He's worthy.
He is worthy.
Isn't it amazing sometimes church is the only place we are shy?
We really get reserved when we get to church.
A hundred plus thousand, nearly a hundred and five thousand people yesterday gathered
in Neyland Stadium, a hundred thousand of them were shouting.
The other five thousand were Aggie fans and they were in agony.
But there were a hundred thousand in orange and white.
Such fanatical fans that they can tell them what color of shirt to wear in the section
that they're sitting in and they do it without complaint.
If I were to tell you this section wear black shirts, y'all wear red, y'all wear white,
y'all come in in blue and y'all come in in purple next week.
My God who's that preacher like he is?
But we'll go down there and get fanatical and do what they tell us to do.
Come on my soul, don't you get shy on me.
Huh, don't get shy on me.
And you're going to, you can be seated.
We're getting ready to receive the offer.
They're tied this morning.
You're going to think it's odd what I'm about to share with you, but every time we sing
this song, it gets to that line that talks about all I have to offer is a hallelujah.
My mind goes straight to Christmas.
I'm not kidding.
And my mind goes straight to the little drummer boy.
Now I know that's odd, but that's all he had.
Some of us all we have is a hallelujah.
People saying can't carry a tune in a bucket, but your hallelujah is an anthem.
It's an anthem.
And you can speak every language on earth when you say hallelujah.
It's the same in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish.
It's hallelujah.
And that's what we have to offer.
Amen.
Let's go before the Lord with our giving today, our tithe and offering.
It's worship.
I've told you many, many times.
It's the only tangible thing that we leave behind us.
And anymore it's remote and we don't even leave that.
Everything else we do here this morning, everything else you do as you engage in your worship
is done in spirit and in truth.
This is the part that we leave behind.
Has God been faithful?
I love it when prayer begins to work so much.
People say don't pray for me that no more.
I got more work and I can do more jobs coming my way.
We just keep praying God's blessings over you.
Is that all right this morning?
Heavenly Father, I come before you today.
Your presence so sweet and so near.
I thank you for everyone under the roof this morning.
And I pray continual blessings in and on their lives with jobs and better jobs, increases,
checks in the mail, refunds, rebates, the best sale in town, inheritance in any other
way.
And Father, we pray not beyond the scope of your word, but in accordance to your word.
Your word declares that you'll supply all of our need according to your riches and glory.
You said you'd cause our souls to prosper.
So prosper your people today Father in the name of Jesus.
And the church say amen.
God bless you.
Stand to your feet and come and worship in your giving this morning.
Oh glory to his name.
To my heart.
I'm glad to be here.
Hallelujah.
Give the Lord glory and honor in his house this morning.
If you have your Bibles with you, please turn with me to the 22nd chapter of Revelation.
Revelation 22.
So good to see you in the house of the Lord today.
If you're visiting with us, I do not take that lightly.
It is an honor for me to have you in the house of the Lord and I trust and pray this far
that you have encountered the presence of the Lord through your worship.
Amen.
And before you leave here today, that the word of God will minister to your heart.
I have some dear friends with us this morning visiting pastor of 51 years, Brother Dwight
and Sister Sue Henderson, their grandson and his wife with him, Tyler, his beautiful wife
with us today.
Brother Dwight just retired recently of 51 years of ministry.
Amen.
And so he's a member of our covenant group, the only member of our covenant group that
is exempt from brotherly ridicule.
We're ruthless with all the others, but Brother Dwight, he's our elder and we respect him.
Amen.
Revelation 22.
If you're visiting with us today, again, I say thank you.
I'm beginning at verse one.
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of
the throne of God and out of the lamb.
In the midst of the street of it and on either side of the river was there the tree of life
which bear 12 manner of fruits and yielded her fruit every month.
And the leaves of the trees were for the healing of the nations.
And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the lamb shall be in
it and his servants shall serve him.
And they shall see his face and his name shall be in their foreheads.
And there shall be no light there.
And they need no candle, neither light of the sun for the Lord God giveth them light.
They shall reign forever and ever.
He said unto them, these sayings are faithful and true.
And the Lord God of the Holy Prophet sent his angel to show unto his servants the things
which must shortly be done.
Behold, I come quickly.
Blessed is he that keepeth the saying of the prophecy of this book.
And I John saw these things and heard them.
And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which
showed me these things.
Then said he to me, see, thou do it not for I am thy fellow servant and thy brethren,
the prophets and of them which keep the sayings of this book worship God.
