Closer Than We've Ever Been

♪ This is the moment ♪ ♪ Where everything tears ♪ ♪ Didn't think I would see it ♪ ♪ It's hard to believe ♪ ♪ Having crashes to earth ♪ ♪ But I've read the stories ♪ ♪ Of all you have done ♪ ♪ You parted the sea on ♪ ♪ Set captives free ♪ ♪ Never thought I'd be one ♪ ♪ But I am believing ♪ ♪ Breathing, walking, chest and eyes ♪ ♪ And I am believing ♪ ♪ The proof of what the Lord has done ♪ ♪ They call it crazy ♪ ♪ But they can't take away my eyes ♪ ♪ Why it means ♪ ♪ Because I am believing ♪ ♪ Breathing, walking, chest and eye ♪ ♪ They say I would make it ♪ ♪ That I should give up ♪ ♪ But they didn't know that the God that I serve ♪ ♪ Is more than enough ♪ ♪ Oh, he can move mountains ♪ ♪ He can make broken, made beautiful ♪ ♪ I'll never run out of love ♪ ♪ When I rise to the God ♪ ♪ I'll hear it go, oh, oh ♪ ♪ I am believing ♪ ♪ Breathing, walking, chest and eye ♪

♪ Oh, yes I am ♪ ♪ I am believing ♪ ♪ Proof of what the Lord has done ♪ ♪ Oh, they call it crazy ♪ ♪ They can't take away my story ♪ ♪ Oh, no, 'cause I have a living ♪ ♪ Breathing, walking, chest and eye ♪ ♪ What the Lord has done ♪ ♪ What the Lord has done ♪ ♪ What the Lord has done ♪ ♪ What the Lord has done ♪ ♪ They end up meeting what he could ♪ ♪ But our Lord he has used it for good ♪ ♪ What the Lord has done ♪ ♪ What the Lord has done ♪ ♪ Look what the Lord has done ♪ ♪ What the Lord has done ♪ ♪ They've tried to steal the straw ♪ ♪ Through the Lord gave me an end of my joy ♪ ♪ I have a living, breathing, walking, chest ♪ ♪ I have a living, breathing, walking ♪ ♪ I have a living, breathing, walking, walking ♪ ♪ I have a living, breathing, walking ♪ ♪ They can't take away my story ♪ ♪ I have a living, breathing, walking ♪ ♪ I have a living, breathing, walking ♪ ♪ I have a living, breathing, walking ♪ ♪ I have a living, breathing, walking ♪ ♪ I have a living, breathing, walking ♪ ♪ I have a living, breathing, walking ♪

♪ I have a living, breathing, walking ♪ ♪ I have a living, breathing, walking ♪ ♪ I have a living, breathing, walking ♪ ♪ I have a living, breathing, walking ♪ ♪ I have a living, breathing, walking ♪ ♪ I have a living, breathing, walking ♪ ♪ I have a living, breathing, walking ♪ ♪ I have a living, breathing, walking ♪ ♪ I have a living, breathing, walking ♪ ♪ I have a living, breathing, walking ♪ ♪ I have a living, breathing, walking, walking ♪ ♪ What the Lord has done ♪ ♪ What the Lord has done ♪ ♪ He did what he could ♪ ♪ But all he has used is for my glory ♪ ♪ What the Lord has done ♪ ♪ Look what the Lord has done ♪ ♪ And what will I be trying to steal and destroy ♪ ♪ The Lord gave me a number of joy ♪ ♪ Oh, I never need it ♪ ♪ We will want it ♪ ♪ To test the virus ♪ ♪ For the Lord ♪ ♪ Where the living room ♪ ♪ Of all the Lord has done ♪ Make more than crazy But take it Take away I'm so hard You're never gonna go

I never live in freedom While you can't go I never live I never live in freedom While you can't go I never live in freedom I never live in freedom I never live in freedom I never live in freedom I never live in freedom No, sir, don't stop Look what the Lord has done Look what the Lord has done Why, there are people all in this building and all over the world watching me right now Had it not been for God you'd be in hell right now You would be in hell But look what the Lord has done Hallelujah I am sure that there are times we have visitors first-timers and they're not used to this this rock-us-crowd this animated bunch of religious people you don't get it let me tell you why just let me tell you why these people act the way they do and let me tell you why I'm going to preach the way I preach in just a few moments this book said we were dead in trespasses and sins we were blind we were without God and without hope in the world we were destined to burn in the flames of the lake of fire for eternity and there wasn't one thing that we or anybody else could do about it

