Signs

[0:00] I normally reserve this particular scripture for funerals, but it seems like there's some dying going on here tonight.

[0:19] How many is dying out to the old man? The apostle Paul said, for we are crucified with him.

[0:30] Can you say amen? Somebody forgot to tell my flesh that. Praise God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

[0:42] Thank you, Jesus. If you've got your Bible, turn with me to 1 Thessalonians, the 4th chapter, beginning in the 13th verse. 1 Thessalonians 4, 13.

[0:54] Most of us could probably quote this scripture. It says, But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

[1:11] For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Christ Jesus will God bring with him when he comes.

[1:25] For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

[1:39] For the Lord himself shall not prevent them from the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them from the coming of the Lord. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God.

[1:50] And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be called up together in the clouds.

[2:07] Somebody shout in the clouds. In the clouds. To meet them in the air. To meet them in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord. Whereby comfort one another. With these words.

[2:19] But of the day and hour, brethren, you have no need that I write unto you. For ye yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the Lord cometh as a thief in the night.

[2:31] Let's bow our head to go to the Lord in prayer. Lord Jesus, we thank you, Lord God, for this precious, precious word. Lord God, you gave us warning. You've told us how it's going to happen. You told us, Lord, how we're going to leave here.

[2:42] What's going to happen. Lord Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15th chapter, for the trumpet shall sound. And we shall be changed in a moment of the twinkling of an eye at the sound of the last trump. Lord God, don't let us be caught.

[2:55] Lord God, off guard. Don't let us be like the foolish virgins and let our lights go out. But Lord God, help us, Jesus, to be ever watchful. Praying always with all prayer and all supplication for the saints.

[3:05] Father, we love you and praise you. Ask your Lord God to anoint me, Lord, for the next five minutes. Lord God, that I might give us a word. Lord God, that we might be able to run on in Jesus' name. Everybody say amen. You know there's a doctrine going around that there's not going to be a rapture.

[3:21] That Jesus Christ isn't coming back. That he came back on the day of Pentecost. How many know something came back on the day of Pentecost? Now, the Bible said that God is a spirit.

[3:34] Can somebody say amen? God is a spirit. And they that worship him must worship him in the spirit and in the truth. Amen? So we know Jesus said in John 14, he said, I'm going away.

[3:47] But if I go away, I'm going to pray the Father who's going to send you another comforter. And he's going to come in my name. And he'll not only be with you, but he's going to be in you. Who was he talking about?

[4:00] Talking about the Holy Ghost. Amen? Who's going to be with you? Who's going to be in you? Amen. Now, whose name did the Holy Ghost come in?

[4:11] Amen. That's what he said. John 14. I pray the Father that he'll send you another comforter. Who's going to come in my name? He'll not only be with you, but he's going to be in you. Amen. The doctrine that there's not going to be a rapture.

[4:23] You'll be surprised how prevalent it is among even the nominal churches in our day. Churches that used to believe in a rapture. Used to believe in the word of God, but they're going to get the message out of the newspaper.

[4:36] They're not a black book. Amen? The only thing that tells you right from wrong is what's written in this whole book. There's not another book. You can't get it out of the Koran.

[4:47] You can't get it out of none of the writings of Confucius or anybody else. Only the word of God. Can you say amen? Amen. What's John 1 and 1 say? In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God, and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

[5:08] Can you say amen? Amen. All things were made by him. Without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the life of man.

[5:18] Can somebody shout amen? Amen. And the light shined in darkness. The Bible said this whole world lieth in darkness. Remember the demonstration last week. Brother Stephen, he turned out the lights, and he lifted up one little bitty light.

[5:33] The whole world lieth in darkness. Arise. Shine. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

[5:50] Amen. I used to have a sign up here over my pulpit. We took it down for a wedding never to get it back up. Well, I need to get it back up. It says, born in the fire and smoke don't satisfy.

[6:03] Brother, now your wife's not with you tonight. I don't know what y'all are going to tell your wife when you've been home because they're not going to believe you've been out to a church house on Saturday night, and it's five minutes till 11. Well, let me tell you what. I was born in this thing.

[6:16] We didn't, hey, until just I came to Louisville and Riverside, we never had a clock in the church. And shame on you if you ever got caught looking at your watch. Because it didn't matter.

