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Man, tonight I'm going to preach about the second coming of Jesus Christ and in this passage in Luke chapter 17, this is actually the first time in the Bible where Jesus taught in depth on his second coming because even though you'd read Matthew 24 first, Luke 17 actually comes chronologically before that, so this is the first time Jesus goes into great detail about his second coming and of course it has the famous verses describing the rapture about two people being in the field, one is taken and the other left, two grinding at the mill, one is taken and the other left. But the part that I want to focus on is beginning in verse number 28 where the Bible teaches that the second coming of Christ or the rapture will be like it was in the days of Lot. Look what it says in verse number 28, likewise also as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded, but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man shall be revealed. So the title of my sermon tonight is The Days of Lot and there are seven things that are the same about the days of Lot as will be when Jesus Christ returns in the clouds. Jesus mentions a few and then we're going to go back to Genesis 19 to get the other few. Let me start out by just explaining to you the story of Lot. Lot was the nephew of Abraham who chose to pitch his tent towards Sodom, even though Sodom was a very wicked city and the men of Sodom were sinners before the Lord exceedingly, that didn't really bother him so he pitched his tent towards Sodom and eventually he started living in Sodom. Well Lot being a righteous man, being a saved man, he didn't really like being in Sodom but he stayed there anyway and it says he vexed his righteous soul from day to day in seeing and hearing their unlawful deeds. Now the biggest thing that stands out about Sodom was the fact that the men of the city were homosexuals. They were men who lusted after other men. So Abraham receives a visit from the Lord where the Lord tells him that he's going to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because they're so ungodly, they're so bad. So God sends his two angels into Sodom to get Lot out of Sodom and to just warn him and also just to check on the city and see if it's really as wicked as it had been said on him. So the two angels come into Sodom and they're going to lodge in the street but Lot wants them to come over to his house and spend the night so that they'll be safe inside his house. While they're there, the men of the city of Sodom surround the house and they knock on the door and they say, Lot, bring out those two men unto us. We want to know them. We want to get to know them and what they wanted to do was they wanted to have a physical filthy relationship with them and Lot tells them no and they try to attack Lot. They try to abuse Lot and the angels pull him into the house. The angels just looking like two ordinary young men. They pull him into the house and they explain to him that they're going to destroy the city. The Sodomites are struck with blindness. They get Lot out. They drag him out of the city and as soon as they drag Lot and his family out of the city, God rains down fire and brimstone and destroys Sodom and Gomorrah. So that's a story that a lot of you might have already heard before and if not, then it's a story that you need to hear, especially in 2017. That's a story that we need to hear because the Bible tells in the book of Jude that in the last days, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is an example unto those that afterwards should live ungodly and also the Bible tells us that at the second coming of Jesus Christ, it's going to be as it was in the days of Lot. So how is it going to be at the second coming of Jesus Christ that is similar to the way it was in the days of Lot? Well number one, if you look down at your Bible there, it says in verse 29, but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. So number one, the same day of the rapture, the same day when Jesus Christ comes in the clouds and the trumpet sounds and we're caught up together to be with him, the same day God is going to rain fire and brimstone on this earth. See the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is also symbolic where Lot, the guy who's saved is removed from the city before the city is destroyed with fire and brimstone and that pictures Christians being removed from this earth before God pours out his wrath upon this earth. And so just as Lot left the city and the same day it rained fire and brimstone, it's going to be the same way in the end of the world. Go if you would to Revelation chapter 7, last book of the Bible, Revelation chapter 7, and we'll see in Revelation 7 that at the time of the rapture a great multitude of people appears in heaven, a great group of people out of every nation in the whole world, every language is represented, all the families and tribes of the earth are all represented, which is great to know that there are people who are saved in every nation, right? In Trinidad, in Guyana, the United States, India, China, it doesn't matter what nation we go to in this world, there are people there who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and when we get to heaven the Bible teaches people will be there from all nationalities, from all kindreds. Look down at your Bible there in Revelation 7 verse 9, after this I beheld a great multitude which no man could number of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues stood before the throne and before the lamb clothed with white robes and palms in their hands and cried with a loud voice saying, salvation to our God which sit upon the throne and under the lamb and all the angels stood round about the throne and about the elders and the four beasts and fell before the throne on their faces and worshiped God. Look at verse 13, and one of the elders answered saying