Would you join me in a word of prayer? Lord, that is too true, Lord. We can't do it on our own. And so we thank you, Lord. We thank you that we can call on you. And we thank you that you hear us and that you come, Lord, and that you save us. Lord, thank you so much for your son. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Be with us this morning, Lord. Holy Spirit, move and speak. May we hear what it is that you have for us, Lord. In Jesus' name. In Jesus' name. Amen. And amen. Good morning. Welcome. You can be seated. So glad you're here this morning. We're so glad those of you that are online are joining us as well. Before we begin, by way of a Maui update, I want to refer you to our Thursday night video, which we provided a link to online. We were so blessed to have Pastor Steve Santos with us for the evening. And that video is on all of our social media platforms as well as the website. He, we just talked this morning. He called me and he wanted me to make sure and thank all of you. He was so loved on by you. And I want to thank you for just encouraging Steve and Kim while they were here, the hospitality that you showed them, the encouragement you gave them. So I'm going to continue with brief weekly Maui updates. And this for several reasons, not the least of which is our commitment as a church to help the people of Lahaina. And the reason is, is that Well, Jesus loves Lahaina, and we want to get Jesus to the people of Lahaina and the people of Lahaina to Jesus. And that's what we're doing. And this is why we've come alongside Calvary Chapel Westside in Lahaina. We are providing long term financial support to this end, Maui Mission support. And this in concert with other short-term and long-term Maui missions we're involved with, which I'll do my best to keep you apprised of for the foreseeable future. Of course, this is all predicated upon the presupposition that we're still here. It's too early? Okay, that's fine. Not for me, it's not. All right, this is our first of two services on Sunday morning. It's the Weekly Bible Prophecy Update. Second service, which will be live streamed at 11 15 a.m. Hawaii time, is actually the teaching, the sermon. We're currently in First John, the fifth chapter. And today we're going to look at how the spirit of truth testifies that Jesus is the truth. And as such, the only one I need, especially during those times in life when I experience extreme hardship and painful trials. So that's what we're going to look at today, second service. For those of you that are joining us by way of YouTube or Facebook, we would I encourage you to go directly to the website at JDFarag.org. There you will find the uncensored and uninterrupted entirety of today's update, which I'm hoping and praying will be an encouraging word, fitly spoken, concerning all the evil in the world that's increasing seemingly daily. So in my time with the Lord this last week, I'm very, and I think some of you might know what I'm saying when I say this, but you know how it is that that becomes the most protected and precious time of your day, your time with the Lord, and you're ferociously protective of it. And it's become that for you. Well, that's I'm very protective of my time with the Lord. Why do I say that? Because that's my story and I'm sticking with it as to why I don't return calls or emails. Okay. It's still too early, I guess, maybe. I don't know. So in that time that I had with the Lord, He redirected me to the Psalms again. And for good reason. The Psalms are a good friend. Yeah. to us. And he redirected me to the Psalms specific to how evil this fallen world is becoming and fast, fast. Psalm 121. It's one of 15 Psalms of ascents, as they're affectionately referred to. And the reason they're referred to that that way is because that's what they were. They were songs that the Levites would sing as they ascended up, get this, 15 steps to the temple for the celebration of the feast, three feasts in particular. And so Psalm 121 is one of those Psalms of ascent. And I would like to invite you to join me in Psalm 121. We're going to read the whole Psalm. You can follow along. All eight verses of it. Okay, we can do this. It's a Psalm of David. And right out of the shoot, verse one, I will lift up my eyes to the mountains. From where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He, verse three, will not allow your foot to slip. He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord, verse five, is your keeper. The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. And here it is, verse seven, the Lord will protect you from all evil. He will keep your soul. The Lord, verse eight, will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever. Imagine singing that as you're ascending the 15 steps there to the temple to celebrate the feast. There are no less than three words fitly spoken for us today as we approach that great and final day. And the first is that my help comes from the Lord. And I love how David is inspired by the Holy Spirit to pen this psalm, because it's in this rhetorical question of sorts. Where do I look for help? Am I going to look to the hills as the pagans did? From where does my help come? Oh, my help comes from the Lord. Oh, by the way, He's going to help me. My Lord is going to help me. That's where my help comes from. And just so you know, He created the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that in them is. That's from where my help comes. It's still too early? Okay. I got chicken skin, I guess. I don't know. Um, so David again, inspired by the Holy Spirit to pen this psalm, this psalm of ascents, asks and answers this question of where does my help come from? Them, him, her, that, this? No, the Lord. Okay, so he's going to help you. Yes, he is. And He can help you. You better believe it. He created heaven and earth. I mean, this is not a problem for Him. So how is He going to help you? Well, He's not going