<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Hendersonville Seventh-day Adventist Church, NC

David Wright

Ending or Beginning

There's something about young people, They don't tend to whine as much.

And instead of focusing on the crisis, they focus on Christ.

Instead of focusing on the doom of, we're not gonna be able to go on this trip that we've planned, they focus on the deliverance that God's gonna provide.

Instead of focusing on the pain and the heartache, they look at the promises and they claim those.

We can learn something from our young people.

I tell you, I was reminded this week, I was sitting next to somebody, and I really like this person, I admire this person, but sometimes they can be a bit of a whiner.

And sometimes they're really good at rehearsing the whining.

And I happened to be with this individual and I saw as they were rehearsing the whining not just to me But then they go around have you heard all of my woes have you heard all my woe now?

I don't want to be critical because I understand that people are hurting there's been times that I've been hurting But I think far too often for myself.

I can't speak about you but far too often for myself I like to rehearse the negative instead of focus on the solution, which is Jesus Christ and in this series Hope in these last days we can wring our hands and we can get nervous and what's this gonna look like what's gonna happen or We can focus on Christ He is there he's from the end from the beginning he's the beginning the end the middle everything he's there And He hasn't forgot about us.

He's not surprised by what we're going to face.

So I hope that this series has not been 1 of doom and gloom, But looking at the Christ behind the crisis who will carry you and I through the coming storm.

Amen And so we're just gonna jump right in today.

We have a little bit of ground to cover But I promise to get you out before 330 But just a little review you're welcome This person over here is not a whiner.

Little review as the gospel goes to the ends of the earth, even now as the gospel is going to the ends of the earth.

We see a reaction for or against, don't we?

Same gospel, some receive it, some hearts are warmed, and some are hardened.

And there are certain aspects, unique aspects, of the gospel that goes to the ends of the earth.

It's obedience to God, it's body temple, it's judgment, it's the Sabbath, it's all tucked right there in the 3 angels message.

But we have to remember that most of God's people are still where?

We also have looked at how the devil seen the gospel of Revelation 14 6 going rapidly around the planet comes at it with a counterfeit revival With signs with miracles with wonders and we looked at that So You have 2 things happening simultaneously.

You have the mighty working of the Holy Spirit, and you have the marvelous working of demons.

As this comes to a crescendo, all hell breaks loose on earth.

Natural disasters, economic disasters, war, conflict, strife, And all of this shakes and shakes and shakes the church.

In an attempt to please God, to come together and pray, there's a national Sunday law that will be passed.

Where the world religions, they maintain their differences, but they unite on Sunday sacredness.

They offer physical security and economic security, the ability to buy or sell.

But eventually it mounts and gets more and more intense until your life will be asked of you.

If you worship how we tell you, when we tell you, and as we claim to have the corner of truth, as they will say, based on the world majority coming together and uniting, there will be this National Sunday Law and we will be strongly encouraged, but eventually, by pain of death, asked to do this.

In the midst of all of this, the honest in heart are settled into the truth.

We talked about the shaking, the shaking, the shaking.

And those that are honest are settled into the church truth while the unconverted are sifted out.

Now that could be happening now with a personal crisis in your life but for most, for the large majority, it will happen as this crescendo mounts and the National Sunday Law comes into place.

And as the Holy Spirit is poured out in latter rain power, empowering the gospel to go to the ends of the earth in what we call the loud cry and when every human being has an opportunity to be fully sold out for Christ or against Christ then human probation closes and the 7 last plagues are poured out.

And the closing of probation, I believe, is not so much a matter of times up, but rather a time when people are made up or have made up their minds.

In the midst of the growing crisis, in the midst of the spread of the gospel, their hearts have either softened and they have accepted the seal of God, or their hearts have become hardened and they receive the mark of the beast.

And no amount of time is going to change anyone's mind.

And following in the 7 last plagues, God proves his ability to read the heart of a person.

He proves that despite what happens, those with the seal remain faithful to him and those with the mark remain rebellious towards him.

In a sense, I can't fully prove this, but my own personal theory, in a sense, I believe God is sealing and marking people as a way to make everyone know I can read the heart you can't Prove it.

I'll put a seal and a mark and we'll go through another testing time these 7 last plagues and no 1 will change Those that are loyal to me will remain loyal to me and those that are against me will remain against me and It turns out that God is absolutely 100% as always right and correct.

After the third plague, verse 7 of chapter 16 in Revelation, we read, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments.

But then after the fourth plague we read of the other group, Revelation 16 verse 8, And they did not repent and give him glory.

And again after the fifth plague, verse 11, they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores and did not repent of their deeds.

I am settled, I'm not moving, my mind has been made up.

It's not so much that they can't change their mind.

And so, Last week we looked at how in each of the plagues God is vindicating his people.

All the things that man claimed, I said last week, it was 2 weeks ago, all the things that man claimed he could offer, when push comes to shove, he cannot deliver.

In fact, let's just review some of these.

The first plague, all physical security is in Christ.

Second plague, all economic security is in Christ.

Initially they say they can, but when the second plague falls, they can't deliver.

Fourth plague, the center of my worship is in Christ.

Those that worship the Son God are burned by the Son and only Christ is the true 1 that deserves our worship.

And the fifth plague, all truth is in Christ.

So those are the first 5 plagues But now I'm going to ask you to open up your Bible and we're gonna look at the last 2 today as we close out this series Hope for these last days and we're here in Revelation chapter 16 Beginning verse 12 where we have the sixth bowl or sixth plague being poured out Revelation chapter 16, beginning in verse 12.

Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.

Verse 13, And I saw 3 unclean spirits like frogs coming up out of the mouth of the dragon out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet for they are spirits of demons performing signs which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world to gather them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty." In verse 16 it calls this the battle of Armageddon.

An angel pours out his bowl on the great river Euphrates.

I want to ask you is this literal or is this figurative?

Back to Menu

Ending or Beginning

Transcript

Sponsor

Recorded

Related

GYC SE 2012 Seminar: Leadership

Cultivating the Active Virtues

58m

Disappointed but Not Discouraged

32m

Chaos, Coronavirus, and the Christian Response

47m

Pagan Christianity Fulfilling Prophecy

55m

A God You Can Trust

43m

Abraham and the Ancient Blood Path

57m

Hebrews 11- Faith

21 The Faith of David

45m

The United States in Bible Prophecy

52m

Fair Weather Faith

44m

Filled by God's Spirit

02 Filled by God’s Spirit

1h 31m

Restoration 2023

The Atheist Who Found God

50m

Loss

41m

Sound Doctrine