As in the Days Of Caesar
Pastor Abel Bonilla 5/25/2025
Loading…
0:00
49:29
Summary
Pastor Abel Bonilla draws sobering parallels between the moral decay of the Roman Empire and modern society, calling the church to be a faithful, holy remnant. He encourages believers to rise above the 'days of Caesar' by living as the salt of the earth, purified by trials and ready for the imminent return of Christ.
Key points
- •The Bible contains eight times more prophecies concerning the second coming of Christ than his first, emphasizing the urgency for the church to 'live ready.'
- •Societal parallels between the days of Caesar and modern times include the redefinition of marriage, the devaluation of innocent life, and bloodthirsty, soul-corrupting entertainment.
- •A remnant is a small group preserved by God that is purified by trials, is smaller than the majority, and is reserved for special divine purposes.
- •The church is the 'salt of the earth' that slows the decay of a falling world, primarily to provide a window of time to win lost souls before the end.
- •The distinction between Kronos (chronological time) and Kairos (a strategic season) reminds believers that we are in a spiritual window to make things right with God.
Scripture
The Second Coming
Holiness and Separation
The Remnant Church
Spiritual Warfare in the Mind
Love for the Lost
Life application
Reflect on your media and entertainment consumption this week, asking God to help you protect your heart from the 'theaters of Caesar' that promote lust and spiritual decay. Take a bold stand for Christ in your everyday life by actively praying for opportunities to be 'salt' in your neighborhood or workplace.
Reflection questions
- In what areas of my life have I allowed the culture's definitions of morality to override God's Word?
- Elijah felt alone until God revealed the 7,000 others; who is the community of 'remnant' believers around me that I can lean on?
- Am I more concerned with being successful in the eyes of the world or being found a 'faithful servant' by Jesus?
- How can I shift from simply coexisting with society to actively praying for and loving those who are on the road to destruction?
Have a question about this sermon?
Ask our AI and get an answer with citations.
Full transcript
0:00verse said through the song. So, I feel
0:00like I need to remind myself. Amen. But
0:00if you open your Bible with me, First
0:01Kings
0:0219:18, or they have it on the screen
0:04there, it says, "Yet I have left me
0:067,000 in Israel, all the knees which
0:10have not bowed unto Baal, and every
0:13mouth which hath hath not kissed him."
0:17Romans 11:5. Even so, then at this
0:20present time also there is a remnant.
0:22Someone say with me, a remnant.
0:25According to the election of
0:28grace, I preach to
0:30you as in the days of
0:33Caesar. As in the days of Caesar. Would
0:36you turn to your neighbor and tell them
0:37as in the days of Caesar.
0:41Would you close your eyes and pray with
0:43me right now? Father, we come to you,
0:45Lord, with an expectation in our
0:48hearts, Lord. We come, God, with hunger
0:50in our spirit, Jesus. We want to hear
0:52from you today. We want to feel your
0:54touch right now. We want to feel your
0:57embrace, Lord. Would you speak to us?
0:59Would you allow your presence to flood
1:00the hearts of every person in this room,
1:03God? Every person under the sound of my
1:05voice. I pray, Lord, that you move in
1:07them and through them. God, speak to us,
1:10Lord. Speak to me, Lord. Give me your
1:12thoughts. Give me your desires. Give me
1:14your words. In the name of Jesus, I
1:17pray. Lord, let it be divine wisdom and
1:19not human wisdom. And the church of God
1:21says "Amen."
1:23Amen. You may be
1:31seated. The promise of Jesus is coming.
1:36Something we've heard throughout our
1:38entire lives. If you've been around
1:40church long enough, you know and heard
1:44of the second coming of
1:46Jesus. It is a promise that he is coming
1:51back. From the beginning, the church of
1:54God. From the beginning, the church of
1:58the living God, the primitive church and
2:00us today, we have lived with a blessed
2:03hope that he will return again.
2:08He will return and when he comes down,
2:11amen, it's going to be full of glory,
2:13justice righteousness.
2:16John 14:1 tells us, "Let not your heart
2:19be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe
2:22also in me. In my father's house are
2:25many mansions. And if were not so, I
2:29would have told you. I go to prepare a
2:31place for you, says the Lord. And if I
2:34go and prepare a place for you, I will
2:36come again and receive you unto myself,
2:40that where I am, there ye may be also.
2:44It is a promise from the Lord unto his
2:47people. He's speaking to us, and he's
2:50letting us know that there is a place
2:53prepared for you and I. I get excited
2:56when I think about the second coming of
2:59God. I don't get nervous even though my
3:01flesh wants to get nervous. I don't
3:04allow my flesh to overtake what my
3:06spirit wants to feel. In my spirit, I
3:09feel encouraged uh because he is coming
3:12back. Uh and he will come back for his
3:14church.
3:18You see, there's over 300 references in
3:21the Bible that we find about Jesus
3:24second his second coming. But um for
3:28every prophecy that you read in the
3:32Bible of his first coming, there's eight
3:35prophecies that speak about his second
3:39coming. You can notice the
3:42highlight the
3:44focus the Bible wants to g give the
3:47reader, the believer, you and I today
3:50wants to let us know that he is coming
3:52back. He's coming back for his church.
