Brother Alex Figeroa Sunday Evening 7/19/15

Brother Alex Figeroa Sunday Evening 7/19/15

Tonight we want to finish the message of the seventh trumpet.  There is so much in it that I could actually preach the whole week.  I will try to conclude it by condensing some things.

This message is in two separate passages.  Tonight we will go to Revelations chapter 10. 

Jesus gave John a revelation.  It is the revelation of Jesus Christ.  Preaching from this book is preaching Christ from a different angle.  It is a history of the Church from the beginning to whenever He comes again. 

You find all the dates on the chart in history when something specific happened.  John saw seven scrolls that were sealed.  No one could open them but Jesus Christ.  “The Lamb of God has prevailed to open the seals.” 

He heard, “Come and see.”  John sees what happened in the first seal, second seal, third seal, and so on until he comes to the seventh seal.  We have already gone through all the seals in history.  We are in the seventh seal time.  The revelation has been completed.  All the seals have been opened and God has shown us the history of the Church. 

People will tell you that all these things will come to pass when Jesus comes again.  They bring up the antichrist, the rapture, and the 1000 years reign.  These things are not true.  There are thousands if not hundreds of thousands books that you can find online or at the store about the antichrist. 

Jesus doesn’t have to ride a horse.  There are no horses in heaven.  Jesus doesn’t have to even move from where He is at.  All he has to do is to speak.  He spoke the world into existence.  He spoke and there was light. 

Jesus sits on the top of His throne; He is in control.  He doesn’t have to have a white horse or any horse.  He doesn’t have to have any army.  Besides, wars today are not fought with horses.  We have missiles.  We have atomic bombs, etc. 

The world will not be destroyed by war.  Jesus made it; He will destroy it.  When the seventh seal was opened a time of silence came upon the people of God.  To break that silence God gave another message to John. 

God gave seven trumpeters to break that silence.  The trumpeters, the angels, are messengers.  This is the last message.  This is about to be over.  A thousand years is like one day.  I have heard that as a child.

We are coming to an end fast.  Think of how bad America is now.  This is not the same country that it was in 1962 when I came here.  I don’t see in America now what I saw when I was a boy.  Our values are being changed.  We have become undermined in every way possible. 

Even Christians are saying there is nothing wrong with same-sex marriages.  America needs to be saved.  Most of the missionaries came from England.  Now it is one of the most empty, cold countries that you have ever seen.  Some of the church buildings in Germany have been converted to hotels or night clubs. 

My wife’s family says, “You need to come to Germany and preach.”  All over Europe the young people are not interested.  Evil has taken over.  It is coming to America.  You talk to people today and they say, “We don’t have to be so harsh.  Quit judging people.” 

We don’t have to judge, we are just saying what God has already said.  We are proclaiming the judgment of God.

Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

When the seventh trumpet sounded, several things took place.  “In the days of the voice of the seventh angel…”  There was a time about the sixth seal that the people of God at that time thought, and were honest in believing, that the sounding of the seventh angel would be the end of the world. 

Many said, “There are some things here that we do not understand.  The reason that they did not understand it is because they did not need to understand it.  When the moment comes that you need to understand something to fight something then He will help you to understand.  If God had given you understanding of everything that you were going through, you might never have gotten saved. 

Some would say, “Does getting saved mean you will face problems?”  Life is life.  You will have to face sickness, problems, and economic issues whether you are saved or not.  The difference is that the unsaved don’t have God or peace.  We have peace and hope.  We can pray to God and we receive comfort, consolation, and strength.  He renews our strength because we are waiting on Him.

There are battles that we will have just because we are saved.  He says if you take the cross you will have problems.  Not everyone will accept you.  You will have persecutions for my sake.

He was honest with Paul.  Paul was a terrorist.  He persecuted the church and he was honest in doing it, thinking that he was doing right.  He thought that they were religious fanatics that were trying to tear down the church. 