unto me, what are these which are arrayed in white robes and whence came they, whence means from where, where did they come from? Whence came they? And I said unto him, sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, these are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. Therefore they before the throne of God and serve him day and night at his temple and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. So right there we see that this great multitude appears in heaven and it causes John to question, wow, where did all these people come from? Because they just got there. They just appeared in heaven. And he says these are they which came out of great tribulation and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. See this after the tribulation the Bible says in Matthew 24 that the trumpet would sound, the sun and moon would be darkened. In Revelation 6 the sun and moon are darkened, Revelation 7 the multitude appears in heaven. Notice how these people got to heaven. It says in verse 14 that they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. Notice it does not say these are all the people who joined the church. These are all the people who got baptized. These are all the people who lived a good life. These are all the people who repented of all their sins and lived a clean life. No, he said these are they that washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. When you're going to get to heaven it's going to be through the blood of Jesus Christ. It's going to be through believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Not whosoever lives a good life. Not whosoever joins the church. Not whoever receives communion. Not whoever joins this church or my church or your church. No, no, no. Those who've washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. It's the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from our sins. It's just faith in Jesus and it's amazing to me when I ask people how do you know you're going to heaven and sometimes they'll give an answer that doesn't even mention Jesus. Oh I live a good life. I keep the commandments. Well then what do you need Jesus for? It sounds like you're doing great on your own but that's not true because the Bible says there's none righteous, no, not one. So this great multitude of saved Christians, they enter heaven because the trumpet is sounded, the sun and moon were darkened, they were caught up together in the clouds, they're in heaven but look what happens next in Revelation chapter 8 verse 1. The next thing that happens after this great assembly of believers of all ages, all time, all nations, all tongues gets to heaven, look at verse 1 of chapter 8, and when he had opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God and to them were given seven trumpets and another angel came and stood at the altar having a golden censer and there was given unto him much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne and the smoke of the incense which came with the prayers of the saints ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. Here's the key, verse 5, and the angel took the censer and filled it with fire of the altar and cast it into the earth and there were voices and thunderings and lightnings and an earthquake. Verse 7, the first angel sounded and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood and they were cast upon the earth and the third part of the trees was burnt up and all green grass was burnt up. So what do we see in Revelation? The great multitude of all believers right after the sun and moon is darkened, they're caught up into heaven to be with the Lord. John says, whoa, where did all these people come from? He said they've come out of great tribulation, they washed their robes, they made them white in the blood of the lamb. A half hour later, fire and brimstone are rained from heaven in Revelation chapter 8. So the first way that the second coming of Jesus Christ will be like unto the days of Lot is that the same day Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone. The same day that we're caught up to be with the Lord, it will rain fire and brimstone upon this earth. Now let me ask you this, is that what the pre-tribulation rapture teaches or is that what the Left Behind movie teaches or the kind of the Hollywood representations? Who's ever seen the movie Left Behind before? Right. Well, in that representation, which is a Hollywood version, of course, Hollywood is not gonna be true to the Bible, they're gonna take a lot of liberties and they're gonna listen to a lot of the wrong Bible teachers. They never called me, they never called me and said, hey, Brother Anderson, can you explain to us the end time so we can get this movie right? Because I would have helped them out with it. But they didn't make that call. In the movie, people disappear and everybody's saying, where is everybody? And they're perplexed and they're confused and everybody's just gone, everybody disappeared. But that's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that the same day that we're caught up to be with Christ, God's gonna rain fire and brimstone. People aren't gonna be saying, where is everybody or where are the believers or where are the Christians? They're gonna be saying, run for cover. They're gonna be saying, you know, to the rocks and hills to fall on them and hide them because there's fire and brimstone being rained upon them. But number two, the other difference is that, and if you would go back to Genesis 19 in your Bible, the first book in the Bible, turn to that story of Sodom and Gomorrah with Lot. The second similarity between the days of Lot and the second coming of Christ is that we will be gathered by the angels at the rapture. The Bible says in Matthew 24, 29, immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken and then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven. And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory and he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. So we see here that first of all, people don't just disappear at the rapture. Well, where is everybody? The Bible says they'll see Jesus Christ coming in the clouds. They don't show that in the Hollywood version. They'll see the son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory and then he will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet to gather his elect. That's just like it was in the days of Lot. Look down at your Bible, Genesis chapter 19 verse 16, it says, and while he lingered, and that's talking about Lot, the man laid hold upon his hand and upon the hand of his wife and upon the hand of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful unto him and they brought him forth and set him without the city. So in the story of Lot, Lot is actually dragged out of Sodom and Gomorrah by the angels. So that's exactly how it will be when Jesus returns. He'll send forth his angels to gather the elect from one end of heaven to the other and will be caught up together to be with them in the clouds, caught up by the angels themselves. The third reason why the days of Lot are like unto the days of the second coming of Christ is that the world is going to be very wicked at the time that Christ returns. You see, the Bible says that in the course of time, evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse. The world is not getting more godly or more righteous or more holy. In fact, the world is getting worse from a moral and spiritual standpoint. We might be improving the technology, but when it comes to our character and our morals and our righteousness, this world is getting more and more ungodly, more and more wicked as the days go by, as we see the day approaching. That's why it's going to be like the days of Lot when Christ returns because it's going to be wicked like Sodom was wicked. Look down at your Bible in Genesis chapter number 19 verse 4. I'll show you how wicked Sodom was. But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round both old and young, all the people from every quarter, and they called unto Lot and said unto him, Where are the men which came in unto thee this night? Bring them out unto us that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door unto them and shut the door after him and said, I pray you brethren, do not sow wickedly. I mean, this is a wicked city because the Bible says that all the men of the city, young and old, all the people from every quarter, show up in a mob around his house. I mean, just imagine, you have dinner, you have a couple guests, you're just about to go to bed, and the house is surrounded. And people are beating on the door wanting to violate the guests, wanting to abuse them, wanting to molest them, wanting to have their way with them physically in a filthy way. And the Bible said that as it was in the days of Lot, so shall it be also in the days of the coming of the Son of Man. Do you think it's a coincidence that as we enter the end times, as we see the day of Christ approaching, as we get closer to the end, do you think it's a coincidence that homosexuality abounds? That's not a coincidence. We're living in the days of Lot. And it's not just the United States, although the United States seems to be leading the way, unfortunately. The United States is promoting this all over the world. But you know what? I know it exists even here in Trinidad. And you know what? It's vile, it's filthy, it's wicked, it's an abomination. And people can try to sugar coat that all they want, but the Bible says that it's filth and it's wicked. And it's going to get worse because as it was in the days of Lot, that's how it's going to be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man. The Bible says that in the last days, perilous times will come, dangerous times will come. And we're entering times where there are a lot of really sick, perverted, violent people out there. Sodomites are out of the closet and they're recruiting and they're multiplying, and that's a sign of the times. That's a sign that we're approaching the end. But here's another thing that's similar to the days of Lot about the second coming of Jesus Christ. It says in Genesis chapter 19 verse 12, this is what the angels say to Lot. They say, And the man said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides, son-in-law, and thy sons and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city? Bring them out of this place, for we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxing great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it. So what is the message to Lot? Look, if you have anybody in this city that you love, if you have anybody that you care about, you better get them out of here, because God's going to destroy this place. You know, the way that I would apply that to us in regard to the second coming of Christ is that we want to bring our loved ones with us when we go to heaven someday. If we have a son-in-law or a daughter-in-law, friend, brother, sister, mother, child, we want to bring our loved ones with us. And when we're out of here at the sound of the trumpet, we want to make sure that they get out of that place, too, before it's destroyed. So just as God wanted Lot to get other people out of Sodom, if he could save them, God wants us to do the same thing. And that's why we need to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. That's why the early church daily in the temple and in every house, they cease not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. That's why we're going out soul-winning tomorrow morning at 9.30 a.m. because we want to go out and warn people of the wrath to come, and we want to preach the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ and let them know that if they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, they shall be saved. We want to