but God but God who is rich in mercy reached way down his precious son came into this world he was born of a virgin he lived a sinless life he hurt nobody but they nailed him to a cross and his blood poured out and it splattered and spattered all around the foot of that cross but every drop of blood bought eternal life for those who had no hope and then the Bible comes right along and says now if you believe that and you call on him who did it you will be saved that's why we act this way praise the Lord praise God in this sanctuary I don't know how I'm going to end up acting today I may act crazy for it's over with but I'm thankful to be alive in Christ Jesus and I'm glad I'm on my way to heaven and I'm going to preach on the rapture I'm glad that any moment soon and very soon we are going to see the king anybody want to go let's finish revelation this week chapter 17 through 22 how many brought a Bible today I love for you to do this I love for people to see it but I love for the devil to see it now Father we come to you and in all morning we've come to you Lord there is nobody nobody like you all I ask now is that you help me to make this so very clear let the hope that's in this truth become a vivid reality to somebody today Lord I say it to you again because I want them to know how I preach unless you touch me. I want to preach this morning, Lord. So I'm asking you, touch me. Touch me in Jesus name. I pray.

And everybody said amen. You may be seated. I've had a number of occasions this week to listen briefly to the news headlines, been doing some watching, some reading. And I've been hearing about this threat that China has inserted people into our world and into our electrical grid system. And at the proper time they could shut the entire grid down in the United States. We'd have no power, no internet. We'd just be dead. Yeah. I'm hearing that they are telling people, "You need to store up food and water for at least 72 hours." I read where the Pentagon is telling all the military bases, make sure you have enough supplies for 90 days, food, water, ammunition, 90 days. That's three months. Food shortages. I'm still hearing about these terrorist sales that have planted themselves in the country. And they're silent and they are invisible, but at the right moment they will come out and wreak havoc in our country. Still hearing about Islam, how it's gradually taking over cities and municipal governments and state governments and on and on and on. And before long, we'll be under Sharia law. Then of course there's a threat of socialism. That's all you hear now, socialism and socialists on the left. They're about to take over and the politics, "Do you realize?" They all said, "Do you realize if this group gets in that's going to happen?" If that side gets in, this is going to happen. And everyone of them is saying, "This is the most important election in the history of the country." Anybody ever heard that? I've heard it my entire life. So now we hear about our global crisis that's coming and France has been on fire and now Germany is being disrupted and Europe is about to crumble and fall. And I have one thing to say about all that. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God? Believe also in me. In my father's house are many. And if it weren't us so what I've told you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again. And I will receive you unto myself that where I am there you may be also. So Jesus said, "Don't let your heart be troubled." He knew what he was talking about. If I knew that I was going to have to go through all of these things, my heart would be troubled and there wouldn't be much hope. Jesus must have known something. He said, "Don't worry about it. Don't let your

heart be troubled. I'm coming for you. I'm coming for you. I'm coming to get you and take you where I am." So don't be troubled. But the Bible did say, "Wake up." Paul said, "Wake up." Here's how he said it. know the time? Knowing the time, have you read the Bible? Of course you know the time. But now it is high time to awake out of sleep. For now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. Wake up. Wake up. Don't just get stirred up once a week. Wake up. Remember that it's easy to be lulled into complacency even though you know the time and you see what's going on. Paul said, "The night is far spent. The day is at hand. Therefore, let us, Christians, church, let us cast off the works of darkness, stop doing dark things, stop playing with sin, stop flirting with the world, stop befriending that which nailed him to a cross. Therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. Change clothes. Change your wardrobe. Put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the day. Not in revelry and drunkenness and lewdness and lusts, not in strife and envy. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's your clothing. That's your wardrobe. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh. Don't plan to sin. Don't make sin easy for yourself. Don't let things stay in your house, in your home, in your heart, in your mind. That will cause you to sin. I don't want anybody to be upset with me today, but I know it's going to happen. So one time someone came to me in church and said, "I need prayer. I've heard you preach. I need prayer. I'm afraid. I want to be ready." I said, "Well, have you asked Christ into your heart?" Yes, I have. Well, have you confessed your sins? Yes, I have. I said, "Then there's no need to be afraid." I said, "I am afraid. Sometimes I'm fearful. I lack faith. Sometimes we all wrestle with that." She said, "But I'm afraid." I said, "Well, I'll pray for you." And I asked God to give her great faith. And as she turned to walk away, I said, "Whoa, wait a minute. Come here. Do you have any sin in your life?" Yes, that's your problem right there. You cannot harbor sin in your heart and have faith. Sin, disobedience always brings fear and uncertainty. And that's why Paul is writing these things. He doesn't want the church to be afraid. He doesn't want them to be intimidated by the world. He wants them to confess it all, throw all darkness out of their lives, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, make no provision for the flesh. And when you do that, you can wake up every day with faith and fire burning in your soul. But as

