John chapter 16, and tonight's sermon is going to be a little bit different because I'm not going to cover every single verse.
Because there's kind of a main theme in John 16, it would just take too much time to cover every single verse.
And the name of the sermon is, Ye Shall Have Tribulation.
Ye Shall Have Tribulation.
And this title comes from the last verse of John chapter 16.
So I want to look at the last verse to begin to kind of assess the theme for what the whole chapter is about.
And it says in John 16 verse 33,
These things have I spoken on you that need ye might have peace.
In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
And the first point is simply that we will have tribulation.
That is what Jesus is telling his followers.
He's saying you're going to have tribulation in this world.
He doesn't say you might have tribulation.
He doesn't say it's a possibility.
He says, no ye shall have tribulation.
Now, let me say this, this chapter is not directly speaking about end times prophecy.
But at the same time, we can use the same principles from this chapter to understand the end times.
We're going to kind of talk about the end times here tonight.
Now turn to John 3.
And so he promised them that you're going to have tribulation.
And so it's a little bit ridiculous to suggest that there's going to come a time period where there's going to be no tribulation.
Because even before Jesus came here, in the Old Testament, when you read about Jeremiah, you read about Ezekiel, you read about all these great prophets of God.
Were their lives just a bed of roses and lots of money and just a great life?
What did they do with their trials and tribulation?
They went through trials and tribulation.
You see men of God getting martyred.
You see them, you know, people bring them before, you know, to put them in court, to get them arrested.
They had tough lives.
You read about Jeremiah, and look, he had a tough life.
It's really hard for me to understand these people that don't do any soul winning, they don't live for God.
Do they even understand the Bible at all because of the facts?
They're looking at these characters that are getting arrested.
And their attitude is that if you're right with God, you're just going to have peace on every side and everything's going to be great.
It's like, well, then none of the Bible's going to make sense.
Because throughout the Bible, they're going through trials and tribulation.
And that is what Jesus said here in John chapter 16, verse 33.
Now in John 3.36, let's see this, where the Bible reads,
He that believeth on the sun hath everlasting life.
And he that believeth not the sun shall not see like the wrath of God of Idaho.
This is one of my favorite soul winning verses, John 3.36.
Because it's very clear there's two types of people.
Those that believe on the sun, no matter how bad they are, no matter what works they do.
And those that don't believe in the sun, no matter how many good things they do.
Those that don't believe in the sun go to hell, no matter how good of a Muslim or good of a Hindu or how good of a Buddhist they are.
And those that do believe in the sun, regardless of whether or not they have been repentant of a single sin, end up going to heaven.
Even if they haven't quit anything, they still go to heaven just by believing, the Bible says.
But what I want you to understand is this, that those that do not believe in the sun, the Bible says the wrath of God abideth on that person.
Every single person when they go to hell, God's wrath abides in them forever.
It will always abide in them.
See, God does not love the person he throws into hell.
He loved them, he died for them, but now his wrath abides in them forever.
And they have no second chance.
God's wrath abides in them.
You say, why?
Because God's people don't go through the wrath of God.
Now when it comes to the end times, there's a lot of confusion when it comes to the preacher and the crowd.
They say a lot of things, they make accusations, and they quite simply just don't understand.
Like they'll say, you know, you guys are mid-trip.
And here's why they're going to say we're mid-trip.
They believe that the whole seven year time period is God's tribulation.
And we say that we're post-trip, but free wrath.
We're raptured before the wrath of God.
Their idea of post-trip is basically that you go through all seven years including the wrath of God.
That's what they think we believe.
They think that we believe that we go through all of the seven years, God's wrath, and the tribulation.
They don't understand that there's a difference between these things.
They're not the same thing.
So they say, well, if you're being raptured in between that seven year time period, you're mid-trip.
It's like, no, you just don't understand.
You don't understand what we're saying.
We're saying that the tribulation is not the seven years.
See, the Bible says, except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved.
See, that lasted the whole time period.
No flesh, no body would be saved.
We would all be killed.
But those days shall be shortened.
For the elect's sake, the Bible says.
Not the Jews, not the Calvinists, but those that believe on Jesus Christ.
So the seven years are shortened, and God's people are raptured.
Those that are dead in Christ shall rise first, the Bible says.
And as we're raptured, guess what?
God pours out his wrath once we're gone.
So the tribulation is part of the time period, and then we're raptured, and then there's God's wrath.
They don't understand because they think the whole time period is tribulation.
They think the whole time period is God's wrath.
Now, it boggles my mind because of the fact when you look up tribulation in the Bible,
you're seeing God's people go through tribulation.
You're not seeing unbelievers go through tribulation.
You see God's people going through trials and tribulation.
Didn't Jesus say in John 16, you shall have tribulation?
Look, tribulation is not unbelievers being persecuted by God.
That's God's wrath being poured out upon.
God's judgment being poured out upon.
Tribulation over 90% of the Bible is when God's people are going through trials,
because of the stance they take, because of what they believe.
So in John 3, 36, it says God's wrath abides in the people.
Yes, God's wrath is upon those that are not saved forever when they go to hell.
And if they are people that are not saved when the rapture takes place,
they're going to be under the wrath of God.
God's wrath will be poured out.
God's people don't go through the wrath of God, but we still go through tribulation and trials.
And so, yes, during that time period, we're going to go through the tribulation, the Bible says,
and then we get raptured and God's wrath gets poured out.
Okay, now turn to Romans 5. Romans 5.
So when they say things like, you guys are mid-trip,
they're showing a lack of understanding of what we believe and what the Bible states.
They just don't understand. They literally don't understand the position.
I don't really blame them, though, because the preacher of doctrine is so confusing.
It is so confusing.
