← Victory Church: Paul Daugherty
Victory Church: Paul Daugherty
HOW TO MAKE IT OUT IN THE END | PAUL DAUGHERTY | JESUS IS COMING BACK SOON PT. 3
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- [00:00]
Paul Rhodes
Jesus is coming back soon. Whoo. He's coming back soon. Somebody say he's coming back soon. Come on. We have been in a series called Jesus is Coming back Soon. We believe it as a church. He's coming back soon. And we've been talking about, through scripture, how Jesus taught this, how it was revealed to John, the disciple who wrote the book of Revelation. And, and this week we're gonna continue the series on this topic. I wanna go to second Timothy, chapter three. Second Timothy, chapter three.
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Congregation/Church Members
Woo.
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Paul Rhodes
Come on, Jesus. We always shout for the first scripture. Paul the Apostle is speaking to Timothy and he says, listen, understand this. In the last days, everybody say the last days. So what we're about to see here in second Timothy, chapter three and four, it is a description of what's gonna happen in the last days amongst believers and unbelievers. That and how you and I can make it out in the end. I want to title this message how to make it out in the End. How to make it out in the end. Because the truth is, all of us are going to go through perilous times. We're already walking through this. But I want to know, how am I going to get through it? How am I going to come out stronger? Not just survive in the last days, not just eek my way and barely be saved. I want to thrive in the end. I want to come out strong. I want to be found faithful. How many of you want to be found faithful in the last days? Yeah. So here's what Paul's going to tell Timothy. He says, in the last days, dangerous times are coming. Great stress. Some of y' all had great stress on the way to church today with your kids. But he says, listen, the stress we're going to experience in the last days, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemies. Jesus said, be pray. Pray that it doesn't happen in the winter. Pray that it doesn't happen when you're pregnant, right? Jesus talks about how in the last days it's going to be so intense, so much tribulation, it is going to so many people will fall away from the truth because it's gonna be so dangerous to stand for Jesus. Difficult days are ahead. Now go to the next verse. He says, people in the last days will become lovers of self, narcissistic, self focused. We're already seeing this, the obsession with self, right? And I think about how our society, we just love like people love themselves. And Paul's telling Timothy, he says, listen, in the last days, if you wanna make it out in the end, don't make life all about you. Don't make it feel like the world revolves around you, like everybody's supposed to bow down to you. Because in the last days, you will start to notice people who actually love Jesus and people who are obsessed with themselves, in the last days, they will become lovers of self. And then he says, lovers of money. In other words, in the last days, people won't want to walk in generosity. People won't want to share what they have with others. People will become obsessed with more and more materials and money and wealth. It's all. And by the way, when we die, none of that money goes with us into heaven. Like, you love money, money doesn't love you. Like you love your materials and love your wealth, it's not going with you into eternity. It's gonna be left in wills, and it's gonna be left in inheritances, and oftentimes it's gonna be ended up in a garage sale. And he says people are gonna become lovers of self, lovers of money. People will be boastful and arrogant revilers. What does that mean? And by the way, when we say the last days, like the Hebrew translation for the last days in this context is the last few seconds of the game. Like, it's the very end. If you're watching a football game, if you're watching the OU game yesterday, it was a tough one for us. If you're watching an NFL game, we're not talking about the fourth quarter. We're talking about the final two minutes. We're talking about literally that last 60 seconds that people. There's going to be this increase of wickedness. There's going to be an increase of people that are full of pride, arrogance, reviling the truth, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, profane in many ways. And by the way, all of these things that he's talking about here, we're already seeing this. We're already starting. Like, if you're wondering, are we living in the last days, look around. Six weeks ago, a man was shot on the steps of a college university in front of thousands of people, recorded and posted on social media. And half the country wasn't sure what they thought about it, if they wanted to condemn it, if they were happy or sad about it. You had people creating TikTok dances saying, thank God this person's dead. That's how messed up currently our society is. And no one wants to call it out. But at victory, we're going to call it out because it is demonic when you celebrate the murder of any person and go, well, they're just celebrating the murder of someone that they didn't agree with. It's demonic. It's demonic. It's demonic to celebrate murder. It's demonic to hate other people. And Paul tells Timothy, he says, in the last days, it's gonna get worse. People will become unloving, devoid of natural human affection. What does that mean? I can't even cry for somebody. I can't even weep with those who are weeping. I was talking with someone recently. I said, how did the news of Charlie Kirk's death hit your community? He goes, oh, people didn't care. He's like, people don't care. Like, we're too busy people. You know, people take 20 hours this credit this semester, and people got boyfriends and girlfriends and nobody care unless it affects them personally. Nobody cares about people unless it affects them personally. And I started thinking about when we start losing touch with tears, when we become calloused to someone else's pain, inhumane. I don't care what's going on in Israel. I don't care what's going on in Gaza. It should break our hearts when we hear things on the news of innocent lives being killed. It should lead us to a place. You go, I just don't want to live depressed. I'm not saying live depressed. I'm saying have human emotion. Don't lose touch with tears. He says, in the last days, people will become inhumane, calloused. They'll hear things, they'll see things. They just won't care. People will become irreconcilable with their family. In other words, they'll be like, I hate my brother. I hate my sister. I'm never talking to my dad again, Never talking to my mom again. We don't even want to see them at the Thanksgiving family reunion. We're not going this year. We boycotted the reunion. Like, when people don't want to reconcile. And then they'll come into church, praise the Father, praise the Son. And God's like, I hear you praising me, but I hear you cursing your brother. I hear you want to worship me, but you hate your father, you hate your mother. And Paul's telling Timothy, he's like, look, in the last days, people will have a form of godliness, but they won't have a relationship with Jesus. They'll have a religion, but they won't actually have a relationship with Jesus. And they won't love each other. They'll be malicious in their gossip. Did you Hear what's going on with Susie. You know, just like, well, call it a prayer meeting, but we're actually slandering Susie because she's not in the room. Let's pray for her. Because you know what secret she's hiding right now? Like, people will sit around and go, well, Paul, don't call that out. Talk about sexual perversion. God sees sin as sin, gossip, sexual perversion, greed, lust, all of it. God says, listen, in the last days, you better get your life right. Here's what it's going to be like. People will be sitting in church. Someone will be scrolling on Zillow, looking for a home, scrolling on TikTok, watching videos. I'm so bored with church, so bored with Jesus. I'm so bored with the Bible. Paul's not preaching something that I want to hear right now. And someone will look up. It's the first time they looked up in the whole church service. Like, why are half the people missing right now? At Victory, 99% of us are going in Jesus name. I believe 100%. Don't be the one that's left behind. You go, well, pause. I don't even know if that's biblical. Jesus said two people will be walking down the road. One will be taken, the other will be left behind. Two people will be in a house. One will be taken, the other will be left behind. Last week we talked about the 10 bridesmaids, five foolish, five wise. All 10 were invited, all 10 were committed to the groom, all, only five got in. And the person that's scrolling for Zillow, I'm telling you, houses are going to be on sale that day because you'll have a lot of houses. You just might as well move in the house. You got the house, but you missed the rapture. You got all the TikTok videos memorized in church because an hour and a half of listening to Jesus is too boring for you. But you'll listen to three hours of Joe Rogan, you'll watch a three hour movie with your friends, you'll binge a Netflix series, but you can't stand 30 minutes of a sermon in church. I just want to scroll on Zillow.
