[0:00] all right i'd like to welcome you tonight to vision baptist church uh and uh tell you that i'm excited about what the lord of god has for us tonight i hope that you will get your bible and get your family and get settled around and we're going to turn in the bible to psalm chapter 12 psalm of the 12th psalm technically they're not the book is not the book of psalm it is the book of psalms but each one our song is a psalm so we're on the 12th psalm like the 23rd psalm we're on the 12th psalm tonight i'd like to thank you for your giving we just had a financial meeting the other day and though the offerings are down we met budget and i really appreciate your giving and i know some of you will be giving extra when we get back together again and looking forward and excited to that turn with me if you would to the book of psalms chapter 12 and psalm number 12 and let me read that with you tonight is a very special passage of scripture because i believe that not only does it talk about what was happening in david's day but it talks about the antichrist and it talks about i think the rapture i think you'll be interested to see this read with me if you would psalm 12 1 help lord for the godly man ceases for the faithful fail from among the children of men i never knew this i promise you a study in this time just look at those words of me we'll go back to it in a minute but the godly man ceases and when david wrote that he had no idea what he was talking about as far as the future he would have never known about the rapture he would have never known about jesus coming again in that sense he would not have understood that but you got to remember the bible is the book written by god the holy spirit of god writes the bible uses men to write the bible and truths are being taught that they might not even understand or know notice it's a godly man ceases he fails he's no longer here he's not here anymore i don't know if that's a foreshadowing of the rapture or not but when you get to the next verse you start in on the most ungodly wicked vile lying man you've ever read about look if you went with me it's psalm 12 2 they speak vanity every one with his neighbor with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak the lord shall cut off all cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaketh proud things who have said with our tongue will we prevail our lips are our own who is the lord who is lord over us for the oppression of the poor for the sighing of the needy now will i arise says the lord i will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him the words of the lord are pure words as silver tried in a furnace of earth purified seven times thou shalt keep them oh lord thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever the wicked walk on every side when the vilest men are exalted let's fire our heads for a word of prayer have your family bow their heads with me have your children it's a good time to be teaching our children how to act so let's do that together let's pray father in heaven we love you and thank you so much for the opportunity to open your bible and to study from it and to learn from it and to grow in grace now god i pray that you would speak and move tonight through psalm 12 in our homes in our hearts to folks listening wherever they are tonight and i pray god that your name would be glorified and magnified and i pray you'd help us to reach out and do more than we have ever done before help us dear god to be looking for your coming lord jesus come quickly and help us lord to live and to be honest and faithful and true men of god until you take us out of here we'll give you praise for it all in jesus name amen this is one of those psalms we don't know when it was written we don't know why it was written it appears that it's probably it could be while david is living in the palace still and he's finding out his government his king his ruler over him is not an honest man
[4:07] he is finding out that people that should be loyal to him are not being loyal to him he is finding out their promises made by the king aren't being kept he is finding out that there seems to be nobody that he can trust and so he is very hurt and very wounded and so he begins in the to say in verse one help me god i look around i can't find anybody then in verse two he says everybody everywhere is lying they don't even believe in you they won't honor you they won't respect you they say who is our boss who is lord over us and then it says that god said hey i'll get up and i will work and i will move so david's not as alone as he thought he was because the lord will be there and you know in a world where there are no faithful men left in david's life and in a world where a wicked man steps up and always tells lies god has steps up and says i'll take care of you and he says you can trust my word you can trust my word you can trust that i gave it to you i have purified it i have preserved it i have taken care of it it is for you and you can trust my word and you need it because you live and walk in a very wicked world so go with me if you would through the psalm in psalm chapter 12 in verse one the man of god is gone from the earth psalm 12 1 once again says help lord the godly man ceases the faithful fail from among the children of men david obviously feels alone the palace seems to be devoid of truth and david had to be thinking and speaking about his reality he had to be thinking about how much he needed god because there was no truth