Paul said, “I persecuted the church of God.”  Why are we the church of God and not the church of Christ?  Christ is the head of the church. Why not call ourselves the church of Christ? 

If you do then you are leaving the Father out and the Holy Ghost out.  If we call ourselves the church of the Father or the church of the Holy Ghost, then you are leaving out Christ.  We call ourselves the church of God because that is the triune God.  We are the church of God.

Paul got saved.  He was converted.  Totally and completely.  Less than four days later, he was in Damascus the capitol of Syria.  It is the oldest city of the world.  Paul was responsible for the death of one of the first martyrs. 

When Paul was converted on the road to Damascus he became blind because of so much light.  When he met the Lord.  There was so much light.  Jesus is the light, there is so much righteousness.

Scales came off his eyes when Ananias came to visit him.  He was baptized.  In those four days of waiting, God was honest with him, “You will suffer for my sake; a lot of persecutions and tribulations await you.”  He told Ananias to pray for Paul because he would go through great tribulations.

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ then you will be persecuted too.  Don’t take it personally when people reject you.  They are not rejecting you but the Jesus Christ that is in you. 

You will go through tribulations whether you get saved or not.  The saved will go through some extra tribulations because we are following Jesus Christ who is not popular.

We are coming to an election.  When any candidate expresses too much that they are a Christian then he will not be elected.  We are being persecuted, not with a stick, it is with rejection, labels being put on you.

When the seventh trumpet sounded the mystery of God would be finished.  Some understood that as meaning that that would be the end of the world.  The fact that it says, “In the days…” shows me that it is not the end of the world.  It does not say, “In the day.”  It is in the period of time that the seventh angle with the seventh trumpet is sounding.

It is still sounding in 2015.  There is still the sound going through all the world.  I believe that God has a people.  They are in many countries.  Just because I haven’t heard of them doesn’t mean that they are not God’s church. 

If they are walking according to what God has shown them, living separate from organized religion, and call themselves the church of God, then they are God’s church. 

Some people have logos added to the words, “church of God.”  That is not God’s church.  If there is a pyramid with someone at the top telling preachers what is going to happen this year, then that is not God’s church. 

In the church of God that we are proclaiming, we are not proclaiming that we are the only ones that are saved.  There are people that are saved that are not in the whole truth.  They are held captive by a denomination. 

There are over 26 kinds of Baptist each with a different type of headquarters.  There are 100’s of Pentecostal churches that all speak in tongues.  They say that that is a sign that they have received the Holy Ghost but they are fighting among themselves like dogs.  Something is wrong.  You can speak in any tongue you want to.  The less tongue you use, the better it is. 

In 1730’s John and Charles Wesley started preaching holiness.  It stopped a war between England and France.  They wanted to preserve the fire that was in them so they made a mistake; they acknowledged later that it was a mistake.  They wrote a book of methods.  That is why they are called the Methodist.

Fifty years down the road something happened.  There was a division.  The Methodists went one way and the Westlian Methodist went another way.  From those groups of the Methodists came out the Pilgrim Holiness to fight the worldliness they saw creeping in, and the Nazarene church came out because of worldliness and the things that were happening. 

There are thousands of churches today.  Because of these things that happened, people say that it doesn’t matter what you are called.  In inheritance the name is important.  When someone calls your name then you respond. 

If your wife says, “I am Mrs. Rodriguez” how would you men like it?  You wouldn’t.  You like your name to be in it.  How would God feel if we call ourselves by a name that is not His?  It matters.

People were under the wrong teachings in the fourth seal, fifth seal, sixth seal… they started coming out.  People say, “There are so many churches, how do we know what church is preaching the truth?”  Know the truth for yourself by studying the bible so that when you hear the truth you will know which church is preaching the truth.

The bad news is that according to the New Testament and according to History every fifty years there has been an apostasy.  The first book recorded in the New Testament is first Thessalonians.  Paul is telling the church at that time that an apostasy is coming. 