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Congregation/Church Members
Wake up.
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Paul Rhodes
What are we talking about? Why are we so obsessed with stupid stuff that won't go into eternity? And we're so callous to scripture. You need this, I need this. We need the truth. My brother and I, we used to have rapture practice in our backyard. We would get on the trampoline, just try to jump as high as we could. Just going, man, when it happens, I want to jump high. Gotta be ready. We used to think rapture practice was how high you could jump. We'd go, you know, just pulled up in the air, and my dad came out. He's like, this is ridiculous. He's like, this is not real rapture practice. We were like, we're rapture ready. He's like, no, Rapture ready is a heart thing. It's not a trampoline. It's not how high you can jump. It's. Is your heart right with God? Do you have a relationship with Jesus? There will be people in the last days that will step into eternity. And they will say, lord, Lord, we were at church, Lord, Lord, we even did an outreach. And Jesus will say, I never knew you. That's Matthew 25, in case you were wondering. What's the reference that? Matthew 25, how to make it out in the end, Have a relationship with Jesus. If that's the only thing you hear today, have a relationship with Jesus. A real relationship with Jesus. What does that mean? That means you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that he is Lord. You ask him. The Bible says he stands at the door and he knocks. And anyone who opens the door of their heart, in that prayer, you say, jesus, come live in my heart. Convict me of my sin. Help me to change my life. A relationship with Jesus leads to a changed life. So Paul's telling Timothy, he says, listen, all of these things are only gonna increase. People become haters of good. People won't wanna have any goodness in their life. People become traitors in their family, betraying in their marriage, reckless, conceited lovers of sensual pleasure rather than lovers of God. That's the big one right there. Who do you love? Where is your love at? And then he says in the next verse, holding to a form of outward. Everybody say outward. You can appear one way. Like, don't let this jacket fool you. I am not that cool. You're like, we know. This jacket was given to me by my friend in the city, Mike, and it is cool. I like this jacket, but most of the time I'm a T shirt and jeans kind of guy. And there's people who have an outward appearance of Christianity. They got the bumper sticker, they got the KXOJ on the radio. They got the cross necklace. But. But do you really have an inward devotion to Jesus? He says, they can be outwardly religious, although they have denied the power, for their conduct nullifies their claim of faith. So this is where, like, this is where is my life matching my belief? He says, avoid such people. Now, that sounds harsh, but what he means is love them from a distance. Because the closer you get to someone who's numb and calloused and who's full of sin in their life, it starts to rub off on you. He says among those are those who worm their way into homes, captivating, morally weak, and spiritually dwarfed women. Now, what he's saying here is he's saying both men and women, by the way, can be gullible to listen and believe to anything, swayed by various impulses, swayed by conspiracy theories. Be careful who you let in your house. Be careful who you let next to your spouse. Be careful what voices are speaking into your life, not just in church, but on podcasts, in your car, the shows, the movies. It can start to sway you. Watch what he says next in the next verse. Go to the next verse, he says, always learning, always listening to anybody who will teach them, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Let me pause here. There are some people who started out with a strong belief in Jesus, but the longer they begin to listen to lots of different teachers, 300 different voices, right? How many people are you following on social media who don't actually preach the word of God? And you're letting them shape your worldview. They're like, so and so said this about marriage. So and so said this about sexuality. So and so said, I can define my gender. So and so said, love is love. So and so said this. So and so said, I don't need to pray for Israel. So and so. So and so said, I actually can hate Israel. So and so said, who cares what so and so said? What did Jesus say? Bless Israel, pray for Israel, pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Well, Paul, she's got 300 million followers. Who cares? I'd rather follow the one that had 12 disciples, and one of them betrayed him, but he died on the cross for my sins, rose from the grave, and his church still stands 2,000 years later. We're so obsessed with how many followers you got on social media. And it doesn't matter, because in the end, when you get to heaven, they're not gonna check how many followers you had on Instagram, like, oh, let her to the front. She had 300 million followers. No, it'll be the woman that prayed for you and I that none of us saw on this stage that was in the prayer closet of victory, constantly praying for prodigal sons and daughters. She'll have the front seat in heaven. And Paul tells Timothy, he says. He says, these people, they're always listening, but they're never coming to the truth. Go to the next verse. We're just going to go verse by verse. If you came here to hear my opinions, my opinions are the word of God. And so this is what we're going to talk about. Just as James and Jambres, the court magicians of Egypt, opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth. Men of depraved mind. People are going to lose their mind in the last days. Unqualified and worthless as teachers in regard to the faith. These are Paul's words. If you think it's offensive, email paultheapostlebible.com but they will not get very far for their meaningless nonsense and ignorance will become obvious to everyone. In other words, people who oppose the truth of God's word won't be able to stand. Over time, it might sound exciting, even interesting, intriguing. But over time, people are like, this is nonsense, because the word of God, the truth outlasts generations, kings, kingdoms, fads. He says, but you have diligently followed my example. Now, if you're looking for some notes today, I think this is a good verse to write something down. What does it mean to set an example as a man or a woman of God? Paul's saying, follow my example. This is what he's talking about, the teaching that I give. So follow the words that I'm speaking, but not just my teaching, my conduct. Because what good is it to teach our children, don't do this, and then turn around and do the exact thing we told them not to do? And by the way, we're all going to miss it. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. We all need grace. If it wasn't for the blood of Jesus Christ, I'm toast. You're toast. Like, we're not going to make it into heaven if we don't put our faith in Jesus Christ and his blood. It is not our works and our righteous deeds that get us into heaven.