left in the land in isaiah chapter 57 in verse one isaiah says something similar he said the righteous perishes and no man lays it to heart and merciful men are taken away none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come it's like everybody's gone nobody's here and we can't even figure out but maybe god's taken the righteous out from the evil to come now we go along with a verse that you'll see in just a little bit that's an interesting verse you might want to make an asterisk by that verse and consider that and compare it to some of these other verses there's another application to the psalm you know we got david and it's obviously a song they sang and it's obviously a song that said i believe that god is i believe that the world is wicked and i believe the devil is raging and there's only one thing i can hold on to and that's the word of god but maybe there's also another application godly people cease they fail that may refer from the fact to the fact that godly people are getting taken out of here and taken out of the earth and up to heaven in the rapture what's interesting is in verse one the wrap the the good people are gone and in verse two evil comes on the world over half the world dies by the way in the tribulation period the antichrist will take over you know who he is he's a liar and the chief of liars he's a son of satan the world will enter a chaos like it's never seen before i think it's an interesting time just for the fun of it for you to consider this with me if psalm 12 1 refers to the god's people being taken out of the earth when they fail from the earth when they say cease to be here on the earth and if that is a picture of uh if that is a picture of the rapture and the tribulation to come if isaiah 57 1 when it says the righteous is taken away from the evil to come that's very interesting you see we believe in a pre-tribulation rapture i don't know if you understand what's the next thing on the scene on the picture of the world for our people for god's people for the christians for the born-again people but the very next thing is when god will send jesus in the clouds and the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised and the godly people will be taken out of here but we and we will miss the tribulation it'll happen before the tribulation look if you would in revelation chapter 3 in verse 10 because thou has kept the word
[8:11] of my patience i also will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon the earth to try them that dwell on the earth i really believe that verse is about how in revelation chapter 4 you'll go to heaven in chapter 6 you're back on earth and from chapter 6 to chapter 19 the word church is not mentioned god's people seem to be gone except for the jewish nation as they go through the tribulation period and he is keeping us from the tribulation and the time the trust of testing that he'll bring on the earth can i take you with me to first thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 13 but i would not have you to be ignorant brethren concerning them which are asleep there are some of our brothers have died and i need you to know some things about them so you can have confidence and peace i don't want you to sorrow as others who have no hope you see what happens is when lost people die there is great weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth than there ought to be because they die here and wake up in hell they suffer as they die and they suffer for all of eternity but that's not the way it is with our people not the way it is with his people not the way it is with born again people you see what happens with them that he said they're asleep that's a that's an interesting word they're asleep and he said i don't want you to sorrow as though you have no hope we have hope and he wouldn't have said that by the way if they were fixing to go into this horrible time of tribulation probably not as way it said here anyway verse 14 for if we believe and we do if we believe that jesus died and rose again even so them which also sleep in jesus will god bring with him now look at that verse would you please they are asleep in verse 13 they're sleeping in jesus in verse 14 and they're with god because when he comes back when jesus god in human flesh returns to this planet he will bring them with him underline that in verse 14 they're in heaven right now your loved one that knew jesus is in heaven right now with the lord and he will come with him to be absent from the body is to be present with the lord verse 15 for this we say unto you by the word of the lord that we which are alive and remain those of us that are still living here on the planet we're still here and we're waiting until the coming of the lord we shall not prevent we will not hinder them we will not go before them we will not precede them which are asleep god's going to let those that died he's going to bring them with him from heaven they're going to come down on the cloud he's going to say go get your body he's going to pull their body up out of the ground he's going to change your body first christians chapter 15 they're going to meet us in the middle of the clouds we're on our way to be with jesus and we're going to be with him verse 15 verse 16 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 now i need to stop here and i feel a little liberty in some ways when there's you're in your house and you're sitting in a nice couch and you don't have to worry about the time as much so go get you some more popcorn but i wish you'd underline this sleep in jesus verse 14 dead in christ verse 16 and if they're not sleeping in jesus if they're not dead in christ they sorrow and they have no hope but we have hope verse 17 this is the rapture word 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 be with the lord circle the words caught up that's our that's our english word the latin word's rapture but that's the idea he's going to come down here he's going to come to the clouds he's going to snatch us out of here he's going to take us up to heaven and we will always from there on be with the lord and then he said in verse 18 now y'all comfort each other with these words it ought to comfort you to know that you don't die like an animal you don't die like a regular