At that time, 57 years after Christ, people were coming in saying, “Christ is wholly divine, or they would say He is 50% human and 50% divine, or they would say that He is all human.”  Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.  He was completely divine and He was completely human.  There was no 50% about it. 

He got tired.  The ark was made of gold and wood.  Divinity, and humanity.  That is why He can be touched.  He was tempted in all points like we.  Yet without sin.

The Jesus that we will meet in heaven is not the same one that died on the cross.  He was resurrected.  He came out of the tomb.  When he met the disciples, when He met Thomas, He said, “Thrust your hand in my side and feel the holes in my hands.”  His body was already glorified.  He could go through walls.  He did not need doors.  Yet He ate. 

When Thomas had a hard time believing, “Unless I put my hand in His side or see the hole in my hand.”  This is the glorified all divine Jesus Christ yet he said, “Put your hand here.”  Before He came down the earth, he did not have any marks.  Because He loved you, you put those marks there. 

He became a man and He was touched to the point and He dealt with sin.  The holy, all perfect God dealt with sin.  We talk about the perfect Christ and what happened and what will happen in the end.  Some of you may be present when Jesus comes.  Some of us may not be alive.  We are going to be gone. 

He could come tonight.  Everything has already happened.  The antichrist is here already.  John told us that.  Be careful, you can be sitting beside one tonight.  They say in their mouth that they believe but in their heart they are saying, “I don’t believe it.”  Any person, authority, or anything else that rejects that you can live holy is the antichrist.

They say, “Jesus could live holy because he was the son of God.  Whose son are you?  Are you the son of God? 

Jesus was the first born among many brethren.  He is my brother.  He can be yours too.  You have been hearing preachers and tele-evangelists that want your money saying all this weird stuff, “Send me some money; I will send you some soap and when your family comes they will put it on their body when they get a shower and they will be saved.”  In Miami they have a child’s swimming pool that they say, “If you pass through the water you will be a new man, you will be healed of your diseases.” 

When you tell people that they have to quit their sinning, they are hearing something new.  I don’t ask any if they are Christians today.  Many people say that they are Christians.  Jesus is a name.  Christ is not a name, it is a title.  It means the anointed one.  The word, ‘Christians,’ means ‘little anointed ones.’

We are saying that we are the little anointed ones when we say that we are Christians.  If you say that He is in you, then how come you have not quit sin?  It is not complicated, but religion has brought such a smoke screen over our nation and over many nations that people have become confused. 

There is a church; that church is alive, and we are a part of that church tonight.  I am glad that my parents came out of false religion.

The seventh trumpet would sound for a period of time.  Aren’t you glad that the seventh angel is still sounding?  There are two reactions to this message of the seventh trumpet.  One is a positive reaction.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Heaven, heavenly places:  If you hear this message and obey then you will surrender your kingdom and enter His kingdom.  It is not a literal kingdom.  Anything that your influence touches is your kingdom.  It needs to be surrendered to God.  If you hear this message you may have to surrender the kingdom of your church. 

What is more important?  Obeying God or hanging around with your friends.  I don’t like the word ‘hang.’  Bats hang and opossums.  I am not a bat or an opossum.  I am not hanging.  Some people hang themselves by the neck too.  We don’t want that one.

There are people in the church that have done a favor for them, they were there when they were sick, and the pastor was a nice guy.  Jesus said, “He that does not forsake houses, lands, even their life for me, is not worthy of me.” 

He is first.  He must be first over any pastor or congregation.  Your fidelity must be to Him.  Not to a pastor or a religion.

There are two things that keep us together in unity.  One thing is the truth and the other is love.  Love and truth is enough.  That is why we don’t have to have a headquarter system.  You cannot force a man and woman to be together unless there is truthfulness and love.  If that is there then it will last.  It will even work with those that are not saved. 

