Rapture Ready - Part B

Remember, there will be those that are left when Jesus comes for his own.

So my question as we wrap this to a close is what about you? Are you ready? Are you rapture ready? The only way that we can be salt and light is to let him who is the light work in us.

We can't sting the world's conscience if we're continually going against our own. Today on Connect with Skip Hyten, Pastor Skip's son Nate Hyten concludes his message, Rapture Ready, and asks if you're prepared for that glorious moment when Jesus comes for his own. But first we want to tell you about a resource designed to help you understand scripture concerning the end times. Here are some of the titles in the End is Near series by Pastor Skip Heitzig. Israel Must Survive, Rapture Ready, and Russia's Coming Invasion. Surely the Lord God does nothing unless he reveals his secret to his servants, the prophets.

So when God is going to do something, he warns his people, he sends a sign so his people will know that he's going to do something. Skip Heitzig's teaching series now has a companion study guide available to you. The End is Near guide covers all 26 messages that Skip recently presented. We can just look at the chessboard.

The pieces are all lining up in interesting fashion. The End is Near study guide includes notes, summaries, and questions for group or personal study. We need to understand the times and this study guide will aid in this effort. With your gift of $50 or more to connect with Skip Heitzig, you will receive a copy of the End is Near study guide from Skip's in-depth 26-part series. Your gift will support the production and expansion of the Connect with Skip broadcast. Call 1-800-922-1888 or go online to connectwithskip.com.

That's 1-800-922-1888 or connectwithskip.com. Okay, let's get started. We're turning to 1 Thessalonians as Nate gets started today. Our mission is rooted in love. Our mission is rooted in grace. Our mission is rooted in redemption.

They aren't shy about what their goals are and coming after our kids and influencing their world views and removing parents from the process. So can we just for a second get real with ourselves as Christians? We're here in the church. Can we have a secret meeting? Because that's what they think we do in here. We have secret meetings.

Our goal is to influence people to be biblically minded. It is. She hit the nail on the head. She shared it like it's some secret plan that she's uncovered. It's not a secret.

It's not a secret. It's what Jesus told us to do, to go into the world and make disciples of all our men. It is our goal to preach the gospel in schools. It is our goal to change lives, not just of the students, but of the teachers and the faculty and of the teachers unions and of higher forms of politicians and higher forms of government.

It is our mission to preach the gospel and see the world and the people in it be changed. We want to change their families. We want to change their businesses. We want to change the schools. We want to change the courts. We want to change the Senate. We want to change Congress.

We want to change the Oval Office. We're coming after everything. We're not stopping. We're coming after it all. And so we shouldn't shy away from it. It's not a secret.

I'm not shy about it. I'm not just gonna pretend like, oh, well, you believe whatever you want to believe. I don't want to offend you. No, I want you to change. I want you to stop doing what you're doing. I want you to start living righteously. Why do I want you to change? Because I want you to go to heaven and not to hell. I want you to change because God loves you and died for your sins. I want you to change because I can't fathom looking at someone even if they hate me and seeing them suffer in hell for all of eternity.

I can't stand the thought that anyone could spend eternity separated from God. So yeah, we're coming after you, but not because we hate you. We're coming after you because we love you and because we believe what the Bible says. We're coming after their kids with the truth, just like they're coming after our kids with the lies. And if they're not hiding their agenda, let's not hide ours.

Let's be upfront with it. When they call us on that and say, well, you want to change people and proselytize? Yeah, we do.

Yeah, we want everyone in this school to believe in Jesus Christ. And we're not gonna stop until they do. And you're not gonna silence us with fear. You're not gonna silence us with intimidation.

You're not gonna silence us with slurs. You're not gonna stop us because we have power from Jesus Christ and that is stronger than the power of sin and death. That is stronger than the power and the spirits of principalities of the air of this age. We serve a living God and he will stop at nothing on his rescue mission of society. Some people say that Christians are not realists, but the opposite is true. The person that believes that we as one global family can live together in peace, that man is basically good, that person is not dealing with reality.

You just have to look at the news. We are the most sane people around because we are realistic about the problem and the solution. On the day of Pentecost, the believers were accused of being drunk, but the truth is there are so many who become intoxicated with the false promise of sin. So how should we live as believers?

Look at verse six through seven of 1 Thessalonians five. It says, therefore, let us not sleep as others do, but let us watch and be sober for those who sleep at night. What's the solution? Wake up. Wake up.