And he said then to me, still not the sayings of the prophecy of this book for the time
is at hand.
He that is unjust, let him be unjust still.
And he which is filthy, let him be filthy still.
And he that is righteous, let him be righteous still.
And he that is holy, let him be holy still.
And behold, I come quickly.
And my reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Blessed are they that do his commandments that they may have right to the tree of life
and may enter in through the gates into the city.
For without are dogs and sorcerers and whoremongers and murderers and idolaters and whosoever
loveth and maketh a lie.
I Jesus have sent my angel to testify unto you these things in the churches.
I am the root and the offspring of David and the bright and morning star.
And the spirit and the bride say, come.
And let him that hearth say, come.
And let him that is a thirst come.
And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
For I testify unto every man that hearth the words of this prophecy of this book.
If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written
in this book.
And if any man shall take away from the words of this book, of the prophecy, God shall take
away his part out of the book of life and out of the holy city and from the things which
are written in this book.
He which testifies these things says, surely I come quickly.
Amen.
Even so, come Lord Jesus.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Amen.
I want to speak to you on a thought, now that's more text than I'll read in nearly a dozen
sermons.
But there was just no stopping place in that 22nd chapter.
And so we just wanted to read it in its entirety.
So this morning I just want to talk for a little while on this thought, current events.
Current events.
I'll pray for you if you pray for me.
Father, I love you today.
I pray over the household of faith.
I pray truly Lord, we that have ears to hear may hear what it is the spirit's saying to
the church.
Lord, as you speak to us through the power of your word, your word is life and your word
is light.
Let that light penetrate any darkness that may be within us.
So that truth and righteousness and holiness and love come forth.
Touch our hearts.
Touch the hearts of your people.
Touch the ears of the hear today.
And I ask Lord for that special anointing that makes it easy to preach.
And Lord, we give you the glory and the honor for it all.
And Christ's lovely name.
And the church said, amen and amen.
You can be seated this morning.
This is a much different message than I normally preach today.
I've just felt the drawing of the spirit of the Lord to and let me just preface this morning.
I am not a prophecy preacher.
I sometimes struggle with the understanding of some of the prophetic utterances throughout
the text.
I struggle with that.
I, I, um, brother Randy has a greater grasp on the book of revelation that he teaches
on Wednesday nights than I'll ever imagine within myself.
Um, I'm about a chapter three, I'll go to 11 and then we're gone kind of person.
I'm not worried about the seven bowls, the seven seals or the vials.
I'm not planning on being here when they're getting poured out.
Amen.
But I do read it because blessed is the man that reads the words of this prophecy.
Hello, I'm taking it in and I'm taking it all in.
So what we have read this morning in our hearing is the last chapter in the Bible.
It's the last chapter of the book of revelation and it kindly brings a surmise to the end
of things and where the end of things will be.
And if you're like myself, the current events of this past week have, and especially since
last Friday and Saturday have really stirred my heart and has stirred my mind to think
about how soon is the Lord coming.
Now if you've been in church any day of your life, you sit through Sunday school and you've
heard preachers preach throughout your life, you have some type of a warning sign going
off in your mind.
Israel is at the heart of God.
I said Israel is at the heart of God.
And so what's going on with Israel actually affects those of us who are grafted in.
Amen.
Those who are brought in and that's who we, the Gentile people.
And so we're grateful because the contingency and the things that transpire in Israel, let
us know how soon and when we can be looking toward the coming of the Lord Jesus.
Amen.
And I don't know about you, but I've got my mind set on the coming of the Lord Jesus.
And when I see the Middle East in uproar and I see all the upheaval and the atrocities that
are going on, my mind is turned to the people of God.
Not just Israel, but for us, the child, the bloodbath, the born again, those who are named
under that wonderful bloodstained banner of Jesus Christ.
And so I landed on this verse this morning, this chapter of Revelation and begin to let
our minds be taken hold and really around that 13th verse where the Lord said, I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
And when I begin to think it reminded me of first Peter four in verse seven, you'll read,
but the end of all things is at hand.
Be you there for sober and watch under prayer.
When I think about the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, who is Christ Jesus?
Now my mind is not so much wrapped around the beginning.
We can go to Genesis and get a pretty good grasp on the creation.
We can see God's hand throughout history and we see how the Bible records it.
And I know that there are none non-believers out there and others who are talking and they
all let you know that this is just a fable.