Now, look, the person who led me in the Lord, you know, I don't know what I would have done if he hadn't showed me,
but he was studying the topic out and he read a book called The Pre-wrath Rapture of the Church by Martin Roosevelt.
And, you know, I remember, even though I'd only been saved a year, I was just like,
you know, Mike, there's so many godly people that have pre-tripped.
And I was like, what you're saying makes sense.
I mean, that's what it looks like. It says in Matthew 24.
But, you know, it just seems too obvious, you know, for so many godly people not to believe it.
And I went to a pre-trip website that night after he talked to me.
And I was there for three hours looking up every argument they had, looking in the Bible.
I looked at the best arguments of pre-trip and that convinced me of the close rapture.
Because I was like, they got nothing.
I was like, I just heard my friend explain, you know, the end times.
And I was like, that makes sense.
And then all of a sudden I was like, wow, this pre-trip stuff doesn't make any sense whatsoever.
And see, the Bible is meant to make sense, right?
Now, the end times, yeah, there's confusing things in the book of Daniel from the Revelation,
but the timing of the rapture is not one of those things.
And so that's really what drew me to Pastor Anderson's preaching.
You know, I was listening to his preaching and I remember finding out he was post-trip
and I called my friend, Pastor Jason Robinson, and I was like, you're not going to believe this.
Because I literally thought that we were, my group of friends,
we were the only King James people that were post-trip in the world.
That's kind of what we thought.
It's kind of foolish because we have the same Bible.
But that's kind of what we thought.
Because we never heard an infant Baptist preacher preach that.
And I remember calling him and I'm sure he remembers as well.
And that's really drew me to the preaching because it's not complicated in the Bible.
It's very simple, right?
It's very simple.
It's very clear that we're going to be raptured after tribulation,
but before the wrath of God.
Romans 5, verse 1, the Bible reads,
Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whom also we have access by faith into this grace where we stand,
and rejoice in hope with the glory of God.
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also,
knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience and experience hope.
And so what Paul the Apostle says is, we glory in tribulations.
Now the pre-trib crowd, one of the big reasons this is a prevailing doctrine is it's popular.
People like it. It's convenient.
People don't want to go through trials.
They don't want to go through tribulation.
They've never gone through it before, and they don't want to start going through it.
But see, what Paul the Apostle said was, we glory in tribulations.
His attitude was not to avoid the tribulation.
His attitude was to glory in it.
To be happy. You say, why?
But tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience and experience hope,
and tribulation is a good thing.
It's a good thing.
Now, it's never fun while you're going through this.
But I am happy for all the trials and tribulations I've gone through in my life for taking a stand-field workout.
It was not fun at the time.
You get out on the other side stronger.
You get out on the other side and you're very happy for that.
You know, going through tribulation is actually a good thing in our lives.
Even if the end times never hit.
Tribulations and trials in our life, they are not a bad thing.
They are a good thing according to the Bible.
Now, if you're going through a tribulation right now, it doesn't feel good.
But look, when you go through trials and tribulations and you get out on the other side successful,
you know what, you're going to be happy you went through that.
It helped you in life.
Now, there's many reasons why tribulation is a good thing, and we shouldn't want to just avoid it.
And that is a big reason for the preacher doctrine.
Sometimes you'll try to explain this to people,
and I've literally heard people say,
I don't even care if that's what the Bible teaches.
I just don't want to know it.
I don't want to just have to think about going through tribulation.
Now, that's a person that's not really living for God.
Because if you're living for God, you've gone through tribulations.
You've gone through trials before.
But tribulation is not a bad thing.
There's many benefits.
It works patience in you, which leads to a lot of other things.
It makes you appreciate what you have in life.
But let me give you an example of one benefit.
When it comes to going through tribulations,
when you go through tribulations in life and you're at a church that's living for the Lord,
you're not the only person who's gone through those same tribulations.
Other people have gone through those exact same tribulations,
and what it causes is the people in this church to be very close to one another.
This is like a family thing.
And quite honestly, a lot of us have not known each other that long.
But what happens when you go through similar experiences
is it makes you very close to one another.
Even more so than a family, because they haven't gone through the same experiences.
Let me give you an example from last week.
This wasn't an issue of tribulation, but it's something of a common experience.
I was out soul winning on last Wednesday, I believe it was,
out of the park and everything like that.
And I was going through the gospel, and I was explaining the gospel to this teenager.
It seemed like they were getting it, but then they just weren't finally getting it at the end.
They just wouldn't believe it.
They understood it, but they wouldn't believe it.
And so I was pleading with this person.
I showed them more verses, and I probably spent 30 minutes.
Because when you have somebody who's listening, but they're not quite getting it,
you care about that person.
You don't want them to go to hell.
And I tried, and I tried, and I tried, and you know what?
He just said, you know, I'm just not sure if I can do it.
And you know, that's an example of almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
From the book of Acts, when Paul the Apostle was preaching to King Agrippa.
Now I've never met Paul the Apostle, I've never met King Agrippa,
but I know that exact same situation.
And I'll tell you what, it hits you right here.
It's horrible. It's difficult.
I remember we were talking about it as we got done from soul winning,
and Brother Ehrman said, I just want to do the exact same thing.
Now look, I have not known Brother Ehrman very long,
but you know, that's an experience we share, that all of you in this room share,
that the normal bats out there will never share that experience.
They do not know what it's like to preach the gospel,
and have somebody so close, so close, you think they're going to get saved,
you want them to get saved.
Man, if you could just force them to get saved, you would,
but you cannot get them saved.
And it's not that you're doing anything wrong,
because Paul the Apostle preached the gospel to King Agrippa,
but he didn't get saved.
Jesus preached it, some believe and some didn't.
When you preach the gospel, not everybody gets saved.