to allow me to be moved. What do you mean? Well, in a world that is shaking and baking beneath us, everything is in turmoil. It's unstable, but not me, because He's going to steady me. I'm immovable because my help comes from the Lord. Yeah, but everything around me is shaking. I know. It's kind of cool to watch it from where I'm standing. Okay, it's not as early as that maybe, but I am rock solid, steady and stable. No matter what's happening in the world, it doesn't move me. That's the Apostle Paul in Acts chapter 20. I love it. It's such a sanctified strength with which he writes this. He says, nothing moves me. Oh, I like that. How is that? Oh, because I'm on the rock. and my help comes from the Lord. And everybody else is on shaky ground, but not me. And it gets better. Secondly, the Lord is my keeper. What does that mean? He's going to keep you safe. I suppose you could say, and for lack of a better way of saying it, I hope that this doesn't come across wrong. I'm a kept man. Okay, it wasn't too bad. He keeps me, and He's a shade for me. Think Israelites in the exodus. You understand that were it not for that cloud that protected them and directed them by day, they would have been torched and scorched. You know that, right? So this is the Lord being that shade. I suppose you could say, and again, I hope this doesn't come off the wrong way, but you've got a maid in the shade. That wasn't as good, but he's going to shade you by his right hand. And it even gets better. He watches over me day and night, even while I'm sleeping. Now at first read that would seem like a firm grasp of the obvious as well it should. But have you ever thought of it like this? And aren't you glad about this? The Lord doesn't need to sleep. How freaky would that be? If you're praying and Lord says, you know what? I need to sleep. Can you get back to me after I... You're going to sleep? Because you know when you're asleep, you're unaware of anything around you. Right? Especially those of you who get deep restorative sleep. We hate you, by the way. We just want you to know that. But when you're asleep, you're not aware of anything that is happening around you. And the Lord is my keeper, my shade, who watches over me day and night, even while I'm sleeping, I don't know, I just have a picture in my mind, and you've probably seen this put to art yourself. But you've got this guy, usually it's a young child sleeping, and here's this mighty angel watching over this little boy as he sleeps. Don't even think about it. That's what the Lord does. All this evil around me, I'm unaware because I'm sleeping, not the Lord, because He's watching over me. He's helping me. He's keeping me. He's a shade for me. He's protecting me. And it even gets better. I hope this doesn't sound like an infomercial, right? It doesn't, right? Just say no, it doesn't. It does not. It's this third one that I want to talk with you about today. And it's that of how the Lord will protect me from all the evil in the world today. He not only protects me from all evil, He will keep my soul and guard over me, coming and going from this time forth and for all of eternity. Have you ever considered that when you are born again, of the Spirit of God, that that's when your eternal life starts. Have you ever thought of it like that? So because you belong to Him, He's going to keep you from now throughout all of eternity. What was your problem again? Well, we do have a problem. if you'll just bear with me and hear me out. Sadly, the problem is that Christians, for the most part, are distracted by and caught up with the daily cares and affairs of this life. And this by way of things like social media, sports and entertainment, TV and news, which, by the way, is, I mean, pure propaganda. You know that, right? And dare I say, worse, politics. Oh, no, you didn't. Oh, yes, I did. These are distractions. These are distractions. demonically designed distractions. So much so that many a Christian has this proclivity to be given over to what I'll refer to as this oblivious indifference which can then lead to a polarizing divisiveness. And if you take every one of those things that I just listed, they all, without exception, do that. They distract you, they numb you, they divide you, and you become indifferent, and you're oblivious to what's really happening. Then what ensues is what always ensues, which is that the evil around them will ultimately blindside them. And here's how I get there. And stay with me. This is really important. It's going to be germane to our understanding of what I want to talk with you about today. The worldwide deception is so great and the delusion is so powerful that overt evil becomes covert evil because it goes unrecognized. Why does it go unrecognized? Because Christians again, for the most part, are caught up in and distracted by the cares and the affairs of this life. Would you agree with me that the evil is so overt in your face now? I mean, you just, it's astounding that Christians don't see it. They're oblivious to it. How is that possible? Deception, distraction, delusion. Well, this is what I want us to addressed today. And I think it would be incumbent upon me to address the evil that is beginning to be implemented and right on schedule, prophetically as we speak. But we'll go ahead. I told you at the beginning you should have gone directly to the website. So we're going to end the live stream on the other platforms. Um, in the interest of time, and because we've covered some of this in prior updates, I want to provide you with a brief summary and update, which again will be germane to our understanding of God's prophetic word to us today. Revelation chapters two and three, the seven letters of the seven churches, all end the same way. Let him who has an ear hear what the Spirit is saying to the church. What is the Holy Spirit saying to the church today? We'll start with the UN Sustainable Development Goals Summit 