It's fantasy reading.
There's no truth to it, but I'm here to declare to you today that the word of God is truth
and the word of God is life.
Despite all the naysayers and the unbelievers, his word is true.
There's too many prophecies that have been uttered over these thousands of years, too
many inspirations, inspired words that God had put in the hearts of humanity and they
begin to speak under the unction of the spirit of the Lord that have come to pass.
There's too many.
I think I forgot exactly the number around just the coming of the Lord Jesus.
I can take you to Zechariah 9 if you need more than one when Zechariah tells about him
coming in and going to be born in little Bethlehem.
And you can take Zechariah and he again begins to talk to us about his coming in one day
riding lowly and meek upon the dog.
There's just too many, too many truths to be happenstance.
Amen?
The Lord Jesus is going to return.
The Lord, are you hearing me today?
The Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending is going to come.
And behold, the end of all things is at hand.
And when I think about the end of all things being at hand, the end is Jesus Christ.
He's going to be the focal point.
He's going to be the personality of it all.
He's going to be the one that brings it to pass.
But when we begin to think about the current events that has probably, how many of you
just kind of been curious?
Your curiosity has been stirred watching what's taking place in the Middle East and how the
nations are gathering around Israel and coming against Israel.
And you begin to think, why is Israel so important?
So let's just do a little rundown this morning.
This is not going to be one of those shouters and runners today, but hopefully it's going
to be a little confirmation to us and let us know that our faith is intact and your
faith in Christ is intact and that your heart is secure and that your relationship, should
the Lord come today, you are ready to meet him because you do remember you've got to
be ready to meet him.
My God, I feel this thing starting to stir already.
We got to be ready to meet him in the air.
And there is a criteria that we have to live by in order to meet him there.
So let's think about Israel itself for a little bit this morning.
Let's look at the geographic center Israel is.
See, look at Ezekiel 5 and 5.
See, I have set thee in the midst of the nations.
When you stop and look at the geographical place of Israel, Israel's called the navel
of the earth.
It's strategically located at the hub of three different continents, right in the middle.
When you think about it, God is in the middle of everything.
So why would he not choose the place of Israel?
Why would he not choose Jerusalem to be the very center of focus of everything that he
was going to fulfill and do throughout history?
So now we understand the importance of where they are.
They are right in the center, little bitty nation about the size of New Jersey.
Isn't it amazing how that so many people could be mad at such a small people in such a small
place and scared to death?
Do you realize that Israel makes up 0.02% of the population of the world?
0.02% of the population of the world.
And the 99.8% of the rest are tore up about what's going on right where they are.
All the highs of the world are turned toward Israel today.
Iran is itching and all the Arab nations are itching and you see the continents where Asia
is being stirred up and everyone's eyes are focused on what's Israel going to do?
Well, they're not going to make any secrets about what they're doing.
They're just going to do it.
Amen.
Well, I don't need to get going too far down that road, but just understand they're right
in the middle of it all.
Who is Israel?
Israel is the center of revelation.
It's from this focal point, this geographical location, the land of Moses and all of the
prophets and the apostles from whence the word of God has come.
Hallelujah.
Oh, my, my, my, think about it.
That's where revelation has come from.
That's where we have learned and what we have received and our knowledge of God Himself
has come from the central hub.
When we think about Israel, Israel is the spiritual center of the world.
It's in Bethlehem that Jesus is born.
It was in Nazareth that he was raised and he grew to maturity.
He makes his way into Galilee where he walks and he teaches on the mountain sides and beside
the sea.
He doesn't just teach beside the sea, but he'll take a stroll from time to time on the
rocky waters of Galilee.
Hallelujah.
Oh, you're talking about a revelation when we talk about the central point of spirituality
coming from Jerusalem.
As he walks on the water, it's in Jerusalem that our Lord was crucified, buried and rose
from the dead.
And from the Mount of Olives, He ascended and to the Mount of Olives, He will return.
You better hold on with me this morning.
His feet will first touch down upon the Mount of Olives according to Zechariah 14 and 4.
And when his feet strikes good terra firma solid, it's going to split to the one side
and split to the other entwine.
And he's going to be focused on a gate at the city called Jerusalem.
And the Eastern gate is where his gaze is going to log.
It's 15 feet thick full of concrete.
There's bullet holes all in it.
I've seen it with my own eyes where others have tried to breach the gate of Jerusalem's
Eastern gate.
