad sat up in bed, and he sang a song that we used to sing as kids in Sunday school, a Salvation Army song about this bombs out there, bright light for you and me and saw it. He sang three times. He was exhausted from the galloping fever, his head fell on the pillow. And my dad pointed up to heaven. And he quoted Philippians chapter one, I'm going to be with Jesus, which is better by far, which the Apostle Paul said, and a few moments later, my dad had gone to be with the Lord. I said to my mom, why didn't you call me earlier, I would like to kiss him goodbye. She said, It happened so fast, you know, but you know, ever since then, to me the thought of heaven, that my dad is in the presence of the Lord ever since then, when I read in Revelation that it says that multitudes that are numberless bow before the throne, the RSV says, 10,000 times 10,000 and 1000s upon 1000s, bowing before the throne, I can imagine my dad bowing before the Lord. Now my mom is there, my grandmother, a whole bunch of other friends and relatives are up in the crowd, but to know that is what gives you a sense of direction, a sense of balance, our sense of calmness, oh yes, death is an enemy. The Bible says Death is the last enemy that we confront. But after that, bye bye. From then on. Its Glory, glory, glory, perfection, the presence of God, life as it was meant to be when sin came into the world. And so the Bible basically teaches us first, Jesus will come back for the church, the church is us, not the Baptist Church or the Presbyterian Church or the Catholic Church, it's us, the people of God. Amen. Number two, the Antichrist takes over the nation's when the church is gone, and it's gonna be as horrible as can ever be imagined. After three and a half years. I think I'm pretty right on that. Christ then returns with his saints. After three and a half years, all of us will return with Jesus Christ. Then after that, Satan is let loose on the world, to deceive the world one last time, and he's going to create an enormous enmity against Jesus Christ. Then all the unconverted after Jesus Christ comes back and smashes Satan, and his hordes. All the unconverted will stand before the Great White Throne, and they will face the righteous judge God Almighty, and they will realize that they are righteously condemned for rejecting God, and not repenting or believing in His Son, Jesus Christ, and they will be thrown forever into darkness and be lost for eternity. Then the present heavens as we see it, and the earth, say, Peter says, will be demolished and burnt up and disappear, and there'll be a new heavens and a new earth. And then after that the eternal state begins when there will be no more crying, no more pain, no more sadness, no more death, Eternity, Eternity, Eternity. And you know the friends when you have that clear in your mind Do you get the meaning of God's eternal plan? The good news gospel is that God who created the universe, and every one of us, also has a plan, and there's a climax to history. And after that comes the eternal state where perfection takes over. And who knows all that we will enjoy. One verse that I do love is First Corinthians 13. It says, We shall know, as we are known, we shall know as we are known, there are so many questions that we all have, you know, why did my dad die? So Young? I don't have an answer. I take a few shots added from time to time, and I think I could be right on a few of them. But we'll see what it's like, Why did Pat have to come down with cancer and then be healed? A year? She is after all these years? as healthy as can be he'll have cancer? Why? I don't know. I don't question the goodness of God. But I do have questions to find out why it happened. And it's gonna be very interesting. You know, why did those two beautiful teenagers have to die? We don't know, the Lord may have been protecting them from some severe, bad stuff that could have happened to him, or the Lord wanted to take him home anyway, after all, the time on Earth is a very brief time. And I had read from a certain old Bible teacher, where it says, a brief life is not an incomplete life. It is in our eyes, we talk about somebody dying before their time. But who decides what their time is Psalm 139, where it talks about us being created in our mother's womb, and that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Remember, you guys will know the Bible. It says, All the days ordained for me, were written in your book, before one of them came to be all the days ordained for Louis Palau, were written in his book before one of them came to be, we don't know all the mystery of God's purposes. But we do know, God is a good God. God is a righteous God. God makes no mistakes. I'm brothers and sisters, his plan for our life is the best plan. And the sooner we accommodate to his plan, rather than force his hand into our plan, which is a waste of time, by the way. But if we accommodate to his plan, we shall be more joyful, more