preach that message to them because we want to bring as many people to heaven with us as possible just as Lot is told to get anybody that he could out of that city before it's too late. And let me tell you something. Some day it comes to a point where it's too late. Now by the way, let me point out, and I'm going to get to this a little bit later, but Lot fails to get anybody out except just his two daughters. He fails to get anyone else out. Why? Because there's not enough time. It was last minute. It was just a rushed thing in the middle of the night. He didn't have time to do any good or serious soul-winning, and he'd already kind of ruined his testimony. They kind of laughed at him, made fun of him. So he didn't get anybody out. Why? Because it was too late. So don't wait until you see Christ coming in the clouds of, oh, whoops, I better get some people saved real fast in the next couple minutes before this happens. That's too late at that point. You need to start living for Christ now. You need to start having a good testimony now, and not to just do a lifestyle evangelism with a good testimony, but to open your mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the Gospel. Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation, and tomorrow is a good day, and tonight is a good night to talk to people about the Gospel. Tomorrow morning, go soul-winning. Tomorrow talk to your son, your daughter, your sister, your brother, your mother. Don't wait like Lot did until it's too late. How is the second coming of Christ like it was in the days of Lot? Well, number one, the same day Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone. Same thing. When Christ comes, when we're caught up in the clouds, fire and brimstone the same day. How else is it the same? Well, Lot was dragged out of Sodom by the angels. We're going to be gathered together by the angels when the trumpet sounds and caught up to be with Christ in the clouds. Number three, the world is going to be very wicked in the last days, just as it was very wicked in the city of Sodom. Not just any old sinful people, but wicked sinners before the Lord exceedingly, just excessive amounts of sin and wickedness. Number four, there's going to be persecution before the rapture. Persecution before the rapture. Look if you would in Genesis 19 at verses 9 through 11. It says, and they said, this is when Lot tells them, don't do such a wicked thing. Don't do this wickedness. Lot tries to calm them down. And by the way, these people, you can't reason with them. I mean, these Sodomites who had surrounded the house, Lot goes out and tries to talk some sense into them and say, you know, do not so vile a thing. Do not so wickedly. You can't reason with them. They're implacable and unmerciful, the Bible says. So he goes out and tries to talk to them, and they won't listen. So here's how they respond to Lot when he tries to reason with them. And they said, stand back. And they said again, this one fellow came into sojourn, and he will needs be a judge. Now will we deal worse with thee than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand and pulled Lot into the house to them and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the door. So when Lot refuses to let them have his two guests and tries to talk sense into them, not to be so wicked, go home, don't do this, they say, well, you know what, now we're going to do worse to you than we were going to do to them. And they physically attack Lot. They begin to assault Lot. And it's only by the grace of God that the two angels intercede, smite the men with blindness, and drag Lot back into the door to the safety of his home and get that door shut. That pictures Christians being persecuted in the end times before we're removed from this earth. You see, first Lot was persecuted and attacked, even physically assaulted. Then he's removed to the safety of being outside of Sodom. That's the exact same thing in the end times. The Bible teaches that there's going to be a time called the tribulation, and that during that time, many people will be persecuted and killed for the cause of Christ. Many people will be arrested. Many people will go to prison. Some will even die for Christ in the days leading up to the rapture and being pulled out of there. So just as Lot endured tribulation, persecution, before being removed, so will we. You see, there's a teaching out there that says that the rapture comes before the tribulation and that the rapture can come at any moment, that it can even happen tonight. But the Bible says that it will take place immediately after the tribulation. Now this doctrine of the rapture coming before the tribulation is a doctrine that sounds good to a lot of people because they don't want to be persecuted. So they like the sound of that, you know, just living a comfortable life. And then you're gone. You're removed. Oh, wow, great. I dodged that bullet. But yet the Bible teaches that we are appointed to tribulation. The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5, 9, God had not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. So we're not going to be present for God's wrath on this earth. But the Bible does say that no man should be moved by these afflictions, for yourselves know that we're appointed thereunto, for verily when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation. He said we've been appointed to affliction. We've been appointed to tribulation, but we're not appointed to wrath. See Lot had to endure persecution from the wicked people, but he was spared God's wrath. He was removed from the city before the fire and brimstone of God's wrath fell. But not only did Lot endure persecution and tribulation, but God actually delivered him out of that tribulation. So a lot of times we're going to go through persecutions, tribulations, afflictions, but God can protect us from that, like he protected Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, like