3:55When Jesus ascended into heaven after he
3:59resurrected, two angels appeared uh and
4:01said unto the disciples, they said, "Ye
4:04men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up
4:06into heaven, the same Jesus shall so
4:09come in like manner as ye have seen him
4:11go into heaven?" In other words, just
4:14like he left, he's going to come back.
4:17Uh just like he ascended, he is going to
4:22descend. He's coming back. The second
4:25coming is not a different event, some
4:30event that we can't afford by missing.
4:33No, we can't ignore it. We can't afford
4:35to ignore the second coming. It's the
4:38reason why we preach today. It's the
4:40reason why you and I gather today, this
4:43Sunday morning. The reason why we are
4:45witnesses in our everyday lives, the
4:48reason why we live ready is because he's
4:51coming back. You heard me right. I said
4:54we have to live ready. You and I have to
4:57live ready as though he's coming right
5:00now. We have to live
5:05ready. Jesus himself said, "And this
5:08gospel of the kingdom shall be prepared
5:10in all of the world for a witness unto
5:13all nations, and then shall the end
5:16come." The time to work, brothers and
5:19sisters, is now. The time to do
5:21something for the Lord uh is today. The
5:24time to live for the Lord is today.
5:30Now, we see a phrase that's very common
5:34when we preach about the second coming
5:37of Christ. We've heard this multiple
5:40times throughout our sermons and our
5:42services. We've heard
5:45this comparison of days that happen in
5:49the past and how when the second coming
5:51of the Lord uh shall
5:54appear, it would be like the days of
5:56certain characters in the Bible. Luke
6:0017:26 to verse 28. And I'm not going to
6:02read it, but I'm going to quote two of
6:05the things that are said here. It says
6:08that he is coming for his church uh
6:11during normal days. But he's coming as
6:14it was in the days of Noah and as it was
6:17in the days of
6:19Lot. Two characters that we're very
6:21familiar with in the Bible. Two
6:23characters that speak volumes of what we
6:27should expect today in our society, in
6:30the world we're living in.
6:31In the days of Noah, just like those
6:34days, just like the days of Lot, so
6:37shall it be that the Son of Man cometh
6:40down for his church. I know this is
6:43unpopular preaching. I know we're so
6:46used to hearing about faith and about
6:48miracles and about signs and wonders. Uh
6:51but I'm here to remind somebody uh that
6:53he is coming back. Uh I'm here to remind
6:57somebody uh that what you've endured is
6:59not in vain.
7:01I'm here to remind somebody that's been
7:03holding on a little too long. Uh, and
7:05you thought, "Oh, what's next?" Let me
7:08tell you, he is coming back. Uh, he is
7:11coming back. He is coming back for his
7:16church. As it was in the days of Noah,
7:19as it was in the days of Lot, people
7:21were eating, people were drinking,
7:23people were giving themselves uh in
7:25marriage. They were building. They were
7:28doing so much. Yet judgment came
7:31swiftly, says the word. And it is so
7:35interesting how this sounds like some of
7:38our everyday lives
7:42today. We're eating, we're drinking,
7:44we're giving oursel in marriage. I just
7:46got married three years ago. I gave
7:48myself in
7:50marriage. Hopefully not again. Amen.
7:57But today there's a third comparison to
7:59the days of Noah and the days of
8:02Lot. Today I want to speak of the days
8:05of
8:06Caesar as it was in the days of Caesar.
8:10You see the Roman Empire has been a
8:12powerful empire. We've heard about it in
8:15our history books. Uh we've read about
8:17it. Some of us have studied it. Amen.
8:19But the Roman Empire of Jesus is in the
8:21early church's time. Uh it was the final
8:24beast in Daniel's vision. If you've read
8:27the book of Daniel chapter 2, uh I would
8:30encourage you to go read it. Amen. But
8:32the but Daniel describes a vision of uh
8:35uh the legs of iron later mixed with
8:38clay. Uh Daniel saw a prophetic uh
8:41prophetic image of the world's kingdom
8:43ending uh with the revived Roman Empire
8:47before the final kingdom of Christ
8:50established. Today we live in a world
8:52resembling the days of Caesar. Yes, we
8:55live in the days of Caesar. The
8:58immorality, the moral collapse speaks to
9:02this truth that I'm going to share with
9:05us today. It speaks on the truth. Amen.
9:09That uh in the days of Caesar there was
9:11a cesspool of immorality all over the
9:14place. Uh marriage was polluted and
9:16devaluated. Uh divorce was not the
9:19exception. It was the norm those days.
9:23Tertullian the first theologian said
9:27women long for divorce as if it was if
9:29it were the natural consequence of
9:32marriage. Sexual
9:35sins ran rampant.
9:37And immorality was given and it was
9:40celebrated in the theaters and the
9:42arenas of the time. Does it sound
9:44familiar to us today? The days of
9:48Caesar. As in the days of Caesar, so it
9:51is now for you and I. Marriage redefined
9:54not necessarily by our courts or by our
9:57church. Uh but it it it has been
9:59redefined by the culture of this world.
10:01Uh the morality has been mocked. Amen.
10:04And evil called good. And uh we are
10:07living in the days of Caesar.