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Congregation/Church Members
It is.
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Paul Rhodes
It is only the blood of Jesus. This last week, y', all, I got. I had a moment where my temper was not perfect and I missed it. And I had to go in and apologize to my kids and to my wife because I got upset. My car was kind of a mess. It was not just kind of a mess, it was a mess. And I got upset. And I said, guys, I am sorry. Dad was wrong. They were like, mm. I was like, I am sorry. I shouldn't have reacted that Way like, we forgive you. And I was like. And they're like, we won't forget it. No. I said, hey, we all need grace. How many on this room need grace? Yeah, we need grace. But we also don't want to have people affirm things that are wrong in our life. So we need to get our lives in alignment with the word of God. We need the word of God to change the way we conduct our lives, our purpose, follow our example. This like, how are you living your purpose? All of us in this room have a purpose. We have a reason to live. We were watching the other night, my mom came over and we were watching the House of David, the final episode of season one where David takes down Goliath. And it is so powerful. I get teary eyed watching. I've seen it three times but she hadn't seen it. And I'm watching it and I see as David's brother start trying to talk David out of fighting Goliath. They're like, who are you? You're arrogant, you're cocky. Go back and watch those sheep. You're just a shepherd boy. You don't belong on the battlefield. You're the youngest brother, David. And it's like he could easily get pulled into a sideward battle walking away from his assignment, his purpose, and fighting with family members who are committed to misunderstanding him. There are some people that are just not worth arguing with because you can love them, but just allow them to think what they want to think. It is a waste of your energy and time. David had to realize my purpose is more important than this family argument. It. So he starts, he starts taking off his armor. He says, is there not a cause? And then he runs towards Goliath. And they benefited from his purpose even though they didn't understand it. There will be people who don't understand your purpose, but they will benefit from it if you will stay focused on it, stay on purpose, stay in mission. Then he says, follow my faith. Don't just follow what I say. Don't just follow how I live my life. Don't just follow the fact that I'm focused on my assignment, but follow the fact that I face fear with faith. Follow my patience. I'm patient with people. I'm learning to be patient. Love is patient. Follow the way I love people. Follow my steadfastness, right? So Paul is telling Timothy, he's saying, don't let in these last days, don't let other people's lives shape who you are. Follow. But he says, also follow the fact that I'M going to walk through persecutions. If you choose to live your life for God, you will suffer. He said, there's going to be sufferings. Job suffered, right? Peter suffered. Paul suffered. All of this happens. But he says, all these persecutions, I learned how to endure them. Everybody say, endure, endured. Meaning, like, stick with it, don't quit when it gets tough. He says, but the Lord rescued me from them all. Praise God that God rescues us from all these persecutions. And then he says this in the next verse, verse 12. Indeed. All who delight in pursuing righteousness, this is the key in the last days. Our pursuit needs to be towards righteousness. Everybody say, pursue righteousness. And then I love these next words. He says, those who are determined. Everybody say, determined to live godly lives. Okay, friends, in the last days, you gotta have a determination to live a life for God. Last night, a couple of our kids built a fort. Not all five of them, just three of them. They reminded me, not all five worked on this fort. Only three of them did. So those three wanted to sleep outside in the fort. Now, I warned them. I said, guys, it's going to rain. It's been raining all day. And when it rains in Oklahoma, it pours. And the thunder and the lightning. And I said, it's going to rain again from 9 till 11. Then it's going to rain again. I was looking at my weather app. It's going to rain at 3am I don't think you should sleep outside. I could not talk them out of it. That's determination. They were like, no, dad, we will sleep in the fort. Please let us. We will do it. You can't talk us out of it. We've made up our minds. We want to sleep outside. So they slept outside last night in the rain. They were determined to do it. One of them didn't make it. He came in, I think, at midnight. Mack. He's like, I ain't doing this. But they were surviving in the wild. They were determined. And I think some of us are so stubborn, determined to stay in our sin. And we need to, instead of erasing stubbornness, determination, we need to channel it in the right direction and become stubbornly committed to following the way of Christ. I am stubbornly committed to forgiving people that offend me. You can't talk me out of it. Oh, Paul, come on, get bitter. No, I've made up my mind. I will forgive. I am determined to live my life for Jesus. Come on, Paul, just sin a little bit. Just do some stuff, you know, no one has to know? No, I am determined. I am stubbornly committed to pursuing righteousness. And this is what Paul's telling Timothy. He says, listen, this is the way at the end of your life, at the end, when the rapture happens, those who have pursued righteousness, those who have determined to live godly lives in Christ Jesus, he says, beware, they're coming for you. They're gonna hunt you down, you're gonna make it out. But listen, there will be persecution because of their faith. Did you know this? Last week 30 pastors were beheaded in Mozambique for having faith in Jesus Christ. 