2023, which was actually held last Monday and Tuesday. And it was in, of course, New York. One of the reasons why this summit was so satanic is because of their, quote, new agenda for peace, new agenda for peace. And this new agenda for peace requires the need for seven years of accelerated transformative action to achieve the SDGs. What are SDGs? Sustainable Development Goals, of which there are 17. When do they need to achieve these goals? By 2030, Agenda 2030. So we've got seven years. We need to get this show on the road. We need to get a move on. We need an accelerated, transformative action if we're to achieve these SDGs. What follows are a couple of quotes from the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. This was during his introductory speech on Monday, quoting This is interesting. The SDGs need a global rescue plan. Wait, so you set these goals and now these goals need to be rescued. Sounds like you got a problem. You shouldn't have set them in the first place. But that's another story for another time. But actually it's very subtle because it starts off, he starts off by sort of inferring that we've got to resuscitate this thing. We've got to rescue this thing. What thing? The sustainable development goals. They need to be rescued. Well, that's what you get for setting goals that need to be rescued in the first place again. I didn't set these goals. You set them. You've got a problem. Not my problem. And this whole thing about rescue plan, doesn't that smack of a savior to save the plan, to save the SDGs? Quoting again, sorry about that, back to the quote. This includes clear support for an SDG stimulus. It includes, listen, a call to recapitalize and change the business model of multilateral development banks. And it includes the endorsement of the need to reform today's outdated, dysfunctional, and unfair international financial architecture. This could be a game changer in accelerating SDG progress. I have called for a new Bretton Woods moment. What? First of all, what's Bretton Woods? I'm glad you asked. This is from the Federal Reserve History website. It's a publication titled Creation of the Bretton Woods System. Listen very carefully. A new international monetary system, a new financial architecture and structure, was forged by delegates from 44 nations in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire in July 1944. Delegates to the conference agreed to establish the International Monetary Fund, IMF, and what became the World Bank Group. The system of currency convertibility that emerged from Bretton Woods lasted until 1971. What happened in 1971? I'm glad you asked. August 15, 1971, the United States terminated convertibility of the U.S. dollar to gold, effectively bringing the Bretton Woods system to an end and rendering the dollar a fiat currency. And Guterres wants a new Bretton Woods moment. You need a moment? You need a Bretton Woods moment? You know what that means? We need to come back to the table and restructure a new architectural financial system as they did in 1944 in Bretton Woods, New Jersey. Back to the quote, it gets worse. Gutierrez then goes on to explain what he calls high impact initiatives to support six targeted areas, it's always six, where urgent transitions are needed. Here are the six, and we have the link to the PDF file that you can download. I'm going to abbreviate it. Number one, food supply. Number two, renewable energy. Number three, hang on to this one, digital governance, digital governance. Number four, how about this one, education societies. That doesn't sound good. Number five, of course, social justice. And lastly, number six, climate change. Okay, so wait. So these are high impact initiatives, six targeted areas where urgent transitions are needed in this accelerating of and achieving of the SDGs, all six of these. That's what their evil global rescue plan is, which begs the question of how they are even now reinvigorating and accelerating this evil global rescue plan. I want to answer the how question. I just explained what it is. How? How are they going to do it? Well, I want to draw your attention to this United Nations General Assembly Economic and Social Council advanced unedited version of the General Assembly 78th session. That's a mouthful. Specifically item 19 of the preliminary list, sustainable development progress towards a rescue plan, watch this, for people and planet. You're not just trying to rescue the SDGs. You've got to save the world. We need a Savior to rescue people and planet. No, you don't. We already have a Savior. And spoiler alert, it's not going to be a rescue plan for earth. It's going to be the new heavens and earth. But I digress. Listen to this quote from Gutierrez on page three, section nine through 11. Quote, First, I urge heads of state and government to recommit to seven years of accelerated, sustained and transformative action, both nationally and internationally, to deliver on the promise of the SDGs. I didn't make that promise. I know I'm doing it again, but it's, you promise? That's your problem. Let me just, I'm sorry, I just need to get that off my chest. I didn't ask for this. Yeah, but we made a promise. I don't care. I don't need your promise. I have the promise of God. the Word of God, which by the way, we're going to talk about second service. Now, still quoting, this calls for the, watch this word strengthening, that's a Daniel 9 27 word, of social cohesion to secure dignity. Ah, it sounds so nice. Opportunity and rights for all while reorienting economies through green and digital transitions. Stop right there. Yeah, we were doing okay for a bit there. I mean, of course, opportunities, rights and But then you just like a lamb to the slaughter are taking me into a restructured, reoriented economy, and you're going to do it through green and digital transitions. What is this reorienting economies through green and digital transitions