long as you are harboring and unconfessing, Satan has that much control over your life. James reminded me this week, "What is your life? It is nothing but a vapor. It is a mist. It is a cloud. It can be blown away at any moment. It's a blip on the screen. It's here and gone." And I was stirred by that. And I want to say to the church that I love, if we honestly believed that our life was so temporary and a vapor, we wouldn't do half the things we do. We would erase most of the plans that we've made. And we would make sure that we are walking in the light, I hope I said that the right way. If we honestly, truly believe that at any moment Jesus could come, there are many things in our lives we would cancel right now and never deal with again. And folks, I want to tell you that all around you, there are signs in this world telling us the end is coming, the end. There are plain signs and proven signs screaming at us all of the time that we've gotten used to. For example, did you know that for 95% of church history, that is from the day of Pentecost when the church was born until 1948, that's 95% of church history, there was no Israel. Israel was scattered in 70 A.D., but miraculously by the hand of God who is faithful to his word and his commitment, in 1948 he brought Israel back and the nation was reborn and nobody in history has ever seen any miracle like that. Did you know that for everything to happen in the Holy Land and in Jerusalem that the book of Revelation says is going to happen, Jerusalem had to be under the control of Israel, the Holy Land had to be under the control of Israel and that did not happen until 1967 when Jerusalem became the city under the authority of the Jews. Think about what I'm telling you. Did you know that the Bible says in Zechariah chapter 12 that in the last days the might of Israel will be superior to every other nation, the military strength and might of that little dot on the map will exceed any country in the world. And if anybody doubts that, then you are, you're living in darkness. That little nation is afraid of nobody and nobody can do anything to it. They tried to wipe it out, they've always tried to wipe it out, it's still there.

They tried to assimilate the Jews into other nations, nope, they've come back and they know their roots. You can't get rid of them folks because God made a commitment and God will keep his word and Zechariah says that they will be a mighty military force in the latter days. I'm talking about science, obvious signs that ought to make us go, yes. I go to Ezekiel chapter 38 and 39 and I see the rise of Gog and Magog. It's right there in your Bible. Russia and Iran are in renewed talks, they are going to link up. And Afghanistan is getting involved and of course Turkey who has been kind of neutral all these years is becoming much more radicalized. And now they are discussing things with Libya and Egypt and these are the nations that Ezekiel said would rise up to destroy Israel and that those powers, Gog and Magog, would come from the north down to Israel to attack the people of God and destroy them, but God would destroy them on the hills of Judea. All of that is in the Bible and you see it happening right now. And when I turn over to Daniel chapter 12, I see these words. But you Daniel, let me just read this, and there will be a time of trouble such as never was since the nation, even to that time and at that time your people shall be delivered. Keep this in mind. But you Daniel shut up the words, seal the book until the time of the end. He shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase, and Daniel was simply saying. "What I give you, seal it up. It's not time for it now. It will be released in the last days. It will be revealed in the latter times." And here we are. We understand the book of Daniel like we've never understood the book of Daniel, Daniel and Revelation. And Daniel says things like this, "Many shall run to and fro," meaning that travel

will grow exponentially. Every kind of travel. Have you ever in your life seen so much traffic? Have you ever seen so much busyness from continent to continent? It's not just interstate and from city to city and from here to grandma's house. You just get on a plane and you go to another country. I sat in traffic the other day on Brookshire Freeway. Now, I sounded mad, I'm not. I'm just not over it. And it was a parking lot and it was not moving. And I was needing to get home to eat. And I said with somebody, I said, "What's going on here?" You know, everybody goes, "What's going on?" Everybody's doing this, right? What's the blowing horns? And I said to the person beside me, "Can you imagine how much gasoline? "How much fuel is burned in this world in one day "with millions of cars and with the airline industry "and the shipping industry and the military?" Folks, think of the trillions of gallons people are using to go to and fro. This is exactly what Daniel said would be the situation in the last days. But he also said, "Knowledge shall increase." What do I need to say about that? You have the proof of it in your pocket on your laptop. We can get any information in 10 seconds.