[12:16] person when we die we only go to sleep in jesus we are dead but in christ and when we die to be absent the body is to be present with the lord and in verse 1 of psalm chapter 12 uh there's no faithful men left and if that is the rapture of the church taking place and this is a beautiful place to look at it in second thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 7 you know what's holding back wickedness on the planet the holy spirit who fills the people of god the church of god in second samuel a second thessalonians 2 7 it says for the mystery of iniquity that doth already work satan is already at work only who who now letteth i believe that's the holy spirit will let until he be taken out of the way and you know when he'll be taken out of the way when we're raptured out of here he will stop that that hindering influence and he will let the devil go wild so psalm 12 1 help lord for it seems like all the godly people are gone they have failed from among the children of men that they have ceased the faithful are gone those left on the earth the faithful men have ceased or failed and the godly men have failed those that left on the earth are liars and it is full of lies the first application has to be that paul's dealing with he's dealing with saul lying to him he's dealing with saul's captains like him he's dealing with women lying to him he's dealing with friends and counselors lying to him all around him are liars and i'm sure that's how saul paul wrote excuse me how david wrote this psalm but if he's speaking about the antichrist this is so much a picture that you'll find when you read the book of revelation you do understand that one day all this whole time we've been on this planet since the days of adam all the way up until now it's a story of god redeeming his people and god is at work and satan is doing everything he can to hinder the work of god and in the very last right before the millennial kingdom starts the antichrist will be set up and he will stand up and try to be like god like isaiah 14 says the antichrist will be a double dealing deceitful double-hearted con man psalm 12 2 look at it they speak vanity every man with his neighbor they say a bunch of junk that's worthless with flattering lips and a double heart do they speak when it says they speak vanity it means he's not telling the truth he's deceiving you what he says has no basis of truth he says one thing while he means something else that's the devil that's the devil the devil says to you don't trust christ you'll be locked down and you'll and there'll be a bunch of rules placed on you when he doesn't tell you is you're a slave to sin when you don't know jesus the thief comes but for to steal to kill and to destroy but jesus comes that we might have life and have it more abundantly as long as he speak vanity but he speaks with flattering lips smooth insinuating falsehoods false praise for the purpose of gaining favor and influence and he does it with a double heart he says one thing and he means another he makes promises he has no intention of keeping he will sit down and tell a string of calculated lies my sunday school class has been going through the book of revelation and we've enjoyed studying what the lord has to say there but you know he's going to come and he's going to the antichrist will establish peace on earth but it won't be real peace the antichrist will try to get all the religions together but he will only want them to worship him the antichrist will give israel back its land but he'll take it from them everything he says and everything he does is calculated to lie to cheat and to deceive and he has so much power but in psalm chapter 12 and verse 3 god will destroy cut off this liar look at psalm 23 the lord shall cut off the flattering lips and the tongue that speaks proud
[16:16] things god will judge the rebellion of these liars d.o moody said lying covers a multitude of sins temporarily sir walter scott said oh what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive as believers we are faithful people we tell the truth when we say yes it means yes when we say no it means no the antichrist will have great power and freedom but it won't last because jesus will step in this antichrist lives in open rebellion look at psalm 12 4 who have said with our tongue will we prevail i can use my tongue i can use my life jesus said the truth will set you free satan says i can talk and smooth talk you and i will win because my lips belong to me look at it our lips are our own i own myself god doesn't own me no one else owns me i own myself and then he says the antichrist says and who's lord over us who's higher than us who has that kind of power they think lies will