about? Well, you get to page 31. It tells you what it is. fully leveraged digital technology to expand the foundations, including registries, digital IDs, and financial inclusion on which more comprehensive, dynamic, and adaptive social protection systems can be built. Sounds like the beast system to me. Sounds like exactly what the Bible says what happened during the seven year tribulation to me. You know what they said here? I mean, a lot of fancy Nancy words. But when you, as they say, read between the lines, this is what they're saying. Simply put, This evil plan can be summed up as a biodigital, biodigital ID tracking and verifying of everyone and anyone's eligibility predicated upon their social credit scores and or carbon credit scores, all of which will determine whether or not they can buy or sell, hmm, vis-a-vis this universal digital ID system by virtue of how it will be directly connected to one's accounts and payment apps. I've said it before. I'll say it again. I hope you don't tire of me saying it. This device that you have on you and it's on you. It's okay. I won't look. They're going to take what is on you and not you, and they're going to try to put it in you. What if I told you that everything I've just shared comes down to this? Your vaccination verification. Oh, there he goes again. No, just hear me out. Pictured here is this Apple insider post on how to add your COVID vaccination card to your Apple wallet. Oh yeah, like I'm searching how to do that. Basically they're selling, promoting all the benefits and the convenience, particularly the convenience. Oh my goodness, you want it on there so it's one stop shopping for all. Was that too much? Let me just give you this quote. You could do the same thing as electronic cards, payment cards, event tickets, and even keys and add the vaccination card to Apple Wallet. Okay. So this is where the young people are going, no way. And then the older people are going, what's an apple wallet now? I have an apple and I have a wallet. I didn't know they had an apple wallet. That's okay. This is the technology that's described in the Bible. Bible prophecy describes this technology. And it's the technology that we have today. In fact, if you go too far from today, you exceed the technology that we have prophesied in the Bible. The technology that's described in the Book of Revelation is the technology that we already have today, and have had for a while, by the way. So basically you just go up and you don't need, you actually don't even need your phone. You'll just be able to, you can already do it. I'm not going to tell you where, because I'm just not going to tell you where, but you can just walk in and it's a palm. Oh, your forehand? Yeah. Wait, didn't I? Yeah. So all you got to do, you know, oh, you know, I forgot my wallet. No problem. Hey, I want to, I want to get this airline ticket because I want to travel. Well, you need your vaccination. Oh, I forgot my vaccination card. No problem. will scan your forehand. Oh, you don't have, oh, we can do one in the forehead if you want. And by the way, you'll forgive my imagination, but when you're sitting in front of your computer, okay, can you picture this with me? Just indulge me, okay. Don't look at me like that. You're sitting in front of your computer. What is aimed right at your forehead? And what is your forehand on, the trackpad or the mouse or the keyboard? Some of you are looking again at me, especially younger people. By the way, younger people, we love you very much, sort of. But that's antiquated. And by the way, can I just get this off my chest too, young people? When you guys text, how do you do that? Here I am. I'm like, okay, so, um, my, my six year old daughter is looking at me going like, really? Give me that thing. Anyway, I just need to get that off my chest. So it's not sitting in front of your computer. It's you're on your device. That's worse. Forehead, forehead. How about that? that. Yeah, I don't use a computer. Well, they still got your forehead and your forehand, either way. And that's how you pay. You just walk up and it's all there. Do you know how much information they can put on just something so microscopic in size? That's the technology. Example, this will date me, but whatever. My first computer was an IBM PC clone, the year 1982. Didn't even have a hard drive. Okay, don't. You remember the five and a quarter inch floppy disks? Yeah. How about the dot matrix printer? How about those first cell phones? I bought my first cell phone in 1987, the Motorola 8000. Why 8000? Because that's how much it weighed. They were also called brick phones. I'm actually going somewhere with this, just bear with me. The brick phones, the techno, and the display, young people today would look at you like, what, what are you doing? Here's the display. It's the red LED, and there's the phone's this big, the screen's this big. I'm having a flashback here, but that was the technology at that time in that day. And now look at the technology of today. I remember when I got my first hard drive, 20 megabytes. I'm like, oh, I'll never fill that up. Oh really? Okay, I might as well. Why not? I just, I got nothing to lose. So who cares? In my pocket I have a flash drive. Oh my God, I already forgot how many gigabytes is just on this. just on this, gigabytes. I get a 20 megabyte hard drive on my PC. I'm thinking I'll never fill that up. Oh yeah. No, you will. We'll make sure that you do, because then you're going to have to get a 40 megabyte hard drive. Then you're going to have to get 100 megabyte, then a three. Then we're going to go from megabytes to, did I skip one? No, it is megabytes to gigabytes, right? And then terabytes. And then I don't want to know what the bytes are after that. They actually have bytes after tera, but that's not the point. What's your point? My point is the technology is already in place. It's already in place. Now, right now, it's just a