he protected Daniel in the lion's den, like he protected Jeremiah and others who went through life threatening persecutions and tribulations. God can spare us. God can protect us. Some will die for Christ, and that's an honor, but most will be protected. Most will be actually spared, but it doesn't mean you're not going to go through troubles. I mean Lot still got a little beat up. He still got slammed into the door and assaulted and beaten up, but God spared him that ultimate humiliation and brought him into the house and kept him safe. Thank God. You know the Bible says all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. I mean if nobody's persecuting you, if nobody's talking bad about you, if nobody ever attacks you or lies about you, then you are not serving Jesus Christ with all your heart, period, because the Bible says all, all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. It didn't say they might suffer, shall suffer persecution. Read the book of Acts. They're being arrested. They're beaten. They're thrown in prison, and today people who take a stand for Christ and preach the word of God boldly, they end up being attacked. They end up being persecuted. I mean there are people in this world whose family disowns them if they receive Christ as Savior. Maybe they come from a Muslim family or a Hindu family, and when they receive Christ as Savior, they're put out of their home. They're rejected from their family. They're rejected from their friends. Happens all the time here, other places in the world. Other people are even beaten or physically assaulted, thrown in jail for preaching the word of God. All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Even this very event that you're sitting in right now was persecuted. We were planning on having this event at a totally different location, but angry sodomites called that location, and they canceled our booking, and now we're here and say, I like this place better anyway. This is more convenient. This is closer to the airport. Right? This is great. So, you know, here we are. You're always going to face resistance. You're always going to face opposition, and obviously that's a super mild persecution, but it just goes to show that they're enemies. And yeah, they got our room canceled, but they would have done a lot worse if they could get away with it. They would love to beat us. They would love to assault us. They would love to afflict us, but God protects us. Thank God. So number one, fire and brimstone the same day we're taken out. Number two, we'll be gathered by the angels. Number three, the world's going to be very wicked toward the end, just like the days of Sodom. All you have to do is turn on a TV and see that's true. All you have to do is open a magazine. Listen to the radio, and you'll see the sodomy and the perversion being crammed down our throats all the time because we're approaching the end. That's why. But number four, there will be persecution before the rapture. Tribulation comes before the rapture. Then God pulls us out before the wrath. And then number five, God wants us to get people saved before it's too late, just as He warned Lot to do the same thing. But number six, in the days of Lot, there were a lot of people who mocked and scoffed at Lot's message when he tried to save them. He tried to get them out of the city. They mocked him and scoffed at that. Look at Genesis 19, verse 14, if you have your Bible. And Lot went out and spake unto his sons-in-law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place, for the Lord will destroy this city. Watch this. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law. So when he tried to preach the gospel to them, they made fun of him. They laughed at him. He's trying to tell them, Get out of here. Vengeance is coming. Now, if you would, go to, if you have a Bible, 2 Peter, chapter 3. Just as in the days of Lot, there were those who mocked the warning. They scoffed at the warning. When the warning was given that God was going to destroy Sodom, that fire and brimstone were coming, people laughed. They thought it was a joke. They made a mockery of it. Well, the same way, in the last days, many times when we preach the gospel and preach for people to be saved and escape hell and escape that fire and brimstone and go to be with the Lord in heaven, many times we'll be met with scorn or mockery or ridicule in these last days. People are more blasphemous today, and they're more ready to ridicule the things of God than they've ever been in the past. Listen to 2 Peter, chapter 3, verse 3. Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts. Scoffers are those who would ridicule or mock or make light of the Word of God and say, Come on, do you really believe that? You really believe there's heaven and hell? You really believe that Jesus died for our sins and rose again? Do you really believe that? And these scoffers will ridicule the second coming of Christ because they'll say, Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the Word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of the water and in the water, whereby the world that then was being overflowed with water perished. The Bible says that in the last days there will be scoffers, mockers, walking after their own lusts, ridiculing the second coming of Christ and saying, Well, why hasn't it happened yet? I mean, here we are 2,000 years later. Where is it? Where is the promise? But here's the thing. A day with the Lord is like 1,000 years. It was more than 4,000 years up until the first coming of Christ. It was 4,300 years approximately from the creation to Christ's first coming, even though when we read about it in the Bible, it might not seem like that long. It was 4,300 years. And so we've been living in the New Testament now for about 2,000 and, you know, however many years. We don't know the exact number, but Christ was born approximately 