That's the solution. And these words, by the way, are to the church, not the world, because we can look at and say, yeah, the world needs to wake up. No, you need to wake up. We need to wake up to what's happening. We need to wake up to the mission that's at hand. We need to wake up to our calling. The same thought is reinforced in Romans 13, 11, where Paul says, and do this understanding the present time, the hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over.

The day is almost here. Jesus tells us in Matthew five that we are to be salt and light in the world. I mentioned this a bit ago. Christians play a vital and valuable role in the world today. See, salt does a couple of things. Salt stings, but more importantly, salt preserves. Now, our presence in society should sting people's conscience and wake them up to their condition. It should sting their conscience.

It should hurt them a little bit. So I kind of take it as a badge of honor when I see people in cat ears telling me that my mission is to change the world because it means that it's working and that she's seeing the truth and the reality of what we're really doing here. And so it means that the stinging effect of salt is doing what it's supposed to do, waking them up to their condition.

Now, how does this practically work? Well, as Christians, we should try to stop the spread of corruption around us by our actions in the way that we vote, in what we support, in how we act, in what we say, in letting our opinions be made known, in getting involved in every aspect of life. This is why I think it's so important for Christians to get out in society, for Christians to be in places of government, in places of entertainment, for Christians to be on school boards, for Christians to be in all these places so that we can, through our actions, be a preserving agent in society. But let me tell you, the best way to be salt is to simply be the most effective influence where we are in any given situation.

In your workplace, in your classroom, with your family, with your friends, Christians, simply by being Christian, influence society almost automatically. And this is why I think we need to wake up, because I think some of the reasons we're seeing what we're seeing in society is because we've been sleeping, is because we've been coming to church, we've been taking in the Word, we've been reading the Word, but we haven't been living it in the streets. And so the salt has lost its flavor, and we're not having the effect like we used to have. And so we need to wake up and realize that if we are Christians through and through, the way Jesus has called us to, when we get launched into society, society will change, because Christians change what's around them.

And so we need to wake up and realize what's happening in our world. Jesus tells us if the salt has lost its flavor, what good is it? See, the very characteristic of salt is that salt makes a difference.

The ocean is only about 3.5% salt, but I challenge you to take a swig of it when you're thirsty. You're gonna realize very quickly what just 3.5% can do. So even if there was only 3.5% of Christians in society, we could still change the world.

How do I know that? Well, it started with 12, and they changed the world. Doesn't matter how small our numbers are. What matters is that we practice what we preach. What matters is that we live the gospel. What matters is that we are salt and light, and no matter how many of us there are, if we do that and launch into society, society will change.

The Christian is different, or at least the Christian should be. We should make a difference with those that we come into contact with. Salt's main function in this culture was that of preservation.

They would take meat, and they would cut it in thin slices, and they would dip it inside a solution of water and salt, and that process would preserve the meat from putrefying or decaying. Now let's bring this home. As a result of sin in the fall, life in the world in general tends to get into a rotting, putrefied state. I think we can all look at society and say, things look pretty rotten. Things look pretty putrefied.

There is not a tendency for things to get better, but quite the opposite. But Christians today are a preserving influence. Our presence should stop the world from complete putrefaction. So church, a spiritual alarm is being sounded. This is God's wake-up call for the church.

Keep in mind, these words, as I said before, are addressed to believers. Wake up. 1 Corinthians 15, 54 says, awake to righteousness and sin not.

Ephesians 5, 14 says, awake you that sleeps and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light. Wake up from spiritual lethargy. Wake up from laziness.

Wake up from apathy. Christians have been asleep for too long. We've been too passive to what's been happening in the world.

We've sat back for too long, watching it take place. It's time for us to rise up, to take our place in society, to preach the gospel, to be salt, to be light, to go into all facets of the world and be about our mission, which is to make disciples of all men. Wake up to the urgency of the hour, the lateness of time, because the Lord is coming soon. Our last point is that we need to look up. Look at verse seven. One more time, it says, for those who sleep, sleep at night.

We're told in Romans 13, 12, I mentioned a second ago that the night is far spent. Let me ask you, if this were true 1900 years ago, how much more true is this now? Are we seeing any trends developing that alert us to the domino effect of biblical prophecy? Are there any moves or trends towards a one-world monetary system or religion? Is there an increase in sin and drug use and sexual perversion and violent crimes? Are there any trends of an increase of false religious systems or false teaching? Is there an increase in believers falling away and backsliding?