fruitful, more successful, and more of a blessing on other people. And I just wanted to close tonight, the apostle Paul, looking back on his life, from the day he was converted, he must have been about 3335, not easy to tell, but somewhere around there. Now he's dying, 35 years later, probably around age 70. And the Bible doesn't say how he died by the Apostle Paul says, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. And then he throws in this line, which is beautiful. Now there awaits me the crown of righteousness, that God the righteous judge will give to me, but not only to me, but also to all those who have loved His appearing, that is, who love the thought of a second coming. So I want to close in the name of the Lord, do you have the assurance of eternal life? Do you have the assurance of the forgiveness of sins? Do you know for sure that you're a child of God? Do you know in your heart that you belong to Him? St. Paul says in Romans chapter eight, the Holy Spirit who lives in us of course, the Holy Spirit gives witness with our spirit, that we are indeed children of God. Are you a child of God? Do you have the assurance of forgiveness of sins? Do you have the assurance of eternal life? Do you love His appearing? Are you waiting for him to come back? Is your heart set on him? That's really what makes life worth it all. And whatever happens in our life that the Lord may allow, when we know these truths, and we have them nicely fit in our hearts and in our minds, then we don't panic, like unbelievers. And as he says, in First Thessalonians that we read, we won't grieve like those who have no hope. Our hope is an expectation. Hope has become so watered down, that I like to use the phrase living expectation. That's what the promises of God do. And so the more you become acquainted with promises of God, the more time you spend in it, the more you memorize them, the more you will be thrilled. Whatever happens in your life, and you will honor God and God will use you. If you've never received Christ, and you're not sure that you have eternal life. Why not give your life to Christ right now? And so I'd like to lead you in a prayer. For those of us who know Christ, that will be a prayer of thanksgiving and praise that he's promised to come back and he is coming back. But for those of you You are not sure. You could be sure as a man or as a woman, a child or a kid. You can know that you have eternal life. Because Jesus said, I give them eternal life. You shall never perish. And no one can snatch you out of my hand, a triple promise in just one Bible verse. I give them eternal life. Eternal life is the gift of God in Jesus Christ, you will never perish. Satan will try and tell you that you are too bad to be forgiven, or that you're such a crook that you'll go to hell. Jesus says, You will never perish. And no one can snatch you out of my hands. And just for quadruple security. He says, The Father Who gave you to me, is greater than all and no one can snatch them out of my father's hands. He is that a gift of God? What? And it's in Jesus Christ. So let's pray. And if you've never yet prayed a prayer, in which you invite Christ into your heart, why don't you do it right now, I will lead you in a prayer. I will say a phrase and make a pause. So that if you feel it in your heart, you can pray to Jesus Christ. And he says, I stand at your door and knock. If anyone hears My voice, and opens the door, I will come into you, and eat with you. And you with me. If you've never opened your heart to the Savior of the world, to all those who receive Him, who believe in his name, he gives them power to become children of God, let's pray, or God or father. Thank you for creating me in the first place. Thank you for being patient with all of my sins. Thank you for sending your son Jesus Christ so that he could pay for our sins on the cross. Thank you, Lord Jesus, saved Savior of the world. Lord of the nations, that you are now my Savior. I trust you, Lord Jesus. I receive you into my heart. I surrender my will to yours. And I will serve you till you take me home to heaven. And I thank you in Christ's name. Amen. And amen. This is Kevin Palau, one of the least Palau sons. Toward the end of Dad's life. He had zero regrets about spending his years sharing the good news. He was convinced that an even greater harvest was waiting in the generations to come. We agree and we're continuing the work dad started. We are passionate about bringing the Gospel to every person on the planet. Millions still don't know the hope that's found only in Jesus Christ. If dad was here today, I think he would say don't wait. share Jesus today, wherever you go. If you'd like to join with us in spreading the good news around the world, you can visit luispalau.org To give a God honoring gift today. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. Thank you for being with us today. God bless you

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