10:10Isaiah 5:20 says uh woe unto them that
10:13call evil good and good evil.
10:18There was also the cruelty in the days
10:21of Caesar to the innocent. In the days
10:24of Caesar, society and the cruelty that
10:27they had to the unborn and unwanted was
10:30very common during those days. Abort
10:33abortion was rampant. Newborns were
10:36strangled. Uh they were tossed to a
10:38river. Uh they were killed. Uh amen.
10:41Newborns. Venicious Felix Felix, one of
10:44the early churches apologist described
10:46it this way. He said, "Some women
10:49extinguish the life of the future human
10:51in their very bowels, thus committing
10:54murder before even giving birth."
10:58The capital city of this empire, this
11:01great empire, the Roman Empire, the
11:03capital city was literally founded on
11:06the myth of two brothers, uh, Romelus
11:09and Remis, uh, twin infants tossed into
11:11a
11:13river,
11:14abandoned, left to die. Does it sound
11:18familiar to us today? the days of
11:20Caesar, today's culture that kills the
11:24unborn, that does so much uh to destroy
11:27the life the lives of innocent babies,
11:30the days of
11:32Caesar. There's a couple more things I
11:35want to express to you today before I
11:38dive in into what I feel the Lord has
11:40spoken to me for this church.
11:43We can mention also the violent and
11:46perverse entertainment uh that was
11:49taking place during that time. The
11:52empire's entertainment was
11:54bloodthirsty. The arenas were filled
11:57with dying men and gladiator games,
12:00animal fights. There was so much taking
12:03place, mass executions.
12:06But there was also the theaters at the
12:08time that glorified adultery, that
12:10glorified and encouraged lust and vice.
12:14Does it sound familiar?
12:18As in the days of Caesar. You see, the
12:20arena glorified violence and brought
12:23death to the body. But something a
12:26little bit scary, more scarier than that
12:29uh was the fact that the theaters that
12:31were promoting corruption uh they were
12:33trying to corrupt the mind and the heart
12:35of people during those days. Uh in other
12:37words, it's not just the physical but
12:39the spiritual. They were trying to
12:41influence uh the people and they were
12:44trying to cause spiritual death.
12:49I'm not preaching against entertainment
12:51today. I'm just speaking on what was
12:53happening during that time. Uh, and we
12:56can see in our days today that there's
12:59similarities to what was happening in
13:01the days of Caesar.
13:03Entertainment,
13:05bloodthirsty
13:07people going
13:09astray. Today, entertainment still
13:11glorifies violence. Today, entertainment
13:14still glorifies adultery. Today,
13:16entertainment still glorifies vice and
13:18all these issues. A rebellion, a
13:20perversion. Today we see the same things
13:23happen as in the days of Caesar.
13:29I love that Proverbs says for Proverbs
13:334:23, "Keep thy heart with all
13:36diligence, for out of it are the issues
13:39of
13:41life." The heart. The heart. We have to
13:45protect our hearts. I want to encourage
13:47someone today who has just let
13:49themselves go uh and you've just been
13:51going through the motions uh and you've
13:53allowed entertainment and you've allowed
13:56media and you've allowed the culture of
13:58the world uh to redefine who you are. Uh
14:01let me speak to somebody today that's
14:03been struggling with identity issues uh
14:06and you've allowed all these voices uh
14:09to try to corrupt uh what God is trying
14:12to build in your life. Let me encourage
14:14somebody today uh who feels forgotten.
14:17Uh who feels lost. Uh come on. God is in
14:20this house. Uh and he wants to change
14:24[Applause]
14:26you. He wants to do a work in you.
14:29Romans 12:2, "Be not conformed to this
14:32world,
14:33but be transformed by the renewing of
14:37your mind." The battlefield is in the
14:40mind.
14:41The battlefield starts here. If you
14:44entertain it here,
14:47it will lead you to death and
14:49destruction. Now, as in the days of
14:52Caesar, there was a rise of tyranny and
14:55idolatry. At the time, the people
14:57worshiped Caesar. They thought Caesar
15:00was Lord. But I love that during this
15:03time, this time had very dark moments uh
15:07in the dreadful days of Caesar when men
15:10bowed to the thrones of of of of mortal
15:14gods. Amen. The world groanth beneath uh
15:17the weight of false glory and fading
15:20empires. Yet even then uh in the darkest
15:24hour of man's dominion, there was a
15:27remnant.
15:30I love that God always gives a solution
15:32to every problem.
15:34It doesn't matter how dark the times
15:37get. It doesn't matter how dark it gets
15:40in our culture. God always has a plan.
15:43God always has a group of people. God
15:47always has a remnant that is ready for
15:50him.
15:53A small group of people. This is what a
15:55remnant means. A small group of people,
15:59those who remain faithful when most
16:01others fall away. A remnant. Whenever
16:05the world grows dark, whenever the world
16:08grew dark at the time and wicked, God
16:10always preserved a remnant, a good a
16:13group of people, a faithful few uh that
16:16did not bow, that did not compromise, uh
16:19that did not lose their
16:21heart through the dark times.
16:24I love that the remnant is a couple of
16:28things, but the first thing is the small
16:30is a smaller group than the
16:33majority, smaller than the majority.