Chat, GPT and AI, folks, it's there. Here's the thing, even on those devices in the farthest parts of the world, there are very poor people looking at it. They may not have clean water, but somehow, some way they found a way to see something on an electronic device. And they are watching the gospel of Jesus Christ being preached. In places that no missionary would think about going, there are people who are hearing about the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, Hallelujah. And you see, that's God's way of letting every one of us know, he'll get his gospel out. You say, "Well, there's so many false teachers and preachers." I know that. Paul had them in his day. He said, "Whether they preach it out of jealousy or scorn or competition, it really doesn't matter as long as Jesus is preached. And the gospel is going to be preached all over this world. Prophecy is being studied like no time in my life. There are so many websites and they are dealing with prophecy and preachers on TV, prophecy. Folks, everybody's interested in prophecy. That was the case in Daniel's day. It's only one of those odd, latter day, last day things that's taking place. I saw something the other day.

And I know I use the same terminology in both services, so don't just let me preach. It made my jaw drop. You know what it was? It was this guy interviewing a Jewish rabbi. And they were discussing the last days. And this guy said, "Well, you know, in your Bible, there's going to be a great time of tribulation." And you know in your Bible that there are certain things that have to happen during that time of Jacob's trouble. This rabbi looked at that commentator and said, listen, everything we need like our forefathers. You say, well, how can that be? There has to be a temple. He said, it doesn't have to be a brick and mortar temple, a stone and cement temple. It doesn't have to be. It can be a tent. And this rabbi said, we have the tent. We have everything we need. We have the utensils that go in the temple. We have the furniture that goes in the temple. And I've seen a lot of that. They've had it for a long time. He said, the Levites have been trained. All of their vestures, all of their garb have been sown exactly according to Scripture. The colors are just right. They know how to wear it. He said, and what most people don't know is that we sacrificed the red heifer a while back. You know, that's part of the requirement. And he said, we have the ashes of the red heifer. Now you think about what is being said here. It can be a tent erected in 48 hours with all of the Old Testament furniture in it, with the Levites trained in it, offering sacrifices, offering up the ashes of the red heifer. For the first time since 70 A.D., Israel could be worshiping according to the Mosaic Law. It's unheard of. And the guy said, but there's just one thing missing, Rabbi. What about the ark? And the Rabbi smiled. He said, you mean you know where the ark is, Rabbi? He just smiled. He said, let me say this, those who need to know where the ark is, know where the ark is. What? Does the Israeli government know? He said, we wouldn't tell the Israeli government. They would confiscate it and put it on display,

but we're waiting for the moment that we can walk it into the temple of God. Folks, do you understand what I'm telling you today? Because the Bible says that at the beginning of the tribulation period, there's going to be a superman, a superpower, an antichrist, a man of sin, the son of tradition, who is going to make a treaty with Israel and vow to protect them. And he will allow them to re-institute this temple worship. And for three and a half years, they will enjoy all of this religious activity like their forefathers, but the Bible says in the middle of the 70th week or in the middle of the tribulation, the antichrist will say, that's enough, stop it. No more. You will worship me from now on. And he will walk into that most holy place and sit down and declare that he is God. Daniel called that the abomination of desolation. That means it is the worst thing that a human being could ever do. The worst thing that has ever happened when Satan himself sits on the arc of the covenant of God and says, I am God. What I'm telling you is, you look a little somber here this morning. That's what automakes us happy. This thing could happen at any moment. The Lord God is lining everything up. This is why we preach the way we do about the imminent appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's talk about this thing of wrath in the tribulation period for a moment. Seven years of tribulation, and again it has nothing to do with the church. You see, the tribulation begins not with the rapture. The rapture could have, it's a totally isolated separate event. The rapture could have happened a hundred years ago. Nothing has to happen for the rapture to take place. The tribulation began. of the tribulation period, after the rapture, when the church is gone, the salt and light and the positive and spiritual influence of the Holy Spirit in the church has backed up, the restrainer is gone, and now all wicked, all evil is coming in full force, and Israel feels threatened by all the nations. There's nothing to keep them from attacking Israel now, so Israel signs a treaty with the Antichrist, and he in his power vows to protect them. This is the tribulation period. It's called the wrath of God. You get it? Wrath is called the wrath of the Lamb Jesus. It's called the wrath of Satan, the fallen angel who hates God who hates humanity. Folks, it's all about wrath. The tribulation is God's anger, total anger being poured out on an unbelieving world, poured out on an unbelieving Israel to cleanse it and purify it, and bring out for himself a holy and sanctified people. The tribulation has nothing to do with you and me. There are those that say, "Well, the