convenience, voluntarily, It's being promoted as this, you know, voluntary convenience. But what if I told you that it was just a matter of time before it goes from voluntary to mandatory, exactly as Bible prophecy says it will in Revelation 13. How? Well, by way of a nationwide and worldwide emergency, Please hear me out, which right on schedule will actually be tested nationally on Wednesday, October 4th by none other than FEMA and the FCC. You heard about this? FEMA and the FCC are joining hands together in this evil plan to conduct an emergency alert test, which will target all consumer cell phones, all cellular devices, all radios and all televisions displaying a test message. You know what I'm talking about? No matter where you're at, they got you, and they're going to get this test alert to you. Okay, you're watching TV. I don't watch TV anymore. In fact, I remember turning on the TV and just watched a little bit of the news. I almost threw up. Literally, I got sick. I was like, I used to watch this all the time. I cannot believe it. You know, when you've walked away from something and you come back to it, it's just breathtaking. Well, Let's say you're watching TV. You know how it is when all of a sudden, just out of nowhere, and they turn the volume up really loud. I got a lot of things I got to get off my chest today. This is a test of the emergency broadcasting system. And if this were an actual emergency, we know where you are. No, that's it. That's what this is about. Make no mistake about it. Really, that's the purpose of the test? Well, let me quote what they say the purpose of the test is. I want you to listen to this. The purpose of the test is to ensure that the systems continue to be effective means of warning the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level. Oh, wow. You really care. Oh, yeah. Yeah, you really care. Interesting. Pastor, just kind of parenthetically, a side note. Can they do that? You better believe they can. Wait, they have the technology to send an alert to everyone and everything. Yeah. That's kind of scary a little bit. A few years ago I had my son who has taught me a lot about this kind of stuff. He said, Baba, not only can they tell if you're in the home or not, they actually know what room you're in in your own home. So have a nice afternoon. You see where I'm going with this? So why do you point this out? Why do you bring this up? Why do I need to know this? Because, and I want you to think through this with me, these tests and exercises or drills, if you prefer, are always preceding of or simultaneous with an actual created crisis. Why do you say it like that? Because the crisis is first simulated, then created. What do you mean? Oh, they create the crisis in order to control the reaction and activate the final solution, just as they did with 9-11 and subsequently what we call COVID-19. Did you already forget? Actually, that's biblical. That's not being mean or snarky. The Apostle Paul writing the Thessalonians. In fact, we're going to look at it. Chapter two, his second letter. So don't you remember when we talked about this, when I told you these things, when I was with you? Did you already forget? So I'm basically hiding under the umbrella of the Apostle Paul asking you, do you not remember in 2019 October, Event 201, they simulated a coronavirus pandemic, October 2019, eerily similar to what they would create in 2020. So they first simulated it, then they created it. Are we okay with that? You understand that? You get that, right? Do you want to leave? That's fine. I just, bye. There he goes again. It's true. Can I just take you back to 9-11? I don't want to, but I'm going to. Do you know that on that Tuesday, September the 11th of 2001, do you know how many simulations they were doing simultaneously with what they were creating? In fact, it was part of the overall plan. So again, Pastor, why are you getting all worked up and why are you bringing this up? Because they're doing it again. We should stand up and take notice when they have a simulation, an exercise, a drill, a test, an alert, a tabletop exercise, Oh you, when? So I can start making plans now, because whenever you guys do that, I know what's coming, because you're going to simulate it first, and then you're going to create it after you simulate it. Am I right? You can go back, all of these operations, Operation Dark Winter, Operation All of the Above. All of those were exercises and drills that were simulated prior to that which was created. So you got my attention. October 4th, you're going to simulate this. Okay, well, let's do this. Because it's exactly what my Bible says is going to happen. Okay, question. What are they waiting for? Ah, answer. Second Thessalonians two, they're waiting for the restrainer to be taken out of the way and the church to be raptured out of the way. And by the way, they can't wait till we're out of the way. because we're in the way right now. Did you know that? We're in the way of their evil plan, and they hate us, and they can't wait for us to leave so they can get on with it. But they can't get on with it until we're taken out of the way, and the restrainer is taken out of the way. Then it's like, okay, go ahead. You can do whatever you want now. Well, we need seven years. You got it. Seven years. Go. We'll be in heaven, in that place that Jesus said He went to prepare for us, in His Father's house, celebrating while you're tribulating for seven years down here. Again, I'm not trying to be snarky, but Second Thessalonians, the entire chapter, chapter two, is a really a detailed prophecy, chronologically laid out for us where the Apostle Paul begins by saying, don't you guys remember he was there in Thessalonica for three months. He was ran out of town, and he writes these letters to them because he loves them and wish he had more time with them. But isn't it interesting that the three months that he had with them, he taught