Not 90% gets saved.
You know, it's a lot less than that.
I don't know the exact percentage, and it could vary per person,
but there's plenty of people you preach the gospel to,
and they don't get saved.
And you know what, when you share similar experiences like that,
it causes you to be close to one another.
When it comes to going through trials and tribulations,
the people that know what that's like are people that are soldiers at church like this.
And you know, when you go through a trial in your life that seems really rough,
you're not the only one.
It's always funny to me, and I mention this in sermons,
that people that are kind of new to church and stuff like that,
they'll tell you this story about how, man, they start to live for God,
and their parents disowned them, you know, Lola disowned them, Lola disowned them,
they've got grandparents, you know, cousins,
everyone thinks they're a heretic and a devil,
and it's like, man, I'm just trying to read the Bible and go to church.
And they say that story as if thinking they're the only one.
And then all of a sudden, you know, you and other people are listening,
and you're like, hey, no, all of us,
all of us have gone through something similar.
Maybe it wasn't those exact same people, maybe it wasn't Lola and Lola,
maybe it wasn't the parents, but everyone's gone through family rejecting them.
Everyone's gone through friends rejecting them.
We all share that experience.
We all share that exact same tribulation,
and so what happens is it causes you to be very close to the people
that you're around on a regular basis, not solely.
And that is one benefit of tribulation,
is that it causes all of us to be close to one another,
because we've all gone through very similar things before.
Now turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 7.
And that's one reason why it's important to be at a good church,
because quite honestly, if you're at a church where it's pretty lame,
and when you go soul winning, you know,
you're going to have those times where you get back from soul winning
and you got rejected, you got yelled at,
and man, you want to talk to someone that can encourage you,
that's been through that.
All of us go through that.
But then you don't have anybody at church to talk to.
Look, I mean, we at this church,
I mean, if you have a terrible day out soul winning,
like just people yell at you and they're mad at you and stuff like that,
then you can come back and rejoice over the souls that got saved at the church.
Right, now all of us who went out soul winning today,
we got somebody saved,
but let's say I didn't get anybody saved today.
Actually, you know, earlier today,
I went soul winning, you know, behind the gates of that church,
and for a while, nobody got saved.
And everybody who answered was like 70 years old.
And I'm just like, man, you can't define like a teen or somebody young,
you know, the priest who got hit a couple times and didn't want to talk.
I'm just like, man.
And so I went soul winning and nobody was saved.
It's kind of discouraging.
But then we go out soul winning tonight,
let's say I didn't get anybody saved again.
And still be able to come back and rejoice,
because the other guys that went out got somebody saved.
Okay.
We can still come back because of other people at the church.
So, you know, whether you're successful or not,
as long as you can still rejoice in it.
When it comes to this idea of tribulation,
look, you're not the only one.
And other people have gone through the exact same thing.
Not just something else, but probably the exact same thing as you have.
Now 2 Corinthians 7, verse 4.
Great is my boldness of speech toward you,
great is my glory in you.
I am filled with comfort.
I am seeking joyful in all our tribulation.
Now look, I don't believe all the apostles was lying.
I mean, this is in the word of God.
And he says we're joyful in all of our tribulation.
In the Bible you see that the greatest soul winner
is getting beaten for the things they believe
and they're singing the praises of God.
Now that is someone who's ready for the battle that's coming.
Okay.
Because most people, if you get beaten,
you're just going to throw into hell.
But you know, they're excited about it.
Here Paul the Apostle says,
we're joyful in all our tribulation.
But the average Christian,
they don't know what tribulation is at all.
Honestly, none of the Bible even makes sense to them
because they've never gone through any tribulation.
Verse 5.
For when we were coming to Macedonia,
our flesh had no rest.
We were troubled on every side.
Without were fighting, to within were fears.
Now, when it says troubled on every side,
that kind of shows how the Bible talks about trouble in tribulation
being sometimes synonymous.
But we're troubled on every side.
Without were fighting, to within were fears.
And he says basically,
we're going through all kinds of trials.
Okay, now turn to Revelation 1.
Revelation 1.
Now Paul the Apostle lived 2,000 years ago,
but quite honestly, even though his life was more extreme,
he's more dedicated than any of us
and more extreme than when he went through bigger tribulations and stuff,
quite honestly though, you know, he could relate to everything.
I mean, he could show up.
Obviously the world's a lot different 2,000 years later,
but he could show up and just see, you know, protests
and being on the news and he's like,
man, I don't know where this TV is, I don't know what a computer is,
but you know, I know that tribulation.
That is not something that's new.
It wouldn't be new to him.
He'd expect something like that.
Revelation 1, verse 9.
I, John, am also your brother and companion in tribulation.
Notice how it says companion in tribulation.
Look, this was written a long time ago.
But John partook in the same things that we do.
He says, I'm your companion in tribulation.
He's our companion in the tribulation.
All the apostles are our companion.
Peter's our companion.
Jeremiah, just name the names.
All of them are companions in our tribulation.
They've gone through the same exact thing, okay?
Now there have been times in history where it was, you know,
even stronger tribulation and times where it was weaker,
but it was still going through tribulation.
And John says, I'm your companion in tribulation.
And yet he wrote a book about how you won't go through any tribulation.
Now, does that really make any sense?
It's like, no wonder the book of Revelation is so confusing to people.
Because at the beginning he says, I'm your companion in tribulation,
but you won't experience it.
No wonder people are confused by the book of Revelation
if they're pre-trib.
It doesn't make any sense to them.
Now, turn to John 16.
And the reason why he says companion in tribulation
is because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
You take a stand on the word of God and the testimony of Jesus today,
guess what?
Same tribulation that you end up partaking in.
And so the first thing is quite simply that we are going to have tribulation.