30 pastors in Mozambique were beheaded by extreme jihadists who hate Christians. We gotta be careful in our own country because, listen, can I tell you, the Islamic extreme faith is that if you believe, if you are Muslim, if you take it all the way to the full extent, it's to kill the infidels. I don't think our nation fully recognizes, even with elected officials, officials we're trying to elect in our own country, what can come into our country. It's a Trojan horse that wants to take over and push Christianity out, outlaw Christianity. That's what's happening. These countries like Nigeria, Mozambique, they are wanting to kick Christians out. And I'm not saying that we fight physically. We have to understand, we fight spiritually through prayer and, and through a level headed, through wisdom, through faith and, and with our vote and with what God's called us to stand for. And we got to recognize the times that we're living in are evil. But we gotta keep the faith. Everybody say keep the faith. He says evil men and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. There's gonna be a great deception. But I love what he says in the next verse. He says, as for you, everybody say, as for you, continue. Look at that. Continue, continue. What does it mean to stay in the faith? It's walking that long walk with Jesus in the same direction. It might feel boring to some people, but what they label as boring, in the end, they will be craving to get in. Knocking at the ark. Please let me in to that boring walk that I called boring. I didn't realize how much I needed the Bible more than I needed TikTok all the time. I didn't realize how much I needed the word of God more than I needed all these podcasts I was consuming, all these Netflix shows. I was. I didn't realize how much I needed to continue. And what I labeled as boring, I didn't realize. Why didn't you warn Me. We did wake up. This is the warning. The end is coming. Winter will be here soon, my friends. We're in the fall. We've got a few seconds left before the game is over. We're in the final two minutes. And if you don't realize how short the time is, you go, well, Paul, what if you're wrong? What if he doesn't come back for another 20 years? Then I helped you get your life right. Then I helped you get free of some stupid sin that you've been dabbling in. You go, okay, you got a point there. Yeah, I do. I guess I'm just talking to myself up here. Okay, continue. Everybody say continue. Continue in the way that you have learned of what you were convinced. Holding tightly to the truth. Not your truth, not my truth, not Oprah's truth. Like to God's truth. You know, when my mom handed me the baton, sometimes I'll go back and I'll watch the transition service from 2014 when I stepped in as pastor. At that time, I was 28 years old, y'.
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Congregation/Church Members
All.
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Paul Rhodes
I just look like a little kid up here, y'. All. Like, you still look like a little kid. But I was even more of a little kid back then. And my dad had been in heaven at that time about five years. And she says, paul, remember the teachings that your dad and I taught you? That's what she says. At the transition service, she's holding this baton. She says, don't walk away from this. Hold tightly to the truths that your dad and I taught you. You know, grand. Grand. My grand. Grand passed away this year at 101 years old. While she could still talk, I was sitting in her house and she said, paul, don't. Don't forget this. Stick to the word of God. Stick to the Bible. Stick to what your mom and your dad and I have taught you. Why? Because there's a lot of young pastors that are deconstructing their faith. There's a lot of next generation pastors who have decided, I don't want to do what my parents did. I don't want to stand for what my parents stood. I don't want to follow the word that my dad preached in the 80s. It's irrelevant, Paul. No, it's still true. It's still true. I'm an old. I'm a young guy and an old soul. I don't know how to say it, but I guess I'm just sticking with what I've been taught. I've seen too many friends that have just thrown away Their parents, ministry. And maybe they are doing something else now with their life. But I'm like, there's nothing inside me that wants to walk away from this. There's nothing out there that the world has to offer that comes close to this. Paul says, hold tightly to these truths, knowing from whom you learned them. Watch what he says the next verse. How from childhood you have known the sacred writings you learned as a kid. Timothy learned as a kid the word of God. And this word gives you the wisdom that you need. Wisdom that leads to salvation, by the way. We don't earn our salvation. We don't purchase it. We don't do enough good deeds to become saved. It is through faith, which is in Christ Jesus Christ. I am saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. What does that mean? I'm surrendering my entire self to him. I'm surrendering my entire self to him, having absolute confidence in his wisdom. Not my wisdom, in his power, not my power, in his goodness, not my goodness. Everybody say, his wisdom, his power, his goodness. That's what we need. Not our wisdom, not our power, not our goodness.
- [26:11]
Congregation/Church Members
And.
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Paul Rhodes
And then I love this right here, y'. All. I love the word of God. All scripture, everybody say, all scripture is God breathed, y'.
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Congregation/Church Members
All.