them Bible prophecy and the rapture. These are new believers. Yeah, the best kind. The seasoned ones, I don't want to go there. There, you know, when I came to Christ there were a lot of things I had to unlearn before I could learn. And some people, when they come to Christ, they're a blank slate. And that's what Paul had when he started this church at Thessalonica. He had new believers that had just come to Jesus Christ. They were a blank slate. And what's the first thing he teaches them about the pre-tribulation rapture of the church? To new believers. How about that? How about a new believers class? Bible prophecy. that pre tribulation rapture. No, this is the new believers. That sounds like the advanced one. No, the advanced one is actually you left your first love, Ephesus, 35 years later. That's the advanced. Again, I did the very thing I said I wasn't going to do and go there, but I already went there. So let's come back now to second Thessalonians two. This is the only thing standing in their way is the restrainer who has yet to be taken out of the way. And here's the thing about the restraining of evil. Not only is there the restraining of evil, there's the sustaining of righteousness. Even in the midst of lawlessness already at work, as we're going to read here in a moment. So the restrainer not only restrains the evil, but sustains the righteous until that final day when the church is raptured and the restrainer is taken out of the way, which could be any day. I'm still not available. Even if I am still here, I'm just not available for anything. you know, people say, hey, what about, are you available on this date? Probably not. I mean, if I am, I'm still not going to be available because I may not be here. I didn't mean that, by the way. That's not, wait till we get to the but God testimony. I chose it for that reason, as you'll see here momentarily. So here's the order. Second Thessalonians two, the church is raptured, verse three, The Antichrist is revealed, the restrainer is taken out of the way, and all H E double toothpicks quite literally breaks loose. The Antichrist, now who's been revealed, may rebuild the temple. He commits the abomination that causes desolation when he exalts himself as God in the temple of God, declaring that he is God. This is all Second Thessalonians chapter two. It's all nicely arranged and organized for someone like me who needs it to be nicely arranged and organized. You know how some people are. You know who you are. I won't look again. But it's right there, just perfectly in order and makes perfect sense, because it's the perfect Word of God. Rapture, Antichrist revealed, restrainer taken out of the way, and then the strong, powerful delusion. already at work, already at play. Let me just read verses five through seven. Second Thessalonians two. This is why I love this when Paul does this. Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? Now, never imagine, because see, I know when I do it, it sounds like, you know, I'm upset and frustrated. Don't you remember? I don't think that was his heart. I think it was kind of like, did you guys already forget? You don't remember when I was still with you that I told you all about these things? He had to write a second letter after his first letter, because that's, I know, deeply profound, because the second usually comes after the first, but because they still had some questions and they were needing clarification. And Paul's like, okay, I'll write another letter. And you don't remember? Well, let me remind you. So here's a reminder. Verse six, And now you know what is restraining. You already know this. I'm just reminding you of this, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way, the restrainer. Can you imagine how pronounced evil is in our world today with the restrainer. I mean, I don't even want to imagine what it's going to be like once the restrainer is taken out of the way and the church is removed. See, we're the salt and the light. You know what salt and light does, right? Salt, again, deeply profound. I know it not only flavors, but it preserves. See, in that day they didn't have refrigerators. So the salt was used as a preserving agent to keep things from going rotten. We're salt, keeping things from going rotten. How about light? I know this is dorky, but whatever. Have you ever noticed that there's no such thing as a dark switch? Okay, good, good. Good thing I waited till later to do that one. No, it's a light switch. Why? Because when you turn on the light, the darkness go bye bye. That's why we don't need a dark switch. Just turn on the light. Wait a minute. I'm supposed to be salt and light. I reflect His light. So if I'm reflecting His light, the light of the world, and I don't hide my light under something covering it up, a bushel. No, I let it shine. Oh, that sounds like a song. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Just when you get a chance, Capone, that's a good one. You just let your light shine. because when your light is on and your light shines, there's not going to be any darkness. But now you take that light out, ooh, it's going to get dark and rotten and evil through and through. And that's exactly what's going to happen. And here's the bottom line to everything I just said, which probably could have been said in a lot shorter amount of time if it were somebody else saying it. The evil in the world today that the Lord is going to protect me from is a telltale sign of how close we are to the last hour. I'm going to end the way we began with God's Word fitly spoken, assuring us and encouraging us that the Lord is protecting us from all of the evil surrounding us. And let me fill in one blank on that. He will protect us from the evil as He gets us through the evil. I mean, we were in the world, but not of the world. So we're subjected to the evil that is in the world. But that evil does not need to be in us. Because if the light