Is there an increase in the isolation of Israel from the other nations of the world? These are all signs spoken of in scripture that should alert us to wake up and to look up for our redemption is at hand. Jesus said, when you see these things begin to happen, look up for your redemption draws near. Jesus explained this in John nine, when he said, I must work the works of him who sent me while it is still day. The night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

Now, what is this work and this light? Simply, it's the gospel. It's the gospel. See the gospel at its core causes us to stop looking down at ourselves, at our needs, at our sin. And it causes us to look up to heaven. It causes us to look up to God from where salvation and redemption comes from. It is fueled by the Holy Spirit.

And if you get close to it, it can break down walls. It shines a light of hope through the darkness of humanity and inspires us. And God has given us a weapon way better than a gun or a sword or a boycott or a protest. And that is the light of the gospel. And it is our job as Christians to look up and keep our eyes on heaven and set it free in the darkness of this world. The greatest tool we have is the gospel. It is a light and hope to all men.

Now let's make this practical. We need to share the good news of Christ with the young girl who wants to get an abortion. We don't need to come down on her. We need to share the gospel with her and help her look up. We need to give the gospel message to the person trapped in the homosexual lifestyle. We don't need to berate them. We need to help them look up and find their redemption and forgiveness in heaven.

We should share Christ with the gang member. We must preach the gospel to the people who are hurting in our society. Don't come down on them. Help them to look up.

Let me tell you something. The world is so trapped in sin and in heartache. All the world does is look down. They look down on themselves. They look down on their circumstances. They look down on their situation. They feel let down by society. Even if they pretend that they're not, even if they pretend to be happy, they're not.

How do I know? Because sin 100% of the time doesn't satisfy. It never satisfies. So I know that people who are trapped in sin are living a life without satisfaction. They're walking around feeling let down and looking down. But as Christians, we come in and we say, hey, look up. Look up. Take your eyes off of yourself.

Take your eyes off of your situation. Take your eyes off of your sin and look up to the one who died for you and came to save you. And as people learn to look up and realize that there is another kingdom, it changes the way that they live in this one. God has chosen us to be his light, to be his representatives.

And how does this light shine? Well, for one, it exposes darkness. John 3 19 says, this is the condemnation that the light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.

See, people have to be aware of their sin before they can realize their need for a savior. An established fact in the illustration of salt and light is that the world is dirty and dark. The world's dirty and dark. And so it needs salt and light. For a person to believe that man is basically good takes a whole lot of faith in this day and age. The problem of crime and violence is so much more than an economic problem.

It's happening in every area of society, rich and poor, educated and uneducated. It's a sin problem resulting in darkness. But it also shows the light a way out of the darkness. See, a light doesn't just come in and blind people and make them sting and hurt. It shows them a path out of the darkness. Sometimes as Christians, we can just get really good at blinding people with our flashlights.

Hey, sinner. Oh, but we don't use it to show them the path out of it. We don't use our light to show them how to get out of their sin, to show them a way to satisfaction, to show them a way to the Lord. We are to be salt and light. Why did he give us these illustrations of salt and light in this order?

Well, because first is salt. I have a preserving effect. My lifestyle, my presence, it stings others. I'm different than others. People notice that about me. They become curious.

Why? Because salt stimulates thirst. And this is where the light comes in. Having aroused their curiosity by what I am and how I live, I've now earned the right to tell them why. Too often, it's in reverse.

I speak, but I don't live, thereby undoing my effectiveness. Salt and light have to work hand in hand. Can I just say, some Christians are too salty.

They're just too salty. We're perceived in society as being negative in the world far too often. And many times it's a misrepresentation, but in some ways, we've brought it upon ourselves.

It astonishes me. Every time something pops up on the Christian radar, it's embarrassing and frustrating to see how many Christian critics leap to immediately expose it as false, especially on social media. With Asbury Chapel services, for instance, it's as if hundreds of armchair theologians feel obligated to fly to Kentucky and personally report on their findings, whether it's legitimate or fake.

Thousands more don't even make the trip. They just make their exalted judgment without ever seeing it firsthand. And whether it's the Asbury revival or Kanye or Justin Bieber getting saved or a new church popping up down the street that grows rapidly, as a Christian community, it often seems that our default response is, no, this can't be of God. No, this can't be the Lord.