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Paul Rhodes
From Genesis to Revelation. When Moses sat down and started writing Genesis, when he starts recounting what he had heard from the transcripts handed down to him from Adam and Eve and Enoch and Noah and Joseph and Abraham and Isaac and Moses starts writing. It was the Holy Spirit. I've sat down as an author, and I've talked with other authors, and they get in this flow, and they're like, I can write a thousand words. Some people can write 8,000 words without stopping because they get in a flow. As an author, there's this writer's flow, and it's like this release of creativity and ideas and people that are writing stories that's in our lifetime. Can you imagine thousands of years ago, when they got in the flow of the Holy Spirit and they begin writing? And David starts writing psalms like, he that dwells in the shelter of the Most High shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty God. I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge, my strength. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, leads me beside still waters. As David was inspired, Daniel starts writing down the story of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego. As Isaiah starts writing, those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They will mount up like wings, like an Eagle. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint. Jeremiah starts writing. It's like a fire shut up in my bones. As they're inspired. Can you imagine sitting in the room as Paul is writing Philippians in a prison cell? Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say rejoice. All scripture. Everybody say all scripture. That means it's for us, the Word of God. From Genesis to Revelation. We need the whole Bible given by divine inspiration. And it's profitable. And here's what it's profitable for. To instruct us for life. That's the first part. The Word of God. The first part of the Word of God is to instruct us for life. It's not to affirm our lifestyles. It's like I'm just looking for a scripture that affirms my sexual preferences. Just looking for a scripture that affirms my addictions. Just looking for a scripture that says I can vape and drink and get drunk and do what I want to do. No, I want the Word of God to challenge me. I want the Word of God to instruct me. You go, well, that sounds boring. No, it sounds life giving. Whoever has the Son has life. All the other stuff of this world that promises you happiness leaves you sad, leaves you sad, leaves you broken. And it breaks up marriages and families. So I need the Word of God to instruct me. The Word of God is for conviction. Everybody say conviction. I need the word of God to convict me. Say, hey, Paul, you need to apologize for the way you reacted. Your attitude was wrong. And by the way, parents, we need conviction just as much as our kids need conviction. We want our kids to change their behavior towards us. We need to be careful that we are humble enough to apologize when our behavior towards them is wrong, when our attitudes and dads. We should lead the way with humility. We should lead the way with repentance. Say, I'm a work in progress. Anyone else in this room a work in progress? Yeah. I'm like the Rhodes of Oklahoma. I will always be under construction. Can I just say, the roads of Oklahoma are going to be in construction till Jesus returns. I think we can all agree on that together. We're like, okay, that one. You got me. I'm with you on that one. But that's me. Till the day I die, I am under construction. I need God to fix another road. I need him to remove some cones. I need him to soften some areas where the road's gotten unleveled. I need him to work in my mind, my heart, I need him to work on my attitude. So he says, let the word of God convict you. Let the word of God correct you. Yes, we need correction of error. And by the way, when the word of God corrects you, it's so that you can have restoration so you can be restored. Like, I want to be corrected. Because if I'm not corrected, I'm not restored. And the restoration leads to an obedient lifestyle. And the word of God trains me in righteousness, it trains me in holiness. It leads to me being conformed to God's will, not the world's will. Both publicly, oh, this is really good. Both publicly and privately. Everybody say, publicly and privately. You could be a public security success and a private failure. You could be a public figure known by a lot of people as some successful person, but privately be failing in the areas that matter the most. You can also be a private success, but not be publicly known in a successful way. And I'd rather be the private success who may not be the most popular public figure than someone who's a popular public figure but is failing privately. So Paul says, we need both publicly and privately behaving honorably. Lord, we need honor in our lives, in the way that we treat people, the way that we live our life. And this is really good right here. Personal integrity. Everybody say personal integrity. We need personal integrity. We need moral courage. People have lost their mind, moral compass. You know, I was talking with someone not too long ago, and they were saying that their kids weren't always fans of going to church. They were like, dad, do we have to go to church? Do we have to sit through church? And he said, at first, he was like, I don't know. Should I. Should I let them decide? Can I just tell you moms and dads, if they are sleeping in your house or sleeping outside on your front yard, if they are using your washing machine to wash their clothes, if they are using your electricity, you have every right to drag their booty to church. Get them in church, remind them they are not the CEO of the house. You do not report to them as the boss. Who's the boss? I'm just saying, I think sometimes we let kids determine too much. You go, well, Paul, they're 16 years old. Exactly. You got two years left before the move out. Make them get to church every Sunday. Say, hey, we're going to church. What if it's boring? Then we're going to sit through a boring church service and get closer to Jesus and we're going to Read our Bibles. We're going to pray. And it's better than the junk that we see on tv. Get in God's house. Let it produce moral courage in your kids. Okay, go to the next verse so that the man of God, so that the woman of God, so that the people of God may be complete, proficient, outfitted, thoroughly equipped for every. Guys, we want to be ready to do every good work. I want the band to come out. We're going to go to chapter four, and I'm going to close out with these last few verses. I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is the judge and will judge. Friends, Jesus is not just the lamb that was slain, he is the judge that will judge. He's not just an incredible, compassionate savior. He is also a judge. And that shouldn't produce a sense of fear that you're afraid of him. That should produce a fear of God that you honor him with your life, that you say, I want to live for his approval, not man's approval, not for pleasure. He says, he will judge the living and the dead and by his appearing and his kingdom. In other words, he's coming back soon. So I challenge you. Preach the Word. Everybody say, preach the Word. This is what my mom and dad would tell me. And my grand gran would say this in her final breaths with me, that she could talk. Preach the word. Paul, keep preaching the Word. Preach the Word. Be ready when the time is right and even when the time is not. By the way, we're all preachers in this room. You may not preach on this stage, but you preach to the mirror. You preach to yourself when no one else is watching. What you do, what you say to yourself is your message. Are you preaching the Word? Are you preaching what you crave? Are you preaching what God's word says about you? Are you preaching what you say about you? What the world says about you?
- [34:02]
Congregation/Church Members
What?