2,017 years ago. So we've been in the New Testament for a little less than 2,000 years. We don't know the day or the hour of Christ's coming. We don't know when it's going to be, but we can actually see the stage being set for the second coming. Now, one thing, the world is not quite as wicked as Sodom was yet, right? It's not quite that bad yet, but it's getting there fast. So we're not there yet, but it's getting there. Also, the technology is being put in place for things like the mark of the beast to be a reality. There's an interesting scripture in Revelation 11 where there are two men who are preaching the Word of God, the two witnesses. They die, and their dead bodies are in the streets of Jerusalem for three days. And the Bible says that every person on the whole earth will see their dead bodies laying in the street for three and a half days. Now let me ask you this. Would that have been possible 100 years ago? Would it have been possible 100 years ago for the entire world to see those dead bodies? But today it would be possible, right? A webcam, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, everybody pointing their camera at that and streaming it live to the world by the internet. Well, here's the thing. The whole world doesn't really quite have the internet yet, but the world's getting the internet fast. You know, in places in Africa and India and China, remote places every day, every year, every decade, they're getting more internet connections, more computers, more TVs so that everybody in the world will be able to see those events. And scripture will be able to be literally fulfilled and, you know, not buying or selling without the mark of the beast. That's something that would involve technology, and we see it happening. So there will be people in the last days that would mock and ridicule the Word of God and mock the gospel just as they did with Lot. But you know what? At the end of the day, Lot survived, and they didn't. You know, they mocked and ridiculed Noah, but at the end of the day, he survived, and they didn't. So we need to not let the ridicule and the mockery of the world stop us. You know, Jesus, when he hung on the cross, he was mocked and ridiculed. And he said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. So if I preach the gospel to someone and they laugh and make a mockery at him, you know, I don't hate that person. I'm going to give that person another chance to hear the gospel. Why? Because they don't know what they do. They don't understand that the danger is real. They don't understand that the Word of God is real, that heaven and hell are real. And so we need to have compassion on the loss and get them saved. And even those who mock and scoff at the gospel, we need to keep trying and preach in the gospel to them. But lastly, this, number seven, it is possible to win people to Christ in the last days. It is possible. It's possible for us to not only win some people to the Lord in the last days. It's possible for us to do great works for God in the last days and to see many people get saved. I believe that some of the greatest works for God will be done in the last days, right before Christ's second coming. Because the Bible says that in the end times, those that be strong and do know their God, he said that they're going to do great exploits for the Lord. And I believe that we're living in those times when great exploits will be done for the Lord. Now go to Matthew chapter 11. Let's see this in regard to Sodom. Let's see this in regard to Sodom. Matthew chapter 11 also mentions Sodom. The Bible says that as it was in the days of Lot, so shall it be also in the days of the coming of the Son of Man. In the second coming of Jesus Christ, it's going to be similar to the story of Lot and Sodom. And we've seen seven different ways from the Bible that those two things line up. The seventh thing is that it is possible to win people to Christ in the last days. Look at Matthew chapter 11, verse 23. It says, And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell. For if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee. Now according to these verses, there was a time when it was possible to save people in Sodom. Now when Lot tried to do it, it's too late. He's trying to do it in the middle of the night. He's trying to do it at the last minute. He's trying to do it after these people had already gotten so bad, they'd gone down such a downward spiral in their lives that they were reprobates. You know, Romans 1 explains that a man who lusts after another man and burns in lust one toward another with other dudes, that that man is a reprobate. He's been given over to vile affections. He's been given over to a reprobate mind. So we see Lot in a position where he does too little, too late, oh, guys, let's get out of here. They just laugh at him. They all get destroyed. He did not successfully reach anybody. I mean, yeah, his daughters are dragged out. His wife left her heart in San Francisco, turned around and became a pillar of salt. But I mean, Lot and his daughters are dragged out. We see what they're like after they leave Sodom, how ungodly and wicked his two daughters were. It was just Lot. It was just Lot alone that was righteous in the city. Lot did too little, too late, but there was a time when Sodom could have been spared. You see, here in Matthew 11, the Bible says that if the mighty works, which were done in Capernaum, had been done in Sodom, they would have gotten right with God, and that city would have remained until this day. You see, if Lot would have gone into that city as an evangelist, because he went in years before, before it was as bad, if Lot would have gone in there and preached the Gospel, preached the Word of God, preached the truth, and done mighty works in Sodom, he could have won people to Christ. He could have done mighty works, as the Bible says here in Matthew 11. But instead, he chose to go