But the second thing is this.
Being warned about the tribulation, that prevents you from giving up.
It prepares you.
It helps you.
It's good.
You say, why is it the church is like yours?
You always preach all these negative things, all this tribulation.
Why can't you just preach on love and things like that?
No, being warned actually is a good thing
because it prevents you from giving up when it gets tough.
John 16 verse 1.
These things have I spoken on you that ye should not be offended.
They shall put you out of the synagogues.
Yea, the time cometh that whosoever killeth you
will think that he doeth God's service.
And these things will they do on you because they have not known the Father nor me.
But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come,
ye may remember that I told you of them.
And these things I said not unto you at the beginning because I was with you.
He says, you know what, I'm telling you these things so you don't get offended,
so you don't give up when it gets tough.
That's what he's saying.
Now, here's the truth.
When you preach like this, what happens is a lot of people give up before the battle in this place.
When you preach sermons like this, and the preaching I do,
a lot of people don't even want to be at the church because they don't want to go to the battle.
You preach about, man, you're going to have a tough battle if you stay at the church if you keep going so on.
It's like, alright, I'm done. I'll throw the towel down.
But look, those people are going to give up during the battle anyway.
It's not a big deal if our church is smaller because people give up
because they say, man, I don't know if I want to go through all that persecution.
But see, here's the problem with not preaching about the persecution
is that if you don't preach sermons like this, the people that are actually dedicated,
they won't be as prepared as they need to be when the battle takes place.
And so that's why sermons like this are so important.
I'm sure, I mean, we know this, Jesus' preaching drove a lot of people away.
Isn't it true that crowds would listen to him and they'd love it,
and then all of a sudden he'd say something and it's like, well, they're gone.
Look, the truth is the same thing happens.
I preach back-to-back sermons on Sunday, and I see it sometimes how someone's like,
man, this is such an awesome sermon. They're laughing. It's great.
Then you say that one thing, and boy, they are not happy.
It's like, well, they won't be back. That always takes place.
You know, whether it's at this church or in America, Canada, Australia, I don't care the country, it takes place.
When you're preaching the truth, a lot of what you say people love,
but then you'll say something they don't love.
But you know, it's okay. People give up. The fight, that's fine.
Because of the fact, I want to make sure the people that are dedicated are prepared for the tribulation coming.
And the truth is that if you're not preached about it, it's going to catch you when it works.
Even though you know it's coming, unless you get that reminder,
it just kind of goes to the back of your head. You just kind of forget about it.
That's the way it is with things. You learn something, and if you don't meditate on it, you kind of forget about it.
If I preach the sermon on Sunday, which I'm not doing, but if I preach the sermon on Sunday against alcohol,
just a whole hour-long sermon against drinking,
you know, people would really feel like, man, I got to stay away from you.
That's dangerous. It's bad. But then after a year, it's going to kind of fade out.
You know, you have to re-preach those same things.
And yeah, you know how I preach on how you're going to go through trials?
This is what John 16 is about. We need to be reminded of this so we don't give up.
Now turn to Acts 14.
It's really kind of an interesting thought to think about the book of Revelation,
how John said he's your companion in tribulation.
And just all these great people in the Bible, you know, just kind of take some time to think about those stories
and put yourself in that position of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
That if you were in that position, you took a stand on the word of God and said,
I will bow. You know what's going to end up happening?
You would be in that fiery furnace as well.
The same thing would take place if you chose to stand up for the truth.
Now in Acts 14, verse 19,
And so Paul is stoned near death.
They thought he was dead. They basically stoned him.
And you know what? I don't know. I've never been stoned before, but I'm sure this doesn't feel very good.
I do remember when I was a kid, I had a rock fight with a friend of mine.
It wasn't really mine. It was his.
But even with small little rocks, you know, those hurt.
And they hit your shin. You know, that doesn't feel good.
What hits your head does not feel good.
He gets stoned, and notice what it says in verse number 20.
How he and his disciples stood round about him.
He rose up and came into the city, and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.
You say, how is it that he stood up?
Well, I mean, God just didn't want him to go there.
See, God can allow you to last through the tribulation.
It doesn't mean that nothing's going to happen, but he can allow you to live through it.
And this is obviously an experience where, look, I mean, he would have died,
but obviously God didn't want him to die.
Okay, so he lasts through it.
Verse 21.
When they had preached the gospel to that city and had taught many,
they returned again to Lystra and to Iconium and Antioch,
confirming the souls of the disciples and exhorting them to continue the faith.
Notice what it says.
And that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
He just got a syllable.
Basically to death.
And what does he say?
He's like, you're going to go through much tribulation before you go to heaven.
That's what he said.
Now, what sense does it make for preachers today
to just never preach about the judgment, not just judgment,
but not preach about the trials that you're going to go through
and the tribulations you're going to go through?
It doesn't make sense, because in the Bible you're always seeing
that that's what they're preaching about.
Through much tribulation you will enter into the kingdom of God.
You say, brothers, thank you, man.
I just figured I'd join this church.
You know, man, I like to preach.
You know, I'm learning things.
Soul winning's fun.
Man, I don't want to go through trials.
Well, I mean, if you stick around here you're going to go through trials.
Yeah.
That's the truth.
I'm not going to lie to you.
I'm not going to not prepare you.
You're going to go through trials and tribulations.
You say, doesn't it ever stop?
No.
No, it doesn't stop.
It's never going to stop.
But, I mean, you just got to decide whether or not you're going to last term.
Now, a lot of people hear this preaching.
They just say, well, you know what?
I don't want to go through it.
But you know what?
That's what the Bible says.
You know, Paul the apostle told them,
you're going to go through much tribulation to enter into the kingdom of God.