- [34:03]
Paul Rhodes
What are you preaching? What message are you preaching to yourself every day? Are you convicting yourself with the word of God? Or are you just preaching an affirmation to your life for things that you know are not godly? Are you trying to see how close you can get to sin in the world and still make it in the rapture? I don't want to just barely make it out in the end. I want to be ready when he returns. So I want the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Everybody say, preach the Word. And then, I love this right here. He says, keep your sense of urgency. Keep your sense of urgency. Jesus is coming. Back soon. There needs to be an urgency. There needs to be an urgency. People are getting more and more numb and calloused. I think we're too dumbed down in our society with so much apps and screens and access and information, it can make someone less urgent. But the urgency to share the gospel with others, the urgency to get involved. Serving in the children's church. Friends, we just had a prison outreach seven, eight days ago. We're gonna have another one this upcoming Monday. I want to show you a couple pictures of these prison outreaches that we've been doing, because these guys, as they've been coming, it's been incredible to see their lives impacted at these prison outreaches. And for them, they're in there for a long time, but they. They recognize we're only there for an hour and a half, and they want to maximize the moment. So a lot of these men are coming down to the altar, surrendering all in that moment. They don't have to do this. They're not required to come, but they're coming down and they're asking for freedom from things. They're asking for forgiveness. They're asking to get right with God. Some of them are saying, I got 30 more years left, but I want to be ready when Jesus comes back. Now they're behind bars. Some of us are outside the bars here, but we're behind bars on the inside. Insight. And we're going, well, one of these days, I'll get my life right. One of these days I'll finally get free of sin. One of these days, I'll surrender all. One of these days I'll get plugged into the church. One of these days, I'll live. What Paul's preaching, why not right now? A sense of urgency. Everybody say urgency, urgency. And then Paul goes on to say this in the next verse, Verse three, Second Timothy four. Verse three says, whether it's welcome or unwelcome, for the time will come. Go to verse three. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine. I'm preaching like this because I don't know how much longer I got with some of y'.
- [36:21]
Congregation/Church Members
All.
- [36:21]
Paul Rhodes
Some of you may not want to hear what I have to say. Too much longer. Some people will become so intolerable of sound doctrine. People will not tolerate the word of God. People will not tolerate accurate instruction. Instead, they will look for something that does not challenge them. I don't want to be challenged, Paul. I need a message that will affirm me going off on my. That will affirm my gossip. That will affirm my anger outburst. That will affirm my sexual immorality. I need someone that will tickle my ears with something that pleases me. This is not fun, but I need fun sermons. I can be fun, okay, but it's. We're running out of time. Running out of time. And I think we need to get in the word of God. To let the word of God challenge the areas in our life that are not right. People will accumulate for themselves teachers one after another that will satisfy their own desires and support. I just want someone to support me not wanting to reconcile with my family. I just want someone to support me holding on to bitterness. I just want someone to support. I know it's wrong, but I just. I'm looking for some supporters on my opinion, not God's opinion about me. Friends, this is. This is a sure road to not make it out in the end. You want to miss out on what God has for you in the last days? Surround yourself with people that support the errors that go against the word of God. But if you do want to make it out, lean into the truth. Now watch what he says here at the end. They'll turn their ears away from truth and wander off in the midst of man made fictions. Verse 5 But as for you, as for you, be clear headed in every situation. Stay calm. Paul, stay cool. Joseph, stay steady. Jordan Endure. Everybody say endure. Endure every hardship without flinching. Don't flinch. I got it on my jacket today day. Everybody say don't flinch. Don't flinch. In other words, it's gonna get tough, but keep your head focused. Don't flinch. Keep your head focused on Jerusalem. Keep your head focused on Zion. Keep your head focused on who God's called you to be, what God's called you to do. And if you've fallen, get back up. We need you. Get back up. We need you to come down to the altar, get your life restored if you've sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. God. Welcome to the club. We've all been there before. Don't stay down. Don't stay in sin. Don't stay in darkness. Don't stay in addiction. Don't stay in the problem. Don't keep rehearsing the shame. Get free. Come down to the altar, get free. Get in our discipleship class, get in our restore class. Get your life turned around. If you lost your marriage, get back up. If you lost your job, get back up. If you've lost some things in your life you're not proud of, get back up. Don't let this be a message of condemnation. Let this be a message of conviction to get back up and go in the direction that God's called you to go. We all have a purpose. We all have a plan. And then he tells Timothy, he says, do the work. Everybody say, do the work. Joseph, do the work. Jordan, do the work. Paul, do the work. Daniel, do the work. Ty, do the work. Why? Because there's a lot of ministers that don't want to do the work anymore. There's a lot of people like, I gotta work more than 10 hours a week. Yeah, it's called a full time job. 40 hours a week. You mean I gotta serve and minister and get involved and help and do things and give my life? Yes. And I would rather do the work of the ministry than be a lazy servant that refuses to lift a finger to help. There's more joy on the other side of a hard worker than there is on someone who's lazy. Find joy in the work. Fulfill. Everybody say, fulfill the duties of ministry. Now let me close out with these last two verses, verse 6 and 7. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering. The time of my departure is coming near. Paul was saying, I'm about to go. The Bible says in Psalm 90, we're given 70 years to live. If you're 70, don't, don't get scared. You're like, am I about to die? Don't get depressed. You're gonna make it. He says, you maybe get 80 years. My grand grand got 101 years. Some of y' all got great genes. You're gonna live to be 100 years old. But the point is, is that death is coming for all of us. Eternity is coming for all of us. It's not a matter of how long you will live. It's will you be ready when you die. So let's just imagine this is your life, right? And as you're pouring out, some of you have to make a decision that you're not gonna die like this. I just didn't want to pour out too much sweat and tears and blood. I didn't want to forgive too many people. I didn't want to reconcile. I didn't want to do the dreams or write the books or put out the songs or share my ideas or help start the company or give some money to the church. I just wanted to die with a lot of water still left in my bottle. Paul says, I don't want to die with anything left. I want to pour it all out every single Drop. It's water. We'll dry it later. Some of you are more concerned about the altar than you are getting the message. This is why we built the church. This is why we built an altar. So you could pour it all out. I want you to pour it all out. You got stuff to give up. You got some cigarettes to give up today. You got a vape you want to throw down here. You got some drugs, some pills in the purse. You got some stuff you need to lay down, some stuff. Pour it all out. Don't die with stuff inside you that you're supposed to get out. You got unforgiveness in your heart. Pour it all out. You got hurts towards family members that let you down. Pour it all out. Don't wait till heaven to confront areas in your life that God's trying to get out of you right now while there's still time left. Pour it all out. Ever say pour it all out? And then Paul says this in verse 7. This is the last verse. I promise. I fought the good fight. I fought the good and worthy and noble. I love those words. The good and worthy and noble fight. I have finished the race. Thank you, Jesus. I kept the faith firmly guarding the gospel against error. I kept the faith. When I think about these words, honestly, I think about my dad. How many of y' all were around when. When my dad was the pastor? How many of y' all weren't around when he was the pastor? That's majority of the church today. I wanna show you just. I wanna end the service with a final video, some words from my dad. You know, he's been in heaven for 16 years. But the cool thing is I could still go back and listen to some stuff he had to say. And so I wanna just go back and revisit one specific thing he said. And we're gonna watch this together and then we'll close out the service. If you have to leave, I understand. But if you can stay, it's about six minutes, but it's worth your time. Hear what my dad has to say. Check this out.