that is in you is dark, how great is that darkness, Jesus said in Matthew 6. So we have a promise from God. We have a Word. God's given us His Word, and His Word is that He's going to protect us. Yeah, but Lord, it's getting really, really, really evil. I know. I'm going to protect you. Psalm 121. I'm going to keep you. I'm going to guard you. And you can go ahead and sleep, and you can sleep well, because I'm watching over you while you're sleeping. I'm going to take care of you, keep watch over you. I'm going to guard you. I'm going to be a shade. My right hand is going to shade you, and I'm going to protect you. See, the restrainer again is restraining, because that's what the restrainer does. He restrains. But he's not just restraining the evil, But He's also restraining and protecting us from said evil. And maybe somebody needs to hear that today and be reminded of that today, because evil is crouching at the door of your Christian life. And it's very real and it's very raw. And you needed this reminder today that God is going to protect you. I know it's getting bad. I know it's getting dark. I know it's getting evil, but God will protect you and see you through no matter how evil it is. Now, how does He do this? By not allowing me to be moved or shaken. You know, as Christians, as born again Christians, we should be so solid no matter what's happening in the world around us. And we need to be immovable and not shaken by the evil in this world, because God is going to watch over me and keep me safe and guard my soul. And He started when the day that I gave my life to Him, and was born again. He's been watching me every day. This might be a word for somebody today, and I'm almost done. I appreciate your patience, but I want you to hear this. God is not worried about you. Don't, that came out so wrong. This is why I need notes. He doesn't worry about me. He's not concerned about me. No, that's not what I said. He's not fretting and worrying and, you know, fearful about you and what's in store for you, because He knows the end from the beginning. You're worried, right? He's not worried. You're worried about, and we always worry about tomorrow. Right? That's Matthew six. In fact, verse 34, I don't like this verse. Is it okay if I say that? It starts off good. Jesus said, you know, don't worry about tomorrow. I'm good. And then he had to go on and say this, for tomorrow sufficient unto the day are the troubles therein. Tomorrow. I was good when you told me not to worry about tomorrow. Now you're telling me tomorrow is going to be the problems that I'm going to worry about are going to be there when I wake up tomorrow? Yeah. But get this, The tomorrow you worried about yesterday is today. I'll give you a minute. But God is not worried. Could you imagine if God were wringing His hands? I love Isaiah. In the year that King Uzziah died, he looks up and he sees the Lord seated, not on the couch, on His throne. and the train of His robe, the glory just filled the entire temple. And they're just holy, holy, holy. Could you imagine Isaiah? He looks up and he sees God pacing back and forth. What are we going to do? What are we going to do? I don't know. You, Gabriel, Michael, get over here. We need to strategize. No, He's seated on the throne. He rules over all and overrules all. So he's not worried about you. He loves you. He's concerned, of course, but he's not worried about you because he's got you. And he knows his plan that he has for you. And it's not to harm you, it's to give you a future and a hope, and to prosper you and to bless you. God wants to bless you. Come on, father, mother, parent, grandparent. How much do we want, as fallen parents, want to bless our Children? How much more, our Heavenly Father? When our boys were, this will be the last one, and we'll bring it in for a landing. But when my boys were little, man, they fought all the time, and we were on them constantly. And just my prayer life at that time was, God, please, God, please, Well, and then God said, you asked Me to make you a man of prayer, so I just gave you two boys. And that's how I answered that. Oh, I'm a man of prayer now. But I remember one time in our devotions in the morning, I told them, I said, I know this might be shocking to you, but your mom and I don't wake up in the morning figuring out, looking forward to how it is that we could discipline you. You're looking at me like they did when I said that. And they're kind of like, you don't? Like they were surprised. Because it seemed like that, right? No, we wake up in the morning and we're not thinking, man, I can't wait to ground that kid. Can't wait to discipline that kid. No, it's, hey, can't wait to surprise them with the water park. That'll bless them. How much more, Heavenly Father? Oh, He loves you. He guards you. This, of course, comes packaged with the presupposition that we're even aware of the evil and that God will protect us in and through the evil. But there's another presupposition, which is that this promise, everything that I've just shared, it only applies to those who are born again of the Spirit of God. So that's why we end with the gospel, because everything I just talked about, that is not a promise for you until you come to Him and are born again of the Spirit of God. How are you born again? Believe in Him for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. It's very simple. It's ABC simple. The gospel is good news. Your debt has been paid. The penalty has been carried out. You're free to go. Good news. Jesus came and died for you instead of you. What are the ABC's? Well, it's just again another tool. It's just one of many, but it's a very simple one. To equip you, should God ever give you the profound privilege of sharing Jesus with somebody, the A is for admit or acknowledge that you're a sinner, you sinned. Otherwise, why would you have any need for interest in the Savior? Romans 3 10 says there is no one