16:35That's what makes a remnant. God doesn't
16:38need the majority.
16:41God just needs a remnant. I'm here to
16:44speak to somebody today. Uh I'm here to
16:46provoke a church here today. Uh to
16:49encourage you, Cathedral of Pentecost.
16:51Uh you have been a remnant for many
16:54years. Uh you are a group of people that
16:57has stood firm, that has not bowed, that
17:00has not compromised. Uh Cathedral, you
17:03are the church uh of the living God for
17:05this city. Uh amen. And you don't need
17:07the majority. All God needs is two or
17:10three. Uh because where there's two or
17:12three gathered in my
17:15name, I'm in the midst, says the word.
17:20two or three gathered. Uh, this sounds
17:22like revival to me. You don't need a
17:24building to start a church. Uh, you just
17:26need two or three. Uh, if you want to
17:28spark a revival in your campus, you
17:30don't need the majority. You just need
17:32two or three that are willing to gather.
17:38A remnant. A remnant.
17:43A remnant is so
17:45important because the remnant is
17:48purified by trial and
17:51testing. This is what a remnant how a
17:54remnant is
17:55tested. Purified by trial. Some of us
17:59have seen our trials and we think it's
18:00an opportunity for the devil to destroy
18:04you. But when you're part of the
18:06remnant, you don't view a trial as a
18:08destruction.
18:10No, you view the trial as a setup for
18:13God's glory. It is a refining that's
18:16happening in your life. Uh it is a
18:18refining that's happening in your
18:19family. It is a refining that's
18:21happening in your character. You need to
18:24stop seeing uh the the the the trials of
18:27this world as tests. You need to start
18:29seeing as oh the Lord knows. Uh the Lord
18:32wants to speak to me. Uh the Lord has
18:34something for me. A
18:38remnant remnant is
18:40purified by trial and
18:43testing. The remnant is reserved for
18:46God's special purposes. So if you
18:49thought you were special, you are
18:55special. There's a couple examples that
18:57we see in the Bible of this
19:00remnant. We see it in the days of Noah.
19:04Noah had his family and I quote Genesis
19:086 verse 7 to verse 8. And the Lord said,
19:10"I will destroy man uh whom I have
19:13created from the face of the earth." Uh
19:15but Noah found grace in the eyes of the
19:19Lord. The world was filled with violence
19:22and corruption at the time. Uh yet Noah
19:24and his family were spared because they
19:27were part of the remnant. Eight souls uh
19:30were part of the remnant here today. Uh
19:33amen. We see another example in the days
19:35of Lot. Uh in the days of Lot, Sodom and
19:38Gomorrah were two corrupted cities uh
19:41that were dealing with so much sin. Uh
19:43but the Lord kept Lot and he kept his
19:46daughters. In fact, he kept his wife
19:48too, but she had to be filtered out if
19:51she was going to be part of the
19:54remnant.
19:56Filtering, scaffing, shifting happens.
20:01Lord has seen who is true, who stands
20:05firm, who is not afraid, who's bold for
20:09his kingdom. And I'm not here just to
20:11lift your spirit up uh and make you feel
20:14all powerful. No. Uh I'm here also,
20:17amen, to convict your heart, uh amen, to
20:20help you understand the position you
20:22have in this world. Uh it is not just
20:24any kind of position. It's not just any
20:27kind of thing. know the Lord has called
20:29you and placed you for a specific task.
20:32Uh Sister Tama just said it when she got
20:34up here. She said, "When I was headed to
20:36church this morning, my neighbor came
20:39and told me they had leukemia. Another
20:41person in the world would think, oh man,
20:44what a coincidence." It's not a
20:45coincidence. Uh that's the Lord placing
20:48people around you so that you can
20:50minister, so that you can activate your
20:53faith. so that you can stand up and say,
20:55"God, I'm going to be a remnant in this
20:58[Applause]
21:05hour. My
21:07father, I was growing
21:10up. He
21:12reached came into one of our rooms at
21:15the time and it was a morning. He was
21:18very afraid. He was shaken by a dream
21:23that he had had that day. And when he
21:27walked into our room, I could look in
21:29his eyes
21:30fear. He was
21:32concerned. He felt, man,
21:35something is happening or I have to do
21:38something with what I saw in this dream.
21:41Now, my father is not the kind to share
21:44dreams. He's like most men. We just
21:46close our eyes and we see pitch black.
21:50We don't
21:51dream. At least I don't. I just close my
21:54eyes and I wake up and it's the next day
21:56and we just get
21:58rolling. So for my father to come and
22:01talk about a dream was a big deal to me
22:04and it's a dream I've never
22:06forgotten. We were living in the in San
22:08Antonio, Texas at the time and he walked
22:11in and he began to speak to us and he
22:14said, "I'm so concerned. There's
22:16something that's bothering me. There's
22:18something that has shaken me and we're
22:23listening to him and we're noticing that
22:25he's he's a little bit
22:28agitated. And as he begins to express
22:31this what he saw in this dream, he said
22:33that we were all sitting at the dinner
22:35table. The family was there and we were
22:38all together. We were enjoying a good
22:41time. We were having a good time. And at
22:45some point in our dinner, he began to
22:48hear screams outside the door. Screams.