But no, it's being saved for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And when his foot strikes down on the Mount of Olives, from the amount from which he ascended,
he will descend again.
And when he touches down, honey, she's going to split in two and a fresh gushing water
stream is going to flow down to the Dead Sea and revive her waters.
And he's going to expand the Kidron Valley.
And he's going through the gate.
They knew that touching dead bodies would defile the priesthood.
So you know what they've got?
The whole wall side right there, just tomb after tomb.
He shall not be defiled.
He's going through the central point of spirituality is Jerusalem.
Three of the greatest religions of the world are center hubbed in Jerusalem.
Judaism, Islam, and Christianity all flow from this central point of this place called
Israel and out of this city of David, which is the city of God.
Come on somebody, which is the city of God.
Hallelujah.
Zion.
Hallelujah.
Jerusalem is her name.
Israel, the prophecy center.
It is here prophecy is a record of a pre-written history.
The land of Israel is the only land belonging to God's people.
The details of their future and minutely recorded in scripture.
If you want to know what God is doing, study his people and his words concerning them.
I read a article, a post from Charles Krauthammer before he passed away.
He talked about Israel.
He said they're the only people who are living in the original land, still worshiping their
original God and going by their original name.
And you can't mess with them.
You can't touch them.
Why?
Because they're in an apostate state right now.
They are still God's chosen.
Oh God in Jews Israel, he chose Abraham.
And from Abraham, the prophecy would be this, that your descendants shall be numbered as
the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore.
Oh Abraham who had not a sibling one, who had not a child, who had no posterity as of
yet, who lived to be a hundred before, he would see the promised son born.
And from that one son, we see where six million were taken out at one time at the Holocaust
from Abraham's faith who trusted in God.
You think about the prophetical history of the world is tied up in the centrality of
Israel and his beloved city, Jerusalem.
Think about it.
It flows from there.
Israel, the storm center, the Middle East, specifically Israel is the world's greatest
trouble spot.
The only nations in the world that'll pick up rocks and go to a gunfight.
Never ceases to amaze me.
When they're showing this video, what's going on over there?
They're throwing rocks and everybody else got tanks and guns and they'll pick up a rock.
Why not a rock?
Don't you dare make me preach that.
Don't you dare make me preach it.
Why not a rock?
Huh?
If little David in his sling could take out a giant, come on somebody.
They still think it can take out any enemy around.
So they'll just pick up a rock and let it fly.
Bullets may be fine, but they're going to know.
The Bible says Jerusalem in Zechariah 12, Jerusalem will be a burdensome stone for all
people of the world.
And indeed we can see it now beginning to unfold in this daily news and instantaneous
knowledge we get and all the storm is gathering too.
All these battles that we see are gathering toward the end battle that'll be fought one
day in the valley of Maghetto.
It's all drawing near.
Gog is coming down.
Magog is going to gather.
Come on somebody.
And the armies of this world are going to gather and it's going to be over and said
and done with one of these days.
It's going to be over and done with.
The storm is just brewing.
You take into account Matthew 24 and as the Lord would give an account toward the signs
of his return.
He talks about tribulation.
He talks about war and rumors of wars.
He talks about nation rising against nation, but he'll also instruct us, hold on, but the
end is not yet.
There's some worse things coming.
I don't know if the Lord is ready to come the very day in which we live and breathe
right now, but he could.
He could and do no damage to the prophecy of his word.
He could come at any moment, amen, and fulfill it to a T.
I don't know how long it's going to be, but when I read Matthew 24 and I think about the
pestilence across the land, I think about earthquakes and divers places just the other
day.
A 6.2 or 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit in Afghanistan and thousands of people were killed.
Why that earthquake?
And they happen every day.
That was just a larger one that got some notification, but there are earthquakes.
This world is so earth, it's so globe is shaking and quivering and trembling on its axis every
single day.
Why?
Because this earth is moaning and groaning according to the book of Acts, waiting for
its day of redemption because this earth was not created.
Oh Lord, to how sin and to see the atrocities of mankind.
But it was created for the perfect image and the likeness of God so that we could live
on it and be at peace in it.
Come on somebody.
The earth is longing for its creators touch one more time.
The earth is waiting for that piece of God to be moved upon yet.
Israel's also not only the storm center, but it's the center of peace.
Huh?
We're instructed in Psalm 122 and 6 to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
We're instructed in Deuteronomy.
We'll hear those words of prophetic utterance as God would speak.
