|The Blue Door Audio

Getting Ready for Jesus To Return Soon (22 mins)

If you believe Jesus is returning soon, you want to be careful how you think about that and respond to it. We get ready for Jesus not by controlling our lives and kid's lives into a false reality, but rather learning faith and patience in the context of regular life.

 

Nowhere in the gospel do we see the disciples isolating themselves with food, water and swords to wait out the intense events promised in the Bible. No, instead we see them daily dying to their fears and control and living as Jesus.

 

This is the only plan for the end times. It is in the pressure of giving ourselves to God in the responsibilities of daily life that our hearts really grow!

 

The Gospel is the only answer to the end times, and it's ALWAYS the right time to do the Gospel!

Growing in Responsibility in the End Times (35 minutes)

Luke 21:25“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26“men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Do you know what this passage about "men's hearts failing" is really about? This isn't talking about heart attacks! it's talking about people's mind, will, and emotions failing as trouble increases.   It's important to take a right approach to the end time intensity increasing. if you take the right approach, your love won't "grow cold"... meaning your heart won't fail.

We should be growing more responsible, more stable, more clear, more loving...right now...so we are ready to meet Jesus with heads held high! This primarily happens in a community place of prayer not focused on how everyone else should get ready for Jesus to return, but on how I NEED to get more stable and clear as Jesus return nears.  I want to meet Him ready...with my head lifted up.

Luke 21:27“Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28“Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”

Getting Ready to Meet Jesus (47 mins)

Being "saved" isn't the same as being ready to meet Jesus. If you want to know, in really practical terms, how to get ready for Jesus' return, you can get started here!

Five Bridesmaids: Matthew 24 and 25 (42 mins)

It's important to get the right idea of what to look for in this hour. it often isnt what I imagined, but, if I keep coming back to the throne, my faith becomes my sight. what does the Great Tribulation really look like? Is offense growing? The first markers of the Great Tribulation are offense and betrayal. If this message offends, consider that what I am saying hasn't changed....what has changed is the season and the hearts of those listening. Dont take my word on this. Look it up in your own Bible.

Waiting to See (43 mins)

A message about waiting to see what happens.

When it is Too Late to Respond to Jesus' Coming (47 mins)

There is coming a moment when it will be too late to respond to Jesus' return and be safe in that very return. According to the Bible, we are rapidly approaching that moment when it is too late for safety...for an ark in the flood. Make peace with Him now, while there is time. Do you know when it is too late? Are you ready? Ready knows it isn't ready. The Spirit is willing, the flesh is weak.

Responding with Vision (Hiawatha Country Church) - 1.29.2017

Message given at Hiawatha Country Church on Jan 29, 2017

Preparing for the Coming Storm (Released 7.12.15)

This is the Hour of Sleeping (46 min)

We are in a very prophetic moment.  There is promised a time when for those who have been looking for Jesus, it would actually seem like not as much is happening, even though more is happening than ever before. The darkness of the night makes a person sleepy.  To be sleeping means to quit watching and knowing the hour more and more...confusion and delusion are opposite of being soer and wide awake...living in the daylight by choice.

 

This is how the writers of the New Testament lived: awake...on purpose.  They lived by prophetic eyes more than natural eyes.  It is important to search for any scrap of fulfillment and qualify it into your reality..to see the news prophetically, to see your church prophetically, to see yourself prophetically, and to see your family prophetically.

 

It is never going to be obvious to the church that Jesus is returning.  This will offend many in the church.  Many in the church are waiting for Jesus' return to be obvious.  This wont happen. .  It will be as in the days of Noah....for the world, a great harvest of people WILL see th day.  This is the promised great harvest that began in Acts 2 and is described in Revelation 7...a whole multitude that will come out of the Great Tribulation.

 

Right now, you want to be a watchman...awake with Jesus.  Not as much is obvious, this isn't because the prophetic fulfillment is any less obvious, but because the night is getting darker.  This was always promised.

 

Matthew 24:37-39 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

 

Matthew 25:5-6 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. "And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!'

 

Revelation 7:14-17  And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." 

The Promised Acceleration of Darkness and How to Resist it in Your Family (48 min)

The world is not moving in a linear way, but rather is accelerating...exponentially...people aren't just multiplying, so is darkness...just as in the days of Noah, God is going to bring this to a conclusion:

Genesis 6:1-3 Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. 3 And the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."

Matthew 24:37-39 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

The Danger of Dullness as the Trouble Increases (44 min)

The return of Jesus will be "as in the days of Noah" (Matthew 24:36-38). Many people will feel normal until it is too late to do anything about the trouble. Right now, the news is full of intense prophetic fulfillment. Many who connected with Jesus' return at one time or another have grown comfortable again...not because nothing is happening, but simply because they cannot see it...or feel the intensity of it.  More intensity can actually have a very negative effect if you aren't growing in your conversation with Jesus...it can actually make you numb to the very intensity designed to get you to respond!

Dullness is increasing at an alarming rate, as is the negative intensity the Bible promises we need to grow in readiness THROUGH.