22:51People, multitudes were screaming. He
22:54didn't know what it was. And as a
22:56father, he ran out first to see and
22:59check what was going on.
23:01He told us that in this dream when he
23:03ran out, he
23:05saw police cars and
23:08firefighters driving by, ambulances
23:11driving by, all this thing, the these
23:14people screaming, uh things happening
23:16all around, destruction all over, and he
23:19was a little confused. He couldn't he
23:21couldn't see what was happening because
23:22there's a big tree in the front yard.
23:25But during this moment, while he's just
23:28trying to figure out what's happening
23:30around him, he sees that everybody
23:33stopped everyone
23:35paused, they turned the same direction
23:39and they
23:41bowed. My father said, "Oh man, I wanted
23:43to see what they were bowing for
23:47something or someone, but I couldn't see
23:49it." Uh he took a couple of steps to the
23:51he walked to the street uh so that he
23:53could get away from the tree that was
23:55covering the vision. Uh and when he
23:57walked there, he saw he saw the
23:59antichrist. Uh he saw an image of an
24:02antichrist. Uh and the entire world was
24:05bowing to this image. Uh the thing that
24:08shook my father wasn't the fact that the
24:10world was bowing. It was the fact that
24:12when he turned
24:14around to run back into the
24:17house, his family was
24:20bowing to this
24:22image. And this dream has spoken to me
24:26because how many fathers, how many
24:29mothers, uh, Amen. we just live our
24:31lives thinking there's no purpose. Uh, I
24:34just have to educate these kids. Uh, get
24:36them out the door for them to figure out
24:38life. No. Uh father uh fathers and
24:41mothers here today that are listening to
24:43me. Uh it is your responsibility uh it
24:46is your calling uh it is your purpose uh
24:50to serve your children uh to guide your
24:53children uh to take them to church. Uh
24:55to take them every time the youth pastor
24:57says there's youth service uh you ought
25:00to be the first one to say you're going
25:02to church uh there's no option. You have
25:04to go worship God. Why? Because you got
25:07to be saved. You got to be part of the
25:10remnant of God during the last
25:15days. How many of us gotten comfortable
25:18in our own
25:19skin? It's not important to show up for
25:22prayer
25:23service. It's not important to do these
25:26things to stay committed to live in
25:27purity. Why everyone else is doing this
25:32and
25:33that? If we're not careful enough, we
25:36can fall into temptations. We can fall
25:38into the idea that we are living holy
25:41when we're not.
25:44Pastor Elms didn't slip an extra check
25:46for me to preach this.
25:49He didn't say, "You make sure you tell
25:52him. I feel this in my spirit. It is not
25:55to condemn anybody. It's to make you
25:57ready. It's to prepare you because he is
26:00coming. He is coming back for a
26:03righteous church. He is coming for a
26:05purified body. He is coming for those
26:08that are willing and that are ready to
26:10receive him on earth.
26:15Lot lost his do lost his wife. He was
26:18part of the remnant during those days.
26:20Uh Elijah and the 7,000 in Israel after
26:24Elijah's showdown at Mount Carmel and
26:27after this this encounter he had with
26:30these false prophets. Uh he fled in fear
26:33thinking uh he was the last faithful
26:35believer at that time. Uh amen. I can
26:38see I can see how he felt uh when he was
26:41the only one trying to live for purity.
26:43Uh it happens to us today. Uh when we're
26:45trying to stand for truth. Uh when we're
26:47trying to sit in love. Uh when we try to
26:49delight in the life and legacy of hope.
26:51Uh amen. When we're trying to do these
26:53things. Uh amen. But sometimes we see
26:56the majority is not following this. The
26:58majority is not doing this. Uh, am I the
27:01outcast? No. Uh, you are not the
27:03outcast. Uh, you are a chosen
27:05generation. Uh, you are a royal
27:10priesthood. You are called out of
27:12darkness into his marvelous light.
27:16I want you to notice something there. He
27:18called you out of darkness into his
27:22marvelous light. It's a call that you
27:24receive from the Lord. A revelation.
27:29Elijah thought he was alone. I'm
27:32standing here. There's nobody around me.
27:35I feel
27:36lonely. He thought, oh man, the
27:39isolation was from the enemy. But no,
27:41God was protecting him to be a part of
27:45the group of people during that
27:47generation when that generation was
27:49struggling. Uh, amen. It was Elijah. He
27:52wasn't alone. There was a hidden remnant
27:54somewhere around the land. The Lord
27:57spoke to him and said, "Yay, yet I have
27:59left me 7,000 in Israel, all the knees
28:02which have not bowed unto Baal." In
28:05other words, Elijah, you're not alone.
28:07Uh there's 7,000 more people, amen,
28:10around you that you don't see. Uh but
28:13they are there and they are standing for
28:14truth. Uh let me tell Cathedral of
28:17Pentecost, you're not the only you're
28:19not the only church that's trying to
28:20live for God in this city. Uh you're not
28:23the only ones that are trying to live in
28:24purity. know there's many more that you
28:27perhaps don't see right now but there's
28:30a small body uh in Homestead Florida who
28:33is holding down the ground there's a
28:36small body uh in the north of Come on
28:38somebody we are part of a remnant of
28:43God we are part of a remnant we are part
28:47of a
28:49body in
28:51Babylon there was another remnant
28:55that God kept for that
28:58generation. When Judah was conquered and
29:00many were carried into exile, a remnant
29:05of people still remained faithful in
29:09Babylon.