That's what he said.
And so the preaching today, guess what?
The same thing should be said.
You have to ask yourself this question.
If you've never experienced any tribulation in your life,
nobody's mocked you for what you believe,
nobody's wanted to disown you, nobody's hated you,
then, you know, maybe you're not taking as big of a stand as you think you are.
Now, I'm not saying we should intentionally try to get people to hate us.
Simply being a member of this church could do that.
Yeah, right.
And quite honestly, I'm not that controversial compared to some other pastors.
But simply being friends with pastors that, you know, are on the news,
that's going to get us persecution, perhaps.
Look, for example, when my PayPal got shut down, it's like, man,
this has nothing really to do with me.
I'm not at that massive conference.
But I'm not going to shy away from our friends.
You know, those are, you know, you pastor friends on the news for taking a stand on the word of God.
It's just like, we're not going to shy away from people like that.
We're going to pray for that person.
We're going to care about that person.
We're not going to just pretend like we don't know them.
No, those are our friends.
And we're companions in tribulation with Him, even though we're on the other side of the world.
Why?
Well, John was a companion in tribulation to us.
Because if you live for God, no matter where you live, you're going to go through tribulation.
And you know what?
Here, it hasn't been bad for us so far.
So far, it's been pretty easy for us at this church.
But in our personal lives, I promise you you're going to have times of tribulation.
I promise you that, you know, we're going to have time.
One day, I'm sure we will be on the news or something or have a protest.
I don't know.
But you know, we're going to go through tribulation.
Turn to 1 Thessalonians 3.
But does it really make sense when...
And I'm not even...
I'm sort of preaching on the end times tonight, but I'm not really.
But does it really make any sense to sit here and say that, well, it's a pre-tribulation rapture.
I mean, have you looked up the word tribulation in the Bible?
Because every time I look up tribulation in the Bible, people are going through tribulation.
We're being told, hey, you're going to go through tribulation.
Through much tribulation, you're going to enter into the kingdom of God.
And so would it really make sense for Paul the Apostle who just got stoned to say, well, you know what?
You're not going to have any tribulation.
You're just going to be raptured before that.
John says, hey, I'm your companion in tribulation, but you won't go through any tribulation if you're here during the end times.
Because during the end times, there's just this select group of people that God has decided
no other time in history have they been able to escape the persecution.
But during the end times, it's going to be different.
And it's like, you know what?
It's really just wishful thinking by these people that have never experienced tribulation, who say we're not going to have it.
And 1 Thessalonians 3, verse 1.
Wherefore, when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone.
And since Mothius, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ,
to establish you and to comfort you concerning your faith,
that no man should be moved by these afflictions.
For yourselves, know that we are appointed thereunto.
He says, I don't want you to be moved by these afflictions, these trials and tribulations in your life.
He's like, you are aware that you're appointed to this.
As God's people, it comes along with serving God.
If you serve God, you will go through tribulation.
We're pointed onto it based on the fact that we're living for God and taking a stand on the word of God.
The word of God is quick and powerful and sharpened in an intuitive sword.
Our Lord and Savior was crucified.
And look, as God's people, we're going to go through tribulation.
That's just the way it is.
Verse number 4. For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation,
even as it came to pass and ye know.
He says, we told you that we should suffer tribulation.
He doesn't say you're not going to have me.
He's like, no, we already told you this.
As it came to pass and ye know, you should suffer tribulation.
But according to the pre-trib crowd, when he told this to the Church of Thessalonica,
and yet the Church of Thessalonica is also told about the end times,
and apparently what they're told is, hey, it's a pre-tribulation rapture,
even though throughout the book of Thessalonians, 1 and 2, he's saying,
you went through tribulations as we said you were appointed,
and it's going to happen to you, and in the end times, no tribulation.
Does that make any sense?
It doesn't make any sense whatsoever.
Turn to 2 Thessalonians.
2 Thessalonians 1.
And so first thing is just that we're going to have tribulation.
The second thing is the fact that being warned actually prevents you from giving up.
And the third thing is this, that tribulation actually encourages others.
And it says in 2 Thessalonians 1, verse 4,
So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God,
for your patience and faith and all your persecutions,
and tribulations that he endured. What does Paul the Apostle say?
He says, you know, we've seen your patience and faith through these persecutions.
And he's like, we're telling all the churches about it.
We're telling them the big stand you're taking for the Word of God.
You see a pastor that gets on the news for preaching the truth,
and good night, man, lots of the pastors this past week are on the news,
and they're hated. You know, Pastor Fritz is a great example,
but he's on there. What happens?
All of us are telling our churches, man, look at that man of God standing on 40.
We're encouraged by this.
They're taking a stand when it's difficult,
because it's not fun going through it,
but it actually encourages others, even when you don't realize it.
When we were at Verity Baptist Church, when the protest took place,
I remember it was first a Wednesday was the first day of the protest,
and it was kind of unexpected on the Wednesday,
and there was about 80 people, which was actually good,
because it prepared us for Sunday.
You know, if we had had nothing on Wednesday,
then all of a sudden 500 people would show up and be like, whoa.
You know, we weren't expecting that.
So we actually prepared on Wednesday when there was like 80 people,
and it's like, what in the world?
And there was already people at our church that just decided,
yeah, you know, I'm done. People quit the church, you know,
because of the tribulation. They didn't want to go through.
But, you know, there's 80 people there and everything,
and then, you know, we had Sunday, the big protest and everything like that.
Well, it wasn't really too long afterwards,
only a little bit more than a month later that we had the Red Hot Preaching Conference.
I think it was the first Red Hot Preaching Conference.
I'm pretty sure, you know, I'm not sure if I'm correct.
But, you know, what happened during that Red Hot Preaching Conference
is that all the rental cars, you know, I can't remember who it was.