in there and just watch the Sodomites on TV and just listen to the Sodomite music, and just kind of fit in, and not say anything, and just go with the flow, and not open his mouth, and not speak of the Word of God. That's why when he finally spoke up about the Word of God, they said, you're kidding, right? This is a joke, right? We know you, Lot. You don't talk about the Word of God. We've never heard you talk about this before. Wait, you go to church? You're a Christian? Oh, that's a big joke. Oh, man, that was a good one. He's like, no, seriously, actually, I'm a Christian. Oh, yeah, right. Wouldn't that be sad if you actually tried to witness to someone about Jesus and they laughed at you and said, you must be kidding? There's no way you actually believe in this. I know the way you live. I know how you are. I know you never talk about this stuff. All of a sudden, you bring it out now. See, we need to use these last days, even though it's as it was in the days of Lot, it didn't say the day of Lot. It said as it was in the days of Lot. Why? Because it's not just that last day. Oh, it's about to be destroyed. Here, let's go soul winning. Too late. The people are too far gone. They're reprobate. It's being destroyed. It's too late. But in the days of Lot, you know, Lot was in Sodom for a period of time. He should have gone in there and been a soul winner and preached the gospel and won people of the Christ. If you're in Matthew 11, just flip over to Matthew 24, just a few pages to the right in your Bible. This is the chapter that goes into great detail about the second coming of Jesus Christ, the end of the world, the rapture. And it comes before Luke 17 in our Bibles, but chronologically, it's after because it's parallel with Luke 21. But look at Matthew 24, verse number 14. This is a pretty powerful verse. Matthew 24, 14 says, and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come. So the Bible talks about that at the very end of the world, in a passage that's talking about the earthquakes that are going to be going on, the wars that are going to be going on, the natural disasters that are going to be going on, the persecution that's going to be going on, the tribulation that's going to be going on. He's saying, during that time, the gospel is going to be preached in all nations of the world, and then the end shall come. You see, God wants as many people to be saved as possible, and so he's working in the hearts and minds of men, through preachers, through his word, to have one last hurrah before the second coming of Christ. One last great push of the gospel throughout the world. One last great missions program, where the gospel would go to all nations of the earth. The gospel would be preached everywhere. Then the end will come. I want to be a part of that. See, we don't want to get this attitude that says, oh, there's mockers and scoffers, but what about the people that are not mockers and scoffers? And even some of these mockers and scoffers, when they see the power of God's word and the preaching of God's word, will get saved. Even many of them. When they see your good works and they glorify your Father, which is in heaven. When they hear the word of God being preached and a clear presentation of the gospel. Look, what about the thief on the cross who initially mocked Jesus, but then he ended up getting saved, just hours later. People can be saved today. We can win people to Christ. Even in the days of Lot, when it was wicked exceedingly, hey, mighty works could have been done according to Jesus himself in Matthew 11, 23 and 24 at that time and in those days. And today, great and mighty works can be done for the Lord, even today. We were just down in Guyana for the past several days. We got in on Monday night, late at night, and we pretty much just went back to the hotel. We got everything organized. We got everything ready. And Tuesday morning, we woke up and we hit the ground running. And we went to a school, a public school, and we focused on the secondary schools. And we went to a public school. We preached the gospel to hundreds of students. They shut down the whole school, brought an assembly together, hundreds of students. We preached the gospel to all of them, clear presentation, and many of them got saved. The majority of them raised their hand that they believed the truth and wanted to receive Christ as Savior. We prayed with them. We don't know how many of them got saved because we weren't able to deal with all of them one-on-one. But we know that many of them received Christ as Savior. Praise God. And not only that, but we also one-on-one. We hung around and talked to lots of young people. And they were so receptive to the gospel in Guyana. It was amazing. It was refreshing how they just wanted to hear the Word of God and wanted to get saved. Then we got in the cab. We went to another school. We did the same thing. We preached to 786 students at a secondary school. They broke them up into small groups at that school. So we had a whole bunch of different preachers. Six different guys in our group were preaching in all different classrooms. So that was pretty cool because we got to preach to groups of like 25 to 50 kids. So it was a little more personal. And we could preach the gospel. We gave everybody DVDs. We gave everybody flash drives. We went to another school, another school, another school. For three days in a row, we did soul winning, one-on-one. We preached to large crowds in schools. We got the gospel, thank God. And all glory goes to Him because everything just fell into place. Everything just worked out. I mean, I can't even imagine doing that in the United States. But it was just amazing, even in Guyana, that we just walk into a Roman Catholic school. Hey, we're from the Baptist church, we want to preach. They just, sure, come on in. You know, and I even preached against going to confession, to the priest. I'm preaching against getting