I will bless those that bless you and I will curse those that curse you.
That's God's promise back in the beginning to them.
But he also made a promise to them, you turn away from me, I'm going to strap your legs.
You turn away from me, the plagues of this book, what we've read in our hearing today,
you turn away from me and what I had put on Egypt, I'm going to put on you.
I will not tolerate rebellion and sin.
Oh my, my, my, think about God telling his beloved people that the descendants of Abraham,
who he called out of the land of earth, the Chaldee, and he called him out and by his
faith, God had raised up a mighty nation.
How about that?
God, even his favorite, you know, sometimes a favorite child doesn't get striped as much
as the least favorite.
Now don't tell me you don't have favorites.
Mama loved my baby brother, more so did me.
How do I know?
I carried more straps.
It's just like football.
It's the retaliator that always gets the penalty.
He instigate, I retaliate and get strapped for it.
Any other middle children in here?
They'll never cease to be peace on earth until there's peace in Jerusalem.
It'll be in turmoil.
The earth will be topsy turvy and that's not going to happen until Jesus Christ himself
returns to set up his kingdom until peace is on earth again.
Amen.
So therefore, when we're praying for the peace of Jerusalem, we're actually praying even
so Lord come quickly because there's not going to be peace in this earth until the Lord who
is peace personified is set upon his throne and he's going to make all things again.
Well, there's going to be a lot of shaking going on in this world.
There's going to be a lot of movement.
The heavens are going to open and the stars are going to fall.
Amen.
Go read the book and you'll see the end time events as they unscroll.
So the current events of where we are, I haven't seen the moon turn to blood, the sun to blood
and the begin to all the stars begin to quake and shake.
All these things haven't begin to come to pass.
So there may be a little more time, but then you stop and think, was there not an eclipse
yesterday?
Oh, did the moon not cross before the sun and begin to shine on the ring of fire?
My Lord, all this stuff could be looked at and all these things could be taken into consideration.
The Lord could come today.
So therefore we pray Israel not only be the center of peace, but will one day be the center
of his glory.
When our Lord does return, every nation in this world come and assemble in Jerusalem
to worship according to Micah two and three.
Jerusalem becomes the capital city not only of Israel, but of the entirety of the world.
And the word of the Lord shall go forth from Zion.
Isaiah two and three begins to declare and the Lord himself will reign from Jerusalem
Luke one and 32 and Israel is at the center of God's plan.
So why is it so important that we pray for their peace?
We better be on their side because if we become part of the curse, we receive the punishment
of those who curse God's beloved.
Oh, they, I don't agree and we cannot agree with everything that Israel may do that is
wrong.
That's not what I'm talking about.
I'm not talking about being in total alignment to every political decision they make and
every practice that they may see.
No, no, no, no, no.
I'm not talking about that.
I'm talking about Israel itself.
God will judge them.
God has been judging them for their apostasy from him.
Israel is here today because of God's keeping and God's keeping only it's God's preserving
power upon his chosen throughout history.
Satan, you know him, Satan, the enemy of God's people has tried to eradicate and annihilate
God's people from their inception.
He's tried to demolish the promise that God had made, but he cannot do it.
Are you hearing me?
He has not the authority nor the power whereby to bring that to pass.
Egypt's pharaohs couldn't diminish nor demolish nor take out God's chosen.
The Red Sea could not contain them.
Jonah's well, I like this.
Jonah's well could not digest them.
Come on, it's God's hand.
Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace couldn't consume them.
The gallows of Haman could not execute them.
The dictators of this world have not been able to annihilate them nor will the nations
of this world have not been able to assimilate them.
A lot of people, a lot of peoples in the world when they are dispersed and they go into other
nations they assume and they assimilate.
And within a few generations you can't tell what they were or where they came from, but
not the Israelite people when they're in Russia under atrocious conditions, they are Jews.
It doesn't matter if they're in Ethiopia, they are Jews.
They have never assimilated because they cannot assimilate because there's a mark of God's
promise on them and they stand out everywhere they go.
Hallelujah.
And you can't deny the blessings of God on his chosen.
I read in the Art of the
I think it was 22% of all the Nobel prizes given out have been given out to Jewish people.
How many have ever taken a Bayer aspirin?
Anybody taking an aspirin?
That Jewish man figured that one out.
Anybody know Albert Einstein?
How about Sigmund Freud?
Anybody know Osege?
Can't deny God's hand.