righteous, not even one. No one is good. You might think you're good. You'll never be good enough. And Romans 3 23 tells us why. It's because all of us, every single one of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We were all born sinners, which is why we must be born again to enter the kingdom of heaven. Well, here's the Romans 6.23, which puts the two together. The bad news first. What's the bad news? Oh, it's the penalty. What's the penalty? The wages of sin is death. Now, you ready for the good news? Here's the good news. The good news is, is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. That is good news. And by the way, gift, you don't pay for it. He paid it in full on the cross. The B, very central, is for believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord. What does that mean? To put your trust in Him for the forgiveness of sins. It's central, this belief. Again, we're going to talk a little bit about this in Second Service in First John. You know that, I'll just say this, you know the saying, seeing is believing. How about believing you'll see? If you believe, then you'll see. If you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved, Romans 10, 9. And then lastly, the C is for call upon the name of the Lord, or confess with your mouth. And by the way, every knee is going to bow, every tone is going to confess. But when they do, it will be for damnation, not salvation. Romans 10 9 also says if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. And lastly Romans 10 13, all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. And I'm sorry for the reference to first John again, but that word will, that's huge. the jury's not out, the verdict's in. There's no question. The Apostle John says you can know that you have eternal life. Not hope, not wish, not think. No, you can know you will be saved. Today's but God testimony comes from Natalie Haygood, who writes, you'll see why I chose this one here in a moment. Hi Pastor JD. I have been a believer since I was a child. I have been close in my faith, but I have wandered just like every other sinning believer. When COVID hit, I started doing serious research and I came across one of your sermons. I haven't missed one in over three and a half years now, and I always find them a blessing and great hope. Months into COVID, my hours were cut in half. So I found a new local job. I was at that job for just under my six month probationary period when my manager got sick and they required me to get a COVID test, which I rejected because I do not trust the fake PCR test. So my employer let me go, even though my husband was currently unemployed and now I was too. I trusted God 100% and by His grace, I just knew we would be fine. Months later, I found out my mom was diagnosed with cancer. And by the grace of God, I was able to be with her the last two months until she held my hand, took her last breath and went to be with Jesus. See, if I had been working at my job, I would not have had that time with my mom, but God. Year and a half ago, I got the best job I've ever had with a great company, making great money and working remotely. My husband started a business and we are doing great, better than ever before. All of this happened because I just trusted God. I didn't doubt Him, that's James, for a minute. And if it wasn't for COVID, this is interesting, I would have been sitting and worrying about the world and not sleeping at night. There it is, see that? Now I sleep like a husband. No, wait, wait, because everyone knows babies don't sleep, lol. That's a good point. How'd you sleep? I slept like a baby. Oh, you're up all night screaming. Yeah. Anyway, I listen to the Bible audio book every night. I start at Matthew and by the time I wake up, I'm in the end of Luke or beginning of John. Now I can practically quote the Gospels verse by verse. I've been following prophecy teachers that I've loved over the last few years, but I find myself frustrated lately. I feel like they all would rather put out videos about date setting. I now find myself passing over their videos and watching Bible teachings instead. I feel that they are more worried about not being wrong and not getting excited about our blessed hope instead of maybe doing the research for themselves. Thank you for never taking away my blessed hope. Thank you for always speaking truth, giving it to us right between the eyes. Yeah, I do that. and always teaching us a lesson that shows us how God has given us a message in the Bible that goes hand in hand with what's really going on in this world. Thank you for crying at times. Yeah, I do that. Getting excited at times. I really do that. Yelling at times. I always do that. And more importantly, just being your honest self. I don't know how to be anything else. God bless you, your family, your staff, and your congregation. See you in the clouds. Nah, can't wait. See you there. Capone, come on up. Why don't you stand up. I want to close in prayer and Capone will close us in song. But as I do, I just would implore you, if you're here today or watching online and you've never put your trust in Jesus, believing in Him, calling upon Him, Oh man, I just, today's the day of salvation. We live in a world that is most unforgiving of delaying the most important decision of your life for eternal life. Choose life this day. Choose who you're going to serve. Father, thank You. Yes, it is getting evil. But thank You God that You protect us from all evil, in and through all evil. Thank You that You guard over us, watch over us, keep us, keep us safe. Lord, thank You that everything that we're seeing in the world today as evil waxes worse and worse seemingly by the day, Thank You for telling us in Your Word that it was going to happen before it happened, so that when we see it begin to happen, we know that our redemption draws nigh. So Lord, so be it. Come quickly, Lord Jesus, Maranatha, in Jesus' name, Amen.