♪ The Lord's my shepherd on the cross ♪ ♪ And pastures green and wild ♪ ♪ He leadeth me by waters still ♪ ♪ The quiet waters by ♪ My soul He doth restore again, In righteous paths He leads, In for the sake of His own name, In for His own name's sake. Take a walk through the valley of the shallow water. I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me. Thy wardens love their company. The table that was prepared in presence of my Father was my head with all the dust in it. ♪ My cup of the cross ♪ Surely goodness and mercy ♪ Shall follow me ♪ And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever Thank you. And do it again. Do it again. Is that encouraging? That is encouraging to me. I am surprised over and over again how many people are not really grounded in just the basic simple truths of the second coming of Jesus Christ. So tonight let's just settle forever in our heart one great Truth. Jesus had told the disciples, I'm going to be crucified. I'm going to be raised from the dead. They wouldn't accept it. They just would not. And so Jesus said in John 14, starting in verse one, this is a simple thought, but let's get this simple thought embedded in our heart so that this will not be any problem at all. It'll be settled forever. Jesus said, let not your heart be troubled. Now this has to do with his second coming and all the things it involves. So if you are saved by the grace of God these things that we will talk about tonight and God willing in the future are not in the Bible to trouble you. They are there to make you rejoice because soon all of this is going to be over with and we're going to have heaven on earth. Now Jesus said in John 14 1, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God. You believe that there is a supreme being. believe also in me, in Jesus. In my Father's house are many mansions. Now, I don't like the room and house Bibles. Some of you have got some of them. In my Father's house are many rooms. Cut it. I'm not going, I'm not going to buy that. I like, Brother Phil and I were singing with Sister Lighty a few hours before she went to heaven. I've got a mansion just over the hilltop in that bright land where we'll never grow old. So in my father's house in his great creation, there are many mansions. You're not going to, you know, you've heard the song, Lord build me a cabin in the corner of glory land. Well, there'll be no cabins. That may be what you deserve, but we don't get what we deserve. We get what he has prepared. And he's not preparing a log cabin. That's for politicians. And most of them, being a history teacher, every politician at the run of a president wanted to claim he's born in a log cabin for some reason. In my father's house, there are many mansions. And Jesus said, if it were not so, I would have told you. And so he was saying, don't listen to anybody else. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, here it is. will come again. Now, that is wonderful. And just before we ascend into heaven, the disciples want to know, are we going to have the kingdom started right now, pretty quick? What shall we look for as far as the millennium is concerned? the thousand-year reign. How soon will it be? Are you going to restore it and kick Rome out?" And of course they were told, this, the times and the seasons are not for you to know. But he said, and then the angels who stood by said, same Jesus. Now I know most of you know this already, but let's settle it. This same Jesus, this is in the first chapter of Acts, that has just ascended into heaven shall what? So come in like manner. Now one thing that confuses people, that they need to get straight, And that is that his second coming is in phases. It is in phases. It doesn't happen or all doesn't happen at the same time. And many people, when they read, well, he's gonna come as a thief in the night in one place on the second coming. In another place, they'll read, every eye shall see him, and it'll be like the lightning going across the sky. Well, those are contradictory statements. So obviously they're talking about two different phases of the same return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now as I was preparing for tonight, the Lord spoke to me very clearly and said, tonight I want you to, I don't want you to dwell on the scriptures in Joel where it tells the kings of the earth to prepare for war and for battle and for the bloodshed and the carnage that's going to take place. I don't want you to, I don't want my people, that's for the heathens. That's for the unsaved. I want you tonight to tell the people how they are to live before I return. Not like the heathens, but what their daily life should be like. Now just so you'll know, we are in sync. with the second coming, I'm going to read a scripture that comes after it tells us how to live, so you will know that it's talking about that subject. Okay? The reason I'm reading ahead in 1 Thessalonians 4.13 is so you'll know what it's talking about. what the previous verses that we will dwell on, what should my life be like while I am waiting either to go meet the Lord through physical death or at the rapture, the taking away of the children of God out of this world. So we'll start with verse 13. Now the reason I'm starting here is to let you know that what I talked about at the last of the sermon is how we should live before this takes place that I'm going to read to you. But I would not, verse 13, 1 Thessalonians 4, but I would not have you to be ignorant. You know, ignorance is the one thing that you can't cure. It's an uncurable