[6:28] Amen. The Spirit of God can't hardly move because the devil knows, hey, I've got to get this thing wrapped up. Just so much time. Amen. But God's got all time.

[6:42] God's got all time. He's the Alpha and the Omega. He's the Eternal, Everlasting. Hallelujah. God. Amen. He's the I Am that I Am. I'm all that I want to be, all that I ever will be. Hallelujah.

[6:54] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I'm going back to this old doctrine that the only Jesus that's going to come back came back the other day of Pentecost. I feel sorry for the poor fools that believe that.

[7:05] You call them fools. I'm calling them. Yes, if you can read the Bible and you can't understand what I just read. Amen. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.

[7:18] Who's going to come back? Who's going to come back? The Lord himself. How's he going to come back? With a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God. Who's going to rise first? The dead.

[7:29] Then what's going to happen? Then we which are alive and remain. In other words, honey, you better be cold or you better be hot. Because if you're lukewarm, God's going to spew you out.

[7:42] Amen. You know what's wrong with most churches today? They're so lukewarm. Most of them would have got to run out of this service tonight because we went plumb ballistic on most scales.

[7:56] Amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Anybody know what Acts 1 and 11 says? It says, you're men of Galilee. Why stand you gazing up into heaven?

[8:07] For this same Jesus, this same Jesus, somebody shout this same Jesus. I ain't looking for another Jesus. I'm looking for this same Jesus, which we saw go away, shall so come again in like manner as we see him go.

[8:20] How did he leave here? He left here on a cloud. He said, and as they watched, a cloud received him out of their sight. Amen. Well, what's 1 Thessalonians 4, 16 and 17 say? For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.

[8:39] Now, here's what. Then we which are alive and remain. Shall we call up together with him in the clouds? How did Jesus leave here? In a cloud?

[8:50] How is he coming back? On a cloud? It's going to be a big cloud because it's going to take us all out of here. Can somebody shout amen? I read in the book of Psalms where God makes clouds as chariots.

[9:03] My God. About 30 some odd years ago, Teddy Huffman. How many of you remembers Teddy Huffman? He's a good gospel singer of Teddy Huffman and the Gems. He would sing a song.

[9:13] Stepping on the clouds, we'll see Jesus rise to meet him in the air. Stepping on clouds, he will greet us so the joy in heaven we'll share. And if my voice gets high enough, I say, I'm going to leave this world behind me going where the devil cannot find me.

[9:25] I'm going higher, higher, higher. Stepping on the clouds. Amen. Amen. You know what people will say? When? I've heard that all my life.

[9:37] Jesus is coming. I've heard that. How many? I'm a hold of you. You're past 50, aren't you? 85. Have you ever heard it before that Jesus is coming?

[9:49] Yes. How long ago did you hear it? Many years ago. What would you say? 10? No, 25, 30, 40, or 50. But he's coming.

[10:02] Well, I'm 57, and I've been hearing it ever since I've been saved. Amen. Hey, and I believe I'm just like the Apostle Paul. Would it please the Lord who called me to separate me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace to reveal himself in me.

[10:14] Amen. Woo. I've heard it all my life. And somebody's saying, you're still preaching Jesus is coming? You better believe it. You know why? Because I believe that we're the terminal generation.

[10:26] We're the generation that the ends of the Lord are going to come upon. When men shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction. Amen. You may not know it, but we have over 300,000 men across the waters on foreign soil and floating around out there in ships in the ocean.

[10:42] Amen. We could wake up in the morning and our nation, America, could be at war. Amen. Now, a lot of people are shook, and we should be shaken. What happened to the Roman Empire?

[10:54] When they conquered everything that there was to conquer, then they sat down and they began to implode. What's that mean? That means that men were committing homosexual acts and women, lesbianism and all that different kind of stuff.

[11:06] And God said, I'm going to tear this mess up. And God destroyed it. Amen. You know what America did? We fought every foal on every shore. The iron curtain came down.

[11:18] The great bear of Russia laid down its arms and said, we quit. Nobody is able to fight us. And you know what we start doing? We take prayer out of the schools. Come on.