When other peoples have been taken from their homelands, when they've been scattered, soon
they've been absorbed, swallowed up into the culture of their new location, but not God's
people.
You do realize that's why you and I are so different in the world in which we're living.
You're in it, but you're not of it.
And by virtue of not being of it, you stand out.
Oh, don't try to fit in.
He saved you and cleansed you to be separate.
He cleansed you so that there would be a mark in society and culture that you walk a different
way.
You walk according to his way.
You walk in the statutes of his word in accordance to his promises.
Nineteen centuries, the Jewish people, wherever they've been found, kept themselves to be
Jewish people.
God's preserved them as a nation and identifiable people.
God said he would.
He said he'd visit their iniquity with stripes, and he has.
He's not taking it easy on them.
He's not let them by by rejecting his son, the promise that he'd made.
Genesis three early on that the seed of the woman going to the hill, going to bruise the
head of the enemy.
From then on, these prophesied told him his son was coming.
The Messiah would come.
Isaiah tells it.
He's not letting them by with anything.
But it's just like you and I with our rebellious children.
You may take them out of this world, but God forbid if somebody else tries to lay a hand
on them.
Huh?
You may feel like jerking them up and taking them out, but you brought them in.
That's what God is with his people.
He'll deal with his people.
He's not going to let.
He's not going to let any of the others.
You'll take care of them.
He has had me.
Hitler thought he had it done six million.
Nope.
400 and some odd thousand called up and we're standing on the border of Gaza the other day.
We're going to bring in.
Amos nine, 14 and 15 says, and I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel
and they shall build the way cities and inhabit them and they shall plant vineyards and drink
the wine thereof.
And they shall also make gardens and eat the fruit of them.
And I will plant them upon their land.
You get that?
I will plant them upon their land.
And I will plant them there.
They shall no more be pulled up out of their land, which I have given them, said the Lord
thy God.
They shall no more.
They shall no more be pulled up.
Many believe 1948 is when that was established as the dysphoria of the people of Israel
begin to gather when the nation was born and one day and they've been coming home ever
since coming home ever since.
And if God's word is true and he's brought them back to their land and he says they will
no more be pulled up, I'll tell you what, you don't want to be against them because you
fight against God and you're going to lose.
I read some great testimonies of some of the stories as this nation has been birthed in
48, how God intervened.
The battle of the bees.
You ever read that one?
Go read that.
The battle of the bees.
I thought, God, you, you still showing up.
Hello.
Psalm 89.
I'm about to wind up this morning.
Psalm 89 beginning in verse 18 for the Lord is our defense and the Holy one of Israel
is our King.
I have found David my servant with my holy oil.
Have I anointed him with whom my hand shall be established?
Mine arm also shall strengthen him.
The enemy shall not exact upon him nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
And I will beat down, listen to this, I will beat down his foes before his face and plague
them that hate him.
But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him.
And in my name shall his horn be exalted.
Also I'll make him my firstborn higher than the kings of the earth.
My mercy will I keep for him forevermore and my covenant shall stand fast with him.
Verse 29.
His seed also will I make to endure forever and his throne as the days of heaven.
Folks, when God makes a promise to that magnitude, our God in whom we serve, a God who is not
like a man who cannot lie, if he stated that, that's it.
So not all are we only going to pray for the peace of Israel, but we're going to pray for
the wisdom of our national leaders so that we stay on the right side of God.
I'm not necessarily so worried about staying on the right side of Israel.
I'm concerned about being on the right side of God.
Hello, are you with me?
I'm on being on his good side.
I don't want to be on God's bad side.
I've been over there and it's not fun.
I've been in disobedience.
I've lived in a backslidden condition and trust me, he will get your attention.
He's getting Israel's attention.
Time will end not, I don't have the time nor really the capacity to take you to the end
of how God is going to ultimately reveal and redeem Israel, but he's going to.
There's a lot of things to happen, but as we've noted from last weekend to this, it
doesn't take long for things to align.
Stand with me this morning.
So when I think about these current events, I think about the people of God, you and I
are grafted in.
We've been brought in.
We've been adopted.
That adoption is far different than what we know and think about as adoption in our culture.
You're a son, you're a daughter, not the redhead stepchild.
When the adoption is sealed with the blood of Christ, you're a son and a daughter and
the inheritance is promised to you.
You have a precious inheritance promised to you.
Father, I love you this morning.
Lord, I thank you today for your help.
I know it's been different today, Lord, but it's what you've laid on my heart.