disease. And if a person chooses to be ignorant, let them alone until they decide they want to learn something. I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, And this tells me that only saved people can understand this. Lost people don't want to know about it. And if you don't want to know about it and you really don't care, you might check and see if you're saved. Because you might be on the road to hell. But I would not have you ignorant brethren. The word brethren here comes from the Greek word that means those who are out of the same womb. if you are my brother and sister we all came through Jesus Christ no matter what label we wear I would not have you to be ignorant brethren concerning them that are asleep now the word sleep here comes from a Greek word that means that are at rest that are reposing that are leaning upon the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven. Those who have, their bodies have died, but their spirits are alive. And if you believe in souls sleeping, how in the world can you believe when the Bible plainly says, absent from the body present with the Lord. You know, I love those simple things. That's what physical death is, is the spirit leaves the body. So concerning those who, and we're not talking about the physical body here, we're talking about people in Revelation that are going to see know what's going on down here because you know I have told you if you've heard me preach very much that angels keep reporting what's going on down here in heaven and there's rejoicing when we have a good service like we're having tonight And they report it and everybody who used to sit in these pews are saying, hallelujah, praise God, I'm glad they're having a good service down there. They got a good spirit down there. I don't want you to sorrow as others which have no hope. Now, it's obvious when someone that we dearly have had a intimate closeness with, humanly speaking and emotionally and spiritually, when they are no longer visibly present and their body has died, it's normal to have sorrow. But it is not normal to have sorrow like those who have no hope. And so he says, I want you to stop that if you are sorrowing like there was no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again. Now, here again is a simple, no complexity to it. Do you, with all your heart, with all your soul and all your mind, believe that Jesus died on the cross for you personally and paid for all of your sins and arose again the third day. Do you believe that? All right. For if we believe, and the word believe means, comes from the Greek word pastuos, and it means to cling to, to adhere to. to be stuck to like Scotch tape. Stuck to Jesus. For if we are stuck to Jesus, who died and rose again, even so, them which sleep in Jesus, who are resting at the right hand of God with Jesus, will God bring with him. If I die before the rapture, I'll come back just like you will, but you're going to go a different way. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, not by the Methodist, Baptist, Catholic, Pentecostal or whatever, not Dr. So-and-so. not rabbi blankety blank for this we say unto you by the word of the Lord that we which are alive and remain that's what we are right now we're alive and we're remaining in this body you hear me you are alive whether you know it or not and you're remaining you're here that we which are alive and remain under the coming of the Lord, return, shall not prevent, and that's kind of an unfortunate word because we don't use that word in the English language anymore like it was used in the days of the King James translation, shall not precede. We will not, in other words, the dead in Christ are going to rise first. And then the Lord and for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven. Now this is not the time when his feet will touch the Mount of Olives. This is when he comes in the clouds. We meet him in the clouds. Everybody understand that? This is not when his feet touches the Mount of Olives. This is at the rapture, so-called. The word rapture doesn't appear in the Bible. It's catching away. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Now, people ask me more and more all the time about cremation and what about this and that, all these things that are different than just having a regular funeral service. It doesn't matter. God knows where every neutron and proton and atom and everything DNA about you where they could scatter it on they could send it up in a spaceship and scattered all over Venus or Mars or the moon and God knows where you are you know and he's going to make a new body out all that stuff gonna have a glorified body that's that's really going to be something and that's part of your salvation It's the part you haven't received yet, but you will because God promised it. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever from then on be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." Now, that hasn't happened yet. Anybody doubt? This has not taken place yet. I passed by too many graveyards. And I see too many that put away in so many different ways. So that had happened. So how am I to live as a believer? And I'll hit the high points in the latter part of the message. It begins with the first part of chapter four. So we'll go back now and find out how, what to do, what not to do, what to be, and what not to be prior to this happening that I have just shared with you. Furthermore, when we, then we beseech you. Now when God beseeches you, it simply means that He's wooing you close to Him. I want you to come close. I want to have an intimate relationship with you. Brethren, and exhort you, the word exhort means to give a push, to make you want to jump forward, to soar like the eagle. I exhort you by the Lord Jesus that as you have received of us, how you ought to walk. Now, did I say I was going to preach to you about how we, what kind of, what our life should be like before the rapture? Now, it's coming soon. It's all coming together. If you hadn't figured that out, it's close. There's nothing here you don't do. If there, you know, if there is, forget it because you're not going to keep it. You're not going to do it. That as you have received of us how you ought to walk and to please God. Now what pleases God? Without faith, it is impossible to please God. So you live a life believing the best about God. Not the best about humanity and all that's going on in the world, but the best about Almighty God. pleasing God and there's one thing that pleases God and that is trust so that you may abound more and more you see we're not shrinking we're expanding you are an expanding person if you're pleasing God now some people have allowed circumstances to stop them in their tracks. And they look maybe at someone who is doing well and who is moving on and they say, well, I don't know why I can't. Well, are you ready to have more and more of what Jesus has? And may I say something to you a little bit out of order, maybe? Why in the name of God do you let people bother you when you are on the more and more track? You say, well, you don't know what they do to me. I know what you let them do to you. One of my greatest joys is when one of my enemies tries to get my goat. And I can look them right in the eye and say, God bless you. I am so glad that you are a part of my life. Now, I shouldn't say this, so God, you heard me ahead of time. I met some people a few days ago, and they have, they think they have used me. They haven't. You can't use me, because I don't exist. I died. And only Christ, it's no longer I that liveth, We sang this morning, but Christ liveth in me. So they're not messing with you. They're messing with Jesus. And I don't mind, I don't think you should mind telling them, hey, do you enjoy persecuting Jesus? Because I'm his. I'm not bragging. I'm not boasting. You are persecuting the Son of God. You say, Brother Beal, I don't know if I can accept it or not. Well, all I know is when the Apostle Paul, who had killed believers and had, now he was a wild man about killing Christians and hurting them. He didn't just talk about them and make their life miserable psychologically and emotionally, he had him killed and put in prison. And when he got knocked down on the road to Damascus, he said, Jesus said to him, why do you persecute me? So anyway, these people said something to me and I decided to say something kind of awful. just off the wall. And Brother Phil happened to be right behind me and he heard them talk to me. And he said, oh, he thinks he's Superman. And I said, no, I think I'm Super Sucker. And that's the truth. I mean, I let people just, I love to be used. I'm worse than oxydol. There's plenty of them, but oxydol is. You know, have you ever heard of Occidental? I thought surely he worked that old route. I mean, you know, that... Ha! I like Ruthie, I can harass her. You mess with her, yes. That as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, So you would abound more and more. And you need to tell that person that is getting your goat or those people that are bothering you, I have something to say to you. Whatever you do or whatever you say or however you deal with me, I'm gonna get better and better and you can't stop it. And you can either like it or love it because I'm going on with Jesus. and if you want to try to go the other direction help yourself to poison because I'm going to have the abundant life and you need to tell them that I'm going to live the abundant life for you know what commandment we gave you by the Lord Jesus For this is the will of God. Someone says, well I wish I knew the will of God. Okay, you ready? For this is the will of God. Even your sanctification. You say, oh boy, what's that? Means God setting you apart as his own. Now, you say, but I don't feel set apart. I feel tromped upon and I feel that I have been, had great damage done to me. Well, we don't go by feeling because feeling will kill you, literally, as well as figuratively. For this is the will of God, that you see yourself so hard because you have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ who rose from the dead, you are sanctified. Now my word, there's a war among denominations about sanctification. It's simple. I have been sanctified in the sight of God. already. It's all settled in his mind. I am now daily realizing what he already knows and one day I'll get a glorified body and I'll catch on to all of it. Now that's sanctification. Simple. Isn't that simple? That you should abstain from fornication. Now most people define fornication like it's defined in Webster's Dictionary. And this Bible is not Webster's dictionary. Fornication comes from, are you listening? Comes from the same Greek word that pornography comes from. And it means, in simple terms, you selling yourself. in any respect in order to attain something for your flesh. That's fornication. You have made yourself available in order to get something in return. Now this can be a promotion at work. Doesn't have to be sex. Everybody hears fornication, oh, they think immediately of sex. No, it's any way that you sell yourself. You see, you