[11:28] We start killing our babies while they're still in their mama's womb. Come on. Come on. From the church house to the courthouse to the White House.

[11:40] What happens to the nations that forget God? The Bible said every nation that forgets God, God will turn into perdition, destruction. Amen.

[11:51] Into hell. Every nation that forgets God. When the homos are in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, our town. Marching arm in arm.

[12:02] We're queer and we're here. We're going to stay and there ain't nothing you can do about it. Makes me sick. But it lets me know that the signs are the times. If God didn't allow Sodom and Gomorrah to stand.

[12:13] If God destroyed the world with Noah's day in a flood because all the imagination of the heart was only even continuing. Then God is not going to put up with this mess. And one day, God is going to allow us to get into a war that we can't win.

[12:24] Can somebody say amen? But I want you to know tonight I'm on the Lord's side. I'm on the winning side. Amen. I'm on the winning side. Hallelujah. Somebody said you're on the side of the United States of America.

[12:35] I'm on God's side. And as long as America's on God's side, I'm with them. And when they turn away from God, I won't be with them. Amen. Can I preach a little politics? I'm going to anyway.

[12:47] It's a privilege. You're the pastor. You get to preach your politics. Amen. My daddy was a Democrat. My daddy's daddy was a Democrat. And my great-great-granddaddy was a Democrat. And his daddy had a donkey named Democrat.

[13:02] When I got 18, I did the natural thing. I became a Democrat. You know why? Because the Democrats were for the poor people. And the poor people didn't have nothing.

[13:13] And the Republicans for the rich people. And the Democrats for the poor people. I've had old men, 75, 80, 85, 90 years old, sit in my insurance office and sit there and say, Oh, Vance, so them Republicans are going to tell you, you're going to have a chicken in every pot.

[13:27] What they didn't tell you is you ain't got a pot to put the chicken in. I remember when I was glad to get a job making a dime an hour. And if I didn't want the job, somebody else was lined up to take my job.

[13:39] And that's true at one time. That was exactly true of the Democratic Party. But let me tell you what happened. Let me just tell you. A lot of folks don't even know how to vote. They don't even know when to go to the poll.

[13:49] Who are we going to vote for? You know, I don't like what he's doing. Shut up. You probably don't even know what he's doing. Can you say amen? You know what the Democratic platform is now?

[14:02] Homosexual rights. Let the queers have all their rights. Amen. Give them equal. You know, let them get married. Give them medical benefits and all this other stuff. You think that's right?

[14:15] Now their platform is abortion rights. The right of the woman to choose whether that child lives or dies. Honey, I'm glad they didn't have abortion when my mom was blaring me or she might have got rid of me.

[14:29] Aren't you glad that Benjamin Franklin's mama didn't get rid of him because he was just about the 17th son she had? And then along came little Ben Franklin. Amen.

[14:40] Opened the first library to discover electricity and all these other things. That's part of your Democratic platform. Brother Van, I thought you said you was a Democrat. I said I'm a registered Democrat. But until the Democrat party gets saved and gets back for the poor people and gets back to having right morals, then honey, I'm going to vote for the man that I think best follows God.

[15:01] I'm going to vote for the man, amen, that I think that's going to get this country right as it can get before Jesus comes. Amen. And do you know what I heard the other day? That our president now, Mr. Bush, that you know when he came in office we were so sick of Billy Clinton that, well, you know, we just all hoo-rayed him and hoppity-doo and all that stuff.

[15:17] Then all of a sudden, you know, the economy goes a little sour. It's not his fault that Bill Clinton just ran it all down because of his own Reaganomics anyway. The only thing he brought it all about.

[15:32] Mr. Bush has a one-hour prayer service and Bible study every morning with his cabinet.

[15:44] I don't remember any president probably since Abraham Lincoln that did that. You say, Brother Van, he's going to get us into war. The only mistake I think Mr. Bush has made, we should have done it four months ago.

[15:56] And then when you get through with Iraq, you can go on over in Iran and you go down in Libya and you keep on wiping them fanatics out. Timmy, hit that floor, boy.

[16:11] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. The Bible says in the book of Matthew, Take heed that no man deceive you, for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ.

[16:22] You know what people will tell you? There's no sense in all that racket you all do. I came to your church tonight and you had the lights down and everybody was screaming and moaning.