bring them victory they believe they're they own their lips you do know that you you and i are but creation lost people are but creation they're no they're no powerful they're more more no more powerful they're nobody they're nothing nobody's anything we're all a created being created beings david feels alone because there are no other faithful and honest men the antichrist will someday stand and nearly spit in the face of god but he will not win so david psalm chapter 12 verses 1 through 4 things are pretty bad for david there's nobody there with him and for david everybody's lying to him but in verse 5 he finds out there's someone faithful who will never leave him in psalm chapter 12 and verse 5 for the oppression of the poor for the sighing of the needy i love this put on your seat belt now will i arise says the lord i will set him in safety from him that puffs at him maybe david could do nothing as he was poor and helpless but god said he could do something god will give safety even from the this snorting powerful puffing enemy david will not win you you understand uh uh you you can you kind of see the this antichrist like god who's that who's that i'll bleed him he puffs at him the god of heaven is the creator god and the god of heaven will come can you see the antichrist puffing at him and insulting him satan and his satanic tree at trinity may seem to have the upper hand but god arises to do battle and it will be over god will arise and do battle if you look at psalm chapter 12 and verse 5 again for the oppression of the poor for the sighing of the needy now will i rise says the lord i will set him in safety from him that puffs at him god says i'll step in i don't know if you if you a little bit of tribulation stuff here god's people and israel are running for their lives and they're being killed and they're being oppressed and they don't have the mark so they can't buy and the government is has this tremendous power over them they can't buy they can't sell they're running for their lives they want to kill them and it seems that they would lose and it seems there's no one there to help them and all the godly people have failed and god says that's okay i will arise and i will set you in safety from the guy that puffs at you and guess what david learns i want you to get with me to psalm chapter 12 and verse 6 this is a verse that that this we we we we got a picture of this now you got to understand that in the very beginning
[20:19] david said there are no more honest people left now if that's the rapture we understand it that way but in david's day david said when i look around i can't trust anybody there's no one honest left everybody around me is a liar everybody around me is taking advantage and beating up on people and mistreating people but in psalm chapter 12 and verse 6 david finds out that he has the very word of god that is truth the opposite of the antichrist it's true look at 12 6 the words of the lord are pure words you know what that line scumbag that line insinuating flattering sensuous antichrist may say things and you can't trust them he's a con man he's double-hearted you might not get trusted but you can trust god his words are pure words as pure as silver tried in the furnace purified seven times thou shalt keep them oh lord thou shalt preserve them from this generation forward forever while all men may lie and no faithful men may be found we have the word of god and that is what david knew he could trust now tonight i'm going to take you through some more verses and i wish you'd help your kids understand it this is no ordinary book this is the word of god purified taken care of not one jot not one tittle is lost we believe we have and preach and study the very word of god why in the world would we get together sat in the room week after week three times a week four times a week and then bible institute and bible studies and discipleship why would we do that we do it because we have god almighty god's words that changes everything what if i said to you like i give you something that came from god and it's trustworthy and it's perfect and god will speak to you what if i could say that to you well david said that's what you got pure words look if you would with me in psalm 100 in verse 5 god has promised to keep protect and make endure his word psalm 100 in verse 5 the bible says for the lord is good and his mercy is everlasting and look at this and his truth endures to all generations so when david sat down and wrote the bible wrote these words when david was doing that and you might think these are david's words god was speaking and giving us his word god said in matthew 24 in verse 35 god said heaven and earth creation will pass away the world will be gone but my words will not pass away this is the word of almighty god it is an eternal word second peter chapter 1 in verse 21 in case you don't know what happened uh it's not like david sat down and wrote this it's like the holy ghost of god moved on him maybe we don't even understand that and maybe you don't believe that if you don't believe it you don't believe the bible in second peter 1 21 the prophecy the word of god in other words came not in old time by the will of man it wasn't a bunch of patriarchs in the old testament or apostles in the new testament or a church council that met together in 300 or 500 or whenever they met together it wasn't them it said the bible said it wasn't by the will of man but holy men of god spake as they were moved by the holy ghost how in the world is that possible how in the world is it possible to create a world in six days how is it possible to die and be born again or raised from the dead how is it possible to have a flood how is it possible to do all the miracles he did it's all the word of god and we trust it and it speaks very highly of us if we receive