29:10Daniel who refused to
29:13bow, refused to eat the king's food.
29:17Shadrach Meach and
29:20Abednego who would not bow to the golden
29:23image, a remnant, a group of people.
29:28Now, in the early Roman church, there
29:32was also a
29:34remnant. I just read to you and gave to
29:37you all of
29:39the things that were happening during
29:42Caesar's time, the destruction and the
29:45corruption and the the immorality that
29:47was taking place. But even in that dark
29:50hour, there was still a group of people
29:53that were trying to live for God. the
29:56heart of a
29:57pagan city in the heart of a pagan day,
30:01Caesar's
30:03day. All the persecution and the
30:06idolatry that was taking place at the
30:08time, there was this remnant, a church
30:10full of courage, a church full of
30:13holiness, church full of love, a
30:18remnant. This church refused to bow to
30:21Caesar. They refused to bow to the
30:23culture. He's thought about looking like
30:27losers for the world so that they could
30:29be winners in heaven. How many of us are
30:32so concerned about our status on this
30:34earth? We want to be winners on earth
30:37but to the cost of our
30:40eternity. How many of us, Amen, choose
30:44to live for God in perilous times, in
30:47sensitive moments? I know it's unpopular
30:50to preach this uh on a Sunday morning,
30:53but I grew up hearing it. Uh I grew up
30:55preachers preaching at every conference.
30:57Uh I grew up people hearing it from ch
31:01youth camps and children's camps. Uh
31:03he's coming back. Uh I remember
31:05countless nights uh where I would wake
31:07up scared thinking uh did I stay behind?
31:10Uh was I left? Am I part of this uh
31:13body? Uh am I part of this remnant? Uh
31:16I'm here to tell you uh if you are in
31:18this church right now, if you are in
31:20this building right now, you are headed
31:23to the purification of the remnant. Uh
31:26you are headed to a body. You are headed
31:28to be a part of a group of people that
31:31are going to make it to heaven.
31:37The
31:38remnant, it's not only powerful, but it
31:41is the weapon
31:43against the world.
31:46In a decaying
31:47world, the Bible says that we are the
31:50salt of the
31:52earth. I was studying salt a little bit
31:56and I like salt. Life would be so bland
32:00without salt. I don't know of anyone
32:03that likes unseasoned chicken.
32:08We like salt. We like our spices.
32:11When I was looking into salt and I was
32:13looking at some of the things benefits
32:15that it had and why the Lord refers to
32:18his church as the salt of the earth. Not
32:22only do we have
32:26flavor, but salt has something
32:28interesting that when you
32:31cover
32:33meat that's headed to decay or
32:37fish,
32:39vegans, all you Don't eat red meat. God
32:42bless
32:43you. You need a
32:47revelation. I'm just kidding. I'm just
32:51kidding. But when you have something
32:55that's headed to
32:57decay and you surround that with
33:02salt, you've put salt all over that nice
33:06picana cut.
33:11You fill it with that salt. You make
33:13sure every corner you tuck it in. You
33:16make sure it's all in there. What the
33:19salt does that it it stops the decay on
33:21the meat for a little
33:24longer. The reason why I feel like God
33:28hasn't come come back yet for his
33:30church. The reason why I feel now hear
33:33me in the Holy Ghost. Uh why we are
33:36still living in this hour right now.
33:38is because the salt is still on earth.
33:42It's because the salt, you and I, this
33:46church, uh, this remnant, the salt is
33:49still here. And as long as the salt is
33:52here, uh, the decay of the world will be
33:55preserved. Why? It's not going to be
33:57preserved so that you can enjoy the
33:59world. No, it's going to be preserved so
34:02that you get to win a world that's lost.
34:05Uh the whole reason why you are part are
34:07called the salt of the earth uh is
34:10because God is seeking uh for
34:12worshippers uh that would worship him in
34:15spirit and in truth uh and that are not
34:17afraid uh that won't bow and compromise
34:20to the things of this world.
34:27Many will
34:28fall.
34:32Many will fall. and the love of many
34:34will grow cold. As we know, in the last
34:37days, there will be a famine of hearing
34:40the word of God. It's going to be so
34:45much corruption, but it will be the
34:48faithful
34:50remnant that's going to make it. Those
34:53who were faithful unto the Lord. Romans
34:5811:5 Paul says, "And even so then at
35:01this present time there is a remnant
35:04according to the election of grace." We
35:08are called to be part of the remnant. We
35:12are called to be part of the church
35:15that's going to see the second coming of
35:18Christ. The remnant is a faithful few
35:21like Noah when he was building the ark.
35:23Like Lot fleeting the city. Like Daniel
35:27pain praying in Babylon. Like the church
35:31that defied Caesar. You and I are part
35:34of the small
35:38remnant. We are called to be courageous.