[16:33] This little fellow here, he wasn't in conniption fits. He was scared to death. They brought him in the back, get some cotton for his ears. He thought he was in a haunted house. There's no sense in all that stuff.

[16:44] That's what they're going to tell you. Then they're probably going to go out and get somebody else's wife and go out and have a little talk on some smoke and get them some brew and all that kind of stuff and turn on their country music and just, you know, have a gay old time.

[16:59] Amen. I didn't get in this thing yesterday. I didn't get in it five years ago or 25 years ago. Amen. I'm not preaching anything different than today than I preached when I first got saved.

[17:12] And Jesus filled me and said, son, you're going to take my word and you spread it. Amen. But Jesus Christ is going to have a church. And it's going to be a church that's going to come out of a church.

[17:24] Coming to church don't no more make you a Christian and saved and ready to go into the rapture than parking your car in the garage makes you a mechanic. You got to live it.

[17:36] You got to walk it. You got to talk it. I want that back row to sit down. Don't move a muscle until I get through preaching.

[17:47] I'm going to come back and whip all four of you at the same time. Amen.

[17:57] Amen. What are you all doing on the back row anyway? There's other seats up here anyway. Why is it always a back row that causes all the trouble? I thought I told you children to be by your parents when I was preaching anyway.

[18:21] I don't know. You might not get on the front row, but you don't have to be on the back row. Amen. You're sitting back there full of rebellion. Get up. Get up here.

[18:36] I'll tell you what. If the rapture takes place, I don't want to be sitting on the back row of any church. I want to be sitting on the front row. Amen. When the fire falls, I want to be in the fire.

[18:48] Can somebody shout amen? Hallelujah. Amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. You don't have to be very smart. Just to look around and see the signs of the times that the spirit of the Holy Ghost is being lifted up from the United States of America.

[19:02] We were once one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. But honey, it's not that way anymore. We banished God from the courthouse and from the White House and from almost from the church house.

[19:16] So God ain't even allowed in most churches anymore. try to go into some of the nominal churches and see if they'll let you get up and testify see if they'll let you get up and shout and raise your hands and kind of quake at the spirit of God hit you honey they'll be back there to set you down they'll say you and I act like that you better go down to the Pentecostal church honey you don't have to worry about me I'm already down to Pentecostal church and I'm not looking for something else I done found the way John 14 he said you believe in God believe also in me and my father's house with many mansions if it wasn't so I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you how many wants to go and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am there you may be also and whether I go you know in the way you know somebody say amen amen one of them said how do we know the way and he said I am the way I'm the truth and I'm the life Jesus Christ is still the bright and shining way amen the spirit of God is lifting up off the United States of America his graces and you watch you can read in the Joel the third chapter first and second verse and then down through 10 11 and 12 and you'll see that that that that the the Jews are coming back to the homeland how many million Jews have came back to Israel in the last 10 years millions of them amen you know what's going to happen

[20:40] God's going to call all the armies of the world down to a valley in Israel called Megiddo they're going to fight the battle that's called Armageddon the Bible said that the blood is going to run up to a horse's bridle most horses bridle somewhere around five foot off the ground in a valley that's been about three miles four miles wide and about 10 to 15 miles long that's a whole lot of blood that's a whole lot of boys are going to die over there because they're in the wrong place at the wrong time following the wrong man and fighting the wrong people can you say amen how many knows that that God has got one true people and that is the Jewish people listen now and he that's not a Jew is a Jew outwardly for the circumcision is not of the flesh but it's of the heart and because he that is a Jew is a Jew inwardly amen my father was a Jew and he still is he left here a Jewish rabbi and he's coming back the same way he left can somebody shout amen a Jewish rabbi how many is looking for a Jewish rabbi to come back oh I didn't know he was going to come back as a Jew that's what he left as same Jesus you saw go away shall so come again in like manner as you seen him go how many is getting ready to go how many is really getting ready to go how many is trying to quit lying quit cheating quit stealing quit cussing quit drinking quit chewing quit running around on your wife your husband quit beating your children being men to your come on come on are you really trying praise God amen amen praise God amen