are not your own. I am not my own, I am bought with a price. And that price has been paid, and if I, pardon the plain language, but it's in the Bible, if I bastardize myself, to the world, then I cannot have the more and more life. That every one of you should know how, and this is telling you how to live before the rapture, you should know how to possess, that is have control of, his vessel. That's you, your emotions, your lust, your desires, you, who you are, be in control of yourself. That every one of you should possess his vessel in sanctification, and that simply means seeing yourself as set apart, and honor. Honor means that you carry out the things that you were put on this earth to do and be. An honorable person will fulfill the purpose of God. There isn't any other honor. Not in the lust of comp- I can't hardly say the word, compugnacies. Isn't that a big one? Well, what does it mean? seek forbidden things things that God says no and this in particular I was watching a program on television and a one of the stars of the Dallas soap opera Patrick Duffy I believe well he is a Buddhist or something like that one of those Eastern garbage religions. And he was talking about how the way he got close to his mother and daddy who were murdered was by meditating. Well, I'm getting close to Jesus, and then I'm close to anybody I want to be close to that's gone on. I said, If I want to get close to somebody who's gone on, I get close to Jesus, and then I'm close to them. Because Jesus said that where I am, there ye may be also. Even as the Gentiles know which know not God. And this is how to live before the rapture. I should be wanting you to have more and I should never take less from you and it's just like students that I teach in a classroom I tell them You cheat in this class? You're not cheating me. You're cheating yourself. And when you defraud or take away from another human being, you have taken away from yourself. You've hurt yourself much more than them. That no man Go beyond and defraud his brother in any manner matter Because that the Lord is the avenger of all such if I take from you and Rob you of who you are and who you could be and don't encourage you to be more and more and do everything that I have within my power as another brother or sister to help you attain that goal and then God has a switch to use on me and use on you how we're supposed to act until the rapture comes as you also have been forewarned for God has not called us to uncleanliness but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth," now this is strong medicine and we better listen to it and roll it around, for he that despiseth The Greek word translated spies here means neutralize, put it not, declare as nothing another human being. Did you know the meanest, rottenest, filthy people that give you the most trouble have great possibilities? Did you know that? Well, don't you have great possibilities? Well, how come you think that you're something on a stick? He therefore that despises or neutralizes another human being despises not man. If someone despises me, they've made a mistake. They don't despise me. They despise God. That means they said, God, you don't exist. I neutralize you. But God, he therefore that despises, despises not, this is not, just for the rapture's not a time to hate people. He therefore that despises, despises not man, but God, who hath also given us his Holy Spirit. That's the way that you counteract. And right quickly, let me just read these other scriptures, because they're pretty self-explanatory. But as touching brotherly love, ye need not that I write to you. For you yourselves are taught of God to love one another, and indeed we do. it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia but we beseech you brethren that you increase more and more become more and more spiritual by trusting in Jesus and then a good advice that you study and the word study means to focus to be intent that you study to be quiet that simply means learn how to shut your mouth and be quiet and let God do the acting that you study to be quiet and to do your own business nosy people like the camel sticking its nose under another person's tent needs to have somebody step on its nose nosy people now that's a cardinal sin meddling in other people's business stay out of people's business the only time I want to be in I'm going to be in your business is when you just absolutely push yourself and force me to and then I that means then you have asked me to help you and to work with your own hands as we command you and then I come to the last verse before the verse I read to you about the rapture that you may walk honestly toward them that are without lost people. Lost people should be treated with respect. Every once in a while I'm called on to bury somebody and inevitably some holy person I think it's H-O-L-E person. And they can't help it, they've just got to tell me. I mean, I don't know that much about the person. I don't try to find out about all the things about a person when I preach their funeral that I don't know. I just preach the word of God and shut up. Come on, Tony. He was a drunk. I didn't need to hear that. That person was not right with God. They would not have come up and told me that right there at the man's grave. They should have come up to me and said, I sure didn't pray for that man a lot. Look honestly toward them that are without, those are not saved, that they may have lack of nothing. that means spiritually we are a blessing to them. Now before Jesus comes back and all this war and all...