35:41We are called to be holy. We are called
35:44to be uncompromising. But we are also
35:47called to be
35:50love. The position of the remnant is not
35:53to get courageous. Uh it's not just to
35:55speak on holiness and speak on
35:58separation. Uh amen. Not just to be
36:01uncompromising. No. But the position of
36:03the remnant church is that we love one
36:06another.
36:10If you say amen or don't say amen, it's
36:12true anyway.
36:14There's no such thing, amen, as being a
36:16Christian without love.
36:19We can't just be the church. Amen. That
36:22doesn't mean you don't set boundaries.
36:23You don't set limits. Amen. But you can
36:26do it in love. Uh the Bible says that
36:28they are going to know that you are my
36:29disciples uh by the way you love one
36:34[Applause]
36:36another. When Jesus returns, he will
36:40he's not coming for a lukewarm church.
36:43As we have
36:44heard, he's coming for a faithful few, a
36:49faithful
36:50remnant, those who are faithful. I look
36:54forward for the day where I hear the
36:57words, not not the words that we all
36:59hope we heard. Thy good and great
37:06preacher. Thy good and successful
37:10businessman. Thy good and great worship
37:15leader. No, the words I'm looking
37:19forward to hear are thy good
37:22and faithful servant.
37:26The remnant are the faithful. The
37:28remnant are those who want to stand for
37:31something today. The remnant. Come on,
37:33somebody. I know I'm preaching to
37:35somebody right now. It may not be for
37:37all the people that are in this room,
37:39but it is okay. God doesn't need the
37:41majority. God just needs two or three.
37:43If two or three can get this, uh if two
37:45or three can really put this in their
37:47heart, uh and carry it outside of this
37:49building and say, "I'm part of the
37:51remnant. Uh wherever I go, I'm going to
37:53be the light. Uh wherever I go, I'm
37:55going to be the salt. Wherever I go, I'm
37:57going to I'm going to proclaim the
37:59goodness of God. If two or three
38:03can if two or three are
38:06gathered, if two or three are gathered
38:08in my name, when the son of man cometh,
38:12says Luke
38:1418:8, shall he find faith on the earth.
38:18You see, the world the word faithfulness
38:21comes from the word faith. You cannot be
38:25faithful without faith.
38:29There's such a tren there's a trend
38:30happening around where people speak on
38:33good
38:34morality. They think that just living a
38:37good moral life is going to get them to
38:39heaven.
38:40They think that the actions and how good
38:42they are and how good they they the the
38:45deeds that they do around the world are
38:47going to take them to heaven.
38:51But you can't be part of the few
38:53faithful if you don't have
38:56faith. Faith moves mountains, but faith
39:00leads you to the heart of
39:02God. Without faith, it is
39:05impossible to please God.
39:12What was the church of the living God
39:15doing right in the days of
39:18Caesar? You're probably asking this
39:20question and if you're not asking it,
39:22I'm asking it for you and I will give
39:23you the
39:26response. The remnant during the days of
39:29Caesar, they were otherworldly.
39:33Paul wrote Romans 1:7, "To all that be
39:37in Rome, beloved of God, called to be
39:40saints." The early church lived as
39:43strangers and pilgrims, citizens of a
39:45better kingdom. Uh, according to the
39:47book of Hebrews 11:13, they rejected the
39:51world. Amen. In the systems of the
39:53world, uh, they love not the world and
39:56the things that the world offered. Uh,
39:58they were more in love with God. They
40:00were more in love with their
40:02relationship with God than with the
40:04entertainment uh and the politics and
40:06the culture and the things of this
40:08world. Uh you ought to check your heart
40:10right now and say, "God, am I focus on
40:13you or am I focused on the material
40:17materialistic things?
40:20They loved one another." That's what
40:22they did, right? The days of Caesar,
40:25they loved one another. that the early
40:26early church uh was marked by holy love.
40:30It was holy. It was pure. Even the
40:33Romans marveled by saying, "Behold, how
40:37they love one another." It's going to be
40:40the love that's going to take us uh to
40:42the heart of the sinner. It's not going
40:44to be the condemnation. It's not going
40:47to be the posture that I'm holier than
40:49thou. No, it's going to be the love.
40:51When you speak truth, but you speak it
40:54with love, then you will touch the heart
40:56of somebody that truly needs to hear
40:59this.
41:02When I think about being part of the
41:03remnant, I don't pat myself in the back.
41:07I don't say, "Oh, woe is me or great is
41:09me. Bless God, I'm part of the remnant."
41:13As though this is a club. No. The
41:17remnant doesn't just rejoice by being
41:19part of the remnant. No.
41:22the the remnant hurts when it sees the
41:24world uh decaying. The remnant, you know
41:27what it what they do when they see that
41:29the the the wide is the road that leadth
41:32to destruction. The remnant doesn't say,
41:34"Oh, man, I'm so good. I'm not headed
41:37that way." No. The remnant begins to
41:39hurt. Uh the remnant begins to pray. The
41:41remnant begins to get a hold of God and
41:43says, "Lord, what can I do to win a
41:46soul? What can I do to pull him out of
41:49that road? What can I do to lead him to
41:51the narrow way that leadth to salvation?
41:55What can I do? It's not just, oh, I'm so
41:57great. No, it's love for the lost soul,
42:02the
42:02remnant. That's you and I today. We are
42:06courageous. We are
42:08bold. We have to cry out in the
42:11wilderness when nobody is seeking God.