[24:20] the bible as i wish you'd underline this here the very word of god write that in the next to this verse first thessalonians and 2 13 first thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 13 for this cause mark this verse please look it up please show this to your kids for this cause we thank god without ceasing listen this because when you receive the word of god which you heard of us you received it not as the word of men i won't stop right just a second paul said you know when i went there and started teaching y'all and i started telling you what the bible said what the word of god said telling you what god said you didn't receive it like it was my words you received it like it was the word of god look at it you received it not as the word of paul you received it as not as the word of men but as it is in truth i wish you just write this down the word of god those people when they heard it they said man that's that's the word of god i don't know how to say this i don't want to be disrespectful to anything you think but it's like you can use the word bible and scripture and word of god and and and almost be sacrilegious because you're not looking at like the very word of god perfect and preserved and given to you and knowledge is not only should you receive it as the word of god as it is in truth the word of god but look at this it effectually works in you that believe uh it is an amazing thing what the word of god will do i personally have so much respect awesome reverence fearful opinion of the bible because i know what happens i was reading today in books of history of missions and uh a.t pearson said the word of god got there it was wicked and they hated them and no one would listen and the god just kept teaching the bible and 20 years later they have this many christians society has totally changed before they were rounding up kids and saving them to burn for their idols now they don't do that because god's word changes the word of god works effectually in you did you know if you would take time to get into you need to be in church you need to sit down with your bible and you need to listen you need to have a time with the bible in your study and you're working through the word of god you need to have a time when you're in sunday school and and when you're in discipleship because this book will change all of us it will change all of us hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12 the word of god is quick if you got your bible there around that word quick just put a circle right down the word alive it's alive as a kid i asked my day why does it say it's quick and he grabbed one of them little things on your finger and he pulled it and it bled and i jumped he said that's quick ain't it and i know that's a corny joke but the truth is buddy if you pull something dead it doesn't hurt but you pull something's alive it hurts the word of god is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword it is dividing asunder of soul and spirit and joints and marrow and this is what really jumps off the page at me every time i read it it knows what you're thinking and it discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart now how in the world does ink on paper when i read it get inside of me and know what i'm thinking how does it know what my intentions are how does it uh how does it how does it do that i'll tell you how it does it i know how it does it it's alive and it's powerful it's quick it's alive and it's powerful and it's sharper than any two-edged sword it has no limit to what it can do in the life of a man or woman
[28:21] david's living in a time when all the faithful people have ceased and everybody around him is lying but god's there for him and then god says and my word will protect you it'll protect all of you that are hurting it'll do work in your lives second timothy chapter three in verse 15 and from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures which are able to make the wise unto salvation through faith which is in christ jesus it's the bible that makes you wise because the bible shows you that it's jesus christ jesus the messiah who died on a cross verse 16 says all scripture is given by inspiration of god now you need to underline that and put that over there with that peter verse that you had second peter 121 because what's happening is they're writing it down as god inspires them breathes on them moves on them as the holy ghost of god moves on them so that when i read the book of psalms though david's hand is writing this book the holy spirit of god is speaking this book it's the word of god it's not a word of a collection of authors i always used to tell the peruvians the bible has 40 writers but one author i hope you'd think about that being true the scripture is given by inspiration and by the way it's everything we need for everything we need in our lives it is profitable for doctrine reproof for correction instruction everything you need to be the man of god you ought to be you find it in the word of god you need his words to transform your thinking you don't need to be trying to change bible you don't need to be trying to figure out how to work