There is a positive reaction, the kingdoms of the earth became God’s.  He has a right to take things from you but He does not.  You must yield your kingdom to Him.  Everything belongs to God.  Even your children belong to God.  They are not yours.  You are only doing the job of raising them for His glory.  He can take them away from you.

When you bring them to Him, things change.  Remember Hannah?  Hers is a beautiful message.  Her self-esteem was gone.  She came to the temple and started praying.  Her lips were moving but there was no voice.  The priest thought that she was drunk. 

She told God that if He would give the child then she would give him back.  She footed the bill, supplied the clothes and provided the food.  Because she submitted to God, the Lord gave her more children. 

“If you forsake lands, I will give you mothers and fathers, a hundred fold.”  It is a principal of God.  You plant a corn seed and you get many corn seeds at harvest.  That is the idea of ‘hundred fold’.  It gives way more back then you planted. 

When you give to God your kingdom, your children, your philosophy, your selfishness, you say, “Lord have your way with me.  I am going to surrender my stubbornness, my selfishness…”  God will give you back more than you gave Him. 

I have seen this principal working in my own life.  I give to God and He gives a hundred fold back.  We had a sister that said, “I give to God in spoons, he gives back in shovels.” 

There was a war in history that the English were fighting against the French in open water.  When the French captain said, “I surrender.”  The English captain said, “Then give me your sword.” 

We say, “I surrender all,” but we keep our sword.  When it gets right where you are at, when it gets close then it is hard.  When you have to surrender your comfort and your nest you ask, “Do I have to do this in order for God to bless me?”  If you give God your nest, He will give you a condominium back. 

The positive reaction is that they surrendered their kingdoms.  God wants you to surrender your kingdom. 

God says, “Son do you want me?” 
“Yes.” 
“Then give me all the keys to your possessions.” 
The story goes that the man got them out and gave them to God and said, “These are all my keys.” 
God said, “Very well, what about the tiny one that is not on the ring?” 
The man said, “That one is not important.  It is just a little one.  I gave you the important ones.” 
God said, “I need all the keys or none.  I will give you back the ring unless you give me the little one.”

God is not unjust.  Is it up to the clay to say, “Why have you made me this way?”  Are you going to argue with your creator?  You don’t want to fall into the hands of the living God. 

God can deliver you from anything.  If you fall into the hands of the living God, who is going to deliver you?  The most powerful force in the world is God.  If you fall into His hand because you have stirred up His anger then there is no deliverance.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Once you surrender you are added forever and ever.  Everything has been surrendered.  He is not coming to the earth to live here forever and ever.  Get that out of our mind.  There is something that is better than this earth. 

Rev 11:18  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

People are angry today.  They are angry with God.  They call you homophobics.  They say you are crazy, fanatics, behind the times, the dinosaur.  They say, “We are in the 21^st century.  Do you still believe that the bible is true?”  They say that the miracles that happened didn’t happen the way that they are written.  One preacher reasoned that it was not difficult for the Children of Israel to cross the red sea as at that time it was only eight inches of water.  There was an older lady there that rejoiced that God was able to drown the whole Egyptian army in only eight inches of water.

Satellites have picked up the path of the prints of the million people that traveled from Egypt to Canaan, wandering for forty years. 

Hold onto the truth.  The reward is coming.  Don’t lose your crown.  We have come through many problems and situations; tears have been wept.  We have come too far to turn back.  Please finish.

It is not who gets there first; it is to finish.  If you cannot run then walk.  If you cannot walk then limp.  If you have to get on all fours then finish.  Get it done.  By the grace of God I mean to finish.  We don’t know what is ahead, but we need to finish. 

God says, “Are you angry at me?  Alright I will be angry at you.”  God is angry today.  The bible teaches clear that when God is angry, the wrath of God abides in those that refuse to believe.  Any person that is out of the order of God.  Yes God loves all mankind, but don’t forget that God is a consuming fire. 

We are coming fast to the end.  Let us finish.  Let us go to the end.  Let us finish the message of the seven trumpets.