We need to learn to be a little less controlling and a little more trusting. Instead of sitting back and being a critic, what if each one of us looked up and chose to be a worshiper? I would tell you what the rabbi Gamaliel told a group of Pharisees in Acts 5. He said, if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing. But if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest you even be found to fight against God. So can I challenge you when you see something that doesn't make sense to you, instead of looking down, look up and trust that God's gonna deal with it? When you see a move that you don't understand, you're not sure if it's real or fake, can I just challenge you to pray for it? Pray that it would be real, pray that God would have his way, because God will not be mocked. If it is not real, it will be torn down.

If it is real, nothing you do can tear it down. So why are we stepping in as the critics of some of these things? We should watch and pray that the Lord would have his way.

Sometimes it seems like all we as Christians are known for is what we're against. I've already said there's a lot going on in this world that we need to react to, but can I just challenge you personally? Don't just be reactive, but be proactive. Don't just react to the threats of society, but be proactive in sharing the gospel and helping people look up. You know what it's gonna do? When you start by being proactive and sharing the gospel, it's gonna make those times when you have to be reactive so much more powerful, because the world's gonna see that you've been up until that point preaching the gospel in love, sharing the grace of Jesus Christ with people, helping people look up.

So when you react, it has more power. We have to live and walk in the light if we want others to follow. If I, as a believer, feel a reluctance to let my light shine, I need to recognize that's a ploy from Satan to render me useless. The compromiser who doesn't want to offend anyone, who wants to blend into the world. Lot tried to do this. When it came time for him to really warn people of God's impending judgment, they regarded him as one who was joking.

Why? Because the compromiser reaches no one. Graham Scrogee said of compromise, it prompts us to be silent when we ought to speak for fear of offending. It prompts us to praise when it is not deserved to keep people our friends. It prompts us to tolerate sin and not to speak out because to do so might give us enemies. Jesus is showing that these compromisers, the most useless people in the world, they are neither salt nor light.

They are cast out by the world for claiming to be Christians, but they are cast out by Christ for not being what he's called them to be. Remember, there will be those that are left when Jesus comes for his own. So my question as we wrap this to a close is what about you?

Are you ready? Are you rapture ready? The only way that we can be salt and light is to let him who is the light work in us. We can't sting the world's conscience if we're continually going against our own. So my question as we close is do you claim to be a Christian and yet talk like the world? Do you claim to be a Christian and yet party like the world? Do you claim to be a Christian and yet have sex outside of marriage or live in sexual perversion like the world? If so, it's time to step out of the mediocrity of carnality into the dynamic Christian life as it was meant to be lived. And I want to also say if you're not yet a believer and you're trying to help yourself, today is the day to give up.

Now I'd add a fourth point to this message. Caught up, wake up, look up, give up. Give up. If you've been running from God, if you've been running from his call, from his mercy, if you've been trying to satisfy yourself, give up. I ask you in all of your searching for pleasure and satisfaction as you're sitting here this morning, are you truly satisfied?

Are you satisfied? If you really want to help yourself, stop trying to fix the flesh and start submitting to the spirit. The only thing that can help you is the saving grace of Jesus. I want to close with an inscription on a tombstone in England that says, pause stranger. When you pass me by, as you are now, so once was I. As I am now, so you will be. So prepare for death and follow me. Well, I read of a pastor by who read this and was heard saying, to follow you is not my intent until I know which way you went. Let's commit to being people that lead other people to Christ.

Let's commit to being salt and light. Let's commit to being rapture ready, to waking up, to looking up. And if you don't yet know Jesus, give in. I believe the Bible has something to say about absolutely every experience in life.

There might not be a direct Bible verse about that, but there are principles that speak into every aspect of life. This ministry exists to help people around the world experience life change that comes by connecting to God's word. Through your generosity, you can grow the reach of Connect with Skip Hightseek into even more places in the United States and around the world. Plus, you'll keep these teachings available to you wherever you listen.

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That's connectwithskip.com. Join us next week as Skip begins a message examining the prophecies of the 70 weeks found in the book of Daniel. Some people think this prophecy is incomprehensible or in the very least difficult. It's intended to give us insight. It's intended to open things up and make things clear to be understood. I'm not saying it's not complex. It is complex. And it does take some brain power and demand full attention. But it is to be understood. Connect with Skip Hyton is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.