The Urgent Need to Grow in Supernatural Experience (44 min)

The Urgent Need to Grow in Supernatural Experience (44 min)

The Offense of Cowardice ( 60 min)

Cowardice is turning back in a time of trouble, despite the fact that you are one of God's people.  This is offensive to God, because it is a direct assault on His character...His self-chosen identity as a Good Father and a Good Husband.

 

Cowardice is the result of entertaining the accusations against God from the enemy, or even worse, joining in the accusation against God WITH the enemy.

 

There is MUCH to overcome.  Cowards will not survive the final shaking:  

 

Revelation 21:7-8  He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.  8  But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

Faithfulness...courage....that will produce SAFETY in the end times:

 

Revelation 3:10  Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

Many are promised to turn in cowardice to the false protection of agreeing with the crowd, this will lead them, because they don't understand God's plans or believe in His goodness, to betray other believers.  We need to grow in endurance to meet this day with courage".  Believers will be here until the end:

Matthew 24:9-14  "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  10  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  11  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  12  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  13  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  14  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Today, you will have many opportunities to grow in courage.  What you do with those opportunities REALLY matters...

Babylon, the Judgment of America, and the Promise of Revival (58 min)

In the end times, location really matters.  It is important to know the promises and warnings for SPECIFIC geographic locations, in case you happen to live in one of them!  There are numerous warnings for specific geographic locations in Isaiah (read chapters 13-21, and 47), Ezekiel, Jeremiah, the minor prophets, the Olivet Discourse (Jerusalem/Judea), and the Book of Revelation.

 

A very intense and specific warning is given to the end time Babylon.  You can read the specific words easily in Isaiah 14 and 47, Jeremiah 50 and 51, and Revelation 18.  The end time Babylon is described as FULL of God’s people, wealthy, living in luxury, exporting lust and an extravagantly luxurious lifestyle, and corrupting the world with her value system of materialism above all else.  Other passages describe the end time Babylon as last lone superpower to inhabit planet earth before the return of Jesus.

 

The final nail in the end time Babylon’s  coffin of judgment is her betrayal of Israel:

Isaiah 47:6-9  I was angry with My people; I have profaned My inheritance, And given them into your hand. You showed them no mercy; On the elderly you laid your yoke very heavily.  7  And you said, 'I shall be a lady forever,' So that you did not take these things to heart, Nor remember the latter end of them.  8  "Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures, Who dwell securely, Who say in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, Nor shall I know the loss of children';  9  But these two things shall come to you In a moment, in one day: The loss of children, and widowhood. They shall come upon you in their fullness Because of the multitude of your sorceries, For the great abundance of your enchantments.

 

Before THAT day, God’s people in the end time Babylon MUST respond and agree with God’s instructions to “come out of her”:

Revelation 18:2-9  And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!  3  For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury."  4  And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.  5  For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.  6  Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her.  7  In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, 'I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.'  8  Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.  9  "The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning,

 

End time Babylon…the harlot…is also full of God’s people…the Bride.  The wheat and the tares are side by side in the end time Babylon:

Revelation 18:21-24  Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, "Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore.  22  The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore.  23  The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived.  24  And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth."

 

Watch.  Pray.  Be Ready.

 

The Narrow Road of End Time Joy and Safety (55 min)

The tragic result of a lack of teaching of Revelation to the Church is a lack of understanding of where the safe place is in the unfolding tribulation.  There IS a safe place...it is promised over and over:

Revelation 3:10  Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

Luke 21:36  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."

There is a narrow road...a "one thing" quality to getting to the safe place, described in Psalm 27:

Psalms 27:4-5  One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.  5  For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.

Because there is so little Bible confidence on this subject in the Church, there are two main ditches many are falling into on both sides of the narrow road of end time safety and joy.  These are the two ditches:

1. over-optimism...those who say nothing to really do, God loves me so I am good...nope...this eschatology doesn't hold up to ANY Biblical scrutiny:

Amos 9:10  All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, Who say, 'The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.'

You must choose your end time safety, just as Lot had to CHOOSE to flee to Zoar and not look back. Many are not choosing because they think there is no danger.  They believe God will just magically make them agree with His plans...this isn't faith, it is presumption.  This is a very deep ditch.

BUT, there is an equally dangerous ditch, called 

2. FEAR.  Conspiracy thinking has left many who actually see the trouble thinking very wrong things about what to DO about the trouble:

Isaiah 8:11-15  For the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:  12  "Do not say, 'A conspiracy,' Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.  13  The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread.  14  He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.  15  And many among them shall stumble; They shall fall and be broken, Be snared and taken."

Conspiracy thinking, though it has elements of insight, lacks REVELATION...because it doesn't offer the NARROW PLAN of greatness, joy, and safety of the end times.

Both of these ditches... presumption and the paralyses of fear...are meant to keep us off of the narrow road of REVELATION.  This message is intended to shine some light on the road that will leave many more joyful in the time of shaking than they could really imagine right now...but the joy comes from seeing the trouble for what it really is!