- [43:20]
Billy Joe Rhodes
Eternity is forever. Are you preparing for it? So many people prepare for their funeral. What they're gonna wear, what's gonna happen at that moment, and then it's over. I had an experience that transformed my life when I was standing on a football practice field many years ago. The Lord spoke to me. He said, you'll come to the end of your life and you won't look back on things that you've gained or money that you've earned. Or houses that you've had or car. None of that's going to mean anything. He said. You'll look back on the people your life has touched and they will all go into eternity. We are entering a most exciting time for our church. We're making a predetermined effort to reach the lost of our city. God says, launch out into the deep. Seven years ago, God put in our heart to go into the government subsidized apartment communities in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area and to take the gospel and watch it change lives. We've not come to bring a religion that would turn you off to God. We've come to share. Jesus Christ will turn you on to God and it's going to keep on going. Glory to God. Jesus said, I, I will build my church. This land belongs to God now and forever. In the name of Jesus, we can do this if we all work together. Together. Let's go after it. We built our building debt free on a cash basis. We're breaking out of dead religion, of just sitting in the pew. Your hands are going to be anointed to heal the sick, to deliver the oppressed. Yes, we release it in you now. Lord, I thank you that you mobilize every believer for their work of ministry. Sunday morning, we're getting dressed and I'm sitting in our bedroom tying my shoes and the Holy Ghost just said, go. And I looked up at Sharon and I said, we're gonna go to Russia and God's gonna make a way. Four people walked up I'd never seen before, and they said, we hear you're going to Russia. We want to help you. The Lord said, this is the door that I'm opening in Russia and the harvest is now tonight. You can believe in him and receive his spirit to live on the inside of you as you believe and confess. Jesus as lord of your life.
- [46:42]
Congregation/Church Members
Yes, is here. Believe there's no reason. Hallelujah.
- [46:51]
Paul Rhodes
Hallelujah.
- [46:53]
Billy Joe Rhodes
Tonight is your night to give your life to. Jesus.
- [46:59]
Congregation/Church Members
Has come to set you free. Arise. Believe.
- [47:11]
Billy Joe Rhodes
You may be sick in your body, but this is a day of healing. In the name of Jesus, be made whole. From the top of your head to the soles of your feet. Sickness and disease and infirmity Go.
- [47:33]
Congregation/Church Members
Healing.
- [47:34]
Paul Rhodes
Come the living come to set you free.
- [47:38]
Congregation/Church Members
Arise and be healed as you believe. Arise and be healed as you believe.
- [48:11]
Billy Joe Rhodes
When I was a young boy, I was running track and my dad was up in the stands yelling when the gun sounded and started off. I went around that first curve, down the stretch, and I was Coming around the back stretch, and I heard this voice yelling, come on, Billy Joe.
- [48:30]
Congregation/Church Members
Come on.
- [48:32]
Billy Joe Rhodes
Only it wasn't from a distance.
- [48:36]
Paul Rhodes
It was close.
- [48:39]
Billy Joe Rhodes
He was at hand. He's running just right beside the track.
- [48:44]
Paul Rhodes
Come on, Billy Joe.
- [48:45]
Congregation/Church Members
Come on.
- [48:46]
Billy Joe Rhodes
Come on. I don't know who won, him or.
- [48:49]
Paul Rhodes
Me.
- [48:52]
Billy Joe Rhodes
But it's always caused me to think about later on how Jesus Christ came out of the grandstands of heaven and got in the race of life. Not just to cheer us from up there. He came to show us what it was like. Hallelujah. He's in the race with you, saying, come on. He's going to be inside of you, helping you, strengthening you. Lord, we praise you that you're in this race with us every day, not just cheering for us from heaven, but by salvation you've come to live in our heart. How many saints are here? Saint I Ru. That's my mama. Hallelujah. Saint Sharon. Saint Billy Joe. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
- [50:14]
Congregation/Church Members
Of my face. I'll keep my eyes on you Keep my eyes on you Keep my eyes on you.
- [50:34]
Billy Joe Rhodes
Eternity is for everyone. Everybody is going to exist eternally, either in the lake of fire or with Jesus in heaven. Now, once people understand that, then they realize it's important that I make a decision here on this earth about where I'm going to spend eternity. The promise is eternal life in Jesus Christ. Whoever has the Son has the life. Whoever does not have the Son, that's Jesus does not have the life. Why not receive him today and settle the issue and begin to live your life for him? You can pray with me. And the moment you pray and ask Jesus into your heart, confessing him as Lord, believing he died for you, and believing he was raised from the dead, the Bible says you will be saved. This is a day for that. Pray with me right now. Would you just say, heavenly Father, I receive your son, Jesus. Jesus, I believe you died for me. I believe you were raised from the dead. I repent of all my sin, and I receive your forgiveness. Your gift of salvation, eternal life. Thank you for saving me. In your name, Jesus. I pray and I believe.