But with this also, Lord, you stirred me with a warning for us today.
In that 24th chapter of Matthew, as the Lord begins to conclude the signs of the end, he
gives them the parable of a fig tree.
So you look at the fig tree when the leaves are coming on, you know summer's near.
Moves on through that 24th chapter in the beginning of the 25th chapter and he gives
them the parable of the 10 virgins, the five wise and the five foolish who are preparing
to meet the bridegroom.
Five have their lamps trimmed and burning.
Five have their lamps trimmed and burning but have extra oil because they do not know
how long the bridegroom is going to tarry.
The warning is that when the bridegroom comes, you must be ready then because the five foolish
turn to the five wise and said, can we borrow some oil?
We don't have time to go to the market and back.
The bridegroom will have come and gone.
That's our warning.
The oil symbolic of his spirit.
The bridegroom's coming one day.
Jesus is going to return.
What we see happening before our very eyes is biblical prophecy unfolding.
If you've ever had a doubt about scripture, doubt no more, it's happening right before
your eyes.
And we don't know how much time we have before the Lord returns.
And see we're the bride of Christ.
The church is the bride.
Hello.
And so we got to be ready for when he comes to get us.
Got to be prepared.
That's our warning.
Know the parable of the fig tree.
When you see the leaves starting to come on, you know summer's coming.
And he's just told them the signs.
Nation against nation.
All these atrocities taking place.
Look around us.
So we got to start looking and being ready.
I have thought about this.
Said, Lord, how do we end this service this morning?
I know I'm just going to basically give a history lesson.
So how do we end?
How do we close this morning out?
We close with this warning.
Jesus said, behold, I come quickly.
And our text this morning, behold, I'm Alpha and I am Omega, the beginning and the ending.
And I'm coming quickly.
We see these current events, church.
It's not for us to be in fear.
It's not for us to be afraid.
It's to be excited.
We pray.
I'm not talking about being excited for the atrocities and the innocence of lives being
lost.
Some of the things you've read and some of the things you've watched.
That's just it's worse than barbaric.
The Lord has to come, doesn't he?
And he is coming.
But we must be ready.
So with that, I just give us all a heart check this morning.
I'm going to ask us all I'm going to repent.
If you have you've gotten away from a continual readiness to repent before God, let me urge
you to get back to that discipline and let repentance be a part of your daily prayer
life.
I'm just going to ask us all.
So what does that mean?
If you're here this morning and your back slid or you're not aware, you should be with
God and you know if he were to come today, you would be like the five foolish.
You'd have to try to find some oil down here at the altar.
You're going to have to get some of his spirit back in your life to go.
Honey, you miss him.
The instruction we receive is in the moment in the twinkling of an eye.
I used to think it's when you could blink your eye.
No, not a blink, a twinkle.
How quickly eyes dilate.
And it's over.
You don't have time to get down here, plead the blood.
The blood, my Lord, has to be applied.
Father, I love you this morning.
Today a church wide altar call as serious as any other.
Lord, I repent today before you and this people.
If there be sin in my life, I ask Lord you purge me and you cleanse me.
I repent, purge me and cleanse me.
As I echo the prayer of the psalmist of 51, take not the joy of your spirit from me.
Cleanse me and purge me, Lord.
Repent in this room today, oh Lord, for any idea, any thoughts that are not pleasing to
you, any words, any offenses that I have given or I have received.
Forgive me today, Lord, that I may be ready should you come this very hour.
I repent, Lord.
Oh God, I repent before you.
I repent as our nation.
I repent for our nation, Lord.
Stay your hand of mercy and judgment from our nation.
We repent for sins of millions of innocent lives that are slaughtered.
We repent for that sin, Lord.
Pledge over and keep.
Now Father, as we've repented personally and as a nation, I pray for the peace of Israel.
I pray for their peace, Lord.
I pray for some, somehow, some way and I know there's a man in the waiting that's going
to come rushing in, the silver tongue one, who's going to have all the answers.
But Lord, if you can deescalate, do it so.
Watch over the innocents on both sides of that border.
Watch over the innocent.
We pray for peace in your city, in your nation.
We pray God today.
Pray blessings over the people of God.
Watch over and keep, Father God.
In the name of Jesus.
Amen, amen.
Before I go, I want to say a few words.
I remember, Father Khair isais, that God rouaki is with us today.
I'm sorry for any optimistic needs of our church in the past days.