baptized and get to heaven. I'm preaching against the sacraments. And they're just like, no problem. I mean, God opened doors to where we were just able to just go from one to the next to the next and preach the gospel to over 3,000 students. We don't know how many of them got saved, but we'll get to heaven and find out. But they were so receptive, I'm sure it was many hundreds that got saved. Probably over 1,000 because they were so hungry for the word of God and receptive to the message. Thank God for that opportunity to just spend three days on the mission field with a team of nine guys just going from school to school to school, preaching. And you know, one of the cool things about soul winning down in Guyana, one of the cool things about soul winning in the Caribbean is that you've got people that are Muslims, you've got people that are Hindus, but they're usually always willing to listen to the gospel. And because they're willing to listen to the gospel, we were able to get some Hindus saved. We were able to get some Muslims saved. Look, the Hindus can be saved, the Muslims can be saved. The word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword, it has power to save. And so even in these last days, we can see a great harvest of souls come in for the Lord. Think about some places in this world that are largely not evangelized, meaning that most of the people in that area do not believe on Jesus Christ, and they don't have a culture that's friendly toward Christianity. Think about India today, it's predominantly Hindu, especially in northern India. Look, I believe that in the last days, leading up to the second coming of Christ, I believe we can win Hindus to the Lord here in the Caribbean, and I believe that we will go to India someday and win Hindus to the Lord in India itself. And I believe that great exploits can be done, that one billion Hindus can hear the gospel, that 1.6 billion Muslims can hear the gospel, that all the other people in this world who've not received the Lord Jesus Christ their Savior can hear the gospel. So don't make it an excuse, oh well, it's like it was in the days of Lot. No, that's all the more reason why we need to assemble ourselves together and preach the gospel so much the more as we see the day approaching. So how is the second coming of Jesus Christ like under the days of Lot? Number one, because the same day Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone and destroyed them all. Same thing when Christ comes. Fire and brimstone will rain as soon as the Christians are removed. Number two, what is it like? Well, the angels pulled Lot out of the city, and the angels will come and gather us at the sound of the trumpet, according to Matthew 24. Number three, the world's going to be like Sodom at the time of the rapture. Look, the homosexuality, the sodomy, the perversion, the filth, it's not going to go away. It's going to get worse. It's ramping up. It's ramping up. And even the churches now and preachers are afraid to talk about it. Well, this preacher's not afraid to talk about it. I'm not afraid to preach about it. But a lot of them are, unfortunately, and we see the fulfillment of Bible prophecy, where it's becoming like the days of Lot. Number four, there's going to be a persecution of believers leading up to the rapture. Number five, God wants us to get people saved before it's too late in these last days, scheming the time because the days are evil. We need to be out there preaching the gospel to every creature while there's still hope and there's still time. Number six, there are going to be many people in the last days that will mock and scoff at the gospel, just as they mocked Lot and scoffed at Lot when he tried to warn them. And number seven, it is possible to do mighty works for the Lord in the last days, just as it was possible in Sodom. Mighty works could have been done if it would have happened in time. We need to get on the program right now and make this happen now because we don't know when it's going to be too late. And people are getting more and more hardened as we approach the end. And eventually, time's going to run out. And eventually, that trumpet's going to sound. And it's going to be too late to do anything else to save the people that are left behind. And so as it was in the days of Lot, so shall it be also in the days of the coming of the Son of Man. Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for your word, Lord. We thank you for salvation. We thank you for the fact that you've not appointed us to wrath, but that you've appointed us to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. And we thank you so much for the great works that you used us to perform down in Guyana, Lord, just the doors that you opened and how everything just fell into place and how we were able to be very efficient, Lord. We didn't have to waste a lot of time, but that for three days, we could just serve you and preach unto as many people as we could, Lord. And we pray that you would do a great work in Trinidad as well, Lord, not just in Guyana, but that in Trinidad, you would stir up the hearts and motivate your people to go out into the highways and hedges to preach the gospel to every creature. I pray that there would be fruit that would come from this particular service that someone tonight would make a decision to do more for you in these last days, Lord, and to do great exploits for you. And Lord, if there's anybody here tonight that's not saved, if there's anybody here tonight that does not know for sure that they're going to heaven, Lord, I pray that they would just understand the simplicity of Christ, the simplicity of the gospel. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. I pray that they would understand that and believe that and receive that free gift of eternal life before it's too late, Lord. Also bless our soul winning tomorrow at 930, Lord, in Jesus' name we pray, amen.