- [52:07]
Paul Rhodes
Come on, let's stand to our feet all over this place. Yeah, man, I got a lot of emotions watching that video. I was there for all of that, so much of it, at least. And I remember watching the. Those crowds of people run in Russia at the Eschat Ka building, running down. Daniel was there, running down from the very back to the front. There was this desperation, a desperation for Jesus. They had been in bondage under socialism and communism for so many years. And when that. When that window of time opened up and the wall came down and victory showed up, it was just this desire for freedom, this desire to know Jesus, to own a Bible. And I remember watching that in Dominican Republic. Just so many people coming to Jesus and people getting healed. We've continued to see that over the years. Healings and salvations and the crusades continue to go on. But, you know, I started thinking about. For every person in this room watching that video, I think God has an assignment for you. A specific assignment in your life that only you can fulfill. No one else can do it. I can't do it. My dad couldn't do it. Billy, you know, Tim can't do it. Ty Barker can't do it. Only you. God has a destiny, a purpose, an assignment. The enemy hates it. The enemy wants you distracted, discouraged, depressed, defeated, numb, calloused, binging on all the other shows and social media besides his word and his purpose for you in these last days. But I think today God wants to mobilize and really commission believers in our church to rise up and fulfill your assignment, your purpose. That you would like that bottle that I poured out, that you would be poured out. That at the last moment, last breath of your life. You could say, I fought the good fight. I finished the race. I poured out my life as an offering to God. I wasn't perfect, but I got right with Jesus and I surrendered my life to him. I repented. I received his forgiveness. I forgave who I needed to forgive. I reconciled where I could reconcile. I fulfilled the purpose God had for me. And I want to pray for those that are in the room today that just feel a conviction for that. A conviction for being commissioned to fulfill your purpose, your assignment in these last days, some of you, maybe even today, as you were listening to the message, you were like, man, I need to hold tightly to the truth. I. I need to let God's word really get inside me, convict me and challenge me, grow. There's areas I need to grow in. There's areas that I'm not surrendered in. All across this room with heads bowed, eyes closed. If you're here today and this word is convicting you in any way to respond and surrender, I want you to raise your hand up today. Today's a great day to just surrender, to say, jesus, I want to live for you. I want to live for your glory. I want my life to count for eternity. I want to fulfill every dream. I don't want to Die with my bottle still half full. I want to pour it all out. And lastly, if you're here today and you say, I prayed that prayer with your dad. And today I confess Jesus as my Lord and savior. Raise your hand today if you receive Jesus in your heart that you got saved today. Today's a great day for salvation in your life. If you raised your hand for either of those, or you just want to come down to the altar, I want you to leave your seat, come and join me at this altar. Let's make this altar like a drink offering. Let's just pour it out to God, whatever you need to bring down to the altar. Maybe you want to. To come with your friends, your roommates, your family members, your spouse. Yeah. Let's cheer on brave men, brave women, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, college students, young adults, grandparents, whatever age you are. And let's just worship God. Let's sing this song. Go ahead, Virginia. Jesus, I believe in you, Jesus, I belong to you, Jesus, I surrender to.
- [55:48]
Congregation/Church Members
You.
- [55:51]
Paul Rhodes
Jesus, I'm all yours. That's it. Just give it to Jesus today. God loves you. He's called you, he's anointed you. He's appointed you, he's rescuing you. He's delivering you for a sight, for a purpose.
- [56:21]
Congregation/Church Members
Thank you, Lord, for your love, your forgiveness.
- [56:29]
Paul Rhodes
God. I thank you, Lord, that you're going to give this. I pray in Jesus name, God, for just another turnaround. I thank you, God, that he's going to.
- [56:43]
Congregation/Church Members
Say Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. I believe Jesus, I believe in you, Jesus, I belong.
- [56:54]
Paul Rhodes
Never going back, never turning back.
- [56:58]
Congregation/Church Members
You're the reason that I live, the reason that I sing with all that.
- [57:08]
Paul Rhodes
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. God's not finished. God's not finished.
- [57:20]
Congregation/Church Members
I will worship. I will worship you, Lord, I surrender.
- [57:32]
Paul Rhodes
To you, God use me for.
- [57:38]
Congregation/Church Members
I.
- [57:38]
Paul Rhodes
Surrender my heart, surrender my mind. I surrender my past. I surrender my present. I surrender my future. Surrender my time.
- [58:03]
Congregation/Church Members
Wor. My heart is my worship. My life is worship. I worship you. I will, I will worship. We lay our lives down. Jesus, I will wor. I will worship. I will worship. Let our lives be poured out today. I will wor. I will worship. I will worship. I will worship you, Jesus, I believe Jesus, I belong.
- [59:08]
Paul Rhodes
To you.
- [59:10]
Congregation/Church Members
You're the reason that I live.
- [59:13]
Billy Joe Rhodes
You're the reason that I sing with.
- [59:17]
Paul Rhodes
All that I am. Let's pray this together. Say, jesus, I believe in you. I belong to you. You are my Lord, my savior, my healer, my defender. You died on the cross. You rose from the grave. I repent of my sins. I receive your forgiveness. I want to live for you. I want my life to bring you glory. Heaven is my eternal home. But while I'm still alive, I want to live for you. I'm all yours, God. In Jesus name, amen and amen. Come on. God loves you. I love you. Encourage somebody on your way out today.