[22:23] I don't know about you what we did tonight was kind of different than what most churches do on Saturday night because most churches don't even have service on Saturday night there used to be a time when you couldn't go anywhere on Saturday night without running into a Pentecostal church because everybody had church but then the fire went out in the pulpit when it went out in the pulpit it went out all over the church amen now they can't hardly have church on Sunday morning and most most Pentecostal churches don't even have church on Sunday night if they do they're in by six and out by seven you people are sitting here at a quarter after eleven something must be wrong with you all you all aren't fitting in the mold what is wrong with you and an old crippled woman sixty years old gets up takes her cast off whatever that thing is and starts walking around sixty what amen a man that I saw fall over here and I was really expecting we was going to have to take him to the hospital is out here doing hand what do you call it cartwheels on the floor what are y'all doing standing around here in the corner let me tell you what honey this is the only joy we get all the joy that we have all the fun that we have all the excitement that we have all the entertainment that we have is serving God can somebody shout amen whoo how to bring the sun of a hotel whoo glory whoo

[24:05] I've done went over my five minutes for a few more minutes praise God I'd rather be here than in the gracious bar in Louisville Kentucky I'd rather be here than in the best jailhouse or the best hospital or the finest mansion in Louisville Kentucky whoo who made you come here nobody I was led here by the Holy Spirit of God the Holy Ghost will lead you and guide you into all truth I came to preach on this little rag here tonight but I won't but it'll keep but I think it's time one more time last time I preached on this was about 1993 10 years ago for our brothers it probably won't be back when they get to preach on it

[25:09] I said probably won't I didn't say they wouldn't see all this fancy writing around the top of this it's called the crown amen this is called a prayer shawl it's got a Hebrew name called a talith you take it and put a star David right in the middle of it put it on a flagpole every Jew in the country will stand up and salute that flag three different people moved by the Spirit of God at the same time when the nation of Israel needed a flag put a star of David in the middle of a Jewish prayer shawl when they ran it up in the council one man ran it up and everybody else stood there and looked and nobody said anything wrong or negative about it because it was the right thing to do amen anybody don't know what a star of David is just look right here that's a star of David but it's got something extra in the middle amen that's a star of David which has a cross in the middle how many knows that when blind Bartimaeus when he cried out to Jesus what did he say he said

[26:24] Jesus thou son of David have mercy on me amen hallelujah hallelujah the Jews had to were ordered to to wear this and then during the the world war 2 when the Nazis were going to annihilate all the Jews this is how they marked them all them that had that little shawl that's running around with take them and put them into prison and we're going to roast them we're going to have a weenie roast a Jewish roast amen hallelujah come back I don't know tomorrow or next week I don't know when I'll get around to it sooner or later I'm going to preach on this again hallelujah it's something if you hadn't I went to Israel in 1988 and I stood over there and I looked at the wailing wall anybody ever heard the wailing wall amen it's where the Jewish men on one side they got a fence down through there and the women on the other side and they get down there and they put this thing on they got their word their Torah there and they get down there and they cry oh oh oh oh oh they're standing there and they cry and they wail for hours at a time just bobbing up and down amen and when I saw that shawl

[27:39] I said man I got to find out what that thing is and then I found out I said man now I got to have one amen had brother Darrell go over and pick me up one over here at the Jewish synagogue on the other side of town out here on the east end amen this thing got all kind of secrets in it all kind of secrets it reveals the name of the Lord it reveals the double power of anointing for miracles amen and that's the greatest reminder of what God wants us to remember about his word praise God amen let's all stand up say why didn't you preach on that tonight because it's not a short message I don't want to stop in the middle of it can you say amen when you go home tonight look at your wife or your husband or your kids that stayed home and say you missed it tonight something happened down in riverside something happened there last Sunday morning we came here just to have a regular service and we wind up having intercessory prayer and traveling prayer for about two hours amen everybody the kids went to

[28:51] Sunday school they spent about an hour something back when they came back we were still out here interceding and praying and because God's taking us to deeper depths and higher heights in his word amen hallelujah missed it amen it's not time to let up or slack up or back up but it's time just to get ready to get caught up amen I used to say it's time to get right or get left time to fly or to fry to turn or burn amen the choice is all ours and it's up to us what we do amen give a little good hand for brother Darrell he gonna come