I can't remember which company, so I don't want to name it.
You know, because I'm 80% sure, you know, I'd get sued or whatever.
But anyways, the company that we called that I had called many times
and made sure the ride was there, because we had the passengers coming in.
We don't want them to arrive at the airport and, you know, not have a ride.
We wanted to make sure everything was ready.
I had called them. We had it reserved and everything like that.
And then I remember calling just to double check, you know, a few days before,
and they're like, oh, I'm sorry, you know, we don't have that name in here.
There must have been some sort of mix.
We can put you on hold just in case, you know, and here's the problem.
You know, with these passengers coming in, they have a lot of them have big families.
And so it's not easy to have a big vehicle ready.
See, it's easy to get a car last second at a rental car agency.
It's not easy to get, like, an eight passenger van ready.
And so basically they obviously just completely lied about it,
because I had called them a million times and had it ready.
But it wasn't just them. You know, it's, like, the hotels, you know, everything.
And even after the red-out pricing conference, you know, just everything was just chaos,
because people were kind of shutting us down, didn't want to do business with us,
and all kinds of problems.
We had to try to find a new building.
And it's like, look, you know, I was working 15-hour days, you know, day after day after day,
no break, because we couldn't break.
Because, you know, we just at the time just had a few people on, I think myself,
Pastor Ben, I think somebody else was, you know, part-time at the time.
But it's just like, you know, we just had a lot of work to get done.
And everybody's shutting us down, closing us down,
and, you know, we just had to work a lot of hours to try to get stuff done.
And, you know what, when you're going through that tribulation, it's not fun.
It's not fun to work 100 hours in a week.
It's like, I just want to take a nap.
And then, but, you know, here's the thing about this.
I remember one of the pastors that's like-minded, that, you know, people listen to their sermons online.
I remember hearing him say that because of the stand he saw very downstairs,
hey, it caused him to say, you know what, forget about all my friends
that are just mocking what they find.
And then all of a sudden he's like, hey, I'm post-trib. I believe in everything they do.
And he's been here since then. You say, why?
Because tribulation causes other people to get more excited about the things of God
when they see you taking a seat.
That's the way it works.
Because, you know, you feel shameful and embarrassed
to see somebody take a stand on the Word of God and then you just back down.
When you see somebody else take a stand, you're like, man, I need to do the same thing.
Right? It's kind of like when you see somebody go off solo and you're like, man, I've got to do the same thing.
Other people doing something, it encourages you.
And going through tribulation is not a bad thing because your life is not about you.
It's about other people. And when they see you pass the test, they're going to end up,
some of them, going through that same thing, being encouraged by you.
Honestly, you know, the people in this room, for the most part, everyone was here at day one of this church.
Everyone who was ready for it. Everyone, Brother Sean Lee hadn't heard of it.
So he came right when he heard about the church.
Right? So all of us were basically here for day one of this church.
But there's other people that, you know, weren't here from day one.
But they knew they should be.
And eventually, you know what, they see people taking a stand.
They see the soul winning, the great results.
And then all of a sudden, guess what?
They're fully in.
And there's going to be more people as well.
They're going to see the stand that's being taken.
They're going to see the soul winning that takes place.
Us going through trials, it could cause people to come to our church and say,
you know what, I should have been a part of that church from day one.
Right.
Because even if you're being a little bit watered down,
when you see people that are just like you being mocked for the things that you,
the same things you believe, what's going to happen to a lot of those people is,
you know what, man, that offends me because I believe the exact same thing as them.
So let's look at verse number five.
Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God
that he may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which he also suffered.
Seeing it as a righteous thing with God,
we'll recompense tribulation to them that trouble you.
And to you who are troubled, rest with us when the Lord Jesus
shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
inflaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God
and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord
and from the glory of his power.
And so he will recompense the tribulation,
but basically we're going to go through that tribulation until the Lord comes back.
That's the way it takes place.
Now, obviously there's the tribulation time period during the end,
but the reason why you're reading the Bible and it's as if it's present day,
even though it's thousands of years later,
is because it's still the same tribulation.
It's going to get worse during the end times, but it's the same thing.
Today we go through tribulation.
They went through that a thousand years ago,
2,000 years ago, 3,000, 4,000, 5,000, 6,000,
100 years from now it's going to be the same sort of tribulation.
And the same exact people would be persecuted, and that's the soul of Jesus.
It's the same thing.
Turn to 2 Timothy 3.
Now, I personally think, maybe I'm biased,
but I think everything I've preached is super clear so far
that you're going to go through tribulation.
And, you know, you might ask this question,
why don't people understand this?
Because, I mean, isn't this pretty simple that you go through tribulation,
you go through tribulation, God's people always go through that.
You say, well, why is it that so many people that are Baptist,
so many people that are saved, they don't understand this?
Well, quite honestly, if they're a new person,
then maybe they just haven't been aware of it,
and they're going to get aware of it really quickly, what the truth is.
But quite honestly, they're just not really going to be forgotten.
You know, people that are not post-trib,
honestly, they're not really living for God, 90, whatever.
And that could offend them, but honestly, I don't really care, that's the truth.
Because they don't know what the Bible says.
They don't really read the Bible.
And the truth is, they're obviously not going through persecution.
Going through persecution will kind of wake them up and say,
it's kind of weird during the end times they're going to have no persecution,
when I go through lots of persecution.
See, us going through persecution,
it makes the post-trib rapture make complete sense.
But quite honestly, people don't get this because they don't want to get it,
because they don't really read the Bible,
because they don't really go through any persecution,
because they're not taking a stand on the Word of God.
That is true 99% of the time.
And if somebody hears this sermon and they say,
wow, you know, man, that offends me, whatever.