church has to go through the tribulation to be purified." I thought the blood on Jesus took care of all of that. Tribulation won't purify. It might correct, but only the blood of Jesus can purify. The other thing, this is a good thought right here. Most of the church is already in heaven. It's just the end times. I've said that in recent times, but I want you to understand those that are trying to frighten you into thinking you may have to go through some of the tribulation or all of the tribulation don't know Scripture. There are those that say, "Well, I think we have to go through part of it, the first half of it." What would be the purpose of that? You know Jesus said, "Can I teach just a moment?" Jesus said, "Of that day and hour knows no man. Nobody knows." He said, "Angels don't know." He said, "Even son doesn't know." At that moment in his incarnation, he let his father know that very date. Nobody knows. So I don't know when the Rapture might take place, but if you believe that we have to go through the first half of the tribulation, you could actually know when the Rapture takes place because you read in the scriptures that after the signing of the treaty, exactly three and a half years will pass 42 months, and you can actually calculate when the Rapture is going to take place. That doesn't line up with the words of Jesus that no man knows. You say, "The whole church has to go through the tribulation. The whole church must suffer." Then you know exactly when the Lord is coming back. 84 months, three and seven years, you can calculate it. That's why the only logical, feasible, biblical idea about the appearance of the Lord is a pre-tribulation catching away. And it's going to happen. Paul wrote it like this to the Thessalonians, "Your fame has gone throughout the world, and people are talking about how you turned from idols to serve the true and living God, and to wait for his son from heaven, even Jesus, whom he raised from the dead, who has delivered us from the wrath to come from." That word from is apo, A-P-O. It means to totally definitely and eternally separate. The blood of Jesus has totally definitely and eternally separated us from the wrath of God. Now you're sitting there like you're in a Presbyterian church, And here I am. told you the greatest thing you can hear in your life. And wait, wait, wait, let me give you another scripture. Romans chapter 5 verse 9 being, how much more being justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath. Same word, separated, divided. Never see the face of God in an angry way. Oh, and then if you want another scripture, Revelation chapter

3 verse 10, because you've kept the word of my patience. This is why I'm trying not to preach, just teach. Because you've been faithful to my word, because you've told the truth and lived a good life, because you have stuck to me, because you have faithfully served me. I will also keep you from the hour of trial that will come upon the whole world to try those that dwell on the earth. I will keep you from. There's another Greek word. It doesn't mean through, because we have a lot of teaching today that says, oh, he'll keep us. We'll be on the earth during the tribulation. We just won't have to suffer all that stuff. That's not what the Bible says. He didn't say, I'll keep you through it. He said, I'll get you out of it. I'll come get you before any of that happens. Oh, praise God. Now, just give me a minute right here. So for everybody that's been a little bit worried about France burning and Germany falling and the politics in America and all of this crazy stuff, let not your heart be troubled. Not only is God going to deliver us from all of this wickedness, you will never see scorpions come out of the earth and sting people. You will never see 200 million horsemen coming across the Euphrates. You will never see a river of blood. You will never see an angel fall into an ocean and turn it into poison water. You'll never see 100 pound hail stones. But what you will see is the open arms of a risen Jesus that loved you and gave Himself for you. God, somebody prays in this moment. Stand up with me. Hallelujah. Anybody happy about it? Hallelujah. Oh, I wish I weren't so dignified. I wish I weren't so concerned about my reputation online and in the church. Oh, if I didn't care about that, I just might get happy and do a dance up in here today. Where's Larry? Come on. What you waiting on, Larry? You know what I'm going to ask you to do. I want to have a hand clapping session this morning. I want everybody that's ready to meet Him. Even if He comes in the next five minutes, I want you to shout and praise and pray like you're just about to stand in front of the throne of Almighty God. Go ahead. This joy that I have, the world in giving to me, this joy that I have, the world in giving to me, the world in giving to me, the world in giving, the world in taking away. Oh, you can't make me die if you can't make me die if you can't make me die. Another too much of doubt you You can't make me doubt it in my heart

I've got the meaning I've got the love of Jesus I've got the love of Jesus I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus I've got the love of Jesus I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus in my heart I've got the love of Jesus in my heart We pray that today, as you watch Pastor Livingston's message, you will be encouraged and ready to dig deeper into a life with Jesus. To help you on this journey, Central has two resources for you.

First, you can sign up to receive Central's jail and prison correspondence course through the mail by writing to Central Church Jail and Prison Ministries Discipleship Center 5143 Sardis Road, Charlotte, North Carolina 28270 Second, by using Central's app and clicking on the button below, you can read a short daily devotional that will encourage you to read and pray daily as you draw closer to Jesus. Thank you for watching. (gentle music) [MUSIC PLAYING]