Being Saved is not the Same as Being Ready (42 min)

Jesus told saved people to be ready.  Being saved is not the same as being ready.  Your experience of the return of Jesus will actually depend on how ready you are, not whether or not you are saved and said the prayer.  This parable describes two different kinds of saved people:

Matthew 24:44-51  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.  45  "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  46  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  47  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.  48  But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,'  49  and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards,  50  the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,  51  and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

so does this one...and there are many others like it:

Matthew 25:1-12  "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  2  Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.  3  Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,  4  but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.  5  But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.  6  "And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!'  7  Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.  8  And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'  9  But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.'  10  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.  11  "Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!'  12  But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.'

The Moment Everything Will Change (42 min)

There is coming a moment when everything will change. There is coming a moment when life will not look the same. In an instant, life as we know it is going to change....and the change will be permanent... forever!

 This moment of existential change is described in numerous ways in the Bible...both positive and negative.  Once you learn where it falls and how it comes, it will change your entire understanding of the time you live in.  BUT, you really have to choose to see and understand it for yourself. 

This is the moment that will change everything on the planet...and it will never go back to what you now consider "normal":

Matthew 25:6-7 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’  Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.

It will always take faith to see Jesus' return unfolding (32 min)

Many in the church, and then in the world, will completely miss the fact they are in the end times.  This is one of the main factors that will contribute to the promised falling away: offense from mistaken expectations.

There are many false prophets prophesying peace and safety all the while sudden destruction is coming at them like a freight train.

This message is about why this will happen and how to protect yourself from it.

There will never be enough signs to convince those who try to explain away the end time trouble...BUT, for those willing to humble themselves and simply try to see, they WILL see the entire process unfold.  Everyone gets what they want!

Matthew 16:1-4  Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  2  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red';  3  and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  4  A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." And He left them and departed.

Adulterous generation is a direct reference to the Harlot Babylon.  What is the sign Jonah got?  Three and a half days of really intense trouble designed to make Him cry out.

You can do the end times the easy way...in faith...responding in obedience in advance.  Or the hard way...letting God teach using YOU as the example.  He loves us too much to not let us see, one way or the other...

The Acceleration of Time in the End Times (20 min)

It will always take faith to see the coming of Jesus and respond in time to be made safe from the trouble.  Not knowing the time will cost many believers much safety.  If you are waiting for the moment it is obvious, you will have waited to long to be safe.  Many are waiting for the moment that the end times "start"...they have already started and time is increasing and compressing.  Many will be overrun in destruction because they did not know the time.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-6  But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.  2  For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.  3  For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.  4  But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.  5  You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.  6  Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.

Matthew 24:37-39  But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  38  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,  39  and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Hebrews 11:6-7  But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.  7  By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

If you are waiting for that moment when all the "national prophets" start saying "its time" you will have missed the ark building window.

Glory Produces the Falling Away (39 min)

Matthew 13 (parable of the sower and the wheat and tares), Matthew 24, Genesis 11, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10

The increase in tribulation and false teachers (20 min)

As tribulation increases, many will start to see it, it is like waking up to an emergency in the middle of the night.  False teachers will take advantage of the fear to sell you things that Jesus really isn't doing.  Do you know what to watch for?

What Does the Increase of Martyrdom in the Middle East Tell Us? (17 min)

How to Get Ready for the Mark of the Beast (28 min)

A quickish message on the Mark of the Beast and the simple and BIBLICAL way to get ready for it.

The End Time Generation of Jacob (49 mins)

The pure and spotless end time church is also called the "Generation of Jacob."  Why?  Does it matter?

Genesis 32:28-30  And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed."  29  Then Jacob asked, saying, "Tell me Your name, I pray." And He said, "Why is it that you ask about My name?" And He blessed him there.  30  So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved."

Psalms 24:3-7  Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place?  4  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.  5  He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.  6  This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face. Selah  7  Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.

The Spirit and the Bride say "come!"

The War for Wholehearted Love - Psalm 27 (33 min)

The War for Wholehearted Love  - Psalm 27 (33 min)

...Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear... 

Overflow, Not Overwork (41 min)

Jesus has big plans for us...not by power, not by might, but by an overflow of His Spirit!

The Coming Flood of Light (21 min)

The rainbow is a sign that the final end time flood will be a flood of full spectrum light:

Matthew 24:37-39  But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  38  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,  39  and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

The Reward of Holiness (14 min)

Psalms 24:3-5  Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place?  4  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.  5  He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.

The Biblical Response to the Trouble We See Increasing (37 min)

The Biblical response to tribulation that will make you ready for victory instead of fearing defeat. (Joel 2, Revelation 2, and Isaiah 22)

The New Normal (28 min)

If you aren't watching, yesterday's intensity becomes today's normal.  Watch.  Pray. Be Ready.

Watching for Tribulation (39 min)

Why I think it is really important to watch for the specific events of the tribulation and talk about them.

The Revealing of the Sons of God (33 min)

All of creation is groaning until the sons (that is a family position not gender-specific in this context) of God reveal THEMSELVES. The Bride makes herself ready...and all of creation is longing for it to happen.

The Hour That Demands a Response (25 min 47 sec)

Message about the prophesied Psalm 24 "Generation of Jacob" that would usher in the King of Glory.