Well, then I encourage you to read the Bible.
Read Matthew 24.
I mean, actually, I encourage you to look over all the verses I've preached
about us going through tribulation and tell them what the answer is,
when it keeps saying you're going to go through tribulation,
how somehow we're not going to.
I mean, it's not just Matthew 24.
I haven't even turned to Matthew 24.
How many verses have we looked at that you should have much tribulation
enter into the kingdom of God?
It's super clear.
2 Timothy 3, verse 10.
But that was fully known by doctrine, manner of life, purpose,
faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions,
which came on to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra.
What persecutions I endured, but out of them all were delivered to me.
What does it say in verse 11?
It says these persecutions and afflictions,
they come at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra.
What does that show you?
In all locations.
Whether you're in the Philippines, whether you're in the U.S.,
whether you're in Canada, Australia, England, Saudi Arabia,
I don't care the place.
Name the country.
You will go through persecutions if you're living for God.
I don't care whether it was 6,000 years ago or 1,000 years from now.
It doesn't matter when it was.
The idea was, it doesn't matter where it is,
if you take a stand on the word of God, you'll go through persecution.
That's what you see here in this passage.
It's not just 2 Timothy 3.10, 3.12.
It's 3.10 and 11.
3.11 is pretty powerful when it says Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra.
So the statement I just made, I'll stand by that.
Because if someone's not going through any persecution,
I'll say they're probably not really living for God.
Because it's going to happen no matter where you live, no matter what time.
Throughout the entire Bible, this covers a long period of time.
And you look at the book of Genesis,
and God's people go through trials and tribulations.
You look at Moses, he goes through trials and tribulations.
You look at Jeremiah, you look at David.
You look at, I don't care where you turn, Ezekiel.
You look at any of these people, they're going through tribulations.
And it's going to happen to us today as well.
Nothing's changed.
No new thing under the sun.
We're going to go through tribulation.
Verse number 12.
In all the will of God and in Christ, Jesus shall suffer persecution.
And you say, well, why do you preach this?
Because this isn't very encouraging to me.
Well, it's going to be helpful to you when you actually do go through the persecution
and do go through the tribulation.
Because my goal is to help prepare you for the battles that come,
and you'll actually last through that fire and come out strong on the other side.
And if I never preach it, you're not going to be ready for it.
And so you know what?
This preaching, you know what?
Yeah, it turns away most people, but that's fine.
Because if people get turned away, doesn't the Bible say that if somebody does not want to go out to war,
then just stay at home?
Right.
Look, if this preaching offends people and they say, man, I don't want to face that battle.
I'm just, you know, man, I don't know.
If you would just calm it down a little bit, then I go to church here.
And it's like, you know, I can't.
It's just, then don't come out of the battle.
That's fine.
That's what the Bible says.
Right.
And honestly, I don't like that.
I wish everybody would come to this church.
Because I do think people have the ability to grow.
Because when you're newer and stuff like that, it's going to take you a little bit of time.
I wish that they would just last it out and grow.
But look, I can't water down the preaching.
Because that would do a disservice to the 90% of people that have been getting stronger every week through the word of God
and are ready for that battle to be puzzled.
I can't just water down that message, and then people, other people are going to come because I water them down with it.
No, I've got to just preach what the Bible says.
And let the chips roll with it.
That's just the way it is.
Now, I wish people wouldn't be turned away.
Because honestly, I think people can grow and it takes time.
But the truth is, when you preach the word of God, that's what happens.
John 16.
And the last thing I want to mention in this sermon is quite simply this.
That you know what?
All will be forgotten one day.
When you're going through tribulations.
Once it's over, it's forgotten about.
It doesn't even bother you anymore.
I mean, tribulations are tough while you're going through them.
But afterwards, you don't care.
What is the example the Bible gives?
The example is a mom going through labor.
Now look, going through labor is not fun.
You know, let's look here.
We'll look at that verse here in a second.
Let's look at verse number 17.
John 16, verse 17.
Then said some of his disciples among themselves,
What is this that he saith unto us?
A little while, and ye shall not see me.
And again a little while, and ye shall see me.
And because I go to the Father.
They said, Therefore, what is this that he saith?
A little while, and we cannot tell what he saith.
Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him and said unto them,
Be ye inquired among yourselves that I saith a little while,
and ye shall not see me.
And again a little while, and ye shall see me.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament,
but the world shall rejoice.
And ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
And the truth is, as we go through trials, go on Facebook right now.
The world is rejoicing because, man, this detective took a stand on the word of God.
Man, that's right. They're going to review his cases.
You know, he'll get fired. He's going to lose his pension.
But they rejoice over that. They're excited about that.
The world hates our guts.
What's really obnoxious about it is when they'll quote the Bible
and act like they're really believing the Bible.
Like, judge not.
Man, that just takes me off so much.
When people will try to quote the Bible and act like,
Love thy neighbor as thyself.
And it's like, man, what about every verse, you know, I've read tonight?
There's so much in the Bible. It's like, you've obviously never read the Bible.
But then you act like you're such a righteous and godly person.
You justify the pedophile.
And then all of a sudden you act like you're a better person than us.
You justify the Catholic Church.
And you get mad at the pastor that preaches against pedophilia.
I mean, what in the world kind of a world are we living in?
Sometimes you just, at least for me, sometimes I feel like I'm in a dream.
I just wake up and it's like, man, it'll be normal.
But that's the reality that we live in.
And they rejoice.
And it causes us to be sorrowed when we go through that trial.
But then what happens? Our sorrow gets turned into joy.
That is what takes place when you last through it.
Verse 21.
This is the way it happens when a mom goes through birth.
You know, during the pregnancy, you know, pregnancy's not fun.