42:15When nobody wants a relationship with
42:17God. When it is unpopular to live for
42:21God, the remnant stands and says, "You
42:25will still find faith on the
42:27earth because the faithful are still
42:32here." I'm looking to close as the
42:35musicians
42:37come as it was in the days of
42:43Caesar. You and I today are not just
42:46living in ordinary times.
42:48You're not just
42:51living times where you can multiply your
42:56finances quicker than ever
42:58before. You can find popularity faster
43:03than ever
43:04before. We're not living in ordinary
43:07times. There's a clock that's
43:12ticking. Time is running out.
43:17The salt is about to leave this
43:23earth. Something interesting about time.
43:27Time has two
43:29definitions. There's chyros and Kronos
43:33time. According to the Greek, there's
43:36two definitions to this word time. And
43:38we use both of these definitions in
43:40different ways.
43:42But the Kronos is what
43:47happens every day. It's chronological.
43:51That's where we get the word
43:53chronolog
43:55chronological. And it ticks and it moves
43:58and it
43:59continues. Nothing stops
44:01it. It just goes and goes and goes. The
44:06Kronos of time. We live our lives in the
44:10Kronos, running up and down, finding
44:14where we need to be at a certain time or
44:17watching our clock. We live in the
44:19Kronos. But then there's the chyros of
44:22time. Chyros is different. The chyros is
44:26a season of time.
44:32When in
44:34agriculture there's chyros and that's a
44:37season where they can reap what they
44:40sowed. It's just a season that if you
44:44don't enjoy it and partake in it, it
44:47will pass and you will lose the benefits
44:50of that
44:52season. We're living in perilous times.
44:56We're caught up in the
44:57chronos and the everyday
44:59tasks, the everyday things that we have
45:02to do and fulfill and get
45:05done. But God has opened a window for
45:08the chyros right now.
45:11A
45:13season as in the days of Caesar with all
45:16the destruction, with all the predition,
45:18with all the
45:20corruption, there's a season in a window
45:23that's opening for the
45:25remnant
45:28church. You are part of the
45:30remnant. I want us to stand right now if
45:33you would.
45:37I'm preaching to those who have lost
45:40their
45:41boldness. I'm preaching to those who
45:43have lost the
45:46desire to live in purity before the
45:49Lord. I'm speaking to
45:52those perhaps somewhere along the way
45:55they have shifted their
45:58perspective. But I'm also preaching to
46:02those who've done everything right.
46:06continue to do
46:08right. Every time I see an altar like
46:10this, I don't view it and I don't think
46:12of it as an opportunity for someone else
46:14to pray and get closer to God. No, I
46:17view it as an opportunity for me to
46:19speak to God, even when I feel like I'm
46:23doing everything right. Lord, have
46:26mercy. Lord, cover me. Lord, protect me.
46:33You see the remnant what it does is we
46:36unite in prayer. You see prayer is
46:38beautiful. Prayer is powerful. But it is
46:40more powerful when it is
46:43united. When two or three are gathered
46:45in my name, I'm in the midst of them. I
46:48want to open this altar for all of us
46:51here
46:52today. I'm not opening it just for a
46:54specific group of people. I'm opening
46:56this altar for everybody.
46:59those who are part of the remnant
47:01already and those who have not made a
47:03decision yet to be a part of the
47:07remnant. I'm looking to preach to those
47:10who have been faithful for
47:12years, but also for
47:14those who've been unfaithful a couple
47:18times. There's a season that's opening
47:21right
47:22now for you to make things right with
47:24God. Because when this season
47:29closes, if you don't make
47:34it, you will lose your soul. I want to
47:37invite us to come. If you would bring
47:39somebody with you, if you feel the
47:40conviction of the word of God, would you
47:43bring somebody with you? Would you just
47:46bring maybe your husband, your wife,
47:48your children, and say, "Come, let's get
47:51closer. Let's continue to be faithful.
47:54Let's continue to stand for truth. Uh
47:58let's continue to not bow to the systems
48:01of the world. Uh let us come and rejoice
48:05in the presence of our
48:07father and exalt his name together. Let
48:11us come and exalt the name of
48:14Jesus. Let us come and thank him because
48:17he has kept you from falling. He has
48:20kept you
48:21from sin.
48:24Come on. Could someone lift up their
48:25voice right now and lift up their hands
48:28right now? Would you just be honest with
48:30God right now and say, "Lord,
48:33if there's something in me that needs to
48:35be purified,
48:37if there's something in me, Lord, that
48:39needs to be cleansed.
48:41There's something in me, oh God, that
48:44I've allowed the world
48:48to dictate for me in my family. I pray,
48:52Jesus, that you that you purify me,
48:55Lord, that I view the trial not as a
48:58testing for destruction,
49:01but that it would be,
49:03Lord, something for encouragement. God,
49:07I pray for boldness right now for
49:10someone that's lost the boldness in
49:12their spirit.
49:14Yes.
49:17Give us boldness, Lord. Give us
49:20boldness, oh God. Come on. That's it.
49:23That's it.
49:25Oh, I want to make it right, Lord.