out what it's saying so it doesn't mean what it means you don't need to be trying to figure out any other thing you just need to say whatever it says i accept it and i believe it i'll trust it because you can be transformed by the renewing of your mind and when you come with your american ideology and look at the bible or you come with your peruvian ideology and you look at the bible that could really mess you up but what you want to do is say you work in me you change me james 121 we're to lay apart all sin all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness and we're to receive with meekness we're to humble ourselves down and say i am not so smart i'm not so powerful i'm not so rich i need the bible and it's to be engrafted and that will save our souls that'll make me the man ought to be that'll make me the man ought to be i'd like to go with you back to psalm chapter 12 and verse 6 david is all right if if if it has nothing to do with the tribulation period if it has nothing to do with it which it might not i may just be dreaming that part but if it has nothing to do with it david's alive in a time when there's nobody faithful helping him and everybody's lying to him and all he's got is god in the book all he's got is god in the book and that's enough all he has is god in the book and if it's for tribulation saints and if it seems to parallel that you know what the godly people will be gone all the bible teachers will be gone but they'll still have the holy spirit and they'll still have the book and with the holy spirit and the book they will have the power of god to overcome and to walk that gets us to the last verse psalm chapter 12 and verse 8 the word of god is needed because we walk in a wicked world and the antichrist steps forward 12 8 the wicked walk on every side when the vilest men are exalted exalted as you get more and more ungodly people in leadership the antichrist and then he begins to speak all speak all of his cronies or saul a lost man or if he saved a backslidden man so wicked and he picks other people to rule with him and other people who would kill david the very anointed of god when that happens you need the god of the bible and the bible of the god of heaven it's a time when the wicked walk on every side when god's word is mocked when sin is celebrated when there is gender confusion marriage monstrosities and human thought is greater and the word is belittled the world you live in today very few people love the bible and respect
[32:24] the bible most people most people are going to be mocking the bible and mocking you for reading it mocking you for living it most people in the world don't believe it but you know that the wicked walk on every side when the vilest men are exalted and you know you need the word of god one day the most wicked one will be exalted if that's the antichrist and sin will be everywhere and men and women will need more than anything god and his word and that jewish nation that quit carrying the gospel will be again carrying the gospel and they'll carry it everywhere and they'll take this book this book god used them to give they'll take this book all over the world and lives will be changed and people will be brought to know christ well what's our go home with on this it's the word of god would you please act like it is uh sunday night we'll talk about the fool has said in his heart there is no god and you know there are there are active atheists and practical atheists there are people who really don't believe there's a god and there's people that act like they don't believe there's a god and many of you would say you believe the bible but you don't read it you don't memorize it you don't study it you're not faithful to get into it you're not faithful to let it change the way you think you you live your life away from the word of god but if you would just consider this you have in your hands the very word of god i trust every bit of it i trust and believe everything it says it is what god says it is purified seven times preserved god is speaking to us and if you don't know the book and you're not in the book tonight won't you make a decision i'm going to see to it my family studies the bible i'm going to see to it that my family learns about jesus i'm going to see to it we don't miss church services i'm going to see to it that we grow in grace well thank you very much for listening i'll have a word of prayer with you just a minute to to end this sunday morning before 10 30 we'll have our first song the service will be about 40 minutes long because of you being constrained to your car and no nursery and no children's church please invite people they can come and stay in their car and i think we had a great time sunday and we'll enjoy that and i hope you'll bring people with you and tell people to be here thank you so much for who you are what you are what you're doing keep loving the book you want to know what i'm preaching sunday morning just go the next time it's a beautiful psalm and you're going to love it father in heaven i love you i thank you for the chance to serve you and i pray you bless your people pray you'd magnify your name pray you'd be glorified god help us to get in the bible god help us to be a people of the book help us not only to come and hear it preached but to read it at home to memorize it to teach it to our children help us to be people of the book we'll give you praise and honor and glory for who you are and all you do in jesus name amen thank you good night