You wake up, you're feeling sick. You wake up, you're puking.
You wake up, you have morning sickness, you have midday sickness, you have night sickness.
You know, it's not fun.
It's not fun on the husband either.
Like, you know, it's not fun with the wife going through this.
You know, they're going through it and then all of a sudden, after the first three months,
after the first trimester, it's not so bad.
And then all of a sudden you get towards the end and then, of course, the actual deliberate baby, you know,
it's not easy.
It's painful.
It's not fun.
But you know, guess what happens?
Right when that baby's born, you know what?
The mom doesn't even think about the pain.
She's just right.
She's just excited to see her son.
You know, I've seen it myself.
You know, I was there when our son was delivered.
You know, we're just like, man, the pain that they're going through,
it's something a guy's never going to experience and they don't enjoy it.
It's not fun.
And then right when the baby's born, you forget about it.
And quite honestly, going through that pain is not really a bad thing
because it causes you to really appreciate the child's beginning even more, right?
It's the same way through trials in our lives.
It's not fun when you're going through it.
We've all been through those trials in our lives.
Look, I'm not preaching this as if I've never been through it.
I've been through trials.
You know, honestly, other than the fact that I'm a lot older than anybody in this room,
I've gone through the same things you guys have done.
I've been at churches where they didn't really want me
because I read the Bible and went soloing and didn't really do anything.
I was just showing up to church and then somehow, you know,
just it is what it is, right?
It's the same thing no matter where you are.
Whether it's the Philippines or the U.S., it's the same thing, okay?
I've been through the exact same things.
When I tell people to take a stand and leave their dead churches,
look, I've done that before.
I've left dead churches before.
I've left churches.
I found out a church I went to was, the first church I went to was not a King James-only church,
and I realized while I was at the church that the King James Bible was perfect,
and guess what?
I left the church.
The next church I went to was a Calvinist church, which I didn't realize that.
And then all of a sudden, once he preached on repentance of sins,
I was like, whoa, you know, that's not what I believe.
And guess what I did?
I left the church.
What I didn't do was just stay into the church for another year and listen to sermons online.
Say, man, I'm right there with you, brother.
It's like, no, you're really not with us.
I don't care how often you listen to the sermons from us.
I don't care how much you share Pastor Anderson preaching or Pastor Mendez.
You're not with us because you're in this area, and it's like, well, this is the church
that's going to go through the persecution in this area, and you're not here.
That's the reality.
Look, I've been through the same things.
But, look, I don't really remember the tribulations I went through.
I remember them, but I don't feel bad about them.
It's kind of like, man, that's the past.
I don't even care.
You care about what's happening.
It makes you sad.
It could make you cry.
But afterwards, it's like, you know what?
Who cares anymore?
Nobody at this church is upset that they left the old Baptist church.
Nobody in this room.
But, you know, if you're not willing to take that stand, then you've got to sit through
bad preaching in a bad church entirely.
Now, when you guys left your old churches, for some of you it was very difficult.
It wasn't easy.
But you're glad you did it.
Because once the trial's over, you're like, man, we go to church, we've got great friends
here, people who love the Lord, and they share the exact same experiences.
I share the same experiences.
I'm your companion to the tribulation that you guys have gone through.
It's the same thing, and that's why it's important to have a great church.
Verse 22.
And ye now therefore have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice
in your joy, no man taken from you.
Now, turn down to verse 31.
Verse 31.
It reminds me of that song where it will be worth it all when we see Jesus.
It doesn't make you think about that.
You go through all these trials and tribulations in your life, but you know what?
It's worth it all on the other side.
Okay?
And it makes you appreciate what you have when you go through tribulations, when you
go through trials.
Verse number 31.
Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe?
Behold, the hour cometh, ye is now coming, ye shall be scattered, every man to his own,
and shall leave me alone.
And yet I am not alone because the Father is with me.
These things have I spoken on you, that me ye might have peace.
In the world we shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
And he tells them, You're going to have tribulation in this world.
Now, look, we're not dispensationalists.
This was not written to just like a select group of people.
It doesn't apply to us today.
No, I mean, the Bible's timeless.
It's outside the realm of time.
It applies as much today because John said I'm your companion in tribulation.
What does companion mean?
He's basically meaning I'm right there with the same tribulation.
Look, he lived 2,000 years ago.
We're not going to see John until we die and see him in heaven.
But he was our companion in tribulation.
And what Jesus spoke then is as much relevant today.
It's as relevant as it's going to be during the end times.
Because although it's going to get to the very end,
and the great tribulation comes and it's going to get worse,
look, we're still going through the same tribulation.
It's still people that live for God are going to be going through tribulation
because of the stand they're taking on the Word of God.
Nothing's changed.
Nothing will change.
There's no moving out.
You say, well, this is not a very encouraging sermon.
Well, you know what?
It shouldn't be discouraging to you.
For one, it should help you realize, okay,
this is why I'm going through some tribulation in my life.
But for two, you should be happy that you're being prepared for the fact.
See, there's kind of two ways you can handle something in life.
And most people choose the method where they basically put a blanket over their head
and pretend like there's not a problem.
Right? Like a little kid gets in trouble.
And they kind of have this idea that, hey, if I put the blanket over my head,
mom and dad will forget that I'm here and they won't stay.
That's what kids do.
Basically, oh, no, I'm in trouble.
I'll just put a blanket over my head and pretend the problem's gone.
That's what a baby does.
Yeah.
And so to have this idea, well, you know, I'll just forget about it.
Somehow it's going to work itself out.
It's not going to work itself out.
You put a blanket over your head, it doesn't change reality.
And the reality is that if you're going to live for God,
you're going to go through persecution.
Let's go to the Word of God.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing me here.